Tag: Jesudian Silvester

Categories
CHRISTMAS ARTICLES WITH A DIFFERENCE Deep Disciples of Jesus Shaping Article

The Full Glory of the Christmas Story Via Christmas Passages You Probably Missed While In A Hurry!

WOWED BY A WIDE-LENS VIEW OF CHRISTMAS BY A STUDY OF THE REFERENCES TO CHRISTMAS/INCARNATION OF CHRIST BY OTHER NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS APART FROM MATTHEW AND LUKE

Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj

Different writers of the Bible used various styles and imagery to describe the Christmas story. Using Holy Spirit-inspired colors they painted the Christmas Story in a wide range of colors! Yes, Matthew and Luke narrated the historic Christmas story. But other New Testament writers – notably Paul, John and the Hebrews-author – go back to the same Christmas event and explain its theological meanings and implications. Let us look at Christmas using a wide-lens, taking into account the writings of as many different New Testament writers as possible!

Not just Luke and Matthew. Paul, John, and the Hebrews-writer talk about Christmas! We have a mention of Christmas even in the book of Revelation! This article focusses on the non-Matthew, non-Luke stories of Christmas!

Paul described Christmas this way: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman..” (Gal. 4:4). For Paul, Christmas was all about the impeccable TIMING. Jesus came to the planet at the time designed by the Trinity. If God came to the earth as a sinless, perfect human at the right time, he knows the right time to remove that sickness you are presently enduring and give you the promotion you are eagerly expecting! We must learn to salute the Sovereignty of God who is always “on time” when it comes to working miracles on our behalf even though, at times, he may be “four days late” (John 11:39) (as one song-writer memorably put it).

The miracle that God has planned for you, will come at the ‘right time’ – God’s time!

John portrayed Christmas this way: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling (tabernacle) among us…” (John 1:14). For John, Christmas was about the TABERNACLE. This world is not our home and we just tabernacling – passing – through this world! As Jonathan Edwards put it, we go about our earthly tenure with ‘eternity stamped on our eyeballs’.

The Hebrews-writer envisioned Christmas this way: “Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil…” (Heb. 2:14). For the Hebrews-writer, Christmas was all about TERROR-REMOVAL. Jesus was born so that he would die and rise again and thereby open the door to remove the commonest fear among humans – the fear of death. And to die, he needed flesh and blood like us, humans. And during the first Christmas, he chose to cloth himself with flesh and blood! So no fear needs to grip us – the fear of an examination, the fear of a job-loss, the fear of another crippling pandemic, the fear of not being up-to-the-mark in the responsibilities given to us, the fear of …. !

Christmas happened that our fear of death will be gone! Hebrews-writer’s point!

John wrote again about Christmas choosing another thing to focus upon in 2 John. He wrote there: ‘For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist’ (2 John 7). For him, here, Christmas was all about TRUTH-GAURDING. By being born in the flesh – born as a baby into our planet – Jesus was showcasing the importance of the human body. The one who filled the universe would now live inside the body of a woman – her womb! And once he came out of her womb, he would exist in a human body coping with all its restrictions of having to be in one place at one time (something that was strange for the God who was everywhere present)! The human body cannot become a playground for sexual immorality. If you did not believe in Christmas –  God’s coming in the flesh – then it would not be a big deal for you to indulge the flesh! So, if you really believed in Christmas, you will motivation to live a sexually pure life! That was John’s point in 2 John.

2 John has a verse about Christmas/Incarnation that encourages us to overcome sexual sin!

John was not tired of writing about Christmas time and again! He kept coming back to Christmas to expound the theological implications of Christ as the Spirit of God prodded him to. He gives us a peek of Christmas in Revelation 12, I believe: the Sun-clothed woman’s baby was about to be devoured by Satan the moment he was born (Rev. 12:4). Remember how Herod tried to finish off the new born baby Jesus? This Revelation 12 male child, obviously Jesus, was “destined to rule the nations” (Rev. 12:5). Satan also was keen on waging an ongoing battle with the “rest of the children” of the sun-clothed woman (Rev. 12:17). The rest of the children of the sun-clothed – symbolic of believers and Christ-followers – were to hang in there for 1260 days in the wilderness (Rev. 12:14). 1260 days! Does the number ring a bell? It certainly rang a bell among the original readers of John’s letter! They knew that was a code word used by the apostles often to remind believers of those days to become more and more like the One who ministered on this earth for 1260 days, i.e. three and half years – even Jesus! So, the call of Christmas, from John, from Revelation 12 is that of a TRANSFORMATION – a call to be transformed in character like Jesus’ character, more and more in our “wilderness” journey!

The Sun-clothed woman story narrated in Revelation 12 is a Christmas Story, according to me, calling us to become more and more like Jesus!

Using the “flood” from his mouth Satan (see Rev. 12:15) will try to drown believers. That reminds me of the “flood” of false teaching Satan has unleashed using the mouths of false-teachers who have surrendered their mouths to him. Using those Satan-inspired mouths the teach hell-populating teaching like hyper-grace, immortality on earth, hyper-supernaturalism, etc. to drown believers. John writes, ‘But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that had poured from the dragon’s mouth’ (Rev. 12:16). This is simply another way of saying that one day the earth will open up and swallow Satan-inspired false-teachers the way it opened up and swallowed Korah and his rebellion gang in the Old Testament. It is an imagery of judgment: earth opening up and swallowing. It points to the hell-destination of false teachers and those who buy their theology, I believe. So understanding this seemingly-complex-yet-simple imagery of Revelation 12 brings us back to the message of TRUTH-GAURDING. Obeying the commands of God – holding onto the written Word of God and making it our basis for all matters of belief and behaviour – and holding onto our testimony – testimony via life and lips –  is what enrages Satan, John writes he wraps his ‘Christmas’ commentary in the book of Revelation (Rev. 12:17). Let’s celebrate a Christmas where the focus is not on being ENTERTAINED by SANTA CLAUS but on ENRAGING SATAN!

