In 1972 I was thrown into a communist prison when I was found, on my way to Russia, with 5000 Russian Bibles in a secret compartment in my tour bus. But I'm an evangelist, so I carried on preaching the Gospel in the prison! I faced the same problem the church faces today: how could I convince these people, these criminals, of the truth and the power of the Gospel I was preaching? The difference between our faith and other religions, is that our God is alive and He is a prayer answering God. I determined I would not stay for the ten years I should have spent in the prison. I was determined to prove - in the 20th century - the truth of the power of the Bible. But how could I get out? In my praying I remembered Paul and Silas, and Peter. I said, "Oh God, if You could get them out of prison, send an earthquake, break the chains, set them free, You have the same power today, get me out of this prison!" In my life I'm attempting to prove that the power God had in the Bible is still available today! He's the same God! I was determined to pray my way out of the prison! But it was impossible! It's a long story, but briefly, within one year, God worked a miracle, answered my prayer and I flew home, to London, with the British Prime Minister! As a result, I was invited to speak in the Royal Albert Hall to 10,000 people, and for two years I traveled the world telling my story to two million people!
The Bible says, 'Jesus the same yesterday, today and forever.' - That's the only bit of the Bible I don't agree with! Listen carefully. In my life, the Jesus I know today is not the Jesus I knew when I was first a Christian! The Jesus I know today is a thousand times stronger and more powerful, more wonderful, than the Jesus I knew 70 years ago. The Bible says He's always the same, but to me, the Jesus I know becomes stronger every day, more powerful! Ten times more powerful this year than He was last year. A hundred times more powerful than He was a few years ago. A thousand times more powerful than when I was a young man!
So who is right and who is wrong? Is the Bible right or me? I've discovered the truth. God doesn't change, I change! The change is this, I know God better. Every year, every day I understand Him more and more! It's like a big picture. Curtains are drawn so that you can't see it. And somebody is slowly opening the curtains. And you begin to see a little, then more and more and more. That's what God is like! It's not God who changes, it's your knowledge of God, your understanding of God. Next year my God will be bigger than He is this year! Why? I will know Him better!
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