England
Spring 2020
STANDING IN THE GAP
Standing in the gap at these changing and turbulent times in our nation
As Lydias and intercessors it is vital that we pray with understanding. To be like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Israel should do (1 Chron 12:32). To pray effectively we need to understand what exactly is going on in our nation and why. It is vital that our prayers align with His purposes. If we fail to do this we could find ourselves praying against God and His purposes We need to know what time and season we are in as a nation.
‘There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.’ Ecclesiastes 3
My concordance says: ‘Man has little or no control over times and changes.’ The eternal God sovereignly determines all of life’s activities and the Psalmist says ‘My times are in His hands.’ God is the God of history who is working through all of history to bring about His end conclusion. For God does have a time clock that is ticking and we should be looking to what it is pointing to. The bible contains around 500 prophecies of events that will happen before the return of Jesus. We are surely witnessing hugely significant events lining up with the scriptural signs of the Lord’s return.
We read in Luke 21 Jesus likening the signs of His return to birth pains which would gradually increase and get worse. Jesus stressed the importance of watching for these signs. Why? So we would be ready and prepared for His return. Remember the parable he told of the 10 virgins, five of whom were not ready!
The first warning Jesus gave was the need to watch out that no one deceives us. Lydias are watchmen and we have to be vigilant to not be deceived. To listen carefully to what we are hearing, does it line up with scripture? We are warned in 1 & 2 Timothy, ‘To watch our doctrine closely as there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine but to suit their own desires will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth.’
In Colossians 8:8 we are told to, ‘See to it that no one takes us captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.’
So what Time and Season is our nation in now?
In a single generation there have been momentous changes in the fundamental nature of western civilisation. For 50 years our nation has steadily been eroding the biblical foundation that once made it a great nation that took the gospel to the ends of the earth. These foundations have been ripped apart. Laws have been passed that are directly against biblical truth.
Where once biblical values were the bedrock of our schools, we now have cultural relativism being taught through sex education with the slogan ‘if it feels right for you, just do it.’ Even telling our young children as young as 4 years old that they can change the gender they were born with. Is it any wonder that so many of our young children are now suffering mental and emotional problems? All as a result of our nation losing its moral and spiritual compass.
Who is to blame?
When everything goes wrong in the nation, the Biblical principle is not to blame the politicians but to blame the religious leaders. Ezekiel 34:10
We have not heard any prophetic call to the nation to turn to God from the Church of England. No call to prayer, no call to repentance, no recognition of our departure from the Word of the Lord. They don’t understand the way God is working His purposes out today, how He is shaking the nations. Hebrews 12:26-27 The Church is silent at a time when the Word of the Lord is desperately needed. We are a nation under judgement and this is the time we are now in. The only hope is for repentance and turning to God.
"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it." Ezekiel 22:30
This is where Lydia comes in – to Stand in the Gap.
In Romans 15:4 we read that everything that was written in the past was written to teach us and so, to have more understanding of how God works, it is vital that as Lydias we know our bible. In Ezekiel 12:1-2 we read just how bad Israel’s rebellion had become and the reason God’s hand was poised for judgement. We can liken this to the state of our own nation now. Only intercession has the capacity to turn around a whole nation and change its ultimate destiny. It involves personal risk and sacrifice, and it means taking a position before God on behalf of those for whom we pray. The English word intercession actually means ‘to go between.’
We see in the book of Exodus that when the people of Israel were in great trouble because of their sin, Moses did not just pray for them. He took up a position before God. He boldly stood in the breach. Moses dared get in the way of God when the Lord was furious against Israel to burn them up. God said, ‘Get out of my way’ but Moses did not move an inch. By this position he became a wall of protection for the people against the wrath of the Lord. Yes, God did punish many but He still had to fulfil His plan and purpose for Israel. His covenant with Abraham was an everlasting covenant and God is faithful.
We are not saying that our intercession prevents God from judging evil, or that He will tolerate sin forever. This is not true. Nor can we talk about changing the will of God because His will cannot be changed. But we can alter the way in which God will execute His will. He can choose to deal with the sins of a city or nation without destroying the people and the land.
God can destroy sin through revival, by bringing people to their knees, to repent before Him. We know that from the story of Nineveh. Though it was facing severe judgement of God and destined for destruction, through Jonah’s message the whole city repented. From the greatest to the least, everyone turned away from their sins.
So intercession can change the way in which God will deal with a sinful nation, opening up the way for a spiritual revival to deal with ungodliness. Our intercession is required to influence God’s heart to turn from judgement and bring salvation to the people of a land or city.
Do we believe God has a purpose for Britain?
