What The Lord Taught Me In The Early Days Of CFC — Annie Poonen

Dear brothers and sisters Praise the Lord. My praise and thank God for these 44 years. The Lord has given us given our CFC and Made us a part of CFC. It seems like yesterday when we were We had our last meeting in the Baptist Church, we were bewildered and That evening we started meeting in our home.

The Lord Builds and Sustains His Church

But God has been so good and faithful to us. There's one verse which comes to my mind Which has been coming to my mind very often and That is a verse in Psalm 127 and with the first verse I'll read it out Unless the Lord builds the house.

Those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city the watchman stays awake in vain. That verse has been coming often to me to my mind. It's been the Lord who's built CFC all these years.

I know it's none of our efforts or hard work or any of the gadgets or the building or anything that we had the Lord has been building and adding to the church and And Doing your work in our midst I praise and thank God and It's good for us to remember that it's the Lord who's going to continue to build us.

Anytime we think that we are somebody's we are somebody or we have done something In these 44 years. We have done something or other then we lose Sight we we start to begin to take the glory for ourselves and the Lord will be against us and we want to give the glory always to the Lord for what he's done and what he's still doing in our midst and the Second part of that says unless the Lord watches the city the watchman stays awake in vain.

Spiritual Leaders as Watchmen

Yes, our dear elder brothers Are our watchmen they watch over our souls and take care of us. But it's the Lord who's watching over them. I often remind myself how much I need to pray for our dear elders who have to faithfully give God's word hear the voice of God and Be the spokesman for God and I want to do my part in praying for our dear elders In all the places and God will give them the correct word every time we meet.

There's another verse which comes to my mind. Also when we think of a small beginning. When we started meeting in our home and that's in 2nd Chronicles chapter 20 verses 6 and 12. We all know that story.

We've heard about we have heard it many times. It's about Jehoshaphat when a great army came against him and He prayed this prayer in verse 6 it says He prayed he said Lord God of our fathers. Are you not God in heaven you roll rule over all the kingdoms of the nation in your hand?

Our power and might so that none is able to withstand you. Yes, it's really the Lord mighty God who's been with us and helped us all these years and those days we were we were such a small group despised and people's critical about us and saying Why did you did you do?

Why did you preach this wrong doctrine? They called us heretics and And cult leaders and all that opposition came when people used to come and ask me. I just couldn't understand because we were preaching my husband and brother Ian were preaching about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and That was a precious experience to me.

So what was wrong in that and Christ manifest in the flesh. Christ came in our like us. I always believed Christ came like us. He didn't come as anything different or anybody different. He came like you and me.

So I was wondering what was this wrong doctrine people are blaming us for and then I remember one of our fasting and prayer meetings. This be meditated on this these verses that In verse 12 it says Oh Lord Will you not execute judgment?

We are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do. But our eyes are on you we were powerless against this all this criticism and what people had against us and all this and We didn't know what to do.

But our eyes were upon the Lord and it is the Lord whose eyes We are on we are his eyes are still upon him as he led us in the past and delivered us. I know that he's going to continue to lead us. In the past it was that type of criticism now and that type of Opposition and Battle that we had to face now, it looks like maybe the battle is different.

Facing New Forms of Opposition and Temptation

Persecution maybe maybe the temptations which Jesus warned us about in the last days. Then we love money love of ease prosperity and love Love for one another will grow cold. Deception maybe all those things May come up but whatever it is our eyes are on the Lord.

We have no fear the Lord who took care of us. He will take care of us and lead us and I praise and thank God in that verse in Psalm 127 is the Lord who watches over us he watched over us and I Praise and thank God that he has given me also a place in this wonderful work.

He has started and is doing. I Don't deserve any of his goodness. But he has given me a place to be here with the Saints and I want to be always grateful for that. I am really thankful from the first time.

Finding Freedom Through Meeting in the Home

The meeting started in our home. Because it was such a deliverance for me, you know, when we came to the Baptist Church, I Came from a small town. I grew up in Coonoor and later I studied in well Oh both were small towns and when we came to Bangalore, I was little intimidated by the the Affluence and poshness of this church, especially I Really felt awkward and I felt that I felt that was not Proper.

I was not in the proper place my dress or my behavior or whatever it was was too too much like a village person and I was not able to fit in and The previous pastor was a Canadian is he and his wife a very sweet couple but when we came to replace them, I felt that people were always looking at me like how What am I compared to the Canadian lady?

And it was a big contrast and sometimes they would come and ask me to take care of their children. You know working mothers would say can you take care of anyway? You are sitting at home. Can you take care of my children also?

Or they come for a checkup. And sit and talk and have tea and then the whole afternoon or morning would go. I really didn't know how to cope with it and over the months. I felt like I was becoming a slave to people.

I just wanted to be free to be myself to run my house how I Felt I should do not like how people wanted me to and always I felt like people are coming home to scrutinize how what I was doing and how I was doing things and Comparing me with the previous the pastor's wife.

So when we started meetings at home, it was a great deliverance for me. I thought at last I can be myself and I can bring up my children the way I want them to grow. But meeting at home. It was so joyful.

We felt like we were a band of Prisoners set free and we could be free to shout and praise the Lord in our house was tucked away in the corner and Nobody was there to pray and see what was happening there.

