Lynn Green

Category: Spirituality

  • 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!

  • Inaccessible Truth

    Inaccessible Truth

    Photo by Moja Msanii 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.**

    A few years ago, Marti and I were invited to meet and talk with the Cardinal of Vienna.  Bruce Clewett a YWAMer, had become close to the Cardinal and had extended the invitation to us and another friend.  We walked to the Palace in the centre of Vienna and were met by one of his assistants who told us we would have 15 minutes.  Everything was formal until the Cardinal appeared, shook our hands warmly and began the conversation by telling us when and how he was filled with the Holy Spirit as a young trainee priest.

    More than two hours later, we were still enjoying very friendly conversation despite the assistant poking his head through the doorway every few minutes.  Before leaving, I asked a sensitive question, after first saying he didn’t have to answer what I was about to ask.  I said, “This has been such a wonderful, easy evening of fellowship around our love for Jesus; are there other senior Catholic clergy who would have been comfortable with this evening?”  Without reservation he named a few, starting with Jorge Bergoglio, Cardinal of Buenos Aires—now Pope Francis.  When he was in Buenos Aires, he was also close to, and remains close to, Alejandro Rodriguez, the YWAM leader in Argentina.

    A GREAT ARCHBISHOP

    On a similar theme, the Canon Residentiary of Coventry Cathedral came to our YWAM base in Harpenden to teach on our reconciliation courses.  Then he was appointed Dean of Liverpool Cathedral, at which point he hosted a YWAM meeting when Loren Cunningham was visiting the UK.  We had a relaxed and very enjoyable dinner in his home and there was no doubt about the depth of his faith, his joy and his remarkable abilities.  Not many years later, he was announced to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury—at which point he also agreed to be Patron of YWAM in England.

    This is not really an exercise in name-dropping; My aim is to make it clear that I know that these two men have a strong, Biblical faith.  Each of them has been working hard to move their Church towards living, outworked faith in Jesus and I am both pleased and amazed to have seen this wonderful development.  But it is very hard work and I doubt that either of them is overjoyed to see the progress they have, or haven’t, made. 

    NO REAL THREAT

    The truth is not a threat to the kingdom of darkness if it is inaccessible.  The offices these two men hold require them to appear almost entirely in formal and carefully managed situations.  They must wear clothing that no one else wears.  Not to put too fine a point on it, they often wear funny hats that you never see on anyone else and the cassocks they wear are more like dresses than the clothes men usually wear.  They often address us from the grandest and most historic buildings, surrounded by priceless works of art.  They must preside over ceremonies that must seem like mumbo jumbo to anyone without an education in the practices of the formal churches. 

    The Archbishop still conducts friendly evangelistic dinners in Lambeth Palace.  On those occasions, he is a wonderful host and shares the Good News about Jesus naturally and confidently.  But we, the public, only see a carefully managed man who seems to have little in common with us.

    A SCANDALOUS MISREPRESENTATION

    The media and entertainment world don’t often give any exposure to the Christian faith these days, but when they do, they like to focus on the “professional Christians”, who dress funny, seem rather stiff and distant and, in the media narrative, often turn out to be hypocrites.

    Jesus was so very different from all this.  He completely avoided all the professional religion of his day.  There was just one thing that made him stand out—WHO HE WAS.  He didn’t need or want to dress differently.  He did not have servants surrounding him and keeping other people away.  There were no crowd barriers and he did not confine himself to religious buildings. 

    THE CHURCH BECOMES SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE

    For more than three centuries, the Church largely followed in the pattern Jesus established.  But, in 326, the soon-to-be Emperor of Rome, Constantine, had some sort of conversion experience and by the end of his life eleven years later, he had elevated the leaders of the Church to positions of formal social power.  We have never fully recovered from that.

    I certainly don’t stand in judgment against the Pope, or Archbishops, or Cardinals or Bishops of Vicars—or celebrity preachers!  But they are trapped in a world that looks like it has little relevance to the daily lives of most people. That serves to make the Good News seem irrelevant.

    HE WAS INCARNATE AND WE INCARNATE HIM

    Ordinary Christians hold the key to solving the problem of accessibility.  “We” are the ordinary people, who dress like anyone else, who live in ordinary houses, cook our meals, do our laundry, go to work (when allowed to!) raise children—but we have a true faith that makes us very different—or certainly should do.

