Report of God’s Miraculous Work

in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India.

24-29 March 2019

Pastor Shadrach Joseph

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It was at the end of 2017 that I had a dream. In my dream, It was as if I was taken up into outer space and could see the earth rotate. I found myself looking at the map of India from above. And I saw lights suddenly being lit in certain parts on the map. I was shown 3 places – one of them being Mathura – in the northern part of India.

I wasn’t very sure where Mathura was. On checking up on this I came to know that Mathura was a place in Uttar Pradesh, a state in the northern part of India, also known as the birth place of the Indian deity – Krishna. Uttar Pradesh is world renown for the ‘Kumbh Mela’, a pilgrimage for Hindus. It is known that to appease the local deity, the spirits of the gods are unleashed one night a year on the
so-called holy men of the place. These men are called – ‘The Aghoris’ and reside mainly in Varanasi, another place of pilgrimage in Uttar Pradesh. The Aghoris live like Sadhus performing rituals and black magic wherever they go. However what differentiates them from the other Sadhus in India, is that one night every year, they become vessels for Satanic powers and engage in cannibalism. They exhume the dead bodies of men buried and gather the half burnt carcases or bones of those cremated and sent off on a wooden raft on the River Ganges, then eat the flesh of these corpses, by which it is said that they retain their powers and appease the spirits within them.

Now, for a while I was apprehensive as to how to go about ministering in such a place where religious fanatics and extremists abound and persecution for Christians is common place. Then I recalled that the dream was from the Lord, and that He would bring it to pass in His own good time.

It is when I had gone to attend a conference in Gujarat around October of last year, that I was introduced to Bro. Rajeshwer Dayal, who said that he was from Uttar Pradesh, and after hearing me speak about “The 10 Virgins” and “The Façade of Ecumenism” at the conference, was intrigued about the deeper truths that I had presented, and invited me over to his place to preach.

What led me to think that this plan was from the Lord, is that he said that he was ministering in Mathura, U.P., every year, and that he knew many ministers in those parts, and that he would be glad to arrange meetings in Uttar Pradesh and the neighbouring state of Bihar for me anytime I decided to come.

I told him I needed time to pray, and went before the Lord seeking His will.
Bro. Dayal kept telephoning me and petitioning me to come over, and I kept delaying because I knew I had to be sure before I took any steps towards planning for ministry there.

Since the preachers who had invited me to the conference were baptized in Jesus’ Name, I assumed Bro. Dayal was of the same faith. However in the course of our conversations, I realized that he knew nothing about the doctrines of One God and Baptism in Jesus’ Name. I began sharing the truth with him one night in broken Hindi (as I didn’t speak the language fluently). The first miracle was that he understood my Hindi (which was terrible) and that he understood the truth and said that he wanted to be baptized! :-D

After a couple of days, the brother called me again, and said that he had been so excited to receive the revelation of the Godhead, that he shared it with a few of his co-workers as well as members of his congregation, and carried the Word to the state of Bihar as well, where many, after long discussions, were convinced that this was the truth, and were prepared to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ.

As he began reporting these instances of acceptance of the truth to me in various places, I felt the burden of the Lord pressing hard upon me to go to Uttar Pradesh and establish the truth there. I asked a few brothers to pray with me about this and committed my plans to the Lord.

Bro. Dayal began making arrangements for the meetings there, and I went on to book my flight tickets to Patna, Bihar. I had no money to book the tickets at first, but the agent that I went to, seeing that I was a minister, said that he would do the bookings for me, that I need not worry about paying him right away, and that he would wait for the payment. This was another sign for me from the Lord that it was His will that I should go to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Meetings were arranged from the 24^th to the 29^th of March – 2 days in Bihar, and
3 days in Uttar Pradesh.

As there were no interpreters that could be arranged to translate the message into the Hindi language (knowledge of proper English being scarce there), I had asked Evg. Suraj Chettri’s son, Bro. Arpan, from West Bengal, to accompany me for translation.

 

24^th March

My flight to Patna, the capital of the state of Bihar was scheduled for the 24^th. I left Coimbatore at 2:30pm with a brief stopover at Bangalore, and then onward to Patna, where I landed around 10:00pm that night.

Bro. Arpan and Bro. Rajeshwer had already reached Patna that afternoon, and came to receive me at the airport.

