Dreams, Visions & The Voice Of God

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Tue, Mar 21st - 11:09AM

A day of good news

A pastor friend of mine had to find a house on rent urgently as he and his family had been asked to vacate the rented house that they were living in as soon as possible. He had been praying fervently about the matter and searching for a house in different places for the same, but to no avail.

I too joined in the hunt and for several days searched and enquired of houses that were to be rented. It had almost been a week and the pastor had to vacate the house that he stayed in now, the next morning.

Early next morning I had to go to the market to buy groceries and as I drove my car towards the market, I was telling the Lord how my master friend needed a miracle that day. It was then that I saw them- 4 lepers walking together and in a moment the Lord spoke to me & reminded me of the 4 lepers during the great famine of 7 years when Elisha was prophet in Israel.

Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? If we say, `We'll go into the city'--the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."

At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things. from it and hid them also.

Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace.” (2 Kings 7:3-9)

What the Holy Spirit was impressing me was that ‘this was a day of good news’ (verse 9 above). At once I knew that my pastor friends’ prayer had been answered.

Surely enough later that day one of the patients who came to consult me in my clinic told me (without me asking him) that his brother’s house was available for rent should someone whom I knew needed it.

I smiled when he said that and soon my friend had the rented house that he needed so urgently. This was another occasion that the Lord had spoken to me clearly and performed a much needed miracle. Praise the Lord.

Dr. Johnson Cherian M.D.PhD.

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Sun, Mar 19th - 10:43AM

A Strange Funeral

One morning as I traveled to my clinic, I was thinking about a certain servant of God who had died a couple of days back and today his funeral was to taking place. As I approached the place where the cremation was to take place there was such a big queue for the last time view of the servant of God. There was a mammoth crowd and people were thronging around the place.

Certain thoughts regarding the event came to my mind and I was making my own conclusions-Certainly this man deserved this kind of a last minute send off, if one could call it that. He had labored for Christ for so many years that such a heavy crowd had turned out for his funeral. Surely any one so great will naturally have many admirers and it was logical that people had to wait in large queues to get a last glimpse.

Quite unexpectedly Lord spoke to me and very clearly said something unique. He said, “There was no one around when I buried Moses.”

Now this was something extraordinary. I could never have brought up this thought by myself. It’s just the way that the Lord speaks to us. Out of the blue on certain occasions. He didn’t say another word but just what He had already said, but that itself was worth a day’s thinking.

Moses was a great servant of God. The Bible vouches for that.
“And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over. Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt--to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:5-8, 10-12)

Wonderful, isn’t it? All these things that are written about this great servant of God. Perhaps some critics may argue that He deserved a better burial but there couldn’t have been a better burial for Him. God Himself set the time and place and Himself conducted the funeral service.

Of course before the actual burial took place there was a fight for his dead body as we read in the book of Jude.
“But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9)

For what I often wonder did the devil contend for the body of Moses? Perhaps he was trying to establish the view point that Moses disobeyed God regarding speaking to the rock instead of hitting it. Well, he has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve. But he got the right reply from Michael who said that his accusations against Moses and his contending for his body deserved a rebuke from the Lord.

The Bible says that the Lord knows them who are his and He knows them who are truly faithful to Him even though the devil may bring all sorts of allegations and accusations against them.

Praise the Lord for He is always just in all His ways.

Dr. Johnson Cherian M.D.PhD.

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Tue, Mar 14th - 8:22AM

Have I ever harmed you?

Spiritual lows are frequent in the lives of believers and it's nothing different for me even though I am a teacher and preacher of the Word.One night as I sat to pray, I could think of nothing else than all the problems in my life. One added upon one as I started thinking and it seemed to be like a huge mountain in the end.

So I started complaining to the Lord about all the problems and the causes of the problems and the persons involved.

It must have been quite a while that I kept on and when I finally did end, I dozed off a bit and in the semi-sleep stage, the Lord startled me with His unmistakable voice and said, "Son, have I ever done you any harm?"

That question not only made me awake again but also brought tears to my eyes and I replied to the Lord,"No, Lord, you have never ever harmed me."

Yes, Our Lord is the God of all compassion. He says,

" I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." (Jeremiah 31:3)

No matter what the problem in our lives, He is always there to help and heal, save and deliver. PraiseGod for such a Saviour.

Dr. Johnson Cherian M.D.PhD.