We might have every reason to believe that His return is truly right at the door (Matthew 24:23) and we should certainly live like it. But we do not know what mercies the Lord will yet grant us, nor what intercession might yet achieve in this season of judgement, purging and cleansing of the nation.
Surely, wonderful Lydia ladies we are here for ‘such a time as this.’
Joy Ransome
Lydia Fellowship England National Team
Spring 2020
STANDING IN THE GAP
Standing in the gap at these changing and turbulent times in our nation
As Lydias and intercessors it is vital that we pray with understanding. To be like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Israel should do (1 Chron 12:32). To pray effectively we need to understand what exactly is going on in our nation and why. It is vital that our prayers align with His purposes. If we fail to do this we could find ourselves praying against God and His purposes We need to know what time and season we are in as a nation.
‘There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.’ Ecclesiastes 3
My concordance says: ‘Man has little or no control over times and changes.’ The eternal God sovereignly determines all of life’s activities and the Psalmist says ‘My times are in His hands.’ God is the God of history who is working through all of history to bring about His end conclusion. For God does have a time clock that is ticking and we should be looking to what it is pointing to. The bible contains around 500 prophecies of events that will happen before the return of Jesus. We are surely witnessing hugely significant events lining up with the scriptural signs of the Lord’s return.
We read in Luke 21 Jesus likening the signs of His return to birth pains which would gradually increase and get worse. Jesus stressed the importance of watching for these signs. Why? So we would be ready and prepared for His return. Remember the parable he told of the 10 virgins, five of whom were not ready!
The first warning Jesus gave was the need to watch out that no one deceives us. Lydias are watchmen and we have to be vigilant to not be deceived. To listen carefully to what we are hearing, does it line up with scripture? We are warned in 1 & 2 Timothy, ‘To watch our doctrine closely as there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine but to suit their own desires will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth.’
In Colossians 8:8 we are told to, ‘See to it that no one takes us captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.’
So what Time and Season is our nation in now?
In a single generation there have been momentous changes in the fundamental nature of western civilisation. For 50 years our nation has steadily been eroding the biblical foundation that once made it a great nation that took the gospel to the ends of the earth. These foundations have been ripped apart. Laws have been passed that are directly against biblical truth.
Where once biblical values were the bedrock of our schools, we now have cultural relativism being taught through sex education with the slogan ‘if it feels right for you, just do it.’ Even telling our young children as young as 4 years old that they can change the gender they were born with. Is it any wonder that so many of our young children are now suffering mental and emotional problems? All as a result of our nation losing its moral and spiritual compass.
Who is to blame?
When everything goes wrong in the nation, the Biblical principle is not to blame the politicians but to blame the religious leaders. Ezekiel 34:10
We have not heard any prophetic call to the nation to turn to God from the Church of England. No call to prayer, no call to repentance, no recognition of our departure from the Word of the Lord. They don’t understand the way God is working His purposes out today, how He is shaking the nations. Hebrews 12:26-27 The Church is silent at a time when the Word of the Lord is desperately needed. We are a nation under judgement and this is the time we are now in. The only hope is for repentance and turning to God.
"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it." Ezekiel 22:30
This is where Lydia comes in – to Stand in the Gap.
In Romans 15:4 we read that everything that was written in the past was written to teach us and so, to have more understanding of how God works, it is vital that as Lydias we know our bible. In Ezekiel 12:1-2 we read just how bad Israel’s rebellion had become and the reason God’s hand was poised for judgement. We can liken this to the state of our own nation now. Only intercession has the capacity to turn around a whole nation and change its ultimate destiny. It involves personal risk and sacrifice, and it means taking a position before God on behalf of those for whom we pray. The English word intercession actually means ‘to go between.’
We see in the book of Exodus that when the people of Israel were in great trouble because of their sin, Moses did not just pray for them. He took up a position before God. He boldly stood in the breach. Moses dared get in the way of God when the Lord was furious against Israel to burn them up. God said, ‘Get out of my way’ but Moses did not move an inch. By this position he became a wall of protection for the people against the wrath of the Lord. Yes, God did punish many but He still had to fulfil His plan and purpose for Israel. His covenant with Abraham was an everlasting covenant and God is faithful.
We are not saying that our intercession prevents God from judging evil, or that He will tolerate sin forever. This is not true. Nor can we talk about changing the will of God because His will cannot be changed. But we can alter the way in which God will execute His will. He can choose to deal with the sins of a city or nation without destroying the people and the land.
God can destroy sin through revival, by bringing people to their knees, to repent before Him. We know that from the story of Nineveh. Though it was facing severe judgement of God and destined for destruction, through Jonah’s message the whole city repented. From the greatest to the least, everyone turned away from their sins.
