Watchfulness In Morality
D. Jason, Missionary, Blessing Youth Mission
W e have come to a period in human
history where the concept of ‘right
and wrong’ is gradually declining. We find
people defending their immoral lifestyle
citing circumstances and other external
factors. It is sad to notice that immorality
is also rampant among Christian believers
and Church leaders. Jesus forewarned about
these times when He said, “And because
lawlessness will be increased, the love of
many will grow cold” (Mat 24:12). Yes
beloved, the love of many has grown cold.
We have lost the first love. We have lost
the initial zeal. We started with much zeal.
We began our spiritual life so well. But we
need to finish it well. An American poet puts
it this way: Great is the art of beginning,
but greater is the art of ending. God is
faithful and able to keep us blameless till
the appearance of His Son. But we need to
do our part. We need to be careful lest we
fall away.
Let us explore from the Word of God as
how we can be watchful when it comes to
our moral life.
Disciplining Our Eyes
Job 31:1 - “I have made a covenant with
my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?
The first area we need to be watchful
is our eyes. We need to discipline our eyes.
Everything starts with our eyes. Jesus
taught that the eye is the lamp of the body.
If the eyes are not right, the body, which is
the temple of the Holy Spirit will be full
of darkness (Mat 6:22,23). If a person has
disciplined his eyes, 50% of the victory
BLESSING / September 2019
has been secured. The devil knows that we
are weak in our eyes. He showed Eve the
forbidden fruit. To her it was a delight to
her eyes (Gen 3:6). To David he showed a
beautiful woman who was bathing (2 Sam
11:2), to Samson he showed a beautiful
Philistine woman (Jud 14:3,7), to Jesus he
showed all the kingdoms of the world (Mat
4:8). All of them failed but Jesus emerged
victorious.
Job made a covenant with his eyes
not to gaze at a virgin (Job 31:1). Today we
live in an immoral society. Wherever we
turn, there are signs of sexual immorality.
TV channels, movies, shows, WhatsApp
videos are all full of filthy images. Are
we gazing at such images? This is where
we have to discipline our eyes. Let us
pray and decide to look at things that are
worthy. Let us ask God for eyes like His,
eyes full of compassion and love. We need
a transformation in the way we look.
Consider the admonition of Solomon:
Pro 4:25 – “Let your eyes look directly
forward, and your gaze be straight before
you.”
Let us learn to look straight. A ‘straight
look’ is what we need. It is a discipline
that we need to inculcate. When our eyes
wander from the straight path, let us preach
to ourselves – ‘Look straight. You are God’s
child. You need His eyes. You need to look
at people in the way Jesus looked at them.’
I was once travelling on my bike.
As I was riding, I happened to see a new
beach restaurant that had come up nearby. I
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slightly took my eyes off the road and gazed
at the restaurant. That’s it! It all happened
so fast. My head dashed upon an auto which
was standing in front of me and I fell on
the highway. Had I not worn my helmet
that day, I do not know what would have
happened to me! God was gracious to me.
He reminded me of the ‘Straight Look’.
I should never have been distracted. I
understood an eternal lesson that one wrong
look has the capacity to take my life.
Our eyes have an inherent weakness to
get distracted. Anything attractive gets our
attention. Anything shiny grabs our sight.
Anything different pulls us into it. It is this
inherent human weakness that the devil
cunninly uses to have his way. The Bible
calls this as the ‘lust of the eyes’(1 John
2:16).
As God’s children, we need to have a
different perspective.
Note how the Psalmist prayed:
Psa 119:37 - “Turn my eyes from looking
at worthless things.”
We need to discipline our eyes from
looking at worthless things. What we see
will definitely affect our heart and mind.
This will one day manifest in actions. When
someone falls in a grievous sin like adultery
or fornication, never ever think that it all
happens so suddenly. Years of feeding the
mind and heart with our eyes will one day
result in the physical act of sinning.
Let us watch out for the following habits:
Television – Watching movies or serials or
programmes that involve immoral lifestyle,
adultery and fornication.
YouTube – Watching adult rated movies,
BLESSING / September 2019
serials, violent movies, crime stories and
the like.
WhatsApp or Tiktok Videos – Watching
videos which contain provocative images
and suggestions.
Video Games, with adult content, suggestive
images and violence.
If we have the above habits, our
spiritual defense systems will gradually
degenerate. Spiritual defense mechanisms
are very much essential when we are at the
brink of strong temptations. These defense
mechanisms are built up by years of prayer,
Bible study and fellowship. These inner
mechanisms empowered by God the Holy
Spirit helps us to say ‘no’ to sin and helps
us to flee during fiercest temptations. When
we develop habits like the above, they will
gradually (over a period of several years)
weaken the defense mechanisms. When our
defenses are lowered, we become an easy
prey for the devil. We succumb even without
a bit of hesitation.
If we know that all these habits are
bad for our spiritual health and still do it,
we may enter into a state of addiction. You
might need help. God always helps us to
overcome every sin. He died to deliver us
from the power of sin. No sin is powerful
before the Cross. God’s love can give us
total victory over sin.
Guarding Our Thoughts
In order that we maintain moral purity,
the next area we need to be watchful is our
thought process. Today there are scores of
us who live a double life. We look very neat
and tidy on the outside. We are very cautious
about the food we take and about the water
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we drink. We are also very careful about
having a balanced diet. But we are careless
about our inner life.
Note what the Bible says:
Pro 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all
vigilance, for from it flow the springs of
life.”
We need to guard our heart. We
cannot let loose our thoughts. If the Devil
can get hold of our thought life, we would
be his slaves forever. It is in the mind that
the enemy is hyper-active. He wants to
corrupt our thinking and when he does
this effectively, it would be easy for him
to destroy us. Somebody said, ‘Watch your
thoughts, they become actions one day.’