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Mon, Mar 13th - 6:30AM

Slain in the spirit?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The first time I heard about it, I was both fascinated and intrigued. I was and am always fascinated by the power of the Holy Spirit but this was new. A man filled with so much power so as to be able to blow air from his mouth upon another in front and make him/her fall dawn on the ground. They called it” Slain in the spirit”

Wow! This is great; I said then. (This was a few yrs. ago). My wife was averse to the phenomenon saying that it didn’t seem right. But then the, man in question preached the full gospel and seemed to have a genuine experience of God as he spoke and wrote his testimony. His books were and are filled with lectures of the Holy Spirit and the anointing.

1994 was the year and I read a lot about the phenomenon. As much readable material (news abstracts, and books) I could lay my hands on, I read. I searched the Bible for an answer. I wrote an article in a leading Indian Christian magazine (Faith Today) vouching for the genuiness of the phenomenon.

The man in question was coming from the USA to India and a large crusade was arranged in a neighboring state. “This is a must”; we must go; I told my wife. She was not really enthusiastic but still agreed. What made me even surer of this man’s ministry was that another man of God from Chennai had invited him to conduct the “Miracle Crusade” as it was called. I remember a servant of God introducing “the man in question” that 1st day of the crusade as the “Man of God for the hour”.

The singing continued long; the man preached only for 20 minutes or so and then announced suddenly “The Holy Spirit” is here. 5 of us had gone as a family seeking for more of God spiritually and physically. The so called healing commenced with the man calling out names of sickness. Some went on stage to give testimonies. And then suddenly it started raining so heavily that everyone scampered helter skelter for cover. But on the beach (where the crusade was held) there was no cover except the sky and most of the 50,000- 1 lakh people were drenched to their bones. We were soaked, the roads were overflowing with water and the traffic jam was bad. To escape the rain’s fury we had to reach the hotel as soon as possible. 3 of us 5 got separated because of the crowd jostling. Later we met together after 1/2 hr. at a road crossing. I rebuked satan for bringing on the rains but today I wonder whether it was really satan/ God who brought on the rains and whom I had rebuked.

Poor discernment I guess; but God is the best teacher. We attended 2 days of crusade meeting and returned back. A year or so passed. My fascination for the man’s ministry grew and I seeked God for similar power. And then one night, 1 yr.after we had gone for the crusade I saw a dream one night. “I saw the man with the great ministry, who blows air to make people fall and speaks a lot of the anointing standing before me smoking a cigarette and me telling him, “That’s not right; that’s against the “Word of God”. He smiled mockingly at me.”

The next morning I woke up and we (I and my wife) discussed the dream and when we got free time asked the Holy Spirit during prayer to explain the vision. I knew that the smoking of the cigarette was not indicating that he was a smoker but something deeper a mystery. And what the Holy Spirit revealed was so shocking. “The power was not of God but satanic and the Holy Spirit was not involved in the healings. The phenomenon was from evil spirits mimicking the power of God.”

Later I had questions for God.
Q: How does the man know so much about the Holy Spirit.?
A. He reads and has read a lot of material on the Holy Spirit. So he keeps speaking. He reads and is well versed with the Bible too.

Q. Where from the power then and the miracles?
A. All counterfeit; satanic power manifested to such an extent that even the elite fall for it.

If this was shocking for me, it must be for some of you too. Some of you can’t believe it. Trust the Lord and lean not on your own understanding.

In the book of Malachi we read,
And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. (Malachi 3:18)

When the man in question motioned with his hands for the Holy Spirit to come on the people, through a vision the Holy Spirit himself revealed several evil spirits being cast at the people seeking the power. The Holy Spirit also revealed the mans quest for more and more satanic power and idols that he worship to get the same. O! What a pity that even God’s servants including me are fooled by such satanic tricks.

These are the last days, dear friend. Even the elite are being deceived by satan coming as an angel of light. If the great man of God who invited that imposter from abroad was deceived, what about the ordinary (Ordinary in the sight of man) Christian.

The deception is very subtle, so one has to have discerning power of Holy Spirit. We can only trust God the Almighty in this matter.
I have been in earshot range ( not gone) of so called Christian conventions held by people who say they too are approved by God when they are still worshipping idols and I have been to and take part in true worship in spirit and in truth. These days the deception is so fine that often a person without discernment of spirits can hardly make out the difference. The singing is great, the preaching alike and the healings are there for everyone to see.

Yet, the truth is that only God can heal.

