Dead-Ends

Having coffee before I venture out into the city today my mind was sharply thrown back in time a few years to an obscure moment in my life that really does matter to my future.

I was speaking at the launch of a North Welsh churches combined 24-7 prayer week. The gathering happened in a large Church building somewhere near Wrexham. I had finished my talk, a talk basically geared at motivating people to pray, when the host for the evening stood up before the closing worship session and said that at the end of the service there would be opportunity for people to respond. He pointed out the large prayer team standing to the right of the main stage and proceeded to add that 'Gary would be there to pray with people to!'

There were loads of young people there, and as the gathering came to a close many were responding and coming forward for prayer. As I looked out over the massive church and the sea of people that had gathered, my eyes caught sight of an old guy. A strikingly old guy in a sea of youth! This guy looked to be in his eighties or nineties, 96 as it turned out. I saw him struggle out of his seat, I watched as he moved slowly forward, heading for the prayer area at the front. He seemed to take an absolute age to get to the front. As he approached the front he didn't even look up, but I just sensed he was coming to me. Two guys had to help him up the steps to the raised area that the prayer team was located on. He walked towards me without looking up, only lifting his eyes up to look me in the face when he was about two feet away. He had old, weathered skin. He had two bags of floppy skin under each eye that from a distance made him look tired and ancient. But when he lifted his eyes, they shone like the brightest stars. They were searingly blue and vibrant. He looked me straight in the eye, and I felt my heart almost stop. He had an authority about him. Not a worldly authority but a spiritual authority that radiated outwards from his whole being. A guy that you just knew you needed to listen to.

I get so many prophetic words wherever I go, and I appreciate them, but I've learned to be careful, especially of picture prophecy that can often mislead. I remember being at an event about five years ago where a well meaning woman came up to me and said, 'Gary, does the word plant pot mean anything to you?' it took me all my effort not to say, 'yeah, I'm looking at one!'

Yeah I know that's bad!

Back to the old guy though! He said to me, 'I have a word from God for you.'

And I knew.

I knew I had to listen.

It was a very simple word.

He said this.

'You, my son, are going to come up against a very big brick wall in your ministry. But God wants to tell you here and now he is going to get you over it. Just fix your eyes on him and stay with him.'

With that he lowered his eyes and began the long walk back to the back of the hall.

I knew it was a serious word because I felt the spirit of God all over me, so much so I had to ask Dawn to drive home. And believe me that takes some doing! (just joking she's a better driver than me really!)

As I thought of this incident my mind rested for a while on some of the brick walls that had been in the way of my movement forward in life and ministry. And yeah God had gotten me over them.

And I know there are more to come.

I wanted to write this blog post today to all those who feel there is a brick wall, a dead end, or something that has gotten in the way of your journey.

I want to say there is always a way.

A way over or around or even through.

I think the problem can be that we see these things as an ending.

The end!

Things that we are so positive about or convinced are right sometimes seem to die before our very eyes.

And we pick up the death.

We often choose to pick up the ending and hold it tight to our chests. We accept the end, we become resigned to the end.

David Adam makes this observation. 'it's amazing how many Christians keep holding on to dead things when they say they believe in the resurrection.'

It's so true! We all know as Christians the need to die to self and for the self to die in order to experience much more of Jesus.

But I think there is also a need to drop the dead things.

You know, those dead things that we know do not matter really yet seem so comforting to hold? You see it in the Church, pointless useless traditionalism (the bad kind) that stifles, jams mission in the barrel of the missional gun, ruins people, families and church communities.

A dead thing we hold on to.

In our lives we know we come up against brick walls that are dead. A dead end. But we grab a hold of the dead wall and just say it's the end.

We say we believe in the resurrection?

The resurrection is the matrix.

A point from which we can be changed.

A new beginning, a step over the wall.

The resurrection is the only super-power this world truly has.

It's the only power that can diffuse dead ends, get us over the large brick walls.

To claim the resurrection we have to drop the dead things.

The matrix, the revolution that is the resurrection, laughs in the face of dead things. And it spawns new direction, a new us, a new way.

So today be challenged to drop the dead things that are causing us to be stagnant.

You know what they are ? If not ask God today to show you.

Those rubbishy things that seem to be brick walls.

But God is going to get you over them.

Understand the matrix today.

You are amazing!

Eternal blessings on you and your loved ones today.

Gaz