The glory of the Lord falling on the streets of London

There is water flowing in dry riverbeds. That which has been divided will be joined. There will be reconciliation. Small fires will join to make a great fire.

I was walking from my house in Brockley to the centre of London on one of my regular routes. I had decided to change my route to pass through Camberwell and Kennington. As I was walking through Peckham this Godfrey Birtill song began to run through my mind.

ARE YOU READY, ready, ready? 
A ring a ding a ding a ding.
Are you ready, ready, ready? 
A ring a ding a ding a ding.
Are you ready, ready, ready? 
A ring a ding a ding a ding 
A ding a ding a ding a ding.

Glory in the kitchen, glory in the hall,
Glory in the living room, dining room and all.
Glory in the bathroom, angels sing,
Glory in the bedroom, sweet sleeping.
Glory in the garage, glory in the lounge,
The glory of the Lord's all over the house.

Glory in the restaurant, glory in the pub,
Glory in prison, glory in the club.
Glory in the shops, glory in the park,
Glory in the bank and the cinema.
Glory in the dentists checking out your teeth.
The glory of the Lord is falling in the streets.

Glory on the bus, glory on the train,
Glory in the car, glory on the plane. 
Glory when I run, glory when I hike,
Glory when I swim, glory on my bike.
Glory going to play, glory going to work.
The glory of the Lord is covering the earth.

I was contemplating the old March for Jesus events when we walked through London with thousands of people praising God on the streets. I was wondering whether it would ever be possible to do so again. As I was walking through Bethwin Rd in Camberwell I saw a picture as though a golden rain* was spreading out on either side of me onto the houses and flats. 

At about that time a friend sent me this prophecy.

"Word for UK and Ireland 15 April 16

Graham Brown

I could see spontaneous combustion, fires just igniting, they started around the middle of the United Kingdom, and yet they were bursting out all over the place, right up and down the land. And I could see spontaneous combustion, spontaneous combustion. And I could see the fire coming together in a conflagration (large extensive fire). I could just see the flames, coming together, coming together in a conflagration. And I could hear praise, and worship, and glory to the Lord. I could hear thousands upon thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Christians. And I could see the whole of Ireland, not just the North. I could see the whole of Ireland, spontaneous combustion of fires igniting. And many people weeping and coming back to God. And I could see the whole of Ireland on fire. I could see the conflagrations, to the glory of God, to the glory of God. I could hear it, I could hear it, we were breaking through, breaking through. We were there weeping. We had been fighting a battle, and it was Gods battle, He was drawing alongside us, we were in the armour of God. And we were just beginning to come from intercession into worship and into worship. And I could see the spontaneous combustion, up and down, up and down, North, South, East and West, up and down, up and down, up and down the land.

Val Williams

I could see the oil pouring like a river, which was actually causing the fire, it’s the oil. It was a river, I could see like a waterfall, it was just flowing, and it was frothing and flowing, and there was a freedom in it, it was just pouring down."

I texted back to say that I was walking through Peckham, Camberwell and Kennington with the song going through my head. The line that had most relevance was ‘the glory of the Lord is falling in the streets’ and the line kept coming back and back and back to my mind.

Often when the Spirit touches me and I speak out I also cry (its very inconvenient) as I was walking I felt the Spirit come on me, and tears came to my eyes. I could see in my minds eye the glory of God falling on the streets. I was now in the area between Kennington and Vauxhall. I texted my friend to explain what was happening and she began to pray for more of the Spirit to move on me.

I walked through Vauxhall Gardens and onto the bank of the Thames. From there I could see the MI6 and MI5 buildings, I was walking past buildings that are used by the Police and I was close to the buildings used by the National Crime Agency. I could see Parliament in front of me. The Lord said that all of this was irrelevant to what He was doing. A man in a suit carrying a briefcase walked past me and the Lord repeated that the contents of the briefcase were pointless.

As I came closer to Parliament I came to Lambeth Palace, it seemed as if it was in clearer light or clearer air than the buildings surrounding it. I crossed the road intending to go into St Mary’s church bit it was closed for building works. I felt in my spirit as though I was walking in the right direction although I had intended to walk along the South Bank. I carried on south.

