Hear from God and Share the Message

 "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbour, Pressing him to your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look on his (or her) nakedness! Habakkuk 2:15 (NKJV)

In this chapter we also see the most horrible sin dominating the world in the darkest of times.

    It speaks of evil men using violent coercion and alcohol (or drugs) to sexually abuse powerless victims (male or female). 
        In today’s world rape, kidnapping and trading slaves for prostitution is out of control. It is a huge global industry.

Liberal humanist governments have legalised prostitution in many countries, hoping this will prevent and help control violent criminal sexual abuse but such laws has often have often produced the opposite result.

The democratic freedom we rightly value comes from Western Europe, Britain and former British colonies. These are the countries where the Bible once had a profound influence on culture.

Liberal democracy is only fully effective when there is a measure of respect for Biblical truth and moral goodness.

    When the God of the Bible is ignored or despised, Western Society, once known as Christendom, falls to pieces. That is what we are seeing today.
    All Western Countries are sinking under a mountain of debt and moral confusion.

Habakkuk Chapter 2 vividly describes this chaos. However, in this chapter we also find the solution to the problem.

 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.  

    Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.

    For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

"Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. Hab 2:1-4 (NKJV)


In the traumatic End Times, faithful believers will seek personal encounters with the Living God of Israel and He will not disappoint us. 

    God will share profound and powerful truths with those who love Him and listen to Him.

When God gives you a message to share, don’t wait until your pastor invites you to preach on Sunday because it probably won’t happen. 

    God calls you to share His messages with the people around you, at home, at work, on the bus and on the Internet.
    But don’t just preach. Live by faith. In these difficult times, only a profoundly personal faith in God will get you through. 
    However, the End Time is not only a time of darkness.

    God will answer our heart cry for His presence in a way we have not yet seen or understood, although many of us are beginning to experience fresh revelations of His glory.

 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. Hab 2:14 (NKJV) 

We see a similar message in Isaiah.

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. Isa 60:1 (NKJV)  

It is time for us to begin to see the glory of God in more dramatic abundance than ever before. 

    I believe we will see extreme miracles which will surpass the miracles of Moses and the Miracles worked by Jesus when He lived as a man.

Never before in history has the earth been FILLED with the KNOWLEDGE of the Glory of God but it will happen. 

    And it will happen in the midst of darkness and strife before Jesus returns.

Christian nationalists try to fix this by seizing political power and imposing a legalistic form of Christianity on nations, but I don’t see this in the bible. The revival to come must be from God alone, and not from moral compromises to gain power.

End Time Revival or Falling Away

 Falling away or revival? What is coming?

The end times have come. Israel is once again in Jewish hands, but besieged by enemies, just as in the prophetic writings.

In Europe, we have long seen the fall of Christian civilisation.

The French Revolution was not just a revolt against monarchy and aristocracy. It was a furious rebellion against the Catholic Church and against God himself.

The ideology of Voltaire and the anti-Christian philosophers in France also had a profound influence in other countries, including the Enlightenment in Germany and Switzerland.

Humanist philosophy and theology appeared in Germany. The Bible was no longer understood as the word of God. Everything was questioned.

Today, many Bible-believing Christians are indignant that their children are taught to reject traditional sexual morals and to believe all religions are equally valid.

Even among supposedly Bible-believing Christians, we find many who see sex before marriage as perfectly normal and don't want to wait for marriage themselves.

Many claim that this is the fulfilment of Jesus' prophecy, and they are right.

And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. Mt 24:12 NRSV

We see this fulfilled. This is the great falling away.

But then we hear a completely different message, that a great revival is coming and is already underway in many countries and regions of the world.

But that cannot be! The Word does not speak of revival, but of apostasy, and this is confirmed before our eyes every day.

But in China, Indonesia, South Korea, South America and all over Africa, tens of millions are turning to Jesus. We hear amazing stories of miraculous healings and even corpses being called back to life.

How can this be? Some see it all as a demonic counterfeit.

And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Mt 24:11 NLT

But the Bible also tells us that people from all nations, all tribes and all countries will come into God's kingdom.

And they sang a new song,  ... with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. Rev 5:9 NIV

How does this massive crowd of people from every nation come to Jesus?

Let's take an example.

But how do millions of Muslims all over the world come to Jesus in our time?

Millions of faithful Christians pray earnestly and fervently from the heart.
God answers these prayers and millions of Muslims experience visitations from Jesus in dreams and visions.

I met a Christian woman in Germany. She was a Muslim from Iran. Then she experienced a visitation from Jesus in a dream. Eight years later she converted to Jesus.

Countless Muslims see or experience miraculous healings. Not only Reinhard Bonnke, but many others have preached in Africa and released God's power for miraculous healings.

