Couple of Visions
I do not say this often, in fact I am not sure I have ever said it, but a couple of weeks ago I had a vision. As we were praying in the Thursday meeting, I saw the church as if it were a jousting tent, walls rolled up and the roof supported by a pole at each corner. Inside we were sitting in our circle and outside were millions and millions of people sitting in concentric circles, stretching as far as the eye could see.
As a rule I do not do prophetic stuff but as we have discussed in the past, the gifts of the Spirit are available to all of us on occasion. Recently we have been thinking a lot about church growth and what we can do to re-establish Christianity, not only in New Malden, but also across the nation. Those who know about these things decided my vision was a manifestation of God’s instruction to us to pray about the subject, to be united with other cells of believers across the world, all with Christ at our centre.
In the intervening weeks various people have brought verses concerned with this instruction to call on the Lord (Joel 2:32) and to put His house in order (Haggai 1:9) rather than spend time on our own schemes and desires. Bob M has also been led to believe that it is time to move on from Ezekiel 37, which he has been citing as our rallying call for the last few years. The bones have now risen and the flesh is coming on them but they need direction. Any army can and will recruit and practice its manoeuvres but eventually it needs to know fulfil its purpose and start utilising the training.
Then in this week’s meeting it happened again, I had another vision, (just like buses, none for ages then two come along together!). We were reading about the soldiers of Christ putting on their armour (Eph. 6:11) and I visualised the armour not as metal and leather but as an outline of flame – like the child in the television advertisement for a type of instant porridge. This glowing covering put me in mind of the fact that when Moses came down the mountain his face shone because he had been with God but he was unaware of it (Ex.34:29). The type of armour I was imagining would be obvious to everyone we encountered but would not seem confrontational or aggressive as swords and chain mail, more comforting and protecting like a favourite coat.
A conversation I had last week also comes to mind. We were discussing the need for outreach and methods of evangelism, it was being spoken of as if it were something we did as a specific task, like shopping, completed then put aside until the next time it was necessary. I challenged someone to name a place they could go and not be seen or heard by God. When we make our personal relationship with God we realise He lives in our hearts and we are never alone again. His Spirit covers us like the aforementioned, glowing armour and we automatically display that we are His to everyone we encounter.
As we go about our daily lives we are never outside God’s Kingdom, nor are we “off duty” Christians. What we do and how we do it invariably reflects on Our Heavenly Father as we are openly displaying His livery on our shining faces. This of course can be a double edged sword, it means we can, by purely going about our business in a Godly way, evangelise without effort but it also means that any backsliding or transgression is also on display to those who wish to ridicule or deride Christ, and many would love the chance.
Finally, if you feel like a lost soul, then consider this. A tracker speaking on television last week said trackers never get lost, they are “temporarily uncertain of their position”. God will gladly guide you back if you ask Him.
