If anyone thought that Christianity was dying in the traditional churches of Britain – what happened in Winchester Cathedral last week would have shattered their illusions!

Winchester Cathedral has seen many historic events in its near thousand years of history, but it will certainly never have witnessed anything like the Pentecost celebrations over the weekend of 14-15 May 2016.

Of course it's always inspiring to worship in a large crowd, but this was different for several reasons. It was not just a large crowd – it was massive! The Cathedral was packed with more than 2,000 people sitting on the floor or standing shoulder to shoulder. The only chairs were against the side walls, reminiscent of mediaeval times when the weak went to the wall. Outside was another thousand-strong crowd on the green, for whom there was no room inside the cathedral.

Like 'Murray's Mound' at Wimbledon where the action is relayed onto a giant screen, the crowd outside the cathedral were able to see all that was happening; but unlike Wimbledon they were also able to participate, along with those inside.

Baptisms by Full Immersion!

Worship was led by Matt Redman, whose rock band certainly filled the Cathedral with sound greatly appreciated by the many young people present. It wasn't my style of music but I was delighted to see so many young people lost in worship, for which I could genuinely praise God. Towards the end of the two-hour service, 14 people were baptised by immersion in a portable plastic tank in the middle of the nave (I wondered if this was a first for the Cathedral?).

The tank was near the main door, which was open so that people on the green could see. Then a number of young people, including my granddaughter, were confirmed. It was a unique experience to see David Williams, the Bishop of Basingstoke, standing in the water like John the Baptist and baptising by full immersion – in an Anglican cathedral!

It was a delight to see so many young people lost in worship - and many baptised by full immersion, in an Anglican cathedral!

The Sunday evening celebration was the culmination of nine days of prayer events leading up to Pentecost, when Christians across the country were invited by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to pray for the evangelisation of Britain. The weekend culminated in six 'Beacon events' with video links to Canterbury Cathedral where Archbishop Justin Welby gave a message based upon the Lord's prayer which he said was "reassuring enough to be on the lips of the dying and yet dangerous enough to be banned in cinemas".¹

He said, "The Lord's Prayer is simple enough to be memorised by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer. When we pray it with sincerity and with joy, there is no imagining the new ways in which God can use us to his glory."²

A Turning Point?

The Pentecost events in Winchester and other cathedrals celebrated the birthday of the Church when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon the first disciples. It may be a turning point in the spiritual life of the nation with the established Church leading the way in praying for the re-evangelisation of Britain and a new generation of young people leading worship and prayer in a style appropriate to their peer group.

When the music in the Cathedral reached maximum decibels, severely testing the ancient pillars and arches, I thought of Ezekiel in the Valley prophesying to the dry bones when there was "a thunderous noise and the bones came together, bone to bone" (Ezek 37:7). Most English translations say "a rattling sound" but the Hebrew actually says "a thunderous noise" which is certainly what happened in Winchester Cathedral!

Was this a sign that something special is beginning to happen in the old denominational churches? Will the spiritual life of the nation be transformed by a new generation embracing the gospel in their own culture as the Holy Spirit breathes new life into the unchanging message of salvation and "Jesus is Lord!" is once again heard on the lips of children and young people?

References

1 See thykingdom.co.uk.

2 Ibid.

We bring you an exciting update from evangelists Syd and Liz Doyle, who have just spent nine days reaching out to refugees fleeing IS.

Syd and Liz Doyle have been working as international evangelists and church planters for many decades, pastoring in England and America and ministering in 54 nations, seeing tens of thousands come to Christ. In the past they planted a church in Ashford before settling in the USA, and have worked with Prophecy Today's Clifford and Monica Hill on projects such as the Zong slave ship, the Sharing Show and the Heal our Land musical.

This past nine days Syd and Liz have been serving in Jordan, ministering to refugees fleeing from ISIS – and have led over 700 people to Jesus! Their daily updates make for remarkable and exciting reading – so we are re-printing excerpts of them here for your encouragement.