Revelation 12’s thrust about Christmas brings us to this: Christmas is not about being ENTERTAINED by Santa Claus but about ENRAGING SATAN by safe-gaurding ourselves from false teachings he brings via false teachers/pastors/brothers!!!

This wide-lens view of Christmas is wow, isn’t it? This Christmas take time to read, meditate, chew, non-typical Christmas chapters such as Revelation 12, 2 John, Galatians 4, John 1, etc.!

(Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj, a Agri. Engineer turned M. Div. Gold Medallist and Doctor Of Ministry Graduation Speaker,  is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission, the G4 Mission. This is a para-church ministry to present-day people functioning from Chennai. God has graciously opened doors for him to preach in over 20 Indian states and in a few other nations right from the first time Duke preached, as a school boy of 16, in the year 1991. He has authored three books: Straight Talk (Sex, Love, Marriage, Porn, Phone Addiction, married-sex, etc., – what the Bible says), Daniel in Dell (practical study of the book of Daniel for modern working professionals), Goodnews for the Google Generation (the Gospel presented the way Jesus did in Luke 13 and the way Paul did in Acts 17). Reach him via emailduke@gmail.com or WhatsApp, +91-8886040605, in case you want to buy these or have a question. Duke is married to Evangelin, a Odisha Missionary’s daughter, and this couple are blessed with two children – Dale, 19, who is a student of St. Stephens College, Delhi,  and Datasha, 15, who studies Class X. This article was published in the December 2022 edition of Aim magazine of Evangelical Fellowship of India. Duke’s ministry, the G4 Mission is a reader-supported ministry).

Categories
Anti-Dotes-For-Modern-False-Teachings-Like-Hyper-Grace

God the Father: The Biblical View Vs The Emotional View

Duke Jeyaraj

In a month when we celebrate Father’s Day (it falls on June 20th, this year), it will be appropriate to study the character of God as a Father so that we fathers can copy him. The Old Testament repeatedly presents God as the Father (though some wrongly believe God is a consuming fire in the Old Testament but a loving Father in the New Testament, influenced by hyper-grace false teaching which largely appeals to people who do not take time to read the Bible fully and comprehensively). You will be surprised to know that even the Old Testament clearly teaches that God is a Loving Father. However, he is not the Loving Father, the hyper grace cult false teachers paint him to be via their popular-on-Youtube worship songs and their doing-violence-to-the-full-counsel-of-God sermons.  

THE PLAN

It was God’s eternal plan to be a father to us. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes this known. He writes, ‘For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering’ (Hebrews 2:10 ESV). God had an Eternal Son. He enjoyed the fellowship with him he had very much. He wanted more sons and daughters – sons and daughters who would be fully human albeit. The addition of these children will bring joy to God the Father. The joy will be for the kids as well as they fellowshipped with their heavenly dad! To bring more children to glory the Eternal son suffered on the Cross – that is the message of Hebrews 2:10.

THE PAIN

One of the earliest mentions in the Bible which introduces God as a Father to us is in Exodus 4. The Lord instructed Moses to say these words to Pharoah: “Let My son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Now I will kill your firstborn son!” (Exodus 4:21,23 HCSB). When we were slaves of sin, God sought to make us, sinners, sons! So, he sent Jesus to die for us to endure pain on the Cross. When we repent of our sins and come to him in faith, we become sons and daughters of God (John 1:12).

THE PAIRING

The next Old Testament reference to God as a Father is found in the Song of Moses. In that classic Holy Spirit inspired song, Moses presents Israel as God’s son. He sang, “They have corrupted themselves; They are not His children, Because of their blemish. A perverse and crooked generation. Do you thus deal with the Lord; O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has he not made you and established you?” (Deut. 32:5-6 NKJV). One key thing I learnt from this passage is this: The Father God imagery is not only imagery for God in the Bible. In the same song of Moses, God is compared to “the Rock” (see Deut. 32:4, 15, 30) and the Eagle (see Deut. 32:11). Those who teach that God is only a loving Father and nothing else are clearly wrong. In Hebrews 12, God is presented both as a COMPASSIONATE FATHER (vs. 5-6) and a CONSUMING FIRE (vs. 12)! So, we must always pair the imagery of a loving father present in the Bible with other imageries for God in the Bible. The Bible says, “It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes” (Eccl. 7:18, NIV).

Prophet Isaiah, the prophet with the best vocabulary amongst all Bible writers, connects the transcendence of God with the picture of God as the Father in Isaiah 63:15-16. Though ‘God looks down from heaven’ (a phrase that talks about his transcendence), as Isaiah put it in Isaiah 63:15, he is also ‘our Father’ (as Isaiah expressed it in Isaiah 63:16)! The Christian Faith is unique because it is the only faith where the dwelling-in-Heaven God is the same person who like our doting-us-on-Earth Dad! The Bible remarkably pairs these two unlike qualities in one and the same person – our eternal God!

THE PRIVILEGE WHICH COMES WITH…

Prophet Jeremiah, the Bible Prophet who wrote the most-worded Bible Book in the Bible, also introduces God as the Father. He writes, “For I am a Father to Israel. And Ephraim is My first-born” (Jeremiah 31:9b, NASB). To have God as our Father is a privilege. But that privilege comes with a responsibility. What responsibility? To be fruitful! The word, “ephraim” means to “doubly-fruitful” in Hebrew. “Since I am your Father, you must be doubly-fruitful, Israel” – that was Prophet Jeremiah’s inspired message. Since God is our Father, we must be holy! How did I make this connection? In John 17:11 in the high priestly prayer, Jesus called his father, as the Holy Father! So as children of the holy father, we too must be holy in our day to day lives! Apostle James also attaches responsibilities to those who call God as Father. He wrote, “With it (the tongue) we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God” (James 3:9, NASB). Those who enjoy the love of the Father (privilege) should love people around them and speak kindly to them (responsibility). James made another connection between privilege of knowing God as the loving father and a connected responsibility of taking care of the poor and the needy. He does so here: ‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world’ (James 1:27). Apostle Peter also attaches responsibilities with those who call God as a Father. If we call God as Father, we must be ready to be sanctified and obey the Lord Jesus, Apostle Peter teaches (I Peter 1:2). He further writes, ‘And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile’ (I Peter 1:17). While can celebrate the privilege of calling God as our Father, we must not forget the responsibility we have in showing him a holy reverence and healthy fear!

