Since childhood, the call to help those who are suffering from all kinds of sicknesses and diseases, those poor ones who were so desperate for help, stayed with me.

As a young pastor, I made the following statement that shocked some of the older and more mature pastors, “Unless God moves in power and confirms His Word by healing the sick whenever I pray, I will quit the ministry. I refuse to be in ministry unless God answers in power.” Their dissatisfaction of this young and immature man was obvious.

Through the years that followed I got caught up by the pressure that was placed on me to perform in ministry, to grow the congregation, by church programs and I almost lost my overwhelming passion to help those who were suffering so severely.

It is sad to say that it is possible for someone in ministry to lose that passion. We should never forget that God’s call on the life of a believer always manifests through a persons passion - that thing that moves you inwardly. Christians struggle to find their place in the body of Christ. We even go on seminars that teach on “How to find your gifting”. Most of the time we are none the wiser afterwards. The truth is that God placed that gift within you even before you were born.

Jeremiah 1:4,5 (Amplified) “Then the word of the Lord came to me (Jeremiah), saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew (and) approved of you (as My chosen instrument), and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; (and) I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

I remember how my son, Isaac, used to play with our electrical appliances since he was two years of age. He would drag the electric kettle, vacuum cleaner and toaster around. He would leave his soft baby toys and would crawl towards the electrical wires. This was to the amazement of many, but he was passionate about his electrical wires. Today, at age 16, he is responsible for the maintenance of the electronic equipment at his school as well as being one of the operators of the sound system in the church.

He blossoms at these tasks, because he has found his passion in life. God will always bless and anoint your passion. Remember, we are at our best when we do that which we are passionate about. Follow your passion, for it is God’s call. Encounter In more recent years, I had the privilege to view some video material of the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua, who would stretch his hand towards the blind, the lame and the crippled, and they would instantly be made well.

As I sat down to look at the material, I saw the miracles of the Bible happening in today’s life and it stirred my heart.

I said: “Lord, if this is You, then please I need to witness it for myself.”

Within a few weeks, I visited Prophet T.B. Joshua’s ministry and there I was confronted by the manifestation of God’s miracle working power. The dead were raised, the blind made to see, those infected by H.I.V/Aids were set free from their death penalty by the thousands. This I witnessed for myself.

Jesus is still the miracle working God of the Bible. The day that changed my life forever was when I was privileged enough to share the message with, at that stage, a 15 000-member congregation.

As I was coming to the end of my sermon, the man of God interrupted me by applauding me for a great sermon. Since I was ministering on the miracle working power of God and the fact that God is able to do all things, a young man crippled and completely deformed was brought to the front to receive prayer.

I was then asked to demonstrate the sermon that I have just preached in order for the people to know that that which I had just preached, was actually the true Word of God. Being in ministry for many years, I’ve heard and seen a lot but this was something beyond my frame of mind.

1 Corinthians 2:4,5 (Amplified) “And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them], So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God. "

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Having been a Bible teacher for many years, I preached great sermons but nobody had ever asked me afterwards to demonstrate the word to prove that it was the Word of God. I mean, as a preacher, you preach the Word with great zeal and enthusiasm and then trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest. But to demonstrate the Word, was something unheard of.

Having 15 000 pairs of eyes staring at you, waiting to see whether or not you are able to demonstrate the Word in the natural realm, is quite a threatening experience. As I prayed, using the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, and quoting every healing scripture I knew, I looked and saw the man in front of me, still crippled and deformed.

Then with greater urgency I prayed, binding that which I thought needed to be bound, and loosened that which I thought needed to be loosened. I called down and I cast out. But when I opened my eyes, the man was still crippled and deformed.

Not really a place where you as a minister of the Gospel, would like to find yourself - realizing that you have been preaching the Gospel, using words with no demonstration of power. No power to set the captives free. To pray for people where the problem is not so visible, is surely much easier than to pray for those whose problem is visible for all to see. Headaches don’t take that much pressure. Preaching the Word with great enthusiasm is much easier than having to demonstrate the Word that was ministered.

Since this man was still crippled and deformed, I felt publicly humiliated and heard the following: “Pastor, today we have all witnessed that you are a great teacher of the Word of God. Surely you have an in-depth knowledge of the Scriptures, but we also bear witness that although you know the Scriptures, you don’t know the power of God. You’ve got an intellectual understanding concerning God’s Word, but that’s all.”

