Monday, August 31, 2009

WARNING THE ‘WHAT-THE-HELL’ GENERATION ABOUT HELL!

G4 Mission Report for May to August 2009 by Evangelin Duke

The last three months (May to August 2009) have been Font sizetruly God-blessed. We could not thank God enough for what He chose to do through us – tiny us. May I share with you some news from our end so that you too can join us in thanking God?

Duke as a college student in Allahabad. He talks about his college days in his article, The Missionary Call From Unbelievers, in the current issue of The Days mag

Eugene Pandian with his family. Even with a pregnant wife and a little son, Eugene gave a lot of time for the creation work of the Issue 18 of our mag

Bible Study in Bro. Christopher’s home

In the home of Brother Christopher in Dr. A. S. Rao Nagar in Hyderabad, Duke continued to leadBible Studies, once in a month. The books of II Samuel (June) and I Kings (July) were two Bible books, he took up and summarized in a practical way. He used the very characters found in these books as acronyms for the outlines he developed for these distinctive Bible Studies. For example, the message of the book of II Samuel was wrapped around the name DAVID JESSIE! Bro. Rajkumar cooked and served dinner for those who came. One Dentist drove 50 kms on his bike to attend this study!
Bible Study in the Daniels’ Flat
After a Bible Study that Duke lead in the home of Daniel and Magdalene summarizing one whole Bible Book which drew the Google Generation

In the large flat of Daniel and Magdalene, perched in the centrally located area of Somajiguda, Duke lead similar Bible studies on the books of Judges (May), Ruth (June) and I Samuel (July). In the study on the book of Ruth, Duke brought out simple yet sublime lessons on finding a life partner and making a marriage work. This talk was audio recorded. The mixed crowd that attends these unusual Bible Studies is steadily increasing. We have young people from the Corporate World, Doctors, Children, people in Full Time Ministry from various age-groups and churches who make it a point to come from different parts of Hyderabad. The Daniels gladly serve those who come with physical food after Duke feeds them with solid spiritual food. Duke speaks for over 90 minutes in each of these studies, but the time just flies because of his innovative and interesting approach.
Christie passes away
The Bible Study of I Samuel in the month of July, unexpectedly became the last one for Christie Vincent. She passed away after a prolonged battle with heart disease in Chennai, later that month. Despite her numerous health problems, Bible-hungry Christie made it a point to be there for many of the 21 different Bible Book Summary Studies that Duke has lead in Flat 501, KBR Saila Vilas in 21 different months, so far. She would help in leading the singing. Our heart-felt condolences to bereaved family of Christie. The Bible Study group would miss her.
Inter-church Bible Study @ Home

Duke with one team that lead worship in the Interchuch Youth Retreat this July at Musheerabad CSI Church, Secunderabad. After Duke preached a gospel message from the life of Absalom young folks found the Lord

In our newly rented home in the Tirumalgherry area of Hyderabad, we had a Bible Study on 9 August. We studied the book of II Kings. Duke used the word EXILED as an acronym to bring out practical lessons from this book in which both the exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah is recorded, to summarize its message. Folks from different churches such as the Assemblies of God, Secunderabad Bible Fellowship, Calvary Temple, WFC, etc were present.
Life-Changing Youth For Christ Camp
Duke preached in the Youth for Christ (YFC) Camp at the Word and Deed Centre in Hyatt Nagar, Hyderabad this May following the loving invitation of Annan Ebenezer Devaraj, the YFC Coordinator for Hyderabad. For the 200 young people who were present, this camp proved to be life-changing. Duke’s freedom-themed message was based on the Bible Story of the deliverance of the demonized man of Gerasenes (Mark 5). After the message, several young people gave their hearts to Jesus. There was a brisk sale of Duke’s Resources – message CDs, books and magazines.

Soul-charging Summer for Jesus
Upon the friendly summons of Pastor Younus Samuel of the New Life Assemblies of God Church, Hyderabad, Duke’s local church, Duke preached in the Summer For Jesus – a youth revival convention. Over 1000 young people were present that evening in the month of May. Duke took the mike, walked all across the stage and then even strolled down the aisle and communicated a powerful missionary challenge message from the book of Jonah, titled, “Have you heard, Joe’s Go?” using an informal style. Young people, with tears welling up in their eyes, told the Lord, “Here I am – send me!” at the end of that message.