THE PERIL

Prophet Hosea perhaps paints the most moving picture of God as a Father in the entire Bible. Here is his unmatched, emotion-stirring depiction: ‘Eternal One: When Israel was a child, I loved him; and out of Egypt I called My son. But the more I called to Israel, the more they walked away from Me. They kept on sacrificing to other divine mastersand burning incense to idols! But I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk, holding him up by his arms, but his people didn’t know I was the One who took care of them. I led them along with leather cords; with ropes of love I showed them the way. As I dealt with them, I lifted the yoke from their neck; I bent down to give them their food’ (Hosea 11:1-4, The Voice). Here we see how the people of Israel walked away from God their father who reminds them of his great love for them almost fighting back his tears. Does this love continue forever without ever stopping? The hyper grace cult false teachers who present God as the father compare him with earthly fathers. They ask, “Do you stop becoming your earthly father’s son, if you rebel against him? You don’t. In the same way the Heavenly Father will never stop loving you even if you walk away from him, stubbornly, for the rest of your life – you are in no danger of being punished by him. You still remain His Son!” Really? The very next verse post the greatest Bible passage on God’s fatherly love we see God sending a punishment for the people of Israel who spurned his fatherly love: “They will not return to the land of Egypt; But Assyria – he will be their king. Because they refused to return to me” (Hosea 11:5, NASB). Prophet Hosea foretold the end of the northern Kingdom of Israel, also known as Ephraim, here. As he foretold the Assyrians overtook them in 722 B.C. So, there is a real peril if you keep spurning the love of the Father God and keep indulging your flesh. Romans 11:22 warns that if we spurn God’s kindness (expressed by His Fatherly nature), we are in the real danger of being “cut off”.

In fact, Prophet Hosea who painted God as a loving father in Hosea 11 portrays him as an upset and furious Bear-Lion-Wild Beast in Hosea 13. He writes, “I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open. He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper” (Hos. 13:8-9 ESV). So, what is full message of Hosea? It is this: God loves you as a father. But if you are stubborn in rebelling against Him and chasing after sin, he reserves the right to become as an angry bear-Lion-wild beast who can ultimately send you to hell.

Using memorable word-number picture, the author of Revelation, Apostle John teaches when one calls God as his father (Rev. 14:1) he needs to “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Rev. 14:4) that is, obey Jesus in all areas of his life! Read Revelation 21:7-8 very carefully and you will understand this: those for whom God is a Father will be the ones who “conquer” (Satan, Self and Sin); they will be the ones who have turned from hell-populating sins such as sexual immorality, murder, sorcery, idolatry, lying, etc.

THE PARENTING

Having understood comprehensively the Fatherly Nature of God as per the Word of God we fathers must parent like God for Apostle Paul call believers to become “imitators of God” (Eph. 5:1). That means just as God disciples his kids moved by great love so that his kids may “share his holiness” (Heb. 12:7-10) we fathers must discipline our kids. We must not hesitate to give them whacks when necessary! Those whacks would be a God-intended way of wooing them to grow in holiness!  We must discipline our kids when they live in sins such as sexual immorality (porn-watching, affairs, gadget-addiction, etc) and not look the other way like King David apparently did when Amnon raped Tamar. Prophet Eli finally spoke some words of restraint when his sons went astray in a brazen manner (but it came far too late as God had already planned to execute judgment on them – check out I Samuel 2:12-25). The Nelson Study Bible notes, “Eli had warned his sons of divine judgment (I Sam. 2:25), but he never really rebuked them for their sins (I Sam. 3:13). By neglecting his parental duty, he was in effect favouring his sons above God.” Fathers let us not parent like King David and Priest Eli, but like God!

Let us return to a biblical view of God the Father shunning our hyper-grace cult impacted view of God the Father!

(This article was published in Aim Magazine June 2021 edition. Aim is published by the Evangelical Fellowship of India. Duke, the author of this piece is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission, the G4 Mission. This is a viewer-supported, reader-supported Indian ministry. You may hear Duke preach at http://www.Youtube.com/VisitDuke. You may buy his book on sex, love, marriage, porn, phone addiction, etc. , via Amazon (the kindle edition) or Google Books (the e-book). For the print version of this book which is seen as a text book on taboo topics please whatsapp us at +91-8886040605 and we will send you the payment link.)

Categories
Anti-Dotes-For-Modern-False-Teachings-Like-Hyper-Grace Lent Devotion

BYE BESETTING SIN, THANKS TO THE BLOOD!

Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj

If it is not possible to overcome besetting sin in our lives as believers, the Bible will not even call us for it. But it does! Hear the writer of the letter to the Hebrews: “Therefore, seeing we also are compassed by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 KJ21).

There are those who are merely satisfied with the cleansing work of the Cross. Does the Cross cleanse us from sin? Of course! Apostle John wrote, “the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all Sin” (I John 1:7 ESV).

The Cross of Christ does more than just PURIFICATION. It gives us POWER over habitual sin. The Cross of Christ does more than just WASH away sin. It gives us the wherewithal to WALLOP sin! The Cross of Christ does more than just CLEAN sin. It enables us to CRUSH sin’s grasp over us!

The connection between the Cross of Christ and victory over besetting sin is so clearly established in Scripture that we will have to be stone-blind or be heavily influenced by cultic hyper-grace hell-populating teaching not to notice it.

Apostle Peter expressed it clearly. He wrote, “He(Christ) himself bore our sins on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (I Peter 2:24 ESV). Apostle Paul penned the same thing using different words and imagery: “Those who belong to Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). And when he wrote in Galatians 6:14, “the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and to the world” he was saying this: “thanks to the deep work of the Cross in my life, the besetting sin of worldliness is now dead (crucify here means death) in me!”  Jesus died so that we might have victory over sin in our day to day lives.