And sometimes we'd have meeting the whole day fasting and prayer. Normally, we used to have every four meetings every week Sunday morning and evening Wednesday and Friday Bible study. So it was we Had a lot of time to be with God's people and God's word and hear God's word.

And our children grew up in that atmosphere hearing the word the only recreation was getting ready for the meeting and People lots of people are going to come and we are going to have the meeting and going to sing some songs.

Hospitality and Welcoming Those Who Seek the Truth

So I praise and thank God the Lord helped us to have bring up our children in that atmosphere. And of course meeting and at our home had its challenges because I had to get everything ready for the meeting before the people brothers and sisters started coming so I tried to move everything our own personal private things into one section of the house and then the rest of the house will be open and People who came late they could eat something.

So I had to prepare some lunch or something, but I praise and thank God all those Months and years there was always food at our table for whoever came at least something at least a tea and something to go with the tea a Lunch or whatever and sometimes people would come spend a weekend with us.

They come sometimes some people would come a whole week. So many people wanted to know what? We were what was this Teaching about and about the new covenant and about dying to sell so people would come and stay and talk till late into the night and We didn't know who was sincere and who would stay on till the end, but whoever came I was ready the Lord helped me to keep things ready so that they could hear and Hear the truth and here have fellowship with us.

Learning Self-Denial and Taking Up the Cross

And those days there were three or four things that the Lord was teaching me first of all when we started meeting in our home it was a Special time to sanctify myself. I felt like more than ministering to others.

I Wanted the Lord to break me break my self will my desire to run my home how I want and Have a set timing for different things because I couldn't do all that when our home was open to God's children and the Lord told me that I have to give up all those Preferences if I want to be a part of that work, which is doing and the Lord worked in my heart.

I mean to submit to that chiseling process to take up the cross and taking up the cross was in practical the Lord showed me taking up the cross is not a Doctrine, it's a life. It's a way of life, which I must have I must take be willing to take up the cross in any and every situation and the Lord give me many opportunities.

Children were small we had financial pressures. We had pressures from relatives and so many practical things. We didn't have people to help us like, you know domestic help so a lot of work I had to do myself, but I praise and thank God for all those years when he gave me the chance to be involved in serving God's people and allowing myself to be broken by him.

I Don't think of it as being a broke being broken. Because I I can think more about the joy that I received because I always felt like the Lord was With me and behind me and he was there to help me in every situation.

Practicing Hospitality Without Grumbling

Then another thing which the Lord taught me was about practicing hospitality and I was so happy one day when the Lord should when in one of my readings I read this was in first Peter 4 9 where it says practice hospitality without grumbling.

I was so amazed because I I Thought oh, yeah, we have to be hospitable practice hospitality but you know when people come at the wrong time or when there's the food is not ready or the food is not up to the mark or something goes wrong or the children are not Not able to manage the children and take care of their things.

Then that temptation to grumble and mama in our heart comes and I had this was in first Peter 4 9, which is practice hospitality without Grumbling and I said Lord. Thank you for that to that phrase without gambling.

Especially for me that I should not have not outwardly or inwardly grumbling attitude. Many times our children or we had to give up our rooms to accommodate guests and so we had to move our things out of the way and have people staying there and our children also learn to share their room and not to think that everything is for them and They have to Accommodate other people and share their things with others.

Preparing the Home for Peaceful Ministry

Then the third thing which the Lord taught me was to take care of the home matters because every meeting Jack was speaking I There's no meeting in which he would sit next to me and take care of the children or anything like that.

Not only at the meeting, but before the meeting began I felt that the Lord wanted me to get ready because if he's going to preach God's Word Freely and without any hindrance then I must do all that is in my part too so that it's easy for him to speak and Give the God's Word to his children.

So if at all I felt that he should go with that atmosphere of Peace there should not be any stress or tension in our home. The children everything should be so calm and peaceful. So I had to do a lot of work before I'd see that the children's food Was ready and they ate something or I could take something so that they could have in between.

The clothes were ready. My clothes are already I And everything was ready the previous day and there was food in case somebody comes for lunch. Or even sometimes earlier they come earlier at least a cup of coffee and some bread I should be able to give them.

So there's a lot of planning and the Lord helped me to get everything ready and smoothly so that we could go to the meeting with The hearts that prepare. Prepared to receive God's Word and my husband will be prepared to preach God's Word.

Raising Children in a Spirit of Trust and Service

So I praise and thank God for all those practical lessons that the Lord Taught me and there are many wonderful things which the Lord did. I praise and thank God that my children grew up in that atmosphere and They learn to respect the elders respect the young brothers.

The young brothers were a help to my children so that they could follow the example. Even if somebody was doing wrong, we didn't criticize anybody in the presence of our children. Sometimes when somebody would drop out they were surprised that that brother stopped coming.

Because they had no idea even though we knew that it was not that person was not Faithful and not following the Lord to the surprise to our children. So children grew up without having any suspicion about anyone bad attitude or bad thought or negative attitude to anybody and they grew up and and I praise and thank God they even though they sometimes trusted the wrong type of people but still putting Teaching them to trust God and trust the brothers and have confidence in them was a great thing.

And now I can see when my children have their own homes and they have seen Hospitality and receiving God's people in our home and they want to do the same. They praise and thank God for all that he has done.

God bless you dear brothers and sisters.