There are more Muslims in Indonesia than in Iran, Pakistan or Arab nations, but there are also millions of faithful Christians in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, Christian evangelists are allowed to preach, but they are not allowed to evangelise Muslims. Many sick people experience miraculous healings and Muslims come to be healed. As a result, many Muslims are converted to Christ, in Indonesia as well as in Africa.

Without evangelism with miraculous healings, countless Muslims would never be converted.

Faithful Christians love Muslims with kindness, prayer and practical help. I know this from personal experience.

Some Muslims are challenged to read the Bible for themselves and they are converted through God's Word.

God's kingdom does not only spread through method A, B, C or D.

It is about prayer, preaching, kindness, miraculous healings, practical help, reading the Bible, dreams and visions, evangelising through the internet and satellite TV, and, and, and, and ...

We must believe, love, pray, help, and not limit God.

God's Plans for Young People

 In many churches, we see almost only older people or perhaps a few children. Where are the young adults?

Many are walking away from God, some as teenagers and others in their 20s.

This is nothing new. Jesus told us about the prodigal son.

As a grandfather, I sometimes wonder what I have done wrong.

In the parable of the prodigal son, the father was perfectly loving and unblemished, like God Himself, but I must acknowledge with shame that I am not a perfect saint.

When my children were young, I was often legalistic or overwhelmed by my personal problems.

Step by step, I had to learn to recognise my mistakes and understand God's ways better, but in the meantime, my children were often frustrated by my mistakes.

Thank God I am teachable and my adult children now realise this.

If you want teachable teenagers or adult children, you must be teachable yourself.
Nothing is more off-putting to teenagers than parents and older people who are opinionated and inflexible.

In the old Christian culture, the priests, pastors and parents were always supposed to be unquestionably right. Right was right and wrong was wrong. Preachers and parents were supposed to know everything and always understand everything better.

But this tradition no longer works.
The world has changed drastically. People with old ways of thinking can no longer cope with the new reality.

Should we simply throw holiness and justice overboard? Many do, but God has not changed.

Jesus is our guide and is always ready to solve our problems.
How does Jesus appear in the Bible?

The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jn 1:17 NRSV

God's truth is eternal. Jesus himself is God's truth.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jn 14:6 NRSV

God's truth is indispensable, but Jesus first revealed grace and only then the truth. Jesus appeared as an itinerant preacher who demonstrated God's grace through kindness and miraculous healings.

Only later did he reveal his true identity, that he is the Son of God.

We need God's grace and wisdom so that we can understand how to apply God's truth in new situations.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. Jas 1:5 NRSV

But God himself is at work. A recent survey in Germany showed that the young age group, i.e. those under 30, are more faithful than older age groups.

But we older Christians must learn to accept a different Christian culture, because God himself expresses himself differently to young people than he does to us.

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Is 43:18–19 NRSV

For many older Christians, today's culture seems like a desert where nothing can flourish, but God has wonderful plans for the new generation.

Your Time Will Come

Have you been a believer for a long time? Do you read the wonderful promises of fruitfulness in the Bible? Are you fulfilled and satisfied, or is your Christian life just a religious routine?

Maybe you have already broken out of the religious routine, but you can't see any fruit. You love God and you have a close friendship with Jesus.

You want to win disciples for Jesus. You want to lay hands on the sick and see miraculous healings. Maybe you love Jesus, but you haven't received a miracle healing yet, even though you desperately need healing.

You love God and your trust in God is real and strong, but your hoped-for miracles are not appearing. And you need these miracles because you are disabled by illness, because your relatives are not yet believers, because you must wrestle with financial problems.

In the Gospel of Luke, we find an elderly woman who served God with a faithful heart for decades. She had prayed for children since her marriage, but she never had a single baby. Yet she never became bitter.

Had God abandoned her? Not at all. God had a marvellous plan. She was to experience a miracle, but without the long years of disappointment, God could not bring about this miracle.

Her husband Zechariah was a priest serving in the temple when an angel of the Lord appeared and shared an amazing message.

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. Lk 1:13 NIV

Elizabeth was to be the mother of John the Baptist, the great prophet who would announce the coming of God's Son.

Everywhere in this chaotic world there are faithful disciples of the Lord who are waiting for the second coming of Jesus. Some are well-known prophets, good pastors, or well-known evangelists, but there are also many unknown saints who are frustrated because their prayers seem to be unanswered.

Are you one of them? Take courage. God has not forgotten you. God has prepared a spiritual army that He will release in the great end-time revival. Hold on to your hope. Your time is coming.

I prayed for years and God healed my depression.
I prayed for years and God saved my parents on their deathbed.
I prayed for years and .... I am not disappointed.

“Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labour; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD. Is 54:1 NIV

God Raises Up Children

2020 was not just the beginning of a new decade. The pandemic has caused the conventional world order to fall apart at the seams. Many want to return to the supposedly normal world order, but the world of yesterday is never coming back.

