M/E International - CDP Scripts

Vasant:	How wonderful! It is a song of rejoicing in the salvation of the Lord. Mano, wherever Jesus resides, is certainly a joyful place.
Mano:	Without any doubt...Some months ago, I came here to meet Kasturi. As I entered, I witnessed a fight between both of them. I can not now imagine what sort of a brute I saw in Sunder that day. Now... how nice to see the miraculous change our Lord has brought in their lives.
V:	Praise the Lord! Let us call them... Sunder...Sunder...
S:	Good morning, Annan.. Good morning, Akka... Please come in ... Kasturi... look who has come! Let me stretch this net for you to sit.
Kasturi:	Good morning, Ayya.... Good morning, Anna.
Mano:	Good morning, Kasturi... How nice to see so much of happiness on your faces. Yes, we know. When Jesus comes into one's heart, joy bounces like the waves of the sea.
K:	Not only in our hearts, but in our house too. After we have accepted Jesus Christ, we are experiencing peace...contentment.. fulfillment. We can't just describe them.
S:	Before Jesus came into our hearts, we experienced irritation and dissatisfaction. We had hatred in us towards whomever we came across. But now it is different. We love our neighbors and we have a concern for them.
V:	Do you know why?
S:	Why? .:.. tell us ... please.
V:	Before Jesus cane into your lives, Satan was ruling over you. When Jesus came into your hearts, he ran away. You looked at the outside world and its people with jealousy and hatred before. Now you look at them with the loving eyes of Jesus. You are acquiring His qualities.
M:	This new life is a life of excellence. Apostle Paul puts this life as "IN CHRIST". He has repeated this phrasemany, many times in His writings.
S:	From what you say, I understand that we can enjoy such a life always? Am I right?
Vasant:	Yes, of course. But there is a requirement... A spiritual discipline.
Sunder:	What does that mean?
V:	I will explain what spiritual discipline means! Before that, I have to caution you on an important matter.
Kasturi:	What caution? ... I am afraid.
Mano:	There is no need to get frightened Kasturi! But you must face the truth. You know that God has an adversary...Satan... He has one single purpose and that is to frustrate God's children who live in Christ. To achieve his purpose, he will bring trials and temptations. He even tempted Jesus Christ once.
K:	Yes, I remember. Sunder read this portion to me two days ago. And Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan".
M:	Very smart, indeed, Kasturi! It is in the same portion of the Bible when Peter spoke about this he said, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
K:	It is frightening! Sunder, I hope we won't fall.
V:	There is no need to fear. Because Jesus is our refuge and strength. His Holy Spirit who is our companion and guide will enable us to defeat Satan. Paul speaks about the temptations brought by Satan in this manner, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it."
S:	That's a wonderful promise. You sounded a caution and then gave a promise.
V:	Aren't you happy? A devotee some time ago sang a song about his experiences in living a life "in Christ". Would you mind listening to it?
Kasturi:	I like your songs very much. Let's hear one more. (A song that tells of how victorious we can be by living "in Christ".)
Mano:	God wants us to lead a victorious life. Jesus promised that He will come again and gather us unto Him. But He exhorted that we should, in every respect, be prepared to meet Him at His second coming. Life in Christ keeps us well prepared for this meeting. Such a preparation is necessary to live with Him forever.
K:	Is Jesus going to come again? That is mysterious.
M:	He Himself has promised it. He said, "In My Father"s house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
Sunder:	Marvelous! That means, in order to live with Him eternally, we need to prepare ourselves from now on. Am I right?
V:	You've got it, Sunder! Let me give you a descriptions of the place He is preparing for us through this song.
	_____________________________________________________________ (A song describing heaven is sung.) _____________________________________________________________
Vasant:	Let me read a parable told by Jesus to explain it.
S:	Will you please give me the reference so that I can also follow it as you read it?
V:	Yes, of course. Matthew 25:1-33. "At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in their jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight,,,, the cry rang out, 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him! Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out... ' 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves'. But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later, the others also came. 'Sir,' they said, 'open the door for us!' But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you'. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour'.
K:	So... you said earlier that Peter advised us to be vigilant. Now you say that Jesus has also advised us to be vigilant and be prepared.
Mano:	You are already proving yourselves to be vigilant in keenly listening to what we are saying. Very, very good! Let me now explain to you of a few ways by which you get prepared. Firstly, you should tarry in prayer. Prayer is the key to successful Christian living. Prayer is having a conversation with God. Constant conversation with God keeps us prepared. Satan too is afraid of a praying Christian. When we pray, weshould start by praising Him for the innumerable blessings He showers on our lives. It should be followed by confessing any sins which we have committed. And thereafter, we should make our petitions asking Him to meet our various needs: spiritual, mental and physical.
S:	From what you are telling us, I understand that when we pray we should be disciplined and orderly.
V:	Correct...! Besides, we should pray with faith. John, the disciple of Jesus writes, "Now, this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
K:	The more and more I hear the Word of God, the desire to learn more about it springs in my mind.

M:	That's a very good sign! Reading and meditating upon God's word is the second spiritual exercise you should do to remain prepared for our Lord's second coming. May I play you a song which speaks about God's word?
Both:	Yes, .... Certainly!....
