Lynn Green

Category: Religion / Church

  • What is the Point of Prophecy?

    What is the Point of Prophecy?

    WHAT IS THE POINT OF PROPHECY?

    A well known Biblical verse, Amos 3:7, states “The Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.”

    Does that seem odd to you?  If the Sovereign Lord decides to do something doesn’t he just do it?

    I want to draw your attention to a prophecy which is well known, but to a limited number of Christians and I want to explain why more of us should know about it.  We should know about well-tested prophecies and we should believe them because that is how and why they come to pass.

    God tells his prophets to tell his people what he intends to do because he works through our faith.  Most prophetic messages are conditional. The very well-know passage from  2 Chronicles 7:14 is a perfect example:

    If my people, which are called by my name, shall ahumble themselves, and bpray, and seek my cface, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

    Here the Bible clearly states the conditions, and they are at least implied for nearly every prophetic passage.  The most common theme from the major and minor prophets is a warning about impending judgement with the prophet pleading for the people to repent and do what is right so God can relent and not bring the judgement they deserve.

    That is not to say that all prophecy is conditional, because some events are unconditionally predetermined.  An example of this would be the prophecy that Israel would be exiled in Egypt for 400 years.

    But most prophecies in the Bible, and prophetic messages today, are conditional.  This is because the Sovereign Lord has made us in his image and, as such, we are very significant.  We can create together with him!  Or as in Nazareth (Matt 13:58 or Mark 6:5), our unbelief can be a hindrance.

    God so loves us that he wants to work in partnership with us!  Therefore, he tells the prophets what he wants to do, they tell his people and we pray prayers of faith, like Daniel did in Daniel 9 or like Nehemiah did in Neh. 1

    So, it is clear that the Lord brings his word to us, often in the form of prophecies, so we can hear, believe and pray in faith.  That is how we can co-work together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9).

    That brings me to a prophecy that I think we should “lay hold of” and then pray until it happens.  It came from an unusual man, but one who was a well-proven prophet of his time.  God used him to bring thousands to faith, with signs and wonders accompanying his ministry over decades.  Smith Wigglesworth was a plumber but became a well-known evangelist.  The following prophecy and the photograph are taken from www.prophecytoday.uk.

     

    Photo: https://relevantmagazine.com/god/13-smith-wigglesworth-quotes-will-challenge-your-faith/

     

    Smith Wigglesworth was a well-known evangelist. He had humble beginnings in life, took up the trade of a plumber and was then powerfully used in a world-wide ministry of evangelism with miraculous healings and miracles accompanying the ministry of the word. He lived from 8 June 1859 to 12 March 1947.1

    Shortly before he died in 1947, he delivered the following prophecy:

     

    During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it and will be characterised by the restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

    The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches. In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say, ‘This is a great revival.’ But the Lord says, ‘No, neither is this the great revival but both are steps towards it.’

    When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidence in the churches of something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit.

    When the word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest move of the Holy Spirit that the nations, and indeed, the world have ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and Welsh revivals of former years.

    The outpouring of God’s Spirit will flow over from the United Kingdom to mainland Europe, and from there, will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.

    I believe this prophecy is from God and it is for now!

    There are many signs that we are about to see unprecedented numbers of people, especially young people, to come to faith in Jesus.  But the “biggest move of the Holy Spirit that the nations, and indeed, the wold have ever seen” is not a foregone conclusion.  Let us cling onto God’s loving intention and pray it into being!

     

    Lynn Green.

  • A Providential Dinner Date

    A Providential Dinner Date

    Photo by Lon Christensen on Unsplash

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    In the mid-1970s Loren and Darlene Cunningham were invited to take a few days to stay in a cabin in the beautiful setting of the big Cimarron Valley in Western Colorado.  Loren had been instrumental in helping my father to be given a property to steward as a YWAM centre, on which he then established a discipleship project for the many young people giving their lives to Jesus through YWAM teams in Southern California.

    While Loren and Darlene were there, Loren was given a very clear word from God about the nature of the Kingdom of God, and how the Gospel message and the Christian values encompassed in it, should be a transforming power for good in all of society.  He wrote down the ideas that God was putting in his spirit, and knew that it was a pivotal word, not just for him, but in due course for all of YWAM and, as it turned out, for the Body of Christ.

    Later he was in touch with Bill and Vonette Bright, who, as it happened, were also taking a break in Colorado just a short drive away. Loren and Darlene were delighted to have the opportunity to deepen fellowship with the Brights, so Loren put his notes in his pocket, and they drove to a nearby valley to have dinner together.