That night, we had to travel from Patna to a place called Buxar which was nearly 120 kms away, by jeep. The roads were terrible, and there was lorry traffic along the way up till 12:00 midnight.

We stopped for a midnight snack at a street food place. They served us a UP-Bihar staple – wheat balls filled with spiced pulses and cereal, along with a watery gravy.

By the time we reached Buxar district it was 3:00am. We had to travel a little further to a place called Koches. We booked ourselves into a lodge there, and rested ourselves for the next day’s meeting.

 

25^th March

The next morning,after being served steaming hot tea in earthen cups and more of the wheat balls we had last night, we set off for the meeting place.

The fields were ripe with the season’s wheat harvest which reminded us of the scripture: “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.”

The countryside in Bihar is peaceful and beautiful, mostly large areas of agricultural land and lawns.

The meeting was arranged in a village called Rawath ka Nagala, outdoors, outside a half-finished building, under a tent (samiyana).

The 1^st session began at 12 noon and went on till 1:00 pm with a break for lunch.

During the 1^st session, we had a prayer line, where the sick and afflicted were prayed over.

I preached on ‘The True Church’, and ‘The Apostolic Foundation’.

The 2^nd session went on from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, and the message I delivered was regarding ‘Being Born Again’ with emphasis on “The Mystery of the Godhead”, and “Baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ”.

We had expected a gathering of 70 ministers from in and around Bihar for the meetings, and some of them had come along with their church members, so there were about 90 people present.

We had a baptism service that evening, and 24 people were baptized – 14 men, all pastors, and 10 women. Pastor Rajeshwer was the first in line. It was a time of great rejoicing as all those in the water cast off their shackles of traditionalism and ideology that had been built in over the years, surrendering to the will of God and embracing the faith that had once been delivered unto the saints.

The Lord had worked marvellously.

 

26^th March

The next morning, our meeting began at 9:30 am with a break an hour later for tea.

Dark clouds were looming in the sky, and we had already seen light showers that morning. It was a contrast to the weather in Uttar Pradesh, which was reported to be hot and dry without the slightest hint of rain. A young girl in the congregation prayed for the rain to be delayed until the meeting was over, as the tent wouldn’t keep out heavy showers.

The 2^nd session began by 11:00 am and went on till 2:00 pm, after which we wound up.

As asked for, the rains were delayed.

We had to leave for Buxar by 4:00 pm. Our train bound for Etawah, Uttar Pradesh would leave Buxar at 7:30 pm.

As we left Buxar, the rains began, and the countryside looked like a fresh watercolour painting as we boarded our train.

Bihar had received rain, but Uttar Pradesh was completely dry. Bro. Rajeshwer had told us that there was no water in the rivers and catchment areas, and there were 12 people there who had already given their lives to Christ and were awaiting our arrival so that they might be baptized. But, we were all wondering how to arrange for so much of water and where to baptize them if the rivers were all dry.

On our way to Etawah that night however, as we prayed for rain in UP, we received a call from Bro. Rajeshwer’s wife saying, that the heavens had been opened and there were such heavy showers there that she was sure we would have enough water to fill a lake. J

I thought it was a sign of how the Lord was sweeping off the dryness and barrenness of these two darkest states in India, and ushering in the blessing of His Name.

 

27^th March

 

We reached Etawah by 8:30am the next morning. There were 12 people, 9 pastors and 3 believers, waiting to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. The pastors were from neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh, and Mathura and Etawah in Uttar Pradesh.

The rivers were overflowing, as we walked in for the baptism service - the first order of the day.

We had a short time of fellowship, and I took the time to instruct those who had come forward for baptism on living for the Lord in sanctification and holiness, and how to lead their flocks to the Lord.

Baptism services in these places are usually fast, either early in the mornings or late at night under cover of darkness, as the areas are dangerous. We were constantly on the look-out for any signs of trouble from extremist groups who wouldn’t hesitate to use violence.

That day, there were no meeting plans, and we had ourselves a good rest. In the evening we were invited to Bro. Rajeshwer Dayal’s home for a wild boar dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bro. Rajeshwer's family

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Bro. Rajeshwer, now 30, told us how he began serving the Lord, and the work he had begun in Etawah. He hailed from a traditional Brahmin (high caste) family and when he had accepted Christ and converted to Christianity, he had been thrown out of his ancestral home, cut off from his inheritance, and treated as an outcast in his society. He had been severely beaten by his family members for bringing shame on the family name by becoming a Christian (considered low caste in India). However, he related, being beaten for the sake of the gospel, although painful, brought him a great and unexplainable joy and boldness which had helped him in later years of ministry.

