Puducherry Oct. 2016

Puducherry Church Meetings

25th and 26th October, 2016

Pastor Abraham from Tirupur who looks after my church when I’m away, happened to speak to a pastor he knew in a church in Puducherry regarding the prophetic awareness campaigns we had been holding in and around Coimbatore.

Pastor L. P. Jebaraj of Uppalam, Puducherry said that he would be happy to arrange such meetings in his hometown and asked me when I would be free to go over.

We agreed on a two day meeting in the month of October, 2016.

I and my wife, Sis. Benita took a night sleeper bus to Puducherry. We arrived at the bus station early the next morning and were received by Pastor Jebaraj himself.

He took us over to the church building with the rear section doubling up as his home, and introduced us to his family and a few of the church sisters who had gathered there to prepare the evening meeting meal.

Over steaming cups of coffee, I briefly explained my ministry vision, and Pastor Jebaraj shared about how he had entered the ministry.

The pastor had arranged for us to stay at the home of a sister who had recently begun coming to church. She was widow and regularly entertained visiting ministers in her home. She lived in a large French Villa from colonial times, with love birds in huge cages on the front porch. She shared the villa with a couple of street boys whom she had taken in and was helping to get through school.

She gave us the air conditioned guest room with over-sized spring beds and plush down quilts.

The weather in Puducherry was swelteringly hot, and Sis. Benita had contracted a viral infection on the way. She had a very high temperature, and the comfy room was a welcome blessing.

We got to know Sis. _ quite well. She shared her testimony with us, and how the Lord had spoken to her in dreams. She unfortunately suffered from long term memory loss and told us she may not remember us the next time she sees us.

We freshened up and got some rest before Pastor’s son came over to pick us up for that morning service.

Puducherry is one of the Union Territories of India. It had been under French Rule before Independence, and has not fully cast off its French ties. 

There are many French settlers still in Puducherry, and the descendants of mixed marriages from that time still live on and keep the culture alive in certain areas of Puducherry.

It's a place where you still get to see quaint boulevard cafes, roadside bands stands, and people buzzing around on hired mopeds.

We made our way to the Lord Jesus Christ Prayer House in Uppalam. 

The service began at 11:00 am and went on till around 2:00 pm with a break for lunch.

A few brethren came forward to sing old traditional Christian hymns.

My message centered around the Beast of Revelation 17 – the 7 heads and 10 horns. As in most other churches, I elaborated on the Ecumenical Movement for a One World Government, exposed Roman Catholic and Protestant Religious Compromises, and spoke on today’s church luke-warmness and the need for sanctification within the Body of Christ. I urged the congregation to take a stand against worldliness in their lives, and live a life committed to Christ in the face of a compromising world.

There were around 60 people in attendance, with a few end time ministers also having been invited.

We retired to our room for a brief rest before the evening service at 5:30 pm.

The evening service went on till around 8:00 pm, after which dinner was served.

We made our way to Sister’s house and took a well-needed rest before the following day’s morning service.

The next morning, Sister Benita’s fever was spiking and she couldn’t really get out of bed. Sister had been keeping us supplied with iced ginger tea, lemon juice, and root sherbeths to  keep the temperature down. By God’s grace she felt a bit better around 10:00 am and we made our way to the church in time.

That morning I preached on the Symbols of the Holy Spirit – the many different characters of Christ as highlighted in the Word of God.

The schedule was the same as the day before, with the brethren gathering with questions and prayer requests after lunch.

My subject for the evening session was the work of God through the 7 church ages, and His move through the Five-fold ministry today.

The congregation was blessed. Pastor Jebaraj told me that many had been touched by the message regarding ‘No Compromise’. 

We shared a time of prayer with the pastor’s family and close brethren after the service and left for Sister _’s home to freshen up before we caught the night bus to Coimbatore.

We left Puducherry at 9:00 pm and reached Coimbatore by 7:00 am the next morning. Sis. Benita’s fever left halfway along the journey.

I was thankful for the opportunity to minister to the little congregation in Puducherry. Do keep Pastor Jebaraj and his work there in your prayers. He has told me he will be sharing contacts in other states to further our end-time prophetic awareness campaigns.

(A big thanks to Sis. _ for her nourishing motherly care, for all the cups of green tea, the warm baths she drew, the words of concern, and cold compresses.)