October 3, 2024

His Eye Is On the Sparrow

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Second Timothy 3:1: “…in the last days perilous times will come.” The Greek word from which we get “perilous” here is chalepos.(1) It means “difficult, fierce, dangerous, savage.” Many people down through history have faced chalepos times; we are most certainly in one now. 

I also stated the following:

“Our nation certainly finds itself in very difficult and dangerous times: corruption is great in our government; division and unrest are strong and on the rise; millions of illegals, including thousands of criminals and terrorists, are in our country; multiple assassination attempts have occurred against a former President; a strike began last night that could cripple America’s supply chain and further damage our economy; the recent catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Helene; I could go on. 

“Then there are the perilous times globally. China is bullying and intimidating throughout that region; Russia has attacked and is at war with Ukraine; Iran and its surrogates continue to attack Israel and threaten the United States. Israel has responded by annihilating Hamas and Hezbollah, then was attacked by Iran yesterday…Trump continues to warn us that the weak and inept Biden/Harris administration has brought us to the brink of WWIII.” 

This word translated “perilous” in Second Timothy, chalepos, is only used one other time in Scripture. The reference is Matthew 8:28, in the account of the Gadarene man possessed by a “legion” of demons. This verse says the man was “fierce.” I’d say! Mark’s account of this man in his gospel reads:

“Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.” (Mark 5:3-5 KJV)

It is very telling to me that this is the only other context in Scripture referencing chalepos: a passage describing a completely demonized madman, extremely violent, with superhuman strength, living among the dead. It says to me that the “perilous” times referred to in 2 Timothy 3:1 are caused by staggering levels of demonic influence, a demonization causing insanity, anger, great violence - even savagery. The butchery against Israel on October 7, 2023, is an example. Rape, murder, sexual mutilation of children, and other acts of cruelty and insanity would also be examples of this level of demonic control. 

Second Timothy uses the words “unloving…without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous” (verses 3-4) and more to describe the perilous times spoken of. Read all of 2 Timothy chapter 3, and you’ll be enlightened as to this condition. Verse 13 says “evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 

Welcome to 2024. 

But there is good news. Jesus was far greater than the chalepos-causing demons controlling the Gadarene man. The three gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell this story (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-21; Luke 8:26-39). Combining them is enlightening. Mark tells us that the locals heard about this, came to check it out, and found the formerly demonized man sitting peacefully, clothed, and in his right mind (5:14-15). And that’s not the end of the story:

“And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.” (Mark 5:18-20 KJV)

The man fell in love with Jesus, his Deliverer, and didn’t want to leave Him. “Take me with you!” he pleaded. 

Jesus told him he would be more valuable as an evangelist!!! Go tell the region how I “had compassion on thee.” (Other translations use the word “mercy.”) So the man did just that, declaring throughout the region what Jesus did, and all those who heard it marveled. 

There are many chalepos’d individuals presently on earth, controlled by demonic spirits. Jesus loves them, wants to show them mercy, give them back their right mind, and make them tomorrow’s evangelists. And the world will marvel. 

Yes, we are in difficult, chalepos times. Yes, they are filled with great challenges. But God…

I’m reminded of the words of a great old hymn, taken from Christ’s words in Matthew 6:26: “Why should I feel discouraged?…His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” Shalom!

Pray with me:

Father, You have not been caught off-guard or taken by surprise at the evil of our day. You warned us very clearly in Your Word that it would occur. You also gave us an amazing example of Your ability to deal with it. We remember this today. 

We do not minimize the suffering of so many at this time, but neither do we surrender to it as the final chapter. You ARE the Deliverer. You ARE He who restores and heals. You give fresh starts, new beginnings, turnarounds, and right minds. You cause bad to work for good when we keep our faith anchored to You. And we do so today. 

We ask for aid to make it to areas hard hit by the hurricane. We ask for hope to be given to them, and we ask for comfort to be given to those who have lost loved ones. We know their grief is unimaginable, but You know how to comfort them. Show them Your love and peace through this catastrophic situation. We ask for this. We ask for salvation, Holy Spirit’s presence, to break into the devastated regions. Bring good into the bad. 

Override evil in the Middle East. Defeat Iran and her proxies. Then, rain revival in the region. 

And give America deliverance from evil. Save and restore us. And based on Your instructions in Matthew 6:10, we command the release of Your Kingdom authority, goodness, and will into our upcoming elections. We also command this into our schools, homes, cities, and streets. 

And all this we do in our representation of Christ and His authority. 

Our decree:

We decree that in these perilous times, the goodness and mercy of Christ will be revealed, demoniacs will be freed and become evangelists for Him.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

I want to thank you for the financial donations that have come in for the Hurricane Helene Relief Fund. Your generosity has been astounding. We are sending the funds to churches and ministries in the North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee areas. There’s so much loss - people still missing, and places where they have to use mules and helicopters to reach them. Thank you for helping. If you would still like to contribute, go to one of our websites (DutchSheets.org or GiveHim15.com) and click the banner.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 5467.