Paul said (vv19-20), “I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills – and I will know, not the speech of those who are puffed up, but the Power! For the Kingdom of God is not in words but in Power!”
That’s an amazing statement! Paul is saying, the Kingdom of God is not ‘words’, but ACTION! It’s so easy to speak. It’s not so easy to act. There was a time when I was a young pastor in the UK when God said to me, “Shut up. Stop talking. I’m tired of listening to you!” I was in shock! He said, “I want you to go out and do all those things you are telling other people to do! And don’t come back till you’ve done it!” I’d been a full-time pastor and evangelist for 15 years. I’d just found out I had throat cancer and for three months I prayed for healing, until one day I prayed quite specifically, “If You want me to stay as a pastor, don’t heal me, but if You want me to leave the church and my family and go out to Russia and Israel, I need a miracle!” That night I was healed by a miracle so great, the cancer in my throat did not just disappear, but the doctors said, “Somebody has cut it out with a knife and left a scar, who did it?!” His Name is Jesus! But I had made a promise and it’s very dangerous not to keep the promises you make to God. Now I had to go to my church immediately and tell them, “The good news is, I’m healed. The bad news is – I’m leaving!” That’s what I had prayed. I stayed with them three months till they found another pastor, but I had made a commitment to God. He had said to me, “Stop talking, go out and do it!” I had to go and do it.
That’s been my life! I’ve set out to prove that the evidence of God is in the miracles. That’s why, when I was in a communist prison, facing a long sentence, I said, “God, this is a demonstration: if you could get Paul and Silas out of prison 2000 years ago, You can do the same today.” And He did. He got me out of prison by a miracle. So many times, I have seen – and I’m seeing – the actual fulfilment of what Scripture says! I’m putting it into practice in my life! In my ministry, I’m seeking to demonstrate the Power! Just as Paul said, you have ten thousand preachers, and there are so many people who can talk and talk… I listen to them and I watch them. They have the ability to talk. But the challenge is this: are they prepared to do what they say? That’s the question. I’ve set out to test and prove the Scripture, and that’s why I’ve seen such blessing in my ministry.