While walking back to my seat, the man of God touched the man and uttered softly, “Jesus”, and instantly the man was completely made whole. For many years I thought I was doing well but that day I realized just how much I’ve missed it!

Before a person can excel in that which he is doing, he must first find out where he is at. It is like having a fantastic road map in front of you, but unless you know where you are, the map will be of no value. You will not find your way but you will continue going in life’s circles. The Gospel, not of talk, but of Power

1 Corinthians 2:4,5 (Living Bible) “And my preaching was very plain, not with a lot of oratory and human wisdom, but the Holy Spirit’s power was in my words, proving to those who heard them the message was from God. I did this because I wanted your faith to stand firmly upon God, not on man’s great ideas.”

1 Corinthians 4:18-20 (King James) Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God [is] not in word, but in power”.

For many believers, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ exists out of nothing more than a set of rules - do’s and don’ts.

For most, the Gospel of Jesus, exists of sermons - preachers searching desperately for good sermons to bring before the congregations. Most of our prayer time is spend around our sermons.

“Lord, bring life to the Word, stir the hearts of the people”.

Nothing is wrong with that, but the apostle Paul repeatedly warned the churches against a gospel that will be in words or mere good sermons. Although the Gospel of Jesus should be preached with great sincerity and truth, we should also be able to see the manifested power of God confirming His Word, visibly, in order for the people to know that it is true and trustworthy.

There are so many strange voices calling out to the people, and for the poor people to believe that the Gospel of Jesus is the truth, they need to be able to see it. As I often say, you might find that on one corner of an intersection, a Jehovah’s Witness might be standing, handing out his Watch Tower magazines. On the opposite corner, there might be a Muslim, proclaiming the Koran. On another corner there may be a Buddhist proclaiming his theology and on the last corner, you might find yourself, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus. All of you, being sincere in your beliefs, proclaiming them with great zeal.

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For the unbeliever, or the passer-by, hearing these proclamations, how would they know which faith is trustworthy? Stop and think for yourself, if you have never heard of Jesus, how would you make the decision to follow Him and not the other religions. The church is great in making certain claims, but it is time for the church to deliver. I once prayed for an elderly lady, whose daughter used to attend that specific church. The daughter loved Jesus although she came from a Muslim background and was married to a man who was still following the Muslim religion.

While making the invitation for the sick, the elderly lady was brought to the front. I still remember that I could not hear what the actual problem was, since the worship was too loud. I just said: “Jesus, thank you” and then continued down the prayer line. I later learned that this lady, who had been a schizophrenic for 32 years and had spent most of that time in a mental institution, had been set free in that moment of prayer by the power of God that was demonstrated for all to see. Her Muslim son-in-law, was confronted with the truth. He testified that he had traveled around the world, searching for help for his mother-in-law.

He had been to Muslim kings, various Imams, medical institutions, yet without any remedy. That day - Jesus touched and demonstrated His love in a visible way. Right there and then this man accepted Jesus Christ because he had experienced the manifested presence of God in his own house. Second-hand I believe that having a second-hand revelation, is probably one of the main reasons why we don’t experience the manifest presence of God in our daily lives. We need our own first-hand experience and revelation. There is a saying that goes like this: “God does not have any grandchildren, only children.” The same is true when it comes to revelation.

It is only revelation when it is first-hand. Second-hand revelation is not a revelation at all. It has been revealed before. Some of us have built our lives and our ministries, based on the revelations of other great men of God. When God gives one person a specific revelation, others try to run with it and apply it to their lives. A young man once told the story of how he and his senior pastor attended a conference during which the preacher, while ministering the Word, had an awesome revelation concerning the Kingdom of God. He proclaimed from the pulpit that the Kingdom of God had come and that which was not from the Kingdom, had to go. As he made this proclamation, from all over the auditorium, the sick were healed and many people experienced miracles. The Kingdom of God manifested with signs and wonders as evidence. It was an awesome experience. Back to their home church the next Sunday morning, his senior pastor preached on the Kingdom.

At a certain point during his sermon he proclaimed that, “the Kingdom had come”, expecting the manifest presence of God to fall, but the congregation just stared and wondered what was happening to their pastor. Then, with more enthusiasm, he again proclaimed that “the Kingdom had come!”. Still, with ‘question marks’ all over their faces, the members of the congregation sat motionless, not knowing what to expect. Nothing happened!

