KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 12.28 

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

RELEVANCE

A few days ago, I was emailed a flyer from a friend. It was to attend a special event being held by a local church for a visiting Apostle from Ohio, USA. He is on a whirlwind tour doing the rounds of Oceania, and Melbourne is his final city. 

The worship band kicked off the proceedings with some beautiful songs, and the attendees sang along heartily.

The trouble for me was that everybody in the congregation, except for myself, was Indian-Australian. Being the only non-Indian present was weird in one way but thrilling in another. I was unaware that an entire enclave of Born Again Indian Christians is only 15 kms away. But this meant that most of the words on the stage TV screens were in an Indian dialect, then a different dialect to accommodate others. I wondered what I had signed up to.

Just as I was getting the hang of reading and singing along with the dialect songs, they put up the English versions. I'm glad they thought of me.

After the full hour of worship songs (Yes, I said an hour), the Apostle entered. A quietly charismatic man with a charming and earnest presence, he took us through the Bible, point by point, about grace, righteousness and holiness. He explained that when we falter in our walk too many times, God still loves us but cannot trust us with ministry. The Apostle had an unashamed way of presenting hard truths with a winning smile. It's a great combination.

Besides that, for the following 40-50 scriptures, he didn't use his Bible once. They were all memorised and fully quoted, including chapter and verse.  

He mentioned another phrase that struck a chord with me—that righteousness is God's gift to us, but holiness is our gift back to Him. We are granted righteousness through the death and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. But staying on the Way of Holiness? Well, that's up to us, and it's always a sobering thought.  

Following the Bible study, he prayed for several people, anointing them with oil. I departed at about 9.30 pm, as I needed to take my kidney tablets. But I heard that the activities went on until after midnight. It was a great reminder of Dad and Mum's home fellowship when I was a kid. 

As I was leaving, some congregants had set up two large metal tubs of India's favourite dish, Curry & Rice. So I grabbed a small portion on a plastic plate, feeding myself with an environ-mental wooden spoon that rasped my tongue as it delivered the spicy feast to my teeth and taste buds. 

All in all, it was a blessing of a night, and I was privileged to be there. I'm pleased that my friend (who is also Indian) sent me the flyer. To be candid, my arrogance nearly prevented me from going, as I've seen a lot of itinerant ministers over the years. But I didn't want to offend him, so I arrived on time and had an awesome night. 

Presently, in Melbourne, we have so many Christians from all over the world who now call Australia home—immigrants who have set up churches in many suburbs.

The language of the Holy Spirit brings us together into the United Nations of Jesus Christ, so obviously, we still have plenty to celebrate in Australia. Praise God. 

"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!" 

PRAYER

Mighty Lord, my precious redeemer, what a privilege to worship with brothers and sisters of a different language. But we know with great joy that our hearts all speak the same language to you. Praise you for your infinite understanding.  

Photo by Tim Wildsmith