Many of us try to explain the crisis with conventional ways of thinking, but conventional mindsets often lead us astray.

In times when yesterday's ideas are no longer enough, we see in the Bible that God often speaks through children or teenagers.
 
Mary was a teenager when she became the mother of Jesus.

David was also a teenager when he killed Goliath.

Samuel was a young boy when he became a prophet.

A seemingly successful pastor of a large American church attended a charismatic event. A very young girl came up to him, put her hand on his head and spoke with amazing boldness.

‘Lord, take the junk out of him!’

When the prominent pastor returned to his congregation, he was a completely different man. Until then, he had built up an active and well-organised church with his own abilities and spiritual gifts. He himself was the cornerstone of the congregation.

He recognised the pride and self-centredness of his Christian ministry. He began to focus on Jesus and give the Holy Spirit space.

Many members left the church, but in a short time the church was much larger than before.

When we try to solve new problems with traditional approaches, we become like ships without a rudder, sailing helplessly in circles.

The preacher who sparked the Welsh revival in 1904 was a man of only 26, Evan Roberts. He was supported by a team of intercessors, four teenagers, all girls.

Children and young people are often much more open to new ideas and revelations from God. We need this openness.

Very many Christians only want to believe and obey God when they understand God's leading. Children often have an open heart. They can believe and obey even if they don't understand.

Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Mt 18:4 NRSV

but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” Mt 19:14 NRSV

When the children hear directly from God, and explain things differently than our old way of thinking, we must take the children seriously. We must not stand in the way of the Holy Spirit.

One of the countless people who was raised up by God in the Welsh revival was a street preacher who was 15 years old. She preached with such heavenly power that thousands of listeners took her seriously and were blessed. Among them were prominent businessmen and despised prostitutes.

You won't find testimonies like this in many books. History is often manipulated to promote our religious traditions.

Where did I hear that? A few years ago we had a Welsh guest preacher at our church. She told wonderful stories of dramatic Welsh revival.

The dramatic works of the Holy Spirit are often glossed over, but those who seek will find. 

Aim High, Start Small

 Jesus was not a trained theologian. He had no time for it. As a young man, he had to provide for his family as a carpenter.

Nevertheless, he lived in close communion with his heavenly Father and studied the Old Testament in his spare time.

But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. Ps 1:2 NLT

Even before his public preaching ministry began, Jesus was our role model.

Do you have no ministry apart from your family life and your work? When God sends revival in hard times, He will amaze you.

About 60 years ago, an American preacher received a prophetic vision from the Lord. He saw Christian housewives and other completely unknown Christians ministering on the streets. They prayed for the seriously ill and many were healed by God.

I know Christians in Australia who are already doing this. The sick are healed and many are converted to Jesus.

Unfortunately, there are some conservative Christians who question this. They quite rightly say that Jesus healed everyone infallibly, but not everyone is healed today. Quite right.

But if our faith and heavenly power are not on the same level as Jesus, should our ministry be completely invalid?

When the Jews returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, they began to rebuild the destroyed temple.

Some Jews criticised and complained because the new temple was not glorious like Solomon's temple. Perhaps they were like some critics today. All or nothing. In the healing ministry we are supposed to either be 100% successful, like Jesus, or our ministry is invalid or false.

Zerubbabel was the high priest who administered the rebuilding of the temple. His name means that he was born in Babylon. He was not a brilliant personality like Solomon, whose father was the great King David.

But God encouraged Zerubbabel, who was allowed to respond with anointed confidence.

“Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” Zec 4:9–10 NLT

Don't you have a pulpit? If a colleague or neighbour has a headache, you can pray openly.

I was once at an event. When the pastor arrived, his wife had a headache. I stepped aside and prayed fervently. When I came back shortly afterwards, the headache was gone.

Start small. Prepare for an amazing manifestation of God's power in these difficult end times.

Falling Away or End Time Revival?

 No matter how weak you feel right now, you can rely on God's strength.
God has brought you this far in his love. He wants to be your helper and friend for the whole of your life.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. Ps 23:6 NRSV

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Php 1:6 NLT

God has a very special plan for his people.

When we look around us, we no longer see a Christian civilisation. It is hard to see how God is in control of this world.

In families and nations that took the Christian faith for granted 100 years ago, we see all kinds of other worldviews and ways of thinking.

Many faithful Christians see an urgent need for revival, but others don't believe because they point to Bible passages that warn of apostasy.

Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another.
And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. Mt 24:10–12 NRSV

The apostasy has long been underway in Western countries. Before the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, atheism was almost unknown. In formerly Christian countries, we see how biblical laws are increasingly being disregarded and abolished.

There are some Bible readers who claim, ‘So if apostasy prevails, we should not expect revival.’

