YEAR OF RESTORATION

August 2004

Volume 33 Issue 8  No. 341

Revivals That Stay

The church needs revivals. Revivals are the tokens of God’s presence, the witness of His power. The frequency and power of these extraordinary seasons of grace are the tests and the preservers of the vital force in the church. The church that is not visited by these seasons is as sterile in all spiritual products as a desert and cannot meet the designs of God’s church. Such churches may have all the show and parade of life, but it is only a painted life.

A genuine revival marks an era in the life of the church. It plants the germs of the great spiritual principles that grow and mature through all the changing seasons that follow. Revival seasons are favoring seasons, when the tides of salvation are at their flood, when all the waves and winds move heaven-ward: jubilee days of emancipation and return and rapture.

The church cannot live, it cannot do its work, without revivals that will lift it above the sands of worldliness that shallow the current and impede the sailing. These revivals give new life to the great spiritual principles which are worn threadbare in many a church. It is true that in the most thorough work some will fall away, but when the work is genuine and far reaching, as it ought to be, the waste will scarcely be felt in the presence of the good that remains.

There are counterfeit revivals well executed and well calculated to deceive the most wary. These are deceptive and superficial with many unpleasant, entertaining, delusive features that distinguish them from the genuine ones. The pain of penitence, the shame of guilt, the sorrow and humiliation from sin, the fear of hell these marks of the genuine are lacking in the counterfeit.

The test of a genuine revival is found in its staying qualities. The counterfeit is but a winter spurt, as evanescent and fitful as the morning cloud or early dew both soon gone and the sun but the hotter for the mockery of the cloud and the fleeting dew. These surface revivals do more harm than good, like a surface thaw in midwinter, which only increases the hardness and roughness of tomorrow’s freeze.

In the manufactured revival, there is the utter absence of the spirit of prayer, the spirit of repentance has no place, lightness and frivolity reign, tears are strange and unwelcome visitors. The church members, instead of being on their knees in intercession or mingling their wrestling cries with the wrestling penitents or joining in rapturous praise with their rapturous deliverance, are simply spectators of a pleasing entertainment in which they have but a momentary interest.

The genuine revival goes to the bottom of things; the sword is not swaddled in cotton or festooned with flowers but pierces to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow.

The results of revival will be gracious and abiding when they spring from the spiritual contact of pastor and church with God. A season of fasting and prayer and of deep humiliation and confession are the conditions from which a genuine and powerful work springs.

The nature of the preaching is of the first importance. Its character will guide the converts and determine the depth of the work. The word of God in its purity and strength must be given. The law of God in its spiritual demands must arouse the conscience and pierce and lay bare the heart. If there ever is a time for sentimental anecdotes, for the exercise of wit; if the preacher is ever justified in pausing to soften the sympathies or inflame the fancy, it is not at this period.

The object must not be superficial working on tender emotions but it must be to convict the conscience, search out the sinner and expose his sins, alarm the guilty soul, and intensify the faith and effort of the believer. The Word of God is the imperishable and vitalizing seed. The Spirit of God is the breath of spring and it must blow, but it must have seed on which to breathe and create life. The Word of God is the quickening energy that is to be let loose. The Word of God is the sword of the spirit. The sword must be unsheathed and it must cut with both edges.

The spirit of prayer must be the one evident and prevailing spirit. The spirit of prayer is the spirit of faith, the spirit of reverence, the spirit of supplication. This must be maintained and increased.

If the spirit of prayer is absent or is quenched, God is not in the assembly. He comes and stays only in the cloud of glory formed by the incense of a church whose flame of prayer is ascending to Him.

All genuine revivals are simply God coming with great grace to His church. The revival that springs from heart contact of the church with God, that is directed and intensified by the pure preaching of the pure Word of God, and in which, and through which, prayer, mighty prayer, prevails is a revival that will stay.