So intercession can change the way in which God will deal with a sinful nation, opening up the way for a spiritual revival to deal with ungodliness. Our intercession is required to influence God’s heart to turn from judgement and bring salvation to the people of a land or city.
Do we believe God has a purpose for Britain?
We might have every reason to believe that His return is truly right at the door (Matthew 24:23) and we should certainly live like it. But we do not know what mercies the Lord will yet grant us, nor what intercession might yet achieve in this season of judgement, purging and cleansing of the nation.
Surely, wonderful Lydia ladies we are here for ‘such a time as this.’
Joy Ransome
Lydia Fellowship England National Team
Spring 2020
50 YEARS OF LYDIA FELLOWSHIP
Shelagh McAlpine wrote: ‘In 1970 the first Bible Study took place in our home with about 26 women attending. Joy Dawson was the speaker and the subject was intercession. God prospered the work in the home and, in the spring of 1971, the first Annual Ladies Conference was convened. The Lord’s word to me was Zech 8:13. “You will be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.”
‘God established the principles of Lydia which is interdenominational as well as International. The result has been the multiplication of Lydia prayer cells. The Church, Community and County is blessed whenever and wherever it is reached by 20th Century Lydias.’
Zech 8:13. This verse is still as much a verse for us today in 2020 as it was 50 years ago. Tracing God’s faithfulness as a Fellowship over these 50 years, we see how God has blessed us and made us a blessing. ‘Fear not, but let your hands be strong.’ The same Hebrew word is used in Judges 9:11 and is translated as encouraged. Gideon was encouraged to attack the Midianites after listening to the soldiers in the Camp. (Read the context). I believe that this scripture is a rhema word for us today. We know that we are in a battle in days the like have not been seen in our lifetime. We need to stand on this promise that God gave to Shelagh and meditate on this word so that it goes deep into our spirits.
The Lord is calling us afresh to rededicate ourselves to Him and He wants to continue to use us as His Handmaidens in the place of Prayer. He still gives the Word and the strategy to us and shows the way. Jesus calls us to come back to the secret place, fix our eyes on our beloved, listen to His voice and hear what He has to say to us. We will then receive the strategy of heaven – for the Church, the nation, government, our families and the lost.
We celebrate 50 years of God’s faithfulness and give our Sovereign Lord thanks and praise. We thank Him for the women who have been faithful to their call in Lydia and who have taught us through His Word how to pray and meditate. Women who have been examples of a life well lived as they served their Master Jesus.
“YOU WILL BE A BLESSING. FEAR NOT, BUT LET YOUR HANDS BE STRONG.”
Margaret Watts
United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Co-ordinator
Spring 2020
Shelagh McAlpine wrote: ‘In 1970 the first Bible Study took place in our home with about 26 women attending. Joy Dawson was the speaker and the subject was intercession. God prospered the work in the home and, in the spring of 1971, the first Annual Ladies Conference was convened. The Lord’s word to me was Zech 8:13. “You will be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.”
‘God established the principles of Lydia which is interdenominational as well as International. The result has been the multiplication of Lydia prayer cells. The Church, Community and County is blessed whenever and wherever it is reached by 20th Century Lydias.’
Zech 8:13. This verse is still as much a verse for us today in 2020 as it was 50 years ago. Tracing God’s faithfulness as a Fellowship over these 50 years, we see how God has blessed us and made us a blessing. ‘Fear not, but let your hands be strong.’ The same Hebrew word is used in Judges 9:11 and is translated as encouraged. Gideon was encouraged to attack the Midianites after listening to the soldiers in the Camp. (Read the context). I believe that this scripture is a rhema word for us today. We know that we are in a battle in days the like have not been seen in our lifetime. We need to stand on this promise that God gave to Shelagh and meditate on this word so that it goes deep into our spirits.
The Lord is calling us afresh to rededicate ourselves to Him and He wants to continue to use us as His Handmaidens in the place of Prayer. He still gives the Word and the strategy to us and shows the way. Jesus calls us to come back to the secret place, fix our eyes on our beloved, listen to His voice and hear what He has to say to us. We will then receive the strategy of heaven – for the Church, the nation, government, our families and the lost.
We celebrate 50 years of God’s faithfulness and give our Sovereign Lord thanks and praise. We thank Him for the women who have been faithful to their call in Lydia and who have taught us through His Word how to pray and meditate. Women who have been examples of a life well lived as they served their Master Jesus.
“YOU WILL BE A BLESSING. FEAR NOT, BUT LET YOUR HANDS BE STRONG.”
Margaret Watts
United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Co-ordinator
Spring 2020