The Church needs to return to the whole word of God – for the nation’s sake.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish” – so says an ancient proverb in the Authorised Version. The NIV translates it “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” (Prov 29:18).
Both of these statements are good descriptions of what is happening in Britain today, in Parliament and in the streets around Westminster. There is no clear vision in our Government or among our elected representatives. And the people in the street merely shout slogans at each other expressing contrary views. Why is this? And why is this happening at such a crucial period in the history of the nation?
The simple answer is that we are living in a generation that has abandoned truth. Everywhere, we are surrounded by lies and deception. Social media is full of it and our newspapers cannot be trusted – they all have their own agendas to promote. Even the BBC, that was founded upon biblical principles of declaring truth to the nations, has succumbed to the epidemic of ‘fake news’, promoting ideology while pretending to be impartial.
Listening to BBC Radio 4, the flagship of national news broadcasting, is painful today as the interviewers constantly interrupt those they are questioning, trying to force their own views (which are clearly biased towards ‘remaining’ under the dominion of Brussels and undermining every attempt to get a clear and clean Brexit).
Unexpected Co-operation
There was, however, a significant shift in the House of Commons this week as panic at the prospect of leaving the EU with no deal gripped MPs of all parties and persuasions. This caused them to move from simply declaring what they won’t accept, to searching for some common ground. It was a major change of attitude which brought agreement that Government and Opposition parties will combine in the search for an acceptable deal. Of course, this should have happened two years ago - it might have avoided the current impasse with Brussels that looks impossible to solve at this late hour.
We are living in a generation that has abandoned truth.
It certainly looks as though our MPs have left it too late in coming to a common agreement in time to find an acceptable arrangement with the EU. The Prime Minister may be given the impossible task of going back to Brussels and attempting to re-open negotiations which the 27 other members of the EU consider closed.
Is there any hope? Certainly, for we believe in the power of prayer. Many Christians came together in meetings all over Britain last Saturday, observing a call to pray for the nation.
Dr Hill and David Hathaway, Wembley Arena, 26 January 2019.Faithful, believing prayer is never wasted and it may be that it was the day of prayer that influenced the MPs to move towards a more positive position, searching for a way forward together.
Different Theologies
But I have to be honest about my own involvement in the Day of Prayer. I was given the privilege of leading the opening slot at a large prayer meeting in the Wembley Arena which brought together Christians from a wide variety of church backgrounds both on the platform and in the hall (it was live-streamed and is still available on Youtube). The format of the meeting was good, following the biblical example of Daniel’s prayer – beginning with worship and confession before coming before the Lord with our requests.
In my experience this is the first time that leaders of the black and white churches of Britain have come together on the same platform confessing their division, asking God’s forgiveness and seeking his blessing upon the nation. I have been working with Africans and African-Caribbean churches for more than 50 years and longing to see relationships of love and unity that would release spiritual power into the nation.
The leaders of these churches came to Wembley last Saturday but they did not invite their large congregations so it was a mainly white congregation in the Arena. There was a sense in which they were just dipping their toes in the water before fully committing themselves to working together. This is a start – but there is much more work to be done.
Leaders pray for unity, Wembley Arena, Saturday 26 January 2019.
I am by no means criticising those who organised the meeting at short notice which was a valiant attempt to reproduce the kind of united praying church that succeeded in praying the nation to victory at Dunkirk and in the 1940 Battle of Britain. But it was nonetheless apparent that there is still a lack of clear, unified vision in the Church, even among believing charismatic evangelicals.
It may be that the lack of clear vision on Saturday was the result of cultural differences in the approach to prayer and worship. But I personally have never found these to be a barrier: I can worship in different cultures – and levels of sound! The thing I did find difficult was sharing the platform with those who have very different theologies: especially leaders who are expecting imminent revival.
Return to Biblical Truth
I made a statement that there will be no revival in the nation until there is repentance in the Church and I believe that to be true. Jeremiah faced a similar situation from false prophets who were telling the people of Jerusalem not to worry about the threat from the Babylonians because God would protect the city. Jeremiah told the truth that God would not protect a city full of idolatry, immorality, greed, lies and deception. He called for confession and repentance and this should be our call to the nation today. But it will never be heard in the nation until it is proclaimed in the Church first of all.
The Wembley meeting was a great start, and I believe it really affected the political realm in the following days, but it also revealed the enormous need for Christians of all traditions to search the scriptures in a common endeavour to recover biblical truth – starting with defining the very nature and purposes of God.
The Wembley meeting was a great start, but it also revealed the enormous need for Christians of all traditions to recover biblical truth.
The Church has glibly taken over God’s covenantal promises to Israel without ever understanding God’s true purposes and how he intends fulfilling them. We need to go back to Isaiah 55 and study carefully the word of the Lord,
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Replacement Theology must be swept from the Church, along with the false teaching, prophecy and spiritual practices of the so-called ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ (NAR) that are muddying the spiritual waters and creating confusion in the Church. The only way to find clear vision with which to give a lead to the nation is for the Church to return to biblical truth and declare the whole word of God.
Prayer Day at Wembley Arena, Saturday 26 January.