Survival to Revival - Passover to Pentecost

Isolation. Just me and myself. Constantly in my own company.

I wake up every morning to myself. I go to sleep every night drifting around in my own thoughts. I talk to myself and see myself in the mirror. The one person I can guarantee I will be with today is myself. I can't escape me. Every second of every day I hang out with ME. It can get annoying but there is no escaping me.

I was asked once who I loved the most? The obvious answer should have been my family or God or something equally noble. But really I could have answered ... ME. I love myself the most. It sounds narcissistic but when balanced with the humility that God facilitates & concern for others, it is actually very healthy. It allows me to offer myself whole and happy to others. It creates security and confidence to look after everyone else.

So the difficulty of isolation and just being with myself every day has not been a struggle for me. Fortunately I can entertain myself for hours with relatively little but myself and the countryside around me. I am a slow walker. I notice little details. I see the humour in creation. My imagination is massive. I make myself laugh alot. I am very fortunate that I actually like myself and I enjoy my own company.

I surprised a squirrel last week, cycled past him on my bike. I was upon him before he saw me. As a result he dropped his nut. An awkward moment. He just stood there stunned & speechless in shock, drop jawed! I like to think he is the same squirrel I ran past a month ago, once again taking him by surprise. So much so that he lost his balance, fell off his fence post and was left dangling by his little finger - His eyes popping out of his head. Another AWKWARD moment for the squirrel but an entertaining one for me.

We keep bumping into each other. I was under his tree when he tried to impress his lady friend a couple of days ago by running all the way down the tree trunk and leaning out from the just a little way above my head, glaring at me while inspecting my eyebrows for midges. He was showing me how fierce he was. He was telling me with his grimace to back off. To get lost. He wanted his lady friend to see how brave he was. It didn't work. I didn't leave. I continued lying on my picnic rug, reading under his love nest. Another awkward moment for my squirrel.

So after 10 weeks of being asked - aren't you lonely? It must be terrible being isolated ON YOUR OWN! My answer is I have never felt alone. Yes, I have missed having others around, I miss human company and I have felt lonely, but never alone.

This is my secret. ( Or really not such a secret to those who share him with me.)

There has always been another presence in my life. Freaky as it may sound there is a second presence!

Yup, I have an intruder. It is not just me in this flat. I am not alone. Even though technically I am. Theologically I am not. He promised to never leave me. He promised me a helper who would never leave. A friend. A counsellor. A comforter. He promised He would live in this temple of my body. Hence even though I live alone, I really don't.

And I will ask the Father, & He will give you another comforter/counsellor/helper/intercessor/ advocate/strengthener & standby, that He may remain with you FOREVER. The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive/welcome/take into its heart, because it does not see Him or know Him or recognise Him. But you know and recognise Him, FOR HE LIVES WITH YOU CONSTANTLY & WILL BE IN YOU. John 14:16,17

This is the reality that has carried me through the COVID19 crisis. 10 weeks of living like this. Staying at home and staying safe. Distancing myself from others. An individual unit, isolated yet NEVER ALONE!

At first this isolation thing was a novelty. At first it was a survival phase. I enjoyed the beautiful Spring unfolding. There was more than enough to do on the private estate where I am fortunate enough to live. Room to run and breathe and not compromise the rules. I had a friend in the Holy Spirit. A constant companion. We had creation to explore and marvel over. I watched babies being born. I had the joy of welcoming 4 little lives into Loseley. 4 Egyptian goslings. They were quickly joined by 7 Canadian goslings. Then another 6 Canadian 'cousin' goslings and finally a nest of 7 bluetits. Babies everywhere. Fecundity. Fertility. The birds and the bees. It was slightly irritating actually. So many happy parents. But never mind. I am bigger than that.

We entered the season of Passover and Easter. I watched the full massive moon rise in a fiery ball of blood crimson and for the first time ever could identify with the story of the Jews living under a plague but marked out as protected by the blood over their door frames. That was me. I was protected and I felt safe. Safe in my little haven of peace and beauty. I took communion and knew that my blood covenant was an unshakeable contract with LIFE IN ABUNDANCE. By His stripes I was healed and would be healed and will continue to be healed. You try overcoming those defences you nasty Covid19 virus.

Then this lockdown thing dragged on far longer than expected. I thought it would all die down and we would be allowed to move on with life when Easter was over. I expected life to return to normal. I expected school to open and work to resume. But it didn't.

This was going to be more like Jesus doing 40 days in the wilderness. 40 days of refocussing. 40 days of refining. 40 days to reset our internal clocks. To unwind. To rest. 40 days of reflection. 40 days of consecration.

But again I reasoned, I could do this 40 day marathon. I could come out better. If a human flesh and blood Jesus could survive in a desert with no food for 40 days, I could keep going with lots of food, good weather and surrounded by Spring bounty.

I would not just survive this. I would improve.

But then the 40 days became 60 days?! What was going on?

I noticed that we were heading towards Pentecost Sunday on the church calendar. I remembered how we had entered this year talking about 'the wind of the spirit.' We were expecting 2020 to be a big year. A new decade. A new season. A real Pentecost with miracles and signs and wonders. My hopes were lifted. The countdown to Pentecost became my new finishing post. If I could just keep going until May 31st, then everything beyond that would take care of itself.

So I began thinking about revival. From survival to revival. What really is REVIVAL?

I think of historical revivals. In the past revival in Wales we heard how Rugby stadiums were filled with worshippers. Voices rolling around the stadium sides with thousands worshipping together. Hang on! We already are doing that. Every year around the world stadiums are filled for worship and prayer meetings. We can check that off the list.

