A Testimony for God — George Verwer

I praise God for the privilege of being with you during this conference. I've been out here now the last five or six months. By God's mercy, for the last ten years, I've been able to do that, and half of my time here in India.

Next week I will be going back to Europe, and that's my address on that little card. So if there's some burden on your heart, if there's some questions, then feel free to write. I was very, very happy a few days ago when someone showed me my book, finally in the Orissa language.

And I hope you'll have the opportunity to read that, and then perhaps write what you think. For about twelve years now, I've been praying continually for this great state of Orissa. And some years ago, when I had the privilege of visiting your state, I only prayed that God would give me another chance to return here.

A Testimony of Conversion from Worldliness

Since I'll be speaking to you again, I'd like to begin tonight by just giving a word of testimony. Because I think that will help you understand what I will seemingly try to say in the coming meetings.

Most people do not understand this ship project and the work that we are in. And it is truly amazing to hear some of the stories that eventually get told about this ship. One story down in Madras, was that I had a father who was a millionaire.

He was giving all the money. Well, actually, my father is a rather poor working man. But they probably got this confused with my heavenly father. Maybe the interpreter made a mistake. Of course, my heavenly father, he truly has a cattle and a thousand humans.

I was born in a nominal Christian home. Christ meant almost nothing to us. My grandfather is from the land of the Netherlands, Holland. Very small country in Europe. He was an atheist. Did not believe in God.

God was nonsense. My other grandfather, he was from Scotland. He was a drunk Christian. Of course, he called himself a Christian. In many of these countries, everybody calls himself Christian. Drunkards, thieves, liars, murderers, Christians.

But of course, he was not a Christian. Well then, my own father, also from Holland, he was just a materialist. His little religion was okay. But his job was money. And he taught me, as a very young man of five and six years of age, to live for money.

And so he was a materialist. Well, he never had very much. And I was reared in this kind of home. Where Jesus Christ is a swear word. Where we did not read the word of God except maybe twice a year. Well, the only prayer we prayed was when we were in trouble.

When I was about fifteen, I became interested in church. By that time I had gone into business. And next to money, my biggest interest was girls. And of course, in the West, it goes a little bit different than here in India.

So every weekend I was in very evil places with these girls. Every weekend. So I went to churches. Well, I saw some nice girls in these churches. So also I went to... And this particular pastor, he was very similar to me.

He also didn't know God. He just had a nice job. He was getting paid. He never could find a better job than that. He didn't have to work very hard. He saw I was wonderful. He made me the youth leader in the church.

And I decided we need to make this church alive. Right. So I thought we'll teach all the young people how to dance. That is the answer for this dead church. So I got the jukebox, the music box, into the church basement.

And of course, I love to dance. This rock and roll, all this kind of dancing. Sometimes all night I would dance till early morning. Then I'd go swimming to wake up. And I taught the young people in the church how to dance.

Almost none of those young people knew Jesus Christ. They were all living double lives, full lives, the church life and the rest of their lives. That Sunday morning, we were there sitting in church. We were Sunday evening, we were singing in the choir.

We were like little angels. Monday through Saturday night, we were the devil's band, one hundred percent. But by the mercy of God, an elderly lady began to pray for me. She sent me through the throat.

A gospel of St. John. And slowly I began to read this. And I began to realize that I didn't have what this little book was talking about. I didn't have eternal life. Though I was a leader in my church, I did not know what it was to be born again.

I did not know what it was to live by faith and what it was to have eternal life. I understood nothing of the blood of Christ. And as I read this gospel, the Spirit of God began to work in my heart. About that time, I became the president of my school of about a thousand students.

The student leaders. So many students were listening to me. And God was working in my heart. This lady was praying. Now she not only prayed that people would be converted to Christ, she prayed that they, after being converted, would go all over the world preaching the gospel.

Can you imagine praying such a prayer? For an ungodly worldly high school. For people like myself. But she kept praying. She had been praying for that too long. For sixteen years. And I want to tell you, beloved brethren, there is no greater force in the world tonight than the power of prayer.

And the minister, the pastor, who learns how to pray, is the man that God has used in these days. So she prayed for me. Just before my seventies birthday, when I was about to go to university, Billy Graham came to my city.

At that time, I was living in New York. My father had moved from Holland to New York City. And Billy Graham, the evangelist, I know many of you have heard of, came to that city. Now I didn't know anything about evangelism.

I didn't know what these people did. And I just heard certain stories. Oh, this Billy Graham, he's a hypocite. He comes and hypocises the people when they come and they pray. He says, Christ. Some of the religious leaders in my town, they were very much against Billy Graham.

