Not every experience can be 'prayed' away. When God's heavy hand is upon you, nothing can change the path He has chosen, even though it is one we would never have taken. If after all your praying you've ended up some place and you don't know why, that place is where God intended for you to be. God will do what is appointed for us in accordance with His plan; therefore we'd be wise to submit to it. It must be as God wills. Scripture teaches us 'Whatever God does is final; nothing can be added or taken from it' (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
Jesus too was in agony and tried to pray away the path chosen for Him, to the extent that He sweated blood, yet He submitted Himself to God's plan and prayed 'Yet not My will but Yours be done' (Luke 22:41-42).
God has a dynamic, divine purpose in everything He does, with a clear beginning and end. His plan is a kaleidoscope of movement with innumerable processes, each with its own character and period of sowing, blossoming, ripening, harvesting and pruning. His actions are not simply arbitrary, but appropriate, not simply confining, but releasing. From the beginning God determined there to be set times and seasons as clear evidence of His providence.
If we could see from God's perspective, we would see that His plan is perfect; for there is nothing unnecessary in it, nor any experience that can be spared. It has all been designed by a master architect. As the Word of God is final and settled in heaven, so the works of God determined for us must be fulfilled. It is presumption for us either to add to them or to diminish them. It is therefore as much our interest, as our duty, to bring our wills into accordance with the will of God. As the hymn writer wisely wrote: 'there is no other way but to trust and obey'.
Friday 30 January 2015
Wednesday 28 January 2015
The importance of touch
The sense of touch is one of the most important emotional bonds we have. Touch directly affects the way we view the world. The softer the touch, the happier and more content we are; the harder the touch, the more aggressive and defensive we become. When we greet one another, the sense of touch instantly determines our emotional response to them. When we are in trouble and need reassurance, touch can ease the fear and calm the torment. How does a parent bond with their child? Through touch. How does a relationship breakdown? Through lack of touch. What a difference touch can make.
The woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8 was desperate just to reach out and touch the hem of Jesus' garment. She knew that touch would change her life. The moment she touched Him Jesus asked, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and the disciples who were with Him said, Master, the multitude press You, and yet You say, Who touched Me? But Jesus knew somebody had touched Him. We have all experienced that moment in a crowd when someone touches us differently; our body immediately identifies that something has happened. It was the same for Jesus. She was the only one to touch Him with faith; it instantly singled her out from the crowd around.
I want to encourage you. Like with this woman, whatever the crisis in your life, reach out to Jesus. In your darkest moment, when you are hurting more than you've hurt before, Jesus is there. He's not forgotten you. He is one touch away. Jesus said, 'I will be with you always'. Every day, every hour, in the middle of every storm, in the middle of every sickness, or lying on a road as the result of a car accident, Jesus will always come. Whatever the crisis, there is never a moment when He's not there. Jesus is only one touch away from you. One cry, one call, and He is there to answer.
The woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8 was desperate just to reach out and touch the hem of Jesus' garment. She knew that touch would change her life. The moment she touched Him Jesus asked, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and the disciples who were with Him said, Master, the multitude press You, and yet You say, Who touched Me? But Jesus knew somebody had touched Him. We have all experienced that moment in a crowd when someone touches us differently; our body immediately identifies that something has happened. It was the same for Jesus. She was the only one to touch Him with faith; it instantly singled her out from the crowd around.
I want to encourage you. Like with this woman, whatever the crisis in your life, reach out to Jesus. In your darkest moment, when you are hurting more than you've hurt before, Jesus is there. He's not forgotten you. He is one touch away. Jesus said, 'I will be with you always'. Every day, every hour, in the middle of every storm, in the middle of every sickness, or lying on a road as the result of a car accident, Jesus will always come. Whatever the crisis, there is never a moment when He's not there. Jesus is only one touch away from you. One cry, one call, and He is there to answer.
Monday 26 January 2015
Call on Him!
In the Bible Jesus says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man will open the door, I will come in!" (Revelation 3:20.) Jesus is more willing to come to us than we are to receive Him. I try to tell people how simple it is to receive Jesus. All you have to do is be like a drowning man: stop struggling, let go of your tiny piece of flotsam and let Him rescue you. I understand that one problem the rescuer has is that while the drowning person is struggling so much, it is hard for the victim to trust their saviour! The panic and desperation to be saved actually makes being rescued even harder.
