Springs of Living Water | July 2013

1 July 2013Springs of Living Water

July 2013Published by

Living Stones ChurchKalathilpady, Vadavathoor,

Kottayam - 686 010

Editorial Board

ContentsVolume : 4

[email protected]+919446542079

(for private circulation only)free of cost

Editorial

The Strategy of SatanBr. Jose Anathanam

Jesus Christ willDeliver youGigi Zachariah

My Church My HomeRenu Alexander

Laugh for Life

False Signs and Wonders

Testimonies

2

3

7

9

13

16

Springs ofLiving Water

14


The Lord God created the earth, Hecreated all the living beings in it andfinally He created man in His own

image and likeness. God clothed manwith His glory and wanted him to be withHim. God showed man the tree of life andthe tree of the knowledge about good andbad and advised as to the fruit of whichtree he should choose to eat. But mangot deceived by Satan and chose thewrong one. Man disobeyed God and wentaway from God. Thus SIN came intoexistence. A world of sin came intoexistence. The beautiful world designedby God was defiled by man, by his sinfulnature and attitudes. Satan is theauthority of this world. He is the god ofthis world. (2 Cor: 4:4). Jesus himselfsays about Satan “the Prince of this worldis coming. He has no hold on me.”(Jn14:30) Those who live in this are surelyhis people. Jesus says “you belong toyour father, the devil, and you want tocarry out your father’s desire. (Jn: 8:44).Those things which confine to only thisworld such as, the governance of thisworld, the commercial activities of thisworld, the entertainments of this world,the festivals of this world, the rituals ofthis world the traditions of this world, theservice organizations are all under thecontrol of The “ Prince” of this world. (Jn:16:11) But, his deceptive system is so

efficient that these activities are alwayscamouflaged by an air of religiousness,divinity and honour. Above all these, thereis an authority given from the heaven. AGodly authority. Jesus said “All authorityin the heaven and on earth has beengiven to me” (Matt: 28:18). Jesus Christgave his precious blood on the cross ofCalvary as a price to deliver us from theauthority of Satan. When we accept thisdeliverance, we receive salvation. Asituation where we relinquish sin andbeing in Jesus our saviour. A situationwhere we become the citizens of God’skingdom.

For this, we have to pay a price.The price of obeying the word of God.Word says “No one can see the kingdomof God unless he is born again” (Jn: 3:3)we have to know God. “Now this is eternallife: that they may know you, the only trueGod and Jesus Christ whom you havesent.” (Jn: 17:3) We have to abide by theword of God and give prime importanceto that “Love the Lord your God with allyour heart and with all your soul and withall your mind” (Matt: 22:37, Mark: 12:30,Lk: 10:27)

If we listen to the voice of Jesusand abide by his words and live inaccordance to what we hear from theword, we will be in a world where Lordour God is the authority and we can bedelivered from the world which is ruledby the “Prince” of this world. Amen.

Georgy & Roshini

EDITORIAL


By Jose Anathanam

As sincere followersof our Lord JesusChrist, we will be

able to discern the strategyof Satan only if we live con-tinually in The Word of God.Writing to The Church (TheBody of Christ), the HolySpirit uses Paul to tell themthat they should not allowSatan to take advantage ofthem, for we are not igno-rant of his devices (2 Cor.2/11).

Before I begin this ar-ticle, let me lovingly requestyou to read the three maga-zines prior to this fourth is-sue, in order to have a bet-ter understanding of what iswritten here.

The strategy of Satanwhich began in the gardenof Eden has not changed at

all, right up to this time weare now living in. His activ-ity has only increased inthese last days in which weare living. Sincere, inno-cent, precious people thatGod created for Himself arefalling prey to his sinisterschemes, because ofIGNORANCE. God's Word,very clearly says:-" Mypeople are destroyed forlack of knowledge." (Hosea4/6). Knowledge comesfrom the Lord (Prov. 1/1-7,Prov. 2/6).

WE ARE CREATED FORHIM:-

" For by Him all thingswere created that are inHeaven and that are onearth, visible and invisible,whether thrones or domin-ions or principalities or pow-

THE STRATEGYOF SATAN

ers. All things were createdthrough Him and for Him."(Col. 1/16). Through Isaiah43/7, God says:- " Whom Ihave created for My Glory;I have formed him, yes, Ihave made him."