But this is not the case. In this age of increasing unbelief, God has brought about the most amazing revivals of all time.

In 1727, a prayer movement began in Herrnhut, Germany. Under the leadership of Count von Zinzendorf, faithful Christians prayed around the clock for 100 years without ceasing.

The awakened Christians in Herrnhut sent missionaries all over the world.

It was through these missionaries that John Wesley came to a living faith. John and Charles Wesley became fires for Jesus. Their ministry transformed England.

The influence of Zinzendorf and Wesley reached North America, where amazing revivals emerged and shaped the whole culture.

In 20th century Russia, communist atheism became dominant, but they could not extinguish God's light. A persecuted underground church caught fire and a hidden revival was unstoppable.

The communists in China and the Muslims in Indonesia tried in vain to suppress powerful Christian revivals.

For 300 years we have seen apostasy and revival manifest simultaneously.

In the midst of the deepest darkness, God keeps producing new life in this difficult world. The devil wants to stifle God's life in you and around you, but God is still at work.

God is still the almighty God, the God of love and dramatic miracles.

The Egyptian Pharaoh wanted to exterminate the Hebrew babies, but Moses was saved by his own daughter.

Herod wanted to kill God's Son as an infant. All the babies in Bethlehem were slaughtered, but God had a plan for Jesus, and Herod could not overrule God's plan.

What does God want to say to you in this difficult time?

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV

End Time Battles

 Moses was a man with a high calling. He was to lead his enslaved people out of the land of their oppression and through the desert. Then he was to take them into a beautiful country and conquer the land for God.

God's plans are always good, but when we walk in God's ways, we always encounter adversaries and obstacles.

The first problem for Moses came when he was born. Pharaoh wanted to kill all the male babies of the Hebrews, but God saved his life. Pharaoh's daughter found Moses and took pity on him. She adopted Moses and gave him back to his mother. What a miracle of God!

In these end times, we Christians have a great calling. Do you want to be part of a mighty end-time revival? Then you have an adversary who wants to stop you. God's kingdom is coming, but the devil wants to nip the end-time revival in the bud.

One of the enemy's tactics is to spread the negative teaching that we should only expect decay before the return of the Lord Jesus, that God is supposedly not planning a great revival.

But in the Bible I find God's prophetic promise that we should expect both darkness and glory.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV

Does this only apply to the Jews? No.

Jesus commanded the apostles to set in motion a mission that is to increase until his return.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ... Mt 28:19 NRSV

We have not yet reached all nations. The Great Commission still applies. Just as with Moses, God's great plan will face terrible opposition.

Moses needed amazing supernatural miracles to overcome Pharaoh's resistance. Likewise, we need amazing miracles to overcome the devil's opposition in our time.

And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;  

they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mk 16:17–18 NRSV

Hope in Troubled Times

 The world is shaking. Everything is uncertain. First Covid, then Ukraine, now war in the Middle East.

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. Hag 2:6–7 NIV

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the age of faith, it was the age of scepticism,
a season of light, a season of darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us”

Dickens, Charles. Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities

The world of yesterday is never coming back. The world of today is a mess.
We wait, but we do not know what to expect.

The future will be different from the past, but we do not know what will come and when it will come. But wait with patience. In the deep darkness, God is not a passive bystander.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to look death in the face. He confronted the power of darkness with open eyes. He was executed by the enemy, that is, hanged by the SS, but he entered God's loving presence at that very moment.

He wrote the following words:

Wonderfully sheltered by good powers
Let us confidently await what may come
God is with us in the evening and in the morning
And certainly every new day. (Translated from German)

But these terrible last years before peace were like labour pains. Two new babies appeared. A new Germany, a civilised democratic country, and a new Israel, the restored homeland of the Jews.

This convulsion will continue. Covid did not come from God. We are experiencing cruel demonic attacks, but God still remains God. God is good and He is controlling this shaking to accomplish His will.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV

I believe that the worst time will be the best time.

But the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Hab 2:14 NRSV

Countless millions will bow before Jesus. The long-awaited reformation will finally come to light.

God Changes Everything

 When Jesus appeared in Israel, he was the saviour for many. Prostitutes were freed from their torment and shame. Lepers were healed and the blind were able to see again.

But through the presence of God's Son, many prominent leaders also failed.  

The official leaders of the Jewish religion were not interested in the Son of God. The self-righteous Pharisees and high priests were rejected by God. At the same time, God raised up a new leadership.

Scholarly rabbis and priests failed to recognise their Messiah and God appointed unknown fishermen as apostles.

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, Lk 2:34 NIV

The official leaders of the Jewish religion had gone astray. God had to establish a new order.

When Jesus gave his life on the cross, religious leaders scoffed, but a Roman soldier believed.

