May They Be as One

John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me

Twenty-five years ago, I gave my life to the Lord and within a few short months, I had become worship leader in my first church. I became worship leader in my second and third churches. Today, I continue in bringing the worship as a pastor and as an itinerate minister not only for our own events and gatherings but for other groups too.

As a new believer, the Lord laid John 17, the prayer for unity upon my heart, ‘that all those who believe in Yeshua will be one as He and the father are one’ To see the unification of His people, to gather and feed them is the mandate He has given me. It is wonderful to be called to teach or explain to others what I have come to learn, especially to those who are being called into the kingdom at this time.

I was still a baby believer when the Lord gave me a dream. In it He showed me a building. It was made from glass and was five levels high. I saw the finished building and the blueprint. The building from above was in the shape of a fish. The head, all five stories, was separated for 24hr worship; the body was where people came from all over the world to study in various classes; the tail was the entry point where people entered into the various levels. As I looked at the building I could see the people moving within it.

That image remains as clear today as when I first dreamed it. I pray that it will become a reality.

As I walk on this Sunday morning, through the country lane that leads into the nearby village, the morning is crisp and cold and the sun shines low, welding bright, across the farmer’s field. I’m about to turn the corner that will lead me on the return journey of my circular walk and which will take me past the village church.

At 9am the bells ring for the 9:30 service. I start to pray for the villagers; that the Lord will revive and waken them to His Spirit. I pray that the Holy Spirit will come and somehow fan the flame of a distant move among the Christians in the village hundreds of years ago.

I pray also for a chance meeting with the vicar in the hope that a long overdue conversation might occur. I wait to see him, believing that if our paths meet, then it is of the Lord. So far, nothing has transpired. I would love to find out what his personal vision is for the locals in his flock.

As I approach the church, a few cars are gathered in the nearby street. I assume other parishioners have walked, though I don’t see the rush yet. St Paul’s is a lovely church, built in the mid 1800s. As in most churches and gatherings throughout the Covid pandemic, social distancing, mask wearing and limited activity has been restrictive in the life and activity of the church globally. What has been most peculiar to me is the registration of those wishing to attend the service beforehand. What have we come to?