Geseigt Durch Gnade (Eng-German) — George Verwer

That was an excellent breakfast actually, especially since often I don't eat any breakfast. And I want you to know that in OM we have changed, we give meat now, we give fruit. And if you join one of our ships, you will not believe it's the same organization of the 60s.

But they sometimes might slip you some bread that's two or three days old. So Doyle, we offer you free travel on our ship anytime, anywhere in the world. These have been exciting days. God has answered prayer.

I know the language sometimes is a barrier. One man came to speak to me and started speaking German. And I think he was quite disappointed when I couldn't understand what he was saying. Why does that say anything?

How many of you actually are studying or you know some English, you understand some of my English? That is about 75%. And I hope that you will go over to our little book table and pick up one of my books in English.

And I hope that you will go over to our little book table and pick up one of my books in English. You can even have it free. We don't want any books to go back to Moscow. Germany is a much bigger nation than I think people realize.

And people of the south don't have so much dealings with people here in the north. And it's been my prayer for a long time that OM might somehow get some kind of regional base here in the north or central north.

But if you're ever down by Mosbach near Heidelberg, please visit our ship office or the German office. They're both in the same place. And if you're free at the end of August, please come to the 90th birthday party of the oldest sailing ship in the world.

It will take place right in Bremen. And if you go to the ship and tell them I said you should visit the ship when I was here at Bracca, they will give you two or three free books. This is my new book that I've been trying to get into your hands, not very successfully.

It's the only book I've written about global missions. If I had another five hours with you, I'd cover more of this material. I covered a little bit of it. Especially the chapter about leadership and the appeal for grace in our mission work, chapter one.

If you don't get one and later on you want to get it, send me an email and I'll send you one as a gift. I have a very easy email address. My first name, George, at my last name, Verwer. And I have a website, georgeverwer .com, that's very easy to get to.

How many of you have your own website? That's a little bit disappointing. I thought we'd get higher than that here in Germany. I realize this is a village. But if you don't get your own domain name, somebody else will probably get it.

The most famous domain names are .com. So the next time you're on the internet, put your own name .com and see who's there. If it's a porn site, don't blame me. I warned you. A pornography site. People are doing all kinds of things with other people's names.

And you can register your own domain name before you even open a website. You just pay a little money and then you have your own name. I had to buy my own name back from some guy in Asia. I am so excited about what we can do through the world wide web and internet.

I know the devil can also use it, and he is using it in a big way. But we must not overreact into some ghetto of fear. We must be proactive in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's just pray for a few other nations that are really hurting in a big way right now.

Praying for the Nations and the Global Harvest

There's no bible verse, by the way, that says you have to close your eyes when you pray. I felt as a young Christian, it was a good thing for me to close my eyes. Because I tend to close my eyes when I pray.

I tended to be looking to see what pretty girls were coming into the prayer meeting. But maybe we can focus as we pray on some of these nations. Lord, help us as we pray right now. Lord, this is not program, this is prayer.

And we believe that a thousand people praying makes an impact in glory. And Lord, we would first of all pray for Germany. We thank you for the miracle in 1989 that brought down that Berlin Wall. Help us not to forget that.

And Lord, we pray that many more workers would go out from Germany to the harvest fields around the globe. We pray for the special people in our midst, like the Turkish people and the Arab people and the Pakistani people.

Lord, we pray especially for Berlin, perhaps one of the most challenging cities in the world today. Raise up more workers for Berlin. Build people that are willing to go into that Berlin culture and win men and women to yourself.

Lord, we would pray for France and Italy and Austria. And also Belgium. Lands that don't even have 10 of the amount of witnesses we have in Germany. We pray for many churches that are struggling in those countries.

We pray that more workers will go, learn the language and live among the people in incarnational evangelism. Lord, what can we say about Spain and Italy and Greece? We pray for this big Olympics outreach in Greece that's coming up this summer.

Many may come to know you in the midst of all of those sports events. Lord, we thank you for the breakthroughs in the last 10 years in Algeria. For thousands of Kabir, Berber Muslims that have surrendered to your son, the Lord Jesus.

