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2008 WORLD MAP SEMINARS IN INDIA
Transformation and Destiny:
1300 Pastors Gather in Chennai and Nagpur
By Frank and Wendy Parrish
Six of
us were crowded together in a small taxi, luggage piled high in the back,
the sweat already forming on our foreheads.
After
about 45 minutes of rather intense city traffic (where lane lines and
stoplights are merely suggestions), we were finally speeding down a narrow,
pot-holed highway, swerving around loaded camels, bicycles, darting
pedestrians, oxen with carts, and the ubiquitous motor scooters with three
or four riders per bike. Yes, we were back in India, heading south from
Chennai for the first of two World MAP Spiritual Renewal Seminars for
church leaders!
The
mode and method of travel were minor inconveniences in light of our eager
anticipation for this time with more than 700 pastors from all over
southern India,
who were gathering to be in the Lord’s presence for these days of
refreshing and equipping.
Wendy
and I and the ministry team arrived at the TWR conference grounds, unfolded
ourselves from the vehicle and were met with smiles and handshakes from the
eager registrants. Already, cries of kartharukka sthothiram (Tamil for “praise the Lord!”) could be
heard as pastors stepped off buses that were draped with banners reading,
“World MAP Pastors’ Conference 2008”. It was apparent that the pastors were
as excited as we were, hungry and ready to receive all that the Lord had
for them.
The
ministry team included Wendy and me; Don Richter of Harvest Prep-aration International Ministries in Sarasota,
Florida; and Dr. Vic Torres, World MAP
Board member and pastor of Reach Out Church
in Hyde Park, New York.
Returning
again from last year were our very capable and tireless conference
coordinators, Rev. E. Velayutham (“Velu”) and Rev. M.P. Prasanna
Kumar who, with their team from IBL Ministries, had worked for months laying
the groundwork for these two World MAP conferences; our humble yet anointed
worship leader, Pastor Praveen David and his team; and our dynamic
interpreter, Pastor Anand, who is often called
upon to translate at significant events throughout India. We were so
blessed to be served by such godly and servant-hearted saints!
An Open Door
Before
the conference, the team gathered to pray through the auditorium. As we
were exiting the building, Wendy and I turned around to read the portion of
Scripture boldly inscribed over the entrance: “I have set before you an open door” (Rev 3:8).
We
were struck at that moment with a holy sense of the prophetic, and were
aware that God was speaking to us specifically about India.
The
current advance of the Kingdom of God has no precedent in all the history of the
Gospel’s presence in India.
It is estimated that right now more than 5,000 people a day are receiving
Christ in India,
an amazing and miraculous work of God’s Spirit! Yet the physical birthrate
is still rapidly exceeding the born-again rate, with more than half of India’s
population (500 million+) under the age of 18.
The
increased globalization of a free market economy is producing greater
availability of wealth, unprecedented opportunities for education and
social advancement, and wider exposure to other cultures and their freedoms
– with the result that India
is entering a season of intense transformation as a nation.
Not
all of these changes, however, are inherently good. Yet the quest for change
is creating open doors of profound opportunity for the Gospel to make deep
and lasting inroads into a people that have been historically resistant.
I
strongly believe that this is a God-appointed hour of salvation and destiny
for India! “Behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation” (2Cor 6:2b). Amen!
God
has given Wendy and me, and the ministry of World MAP, acceptance and favor
in India.
The seminars have been divinely orchestrated, strongly prophetic and
immensely encouraging for pastors.
Yet we
believe God is calling us to an even greater involvement in India,
to “work where He is working” and sow even more into this ripe harvest
field. We are to be available to encourage the embracing of the work of
God’s Spirit, and to affirm the mission and calling of God for a people and
their undershepherds in this critical hour. He
has opened a door to us, and we want to be faithful to fully enter in!
At the same time, we also believe we are
not to lessen our involvement in the other 140 nations where World MAP is
serving. So please pray with us and for us, for wisdom, strength,
sensitivity and provision from God – in order that we might obey and
fulfill all that He has put within our hands to do, in India and
beyond!
Hearts Renewed
A critical
element of any World MAP pastors’ conference is welcoming the presence and
moving of the Holy Spirit in our midst. If allowed opportunity, the Spirit
of God will perform profound and eternal works of healing, deliverance,
instruction and revelation that are life-transforming for church leaders.
One of
the primary avenues for the work of the Spirit at our conferences is during
the corporate worship times. God inhabits the praises of His people! For
most pastors in these nations, their lack of other means causes them to
trust more completely in their One True Resource. So when given a few
moments to come away and be in His presence, they quickly respond to Him!
