Celebration Update November 2010

Rest and Revival
Solomon prayed an amazing prayer when he dedicated the Temple. It was a prayer that would have been presumptuous if it had not been clearly led by the Holy Spirit:

‘Now arise, O Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might’ (2 Chronicles 6:41).

We are now the Temple of the Lord, and we too can dare to pray that same prayer! When we think of rest, it is normally for ourselves. However the Lord, too, wants to be at rest in us! The word ‘resting’ in Hebrew is ‘nuwach’ and has the sense of open space and full permission. The Lord is waiting for our permission for him to be free in us to be himself; to be ‘at home’. He also invites us to be at rest in him, to be free to be all that we are.

When the Lord answered Solomon’s prayer and came to the Temple to ‘rest’, the results were spectacular. We read about it at the beginning of 2 Chronicles 7. Fire came down from heaven and glory filled the Temple. The whole nation turned and worshipped the Lord. I believe it was the same thing that happened on the day of Pentecost. The Lord found a resting place in the 120 who were waiting on him. Fire came down from heaven, and the glory of the Lord fell. Jews from every nation under heaven were touched.

The Welsh Revival has stories of people on their way to pubs (drinking houses) and football games etc, falling down in the street, because the glory of the Lord was flowing out from his ‘temples’ who were worshipping in the church across the road. God had found a resting place on earth again.

Individually we can choose to open our hearts to be his resting place. Jesus said:

‘If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit’ (John 15:5).

We can each choose to let go of all that would make him uncomfortable in our lives, and allow him to be ‘at home’ in us. This way, when we come together in the summer, he will be able to express Himself more fully in us.

‘Now arise, O Lord God, and come to your resting place’.

Continuing the Celebration
I have always known that Celebration for the Nations is not an event, it is a lifestyle of worship. We are calling in a new day, the day that the Father will pour out his Spirit on all flesh. We are celebrating the Lord’s complete victory over every nation, and doing our part in making that victory known, in Wales, in Korea and in the nations. I would like to encourage all of us to continue in several things that are the heart of the Celebration:

• Personal worship. Start each day thanking him and worshipping him for who he is.
• Corporate worship. Seek others who want to worship the Lord in Spirit and truth. Even two or three meeting together to worship and pray for an outpouring of His Spirit is precious to the Lord. In Wales we meet on Monday nights. There may be a Celebration meeting near you, but if not, why not start one?
• Be daily filled with the Holy Spirit. Know that rivers of living water flow through you as you believe in Jesus! Give those living waters opportunity to touch others. Step out in faith. Speak to friends, family, work colleagues, fellow students etc. as the Lord gives opening.
• Actively look for ways to bless people with the fruit of the Spirit in you: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
• Send us testimonies that we can put on the website to encourage each other.

Father’s Love
The Korean worship dance team ‘Father’s Love’ joined us in Wales last June. We were so touched by the way that they worshipped with dance and music. They brought the manifest presence of the Lord as they danced, on the streets, in churches, in our Centre, and in a youth event that was going on at the time.

We asked them to consider coming back for Celebration in 2011, and recently heard that they believe this is from the Lord, and will be coming!

News from France
Andy West, the pastor of the French Worship Team writes of Celebration for the Nations 2010:

It was a wonderful, challenging, blessed time. I was knocked out by the enthusiasm and joy of the Korean bands, and when Cath Woolridge and Jane Jones started singing in Welsh, I was moved to tears.
The experience was actually a very moving one, and I know that it released something within the members of the group that has since had a big impact on the Eglise de l’Estuaire at Nantes. We have been released into a greater desire to worship the Lord, and seek His presence. There are now weekly ‘soaking’ services in church. A new enthusiasm has broken out, and we are looking at new ways of expressing church. Do pray for us as we seek to finally move into a bigger building. We are currently looking at doing up an old warehouse situated immediately behind our current building.

Celebration in the pubs
The Celebration team based here in Wales are going to be singing Christmas Carols in the Public Houses (where people drink and socialise) on December 13th and 17th. Please pray for us, that living water would flow as we sing the truth. Many people, even though they are not Christians, know some of the Carols. We are hoping that they will join and sing with us. If you can join us we will meet at the International Centre in Glanmor Rd each of those evenings at 7.00pm.

Mike’s Testimony
‘I felt lost and empty, and my selfish ways had stalled God’s work in my life. Then through the worship and prayer over that week, I felt the things I considered important fade away. God breathed new life into me...it was like living waters, the feeling was not unlike that of when I was baptised in water, I felt clean and new, alive in his hands.....Towards the end of the week the Holy Spirit moved and I felt him convict me of the wrong things in my life; alcohol, selfishness, pride in my academic achievements....I have tried alcohol since and it tasted like poison.

I have started a new job working in a Christian environment. It means a big pay cut and difficult hours, but this is where I am to learn to serve him.... God takes the dry bones of his life and breathes his Spirit in.

For a fuller version please see the website.

Please do share your own testimonies with us, of how the Lord is changing your life as you worship him.

Let’s allow the Lord to express his desires and his action through us,

Keep celebrating Christ’s victory!

Love Gail