Healing, deliverance, forgiveness… stop struggling to rescue yourself, relax and let Him deliver you. That wonderful hymn writer put it so powerfully: 'Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy Blood was shed for me… I come.' We all need the touch of someone who loves us. So many of you reading this have secret problems you cannot share; they are too deep, too personal. Tell everything to Jesus. It's the only way to be healed, delivered, set free. He already knows, He understands and He's waiting for you to come to Him. He lived here on earth like you in order to understand all the problems we face, that's why He does not condemn. Talk to Him. He's listening. Ask Him for help. And receive His peace.
Healing, deliverance, forgiveness… stop struggling to rescue yourself, relax and let Him deliver you. That wonderful hymn writer put it so powerfully: 'Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy Blood was shed for me… I come.' We all need the touch of someone who loves us. So many of you reading this have secret problems you cannot share; they are too deep, too personal. Tell everything to Jesus. It's the only way to be healed, delivered, set free. He already knows, He understands and He's waiting for you to come to Him. He lived here on earth like you in order to understand all the problems we face, that's why He does not condemn. Talk to Him. He's listening. Ask Him for help. And receive His peace.
Wednesday 21 January 2015
Claiming the promises of God
How can you live the abundant life of God if you don't know what that life is? How can you take the blessing if you don't know what it is? How can you speak with tongues, prophesy, heal the sick without the gift of the Holy Spirit? How can you receive the Holy Spirit without first seeing it in the Word of God?
God speaks to us through the Bible. It is important we search the Scripture to find the answers we are looking for. If I am facing a specific situation, I will search the Bible for an answer to that problem. An easy way to start searching is a key-word search in the concordance, or do as I do, I read a specific book in the Bible until God speaks to me. If something is in your heart, then God will lead you by the Holy Spirit to what He wants to say to you, if you will search the Scriptures.
We have to look into the Word of God - we have to possess every promise with the same tenacity and faith that Joshua had when he conquered the Promised Land. 'Eat' your Bible for breakfast, for lunch and at night. Do you know the promises of God? Have you seen the promises of God? Before you read the Bible pray, 'Lord, open my eyes. Speak to me through Your Word. Give me the faith to believe and possess every promise.'
God's promises are wonderful and available for you in this life, not merely when you die. You can call on the Lord and be healed, you can be filled with the Holy Spirit. For the believer it is the most wonderful life, so full of the joy and the glory of God, you will never want to go back to the old way.
God speaks to us through the Bible. It is important we search the Scripture to find the answers we are looking for. If I am facing a specific situation, I will search the Bible for an answer to that problem. An easy way to start searching is a key-word search in the concordance, or do as I do, I read a specific book in the Bible until God speaks to me. If something is in your heart, then God will lead you by the Holy Spirit to what He wants to say to you, if you will search the Scriptures.
We have to look into the Word of God - we have to possess every promise with the same tenacity and faith that Joshua had when he conquered the Promised Land. 'Eat' your Bible for breakfast, for lunch and at night. Do you know the promises of God? Have you seen the promises of God? Before you read the Bible pray, 'Lord, open my eyes. Speak to me through Your Word. Give me the faith to believe and possess every promise.'
God's promises are wonderful and available for you in this life, not merely when you die. You can call on the Lord and be healed, you can be filled with the Holy Spirit. For the believer it is the most wonderful life, so full of the joy and the glory of God, you will never want to go back to the old way.
Monday 19 January 2015
The importance of time
Time with God is so important. If only you and I knew the time that God had chosen, it would make so much difference to us. Yet, it is this 'not knowing' that grows our faith. When Jesus walked on the stormy water towards the disciples, it was the fourth watch of the night. This is the most dangerous and most difficult hour in the night - the time when most people die, when the body temperature is at its lowest. It's the time when some of the biggest fears and the biggest problems come, just before the new day dawns. It is so significant that when Jesus is walking towards the disciples in that storm-tossed ship, the time that He chooses is the darkest hour, when the storm is at its highest. But Jesus is there! In your life and mine there are many times when we need the power of God to deliver us, but God's timing is perfect, coming at the darkest hour, when the storm is at its fiercest and our need the greatest.