We are nothing but the product of our own
thinking. Only Divine Truth can set us free
(John 8:32). Only God’s Word can keep
us pure (Ps 119:9). Our minds should be
filled with the Word of God (Col 3:16). As
we follow the path of truth, we would be
transformed into the likeness of His Son
Jesus.
Hence what we think is of utmost
importance. All kinds of impurity springs
forth from the heart. The Bible says that
the heart is deceitful and wicked (Jer 17:9).
Again Psalms 51:6 talks about ‘truth in the
inward being’ and ‘wisdom in the secret
heart.’ It is very important to know about
the state of our own heart. The very basic
thing that we need to learn is that our hearts
cannot be trusted (Pro 28:26).
I have come across many people who
would say, ‘Ah, these are for the youngsters
today’, ‘I am a grown up person’, ‘I am
strong now’, ‘I cannot fall into adultery’.
Such an attitude is very dangerous. Given
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the circumstances, anything can happen
to anybody. There are no spiritual super-
heroes in Christendom. If we are careless,
then our ‘spiritual defeat’ should not
surprise us. We need to avoid such pride
filled statements and thoughts. We all stand
by the Grace of God alone. It is His Grace
that keeps us going. We all are weak. Flesh
is weak. But thank God, He has made His
power perfect in our weaknesses.
2 Cor 10:5 – “We destroy arguments and
every lofty opinion raised against the
knowledge of God, and take every thought
captive to obey Christ.”
We need to take every thought captive
and make it obey Christ. No random thought
should be entertained in our inner being.
No fantasy should be allowed. Do we have
a habit of daydreaming? Let us be careful,
lest the devil take hold of our life and our
future. Do we think of somebody else when
being intimate with our spouse? Beware.
There are people who live with
someone in their fantasy land. Physically
they are married to someone but live a life
of adultery with someone else. Some of us
may argue that, since the actual physical
act of adultery has not been committed, it
is not a sin. But let us not forget what Jesus
told when we look lustfully at a person.
Jesus equated lustful look to the physical
act of adultery (Mat 5:28). If lustful look is
sin, then lustful thinking definitely is. Even
worse, if such thinking is accompanied with
self-pleasure. It is a clear form of adultery.
Thoughts have consequences. Thoughts will
shape our actions and evidently define us.
Hence let us bring every evil thought into
submission to Christ.
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 The Bible commands us to think
about things that are true, honourable, just,
pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and
anything that is worthy of praise (Phil 4:8).
An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Never
allow your thoughts to wander. God has
granted us the capacity to think, to imagine
and to envision. Let us think for God. Let
us use our minds and use our creativity to
create new things for the Glory of God. Let
us take time to learn new things, whatever
might be our age. I would recommend that
even people above 50, 60 and 70 years
of age to learn new things. May be a new
language, a new software, a new dish or
a new rearrangement of our house. God
has given us the power of imagination to
beautify things.
Let us beware during times of our
leisure and relaxation. It is times as these
when the devil is very active. Let us plan
our leisure in a way that is rejuvenating to
our body, mind and spirit. All these faculties
need rest, relaxation and refocus. So let us
be careful in our thought life.
Strengthening Our Marriage
Pro 5:18,19 – “ Let your fountain be
blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your
youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe.”
If the devil can damage the joy
and fulfillment in marriage, then there is
always a danger of immorality. Marriage
needs to be strengthened now and then.
Time with our spouse is crucial. When the
relationship with the spouse is strained at
home, suddenly someone in the work place
or a person in the WhatsApp chat seems
very caring and supporting. This is where
the slippery slope begins. People who are
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not satisfied in their marital relationship
are prone to extra-marital affairs. But this
should not be the case for God’s children.
When God has given us a spouse, let us
thank God for him or her. They may not be
the best husband or the best wife. But God
knows that they are the best for us. Let us
be satisfied with God’s plan and work out
our marriage. Love is the strongest weapon.
Love always wins. So let us keep loving our
spouse in spite of his or her shortcomings.
Let us pray together and build our families
based on Biblical values.
In order to strengthen our marriage,
understanding one other is crucial. God
has created us in His image and that image
includes both male and female (Gene 1:27).
We are made differently. Psychologists
say that men speak a maximum of 2000
words a day and women speak 7000! Men
are straight thinkers while women are
complicated thinkers. Men can get ready for
a long journey in a short time but women
take a longer time for packing. Men can see
7 colours but women see 70. Men tend to
forget the important dates like the marriage
date and birth dates, but for women those are
all very important. Women are sentimental
and emotional, but men are logical and
non-sentimental, although some might be
emotional.
All these differences make the
marriage relationship interesting and of a
lifelong discovery. But when one is not
satisfied in God ordained marriage and
starts to compare his/her spouse to others,
the problem begins. When a husband or
wife starts to hide some things/information
from the spouse, they might be on a more
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dangerous ground. ‘Transparency’ and
‘Trust’ are two watch words in a marriage
relationship. Let us be transparent and
not try to hide things, even in our mobile
phones. Are we deleting certain chats in
WhatsApp in order to hide it from our
spouse? Beloved, no. We are standing in a
slippery ground. Let us not do anything that
needs hiding from our spouses. Let us not
involve in questionable individual chatting
with people of the opposite gender. Let us
be faithful to our spouse. God is watching.
He will repay.
Heb 13:4 – “Let marriage be held in honor
among all, and let the marriage bed be
undefiled, for God will judge the sexually
immoral and adulterous.”
Some marriages are not building up
because of the fact that one of the partner is
emotionally involved with another person
outside marriage. I call this ‘Emotional
Bondage.’ A husband or wife feels that
his or her partner is no longer able to
understand their feelings and therefore,
starts to share those feelings with someone
outside the marriage. If that person is of
opposite gender, there is a high possibility
of an extra-marital affair. This is a cancer
in marriage relationships. Emotional
relationship will definitely lead to physical
relationship.