Public Confession of Sins
A young man from the African continent, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, following Duke’s message that day, wanted to publicly confess his secret sins using Duke’s mike (He did not get to do it because of the crunch for time but has written the his confession as an article which is published in Issue 18 of The Days Of Your Youth magazine available online at www.TheDaysOfYourYouth.com).

Atrocious alternatives to Marriage
In the same meeting, Duke lead a workshop titled, Atrocious Alternatives to Marriage. The young people sat at the edge of their seats with their eyes popping out as Duke talked with biblical depth and brutal honesty about lifestyles that are presented by the secular media as equally cool such as homosexual relationships, living-in, playboy behavior, etc. Does not the Bible exhort us to, “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isa 58:1 ESV)? Please pray that we would faithfully continue to warn the “what-the-hell” generation about eternal hell till our last breath.

The 120 in Shalom Gardens...

Rwandan Students were among the 120 who joined the camp that Duke n Evan preached in at Trichy this June

Over 120 young people from 7 towns/cities and the country of Rwanda attended the Countdown 2009 - an inter church youth camp organised by the Trichy Team under the fatherly patronage of Bro. Ravinderan in the serene Shalom Gardens in Trichy.

Duke challenged them by a message on temptations, first up, based on an imaginary interview he did with Bible Characters who beat temptation and lost to temptation. Almost all the audience vowed to the Lord that they would lead a holy life by incorporating the practical steps suggested in that powerful talk.

Duke answered questions, the young people had, for over two hours on varied topics such as life partner choice, women in preaching ministry, etc in this camp. In one other session, while Duke answered the questions posed by the guys in the camp on sex, love and marriage, and other intimate taboo matters, and I too did the same with the lady folk. The youth were enlightened. One person walked up to Duke to say that Duke was only the second person he had heard, who spoke so openly from the Bible with a down to earth approach on sexuality, coupled with gripping presentation skills, all his life and ministry . Our boldness and beauty of presentation comes from the Lord and we thank Him. We have miles to travel before we sleep and plenty of room to improve.

When Duke became my translator
I had the privilege to teach the young people on the subject matter of relationships with parents, elders, friends and the opposite gender in a candid talk from the Bible. Hear this: Duke, who usually speaks with a Tamil Interpreter to Tamil audiences, served as my Tamil Translator! Later with Bharat of Karunya Institute of Technology, standing next to me to interpret, I preached a practical message on the Holy Spirit. The flow of that message was just out of the world. And the booming voice with which it was delivered was appreciated, all the more, because it came from a lady's mouth. About 20 people received Holy Spirit Baptism. It was a powerful, powerful time.

Later Duke challenged the youth with the message, What Motivated Paul to Dedicate All His One Life To Jesus and His Work. 20 young people gave their lives for full-time ministry following that message by coming forward to the altar call given for missionary martyrdom. Almost, all of the rest of the youth vowed to use their time, talent and treasures for God's Kingdom's extension in some way or the other.

The CDs, books, magazines we took along, carrying our messages, were sold briskly (for over 2000 rupees).

The Red Revival Team from Bangalore also shared the pulpit with Duke and Evan and did a good job. The preaching of Bro. Hari who belongs to this team, in the TD Jakes style, stood out. Their leader, Bro. Danston John touched the young people by moving in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Trichy Team lead in singing/worship in an anointed, creative way. Mike Praveen from this team, was the one with whom Duke was in touch with, in regard to this camp. Uncle Ravinderan, the generous owner of the camp site, also chipped in with very apt devotional messages that blessed the youth.

We were lovingly served by the energetic young people from the Tirchy Team. Every step we took in the camp site, they were there to assist us in getting us what we needed, be it water or food or whatever.

Stephen Jothiraj, our volunteer-writer working with TCS Bangalore, and a Bachelor(girls,please note!)wrote a hard-hitting article titled,Reckless Abandon, in this issue of our Mag.

The Lord was at work in the Youth Camp, clearly. Great things, He did there!

