Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BROTHER BAKHT S-WPS Office
BROTHER BAKHT S-WPS Office
NGH—ASAI
NTOFGOD
ANOVERVI
EW OFHI
SLI
FEANDMI
NISTRY
ByDr
.T.
E.Koshy
"
Ifanymanser
veMe,
him wi
l
lmyFat
herhonor
."John12:
26
"
...hebei
ngdead,
yetspeaket
h."Hebr
ews11:
4b
APr
ocessi
onofSai
nts
OnFr iday ,
September22, 2000, theci tyofHy derabadcamet oast andstill
--
theHebr on,Hermon
compounds, al
ladj acentr oadsandt hemai nr oad( Chikkadapal l
i)bet
weenGol condaCr oss
RoadsandNar ay anagudaCemet ery,werel i
keaseaofsai nts,numberingaccor di ngt osome
esti
mat es,aquar terofami ll
i
on( twoandonehal flakhs).Shopsandof fi
ceswer eclosed.Tr aff
ic
wasdi v
er t
ed.Pol i
ceandl awenf orcementof ficersst r
uggl edinv ai
ntocont r
ol thewav eof
multitudest hatpar ti
cipatedi nt hef uneral procession.I ttookaboutt hreehour sf ort he
processi ontocov erthedi stanceoft hreeki l
omet ersfrom Hebr ontothecemet ery .Thef uneral
processi onturnedoutt obet hel argestgospel processionHy derabadhadev erwi tnessed,
wher etheweepi ngsai ntsi nchedf orwardhol dingBi bl
esandScr i
ptur
ebanner s, singingand
prai
singGod.Whatawi tnessf orChr istandHi m crucified.Itwasnotat ypi
cal funer al
processi onbutitwasav ict orypar adef orChr i
sttri
umphant ,inhonorofHi shumbl eser vantwho
servedHi m sofaithfull
yf orabout70y ears.
HeLi
vedf
orChr
ist
Whatisthereasonf orsuchanoutpouri
ngofl ove,tear
sandhonorf ort
hissi
mplemanofGod
whobeganhi smi ni
stryasanunknowni t
inerantpreacherabout70yearsagoinCol
onial
Indi
a?
Ther
earemanyr easons,butl
etmeci t
eatl eastsevenforthi
sunprecedent
edhonorshowered
uponhim byGod:
1)Hewasagr
ainofwheatt
hatwaswi
l
li
ngt
ofal
li
ntot
hegr
oundanddi
e.
2)Hef
oll
owedt
hef
oot
stepsofhi
sMast
er.
3)Hel
ovedt
heLor
dmor
ethanhi
sownl
i
fe.
4)Hedi
dnotcounthi
sli
fedearunt
ohi
msel
f.
5)Hef
ini
shedt
her
acewi
thj
oy.
6)Hef
ulf
il
ledt
hemi
nist
ry,
whi
chher
ecei
vedf
rom t
heLor
d.
7)Hedemonst
rat
edt
hegr
aceofGodbyhi
sli
feandexampl
e.
Hisli
feandmi nistr
yexempl i
fiedthel i
feandmi nistr
yoftheLor dJesusChr istaswel last he
ApostlePaul.John12: 24-26say s,"
Ver i
ly,verily
,Isayuntoy ou,Exceptacor nofwheatf alli
nto
thegroundanddi e,i
tabi dethalone: butifitdie,itbr
ingethf orthmuchf rui
t.Het hatlovethhis
l
ifeshalll
oseit;andhet hathat ethhislif
ei nt hi
swor ldshall keepituntoli
feeternal.Ifanyman
serveme, l
ethimf ol
lowme; andwher eIam, thereshallalsomyser vantbe: i
fanymanser veme,
him wil
lmyFat herhonor ."Acts20:24say s,"Butnoneoft heset hi
ngsmov eme, nei
thercountI
myl i
fedearuntomy self
,sot hatImi ghtfinishmycour sewi thjoy,andthemi nistr
y,whi chIhave
recei
vedoftheLor dJesus, t
ot esti
fythegospel ofthegr aceofGod. "
God'
sCal
l
1.Donotj
oinanyor
gani
zat
ions—ser
veal
lequal
l
y.
2.Donotmakey
ourownpl
an.LetMegui
dey
ouandl
eady
ouev
eryst
epoft
heway
.
3.Donotmakey
ourneedsknownt
oanyhumanbei
ng.AskMeonl
yandIshal
lpr
ovi
def
ory
our
needs.
Br
o.BakhtSi
nghEst
abl
i
shesJehov
aShammahi
nMadr
as
Whenev erthechur ch-
-theBodyoft heLor dJesusChr ist
--
goest hroughspiri
tualdecli
ne,t
heLor d
whoistheHeadoft hechur chrai
sesupHi schosenv essel
stobr ingbackspi r
it
ualvit
ali
ty.Bro.
