Podcast: There is power in the Gospel

Current Podcast: Sunday 1 February 2015 (13 minute audio)

There is power in the Gospel

My father was born in Morriston, South Wales, in 1892 and was there in the great Welsh Revival. When the power of God fell, the churches were filled, there was not enough room for the people. The power of God was so strong that ungodly coal miners would go down in the lift and fall on their faces under powerful Holy Ghost conviction. We are seeing the same today across the former Soviet countries. 

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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.

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!"