He had not even been able to see the body of his father after he died, because as he entered the village, the men who were carrying the body to the funeral pyre asked him to say “Ram, Ram sathyahain”(Ram, Ram, you are the truth), if he wanted to get near the body of his father. And he said, he couldn’t do it as he had found that Jesus Christ was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

He had later married Sis. Anamika, and had begun his ministry in Etawah. He also travelled to Varanasi and Mathura in UP, and the neighbouring states of Uttarkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, preaching Christ wherever he went.

There was also news from Bihar: 5 sisters who had suffered from kidney stones in the village we had visited, and who had all come forward for prayer during the healing service, had been healed and were openly testifying that Jesus Christ had made them well!

A 20-year old lad, who had fallen down from a tree when he was six, and damaged his limbs had also come forward for prayer. His back had gone perpetually crooked, and he walked with a limp and much difficulty. The Lord had made him whole, and had straightened his back.

A man who had been blind in both eyes due to cataract formation had received sight in one eye.

In the words of this old man, “I did not wonder as to why the Lord Jesus restored the sight of only one eye to me. When Pastor Shadrach called for anyone who wanted to be baptized, I almost went forward, but my son, who was an unbeliever stopped me, fearing for my health, as the water was chilly, and I hesitated and did not go forward, even though I knew what had been preached was the truth.

The next time these preachers come here, I will go in to be baptized, and I am sure the Lord will restore the sight of my other eye as well.”

This news touched us like soothing rain on parched leaves, and we jubilantly retired to our rooms for the night, knowing that our God, who never slumbered nor slept, was working hard.

 

28^th March

The next morning we had a delicious masala dosa breakfast, which brought back thoughts of home. Bro. Rajeshwer had also packed us a special Pani Poori snack (fried wheat balls filled with spiced water)  – a famous Indian fast food dish

The next day’s meeting at Manickpur Mod Village began at 7:40 am and went on till 8:30 am, when we had our tea break.

My message for the day focused on: ‘Continuing in the Apostle’s Doctrine’, ‘Abiding in Christ’, and ‘Being Born Again in the Spirit’.

The 2^nd session began at 10:00 am and went on till 1:30 pm, with a break for lunch.

The 3^rd session was from 3:00 pm to
6:00 pm. We had a healing and prayer service at 5:30 pm.

 

I answered a few questions regarding the confusion about re-baptism, and instructed the brethren regarding ordination in Christ Jesus, praying for the sick, and observing the Washing of Feet and Communion Supper.

A weird religious practice among Christian preachers in Uttar Pradesh was founded along the lines of Hindu rituals. After a preacher has prayed for a sick or afflicted person, he would tear out a scripture of healing from the Bible, fold it and place it in an amulet and then offer it to the sick or afflicted person to wear with a band or thread around their neck or forearm. This was an ancient practice among Hindus, and somehow the Christians there got mixed up with the pagan tradition.
I set the ministers straight regarding such foolish practices as well.

We had expected around another 20-30 people to join us from a village some distance away, but it came to our attention that some of the believers had freely spoken of their plans to attend a meeting in Etawah, and this had sparked a wave of opposition from Hindu extremists in those parts.

Bro. Rajeshwar told us after a long phone conversation with a brother in that village, that 10 pastors who had set out from the area in a group to attend our meetings had been caught, their motor-bikes (which were the only means of transport thereabout) seized, and that they were being detained at the local police station for further questioning. The authorities had said that the accusers in question had lodged an FIR against these pastors stating that they had been engaging in forced conversion, and a sum had been levied for the release of each pastor on bail.

He told us that we needed to be aware, as the antagonists had also approached the local newspapers to cover the happening, and if such news were to be splashed across the local papers the next day, the articles would contain all our names, and it would mean danger during our passage out of Etawah, and most especially for the next day’s meeting.