There was a very poor man who had no land of his own, who worked in his neighbour’s field. One day while tilling the land he hit metal. The surprised man examined the place and found a brass chest. Inside were diamonds, rubies, precious stones, gold and crores of rupees. His eyes popped out at the sight. He almost had a cardiac arrest. He looked around, covered it with soil and tried to walk casually whistling a tune, even as his heart was pounding wildly. He approached his neighbour to negotiate the price of the field. The unwilling neighbour demanded an enormous and unfair price. The man set about to buy the field. He sold his hut, few cattle, the rice bags in his house stored for a year and whatever he could. People called him a fool. Finally he brought the sum and laid it at the feet of his neighbour. The deal was clinched. His smile could have lit up the night sky. He was the proud owner of the treasure! (Mt 13:44).

Here’s a hair-raising story from the Bible pregnant with lessons for us. First of all it speaks of the Kingdom of God as a HIDDEN treasure in a field. The field is the world. The kingdom of God is in the world, yet hidden. Many see it, yet don’t find it. It is not seen with the eyes, but with the heart. Jesus said, "It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given .... seeing they do not see" (Mt 13:11-13).

Oh, how the eyes of men rove around the world and its things. The cut-throat competitive world, bulging bank balance, lucrative job, luxuries, TV, health, beauty, possessions - all cast their impressive shadow across the landscape of christendom. We climb the greasy pole of success, hatch great and ambitious schemes and pursue mirages. We dance to the earn-and-spend, spend-and-earn lusty rhythm. We bounce back and forth between church and cine shows living a double life. Everyday we sink deeper into the mire of materialism. The world fogs our eye from seeing the imperishable Kingdom the treasure box that will never go dry. It is all the more serious when those who have discovered the trove, forget it and go after the world as if they are paupers. This is a tinsel world too glamorous to be ignored. It can pull us down in an alligator death roll... But the treasure is under the soil, its glitter covered... We believers run after entertainment, fight for property and work overtime as if we are going to live on this planet eternally. The devil tells us that these are a must in life. That’s a lie from the pit of hell. Shajahan gave a grand feast to the workers who built the Tajmahal and then cut off their arms. Well, that’s what the devil does to those who faithfully serve him.

If our eyes have really seen the treasure nothing can occupy our minds and hearts more. Jesus told Peter, "Flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17). Think of this man tilling; ploughing and sowing in the field, as if this bonanza was not enough. Nobody can be a worse fool than him. But that’s exactly what we believers do. Modern life seems to require that we operate in top gear. That leaves us with no time for the treasure. The field becomes our world and we spend our entire life on it. John counsels us not to love the world or the things that are in the world. We have to break bonds with the world.

Many of us have not really understood the meaning of the word TREASURE. It makes the pauper a prince. Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither can one imagine what God has prepared for us. Yet we treat it lightly. Think of being invited to Ahaseurus’ banquet. That’s nothing compared to the feast of the Lamb. It is an eternity affair.

"A" man found. The Kingdom of heaven is about individual responsibility. The treasure is for each one to possess. It is our individual responsibility to find the treasure and keep it. We should learn to focus our attention on the plank in our own eye rather than meddling with the speck in the other persons’ eye. When two believers find themselves at each other’s throat and their voices clash like swords, atleast one should realize that it is his own responsibility to obey the Kingdom rules. If the action is bad the reaction need not be bad. If the other person loses his Christian virtues we need not follow suit into the same gutter. When someone goes out of the boundary in a game and you go there to catch him, you too are disqualified. I am accountable for what I say and do, even as a reaction. What goes inside us does not defile us. But what comes out of us has tremendous power either to stain or sanctify us. Be a minority among minority rather than follow the majority. Take care that you don’t go into hell holding on to somebody’s dirty feet.

