I started this year with a word about the need to have our voices heard. (See earlier Blog, "The Blade of the Tongue".) A call to speak out boldly what God is saying at this time in 2020 and to call destiny forward! A time to declare God's purposes at this time in our lives, our nations and globally. An urgent call that we must partner with heaven to declare that His will be done on Earth. This word was echoed and reinforced by other prophetic voices and almost immediately the enemy's challenge to this call to action came through the spread of the Covid Virus from China.
The virus represented an effort change the focus of the discussion, to occupy our thoughts and to shift us away from speaking about what God wanted to see accomplished in this season. To shift our attention from God's plans and purposes - the eye of faith - to natural vision and the fear of a plague: A shift from faith to fear.
What has happened as a result of this alternative focus? I think it is fair to say that the virus has occupied our thinking, our actions, our finances and dominated the agenda of the nations, churches and Christians.
Now in the Autumn we are still focussed on the virus and its impact. Discussion is on the virus and many voices have been largely silenced or distracted. Ironically, we also now have the widespread promotion of a symbolic covering of the mouths of the population with masks: don't sing; don't worship; don't pray; don't meet; don't touch and don't speak.
I believe there is a call right now for us to redouble our efforts to speak out the truth of the Kingdom. Like Caleb and Joshua we must not speak of the giants in the land but speak of the truth of what God says in this season. We must share the GOOD NEWS that Jesus has the answer, that where evil abounds grace much more abounds and that we walk in blessing, freedom and liberty. We must declare and show that we have the answer to the needs of world.
Although the Christians have responded with innovation, WhatsApp prayer groups, street worship "protests", online services etc, mainstream church meetings have been impacted and shut down in most places. With some notable exceptions, churches have been totally compliant. To be fair, some legal challenges are now being made but by and large the church complied.
I was frustrated by this and pondering about the balance between being conscientious citizens and what Jesus has asked us to do. Have we got the balance right? Are we agreeing that our religious freedoms to meet, pray for and lay hands on the sick and communion can be shut down in the same manner as a bingo hall or pub. What does this say about churches? What did this reveal about the state of the church? I was questioning whether by doing this were we not agreeing implicitly that we have no power? Are we not implicitly agreeing that:
prayer does not heal the sick or there would be lines of Covid families at the door;
communion has no more meaning than a beer at the working mens club; and
that church is broadly the same same the rotary club or some other social gathering that was shut down at the same time?
Are churches little more than retailers of religious services - weddings, funerals, christenings - to be treated the same way as other retailers and clubs?
I was troubled by this and praying about it and read a few challenging bible examples of how Jesus dealt with quarantine. The first is Jesus healing the leper in Matthew 8:
When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
I also read about Jesus "laying hold of the dead child "...Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
In both of these stories Jesus was challenging the quarantine laws and rules that applied in His day. It violated the laws and rules for Jesus to touch a leper and also to touch a corpse. In the past this would have made Jesus unclean and defiled and he would have had to isolate. Instead, a touch from Jesus removed the defilement, death and disease.
The key difference is power and impact. This season and our reaction to it has highlighted the powerlessness in the church. Jesus' touch transformed the situations He was facing and so should we. The challenge is to seek His face and walk in the power of the Spirit so we can operate in power. We must have something to give that releases the Power of God and transforms situations.
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