Recently, a combination of spiritual and health seminars were held in two different cities in India. The first seminar was held during the first week of July, in Erode, a city located in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. The second seminar was held in a small town called Ponnur, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, in the northeast part of the country.
In Erode, the seminar started on Wednesday, July 1st, 2015, with an important message from Brother Peter Lausevic, "The Modern Elijah Message". The message explained how we should prepare for our spiritual battle using the whole armor of God. Brother Peter also presented Jesus Christ and the pure truth, explaining that because Christ is found within pure doctrine, we reject Christ if we reject pure doctrine.
On the next day, the message about marriage and divorce was presented, illustrating how we cannot divorce and remarry while the first spouse is still alive. A parallel was drawn concerning how the Christian individual cannot marry himself to Christ without his old self perishing first. In the afternoon, the last message of the day urged the congregation to consider listening habits and explained how to develop the art of listening with the topic, "Take Heed How You Hear".
On Friday, the seminar began with the message of "Who Really Are the Children of God", clarifying the spiritual relationship between humanity and Christ, not through a mere name or lineage. Brother Dragan Ivanov was also present during these lectures. He presented on the history of the brain and its functions from a medical perspective, and tied health with the spiritual by pointing out how humans communicate with God through the brain in the limbic system—the system that controls the emotional behaviors of a person. He also spoke about stress and its causes and suggested natural remedies that can promote healthy brain function. Brother Peter initiated the lectures on Sabbath with a special topic about the Bible’s recipe for stress relief and how the Sabbath can bring relief if properly observed—an adequate tie in with Brother Ivanov’s earlier presentation.
On the Sabbath morning, the plan of redemption was presented simply, explaining how it is easier to be saved than to be lost.First, we obtain faith trough the study of the Holy Bible. Second, we are able to surrender ourselves fully to Christ, and once we fully surrender,we are able to partake of the divine nature and be able to resist the devil. In the afternoon, Brother Ivanov spoke about heart diseases in the Biblical sense such as envy, anger and jealousy and spoke on the effects of such emotions in a person's life.
Also on Sabbath afternoon, Brother Kavundabadi Israel Rajasekar, who has been an elder for 12 years in our church, was ordained to the ministry. Brother Doss gave the ministerial prayer in his behalf.
For the conclusion of the seminar, the final topic was presented by Brother Peter Lausevic, entitled "Emotions and How They Affect Your Organs". For the glory of God, during the entire period there were approximately one hundred attendees listening to the presentations every day.
After leaving from Tamil Nadu, the brethren went to Ponnur, another town in India. The speakers used the same studies from the previous seminar adapted to the understanding of new Christians. During the week there were about 150 attendees, but on the Sabbath only 100 remained. Since many of them were from outside of the realms of Adventism, the Sabbath was presented more clearly—not just from the stress relief perspective but directly why, centering on Jesus.
At the very end of the event, the attendees wanted to express their gratitude in our meetings by presenting their customary wreath of flowers upon all of the leaders present.
As an appeal to the brethren around the world, please pray for the work in India and help financially as well as with visits to India. Not only do our workers travel, but many of our members go to different lands on vacation or on mission trips. Please visit India as well, so that we can further familiarize ourselves with the 1.28 billion people that live there and their culture. Just imagine, 18% of the world’s 7 billion people live in this country alone. That means that nearly one out of every 6 people on this planet is living in India.
“The whole world is opening to the gospel. Ethiopia is stretching out her hands unto God. From Japan and China and India, from the still-darkened lands of our own continent, from every quarter of this world of ours, comes the cry of sin-stricken hearts for a knowledge of the God of love. Millions upon millions have never somuch as heard of God or of His love revealed in Christ. It is their right to receive this knowledge. They have an equal claim with us in the Savior’s mercy. And it rests with us who have received the knowledge, with our children to whom we may impart it, to answer their cry. To every household and every school, to every parent, teacher, and child upon whom has shone the light of the gospel, comes at this crisis the question put to Esther the queen at that momentous crisis in Israel's history, 'Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' Esther 4:14.”Education, pp. 262-263.
