Paul’s letter to the Philippians intrigues me. In Chapter 1:1ff, he speaks of himself and Timothy as the servants of Jesus Christ, and he’s writing to the saints, the bishops and the deacons in Philippi, the whole Church. Paul himself is in difficulty, writing from prison in Rome, but he opens his letter in grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, saying, “I thank my God for every remembrance of you.”
Paul’s words strongly remind of those wonderful years of evangelism I’ve held in the former Soviet Union. Like Paul I thank God, as I look back on all those incredible miracles, for every memory of what He has done. After all these years, people who repented and were healed in those crusades still come up to me. Somebody was talking to me only recently and gave a substantial gift, because he remembered what happened in Kyiv in 1992/3, where for the first time in his life he saw the practical evidence of God – the people that were healed and repented. To see so many thousands come forward to accept Christ changed his own life! So yes, I thank God on every remembrance of those days.
Paul thanks the Philippians for their fellowship in the Gospel, saying in Phil 1:6ff, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Christ Jesus.” Here Paul is referring to the Power of the Holy Spirit in us who believe. This is so important, because the more I study the life of Christ, the more I realise the influence and the Power of the Holy Spirit working in Him, in His life and ministry. Just as the disciples had to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came, before they could begin their ministry, so Jesus Himself did not begin His powerful public ministry until after He had received the Holy Spirit! Matt 3:16-17; Mk 1:9-12; Luke 3:21. That same Holy Spirit who was in Christ should be in us! And the Holy Spirit who has begun working in us, will continue until the Day Christ returns!
Being past my 90th birthday, that fact that I am still working as much, sometimes even more than I did 20, 30 years ago is because of the confidence I have that the Holy Spirit will not cease working in me! I was filled with the Fire of the Holy Spirit 75 or more years ago. But His Fire and Anointing in me now is not diminished or lessened, and I sense the Holy Spirit is going to continue with me – and will increase – until the Lord comes. I hear of people retiring, slowing down, stopping. But I have no desire to slow down or stop because, exactly as Paul says, He who began to work in me will continue to work in me right to the end! Whatever that end may be – if the Lord calls me Home, or if by His Grace, I am here when He returns.
Paul continues his letter to the Philippians, Phil 1:7ff, “I have you in my heart, because whether in my bonds – Paul was in chains in prison – or in the defence and confirmation of the Gospel, you are all partakers in my grace.” Paul sees that his whole life, even his imprisonment, is a confirmation and demonstration of the Power of the Gospel. I like to feel that my life is, in the same way, a practical demonstration of the Power of God. People say to me, “You don’t just talk about these things, you actually do them.” That’s why I have no intention of stopping the doing-bit! I can talk about it, because I have seen it, done it, and experienced it personally!
This is the Power of the Gospel I preach in my advancing years: I’ve been there, I’ve seen it, I’ve done it, I’ve experienced it! What I talk about is real and undeniable because I have the evidence. And because I was twice healed of cancer, I have the evidence even in my own body.
I want to pick up on Phil 1:12ff, because here Paul says, “I want you to understand that the things which have happened to me – Paul is in prison – have happened in order to further the Gospel of Christ, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in the palace and in all other places.” What a statement! Paul is declaring here that all the things that have happened in his life – even the bad – have happened in order to demonstrate and further the Gospel.
I haven’t had an easy life. I haven’t suffered unto death, but I’ve had cancer twice. Putting God’s Word to the test on both occasions, I was determined to prove the Authority and Power of His Word. I stood firm by faith and refused any medication. And God totally healed me. The fact that I am still full of life and energy is the evidence! I don’t suffer any weakness from either of those two episodes of cancer. When I had the lung cancer in 2002/3 my prayer was, “O God, I’m 70 years old, if You don’t need me here anymore, take me Home quickly. But if You need me to continue my ministry in the former Soviet Union, then I need a miracle to demonstrate this Gospel that I preach!” And God totally healed me by a powerful miracle – the cancer came out of my mouth! I continue my ministry because I have the experience and the demonstration of the Power of God.
Good or bad – whether it was my pioneer overland journey to Israel in 1961 which opened my eyes to conditions behind the Iron Curtain, whether it was my cancers, or my imprisonment in a communist jail – looking back, these things only confirmed the Power of the Gospel that I preach!