Hearing the Undeniable Voice of God

Praise God for His grace that calls unlikely men and women to join Him in destroying the works of the devil, freeing people and nations through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Again and again, we see this in the Bible, and it is a model for our own day, certainly in India and in the ministry of India Gospel Outreach. Few of those who graduate from IGO Bible training centers are born into fame or fortune. But they have assignments from the King of kings and Great High Priest Himself to act with the authority of kings and priests in bringing India’s peoples and culture to Him.

In today’s India, with an inflated economy, good paying high-tech jobs and increased persecution of Christians, it takes a person truly convinced by the Holy Spirit to “let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also.” It takes a person called by the Holy Spirit to willingly accept that call, convinced that “the body they may kill, but God’s truth abideth still.”

This selfless and risky stance is taken by very average men and women most of us would not notice on the street unless the Holy Spirit pointed them out to us.

God has convinced them that whatever the world throws at them, they can do nothing else but preach the gospel.

In these trying days for India, it has become easier for IGO Bible schools to discern which men and women have genuine calls of God and those who decide to go into ministry for other reasons. Part of a “genuine call” involves the story of how they came to Christ and/or how, as believers, they heard the persuasive voice of God through prophetic word and/or experience that comes from no other source but God Himself.

That word or experience overrides every worldly persuasion that could otherwise move them to do other things with their lives. They must “get out of the boat and walk on water in the middle of the storm” even when everyone else tells them, “NO!”

This month, and from time to time, we will tell you of a few of these Indian men and women who have heard this genuine call of God.

Sanu comes from a small village in Wayanad district, Kerala. His family includes his mother and a younger sister. His father passed away from a heart condition about 15 years ago.

Sanu accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior on February 14, 2009. Up to that time, he struggled with his studies at school, often failing his subjects. His teachers considered him—and he considered himself—not only a mediocre student, but even mentally challenged. This reputation and self-image had many damaging repercussions on his life. He hung in the background, seeming not to have any potential—a sure loser in his own eyes and others.

Sanu’s decision to follow Jesus Christ totally changed his life. He received wisdom from above that dramatically improved his studies from that point on—and gave him much-needed self-respect. He realized now that God had loved him all along!

He scored superior marks on his higher secondary exams, helping him to gain admission to a respected college in Wayanad, Kerala. He completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) with flying colors from Calicut University, with a focus on Human Resource Management.

This was only the beginning. College life was not only about academics for Sanu—it was also a time when he shared his faith with classmates out of gratitude for what God had done for him. He actively took part in Inter Collegiate Prayer Fellowship, an Indian Christian organization for college students. He found he had leadership gifts in organizing student gatherings to introduce others to Jesus. This played a major role in shaping his ministry journey.

His local church pastor recognized these gifts and encouraged them, giving him opportunities to lead worship, teach Sunday School, organize youth meetings, and more. All these experiences helped him grow in his calling and gave him added confidence that God called him to ministry.

In 2020, he joined India Bible College and Seminary in the four-year Bachelor of Divinity program, graduating with honors in 2024. Presently, this “low intelligence” graduate from IBC serves as an instructor at Odisha Bible Training Center. He continues to organize evangelistic activities including online introductory courses
for seekers.

Lilly Margaruerite comes from Tamil Nadu and was born into a Christian family. Her father was a pastor, and from an early age, she and her siblings learned about Jesus. As she grew up, she was a “daddy’s girl” and relied strongly upon him for emotional support. When still young, she committed her life to Christ. She did well in her studies throughout her academic life.

Life went smoothly for Lilly during these years. After graduation from college, she began what she believed was a career as a school teacher. She looked forward to a dream marriage and family of happy and healthy children. And then, in 2017, life suddenly turned sour.

Lilly married, but the marriage did not turn out as expected. Two months after her marriage began, it was all over. Her husband was a nightmare, not a dream. This was a severe blow to her, and she turned to her minister-father for his emotional support and counsel.

Then her father suddenly died. With her failed marriage and the loss of her devoted father, Lilly went into deep depression that lasted for more than three years. It was hard for her to work, and God seemed remote and impersonal. Even as a young woman, she thought her life was over.

One Sunday, she went to church, and the pastor’s message that morning seemed made just for her. The pastor almost seemed to read her mind. Nothing like this had ever happened before, and she knew the Holy Spirit was speaking to her and calling her out of her depression into something more.

That message changed everything for Lilly. Suddenly, God seemed close to her again, and she began to read her Bible and speak to the Lord in a way she never did before. God opened up new insights into Himself and His ways, and what He wanted to do through her. She experienced a walk with Christ deeper than anything she knew before her trials.

All of this eventually led Lilly to study at India Bible College and Seminary and the Master of Divinity Program. She graduated in 2023 and is presently working in a church to develop her teaching gifts. Her long-term goal is to start up a Bible-centered school in an area where few if any people have any knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Vicky (this time, a male name) comes from a village in Punjab and recently graduated from Punjab Bible College with a Diploma in Theology. He comes from a Hindu background in which idolatry was regularly practiced. He gave his life to Christ because of the radical changes he saw in his father.

Vicky’s father was a tailor by trade, but he was often too drunk or strung out on drugs to work. For some reason, a close relative made things even worse by going to a witch doctor and casting a spell on his father so that he became filled with demons. His father used to mercilessly beat his wife and children. The demons made him eat broken glass and huge nails used in heavy construction. They lived in a shack that leaked terribly when it rained, neglected by his father.

While Vicky and his sisters were still young, his mother was forced to work and provide what their father could not provide. Because she had little education and skills, this meant working long hours every day in cattle yards doing the most menial and filthy jobs. But she managed to make enough to send her children to school. In the meantime, Vicky worked as a waiter in a small café.

When one of his sisters married, her husband was a believer in Jesus, and through him, Vicky’s father heard the Good News that set him free at last. His radical change transformed the whole household. Vicky did not plan to go to Punjab Bible College, but after he arrived at the recommendation of a pastor, he knew that God was calling him to prepare for the day when he would share his story with others. He wants to honor and thank God for new hope in Christ.

Divya, also a recent graduate from Punjab Bible College, grew up in a Hindu household. Her entire childhood and youth were marked by intense sadness. Nothing could shake it. For no reason she could discern, she spent hours weeping, filled with fear and trembling.

The deities of Hinduism gave her no comfort and did not answer her prayers when she prayed for deliverance from her prison of unspeakable sadness. No activity or pleasure ever gave her any sense of real joy. She felt bound by invisible chains, trapped behind prison bars she could not see but were very real.

Four years ago, for the first time, she heard the gospel from a passing evangelist. She heard about a love of God who came in the form of a man named Jesus Christ who willingly gave His life to rid people like her of blindness, prisons and chains.

She decided to test this God out. She begged this unknown God to free her from this trap of sadness that had bound her as long as she could remember. She discovered that this unknown God heard her prayer and delivered her.

From that point, she began to read a Bible to learn more about this Jesus Christ and God who answered her prayer and delivered her. She extended her prayers to other areas of her life and found that God was faithful to answer these prayers as well. Gradually, she realized that many other people around her felt the same way she did, and she knew God wanted her to help them with the help that changed her own life. This brought her to Punjab Bible College.

Pray that every man and woman who hears and answers God’s call to ministry will bear much fruit, above anything he/she asks or thinks. “Faithful is He who calls you, and He will bring it to pass” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

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