It’s difficult to capture in words what our God did in and amongst us during our recent European Four12 Conference in the Isle of Man. Those who attended will say with certainty that their lives will never be the same. And the nations will never be the same!
I once heard Andrew Selley say that these global gatherings are where God breaks things open for us to such a measure that in just a few days we can be catapulted months ahead as individuals and churches, due to God’s intense work in and amongst us. Upon reflection, I can see this intensity of God’s work during this time being wide, long, high and deep: “Wide” as relationships between individuals and churches were broadened and strengthened; “Long” as the call to reach the uttermost with the gospel rang out; “High” as passionate praise was lifted to our Great God; “Deep” as hearts were realigned and restored.
In the words of Jonathan Stanfield, concerning whatever we are believing for: ‘Add a zero to it.’
The conference kicked off with a prophetic word about the ceiling being lifted, and how we needed to remove any and every limitation on God. In the words of Jonathan Stanfield, concerning whatever we are believing for, ‘Add a zero to it.’ I felt a stirring in my spirit that this was going to set the tone for the days ahead, for me personally as well as for our Four12 partnership of churches. And it certainly did.
Father God reminded us many times over, through the preaching, through the prophetic and through our praise, of the greatness of His Name, and the greatness of His kingdom mandate upon us to go to the nations. The nations were high on God’s agenda. The nations ARE high on God’s agenda. We were mobilised again to be a people on the move – a people who must be willing to go and reach our neighbourhoods; to go and disciple the nations; to go with the message of the gospel, but also with a demonstration of the (“forgotten”) gospel; to go in spite of cost; to go and lay ahold of our God-given inheritance across our globe.
As Will Marais put it, ‘Faith enables us to transition from hearing to seeing’.
This was a personal challenge to my wife, Sarah, and I, as we have been seeking God as to where and how God wants to use us next. We continue to discern with our elders and with apostolic input exactly how this will shape up, but one thing is sure: God is calling us to a new faith adventure in Him, with faith being the order of the day! As Will Marais put it, ‘Faith enables us to transition from hearing to seeing’. We are beginning to see it! Now to do it! And it’s not comfortable, it’s not convenient, it’s not manageable, it’s far beyond our expectations, and it’s far beyond our ability…but God!
One of our highlights was being called out to receive a prophetic word, and following this, having our church come out and pray over us. As our Christian Life Centre family started coming forward, it felt like an army rising up as saints came out from all across the auditorium to encircle us. What a powerful picture of being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses!
Another highlight was Melanie du Toit’s message on being ‘Friends with Jesus‘, and the wonderfully powerful visual of us keeping in “dance step” with the Holy Spirit, our lead dance partner. During this time there was a strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit – both the person of the Holy Spirit and also the power of the Holy Spirit – to energize us, empower us and fill us with joy.
Intimacy leads to impact!
Andrew Selley’s preach about keeping ‘Your First Love’ alive was truly inspirational, yet gut-wrench challenging. Who can forget his testimony about the fishing trip and how God directed him to that family?! We were reminded that our friendship with God is our greatest privilege, and is the only thing that will keep us running the race. With all the talk about going to the nations, our only fuel for being truly fruitful in our going is our devotion to Jesus. ‘When we lose our love, we lose our ability to shine’, because it’s only Jesus that we have to offer the world, and without Him we have nothing to shine! It’s this light that will draw men, women and children into the kingdom, nothing else. Intimacy leads to impact!
Lastly, who can forget Jonathan Stanfield’s rousing and vein-popping display of passionate praise on stage, as we collectively proclaimed the words to ‘Give Us Your Courage’ – something of an anthem during our time together. In fact, the words to that song seem the best way of wrapping up a short account of an eternally significant time in the Isle of Man.
Give Us Your Courage (Tim Hughes)
I’m not backing down, I will stand my ground
Lifting high the name of Jesus
Holding out Your light to a world in need
Living out the love of Jesus
And though the battles rage, Your blessing still will come
To the ends of the earth, we will go
To the ends of the earth, we will go
Fill us with power, fill us with power
For the truth of Your word, we will stand
For the truth of Your word, we will stand
Give us Your courage, give us Your courage
Be our strength and song, till the battle’s won
Cause Your face to shine upon us
Stretch Your hand to save, our God never fails
Nothing is impossible for You
Would You breathe on us
Would You breathe on us
Would You breathe on us
Would You breathe on us
Watch the 2019 Conference in the Isle of Man Messages here:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLblBIDzmle6gI_6Gs7aV1t3-WiADOvdml
Get the App: https://subsplash.com/four12global/app
Website: https://www.archive.four12global.com/resources/messages/