BakhtSinghwassuchav esselchosenbyGodt obr i
ngbackt hegl or
yofGodi ntheBodyof
Chri
stthroughoutt hewor ld.Ev
ent houghmanyt urnedtoChristthroughhispreaching,t
hey
werenotbei ngdiscipledorbuiltupspiri
tuallybythelukewarm denomi nati
onalchurches.He
fast
edandpr ay
edandsoughtt heLord'
smi ndtodoHi swill
atanycostt oremedyt heproblem.
TheLordt henledhi m andsomeofhi sco-wor ker
st ospendal l
nightinprayerseekingHiswi l
l
fort
hef utureministry
.
Aft
eratimeoffasti
ngandpr ayertheLordledhim andhi
scoworkerst oest
abl
ishalocalchurch
toful
fi
ll
thefour
-fol
dpurposesoft hechurchonthebasisofAct
s2: 42.Thesepri
nci
plescanbe
appli
edinanycountr
yinanycul t
urewithoutcompromisi
ngther
ev ealedWordofGod.Thef our-
fol
dpurposesofthechurchare:
1)Toshowf
ort
hChr
ist
'sf
ull
ness(
Eph1:
22-
23)
2)Toshowf
ort
hChr
ist
'suni
ty–t
heuni
tyofal
lbel
i
ever
s(Eph2:
14-
19)
3)Toshowf
ort
hHi
swi
sdom (
Eph3:
9-11)
4)Toshowfort
hHisgl
ory(Eph3:21)and(Act
s2:
42)—"Andtheycont
inuedst
edf
ast
lyi
nthe
apost
les'
doct
ri
neandf
ell
owship,
andi nbr
eaki
ngofbread,
andinprayers.
"
Thef i
rstchurchwasest abl
ishedinMadr as,Tamil
nadu,call
edJehovahShammahonJul y12,
1941andt heLor dbegant omulti
plythesechurchesacrossAndr aPradeshandot herpar
tsof
I
ndia,Pakistan,Sr
iLanka,Austral
i
aandot herpar
tsofthewor ld,
nownumber i
ngintothe
thousands.IndeedBrotherBakhtSinghcanbecal ledt
hef atheroft
hei ndi
genouschurchesof
I
ndiaandabr oad.
TheCent
erofHi
sMi
nist
ryMov
esf
rom Madr
ast
oHy
der
abad
Brot
herBakhtSi nghandsomeofhi scoworker smov edt oElim,HyderabadonSept ember25,
1950.I nthemid1950' stheLor dprovidednewf aci
li
ti
est ohouset helocalandextr
alocal
churchmi nist
ry.Hecal l
edt henewpl aceHebr on.Thewor koftheLordgr ewandmul ti
pli
ed.
From the1950'st othe1970' sthelocalchurchesest abli
shedbyBr otherBakhtSingandhis
cowor kersweret hefastestgrowinglocalchurchesi nIndia.Thesechurchesgrewbot h
qual
itativ
elyandquant it
ativel
ytryi
ngt oshowf or t
hthef our-f
oldpurposesofthechurch.
Mi
nist
ryOv
erseas
I
nAust ral
i
athroughhisministryt
heLordconstrai
nedsomebel ieverstogat
hertogetheronthe
basisofActs2:42.Ther
earenowsev er
alAssemblies,par
ti
cul
arlyintheSydneyareastil
l
gather
ingtoget
herasar esultofBrot
herBakhtSingh'smini
str
yt her
einthe1950'sand60's.
I
n1969- 70Dr.BobFi nleyofI nternati
onal Student sInc.inv i
tedBr otherBakhtSi nghtospeakat
theIndigenousMi ssionsInst i
tute,whi chwashel di nWashi ngt on,DC.Themai npur poseofthe
I
nstitutewast ogivet hereturningChr isti
ani nternationalstudent sandschol arsthev isi
onofthe
NewTest amentchur chbasedont heNewTest amentpr incipl esal r
eadypr act i
cedbyBr ot
her
BakhtSi ngh.Duri
ngt hosey earsheal sot r
av eledext ensivelyinv ari
ouspar tsoft heUni t
ed
StatesandCanadami nisteri
ngi nchur chesofdi f
ferentdenomi nati
ons.In1969and1970dur i
ng
hisvisittotheUnitedSt at
es, heal sospentt imewi thusi nSy racuse, NewYor k,andencour aged
ustost artalocalchur chbasedonAct s2:42.In1970t heLor dconst r
ainedust ostart
I
nternat i
onalAssembl ywhi chst i
llcont i
nuest oday .In1974, followinghisv isittoLausanne
Congr essonWor ldEv angelism inLausanne, Switzerland,Br otherBakhtSi nghv i
sit
edv ari
ous
partsofEur ope,t
heUni t
edKi ngdom, andt heUni tedSt ates.Dur i
ngthatvisitheadv i
sedmet o
holdaHol yConvocationinSy r
acuse, NewYor k.TheLor dl edust ohavet hef ir
stHol y
Conv ocati
ononOct ober18-22,
1974.TheLor dblessedi
tsorichl
yfortheblessi
ngofallwho
attended.TheLordenabl edustocontinuetheConvocat
ionunti
l1983.BrotherBakhtSi
nghand
hisseniorfel
l
owwor kerscamey earaftery
earfort
heseHolyConvocations.Wediscont
inued
theHol yConvocat
ionf orsomeyear sandstart
edagainf
rom 1993onwar ds.