What did this man do? He went, "for JOY over it". This joy is ours. We have found the treasure. Let’s imagine this man returning home after discovering the treasure. He would go singing a jumping tune, dancing on his feet. If someone comes running to inform him that his only ox had fallen in a pit and died he would simply smile and say, "It’s OK". If he hears his house was on fire, he would respond, "No problem". This joy should seep into our entire life like tea from a tea-bag. Jesus endured the cross and despised the shame for the joy that was set before Him (Heb 12:2). His eyes were on the joy as He was hanging on the cross. Habbakuk had rightly understood the joy of salvation when he spoke of failure of his fig tree, olive plantation, fields, flock and herds and added, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the GOD OF MY SALVATION" (3:18). He could go through so much tragedy with remarkable grace. No wonder Paul was jubilant inside the prison dreaming about his treasure. Let his joy rub off on you. He had understood perfectly that happiness is an attitude not a condition. We chase happiness when it’s waiting all around us. Quit blaming the world for the way your life has turned out. You have the power to change. Everything is a choice in life and happiness is a choice too.

Life is no walk in the park. Life, sort of bites you. But your worries will roll off like water off a duck’s back if you dream about the riches and joys at the end of the road. Get lost in the dreams of the beyond and hereafter. Then you’ll feel like you’re flying. If it is difficult to find happiness in yourself it is difficult to find it anywhere else. Why is there a load of worry on our faces? Why do we get depressed? Don’t forget that we have found the treasure! Skip and dance seeing the rainbow and not the rain. Stop whining. Don’t let sorrow dominate your life. That may render you fruitless or lead to backsliding. Life does not have to be absolutely perfect to be wonderful. Always be singing, dancing, bubbling for the treasure you have found. We may lose everything in life but we still have the treasure. Then why worry? What has hijacked the music out of your life?

Paul counsels us to rejoice in the Lord and not to be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer with thanksgiving make known to God. "And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will GUARD your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:6,7). This anxiolytic formula will guard us from the ill effects of massive anxiety attacks and put to rest our darkest nightmares.

In real life we totter from crisis to crisis. Learn to see every crisis as an opportunity. Then life will turn out to be a thrill. There is nothing that life can toss at you that you and God together cannot tackle. Let your heart sing for joy. With Him by your side you can face the whole world.

Christians don’t laugh enough and we live in a time when laughter is absolutely important. What are you going through right now? Refuse to be undone. Take it to the Lord in prayer rejoicing. Then the joy that always seems to be dancing beyond your fingers will instantly become yours.

Finally, this man, "goes and SELLS all that he had and buys that field". The treasure had not become his yet. He had to pay a price for it. He had to give up to get what he wanted, but compared to the value of the bounty the price he had to pay was peanuts. This is sacrifice. Sacrifice is not a popular buzzword these days. The treasure was free but not cheap. Many believers are out of mind. There is a dangerous lull in their spiritual lives. They still hold on to worldly things and worldly pleasures. We have to give up everything to inherit the treasure. Jesus said even sacrificing our right eye or right arm is worth it. "Go ... sell...give... and you will have treasure in heaven" (Mk. 10:21).

It is not just money and materials that we have to give up. It is "all". It is our pride, our ego, comforts, anger, ambitions and a truck load of things (or sins). Give up before you make a fool of yourself. You really have to say bye-bye to a lot of things in life. By faith Moses forsook Egypt. If the treasure is our focus, sacrifice will become easy. Think of this man fighting for a mud pot. Think of king Solomon fighting for a goat with his neighbour. Nothing could be more silly. But that’s exactly how we behave. "May God give us the wisdom to hold things lightly, to let things go, to give our attention to things that last forever," said Elizabeth Elliot. If this man had not paid the price he would not have become the proud owner of the treasure. Many of us are dangerously close to losing the treasure. Alert ! It is time to start living differently. Less luggage, more comfort, make travel a pleasure. You don’t have to live like a hermit but lead as simple a life as possible.

Life is no more than a brief flash quickly forgotten. Years fly by. We are tumbling towards the end of our life. One fine morning we’ll find ourselves staring into eternity. The treasure is tantalizingly sparkling yonder. Go on your journey joyfully shaking your tail feathers, singing a serenade. Sell all and buy it at any cost !

