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On Baptism
Bakht Singh

Bakht Singh Chabra (1903 - 2000). Indian evangelist, church planter, and Bible teacher born in Joiya, Punjab (now Pakistan), to a devout Sikh family. Educated at Punjab University, he studied agricultural engineering in England (1926-1928) and Canada (1929-1932), embracing a Western lifestyle, including smoking and drinking, while rejecting his Sikh roots by shaving his hair. Initially hostile to Christianity—once tearing a Bible apart—he converted in 1929 in Winnipeg after reading the New Testament, influenced by Christian friends John and Edith Hayward. Returning to India in 1933, he began preaching as an Anglican evangelist, later becoming independent, sparking the 1937 Martinpur revival, a pivotal movement in Indian Christianity. In 1941, after a night of prayer in Chennai, he founded Hebron Ministries, establishing over 10,000 indigenous churches modeled on New Testament principles across India and South Asia. Singh authored books like How I Got Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory and held annual “Holy Convocations” in Madras, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kalimpong, drawing thousands. Married to Rama Bai at age 12 in 1915, little is recorded of their personal life. His contextualized gospel, blending Indian spirituality with biblical truth, earned him the title “Elijah of the 21st Century” in Indian Christendom. Singh’s words, “I have never asked any man for anything, but the Lord is richly supplying all my needs,” reflect his faith-driven ministry. Despite Parkinson’s disease in his final decade, his legacy endures through Hebron’s global network and writings, praised by figures like Ravi Zacharias.
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Sermon Summary
In this sermon, the speaker shares a personal testimony of how he came to understand the value and importance of the episode mentioned in Matthew's Gospel chapter 3. He recounts a moment when God spoke to him and challenged him to consider if he was any better than his Savior. This encounter led him to realize his need for salvation and he obediently got baptized. The speaker also emphasizes the significance of spending time in the Bible and highlights the phrase "God said" occurring 558 times in the first five books of the Bible. Additionally, he shares how his father, after witnessing his transformation, also accepted Jesus as his Savior and was baptized.
Sermon Transcription
...on the very beginning of His salvation. The Lord gave me a great love for His Word from the very beginning of my conversion. I began to spend hours a day in the Bible. I began to spend hours on the Word of God. I read the whole Bible in six weeks. I went on every night. It was a great blessing that I first noticed. And I went on marking the lines which says, God said, and also on the map of Pakistan. And what? As we were on that tiny fragment, and God said, and God said, God spake, and God said. Then I noticed that sign, such light. And that phrase occurred 558 times in the Word of God after my dying. That expression, God said, or God spoke, spake, occurs 558 times in the first five books of the Bible. And the same, it is the only book which has that phrase repeated so many times. When I saw that, I said to the Lord, Lord, speak with me, I want to hear your voice. But it took two years for me to understand fully God's purpose and God's voice. Somewhere or other, in the beginning, I could not understand fully the meaning and the purpose of baptism. I read the Bible very sincerely. I wanted to obey Him fully. But somewhere or other, I was kept in spiritual darkness about the value and importance of baptism. But one day, in the month of February, in 1932, at that required time, God spoke to me. By reading the Gospel of St. Matthew, and third chapter. Then I read that portion, for thirteen chapters of the Bible. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming on the purpose to be baptized of you. The Lord said to me, Then the Lord said to me, I said, Lord, I never said that. Then the Lord said to me, Then the Lord said to me, Like a sword pierced my heart. And without understanding, the next day or the second day, I was baptized. That was in Vancouver, Canada. And from that day, everything changed for me. I found a new hunger for the Word of God from that day onwards. And new liberty in prayer and new liberty in fellowship. And that went on regularly. Similarly, my father also took me two years to know the Word of God. I had the privilege to baptize my own father in the year 1946. I had the privilege of baptizing my own father in the year 1946. He read the Bible also for many hours a day. But when I spoke to him about baptism, he always said to me, it's not necessary. But when I told him about religious baptism, he told me that was not necessary. I told him, you are my father, I cannot argue with you. But I prayed, I told him that I would pray that the Lord Himself may speak to you and take away your doubts. And the Lord heard my prayer. One morning, he was on his way to the High Court in Lahore. And he felt very tired. He came inside the church building to the empty building. And he sat there just to take rest. And he sat there to take rest. Suddenly, he saw a bright light shining before him. With these words, Behold the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. Behold the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. My father said, Lord Jesus, you have saved my son, save me also. Then his father said, Lord Jesus, you saved my son, please save me also. So my father came to me. Then my father came to me. And said to me, now I know what it means by baptism. Then he said to me, now I know the meaning of baptism. I asked him, first of all, are you sure you were born again? Then I asked him whether he was sure that he was born again. Both of us went to a neighbouring field to have quiet time. Then both of us went to a neighbouring field to have our quiet time. And I explained to my father in a simple language the meaning of new birth and baptism. Then in a simple language, I explained to my father the meaning of both salvation and baptism. Again it was that in the field my father tells how 90 years, he has always accepted God as his saviour. And there, right on the field, with tears streaming down his cheeks, he knelt down and confessed his sins and received the Lord Jesus Christ as his saviour and lord. That was a great happy day for me. And they saw the shining face of my father, the dear doctor coming out of the water. And then he was baptised and when I saw him as happy, his face shining with joy and coming out of the water.
On Baptism
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Bakht Singh Chabra (1903 - 2000). Indian evangelist, church planter, and Bible teacher born in Joiya, Punjab (now Pakistan), to a devout Sikh family. Educated at Punjab University, he studied agricultural engineering in England (1926-1928) and Canada (1929-1932), embracing a Western lifestyle, including smoking and drinking, while rejecting his Sikh roots by shaving his hair. Initially hostile to Christianity—once tearing a Bible apart—he converted in 1929 in Winnipeg after reading the New Testament, influenced by Christian friends John and Edith Hayward. Returning to India in 1933, he began preaching as an Anglican evangelist, later becoming independent, sparking the 1937 Martinpur revival, a pivotal movement in Indian Christianity. In 1941, after a night of prayer in Chennai, he founded Hebron Ministries, establishing over 10,000 indigenous churches modeled on New Testament principles across India and South Asia. Singh authored books like How I Got Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory and held annual “Holy Convocations” in Madras, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kalimpong, drawing thousands. Married to Rama Bai at age 12 in 1915, little is recorded of their personal life. His contextualized gospel, blending Indian spirituality with biblical truth, earned him the title “Elijah of the 21st Century” in Indian Christendom. Singh’s words, “I have never asked any man for anything, but the Lord is richly supplying all my needs,” reflect his faith-driven ministry. Despite Parkinson’s disease in his final decade, his legacy endures through Hebron’s global network and writings, praised by figures like Ravi Zacharias.