Oct 31st 2017 marks the 500yr anniversary of the Reformation when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the Wittenberg door! This year we want to pray for a Lamb’s Reformation to help shift the church back to honoring the sacrifice of Christ! A reformation is the action or process of reforming an institution or practice. It’s our desire to see the church reformed, fully alive to the Supremacy of Christ in all things! Let’s cry out for a God-breathed, Christ-awakening movement where God’s Spirit uses God’s Word to re-awaken God’s people back to God’s Son for all that He is! As Paul writes in Philippians 3:8,
Philippians 3:8 (AMP) “I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly”
We are longing for a Gospel Explosion for the glory of the Lamb! We desire to see a tsunami of revival come crashing in on the nations of the earth, for the spread of his fame, for the extension of his reign, for the increase of his gain and for the honor of his claim! May the Lamb who was slain receive the due reward of his sufferings.
Habakkuk. 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Son of the Father, reigning at His right hand forever and ever. He is the Triumphant Victor over every foe-satan, sin, death, and Hades. He is the Glorious Conqueror, the dominating personality for all ages to come! He is the Unequivocal Commander of heaven’s hosts! He is the Indisputable Judge of peoples and nations, to whom all must give an account. He is the Undeniable Rule of history, overseeing its path and its outcome from beginning to end! He is the Incomparable King of an empire that will ultimately fill creation with His power and piety. He is the Irreplaceable Head and Heart of a people whom He has bought with His own blood. He is the Reigning Redeemer of a church universal, militant and triumphant, sending His salvation to the ends of the earth! He is the Supreme Lord in this moment just as fully as He will be Supreme Lord at the end of time!
I believe one of the keys that God will use to unlock the hearts of his people is the revelation of the cross of Christ! In the contemplation of the cross, there is a profound revelation of the love of God. This disclosure comes to the hearts of those who desire to understand this pivotal point in human history. It is a well-spring of extravagant love that awaits the seeker who will linger at the foot of the cross long enough with an open and expectant heart. It is given to all who seek Him with a whole heart, and whose desire is accompanied by a measure of determination. As the apostle Paul wrote,
1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
1 Corinthians 1:17-18, “ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
It is the cross of Christ that brings down all barriers, and unites us together in love, for His glory! As Jesus said,
John 12:32-33 “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.”
Revelation 21:23 “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb”
I believe it is time for the church to return to Christ as the Lamb of Love, the Lamb of Glory. As we approach the end of the age, we must see and encounter the face of Jesus as the Lamb! Twenty-eight times in the book of revelation, Jesus is revealed as the Worthy Lamb! We need to bury our hearts in his wounds until our lives are transformed from glory to glory, for indeed ‘every wound bleed’s glory.’
When Jesus died, a centurion took a spear and pierced his side. Out of the riven side of the Passover Lamb flowed forth blood and water. It was a physical sign that his heart had ruptured. His heart was so full of love that it literally burst open, both in the natural and in the spiritual. Jesus literally died of a broken heart! And out of his heart flowed forth a river of God’s love for you and I. The crimson blood of the Lamb washes away our sin and makes us whiter than snow. His love was so strong, that even the grave couldn’t hold him back. On the third day he rose again, burst forth from the grave, alive forevermore!
I believe it’s time to behold the Lamb of Glory, until our hearts are wounded by the Wounded One! As Spurgeon writes, “When we see the Lord pierced, the piercing of our hearts begins.”[i]
Could the Holy Spirit be holding back the coming wave of glory until we are gripped with a passion for the Lamb, the One from whom Glory flows? Maybe God is waiting for our hearts to be scarred by the sacrifice of His Son as the Lamb?
Let’s Pray,
Father, we believe that the hour has come for your Son, the Lord Jesus to be honored, and treasured as the Worthy Lamb who was slain! Even as the Lamb is in the center of the throne in Heaven, we declare and decree that it’s time for the Lamb to become the center of the throne on the earth! Father, we know that you are always looking at the wounds of your Son and we ask for a Lamb’s Reformation in the church that would wake us up again to his cross, to bring your Son the reward he deserves for giving his life as a Lamb!
Father would you raise up and send forth messengers of the Lamb, prophetic voices like John the Baptist who will cry out, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”
Bring forth ones like Peter who will preach the gospel with such power that people will be cut to the heart- and say, “What must I do to be saved?”
Father, send forth ones like the apostle Paul who will resolve to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Father raise up ones like John the apostle who will look until they see the slain Lamb standing in the center of the throne in heaven, and then reveal him here on the earth!
Lord of the Harvest thrust forth ones like the Moravians who cried out, “May the Lamb who was slain receive his due reward!”