We also heard him converse over the over phone with a man from Bihar who was threatening to beat him up the next time he came to their village. Bro. Rajeshwer said that he would be there next week, and that they could sit and reason it out. We heard him cluck off in U.P. slang: “Why do you want to beat me up for the good that has been done in your village? If a doctor comes there and cures a few people would you not give him thanks. Then when Jesus Christ has healed the sisters in your village, is it not a good thing, and why do you want to harm us, for the good that we have done to you?”

Bro. Rajeshwer escorted me and Bro. Arpan to our lodge, where we spent some time in prayer for the next day’s meeting, asking the Lord that the news of our meetings would somehow not reach the papers, and also for the pastors who had been held in jail that night.

I had also been informed to be prepared for an early morning baptism service before the meetings began.

 

29^th March

This morning, Bro. Arpan, Bro. Rajeshwer, and I made our way to the nearby river for our second baptism service in UP.

22 pastors had accepted the Word and were willing to be baptized that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The service began at 6:30 am, and the little congregation on the riverbed were filled with the joy of the Lord.

That day, Bro. Rajeshwer asked me not to step up to the pulpit because he had a premonition that all was not right, and that we were being watched. If any problem was to occur for local preachers, it could be easily sorted out, but if the authorities got wind that a minister from another state in India was in Uttar Pradesh to preach the gospel, things could get out of hand, and if a mob was instigated to cause trouble at the meeting, I would be at risk. As such, I stepped down from preaching that day, and chose instead to be in prayer on the advice of Bro. Rajeshwer.

However, that day’s meeting was not cancelled. It went on, with Bro. Rajeshwer reiterating what I had preached at the Bihar meetings, and emphasizing on how traditional Christianity had hidden the truth of God’s Word with the rituals of men, blinding men’s eyes to the glorious liberty that we had in Christ Jesus, and clarifying certain questions regarding baptism, and this New and Living Way that had been presented to them.

The meetings ended by 4:00 pm.

There was already talk of planning for a 2^nd meeting in the month of May, 2019 on a larger scale.

We had also received news from our brethren in jail, and to our joy, they said that all these years they had not suffered much persecution in their village albeit a few skirmishes with anti-Christian fanatics here and there, but they were 100% convinced that this was the truth, because Satan had hindered their plans to be baptized in Jesus’ Name. They said that the next time, they would be wiser and more prepared, and that this had not shaken their faith but confirmed more assuredly to them, that God was working in Uttar Pradesh and that he had a great plan in store for their village.

Bro. Arpan and I were much comforted with this news.

We were also told that five of those 10 pastors had been released.

Three sisters had come forward asking for baptism, and as baptism of women in those parts in the open was considered dangerous especially with harassment of Christians on the rise, I was called to Bro. Rajeshwer’s home that night to baptize the sisters in a plastic kitchen drum filled with water, usually used to store fresh water for cooking purposes.

After the little baptism and prayer service, we had our last meal at Bro. Rajeshwer’s home that night and set off for our rooms.

Our train from Etawah to New Delhi would leave at 3:00 am, (and most probably would be delayed according to the unfailing customs of the Indian Railways).

And right we were! Our train arrived only at 4:00 am. Bro. Rajeshwer had come to see us off at the railway station. We boarded, and fell into our bunks for a fitful sleep.

Our train which was supposed to reach New Delhi at 6:30 am reached only by 8:30 am, and we had scarcely time to check into a room and freshen up before I had to leave for the airport quite a distance away from the railway station.

We travelled by the Metro, and Bro. Arpan accompanied me to see me off. His train would leave only that night at 10:00 pm to Kolkata, from where he would make his way home to Barobisha, West Bengal.

I left the bustling Indian capital at 1:30 pm, and was in Coimbatore by 4:00 pm, bursting with the news of what the Lord had done.

This trip was the most successful of all those I had made across India, in that the Lord did a sudden and marvellous work by bringing so many to Himself, mostly pastors and leaders, who have all agreed to study the Word, and carry this truth into their villages and to their congregations. It was a renewal for me as well, in witnessing the manifestation of the Lord’s power afresh.

It has always been my God-led thought to go first to the preachers and leaders of the area so that they might be saved and might lead their flocks to the Lord. This time the Lord was gracious to bring it to pass.

All in all, 61 people had been baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, and 32 people healed from various illnesses and problems.

After I got back from Bihar and U.P., and settled in to complete all the work that had been pending since I left, I began receiving testimonies from Bro. Rajeshwer each day, each one more joyous to hear than the other.