I am older than most of you reading this. I have had many kinds of problems, many different needs, but I believe in miracles. Over the course of my lifetime I have learnt that God always answers prayer. But to see the answer at the right hour we have to be ready, we have to be obedient, and God will answer - at what seems the last minute. One minute before the crisis erupts.
Every one of us can be in a storm, just like the disciples in the boat. When the disciples saw Him walking on the water their first reaction was fear. They thought they had seen a ghost, they didn't realise it was Jesus. - How often do we react like that? Jesus is about to answer our deepest prayers, yet the 'answer' frightens us: there is a strange comfort in the familiarity of our problems.
The disciples were convinced their boat was going to sink and that they wouldn't last the night. In the darkest hour of your night, when your financial problems are the greatest, when your sickness is getting worse, when you're crippled with pain, when you cannot escape from alcohol or the power of drugs, in that dark hour, there is one person who will always be there - Jesus. And He chooses the darkest, the hardest, moment to come and walk towards you. You may need Jesus like you've never needed Him before, but He is walking towards you to deliver you right now. Jesus is close to you right now.
I am older than most of you reading this. I have had many kinds of problems, many different needs, but I believe in miracles. Over the course of my lifetime I have learnt that God always answers prayer. But to see the answer at the right hour we have to be ready, we have to be obedient, and God will answer - at what seems the last minute. One minute before the crisis erupts.
Every one of us can be in a storm, just like the disciples in the boat. When the disciples saw Him walking on the water their first reaction was fear. They thought they had seen a ghost, they didn't realise it was Jesus. - How often do we react like that? Jesus is about to answer our deepest prayers, yet the 'answer' frightens us: there is a strange comfort in the familiarity of our problems.
The disciples were convinced their boat was going to sink and that they wouldn't last the night. In the darkest hour of your night, when your financial problems are the greatest, when your sickness is getting worse, when you're crippled with pain, when you cannot escape from alcohol or the power of drugs, in that dark hour, there is one person who will always be there - Jesus. And He chooses the darkest, the hardest, moment to come and walk towards you. You may need Jesus like you've never needed Him before, but He is walking towards you to deliver you right now. Jesus is close to you right now.
Wednesday 14 January 2015
God has a plan
God has a clear plan and strategy in everything He does. From creation to salvation, nothing has happened in heaven and earth without the foreknowledge of God. You are an important part of His strategy. He knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb. He has planned out all of your days. No experience is wasted. It has all been designed by a master architect. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:3 that it is by faith we understand that our lives are framed, fashioned and formed for their intended purpose by the Word of God (Amp).
God's plan for your life is for good, to give you a future and a hope. His plans always bring blessing. When you look at the historic sufferings of Israel, we can see how God brought them through persecution and slavery into blessing. There is always a deliverance; He will always bring you through every difficulty. God has a tremendous future for you. I want you to move forward with a renewed sense of purpose and hope. Our God is a God of power, miracles and deliverance. He will not leave you in your tragedy but has come to bless you.
An important part of God's strategy is that He wants to show His power is not just in heaven, but also on earth. God wants to use you to fulfil this plan. But God can only use willing, obedient, committed people who will make His glory the first priority. God needs the right men and women in the right place in order to do what He wants, to bring glory to His Name, to bring deliverance to nations, to build His church. Do you want to be where God is? Do you want the power of God? Then go where God is telling you, do what He is telling you to do.
God's plan for your life is for good, to give you a future and a hope. His plans always bring blessing. When you look at the historic sufferings of Israel, we can see how God brought them through persecution and slavery into blessing. There is always a deliverance; He will always bring you through every difficulty. God has a tremendous future for you. I want you to move forward with a renewed sense of purpose and hope. Our God is a God of power, miracles and deliverance. He will not leave you in your tragedy but has come to bless you.
An important part of God's strategy is that He wants to show His power is not just in heaven, but also on earth. God wants to use you to fulfil this plan. But God can only use willing, obedient, committed people who will make His glory the first priority. God needs the right men and women in the right place in order to do what He wants, to bring glory to His Name, to bring deliverance to nations, to build His church. Do you want to be where God is? Do you want the power of God? Then go where God is telling you, do what He is telling you to do.
Monday 12 January 2015
The incredible power of God in us!
