Goodbye – From Burkina Faso (VIDEO)

Yesterday we concluded our tour of churches here in the U.K. with a dynamic day of ministry in Ayelsbury, just outside of London. Less than 48 hours before our meetings began, this city was rocked by a horrific tragedy that has stunned this small, close-knit community and especially the local body of believers. A young lady was stabbed to death outside her home by a crazed teenager with no apparent motive as she walked her dog on Saturday. This young lady was the wife of the worship leader of one of the local charismatic churches. Members of this church were present in both our morning and evening meeting and the obvious grief of every local believer presented a difficult context for an outsider to minister in. The evening evangelistic meeting was packed out with mostly young people. I told the people that in the midst of all the bad news, I had come with some very good news. I preached my heart out and then gave an altar call. The altars were packed…so many young people received Jesus! It was fantastic. In the face of the most poignant example of devilish destruction and death, a parallel reality; the overwhelming light of salvation from the cross flooding darkened hearts and changing lives for eternity.

I have just returned back to the hotel room after a very full and very fulfilling day of ministry here in the United Kingdom. This morning I had the privilege to minister in the UCB television and radio headquarters. I ministered on the Holy Spirit, and then He fell in such a powerful way right there in the studio. It was recorded for international broadcast on television, radio and web. I pray that it might be a blessing to many people around the world.

Tonight we held an evangelistic meeting in Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton. I preached the Gospel to a packed house and then prayed for the sick. The Lord confirmed His Word with many wonderful healings. One lady began to go down a list of the various ailments that she had been suffering with…I lost count after the sixth one. She said that suddenly realized that she had been healed and began to jump…something she hadn’t been able to do in nine years. The band began to play, and the whole room was bouncing and dancing with her as we sang, “Oh happy day, happy day, you washed my sin away…”. That song seemed to describe the way that everyone was feeling quite nicely…there was a palpable, tangible sense of happiness and joy that only comes from the presence of the Lord. It was a powerful night.

If you are honest, you will probably agree with me, that reading through the genealogies in the Bible is not exactly the most riveting past time in the world. “So-and-so began so-and-so, who begat so-and-so and so-and-so.” Before you know it your mind has wandered to some other topic, and you are just reading on autopilot. But if you are careful, you will uncover some incredible lessons in the genealogies.

Recently as I was reading the second chapter of I Chronicles, I noticed something very interesting. I was going through the rich, complex and often, scandalous family tree of these ancient patriarchs when suddenly I noticed that out of all the names and “begats”, one woman seemed to stand out like a sore thumb. Her name is Seled. Unlike most of here contemporaries, listed along with her in this chapter, the Scripture takes time to give us a little bit of extra information about her. This small, parenthetical insertion next to her name is the only information that we know about her. We don’t know if she was good or bad, ugly or beautiful, rich or poor. We don’t know about any of the things she may have accomplished in her life. Her only enduring legacy is this: “Seled died childless.” (v.30)

My plane touched down in Birmingham just a few minutes ago. My feet are now on the ground in the U.K. and I am ready for a Holy Ghost explosion this week! Over the next 7 days I will be in Wolverhampton, Ilkeston, London, Ealing, and Aylesbury. For complete itinerary information please visit http://www.cfan.org.uk/events/

The Lord has laid a burden upon my heart and a fire in my bones for the UK, and I am SURE that “The Time is Now!” For the benefit of those who may not have already seen it, I am reposting here the message that the Lord laid on my heart in preparation for this trip. I have also included a special treat at the end. I hope to see you soon!