Lausanne Part 2: Glimpses of the BrideClaude Marsh - 21 Oct 2010
Claude Marsh from 24-7 Prayer in Malta is reporting for us from the Lausanne Congress in South Africa where thousands of church leaders from around the world are meeting. Visit the Lausanne website to follow the discussion online.
A Great multitude
In Revelations 7:9-10, John sees a great multitude giving glory to God in His throne room. At times during this Congress we caught glimpses of what that day might be like as Christians from 198 nations worshipped together in their own languages. Even in little groups, people staying in local residences sang songs of worship in different languages as they made their way to the venues.
It was also emotional at times as we interceded for the nations. Watching 5 Latinos crying out to God on behalf of Saudi Arabia, watching as a young South African knelt down on the world map to pray for China showing us another glimpse of this upside down Kingdom.
Reconciliation
The theme of the Congress is reconciliation: reconciliation to God, and reconciliation between men. It’s the sounding cry for the Church to be Pax Christi – the Peace of Christ, in this world, as we take our place as peace-makers in, and healers of, a broken world.
My eyes swelled with tears as I watched an Israeli and a Palestinian standing side by side proclaiming love for each other and telling how God had healed their hearts and changed their perspectives.
Modern day slavery was brought to the table with testimonies from an Indian lawyer of men and women enslaved in manual labour and the sex industry, and how they were being rescued and discovering God’s reconciling love.
We watched as AIDS victims shared how God brought healing to their hearts following discovery of their infection and God’s call on their lives as they advocate for fellow victims. They issued a call for the global church to face up to the AIDS pandemic.
The Persecuted Church
An 18 year old daughter of a North Korean martyr, spoke of her story discovering God after the martyrdom of her father and how God was calling her back to the nation to stand up for the rights of her people. She broke into tears as she asked all present to pray for the salvation of North Korea.
The Latino Cry
The South American Church presented what God is doing in their region, as this time came to a close they shared three concerns they had for the Global church. They spoke of the need to move away from making converts to making disciples and the need to protect our environment. This was greatly appreciated by all those present. The other concern was that abusive systems were being globalized causing more pain to the poor.
Prayer Request
I ask you this week to pray that God would move in power among these Global leaders, and that the Global Church would walk into Her calling.