THE POWER AND HOPE OF THE GOSPEL

I mentioned a fortnight ago that my local church is engaged in a month of prayer over January. My own involvement has been in leading prayer for the world. The research and reading behind that world prayer (much of it from “Operation World”) has given me a fresh sense of spiritual hope as we walk into a very uncertain year ahead. Two of the areas of the world we have majored on in prayer have been China and Africa (China having the larger population!). When we look back over the last century we find that, from the point of view of the gospel and the growth of the church, both these areas show something quite staggering, something that releases a deep joy.

I was reminded yet again that the number of evangelical Christians in China has grown from some 2.7 million in 1975 to over 75 million (some would say more) in 2010. There has been a huge and ongoing revival, with demonstrations of New Testament power. Christians are now to be found in every stratum of Chinese society, with many vibrant urban professional churches. There is a very high commitment level in the church, and “missionary vision” is widespread. There is already a strategic and growing Chinese “diaspora” across the world, a ready vehicle for witness.

We see something similar when we look at Africa. In the 20th century evangelical Christians grew from 1.6 million in 1900 to 182 million in 2010. This is as many as all evangelicals in the Americas combined and is the largest evangelical population of any continent. African Christianity has established itself as a truly potent force, both on the continent and on a global level. It has some of the largest churches in the world, some of the largest prayer gatherings and initiatives and a strong world mission vision.

It was not simply this growth in itself, however, that brought a fresh sense of hope. It had, for me, much more to do with the fact that this had all happened against a background of appalling historical events. The 20th century was not a peaceful century. Europe virtually destroyed itself and its empires by widespread murderous wars. But neither was it peaceful for China; Japanese invasion in the 1930s devastated the proud “Kingdom”, and after W.W.2 the Communist revolution brought further devastation and widespread death, both to the nation and the church.
And yet out of all that carnage came the staggering growth of a massive evangelistic and missionary minded church of a kind which has been described as having “no parallel in history".

When we look at Africa we see the same basic story. Dominated and exploited by European powers for the first half of the 20th century, the second half saw Africa dominated by the struggle for independent nationhood, and that brought a worse story of corrupt despots, war, genocide, displacement of millions and rapid expansion of diseases, including the scourge of AIDS. It still continues. Yet that is the background to the massive advance of the gospel of Jesus in Africa.

One is left full of praise to God that despite the self centred wrath of man and the devastations it causes, God has been utterly faithful to his promise that Jesus would be a Light to the world and his gospel would be preached in all the world. Yes, “the people who lived in darkness have seen a great light” Isaiah 11.


When I see the portents of chaos for the coming century it is difficult in the natural to feel optimistic. But one thing is absolutely certain; whatever may come in the way of the judgement of God or the wrath of man, nothing will stop further years of the fulfillment of God’s purposes. That is the lesson of history. As Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it”. The warlike, cruel and corrupt earthly principalities, try as they might, will not hold back the Kingdom of God. There will be further great harvests. That is a matter for great rejoicing, for those whose “citizenship is in heaven”!

In all thiis we are not merely talking about church statistics, but about the lives of people who will find hope and an eternal salvation. That's the real joy. It is for that reason that Paul wrote, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord”. Prayer is a very important part of that work.




Bob


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THE QUEEN'S SPEECH

I listened to a sermon on Sunday last which reminded me very forcibly of how impressed I was listening to the Queen’s speech to the nation on Christmas Day. I remember sitting up sharply at the overt nature of the Christian message which she gave toward the end of her speech. I think it well worth repeating in this column. It was so heartening that the monarch of the Realm and the Head of the Church of England should so simply yet so pointedly give honour to Jesus and to the message of forgiveness that he brought.

So here is her last section:
"For many this Christmas will not be easy. With our armed forces deployed around the world, thousands of service families face Christmas without their loved ones.
The bereaved and the lonely will find it especially hard. And, as we all know, the world is going through difficult times. All this will affect our celebration of this great Christian festival.
Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born in a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: ‘Fear not!’ they urged, ‘We bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’
Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed. God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive. Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's love.
In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem, there's a prayer: “O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today”.
It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord. I wish you all a very happy Christmas."

This is her year of Jubilee, and we have much to be thankful for in the personal life and the sincere Christian faith of our Queen. She has been a great gift to this country; totally committed to her duty as Queen, and steadfast through both her own personal troubles and the troubles of the nation. She undoubtedly stands out among a long line of national monarchs not all of whom have been so sure footed as she has. It would be very fitting to pray that this Jubilee Year will find her at full strength and having numerous opportunities to give a principled and Christian input to the nation. This would be her own desire, of that I have no doubt. She has certainly given us a lead in speaking out about the Christian faith in a multi-faith society,undaunted by the absurd notion of those who say such speaking is bound to cause offence. She causes no offence because fact is, of course, she speaks with grace and in the spirit of peace.



Bob


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THE PLEASURE AND POWER OF PRAYER

I do apologise for this column being posted rather late in the day. The reason is that Tuesday has become a day in which I am particularly involved in leading some prayer in the church throughout the month of January. The church in which I worship has set aside the whole of the month for prayer and cancelled all its normal midweek meetings so that people may engage specifically in prayer. I have been leading a series of sessions called “Praying for the World”.

I haven’t mentioned this just to make an excuse, but in order to say to you how wonderfully refreshing it is to be part of an extended period in which prayer is the dominating activity. There is nothing quite so exhilarating or so strengthening, even though one is aware of constant spiritual opposition. I simply wanted to say that I do hope this year will not go very far before you or your church may become similarly involved.

This has not been a prayer month when anything “grandiose” has been attempted. No special, “big” meetings have been announced, and no “hype”. It is simply that the church and its different rooms are open every day for people to go into and pray in whatever way they wish and for however long they wish. The response has been remarkable with people showing a real appetite to seek the Lord. Various church activities are prayed for in corporate as well as personal manner, but the emphasis is on seeking the face of the Lord for Kingdom blessing in whatever way each person feels important. This is producing a powerful relaxedness. It has brought about a great release of the spirit of prayer which has resided in many church members for some years now.

My own particular burden is to seek God for the church that it might have increased understanding of the world, greater and deeper prayer for the world, and more people being called into world mission. I have had room to express my heart concern with others who have a similar concern. Other heart burdens, different and equally legitimate, have been similarly released. It gives a great sense of the body of Christ moving forward. It’s a great and satisfying feeling.

Prayer in the life of the church is, of course, the supremely important factor for future growth, effectiveness and spiritual quality. Many have said that the church ought always to be in revival as the norm. So indeed it should. Theoretically that is fine, but at the practical level the sustaining of a church in the full power and grace of the Spirit is utterly dependent upon the time we give to God, the time we spend in his presence and the eagerness of our hearts to be about his business and to be utterly godly and righteous.

I feel so blessed when I am part of a genuine prayer movement of prayer, and I simply wanted to encourage you to re-engage in such movement as we move into this new year. I anticipate that it will be a year of real difficulties, one calling for much grace, patience and faith.



Bob

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