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Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the nations of the world is at once both overwhelmingly fulfilling and extremely unpopular. Through my more-than fifty years of ministry, I have had the privilege of preaching the Gospel, face-to-face, to as many people as any man in history. Every day, I stand in awe of the tremendous grace God has shown on my life. I would be overwhelmed by His providence if I had only been allowed to stand by as someone else was preaching to all those people – Just to witness the power of God in such a real way day after day, night after night, is more momentous than any other experience I could imagine anyone having in their entire lifetime. Many times, as I read the newspaper, I am reminded of the lives of the rich and famous, and obviously envious newspaper reporters and television talking heads gushing over the lifestyles of the people who have been made famous by a world starving for entertainment to block out the nagging in their souls from not having a relationship with the living Christ. I can take the example of Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft Corporation, who at this writing is the wealthiest man in the world. At one point in 1999, Gates’ wealth was estimated at more than 100 BILLION dollars. That means Bill Gates could give fifteen dollars to every man, woman and child alive on the face of the planet and still have more money left over than most people will earn in a lifetime. But I would not take the wealth of Bill Gates in exchange for the tremendous triumphs God has allowed me to witness through the years: the salvations, the healings, the deliverances…the army of more than one million Nationals raised up around the world. Through all the challenges and tragedies I’ve faced in my life, I have never failed to see God change that challenge or tragedy into a testimony of His ever-gentle power and grace in operation in the lives of men. God’s hand is always at work, and though tragedies occur, He is ever standing ready to change those tragedies into both learning experiences and triumphs in the spirit. Download and read the rest of this chapter:
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