Last year, Nick Szkiler took over from Clifford Hill as chair of Issachar Ministries, which is closely linked to Prophecy Today. In this, Nick, along with Issachar Ministries advisor Sarah Winbow and the IM team set out their vision both for IM, and for the Church as a whole in this nation, as we face new and unchartered waters. This is the fourth of five articles, all taken from Crossing Over, a booklet published by IM this summer (the rest of the series is available here).

Covid restrictions have already changed the face of Church and it will never return to how it was, nor should it. The old ‘ship’ is no longer ‘seaworthy’ for the strength of the ‘stormy’ seas that are ahead. What is needed is a completely different type of vessel altogether, something more akin to a lifeboat. Since its inception, the lifeboat has never been a cruise liner, for entertainment or lecturing or teaching; it has never been a trading vessel or a trawler. It is an emergency vehicle with one task only: to rescue people in danger of perishing in the hope and expectation they will be saved.

Therefore, the lifeboat is built in an entirely different shape; something specially designed to ride over the waves at speed; something that is much smaller, agile not cumbersome and with much more sensitive steering. It is also thoroughly equipped for every eventuality. Its highly trained staff can not only do everything needed to give emergency first aid, they are also able to radio ahead – to call on others to get ready to receive those being brought ashore so they can be ready to respond to their next emergency.

Small Groups

Many of us who form part of Issachar Ministries have come out of mainstream expressions of church – not because we sit in judgement on the people concerned – but because God had placed within us a deep desire for something more than what we perceived. That something more is Him; our hearts have longed to be allowed to spend time resting in His presence; to hear His voice and simply obey His instructions; to receive His heart for the poor and to be allowed to do something about it. Many of us have longed for the intimacy of true community over and above just belonging to a Sunday congregation; to be part of something that is lived out in everyday life, each day of the week, not a gathering on a Sunday morning which then has no bearing on the rest of the week.

That something more is Him; our hearts have longed to be allowed to spend time resting in His presence; to hear His voice and simply obey His instructions; to receive His heart for the poor and to be allowed to do something about it.

The seemingly drastic action of stepping outside the ‘boat’ of mainstream church has caused many believers to feel misunderstood, judged and guilty – which is exactly why we need to continue to gather together. The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way:

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb 10:25)

It is in gathering together that we are able to enjoy much needed fellowship, partake in the Lord’s Supper, and share openly and honestly with one another. This builds intimacy and transparency in relationships; building one another up, listening to God corporately, using our gifts, to teach, disciple and pray. But this is a very different way of gathering than we have been used to. Jesus says to Nicodemus:

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (Jn 3:8)

The Wind of the Spirit

This implies that everyone born of the Spirit is free to follow the promptings and direction of the ‘wind’ of the Spirit of God. When contemplating this imagery recently, one friend had a picture of an autumn scene: the trees were bare and the ground covered in leaves. As the wind blew, some of the leaves were blown into groups of two or three, others into heaps of slightly more whilst others danced around on their own for quite a while before being blown into an existing clump for a period of time.

This beautiful picture recreates very well the informal and simple modus operandi used in the earliest days of the Celtic church across Britain and now common in the underground church all over the world. The challenge is for us consciously to become less organised and structured, less meetings based – and more open to allowing the Holy Spirit to gather us according to his days, times and seasons. Part of this will be a return to gatherings around the Biblical feasts, not the Roman ones, and the simplicity of the Hebrew Shabbat; making room to spend time in His presence, listening to His voice and simply doing what He says. He will not fail to set passionate hearts ablaze.

The challenge is for us consciously to become less organised and structured, less meetings based – and more open to allowing the Holy Spirit to gather us according to his days, times and seasons.

As we stand on the cusp of the ‘storm’ and see the institutions in our nation increasingly shaken and crumbling, we find our society has as much an uncertain future as that of 2nd-4th century Celtic Britain. The ‘lifeboat’ God gave at that time was the incarnation of the glory and light of God through the believers. They did not fail in their challenge; the light they carried did not go out, in fact it burned consistently (like glowing coals) for over 600 years – during which the British church grew phenomenally and impacted society whilst officially under persecution for much of that time.

God is offering us the opportunity to take up our own torches, lit from the glowing embers of who they were and the living vibrant faith they carried, into our own time and season. He is preparing us to see the Kingdom advance powerfully in a time of great adversity. Important questions emerge from that understanding.

•  Why it is that a church that is persecuted and underground cannot possibly have the same structure as one above ground?
•  Is living in genuine ‘community’ really possible for God’s people today? How might that look in your locale?

A Faithful Remnant

The early Celtic church was only ever a remnant within a much larger society, but it was an incredibly important and significant one. In the 2nd-4th centuries it was an underground hidden movement that was so powerfully ablaze with the Spirit of God it impacted and changed whole communities. Despite persecution, the ruling powers of the day were powerless to extinguish the glowing flame that led to the transformation of society at that time. Eventually God used the foundation laid by this underground body of believers to be the plumb line for the whole fabric of future society from which our Judeo-Christian heritage, morality and values emerged.

God is now offering us that same opportunity: to become a powerful force of influence for His Kingdom in the reshaping and rebuilding of society in the ‘storm’ and whatever follows. But that rebuilding has to begin NOW; within a people who are willing to be wholly abandoned to Him and His purposes: those who are fearless and willing to open their mouths and not be silent in the fight for righteousness and justice; who are willing to open their homes and use their God-given resources to rescue those adrift; to become believing communities that provide stability, support, security and refuge throughout the period of the ‘storm’.

God is now offering us that same opportunity: to become a powerful force of influence for His Kingdom in the reshaping and rebuilding of society in the ‘storm’ and whatever follows.

It is too late to prepare the ‘lifeboat’ when the ‘storm’ is at its height. It needs to be prepared, equipped, and resourced in advance. It follows that this change needs to happen under the leading of the Holy Spirit within a remnant people who are willing to be prepared and equipped, ready to meet the great challenges we will all face. Whilst there is most certainly a change in mindset required concerning the nature and ministry of the Body, the change that is needed is more than just spiritual; it is extremely practical as well.

Noah

Noah (Gen 6-8) was alert when God warned him of the coming storm. In view of the mocking and indignity he must have faced, it would surely have been far easier for him to simply ignore the warning or try to place it to the back of his mind as he got on with normal life, but he did not do that. The Bible says Noah did everything just as God commanded him and that obedience appears to have been unquestioning. His preparation was not a last-minute thing; on the contrary, it was carefully considered, thought through and God’s instructions were followed to the letter to bring about the very detailed and costly practical preparations needed to save his family; those who became the foundation for a whole new society at the time.

Questions to consider:

• Does your fellowship perceive that God could well be giving his Church the greatest opportunity to demonstrate the gospel since WWII?
• How ready is the church in your town or village to respond to those whose lives are shaken or collapsing around them?
• How would you identify your fellowship of believers on the scale of 1-10 in moving towards carrying the simplicity of the Celtic flame?
• Consider Noah: what does the Ark represent to you? Have you ever thought of your home as a refuge and/or storehouse? Who might that be for?