Moving Up a Gear ...One of the prophecies at the Brighton Leadership Conference was about the need to "move up a gear". That when the clutch is pressed down, there is a split second of freewheeling then the gear engages and the car is equipped to go faster. However the prophecy reminded us that it isn't the gear box that makes the car go faster but the accelarator pedal being depressed! The car is simply equipped to go faster. The prophecy said that the conference had moved our church lives up a gear, but now we had to "go" and accelerate.
Since the Brighton conference, Terry Virgo spoke of the privilidge of being at the Rob Rufus Training Tracks and the need to "go on experiencing life-changing impact from them". That statement really echoed the cries of many hearts I think.
I am absolutely thrilled coming back from church today feeling that the prophecy in part is coming true. There were two prophecies in church which were awesome in weight and implication. The first was very specific - that God has a strategy for us. That the Church is His Number One Plan to go to the nations and bring them in. The second prophecy was linked to that - the lady had a picture of some stones similar to the ones that David used from the brook to kill Goliath. She said that God had similar stones for us. Words that would kill the powers of darkness holding our friends, family and neighbours in. Stones to hit targets and bring down giants.
Traditionally prophecy today has been somewhat laughed at by cessationists. In their desire to get "it right", many who prophesy today keep their words somewhat vague and etherial. "I see a picture of a waterfall". "The Lord says, I love you" and so on. There is maybe absolute validity in those words and pictures, but I have always felt that as charismatics we have yet to see the text in 1 Corinthians fulfilled that says; "But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you" (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).
It is my hope and prayer therefore that one of the results of the Brighton conference, and the "moving up of a gear" is that we will see prophecy grow and develop and that more and more of our church will step out in faith and speak what they feel the Spirit has to say to the churches. With that in mind, there are two websites that I must note.
The first is called "Prophetic Reformation" and it is by a great guy called Jon who I have met. He is a friend of Luke Wood's and goes to his church in Sheffield. The website has some awesome material on there including his Reformed/Charismatic version of the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards.
The second is called "Spirit of God!" and it is by the son of my mother. I started the new blog as a direct result of the Brighton conference. Anyone who follows this website will know that I do tend to go on about the Holy Spirit quite a bit - this blog aims to raise the profile of the Spirit and life in the Spirit. Hopefully it will also mean that I can devote more time on this website to Ern Baxter's ministry. So far on there I have posted one of my favourite prophecy's of Terry Virgo's that he gave at Stoneleigh 2000, I have posted a helpful article from Bob Mumford on prophecy and an interview by Arthur Wallis on revival.
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