I had been thinking earlier about the possibility of doing some kind of praise walk. I had also noticed that my knees and my right foot were hurting. I had thought to myself that if I was going to do something like a praise walk God would need to give me the strength to do it. I got to a street corner and the Spirit told me to turn left. As I did so I caught sight of the name of the street I was now walking down, Hercules Road. It was as though the Spirit was saying ‘you already have the strength.

I came to the end of the road opposite the headquarters of a national Christian organisation that has taken potentially controversial theological positions. The words that came in the Spirit were for them ‘Preach the gospel, preach the salvation of our God’. I stood for a while praying those words and the song in my head changed ‘Come Lord Jesus Come’.

Walking past Waterloo station I walked past some Jehovah’s Witnesses and felt for a few seconds as though I had a wake like a boat that was spreading out and washing over the banks around me. When I texted this to my friend she replied that she had seen golden waves* moving out from where I walked and had felt the vibration of it personally.

I went into a nearby church; my intention was to share what I was seeing. There were a group of musicians in there practicing some modern classical music. The sort that needs lots of different drums, with disjointed rhythms and strange chords, all really just a noise. There was also a lady off to one side with an oboe who was doing something with her reed and was making a noise like a small duck. 

The Spirit was saying your music is discordant to me and brought Isaiah 58 to my mind

1 Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.


2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.


3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? 
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers. 


4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. 
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.


5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 


8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; 
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,


10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.


11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.


12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

I stayed to pray in the church for a few minutes. As I was walking away the Spirit said “Its time to clean My House”

I came out on to the bank of the Thames and sat down feeling the Spirit lifting his hand from me. As I got up to finish the walk the Spirit said that there was one more thing that He wanted me to see. 

My eyes fell on a tug pulling a rubbish barge down the Thames towards the sea and at the same time I saw the dome of St Paul’s, in the Spirit the two were connected as though the Lord was saying I am going to take out the rubbish. As I stood watching this there was a sudden strong wind blowing against my back.

Andy

Other posts similar to this

• Stay alert & be prepared: http://deepuntodeep-joy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/stay-alert-be-prepared.html 
• Evacuation: be prepared http://providentialjoy.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/evacuation-be-prepared.html

Stay alert - be prepared

Revelation 3:20 (NKJV) “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” This verse followed a tongue and picture of Christ standing at the door, asking for the doors to open – He is ready for His bride and has a banquet prepared for us.

Alison then shared a word, called WAITING ON GOD; “Whilst spending time in God's presence He showed me, that in the waiting for His timing & promises don't be idle. This kind of waiting is not passive, but active. In the waiting, start getting ready & be prepared.

If we were waiting for our date to pick us up, we wouldn't sit & wait for him to arrive & then get ready. No, while he is on his way we would take a shower, wash & dry our hair, cream our skin & put our best perfume on. We'd choose the right outfit, apply make-up & be ready to receive & welcome him in. We would be ready for him to take us on our journey together.

And so it is whilst waiting on God. Get ready! Be prepared for when the groom comes to take His bride. Not just heaven bound, but in whatever it is that God is calling us to right here, right now. We prepare by worship, Word, prayer & serving.” 

Stay alert - The Story of the Virgins (Matthew 25: 1 to 13)

God’s kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to greet the bridegroom. Five were silly and five were smart. The silly virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. The smart virgins took jars of oil to feed their lamps. The bridegroom didn’t show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep.

“In the middle of the night someone yelled out, ‘He’s here! The bride-groom’s here! Go out and greet him!’ “The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. The silly virgins said to the smart ones, ‘Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your oil.’

“They answered, ‘There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.’ “They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding feast, the door was locked.

“Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, ‘Master, we’re here. Let us in.’ “He answered, ‘Do I know you? I don’t think I know you.’

So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.

Other posts along these lines

Be sure your lamps are full of oil

Turn down, turn off and turn aside

A word from the Lord, laid on Pat’s heart, was given to us on Sunday (26/07/2015).

Pat shared, “August is a pivotal month, very special both individually and corporately. As the busy-ness of life slows down for the summer break so should we. Jesus is standing in the garden waiting for us to come aside during this time – come into the garden – to be still and KNOW that He is God.

He’s waiting to commune with us – to refresh and replenish so that when September comes – we are ready to run with the new things of God prepared for us."

A similar word laid on Yvonne’s heart was given to us a few weeks ago – it’s time to rest and replenish. All those who are weary – come into a place of rest.

