Attaining Fullness of Life God's plan for His Children -- A Hindu comes to Jesus Christ


Testimony of Brother Habakkuk

Brother Habakkuk was born into a Hindu family. But, God used various
events in the life of this firebrand student leader to transform into a
firebrand Christian preacher. As a student, like most young people away
from home, the writer found many influences at work in his life. Some
of the evil influences nearly destroyed him. But God in His mercy
planted good influences too-- influences that would provide the crucial
turning point in the life of this revolutionary youth. God miraculously
changed his life and helped channel his energies for witnessing for the
Lord. Brother Habakkuk has dedicated his life for full-time service of the
Lord since. The writer in his own words tells about the power of Jesus
Christ that triumphed and guided him towards attaining fullness of
life.



Preface
Looking back at the events in my life, I am very convinced that the
Sovereign Lord-- who sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to save the
mankind--has a plan for all His Children. The sooner we acknowledge this truth
and align our lives unto His plans the better. In my own life, if the
teachers at the Christian school were more committed, I could have been
drawn to Christ even sooner in my young life. Retrospectively, it also
taught me the truth that our behavior can hinder or accelerate others'
coming closer to Christ. Despite initial setbacks and my arrogance, God
did not leave me and in His providence arranged for me to know Him
Through a very good young Christian. God perfects His plan in our lives
using different people and events, however insignificant they may seem at
the time.

It would give me immense joy and happiness if this booklet becomes a
blessing to Christian and non-Christian households. I have always felt
and experienced that a testimony meant and written for the glory of God
will be a precious anointing for others as well. If this
testimony will help one heart reach Christ; sow one seed that would
rekindle the sprit of a doubtful soul attain the truth of the Living God; or
mirror the condition of a confused mind in making the right decision of
coming to Christ, I would consider it a major accomplishment for
generating happiness in heaven. I am praying that this booklet would help
many more, both the Christians and non-Christians alike in discovering
God's plan for each of their lives.

This booklet seeks to provide encouragement, comfort, guidance,
counseling, correction and clarification of doubts for those, going through a
tough time; or those caught of in the quagmire of life with no sight of
hope on the horizon; or those who never thought about what happens to
them when this earthly journey comes to an end.

It is envisaged that this booklet will help the Hindu converts who make
the decision to follow Christ, but are afraid to acknowledge Him
publicly. My own experience demonstrates that God proves Himself faithful to
those who give up everything, everyone for His sake to follow Him and
serve Him. God is ready to come on everyone's behalf if they surrender
their lives fully and unconditionally to Jesus Christ.

May the Living God guide and bless you as you read this small
testimony. I am conscious that the Holy Spirit alone can make truth profitable
to the heart and hence we commit this small booklet to His care and
guidance.


Brother K. Habakkuk



Orthodox beginnings
I was born in a Hindu family of the Nair community of north Kerala. My
original name was Kuniyil Kunjuram Kurup. My mother died when she was
only 19 years old leaving behind two very young children. I was two and
half years old and my brother only four months. While dying, my mother
entrusted my brother and me over to her mother. Therefore, my grand
mother took up the responsibility of bringing us up. She was more than a
mother to me. Very loving and compassionate woman that she was, my
maternal grandmother, bestowed much love and care upon me. She was always
feeding the hungry and helping the needy in the village and earned a
very good name for her charitable deeds. She looked after me very well and
tried her best to help me grow into a good human being. My father
remarried, but I kept in touch with my father, stepmother and our
stepsisters who were all good and nice towards me.

My grandmother had an earnest desire that I might make something of my
life and to this end she wanted me to receive good education. After
passing my elementary school examination, I was sent to the Basil
Evangelical Christian High School at Badagara. This mission school was an
English medium School and everyone was dressed in Western style of clothing
and conversed in English only. Coming from a village, It was a culture
shock to me. It was also the time of Quit India movement and along with
other school children I participated in the political rallies held by
leaders of that time to express our support for the Quit India movement.