And Lord, we would pray for Zimbabwe at this time. A land that's being torn apart by difficulties. And so many are suffering. And so many have HIV and AIDS. We ask, Lord, for a breakthrough in this desperately needy, suffering country.

Lord, we thank you that it's a new day now in Angola and Mozambique. And yet the poverty is so overwhelming. The HIV and AIDS is so rampant. Help those in South Africa to move up north into those other lands.

Help those who are attempting to solve all of these different problems. Lord, there are so many nations on our hearts. As we look across this needy world, Lord, we would pray for this land of one billion people, the land of India.

We thank you, God, for this phenomenal new response among the Dalit people. Those, the untouchables. As tens of thousands of them are coming to know you. Yet we pray a 130 million Muslim minority group.

130 million. With very few working among them. It seems impossible 2 ,000 years since Pentecost. But so many hundreds of millions have not yet heard the gospel. Lord, increase our vision. Let us have a moment of silent prayer.

Just pray for other countries that God has put upon your heart. Let's all do that quietly. And we'll touch every nation in the world probably. Let the Holy Spirit put a nation on your heart, another nation on your heart right now.

Pray for that nation. Prayer is so exciting. When I first went to Bible college, the thing that excited me the most, much more than my university studies. Prayer meetings every day. One day was Latin America, the next day was India.

All the students were encouraged to go to at least one of these prayer groups. God put it on my heart to go to all of them. And I didn't feel there was enough prayer at Moody, so I started my own prayer meeting.

And it was at Moody Bible Institute where the half nights of prayer that are such a part of OM began and spread all over the world. Well, people say, well, why do you have to be so many hours praying?

Because there's so many nations to pray for. There's so many people to pray for. I pray specifically for many thousands of people. I have a couple thousand that I prayed for at least annually, sometimes monthly, for over 30 years.

That takes time. Especially if you like to write them and phone them as well. Pray with me to the book of Acts chapter 12. Just for, that's not my main passage. And I want you to just look at this situation with Peter in prison.

I talk about Acts 13 in this book. And I hope you will look at Acts 13. I call it the Acts 13 breakthrough vision. The vision God gave some of us about eight years ago to see 200 ,000 more workers thrust out into the global harvest field.

Peter’s Deliverance and the Church’s Earnest Prayer

But before chapter 13, you have chapter 12. I know you're very good at mathematics in Germany. Twelve is just before 13. I'm picking this story up at verse 5. While Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

I wonder if you have a Bible that you mark with a colored pen or with any kind of pen. That revolutionized my Bible study when I was a baby Christian. And I went through many Bibles. This is a brand new study Bible I picked up on the ship.

And if you'd like to buy it, see me after the meeting. I'm selling it after the meeting. I'm also selling this jacket after the meeting. Sometimes I auction it. But I don't have enough courage to do that here.

I gave it to a man in Wales last summer. A different jacket, same thing. I seriously gave it as a gift. And everybody clapped. And I found out the next day, he auctioned it for 1 ,500 euros. So I tried the same thing at Moody Bible Institute, but only got $350.

Peter was in prison, but the prayer was being made without ceasing. And so we see Peter is delivered from prison. And look at verse 12 and underline it in your Bible and never forget it. After a little thought, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.

Here we have another biblical picture that should explode upon our hearts if we are sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit. It's a picture of the church in action. And my conviction is one of the reasons so many churches are not accomplishing much and are so filled with lukewarm people.

Because there is not enough prayer. In our arrogance, we think we can do it ourselves. We have money, we're clever, God has blessed us in the past. Whereas to have true prayer, there has to be humility, there has to be brokenness, there has to be freedom from every form of arrogance.

Why is it harder for men to pray than women generally? In fact, some prayer meetings are only women. And of course, I think it's clear because we as men are generally more gifted in the area of the arrogance than women.

We're trying to be that man's man. We're even taught that when we're little. I remember being taught it was wrong to cry. That's for sissies, that's for wimps. I was so embarrassed as a little boy when I cried over something.

But when Jesus Christ saved me, and His Holy Spirit came to indwell me, He taught me to cry. And I have wept hundreds and hundreds of times since Jesus Christ took over my life. And don't get the wrong idea.