In his first anniversary speech to the nation of America after the 9/11 terror attacks on New York, America’s President George Bush Jr. stated that "all freedom-loving people" would support his country struggle against terrorism. "Freedom-loving people"- I like that phrase. Have an attachment for it. Do I have to tell you that all young people are basically of the freedom-fond folk? Bible character Jeremiah too belonged to that liberty-loving lot. This month, when we remember how India got its freedom from the British, I invite you to see how Jeremiah’s freedom was foiled. "By what?" you might wonder. His freedom was frustrated (for his final good as we will discover) by the sovereignty of God. "The Sovereignty of God what on earth is that?’ you may well muse. By that we mean that God will do with our lives what He wants to do without offering any explanation. Daniel 4:35 is a terrific verse which will help you get a hang of what the sovereignty of God is all about. When God goes about with His sovereign ways our freedom that we so cherish may be crushed. That’s what happened to Jeremiah. In this essay, I’d like to explore with you how God’s sovereignty held "absolute sway" over Jeremiah’s free will at various turns of his life. The events in Jeremiah’s life were such that if he were around today, I am sure that he would sing, "Everything I planned sinking in the sand!" (borrowing a line from the MLTR band). In the following areas of Jeremiah’s life, God’s sovereignty sank Jeremiah’s plans in the sand for his ultimate betterment:

1. In the SELECTION of Jeremiah:

About 2500 years ago, when Jeremiah was called he was not entirely keen to become ‘the prophet unto the nations’ that God wanted Him to be. He probably had some big dreams for his life and would have wanted the freedom to pursue after those dreams. But it was God’s Sovereign resolution that gave him the appointment contrary to his dreams. He tried to run away from this plan of God for him. He tried to offer a flurry of excuses: " I am just a youth!" (Bible Scholars tell us that he was just 10 when God called him!). "My father Hilkiah is a descendant of Abiathar, whom Solomon banned from the priesthood. You don’t want a guy from a ‘banned’ family to do your work, Lord - do you?" (My imagination is based on 1 Ki 2:26-27). But God would have none of it. He is to be God’s prophet not only to his nation Judah but to the other nations as well (Jer 1:1-10). God handpicked him for this job even when he was floating in the amniotic fluids of his mother (1:5)! God constrained him to be His spokesman by promising His presence to empower him to do the job twice - very empatically (1:7, 8, 19).

Left to yourself, you may want to be in the corporate world minting money. Given a choice, you may want to be sizzling in a BMW car. But have you ever stopped to think if God wanted you to sail with the missionary bandwagon doing all you can to get the Gospel to the cluster of Christless colleges? If all the young people of the world are put together, they will make a population that is three times the population of India. That would mean that the world’s largest mission field is young people! To reach that largest mission field, we need a pretty large mission force, again studded with youth! Your Jeremiah-like excuse might be: "Well I am young now I will let it rip for God when I am older!" But God will have none of that crap. Only young people can most naturally and most effectively reach young people. Is there any use of committing yourself to undertake a missionary journey at such an age when you will need assistance even for your walk at home? Your Jeremiah-style excuse maybe, "God, I am backing off from your call because of my background my stinking background !" Listen, young friend, God doesn’t care one bit about your background but all that He wants is your availability. Jeremiah would tell you that !

2. In the SERMONS of Jeremiah:

God wanted Jeremiah to preach to the kings of Judah to surrender to the Babylonians instead of resisting them can you believe it? If Jeremiah were to do that it would be akin to an Indian Cricket Team Captain suggesting to his young tykes that they should throw a World Cup duel with the Pakistanis! I imagine Jeremiah telling the LORD, "My leaders will think I am a traitor if I say those sort of things. If you give me the freedom, Lord I would rather prefer to encourage my people that God will give us the victory like Isaiah did with King Hezekiah when the Assyrians encircled the Judeans?" In fact the princes of the Judean empire had this complaint against Jeremiah: "He is ruining the resolve of the soldiers who are still left in the city, as well as the people themselves, by spreading these words!" (Jer. 38:4). But God pressed him not to alter the content of his sermon to suit his intellect or what would have made him popular with the people. And Jeremiah bowed to that Divine Pressure so much so that he stubbornly preached this message again and again: "Don’t fight Babylon but surrender to them if you want to live." He told that to the people - at least on two occasions (38:2,3). He had the guts to tell that even to the Judean king Zedekiah (38:17).