Away from home and the control of elders, I gained liberty and was free
to live my life as I wished. Within a short time of my joining high
school, I made friends with a group of boys of bad character. At the same
time, I also became interested in politics wasting my time in empty and
fruitless activities. I became popular in the school and friendships
increased. By the time I reached 10th Class, I fought the School
leader's election on a Congress ticket and became the School President. This
new position kept me even busier, arbitrating peace between student
groups, teachers and the management. This took away most of my precious
time and I started to loose control over my own life.

Consequently, I had lost all interest in my studies and failed in my
exams several times. I managed to get promotion only after engaging a
tutor. Satan was out to destroy my life. As I look back, the condition of
my life at that time was very much like that of the man in the parable
who "went from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among the thieves, and was
robbed and wounded". Despite my grandmother's earnest endeavors, I allowed
myself to be robbed of life's true riches at a very early age due to my
waywardness and was perilously close to total destruction.

A true Friend
At the mission school, the principal and the vice-principal were very
good and caring Christians and I loved them. We used to have a general
assembly every morning where scriptures were read from the Bible. I had
respect for the Bible but they did not influence me much because the
teacher who read them was quite worldly and did not set a good example.
We also had a Scripture class, which was led by the same teacher, but
the general low impression of the teacher did not help matters much.


As students, we were all staying as paying guests with Christian
families and were eating at a mess run by a member of the Basil Evangelical
Church. There I met a young man, who was about ten years senior to me.
Although there were many other Christian and non-Christian students
eating from the same mess, he took interest in me and invited me to his
home. He hailed from a rich Marthomite Christian family. Though he was the
son of a district magistrate, he used to dress in a very simple style
and carried no airs about him. His kind manners and behavior impressed
me so much that I began to like him for his good behavior. We became
friends from the very first meeting. He turned out to be a good Christian
and a very God-fearing one at that. I tried to influence him to join my
kind of life, but soon I realized that his interests were quite
different from that of my own. I did not like it and reacted against his
disciplined and strict moral way of life. My earlier admiration turned
into hatred. I branded him a fool and a hypocrite. But he continued
to show me the same kindness and consideration as at first. He
endeavored to convince me that my unclean life should be changed, but in reply I
argued that man was a fool if he did not enjoy the pleasures of the
world and that heaven and hell existed only in this life.

I decided that I would stop visiting this friend, but somehow I was
drawn to him again, so I continued the friendship in a half-hearted way.
The more I saw of him and I examined his life, the more I realized that
he was not a hypocrite as I had first judged him. I realized that he
was an honest person motivated by genuine fear of God. Gradually my
hatred for him turned into admiration and I began to respect him for his
life and behavior.

At the same time, a desire was born in my heart to reform the condition
of my own life. I wanted to get rid of all my evil habits and clean up
my filthy life. I accepted the fact that apart from holiness, no one
could see God. I wanted my life to be pure and holy so that I could
come closer to God.
A Desperate Attempt
From then on, I made a desperate attempt to reform my life. I separated
myself from my evil companions and tried to break my old habits. I gave
up smoking and stopped going to movies. In spite of my sincere efforts,
I did not make much progress in changing my way of life. I failed in
all my attempts to make myself holy by self effort. I did not realize
that I needed a Savior to save me from the bondage of sin. However, I
would not listen to my friend when he spoke about Lord Jesus Christ. I was
prepared to believe in God but I did not want to have anything to do
with Christ or his teachings. I emphasized that Jesus had nothing to do
with me.

The Turning Point
Then my friend gave me a copy of the Bible in Malayalam, my mother
tongue. First of all, I became interested in Psalms and then I started
reading the gospels. As I continued to read about the wonderful life of
Lord Jesus Christ, my prejudices and ill feelings disappeared. I started
loving the scriptures and it really was the turning point in my life.