Let me talk about various “P”s that help us understand how the blood of Christ gives us victory over daily, besetting sin.

PEACE & THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

Prophet Isaiah wrote, “the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him” (Isaiah 53:5). When we choose to sin against the Lord as a believer, the first result is a loss of peace. The knowledge that we will lose our peace when we sin should strongly deter us from walk down the familiar path of sin. Yes, that journey to watch a web series full of erotic scenes is not worth it for it destroys our peace which was given to us because of the work of the Cross. Yes, that online affair outside the boundaries of marriage is not simply worth it because our serenity goes for a Six (to borrow a Cricket imagery)! Apostle Paul wrote, “we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1 NLT) on the Cross. “When I commit a wanton wickedness against my Lord, my peace will go for a huge Six. I don’t want that to happen. So, I will overcome the temptation before me by tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit!” That is what we should say. That is what we should do.

PRECIOUSNESS & THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

The Bible says, “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ” (I Peter 1:18-19). When we realize the preciousness of the blood of Christ, we will realize how atrocious it is when we keep returning to same old sin (that porn-watching, that drunkenness, that abusive language, etc.).

Hosea’s wife left him to go to the Red Light area for prostitution. But that did not put a red light (stop) on his love for her. He bought back his wife from the Red Light District operators  by paying 15 pieces of silver, five bushels of barley and a measure of wine (Hosea 3:2). These things were by no means cheap those days. They were very expensive. Exodus 21:32 and Zechariah 11:12 tells us that the price of slave in the Jewish slave market was 30 shekels of silver. Translate that into today’s world where to ‘buy’ a kidney also you need to shell out a bomb. Imagine the price of one full individual, then! Hosea paid this monstrous amount, part in silver (15 pieces), part in agricultural produce (five bushels of barley and a measure of wine). After redeeming her, Hosea told her not to return to the Red Light area as a prostitute (Hosea 3:3). She had to put a ‘red light’ (stop) on her life of sin having experienced a love from her husband which did not stop even though she went into the red light area! Having been bought with something far more precious that Prophet Hosea paid for his wife, which is the precious blood of Jesus, we must also take efforts to overcome sin. Since we were “bought” with a price – the utterly precious blood of Jesus – we must glorify God in our body, the Apostle Paul wrote (I Corinthians 6:20). We must stay away from sinful habits that destroy our souls and bodies – torrid habits such as masturbation coupled with porn-watching, alcohol/drug consumption, sexual activity outside marriage, etc.

THE PROFANING & THE BLOOD OF JESUS

The author of the book of Hebrews wrote these powerful lines: “How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned blood of the covenant by he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of Grace?” (Hebrews 10:29 RSV). And when do we profane the blood of Christ? The same author answers this question very directly: “when we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews 10:26 NIV). So, when we are tempted to watch that profane web series that is showing in that popular streaming service (Netflix and the likes) we must tell ourselves this: “If I watch that, I would profane the precious blood of Jesus which I do not want to do. So, I will overcome that temptation empowered by the Spirit!”

Yes, it is possible to beat besetting sin through the blood of Jesus!

THE PERSECUTION & THE BLOOD OF JESUS

John observed in the Book of Revelation this: “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:11). Yes, end-time believers overcame “the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9) through the blood of the Lamb (the Lord Jesus Christ). The Devil tried to threaten these believers with severe persecution but because they were inspired by the blood of the Lamb they did not “love their lives so much that they were afraid of death” (EXB version of Rev. 12:11). Jesus was extremely bold as he marched toward the Cross. While his disciples ran helter-skelter when the Roman arrest party came, he very boldly marched towards them saying, “I am he (the one you have come to arrest)!” (John 18:4-6). His bold voice threw the arrest party on the floor. They were flabbergasted.  He was that bold! So, his blood gives us the courage in the face of persecution that can came to us for saying ‘no’ to sin. Therefore when we say ‘no’ to sin inspired by the blood of Jesus this complaint that the writer to the Hebrews made about his congregation will be no longer true about us: “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Hebrews 12:4 RSV). Instead of compromising with sin trying to escape the brickbats, inspired by the blood of the Lamb we will conquer sin despite the onslaught of severe persecution which may come from the Government, from your boss in the place of work.

Keep connecting the above-mentioned four “P”s – Peace, Preciousness, Profaning, Persecution – with the Cross of Christ! Habitual sin, which the Bible clearly warns us against (I John 3:6), will be a thing of the past!

This article was published in Evangelical Fellowship of India’s AIM magazine (April 2021 edition). Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj, is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission. He has preached by invitation in over 20 Indian States and in five nations, in a ministry that has spread over three decades. His book, STRAIGHT TALK (on Sex, Love, Marriage, Porn, Sexting, Phone Addiction, wise life partner choice, happy marriage, and More), is seen by some as a Reference Text Book on what the Bible has to say on these Taboo Topics, and is available on Amazon and Google Books. Alternatively, you can reach out to him via WhatsApp at 91-8886040605 or email to emailduke@gmail.com to buy a copy.

Categories
Anti-Dotes-For-Modern-False-Teachings-Like-Hyper-Grace US Presidential Elections 2020 Devotions

TATA TO FALSE TEACHING STARTING WITH TRUMP! BYE TO CULTS STARTING WITH BIDEN!

Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj brings key Bible Truth from the Biden-Trump Presidential Debates

Philip Elliot wrote the following lines after the third US Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump: ‘…a pair of men in their 70s vie for the White House in the final days of an unprecedented election cycle’ (Time, October 22, 2020). Between 60 to 70 million American were watching!

I watched both the debates live turning on my TV set at 6:30 a.m. As a preacher of the Gospel, I wanted to pick up some communication skills from most watched debate in the world – the US Presidential Debate!

From the first debate what stood out was the number of times Donald Trump interrupted Joe Biden or moderator Chris Wallace. It was a whopping 128 times (Slate, Sept. 30, 2020).

