John D Manwell's Blog

The Following is the text of a speech I gave in a consultation meeting in the House of Lords on 25th March 2010:

When I spoke here sixteen months ago I said that I believed that God was saying that we should gather Christians in business for two years and then see Christians raised up in public life over the subsequent two years. If this was true, we have an urgent task over the coming eight months! I hope we are agreed that we have a most urgent situation in front of us.

Talking with people across the country it seems that people are either passive or provoked.

Those who seem passive have perhaps not been informed adequately. Perhaps they are in churches or businesses that are consumed with current activity, or led by leaders who simply don’t believe that God is doing anything. I believe that many, the majority, in our nation are gripped by the attitude described in Zephaniah 1v12 : “..those who are complacent,…who think ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’”

In business this means the economy will recover, and we will soon get back to pursuing our goals. In politics it means that the Living God is not a factor, only public opinion matters. In society it means that there are no absolutes and we are masters of our own souls.

There are however a growing number who have been provoked and motivated to speak and take action.

Six months ago we launched a Christian Business Forum and within weeks had over 150 members signed up and it continues to grow. Speaking out and being ‘a voice’ is a major theme. Our prayer meetings have been enthusiastically attended and filled with passionate urgent prayer. There have also been Spirit led connections opening new business ideas. The concept of ‘Business as Mission’ seems to have caught fire worldwide amongst many independent groups. In the pressure there is certainly hope.

What should we be doing?

I believe that:

• We must recognise that a real national emergency is almost upon us.
• The trauma approaching will affect businesses and the economy. This will affect household incomes and the capacity of the state to provide services.
• With economic stress there will be racial and social tension. We MUST realise that the far right racist parties FULLY intend to exploit the situation, as apparent vindication of their social agenda. Be aware – the main national racist party already distributes material quoting 2 Chronicles 7:14 and clearly stating “It has been left to this party to call the nation to prayer.”
• We must motivate people to live a more contented lifestyle and reduce their debts, give to others who are in need, and save for the future so they don’t need to borrow.
• The Church of Jesus Christ must speak out in every sphere of our national life. We need business leaders who pray publicly and dare to disciple people; We need political activists who are not looking for a career but to speak truth, however unpopular;
• We must speak out, otherwise we leave the green movement creating a new moral agenda, and the extreme right stealing and distorting our Christian heritage.
• If a million active voting Christians will make public their intention to vote for Christians and Christian values, the political landscape will be changed.

More than ever we need Christian believers to be vocal and active leaders where they are. It is Judeo-Christian truth that brings liberty, tolerance and fairness, more so than any other religion or philosophy. It is the Church that must demonstrate racial harmony – more so than any other institution.

I believe the word that God has given me to share for this hour is from the book of Esther. Through manipulative leaders a law was issued: that the people of God could be rounded up and attacked. This law drove the people to call on God and then a second decree was issued which changed everything: The people of God were given permission to defend themselves. The effect was immediate: The people of God were filled with joy and the enemies of God were overcome with fear.

God is reminding the Church in Britain: You have permission to defend yourselves.

Some signs of this:

Christian Business networks are springing forth with boldness everywhere!

In Liverpool a Christian singer friend of mine, Liam Moore has taught over 6000 school children a song called ‘You’re the Voice’ – challenging them to be the generation that speaks out against bullying and violence.

On Facebook right now 41,000 people are planning to buy the Christian song ‘History Maker’ in Easter week to get it to the top of the charts – to make a visible statement for the Kingdom.

Across the country a fresh wave of Christians are standing in the parliamentary and local elections to speak out for Christian democracy.

Great Britain is at a crossroads. We still have a choice about which way to go.

This entry was posted on March 26, 2010 at 3:55 pm and is filed under Christian Truth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.