Growing together and going together

However, as an optimist I can find myself disappointed when things don’t turn out as I’d hoped: despite thinking it might be the year to finally win, England manage to lose on penalties again and the grey clouds never fully moved out of the way for the blue sky on the beach. Despite moments of frustration, I naturally remain hopeful of a different outcome the following day. As I pray about the UK, I find myself believing for a major move of God, and longing for a different tomorrow than some of what we’ve experienced previously. I find great encouragement in believing for more when I look to scripture.

In Acts 5, it is the fact that God is doing extraordinary things that gets the apostles into trouble once more. Unlike my running, with God absolutely nothing is impossible. We like to sing of Him moving mountains and He could do so in a moment in our communities today. We must do all we can to avoid the trap of minimising the Lord’s power or making Him small enough that we find Him palatable. There is literally nothing beyond the power of Jesus.

Many of the headlines around us can fill us with despair. However, in a time of political chaos, cultural upheaval, and a cost of living crisis, we can continue to place our faith in an unwavering God.

Sponsored

I believe we are living in an incredible moment for the gospel in the UK, a time to grow. We hear about the recent revivals in China and Iran and these are amazing – it is my belief that the Lord is going to exponentially transform His church here too in the days ahead. We need to begin to expect greater things and grow our imaginations over what He could do. In the midst of this extremely challenging time we are living in, the Lord is moving and He wants us to take hold of the season, and have confidence in Him to move powerfully in our day.

Our hope of seeing an impact for the gospel today is also grounded in what is going on throughout the UK. The landscape feels far more open to our message than it has previously. Our recent ​‘Talking Jesus’ report (co-produced by Alpha UK, CV Global, HOPE Together, Kingsgate and The Luis Palau Association) evidences this. Amazingly, it shows that one in three non-Christians, after a conversation with a Christian, want to know more about Jesus Christ. This is so encouraging and is actually up from the last report in 2015, that showed it to be one in five. The ground is fertile and there is such an openness to the gospel. My prayer is that this motivates us to be bolder, and to believe for growth, in the church.

Within this incredible opportunity to witness, it is vital for the church to be united in our mission in the face of a nation that seems increasingly divided. John 17:20 – 21 reminds us of the critical prayer that Jesus prayed before He was arrested: ​“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” 

We go together; this is the only way that we will bear witness to Him and see His glory. If we go together then we can be assured that the impact will be greater. 

We won’t get this moment again: dream big with Him, move out courageously and boldly with the knowledge that in Him nothing is impossible. Whether you are an optimist like me or not, let’s all pray for a move of God like we’ve never seen before in the days ahead. My hope is to hear testimonies from all over the UK in the years ahead that are remembered for this simple statement: ​“In the face of so much cultural confusion and uncertainty I surrendered my life to Jesus, the unchanging one.”