That's not all tears for the lost world. That's sometimes tears because I've been hurt. Or tears of grief. When my mother died, I went into the woods and wailed for almost an hour of grief and weeping.

And somehow God brought me out of the woods rejoicing that she was with Jesus. The importance of Acts 12. It's not just a general emphasis on prayer. So that we can justify our lack of prayer gatherings and say, well that's just personal prayer.

I pray every night before I go to bed. But the scripture makes it clear and there's nothing wrong with personal prayer. That's the most important thing. But this is a prayer meeting. And I'm sure there are prayer meetings here at this college.

And I hope you're involved. Even when you don't feel like it. Many times I don't feel like praying. For me that's an alarm that I need to pray more. And I've had many struggles at prayer. I remember when I first lived in Madrid.

We had our half nights of prayer. But they were usually two or three or four people in a group. So I thought in my mind, I'm going to have a night of prayer on my own. And I'm not going to eat. I'm going to fast.

I told my wife, I'm going down by that river over there about a mile away. And I'll be praying and fasting through the night. I was a little bit foolish because I didn't bring any proper clothing and it gets much colder at night.

And I brought a piece of bread that I thought I would eat in the morning when I broke my fast. Well, I prayed for a few hours. I fell asleep. I woke up freezing cold. I looked for my bread on the ground.

The bread was gone. It's always been a mystery to me. How did I get the heaven? Who stole my bread? But I think somehow it may have been a dog. And he probably saw me. I was pretty skinny and there wasn't much meat.

So he took the bread. So as you learn how to pray, there will be many disappointments. It isn't easy to be honest and to tell you this next story. I know it will reduce me in your eyes spiritually. But I hope we can learn through it.

I have a real struggle praying with my wife, together with my wife. And I've taken surveys. How many couples are praying together? How many of you couples here pray together every day? Praise God. That's a miracle.

Send me an email, I'll send you ten free books. Not even if you pray one day a week together. I'll send you a free book for every day you pray. Now the truth is my wife and I have had some wonderful prayer times.

We discovered after we were married, we were just so completely different. I had trouble even walking down the street with her. I like to walk very quickly. She likes to walk very slow. This was one more tension in our marriage.

Praise God when we got to India. We fit into the culture because in India the women always stay ten feet behind. I heard this story about Kuwait and the war in Kuwait and all the mines they have in the ground.

I heard this story about Kuwait. A man went back after the war. And in Kuwait the men were always walking ahead and the women were behind. And this man went back a couple years after the war. He was quite amazed.

The women now were walking ten feet ahead. So he went to this Kuwaiti man. What's brought this tremendous esteem of women and this social change? He just looked and he said the minefields. That is a joke.

I got it off the internet. I'm sorry about that. Where were we? I think we ought to go to Hebrews 12. That's the main passage of scripture. I really want to thank Doyle for the extra time he's given me to speak each time.

Even in the church I went to this morning they gave me 45 minutes. What a miracle here in a German church. Many a church the door has never opened to me all these years because the word is out he speaks too long.

I never forget when I first came to Germany. The land known throughout the world is the land of punctuality. You set your watch on the train that comes and goes. This was a youth meeting and I was preaching for a long time.

Maybe an hour and a half. And the young people were listening. But one older man in the back I think he wanted me to stop and go home and watch the news. So he held up his watch. He was pointing at his watch.

I was preaching on world missions. The need to pray, the need to go. I saw the watch. I said praise God there's a man donating his watch for world missions. So let us now go to the main passage for my closing message.

Running the Christian Race with Endurance

And it's Hebrews chapter 12. And we'll just read through verse 6. Let the word of God speak to your heart. And the Lord said to him, Remember him who has suffered so much against the sinners, that you will not be tired and will not let your courage sink.

You have not yet resisted the sin until the blood, and you have already forgotten the toast that is spoken to you like children. My son, do not neglect the provision of the Lord, and do not despair when you are punished by him.

For he who loves the Lord, he will draw him with strength. And he who accepts him as a son, he will beat him. Last week in London on the weekend, we had the London Marathon, 26 miles. We had 40 ,000 people running.