    Later in the evening just as Loren reached for the paper,  Bill Bright began to tell him about how God had spoken to him regarding different parts of society and how the Gospel was relevant to all of them.  He also had a list, and it was virtually identical to Loren’s list.  They knew God was speaking to them, though at the time they didn’t have the language we use now.  Loren recognised that these seven areas were the arenas in which our thinking is shaped.  So for a time he called them the “mind-moulders”.  Others called them “the mountains”, but more widely now in YWAM we call them the “spheres of society”.   Both Bill and Loren agreed that there were seven spheres.

    They are family, religion, education, economics, government, media and celebration (which includes the arts, entertainment and sports).

    Historical Blindness

    At that time, Protestant Christian faith, and especially Evangelicals, had been pushed out of the main public square and into the margins of public life.  It was widely accepted that religion was a private matter and not a subject for public discourse.  However, it was obvious to anyone who read a bit of American or Northern European history that Christian thinkers had articulated the biblical values that undergird the Western world of accountable government and personal freedom.  But, it seems that a great blindness had settled on our nations and the values of biblical Christianity had been marginalised.  By the 1970s it was clear that those values which had provided freedom and prosperity were being eroded and Christians, especially strongly Bible-believing Christians, had no voice.

    A New, Global University

    Within two or three years of Loren receiving that word about the seven spheres, it was clear that training in Youth With A Mission was spreading widely and at an exponential rate.  Within that context, Loren Cunningham felt that God had spoken to him again, and that YWAM training was, at that stage, the beginnings of a global university.  I was one of about 30 YWAM leaders from around the world who gathered for a strategy conference.  There Loren asked the question “would you all please take a couple of hours, go away alone, and ask the Lord whether or not He wants us to have a university?”  We all came back with the same answer:  “yes”.  Again we didn’t have all the terminology, so the Pacific and Asia Christian University began in Kona, Hawaii, where Loren and Darlene were just a couple of years into establishing a new YWAM centre.

    As we took steps of obedience, reflected on the words God had spoken, and saw extraordinary growth, it became clear that God wanted to train more and more young people to serve in all spheres of society as ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.  Personally, when I think back on that I can’t help but recall the Scripture “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord will raise up a standard against him”.  There was a flood of existential and experimental thinking with a new and entirely subjective approach to  values; the idea that there is no such thing as truth was beginning to dominate our universities.

    From One to More than 800 in Fifty Years

    It seems amazing to me that it is nearly 50 years since that first word about the seven spheres was given to Loren.  During that time, well over 1000 YWAM centres have been established, and training courses/schools in the University of the Nations are registered in more than 800 locations.

    Though a lot of time has passed, it would still be too early to say that a new reformation has begun, but YWAM is not the only movement working towards the reformation of all seven spheres of society.  Many churches and countless other ministries are focusing on one or more of the seven spheres.  I am pleased to say that for the most part they understand that this is not about grabbing power, nor is it about the church dominating all seven spheres as it has in some periods of history.  It‘s about public service.  It’s about excellence in vocations, and it’s about creative communication of God’s ways. You might say it is all about maximizing influence for the common good.  Though it is still early days, it now looks feasible, especially with the generation just emerging into adulthood, that we might see a revival of Christian values in all seven spheres of society.  This would provide once again a more caring, compassionate, law-abiding, non-discriminatory, equal-opportunity environment in which all people can thrive.

    Lord, have mercy on us!

  • Something is Stirring in the U.K.

    Something is Stirring in the U.K.

    Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    I mentioned that Pete Greig’s post came to my attention as I was writing my latest blog. It provided encouraging confirmation with factual details, so I’ve taken the liberty of reproducing what he put into public circulation:

     

    Post from Pete Greig yesterday :

    Something is stirring in the UK.

    There, I’ve said it.

    I’ve hesitated to write this post. It’s probably premature. We’re still bang-slap in the middle of a vast crisis and no one really knows how it’s all going to end. But here’s the thing: over recent weeks, and particularly over this last week, prayers that some of us have been praying for decades, suddenly seem to be  finding answers in the most unexpected ways.

    #UKBlessing

    For starters there’s the national blessing song pulled together by my friend Tim Hughes. Released a week ago, it’s now been watched 2.1 million times which is equivalent to 200 new people every single minute of every hour since last Sunday. Yesterday a BBC journalist asked me about its striking unity. This harmony – literal and metaphorical – between such diverse groups as Hillsong and The Kingdom Choir, the Coptic Orthodox and the Salvation Army seems to be touching a deep nerve in our divided nation. And the stories just keep coming in from those who don’t consider themselves religious, saying that the track has moved them unexpectedly to tears.