Oh, this is emotionalism. This is extremism. These same people thought that the Bible was old fashioned. And people like Billy Graham, they're just 100 years behind the times. You know, when God brought that man to New York City, the city shook.

And I was one of those. So when Billy Graham spoke very clearly about the need to repent, the need to be converted, the need to be born again, the need to turn around and away from sin in the power of Jesus Christ.

I say it, I trust Jesus Christ. It was on March 5th, 1955. 19 years ago. And every day these 19 years, I have known the reality of this salvation. It is not by my work. I'm a very ordinary person with problems like anybody else.

But Jesus Christ came into my life that night. John 1 .12 says, As many as receive him, to them he gives power to become the son of God even to those who believe on his name. Now, I never wanted to start an organization.

I just began to witness for Christ. Within one year, over 150 students in that school came to Christ. That was the very, very, very beginning of this work which today spreads to 50 nations all over the world.

Growing in Faith and Evangelistic Ministry

In direct answer to the prayers of that elderly woman. Then I went to university. There I met a few students who knew God, who wanted to grow in their faith because when we are born again it is very important that we grow day by day in the Lord.

So we met together to study the word of God. We met together to pray and God burdened our hearts to move in evangelism. I was then 18 years of age I began to move into prison ministry, preaching in the prison.

Then I went into the bus stations in evangelism, in tract distribution. Then I went down and worked among the children and then God opened the door for me to speak in some of the smaller churches and young people.

I didn't know how to preach. I never sang. So I began to memorize the word of God. In my preaching I used the word of God and I saw the power of the word of God. Almost every week people were coming and experiencing salvation.

In the jail, in the street, in the bus station, through simply giving out the word of God. We know the word of God is power. It's also in a Jewish store. Next to prayer what we need to use in our ministry.

The word of God. Then as we were praying the Lord put it on my heart to go to Mexico. Mexico was a very poor country. Many people had no Bible. Many people had never heard the gospel. Through the work of Billy Graham and many many other groups most of the people in New York at least had heard the gospel.

But in Mexico many of them had never heard. So while we were going there Mexico was 4 ,000 miles away. We prayed God take us to Mexico as a team of three young people. We asked God to give us a vehicle.

They gave us in answer to prayer a very old vehicle nobody wanted. We only paid about 2 ,000 rupees which came from our own money. Selling our possessions. We sold our possessions. Many believers sold their possessions.

They found the pearl of great price and everything else was of little value. I sold my business drained my bank account I sold everything I had and others did the same. And then as we prayed God took our little bit like the loaves in the sea so we were able to buy literature in Spanish.

That was his old truck God took us 4 ,000 miles by that truck. I can speak your mind about that one trip. So many answers to prayer we saw. So many thousands of accepted coins there in Mexico. That was the beginning of a more permanent work.

It still had no name in the olden days just we were just teenagers but we had a few older people like that lady praying for us. When we came back I decided to leave university and to go into Bible training and to learn the Spanish language and the burden of going to Mexico and then to the land of Spain.

Six months later another team went. This time there were five of us. God opened the Christian book shop radio broadcast where the funds flew. Mexicans joined with us and they became the leaders of the work.

That work has gone on now in Mexico and it's continued 17 years. Each summer each holiday students went to Mexico. This same concept has spread all over the world now under the name of Operation Mobilization.

Which means young people mobilizing to spread the word of God. I know some of you have been on these kind of efforts right here in Odisha. When I finished at Moody Bible Institute I went to Spain then I began to learn the Russian language and my next burden was the land of Russia.

After one year I was in Russia. Of course the work had to be done secretly and I was soon arrested by the secret police and taken out of Russia for the terrible crime of distributing the Bible. When I came back from that trip going back towards Spain I was in the mountains spending a day in prayer and I climbed the tree in order to spend some more time in prayer and there God gave this burden of Operation Mobilization.

The burden was to see hundreds, hundreds of European young people moving to reach that answer for Jesus Christ. We asked God for 200 people. People said you're crazy. You're just young people. Nobody's going to come with you.

God gave us 200. The next summer we asked God for two thousand. We still had no big backing. No big church. No organization. No students who believe that God is alive. God gave us two thousand young people including our first Indian brother.

Operation Mobilization Reaches India

That same summer I asked a friend of mine to go to India and find out what the situation is in India. At that time our main burden was the Muslim world. Our teams were moving in the Arab world in Turkey and in Iran and the Arab world and we wondered about India.

Now we knew there were many good Christians in India so we thought no need to go there. These people need to come to us. But as his brother went to India he went to North India he found there were 55 million Muslims one of the largest Muslim populations in the world.

