God’s Sovereign working in the Telugu Desh

Probably the most fruitful field in India, from the point of view of gospel work, at the present time, is the Telugu area. Over the whole of that vast area, souls are being saved in large numbers, and many wonderful trophies of the Lord’s grace, from all classes and conditions of men, are lo be found there. What will be of special interest and joy lo our readers will be the knowledge that not only are men and women being brightly saved, but truly Scriptural assemblies are now functioning in many towns and villages. For the past twenty years or more this work has been going on, quite independently of any ‘ foreign ‘ (our addition) mis-sionary activity. Many of those who had been brought up in various Mission organizations and denominational bodies, came to a true experience of salvation, and developed a great love for the Word of God. Their study of the Scriptures convinced them that many of the practices of the Missions were without any Scriptural warrant or foundation, and quite spontaneously, in more than one place, the true believers began to meet in a simple way, without any ‘ church ‘ or ‘ Mission ‘ dignitary in control. They diligently studied the New Testament Scriptures to see if there is any pattern for the collective gatherings of believers in these days, and like all honest seekers, they found that there is a clear pattern given there for the local churches of the saints. Now there are assemblies in over forty towns and villages, which are seeking to abide by the teachings of our Lord and His apostles, as given in the Word, not owning any sectarian name, and refusing to follow any human leaders. The Lord has raised up ministering brethren from amongst them who are tirelessly engaged in preaching the gospel and encour-aging and exhorting the saints, and seeking to guard them from the errors of ill-taught or false brethren, as well as from the lure of the world and its ways.”

During a recent visit to the new Andhra State, and after a meeting during which the light of Scripture was brought to bear upon certain errors being forwarded by misguided sects in that area, a well-informed brother was heard to remark, “ Why is it that we do not have such Scripture teaching more often ? Why is there silence about these things ?” It is for this very reason that we are placing increasing value on “ Precious Seed “ as it turns the light of Scripture upon many subjects, often miscalled ‘ controversial,’ and about which there is much confusion of thought amongst the Lord’s people.