Apostle Paul was not an ‘interrupter’.  He loved to listen in full to what the other side was saying! As he wrote the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, his preempts possibly questions from his readers and answered them in advance. That’s how much he wanted to listen first and respond to what others would say to he wrote down. Brad Price writes in his commentary on the Book of Romans this: “Paul knew his readers would sometimes have questions about his instructions and teachings, so in many instances he answered these questions in advance”. Wow! So instead of interrupting others, Paul was inviting interruptions as he spoke or wrote so that he could stop what he was doing, listen patiently and give a well-thought-out rejoinder!

So, what does he do in this connection in the book of Romans? He asks the question and answers them himself! One question he asked on his reader’s behalf was this: “So then, do the Jews have an advantage over the other nations? Does circumcision do anything for you?” (Romans 3:1, The Voice). Here is another question in the same category: “How should we respond to all of this? Is it good to persist in a life of sin so that grace may multiply even more?” (Romans 6:1, The Voice). He asked another question like the second question in chapter 3 itself. This was the question: “But if my lie serves only to point out God’s truth and bring Him glory, then why am I being judged for my sin?” (Rom. 3:7, The Voice).

How does Paul go about answering these questions? His answer to question number one about the Jewish advantage in receiving the Law much before Gentiles did was this: the large-scale disobedience to the Laws that God gave them would have the consequence of being objects of God’s wrath (Rom. 3:5). His answer to the second question about grace of God being used as a license for immorality was straight to the point: grace was not to be used as a license for immorality – and if anyone would think it was so, it would be pure slander (Rom. 3:8). Listen in to this, his classic response to question number two he pre-empted from readers of the letter to the Romans:  “By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Rom. 6:2, The Voice). He rehammers the same answer using different words:  “So what do we do now? Throw ourselves into lives of sin because we are cloaked in grace and don’t have to answer to the law? Absolutely not!” (Rom 6:15, The Voice).

In the same way we must also pre-empt the questions people may ask as we present Bible truth to them. For example, when you share the Gospel with friends from Islamic faith you can be almost sure that you will hear this question: “How sure are you that the Bible you are quoting from is reliable?” You must be ready with answers for such questions which you will come. Did not Apostle Peter tlelll us thing: “Always be ready to offer a defense, humbly and respectfully, when someone asks why you live in hope” (I Peter 3:15, The Voice). 

In the third and final debate between Trump and Biden held on October 23, 2020, Trump used an unforgettable imagery – ‘vacuum cleaner’ imagery! He said, “I don’t make money from China, you do. I don’t make money from Ukraine, you do…They’re (the Biden family) like a vacuum cleaner. They’re sucking up money every place he goes.” In his 2016 Election, Trump used another colourful imagery – ‘drain the swamp’ – as he fought Hillary Clinton’s challenge.

Prophet Isaiah, the prophet with the best vocabulary among all the different Bible writers (numbering about 40), filled his book with word pictures that taught spiritual truths. He wrote, “Jerusalem stands like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard; Like a hut in a melon field, like a city assaulted and besieged” (Isa. 1:8 The Voice).

Imagine a watchman in his shelter on the lookout for animals or petty thieves that would attack the vineyard and take away the grapes (that were particularly tasty in Jerusalem)! It’s just him in that hut! It is all green around! But no humans around! Imagine another watchman in a hut in a melon field. He is there to chase away the melon hurting animals. He is there to give thieves checking into the melon field a run a whack. But it is just him in that hut. He’s lonely. Let’s move onto the third imagery that Isaiah used in the same sentence – a word-picture loaded sentence! He compares a city which is surrounded by an enemy army. The people can’t go out for business. No flight taking off from its airport. No trains moving in or moving out. No buses plying. Why did Isaiah pen all this? He wanted to talk about the effects of sin to people of the southern part of Israel – a place where he was called to minister in. Sin would make you utterly lonely – that was the point he wanted to convey through the three terrific, can’t-be-taken-away-from-mind images.

When tempted by the lure of sin – be it by porn-watching, by extra-marital affair, by alcohol-consumption, etc. – we would do well to remember these Isaiah 1:8 images and win over those temptations enabled by the Grace of God (Titus 2:11,12). Jesus died for a lonely generation. That’s why he became lonely on the cross for your sake and my sake. How do I know he became lonely? I know from this his cry from the Cross: “My God! My God why have your forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). Jesus became lonely so that you and I can be friends with God (Rom. 5:1).


And Joe Biden, in the third debate said, “We are learning to live with the Corona Virus (as Trump says)? Come on! People are learning to die with it! You folks home that have an empty chair at the kitchen table this morning. That man or wife going to bed tonight reaching over trying to touch out of habit where the husband or wife was …. that person is gone. Learning to live with it? Come on! We are dying with it!”

Biden’s poignant statement reminds me of a key Bible truth that has been twisted by hyper-grace (unbiblical grace) pastors/teachers. They effectively say it is okay to remain in sin. They say that believers need not absolutely bother about what they call as ‘behavior modification’. They say believers should be only concerned about ‘heart transformation’. They encourage living in sin by statements like these: ‘And if today God punishes you for your sin, that would make God unholy’; ‘Even your future sins are automatically forgiven’

But the plain truth of the Bible is this: true heart transformation will always result in behavior modification. But the plain truth of the Bible is this: without holiness no one will see God (ofcourse by the Grace of God and by the Spirit of God we can live holy lives).  Apostle Paul wrote these lines for believers: Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (I Cor. 6:9-10). Just below this passage Paul warns believers in the stubborn sin of sexual immorality can be destroyed by God (I Cor. 6:13). Paul also wrote the same to believers in the church at Rome: ‘Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed’ (Rom. 2:4-5). And a little later he emphatically wrote, ‘For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live’ (Rom. 8:13). Death, for the believer who deliberately and stubbornly lives in sin. And the ultimate meaning for death in the Bible is conscious torment in hell (Rev. 21:8). And the far-out meaning of life in the Bible is eternal life in the literal presence of God (2 Cor. 5:4). So, chose life, by choosing holy living which is made possible by the grace of God and the Spirit of God.