Jason Hubbard
An Excerpt from Lamb’s Reformation 2017
---Devotional
Documentary on friars challenges BBC viewers
28 Apr 2017
Five hours of prayer every day, soup kitchens, sharing the Gospel with street people, impromptu guitar jams, amazing beards in the world of a Franciscan friary - all these are featured in a BBC documentary, Friars on a Mission (available for another 19 days on iPlayer). This unique insight into the simple and missional lifestyle of five Franciscan friars in Bradford has testimonies from them and those they have helped. Brother Benedict - who was once promiscuous and heavily involved in drugs before having a life-changing encounter with God - enthuses in a thick Mancunian accent, ‘I’ll always be raving for Manchester, but I’m raving for the Lord.’ Tony, a homeless man, adds, ‘If it wasn’t for the friars, there is a very good possibility I’d be dead.’ Warmth, humility, and joy - not to mention an infectious sense of humour - radiate from them all.
Growth of evangelical churches in Brazil
28 Apr 2017
Pastor Marcio Antonio stands at the pulpit in a one-room evangelical church built precariously above barbed wire fences and illegally hung electrical cables, exhorting his flock in a Brazilian favela to improve their morals. A former drug dealer in Cantagalo, an informally built hillside settlement where most residents lack official property rights, Pastor Antonio and his flock at the Assembly of God Church are part of a growing trend. Evangelical churches are expanding rapidly in Brazil, home to the world's largest Catholic community, especially in poor favelas. These communities, which developed from squatter settlements, often do not have the same services as formal Brazilian neighbourhoods in terms of healthcare, sanitation, transportation or formal property registration. ‘The government doesn't help us so God is the only option for the poor’, Pastor Antonio, 37, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation following his Sunday sermon.
Friday Focus: blessing our communities
28 Apr 2017
God has given you and me the privilege and responsibility of blessing people, communities and land in the name of Jesus, not interceding (although we must do that as well) but speaking out directly. This is powerful when done as part of everyday life. Where this biblical practice is being recovered, salvation and community transformation are taking place.
(written by Roy Godwin, The Ffald-y-Brenin Trust)
Felix Ngole, a Christian, has won the right to challenge his expulsion from a social work course at the University of Sheffield because in a discussion on Facebook he had expressed his Christian views on marriage and sexuality. Mr Ngole, a second-year masters student, sought permission on Wednesday for the High Court to review the university's decision judicially after it rejected his internal appeal. The university said that his comments breached a code of professional conduct, but the High Court granted permission for a judicial review. The Christian Legal Centre is representing Felix and will continue to support him, as the case has wide-reaching ramifications for the freedom of Christians.
Election: political parties select candidates
28 Apr 2017
Political parties need to get candidates in place before the deadline of 11 May. Any British, Irish or eligible Commonwealth citizen over 18 with £500 deposit can stand. Pray for God’s guidance for committees in the constituencies as they select candidates. Proverbs 22:29 says, ‘Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings, he will not stand before unknown men.’ Pray for men and women to be chosen who excel in their work. All of Labour’s 229 MPs were automatically re-selected, but 12 opted to stand down. Conservatives short-listed candidates for target seats without inviting applications: four MPs stood down. Liberal Democrats hope to have candidates in all seats by next week. UKIP’s selection process has begun; they hope to have candidates nationwide. Pray that there will be no manipulation or inappropriate ‘deals’ affecting choice in the 650 seats.
Know your enemy
28 Apr 2017
Satan has regular tactics. They have recurred across the ages. He loves to conceal himself. Therefore in our personal lives or national situation we could fail to spot him at work. We need to ask a simple question: is this situation creating fear, unbelief or uncertainty? Nationally, as the General Election approaches, there is a fear factor. We saw it dominating the arguments in the Referendum. We need to ask, ‘Is this the normal political hurly-burly or something more sinister?’ We can take a stance in our prayers and say ‘Lord, we stand against the spirit of fear, intimidation and manipulation’. We also see it in the fear of terrorist attacks. Terrorists create fear; we can pray for agents of fear to be brought into the light. Pray for God to enable the police and intelligence forces. Pray against the enemy’s lies and manipulation, particularly where potential terrorists are concerned.
Parents withdraw pupils from RE lessons
28 Apr 2017
The Church of England has about 4,700 schools, educating about one million children each year. A senior CofE official has suggested that parents should lose the right to withdraw their children from RE lessons, because it is being exploited by those who do not want their offspring to learn about Islam and by parents with ‘fundamentalist’ beliefs who do not want their children to learn other world views. Derek Holloway, head of RE in the CofE’s education office, said pupils risked being left with little understanding of religious belief and without the skills to live in a modern and diverse country. This is not confined to any one particular religion or area of the country. At present parents can insist that their children take no part in RE lessons and do not have to provide a reason. Schools must comply with their request.