WHY DID GOD CREATEUS?

Reading through theBible which is God's Wordto man, we understand thatGod created us:

God uses human be-ings who KNOWHim, LOVE Him andSERVE Him,whereas Satan usesthose who are dis-connected with Godand His Word.


(1)To know Him, (2) To loveHim, (3) To serve Him.

Satan's strategy is tokeep man ignorant of God'sWord that reveals this truthabout the reason for his cre-ation and to make sure thatman, unknowingly, continu-ously serves him for hispurposes. So he blinds manfrom knowing this Truth,which is what he did to Eve(2Cor.4/3-4; 2Cor.11/3).

In the garden of Eden,there were no other humanbeings to speak to Adamand Eve. So he used theserpent to speak. We seethat God used a donkey tospeak to Balaam (Numbers22/28).

Today, both God andSatan who are spirits usenot animals, but human be-ings. God uses human be-ings who KNOW Him,LOVE Him and SERVEHim, whereas Satan uses

those who are discon-nected with God and HisWord.

(1) TO KNOW HIM:-As we know, there were

two trees in the garden.The Tree of Life representsJesus about whom it is writ-ten: - “In Him was Life" (Jn.1/4); “Christ who is our Life"(Col. 3/4). God has givenus LIFE and this LIFE is inHis Son (1 Jn. 5/ 11). JesusHimself emphatically de-clared: - “I am the way, thetruth and THE LIFE“(Jn. 14/6). In order to KNOW HIM,we have to have a personalrelationship with Him. It isnot enough to have an in-tellectual knowledge aboutHim. Even the devil hasknowledge of God (James2/19). Satan does not haveand cannot have a personalrelationship with Him, for heis the enemy of God andthe devil keeps the humanrace from coming to havea personal relationship withJesus, who is The Word ofGod (Jn. 1/1-4, 14; Rev 19/13).

The devil knows thatknowing Jesus through apersonal relationship isETERNAL LIFE for humanbeings. So he keeps themoff The Tree of Life whichis The Word of God thatbecame flesh and dweltamong us. Jesus took oursin and paid the price for

our sin by dying on our be-half and rose from the deadto live with us, amongst usand He will come in Glorywith the angels to take us,His True Church, the Bride.

However the Holy Spirit,through Paul, writes Hisfear thus:-" I fear, lestsomehow, as the serpentdeceived Eve by his crafti-ness, so your minds may becorrupted from the simplic-ity and purity that is inChrist." (2 Cor. 11/3).

Satan succeeds in doingthis by turning the attentionof the human race to goodthings that seem holy andpure, yet making sure thatJesus and His Word is no-where in the picture. Inshort - a self centred life.This is represented by thetree of knowledge of goodand evil that keeps the hu-man race in continuousspiritual death not only inthis life but in the life tocome.

Paul was a good, reli-gious man when he wasknown as Saul of Tarsus,zealous for God, under thelaw, blameless (Phil. 3/4-6),persecuting the followers ofJesus. But when he cameto have a personal relation-ship with Jesus, his prayerfor his own people is re-corded in Rom 9/1-5 & Rom10/1-4 where he is weepingfor his people and praying

No matter howmuch we pray, howmuch good workswe do, without obe-dience to God'sWord, we are cutaway from Jesus;the source of Eter-nal Life. Withouthim, we are eter-nally dead.

7 July 2013Springs of Living Waterthat they may be saved.Because Salvation is Know-ing Jesus (Jn. 17/3). Eventhe law of Moses cannotsave (Acts. 13/39).

God clearly showsthrough His Word that Hedoes not want or desire anysacrifices, nor rituals, orfestivals nor prayers withouta personal relationship withHim. See Isaiah 1/2-4, 10-15, Hosea 6/6, Jer. 13/17.Reading through theseverses we will see God call-ing them sinful becausethey don't know Him. In-stead they are trying toplease God through theirown efforts without a per-sonal relationship with Him.God says in Hosea 6/6, " Idon't want your sacrifices; Iwant your love; I don't wantyour burnt offerings, I wantyou to KNOW ME" and inJer 13/17 God is seenweeping because of thedisobedience of the peopleto His Word that makesthem captives.