It’s easy for satan to pull off a trick on a sick person whom he has afflicted. As the false worship reaches the crescendo the evil spirit that has afflicted a part of the sick person’s body just withdraws itself and presto we have a so called healing. The healed person may go off feeling free, only to be afflicted in another way on his person that very day. He takes a new bondage home, so as to say.

Often I have asked the question;
“Why doesn’t God destroy these cheats? The answer is,
“He has made everything beautiful in it’s time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Also that God can bring good out of evil too for He is Master of All and All in All. Praise Him for that.

The days are very evil dear friend. One must be very careful. Trust in the Holy Spirit to lead you to the right place of worship. Wait upon the Lord and He will guide you wonderfully.

As we read in Isaiah 30:21
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,“This is the way, walk in it”.

On the 2nd day of the crusade in ‘95 there was a special meeting for the servants of God. A big bunch from all over India had gathered for special empowering from on high. “What a pity” that none could discern. I was there holding high my wife’s hand when the man said we were going to be filled with heavenly power. As the man showed a throwing action with his hand towards the audience, people literally staggered back. As indication that they were struck by the power. The Holy Spirit explained this: the evil spirit performing this trick uses force to push back the people and they stagger back or fall.

Later we enquired of God about a famed woman evangelist who as the story goes walked through a kitchen and many people including cooks fell under the power.

And in reply the Holy Spirit said, that God does not go about pushing people down to show His power. How true what the great apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians.

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their action deserve” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Be on your guard friend. Trust only in Jesus. Let Him guide you continually in these end days, by His Holy Spirit.

Dr. Johnson Cherian M.D.PhD.

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Sat, Mar 11th - 9:08AM

Workers

Sometime back, one day as I got some leisure time from my medical work, I read a Christian magazine that had been sent by a friend and the more I read, the more despondent I felt. Not that it had unworthy content but this was an issue devoted to the greats of the Christian world living now. Self pity gathered in me rapidly and the Old Man in me started making painful comments.

“Look at them; they are the ones who are doing real work for the Lord”
“Look at you, you are doing nothing”
I tried to argue with the Old Self inside me, but the thoughts of my insignificance increased rapidly and the day was spoiled well and sure.
As I sat brooding for a while, the Holy Spirit spoke to me in a gentle but firm whisper. Actually He brought to my mind the picture of a newly built house and then after a while asked me,
“Tell me Son, How did this house come into being?
Well! I said, I guess someone wanted a house built, so he got an architect to draw a plan and then an engineer to get it built.
The Voice continued,” And who all may have been possibly involved in the construction?”
I thought about it and then replied-Masons,Carpenters,Plumbers,Electricians .
“And what if there were no masons?’ the Voice asked
You can’t possibly build a house without masons being involved, I said, rather amused.
“And what if there were no electricians?
“Darkness, I answered.
“If no plumbers?”
No bathrooms, no sanitation, that’s unthinkable!

Well! That’s the point, He said.
What point? I asked
You see, He explained,” Each believer plays a very significant role in the building of the Kingdom of God. The role that you play may seem insignificant to you and to others because it may lack glamour and glitz. No one admiring a house from outside would ever give credit to the electrician, because his work is unseen. But when daylight disappears and darkness falls, everyones first thoughts would be to dispel the darkness by switching on the lights and only then the importance of the electrician’s work becomes evident. So also with the plumbers work. Seldom is it heard that a plumber received an award for his work in the building of a mansion.

The still small Voice finally said,” There’s no need to feel any despair regarding the work that you are doing now. If you are faithful in the work that He has entrusted you with, you will receive your reward, when the time comes. And if you are willing to pay a higher price in carrying the cross, spiritual promotions are waiting for you in the future”

That pep talk from the Holy Spirit gave me peace in my heart and as I thought about the whole matter I came to some conclusions.
God the Father wants His house built and He has entrusted the task into the hands of The Master Architect, His Son, Jesus Christ and The Master Builder, the Holy Spirit is getting the work done.

For this He has chosen you and me as workers. Our work for Him may differ but our aim is the same and that is to build the House as per the specifications of the Master Architect and Builder. He may use me and you as an electrician (i.e. to dispel the darkness) or as a mason (to give a firm structure) or as carpenter (to bring in fresh air) or as a plumber (to provide proper sanitation).IF YOU THINK ABOUT THESE IN THE TERMS OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, YOU WILL REALISE THE IMPORTANCE
Whatever it is, let us be faithful to Him in all the work that He has entrusted us with.

Only then when the time comes, we will be able to hear the Master’s blessed voice saying,
“Well done, Good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.”(Matthew 25:21)
Praise the Lord.