The power of God is absolutely without limit! Yet His power is only as big as our ability to believe. That's why Ephesians 1:19-20 talks of the 'exceeding greatness of His incredible power to us who believe'! The power is only released according to what you believe. At the start of this year, I want to encourage you to be bold in your praying; if God has revealed a promise to you for 2015, have the same attitude as David who declared in 1 Chronicles 17:25, 'O my God, I have been bold enough to pray to You because You have revealed to Your servant that You will build a house for him, a dynasty of kings!' David only dared to pray such an outlandish promise because God revealed it to him. Just think for a moment, unbeknownst to David, contained within that promise was the birth and resurrection of Jesus, and its fulfilment is found in Revelation 19:16 where Jesus is declared to be King of kings!
When God raised Jesus from the dead, that wasn't an ordinary miracle. Our annual rituals and repetitions can make it seem meaningless. We've got to come back to the realisation as to how big the miracle actually is! Jesus was dead and buried in a tomb, but God through the power of the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead - and He is alive today! That same resurrection power is in you and me! I need this incredible power, you need this power of God.
In the Bible we read what God did with Israel in Egypt: the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, it's a nice encouraging story. But do we realise that Egypt was the greatest power on earth at that time, one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen?! God overthrew the power of the greatest empire, destroyed all Pharaoh's army and delivered Israel! What a triumph! Moses said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4, "Don't you see, this is the greatest miracle ever seen on the face of the earth?!"
I am talking about the absolutely incredible, unbelievable power that God has! If only we understood! That power is available to every one of us who will believe.
When God raised Jesus from the dead, that wasn't an ordinary miracle. Our annual rituals and repetitions can make it seem meaningless. We've got to come back to the realisation as to how big the miracle actually is! Jesus was dead and buried in a tomb, but God through the power of the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead - and He is alive today! That same resurrection power is in you and me! I need this incredible power, you need this power of God.
In the Bible we read what God did with Israel in Egypt: the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, it's a nice encouraging story. But do we realise that Egypt was the greatest power on earth at that time, one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen?! God overthrew the power of the greatest empire, destroyed all Pharaoh's army and delivered Israel! What a triumph! Moses said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4, "Don't you see, this is the greatest miracle ever seen on the face of the earth?!"
I am talking about the absolutely incredible, unbelievable power that God has! If only we understood! That power is available to every one of us who will believe.
Wednesday 7 January 2015
This is the way, walk ye in it!
'You shall hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it'.' God has a time and a season for everything. At my age, looking back on my life, I see order, direction, planning and purpose; His timing is perfect. Not everything I have lived through has been easy, but not every season listed in Ecclesiastes 3 is. How else would we learn to appreciate joy without also knowing sorrow? All I know for sure is, 'the steps of a righteous man are ordered and planned by the Lord' (Ps 37:23). We just need to follow and do what He says.
All my life I have heard God's voice behind me. Sometimes it has been a whisper, other times God has used dramatic events to alter the course of my life. I have always searched for the power of God, I have longed to live within His will. In 1961 I went to Jerusalem seeking a new anointing, a new fire - three and a half years later I got the beginning of the answer when God healed my throat cancer! Without that miracle I would never have known the power of God in my life. I don't want prophecy, I don't want emotion, I don't want to party. I want the Hand of God to touch me.
God is always a God of miracles! Yes, looking back over my life, I have experienced the power of God, but it was never some emotional experience in a conference, it was just step by step walking closer to God: my teenage cry for the Holy Spirit, my miraculous release from a communist prison, my healing from the two cancers - and many other problems and miracles. What will it be next time, what will happen this year? I'm still not satisfied that God has answered me fully. For me, walking by faith is step by step, and I have not reached the end of the road yet!
All my life I have heard God's voice behind me. Sometimes it has been a whisper, other times God has used dramatic events to alter the course of my life. I have always searched for the power of God, I have longed to live within His will. In 1961 I went to Jerusalem seeking a new anointing, a new fire - three and a half years later I got the beginning of the answer when God healed my throat cancer! Without that miracle I would never have known the power of God in my life. I don't want prophecy, I don't want emotion, I don't want to party. I want the Hand of God to touch me.
God is always a God of miracles! Yes, looking back over my life, I have experienced the power of God, but it was never some emotional experience in a conference, it was just step by step walking closer to God: my teenage cry for the Holy Spirit, my miraculous release from a communist prison, my healing from the two cancers - and many other problems and miracles. What will it be next time, what will happen this year? I'm still not satisfied that God has answered me fully. For me, walking by faith is step by step, and I have not reached the end of the road yet!