More than anything Godwants us TO KNOW HIM.He created us TO KNOWHIM. Without this, there isno salvation. The strategyof Satan is to keep youaway from this vital Truthand to make people focuson good things that seemholy and pure but at thesame time disunites thehuman race from Jesus, the

keep MY WORD; and MY FA-THER will love him, and Wewill come to him and makeOur Home with him.

The strategy of Satan isto make us love ourselvesand the worldly people whodo not follow Jesus and HisWord. Since Satan is calledthe prince or the ruler of thisworld by Jesus, loving any-thing or anyone more thanJesus makes one a slave ofSatan. Satan knows TheWord which says: - “Do notlove the world or anythingin the world. If anyone lovesthe world, the love of thefather is not in him. Adulter-ers and adulteresses, do

LIFE GIVING SPIRIT (1Cor. 15/45).

(2) TO LOVE HIM:-As we read in Hosea 6/

6; “I don't want your sacri-fices, I WANT YOURLOVE, I don't want yourburnt offerings, I want youTO KNOW ME" (para-phrased version from theLiving Bible), God createdus to KNOW HIM, TOLOVE HIM.

We can't love someonewithout knowing that per-son. That is why we haveto cultivate a relationshipwith Jesus. But where isJesus today? He is TheWord of God. We can onlyfind Him, know Him throughHis Word. Ignorance of theBible is ignorance of Jesus.No matter how much wepray, how much goodworks we do, without obe-dience to God's Word, weare cut away from Jesus;the source of Eternal Life.Without him, we are eter-nally dead. No matter whatsinful man teaches, none ofthem can save us.

Jesus emphatically saidin Jn. 14/21 & 23; “He whohas my commandmentsand keeps them, it is hewho loves ME. And he wholoves ME will be loved by MYFather and I will love himand REVEAL MYSELF to him.If anyone loves ME, he will

A person servesGod because heloves God. But howcan he love Godwithout knowingHim? How can heknow Him withoutknowing His Eter-nal Word who isJesus? It is know-ing Jesus andknowing what HEhas done for himthat leads to lovingHIM and to commitoneself to HIS ser-vice.

8 July 2013Springs of Living Wateryou not know that friend-ship with the world is enmitywith God? Whoever there-fore wants to be a friend ofthe world makes himself anenemy of God." (1 Jn. 2/15-16, James 4/4).

In Jn. 12/43, we read: -“They loved the praise ofmen more than the praiseof God.” Why did they loveman more than God? Be-cause they were afraid todisplease man!! But notafraid to displease God!!God's Word says: - “Thefear of man brings a snare"(Prov. 29/25). The strategyof Satan is making peoplelove the world, love thepeople who do not followJesus and look for their ap-proval. So they live a lifewithout knowing Jesus andhence without loving Jesus.

(3) TO SERVE HIM:-Yet another strategy of

Satan is to deceive peopleinto thinking that they areserving God. A personserves God because heloves God. But how can helove God without knowingHim? How can he knowHim without knowing HisEternal Word who is Jesus?It is knowing Jesus andknowing what HE has donefor him that leads to lovingHIM and to commit oneselfto HIS service.

Paul in his unsaved state

as Saul of Tarsus, thoughthe was zealous for God,blameless before God andserved God. By thinking ofJesus as merely a man ( 2Cor. 5/15) and persecutingHIS followers, after his con-version says, now “thosewho live must live for HIMwho died and rose forthem (2 Cor. 5/15). “Fornone of us lives to Himselfand no one dies to Himself.For if we live, we live to TheLord and if we die, we dieto The Lord. Therefore,whether we live or die, weare The Lord's." (Rom. 14/7-8).

This comes from a manwho KNOWS JESUS, whoknows what Jesus hasdone for him, and out of hislove and gratitude to HisSaviour he places his life atthe altar of God who re-vealed to him that even be-fore the world was created,he was chosen IN CHRIST(Eph. 1/4) and the servicehe has to do for His Godwas also created INCHRIST ( Eph. 2/10 ). So,he could say with confi-dence:-" I have fought thegood fight, I have finishedthe race, I have kept thefaith." (2 Tim. 4/7). He whopersecuted the Christiansfor preaching the gospelturned out to be the great-est of all the apostles, forhe knew in Whom he be-

lieved (2 Tim. 1/12). And hesays:-" The Lord knowswho are HIS" (2 Tim. 2/19).“Jesus himself said; if any-one serves Me, let him fol-low me. If anyone servesMe, him My Father willhonour (Jn 12:26). It is veryclear that those who servehim must compulsorily be afollower of Jesus Christ. Noone can be a follower ofJesus unless he abides inHis Word (Jn 8:31-32).