We
were blessed to be led by a gifted young Indian pastor, who is uniquely
anointed for leading worship. It is often difficult to “lead leaders”, but
Pastor Praveen’s humble style and pure heart of devotion to God invited us
all to readily express our hearts of praise to the
Lord.
The
pastors who attend World MAP’s conferences are so
available for a fresh yet lasting touch from the Lord. We often draw those
who serve in the more remote village areas, where pastors face immense
trial and challenge. They come weary, discouraged and lonely, worn down by
persecution, poverty, demonic oppression and resistance.
This
was the case with a pastor and his family in the Chennai conference. They
serve in Orissa state, in northern India. During an extreme
outbreak of violence against Christians at Christmastime, their home and
church were burned to the ground. They had lost everything, and faced the
prospect of returning home to more persecution.
After
traveling for days to get to the World MAP conference, the weariness and
pain were evident. They were prayed for and ministered to, pastors shared
what little extra possessions they had with them – and they had opportunity
to bask in God’s presence and receive refreshing, restoration, healing and
hope once more.
Worship
is also a dynamic tool in God’s hands that pierces into the spiritual
realm, driving back darkness and giving the Holy Spirit free access to work
unhindered. In the presence of a holy God, there is conviction, repentance
and the ensuing freedom that comes with His forgiveness.
Praise
and worship of the Almighty also establishes His throne and welcomes His
rule and His will to be done on earth, even as it is in Heaven. We
witnessed a direct manifestation of this at the second conference in Nagpur, which you will
read about later in this article.
Spirit-filled,
heartfelt worship is not a “warm up” for the message. It is an intentional laying down of all that might keep us from God, and
putting our full attention, focus and adoration upon Him – our Lord and
God, the King of kings. It is not about us – it is about Him! It is
declaring that He is worthy, that nothing compares. It is reminding
ourselves that with Him all things are possible, that no weapon formed
against us can prosper, and that He will complete that which He has begun!
God is
great, mighty, and excellent in working. He is loving,
faithful and able to keep us. Worship lifts our eyes and hearts to Him,
reminding us again of the greatness of Who it is that we love and serve. It
sensitizes us to hear what the Lord of the Church (Eph 1:20-23) would say
to us, and invites His presence into our midst.
It is
of great personal benefit for pastors to experience extended times of
worshipping the Lord. In addition, this also highlights the vital
importance of worship, and teaches what it means to worship the Lord in
spirit and truth (John 4:23).
We
trust that pastors will then take this back to their churches and teach
their congregations the importance of establishing a place that honors God
in worship and welcomes His life-giving Spirit to move among them.
A Fresh Touch
Throughout
the conference, God was faithful to minister to and bless the pastors. In
every meeting, during every teaching, the Heavenly Father met His sons and
daughters who serve Him in India
with His refreshing, healing, revelation, impartation and transformation.
The
team taught from the Scriptures about the Kingdom of God and understanding
its nature, purpose and vital importance in our lives and ministries; the
release of the prophetic through the Church; the shaping of our worldview,
and the requirements (and blessing!) of our true heavenly citizenship; and
receiving assurance of God’s call and His ability to perform His will
through each leader. There was also a ministry time especially for those
who had been considering leaving their pastorates, allowing time for God to
renew their call and revive them for the work.
Pastor
Vic Torres shared a marvelous story about how trials and challenges are
often, in reality, seasons of spiritual growth and maturity. He used a
powerful illustration of an eagle going through a molting season, and
encouraged the pastors to remember the promise of (and need for)
transformation that God makes possible for each of us. What a healing
message, which was so openly received and to which the pastors so
overwhelmingly responded!
Following
my teaching about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, approximately 80 pastors
stood to receive this gift for the first time – and receive they did!
Then
the rest of the pastors were asked to join them in calling out to the Lord for
a fresh touch of His Spirit upon them and a fresh infilling to overflow
them like rivers of living water (John 7:37,38; Luke 11:13).
There
are not words to describe the joy and blessing of seeing more than 700
pastors receive a fresh outpouring from the Holy Spirit! We wish it was
something you could experience with us. At one point, our translator,
Pastor Anand, had a vision of fire falling from
heaven upon the pastors while they were receiving. Hallelujah!
The
pastors were still receiving throughout the night and into the wee hours of
the morning. Wendy and I would awaken in the night to the sound of worship,
praise and strong prayer throughout the camp. God was truly refreshing and
reviving His beloved sons and daughters!
