Be Strong and Courageous | 1 Chronicles 28&29 | (Part 2)

In 1993 I found in Siberia a nation almost totally without God, one of the least evangelised areas of the world – without church or Bible, where most have never heard the Name of Jesus or the Gospel. I then had a vision for mass evangelism, but it would require the support of so many people. When I asked Him, ‘What if no one will join me, what if there is not enough money?’ God gave me 1 Chronicles 29, where King David gives Solomon his son all the gold and silver, the materials and the men to build the Temple. At first, I was disappointed, because all my life I have seen myself as David, a fighting man, and I had the same desire in my heart as he had, to build a Temple, (but a spiritual Temple, not a physical one), to demonstrate the Glory of God on earth to an unbelieving world! I did not want to be Solomon, I did not ‘get the picture’ – until the Lord showed me that, in this context, He Himself was David, and I was Solomon. Here the Scripture gives a most precious promise, when God says of Solomon, ‘I will be his Father, and he will be My son!’ God’s promise to me, was that He Himself (as my Father) would give me (as Solomon, as His son) the men, the money and the materials to do the job! At that time, I had less than zero in the bank account – I had spent all I had on evangelism in East Europe and Ukraine – my database was only two thousand people, my German organiser had confused and lost the lists compiled from the great East-West Eurovision Conferences. But this venture would cost two million pounds sterling – in those days! When I fainted at the enormity of the task, God gave me 1 Chronicles 28.20, ‘Be strong and of good courage, and DO IT!’ I was reminded of a powerful song that sustained and meant so much to me through these years of change – ‘Jesus never fails’!