Finally, we should knowthat all the service we ren-der need not be God'sWork. Only those whoKNOW HIM can LOVEHIM. Only those who LOVEHIM can SERVE HIM.

GOD CREATED US TOKNOW HIM, LOVE HIM ANDSERVE HIM.

And the strategy of Sa-tan is to keep the humanrace in darkness about thistruth by wrong teachingwhich is contrary to TheWord of God and manifest-ing wrong service whichlooks godly. The Word ofGod clearly tells us that,“Satan himself transformshimself into an angel oflight. Therefore it is no greatthing if his ministers alsotransform themselves intoministers of righteousness,whose end will be accord-ing to their works. “(2 Cor.11/14-15).


Gigi Zachariah

Our God andLord, JesusChrist is the

one who saves and deliv-ers us (Dan: 6:27). TheApostle Paul teaches thatanyone who confessesJesus Christ as his Lord,proclaims His resurrectionand believes in Him, will besaved (Rom10:9). Paulrecommends a saved be-liever to be transformedand renewed in his mind(Rom 12:2). The blood ofChrist which was shed onCalvary has delivered usfrom our sins, sanctified usand made us whole andworthy to stand before God.We who have believed andare born again in this man-ner have become new cre-ations in Jesus Christ andhave been delivered and

there is no condemnationfor us (Mk 16:16, Rom 8:1).The transformation whichtook place in our spirit mustspread out to the other as-pects of our personalitiesalso.

Observe the paralysedperson who was lying bythe Bethesda pool near theSheep Gate in Jerusalem,mentioned in the 5th chap-ter of the Gospel accordingto John. He was sitting inthe city of Jerusalem whichwas filled with God’s pres-ence. It was a godly envi-ronment where miracleswere happening. He wasthere with the belief that hewould be healed if hewashed himself in the pondafter the angel of the Lordstirred the water. But weread ‘Jesus asked him,

Satan the deceiver isalways on the look-out for a chance tosnatch away theabundant life whichJesus has come togive us. God hasgiven everything tous for our good;nevertheless, Satanhas laid his handson much of thisgoodness lest weshould enjoy them.We know that Jesushas said that theword of God (thetruth) will deliver us.

JESUS CHRISTWill

DELIVER YOU

10 July 2013Springs of Living Water“Will you be made whole?”This is one of the few oc-casions where Jesus hasasked such a question. Inthis situation we see thatthat *the belief of the onewho has to be healedcomes before the healing.*When Jesus asked thesame question toBartimeus, he throws awaythe black shroud which wasa mark of his curse.

In each of our lives weknow that we need deliver-ance from certain situa-tions. We pray a lot regard-ing this matter. Sometimeswe fast and pray over thisissue, but we may continueto be in the same situationwithout a deliverance beinggranted. We *have* to bedelivered from the bond-ages of Satan.

Satan the deceiver is al-ways on the lookout for achance to snatch away theabundant life which Jesushas come to give us. Godhas given everything to usfor our good; nevertheless,Satan has laid his hands onmuch of this goodness lestwe should enjoy them. Weknow that Jesus has saidthat the word of God (the

truth) will deliver us (John:8:32).

How can we achievethis deliverance?

1. First of all we mustrealise that *we are inneed of deliverance*.We must find out theportion of deliverance inthe word of God. (James1:21-25). Look into themirror which is the wordof God and correct your-selves then and there. Ifyou procrastinate, youmay forget the need fordeliverance at all.

2. Believe strongly that*only the name Jesuscan deliver you.* Noth-ing else can. In the Gos-pel according to Luke,Jesus categorically de-clares this aspect. (Luke4:18)

3. In order to get rid of allthe curses and bond-ages which have oc-curred in our personallives and in our homes,we have to cast themout by *proclaiming outaloud His promises*.*Relinquish everythingin your lives which Sa-tan has a claim on,knowingly or unknow-

ingly*. Realise the bond-ages which have beeninstilled in us by Satanthrough past genera-tions due to our deedswhich are against theword of God. When welift the name of our LordJesus above all othernames, we can experi-ence the presence of theHoly Spirit surroundingus. When we lift thename of someone else,other than Jesus we cansee Satan’s presence allaround. This can mani-fest as bondages anddemonic possessions.All these will be deliveredby the anointing of theHoly Spirit (Lk10:19).