The Presidential Debates between Trump and Biden may have been done and dusted. But the Bible truths we have learnt starting from them is for us to keep remembering!

(Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj is founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission, the G4 Mission. This is a viewer-supported Indian ministry to presentday people. Find out more at http://www.dukev.org).

Categories
Presentday Cults and the Bible

Tomatoes and Hell-Populating False Teaching – Duke Jeyaraj

Sound Doctrine and hell-populating false teaching seem very similar. The look alike for the shallow Bible Student. Like Hybrid Tomatoes and Desi Tomatoes appear very similar to the uninitiated grocery shopping husbands, true teaching and false teaching appear very similar to biblical illiterates. False Teaching’s ultra close similarity with Sound Teaching is what makes it so dangerous. The acid test is this: is this teaching leading me to become comfortable with sin in my life? If it does, it is hell-populating teaching most surely! It is not sound teaching then! Obeying that teaching will make you, hell-bound! The ‘Does-this-teaching-lead-me-to-become-comfortable-with-sin?’ Question was the measure used in Revelation 2:20-22 when, a person none other than the Lord Jesus, evaluates False Teacher Jezebel’s teaching! #falseteaching #cults #hypergrace #hopefuluniversalism #gay’believers’ #immortalitynow

Categories
Attacking Hopeful Universalism

Revelation 22:17 – How Hopeful Universalist ‘Hell to Heaven’ Cultist Twist It

Duke Jeyaraj

A hopeful universalism cult false teacher who operates from South India  quotes a verse from the book of Revelation to teach that people who live in hell can move to heaven.(1) He quotes this verse: ‘The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty com; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.’ (2) However, this is a clear case of taking the verse out of context. We must read just above this verse to understand the context. Revelation 22:16 says that Jesus was talking to John, the author of the book of Revelation. He asked John to carry these messages to the ‘churches’ (The plural used the author was talking about actual local churches, see Revelation 22:16). The plural used indicates that John was to carry a message to the local churches still on the earth. And what message did he have to carry? This message: ‘The Spirit and the Bride (the local church still on the earth) had to say, ‘Come’ (to the sinner on the earth, who is lost) (Rev. 22:17)! Revelation 22:17 is a call to the local church which is being prepared as a bride of Christ (see 2 Cor. 11:2) get involved in the work of evangelism here and now, empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8 teaches the Holy Spirit was given to empower church believers for evangelism). Revelation 22:17 does not teach the cultic doctrine of hopeful universalism (the teaching that even those in hell will come to heaven). Rather, it is a call for Spirit-empowered evangelism for believer in the local church here and now.  Jeremy Royal Edward confirms this interpretation of Revelation 22:17 when he wrote, “With its repeated invitation to come and take the living water as a gift (i.e., that is free grace: see Eph. 2:8-9), Revelation ends with passionate evangelistic appeal.” (3)

Another confirmation that Revelation 22:17 is taken out of context by hopeful universalist is what we read following that verse. Revelation 22:20 records the words: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon!’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” So, the evangelistic invitations like ‘come and drink’ is to be extended till the return of Jesus by believers of the local churches who are bride of Christ! After Jesus’ return, it will be too late to come to Him. 

We also cannot interpret the book of Revelation 22:17 in a way the interpretation violates the clear message of the rest of the book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation mentions that hell punishment is forever repeatedly (Rev. 14:11; 20:10) and there is no way one can assume that Revelation 22:17 was opening a way for escape from hell into heaven as this cultic Chennai pastor suggests.

Let us return back to the Bible and challenge Bible-twisting cults. Let us not join hands with ‘dogs’ (in Revelation 22:15 stubborn hell-populating teachers are compared to ‘dogs’ – see Phil. 3:2 where Apostle Paul also calls cultic false teachers ‘dogs’) who will certainly land in the lake of fire outside the city (heaven), along with their followers, if they and their followers do not repent from false teaching practice and broadcasting.

(1)  Jesudian  Silvester,  New  Heaven  and  New  Earth  -07-04-2020  – Jesudian  – End  Times,  YouTube,  April  7,  2020:  accessed September  15,  2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsvJ43lZme0&ab_channel=JesudianSilvester

(2) Revelation 22:17 (English Standard Version). 

(3) Jeremy Royal Edward, ed., HCSB Study Bible: Large Print (Nashville, TN: 2015), 2230.

(Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission, the G4 Mission. This is a reader-supported Indian ministry. Find out more at http://www.dukev.org).

Categories
Bible Truth Around Contemporary Events US Presidential Elections 2020 Devotions

TRUMP AT MOUNT RUSHMORE & A TRUTH ABOUT FREEDOM WHICH ENCOURAGES US AGAINST RUSHING TOWARDS SIN!

Duke Jeyaraj

“These heroes will never be defaced. Their legacy will never, ever be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten. And Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and to our freedom.” – So said US President Donald Trump in a much-talked-about Independence Day speech in front of the iconic Mount Rushmore on 3 July 2020. At this time, I recalled a Bible truth about FREEDOM that warns hyper-grace cult embracing believers that we must not rush towards sin because we are ‘free’! At this juncture, I was reminded of a much-neglected truth about FREEDOM that needs to be re-hammered in this false-Grace-embracing age, found in the book which is the very Word of the living God, a book with words that will stand forever according to the Lord Jesus who said, “Heaven and earth will pass away; but my words will never pass-away!” (Luke 21:33)! And I put that truth I discovered in my personal devotion on this poster! Just in case you have never seen the two Bible verses I am quoting in this poster, here they are: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13). “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Pet. 2:16). Here is how Eugene Peterson puts a part of I Pet. 2:16 – ‘Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules’ (MSG).

(Duke Jeyaraj is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission. This is a viewer-supported, reader-supported Indian ministry to the Google Generation. Find out more at http://www.dukev.org. Write to Duke via emailduke@gmail.com or via WhatsApp 918886040605).

