I watched, like hundreds of millions of others on a Sunday the climax of international competition as Spain beat the Netherlands in the World Cup final. I was thinking afterwards about how amazing it must be for a little nation once known long ago as adventurous and globally powerful to finally become the best not only in other European nations but even in all the world while watched by the largest crowd in sport history. I know for all of them it was worth the bruises, kicks and pain of the win, including the realization of an early loss that may pull us to new heights if we do not give up easily and pay the price. No wonder some wept and even prayed at the end with gratitude.

I was in Spain for my first visit early last year at the invitation of key young pastors there through the arrangements of my friend Mal Fletcher as part of ‘09.

How much I appreciate this man who has done so much in the Kingdom over the years! During his initial creative youth ministry working out of his homeland territory of Melbourne Australia, he helped helm with other friends from Brian Houston’s Hills church in Sydney the original Youth Alive, a work that exploded from a denominational youth group of some 80 kids to an inter-denominational national ministry involving large numbers of committed youth leaders from different church streams to some 80,000 in a single decade. Obeying a direction from the Lord to go out to Europe with his wife and family, for some years Mal ministered out of Denmark, pioneering in music, teaching and public television fresh and effective tools rooted in innovative youth pastor friendships and real relationships. After expanding these to include others from Eastern Europe, he moved to London. Using his grasp of significant trends and communication gifts to break new ground in hard places and innovate Gospel connections to touch many young people immersed in cynical and sophisticated Western cultures. Such are many of the nations that competed in the World Cup

When I was in my critical condition in Korea over three years ago, it was interesting to remember that the settings in my life to death other-world coma encounters were in and around London and that one of the key figures I knew was there who wanted to get together with me was Mal. The ‘09 trip involving two visits to London and the honor of meeting and sharing with some of the finest young global pastors and youth leaders in Europe as well as in both Spain and Portugal was in many ways one of the best of all my tours in ministry.

These past months I have not had the strength or ability to do much of what I would have aimed at normally. Many of you have asked what we are up to and what is happening since my stroke immediately after Christmas day. Three weeks ago I was given the six-month hospital testing to see how I was doing since my five days in Middlemore Hospital with a stroke that could have easily killed me. The fact that I am not only still alive but able to walk and talk and speak is to me another evidence of the great grace and mercy of God. In the hour-long examination that followed the past months of visits from five different therapists at our home, testing for damage in key areas that included blood tests, an ultrasound and MRI examination and various meds prescribed to keep me from what had already happened. I also got to see the first picture of my brain and what was the damage. William estimates the area affected to be around two inches long. No wonder when one of the surgeons saw me still alive he said “It’s a bloody miracle.” A Christian nurse said to Fae: “It is a miracle, and it's restoring my faith."

What had been affected was primarily my ability to remember the names of things. When you think that so much of what I do stores just that material, the consequence might have been fully destructive. I could not remember the names of people, events, places, books, music, tools, computers, foods … - you get the idea. I have been married to a wonderful girl for 42 years and I could not even remember her name. I knew who Fae was and that she was my wife and my friend, but I thought her name was Lovonny my sister! Anything looked at or listened to now is basically O.K. but what it was ever called before is something else. It made almost any kind of long communication difficult in the least, and as for clear conversation nearly impossible. Those kind enough to contribute help to support us in some way over these past months, we owe a debt of gratitude for your provision; I did not have the ability to do anything much more except to know you were caring. I also had clear memories of what friends looked like, even if I could not recall what I called you!

What I was able to do was just listen to music, read and watch visual things. One of the things I did before this was begin to collect research on our amazing physical and mental makeup for the second volume of Divinity II, the Nature and Character of God as revealed in Creation. Part of that research was not just the heart, the lungs and the sight; it was also on the brain. How it works, makes up its mind, stores facts and decides; so to have that area attacked is worth thinking about!

I have since spent many hours re-listening to and sometimes re-recording songs that we did as a band or that I loved growing up; I was still able to remember songs I heard in 1944 as a baby or ones that I had not heard again for more than sixty years. One of the things I found is that the brain is not limited to the area we think it must keep; while previous theory held that damage was irreparable, we know that that is not always the case. Especially is this so in memories like music; to hear the sound of songs even without the lyrics is to help the brain restructure another part to store them or to re-awaken what was forgotten. Although my poor family has had to put up with my nocturnal recordings, odd readings and repeated re-screenings, what has helped happen is the return of so much that should by damage have gone for good.

I have for many years now become convinced the Lord speaks not just through churches and Christians but leaders and entertainers in music, film and sport. He owns the world and He Who made us for His pleasure is at home in events that draw the cultures of the world. He is not hindered by young hungers to do something wonderful, to win against impossible odds, to surprise the world when those who are seen as the least, the littlest and the losers can suddenly triumph.