Let us not think that no one understands
us. As a matter of fact, no one can. Only God
can understand us. In times of emotional
turmoil we need to turn to the Lord, who is
our comforter and strengthener. He alone
can help us. Hence let us be careful.
Samson had this problem. He well
knew that Delilah was confiding with his
BLESSING / September 2019
enemies. But he could not break off from
her. The relationship was both physical
and emotional. Beloved, if we are in an
emotional relationship with a person
other than our spouse, then we are already
committing adultery. We need deliverance
through the power of the Holy Spirit. We
need to repent and turn to God. He can help
us.
On the other hand, if the circumstances
in our life has lead us to a single life, let us
strengthen our relationship with the Lord.
Let Him be your constant companion, friend
and guide.
Thinking About the Consequences
Pro 6:32-33 – “He who commits adultery
lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.
He will get wounds and dishonor, and his
disgrace will not be wiped away.”
Adultery and fornication look very
attractive and fulfilling on the surface. It is
for this very reason many get entangled in
it. It also creates a kind of new energy and
excitement. This is what is shown by the
TV serials, movies, ads, novels and the like.
But they miserably fail to communicate the
consequences of sexual sins.
We need to understand that, it first destroys
the one who commits it.
1Cor 6:18 - “Flee from sexual immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside
the body, but the sexually immoral person
sins against his own body.”
All sexual sins are harmful to the one
who commits. Health gets affected. Strange
diseases creep in. Not only that, in the case
of adultery, it starts to affect the marriage.
The partners lose the love and excitement
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that they had in the beginning of their
marriage. God’s protection to the family
and the children are removed (Isa 5:5). The
affected wife or husband experiences the
pangs of betrayal and rejection. Children
are disillusioned. Home starts to fall apart.
Husband, wife and even children start to
live individual lives. There is no more love,
joy, happiness in the family. Home becomes
hell.
Let us think about all these things
when we are tempted. The tempter skillfully
avoids all these things while tempting. He
just focuses on the immediate excitement
and gratification. Let us not fall into his
trap. Let us think about our spouses. Let us
think about our children. The wounds that
we are going to incur and the wounds that
we are going to give to our loved ones, are
both going to be grievous. Remember how
David cried when he heard the death of his
beloved son Absalom – “And the king was
deeply moved and went up to the chamber
over the gate and wept. And as he went,
he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my
son Absalom! Would I had died instead of
you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”(2 Sam
18:33). David knew that it was his sin
with Bathsheba that had brought this to his
family. Oh! How he wished that he himself
had died for his sins! Beloved, the pangs of
sexual sins are unexplainably grievous.
Also let us also think about the
disgrace this would bring to God’s Name,
God’s people’s name, family’s name, our
children’ future....
What is the legacy that we are going
to leave for our children? - “A Godly father,
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a godly mother, a faithful spouse, a man of
God or disgraceful? Think. .. think… think..
The Bible says that the ‘Disgrace
will not be wiped away…’(Pro 6:33).
Sometimes God will forgive and restore
us, but the disgrace will not go away. It
will precede us. It will go before us. What
a shame!
Samson lost everything because of his
love for Delilah. He lost his anointing, he
lost his eyes, he lost his strength, he lost his
calling, he lost his position and he lost his
fame.
But the good part of his story is that
even though Samson lost everything, he still
cried to God for help. That was awesome.
He prayed for one last time,
Jud 16:28 – “O Lord God, please remember
me and please strengthen me only this
once...”
Our God is gracious and loving.
Whatever position you might be in, you
need to come to God and seek His mercy.
It is never too late to seek the Lord.
There is still hope. That one last prayer of
Samson changed everything. One small
prayer sprung from the heart can change
everything. Samson regained his strength
and the Lord’s Name was glorified through
his death. God can change anything. He
created this universe out of nothing. He can
transform our lives if only we submit our
entire self into His hands.
Watching out for Vulnerabilities
1Co 10:13 - “No temptation has overtaken
you that is not common to man. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tempted
beyond your ability, but with the temptation
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he will also provide the way of escape, that
you may be able to endure it.”
The Bible clearly teaches us that
God always provides us the way of escape
from the fiercest of temptations. When we
are tempted let us look out for the way of
escape. After we find the way, let us run,
flee. And let us not linger on. When it comes
to sexual temptations, the Bible always
commands us to flee from them (1 Cor 6:18,
2 Tim 2:22).
But what if the temptations come from the
mobile phone or the internet?
My suggestion would be is to
install accountability software or a filter.
Accountability softwares are the ones which
tract the visits and sends to an accountability
partner. Or we can ask some person whom
we trust to lock the app through which
temptations come. Or if the problem is
serious, we need to stay away from smart
phone for some time, before we build up
spiritual resistance.
Let us also look out for the occasions
when we slip into sin:
Is it when we are tired physically? Is
it when we are depressed? Is it when we are
angry? Is it when we are lonely? Is it when
we travel alone? Is it when we feel rejected
by someone?
Let us find out the pattern and break
it. Let us plan and prepare ahead. Next
time when we are depressed or angry, let us
take a walk, play an outdoor game, go for
a ride. Since these habits are wired into our
brain memories, it tends to repeat in a cyclic
pattern. Once we identify this cycle it would
be easy to break it. You have to replace it
with something worthwhile, something that
BLESSING / September 2019
involves mental and physical activity. This
is a challenge. This is a war. So we need to
take a stand and keep fighting. Let us not
worry when we fail. We need to get up and
get going. Victory will surely be ours.
Let us beware of ‘Flare - Ups’ which
are nothing but the reminders of our old
immoral relationships. In our younger days
we might have been infatuated by a person
or may have liked that person. Here, again
in another phase of life, when we have
family and children of our own, he or she
unexpectedly shows up in Facebook or
WhatsApp. Suddenly we are flooded with
memories from the past and our spiritual
defenses are weakened in a strange way. We
need to be extremely careful. I have known
many good believers falling into this trap.
Let us learn to stay away from this person.
