THE LAST LAUGH IN THE UK
Astonishing stories of laughter and weeping disrupting church services continue to come in from all over the UK
The UK events follow remarkable scenes in Canadian and US churches since the beginning of the year.
Waves of uncontrollable laughter have swept through meetings as people experience the "unspeakably glory-filled joy" that the NewTestament speaks of.
Others have found themselves flat on the floor under the power of the Holy Spirit, while still others have staggered around as if they were drunk.
But it's not just the astonishing manifestations of the Holy Spirit that are catching people's attention. It's the remarkable changes in lives and in the atmosphere of the churches where these things are happening.
There's a sense that God is now literally present.
"Our church meetings were totally transformed and a new release of the Holy Spirit has overtaken us," Terry Virgo writes of his church in Columbia, Missouri, in New Frontiers magazine.
"I have never seen lives changed so rapidly and the atmosphere of a church altered so swiftly... The continuing impact on people's lives has been magnificent!"
Returning to the UK,Terry found much the same now taking place in this country. "The blessing of God seems to be very widespread," he concludes.
Sandy Millar, vicar of the Anglican Holy Trinity Brompton church in London, speaks of "prolonged laughter... inexpressible and glorious joy... prolonged weeping and crying and a sense of conviction and desire for forgiveness, purity and peace with God."
New church leader Bryn Jones reports an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in churches linked with the Covenant Ministries network in Bradford, the Wirral, Manchester, Chester, Leicester and other places in Alpha magazine.
Noel Stanton of the Jesus Fellowship writes in the Jesus Life magazine, "It's reminiscent of the charismatic buzz of the '60s and '70s. which swept around the UK. There have been many waves since, but the present wave could well be the big one...
"This really is God reviving His people... This is a charismatic revival movement which will spread through the nation."
The Jesus Army July evangelistic campaign in London saw both gales of laughter and tears of repentance.
The outcome of this anointing of the Holy Spirit was a greater awareness of God and a sense of greater power in evangelism.
One team member found the result was that her natural shyness was overcome and now she just wanted to pray with people.
"Praying with people on the street was easier and more effective," said another team member, Julie Dent.
"Not only did I feel changed, but the Holy Spirit seemed to bring a softness and openness to the people we talked to."
There had been much laughter amongst the team during the week, but at the Sunday morning meeting there was a general wave of repentance, with many people weeping and crying out to God.
"People carried a new sense of tenderness to God. I became aware of many little things which had seemed right before but now I knew just weren't," said Julie.
The next meeting was full of laughter once again. Such was the Holy Spirit "drunkenness" that passers-by came into the meeting, looking for the bar, only to be amazed by the power of God!
This article has been extracted from Revival Fires, available online from the Jesus People Shop.
Source: Revival Now!, Jesus Fellowship.
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