Then God changed everything. Before the cross, non-Jews were allowed to come to God, but they had to submit to the laws that God gave through Moses. They had to become adopted Jews.

After the cross, non-Jews could be saved by putting their faith in Jesus. Jews could not be saved through Moses. They had to trust Jesus as the Son of God.

Before Jesus appeared, the Jews had expected their Messiah, but they could not imagine that God would transform everything so completely.

In recent years, many Christians have been praying for a mighty worldwide move of the Holy Spirit, but we can't imagine what God's new order will look like.

The mighty manifestation of the Holy Spirit in these last days will deeply shake the order in this world, but not only the order in the world, but also the traditional order in the Christian religion.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Eph 3:20 NLT

Are you hoping for a miraculous revival? God will work far beyond your wildest dreams, but God will also often intervene in a completely different way than you expect.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Is 55:8–9 NLT

Salvation and Healing go together

 Many Christians think it is better to focus on our eternal destiny rather than on miraculous healings.

Forgiveness of sins or healing from all diseases. Which is more important?

If a cancer patient believes in Jesus and dies anyway, he will go to heaven and enjoy eternal love, joy and peace. There is no sickness of any kind in heaven.

If a cancer patient is cured but does not believe in Jesus, he may remain healthy on earth for many years, but after his death he will suffer eternal distress separated from God's blessings.

Jesus himself said that it is better to die disabled but in faith than to go to hell physically healthy.

If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. Mt 18:8 NIV

So if you have a pornography addiction, you may have to give up the internet for a while.
If your job makes it impossible to work without sin, you need to find another job.

God's first priority is to save our souls, to save us from sin and condemnation. That's why God's eternal Son died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins. God is just, and no sin can go unpunished.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

But when we hear how Christians are doing missionary work in Asia and the Third World, we come up against a contradiction. Where many miraculous healings are taking place, countless people are turning to Christ. Churches are multiplying dramatically and discipleship is dynamic.

In the West, we see traditional Christianity in retreat. Whether the focus is on humanistic theology or reformed biblical teaching, we are not seeing dynamic growth.

Some Christians try to justify this sad state of affairs by pointing to passages in the Bible that indicate a falling away before the return of Jesus. But there are also passages that point to a great harvest.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Mt 24:14 NIV

How is the gospel being preached in the Third World today in Asia, Africa and South America? With signs and wonders, as in biblical times.

Conservative or Reformed churches focus on salvation rather than healing, and we see disappointing results. Humanistic churches emphasise theology, psychology, tradition, politics and good works. The world outside the church does not take this seriously.

In the Bible, we see something very different.

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Ac 10:38 NLT

Healing and deliverance from sin go together in the Bible.

 … who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, Ps 103:3 NIV

The same God, in the same Bible, in the same verse, promises forgiveness of sins and healing from all diseases.

God Calls All Kinds of People

 In China, Christians are multiplying every year. Over twenty years ago, missionary experts said that there were at least one hundred million Christians in China and that several million Chinese were converting to Jesus every year.

Nobody knows how many Christians there are in China now, but the communist government is afraid of Jesus. The basis of the powerful Christian movement in China is not an ordained leadership with professional preachers who have to undergo years of theological training.

Most meetings are not held in well-equipped churches, but in private homes. Many pastors are arrested or simply disappear. Someone then has to lead.

More than seventy per cent of the church leaders in these house churches are women with no extensive theological training, but they burn with love for Jesus and their devotion is unlimited.

Education is not worthless. Paul and Luke were educated men. Martin Luther and John Wesley were educated, but Peter and John were fishermen.

In the mighty move of the Holy Spirit that is soon to come, educated preachers will also be anointed with power, but the mark of the coming revival will not be education, but heavenly love, miracle-working faith and unstinting devotion.

A woman in Brazil was the daughter and granddaughter of high-ranking witches. She became a prostitute and then a witch with terrifying demonic powers, but true Christians love their enemies. Christians prayed for this woman until she converted to Jesus in a traumatic crisis. She became a preacher who was able to reach many lost souls for Jesus.

But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. Mt 19:30 NIV

A highly respected Muslim preacher in Africa led a double life. He secretly visited prostitutes until he was infected with AIDS. The Christians prayed for their persecutor and God answered. On his deathbed, he experienced a visitation from Jesus. He was converted. He was supernaturally healed and then became an influential evangelist for Jesus.

But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. Mt 19:30 NIV

In the revival that is coming in Europe, God will call evangelists who are now in other religions or in pubs or brothels.

The apostle Paul said:

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 1 Ti 1:15 NIV

The Future will be Different

 We are in a kind of no man's land, a waiting time.

We are waiting, but we don't know what lies ahead. The future will be different from the past, but we don't know what will come and when it will come. We have promises from God. We may expect revival, but what will revival look like in the unknown future?

