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The Lord Says ....
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"Many Europeans today think they know what Christianity is, yet they do not really know it at all. Often they are lacking in knowledge of the most basic elements and notions of the faith. Many of the baptised live as if Christ did not exist: the gestures and signs of faith are repeated, especially in devotional practices, but they fail to correspond to a real acceptance of the content of the faith and fidelity to the person of Jesus" (Ecclesia in Europa 47). This description fitted me perfectly until 1974, when for the first time I discovered that God actually speaks into our lives in a personal and powerful way. Inspirations of the Holy Spirit
So what are we to make of these supernatural interventions of God? Are they to be actively searched for and expected, or are they few and far between, only given in exceptional circumstances for special people? When I look back over the last 30 years, I recognise that my spiritual life has been very normal - quite ordinary most of the time. But I can also see a number of occasions when God has intervened in my life in surprising and powerful ways, often at times when there were to be major changes of direction or responsibility. In almost every one of these cases he has spoken to me in a direct way through someone else. The God Who Speaks It all began with the Anglican priest in 1974, but then in 1978 it
happened again. I was attending my first charismatic conference in
Southampton, and at the end of the evening session I was sitting in
the bar feeling uncomfortable and out of place. I may have been putting
on a good act, but I was actually thinking of leaving that night.
A priest walked past my table, stopped, turned to me and asked what
was wrong. I looked up in surprise, to be told "come with me".
We went downstairs to the hall, where he prayed for me and I rested The Lord's Plan The years passed, and in 1984 I found myself in leadership in the Charismatic Renewal in England, but it was difficult to balance my job, my work in the Renewal, and family life. My wife Sue and I prayed about our future, and I felt I needed to reduce my work to allow more time for the Renewal. But this had financial implications, and we were not sure what to do. In May I went to a conference in Rome, and on the last morning a priest I knew came to me with a word from God. He did not know my dilemma, but was sure the Lord had told him I was to resign from my job at the end of August, and everything would be clear by Christmas. During the summer we thought, prayed, and worried about this, and I eventually decided to resign and look for part-time work. So at the end of August I was at peace as I wrote a letter of resignation to my boss in Sweden, but I was on a twelve month contract and he asked me to work out my notice. So I heard no more until just before Christmas when he came to England to talk to me. To my amazement he said he was willing to consider giving me time off for my church work, if instead of leaving I would give the rest of my time to him. He asked for my decision by December 22nd, and when I telephoned to agree and discuss the conditions, he said he had decided not even to reduce my salary! By Christmas it was all sorted out - the Lord's word through Fr. Bob Faricy had been a confirmation that he was with us and had a plan for us, if we would trust him. I shall be with you (Ex. 3:12) So I began to work more widely in the Charismatic Renewal, and in 1988 two very different people spoke to me, one in Singapore and another in Rome. One was a very well-known international figure, and the other a quiet, ordinary person. They each told me the Lord had said that one day soon I would be the President of the Council of ICCRS, International Charismatic Renewal Services. I was very surprised, but within two years I found myself not only on the Council, but serving as President. The prophetic words gave me confidence that this was part of the Lord's plan, and so I knew he would equip me for all that was to come. His reassuring message was "I shall be with you". Do not try to make it happen........ Sometimes the Lord has used a total stranger to bring me a message. In 1984 I was at a conference for leaders in the Charismatic Renewal when a Pentecostal brother came with a word - the Lord was going to give me a ministry to young people; I was not to look for it or try to make it happen, because at the appointed time the Lord would give it to me. Almost 4 years later, some groups of young people came to Sue and me, prompted by the Lord. My natural instinct was to decline an involvement with any of them, but knowing this, the Lord had already prepared the way through his Pentecostal servant, John Barr. This area of ministry was very fruitful, and became a great blessing to us. You have been in Jerusalem long enough ... Another big challenge came in 1992 with a prophetic word given at one of the conferences in Southampton by our good friend David Matthews. We were getting very comfortable, and the Lord's word confirmed that we should step out in faith to launch "Celebrate", an annual conference for families which is now so popular we have a capacity crowd of 1,500 people booked in three days after we send out the brochures! Here again we saw the Lord preparing the way - even the John Fowler Holiday site where it is held was part of his plan. The manager there was feeling prompted by the Lord to have a Christian conference on his site when my letter arrived to ask if there was any possibility we could go there for "Celebrate". This time the discernment was easy - all the other sites we contacted said no! Remember the word I could give many more examples of guidance coming through extraordinary inspirations of the Holy Spirit. Usually such messages either confirm something that's already happening, or they prepare us for something the Lord is going to do. Then when it happens, we're encouraged as we remember the word we were given. At the same time we must always be ready for the Lord to speak to us directly as well as through a Christian brother or sister. I now understand that the Lord knows exactly when we need a challenge, an encouragement, a confirmation, or even a word to prepare us. At such moments he will either speak to us himself, or inspire the necessary word in someone he knows will faithfully deliver it to us. So the questions I ask myself are:
For any of these things to happen I need to stay close to him in
prayer. I need to be brave enough to take a risk for him, and wise
enough to recognise the appropriate time to deliver the Lord's message
to someone else. These are wonderful gifts of God, given to help us.
Let's be sure we're open to them and use them correctly.
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I
came to a living faith 30 years ago in 1974, when at the age of 32
I was evangelised through the witness of believing Christians and
baptised in the Holy Spirit. Suddenly everything I had been taught
about God fell into place and made sense - why had I not seen it before?
The reality was that whilst my head had been full of knowledge about
my Catholic faith, I had never been converted to Christ and his Gospel.
I suppose I had been the sort of baptised Christian about whom Pope
John Paul II is speaking when he says:
I
was baptised in the Holy Spirit because an Anglican priest (who did
not know me at all) was prompted by the Holy Spirit to ask me directly
if I knew how much God loved me. When I answered that I only knew
this in theory, he prayed for me, and the following day I experienced
a tremendous outpouring of God's love, forgiveness and power. My life
was changed as a result of Rev. Barry Kissell's obedience to an inspiration
of the Holy Spirit.