The wedding was packed.
About 200 people crammed into a tiny ancient Church in an ancient village in Hampshire.
The marriage ceremony happened straight away.
Then
Worship kicked in.
Within seconds the place exploded into an amazing intensity of worship. Hands raised everywhere, faces radiant with the beauty of Jesus, even the none Christians who spoke to me afterwards were truly touched and amazed by the outpouring of love towards God.
The bride and Groom dropping to their knees in praise of God.
It was so easy for me to preach when the worship ended. When I had finished and said Amen the word was greeted with such applause and whistles and shouts of joy, not for me but for what God had to say through Isaiah 58.
The couple now married recessed from the church looking amazing and both of them were beaming with happiness.
It was an amazing wedding.
Im not normally a wedding person.
In fact I normally dislike them with a passion. All the waiting around, all the conversation attacks, having to yet again try to find the cheapest suit I can find that will fit in to my wedding suit budget that Dawn gives me of £15.00.
But this wedding? It was truly great.
God was all over it.
God was in the house.
In the reception afterwards, Dawn and I were inundated with questions about our ministry and were mobbed by ex students who had been part of our ministry in Durham at Sanctuary 21.
We were really struck by something that God needed us to see.
These ex students, now working as teachers, lawyers, bankers all kinds of professions shared excitedly how they carried stories from Sanctuary 21 into their new lives and share them with people they meet. Stories of hope that they experienced through prayer and the mission to those less fortunate. And how many of these guys are signing up for mission trips to help the poor in Hong Kong, Africa, Asia everywhere.
Sometimes we think we have no effect on anyone. But God wanted to remind me its not about us. He's at work all of the time.
But it was two conversations I had that excited me the most.
As I came out of the church at the end of the wedding, a young guy called Daniel caught a hold of me and shared with me that he had gone to Dusseldorf in Germany to complete further studies after Durham, and that he was going to Michigan to finish his studies which he completes in December. He said during your talk I felt the Lord speak to me so clearly. I am to join you in Ealing to help you with your mission there. I will be coming in January and can give you about six months to a year full time, you don’t have to pay me anything or find me anywhere to live but I am coming if you will have me. Daniel has amazing experience working with the poor and needy and will be a valuable addition to our developing team of people at Sanctuary West London.
The second conversation I had was with Jonny another former Durham Student, and a highly anointed worship leader with a gift for music and a heart for mission that belies understanding. Jonny has been appointed worship Pastor at Christ Church, Fulham, a great church in West London only a few miles from us in Ealing. Jonny understood the depth of missional work that needs to be brought to West London, and both of us together saw the opportunity that God was opening up before we started the conversation. Jonny said, “I think we need to meeting regularly Gaz, praying and worshiping in unity in West London, maybe inviting others and growing a unified prayer movement in West London that will add to the prayer that is already going on.
I saw it.
I saw the line God is taking here.
Serious stuff.
God is at work knitting together something fresh.
And.
It wasn't just at the wedding.
The week before this wedding Dawn and I were at work very early every day, on our knees crying out to God to help us knit together a team, especially volunteers for Sanctuary West London. That week four or five people just walked in and said I would like to help you. One of them being a girl called Caroline who shared a testimony with us of the sheer power of God who had brought her from the brink of death into a relationship with him.
Why am I sharing all this with you?
The thing is I want to encourage anyone who experiencing listlessness in their ministry or their Christian walk, be aware that God is at work.
Always.
Everywhere.
Doing stuff we may or may not get to see.
Secondly, I am more convinced than ever that prayer is vital. And today I would once again encourage you to make it a mission to develop a lifestyle of prayer.
Thirdly and probably most importantly Trust God.
Have faith.
Give him all your confidence and trust.
Sometimes, humanly Dawn and I think we are just running up against brick walls.
But.
God is God.
He is working relentlessly despite what we feel.
So today guys.
Be encouraged that God is at work, in our lives, in our families, in our communities, in the Nations.
God is moving.