The revivals of the past often appeared unexpectedly. We read history, but we know the world of yesterday is never coming back.

We are like Abraham in the Bible who set out on a pilgrimage not knowing where God would lead him. Abraham went from his homeland to a completely different destination. We stay where we are, but the world is changing around us.

Abraham and Sarah had to trust God for their unknown future, just like we do today. 

Abraham really had to trust God because he was 75 years old when God promised to give him a son. He had to wait about 25 more years until Isaac was born.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. Rom 4:19 NRSV

We often get tired of waiting and with many trials. I am sure that Abraham and Sarah were sometimes tired and discouraged.

But God wants to encourage us. He gives us his word and his loving promises.

He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
 
Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isa 40:29–31 NRSV

We are in an unprecedented global crisis. In such times can expect God's miraculous intervention. Millions are sick and yet millions are cowed in the shadow of death. So many are dying.

The Second World War was also a terrible crisis. Millions died and but millions were sick, injured and traumatised.

Shortly after the war, God was at work with great mercy. Great revivals appeared in different countries. Evangelists appeared in America and thousands of seriously ill people experienced miraculous healings.

In Solingen in Germany, a German evangelist emerged who exercised amazing healing gifts. 

Hermann Zaiss was a very gifted German evangelist at the end of the war. Already in 1945 thousands and thousands from all regions of Germany and also from other countries came to his meetings. Many seriously ill people were miraculously healed, but these were not the greatest miracles.  

There was a young soldier in the British occupation force. He burned with a terrible hatred against the German people. His commander was a Canadian officer who regarded this young man with Christian compassion because his uncontrollable bitterness was poisoning his own soul.

This young man was not a monster. As a Jewish child from Germany, he had found refuge in England, but his entire family was murdered by the Nazis.

The Canadian officer brought the traumatised young soldier to the meeting to hear the German evangelist.

Also in the audience was another badly injured man. He was a hard-core Nazi from the Waffen-SS, a devoted disciple of the Führer.

In the last days of the war, he was hit by the explosion of an artillery shell. When he awoke from a coma, he saw a black American nurse smiling at him with Christian Mercy. He no longer understood the world. One of his legs had been torn apart and he was permanently crippled.

The bewildered SS officer and the bitter young Jew listened to the sermon, saw the healings and felt the presence of God with His love and mercy. Then their hearts became warm and soft. They converted to Jesus and testified of their experience.

Then the most amazing miracle of all occurred. They became firm friends.

In dark times we can expect amazing miracles.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
God's love never changes. God is love. 1 Cor 13:7 NLT

Your Time is Coming!

Have you been a believer for a long time? Do you read the wonderful promises of fruitfulness in the Bible? Are you fulfilled and satisfied, or is your Christian life just a religious routine?

Maybe you have already broken out of the religious routine, but you cannot see any fruit. You love God and you have a close friendship with Jesus.

You want to make disciples for Jesus. You want to lay hands on the sick and see miraculous healings. Maybe you love Jesus, but you haven't received a miracle healing yet, even though you desperately need healing.

You love God and your trust in God is real and strong, but your hoped-for miracles haven't appeared. And you need these miracles because you are afflicted with illness, because your loved ones are not yet believers, because you are struggling with financial problems.

In the Gospel of Luke we find an elderly woman who served God for decades with a faithful heart. She had been praying for children since her marriage, but she did not have a single baby. Yet she never became bitter.

Had God abandoned her? Not at all. God had a wonderful plan. She was to experience a miracle, but without the long years of disappointment, the answer to her prayer would not have been the earth-shattering miracle that it was.

Her husband Zechariah was a priest serving in the temple when an angel of the Lord appeared, sharing an amazing message.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. Luke 1:13 NRSV

Elizabeth was to be the mother of John the Baptist, the great prophet who would announce the coming of God's Son.

All over this chaotic world, there are faithful disciples of the Lord who await the second coming of Jesus. Some are well-known prophets, good pastors, or well-known evangelists, but there are also many unknown saints who are frustrated because their prayers seem not to have been answered yet.

Are you one of these? Take courage. God has not forgotten you. God has prepared a spiritual army that He will release in the great end-time revival. Hold on to your hope. Your time is coming.

I prayed for years and God healed my depression.
I prayed for years and God saved my parents on their deathbed.
I prayed for years and .... I am not disappointed.

Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labour! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the LORD. Isaiah 54:1 NRSV

Don't Limit God!

 A woman had lost her sight. Her eyes were badly injured, and no doctor could help her. She went to a church service where the preacher prayed for healing.

She began to see again and was thrilled, but when she shared her miraculous news with her family, they would not believe, even though they clearly observed how she could see.

Then she began to doubt herself and after a short time she was blind again.

God wants to bless us incredibly, but often we don't want to believe it. A negative thought is firmly rooted in our mindset.

