Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
THE ORIGIN OF THE MADRAS PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLY
The turn of the twentieth century saw the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in various parts of the world. In 1901 a sister called Agnes who lived in Topeka of Kansas city in the USA was the first to be baptized with the Holy spirit. At the same time many in various parts of Europe also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
In India Pandit Ramabai and her group were the first to receive this blessing. But before that in 1903 ,Wales and Sweden had witnessed the Pentecostal Blessing. Two Spirit filled sisters from Sweden came to India in 1913 to see for themselves Pandit Ramabai group which had received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When they saw that the same anointing had been poured out upon these people in India they glorified God and wanted to go back to their country immediately to share this miracle of grace with everyone.
As they were waiting in the harbour to board the ship they heard a voice saying “Go to Guindy” and God gave them a vision of another group of people who had received a similar blessing. In that vision God had shown them a brother in particular. Upon enquiry they learnt that Guindy was in Madras. Thus led by the Spirit of God these sisters came to Guindy in Madras and rented out a house to start the ministry which turned out to be a great blessing to many.
At the same time a man of God called Jacob was doing the Lord’s ministry in Lloyds Road at Royapettah. Brother Jacob was left an orphan very early in life and his foster parents brought him up in the nurture of the Lord. At the age of eight he gave his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and in course of time he obeyed the Lord in the waters of baptism. God baptized him with the Holy Spirit also. Filled with zeal he began the ministry in Royapettah along with Bro. Egbert, Bro. Gopal Daniel, Bro. Murugesa Iya, Bro. Somasunderam Doctor Dhyriam, Bro. Andrews and others. It was at first called “Believers Fellowship”.
The sisters from Sweden who came to Madras under the express guidance of the Holy Spirit spared no effort in finding out the man God had shown them in the vision. Soon they heard of a “Hallelujah Group” in Royapettah. When they came and saw Bro. Jacob they recognized that this was the very man God has shown them in the vision and they were delighted in the ecstasy of this wonderful meeting. Thus a fellowship was born with these Swedish sisters Bro. Egbert went to Ceylon and started the ministry. Bro. Murugesa Iya began to work for the Lord in Moolakothalam area.
PASTOR B.JACOB - FOUNDER AND SUPERINTENDING PASTOR OF THE MADRAS PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLY ( 1934 - 1951 )
PASTOR N.G.JOHN VASU - CO-FOUNDER AND SUPERINTENDING PASTOR OF THE MADRAS PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLY ( 1951-1962 )
THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF PASTOR JOHN VASU
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Pastor John Vasu was a legendary Pentecostal Pastor and a Visionary Leader. He was one of pioneering Pentecostal leaders in India recognised both nationally and internationally in his generation.
Pastor John Vasu was born on September 2nd 1909 as the eldest son in an orthodox Hindu family. He became a follower of Jesus christ at the age of 16. He received a call to ministry through a supernatural experience in which he fell into a trance and was taken to heaven.
He obeyed the heavenly vision and entered into full time ministry at the age of nineteen. He destroyed his educational certificates lest he be tempted to seek secular employment in any desperate situation. He travelled for a period as an itinerant evangelist in various parts of Tamilnadu and Srilanka.
He then joined with Pastor B.Jacob to found the Madras Pentecostal Assembly and later served as its Superintending Pastor.
He married Miss.Kirubai Conrad on 6.6.1941 and they had two children Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu and Mrs.Sheila Alwin.
Mrs. Kirubai Vasu was a highly qualified lady having completed B.A Lt and working as a Mathematics teacher. She resigned her job and joined wholeheartedly with her husband in the ministry, interpreting his messages and assisting him in every way she could.
Pastor John Vasu published one of the first Pentecostal magazines in India in English and Tamil in 1938 called the Balm of Gilead.
He also started one of the first Pentecostal Bible Colleges in India in 1950 called the Madras Bible Institute.
He also laboured much to promote unity among Pastors and churches and formed the first fellowship for the Pentecostal Pastors which has continued to bear great fruit even today as is seen in the growth of Pentecostal Pastors fellowships throughout India.
He served as the FIRST President of the All India Pentecostal Fellowship from 1957 until his homecall in 1962.
He served as the FIRST President of the Pentecostal Fellowship, Madras from 1956 until his homecall.
He was the FIRST representative of India in the World Pentecostal Conference Committee from 1949 until his homecall.
He was also the chairman of the historic T.L.Osborn crusade in Madurai in 1961.
He was great mentor of young leaders and encouraged them in the ministry and many of them have become outstanding Christian Leaders today.
Pastor John Vasu was an outstanding preacher of the word of God and was considered a Prince of Preachers in India in his time.
He travelled widely around the world in three Global Missionary tours between 1949 and 1962 in his preaching ministry and was a great blessing everywhere he went.
In one meeting , a pastor saw the cloven tongues resting on the people and in another meeting two children had visions of Jesus. He exalted Christ and expounded the Scriptures, charged by the power of Holy Ghost that by the very presence of God which filled the place , sinners and backsliders were drawn to the feet of Jesus and saints were richly blessed.