Tears after Duke's mission challenge in the Summer for Jesus Youth Convention this May

Witnessing during travel

Train travel times are good witnessing times. When we traveled to Trichy for our meetings there, we could give out our tract, Bubbly Outside Yet Empty Inside, to our co-passengers in the train. Duke would walk to nearby compartments to give out that specially crafted Gospel handout to interested folks. We have guys who walk up and down the train selling movie CDs in our trains. But we don’t have enough folk who would do the same to share the Gospel! Would you, my reader friend, change the situation, by deciding to distribute tracts during your travels? Contact us to grab those tracts.

In Homes, with the Word!

Nishitha Reddy shares her testimony in a meeting organised before she left for the US to study from Hyderabad. Duke preached a message titled, These Bible Expats Speak To Us....

Duke was invited to speak in a prayer meeting at a packed Roman Catholic Home in Hyderabad this July. A young lady from that home was to leave for the US for higher education. Duke brought an apt, articulate message from the life of Bible Expatriates like Joseph, Daniel, Ezekiel, etc, to mark that occasion. On yet an another occasion, Duke was in the home of Brother Emmanuel Nune in Bowenpally, Hyderabad speaking in a CareCell meeting. Duke spoke on what we must do when a crisis hits us.

The Gospel posted in India Today Group’s site!

A part of Duke’s article on homosexuality (a part in which the Gospel was explained), the lead article in Issue No. 18 of our mag, The Days… was appeared in the website of the widely seen India Today Magazine Group this July. Duke was responding to a blog by Zaka Jacob, one of the news anchors of Headlines Today, the Group’s English News Channel on homosexuality. What gave us immense joy was this: in a small way we were able to broadcast the Gospel in a leading secular website!

Meanwhile, Mumbai’s Light of Life magazine continued to publish Duke’s writings every month. The latest one was titled, “Just three words to witness for Jesus!”

Increasing our Internet Presence!
To increase our Internet Presence and thereby reach more people Duke joined Twitter.com, apart from Orkut.com and Facebook.com. Updates about our ministry with pictures, info about latest ministry products and requests for prayer are all passed out through this convenient forum. The number of hits on our website, www.TheDaysofYourYouth.com has now shot up to over 72,000.

Solomon Paul, a young working professional in Bangalore, voluntarily sends the mass SMSs you receive from Duke’s mobile number 9441352433 via the web.

Duke joins Doctoral Program
Duke was honored and humbled when there was a loving call from Southern Asia Bible College, the college in which he did his M. Div., asking him to join the Doctor of Ministry program there. And Duke was only too glad to accept that invitation. This means that Duke would be in Bangalore for three weeks a year (in Feb, in June, in October) for the next four years doing this course.
Inter-church youth meeting
Brother Solomon Patha, an Indian living in Australia, invited Duke to speak in a Inter-church Youth Retreat at Wesley CSI Church, Musheerabad, Hyderabad in the month of July. Duke spoke two messages that kept the young people at the edge of their seats – one from the life of Absalom, and another on relationships. Several young people rededicated their lives to Jesus in this meeting. There was a super sale of Duke’s books and messages CDs here.
The Board Meeting
Silver Ramesh annan, one of the Board Members of G4 Mission, prays after the board meeting this June

The Board Meeting of the ministry that runs this magazine, G4 Mission, was conducted in Chennai on the 28th June. The Board members, Mr. A. Jeyaraj, Pastor A. Gnanasekaran, Mr. Y. Silver Ramesh along with Duke, the founder were present. Mr. Xavier Navamani Raj and I, the two other Board Members could not join in. The ministry reports and accounts were submitted. We are glad to inform our readers that the Lord blessed us with offerings to the tune of Rs.2,92,932 (of which we spent Rs.2,87,904 doing the Lord’s Work) in the financial year 2008-09. All of these came were received from Indians who believe in the vision of this ministry to grab the google generation from Gehenna. All of this came, despite us NOT asking anyone PERSONALLY for any financial support or donation. Individuals gave to our ministry upon the prodding of the Holy Spirit. With “love” offerings coming to us increasing steadily, Duke requested the Board to fix a “neither too high nor too low” salary for both of us who now fully devote all our time for the ministry of G4 Mission.

