Monday 2 August 2010

Georgia - Amazing Miracle Through Evangelism

Traditionally and Biblically God picks a man for a job. That was...until the Body of Christ was formed. But even in Acts it was ones and twos making the difference in new areas. Mel Tari in the Indonesian revival books "Like a Mighty wind" and "Gentle Breeze of Jesus", and Graham Pulkingham and the Fisherfolk from Houston Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, and later John Wimber, particularly in parts of Europe and the UK ,were demonstrating a prototype of a fledgling Body of Christ ministry. Right now on blogs and Facebook and countless other places people of this new calibre are being formed. 3rdlevel ministries that dovetail and interlink one with the other. To learn more read about the Ringburner vision.

Until that time, we have spiritual commanders like Benny Hinn, David Hathaway, Rheinhardt Bonnke and Morris Cerullo that as prepared men over decades, have been faithfully acting as "ignition" or "firestarter ministries" breaking open new locked territories for the gospel. Our own church has a "breaker ministry " couple who work ahead of time in closed areas as intercessors, they are referred to here on this blog . See links for Nicholas and Pam.This is David Hathaway's most recent report from Georgia.






GEORGIA --AMAZING MIRACLE THROUGH EVANGELISM!
This evangelism in the Sport Palace in Georgia July 15-18 was one of the greatest miracles in Europe!
Nothing in recent history has touched a government and a nation as this crusade did!
It was a 'first' in the evangelical history of the nation! Never before had a major sport arena been taken for evangelism –the owner received curses and threats because of this! Never before had the national TV networks agreed to carry advertising for any evangelical event – but all 3 national channels carried ours! Never before had any evangelical Christian ever been invited to speak on live breakfast TV – as I was by First National Channel on the Thursday before the crusade! Never before had the Georgian Orthodox Church been so shaken in its self-confidence that it went on every TV network to warn the people not to attend – as it did on the Friday of our opening meeting! Never before had the Parliament convened an extraordinary session on a Saturday – as they did – to declare that the rights of religious minorities (the evangelicals and our actual crusade) to be under the protection of the Government of Georgia itself against all threats and intimidation! Never before had camera crews from national TV networks ever attended and filmed any evangelical worship, especially with the evangelism, call to repentance and miracles – but they all came! Even the 'enemy' networks – those openly opposed to evangelical faith – could only find good things to report on their bulletins next day, including interviewing many who testified publically to miracles of healing!
It began on the Thursday when the National TV invited me on the morning news programme to discuss the new film which an unbelieving Georgian TV director had made of my life! This and the advertising in all the media attracted a 'violent' response from the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church.
By the Friday morning he went on all three main TV channels to denounce the Evangelism which wato begin that night in the largest auditorium in Georgia seating 12,000. He declared that their religion stated that people could only receive spiritual help in an Orthodox Church building – and declared that no one should attend our services as they were a 'danger'. Yet in this broadcast, he was so clearly shocked that this tiny group of evangelicals – only 4,000 in the whole nation – could attempt to hold meetings in such a big stadium, that instead of calling them a 'sect', for the first time he publically recognised them as an evangelical denomination!By Friday night, with such a vitriolic attack condemning me personally, and a torrential downpour of rain, we all wondered how God would handle the situation! The streets were blocked with buses, cars and people, so that even I had difficulty in getting there! Inside, the sports arena was packed with over 10,000, mostly unbelievers! All three TV networks who had earlier broadcast the vitriolic attack against us were there to film the supposed disaster! Not one could be negative about the worship, the preaching about salvation and deliverance in Jesus Christ and the miraculous healings that followed!
Even when they randomly interviewed the people as they left, asking if they had been healed, many stated that they had miraculously been healed!
By the Saturday morning the President of Georgia, who was now aware of the situation, had summoned the Parliament to an extra-ordinary meeting – to pass a decree that all Christian minorities must have freedom, must be protected from any attack, and if any attacked us, they would immediately be put in prison!! He ordered that special security guards should surround and protect us and the crusade!
The whole nation was made aware of the impact of the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ – within hours more than 1300 of the Orthodox were watching the live broadcast of the Gospel on the internet!
What a triumph of God's power through the Holy Spirit! It has changed the whole nation in just a few days! In three days over 30,000 attended the meetings! Before this crusade there were only 2000 evangelical believers in the capital Tbilisi, and another 2000 scattered across the country – so that, even supposing many of these came, at least 6-8000 unbelievers attended every night – and many of these came forward to repent! God used this evangelism – and the events surrounding it – to lift a repressed minority group of evangelical Christians into a force to be respected within the nation, with thousands of new converts and the government passing a decree to protect them! Pastors came from Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan to witness this miracle – so the fire will spread!
All this, because you prayed with power and gave sacrificially to make it possible. Through your support a whole new era of evangelism is opening in Europe – outside of Russia. – First, Estonia in 2008; then last year, Lithuania; and this year in Latvia, Armenia, and now Georgia. Every time the power of God is increasing! Our next major crusade is in Vilnius, Lithuania this October.
Please continue to pray, we still have £100,000 to pay for this crusade which has just finished and another £350,000 for Lithuania. But God can move so mightily! Possibly revival will now break out in Europe. But the cost is high, not only financial, but the fasting, praying, sacrificing and labour of love from all involved – including you and me.

1 comment:

Nife said...

glory to God... i will be traveling to Tbilisi by January.