Pastor John Vasu cared deeply for poor and needy and laboured much for the welfare of the orphans and the widows. He took much efforts to establish schools for the education of the deprived and the downtrodden people of society.
He was a man of deep love and humility , soft spoken and a man of few words.
He was a celebrated resident of Chennai well respected by the society .He was appointed as a honorary magistrate by the Government.
In acknowledgement of his achievements he was awarded an honorary doctorate in America.
He went to be with the Lord after an untiring ministry of 33 years. To the end of his earthly pilgrimage , he was toiling hard in His vineyard, wishing to die in harness. It pleased the Lord to fulfill His servant's desire on 7th July 1962.
The Government of Tamilnadu honoured Pastor John Vasu by naming a street in Madhavaram, Chennai as John Vasu Street.
The family of Pastor John Vasu has continued to serve the Lord even to the third and fourth generation. His son Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu was also a great Pentecostal leader serving the Lord for 33 years until his heavenly homecall in 1995.
His grandson Pastor Stanley Vasu is currently leading the Madras Pentecostal Assembly.
Kindly uphold the family and ministry left behind by Pastor John Vasu in your prayers.
BIRTH CENTENARY OF PASTOR JOHN VASU
To view pictures of the Birth Centenary Celebrations and to view Birth Centenary Souvenir visit the blog site given below
http://birthcentenaryofpastorjohnvasu.blogspot.com/
PASTOR G.N.CHOCKALINGAM - SUPERINTENDING PASTOR OF THE MADRAS PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLY ( 1962 - 1971 )
PASTOR PRABHUDOSS VASU - SUPERINTENDING PASTOR OF THE MADRAS PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBLY ( 1971 - 1995 )
PASTOR PRABHUDOSS VASU - A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH********************************************************
Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu was born on May 25th 1942 in Rajahmundry Andhra Pradesh. He was the eldest son of Pastor John Vasu and Mrs.Kirubai Vasu , both outstanding Pentecostal Leaders of their generation. He was christened ' Prabhudoss Theodore Satyachoodan' which means the following : Prabhudoss-servant of God, Theodore-gift of God, Satyachoodan-bearer of the Truth.
He accepted the Lord as his personal Saviour at the age of eight in Sunday School. At 12 he was baptised in water and at 15 he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. From his youth he took an active part in the ministry .
He was a talented musician who could play the accordian , keyboard , guitar , violin etc. He travelled to many villages ,towns and cities , playing the accordian and preaching the gospel. His sermons have been composed as songs and recorded and produced in 14 volumes by MPA and are sung around the world by Tamil Christians.
He lost his parents at a very young age. He lost his father died when he was 20 and his mother when he was 24. He entered the ministry right after his father's homecall having just completed his Bachelors degree. He later did his theological studies at the International Bible Training Institute (IBTI) in England.
At age 23 he was ordained as a Pastor and at 29 he became the Superintending Pastor of the Madras Pentecostal Assembly Mission.overseeing about 100 churches , 7 orphan homes , 2 schools etc, under his care . He was also Principal of the Madras Bible Insitute and Editor of the Balm of Gilead magazine.
Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu was one of the most widely respected Pentecostal Leaders in India. He took an active part in interdenominational ministries serving as Secretary to the Pentecostal Fellowship of India (PFI) , Vice-President of Pentecostal Press Association of India (PPAI) and President of Intermission Industrial Development Association(IIDA).He organized many miracle gospel crusades and pastors seminars which was attended by thousands of people.
He was a soft spoken , friendly person with a ready smile for everyone and a good sense of humour when he was with his close friends. The simplicity and purity of his life was admired by one and all especially by fellow-ministers of all denominations.
He was a powerful preacher and a gifted teacher . His deep exposition of the word of God has won him acclaim throughout India and many parts of the world. Thousands have been blessed by his ministry of the Word.
He was a man of great wisdom and deep understanding . His wise counsel and patient spirit has solved many a great in the ministry. He was a veteran of the Lord's army . Ih his home call the church had lost a great soldier.
Until his homecall he provided godly leadership to the MPA Mission seeing much growth and blessing upon the ministry.
Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu died on March 3rd 1995 at the age of 52 during the Annual Convention of the Madras Pentecostal Assembly Mission when thousands of beleivers and Pastors from all churches of MPA Mission had gathered. It was indeed a very intense time of sorrow and uncertainity as Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu , the Superintending Pastor of MPA Mission died while the Annual Convention was going on.
Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu went to be with the Lord after an untiring ministry of 33 years. He left behind his wife. Mrs.Ruth Vasu and three children Stanley ( aged 23) ,Pamela (aged 21) and Ernest ( aged 12) at the time of his demise.
During his brief life span he was a spiritual father and a fountain of blessing to thousands of God's children all over the world.