Stories of Hope: Excerpts from the Doyles' Daily Updates

"Hi Praying Friends,

This trip has been successful as we partnered with different Pastors, workers and church groups who serve the Iraqi refugees. We delivered 200 40lb bags of groceries, clothing, dozens of blankets and about 30 heaters. We spoke at 6 meetings and at every house we visited - explained the Gospel and led over 700 to Christ.

Thanks for holding us up in prayer!

In the Field,
Syd and Liz"

Refugees from Nineveh

"We are very busy and already tired out after Day 1. We put our food and clothing packages together and set out to visit 9 families...all refugees from Iraq - leaving businesses, homes, cars, everything, running for their lives from ISIS. The first family had to leave their businesses, and a new house they were building, to save their lives. Walking, they had to carry their 83 year old grandma and her wheelchair all the way to Jordan!"

"We prayed with a widow, (she said Jesus saved her 2 sons and her from ISIS - Liz said, well now, let Jesus save you from your sins - and she did!) Syd prayed with a man and his son, and we all prayed with a family of 6, all refugees from Ninevah for salvation too! We prayed for a sweet little 6 year old boy to be healed from cancer. His mom is a young widow. Please keep all these dear new believers in prayer!"

"What a great day...41 men, women and children prayed today for salvation/assurance. 21 families from Ninevah. Driven out by ISIS because they refused to renounce Christ. We gave each family a bag of groceries, a blanket and clothes provided by you our supporters! We have now given out 30 bags."

"One girl shared how her brother crossed the sea in an inflatable boat that sunk. He was rescued with only the clothes on his back and a Bible! He walked to Germany and finally at the end of himself he crawled into a phone box falling asleep with the Bible as his pillow. He was wakened by a knock on the window and an Arab man asked him to follow him. The man took him to a church - he was a Pastor! He prayed with him and led him to Christ! He's serving the church today! Let's pray this happens over and over again to these refugees in Europe. Through this testimony his sister came to Christ!"

Salvation Near Mt Nebo

"Today, about 2 miles from Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked over the Promised land before he died, 60 men, women and children accepted Christ/received Assurance today! The courtyard of a small Roman Catholic Church in this Muslim country houses 20 Iraqi refugee families who live in 18 small container/trailer looking units provided by the Jordanian government...

...They all gathered in the hall after we visited some of the "homes" where we preached the Gospel using the Evangecube, our testimonies and gospel bracelets. As Liz sang Amazing Grace many began to cry as the Holy Spirit touched their hearts. After the time of prayer there was such excitement and joy!"

A Thanksgiving Like No Other

"What a day! In the evening we had a special Thanksgiving meal - we catered for 400 and over 500 attended - the church was packed. Syd and Liz preached and over 400 stood to receive Christ!"

"Thanks for praying...we are witnessing a remarkable thing...These people, nominal Christians, many professional people, having been stripped of everything, now realize that who they need is Jesus."

"Then we visited the home of a Sabean family. Nawal, our team member is originally from that religion. They follow John the Baptist. After directing their attention to the Gospel of John and John the Baptist identifying Jesus as the Lamb of God, this family, who lost their four year old son to murder by terrorists in Iraq because they refused to deny their religion, received Jesus as their Savior. Nawal was thrilled to pray with them for salvation!"

"Finally our evening ended with Syd and Liz preaching at another Iraqi church - 90 were in attendance and about 60 stood to receive Christ. We provided 2 Falafal sandwiches each and a drink after the service! They were so happy!"

For more information about Syd and Liz, see www.nationslight.org.

Prophecy Today’s role has traditionally been to watch what is happening in the nation and on the international scene and give advance warning where we see trouble ahead.

Today we foresee dark clouds ahead, but bright light breaking through the clouds.

We do not have to rely upon the accuracy of polls to know that there is trouble ahead following the General Election. The plain fact is that as a nation we have turned our backs upon the word of God: we have rejected truth, we have spurned all the warning signs and now the great shaking of the nation is about to hit us with unrelenting fury!

What can we expect to see? The Bible has plenty of examples of what happens when a nation rejects God’s moral and spiritual standards of truth. Deuteronomy 28:20 says “The Lord will send on you confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to.” The leaders of our nation will not know how to deal with the shaking of the political system that will affect us all. The social stability of the nation and the economy will be shaken.