Categories
Anti-Dotes-For-Modern-False-Teachings-Like-Hyper-Grace

THE COMPASSIONATE CONSUMING FIRE


Duke Jeyaraj responds to the oft-repeated hyper-grace teachers’ lie, “No judgement post-Cross”

“Won’t see God as an angry/punishing God anymore after the Cross..” “God is not fuming at sin now….”: This the unbiblical rubbish that hypergrace cult false teachers keep teaching. But the Bible does not teach that. Why did Paul preach about “coming judgment” after the CROSS (Acts 24:24-25)? He could have well skipped it, if he believed in the hyper-grace cult Gospel. But he did not. Jesus prayed for Ananias and Sapphira sitting at God’s right hand. Yet when they lied to the Holy Spirit they dropped dead. After giving them enough chances, God decided to end their lives (Acts 5). “My Spirit does not always strive with man….” Gen. 6:3. After striving with this believer couple who were under the NEW COVENENT God decided to send judgement upon them. This is not a stand-alone event. The angel of the Lord stuck down boasting Herod (Acts 12:20-23). This also happened after Jesus died on the Cross, rose again, ascended, sat next to the Father and started praying! So did the “angel of the Lord” who struck down Herod “insult” the “finished work of the Cross”? Please answer hyper-grace Bible-twisters! “God will DESTROY those who destroy God’s temple” wrote Paul to New Covenent believers (I Cor. 3:16-17). So GOD insulted Jesus’ finished work on the Cross, here? Please answer Hyper-grace teachers! James warned that believers who could not control their tongue were in the danger of going to hell – the ultimate place of God’s judgment (James 3:6). James did not believe in this hyper-grace false teaching: “No judgment post Cross!” The writer to the Hebrews writes, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers, God will judge!” (Heb. 13:4). The writer to the Hebrews did not believe that post-Cross, there was no judgement for believers. Jesus told the believers of the church in Thyatira that he would “throw her (a self-appointed prophetess who mislead his followers to commit immoral sexual acts) into her sickbed with those who commit adultery with her…:” Jesus further said, “I will punish her by striking her children dead.”(Rev. 2:20-23). So the post-Cross Jesus here insulted his own finished work, according to Hyper-grace wolves in sheep clothing? The Bible says, in the New Testament, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe…for our God is a consuming fire!” (Heb 12:28,29). He is a compassionate father but also a consuming fire. We must stress on BOTH these characteristics of God. Suffering, sickness, death is not always because of sin (Read John 9: 1 onwards to get this). But God can choose to allow these as acts of punishment after having given a person enough chances. Only God knows how many chances to give a person. Not preachers. Not you. Not me. But if a person is still stubborn in sin, God can move in judgement even now, post the Cross of Jesus. This we find in the Bible as I have shown above. So the message for the believer is this: REMAIN in Christ (John 15). “There is no condemnation to those who ARE in Christ Jesus (notice, it does not say here, “those who ONCE WERE in Christ Jesus!” (Rom. 8:1). Hyper-grace cult false teachers (unless they repent) are not only going to hell, but taking people there. That’s why we can’t simply keep watching this. God’s Word to us is this: “Pursue those who are singed by the flames of God’s wrath and bring them safely to Him.” (Jude 23 The Voice, NKJV for today).

(Dr. Duke Jeyaraj is an engineer (Allahabad University) turned doctor of ministry graduate (of SABC). Duke is also the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission, the G4 Mission, a ministry to presentday people, that’s supported by those who read/hear/watch Duke’s messages, voluntarily. Find out more by liking www.facebook.com/dukebook)

Categories
Anti-Dotes-For-Modern-False-Teachings-Like-Hyper-Grace

“Jesus loves sinners. But only condemns the self-righteous!” Is this Popular Defense of Hyper-Grace Biblical?

Duke Jeyaraj answers

This is just a popular perception put out by cultic, hell-populating hyper-grace pastors/teachers. But if we carefully look at the Scriptures as a whole, we understand this: Jesus warned that stubborn sin will take ANYONE to hell – not just the Pharisees, Hypocrites and the Self-Righteous! Have you read this statement of Jesus, a statement that he made to someone he healed: “You look wonderful! You’re well! Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse might happen.” (John 5:14, The Message). Because this man was a recipient of Jesus’ grace – he was healed even though he did not deserve healing – Jesus expected and demanded that he be grateful for that grace received by living a holy life, a temptation-beating life, a victory-over-sin life! Grace received must lead to holy living! That was Jesus’ point! That was the point of the Apostles as well. If we are truly grateful for God’s grace, we will say ‘no’ to ‘ungodliness’ and ‘worldly passions” (Titus 2:11,12). In fact the Grace of God enables us to say ‘no’ to sin, ANY SIN. Yes, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, a Pharisaical attitude, is a sin as is porn-watching, as is drunkenness, as is foul-language use, as is pride, as is lying, as is stealing, as is adultery. The writer to the Hebrews warned about this: we cannot ‘obtain’ the Grace of God and ‘maintain’ bitterness with people we have relationship-problems with (Heb. 12:15). This writer also says this: ‘those strengthened by grace’ (Heb. 13:9) should also keep their ‘marriage bed pure’ (Heb. 13:4), of course enabled by the same grace, lest they fall into God’s judgment (Heb. 13:4). Jesus or the Bible does not differentiate between these two sins – self-righteous and other kinds of sins! Let not hyper-grace pastors fool you in this regard tell you this in-effect: “Don’t worry about sin in your life, as long as you are not self-righteous!” You will go to hell along with them (should they not repent), if you believe this lie! What is the ‘something worse’ that Jesus talked about in John 5:14 can happen to those who love to remain in stubborn in? A life in hell – a place of eternal, ever-conscious torment (Rev. 20:10; 14:9; 21:8). I hope that none of us will go there and remember this YouTube comment posted on 21 May 2020 and made as an article on dukewords.com eventually shortly after that!

(Duke Jeyaraj is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission. Find out more at http://www.dukev.org. Watch his message videos at http://www.Youtube.com/c/visitduke. Whatsapp him via +91-8886040605).

Categories
Corona Pandemic Related Devotions

Why Won’t God Heal the Corona Virus Pandemic Instantly?


Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj discusses this during family prayer time during the Corona Pandemic Lockdown (April 2020).

The Bible is clear about God’s ability to heal. Healing is a child play for him! But there are reasons why he chooses not to heal instantly. I thank Dr. Jack Deere for pointing these reasons to me in one of his books.

The first reason is perhaps backsliding. Read Psalm 74:9,10,11. “We have not been given any miraculous signs and no one knows how long it will be before the healing takes place. There are no more prophets remaining. How long will our God take to act? Has God withdrawn His right hand?” – that is how that passage goes. God is a spirit but his right hand is referred to anthropomorphically (how the Bible attributes human traits to God so that we can understand him better). How long will God take to act? This is the question of atheists, agnostics, infidels.


God took the Israelites from Judah located in Southern part of the Promised Land of Israel, as captives to Babylon because of their idolatry, adultery, and stubborn back-sliding. During their exile of seventy years, there were no signs of miracles and God disciplined them. So, why won’t God take away this pandemic, here and now? This could be one possible reason: this is a period of divine discipline for us.

The second reason is Loss of First love or Legalism. Read Isaiah 29:8,13. “God has closed the eyes of the prophets and visionaries through whom God’s miraculous powers were displayed.” If you read the entire chapter, you will find out that the prophets became ineffective. Nothing is happening now and matters are getting worse. We are looking at a situation where 1 out of 4 or 5 approximately have got the Corona virus in New York, one of the most advanced cities in the World (April 2020). When people honor God with the mouth and not the heart, it is legalism. During this time of lockdown, we should reflect on how genuine our relationship with God is. How deep is our love of God?


Dr. Jack Deere, an American theologian, says that when Martha made a request to Jesus, He did not oblige. But when Mary asked Him, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Martha liked to work for Jesus and prepare food for Jesus but Mary enjoyed Jesus’ very presence and wanted to stay close to him and latch onto every word that Jesus spoke. When we analyze our lives, we find that we too are more like Martha than we are like Mary. We like to work for Jesus (preach for Jesus, travel for Jesus, etc) but we do not spend adequate time with Jesus. And what is more, when we work for Jesus, what we do, does not come from the heart. It is all mechanical. It is just part of a routine. We do it to get a salary. God’s heart will not be moved when he sees such legalistic work. Let us repent of our legalism. Let us love Jesus with an ever-increasing love. Then, who knows, the miracle for the we are long waiting for (say the complete stopping of this terrible pandemic or any other miracle), may happen without delay (again, needless to say, as per the Divine Will)!


The third reason why God does not instantly heal is that He wants to give us added grace during this time of distress. Read 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. Paul is using the proverbial phrase “thorn in the flesh.” Apostle Paul prayed for healing (as seen in this passage). Some say that Paul had poor eyesight and therefore his writing ministry suffered. And still others say that Apostle Paul was married and his wife was a thorn in the flesh (humorously). Paul is asking for healing from this mysterious ‘thorn’.

This pandemic is like a thorn. Look at what it did to the world economy! See how many people lost their jobs!

But His grace is sufficient for us. God is giving us a supply of spiritual power which is grace, and it comes to us specially during a period of suffering and pain like this. Apostle Paul mentions this in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. Hyper-supernatural cult preachers say that after Jesus’ death for us on the Cross, we should not go through sickness or death. They should pay heed to this Scripture passage and change their wrong teaching which is leading people to hell. Notice that Apostle Paul says here: “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake” (2 Cor. 12:10). If God’s plan was that we must not suffer post the Cross of Christ, there is no way Paul would write like this!

The fourth reason why God has perhaps allowed this pandemic and did not take it away in hurry is this reason which will come out as we read John 5:1-15. The scene is the pool of Bethesda. How many paralytics were around the pool? There were many sick people waiting for an angel to come and stir the water just like we stir the coffee in the morning. Just when the paralytic tries to reach the pool at that time, someone else gets in ahead of him. (verse 7) The paralytic was sick for 38 years (verse 5). But Jesus healed him. God healed the paralytic at a particular time, hour, day. Jesus healed one among the many sick folks near that pool. From a pool of sick people near the pool, Jesus chose to heal one person. God has a time to stop the pandemic. The miracle depends on God’s sovereign will (Heb. 2:4). Miracles do not depend on what we say or command. God is the potter and we are the clay. It seems that God wants to give this pandemic more time before he may chose to miraculously intervene and stop this. Or he can even choose to keep this pandemic on till his soon-to-come return! Some false teachers say that the miracle is in our mouth. No, only foul odor, is in our mouth!

So what should we do now? Luke 18:1 says that “men ought always to pray and not faint.”

Let us pray right now!

“Lord, Help us to pray without giving up. Let there be no fresh infection of corona virus anywhere in the world for the believer or the non-believer. You are able to do that and we believe it, Lord. We pray for those who have symptoms right now like coughing or those who feel something has gone wrong with their body. Heal us by your stripes. Right now, Lord! Please Lord! You died on the cross and shed your blood. Healing virtue flows still from the cross of Calvary. We receive that. I pray you will perform a miracle. Lord! Please give wisdom to our government authorities and law enforcement officers across the globe to enforce the lock-down and curtail the spread of the virus. During this time, we pray that we will spread the gospel exponentially – much like how the virus is spreading – through online medias. Via Zoom let us zoom with the Gospel and the Word of God! Lord, we want to be involved in discipling others. Let 1 disciple of Jesus become 2. And 2 disciples of Jesus – may they become 4. Let 4 become 16! And so on and so forth. Let there be exponential multiplication of disciples of Jesus. Bless us as we spend family time together – talking, painting and doing other planned activities. Bless each one who is watching. We give you honor, glory, and praise. We ask all this with thanksgiving in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

(Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj, the author of this article, is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission. Find out more at http://www.dukev.org. This article is a product of Mrs. Malini Prabakar’s transcription of one of Duke’s Youtube Messages shared during the Corona Lockdown which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQFVpB72IFA&t=27s).