Let us pray together:

Lord Jesus, I confessyou are our Lord and Mas-ter. I proclaim that yourname is high above heavenand earth. In the power ofthe name of Jesus, beforewhom every knee shallbow, I pray that this curseof --------------------- in my lifebe released. I thank myLord Jesus for his blood hasdelivered me. In the nameof Jesus. AMEN


“B lessed is theman You choose, andcause to approach You, thathe may dwell in Your courts.We shall be satisfied withthe goodness of Yourhouse, of Your holy temple”(Ps 65:4). I thank my LordJesus who has blessed andguided me to the CovenantPeople Ministries and laterto the Living Stones Churchwhen it was formed.

Way back, while I wasgoing through a very hardtime in my life, I was literallyshattered. I lost my lifepartner at a young age andI had not even a ray of hopefor my future. I was at thecross roads with hundredsof questions which no onecould answer. Having been

brought up in a Christianfamily and educated inChristian institutions, Ithought I was leading a lifewhich upheld all the basicChristian values. I wasregular in attending churchon Sundays and I regularlyread the Bible and prayed.But a feeling haunted methat my life was coming toan end and had no definitepurpose. It was then Ihappened to attend a 7 dayretreat held in Kottayam byBro.Jose Anathanam andhis team. The songs sungthere and the messagesspoken there touched myheart and gave metremendous peace. Bro.Jose spoke the Wordof God so convincingly and

Renu Alexander

to my extreme surprise,they were the answers toalmost all my questions.

For the first time I heardabout original SIN, which isa broken relationship withFather God and that all theother sins are the result ofthis major SIN. ThroughAdam, we became sinful inour nature and in ouractions. “For all have sinnedand fall short of the glory ofGod” (Rom.3:23). We arespiritually dead and Jesusis the ONLY WAY by whichwe can regain our lost LIFE(Jn 10:10).” He is the Lambof God, who takes away theSIN of the world” (Jn 1:29). Because without theshedding of blood, there isno forgiveness of sins (Lev17:11 and Heb 9:22). I


realised that my beliefsand actions were far fromthe Bible truths. Satan hadblindfolded me fromknowing the truth of theWord. Though I had a zealfor God and professed toknow God, but through myvery actions I denied him(Titus1:16). We go wrongbecause we do notunderstand the scripturesproperly nor do weexperience the power ofGod (Mk 12:24) and hencewe do not submit to hispurpose andrighteousness (Rom 10:2-3).

Jesus is the verysource of LIFE and is theONLY WAY TO GOD (Jn14:6 and Acts: 4:12). SALVATION IS A FREEGIFT from God (Eph: 2:8-

9) and it is achieved byGRACE through FAITH, it cannot be procured as aresult of our works. In thelight of these Gospel truths,I repented of my formerways and I accepted Jesusas my LORD andSAVIOUR. When weaccept HIM as our Lord andSaviour this comes true:“He has delivered us fromthe dominion of darknessand transferred us to thekingdom of His belovedSon Jesus, in whom wehave redemption andforgiveness of sins (Col 1:13).

The fact “Jesus is risenand is still living” became areality to me. Although Isang this and confessed itmany a time, I had notaccepted this as a reality.

HE LIVES!! He isEmmanuel - God with us.In the retreat, agreat emphasis was givento the topic “reconciliationand restoration”. God theFather loves usunconditionally. Our love forHim is in the verticaldimension and our lovetowards men is in horizontaldimension. While we werestill sinners and in enmity toGod, Jesus died for us andjustified us, thus bringingreconciliation with theFather (Rom 5:6-10). There is no Christian lifewithout reconciliation. I amvery well aware that in myown self I could neverachieve this state. It is thekindness of God that leadsus into repentance (Rom2:4). By the grace of God,I cried out all my hurtfeelings and my lonelinessand asked Jesus to fill myheart. Jn 8:31-32 says “Ifyou abide in My Word, youare truly My disciples; andyou shall know the Truthand the Truth will set youfree”.