Since we have a lot of WhatsApp groups
formed among the alumini of schools and
institutions, let us be careful. Praise God
for such reunions. Let us use those forums
as avenues to communicate the Gospel.
But let us not build any relationship on a
personal level. If we are having a flared-up
feeling, it is good to cut off every gadget for
a period of time. Let us divert the flare-up
to something worthwhile and let us convert
these feelings into something constructive
like helping people, going for a mission
trip, teaching our children or anything new
which involves mental and physical activity.
If we are a frequent traveler, let us take
sufficient precautions to do things while
on travel instead of spending time with the
mobile. Let us decide to read a book if the
travel is long. We need to plan our travel so
that there is no place for the tempter.
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 Self – Examination Questions On
Moral Watchfulness
1. Is my eye disciplined to look straight or
does it wander occasionally?
2. Do I have a fixed time to watch Television
or randomly switch channels?
3. Do I gaze on the images that pop up
in the desktop and the mobile phone or
immediately close it?
4. Do I spend more time in the mobile
phone than for Prayer, Bible reading and
Bible study?
5. Do I compare my wife/husband with
others?
6. Am I having the habit of chatting
individually(intimately) with people of
opposite gender in WhatsApp?
7. Do I read novels, books that does not
edify or inform me?
8. Is the last thing that I see before sleep is
the WhatsApp videos or other videos from
my mobile?
9. Is the first thing that I see as soon as I
wake up is the WhatsApp updates? (May
be a sign of WhatsApp addiction).
10. Do I have the habit of watching adult
movies?
11. Do I use accountability softwares or
filters in my desktop or mobiles?
12. Do I share my feelings when I am deeply
hurt with a person of the opposite gender?
13. Do I day dream or fantasize?
14. Do I live a double life – physically with
someone and emotionally with another?
15. Do I pleasure myself?
15. Do I think of some other person when I
am intimate with my spouse?
16. Do I hesitate to seek help from God and
trusted people?
BLESSING / September 2019
17. Do I think that I am mature enough to
handle all these things and am above all
these things?
18. Do I keep my moral conscience right by
being transparent with my spouse?
19. Do I delete the WhatsApp chat details
after I chat with some people?
20. Do I believe that Total Victory is
possible in the Cross of Christ?
What Next?
Dear child of God, after reading the
article, if you think that you have failed
in several aspects of morality, repent and
turn to God. Work out the questionnaire
once again and self-examine your ways.
Decide to be hard on yourself. Decide to
discipline your eyes. Decide to stay faithful
to your spouse. Prayfully decide a course
correction. Share your struggles with trusted
spiritual friends and increase prayer support
for you.
Decide to cutoff anything that defiles
your body, mind and spirit. Jesus told us
to pluck out our eyes or hands if it causes
us to sin (Mat 18:9). Hence we need to
deal strongly with sin. Take precautionary
actions so that you might not fall the next
time. Decide that even when you fail again
you will return to this standard and keep up
the fight.
Repent and ask God’s forgiveness.
When we turn to God in repentance, He
is gracious and compassionate to restore
us. When we repent of our sins and turn to
God with all our heart, mind and body, He
will definitely restore us. Jesus has won the
victory on the Cross. Though we live in a
sin-intoxicated society, Jesus will give us
total victory. Amen!
(For further help and counsels:
bymblessing@gmail.com
Mobile:7358310548)
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 Profile of a Missionary Statesman – Uncle Ivan (1938-2019)
(Written by Mrs. Sylvia Reuben, the Daughter-in-law of Uncle Ivan)
Prof. Ivan Balasingh - the name evokes so
much of respect, awe, admiration & gratitude. It was
an honour to know him personally & to be linked in
his family tree. He was lovingly called by children
as, ‘Uncle Ivan.’
He was the Head of the Department of English
in Kamaraj College, Tuticorin for many years.
During his tenure in college he had the vision of
starting a school for missionary kids after meeting
a young couple moving to North India & were
pondering on their kids’ education and future. He
immediately told them that he would take care of
the kid’s education. As he told that statement to
the missionary couple, he heard God speaking to him in a still small voice – ‘Son, you
have promised to take care of this one child. What about the others?” That vision birthed
Santhosha Vidyalaya, Dohnavur in 1982 & Anand Niketan, Lamtaput, Orissa in 1993, the
schools primarily meant for educating the children of the missionaries.
He was a missionary & a visionary. He had an undying passion & dedication to the
Lord’s work & he was never tired of following in the footsteps of the One who called
him. In 1995, when we went to Orissa for Needy Land Tour we had the opportunity to
visit Anand Niketan the second school he founded for missionary kids in Orissa. As the
school was in an initial phase we could see all the hard work and efforts put by him since
its inception. He had a handful of staff and was managing the whole school mostly single
handedly in that remote area.
His love for the kids was so heart warming. We could see kids hanging around him
during their mandatory morning walks at 5:00 AM even during winter. He was a strict
disciplinarian but his training was also done in love and the kids knew that. The Annual
Day, Sports Day & all national festivals were celebrated with so much grandeur and fiesta.
Bouquets were made with the flowers blooming in the campus and the music band was
organised with pots & pans from kitchen. There was so much of innovation and creativity
in the campus, which would have surely left an indelible mark in the kids’ budding years.
He also took the children for fishing, bird watching and trekking. All these activities helped
the children to have an overall development in their personalities and to develop strong
leadership skills.
He made every missionary kid proud of their parents. He used to say, “Children should
BLESSING / September 2019 10
be proud that their parents are missionaries.” He treated missionaries with dignity and
respect. In fact, Anand Niketan was a place of rest and rejuvenation for the missionaries.
He was there in the school till he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He used to visit
Tamilnadu only once in a year, during the school vacation, and will rush back to school.
His heart was in Lamptaput, Orissa & his eyes used to light up when anyone came to visit
him from Orissa. The school was a pivot around which lot of ministries were supported.