The World Cup was no exception. While there are many things we may not see in an ending, God is still surely speaking. Like all great and global significant things it has its own spiritual parallels; a not-forgotten cultural religious fear of God can be visited to become again the supernatural spiritual fear of the Lord, and regardless of how others can bring their best to the game, one single person can finalize the victory right at the end when all their other team efforts fail.

At its end we had a knock on our door very early as a courier had come to our house and brought us a special delivery package. William guessed it first; it is something I have worked for so long and waited for ten years; our copy of the first Revival Study Bible.

Some of you may know how big a battle all of us as General Editors have had in so many ways to see something as wonderful and powerful as this gift we wanted to finish for the Lord and His people finally completed. All of us had our share of trial and spiritual attacks and life-threatening situations; even near the end of the work I felt we faced a final attack to stop the last task; like last enemy of Nehemiah in his monumental task of rebuilding the city of God, to finish hanging the gates.

For those of you who faithfully and wonderfully took the time to help us all, pray for us and provide for us when we did not know how things could ever be done or even at times if we would ever live to complete what we felt He had put on our hearts; thank you.

Thank you so much for your kindness, spiritual protection and provision; both you and I will never know as much as He does, how much what you did contributed towards those hurt and broken places that stand still as illustration of what has happened to the beautiful city of God we have shared in seeking to see restored in our time.

An hour later, while preparing some material for a coming one-hour interview here with Shine Television here in a couple of weeks on my life and ministry over the decades, I was listening to some old songs done by my friends nearly three decades ago from the wonderful work of the Agape Force. Our close friends the Pattons who contributed such a core part of their early lives there, remember this well. How much I have appreciated what He did in the lives of so many of these young soldiers; some were church kids, some street kids; some came from other cities or states some came from other countries and nations; but so many experienced for the first time the visitation of God in the spiritual awakening of revival!

They too faced the battles; not all of them survived, not all of them emerged unscathed, not all of them were able to live out the dreams they carried. But so many to this day can never forget what happened to them when they came into the presence of the living God. I have seen it again and again in the privilege of watching His wonders touch generation after generation; this is the fifth I have had the honor to love, speak for and carry to His throne. Like David I can say “I have been young and now I am old; but I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging for bread.”

Some of you have also been there, and you too remember. I long to see yet still another generation that will make the Lord proud of their lives, who will not give up when it hurts, sell out when it is hard or sadly fail to finish the race when they can be so close to seeing what He has in His heart. What does He think now of us? “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

I listened again to one of the old songs that I have not heard for more than twenty years. One of the bloggers deeply touched by their music said, "Even if I didn't love their music, which I do, I would still be their biggest fan because of the way they lived out the love that they sang about. Where are they today?"

I know where they are today. Each one still walks with God, despite whatever hard and difficult times they have had to face over the years since they were new and young. Something happened to them then that was more than a chance to start over again, more than a set of great friendships, more than a mere movement of the moment. They for a time lived with others who really loved God and gave Him everything they had to see Him begin again to affect their world.

Some of you, I know, will never forget; and never should. I have had the marvelous privilege of knowing you, loving you and passing on to you some of the small things I had learned about His greatness and His glory and the honor to see how deeply lovely has been His dwelling in you.

So here I am, listening again to this old song -

“FATHER GOD - I FEEL YOUR HAND AGAIN
PRESSING ME - TO MOVE WITH YOUR PLAN AGAIN
LIFTING HIGH - ALL THAT’S WORTHWHILE AGAIN
HELPING ME TO RISE UP AND SEE
A NEW BEGINNING IS JUST BEGINNING
I FEEL A BREAKTHROUGH - TO WINNING
AND THERE’S A FRESH FLOW OF THE SPIRIT
A MIGHTY RIVER - CAN’T YOU HEAR IT?
I’M SINGING PRAISES LIKE A NEW SONG
THE CHANGES ARE LIFELONG
A NEW BEGINNING IS BEGINNING
TO TAKE HOLD IN MY LIFE
EVERY DAY’S ALIVE - GREAT EXPECTATION
DARKNESS TURNS TO LIGHT - LOVE’S TRANSFORMATION
DEEP INSIDE MY SOUL - I CAN SENSE THE CHANGE
GLORY TO GLORY ONCE AGAIN!"

My eyes start to fill with tears. I suddenly feel the prickle of His presence once again knowing that this is now a time when another visitation hangs in the balance -

Bless you all - keep us in your prayers Winkie, Fae and William