When I watched this just for a short time, I just stand so amazed. Two weeks before that, I think they had the Paris Marathon. And there are some great marathons in Germany. I've been running myself now for about 35 years.

As an older person with some knee difficulty, I generally just walk real fast. So part of me admires these runners. Because I know the training, the discipline, and the training they go through to be marathon runners.

And I felt from the earliest days when OM was first born, that God had given us a calling to teach young people the disciplined life. And one of the reasons we had these big campaigns in the early days, in the 60s, in two summers we gave 25 million people the word of God here in Europe.

25 million. It was because we really had the heart and the mind of young people. We wanted to get involved in their lives. We had a vision for man-to-man discipling, man-to-man, woman-to-woman mentoring.

That had become the heart of OM's growth. And I want to just confess, my first passion is not missions. My first passion is God himself. That's why we read that Isaiah passage last night. And my second passion is not even missions.

My second passion, as I look all over you this afternoon, is just to see people going on for God. It's just to see people come to Christ and go on for God. For 47 years now, I've been very, very committed to the Bible College movement.

I've taken hundreds of meetings like this these past 47 years in Bible colleges all over the world. Because I left university to go to Bible college, which in that day meant forsaking getting any kind of higher educational degree.

To this day, I have no higher degree of learning. Plenty of other OM leaders do. There's no problem with that. God leads differently to different people in different ways. And we need a Holy Ghost revival of respecting the way God is working in the other brother or the other sister.

When I finished at Moody, I did go to the University of Mexico for a summer, and I learned the Spanish language. When I finished at Moody, I did go to the University of Mexico for a summer, and I learned the Spanish language.

And I thank God for Moody Bible Institute. It set a major foundation in my life. Especially exposing me to great missionaries who came through there from all over the world, just as you've had here this weekend.

And exposing me to men and women and giving me such a good amount of time to get into the Word of God and for the Word of God to get into me. Your time here will go by very quickly. I'm reminded of those words from Ephesians, redeem the time because the days are evil.

Beware of wasting time. But also beware of having a wrong attitude towards someone else who you think is wasting time. This is my passion for my closing moments with you. To instill within you an even greater vision to run the race right to the end.

He may take some of you within the next few years. We have a young man in OM named Gary Witherell. He's a British guy. His church, like many modern churches in England, didn't believe in sending people on OM that created a complicated situation.

He had already been on OM short term and his church said, if you stay here, we'll support you. If you don't stay here, we will not support you. I didn't know actually what was going on at that time but he went to America and studied at Moody Bible Institute.

I was quite surprised when I found out he was there. And there he met a woman from the States named Bonnie. Her name was Bonnie. And they were like-minded about missions. They got married and within a couple years took time to raise their support they went to Lebanon.

In the first year when she opened the door of a clinic in Lebanon where she was working she was shot dead by a terrorist. And soon Gary was to see his young bride on the floor bleeding to death. These things happened.

Four Southern Baptist missionaries three weeks ago were all murdered in Iraq. They were murdered in Yemen before that. I just heard of another Pakistani pastor who after showing the Jesus film they blew his brains out.

There seems to be an increase of persecution not generally on foreigners more on the national church. Despite all of the talk Americans are probably safer in most countries than in New York. So the Lord may only give you one year.

But maybe as in my case he'll give you many years. So it's so important to know the reality of radical total commitment to Jesus and his kingdom. To be able to pray Lord I'll go where you want me to go I'll do what you want me to do.

And it was beautiful that many of you stood last night and prayed that prayer a prayer of availability a prayer of surrender here am I send me. I find that I have to present my life to Jesus on a daily basis.

I find that I have to meet with God every day. And I want to encourage you to do that. Some of you probably find studies, school studies hard others may find it easy. But I have a prayer that God is going to give you the right attitude toward your studies toward your teachers toward those around you even people that you don't naturally come together with.

Because that's what this grace awakening is all about. I have a passion that there may be an army of leaders graduating from this school in the years to come. Marathon runners grace awakened leaders that is my double passion.

Whether God calls you into the business world down the road or calls you to plant churches in Albuquerque. That's why I read 1 Corinthians 13 on our first message. That's why I'm trying to get you to read this book about grace and missions.