"It's too good to be true." With this thought, we often block the wonderful gifts God wants to give us.

After Jesus died on the cross, the disciples were traumatised. They had believed that Jesus as Messiah would free Israel from Roman occupation, and then he had died.

It was apparently too good to be true. The time for Israel had not yet come, but God had even better plans for his disciples.

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 

And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:6–8 NLT

Thank God the disciples believed. We read in Acts how the disciples ministered with the same miracle-working power as Jesus himself before his death on the cross.

Then we see in Mark's Gospel how Jesus empowered his disciples to continue his miracle-working ministry. Was this only for the apostles? No. It was for all who believed.

These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.

They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” Mk 16:17–18 NLT

But some Christians do not want to believe that this promise still applies to our time.

Some doubt whether this passage really belongs to the Gospel of Mark, because it may not have been written by Mark himself.

It is possible that Mark did not write this last passage. So what!
The first five books of the Bible are attributed to the authorship of Moses himself, but the last chapter of Deuteronomy was obviously not written by Moses.

So Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, just as the LORD had said. Deuteronomy 34:5 NLT

When I read this verse, I burst into tears. This is not normal for me. The Holy Spirit communicated to me in this way how God Himself felt when Moses had to die. He wanted to bless Moses much more.

Then I heard the voice of God as a clear but inaudible thought.

"Please don't limit God."

Please open your heart to many more blessings and miracles from God.

Difficulties Receiving Love

God wants to comfort you, and he also wants you to be a comforter.
Unfortunately, we often fail.

There are people who comfort others for years, but they never learn to receive comfort.
There are many pastors who suffer burnout or lose their own faith.

There are some therapists who save people from despair, but they commit suicide.

My father was a very good psychiatrist. I met Christians who were very grateful for his help, but at home my father was moody and often tense. He could help Christians even though he was not a Christian himself, and he had his own problems. Thank God, my father made peace with God not long before he died.

There are Christians who want nothing to do with psychiatry or psychology, but as a young man I was bullied in a narrow-minded church, and I am very grateful for the psychiatric care I needed afterwards. I know I am not an isolated case.

Unfortunately, there are also many Christians who help others but neglect their own emotional needs.

There is a prophetic preacher in Germany who, like many other Christians, is praying for a great revival. Many Christians are encouraged because we have been waiting so long for this great revival.

This preacher asked God why this revival has not come yet. God's answer was amazing.

The long-awaited revival has not yet come because so many Christians have never learned to love themselves.

We pray for God's abundant comfort, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but we have never learned to receive God's comfort.

There are so many Christians who are serious about the duty to love God and to love their fellow human beings. They worship God and serve their fellow human beings, but they remain dry inside.
 
What is your starting point, your duty to love God and serve others, or to receive God's grace and love for yourself?

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10 NLT

So often Christians are converted, and they understand that their salvation is the free gift of God. We cannot earn our salvation, but only receive God's grace.

The basis of our relationship with God is to receive God's love, not only in our conversion, but for as long as we are on this earth and then for all eternity.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NLT

Roller Coaster Ride

A few years ago I was a guest preacher in a small fellowship in Germany. I was in my guest room when this old pop song floated through my mind.

Everyday, it's a gettin' closer
Goin' faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey a-hey hey … (Buddy Holly)

I felt this was a message from the Holy Spirit, and I shared this in the Sunday morning meeting. The pastor responded very positively. He said a visiting preacher five years before had shared a prophecy about a roller coaster experience which we should be expecting.

I was praying this morning at home in Perth. We are in the middle of a three-day lock down because of an unexpected Coronavirus case.

When I asked God for inspiration, this message about the roller coaster came back.

The message I believe God wanted to share is, “Hold on tight!”

As the return of Jesus Christ draws nearer, things will not stabilise or slow down.

Habakkuk chapter two presents a grim picture of a world in chaos and corruption, but in the middle of this horrible chapter, there is a verse which is often quoted out of context.

For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14 NKJV

It is usually quoted out of context because the context is the opposite of glory.

I believe that God is telling us, that in the middle of the horror of terrorism, human trafficking, pandemics and moral chaos, precisely at this time, we should expect God to manifest His glory on this planet in a way that has never been seen before.

So the message from God is, “Hold on tight!”

We are on a wild ride, and it will not settle down. We must not expect normality, but we can hold on tightly to the loving presence of God.

Seek His presence and expect miracles every day. God is still God, and He has not stopped being good and kind.

When I read my bible I see the greatest miracles in the times of the greatest stress. We are in just such a time today.

God has not changed.

God speaks through Children

 2020 was not just the beginning of a new decade. Because of the pandemic, our familiar world order has come apart at the seams. Many want to return to our old ways, but yesterday's world is never coming back.

Many of us try to explain the crisis with conventional ways of thinking, but traditional world views can often lead us astray.