	__________________________________________________________ (A song with the theme of Psalm 19:7-11 is played.) __________________________________________________________
Vasant:	King David had sung many songs in praise of God. All of them are in the Book of Psalms of the Bible. And this song which you now heard is from the 19th Psalm. In the 119th Psalm, David sang, "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you". Again, he sang, "Your word is a lamp upon my feet and a light unto my path." Every Christian who longs for the coming of our Lord needs to be ready like the wise virgins with lamps and oil which are symbolic of a life of prayer and Bible study. Tarrying in prayer with God's word deep in one's through force leads us to live a life of holiness and that's how to remain prepared to receive Jesus at His coming and be received by Him to live with Him forever.
Sunder:	Now I understand what spiritual discipline is....
Kasturi:	This Bible is a big volume... Don't you think that it will take many years to read it completely?!
M:	Kasturi... the Bible is divided into two parts...
K:	Yes, I know... Sunder had explained it to me. The first part is the Old Testament and it has 39 books and the second part is the New Testament with 27 books.
M:	You... smartie.. Good. It seems Sunder is teaching you everything. Well! If you read 10 chapters of the Bibleeveryday, you may be able to complete reading in a year. It is good if you can rad the Bible many times like this.. But when you read the Bible, it is necessary to make a minute examination of God's glory, love and power; the various efforts He had taken to redeem His people; how His chosen leaders like priests, kings and prophets led lives pleasing to Him; and how we should lead lives which are pleasing to Him. Reading the word of God and meditating on them are desired much.
K:	I have just started reading and writing. Sunder is teaching me. Once I master reading the language, I will read the Bible from the beginning to the end.
V:	None of these efforts that you are taking now will go in vain. We will be praying for you and God will bless you with success.
S:	Annan.... we are exceedingly grateful to you for explaining these matters very clearly.
V:	Thank you, Sunder. There is a valid reason for us to minister to you. Our Savior and Lord has been showering on us countless blessings. The benefits we have been receiving from Him are many... and how can we repay our gratitude? There's only one way. By sharing His love and salvation to people like you... Now listen! There is one more aspect of the spiritual discipline we are talking about; and that is ... worshiping God in His sanctuary every Sunday along with other believers of our Lord.
S:	You mean.. we should go to church every Sunday... Can't we worship God at home?
Vasant:	Worshiping God at home is good. But... it is not enough. In this matter, Jesus Christ Himself had set us an example. He came into the world as a fulfillment of the law and the commandments. Therefore, He obeyed all the commandments; and the fourth commandment is, "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy". In obedience to this rule, he went to the temple every Sabbath Day to worship God and learn the Word of God. He even participated in discussing with others about God and about matters concerning God. He defined the temple as "the House of God" and proclaimed that His zeal of God's house had eaten Him up.
Sunder:	I understand... we must also do what Jesus showed us to do.
Mano:	This Jesus, who obeyed the discipline, commanded in the New Testament has promised that He will send the Holy Spirit to be with His disciples to make them live in fellowship with one another. The Holy Spirit led the early Christians to follow the commandment of Jesus Christ to participate in the Lord's Supper as He did on the last night of His life on this earth. Accordingly, Sunday after Sunday they met and remembered the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ in breaking of bread which symbolized His body which was broken for us, and drinking wine which represented His blood which was shed for us. By attending the church every Sunday, we fulfill His wish that we develop a deeper fellowship with fellow believers and then glorify God, before the non-believers.
S:	Annan... Now I understand what church attendance means. The church is established to witness to the miraculous birth, His suffering death and His glorious resurrection and His victorious coming again to gather us unto Him. That's fantastic and I love it.
Kasturi:	What do you mean by witnessing?
V:	It's a very good question, Kasturi! For all our questions, there is only one source that gives the answers; and that's the Bible. When Jesus was teaching His disciples, He said, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see Your good works and glorify Your Father in heaven." Our lives should reflect Jesus Christ. Others should see the quality of life we live.
S:	It means that witnessing is through our own example..
V:	Correct... you have grasped it well.. There is one more thing Jesus had commanded His disciples.
M:	May I explain that point?
V:	OK... Go ahead....
M:	After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He spent forty days with His disciples. At the end of this period, He ascended into heaven.
S:	I remember that. You have told us earlier that during those forty days Jesus appeared not only to His disciples, but also to hundreds of others also.
Mano:	You said it right! Now.. before He ascended, Jesus gave His disciples a commission. He said, "All authority is given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, make disciples of nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you; and how I am with you always, even to the end of the earth."
K:	Jesus is our Lord and Savior. He came into our life and made us so happy. I must share that happiness with others. I think it is a necessity.
Sunder:	I have a question. In this commission that Jesus gave, I observed that in addition to sharing His Gospel, He has also asked us to baptize others.. What does that mean?
Vasant:	That's an important question to be answered. After a person had his conversion, its confirmation is experienced only after he is baptized with water and in Spirit. Before Jesus advised His disciples to do this, He Himself was baptized by John the Baptist publicly. Later, His disciples stipulated this as a basic requirement to be enlisted as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
S:	Kasturi... don't you feel that we should also confirm our conversion experience with baptism.
K:	Certainly... Sunder. I am prepared.
Vasant:	We are very happy that you both have made this decision and commitment. Very soon I shall fix a date for your baptism.
Both:	We will ever remain indebted to you.
	_______________________________________________________________ (A song of commitment which deals with church membership and witnessing is played.) _______________________________________________________________
	This ends Cassette 4 Back to Scripts
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