What can Christians do? Yes, of course, we must pray for the Lord to exercise mercy in the midst of judgement. But we believe God is calling for action as well as prayer!
Christians are being presented with the greatest opportunity for evangelism we have had for many years. God is calling for the church to be the Prophet to the nation: to be active in bringing help and stability to the nation in a time of turmoil.

God is calling for the church to be the Prophet to the nation.

What can Christians do?

First, we have to explain what has gone wrong. This was always the task of the prophets in biblical times and it is the task of the church today. As a nation we have turned truth upside down, calling good evil and evil good. Isaiah 5:20 says “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”

As a nation we have turned truth upside down, calling good evil and evil good.

We have grossly failed to teach our children right from wrong, so that most of them are sexually active by the time they leave school and there is an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases among young people.

We have undermined and destroyed stable family life. The lives of millions of children have been shattered by family breakdown, which has also caused massive mental health problems (eg depression and suicide among adults) and has had a disastrous effect upon the economy.

Each family breakdown triggers a demand for another house, so we have a housing crisis: and family breakdown causes more people to be supported by the state. The Centre for Social Justice estimates the cost of family breakdown at £44 billion a year¹ – a huge drain on the nation’s wealth.

What are Christians doing?

Christians are already active in supporting their local communities through Food Banks, Street Pastors, Mums and Toddlers Groups, Senior Citizens Lunch Groups and in hundreds of other ways. This needs to be increased and used positively to help people to understand what’s gone wrong in their lives and what to do about it. One-to-one sharing of our faith with our neighbours in the community will have a transforming effect.

New Unity

The social situation we are about to face will demand new unity among churches and Christian groups across the country. Fresh vision and action will not only transform local situations but it will transform relationships between churches which will command a blessing from God.

Day of Opportunity

A day of great opportunity lies ahead. God is shaking everything and Christians need to understand what he is doing. Already there is widespread disillusionment among Muslims in the wake of the Islamic State. Reports from Egypt and other parts of North Africa and the Middle East speak of large numbers of Muslims accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

Here in Britain many Muslims are turning to Christianity in cities like Leicester where churches are active among them. But the whole population in Britain is going to be shaken by the political and social upheaval on the horizon.

If Christians will rightly respond to what God is saying to us today this could result in a great spiritual awakening and transformation in the nation.

This is a day of good news as the storm clouds approach. We should keep our eyes fixed upon what God is doing – the fields are white for harvest!

References

1 Family Breakdown, Centre for Social Justice

'Storytelling – sharing the gospel with passion and power', by Martin Goldsmith (Inter Varsity Press, 2014, 185 pages, RRP £8.99).

Everybody loves a good story – and the Bible has so many of them which have stood the test of time and are loved by believers young and old. Jesus often used stories to relay deep biblical truths – his parables spoke about everyday events but gave them a new meaning and purpose.

This is an exciting and easy-to-read book from Martin Goldsmith who has been a missionary in many different cultures in South East Asia and who has been involved in teaching others on mission at All Nations Christian College from its inception. He is passionate about evangelistic outreach – and wants to help others reach out too wherever they are.

Martin is a Jewish Christian who trained as a Russian interpreter before going onto the mission field with his wife, who is also a prolific communicator. He is well experienced in getting the message across in a variety of different ways and particularly when straight preaching of the Gospel is difficult – or may even be prohibited.

This book is full of stories from his own experience of evangelism, but he also emphasises the need to understand the purpose in telling these stories. Martin not only tells many personal stories but he also encourages the reader to delve into their own experiences so that they can pass on the deep messages of the faith to others. He helps the reader to communicate effectively with people who do not think in quite the same way as they do, and to build up fruitful relationships.

In this book he also takes the next step in helping anyone delve more deeply into the faith as he is a past master in encouraging people to think through the issues themselves. He learnt this from the methods of Jesus who often responded to a question from an enquirer by asking the enquirer a question – a very Jewish method of teaching.

Altogether an encouraging book which is a joy to read – not just once but time and time again.