That is why Peter said we have a living hope, an inheritance which is incorruptible that cannot be defiled, that does not fade away but goes on increasing and increasing until the moment when we see Jesus in all power and glory (1 Peter 1:4). Every step is another miracle towards experiencing the power of God in our lives! As for me, I will seek God every day until I am in the Kingdom.
Tuesday 6 January 2015
Reasonable Service
Is this reasonable? Get to work for the Kingdom.
God so impressed Romans 12:1 on me when I was a teenager: 'I beseech you to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.' God is talking about reasonable service, nothing exceptional - for every believer - the norm. Today the churches are talking about being normal, taking care of yourself, not working too hard... But the challenge is 'reasonable service' - giving your whole life as a 'living sacrifice'! Everything! God didn't call me to be an evangelist or a preacher - He said He wanted all of me!
A few years ago to celebrate my 60th anniversary in ministry, I revisited the place in Brighton where God first spoke to me when I was 15 years old. I was with a group of young Christians walking along the beach, but God was speaking to me, challenging me. God was saying, "I want you David!" And the devil was saying, "Don't you realise you're saved, you got baptised in water, filled with the Holy Spirit - that's enough!" But God was saying, "I want you!" He didn't say, "I want you to be a preacher, I want you to be an evangelist, a missionary..." God said, "David, I want ALL of you, EVERYTHING! - Your life, your family, your time, your house, every single thing - I want the lot!" People talk about tithing, the Biblical pattern of giving a tenth of your income to God, but a long time ago I tried the opposite, keep a tenth and give God 90%! You cannot out-give God! Give everything! The more I give Him, the more I receive in return! - Give and you will receive 'pressed down and running over!' - This is why God says, the only 'reasonable' thing is to present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God! - And this is only the beginning, the norm, the 'reasonable' bit! I want the un-reasonable, the extra-normal! I don't just want to receive the Holy Spirit like everybody else, I want a double portion, a treble portion, ten times, a hundred times more! I'm hungry for God! I need that anointing, that power! Jesus told the servant who did everything that was expected of him, what was reasonable - but the master did not thank him - he only did what he was employed to do (Luke 17:7-10). But I want to receive! The more you give, the more God gives back! I remember that tremendous challenge when God said to me, "David, I want YOU!" That night I had to say, "Lord, I'll give you everything!"
God so impressed Romans 12:1 on me when I was a teenager: 'I beseech you to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.' God is talking about reasonable service, nothing exceptional - for every believer - the norm. Today the churches are talking about being normal, taking care of yourself, not working too hard... But the challenge is 'reasonable service' - giving your whole life as a 'living sacrifice'! Everything! God didn't call me to be an evangelist or a preacher - He said He wanted all of me!
A few years ago to celebrate my 60th anniversary in ministry, I revisited the place in Brighton where God first spoke to me when I was 15 years old. I was with a group of young Christians walking along the beach, but God was speaking to me, challenging me. God was saying, "I want you David!" And the devil was saying, "Don't you realise you're saved, you got baptised in water, filled with the Holy Spirit - that's enough!" But God was saying, "I want you!" He didn't say, "I want you to be a preacher, I want you to be an evangelist, a missionary..." God said, "David, I want ALL of you, EVERYTHING! - Your life, your family, your time, your house, every single thing - I want the lot!" People talk about tithing, the Biblical pattern of giving a tenth of your income to God, but a long time ago I tried the opposite, keep a tenth and give God 90%! You cannot out-give God! Give everything! The more I give Him, the more I receive in return! - Give and you will receive 'pressed down and running over!' - This is why God says, the only 'reasonable' thing is to present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God! - And this is only the beginning, the norm, the 'reasonable' bit! I want the un-reasonable, the extra-normal! I don't just want to receive the Holy Spirit like everybody else, I want a double portion, a treble portion, ten times, a hundred times more! I'm hungry for God! I need that anointing, that power! Jesus told the servant who did everything that was expected of him, what was reasonable - but the master did not thank him - he only did what he was employed to do (Luke 17:7-10). But I want to receive! The more you give, the more God gives back! I remember that tremendous challenge when God said to me, "David, I want YOU!" That night I had to say, "Lord, I'll give you everything!"
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