Preaching the message of the cross to this pleasure-crazy generation may sound like outright stupidity to you, young pal. To tell the Gen-Next, which believes in a life of every nano-second enjoyment, that we must bear the Cross daily may not be an exciting option. The measure of true greatness does not lie in the number of people who serve you but the number of people you serve. This was Jesus‘ primary lesson on leadership. To get this message across to the stardom-seeking youth of today may not be that inviting. Left to ourselves we may not like to do it at all. Left to ourselves we may feel like mending the message so that it suits our times and our tastes. But we have a mandate. A commission. A command to ‘just do it’! Jeremiah’s glowing example is before us in this regard.

3. In the SUPPLICATIONS of Jeremiah:

As a prophet of God, Jeremiah knew that he had a responsibility: to pray for his people. He probably learnt about this pivotal responsibility of a prophet from Abraham - the first person to be called "prophet" in the Bible. Prophet Abraham interceded with God for Abimelech’s wife and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, didn’t he? (Gen. 20:7, 17; 18:23 ff). But as he went about his responsibility of supplicating for the nation of Judah, God told him the unbelievable: "Do not pray for this people, Jeremiah!" (7:16). God repeated his incredible command to Jeremiah that he should not pray for Judah for another three times (11:14; 14: 11; 15:1). Jeremiah’s freedom to intercede for his nation was now taken away from him. What did Jeremiah do at this juncture? He could only weep for his people. He cried, "O that my head were a spring of water, and that my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!" (9:1). Please catch that while Jeremiah whipped the people with hot words of judgment in public he also wept for them in private. The Hebrew text of Jeremiah 8:21 - 9:1 is so confusing according to Bible language experts that it is not clear who is weeping: Yahweh or Jeremiah. In my opinion, it is as if Yahweh puts his arms around Jeremiah and they start to cry together! We meet a weeping Jeremiah again in this book (13:17). It is worth noting that Jesus was ‘a man of sorrows’ and Jeremiah, ‘the weeping prophet’. This is just one of the cluster of comparisons one can make between Jeremiah and Jesus. What brings tears down your eyes the fact that you aren’t riding on an Indigo (car) or that India is riding on the fast track to hell? What makes you emotional the fact that your plant is drying up and you’ve got sit under the searing sun (think of Jonah’s actions) or the truth that your planet is dying without the knowledge of the true God only to go to eternally-scorching hell (think of God’s words in Jonah 4:11)?!

What was the reason for this seemingly bizarre command of God that Jeremiah should stop his petitions for his people? This order is particularly hard to digest especially after we have read the clear teaching in the New Testament that we must pray for "everyone" and pray at "every time" (1 Tim 2:1; 1 Thes 5:17). Quiz Bible Scholars and they will give you the explanation of this divine suppression of supplication. They would point to the stiff-necked way Jeremiah’s nation responded to God’s rousing repentance call to get back to His ancient ways with these callously curt words: "We will not walk in it!" (Jer. 6:16). God’s response to their stubborn action of Jeremiah 6:16 was his command to his prophet to stop begging him to spare them (found in Jeremiah 7:16!)

Are you praying for something? For that nagging disease to go away? For that unsaved member of your family? For that elusive promotion you are dreaming about in your work spot? For a fitting partner who will walk with you in the road of Life? And do you get upset that nothing is happening? And do you get mad that everything is going haywire? Learn to salute the sovereignty of God - like Jeremiah did - and just leave things in God’s hand. Prayer isn’t twisting God’s arm to get things done according to our whims and fancies - no matter how logical or how spiritual they may seem. But it is trusting God’s all-knowledge, knowing pretty well what He allows in our life is always for our good! "Prayer"- Ronald Dunn rightly remarked - "doesn’t get man’s will done in heaven; it gets God’s will done on earth!"

