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But the word of the Lord remains forever (1 Pet 1:25)

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From Your Brother

My dear brothers and sisters, Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord led us miraculously in the past days. He poured His grace upon us so that we may continue to do His work in a hale and healthy manner. I believe the same with each one of you. The Lord has given us the duty to serve you. Whatever your needs may be, we are here to pray for you. It is our duty to intercede to God to change your suffering into joy. The Lord is using Jesus Lives Ministry mightily to wipe away the tears of many thousands. Jesus is delivering numerous people from their suffering and anxiety. The Lord used the brothers and sisters in our ministry mightily in various places in the past days. Glory to God!!! By the grace of God, I went on a trip to the Holy Land from the 26th of March to the 2nd of April and visited all the places related to the life events of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to read the article about this trip in this magazine and glorify God. This year, the church celebrates the day of the Pentecost on 11th of May. The word Pentecost means the fiftieth day. The Jews celebrate it as a day of thanksgiving for the harvest. It is celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Passover festival. This day of Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. It is the festival to glorify the Holy Spirit who united us together as the members of the body of Christ. The Bible says in Acts 2:1,4, When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place [and praying together according to the word of the Lord Jesus] Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. He filled all of their lives. The work of Jesus continued. The apostles proclaimed saying He is still alive, and we are all witnesses to this fact. Thousand of people received this new life in Christ and united together as a Church. The Pentecost festival will be celebrated on the second Sunday of this month, on 11th May, in the Special Fasting Prayer. Let us all gather together on that day. The Lord will surely give us the experience of Pentecost on that day. When God the Holy Spirit fills us, we will become as people who will understand the will of God and will put His commandments into action. We were not born in this world in happenstance. God has created us in the world for a divine purpose. The Holy Spirit is being given to us to understand this purpose and walk accordingly. On that day, when Mother Mary and the apostles were gathered together in the upper room along with the group numbering about a hundred and twenty, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon them as tongues of fire. As the Bible says in Acts 2:4, They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. They were filled with the gift of tongues and their life changed upside down. Even today, the same Holy Spirit is being poured upon those who are thirsty of this Spirit. Even today, start asking God for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your lives. I invite you to please come to the fasting prayer meet on the 11th of May and be filled with the divine experience. I ask you to pray for me and all the brothers and sisters in this ministry in a special manner. In these last days, let us be united and be bold in doing the Lord's work in a special manner before the coming of the Lord. The Lord will lead each one of us according to His will. Let the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. In the Lord's work,

Bro G Lawrence

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Love one another earnestly with all your heart (1 Pet 1:22)

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Wait for the Father's promise to be fulfilled!

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And when they came together, he gave them this order: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 1:4,5) After Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He confirmed through many evidences to His disciples, that He was alive. He ate with His disciples. He spoke with His disciples about the things to come. In this message, we are going to meditate upon an important aspect of this conversation. He said to the disciples to wait for the fulfillment of the promises of the Father. Even today, He speaks these very verses to us also. The Lord wants to teach us how to wait for the Father's promises to be fulfilled in our lives. All God's promises are Yes and Amen in Him. He looks at us and asks, Will I say and not do? Are my hands too short to do miracles? In that case, what should we do to have the promises of God fulfilled in our lives? This is what we are going to meditate in this message. The only reason that the Lord has given us His promises is to bless us. We too bless our children on some important occasions. Especially during their marriage, we bless them so that they live a happy married life with all good things. The reason we bless our children is because we want them to be blessed in all areas of their lives. In the same manner, God, who created us, wants us to be blessed with all the good things in life and therefore He blesses us. He does not stop with just giving us His promises of blessings. He also tells us to wait for the Father's promises to be fulfilled in our lives. Jesus told His disciples, I have told you what my Father has promised. Wait for these promises to be fulfilled. But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak. (Isaiah 40:31) Only those who trust in the Lord will wait upon Him. All those who trust in the Lord and wait upon Him will find their strength renewed. In the same manner, Jesus said to His disciples, In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit that was promised by the Father. He also said when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be witnesses for me. (Acts 1:8) Speaking about the Holy Spirit, He said, When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. (John 16:13) However, if we want these promises to be fulfilled in our lives, the Holy Spirit should lead us. If we are to walk in the things of God, then God Himself should lead us through this path. That is why the Holy Spirit has been given to us. Jesus said that this Holy Spirit will lead us into all the truth. On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, "Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, 'Streams of lifegiving water will pour out from his side.' Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory. (John 7:37,38,39)

