Throughout the Bible, prophets, priests, and apostles were driven by a divine purpose. They were people of vision. Vision gives direction, purpose, and perseverance in all that we do. Scripture says, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’” (Isaiah 30.21).
What God has spoken to me has directed my entire life. He has always given me His timing – revealing things that could only be accomplished at a specific moment in His plan.
In 1961, I became the first person to travel overland by road from Britain to Israel to attend the World Pentecostal Conference in Jerusalem. At that time, I was serving as a pastor and evangelist. Although I witnessed miracles in my ministry and church, I was seeking something more from God.
Everything changed because of that conference.
It was the height of the Cold War. As I travelled through Eastern Europe, I witnessed a deep hunger and thirst for the Word of God. Following that first journey to Israel, I was almost compelled to establish a travel company because of the overwhelming demand from others wanting to make the same trip.
Through that travel company, I began smuggling Bibles into communist countries. In 1972, I was arrested and imprisoned in Czechoslovakia for this work. Then, in 1973, God intervened miraculously, using Prime Minister Harold Wilson to secure my release.
Even after my release, life was far from easy. Yet I remained driven by a vision.
During the 1980s, God placed a conviction deep within my spirit that He would melt the Iron Curtain through the power of the Holy Spirit. I held firmly to His promise: “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.” I embraced that promise by faith. Wherever I ministered among the underground churches, I proclaimed it – and God fulfilled His Word.
While in prison, one of my fellow prisoners said to me, “Don’t forget us.” After returning to Britain, many people urged me never to go back to Eastern Europe. Yet I could not ignore the vision God had given me. I was compelled by the prophecy of Joel 2 and by the promise of a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
During that same decade, God gave me another vision: to hold an East-West Conference where Christians from behind the Iron Curtain could experience and learn about the Charismatic Renewal that God was bringing in the West.
One day, while driving through Germany, I came to Karlsruhe. Through a strong impression in my spirit, I knew this was the place where the conference should be held. At that time, I knew no one there. All I had was faith and a vision from God.
The first conference took place in 1988. Thousands attended, many travelling from behind the Iron Curtain. After that gathering, God instructed me to continue. I believed He wanted to do something even greater.
In 2 Chronicles 6.12-15, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all Israel and spread out his hands in prayer:
“Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.”
When Solomon finished praying, fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, and the glory of God filled the Temple.
Holy Spirit fire still falls when we offer our lives as living sacrifices to God.
There remains a vision in my heart that has burned since my youth and has never faded: “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.” I believe God will fulfil this promise before Jesus returns.
O God, place within us a vision that will not die. Give us hearts that believe Your promises, walk in Your purpose, and expect the outpouring of Your Spirit in our generation, just as You did in the days of Solomon.