    Perhaps a testimony from Wuhan, ground zero of the Covid-19 virus, will illustrate.  From about 1950, the Christian faith in China grew at the greatest rate ever known in human history.  For every believer in 1950, there were probably more than a 1000 by 1995.  Then the government relaxed its persecution of Christians.  Pastors became more powerful; church buildings sprang up across the nation—some of them big enough to qualify as cathedrals—and the conversion growth slowed down.  After two decades of greater freedom, the government focussed pressure on churches; their buildings were torn down.

    Then the virus hit Wuhan and some of our friends there were very ill.  They grieved and prayed over their city in their isolation.  But they also rejoiced that something in the spiritual atmosphere had changed.  People in their thousands sought out Christians to find out why they were not afraid, why their lives radiated peace.  The number of Chinese people becoming Christians grew dramatically again.

    TRANSFORMING THE ORDINARY

    The TRUTH becomes accessible again when ordinary people live Christ-like lives; when they meet to support each other, to care for others in need, to pray together, to absorb truth from the Scriptures together. 

    Undoubtedly, some of the very large congregations meeting in church buildings in other parts of the world will survive this crisis, but many will not.  Although congregational meeting can be encouraging and large worship celebrations can be uplifting, we might be at turning point when these are no longer the primary expression of Christian faith.  If we become more known for meeting together in neighbourhood groups, sharing our joys and pains together, reaching out to our neighbourhoods, loving the lost and needy, searching the Scriptures together, learning to be open and transparent, becoming more loving and kind—then we might see the kind of growth that Christian saw in the early centuries and has seen again in China.

    Let’s pray and work to make the truth accessible!

    Lynn Green.

  • More Prophetic Insight?

    More Prophetic Insight?

    Photo by Daniel McCullough 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.**

    If  you have visited this blog before the last week or so, you will know that I don’t highlight prophecy.  However, I felt it right, having checked it out with elders, to publish Tom Bloomer’s word.  Now, just a few days later, the following prophecy was brought to my attention.

    I think it is right for me to post it for a few reasons:

    1. It is very specific, so will be proven right or wrong quite soon.
    2. If it is right, then it needs more prayer for it to bear the full fruit God intends.
    3. It is already in the public domain at www.propheticdaily.com
    4. It coincides with the Passover and many prophecies about breakthrough at this time.
    5. It also coincides with hundreds of thousands joining online worship and prayer, which can be accessed via  https://watchmen.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0d0e2ee4dc6550f1790f09a1a&id=fb0a97e3f7&e=0c005a6660

    Here is the word from Craig Cooney

    If the Holy Spirit gives you any sense of confirmation, do go to prayer that it might all be fulfilled!

    From Dailyprophetic:

    I trust you are keeping safe and well during this most unique time in recent history.

    I have been very reluctant to send out any words during this time as I wanted to hear clearly from the Lord and also to weigh up what I was sensing.

    First of all I want to share again some of what I sent out on 30th December 2019 and then tell you what I have felt the Lord say in recent days.

    As with any prophetic utterance, weigh it carefully and prayerfully.

    WORD SENT ON 30TH DECEMBER 2019

    The keyword that I keep getting over and over again for 2020 is “PIVOTAL”.

    The next 12 months will be absolutely pivotal and I believe this will be the most significant year of the last 50 years.

    It is a “tipping point” year – a year when everything that has been happening since the year 2000 culminates and climaxes.

    The next 12 months will also shape the next decade. The last 5-10 years have seen the most significant polarisation and division in nations and between nations that I have witnessed in my lifetime. The pressure has been building and this year it is going to be released.

    I saw what looked like huge tectonic plates underneath the Earth’s surface. They have been pushing together forming pressure and friction. This is going to build up to such an extent that it will be like an earthquake or eruption in 2020. In fact, don’t be surprised if the Lord affirms this in the natural. What happens physically often mirrors and even precedes what is happening in the spiritual realm.

    In the early months of 2020 you could see a very significant earthquake or volcanic eruption. The father is showing us prophetically what lies ahead in the rest of the year.

    Nationally, leaders will be at a loss as to how to bring peace and stability in their societies. There will be desperate measures such as curfews and bans, but they will be ineffective and counterproductive….