Divine Strategy
We met
one pastor who had been greatly touched by God. Though not a young man, he
had fire in his eyes and was vibrant in his calling and zeal for God. He
had brought to the conference 52 young pastors whom he had trained and sent
out to plant churches.
He was
anxious to tell us that God had spoken to him during the conference,
telling him to use the final season of his life to raise up 100 more
pastors and plant 100 more churches! We rejoiced, and joined with him and
his wife in praying for the release of God’s divine strategy to multiply
this brother’s efforts and fulfill all that God had said to him – in God’s
time, by God’s power, and for God’s glory!
The
testimonies are many and varied about God’s work among the pastors in the
Chennai conference. We thank the Lord for His grace and presence in our
midst!
After
this first conference, there came a time of brief rest for the team and
opportunities for ministry in local churches. We were also joined by Dee
Torres (Vic’s wife), who had been ministering at a women’s conference in
another part of India.
Then we journeyed on (two flights and a short drive) to Nagpur,
in central India,
for the next conference.
Building In Strength
Located
in the state of Maharashtra at the geographic center of India is Nagpur,
sometimes called “the belly-button of India”. We would discover later
that this fact would have great significance during our conference.
Nagpur is also home to the RSS, a
violent group of radical Hindu terrorists who target Christians and their
pastors for especially vicious persecution. It was truly God Who had placed
a World MAP conference in such a sensitive yet strategic location!
More
than 500 pastors had gathered, with one pastor bringing 100 other pastors
from a network of churches he oversees in the Mumbai (Bombay)
area of India.
I had
asked our IBL partners to ensure that church leaders who were unable to
attend last year’s World MAP conference in Nagpur be given first
opportunity to register. We were blessed that the majority of pastors at
this conference were attending for the first time; they so appreciated
being able to participate in this time of refreshing and instruction.
One
can readily sense that the spiritual environment in Nagpur is somewhat oppressive. There are
few Christians there, and there is much resistance to the Gospel. Though
the pastors were open and eager to receive, the team could feel the
heaviness in the spiritual realm.
This
oppression was not a new experience for the team, as all are well-traveled
and mature in spiritual matters. But it became a matter of concerted prayer
for us.
We
pressed ahead, with strong teaching sessions that built one upon another.
It was a blessing to experience Spirit-led strategy and direction, as
teachings by three different speakers dovetailed and complemented each
other so well. The pastors were truly receiving “line upon line, precept
upon precept” training.
There
were many pointed and prophetic statements of truth made. For instance,
during one session, Pastor Don Richter referenced the belief that Hindus worship
more than 300 million gods. Then, in his loving, fatherly way, he grinned
and said, “There are not 300 million gods in India!” A quiet murmur rose
through the crowd, until Pastor Don boldly declared, “There is only one God
in India!”
The pastors responded with claps and cheers, then
lifted worship to the One true God!
Our
corporate worship times in Nagpur
were not without an initial challenge. Though Hindi is the national
language of India,
English is now becoming the most commonly spoken language throughout India. Most
people also speak the language native to their area (there are 22
officially recognized languages in India, but more than 400
languages are spoken).
Hindi
happens to be the most common language in Nagpur. Unfortunately, Pastor Praveen,
who was with us to again lead worship, speaks primarily English and Tamil.
God had put it on our hearts to have him lead the worship.
But
how could he lead worship when he does not speak the language of the
majority of the pastors?
But
what seems impossible to men is possible with God! With the support of a
Hindi-speaking worship team and the Holy Spirit, the worship was sweet and
simple, yet amazingly powerful. It flowed well, and was truly an instrument
of both blessing and warfare – hallelujah!
The Throne Of His Presence
I was
scheduled to speak for the final session of the conference. As I was
freshly offering myself to the Lord during the worship time, He spoke a
very clear word to my heart. His words were simple, revealing and
galvanizing; and, as they should be, these words became the source of
direction for what would follow.
To put
what followed in context, let me reference a conversation that took place
two days earlier with a former Catholic priest who was now a pastor and
attending the conference.
The
pastor told me of a very large altar in the center of Nagpur. From above it, you could see that
it took the form of a large, coiled cobra. Even the name Nagpur
is translated, “City of Snakes”!
It was
not accidental that the very center of India was the spot chosen to
erect this idol. It was set up as an altar of worship, dedicating all of India
to the worship of the coiled snake – which signifies death.
