Thank God for the crisis!

Things go wrong; problems come into our lives. Events happen which are beyond our control. In Mark 5 Jairus knew that Jesus could solve his problem, he believed in miracles, but what Jairus didn't know is how big a miracle he would need. Jesus knew the delay caused  by healing other people meant this girl would die, but He also knew there was going to be a resurrection. Jesus said to Jairus, and He says to you, 'Don't be afraid, only believe'.

Although none of us like having problems, I have come to realise that it is a privilege when God places us in extreme circumstances. In the natural, without pressure and resistance, our muscles start to fade away; the only way to develop them is to put them under increasing strain on a regular basis. It is the same in our walk with God. He has not abandoned you when you are under pressure, rather He is using it to develop your faith just as a personal trainer uses weights to build muscles on an athlete. At times it seems that my life goes from crisis to crisis, until I even say to God, "Isn't it time You made my life a little bit easier?" But He has a simple answer, "Without the crisis you will stop learning!" So thank God for the crisis in your life!

Listen to this week's podcast: GOD WORKS MIRACLES!

When Heaven is shut

'And there appeared an angel unto Jesus from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.' (Luke 22:43-44, KJV)

All of us go through difficult times, circumstances that are hard to bear; often we have prayed and prayed, yet there seems to be no apparent improvement. The Apostle Paul faced similar feelings. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Paul repeatedly prayed that God would remove his 'thorn in the flesh', yet all God would say is, 'My grace is sufficient for thee'. In those hard times all you need to do is walk with Him one day at a time. It is for good reason that Jesus said, 'Take no thought for tomorrow' (Matthew 6:34, KJV). Don't worry about tomorrow's difficulties; His grace and mercy will carry you through today - and the good news is, there will be new mercies available to you tomorrow. Each day's mercies are tailored to that day's troubles.

When I was imprisoned for Bible smuggling I prayed each day that God would get me out. I imagined the various scenarios that God could use; I would tell God my latest idea; I would even 'plan' out the details. Yet that was not God's plan for me. After a few months of 'planning' I became disillusioned. We were always woken brutally, but this one morning, the appalling nature of what was happening finally hit me. The heavens were like brass. I had been praying for food parcels, but they were never allowed; I prayed for a visit from my wife, but there was none. I was praying to get out, but I was never released; in actual fact, I had been warned that the communist authorities were preparing a further case against me. I was in a depressed state. I was sitting on my stool, crying out to God: I can't pray! I said: If You don't answer me, what is the point in asking?!

I had done everything I could to get God's attention. I was in utter despair. The answer I got in my spirit was there came a time when the disciples had to turn to Jesus because of frustration over prayer. They said: Lord, teach us how to pray. Jesus replied: Say Our Father... As I remembered this, I began to argue: How can I say 'Our'?! Its me alone in here! It's 'my' Father! Suddenly I realised what I was saying: My Father! He is not just God, He is mine; the revelation of that relationship flooded my soul. For the first time I understood the reality of God's love; He loved His Son so dearly, yet He wanted to express His love for me. He sent His only Son to to go through what I was going through. The cross was Jesus identifying with me. In my utter despair, I realised I was loved. 

Suppose God had organised things 'extremely well' and got me out of prison on my timetable, I would not have the ministry I have today. The longer I stayed in prison, the bigger the miracle became. In the end it was the British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, who came to Czechoslovakia just to get me out! The whole miracle took one year to prepare. I didn't let go of God, even in the darkest days of despair, I knew, I believed, but it hurt and it was hard; the frustration of waiting for my answer even caused me to have a heart attack. 

Hold on. Don't let go of God! God WILL do it, even if it takes three months or three years. But in the waiting period don't become bitter and sour. Faith trusts God even when life doesn't make sense. The Bible says, 'The secret things belong to God' (Deuteronomy 29:29); not everything can be understood. The good news is, all things will be resolved and become apparent at the return of Christ. - At the moment we see through a glass darkly; but a day will come when we see in full (1 Corinthians 13:12). 