    Is a worship song going viral everything we’re praying for? Of course not! But is it something? You’d better believe it! Maybe something is stirring?

    #PrayerSurge

    Then there’s the research commissioned by Tearfund and released on the same day (quite coincidentally) as the UK Blessing song. This survey indicates that some 3 million new people have turned to prayer in the UK since lockdown began. The online Bristish bookstore Eden reports a 55% increase in sales of bibles in April. And demand for prayer resources from 24-7 Prayer has been going through the roof. At Emmaus Rd our twice-daily prayer-meetings are suddenly wonderfully well attended. Now we know why!

    Is a sudden surge of prayer everything we need? Of course not! But is it something? Could it be a start? You’d better believe it! Something seems to be stirring in the UK.

    #SignsoftheTimes

    Jesus once rebuked the Pharisees for failing to read the signs of the times (Matthew 16:2-3). These great religious leaders could, he said, forecast the weather but they were oblivious to the presence and power of God right under their noses.

    #ChurchAttendance

    The Tearfund survey also indicates that record numbers have begun attending church online since the lockdown began. Generally we’d expect around 5-7% of the nation to attend a Sunday service at least once a month.  But over the past couple of months, this figure has jumped – in fact it has skyrocketed – to 24% of the British population. Almost one in four. And 5% of these people wouldn’t normally be at church in, well… a month of Sundays! “I’ve never known a time in my life,” says Nicky Gumbel, “when people are more open to [God’s word] than they are now.”

    Is virtual church attendance everything we’re praying for? Of course not! But is it encouraging? You’d better believe it!

    It seems to me that people are far more likely to attend a normal church service if they’ve  attended a digital one first.  Here at Emmaus Rd we are by no means unusual in having more-than doubled in size since lockdown and we have more people than ever signed up for our next Alpha course (online). It’s not everything. But something does seem to be stirring.

    #PublicOpinion

    Slowly the national media is picking up the story. First, the Guardian newspaper last Sunday. Then Good Morning Britain TV on Wednesday. A piece by my friend Krish Kandiah in the Times on Friday. The BBC News at 10 last night.

    What are we to make of this? Is a week of positive media attention everything we’re praying for? Of course not! Is it widespread or prominent? No, not yet. But is it a pleasant change from the usual cynical sniping? Could it be an early sign that public opinion is preparing to shift? You’d better believe it!

    #YoungPeople

    I would never have believed a few months ago that I’d be seeing a headline in a major British paper saying this: “BRITISH PUBLIC TURN TO PRAYER AS ONE IN FOUR TUNE INTO RELIGIOUS SERVICES ONLINE.”

    And then the stunning subtitle: “YOUNG PEOPLE LEAD RESURGENCE IN FAITH.”

    Yep, you read that right: the demographic leading the charge to church is the sophisticated, supposedly post-Christian 18-34 year olds.

    #Thefactsareourfriends.

    We do not pray ex nihilo. No-one can jump to the top of the staircase in one go. We find faith for the big things that God hasn’t done yet, by celebrating the small things he’s doing or he’s already done. On a cold, dark night when we spot sparks in the hearth, we blow on them. We don’t pour cold water on them. We pray ‘More, Lord.’ We say, ‘Well, if you can do this, maybe you can do that?’

    Are all these developments any more than embers in the hearth? Has this past week been without heartbreak? Are we experiencing some kind of revival? Are any of these encouragements guaranteed to last? To all these questions we must clearly answer with an emphatic ‘no!’

    But could these sparks somehow become a wildfire? Does tragedy precede resurrection? Could this be the beginning of a spiritual awakening in our nation for which so many have been praying so faithfully and for so long?

    My friends, this is a time to pray with greater faith, preach with greater confidence and plan with great ambition. Yes, let’s dare to believe it!

  • Do You See the Cloud?

    Do You See the Cloud?

    Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    My friend Tom Bloomer, who sent me the message about pruning (see my blog, https://lynngreendotnet.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/ywam-60th-2020-a-time-to-die/) , wrote again today, and asked if I remembered some of the details of the “If My People..” tour and the 1974 Prayer Day of the same title, and the “Wagon Train”.  These were events and movements I had not thought about for years, but Tom thought there were some parallels to what is happening today.  As I thought and prayed about it, I reached the same conclusion—with a sense of excitement!

    Those events are relevant because, like today, much of the Western world was in the grip of a controlling fear.  For many people today, the atmosphere is similar.  The “enemy” then was the threat of the army of the Soviet Union, that was poised to sweep across Poland and into Germany as far as the Rhine, thus taking possession of the economic powerhouse of most of Germany and enable the Soviet system to survive another generation—all backed by the threat of the world’s most powerful arsenal of nuclear weapons.