Pastor Stanley Vasu is carrying on the ministry of MPA Mission. Pamela is married to Rev.Israel Jebaraj who is the director of Sharon Ministries and JTV ( http://jtv.org.in/ ) and they have two children Joanna and Joshua . Ernest is married to Ramya Beulah. He has completed his Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) and is serving the Lord in India Every Home Crusade. Mrs.Ruth Vasu is serving the Lord along with her children. Kindly remember the family and the ministry left behind by Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu in your prayers.
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A TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER : BY PASTOR STANLEY VASU
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This TRIBUTE was paid by Pastor Stanley Vasu in the memorial service held for his father Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu in March 1995. It was a deeply moving tribute during which many in the audience were reduced to tears as Pastor Stanley Vasu shared from his heart about the lessons he learnt from his father and also the lessons they learnt during their time of sorrow.
FOUR CHRISTLIKE QUALITIES I LEARNT FROM MY FATHER PASTOR PRABHUDOSS VASU
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One of my father Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu's favourite choruses was
' To be like Jesus
All I ask is to be like him
All through life's journey
from earth to glory
All I ask is to be like Him '
There were four christlike qualities in his life.
OUTLINE
1).SIMPLICITY
2). PURITY
3). BREVITY
4). TENACITY
THE TRIBUTE
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1.SIMPLICITY:
He led a simple life. He wore simple clothes . He was a simple man. At the beginning of his ministry he made a vow to God. " Lord whatever you give me I will enjoy , whatever you do not give me I do not want "
He used to say that all the land that a man needs is only six feet (i.e) for his burial . Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu did not use even that siX feet of land for his burial because he was buried in his fathers grave . So he shares that six feet of land with his father.
Whenever he attended public meetings he always made a quiet entry and a quiet exit. Even in his death , as the MPA convention was going on , he made a quite exit from this world . As he was in life , so he was in death.
2.PURITY:
He had a pure heart with pure motives. He used to compare Peter and Judas Iscariot.Peter made many mistakes .He denied the Lord. But his heart was pure and he was restored and became a great Apostle.But Judas was always very proper in his outward behaviour. He kissed Jesus when he really wanted to betray him. His heart was desperately wicked. So he went and finally hanged himself.
Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu had a pure heart. He had no hatred or enmity against anybody . He never plotted or did evil against anybody. He kept himself pure.
3.BREVITY:
There was brevity in his words and actions. He was a man of few words .But his words were words of wisom and understanding. His gestures and actions were also brief. His behaviour was always quiet and dignified.
There was brevity in his life as well.He lived a brief life but a rich and fulfilling one.He completed 33 years of ministry and died at the age of 52.
4.TENACITY:
He faced much opposition during his life just like Jesus did. Jesus once said " A prophet is not without honour , save in his own country and in his own house " Matthew 13:57
Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu went about his ministry with a fierce tenacity inspite of all opposition.
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FOUR TRUTHS WE LEARNT IN OUR TIMES OF SORROW
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In the days following the homecall of our beloved of our beloved father Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu, we felt like we were in the Garden of Gethsemane. We were constantly reminded of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But through these experiences the Lord taught us four truths which helped us to endure everything.
OUTLINE
1) GOD'S PRESENCE
2) GOD'S PROTECTION
3) GOD'S PEACE
4) GOD'S PURPOSES
THE MESSAGE
1.GOD'S PRESENCE
We experienced the presence of God in a very special way. It was like a covering upon us. Pastor Prabhuoss Vasu used to explain God's grace like this . He said ' Grace is like a covering which protects you from the thorn. God may not remove the thorn but he will give you His grace to endure it' .
When Jesus was suffering on the cross , there were three types of people . One group was sympathising with Him. The second group was simply watching from a distance. The third group was actively working against him.
During our days of suffering we experienced the same three types of people. But inspite of all this , the Lord's presence was with us all the time. And that was more than enough.
2.GOD'S PROTECTION
During those days of suffering we felt like we were passing through fire. But we learnt one thing . When the Lord is with us no fire can harm us. The people who throw us into the fire may get hurt but as long as God is on our side no fire can harm us.The God of Shadrach, Meschech and Abednego is our God as well.
3.GOD'S PEACE
It was wonderful to experience God's peace in our times of sorrow. Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu often used this illustration while explaining God's peace. There were two paintings about peace. One showed a little bird singing happily in the midst of a peaceful village. The other painting showed a little bird singing happily in an island in the midst of a violent storm. The second painting depicted true peace.
Jesus said " My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives but my peace I give unto you".
We were able to experience that peace which passeth all understaning . We could not explain the peace that God gave us during such difficult times.
4.GOD'S PURPOSE
God is sovereign. Promotion does not come from the east or from the west but from the Lord. He lifts one up and puts down another . Pastor Prabhudoss Vasu used to say this often.
' Your duty is to remain in God's hand .If God wants to lift you up in His hand, then even if the whole world tried to pull it down, nobody can pull you down .But if people try to lift you up , you are in a dangerous position. Anytime they can drop you. The higher they lift you , the greater the fall and injury '
During our times of sorrow as we yeilded ourselves to his will , we found the Lord working out his eternal plan and purpose in our lives.
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