Billy Graham and Our Salaries!
These lines from Billy Graham’s autobiography, JUST AS I AM, motivated us to take this step: I was embarrassed to discover that this (love) offering (given me) in Atlanta (where the 32 year old Billy Graham held an evangelistic meeting with the cooperation of 135 churches in the year 1950) was larger than the sum most clergy made in an entire year…. We had to find some other way to support ourselves than through love offerings. Cliff agreed with me. I got in touch with a wise old friend, Dr. Jesse M. Bader, evangelism secretary for the former Federal Council of Churches. “You’ve incorporated your ministry,” he said, “so let the board put you on a payroll as a salaried employee.” The salary, he urged, should compare favorably with that of a typical minister in any average large-city church. We put his recommendation into action, and that has been our guideline ever since.

Revival Stirring Sunday Message!

Duke with Pastor Allwyn Thomas after he preached in his church in Kodambakkam, Chennai. 20 folks committed for fulltime ministry after that revival bringing missionary challenge by Duke in that church

Duke preached God’s Word in the Sunday services of two churches in Chennai. He began by preaching a reviving message in the Apostolic Christian Assembly in Anna Nagar from the life of King Jeroboam, the first. This church was talking about this message long after it was preached. Later, he went to Ruah Revival Church, lead by Pastor Alwyn Thomas, in Kodambakkam to preach there from the book of Jonah and challenge the crowd of 500 there for ministry involvement. Pastor Alwyn remarked that Duke’s message stirred a little revival in his church with 20 people showing a public willingness to join fulltime ministry within a week’s time at the end of that service. Duke’s contemporary in Southern Asia Bible College, Pastor Rajiv Hubert, organized the day’s events.

We are looking for an Owned Place…
This issue of our magazine got delayed because we moved houses (and as a result our office also moved because we live in an office-cum-residence). It took quite a while to settle down in the new place near my son’s school, which is also closer to heart of the city. In the long run, we are looking for an owned place that God would give us, so that we can use that place as an office cum residence for this ministry. If the Lord leads you to donate your home for this cause, please let us know through an email at emailduke@gmail.com or by making a phone call at +91-9441352433.

Our Upcoming Meetings
Duke will speak, God willing, in the following places in three different Indian states in meetings organized by four different Christian organisations:

Septemeber 5-6 – Karunya Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
September 21-23 – Indian Evangelical Mission Convention, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh
October 1-3 – Youth For Christ National Discipleship Camp, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
October 17-19 – BTCYF Youth Camp, Mumbai, Maharashtra (Both of us, speak).

Please keep praying for us.

Your keyboard punches, encourages us!
(Testimonies about our ministry received thro the Internet that has encouraged us)

Dear Duke
I am promoting your magazine to my office folks,,,,I send your magazine to all my friends....They are saying it is very useful. - A Software Engineer

Dear Duke
Your poem on Rohit Sharma hitting 21 runs in that IPL game was great! Praise the Lord for the creative ideas He gives you...Go for it - Rajani Joseph Chacko, The US

Dear Duke,
I praise God for the work that He is doing through you. You have been a constant source of encouragement to me. I believe that there are many like me, who are blessed by your insights. I pray that your love for Christ, passion for spreading the Gospel, and vision and burden for the young people never fades. - Derin Justin, Mumbai

Dear Sir Duke
I’m so glad to say that you are one of the best teachers I have ever had. I was a student of Central Bible College, New Delhi, when I sat in your class. Those were the best days of our life! Your Bible insights about lust, sex, etc changed me a lot and I did transfer those to my close friends. Sir, I am happy to let you know that God has brought me now to Kuwait and I have started a church. Isn’t that amazing? – Pastor Blesson John, Kuwait

"Wow Duke, U R same as B4. Nothing has changed. Only y'r beard cut is a bit changed! And by seeing y'r profile, I find U same as U were in SABC (Southern Asia Bible College, Bangalore) where I was your M. Div. Class Mate. Always busy, always a Fire Preacher, Innovative preacher, trying to find something new – that’s what you are. I cannot just imagine sitting in one of y'r services. Hope God wills so... Still God is Good! I've kept everything cherished in my heart… the times we spent together during those 2 precious years. Wish.... they could come back once again!!!! Wanna C U. Any programs this area? Soo G8 to find U in FB (Facebook). We'll keep in touch. – Pastor Joseph Rai, Siligury