Be encouraged as you listen to this week's podcast: VICTORY

Fulfillment of Prophecy

When we see what is happening in the world today, the fulfilment of so many Bible prophecies, most significantly the rebirth of Israel as a nation in May 1948, and how close we are to the return of Christ, we need to act fast. Remember the Great Commission of Christ: 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel!' - Mark 16:15. Remember also that the Bible says: 'For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.' - 1 John 3:8. In order for us to participate in these things and to see the fulfilment of all that God, rather than the devil, wants to do in these last days, we need God's vision. As the Bible says: 'Where there is no vision the people perish' - Proverbs 29:18 - they don't know where to go, what to do.

This is why I write about the European Union - and the beast which will soon toss her aside; world powers and world government; terrorism... I show you these things to challenge you to question what is happening, to pray - and to ACT!

If I am correct in my understanding of world events, then we are challenged to evangelise and win the world with great urgency. If I am wrong, we have more time, but at least the sense of urgency will stir us up to seek the outpouring of God's Spirit and we will evangelise now - and we will achieve more. If I am right, then those who are asleep, wrapped up in the cares of this world, or merely interested in prophecy for its own sake, will be left behind. The parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins is a terrible warning.

The Day of Judgment is coming. In this world there is a tremendous battle between good and evil. Sometimes we are tempted to think that evil is winning. But I want to tell you on the authority of God's Word that He will get the victory! Jesus says in John 12:31, 'Now is the judgment of the world, and the prince of the world, that is the evil one, will be cast out'. Thank God for the words of the Bible. There is a day coming when the good that is God will overcome the evil which is the devil. Even if we do not see the judgment on ungodly men, the Bible is very clear, there is a day of judgment. Death is not the end, it does not mean oblivion and no future. The Bible says after death comes judgment, and we need to be prepared for this

Listen to today's Podcast: Day of Judgment



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The bitter becomes sweet

'The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those who are crushed in spirit' (Psalm 34).

Whatever your problem, pray your way through! Whoever you are, Jesus will always hear your cry! Jesus gave His life to break the curse and bring healing. Call upon Him in your day of trouble - and He will deliver you!

You may be in a difficult situation right now, but God will answer. In Exodus 15, the Israelites had travelled three days without water, finally they came upon some, but it was bitter. Moses cried out to the Lord for help - and He answered! God showed Moses a branch which he took and threw into the water - this made the water sweet to drink.

My time in a communist prison was a 'bitter' experience. I tried to pray, so many times, but there was no answer. I prayed for food, and there was none; for help, and there there was none; when I prayed for deliverance, no one came. But yet God turned that 'bitter' time in to a sweet answer to prayer. He will do the same for you - the bitter will become sweet.

God with us

The cross is identification, not just that we identify with Jesus, but He identifies with us in our humanity. God sent His Son and allowed Him to suffer, to be rejected and despised. The Bible describes Him as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Jesus was not born in a palace, but in a filthy animal stable. He never owned a house or received a salary or pension. God sent Jesus to reconcile us, to bring us back to Him, and so that we can understand sometimes suffering leads us back to God.

For over 50 years I have been visiting the former concentration camps, all across Europe. I have seen the names and wept over them, just as I have wept over the concentration camps. I want the Holocaust Survivors to have their names written in another record - God's Book of Life.

Jesus is called 'Immanuel', meaning 'God with us'. When I was in a communist prison, the one thing that comforted me more than anything else when I was crying out to God and praying for Him to release me, was when I realised, God is my Father! I want to remind you that God is not just 'God' or a 'Holy God', He is a Father, He is your Father. When I was in my prison, crying out, "Oh God, help me!" - I was angry with God! I said, "Oh God, You are in Heaven, paradise, no shortage of food, no torture, no death! But I'm in a prison!" I am sure that so many Jews in their suffering, echoed those words. Then I was reminded, God saw my suffering. God saw their suffering. That's why He sent His Son into this world to suffer with us, to die, in order that He might deliver, rescue and give eternal life.

The greatest message I can give you is that you are not alone! Wherever you are, God is with you. The Son of God, Immanuel, is always with us!