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Be Holy because I am Holy (1 Pet 1:16)

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Jesus was particular that we should understand and experience the Holy Spirit and because of this we should live a blessed life in Him. He said that the streams of life-giving water will pour out from those who believe in Him. If we have received the power of the Holy Spirit once, it will continue to pour out repeatedly from within us as streams of life-giving water. This power will be as a stream of water that satisfies us. Even when we happen to walk through the path of struggles, sufferings and tears, this power that is within us will spring forth as a stream and will fill our lives. We learned that those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed and will not get weary. (Isaiah 40:31) The Lord gives this divine strength only through His Spirit. The Bible clearly says in John 7:39, Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. Jesus Christ spoke clearly about the Holy Spirit. He said You will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The promises of the Father will be fulfilled in your lives. Jesus Christ Himself came into this world to only fulfill the promises of the Father. He said in Acts 1:5, John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He came to this world to tell the disciples about the promises of the Father and to prepare them to receive those promises. In Luke 24:49, Jesus comforted the disciples by saying, And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you. Even today, He speaks to us in order to prepare us for those promises. Jesus Himself was filled with the same Holy Spirit. We read in Luke 3:21, 22 about how Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit when He was baptized with water. Peter tells about this event in Acts 10:38 as follows: You know about Jesus of Nazareth and how God poured out on him the Holy Spirit and power. This promise of the Father was established on Jesus Christ. God has promised to give us the same experience that Jesus Himself received. Our Lord Jesus is the one who blesses us abundantly. The Bible says in John 3:34 that God gives the fullness of his Spirit. In this manner, God has promised to fill us with the same divine experience that was upon Jesus.

The Bible clearly tells why Jesus came down to earth. John the Baptist explains this in Luke 3:16 as follows: "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The primary objective of Jesus Christ is to baptize us with the Holy Spirit. If we want to receive this experience, our sins should be forgiven and we should be delivered from evil. For this reason, Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice on the cross. After Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, He said to His disciples to wait for the promises of the Father to be fulfilled. He said in effect, Your sins have been forgiven. You have been delivered. Therefore, God the Father is going to fulfill His glorious promises in your lives. Therefore, wait for those promises. It is the blessings of this Holy Spirit that is going to make our lives fulfilled in abundance. The Bible says in John 1:16, From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. God has given us the Holy Spirit in order to receive this blessing in abundance. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to this world, suffered and died for our sins. And after He rose from the dead, His blessings continue to fill us through Him as a New Testament, new power, new experience and new strength. He told His disciples to wait for this blessing. Jesus said in Luke 11:13 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" and in John 7:37,38 "Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and whoever believes in me should drink.

They waited according to the word

We read in the first chapter of Acts about how the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promises. They entered the city and went up to the room where they were staying: Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Patriot, and Judas son of James. (Acts 1:13) The risen Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven as the disciples watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when

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Love covers over many sins (1 Pet 4:8)