That 7 day retreat wasone of the most memorableevents in my life where Iexperienced the touch ofmy Lord Jesus in reality. Icame back home

Jesus is the very source of LIFE and is theONLY WAY TO GOD (Jn 14:6 and Acts: 4:12). SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT from God (Eph:2:8-9) and it is achieved by GRACE throughFAITH, it cannot be procured as a result of ourworks. In the light of these Gospel truths, Irepented of my former ways and I acceptedJesus as my LORD and SAVIOUR. When weaccept HIM as our Lord and Saviour this comestrue: “He has delivered us from the dominionof darkness and transferred us to the kingdomof His beloved Son Jesus, in whom we haveredemption and forgiveness of sins.

13 July 2013Springs of Living Waterexperiencing the joy ofsalvation and I was filledwith hope, knowing that Iam a child of God.

Ever since then a thirstfor the Word of God sprangwithin me. Since Godis Spirit (Jn 4:24), the needto worship Him in Spirit andTruth became a reality. TheTrue God should be ouronly object of worship. Hepromised mercy tothousands if we obey thisfirst commandment (“Youshall have no other godsbefore me”) and curses tothe third and fourthgenerations if we sinagainst this (Ex 20:2-6). Myprayer times started tobecome more meaningfuland enjoyable than the monotonous prayers Iuttered before. I began tohave a personal lovingrelationship with the Father.

Weekly prayer meetingswere a great blessing in mylife and it helped me to havea closer walk with Jesus.Later, in 2001 we hadanother spiritual feast for 10days and the message ofbaptism was spoken for thefirst time. To enter theKingdom of God, we haveto be born again by waterand spirit (Jn 3:5). We areborn again spiritually, not of

corruptible seed butincorruptible, through theWord of God which livesand abides forever(1Pet:1:23). Baptism is anoutward expression of ourfaith which signifies therepentance aspect ofsalvation (Rom: 6:3-6). Along with the 72 peoplewho heard this message, Itook water baptism inaccordance with Mk16:16. It was a beautifulfeeling to experience theforetaste of heaven onearth.

Now, my family in Christis my new family. When thepeople of the world boastof their great families, aborn again child has theprivilege of being born as ason or daughter of God.And the LORD registersthem in the ”Book of Life”as being born there (Ps87:5-6).

When we receive Jesus,God gives us the right to beHis children and He

becomes our Abba Father(Jn 1:12). We are sealedwith the Holy Spirit, whichdeclares that we belong toGod. (Eph 1:13-14). Webecome citizens of theKingdom of God (Phil 3:20)and the temple of the HolySpirit (1 Cor 6:19).

The church is the bodyof Christ. Jesus Christ, whois the head of the church,directs and nourishes Hischurch. Though there aremany members, they allunite to form one body (1Cor 12:12-31). Theinterdependence of thedifferent parts of thephysical body illustrates theinterdependence ofbelievers with varyingspiritual gifts in one church.The church is the livingbody which does God’swork on earth. We arecalled to be ambassadorsof Christ (2 Cor 5:20). “Youare a chosen generation, aroyal priesthood, a holynation, and His own special

Each local church has a particular vision andGod, at the apt time reveals it to the spiritualleader. As members, we are to be submittedand united in one mind to the leader and toone another, to fulfil the vision of the church.We get our spiritual nourishment andprotection from within the church.


people, that you mayproclaim the praises of Himwho called you out ofdarkness into Hismarvellous light (1 Pet 2:9-10).

Each local church has aparticular vision and God, atthe apt time reveals it to thespiritual leader. Asmembers, we are to besubmitted and united in onemind to the leader and toone another, to fulfil thevision of the church. We getour spiritual nourishmentand protection from withinthe church (Isa 4:5-6) and(Ps 91:9-13). Blessings andcorrections given throughthe teachings of the Wordcome like waves. If we areirregular in church, we maymiss out on our blessings,like a wave which cannot becaptured again. We will beled into confusions anddoubts if we keep ourselvesaway for a long period; wemay even back slide andface the danger of being

lost forever. On “AnimalPlanet” we see a weak andlone animal is an easy preyto a predator. No wonder,Paul warns us in Heb:10:25 “DO NOT NEGLECTYOUR CHURCHGATHERINGS”.