This man acted on a second-hand revelation. A first-hand revelation or a rhema word, will make an impact in your life. You will know, that you know, that you know that God has spoken to you. People may try to convince you of something else, but you will be immovable. You actually become the revelation. When God first called me to the mission fields of Africa, I became a Missionary. That was all I was speaking about and my life was built around the mission field. This personal word of God almost arrested me. The problem is that Christians today would rather read a book on what the Bible says, than read the Bible itself.

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That is actually second-hand information. We also love to hear anointed preachers sharing their revelations on what God has told them and their visions. It is great to have preachers with revelation and those who are visionaries, but what about having your own revelation and your own vision.

It is like the Israelites of old, who chose to send Moses to the top of the mountain to hear from God on their behalf. Moses would then come down from the mountain and tell them the things that God wanted them to know. They got the Word of God through Moses. Isn’t the church doing almost the same thing? We are sending our preachers to their closets to hear from God on our behalf and then during the sermons we will be informed.

Remember the story of the women at the well. John 4:5-10 (King James)

Then cometh He to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with [His] journey, sat thus on the well: [and] it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give Me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.” Jesus said, “If you only knew”. This could also be said of the church today. If we could only realize who God is and what is about to happen, it would transform our lives and would surely cause us to act differently towards life’s circumstances. Our perspective would change. John 4:11-19 (King James) “The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, hou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I receive that thou art a prophet”.

The women received a first-hand revelation. That changed her into an evangelist. She went back into Samaria, proclaiming the Christ. In the past, she had many husbands and could have lived an immoral life, but the Rhema Word of the Lord, transformed her into a preacher.

John 4:28, 29 (King James) The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”

Take note of the following happening.

John 4:39, 40 (King James) "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them.” We have people in our congregations who came to the Lord based on what they heard was said about God. They responded to the preaching of the Gospel, just like the people of Samaria, who believed in Him, according to the testimony of the woman."

The Gospel should never stop there. Let’s continue reading the passage.

John 4:41, 42 (King James) “And many more believed because of His own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard [Him] ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

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The Difference With a second-hand revelation you can do certain things for God, but with a first-hand revelation, you actually become the embodiment of that revelation. Sometimes Christianity becomes that which we’ve learned and not what we’ve experienced.

There are those who operate in faith while others talk about faith. Those who heal the sick, and those who talk about the healings. I once was introduced to a well-known preacher who came to one of the meetings I was conducting in a nearby town. As the conversation went on, I asked the man whether the manifest power of God was present in his meetings. Then he told me the saddest story.

Only once as a child he saw a miracle happen with his own eyes. As a child he and his mother had gone to a church service during which the pastor prayed for a person whose one leg was shorter than the other. As the pastor prayed, God caused the leg to grow, and the person was made well. That was the first and the only miracle he could ever testify about. At the end of that meeting, somebody handed me a book, written by this preacher, titled: “How to work miracles.”

Although this man never had a first-hand revelation concerning the power of God, he went on proclaiming as if he had a revelation. A second-hand revelation or experience is nothing else than a copy of the original. We should never pattern our lives after the experience or revelation of other people.

Although I’m about to share some personal revelations with you, you should find your own.

Normally, I listen to preachers and get extremely exited, but on my way home I pray: “Lord, what You’ve told this man, is great, but what is it that You want me to know concerning this subject. Please speak to me so that I can have my own first-hand revelation.”

Only when the Word of God is a first-hand revelation can it become a solid rock in my life. I can build my life on the Rock of the Word. How do I get this? I suggest that you prayerfully consider what I am about to say, because I cannot give you a set of rules on ‘how to get it’. We are all different people with different viewpoints and God is to big to fit into our recipe.

I’m honored to share with you that which is helping me to get my own personal revelations from the Word of God.

First of all, I want to make it very clear that we must desire, search out and hunger for a word from God. God would not go to every person on the street corner to be intimate. This is what some of us would like Him to do.

A shallow relationship with God cannot result in an in-depth revelation. Only once the spiritual temperature is right, will you be able to receive the seed of God’s Word entering into your spirit. Revelation knowledge can also be referred to as being impregnated with the seed of God’s Word. It grows within you while first it is only a seed. You walk with this awesome Word of God within you and as time passes, it starts to change you.