    ….There will be a major sifting within the church. The Lord is purifying his Bride as His return draws more imminent. Immature, immoral, heretical and ungodly leadership will be removed. The Lord no longer will tolerate a “show“ in His name. Only those who are pursuing His presence from a place of purity, reverence and true worship will flourish and stand. The others will be swept away in the cultural tide of conformity.

    The economy worldwide will take a major sudden dip. But it will not fall into recession like in 2008. It will quickly rally and recover….

    …There will be the greatest separation of believers in the last 200 years between those who appease and surrender to the secular culture and those who stand for righteousness, holiness and the Word of the Lord. The pressure to conform and be liked by the world will be so intense. Stand firm in truth and grace.

    Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His Word.

    Now I want to share what I believe the Lord has shown me in recent weeks. Some of you will have heard me share parts of this on Instagram Live and in my Instagram stories over the past few weeks.

    NEW WORD: SUNDAY 29TH MARCH 2020

    The word the Lord keeps giving me is RESET.

    It’s almost as if, when your cell phone is not working properly, you need to press various buttons at the same time and do a ‘hard reset’. Similarly, right now the nations and every area of society are going through a HARD RESET.

    There is a total REALIGNMENT of PRIORITIES and POWER taking place. The exalted are being brought low and the humble are being exalted. Everything we have taken for granted is receiving proper value. Many of the things we thought were important are now being seen as insignificant.

    The Lord is REFINING and SIFTING His BRIDE, the Church. Personalities and platforms which relied on crowds and human charisma will struggle in this season. Many won’t make it through.

    Authentic Spirit-filled communities will flourish in these days as the committed care for one another as in the early church.

    THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.

    While most are longing for everything to return to ‘normal’, I believe the Lord is saying that things will never be the same again. Nor should they be.

    There entire structure of society is currently being RECONFIGURED. As everything changed on September 11th 2001, the changes brought through this current shift will be exponentially greater.

    The Lord is DISMANTLING so many things in this time. He does not want us to rebuild them ever again. We are entering not only a new season, but a completely NEW ERA. There will be an entirely NEW ‘NORMAL’ when this crisis passes.

    WHEN WILL IT PASS?

    On Monday 16th March I was asking the Lord about this. I sensed Him tell me it would turnaround in 24 DAYS. That didn’t make sense to me as my natural inclination would have been to say 28 days or 4 weeks. But it was definitely 24 days. I checked the calendar on my phone and realized that 24 days takes us up until Thursday 9th April.

    In the Hebrew calendar PASSOVER begins at sundown on Wednesday 8th April. I shared this in my Instagram stories when the Lord spoke this to me. Many of you messaged me to say that a prophetic named Chuck Pierce had also prophesied about things changing at Passover. I hadn’t been aware of Chuck’s word.

    Let me be clear. I don’t think everything is suddenly going to get better on this date. However I believe that is the day when things will BEGIN TO TURN. We will START TO SEE THE DECLINE of the coronavirus from that day onwards.

    I also believe it will DISAPPEAR MUCH QUICKER than most ‘experts’ have projected. In fact, I sense the Lord saying, once the turnaround begins, it will leave much faster than it arrived.

    The PRAYERS OF GOD’S PEOPLE have never been more important. Heaven is waiting to release angels on assignment in response to the prayers of the Saints.

    GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS VERY CAREFULLY. Block out negative voices of fear, dread, doom and gloom. Fill your mind with the Word and let faith arise. SPEAK LIFE and HOPE and HEALING and BLESSING.

    This RESET, REALIGNMENT and REFINING is positioning us for REVIVAL in the Church and an AWAKENING in the world.

    WHAT THE ENEMY HAS INTENDED FOR EVIL, GOD IS GOING TO TURN AROUND FOR GOOD AND GLORY!

    There is more that the Lord is saying, but that’s enough for now.

    Please take care and all necessary precautions – but DO NOT SURRENDER TO A SPIRIT OF FEAR. Such a spirit is so prevalent at this time and is seeking to consume and control God’s people to render us ineffective and powerless.

    As Paul told Timothy:

    “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7)

    Every blessing in Christ,

    Craig
    DailyProphetic.com