During a time of listening prayer, SDTF members received and built discernment around a metaphor for LMC. In the metaphor, LMC is a plant ready for a soil change, a reporting or replanting, allowing for a refreshed nutrient base; an unpolluted infilling and watering of Christ’s Spirit. One image received was: “I was below the ground watching a rototiller work the ground over and over again. It was preparing the land, but not getting deep. Finally, a voice told us to get the shovel and begin to work it on a deeper level; to actually knead the soil with two hands on the handle and a foot driving it deep.” Our sense is that we are in a season of significant change (we must go deep) and we are being called to prepare the soil for what God wants to plant in our midst.
The other week when I was prayer walking, God gave me a clear visual. It was for me, then for our church, now for our conference. I came across a section in someone’s yard where it was a flower bed but it was overgrown with weeds, mostly some type of grass. God gave me these words: “Rain is a good thing to flowers. But rain really makes the weeds grow. You have to be proactive and be aware that they are going to come so you can get them out before they start taking nutrients away from the plant. You can take weeds out when they are bigger but some damage will be done to the plant. They can come back and be healthy again. If the weeds are not taken out, they can really damage the plant and even kill it.”
I feel rain is the Holy Spirit at work in the church and bringing a oneness among the people. But when there is growth like this the devil is always there sowing weed seeds. We need to be aware that negativity, division, pride, selfishness, power and reliance on ourselves will be seeds that grow among us. We need to be aware that this will happen and be led by the Spirit to have wisdom and insight and discernment to deal early on with things that are not of the Spirit and that will hinder our oneness.
Even among ourselves when it is going well, we can take credit for it and not rely on God like we should. If we wait too long to deal with problems, it will affect our oneness and outreach. Anytime we deal with the problems is helpful and we can get back on track but it will affect our total outreach.
If we don’t deal with the problems at all, it will kill our oneness and outreach. We want to be that beautiful healthy plant that God made us into so that others can see God the Creator who made us into what we are becoming. Let’s not take how we are experiencing God in our church for granted but be on the look-out for the hindrances that hold us back. In a loving way individually and as a group, work to remove those hindrances so we can be all that God intended for us to be. Maybe you don’t feel your church has had the rain; maybe you are wishing rain would come. If this is how you are feeling, maybe there are still weeds that should be pulled out so when the rain does come, the weeds won’t suck up all of the rain.
Image of locusts swarming in and stripping the fields, but new life sprang forth. I am pleased by the hearts of my sons and daughters in LMC. Hard work, but don’t be discouraged. Prayer will lead the way.
I saw a man with a sledgehammer use all of his body-weight to bring a sledgehammer down on an empty dry barren tough wasteland. When he struck the ground it immediately cracked and the Holy Spirit burst forth like a geyser shooting into the sky and drenching the land around it with the presence of God. As the presence of God touched the ground, the ground immediately became fertile and over grown with beautiful plant life. Plant life that didn’t make sense to be together. I saw tropical flowers and oak trees. I saw cactuses and trumpet vines. All of these plants that don’t actually grow together, when the Spirit of God descends in a barren place they now make sense to work in tandem.
Keys for this season: