Punjab India – 2014 Crusade Report 2

I was picked up at the Amritsar airport by Pastor John Lubhaya, his son William and Pastor Manahor. We went straight to business, attending a Pastors meeting where I shared a short sermon and mingled with the pastors who had worked hard together to put the Crusade together. Then we drove to a location about 1km from the Pakistani border where I delivered another sermon at a local Church. The audience was young and so I decided to mostly utilize inspiration. After the meeting, we were presented with some local delicacies. Chapati, Rice and a variant of stews were served. I also started an adventure with tea. At my choosing, I had not had tea for years, all that changed in the Punjab. Approximately 7 cups of tea was served to me a day. Every house you visited demanded you had tea. It was a way of welcoming you, a tradition probably inherited from the British. A way of breaking bread. It was late by the time we were done, say 1:00am Indian time. I went to bed with a tired body, a full heart and expectant spirit.

View the pictures here

Families lined up to provide breakfast for us – what nice people. However we couldn’t accept all the invitations because of the work at hand. We visited a pastor in Batala whose first act was to wash our feet. I was humbled. He took us  sightseeing to a Sikh temple. I was astounded at how humans God created would worship anything. I mean anything. They were bowing to buildings, statures, railings, the floor, water, you name it. This confirmed that God has put in man, a heart to worship. But man chooses to worship many things other than the creator. As is said in scripture:

For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water – Hebrews 2:13

My responsibility, and yours too, is to speak boldly of Christ, and pray that the Spirit of the Living God do the conversion. As evening approached, we were told there had been a skirmish at the Crusade venue. A trouble maker had refused the meeting to hold. The Crusade was to be cancelled for the night, and another venue would be found. People were discouraged. The devil tried to sow doubts in our hearts. I asked them: “What was God doing now?” We prayed, and knew God was up to something.

Concerns regarding my security began to surface in my heart. “What if some misfortune befalls me? I had just agreed to a lucrative offer in the US and maybe it’s still not too late to bail”. Yes, like you, gospel ministers do get tempted with fear. They are flesh and blood, not robots. But the Holy Spirit prevailed, steadying my heart, that there was no better way to go down than preaching the gospel. I encouraged those with me, including Pastor Lubhaya. God sent me here and He is able to keep me, if not, I will yet serve Him. My new friends stepped up security around me which made me somewhat nervous (not much above that which is naturally felt when you are about deliver a sermon). The threat was miraculously abated, the venue was opened up. The welcome was unlike any other I had ever received. The people had been waiting a long time to hear the word, and were receptive. God  was glorified. He had won yet again. At this point, the confidence was really high. God is doing something miraculous here in the Punjab, and we were just about to witness the biggest push. We were just getting started …

View the pictures here