Seven Marks of a Grace-Awakened Leader

You say well what is a grace awakened leader? What does that guy what does that person look like? I was sharing a full message about this with pastors on the doulos in Southampton a week ago. In my closing moments with you I wanted to just share this outline.

The seven marks of a grace awakened leader. Now I know some of you are thinking well I'm not going to become a leader. I'm just a natural follower. But I'm working with young people for 48 years. 120 ,000 of them actually been on OM.

I've followed many of them through their lives. Many even quiet shy people who were never expected to be leaders are leaders in God's work today around the globe. And in any case if you get married you're going to be a leader.

To be a father is to be a leader. And to be a mother is a leader because the father is often away. So I believe we need more understanding about leadership and training and preparation for leadership in the church of God.

So I share with you these seven pictures of the grace awakened leaders. First of course he has to be truly born again and know the reality of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That's basic. And we can't miss the basic.

Secondly it has to be a person that has a vision. It may not be a big vision. It may be a small vision that's helping someone with a big vision make it actually happen. As we move on to our new ship in Copenhagen and how we would love some of you to work on that new ship you don't need right now at this moment in history a lot of people with big visions.

We need a lot of people with a small vision and how God can use them to make this or that happen in their department on the ship. I had an amazing phone call a few hours ago. I was praying for a Dutch engineer who lives in Florida now.

I think he must have married an American. He was one of our best engineers for many years. For different reasons he left and went into the secular world of ships and marine engineering. I did not know this when I phoned him.

He's praying about coming back. And for four years in this secular organization he's been working on the same engines that are in this new ship. Coincidence? Not in God's work. And again and again we see the hand of God working to bring together things that make things happen for the kingdom across the globe.

We need a vision. We need to be more creative. Many of the Lord's people don't seem to be that creative. Some of them to me seem to be quite boring. Let's pray for a baptism of creativity on the body of Christ throughout the world.

Thirdly, the Grace Awakened leader is a person of humility, is a person that has the right attitude toward the church, toward people, toward himself. He's what we say in English, a big-hearted person who's strongly committed to truth but he knows from scripture what's priority and what is not priority.

I've had the joy of knowing quite a few people like this. And Doyle is one such person that I believe knows this reality. And if I knew more of you I'm sure I would discover this great Grace Awakened reality in your life.

Fourthly, the Grace Awakened leader has to be a person of wisdom. That's why these days of study are important. OM gets accused of making mistakes when we were a young movement. Top leaders who studied OM in its early days have later personally written me and said they were stunned at the wisdom that we had even as young people in those very early days.

I owe part of that to my two years at Bible College. Not just in the courses and what you have to study. But I was always in the library going the extra mile looking at other books and reading as much as I could.

And when there were missionary exhibits like this I went to every exhibit and I asked questions and I learned from all the different people that God brought to Moody Bible Institute. When I was a young Christian I was selling books door to door.

Before I was a Christian I was selling fire extinguishers. I would light a gasoline petrol fire on the front porch of a person's house. People would be frightened. But I had this very quick small extinguisher pulled it out of my pocket zap!

The fire went out. I sold thousands of these fire extinguishers. I had 200 people signed up selling them for me all over the state. But when I got saved I sold that business and I bought Christian books.

I had to put out the fires of hell in people's hearts. I remember one lady she bought a lot of books. I was really happy. And then she invited me in the house. I think she could discern she was a woman of God that I was big on zeal and weak on wisdom.

She said young man sit here. She asked me if I studied regularly the book of Proverbs. I don't remember what I answered I don't think I had. She said you need to read a proverb every day. She looked at me with her beady eyes and said a proverb a day will keep the devil away.

And she opened her big fat bible and showed me 31 proverbs one for every day of the month. I read the proverbs almost every day since I met that woman 47 years ago. The wisdom of Proverbs has been one of the greatest factors in helping me to lead this ministry 46 years.

And always try to read a psalm at the same time. One for worship and praise one for wisdom. Seek wisdom that comes from God. Be open to learn. Learn how to be a good listener. You've been very good listeners listening to me through all this interpretation.