Voice of Peace
I had a desire to be holy. I was trying to avoid certain bad habits,
evil friendships and control my evil thoughts. Despite my sincere
efforts, my resolution to lead a pious life failed. I fell into a great
temptation and committed a very evil deed. Someone told me that such a sin
could never be forgiven and I was doomed to go to hell. I was very much
worried and did have peace in my heart. I became restless. I could not
eat, drink or talk to anybody. I felt so guilty that I was very much
worried within. The struggle within became increasingly unbearable. When I
thought of the consequences of the sin I felt very scared. I felt, that
I betrayed myself and began to curse myself for having broken the
resolution so soon.

Vision of the Shepherd
That evening at about 6 O'clock, I was lying on my bed very
disillusioned. I was looking at the ceiling thinking about what kind of situation
I had landed my self into. Then suddenly a person appeared in my room,
stood by my bed, and looked at me very compassionately in a loving,
tender and caring way. His countenance was very peaceful and the loving
and kind expression on his face touched my soul soothingly. Then suddenly
he disappeared. I felt very comforted and wondered who this person
could be!

Then I remembered that the person who appeared in the vision bore a
resemblance to the person in the picture frame of my Christian friend.--
like the shepherd with a staff in His hands and a lamb on His shoulders.
Then I realized that the person in the vision was Jesus who came to
assure me that God is love and He has come to seek and save those who are
lost in sin but not to condemn them. Then I heard a voice speak within
myself, which said, "Jesus Christ came not to destroy sinners but to
save them".

I was encouraged by this thought and I prayed a simple prayer in my
heart asking God to forgive my sins and accept me as His child. After
that, I felt that my prayer was answered and that I should simply come to
God in faith. Then I asked myself as to what should I do? Then I heard a
voice saying from within that I should go to a particular room and
spend my time there. I went to that room with my Bible and I spent the
whole day praying, fasting, and repenting for my sins in a Godly sorrow. I
never prayed like that before nor heard of such repentance. Later I
understood that it was the handiwork of the Holy Spirit who convicts first
of all and makes a sinner confess His sins to Jesus Christ. (John 16:
7-9). At about 5 O'clock in the evening I could hear a voice within me
saying that Jesus had forgiven all my sins and cleansed me from all the
evil sins I committed. Then I felt a great happiness in my heart like
never before. I felt like a new creation. I felt no more fear. I
felt like a new person and a new light entered my heart that brought
joy peace, hope and happiness and I could feel the presence of Christ in
my heart. The Biblical verse, in II Corinthians 5: 17, suddenly came
alive in my life "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature; behold, all things are become new".


Home Coming
After being saved, I was very keen to share this good news with my
family so that they also could believe in the living savior and be saved. I
was very eager to share the essence of Christ's love and compassion and
the power to forgive sins of the mankind.

So I reached my village, went straight to my grandmother, and shared
the word of God with her. She was very happy to see me and noticed the
change in my appearance and speech. She found no cigarettes packets in my
pocket and also noticed new hope in my talk. As I shared the gospel
with her I cautioned her that she would go to hell if she did not repent
and accept Jesus Christ as her personal savior. For her, seeing was
believing. So impressed was she by the changes in my life, that she told me
that she also believed in Lord Jesus Christ.

My father was not a religiously inclined person so he did not have any
qualms about my becoming a Christian. Even my stepmother and
stepsisters did not show any objection. My father listened to the gospel and
understood the importance of salvation but it did not bring
about the desired change in his life.

During a subsequent visit, I arrived in my village, the same day as
that of the finalization of the matrimonial alliance for my stepsister. I
was introduced to them casually and I was unaware of the purpose of
their visit. So in my enthusiasm I thought it to be a good opportunity and
gave the gospel to the bridegroom's entourage. I told them how Jesus
changed my life and made me a good child of His. Outraged by my preaching
and also that I became a Christian they stormed out of the house saying
that they did not want any marriage with our family.

My father, stepmother and stepsisters did not like the turn of events
and were afraid that none of my four stepsisters would ever get married
if I were in their vicinity. So from that point of time I was not much
welcome to my father's home. My bother who was an atheist did not care
much about my Christianity nor did my maternal uncles excepting the
eldest of them who taught me morning puja etc., when I was a child. So he
boycotted me completely and was very hostile to me after that. But
these things do happen in the lives of Hindu brothers and sisters who
accept Jesus as their personal savior. God did give me the grace to overcome
all these emotions and go forward in my Christian life.

Search for a new beginning
Later in 1951, my friend invited me to join him in setting up a
tire-retreading factory. His father gave him a big amount as a start-up
capital for the venture and we were buying the necessary equipment. We could
buy all the machinery except for a boiler, which we came to know, was
available in Vellore, Tamilnadu. Enroute to Vellore, we briefly stopped
in Madras and spent sometime in the fellowship of the saints in Jehovah
Shammah. We went to Vellore but our mission to buy the boiler was
unsuccessful. The Boiler mission having failed, I parted ways with my
friend. Nevertheless, I was glad that I found Jehovah-Shammah, which proved
to be a spiritual oasis to me that would later become the path to the
Promised Land of my spiritual journey. God had a specific purpose for my
life, hence, as I understand now, led me to the portals of Jehovah
Shammah through a mundane boiler mission that failed.

The following year, i.e., 1952, I had the privilege of attending the
All India Holy Convocation at Jehovah Shammah in Madras (now renamed
Chennai). During that period, the Lord spoke to me about the meaning of
Baptism and I was baptized in the presence of a large gathering of saints.

From the elders of “Jehovah Shammah” I came to know of the
month-long special revival Meetings at Bangalore and I proceeded there to
participate in them. Arranged by the Bangalore assembly, these revival
meetings were addressed by Brother Bakht Singh and Brother Daniel Smith. The
Lord called me for His Service during these meetings.

The Calling for His Ministry
My calling for His service merits elaboration here. During these
meetings Brother Daniel Smith was giving a sermon from Matthew (4:17-22)
about the calling of the fishermen Peter and Andrew. Jesus approached them
while they were mending their nets and said "Follow me, and I will make
you fishers of men" v 19 and "they left their nets and immediately
followed Him " v 20.

The Lord spoke to me directly saying that this prophecy was for me and
that I should trust His word, leave everyone and everything behind and
follow Him to become a fisher of men. At first I was not so sure as to
what the Lord was trying to tell me, but the Holy Spirit later made the
meaning of the calling very clear to me. So I understood that Lord
Jesus was asking me to leave everyone and everything I was depending upon
and follow Him right away.

It so happened that Brother Augustine, an elder from Elim, and me were
sharing the same room during the campaign. During the month-long
meetings, God had constantly been speaking to me about His service. I had
already made a resolution to become His servant. Not knowing my resolve,
Brother Augustine on his own asked encouraged me to become a servant of
the Lord. On the last day of the meetings, I went and met Brother Bakht
Singh and told him that God had called me for His ministry. In reply
Brother Bakht Singh told that he himself was praying for me and was thinking
of asking me to become the servant of God. He prayed for me and
ordained me then and there as the servant of God.

Brother Bakht Singh wanted me to join Elim in Hyderabad immediately,
but the elders at Bangalore felt that I should assist them with the
Cantonment ministry among the Malayalam and Tamil soldiers and other army
personnel before I could relocate to Hyderabad. I stayed with Bro.Alfred
Flack and Bro.Angus Kinnear who were then in Bangalore as missionaries
from England.


Around the same time the friend of mine who led me to the Lord wanted
me to work with him in his business and kept pressuring me with this
proposal again and again. But by now, I understood that the Lord wanted
me to leave him and his friendship, despite the fact that he wanted to
adopt me, and forsake all property and assets that I inherited from my
parents and severe all relationships.

For me God's word was final and it was not my will but the will of the
Holy Spirit that guided me. Jesus wanted me to leave all these
materialistic things so that I would cling to Him and Him alone whole-heatedly.

This friend of mine repeatedly tried to wean me from Brother Bakht
Singh's fellowship but God never gave me peace or liberty about these
things. God spoke to me through Matthew 16: 24,25 " If any man will come
after, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will loose it for
my sake will find it" and it encouraged me not to yield to the
temptation of materialistic gains even in the face of stark poverty, disease
and slander.

A Great Test
After I was called to the service of the Lord in 1952, I started my
stewardship at the Bangalore House of Worship. The first few months of my
stay taught me very valuable lessons in Christian life. In 1953 in the
month of November, Brother Bakht Singh sent two telegrams asking me to
come to Hyderabad and I obeyed his orders. Before, coming to Elim, I
was given a fearful account of the Elim life so I was a bit scared about
coming. As per Brother Bakht Singh's wishes I came to Hyderabad and
stayed at the Elim compound. My stay at Bangalore House of worship was
very encouraging and very comfortable. There, I did not know any thing
about suffering for Christ.


Life at Elim was very different compared to my stay with Bro. A.Flack
and Bro.A.Kinnear in Bangalore. There was no proper food, nor proper
accommodation nor any money to support myself. However, God comforted me
and cleared all my doubts about suffering, trials and temptations
through His Word in Job 23: 10-15. Then I understood why a servant of God
has to suffer and go through trials and tests before he could be truly
used for by God for His ministry.

In fact I was penniless for months together at a stretch but I knew
that I was not supposed to give even a hint of my penury nor about my
financial needs to anyone. Although I was in charge of the Book-room and
was handling large amounts of cash, I myself was penniless. But I did
not touch even a single paisa for my personal use. I used to hand over
the cash and clear the accounts everyday.

One day it so happened that I was very discouraged by the plight of my
failing health and lack of financial support. In the morning, I prayed
“Lord if you don't provide for my immediate needs today, I will leave
this place and go away dejectedly".

During those days, I was doing the painting job in the prayer hall. So
I gathered the paints, brushes and oil and set out to do the day's job.
I had to mix paints using my hands to bring out a lump of paint from
the white lead tin. While pouring it into the other tin, I felt a little
weight in my palm and I saw something like a metal piece, round in
shape. When I took it and examined it after wiping it with a cloth, to my
great astonishment, it turned out to be a One-Rupee coin with the
embossment of King George the VI.

I could not believe that it was a one-rupee coin and asked the brothers
working there whether it belonged to them. Nevertheless, nobody claimed
it as theirs. Then I suddenly remembered the prayer I made that morning
and felt very sorry for my un-belief. I took that coin, showed it to
the brother -in-charge, and explained it how it came to me. He prayed
saying “God did it to show that He was faithful and that with God all
things were possible". This incident helped me in strengthening my weak
faith and stopped me from going my own way and also challenging God
about His faithfulness towards His children. I decided to stay back and
continue God's work. Thereafter whenever I wanted something I used to
remember this incident and pray to the Lord to provide for my needs. My
faithful Lord has continually been providing for all for all my needs
until now.

Marriage
Despite my ill health and poverty, God miraculously brought a companion
into the spiritual journey of my life. In the year 1960, God gave me a
promise from the Book of Psalms 128:3: “Thy wife will be as a
fruitful vine by the sides of thine house, thy children like olive plants
round about thy table". This promise brought a great confusion to me, as I
was single at that time and brought commotion among the brothers
staying at Elim. Some brothers went and told Brother Bakht Singh about the
promise. Then Brother Bakht Singh promised that he would pray about my
future. I was very earnestly expecting for an answer from Brother Bakht
Singh. But it took two and half years before he could tell me as to what
God had shown him about my future.



One day Brother Bakht Singh called and told me that God had clearly
shown him the person who would be my life partner. But when I heard about
it I was a bit disappointed and even doubted if it was Lord's choice,
because she did not know Malayalam or English and I did not know one
word of Telugu her mother tongue.

But I prayed and it took five months for me to understand that it was
God's perfect will for me. God spoke to me through His Word from I
Samuel 15:22 (And Samuel said Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices as in the obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to
obey is better than to sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of the
rams), saying that I should obey God's will and not be guided by my
emotions or feelings. Lord also clearly told me that my sacrifices were
negligible compared to my obedience to God's command.