Dr. Johnson Cherian M.D.PhD.

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Wed, Mar 8th - 11:49AM

The Blood Of Jesus

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11a)

Last night as I slept, I saw a dream. In the dream I happen to be walking along a road and there are a few others walking beside me. After a while 3-4 vicious looking guys come from the opposite direction and they have several fierce looking dogs with them. As they come near me, the guys command the dogs to attack me and the whole pack rushes at me barking and snarling. In the dream I am at a loss of what to do but as the dogs are about to pounce on me I rebuke the dogs in the mighty Name of Jesus and pray to Jesus to cover me with His precious Blood.

As soon as I do that, the dogs just stop in their tracks as if they are hit by something violent and they seemed to be weak and helpless. Soon they recede and disappear.

This was a warning from the Holy Spirit that a satanic attack was about to take place in my life, but if I trusted in the Name and Blood Of Jesus, victory would be mine.

Today, since morning, I had shortness of breath and chest discomfort. I remembered the warning that the Holy Spirit had given me and rebuked the evil forces that had brought that upon me. The difficulty persisted till evening, but God delivered me as I placed my trust in the Name and Blood Of Jesus.

It's true what the songwriter says,

There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.

Dr. Johnson Cherian M.D.PhD.

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Fri, Mar 3rd - 8:14PM

Water Baptism

Water Baptism by itself does not guarantee a place for the believer in heaven. In other words one does not take water baptism to go to heaven. The Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

But that doesn’t mean one should not take water Baptism. Water Baptism is taken by the believer after one accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour for the following reasons:

1)It is the Lord’s command (Mathew 28:18-20),
2)It is an act of being obedient to God (Mark 16:16)
3)It is an Apostolic Doctrine for the New Testament Church (Acts 2:36-38,41)
4)It is a pledge of a good conscience (1 Peter 3:18 -22)
5)It is a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ & his victory over Satan(Romans 6:3-5)
6)It fulfills all righteousness ( Acts 10:44-48) (Mathew 3 13-17)
7)It is an act of faith (Colossians 2:11-12)

Some say, “Let God speak to me directly, then I’ll submit to this. He has spoken about it clearly in His Word. Perhaps He has been speaking but they are not hearing.

Let me give you an example.
One day as I traveled to my clinic in my car, I heard the still small voice of God telling me, “Sir” has not taken Water Baptism yet.” Very unusual I thought because I hadn’t been thinking about that man or praying for him. God was referring to a man who left his vocation in teaching and administration to serve God. He is a good believer working for the Lord in his capacity; often I had been telling him for the past 2 years that Water Baptism is important and that he should take it. And now the still small voice tells me “Sir has not taken water baptism yet”

I parked my car and walked to the clinic; got busy with seeing my patients. After I had seen a few, guess who walked in? “Sir & his Wife.” After exchanging pleasantries I asked him why he had come. And he said, “Doctor, did you forget? You told me to come here today. I was surprised. I asked him. “When did I ask you to come?” Yesterday Night”he said.

“But I didn’t meet you yesterday night.” I replied smiling. “Well, I called you at 8.00 p. m. and you told me that I can come and meet you today at 10.00 a. m.””. It couldn’t have been. I was preaching at another place yesterday at 8.00 p. m. “But that’s impossible! I called you at home and you gave me an appointment today.

“Sir! I came home at around 10.00 p. m. yesterday and there were no phone calls after I had left home according to the servant of whom I enquired when I came back. “Look! He said; Isn’t this your number? You gave it to me three months back when I saw you last. When I saw the number, I immediately knew what this was all about. The number that he showed was of my phone which I had already cancelled and given back to the exchange. This was an astounding miracle that God had done just to bring this man once again to me so that I tell him to get Water Baptized. Sure, he must have dialled the number that he had. But perhaps God or his angel answered him on the phone and said “Come tomorrow, 10.00 a.m.”I laughed and told him the thing that God had spoken to me while I travelled to the clinic that morning. God’s voice being very clear “Sir has not taken Water Baptism yet”

He and his wife listened very intently as I once again spoke to them about Water Baptism; They left after a while astounded at what had happened. But the tradedy of it all

I met this man after about 3 months and while conversing I asked him, “Sir, so did you finally take Water Baptism?”
“No he said, God has yet to speak to me about it”.

Jesus once said, “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving”(Matthew 13:14)

Dr. Johnson Cherian M.D.PhD.