two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them and said, "Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven." Then the apostles went up to the room. As the Lord commanded, they waited in Jerusalem until the promises of the Father were fulfilled. They obeyed according to the word and went back to Jerusalem and waited in the upper room. This is what we should do to have the promises fulfilled in our lives: we should obey His words and wait for Him. It is important to wait patiently when the Lord tells us to wait. Patience is necessary to have the promises of God come to pass. Just like Abraham, we should repeatedly utter His promises in our hearts, glorify Him and continue to wait. When Abraham received the promise that he will have a child, he was then almost one hundred years old; but his faith did not weaken when he thought of his body, which was already practically dead, or of the fact that Sarah could not have children. He was absolutely sure that God would be able to do what he had promised and therefore glorified God for the next 25 years. God gave Abraham the promise when he was 75 years old and fulfilled the promise only when he was 100 years old. Abraham waited for 25 years. His faith was not weakened. Let us also think about the promises that God gave us and glorify Him. The disciples waited according to word of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only when they waited in this manner, they received power and strength of the Holy Spirit and became the ones who brought blessings upon Jerusalem and the whole world. When I started to do the Lord's work, I did not come from a wealthy family. My father used to do an ordinary job and our family used to be a very ordinary one among the families of our neighborhood. But, God chose us according to His will. In the year 1986, when I asked the Lord to fill me with His Holy Spirit and make me a blessing for others, He filled me with His Holy Spirit. During that time, we were living in a very small house. There, the Lord appeared to me many times. I have seen Him many times in that small house. That is when Jesus spoke to me how He was going to use me in His work in the days to come. Today, I still remember what He spoke to

A \ ] me during those days. The Lord, who filled me in that small house, is taking me to many parts of the world today. For each one of you, who believe in the word of the Lord and wait for His promises to be fulfilled, He will do the same. All of us are subject to His promises. All of His promises are written upon us as Yes and Amen. He will shower these blessings on those who trust in Him and wait for His promises. The disciples obeyed according to His word and waited. The Bible says in Acts 5:32, the Holy Spirit is God's gift to those who obey him. Whosoever accepts His words as it is and believes, God will fill them with His Holy Spirit and will make them His witnesses. Even today, let us take a resolution: Let us willingly pray to God saying, Lord I determine to wait for the fulfillment of your promises. I will wait in your presence each day with a longing. Please bless me. He will surely bless us.

They waited in prayer

Secondly, we read in Acts 1:14 how the disciples waited for God's promises. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. (Acts 1:14) All the disciples were waiting in the upper room praying to God with one accord. They were praying for the promises of God to be fulfilled. Even in our lives, if want all God's promises to be fulfilled, we need to keep on looking unto Him in prayer. The disciples knew the life of Jesus directly by being with Him for 3 years. They had observed Jesus always praying to the Father. Therefore, they also started praying. Do we want all God's promises fulfilled in our lives? Then we should look unto Him and pray. The Lord will pour out His Holy Spirit on everyone who prays to God every morning and evening saying, Lord, let your promises be fulfilled in my life. Bless me Lord, for I am nothing before you. But, you chose to give me your wonderful promises. I remember those promises. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit according to your promises. Make me worthy of your promises. Send me the grace so that your promises will be fulfilled in my life. It still surprises me and gladdens my heart when I think of an incident that happened in the life of my friend. My friend had graduated from college and had applied for a job as a teacher. He

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But mercy triumphs over judgement (Jam 2:13)

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was waiting to get the job. He was a prayerful person. He was a man of God filled with God's power and doing God's work. He was doing a temporary job as a teacher in a certain school to substitute the duties of other teachers who went on leave. Whenever he was called from this school, he will work for just one or two months. He did this for seven long years and was still waiting for a permanent job. There was only one position in this school for which he would be considered the best candidate based on his degree. The permanent teacher who was in this position finally retired. Therefore, he applied for this position. However, when he finally learnt that the school management was planning to appoint someone in this position, he became broken-hearted. He persisted in prayer before God saying, Lord, you are the one who promised to give me a job in this school. There is only one position currently in this school that I am eligible to fill. If this position is taken by someone, what about the promises you gave me? It was you who told me that I will get a job in this school. However, the current situation seems to be against what you have said to me. Later one day, he took out his guitar and was thinking about God and praising Him with his music and singing. All his friends were trying to speak to the school management to get him the job. However, he held on to God firmly. He prayed to God to fulfill His promises in his life according to His will. And then, something happened. The head of the management learned about all the pains others took to get him the job and also observed his life. The Lord took mercy on him. In spite of many people trying very hard for this job, the Lord

remembered him. All of a sudden one day, when it was least expected, an invitation came from the school. The school appointed him as the suitable person for this job. He immediately praised God saying, Lord! There is nothing impossible or too difficult for you. You are the one who created everything and is reigning over everything. I now know that you have fulfilled your promises. Yes my beloved, all of His promises are Yes and Amen. Just like my friend who stood firm in prayer for the fulfillment of God's promises, we also are called to wait in prayer. When we wait in prayer, the Lord will do mighty things in our lives. When we wait for Him in prayer, all His promises will surely come to pass even in our lives. The Lord wants us to pray for the promises. The disciples waited for His promises by being firm in prayer and they received the Holy Spirit. Let us also pray to God for the fulfillment of His promises in our lives.

