We ‘gathered’ again online last Sunday, 1st October, affirming our oneness in Christ and offering the Lord worship. It seems that, month by month, there is an increasing integrity and clarity of focus to the various words, thoughts and pictures shared. We believe the Lord is inviting us to explore a deeper level of revelation on this new stage of our journey as His people.
Here are the key points that emerged during this gathering:
- Positioned – this has been a recurring theme. The Lord has positioned His people and we must resist the temptation to ‘move on’, especially when we perceive that nothing is happening. Storms will come but we must stay in our designated position, vigilant and listening to the Lord. When we are in position, we are covered by the Lord’s protection and will know His peace. Our posture should be one of readiness (In Birmingham the Lord said He has made us ready) so that we can move quickly at the Lord’s command.
- Wait – an important warning not to move until we hear the Lord’s call to do so. This is a time of calm before the storm. In this quiet time we are to wait for God’s Spirit to come, to show the new path. There are new gifts. Wait for them.
- Anchored – several folk had pictures and words about the way in which we are anchored (Heb 6.19). We are anchored in the heavenly place. A storm anchor is designed to allow movement at sea in the midst of a storm. It has a longer rope/chain. “Let the rope run” – don’t resist the storm. It may feel as if the anchor is not secure, but it is. Our anchor is the inseparable union of our hearts with the Lord’s. His love is constant and never fails. The storm anchor also serves the purpose of demonstrating the direction of the current and the wind. The forthcoming storms will serve to align us more fully with God and His direction for us.
- Clear the decks – just as the decks of old ships were cleared before a battle, we need to clear our lives of everything that might hinder us from fully entering into forthcoming storms and battles. This includes ‘clearing’ our minds of old mindsets. Similarly, as we enter into worship, there is a need to empty ourselves of ‘former things’, in order to learn a ‘new way’ in this ‘new time’. The only thing we bring to the Lord is our love, in response to His love for us.
- Storms – the Lord wants us to view such events in a new way. Forthcoming storms will be times of opportunity. They look very different from above – from an ascended position! [We have previously sensed the Lord saying that we should ride the wave of a tsunami, not be swamped by it]. We will face the storms together and they will be for God’s glory. God will use our fellowship in such times to bring blessing (Ps 133), especially the blessing of wisdom. We are called to pray and to be watchmen in the midst of the storm – watch, listen, sound the trumpet to call God’s people together (Neh 4).
- Mindset Shift – this is necessary in order to enter fully into the shift that has taken place in the earth. It is a new era, marking a new stage of God’s plans and purposes being worked out. This demands a Kingdom mindset, not one that is contained within the confines of church as we have known it. Similarly, our orientation should be towards Jesus’ return and, ultimately, the arrival of the New Jerusalem. A question was raised: “What do you smell?” and the response was “Jasper!” Do we sense the times we are in? Jasper is a feature of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21.10-11). Do we long for the heavenly city as the Lord does? The book of Revelation makes clear that it is the Lamb (not satan) who releases the 7 seals and all the subsequent events. Sadly, John reports “…but they refused to repent…” (Rev 16.9,11). Our prayer is ‘Maranatha!’
- Tabernacles – the Lord has created meeting places – tabernacles of His presence – through Moses (Ex 40.34-35), David (1Chron 15-16) and supremely in Jesus (John 1.14). The Church is now God’s tabernacle and we await, and should actively prepare ourselves, for the establishment of the final one – the New Jerusalem. It is significant that our gathering is taking place during the Feast of Tabernacles – the foreshadowing of the new creation where Jew and Gentile will worship God together.
- HOPE – there has been huge coverage in the press this week about a specific tree (Sycamore Gap) which was felled. Without making comment on this particular event, it served as a reminder that the Lord uproots, tears down, destroys and overthrows before He builds and plants (Jer 1.10). This order of events may be linked to the instruction ‘clear the decks’. We should beware of jumping to conclusions about what is happening and why, and we should be careful not to become arrogant in our attitude to changes that will take place (Is 9.9-10). The felled tree will grow again quickly “…at the scent of water…” (Prov 14.7-9). The life of the tree is in the roots. We are to be those who recognise and carry the ‘scent of hope’ as it transforms our outlook on the events of the world. We know the ultimate source of all hope. We are called to be purveyors and distributors of hope in the world (Prov 13.12 and Rev 22.2).
LAST SATURDAY we held the first of our new series of ‘in person’ Maranatha Gatherings in Leeds. It was a great joy to renew fellowship with one another and several Maranatha members from other areas joined the gathering. Themes that emerged during our time of worship and waiting on the Lord together included: the need for us to be baptised with the Holy Spirit and with fire, this is a time when God is reconnecting His people with roots of faith, we need to be more aware of the connection between heaven and earth and the way in which God is revealing His glory. A new wellspring has been released in Leeds!
