Bawtry Hall - Mike Gowen writes...

Mike Gowen writes… I was reflecting on the Bawtry conference and was struck by Isaiah 9:8, which I came to in my daily study: “The LORD has sent a message in Jacob and it will fall (i.e. come to pass) in Israel.” The prophet is speaking to an apostate society (the northern kingdom), rather like our own; and he begins by saying, look what God has said to you already, and then see how it will come to pass.

That set me thinking: What has God been saying to England over the past century that really stands out. Two of the most formative Christians in that century for England were Smith Wigglesworth and Billy Graham, the one a pioneer in signs, wonders and healing, and the other in evangelism. The Smith Wigglesworth prophecy of 1947, which was reproduced in September Network News, seems highly relevant to me. Much of what he said has come true, so we can expect the rest to come to pass too. The lesson here is: Hold on to word and spirit together, because this is going to usher in something really powerful.

I remember reading a history of Billy Graham, that during his first Haringey crusade of 1954 they felt God saying to them that if they stuck at it they would see revival break out in Britain in an unprecedented way. Interestingly, he does not mention this in his autobiography. What he does say, and what is history, is that they gave up after 3 months because they were so exhausted. And there was no revival, even there was a considerable move of God. The lesson her is to pace ourselves – not burn ourselves out like Evan Roberts did in the Welsh Revival – but not to give up because it seems too hard or too exhausting – this may be just the point at which the breakthrough is about to come. I think these two lessons are going to be very important for us in coming years.

Blessings,
Mike