God calls all believers toHoliness (Eph: 1:4) - to fallshort of sanctification is tomiss the will of God. Weneed ongoing repentanceof our sins and to becleansed continuously bythe regular teachings givenin the church. It will makeus responsible children ofGod who would keep awayfrom anything that coulddishonour His name. Welearn that one’s actionsspeak louder than words,when it comes to being awitness for Christ. “For weare to God, the fragranceof His knowledge in everyplace (2 Cor 2:14). Evenafter we are born again, ourold adamic nature mayappear to make our livesmiserable.

When we face a trial orgo through difficult times inlife, it is a great blessingthat our church is there tocomfort us and pray for us.Believers need each otherfor help, support andcounsel. We experience

the love of God only throughthe love and fellowshipwithin the church. A familyrepresents the miniatureform of a church, the loveand fellowship of the familymembers is so important forits well being. Ps: 133reminds us that theanointing of God will flowonly when there is perfectunity in the church. Whenwe take a stand for Jesus,there may be times whenour dear ones will turnagainst us. Paul reminds usin Gal: 1:10 If we stillplease men, we cannot befollowers of Christ. We arebroken for a purpose andnow we are blessed, so thatwe can be channels ofblessing for others. Whatever be ourcircumstance we are able tolead an enjoyable Christianlife in Christ Jesus.

Our spiritual father, BroJose Anathanam is a greatblessing for us. Hiscommitment and love forthe Lord without anycompromise, has been agreat inspiration for me. Hespeaks strongly againstfalse doctrines andteachings so that we are notled astray. As a faithfuloverseer, he has beenguiding us all these yearswith patience. His sole

Christian life startsfrom Calvary. Jesushas already paid infull for our sins andHis sacrifice on thecross is a finishedwork

15 July 2013Springs of Living Waterdesire is that our churchshould be HOLY andWITHOUT BLEMISH at thecoming of our Lord JesusChrist. I thank him and hisfamily members for thelove, concern and supportgiven to us.

Christian life starts fromCalvary. Jesus has alreadypaid in full for our sins andHis sacrifice on the cross isa finished work (Heb 10:14-18). Our righteous acts,rituals and sacrifices are

like filthy rags (Isa: 64:6).We need to surrender ourlives to Him as a livingsacrifice. (Rom: 12:2). Ifyou seek Him with all yourheart, He will be found. The Word of God says inMatt 6:33 “Seek first theKingdom of God and HisRighteousness, everythingshall be added unto it.” Ipray for all my dear ones,who think they are close toGod, yet believe thatsalvation is a never ending

ordeal of good works. I praythat they will one dayreceive Jesus Christ, who isour salvation and the onlyliving God.

As the psalmist prayed(Ps 27:4), I also pray, “Onething I have desired of theLord, that will I seek: that Imay dwell in the house ofthe Lord, all days of my life,to behold the beauty of theLord, and to inquire in Histemple”. AMEN.

An Indian tourist on a visit to Israel wasbargaining for a boat ride across the Seaof Galilee. The price quoted was ratherhigh. So he said, “That’s pretty steep. Whydoes it cost so much?”

“These are no ordinary waters. This isthe lake on which Jesus walked,” repliedthe boat man.

“At that price, it’s no wonder Hewalked!!”

Laugh for LifeI asked God to take away my

habit.

But God said, “No. It is notfor me to take away, but for youto give it up.

I asked God to grant me pa-tience.

But God said, “No. Patienceis a by product of tribulations.It isn’t granted, it’s learnt.”

I asked God to make myspirit grow.

But God said, “No. Youmust grow on your own. But Iwill prune you to make youmore fruitful.”

I asked God to help meLOVE others as much as Heloves me.

*AND God said, *“Aahhh!!You’ve finally got the idea!!!


(Taken from the book ‘AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH’ written by Johannes Facius)

In Matthew 24 Jesusmakes an effort to warnHis disciples against

widespread deception inthe end-time.

‘For false christs andfalse prophets will rise andshow great signs andwonders to deceive, ifpossible, even the elect.’(Matthew 24:24)

The false christs and thefalse prophets would nothave so much success, if itwere not for their greatsigns and wonders. Andsince we live in a power-minded generation ofcharismatic Christians,many will be fooled and ledastray by this wave ofdeception. For too long thecharismatic church hasfocused on the externalmanifestations of the faith,

while having a far tooshallow knowledge of theWord of God. They arenot even aware of the factthat signs and wonderscan also be performed bySatan, as well as God.Therefore they takealmost any supernaturalmanifestation as comingfrom God and they refuseto put it to the test. In thisway many are bound tofall victim to the wiles andthe schemes of theenemy.