I have shared the more notable ones in the photos section down below.

I would like to mention here four special testimonies.

The first of Bro. Vijayram of Mathura. During the meetings, when we had the prayer and healing service, a pastor from Uttar Pradesh came up to me and spoke to me in the local dialect which of course I couldn’t understand. The choir too had just begun to sing, and with the crowd in the line, there was no time for translation. I had told the congregation, that since there were many in the prayer line, it wasn’t necessary for each one of them to tell me what specific need they had to be prayed for; rather that they should submit their petitions to the Lord Jesus Christ and come forward to receive their healing and deliverance in faith.

When Bro. Vijayram came up to me and mumbled his petition, I heard the voice of the Lord say, “Go in peace, for you have received what you asked for.” I relayed this to the brother in English, and he went his way. He was later baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

After reaching Coimbatore, Bro. Rajeshwer called me up one day and said, “Bro. do you remember the pastor who came up to you for prayer in U.P.? You did not understand what he said. He had asked for prayer for his son, who had left home at the age of 18, that he may return home. And the miracle is, 2 days after you left, his son who is now 23 has come home in peace and wants to stay with his family!”

And this was a marvellous thing that had happened, because since Bro. Vijayram’s son had come home all of a sudden, many of the villagers, and people in and around the area visited his home to greet the young man. This gave Bro. Vijayram a chance to testify about the truth to many and share with them how the true baptism had turned his world upside down.

The 2^nd testimony is of a young woman from Bihar. She had been married a year, when she began feeling a presence enter her room each night and lie with her. Sometimes she had been woken up out of a heavy sleep and found that she had been molested. She had even asked her husband if he had touched her, and he had been offended. In time, she was able to clearly see the form of an Aghori Sadhu in the room with her, sexually molesting her. And in the morning things would be normal. She had related the situation to her family, and they all were living in a sort of dread. This young sister too was delivered from these Satanic intrusions. She waited a while to see if the deliverance was permanent, and has recently told us that she has been completely set free. She has written a letter of testimony in her own hand to be circulated among the people in the area testifying of how she had come forward for prayer, confessing her petition only to the Lord, was prayed over, baptized, and was now delivered from the power of Satan.

The 3^rd is of three pastors who would like to remain anonymous. They said that even though they had been working for the Lord they had their personal weaknesses of chewing tobacco, and social smoking and drinking. They had sinned in private for a long time, but once they heard the word and decided to be baptized, they went into the water seeking release from their secret addictions. They said that from the time they were baptized, they have been completely set free from their habits and are now serving the Lord with all fervour and praying for others who have suffered like them.

The 4^th is of a minister who said that he had been baptized in the titles of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost many years ago, and had begun village ministry in the area, but never had he seen so many miracles taking place. Once he was baptized, he called us within a week, and said that whoever he prayed for in his village was now reporting healing and deliverance, and he gave thanks for receiving the confirmation of the greater works that Christ had said all his disciples had the power to do and see manifest.

Even as we were writing this report, I received a phone call from Bro. Rajeshwer reporting another healing. A pastor from Mathura who had been baptized in Jesus Christ’s name during the meetings had gone blind in one eye, with continuous discharge flowing from the sightless eye. He just told us that after his baptism he had been praying in tears, that the Lord had to touch him and restore his sight. And he has been healed.

Even though I wasn’t able to enter Mathura this time round, three pastors from the area have accepted the truth, and one has received healing. I’m convinced that the Lord who has called me will take me there in time.

What I learned from this trip was, that time is really short, and the Lord answers our petitions more quickly than before, because he wants us to work faster and unhindered.

I thank the Lord for His hand of mercy and protection during this trip.

I thank Bro. Arpan for matching me word for word and fire for fire in his translation, and pray that God may use him to be a great witness wherever he goes.

Do pray for the truth to spread through these states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They are India’s darkest states where Christians are persecuted and harassed on a daily basis, and preaching the gospel is considered a crime. The Lord has set his sights upon them, and surely Satan cannot stop the work from flourishing there.

Do also pray for the May 2019 meetings here, and that many more may come to the Lord, and to the knowledge of His truth.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord, from this time forth, and even forevermore!

The following are the testimonies of a few of those healed during the meetings: