Testimony

THE TESTIMONY OF RAM BALI SINGH (Nicknamed Azad)

INTRODUCTION

My name is Rambali Singh. I was born in a Hindu family and raised  according to the customs and practices of the Hindu religion.

I thank God for the opportunity to share with you about  the great thing  he has done in my life I have shared my testimony with others a number of times but every time I do so, it comes out with a new freshness.

During my school days, I withdrew from any belief in God due primarily  to the company I kept. I mixed with bad friends and learned all the foul habits of such company. Finally I had to give up my studies because of this. Seeing my bad lifestyle, my family sent me away to live with my eldest brother in Patna.

In Patna I came into contact with communists and I was drawn to their teachings; they were teachings that everyone should be equal and that no one should oppress another. This appealed to me because it bothered me that the high castes looked down on the low castes. I remained under their teachings until I met a young lady  who changed my thinking

In 1976 I went to Ranchi  for an appointment one day and there I met a young woman who was distributing tracts She had some books in her hand also. She came up to me and asked, "Do you know anything about Jesus Christ?" and handed me a tract.

I was furious I answered her roughly, "Why do people like you pay innocent people to become Christians? You are enemies of this country of ours."

She answered me gently ,"I do not preach a religion but I tell you of Jesus Christ who is the saviour of the world"

After this, she spoke to me about forgiveness of sin, sacrifice, heaven and hell. I could not understand anything she was saying to me.

I said, "Whatever you wish to say, say it quickly, I have to go."

She said, "I want to ask you a question: I believe that if I were to die I would go to be with the Lord because He has forgiven my sins; if you were to die, where would you go?"

I could not answer her; I had never thought about going any place after death.

I said ,"I will go to the hell that you have spoken about "and saying this, I went on my way.

The next day I was to return to Patna. I went to the bus stand, bought a ticket and waited for the bus. In a little while, a bus came by but I thought that it was not my bus. Time passed, another bus came and I boarded it and sat down; but when the conductor checked my ticket, he told me that I was on the wrong bus. My ticket was for the bus that had left earlier. Fortunately he said I could ask permission from the superintendent to go on the bus I was in - which I did.

When My bus was passing the "ghat" area near Ramgarh we found out that the first bus(the one I should have taken) had met with an accident. Our bus stopped at the site and we all got out. There were many injured and eight people had lost their lives .To my utter amazement, among the dead I found the body of the young woman who had spoken to me the previous day about the Lord Jesus.

Seeing her, a question came into my mind, "She believed in God so why didn't God save her from such a terrible fate?"

At the same time, I remembered what she had said, "I am sure that if I die I will go to be with Christ because my sins have been forgiven and so I do not fear death but what will happen to you if you die? Where will you go?"

If, as I believed, there were no God, then she would be fine but if, as she believed, there were a God, then I would be confronted with a problem. I started thinking," If there is a God then there will be judgment and what will happen to me?"

I was very troubled. That very day I was filled  with fear of God and I determined to live a righteous life.

MY  EFFORTS TO LIVE A HOLY LIFE

I reached Patna safely that  day and the very next day I joined a Satsang. After some time, I got a job in Delhi and I went there. In Delhi I made great efforts to lead a righteous life. I would rise at 4:00 o’clock each morning, bathe, and then perform Puja. The little room where I lived, was full of

lived, was full of deities. I also regularly read Hindu religious books. Within a few months, people began to regard me as a righteous person; yet in spite of my reformed ways, there were areas in my life which I just could not overcome. To others, I looked as though I had achieved righteousness, but in my heart I was discontented and restless.

MY CONVERSION

In 1980, I visited Mumbai on a business trip. One day, as I was walking near The Gateway Of India I saw a group of people preaching about Christ. I stopped to listen. One of them was saying, "Jesus the Lord is the only way; without him, no one can be saved."

Anger rose up in me . I said, "Why do you people talk like this? You should say that all religions are one, that there are different ways but only one goal "

But they answered me, "The Bible does not say that all religions are one."

We argued back and forth for over two hours about these matters. One of the men was a former Hindu who had received the Lord Jesus. He asked me if I believed that I was a sinner. Indignant, I replied in negative.

He said, "The Bible declares that all men are sinners and separated from the glory of God."

I replied," If the Bible says that I am a sinner then prove it."

He answered me, "You know that lying is a sin but still you tell lies. You get angry with others and are jealous of them. You do things which you know you shouldn't."

I felt a jolt. How did this man know that I told lies, got angry and was a jealous person? I didn't know what to say because everything he said about me was true and this was the cause of my restlessness.

The man continued, "You don't become a sinner because you lie but you lie and commit sins because you are a sinner. These are the results of sin."He opened his Bible at Jeremiah 17:9 and read, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?"

Then he added, "The Lord Jesus can release you from all sins. He can free you from your restlessness."

He then invited me to a church service. I didn't know why, but I agreed to go the next day, which was Sunday. The church was meeting in a small hall. I was given a very loving welcome. But I harboured a great fear in my heart - I had heard that the Christians make Hindus eat beef in order to convert them to Christianity. So I determined that I would not eat anything set before me . To my surprise no such thing took place and to this day no one has made eating beef a requirement for me.

When the message was being preached, I gave it my full attention. It seemed that every word was directed at me. For the first time in my life recognized who is the true God. I came to know the love of Christ; the great love which He has for the world. I heard his call ,"Surrender yourself to me and I will have mercy on you. Though your sins be as scarlet will wash them white as snow."

I wept bitterly, acknowledging that I was a sinner. My hands were uplifted and tears were rolling down my cheeks I kept confessing, "Lord have mercy on me, a sinner. Be the Lord of my life. Today I give my life to you."At that very moment, an indescribable peace filled me and an unutterable joy flooded my being; my tears became tears of joy. July 5, 1980 was a great day for me It was the day my life was changed for ever.

PASTORING

I settled in Mumbai, where I joined a Christian fellowship. There, I received training in Christian leadership. After a few years I was sent out to Ranchi to plant a church in Bihar, one of the most difficult states for Christian work. At present we have churches in different part of Bihar and Jharkhand. Our works are among the MAGAHI,SANTHALI, MUNDA AND ORAON TRIBES.

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