    Few people today would recall that the Communist Soviet system was essentially predatory for economic reasons.  Their state-owned and run system demoralised the population, and was therefore too inefficient to maintain growth, while the Western nations were experiencing the greatest prosperity in history.  The USSR was vulnerable to famines and inefficiency in every sector of society because all people were rewarded equally whether they worked well and productively or were lazy, whether they were innovative or just obeyed orders and no more.  The only exceptions to the imposed egalitarianism were the senior Communist Party officials who lived in luxury.  They created a huge, menacing military force that could “gobble up” more productive nations, or nations with substantial natural resources.  By that means, they prolonged their oppressive regime.

    They had nuclear weapons and regularly tested ever-more-powerful nuclear bombs and missiles.  So, my generation grew up fearing an imminent nuclear war.  By the late 60s and early 70s that fear dominant. 

    But God spoke to many Christians from the Bible passage found in II Chronicles 7:14.

    Leland Paris, a YWAM leader from Texas, took the initiative and YWAM, all over the world, proclaimed:  “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and heal their land”.  The YWAM base in Texas prayed and felt that they were to get people’s attention by travelling the routes of the old wagon trains but going west to east across America.  So Woody Woodford, with a big bushy beard and a cowboy hat, organised people to travel across America in covered wagons, pulled by horses and mules, like those used by the pioneers.  They called people, especially the Church, to repentance and humble prayer.

    Sixteen years later, the Berlin wall fell, and the communist tyranny chaotically fell apart across Eastern Europe and Russia.  As the Soviet army retreated military documents were discovered, confirming that the feared invasion was planned in detail, but never implemented.

    At the same time another “army” arose—the Jesus people.  Hundreds of thousands of young people became radical disciples, beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through the 70s.  I was one of them.  Our numbers contributed to a massive growth of missionary movements—Campus Crusade Operation Mobilisation, YWAM, and many others, including Roman Catholic Charismatic Missions like Sword of the Spirit.  What a redemptive work of the Holy Spirit!  Those prayers of desperation tinged with fear were answered well beyond “what we could ask or think”.

    The Lord understands when we pray, even in the desperation of our fears, and he always has a plan to make “all things work together for good, for those who love him and are called according to his purpose”.  He is able and willing to do it again!

    Today’s enemy is invisible, but the fear of death is always the same, whether it is from a human enemy or a virus.  It keeps many people paralysed and eaten up with anxiety.  But it is time for those who believe to overcome that fear by prayer and thanksgiving.

    It seems to me that the “If My People” movement was like the sign that God gave Elijah in 1 Kings 18.  Elijah was praying for deliverance from the judgement of God that had come in the form of a drought.  He prayed, and nothing happened. He prayed again:  still nothing.  Finally, on the seventh time he prayed fervently, he told his servant Gehazi to go once again and look out to the west, where Gehazi reported “a cloud as small as a man’s hand”.

    Do you see the cloud today?  I see many small clouds.  There is not one prayer movement, there are scores of them, and some of them are very large.  In two weeks’, I will be on a livestream from various social media platforms and the expected audience is nearly a million people.  Hardly a day goes by without my receiving an update from some prayer initiative or another.  Invariably one of the core messages of these movements is for God’s people to humble themselves and make a U-turn (repent). 

    I believe a deluge of God’s grace is coming.  I see a substantial number of young men and women, with remarkable leadership gifts, who are sold out to sacrificial obedience to God’s will for them.  They speak the language that was prominent in the early 70s, the language of total commitment, the Lordship of Christ, sacrificial living and the fear of God.  From my perspective, that “language” has not been so prominent for decades.  It’s a precursor to the power of God being poured out.

    As I was writing this, Pete Greig, leader of one of the sacrificial prayer movements sent a very encouraging message under the title of “Something is stirring in the UK.”  I plan to post that on my blog for your further encouragement.  He pointed out how many people had viewed the “UK Blessing Song”—over 2,350,000 as I write!  He added: “Then there’s the research commissioned by Tearfund and released on the same day (quite coincidentally) as the UK Blessing song. This survey indicates that some 3 million new people have turned to prayer in the UK since lockdown began. The online British bookstore Eden reports a 55% increase in sales of bibles in April. And demand for prayer resources from 24-7 Prayer has been going through the roof.”

    Now that we are seeing the cloud, let’s keep expressing complete faith and trust in God that He will move again, especially on this younger generation, and that the world will again be spared the greater extent of judgement that so many people fear. 

    Rather, may He once again surprise us with His mercy and kindness!