The preach dovetailed with this word – the waiting is nearly over. The season of upheaval and change is drawing to a close. Many are exhausted from a range of personal loss, skirmishes and battles. Change, loss and uncertainty has caused our ground to shift – some have experienced the “suddenness” of divine intervention and moved into (and onto) new adventures with God.  

It's time to turn

Through scripture we heard the of the power in simply turning our heads. Looking away from the circumstance we're faced with - turning to look at God's dealing with others in dead-end places, desperation and isolation.

Dead-end places: Moses, reduced from being Prince of Egypt to tending someone else’s flock at the back of the dessert chose to turn aside to investigate the burning bush. God revealed Himself to Moses; said He’d heard the cries of the people; gave Moses the commission to lead the people out of captivity.

• Exodus 3: 1 to 10, Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn …… So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”  And he said, “Here I am.”

Graveyard brought to life: Mary, forever faithful to her Christ, heartbroken and weeping at the empty tomb turned at the voice of her risen Saviour and entrusted with the message, “He’s alive”

• John 20: 11 to 18, “Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”  She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

Heaven revealed in isolation: John on Patmos – turned to “see” the voice that rumbled across the heavens – all of heaven opened up to him to see the risen Christ in all His splendour and power.

• Revelation 1: 9 to 18, Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore."

Our circumstance cannot hold nor defeat us – respond to the invitation to commune with Christ Jesus. This August - turn aside from oppressive circumstances and busy-ness. Turn off the noise of the world.

Now is the time to camp, refresh, regroup and replenish. Ahead of us is a fresh touch from Jesus, a renewed hope and a renewed revelation of Christ. This is the preparation for September - get ready!

Be encouraged fellow believer with this scripture - 2 Corinthians 4 (7 - 18)

Cast Down but Unconquered: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, which the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed — always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body

Seeing the Invisible: Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are.

Posts linked to this message:

1. How to survive the waiting:  Outline taken from the book of Joshua
2. What are we waiting for: God's order and process from Zachariah 3
3. An out-pouring of agape love: Revelation of love that motivates us to share Jesus with the world 
4. The waters that spring forth: Reflection on the wells in South East London

(Italics & emphasis in scripture added for emphasis)

Struggle, equipping and victory on the streets

As the post writer I have to confess there is often an inner debate about undoubtedly divine happenings that cannot be explained in rational ways. The events churn over in your spirit while on the one side trying to make sense of it in your own life whereas on the other hand seeking the Father’s heart as to what He’s saying in and through this.

This post outlines things I still don’t really comprehend but feel the inner compulsion to write it up.  

What I do know is that in the here and now – this physical realm – this was a touch from heaven.

The events that took place are listed below but in two parts I believe this is what the Father is showing through this:

The formal church must move onto the streets and out of our buildings 

I have posted two similar messages in the past. One about the power of the prayer movement before the London Olympics in 2012 and also after the London riots. This post however gets more specific.

The Lord has assured that as we venture onto the streets in our neighbourhoods with the message of Christ:

• He is right next to us - beside us ALL the time,
• God is not restricted to areas and venues we feel safe with. God can show up anywhere and at any time - look to see HIM and look at the people we meet in a new way,
• He will stand in solidarity with us and equip us for every task,
• He will stand in power with us if we dare to believe,
• Where we've been punching the air trying to breakthrough the glass ceilings will give way.

What are the promises?

The culmination of the sequence of events listed below was being led to Zachariah 3.  Apart from the Father answering some questions about the events - the notation in my bible made me take note of what I'd written 3 years ago and dated 7/7.

I believe as we enter the new day and we transition into the new season the following will unfold:

1. New tasks: will be revealed possibly with a change in direction and a paradigm shift in thinking about "ministry" and doing "formal church",
2. New personal understanding, gifting, knowledge and skill set to meet the tasks,
3. New covering and clothing which I believe is the resourcing for the new task,
4. New authority to ensure His will is done here on earth as it is in heaven,
5. New boldness and courage - not to be afraid .... but indeed be happy! (Acts 18:9-10) says; "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city."

I don't see this as an overly religious type of happening or even a "movement" - somehow this will be organic and not boxed or labeled within any particular denomination or church type but a gradual awakening of believers to engage with the "world" in their context. It appears to be about applied faith - faith in action in shops, high streets, workplaces, schools, parks, visiting neighours - day to day life.

Let’s get out there and show Christ to the world!

With love and blessings

Joy