He wrote back to us and he said we must reach these masses. People are not being reached. Meanwhile this Indian brother Thomas Samuel with us in Europe was challenging us about India. So in 1964 ten years ago two old almost broken down trucks arrived in New Delhi to work among the Muslims.

But as we worked we discovered there were many others of other religions who had never heard the God. In UP in Bihar in Rajasthan in many of these states there were millions who had never heard the word God.

I never had any smile from you. But in 1964 I came just to see. I travelled around this whole country and everywhere I went the Holy Spirit spoke to me. This is your land. This is your country. And I knew that this was where God has called me.

For the last ten years by the mercy of God I have been able to spend half of my life in this land. Or in the land of Nepal or Bangladesh involving three young men in evangelism and discipleship. In that first year people said no Indians will join you.

You are not paying any salary. You are not paying any salary. No one is going to join you. Don't be crazy. These things are for Europe not for India. The Spirit of God is working. God gave us a few Indians.

And after one year these Indian brothers caught this vision and here it proved now there are two hundred and sixty of us in India. A large percentage and here it proved now there are two hundred and sixty of us in India.

A large percentage of them in India. Moving up I say making many mistakes learning learning what it is to live like Jesus. Not as big missionaries or evangelists but simple disciples learning at the feet of Jesus Christ.

And as this is spread all over the world it has become firstly a training work. We don't teach the young people. They come with us for a year or two then back to the church back to national missionary organizations and continuing on.

So it has become a training ministry and of course there are many problems. One of them was transportation. Another was a training center. Moving people moving equipment moving millions of pieces of literature.

God gave us old old vehicles that nobody wanted and God gave us mechanics who loved the Lord Jesus and they gave their time free of charge to fix these things. And God right now is working this year we have 900 people moving in these various countries and this summer we are planning the largest crusade we have had in the history of our work.

We don't know how. We don't know where the money will come from. We don't know where the literature will come from. Many times we don't know where we will get the next day's food. God has brought us something of prayer and fasting and seeing God move mountains all over the world hundreds and hundreds of local churches have united with us.

We hold campaigns in these churches. We pray for revival because we go together with the believers learning from one another out into evangelism. And God has answered our prayers. So that literally hundreds and hundreds of lakhs of people have received the word of God.

Over these 19 years during these 19 years of my Christian life many many centuries many disappointments many discouragements He is safe. Even when I say He is safe. Even when I am not as dedicated as I should be He is safe.

The Ship Project and Prayer-Funded Mission

Nine years ago I had this burden for an ocean going ship. A group of us prayed we thought have we gone crazy? Some people thought we had gone crazy. Do you mean a small boat a row boat? We can paddle down the river?

That's what some people thought. But we said no God is going to give us a ship that can take 150 people tons of literature vehicles that can be a school an evangelistic place to reach millions and millions of people in every month with the word of God.

We are going to close countries to be able to carry people from one country to another like Indians to Indonesia. For six years we prayed very little happened. No money no many people were not interested.

Where would we get a ship? That's what He brought men very highly qualified men line engineers officers who were willing to leave very high paying jobs. A lack of rupees a year forgot it and they came to pray.

Some came before we even had a ship. They came by faith. I even sold their possessions gave the money like the loaves in a fish dish through prayer people around India sent their gifts five rupees ten rupees like loaves in a fish dish.

It is closed three and a half years ago from the Danish government government of Denmark we bought this ship with gifts from all over the world. But truly this ship belongs to all believers. We are the only stewards.

This is God's ship prayed into reality by God's people. I think of one little lady who lives in Hyderabad. She lives in a tiny room just a small place who has nothing of this world. She has sent thousands of rupees that this ship may sail the ports of India for the glory of God.

As we came to this port it was with much fear and trembling. We know the state of Orissa. People were talking letters were being opened telephones were being listened to. Where is this picture? It must be some government organization.

How could Christians have allowed this ship to sail? For six days we were not allowed off the ship. At first we were not even allowed here. They had to wait in the harbor. Nobody could go off. Nobody could go on.

It seemed completely impossible. And we were thinking of returning to drive that ship back. It seemed this would be the first and only port in this nation that would refuse the visit of another. But you were praying.

We were praying. Thousands around the world were praying and are praying for the state of Orissa. And as they investigated they discovered the truth. Students from 25 nations with no special attention other than the love of God to love people and to share the love of Christ not to force people to become Christians.

No one is interested in doing such a foolish thing. They came here to the dock and they asked how much you pay me. I become Christian. How much are you paying. So I become a Christian. And we should share with them the love of God.

We will not pay you anything my friend. It will cost you. It will cost you your sins to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We are not interested in changing religion. We don't want people to change their religion.

