Unnamed worker carrying tracts
The gospel is going forward in an unprecedented fashion — especially
in the most restricted countries — driven by prayer, boldness,
persecution, and the Holy Spirit, according to a recent report.
“What we are seeing around the world is really a gospel wildfire,”
says Brother Jonathan, a Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) international
ministries worker.
“We’re seeing the gospel go forward like never before in the history
of the church,” he says. “There is nothing which says you have to live
in Africa, China, or the Middle East to experience this,” he adds.
A strong commitment to prayer creates an atmosphere for the wildfire
to burn. Brother Jonathan asked one indigenous leader in Burma about
their strategy to send workers into unreached villages.
“The secret is Fridays.”
“What is it about Fridays?” Jonathan wanted to know.
“On Fridays we all come together and we fast and we pray – every Friday, all day.”
“What if you’re going into a hostile village?”
“If we think it’s going to be a really hostile area, we set aside
seven days to fast and pray. When that’s over we go and let the chips
fall where they may.”
Jonathan spoke to one 19-year-old worker in Burma starting in
ministry who told him: “I’m going to move into a village where there are
no churches and no Christians.” Then he planned to build a
small lean-to in the forest to live in, work in the rice fields, and
start sharing the gospel.
“I’m going to plant a church and appoint a leader and I’m going to move and do it again,” the young worker told him.
“How long do you think you’ll do this?” Jonathan asked.
“Until Jesus comes back.”
The fuel that Brother Jonathan sees in this gospel wildfire is a bold
proclamation of the gospel. In north India, he met with a coalition of
1,000 pastors working in Uttar Pradesh (UP), one of the most unreached
states in India.
“They risk their lives every single day,” Jonathan noted.
One young minister told him, “I ride my bicycle into a village where
there are no Christians (he had a drum fixed to the cross bar of the
bicycle and behind him he had a lantern sitting on some gospel tracts
and a small speaker on the front) and I bang on my drum until a crowd
comes out and then I preach the gospel. We see people’s hearts touched,
we see them repent and we see the birth of a church.”
“What about other times?”
“Oh, they beat me.”
“What do you do then?”
“When I wake up I ride to the next village.”
Jonathan noted there are 1,000 other young ministers like him riding
around UP State on their bicycles doing the same thing. The result is
that UP State has gone from almost no Christians to about three percent
Christian – about 6,000,000 believers.
The spark for the gospel wildfire is the Holy Spirit, Jonathan
observes. “Dreams and visions are becoming so common among Muslims that
when we meet someone for the first time we ask if they’ve had any
strange dreams lately.”
Among Hindus and Buddhists he is seeing signs and wonders, with many
miraculous healings. One pastor told Jonathan, “Maybe we’re lazy, but we
don’t want to spend 12 weeks convincing them that Jesus is God. We just
want God to show up.”
Persecution is the accelerant of this move of God. “When the church
is persecuted the church thrives,” Jonathan notes. “The places where the
church is growing most rapidly are also some of the worst places of
persecution. So if persecution comes to America, praise the king,
because it means the church is going to explode.”
What can you do to be part of this? “Make prayer a priority. Proclaim
the gospel with boldness. Don’t be ashamed of anything. If you’re a
follow of Christ, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Trust God to show
up. Pray with confidence. Believe God still does stuff today. God is
very active around the world and he can do the same things here.”
“Take your stand on the gospel no matter what and don’t back down for
anybody. I’m praying the church in America would become militant, bold
and unashamed.”
Source: Godreports