That it is perfectlypossible to perform signsand wonders outside ofGod is an establishedbiblical fact. For instance,Jesus confirms this inMatthew 7:22-23:

‘Many will say to Me inthat day, “Lord, Lord, have

we not prophesied in Yourname, cast out demons inYour name, and done manywonders in Your name?”And then I will declare tothem, “I never knew you;depart from Me, you whopractice lawlessness!”’

The Lord will recognizeand accept what thesepeople did, even that theyhad used His name, but Hewill not receive thesepeople into His Kingdom.They are declared false,together with their signsand wonders. The reasonas stated in the previousverse (21), is that they didnot live their lives accordingto the will of God. Whenwe as God’s people, acceptexternal manifestations ofsigns and wonders withoutasking questions relating to

FALSE SIGNSand WONDERS

17 July 2013Springs of Living Waterthe character of those whoperform them, we are indanger of being fooled.

There is such a thingdescribed in the NewTestament as ‘lying signsand wonders’ (2Thessalonians 2; 9-12).Lying must mean that theyare unreal, they just appearto be miraculous, but theyare fake. As with magic, itlooks as if things arehappening, but the truth isthat it is a bluff, and we arefacing ‘lying wonders’. It isincredible how oftenbelievers accept everythingthat goes on without

checking whether it reallyhappened as proclaimed.In this way these falsechrists and prophets can goon fooling God’s peoplewithout being exposed forwhat they really are.

This kind of deceptionfools many believers,because they do not havea concern or love for thetruth. They don’t bother tofind out or test whether theproclaimed miracles weregenuine or reallyhappened. This is adeplorable and even tragicattitude that grows inpeople, because they want

to be positive and notchallenge what theywitness.

Our over-emphasis onlove has led us away fromstanding for the truth. Lovewithout truth is like a bodywithout bones, and truthwithout love is like boneswithout a body. People areso afraid of testing thespirits because they don’twant to be negative, butwithout standing up for thetruth, speaking up for thetruth and if need besuffering for the truth, wehave no real defenseagainst deception.

2 Cor. 11:14“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into anangel of light”.

Do it fast, they are all going for a retreat,we have to get them before that...


JESUS ANSWERS PRAYERS

My name is Sabuand I run a hotel inKottayam. Around 4months back I lost an im-portant document. Mywife, children and Isearched for it in everynook and corner of myhome and office, but in

vain. It got to such a stage that it af-fected my prayer life and I couldn’t evenconcentrate during our Sunday worship.All I did was continuously pray earnestlyover this issue.

Jesus in His mercy, who alwaysanswers our prayers, answered mine.One Sunday, Br Jose had a word ofknowledge and he announced from thestage, “There is a person who is worriedabout an important document he has lost.He will find it within two days.” His proph-ecy came true and I found the lost docu-ment. Thank you, Jesus.

Sabu Philip

My eldest daughter Betsy is in theUS with her husband. She had to write aboard exam to get a job there. Manypeople said it was a tough paper to getthrough at the first attempt; it was difficulteven for very bright students. I asked mybrothers and sisters in our intercessorygroup to pray for her. My Lord Jesus

helped her miraculouslyduring the 5 hour longpaper. Even though shecould barely understandsome of the questions,He helped her. She maybe one of the very fewIndians who passed theexam at the first attempt.All glory and honour to our Lord Jesus.

Ansy Mathew

Thank you Lord

For the last 16 years I had been al-lergic to prawns. Even if I ate a tiny bit byaccident, I had severe problems, itchingand a swollen body. This used to last for4/5 days and I couldn’t even go out. Ihad tried various medicines from differ-ent types of doctors, but none of themcould help me. By the grace God, I wasable to attend a 3 day fasting prayer atthe Living Stones Church which is part ofthe Covenant People Ministries. The pas-tor prayed over those who were sufferingfrom food allergies. I received the heal-ing in faith and that very evening I ate aplate full of fried prawns. In fact I ateprawns the next day as well. I had abso-lutely no allergic reactions!! I realized thatJesus had healed me. I give Him allpraise and glory.

Geethika Sudheep



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Springs of Living Water | July 2013