Listen to this week's podcast: How Great God's Love



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The Region Beyond

We need a new power from God, the power of the Holy Spirit in us today, as on the Day of Pentecost, but the key which will release that power into our lives now is a new level of faith in Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 17, when Jesus' disciples failed to cast out the demon from the epileptic boy and then asked him why, He rebuked them for their unbelief: 'If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove,' AND AFTER IT DOES, 'nothing will be impossible to you!' (Matthew 17:20).

There is something hidden in this story. Yes, Jesus said in answer to their question, 'If you had faith... you could move mountains.' But the real secret is hidden. We get stuck at the thought that mortal man could move anything bigger than himself. We agonise over the reality of moving that mountain. We call our friends to stand with us in believing prayer because this mountain is proving harder than we thought to move. Then when it happens - that miracle, that financial provision - we become so excited that we drop the real key down the drain in our excitement!

The disciples had missed the opportunity of releasing the greatest power into their lives. Jesus was putting a key in their hands, and if they would only use this key, their lives would never be the same again! There is a region beyond.

We need to realise that God has a power and a glory far greater than anything we have ever seen. Are we, in our spiritual experience, ready to cross the barrier, to move to something so big we could hardly dream about it? How big is God's power? Who was the greatest man in the Bible - Moses, Elijah, Paul, Peter? With all the miracles they saw God perform, did any one of them ever see more than 5% of God's power? How big is our God? Twenty times bigger, a thousand times bigger than what they saw? When I begin to look at how big my God really is, suddenly I want this key - the one Jesus showed His disciples - to open a door into a totally new experience. It is as if all my life I have been looking only at a darkened mirror image of God.

Of all the gifts of God, faith is the greatest, it's the key to the 'normal' Christian life. This gift of faith is greater than you realise. Just read Mark 11:22, 'Yeshua answered and He said to them, "May the faith of God be in you."' (Aramaic Bible.) This gift of faith is God's faith working through you.

Be encouraged as you watch this short teaching extract: The authority to see miracles

What is faith?

The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. If you live by faith and go by faith, that pleases God. What is faith? Faith is one of the most misunderstood words today. We all know the phrase 'people of faith'. - It is used to describe Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. We need to redefine faith. Faith is trusting God with everything. You trust Him with your life, your healing, with your salvation; you trust Him with your money, with your family; you trust Him when you get out of bed in the morning. You trust Him when you've no food in the house. You trust Him when you've no money to pay the rent. Faith trusts God in extreme circumstances.

When Moses sent out the twelve spies to view the land WHICH GOD HAD PROMISED TO GIVE, they all saw the same things, a land flowing with milk and honey. Green, green grass, corn better than Egypt, fruit so big it had been just a dream when they were captives, rivers and lakes of freshest sweet water, plenty of fish (Galilee is famous - I've eaten its fish, so I know), lovely valleys for the cattle, beautiful mountains (one snow-capped all year round) - literally springs in the valleys and streams in the desert. Far better than the Egypt they had left. It was everything that God had promised and more! Of course they saw the walled cities, soldiers guarding them and the fact that some of the inhabitants were giants. This was not Eden, not an empty land - they would have to fight for their inheritance!

The important fact was that all twelve saw precisely the same things, stood in the same places, had the same God. But when they returned to Moses, their reports differed in certain essentials. All twelve told the Israelites, yes this was THE Promised Land, no disagreement, but the majority (ten against two) said that it was impossible to enter. After they had all excitedly shared the joy that the fulfilment would bring and yes, it was all that God had said and more, the ten said that the difficulties were too great. There was no way that they could defeat the enemies and actually possess the promise! They were looking in human terms, seeing only their own limited resources and accepting failure as the norm. Only two said yes they agreed with everything the ten had said, but because God WAS with them, they could possess the promise now, He would not fail them. They reminded the whole of Israel of all that God had done in the past, how that He was still with them and that in His Name they would win, however hard the fight!

It was God's decision to abide by the majority decision that compelled the whole nation of Israel to wander in a barren wilderness for forty more years before they finally entered. What was the one thing that went wrong? Faith! They didn't trust God in the extremity of their circumstances.

Watch this short teaching on 'What is Faith'