All of you who know English gotta hear everything twice. I'd like to give you all a prize. I've not been such a good listener. If I sit in meetings like this I usually secretly read emails. My wife's been a real help to me in that area.

She's pointed out that I'm not a good listener. And she felt that I wasn't listening to her. Oh my. I remember once she was talking about this and that. She said, are you listening? Honey, of course I'm listening.

She said, well what did I say? Well I mean, let's not get into the details. As I keep repenting and I keep humbling myself, God is helping me to listen. And then the fifth picture of this person. I call this grace-inspired or grace-propelled discipline.

In other words, we discipline ourselves in many aspects of the walk with the Lord. But it doesn't firstly come from outward things, outward environment, rules and regulations. It comes from our love for Jesus.

The mercy and the grace of God functioning in our hearts and minds. And then number six because we need to bring this to a close. This grace-awakened person is vulnerable and yet secure in Christ. Does that translate good in German?

Because that's power. Many people feel insecure. And I discover even people ten years later in ministry they seem to be insecure and that hinders them in their leadership. And yet we don't want people that are proud.

How do you find that balance? And God gave me this little phrase vulnerable that means also approachable and yet secure in Jesus. It's a powerful combination. Means we will be able to receive criticism.

The next time someone criticizes you, especially you young people you may find it hard. Try not to attack back. Go off to a quiet place and just thank Jesus. Just thank Jesus. You'll get some little criticism now.

You'll get a little bit of criticism now because that can be the best training program for the big criticism that will eventually come to you if you do anything for the kingdom of God. I have to confess I learned more from my critics than I did from my friends.

And it was a miracle in my life with my disposition to learn how to handle criticism. And that's one of the reasons I had 46 years of leading this movement. Man number seven the grace awakened leader.

He's a forgiving person. He does or she does not hold grudges. Even if there's emotional struggles in relationship he goes to bed at night that person is forgiven before God. He doesn't wait for the person to apologize if the person has hurt him.

Of course that will help that will renew greater fellowship. But he forgives a brother or a sister even at the moment of impact by the miraculous grace of God. And he also she also knows how to forgive him or herself.

In an audience like this we can almost be sure there's a number of people you've never forgiven yourself. For something you did something maybe you failed to do if you're really honest you've never totally forgiven yourself.

And that hinders you from being a marathon runner. It's like the weight referred to in verse 1. Think about these things. Read again 1 Corinthians 13. Read again Hebrews 1 through 6 or the whole chapter.

And pray this prayer Lord make me a grace awakened leader. If that's your will or a grace awakened follower you need an equal work of the Holy Spirit for either one of those ministries. Let us pray. Our God and Father we thank you for your word.

We especially thank you for this Mount Everest scripture of 1 Corinthians 13. And I believe you have used it to go deep into our hearts and lives during these days together. Help us Lord to make steps of faith.

A Prayer of Surrender and Availability

I'd like to ask right now if you are willing to be a grace awakened leader in God's work Lord you maybe before now you never thought of yourself as a leader. God has spoken to you. You're willing for leadership.

You're willing for responsibility. Whether it's at home or across the sea. If God has done a work in your mind and heart and you're willing for this in a fresh way I would like you to quietly stand up.

I want to pray for God's wisdom anointing upon you. Some of you will probably even start mission organizations or other ministries. So just take a moment and if you're willing for this step of faith to be that spirit filled, loving, passionate grace awakened leader you're not going to be intimidated by what other people think.

You're willing to take that step of faith and make yourself available. I want you to stand up right now. All across this auditorium. God bless you. God make this real in your life. It might follow on right from last night.

You may have stood last night. This is a totally different challenge. No problem standing up again. Anybody else? Men or women? Young or old? Many of you will be in leadership in local churches. I sense that in my mind.

Different churches have different titles and names for their leaders. Even a Sunday school teacher is a key place in leadership in God's work. Will you take that step of faith to be a marathon runner and to be a grace awakening leader?

Anyone else? God bless you. Praise the Lord. Thank you. Father, you see those who are standing before you. Lord, I pray for an extra anointing upon them. I pray that they may get deeper into your holy word in the weeks and months to come.