They put the promises into action

We read an incident in the first chapter of Acts, verses 15 through 26. Peter stood up among the believers a group numbering about a hundred and twenty and spoke with them. Those who followed Jesus were waiting in prayer for the promises to be fulfilled. During that time, Peter remembered all the promises of God. He started explaining to the group about Judas and his death and what the Old Testament prophets and especially David said concerning Judas. In Acts 1:20, Peter remembers the promises of God through David which says, it is written in the book of Psalms, 'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it, and, May another take his place of leadership'. Out of the twelve disciples that Jesus chose, Judas fell from his position. Therefore, Peter knew that, according to the promises, the time has come to choose someone else to fill his place. Those who wait upon the Lord in prayer will clearly understand what the Bible says. Peter organized himself and those with him according to the word of God. He understood the promises of God and fulfilled them. As a result of analyzing the word of God and fulfilling them, the Holy Spirit was poured upon them. By looking at the lives of these disciples, we can clearly understand what we should do in our lives. In order to receive power of

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Faith without actions is dead ( Jam 2:26)

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the Holy Spirit, we need to change our lives according to the scriptures. In the end, Matthias was added to the eleven apostles in the place of Judas. Then the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. The first chapter of Acts ends with the words, Matthias was added to the group of eleven apostles and the second chapter begins with these words, the day of Pentecost came. When change our lives according to the word of God, at the same moment the day of Pentecost will begin. Only when we set our lives in accordance to the word of God, we can receive the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles waited according to the word of God, went to the upper room and spent their time in prayer and analyzed the word of God and executed them. Then the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. Whosoever waits upon the Lord with prayer and set their lives according to the word of God, the Holy Spirit will descend upon them. When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. (Acts 2: 1-4) The manifestation of the Holy Spirit always comes as something that had never happened before. Jesus Christ was filled with this power and He Himself gives this divine experience to all those who wait upon Him. Holy Spirit is given to us by Jesus Himself. He said in Luke 24:49, I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind

blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. When the Holy Spirit descends, He will not leave out anything; He will fill the whole place. If He fills us, He will fill our families as well. Along with the apostles, all those who gathered in that place were also filled with the glory of God. Through that handful of people, the descendents of Jesus started to multiply and spread across. Jesus came down to this world only to give us this blessing. But, He wept because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He took compassion upon mankind because He knew that sins, wickedness and curses shattered them. Therefore, He finally gave Himself as a sacrifice. He was scourged with whips, crowned with thorns and was hanging on the cross with His body shattered. He finally tasted death. In order to fulfill the Father's promises upon us, Jesus, by becoming a curse for us, has redeemed us from the curse. (Galatians 3:13) Pilate and Herod, who tried Jesus, said that they could not find any sin or crime in Him. Even those who came to testify against Him were dumbfounded because they could not find any crime Him. But, the one who did not commit any sin suffered the cross for the sake of our sins and died. He died in order to destroy our death through His death. On the third day He rose again declaring in effect, There is not curse or condemnation, if you believe in me. If you accept the salvation that I give, these promises will be fulfilled in your lives. Even today, let us also wait for Him, pray fervently and set our lives according the word of God. He will fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit just like the day of Pentecost. He will fill us with the same Holy Spirit that descended upon Mother Mary and the other apostles. Let us believe in Him and continue to ask in prayer for the Holy Spirit. This divine experience is waiting to unfold itself upon us. Glory be to our Lord Jesus Christ!!!