He had a heart for the nearby villages. Although he ministered for missionaries and their
kids, he wanted to do something for the village people. His dream came true when the senior
kids started to go for village ministries. They established contact and in God’s providence
Compassion International came to support the tribal children’s education. It was a dream
come true for him. Today there is a church in that village.
He had a fracture in his leg in 1999, which slowed down his movement & God
reminded him to look & admire the beauty in the campus. Also when he was undergoing
radiation treatment in Vellore during the grueling summer months he never complained
but always told that God will give him the strength. He had a large heart for missions and
missionaries. His concern & assistance to them was long lasting and it was never done at
the spur of the moment. He always told us to not rush and help someone immediately on
a calamity as many would do that & move away later. We need to step in later and extend
our help and assistance.
He was a prayer warrior and the last decade of his life was spent in the confines of
home. But his prayer reached people far & wide. He had a prayer diary in which he had
all the names of the family members, missionaries & acquaintances & he had a day allotted
to pray for them specifically by name. We as his children had the privilege of being prayed
for daily and we could feel his prayer as a hedge of protection in our lives. We sorely miss
that now.
He was very meticulous in his Bible reading and meditation. He read one Psalm,
one Proverb and one Gospel chapter everyday and made notes of the same in his diary. He
used a blue pen for the psalms & proverbs and a red pen for the notes on the Gospel. He
was doing his meditation till his last day on earth.
He had a big heart for the poor and will do anything to alleviate their suffering. All
through in his life he never owned more than 4 sets of clothing and all our presents to him
were given to any one in need. He always exhorted us to live simple lives and to have a
heart for the poor. After running his race faithfully, earning His Master’s praise, he entered
glory on 25th July 2019 at the age of 81. With his demise India has lost its one of the
pioneering missionary statesman.
We thank God for his life and legacy.
(Presently 45 BYM Missionary Kids are studying in Santhosa Vidhyalaya and 25 are
in Anand Niketan)
BLESSING / September 2019 11
 Twelve Means by Which You Can Test Whether a Work Is Truly of God
Richard Owen Roberts
1. God as He reveals Himself in
Scripture is the central figure. In some
recent movements which were described
by many as revival, they talked about God;
they read from the Bible; they claimed
wonderful Christian experiences. But the
question I asked was, “Was God the central
figure?” I have declared that revival is a
time when God draws near. Well then, is
He the central figure? Are all eyes fixed
upon Him? Is the manifest presence of
God the great and overwhelming feature
of the movement? That’s the first test. If it
is some manifestation, if it’s the religious
experience that people are having, then it is
suspicious. God must be the central figure.
2. The holiness of God in contrast with
the wickedness of man is the domineering
issue. When there is true revival, one of the
inevitable aspects is the awesome sense of
God’s holiness and a terrible sense of guilt
and shame over sin. Normally in revival,
that results in quiet weeping, but sometimes
it results in loud outbursts of agony. But we
don’t dismiss the movement because of the
loud outbursts of agony.
In Ireland in 1858-59 a certain
phenomenon was very commonplace,
and it was very puzzling and difficult for
godly men to accept. Because of the vast
concourses of people that assembled, the
churches were too small and many of the
meetings had to be held outdoors, anywhere
that huge groups of people could gather. But
a strange thing happened as these faithful
ministers of God were preaching. It was
very common for strong, hulking men to
suddenly sink. They were examined by the
BLESSING / September 2019
physicians and by the godly pastors. Nobody
gave a totally satisfactory explanation of
what occurred.
The good pastors didn’t like it. But
what was discerned in connection with this
phenomenon in Ireland was that the holiness
of God became so absolutely awesome
that these great, strong men standing there
were overwhelmed with the sense of their
own sin, and whatever bodily mechanisms
normally enable us to stand upright simply
were suspended. These men sunk in place
and some of them were “out” for hours.
But invariably when they “came around,” it
was to express an awesome sense of God’s
holiness and a profound awfulness of their
own sin.
3. Conviction of sin and profound
grief prevail among the subjects of revival. I
must acknowledge that I’ve never been part
of what I would call a full-orbed revival. I
long to see this. But although I’ve not seen
what I would call a full-orbed revival, I
am grateful to say I have seen awesome
conviction of sin. I’ve felt it myself and
seen it in others. By God’s grace, numerous
of you have seen these profound seasons
of conviction in which the Spirit of God is
wrestling in the souls of men and often it is
accompanied with tears and even outcries.
4. Deeper levels of repentance, both
individual and corporate, are experienced
in revival than have ever been experienced
at any other time. Sometime back I had an
incredible experience of God’s nearness for
a period of months. I tell you, dear brothers
and sisters, that I have never known since,
12
and I certainly never knew before, the depth
of repentance that I knew in those days when
God was so wonderfully near. We can’t
discern revival on the basis of tears alone.
Tears don’t prove anything, but tears often
lead to radically transformed lives. We test a
revival not on the basis of the weeping over
sin, but on the basis of the transformation
that occurs as true repentance lays hold of
the human heart, and men and women are
radically transformed.
5. A true revival will always result in
wondrous esteem for the Lord Jesus Christ
among a vastly increased number. We’ve
had something of a revival of worship in
recent years, but a true revival doesn’t just
result in more activity in worship services.
There is day by day, hour by hour, immense
esteem and love for Christ. During that
special season in my own life, there was
just flowing out of me perpetually, “Lord,
I love you! I love you!” I didn’t have to
drum it up. It just flowed. I couldn’t stop it.
I think God gave me that little experience
to encourage me to press on and hope to
see a worldwide movement of the Holy
Spirit that results in magnificent esteem for
Jesus Christ our Lord. Be suspicious of any
movement where Christ is not esteemed as
never before in the lives of individuals who
claim to be its subjects.