Pentecost was marked by 'speaking in tongues' and a new 'boldness' to proclaim the gospel. Yes, already happening. Check that off the list.

How about miracles? Well yet again. That base has been covered. I attend a weekly global prayer meeting and the reports that we hear every week are always of unusual happenings. Healing from a trapped nerve. A cancerous growth that disappeared into thin air. Businesses that should be collapsing having the best financial month of their lives. It is incredible.

How about signs and wonders. I think about Charlie Mackesy and how his scribbled illustrations on his Instagram account went viral and became a bestselling book 'The boy, the mole, the fox and the the horse.' How his images have launched a whole new culture of kindness. Is that not WONDERful? That one man's drawings could lead to KINDNESS being honoured by the secular world.

I think about Donald Trump decreeing that if we can consider an alcoholic beverage store a critical service to the community, it is time we recognised that church is an essential cornerstone of society. "We need MORE not less prayer! " These are certainly things that stop us in our tracks and make us wonder! They are SIGNS. We are heading in the right direction.

I think about the church growing at such a rapid rate in China and Iran that the media are too scared to report it. I think about the miracles that are already happening every day.

The homeless being housed in hotels as a result of Covid19. I could go on.

As I thought about what revival could possibly look like - I realised that for many of us we have already been in revival for years. Revival is marked by a fresh wave of love and reverence for God. Love songs are written. Worship is elevated. When I look at the amount of worship that is being raised across the earth. The new songs being written and sung from Hillsong & Bethel & Elevation worship & NewWine and too many more to even start listing. I think about 'The Blessing' that moved out of Elevate into being a song sung over the nations. I think about the secular music industry and how Kanye West & Stormzy are flourishing. Then I see that we have met that mark of revival.

I think about the images of men and women lining the streets of Brazil on their knees in prayer. The video that went viral of apartment blocks with windows flung open and the whole neighbourhood singing worship songs. I think about the portable Priest, Pat Allerton and his bike with a mobile speaker strapped to the back playing the hymn 'Amazing Grace' to the London neighbourhood of Notting Hill and the council estate blocks in Portobello road. There are currently more people watching church online than ever attended church. There are more people signing up for Alpha courses & small group fellowship than were ever registered before.

I was thinking that we would reach May 31st and I might be disappointed. But I realised this morning that I have already seen and heard more in this short 10 weeks than I will ever be able to write about. There was the cleaner in Belfast who prayed for a Covid 19 patient in ICU and he was healed. And not only that but the patient had secretly asked God for a can of coke and a packet of prawn cocktail crisps and the cleaner brought them in without knowing his prayer request! Now if that isn't a sign, I don't know what is? God has heard.

The prophet Joel speaks about the end days being known because young men dream dreams, old mean have visions. They will be marked by God's spirit being poured out on all flesh. We all love to shout 'BRING IT ON' & yet we are already in this! ( Joel 2:28, 29)

His Spirit has been poured out on all flesh. Just on May 11th, Kris Van der Burg, a middle aged man in Salt Rock, South Africa visited heaven in the early hours of the morning and recorded what he saw. Was he a young man having a dream or an old man having a vision? I don't know but he is one of many hundreds who have had dreams and visions. It's happening people. I have 2 journals stuffed full of incidents, prophecies, signs and wonders. I write it all down because I know our memories are flawed. We forget fast. We change the facts without meaning to. That is why I write and why I wrote it all down. A historical record of 10 weeks in isolation. Alone but never alone!

This has been termed the World War 3 of our time. The whole planet united in a fight against one enemy. We have lived through survival to revival. We are at the end of Passover to Pentecost. It will be great if angels show up and tongues of fire fall from the sky. But I see now that the wind of His Spirit has been busy for weeks. I'm sure there have been hundreds of thousand of angels at work across planet earth. The tongues of fire? The shaking, the rushing wind? I think we are already in that to be honest. Cleansing through judgement. Shaking of governments. Shaking of the media. Revealing of hidden dark secrets. Daylight is the best disinfectant for this virus and for this world. Yes indeed.

He is on the move and we are privileged to be living through this amazing historical event. His church is united and raising prayer and worship across this earth in levels that have never been seen before - saturating it to such a great depth that we will never be the same again.

We have reached the tipping point and there is no going back.

My desire for this Pentecost Sunday is that what we have been experiencing in the church for decades would move into the secular world. That they would find the answer they are crying out for. A touch from heaven.

' ... the Lord earnestly waits, expecting, looking & longing to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you & show loving kindness to you.' Isaiah 30:18

Healing for the sick in not only their bodies, but also their souls. Hope for those who are despairing, anxious, weighed down with fear. An easing of this massive epidemic of depression. Dignity & value placed on their lives. A sense of purpose instead of futility. Direction for the lost and confused.

'the Lord who bears our burdens and carries us day by day ' Psalm 68:19

Most of all that they would see Him for who He really is. A God who is here to rescue us. A Helper. A Healer. A kind and loving Father. That they would stop confusing the thief with the Father. God didn't send this plague to punish them! That this revival we have been living under for decades in the body of Christ would invade our streets & neighbourhoods and refresh thirsty souls. Let the hungry be filled. May they feel His concerned gaze upon them. May they feel his strong capable arms around them. May they know that this world is not out of control. That He is wise and kind and knows how to fix this.

May they awake into an awareness of the laughter of the King. May they wrap themselves in His arms and be comforted by His strength.

The world is ready for this. They are listening. THEIR PAIN MATTERS & THEY HAVE BEEN SEEN. There will be justice for the oppressed.

'God hurls the world into our hearts, where we and He tenderly carry it - in infinitely tender love.'

Thomas Kelly

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31