We want to see people change their lives. We want to see people walking in newness of life. And we praise God for the way he has worked. And soon the young people were coming on the ship. We had a tremendous conference of 12 days no difficulties.

Now you have been able to come and teams have been around the state. We have book exhibitions only God knows what has been happening in these days. And we know it is a great miracle. Now the general public is coming to the ship already today and going away.

Some with educational books some with the word of God. Few choices there whatever they want to read. Well this is a testimony of this work. There is a lot more but I think many of you are tired and we want to close the meeting.

God Speaks Through Scripture and Testimony

Let me close with these few thoughts. In the book of Hebrews chapter 1 it says God who at sundry time spoke in times past unto the fathers by the prophets passed in these last days spoken unto us by his sons whom he has appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the world all through history.

God is in the history of the world God has been speaking praise God. The world has never been without a witness. God speaks through the prophets through his sons. And today God wants to speak. I believe God has been speaking to them as you are faithful even listening to the word of God.

I know many of you have journeyed a long way you are tired. But as we go I believe God wants to speak. I say the word to your heart at the end of this day in many ways God speaks through this ship through the story of this ship by these young people.

God is speaking in many ways. What is he saying? First thing that prayer is the most important ministry we have. This includes worship. Do you know the reality of worship? In your Christian life. What it is to worship God?

What it is to communicate in a real way with the Lord Jesus Christ? Bible says Jesus is speaking in worship. Then who worships? Jesus accepted worship the whole of the truth of his deity and prayer and praise and thanksgiving.

This is one of the most important parts of the Christian life. Now if we can have some prayer time here praising the Lord worshipping the Lord we are not important. I have no money but we are here to speak to the Lord to worship the Lord.

I believe God wants to speak to each one of us to become men of worship men of prayer men who know God in a deep and a personal and an intimate way. Secondly I believe God wants to speak about this matter of love.

Christian Love and Unity in the Church

I believe love is the greatest need in the history of the church. I preached all over the world many times to pastors. We have had about eight thousand pastors all over the world who have gone through these training courses.

So many of these men have spoken to me they have written to me they have said we have a problem in our church. The believers are not loving one another. They love each other. Devil is attacking the church trying to divide us trying to destroy us family against family disunity lack of love.

I don't know anything about Orissa. But in many other countries this is the greatest need. We need more love. The Bible says I can have everything else. And if I don't have love I am nothing. That's God's teaching.

I may be a great preacher a great man of faith. I may have a picture or I may have many things. I may even give up my body to be burned. I may have all the toxins that will never be mine. If I don't have love I still live in my life.

So easy to die so easy to die. But how is it possible for all people everywhere in the world today peacefully and even in the church. I remember when I first went to Kerala. I've been there many times and I was preaching in a very nice church and I asked them what is this building down the road this poor old building.

Who goes to that church. They said oh they are also the same denominator. I said why don't they come here. They didn't know how to explain. They didn't know how to talk. It was an embarrassment. But I asked them who are these people.

And I was told these are the people. I said are they not Christian. Are they not religious. They said oh yeah they are scheduled. So then I told you this is a nice church. Oh no they go to their own. They are scheduled.

I went to God and I will speak for God. How can such things be in the church. One person lower than the other. I heard this bro something is going on. Perhaps you know that in the past few years these people have had a revolution.

They have all left the church. They have started their own church and all the fights the court see you will see those people who bear the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this story is spread all over the world.

In England in America in Europe we know these stories. Of course they have their problems because this is a universal disease. I had to love one for another. Humility a lack of the grace and the reality of Jesus Christ.

I believe God wants to speak to us that is needed in our own lives for more love in our home in our family for our children for our wives for our congregation. Many people have written to me. Brother George you are right.

This is God wants to speak to me. Brother you have read my book my earlier book called the revolution of love spiritual revolution. And I believe we need that. God wants to speak about these things. In my next session.

Tell me other things that I believe God wants to speak. Brother let us be speaking to him. Let us be open to him. We are not speaking because we know more than this. Most of you know much more than us we know.

Many of you are more dedicated to Jesus Christ than we are. But we come to share what we have had the privilege to see all over the world to be just channel of God's message. God wants to speak about prayer about knowing Jesus.

We must pray. Pray darling father we thank you that you went to pray. You have raised up this whip. You have raised up this ship this army of young people all over the world. You have given us this unity with hundreds, thousands of churches of almost all denominations.

And we praise your name. Speak to us in these days. Open our hearts. Make us willing to obey your word. Open our minds open our hearts that we may be true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. For we pray in his precious name.

Amen.