6. There is confidence in and obedience
to the Word of God. There isn’t much
confidence in the Word of God today. I
believe the average evangelical preacher
does not trust the Holy Spirit to use him
through the preaching of the Word. That’s
why all these methodologies have been
developed. We don’t count on preaching. I
am of the conviction that when the Word of
BLESSING / September 2019
God is preached in the power of the Holy
Spirit, everything that needs to be done in
the hearts and lives of men and women is
done, and that nothing else is needed beyond
the faithful proclamation of the Word of
God. You will know it is a revival when
there comes this marvelous confidence
in God’s Word so that indeed the doubts
are swept away, and men preach as never
before.
We had a series of movements
approximately five years ago that affected
a number of the Christian schools and some
secular institutions. As far as I know it
began in Texas. Within a few days a group
came from Texas to the college right next
to us. They met Sunday evening and again
Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, with
growing interest and attendance. Beautiful
things happened. But a mistake was made.
They had no preaching. You have the theory
among many that at a time of revival we
don’t need preaching because people have
already had all kinds of preaching; it is
thought we need the Lord and experience.
But the truth of the matter is that when
revival comes, if there is ever a time in the
human heart when there is openness to hear
from God, it is then. I want to say to brothers
who preach to lay hold of the opportunity to
preach as you never preached before. Any
movement that is not accompanied with
tremendous interest in the Word of God and
great preaching, falls under heavy suspicion.
That’s why some of us try carefully to
distinguish between experience-centered
movements and Word-centered movements.
Over and over I’ve proclaimed throughout
the English-speaking world, “We don’t need
an experience-oriented movement. We need
a great preaching revival.”
13
 7. Love for God and for fellow man
increases substantially during revival so
that both the first and second greatest
commandments are honored and kept. But
dear friends, this will only be true if the
revival is kept pure. Revivals have been
historically very divisive because there has
not been that careful leadership of godly
men in revival movements, so you get some
racing this way and some racing that way.
Divisions result. But in a true revival godly
pastors lay hold of the reins of leadership
and keep it in the channel of grace, with
these things that I am mentioning in focus.
Then wonderful new love for God and for
others accompanies these movements.
I repeat, “Beloved, do not believe
every spirit but test the spirits to see whether
they are from God, because many false
prophets have gone out into the world” (1
John 4:1).
8. True revival always generates new
levels of contentment and joy. Obviously
we live in a time of great discontent. Vast
numbers of broken marriages among the
clergy are but one demonstration of this
fact, men who aren’t content and who crave
something beyond what God Himself has
given them. But a true revival brings this
glorious sense of satisfaction in Christ,
and joy. Christ and Christ only becomes
the sufficiency of the Church. This chasing
after novel ideas, this great investment of
strength and energy in inventing new ways
of “doing church” is simply laid aside in
the glorious contentment that grips men
and women.
9. Concern for the eternal well-being
of people, especially the lost and dying,
dominates the whole of the church. Note,
it is eternal well-being. Right now there is
BLESSING / September 2019
a tremendous interest in the well-being of
people but not in their eternal well-being.
Vast amounts of energy are being poured
into trying to resolve tensions and conflicts
on every hand. But the Church basically
is contenting itself with the pretended
salvation of the multitudes. Most in the
Church are every bit as satisfied if someone
makes a profession of faith as they would
be if that person were radically transformed
by a work of the Spirit of God. There is
something grossly unholy about those who
are content to accept claims of faith where
there is no evidence whatsoever that any
work of grace has occurred.
Some of us are grievously wrong
about our understanding of the doctrine of
salvation. Some of us are contributing to this
problem continually. A work of revival will
cause the Church to be manifestly burdened
for the eternal welfare of the lost.
10. When revival occurs there will be
a vast increase of resources available for the
worldwide work of the Kingdom. It is an
astonishing thing when a movement which
claims to be a revival has to beg people
to give. O my friends, what happened in
Moses’ day is characteristic of revival.
Moses had to say to the people, “Please,
don’t bring anything else! We’ve got more
than we can possibly use” (See Ex. 36:2-7).
A blessedness of revival is that wallets come
out and they’re emptied. Even Benjamin
Franklin was so moved when he heard
George Whitefield preach that he emptied
the gold out of his pockets. Another man
who was known as a stingy person through
and through, was seen to empty his pocket,
and then he had to ask somebody for enough
money to buy himself lunch. Liberation of
the purse springs is another genuine test.
14
 11. When revival comes, Satan’s
kingdom suffers major blows. In revival,
iniquity in all forms decreases. When the
chief of police does not know there is a
revival, there isn’t one. The crime rate is
dramatically affected. Many of you are
acquainted with the wonderful stories that
emanated from the principality of Wales
in 1904 and 1905—beautiful, beautiful
stories. In South Wales where they had
deep pit coal mines down in the bowels of
the earth, the donkeys and the ponies that
drew the coal carts down in the bowels of
the earth, had to be retrained to respond to
human kindness. They had been driven by
kicks and by curses and had no notion of
what to do when their masters treated them
otherwise.Taverns and dives of iniquity of
every kind closed. How beautiful it is to
realize that in multitudes of regions day by
day, the judges entered their chambers and
laid a pair of white gloves on the podium,
signifying there was not a single crime to be
tried. The devil’s kingdom suffers a mighty
blow when revival comes. This is the kind
of revival that interests me.
12. A revived Church will always
aggressively involve itself in doing good. I
have been studying the subject of repentance
for quite some time, and finally was
able to put my study into a book form—
”Repentance, the First Word of the Gospel.”
In that book I point out that repentance is not
merely turning from evil, but repentance is
turning to good. It is never enough that we
cease to do evil. We must always learn to
do good, and any revival that is not marked
by an amazing outpouring of good deeds is
of a very questionable nature.