4. In the SUFFERING of Jeremiah:

Given the freedom Jeremiah would have wanted a suffering-free life. He would have desired a ‘I’ll-harm-no-ene/let-no-one-harm-me’ life. But guess what? His entire life was stamped with suffering. Pain was inflicted on him by a gang of folks. The PEOPLE of his village (11:18-23), the PRINCES who ruled Judah (36:23; 38:6; 38:13), the PRIEST of the temple during his time and the false PROPHETS (28). Let’s only focus here on the misery brought on Him by the Jerusalem temple priest:

The PRIEST Pashhur, the chief officer in the temple of Jerusalem, could not digest Jeremiah’s words that the temple would be soon down and out with the invasion of the Babylonians. Earlier Jeremiah had stood in front of the Jerusalem temple and thundered that the plight of Shiloh where the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant was located in the times of judges (check out I Sam. 4) would be the Temple’s plight as well. Why? The people treated the Temple just like a magic charm that will keep them safe from their enemies without a genuine change in their wayward ways. Just as the Philistines flattened the tent of meeting and carried the ark of the covenant away in Shiloh the Babylonians would soon do the same of the Jerusalem Temple that was Jeremiah’s point (Jer. 7:10,12). Sure, what he said must have caused sleepless nights to Pashhur. That meant his job would go for a toss - didn’t it? So he bashed up Jeremiah and put him in stocks at the Benjamin Gate of the Temple (20:1-2). Why was Jeremiah particularly placed in the Benjamin Gate? Wasn’t Jeremiah a Benjaminite (1:1)? His own tribes people would chuckle and mock at him as they walked past through this gate seeing his shameful plight! In this perverted way, Pashhur attempted to damage Jeremiah’s psyche and physique!

Think of Jeremiah the people, the princes, the prophets and the priests were baying for his blood out to finish him for good. Little wonder he laments, "Everyone took me for a joke, made me the butt of their mocking ballads" (Lam 3:14). When life was getting tougher day by day for Jeremiah he had no body to lean on - not even a wife! (Guess what? He was forbidden to marry 16:2). He had to stand alone as he took all these brickbats. And he did.

Jeremiah’s desire for a trouble-free life is obvious when he calls God "a seasonal brook" frustrated amidst all of this agony (15:18). But did he float in his frustration forever? No. He swiftly responded to God’s call that he must "return" to him and speak words that are "worthy" to continue his ministry with gusto (15:19). To proceed with his preaching with power. With an endurance of a marathon runner he preached for 23 long years all the messages God gave him, faithfully even though nobody seemed to listen or care (25:3-6). Time and again, he persistently preached, "the-again-and-again-God-spoke-to-you-yet-you-didn’t-repent" message (he did it atleast on five occasions, as per my count 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4!). Even when he was carried-off to Egypt, he continued to preach against the stubbornness of his people in refusing to turn to their God (44:1-6). Suffering, you see, did not snuff out Jeremiah’s enthusiasm to do what God called him to do.

As young people we want our lives to be ‘hassle-free’. We love to ride the ‘no-problem’ bike of life! But it doesn’t happen that way, correct? When we stick our necks out for Jesus, our necks may roll! When we turn up for Jesus’ cause our friends will take the turn to lampoon us - most often. "Holy Joe!", Twentieth Century Saint!", "Jesus Jerk!", "Nerd!", "Nut!", "Eunuch!", "Museum Piece!" - those sorts of not-so-complimentary titles may be showered upon us when we stay in the Jesus Narrow way! Down in the dumps because of the taunting you receive for standing up for Jesus? Despondent because of the scorn poured on you for staying on the Savior’s straight path? Graduate from wallowing in depression to vibrant enthusiasm like Jeremiah did. Sufferings sharpen us. Pains are actually gains. Trials trim us and take us to the top. Adverse situations can lead to our advancement! Jeremiah scripted, that it is good for a man to bear the yoke of suffering in his youth (Lam. 3:27). Why is affliction an advantage? It shapes us to become like Jesus it chisels us to become like Christ. When hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword doesn’t separate us from the love of Christ then we are truly in the process of becoming more like Christ ( Rom 8:29-30). Suffering sure made Jeremiah like Jesus. Some looked at Jesus, and exclaimed, "This man looks like Jeremiah resurrected!" (Math 16:14). Was that not a huge honor for Jeremiah? If, Jeremiah was, alive during the days when Jesus walked on this earth, he would have punched the air in jubilation if that remark came to his ears! Oh yes! Don Bradman, probably the greatest batsman ever, once remarked that India’s Sachin Tendulkar resembled him when he batted. Sachin was over the moon when he heard that! Whom do you resemble (in terms of character) according to the folks around? Oh that we will strive to resemble Jesus!

