Sir William Dobbie Glorifies God Defending Malta

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Lieut. General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie, GCMG, KCB, DSO, was converted on November 1, 1893.

“It was the first Sunday in November, 1893”, he writes, “when I was spending a half term holiday at Blackheath (England). I realized for the first time, although I had often heard it before, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had come to this earth for the express purpose of laying down His life as the atonement for my sin, in order to deliver me from its penalty and power, so that I might go free! I then and there accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, on the grounds that by His death He had settled my debt once for all…”

Dobbie was born in Madras, India on July 12, 1879. When he was only nine months old he was left in England to receive a proper education, which he achieved with success being a top-ranking classical scholar and a keen student of ancient military campaigns. He went on to graduate from the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich.

He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers at the age of 20 and then served with distinction in the South African Boer War, winning the rare honour of the Queen’s Medal with five clasps, indicating further awards.

In 1904 he married Sybil Orde-Browne and in time that union provided them one daughter and two sons.

In World War I Dobbie not only won the D.S.O. but has the unique honour to have been the officer who issued the order to the British armies to “Cease Fire on Armistice Day, November 11th, 1918.

In 1940 Dobbie was called out of retirement to take on the role of Governor of Malta, which role called heavily on his military skills and his faith in God during World War II.

In his book, A Very Present Help, Dobbie gives gratitude to God for the deliverance He wrought during those incredibly dark days (1940-1942). In 1945 he toured the USA speaking to large audiences about the battle for Malta and always giving high praise to God.

His second order to the people and forces on the tiny island of Malta said, “I call upon all officers and other ranks humbly to seek God’s help, and then in reliance upon Him to do their duty unflinchingly.”

Dobbie was not alone in his strong faith in God. He received a telegram form the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Sir Edmund Ironside, as the siege of Malta began and the wording was: “Personal from the C.I.G.S., Deuteronomy Chapter Three, Verse Twenty-Two”. Dobbie looked up the verse in his Bible and found: “Ye shall not fear them; for the Lord your God, He shall fight for you”.

Malta endured more than 2,300 air raids and was so vulnerable that its ability to remain in British hands is truly amazing.

Dobbie summarised it: “The whole thing is a miracle–a long drawn out miracle. The siege lasted for two and a half years, and the odds against us, especially in the early days, were enormous. In the latter days the dangers were equally great but of a different kind. Our food supplies very nearly ran out and it was desperately difficult to get the food through the Mediterranean to Malta, but we just got enough through to enable Malta to turn the corner.”

Dobbie received many honours during World War II, including from the French and Belgiums. However his eldest son, a Major in the Royal Engineers, was killed in Italy in the latter stages of the war.

Lieut. General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie died in 1964.

This post is based on the work of my late friend Donald Prout whose love for books and Christian history led him to collate a daily Christian calendar. I continue to work with Don’s wife, Barbara, to share his life work with the world. I have updated some of these historical posts and will hopefully draw from Don’s huge files of clippings to continue this series beyond Don’s original work. More of Don’s work can be found at www.donaldprout.com. I am indebted to Don for awakening in me an interest in Church History, which I previously considered to be a little stuffy and of little practical value. I find in the process of updating Don’s Christian Diary that I am being constantly refreshed, illuminated or challenged by the lives of those who have gone before.

Raised From the Dead, Update

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My wife has kept in touch with the lady in Melbourne who prayed for a man who then came back to life. The lady, Nais Grant, sent Susan this report today, so I am posting it here to update the amazing events of last week. Here is Nais Grant’s Report on the Amazing Recovery of the Man Raised from the Dead in Melbourne last week.

As background to what happened: I was able to go over to the Lakeland Outpouring earlier this year. My son, Lucas, and I went over in May, and as Pastors received the ‘impartation’ night after night after the service, and also received impartation from the Arnott’s when they ministered at Ignite at the 10 am service. It was a privilege to go, and we also had the opportunity to go to the House of Prayer in Kansas City, after which we went to Redding in California to have one weekend with Bill Johnson’s church. There we received another portion of blessing and impartation.

All the above encouraged me to believe that we could see the miraculous here (in Australia). I had been saying to myself, “When will I ever be able to have an opportunity to pray for someone who has died and see the resurrection life of Christ minister life through me?”

Last week – Monday (June 30), I was in the Endeavour Hills shopping centre, and after shopping at Safeway, I noticed a man had just collapsed nearby. I went over as a couple of others ran to his rescue to try to resuscitate him. All I could see is that he was blue/black in the face, and he had stopped breathing, and I began to pray openly for God to cover this situation. Another lady walked up to me, and asked me if I was praying in tongues and I said yes, and she joined me in praying for this man. No one seemed to know who he was. He was alone. A couple of ladies were trying to get his heart pumping, and I could see that he wasn’t breathing at all, and he had blood coming out of his mouth. My new found sister in Christ – Angela, and I just kept quoting scripture and praying for this man to be kept, that there would be no brain damage, and that he would be raised up to know Jesus… to be given a second chance at life with Christ. She encouraged me, to let those around know that I was a minister, and ask if it was ok to go over and pray for him. They all said yes, so I did….. I knelt down and held his hand and prayed for him. I prayed that God would raise him up…..I rebuked death, and spoke life over him..

