Mustard Seeds

Psalm 68:28 – Summon your power, God,, show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.

All around us today we see signs of what God is doing in us and through us, and I believe there is a big Revival to come; it could possibly be the next unfulfilled part of Smith Wigglesworth’s Prophecy of 1947 [1], following the coming together of the Word and Spirit Ministries which he prophesied.

One of our young people has been doing her degree at Glasgow University and has been active in Fusion there (Fusion is a student movement that functions nationwide and beyond – students anywhere can get involved [2]); they are taking Jesus to students and getting a huge response. Nationally from around the 1960s onwards we have seen the young evangelise their seniors. The UK could then re-evangelise Europe, which Jean Darnell saw in a vision in 1967 [i][3] as part of a huge outpouring of the Spirit.

In the latter stages of the 20th Century and the early period of the 21st we have seen hundreds, if not thousands of new churches planted; many of these have been on greenfield sites, while a lot have come from the revitalisation of old churches that have fallen into disuse or been re-purposed for secular use. There have been large numbers of new Christian Fellowships sprouting in the UK and beyond, although the largest areas of church growth at present are Africa, Latin America and Asia, especially China. The latest statistics show that the decline in church attendance and membership in the UK is slowly but steadily being reversed, and this article from the Bible Society (The Quiet Revival), about the way in which God is blessing a church in Peckham in South London today [4][5][6], illustrates a trend which is happening increasingly.

Over the last 40 years my wife and I have regularly attended several different churches in the areas of the UK where we have lived; these were both Church of England and independent fellowships, and we have personally experienced the coming together of Word and Spirit ministries, always accompanied by church growth. We have seen both regular attendees coming to a new level of faith, and also new growth from non-churchgoers finding new Life in the churches to which they have been drawn.

Most significantly we have seen Evangelical churches based solidly on the Word of God, moving powerfully in the Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14), where people are drawn to what they have seen as a real and vibrant faith in those churches. The fact that all of this is set onto a deep prayer base is the essence of Revival.

How many of you are gardeners? Do you watch your Spring planting anxiously for signs of germination and new growth? This is a parable of what God is doing in the UK and worldwide at present. Oh, and incidentally a peregrine falcon chick hatched in a nesting box on Worcester Cathedral on Easter Day! A positive sign of New Life.

On Palm Sunday 15 of us prayer-walked around the village carrying the torch of the Holy Spirit. Early on Good Friday morning God showed me a great conflagration burning the whole of our village, but like Moses' bush in Exodus 3 it was not consumed. This was clearly an indication that the Holy Spirit is moving among us, and moving in power!

Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God is living and active (i.e. dynamic). God speaks to us today by His Spirit and God’s Spirit is moving in power in our church and community. In February 2025 God quickened to me Ezekiel 37:1-10 (the Valley of Dry Bones) and verse 11 says, “These bones are the people of Israel.” God said, “These bones are the people of your village.” You may like to read on as far as verse 14, applying it to your own community.

On Palm Sunday we prayer-walked around the village carrying the torch of the Holy Spirit. Now look back at the Easter weekend just gone (I write this on Easter Monday) and see the way God is working in our community; we had excellent attendances at our Holy Week and Easter services. We ran a stall at the Car Boot Sale in Tesco Car Park on Easter Day, not selling anything but offering chat and prayer. The response to this was very encouraging, and our now annual Messy Easter event in the local Country Park showed numbers attending which grow each year.

Brothers and sisters, God is moving! Praise His Name! And may we be always ready to hear and follow His lead.

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Peter Sebborn

May 2025

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