I obeyed and the marriage was arranged. On 13th March, 1962, Brother
Bakht Singh solemnized our marriage. My bride Mary was a Brahmin convert
from Hyderabad. Only that day we saw each other and spoke to each
other, for the first time after the marriage and never before although we
stayed in the same campus for seven years.

After marriage, we served the Lord in several small assemblies. At each
of these places, the Lord had tested our faith, patience, endurance,
faithfulness and humility. There were many ups and owns but the Lord had
compassion on me and my family. Even when about to sink the Lord
miraculously were brought us out into safety.

God heals my sickness
In the year 1991, I became very sick and was perilously close to death.
I was staying at the Zion compound in Hyderabad which is very close to
the Hebron Headquarters. I could hardly eat; I could not sleep and
hence became a mental wreck. My wife and children also suffered because of
my deep depression. Those days were really dark and my chances of
survival were very slim. However, my hope was in the Lord. All the believers
who knew us came from far and near and comforted my family and me.
Their demonstration of true Christian love did in fact help us. I can't
forget their love and prayers. Their prayers did not go in vain.

One fine morning I got up and felt very fine. Sickness had left me and
new hope entered my life. I praised God for the miracle and asked my
wife to give me something to eat and drink. My wife could not believe
how it happened. I had gone for a walk and had a good haircut and had
taken a bath. I was like the dead Lazarus who was brought alive out of the
grave in grave clothes at the word of Jesus. Similarly I was freed from
the jaws of death and fear. Truly, Jesus is alive and His resurrective
power is available to His people when they pass through the valley of
death. Praise the Lord for He is alive.

During our stay in other assemblies also we faced several trials,
hardships, sufferings and poverty. However, the faithful God, helped us to
serve the Lord together as a family. God has granted us two sons and as
a family, we are committed to serving the Lord.




Today, we are very happy and contended because our God is a living God
and wonder-working God who fulfills His promises in the Holy Bible. His
Holy Word says, "All things are possible to them that believe in Him".
Whatever we ask in the name of JESUS He will provide.

As a sinner who was lost, I heard the voice of the good shepherd and
became His follower. I was in spiritual darkness and for many years was
dead in trespasses and sins but Lord Jesus Christ drew me to himself.
He has given me a new hope in my life. He has given me the gift of
eternal life. He has given me grace to follow Him during the past fifty
years through many trials and temptations.

I can truly say "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" I know He
will se me through to the end of this life and afterwards receive me to
glory. "Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts"
Hebrews 3.15

I am a living testimony. God has turned around my life-- from Kerala,
he brought me to a place I knew not; and then he rebuilt my life to be
His witness, both here and abroad-- to be a living witness for Him.

Friends, in the last seven decades of my sojourn, I have seen so much
progress of our country: Freedom from the Colonists; Agricultural
revolution, Industrial Revolution and now digital revolution. Alongside
progress, the human misery has increased due to poverty and increasing
hopeless social order. I have interacted with some of the finest human
beings and talked to many more. My assessment is that there is no short cut
to happiness in life.

The real happiness comes from the Living God. Its God's Grace that you
are alive today reading this booklet and I thank God for that. We do
not know when our own end comes, so we should be fully prepared to meet
our maker.

But it is impossible to enter heaven with our sinful life. We need to
repent and benefit from the gift of eternal life freely available
through accepting Jesus Christ as our personal saviour.

As the Bible says in the gospel of John 3: 16" For God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life", the gift of eternal life
is freely available to all those who are ready to accept Jesus as their
savior today.

Dear friends! I humbly request you all, irrespective of the caste,
religion and region to believe in Lord Jesus Christ. You will be saved
from a hopeless life into a life full of hope.

I am sure that this testimony would encourage you to come forward
boldly for Lord Jesus Christ -- a decision which you will cherish both here
on earth and in eternity.


Testimony submitted to the Breadsite. To submit yours click here.