After much time, (prob. 10 -15 mins) the ambulance officers came in, and still they couldn’t get him to breathe, and we just kept on believing and praying for him – nothing doubting that God would break through for him. I stayed for about 30 minutes praying. Later I heard they did get a pulse, but it was arterial fibrillation, he was put into the ambulance, and then his heart beat came back, and he began to breathe. The ambulance officers didn’t have anything with them to try to restart his heart – they just took over from the ladies who were trying to get him to breathe manually. Over this whole time, we kept interceding.

Last Saturday, a Doctor, John Crock, followed it through, and we were able to go and meet the revived man, Mr. Jordon, and his wife at Monash Hospital. He was so excited to meet me. He sat there, and told me he was a miracle! He never shops at Endeavour Hills, and believes that God set up our appointment. His wife wouldn’t stop hugging me. They know it was God who raised him up. The Doctor’s report says “stunning recovery”. They expected him to be brain damaged. There is nothing wrong with him. He gets out of hospital this week. He just had a bit of memory loss last week. They actually had friends knocking on Church doors in Endeavour Hills trying to find this lady Minister who prayed for him. Here he was on Sunday afternoon, now smiling, sitting on a chair, so excited to meet me, and fully he acknowledges his recovery was a MIRACLE. (As yet I haven’t had the opportunity to talk with Angela to tell her the whole story – I gave her my number but haven’t heard from her). Dr. John will do a report for me, as he studied the ambulance report, and the report from the Doctor’s – and it said “death”, and no heart beat, no breathing, and now he’s well and truly alive & getting out of hospital.

I had Dr. John come with me to my Church, here at Hope Generation (AOG) that I planted with my family 8 years ago, to give witness to the fact that this man was dead from the records and is alive today due to the prayer and intercession made on his behalf by myself and this other lady I still have yet to talk to !

You’re Not Dead Yet

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There is still hope for you yet. In fact there is going to be hope for you until the day you die. You may have given up already and others may have written you off, but “you ain’t dead yet!” and so there’s still plenty of hope for you and your situation.

Death was once defined as “the cessation of all radical change”. When I tried to track down that definition I couldn’t find it, but it catches the idea that as long as someone is alive they are able to make significant change to who and what they are.

A sinner can choose to put their faith in Christ even as they slip from life. Until death has made its final blow people are open to change, even quite radical change.

So, if you’re still breathing there is hope for you and the mess you are in.

Sadly we make the assumption we are locked into things and we endure our circumstances as if they are unchangeable. We see ourselves as unchangeable too.

But, as I’ve said already, “You’re not dead yet”!

History is littered with testimony of people who made significant, revolutionary and unexpected change. The power of God changes people. The grace of God changes people. A wake-up shake-up can cause people to take action they have kept avoiding. New insights have empowered people to make changes they previously thought impossible.

So, cheer up. You ain’t dead yet! Today is jam packed with miracle potential. You can change the rest of your life, the future of your descendents and even eternal destinies by what you choose to do today.

Aren’t you glad you’re alive?

Man Raised From the Dead in Melbourne 2 Days Ago

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Early Tuesday afternoon I received an email from a friend with the amazing news that a man had been raised from the dead in a suburban shopping centre in Melbourne. Yesterday, as a further development on this news, I met the brother of the woman who prayed for the miracle and he confirms that this event did take place. So now I’m passing on the details to you. (note: since the initial posting of this report I have spoken with the woman who prayed for the man and have refined the detail)

At the Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne on Monday June 30 a man collapsed in the open walkway area of the centre. The man was in his mid 50’s (estimated) and on his own.

A Christian lady, Pastor Nais Grant, was nearby when the man collapsed. She began praying for the man, as others gathered around and some members of the public began CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) in attempt to get his heart beating again. Blood had come from the man’s mouth and he had stopped breathing. The man gave a few breaths then became listless and unresponsive.

Another lady came up to the pastor and asked if she was praying and if she was praying in tongues. The pastor said she was. The lady said she too was a Christian and had been watching the reports of miracles happening in Florida. This newcomer suggested that they should pray for the man to live.

The paramedics arrived and gave oxygen while also continuing to give CPR. They were unable to revive the man. The pastor asked the paramedics if it is OK to pray for the man. She was told that the efforts of the paramedics were doing no good, so they were welcome to try. The ambulance officers could not reactivate any signs of life.

Nais prayed out loud, rebuking the spirit of death and calling for the man to revive. After a short period of time the medical officers pronounce the man dead. His skin was grey and mottled in appearance.

The two ladies continued to pray for the man and about six minutes after the man was pronounced dead he began breathing and his heartbeat was restored.

