I want to show you from three different authors – Paul in Hebrews, then James and Peter – what faith is. A faith that doesn’t give in, that doesn’t buckle under pressure. We need a faith that doesn’t bend, a faith that is constant and reliable – even when it goes through the ultimate test! God is consistent and stable. Our faith has to be anchored in that – in the stability, in the consistency of believing and knowing God! Somehow we have to understand and accept THIS challenge in the day in which we live in NOW! Whether it’s through sickness, or through persecution, or through whatever is happening in your life – through it all we have to realise that holding onto God by faith is the way into the Kingdom!
According to the Will of God, Part 2, (Romans 8)
The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, for when we don’t know what to pray for correctly, the Holy Spirit Himself makes intercession on our behalf, with groanings that cannot be uttered! There comes a time when the Spirit within us, who is transforming us, helps us! In v27, ‘He that searches the hearts, knows the mind of the Spirit!’ Here is the direct involvement and action of Jesus Himself, who searches our hearts, and knows our hearts, and at the same time, He knows and understands the mind of the Holy Spirit! Do you understand how powerful this is? Christ knows our thoughts, knows our desires, and at the same time He knows the desire and will of the Holy Spirit!
According to the Will of God, Part 1, (Romans 8)
I want to talk to you on a subject which is very dear to my heart and encourage you to pray, based on a very strong and powerful experience in my life from Romans 8.
In 1964, as many of you know, I was diagnosed with throat cancer. I had refused ALL medical treatment. Yes, I had had the X-rays and the camera down my throat, many different tests, and every one of them confirmed that I had throat cancer. But I determined to pray my way through, in part because I was pastor of a church which had been founded on my evangelism and the miracles that took place in that evangelism. The miracles were recorded in the local newspaper – blind eyes, deaf ears opened, cripples healed! So I determined, NO medical treatment, I’ll fast and I’ll pray and God will heal me!
God does what He says! (Jeremiah 32 & 33)
God does what He says! When I am seeking the Lord in prayer over some specific issue, I want to see His answer in writing: I don’t want a ‘word’ or ‘impression’, I want it written in the Bible! Twenty years ago, when I was battling lung cancer, God gave me the clear answer that I would be healed from the very Scriptures that I want to share with you in this message!
God has a purpose in your adversity
We were created by God to fulfil a Purpose! In your life, God sees and God knows the future. I want to encourage you to seek the Lord. Recognise from Isaiah 30, that although the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction in your life, your ‘teachers’ will not be removed from you, but you will continue to see the way through – and your ears will hear a Voice behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it!” All my life I’ve heard that Voice. And today I’m hearing that Voice again, knowing that it gives me the confidence to live through the adversity and the affliction, because I have heard! Even in this God is saying, “This is the way, walk in it!” I pray God will give you the courage!
Raised from death to life
In October 2003 David was evangelising in Almaty, the commercial capital of Kazakhstan. Someone told David that a missionary friend of his was dying in a hospital there, would he please go and pray? This man, Doug Boyle, an Australian missionary, was dying alone in an intensive care unit. David went to pray with him. 16 years later, who greeted David on arrival in Georgia, but this same man! Watch his dramatic testimony!
There is a solution to every problem
There is a solution! Whatever situation you are facing today, God will use it for His Glory. In John 9, as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. ‘And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.’ Doubt is one of the enemy’s biggest weapons against the believer: in the Old Testament he said to Eve, “Did God say…?” The devil destroys faith by replacing absolute trust with doubt; this is still the biggest problem in people’s lives today. Faith only exists through trust in God and His Word. Lessons from 70 years of ministry: 'For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance.' (Part 16)
In the midst of tribulation
Where is God when we are in the midst of tribulation? - He is right there with us, a very present help in our times of trouble. It is easy to feel God's presence when we are on the mountain top, celebrating His goodness; but the Scripture implies that whilst He is present in our good times, He is very present in our distress. Some years ago I was invited to speak at a conference. The theme was how we can know God, how we can come into His presence. I took as my Scripture Deuteronomy 4.29, 'If from where you are you shall seek the Lord Your God you shall find Him'. You will find God when you are in tribulation, when all the problems of life have come on you. God will use the very circumstances you are in to work a miracle in a demonstration of His Power.
The healing touch of Jesus
In Luke 8:45, a woman in great distress because of an incurable sickness came to Jesus. Jesus KNEW she had reached out to Him, because He felt virtue pass to her. Like her, you are not able to physically touch Jesus, but you can reach out to Him through prayer and worship. Whatever your problem: whether it is sickness, financial or other distress, come to Jesus. And like with that woman, He will turn around and say, “Child of Mine, go in peace, your faith has healed you.”
Miracles don't come easy
You can’t have miracles without first having problems; that is why I always say miracles don’t come easily. Twice God has healed me of cancer; He’s released me from a communist prison. Suppose I never had these problems, that God spared me the pain, I would not have the ministry I have today. God doesn’t send the sickness, but He will use it for good: “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed” (John 9.3). Lessons from 70 years of ministry: 'For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance.' (Part 9)