BLESSING / September 2019
To the attention of BYM Partners and
subscribers sending offerings
All those who want to send their offerings
to BYM (for missionary work, sponsorship,
magazine subscription and other supporting
funds) you may do so through any one of
the following methods:
Home & NRE donors
Name : Blessing Youth Mission
A/c No. 10545849472
Bank: State Bank of India
Branch Name : Siruthozhil,
Vellore 632 006
Branch Code: 007274
IFSC No: SBIN0007274
Gulf Donors
A/c Name : T. Prince Stachys Ravindran
A/c No: 35374362080
Bank Name : State Bank of India
Branch Name : Siruthozhil
Vellore 632 006
IFSC No : SBIN0007274
Online payment
www.bymonline.org
When you transfer your offering through
net banking, please make sure that you fill
your name, address and the details of fund
to be used for in the remarks column and
notify us by any of the following methods:
-SMS to 9445275410
-Phone call to +91 416 2242943 or
2248943
-Email to hq@bymonline.org
Do not miss the revival
messages in Tamil that
we air in the Sathiyam TV
every Wednesday
5:30 AM - 6:00 AM.
15
 field fragrance!
andhra pradesh
➢ Mission Sunday was observed by
Bhavanarayanapuram Church. They
dedicated missionary Samuel Raju. They
have decided to visit our Rajasthan fields
and gave an offering of Rs. 35,010/-
➢ Praise God for the Believers League
Fellowship who along with Pastor Venkat
Reddy donated Rs.30,000/- for a boat to
our field in Majuli island.
➢ Bro.John Sunand and his team went
to Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra
Pradesh and distributed New Testaments
(Hindi, Odiya, Bengali) to construction
workers.
➢ Reddy Srinivas (Stephen) is the
first convert from Pisini Village near
Srikakulam.He has committed his life for
full time but waiting on the Lord to know
further direction. Pray for God’s direction.
➢ Mission Sunday at Chirst Baptist
Church at Kakinada was a blessing.
Rs. 10,000/- offering was received for
missionary work.
➢ 90 children participated in a VBS
programme for Shikari tribe at Kurnool.
➢ God blessed Mission Sunday at Telugu
Baptist Church. The church lovingly gave
Rs.26,000/- offering for the Missionary
Work, and also gave Rs.2000/- for
missionary work.
chhattisgarh
Praise
➢ Night school has started in a village.
➢ Ladies Prayer Cell started in another
place.
BLESSING / September 2019
➢ Nanaji family accepted Christ.
➢ Missionary Sakthivel has moved to
Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh to take
care of the responsibilities of the State.
Pray
➢ Healing – Jeeya (Mental Illness) and
Ashish (Knee pain).
➢ Lularam family to come back to the
fold.
karnataka
Praise
➢ 6 new villages were visited and 48
contacts were established.
➢ 32 youth attended the Youth Meet.
➢ 12 believers were blessed in a Bible
Study.
➢ Renuka was healed from bone fracture
and Irappa from Kidney problem.
➢ Kavitha was delivered from evil spirit.
➢ Couples’ Meet was a blessing to 15
couples. Missionaries Manivannan and
Ruth were the resource persons.
➢ 7 days fasting prayer was a blessing
to 220 believers in Jamkhandi. 35 were
anointed with the Holy Spirit, 6 were
delivered from evil spirit, 7 people
received healing, one muslim family
accepted Christ, one deaf and dumb boy
started to speak. Missionaries Mohan
Deenadayalan, Ponniah and Arun were the
resource persons.
➢ 2 house worship services were started.
➢ 105 believers attended the Holy Spirit
rally in which 7 newly received the Holy
Spirit.
16
Pray
➢ Katur Church is located in the centre of
the village. Now the villagers are opposing
our service.
➢ Suitable Life Partner – Mangala, Mary,
Salomi, Muthu, Gouramma, Praveen,
Lawrence, Sanju, Santhosh, Sachin,
Geetha, Lakshmi and Tina.
➢ Healing – Hanumant (Bone Fracture);
Laxmi (Cancer); Hema (Thyroid);
Gayathri (TB); Sudhakar (Swelling
& Infection in Stomach); Gowramma
(Epileptic); Jyothi (Rheumatic); Danakka
(Uterus Problem); Hanmanth (Stroke) and
Priyanka (Coma).
➢ Blessing of the womb - Chandrakar &
Rouding, Sumithra & Vijai, Rama & Raje.
kerala
➢ God protected missionary Prem Kumar
from a bike accident. God enabled him to
share the Word of God in 3 cottage prayer
and 3 church services.
madhya pradesh
➢ 25 ladies were blessed in a ladies’
meeting.
➢ 63 attended the youth retreat.
➢ 432 heard the Good News through
Bajan Mandali.
➢ Bhavani, Makkan and Brijesh secured
jobs.
➢ 73 believers attended the Fasting Prayer
in 3 places.
➢ 21 heard the Gospel in a Seekers Meet.
➢ 11 obeyed the Lord.
➢ Mumta, Dhiji and Lakhsmi were
delivered from evil spirits.
Pray
➢ Blessing of the womb : Priyanka,
Bharathi, Sweety, Shalu, Sumitra, Elina,
Neetal, Neelish, Rethu, Paridhi, Kamakshi,
Akhansha, Sheela and Swetha.
BLESSING / September 2019
➢ Suitable life partner – Mahima, Ashvin,
Mayurjha, Samuel, Aline, Ankita, Ashish
and Sanjana.
➢ Healing – Lakshmi (Throat Cancer);
Lovina (Piles); Rashmi(4th time Typhoid);
Ravi & Geetha (Tumor); Urmila, Rampati,
Reena, Premlal & Brijish (Kidney Stone)
and Govind, Uoodhal (Depression).
➢ Chandran, Bijawar, Giyani and Disha
to be delivered from evil spirit.
➢ Ram Kiwan’s safe confinement. She
has already lost 3 babies.
maharashtra
Praise
➢ A house worship has been started in a
village in which 15 adults & 20 children
are participating.
➢ A lady’s prayer is started in a village.
➢ God blessed Anuradha with a baby after
10 years.
