DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #32

Norway: what is God's plan?

Traditionally Lutheran Norway, with a church attendance below 3%, is starting to move spiritually. Here's a quick glimpse behind the spiritual scenes, if that's possible:
A new spirit of repentance
According to intercession leader Brian Mills, cabinet ministers also attended the first national prayer conference, held in May 1998, at which there were many tears and much prayer for the nation. A new spirit is visible: following a sermon in a traditional independent church in north Oslo, almost everyone went forward to confess their sins and seek reconciliation with God.
Anglican Mark Stibbe, who visited Scandinavia frequently in recent years, sent the following report:
A vision of four lamps
"In 1994, I had a vision: four golden lampstands, copies of the 7-armed lampstands in the Bible. An open Bible lay in front of them. The lights went on in an irregular pattern. I sensed the Lord telling me that these lampstands were symbols for the nations Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The lamps' fire is a symbol of the Holy Spirit's renewal power, and the open Bible represents the power of God's word. The first signs of revival are already visible:
1. Prophecy.

   In 1997, Esther Teo from Singapore had such a burden for Norway that she flew there for the first time in her life to deliver a special message: "There will be a revival in Europe. The Holy Spirit is moving from England to Norway, and Norway will be the gate to Europe. Missionary firestarters will take the revival from Norway to other parts of Europe. Pray for Norway's towns and cities; God will win the nation back through them. Prayer warriors from England will visit the country, and Norwegians will become prayer warriors, opposing Satan and commanding him to let their people go. But before this move of God's Spirit, there will be a movement of intercession and repentance.' Many Norwegian Christians were very encouraged by this message.

   Full churches in Oslo
   The following prophetic word was given during a recent seminar for Norwegian pastors in the Anglican St. Andrew's church in Chorleywood, London: "Just as with Joseph in Egypt, God's chosen man is leading the nation today. This will lead to a time of plenty. Many will enter God's kingdom when this nation wakes up. The storehouses will be filled, new people will come into the churches, and there will be much fruit in the towns. Oslo's churches will be filled. You won't be able to keep pace with the number of people who want to follow Jesus. All the pain in the years of sowing will be forgotten, and many will cry out 'The Lord has made us fruitful in the land of our suffering.'"

2. Politics.

   Prior to 1997, Norway's left-of-center government was pro-abortion, anti-Israel, for homosexuality. Most of the politicians were secular humanists, atheists or agnostics. In summer 1997, an English pastor travelled to Norway. He sensed God leading him to visit the 'Storting', the Norwegian Parliament. God told him to look for a man in a green jacket and give him a message. When the pastor arrived in the foyer, he looked around and found a man in a green jacket. He went up to the man and said "God says that you will lead this nation, and that you will lead the nation back to Jesus." As it turned out, the man was Kjell-Magne Bondevik. The pastor had never seen him before. At the start of 1997, Bondevik led a small Christian Democratic party, the KrF. That summer, the ruling Social Democratic party made the following announcement: "In the last election, we received 36.9% of the votes. If we are elected again, we want a significantly higher percentage of the vote in order to credibly continue governing." The election took place a few weeks later, and the Social Democrats had less than 36.9%. They kept their word, and made way for others to form the government. King Harald of Norway commissioned Kjell-Magne Bondevik with the task, and he was elected as Norway's new Prime Minister on 15 September 1997. Many Norwegian Christians had prayed and fasted for up to 40 days. Thirteen of the nineteen cabinet ministers in the new government are practising Christians. Bondevik", says Stibbe, "is a humble man of God, regularly attends his church's Bible study, prays with a 15-strong group of Christian men each month, and starts every day in Parliament in prayer with some of his colleagues."

   Diana's death and Tony Blair: key moments for Norway
   "Bondevik attributes the change partly to Princess Diana's death. It was a key moment for many Norwegians as they saw the English Prime Minister Tony Blair on television, reading from the Bible and obviously believing what he read. They saw a Christian Prime Minister, and thought to themselves 'We want someone like that'.

3. Power.

   Some astonishing reports of deeds in the power of the Holy Spirit are coming from Norway, many in connection with a Christian called Svein-Erik. Last summer, he went to the mountains to pray, and had an extraordinary encounter with God. Some of his friends say that he returned a changed man. While on a trip to Estonia to distribute food, clothes and medicine, the Holy Spirit suddenly came upon him, and he spoke fluent Estonian. Something similar happened during a recent visit to India. Back in Norway, God opened the way for him to speak about the gospel with many New Age-influenced people in the Trondheim area, through which many came to believe. Svein-Erik also had the opportunity to speak to a spiritist circle, and ten of them decided to become Christians. Since then, hundreds have come to Christ through his preaching. A journalist who was previously a theology teacher once heard Svein-Erik preach, and constantly said to himself 'You can't say it like that, that's far too simplistic!'. So many people were saved at the end of the sermon that the theologian and journalist sensed God saying to him 'Yes, you can say it like that!'"
Source: Mark Stibbe, Brian Mills, e-mail 106206.1226@compuserve.com