The medical officers, more than surprised, checked the man and confirmed that he was revived.

Because of the seriousness of the event the man was transported by ambulance to Hospital for thorough checking. The time span from the man dropping dead and having his pulse and breathing restored was at least 20 minutes.

It seems we are seeing the early stages of a long awaited season of power. In the 1970’s I heard preachers talking about how the power of God was up until then very much the preserve of a small number of people. Those people, consequently, became something like super-stars. Kathryn Kuhlman, Oral Roberts, Aimee Semple-McPherson, Sister Etter, T L Osborne and others were members of an elite group who were recognised for the healings which attended their ministry.

Then in the 1970’s people began prophesying that the day of the big name was past and that God was going to empower ordinary Christians to do what the big name preachers were doing. This is consistent with the words of Christ in Mark 16:17,18 – “these signs will follow those who believe – they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover”.

Bethel Church in Redding, California is probably the best known place for the current promotion of ordinary Christians into powerful ministry. Pastor Bill Johnson encourages his whole congregation to look for opportunities to move in the power of God. Testimonies of ordinary people doing extraordinary things have been widely promoted. If you are not aware of this, have a look at the YouTube video clip from CBN, at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw-0wR87okY

Add to that the current miracle reports which have spilled out across the globe in the wake of what is happening in Lakeland Florida, under the ministry of Todd Bentley, and this seems to be a season of the release of healing and miracles.

If so, then what are the implications for us? What are we to expect next?

The Bible – Indestructible Seed

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I have extolled the value of the Bible in previous posts and I now want to point to a miraculous quality about this oft abused and rejected book. I have previously described the Bible as the most Enduring, Authoritative, Profound, Resilient, Enlightening, Impactful, Endorsed and Significant book in all human history. Beyond all of those qualities is the fact that the Bible is an ‘indestructible seed’.
We all know what a seed is. It is the germ of a thing, which when planted will germinate and begin developing into a full-grown version of the thing which it came from. An fertilised apple seed will recreate an apple tree. A human seed, when fertilised, will develop into a new human being. A chicken seed, when fertilised, will develop into a new chicken. And so it goes across most created things.

Now consider this principle, which I first enunciated back in the 1980’s. “If you can destroy the seed you can destroy what it produces.” 

Can you destroy an apple seed? If I were to smash an apple seed with a hammer could I destroy it? Once it has been mashed by my hammer will it be able to grow into an apple tree? The answers are that an apple seed can be destroyed and will be mashed by a hammer. The mashed seed will not produce an apple tree. So we know that the apple seed is destructible. (This probably sounds patently obvious and maybe too childish for your advanced brain – but stay with me a while, please.)

We agree that we can destroy an apple seed. Can we also destroy an apple tree? Yes, we can. So what about human and chicken seed? Can they be destroyed? Yes. Can humans and chickens be destroyed too? Yes. So there’s my amazing principle displayed in human experience. “If you can destroy the seed you can destroy what it produces.”

So, what about a seed that cannot be destroyed? If I came up with a seed that could not be mashed by a hammer or burned in a fire, or killed with a poison, then it would surely produce something that is also indestructible. Eh? And that’s what we have with the Bible. The Bible is indestructible. It is described by the Apostle Peter as indestructible seed.

“Being born again, not by destructible (corruptible) seed, but by indestructible seed, the Word of God, which lives and exists for ever.” 1Peter 1:23

Now, let’s apply my profound principle to this new fact we have about the Bible. The Bible is seed that cannot be destroyed, so what it produces in your life is something that also cannot be destroyed. What God has created in you, when you put your faith in the Bible, is something that is eternal in its dimensions, because it comes from an eternal source – an indestructible seed.

That’s yet another reason why the Bible is such an awesome book. It is able to create in you, a mere mortal, something that is beyond the scope of your mortal existence – something that is eternal. While your natural life came about by natural seed which is destructible, and so you are a mortal, destructible being, what the Bible births inside you, by the work of the Holy Spirit, is an eternal being with eternal dimensions. Only the Bible can do that, because only the Bible is “indestructible seed”.

Now, I need you to understand that while the Bible is miraculous it is not magical. The Bible is able to bring miraculous results in your life, but the book itself is not a magic charm. Keeping it under your pillow won’t help you. Memorising it won’t help you. The seed has to be germinated within you, and that takes two things, the work of the Holy Spirit and faith in your heart to believe what the Bible says. When the Word of God and the Spirit of God are given free reign in your life by your faith, the miracle dimension of the Bible is released and its seed takes root in you, brings fruit in you and causes eternal things to spring to life in you.

That humble black book in your book-case, which could look like just any other book, is a unique, miracle gift to you. It will let you ignore it. You might even find it hard to get started into. But when you choose to dig into its pages, believe what it says and live by what it teaches, you will discover what millions of people have found through history. The Bible as the most Enduring, Authoritative, Profound, Resilient, Enlightening, Impactful, Endorsed and Significant book in all human history – and it is Indestructible Seed!