From a
biblical context, the presence of the “serpent” (or dragon) always
signifies deception and death. In India,
specifically in Nagpur,
there had been a conscious act of dedicating and surrendering a nation and
its people to the rule of the demonic kingdom through deception and death!
As I stood
worshipping the Lord of Life (Who is the Truth) with 500 other pastors,
this is what the Lord spoke to me: “If the pastors will begin to
aggressively worship Me, I will tip over the throne of darkness that has
ruled in Nagpur and over India, and My throne will be established in this
place!”
Three
scriptures immediately came to my mind:
“But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Ps 22:3); “…on this rock [the confession that
Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior] I
will build My church, and the gates [places of authority] of Hades shall not prevail against it”
(Matt 16:18); and, “For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual
hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12,13).
Our
corporate worship time during the conference had been powerful, building
with each session. I was welcomed to the platform and briefly taught my
closing message.
I then
began to share with the pastors what the Lord had spoken to me, teaching
them from Scripture to give them a basis for understanding the principles
involved. It was good to also remind them of the very real and
uncontestable authority that they as pastors and Christ-followers wield as
led by the Holy Spirit.
This
time was to be a prophetic moment of Holy Spirit-directed action in
response to God’s desire to move, if we would simply obey and act in accord
with His will and the principles revealed in Scripture!
As I
was speaking, I could see the light of understanding dawning and the
passion of the Holy Spirit stirring within the pastors. There came shouts
of affirmation and “amen!” as they began to embrace their role in the
release of India’s
destiny according to the purposes of God.
I then
asked the pastors to stand to their feet and join me in raising their
voices in a concerted act of sustained warfare through praise and worship.
The
roar was almost deafening as we engaged in as intense a time of sustained
worship as I have ever experienced. The name of Jesus and praise to
Almighty God was slicing through the spiritual realms of Nagpur like a mighty sword! Hallelujah!
At one
point, the pastors broke into the worship chorus, “Yes, Lord; Yes, Lord;
Yes, Yes, Lord”. Raising their hands high and jumping in rhythm to the
chorus being sung, they were declaring “YES!” to all of Who God is and all
that He has promised and provided!
Through
this Spirit-led time of worship, a place of demonic authority (“gates of
Hades”) was being toppled, and in its place was being established God’s
sovereign rulership (“throne”) in the midst of
human circumstances.
Our
worship was climaxed by a thunderous ovation that was far beyond a worldly
form of applause; it was a definite act of both scattering the enemy and
covenanting with God that He would accomplish what He had said and that His
will would surely come to pass!
His is
the power – ours is both the privilege and the responsibility to partner
with Him in obedience as we are led by His Spirit. And all of it is for His
sake and glory alone!
Following
the session, many pastors expressed how they could physically feel the
weight of oppression and heaviness lift! They assured us that they would
teach these principles of worship and warfare to their congregations and
continue the spiritual battle for the freedom of India!
The
national motto of India
is, “Truth Alone Triumphs”. I am not sure what was intended when that
phrase was adopted.
However,
I am sure that THE Truth – Jesus Christ – will indeed triumph in India,
and that the Truth will set people free!
A Sweeping Harvest
There
is no doubt that this is an hour of God’s divine appointment for India.
There is a mighty Gospel witness going forth and a great response is taking
place by the power of God’s Spirit in these days. India has a dark spiritual
history, but the Son of righteousness is rising with His light of glory
upon them!
Around
the world, we have rarely encountered such servant-hearted people as the
believers in India.
They exhibit a tremendous zeal for God and His purposes, a dedication in
the face of trial and persecution, and an unswerving commitment to God’s
Word and the study of it. We firmly believe that God has a divine purpose
for them in this hour not only in their own nation, but throughout the nations
of the earth!
From
the time of Thomas the Apostle (who is believed to have been martyred in India), on through the centuries, and up to
the present, there have been many who have faithfully sown for Christ’s
sake in India.
Yet it seems that now a truly miraculous season of Harvest is sweeping
multitudes of Indian people into the Kingdom of God!
It is
as the Scriptures declare: “He who
continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Ps 126:6).
Let
there be no doubt in your own heart that as you sow through prayer and the
sharing of your resource, you are part of this great harvest in India and
in so many places throughout the world.
Wendy
and I know that your partnership with us in prayer helped give birth to
significant breakthrough in the lives of pastors – in their ministries,
their families, their congregations and their communities, for the sake of
the people of India
and for God’s glory!
We
offer our heartfelt thanks for standing with World MAP and we encourage you
to “Keep up the good work!” until we hear Him say, “Well done, thou good
and faithful servant”.
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