People will take note that you have changed. You’ll talk differently, your walk will be different and you will be different. And then the time of delivery will come. You will give birth to that what God has shared with you.

Let me share a secret with you. A revelation grows over a period of time. It is not instant. If having a first-hand revelation was instant, then everybody on the street would have had it. It is something we’ve got to search for with all our hearts.

The way that the Word of God is working for me: I make sure that I am spending enough time in the Word of God to fill myself with the Word, so that the Holy Spirit can bring life and light to the Word that is within.

Smith Wigglesworth used to say that you should read the Word of God until the Word of God consumes you. Once the Word of God, or at least certain passages are within my spirit, I start praying in the Holy Spirit: “Lord please help me. You promised me that I will not be able to live on bread alone but from every word that comes from Your mouth.”

I desperately seek the presence of God and then by faith, I read those passages over and over. I study different Bible translations and pray more. I seldom read my Bible without a pen in my hand and as far as I read, I use the bracket method

By changing the emphasis of the specific verse, I am now able to make the Word personal.

As an example:
Isaiah 43:1-5 (But now)( thus says The Lord) (who created you),(Jacob)(Louw), and He (who formed you), Israel: (Don't be afraid), (for I have redeemed you); (I have called you) (by your name), (you are Mine). (When you pass)(through) the waters, (I will be with you); and (through the rivers), (they shall not overflow you): when you (walk through the fire), (you shall not be burned), neither shall the flame kindle on you. (For I am your God), the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; (I have given Egypt as your ransom), Ethiopia and Seba in your place. (Since you have been precious in my sight), ([and] honorable), (and I have loved you); (therefore) (will I give men in your place, and peoples instead of your life). (Don't be afraid); (for I am with you): I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west;”

As you move the emphasis, meaning comes to the portion of scripture.

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I use different Bible translations and use the same bracket principle in each, continuously asking God to reveal the scripture to me. Sometimes it will happen that God will take you through different Bible portions, but eventually they will all add up.

How we get the revelation into our spirit is not important, as long as we do get it. That which is within our spirits, will determine the way we live.

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.”

We also find the same principle in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 12:34, 35 (Amplified) “For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things.”

Some years ago I was informed that a person who had become blind would be attending my next crusade. So I knew that he was coming. I started to study every single scripture where Jesus opened the eyes of the blind.

I read those passages over and over and over. Then, prayerfully, I meditated and visualized the circumstances around those passages. In my spirit I could see the crowds of people. I saw Jesus coming towards the man. It was almost as if I was part of the crowd. It all happened in front of me. I saw how Jesus went forward and spat on the ground. The whole experience unfolded in front of me. Day after day I went back to the scene.

Silence, filled with expectation, changed the atmosphere. It became electrified. Then, as Jesus performed the miracle, the excitement broke out. People shouted praises. I became part of that experience and the Word became part of me.

I received a first-hand revelation of how Jesus opened the eyes of the blind. Nobody could convince me otherwise for I had seen it myself.

The day came that the blind person was brought forward to receive prayer. As I looked, I could see the crowds again. I could feel the excitement and could see Jesus bending down to the ground. Spontaneously I bent forward and as I did I saw the man receive his sight. It came naturally because it came out of my spirit.

The man with healing in his heart, will bring forth healing according to the scripture. The prosperous man brings forth prosperity out of the prosperity stored up in his storehouse. The poor man will bring forth poverty from the poverty stored up in his poor storehouse.

I also believe that your revelation should be subject to the Word of God.

Once you receive anything that is contradictory to the Word, it is not a revelation from the Spirit of God, but rather coming from the devil himself parading as the angel of light.

People sometimes take scriptures out of context in order for them to enter into sin.

A very famous misinterpretation of God’s Word is the fact that God is love and that all love comes from God. Because love comes from God, He now permits you to enter into ungodly relationships.

Just because you suddenly ‘love’ somebody else, God does not want you to divorce your partner and marry the person you are in love with. This is not revelation, it is deception.

Lastly, I also want to warn you of those who try to kill the baby. Those religious wolves that kill anything that differs from their point of view. Prayerfully consider the people to whom you submit your first- hand revelation.

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