Thursday, September 3, 2009

A Personal Note from Pastor Stanley Vasu



I have never met my grandfather Pastor John Vasu. He died 9 years before I was born. But I have heard much about him, from those who knew Him well. I have come to realise that he had laid the foundation for many of the ministries that we are involved in today . I have come to understand that we owe a debt of gratitude to all those who had pioneered and laboured before us according to John 4:36-38 and I Corinthians 3:6-15.

David Livingstone the great missionary to Africa was born in a town called Blantyre in Scotland. During his ministry in Africa , he had planted a christian mission in a town in Malawi East Africa which is now named Blantyre in his honour . During his ministry he did not see any great results immediately. But he beleived that the work he had pioneered would one day bring a great harvest . He wrote thus in his diary

" We are like voices crying in the wilderness; we prepare the way for a glorious future. Future missionaries will be rewarded with conversions for every sermon. We are their pioneers and helpers. Let them not forget the watchmen of the night - us, who worked when all was gloom , and no evidence of success in the way of conversion cheered our paths.They will doubtless have more light than we ; but we can serve our Master earnestly and proclaim the Gospel as they will do."

David Livingstone died in 1873 . More than 100 years later in 1986 Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke held a gospel crusade in Blantyre and more than 150,000 people came to hear the Gospel. At that time the Holy Spirit spoke to him and said ' You are walking on the tears of former generations'. Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke realised that he was reaping with joy where others have sown in tears.

When I think about the ministry of my grandfather and others who had laboured during the pioneering years of Pentecostal ministry in India , it is clear that we are reaping where they have toiled and sowed with tears. Through these pages we have attempted to record the historical facts from eye witnesses who can share with us the work of God in the previous generations and help us to understand the price that these pioneers have paid .

It has been an intense personal journey for me to study the life and ministry of my grandfather Pastor John Vasu. As I have been going through the various greetings and tributes that have been sent by those who had worked closely with my grandfather , I almost wish that I had an opportunity to meet him personally . Since I did not have that privilege , my aim in this publication is to glean the truths and the lessons that can be learnt from his life.

We must keep in mind that it is only Christ who can tranform the heart of any man and use him for His glory. When we admire a work of art , we praise the artist who had created that masterpiece. Thus when remember the life of Pastor John Vasu , we know it is the work of Christ in his life according to Galatians 6:14 , Galatians 2:20 , Colossians 1:27 , Ephesians 2:10 and Romans 9:21-23. God has no favourites and anyone who is an yielded vessel can be used my Him.Pastor John Vasu's motto was John 3:30 'He must increase but I must decrease' . He wanted only Christ to be seen in him.

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