Celebration Update December 09

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas season, and a New Year in which we all grow in his glory.

Revival and the Fear of the Lord
As we continue to press into the Lord for an outpouring of His Spirit, we find that He deals with us to bring us into line with what He wants to give. He has been speaking to me about the fear of the Lord.

Fantastic things happened in Ephesus when the first missionary team went there. The word of God was preached, the Lord did extraordinary miracles, and 'all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord' (Acts 19:10).

However revival only broke out after the Sons of Sceva were beaten up by a demonically controlled man when they tried to deliver him. They copied Paul's method, and used the name of Jesus, but without any faith or personal relationship with Him. The demons were not fooled, but realised that these men had no authority.

When the people heard of this it says 'they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour' (Acts 19:17). Those who had been sitting on the fence, professing faith in Jesus, but keeping up their occult practices, repented publicly and burned their books.

Society was changed because of the fear of the Lord. They recognised that He really is Lord and that He is holy, and the result was repentance and transformation.

When Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit and were killed, the fear of the Lord fell on the people and,

'more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought their sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them...and all of them were healed' (Acts 5:14-16).

It seems that a key part of revival is the fear of the Lord. As we pray for this holy fear, let it start with us. The result of someone fearing the Lord is seen in the story of Abraham and Isaac;

'Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son' (Genesis 22:12).

May we too be those who do not withhold anything from the Lord.

Smith Wigglesworth Prophecy for Wales
The prophetic word below was given to a group of young people in Wales in 1930 by Smith Wigglesworth the revivalist. Only one member of that group is now alive, a Welshman called Arthur Burt. He is now 97. Several years ago an American lady called Kathie Walters visited Arthur Burt. When she returned to the USA she called Bob Jones (a prophet) to ask if he had any word for Wales. He replied that he did not, but he had a word for the old man in Wales whom she had visited.

The word was: 'he will see the word'. Bob Jones knew nothing of Smith Wigglesworth's prophecy, or Arthur Burt at that time. When Kathie asked Arthur if Bob Jones' word meant anything to him, he shared what Smith had said:

"THERE SHALL COME A BREATH AND THE BREATH SHALL BRING THE WIND AND THE WIND SHALL BRING THE RAIN AND THE RAIN SHALL BRING THE FLOODS AND FLOODS AND FLOODS AND THE FLOODS SHALL BRING THE TORRENTS AND TORRENTS AND TORRENTS.
SO SHALL THEY BE SAVED LIKE FALLING LEAVES FROM THE MIGHTY OAKS SWEPT BY A HURRICANE IN A GREAT FOREST. ARMS AND LEGS SHALL COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND THERE SHALL BE NO EBB."

If Arthur Burt will live to see this, and he is 97 now, doesn't that encourage us to keep singing to those wells!?

Celebration Mobile Team
Pastor Suk Kwang now has two confirmed team members and several others who are interested in joining the Mobile Team which will join us here in Wales in March. Continue to pray with us for the right people to be drawn.

Spring Celebration
We are arranging a Spring Celebration, possibly in Swansea, to draw worshippers together for an evening to just focus on the Lord, and seek His face. We are hoping that a lot of Welsh young people especially will be involved. We will keep you posted about venue and dates.

Ireland
A Celebration team will visit sometime in the Spring. People on the ground will also arrange for a Celebration tour after the main Celebration in Wales. If you are interested in being part of that, do get in touch.

Celebrators finding their destiny
As we worship the Lord, He opens our hearts, and so often we begin to hear Him speaking to us. Revival Korea have been hearing several stories of people the Lord has called into different areas of his work:

One girl who attended '07 and '09 Celebrations and felt the Lord call her to mission is now waiting for her church to commission her to a Kindergarten ministry in South Africa.

Another couple who fell in love in the '07 Celebration are now serving together in Turkey.

A girl who came to the '09 Celebration seeking her next step is now joining as a staff member of the University of Science and Technology in China.

The Lord is longing to share his thoughts and plans with each one of us!
 
Keep worshipping!

Gail for the Celebration Team