From start to finish, Jeremiah let God have His way in his life. One of the last recorded sentences he scripted was, "And yet, GOD, you’re sovereign still!" (Lam. 5:19). (Sovereignty of God is a major theme of the largest book of the Bible, in terms of the number of words the book of Jeremiah and it is a pity that often times it plays just a small role in our lives!). Jeremiah saw God as the Potter of Judah ‘who reworked the clay as it seemed good to Him’ a Sovereign God (18:4). While the nation of Judah was reluctant to let itself free in the hands of the Potter, the prophet from Judah, Jeremiah wasn’t. Judah still wanted its freedom. They wanted to still have their way. They told the Potter God, "We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will!" (18:12). But Jeremiah wouldn’t do that. Everything he planned sank in the sand as he yielded his free will to Yahweh’s plan for him. He froze his freedom and relinquished his rights to his Lord. Would you, like Jeremiah, swap God’s plan with your plan for your life? Then you will have this marvelous promise of God found right in Jeremiah’s book to claim: "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future!" (Jer. 29:11).

Out of every Tribe!

Periasamy, BYM Missionary in Vellore

My name is Periasamy (meaning big god). I hail from Aladipatti village of Arnoothu Hills. I belong to the Malayali Tribe. Our land was barren and would not yield. We had to sell off all our cattle in order to retain the land. Still the hassle was not solved. We worshipped all the gods we knew and went from temple to temple hoping to get the favour of one god or the other. There was no peace or happiness in our family. My mother wanted to give poison to all the six children and finally kill herself too. It was at that time that missionaries from Blessing Youth Mission visited us and shared about Jesus. They said that He could solve our problem. We told them that we had tried all gods and no god helped us. They encouraged us to go to the Church.

We started attending the Church and listening to the Gospel regularly. Faith sprang up in our hearts. One day my mother was working in our field with an old lady. The old lady stepped on a stone and fainted. My mother laid her under a tree and examined the spot. Under the stone was a small piece of tin sheet in which was written, "Nothing shall grow on this land. All the children shall die. All the cattle shall be lost." Obviously this was an evidence of witchcraft against us and the land. My mother threw it off and experienced no harm. Though it made the old lady faint it could do nothing to my mother. From that day onwards we started believing on the Lord Jesus more, throwing away all the idols from our house.

Because of the land problem we had gone into deep debts and I could not pursue my studies after eighth class. My parents gave me over as a bond slave to the man to whom we were indebted. I was to serve him till the debts were cleared. Away from home and parents I felt lonely but the Lord taught me many lessons there. Daily I used to cry to God, "Lord, when will I go back to my home? When will all our debts be over?" In two years time we harvested bumper crops in our land and cleared all the debts. This was nothing short of a miracle. I could get back home but lost interest in studies. I started grazing cattle. Our missionaries gave me a job in Sitteri Hills. I started attending the Halo Camps where I was baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit.

At that time Mr. & Mrs. Stanley were residing in Sitteri Hills. They asked me if I would help them in their house. So I joined them as their household helper and went with them to Vellore. I was with them three years in Maharashtra and nine months in Madhya Pradesh. When they moved to Vellore I too joined them. My younger brother, Mylapu also joined the mission and currently he is working in the Blessing Literature Centre, Chennai.

In the year 2000 I got married to Julie. My wife Julie is from Vanjur village near Vellore where Mr. Stanley’s mother had started a Sunday class. Julie used to attend the Sunday class where she accepted the Lord. God has blessed us with two beautiful children, Preethi and Prabhu. With the mission’s encouragement this year I passed M.A. in the Open University. I give all the glory to God who remembered us in our low estate!