If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the church

Revelation 2 & 3

I think God gave me a vision in which I saw a large construction site, lots of ugly mess, lots of building work, lots of change. Amongst the construction site right in the middle was a tree, a beautiful tree that stood out contrasted against the concrete and building work. Underneath the tree was a community gathered, a thriving community that seemed to not be harmed by any of the change going on around them.

My understanding of what God is saying through this vision is: amongst the changes in the church whether in the structure of church life with MSCs  or in the structure of building work, stand firm in your faith and the community will strengthen.  Welcome change but through God's guidance and remaining united in him the community will thrive. And don't do it alone, face the changes or constructions as a community.

This vision brings together a number of themes God has been underlining to us as a church again and again:  community, new life, and the importance of waiting on God in prayer.


Community
This theme of united community came through what a number of people shared at the Incense day of prayer.  Three people independently shared that God had been speaking to them about ‘home’ – that our home together is to be a place of:

• Cleansing – image of washing clothes together – our home is to be a place of acceptance of people just as they are but God’s cleansing work will happen within our community
•  Joy – an encouragement for us to play and laugh together
• Unity and harmony- God emphasising the importance of committing to one another
• Protection – Jesus said that as a mother hen gathers his chicks, he longed to gather Jerusalem under his wings.  So under his outstretched arms of the cross he wants us to find safety and protection and rest.

New Life
God is speaking to us about new life and growth that he is bringing to us- we are to expect it, look for it and care for it as we see it.  Here are words people have shared that confirm this:

• That Holy Trinity is like a field being prepared for a new crop
• The image of spring flowers coming through the ground – look for the new growth that is coming.   Isaiah 43:18-19 “ Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
  Another image of new shoots coming up through the ‘sludge’ of old leaves under a tree, but with the warning that we must be careful not to miss these new shoots and ‘trample’ on them.
•  God looking at what is growing at Holy Trinity and saying what he did in Genesis account of creation “and he saw that it was good”.

Dependency on God in prayer

• God moving under the surface of our church and the whole city of Leicester, like a fire moving through the sewers under a city cleansing it and burning up the rubbish.
• The experience of knocking at a door and then waiting expectantly – this is what we need to do in prayer, we won’t see the answers or growth we long for immediately but it is coming
• A word that “prayer is the only key that opens God’s door”
• Proverbs  8:17:21:  the promise of blessing and provision for those who will love God.
• Proverbs  3:5-6:  the call to trust God and rely on him, not our own ability.  This accompanied a vision of a long straight road, but one with fog covering it so you could only see a short distance ahead and nothing to the sides.  The road itself had many potholes in it and so you had to swerve around them.  God seems to be saying – keep going in the direction you are going in, but go slowly, avoid the pitfalls of what you are facing during this time of change, pay attention to me, don’t get distracted and you will get to where I am calling you.

John McGinley