The revival in Leicester continues.
This is a bit of a catch-up blog as I have been out in South
Africa for a month or so. And on arriving back, the revival is still here!
It was noticeable at the recent revival prayer evening that
three or four people (including me) had oil on their hands. Oil is often a
picture of the Holy Spirit. It can mean that the person with oil on their hands
has an anointing to heal. I didn’t see it used in that way during the evening –
but it certainly is a sign that God is with us!
The other thing I noticed on my return was the number of new
faces. I counted twenty or so people I didn’t recognise at that same meeting
and then observed most were also at church on Sunday. I understand the new
faces are a good mix of those not yet saved, those recently saved and of Christians
visiting.
We are seeing a steady stream of people finding a new faith
in Jesus Christ. It’s rare that someone doesn’t pray a salvation prayer in a
meeting. It’s not a flood, but there is a steady stream of new believers.
I work with an evangelism team. It would not be unusual for over
100 people on the streets to pray a salvation prayer in a five-day mission. But
the problem is them then attending a local church. The percentage that do that
is often as low as 2%. So the difference in what we are seeing at Chroma is
that new believers are sticking. They are saved in a church environment and
stay in that environment.
Among those not yet finding a faith, we are seeing a number
of visitors of other faiths and those who would call themselves spiritual
people on a journey. I pray they keep coming and find the answer to their searching.
At our recent baptisms we celebrated with people originally
of a Buddhist and of Hindu faiths, now declaring Jesus.
People continue to be healed as well. One man had a severely
painful leg for the last eight years. In one of the meetings, his leg went ‘floppy’
(his term for it!) At the end of the meeting, as strength returned to the leg, all
pain had gone.
So yes, revival continues.