Hello Duke,
A friend of mine, got me your magazine. It is amazing! Praise God, He is using your talents for His glory to expand his Kingdom. I started reading your blog, and there are lots to read. The content is very specific and direct to the youth. This is what is needed for Christian youth, and which is seldom received from the churches…Enjoyed reading your mag. It sure is a blessing to many. Loved the way you write, totally attention grabbing :) I am going to pass the mag to my teammate.- Beulah

Duke anna,
'We talk very straight to ppl and we do not care abt its consequences…’ That is what you said when you preached in our church last Sunday. I liked that! – A young man, Chennai

Dear Duke,
Your email (on how you found your lifepartner) has caught me spell bound and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen till I completed the last line (though it was quite long). – A Corporate employed person in Hyderabad

Dear Duke anna,
Wow!!!! That's amazing!! I can’t believe you just shared this with me (about how you met your wife via mass email). It's so encouraging. I hope and pray that I too will have a story to tell someday. Thank you so much! – Hephibah Vedamuthu, WCC Student, Chennai

Duke,
I must applaud your unique work in outlining and summarizing the Books of the Bible through monthly Bible studies and all of that will be of good use in your doctoral program. – Dr. Kumpaty Subha Kumar, The US.

Hi Duke,
Both of you and your wife are doing a great job :-) and I really like the way your wife and you preach. :-) – Hazel, one person who has video graphed many of our messages.

Hello Duke..
It was a blessing to hear you speak at Wesley Church, Musheerabad a few days ago...I learnt a lot about the aftermaths of vague decisions taken without the consent of God...I have learnt a lot about marriage and choosing the right partner...I picked up a DVD with your messages on Wise Life Partner Choice and Relationships and its worth hearing a million times... - Kenny thro Orkut scrap

Sis. Evangeline (Duke)...Awesome preacher.
- A comment found on Facebook below a photo of Evan preaching


Testimony:
After the Message, I wanted to publicly confess my sin….
By Tanyu Elvis Shey

I come from Cameroon, a small country in the armpit of Africa in Central Africa. This country is very famous for football in the world. You can click on this link to see the map http://www.wordtravels.com/images/map/Cameroon_map.jpg .

Presently I am studying (in an university in Hyderabad, India,) RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineering) and I am also a CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) which qualifies me to be an I.T. network engineer.

Like a leech and a lion
When I was still unsaved, I used to club drink and smoke a lot and I was highly addicted to porn. But when I got saved all those bad habits stopped instantly. After a long time, one of them came back and that's watching porn. I had been battling with it and seeking counsel but it clung to me like a leech. I prayed and fasted and this habit did stop for a time but after a few weeks it will come back hunting me like a hungry lion. When the desire to watch it comes, it is like there is a force that overtakes all of your will to deny, even when the Spirit is at same time telling you not to. I would actually feel a spirit pulling me to it and taking control over me and it would not let me go of me until I watched it. Even when away from home, the thing would come over me and take away every other desire from me and put a strong desire in me for it.

After Duke preached….
But I did not give up and continued to fight it and ask God for deliverance constantly. Then during the summer camp at the New Life AG Church, Secunderabad, after Duke Jeyaraj preached a challenging message, the Holy Spirit told me to say it publicly in order to be set free. I walked up to Duke, who just finished preaching, and told him about my desire to publicly confess the sin I was repenting from. Since we had a crunch for time that day with the Holy Spirit Baptism session following, I was not given an opportunity to do that. But God saw my heart and knew I was ready to obey him and he delivered me from it. But there were a lot of people there who may have struggled like I did. That is why the Holy Spirit wanted me to do it that day.

The Devil fools us…
Before I used to be worried being alone in the house for fear that I would be tempted. But now I am free from all that. I don't care how people will look at me when they read the testimony. I only care what God now thinks of me after this confession. The Devil fools us into hiding our sins and try to solve them on our own in private (Read James 5:16). But there is nothing as powerful as the as a public confession of the recurring sin you are repenting from. It seriously disgraces and puts the Devil to shame because truth is the only thing that puts the Devil to shame.