Onhi swaybackf r
om theUnitedStatesBr otherBakhtSinghusedtovisittheUKandEur ope,
parti
cularl
yFranceandt heMiddleEast .BrotherBakhtSinghsharedwithBr otherE.Verborne
andhi sfel
lowwor kersinFr
ancet heimpor tanceofhav i
ngaHol yConvocat i
ont obuil
dupt he
BodyofChr i
st.Aft
ermuchpr ayerBrotherVer borneandhisfel
lowsaintswer econst r
ainedby
theLor dtostartaHolyConvocationinSar cell
es,Francein1977.TheLor dusedt heseHoly
Convocat i
onst oedif
ythescatter
edbel iev
er sfrom var
iouspart
sofEurope, theMi ddl
eEastand
otherplaces.
Secr
etofHi
sSpi
ri
tual
Lif
e
TheLordusedBrot
herBakhtSi
nghasHischosenv essel
toenr
ichandenhancethespi
ri
tual
li
fe
ofmanyaroundtheworl
d.Hemini
ster
edChristandthevisi
onoftheChur
ch.Manyaskedhim
thesecr
etofhi
sspir
it
uall
if
e,ashewasveryuniqueinmanyareasofhisl
if
e.Letmeshareat
l
eastafew.
1)Hi
stot
aldependenceupont
hel
i
vingGod.
3)Hesoughtanddi
dGod'
swi
l
latanycost
.
4)Hehadapassi
onf
orGodandcompassi
onf
orsoul
s.
5)Hediscov
er edandpracti
cedBi
bli
calwor
shipandencour
agedal
lthesai
ntsbot
hmal
eand
femal
etowor shiptheLordi
nspir
itandi
ntr
uth.
6)Heencour
agedf
ell
owshi
pamongsai
ntsbyi
ntr
oduci
ngt
hel
ovef
east
.
8)Indigeni
zat
ionofNewTest amentpri
ncipl
esinthelocalchur
ches.Aftervi
sit
ingHyderabadi
n
the1950's,NormanGrubbnotedinhisbookOnceCaught ,NoEscape, "
Butinallmyministr
y
experi
enceIthinkt
hesechurchesontheirNewTest amentfoundat
ionsar et
henearestIhave
seentoar epl
icaoftheearl
ychurchandapat t
ernforthebir
thandgrowt hoftheyoung
churchesinallt
hecountr
ieswhichweusedt otalkaboutasthemissionfiel
ds."
9)Thel if
eoffait
h.Br ot
herBakhtSinghwasamanoff ai
th.Hetr
ustedt
heLordforallhi
sneeds
throughouthisli
fe.TheLor dhonoredhi
sfait
handnotonlypr
ovi
dedforhi
sneedsandf ort
he
mi ni
strybutal
sousedhi m might
il
ytochal
lenget
hepeopleofGodaboutt
heimportanceof
trusti
ngGodf ortheirneeds.
10)Thegospelprocessionstest i
fyi
ngofChr ist
.Duringhisgospelcampaignsinev er
yplacehe
went,hehel
dgospel processionsgoi ngaroundt hecity
/towntur
ningthem upsi
dedownf or
Chri
st.Butt
helargestofallthegospel processionswast heonethatfol
lowedhi scaskettot
he
cemet er
ywherehundredsoft housandsmar chedbef oreandaft
erthecasketsingi
ngand
prai
singGod.Eventhoughhedi ed,hi
swor kandmi nist
ryfol
l
owhi m.
11)Li
feofprayer.BrotherBakhtSinghwasamanofpr ayer
.Hespenthoursuponhiskneesin
communionwi t
ht heLor dseekingtheLord'
smi ndregardi
ngHiswil
lconcerni
ngtheworkand
mini
str
y.Therefore,t
heLor dalsohonoredhim andblessedhim bey
ondanyhuman
under
standi
ng.Thi si
soneoft hereasonswhytheLor dhasusedhim somightil
yfort
he
edi
fi
cati
onofHi sBodyandf ortheextensi
onofHi sglor
iouski
ngdom bothi
nIndiaandabroad.