➢ Healing Received – Rekha (Fits);
Ganesh (Low Haemoglobin); Samarpan
(Dengue).
➢ Gifts were distributed to 120 children
and Good news was shared to them.
➢ 42 attended the second year anniversary
in Pusegaon.
➢ Missionary Subhash Waghmare shared
the Word of God in the fasting prayer for
IT people and Mission Seminar in Pune
Methodist Church.
➢ Youth meetings were held in two
places. Missionary Ruben shared the Word
of God.
➢ 2019 children were blessed in VBS
programme in 81 places.
➢ 16 obeyed the Lord.
➢ Shevanti was miraculously saved from
a major accident. A huge wooden pillar
came off but got stuck in the ladder.
17
 ➢ A village believer was blessed with a
girl baby after 35 years.Hallelujah!
➢ Deepika is in family way after 4 years.
➢ Native workers Kalpesh & Veena are
blessed with a girl baby.
➢ During the Yayu cyclone one of our
believers, Dharma was miraculously saved
from the disaster. Many of the neighbours
were surprised to see that nothing happened
to him as well as to his house.
➢ Our believer Raghu is blessed with
plenty of water when he dug a well.
➢ Believers prayed for a demon possessed
man and he was delivered. Now he and his
family have accepted Christ.
➢ Our believer Asha had taken her goats
for grazing in the jungle. Suddenly a
python caught one of the goats, she prayed
and the python released the goat.
➢ Damu was sick for many years.
He consulted several doctors & witch
doctors and spent about two lakhs, but he
gained no relief. He heard the Gospel and
accepted Christ. God delivered him from
his sickness. Praise God!
➢ Sevu and Ananta were healed from her
mental illness after prayers.
➢ 81 believers attended the New Life
Seminar.
➢ 35 group leaders attended Small Groups
Bible Study programme.
➢ 45 youth were challenged in a area wise
youth meeting, “How to win our friends
for Christ?”
➢ 3561 attended the Ashirwad Melawa
with much joy and zeal in which 245 heard
the Gospel for the first time.
Pray
➢ Priyanka to be blessed with children.
She is barren for 5 years.
BLESSING / September 2019
➢ For healing – Maruthi (Throat Cancer);
Anuska (Bone Cancer) and Rushi (Unable
to speak).
➢ Missionaries Dhanraj & Daisy are
moving to Chennai from Vaduj to look
after the Literature ministry.
rajasthan
Praise
➢ 35 youth participated in a Mini Halo
in Jaipur.
➢ 30 young people were blessed in a two
days youth retreat at Nimkathana.
➢ 100 were blessed in a special meeting
in Boyidi.
➢ 80 attended a Night Meeting.
➢ 8 confessed their faith.
➢ New congregations were started in two
places.
➢ New contacts – Gulabi, Nittu & Pooja.
tamil nadu
Praise
➢ Vijayarani had uterus problem. She has
been healed after prayers.
➢ 15 were benefited through Medical
Camp.
➢ 19 children attended the children’s
class.
➢ Abhi was healed from tumour in her
neck.
➢ 15 believers participated in a fasting
prayer.
Pray
➢ Salvation – Susila, Kasthuri & Chinraj.
➢ Healing – Saroja (Tumour); Senthil
Kumar (Mental Illness) and Kumar (Body
pain).
➢ Suitable life partner – Pallaniammal,
Sankar and Sekar.
18
 uttar pradesh west bengal
Praise ➢ Durug and Pastor Biplavsarkar were
healed from Kidney problem.
➢ 5 people confessed their faith publicly.
➢ Herold and Ajay are opposing the
➢ One new village was visited.
ministry.
➢ 10 believers attended the fasting prayer. ➢ For healing – Sabluravan (Ear problem);
Bitu was healed from white spots on his Fulmani(Cancer) and Pravin(Leg injury).
forehead after prayer.
general
Pray ➢ Missionary Pushparaj’s father Mr.
➢ Healing – Akilesh (Unable to see); Lingan (Age 95) passed away on 28th July.
Pramila & Hardev (White Spots); Saveetha ➢ Missionary Inbakumar’s mother
(Ulcer); Nitesh (Problem in spinal cord) Krishnaveni (Age 70) went to be with Lord
and Arjun (Asthma). on 4th August.
➢ Prabhavathi to come to the Lord. ➢ Missionary Phulmani Dhanapathi’s
➢ Viram’s family to be delivered from mother Ambe Tadingi (Age 73) breathed
evil spirit. her last on 6th Aug.
Opposition to Opportunity
In a village in North India, around 17 of our believers were beaten for about 2 hours.
Their houses were burnt and were threatened by the local people. They were also told
to revoke their new found faith or else would be excommunicated from the village. The
believers approached the local police station but help did not come through. But with
prayer and boldness, they approached the higher level officials. They were even afraid
to return to their village that night. The nearby villagers gave them shelter that night.
That night, fervent prayers were made on behalf of them. Next day, the senior police
inspector gave instructions to the village level inspector to give proper hearing to our
believers and do justice. The same village level inspector who refused them earlier, now
spoke very boldly and warned the opposers not to harm our believers. He also instructed
them that no one can stop them from conducting prayers in the name of Jesus and in future
if our believers want to build worship shed, no one should oppose them. This brought joy
to our believers who stood firm for their new found faith. They also forgave the opposers.
This became a witness to the officials as well. The local leaders handled the opposition
very well. All Glory to Him!
God had his Way
The 15th National Fasting Prayer was held in Sitheri Hills in which around 91 missionaries
and lay leaders participated. Almost all the participants fasted for 7 days. There were
regular times of intercession, self-examination, Bible studies and personal prayers. Many
of the participants were enriched through the Word and many more were strengthened in
their spirit. It was also a time of recommittment and refocussing on our priorities.
All glory to God.
- Missionary Premalatha Chezhian
BLESSING / September 2019 19