In times when yesterday's ways no longer work, we see in the Bible that God often speaks through children or teenagers.

• Mary was a teenager when she became the mother of Jesus.

• David was also a teenager when he killed Goliath.

• Samuel was a young boy when he became a prophet.

A seemingly successful pastor of a large American church attended a charismatic event. A very young girl came up to him, put her hand on his head and spoke with amazing boldness.

"Lord, take the junk out of him!"

When the prominent pastor returned to his congregation, he was a very different man. So far he had built an active and well-organised church with his own abilities and spiritual gifts. He himself was the foundation stone of the congregation.

He recognised the pride and self-centredness of his Christian ministry, and he began to focus on Jesus and give the Holy Spirit free rein.

A lot of members left the church, but in a short time the church was much bigger than before.

When we try to solve new problems with conventional approaches, we become like ships without rudders, sailing helplessly in circles.

The preacher who sparked the Welsh revival in 1904 was a man of only 26, Evan Roberts. He was supported by a team of intercessors, four teenager girls.

Children and young people are often much more open to new ideas and revelations from God. We need this openness.

Very many Christians only want to believe and obey God when they understand God's guidance. Children often have an open heart. They can believe and obey even if they don't understand.

Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:4 NKJV

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14 NKJV

When the children hear directly from God, and explain things differently from our old way of thinking, we must take the children seriously. We must not stand in the way of the Holy Spirit.

One of the countless people raised up by God in the Welsh revival was a street preacher who was 15 years old. 

She preached with such heavenly power that thousands of listeners took her seriously and were blessed. Among them were prominent businessmen and rejected prostitutes.

You will not find such testimonies in many books. History is often manipulated to promote  religious traditions.

Where did I hear that? A few years ago we had a Welsh guest preacher in our church. She told wonderful stories about the Welsh revival.

The dramatic works of the Holy Spirit are often swept under the carpet, but those who seek will find.

Coronavirus: Stopping the Pandemic

This epidemic does not come from God. It is not a punishment from heaven.
It is an attack from the prince of darkness who is desperate to prevent the coming worldwide revival.
 
Countless millions are isolated and intimidated. There is panic everywhere. If this continues, many will die of poverty and hunger, even if they don't die from the virus.

Our economic system will collapse and powerful people with sinister intentions will take power worldwide.

Jesus told us to go out into the world and win people over to Jesus, but now faithful Christians have to sit at home.

But when the devil attacks, God wants to call us to stand up with Jesus and win a great victory.

Blessed be the LORD my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle-- Psalm 144:1 (NKJV)

We are in a terrible war against a cruel enemy. God can destroy the enemy with one finger, but God has given us humans the task of resisting the devil.

The enemy is much stronger than mortal humans, but our calling is to trust God in faith and in partnership with God to tear down the strongholds of the enemy.

We have to learn to fight, but we can only learn that in a real battle.

When a strong enemy invades, the warfare can be hard.

First, our own weaknesses are exposed. Then God can help us overcome our sins and weaknesses so that the enemy does not overwhelm us.

For example, if you live a good life, but mostly on a natural level, at cancer diagnosis can be a terrible challenge. The cancer doesn't come from God, of course, but you have to learn to fight with supernatural trust in God.

The devil's attacks are a challenge to get closer to God so that we can overcome the Devil with God’s power.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 (NKJV)
 
Cancer comes from the devil. This epidemic also comes from our enemy.
 
Our own sins can make us vulnerable to such attacks because sins are an invitation for the devil to extend his power.

If abortion becomes commonplace, if a lot of Christians watch porn, if sex before marriage is accepted as normal among many Christians, we become very susceptible to evil attacks.

Then when the enemy invades, we have to fight, but how can you fight on God's side if you accept sin as normal?

Sin is always against God. We have to turn from sin.
 
We must also know where the attack comes from.

If the devil attacks with illness, we cannot win the battle if we think that the illness comes from God.

As a man on earth, Jesus was the complete revelation of God's character and intentions. 

He never tolerated illness, never spoke a positive word about sickness. Those who sought healing from Jesus were never turned away.

That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick.

This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.” Matthew 8:16-17 (NLT2)

We have to repent and pray, but how can we fight with strong faith when we are passive Christians?

So many Christians rely on preachers and pastors instead of building a close personal relationship with Jesus.

When the enemy attacks, and we need God's help, our idolatry is exposed. The pastor cannot save you from an epidemic, only Jesus himself.

If your Christian life is focused on your pastor or church and not on Jesus himself, how can you win a tough battle in faith? Of course, I don’t deny that God often hears the prayers of faithful pastors for weak believers.

I believe the pandemic that is now prevailing everywhere must give way if we turn to God and pray together in faith.

A worldwide war of intercession is already underway. God is calling us all to pray.