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The greatest thing a human soul ever does in the world is to
‘see’ something, and tell what it saw in a plain way.
Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but
thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is
poetry, prophecy and religion, all in one. (John Ruskin)
To follow the Lord’s leading means recognising key
moments as they occur, whether in Christian meetings
or in life generally - and acting on them. We need
to be both alert and incisive!
I'm sure many of you will be only too familiar with
experiences such as the time when, following a
particularly anointed message, I had a strong
feeling that the only appropriate response was to
hold silence together – but someone immediately
struck up a chorus from the back of the room and the
moment passed.
Realizing this had effectively "dampened" the
special sense of the Lord’s presence, I intervened
at the end of the song to bring it back to where the
Lord wanted us to be. It would have been easier to
have taken the course of least resistance and to
have done nothing – but only at the cost of grieving
both the Holy Spirit and the bulk of the people
present.
We have found that people are nearly always deeply
refreshed and grateful when we facilitate times of
silence. The more confident we are in His presence,
the easier we will find it to lead others into the
Lord’s presence.
By contrast, many spiritually sensitive Christians
feel verbally abused when vigorously berated from
the front that "they are not singing LOUDLY ENOUGH!"
Their spirits cringe because they know that
something precious is being missed, and that people
are being deprived of the opportunity to flow where
the Spirit is leading. Like a friend of mine, who
resigned as worship leader of a mega church when
instructed to be sure to leave no space for silence,
and to play nothing except LOUD songs fff!
Try as they might many cannot flourish in this mode,
because the Spirit within is pointing in some
entirely different direction.
May the Lord help us to seize the key moments in
meetings – and do whatever we can to ensure that not
allow every gap is immediately filled with songs and
other contributions that could perfectly well have
been be held over to allow the spirit to work
directly.
For Reflection and Prayer
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When
Jesus gathered His disciples together in the upper
room for one last meal together[3]
He knew full well that His betrayer was present.
Nevertheless, He went from one disciple to the next,
washing their feet. What grace - but also what
resilience!
Picture the scene. Imagine Him coming to you. He is
not bothered by any flaky skin; He wants to massage
your feet because you are precious to Him and smooth
away all stains and taints.
Look trustfully into His eyes and see Him looking
into yours. What would you say to Him? What would He
say to you?
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