Having a Heightened Awareness of the Spirit

When I was a young teenager, a new Christian, my peers and I were more interested in reading about revivals than we were in playing sport or watching TV.

(As more and more of our school mates started getting saved, they stopped playing soccer at lunch time, and spent the lunch hour witnessing instead. The school chess club also had to close down, for the same reason.)

We hungered rather to see the type of meetings we were reading about in past revivals, the same type of move of God.

As we read, I looked eagerly for the keys to how revivals started.

When I was in my late 20s, we saw revival, we witnessed a move of the Spirit of God. All my desire came true before my eyes, and more.

Every revival also includes better things than expected.

𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐀𝐇 𝟔𝟒:𝟏-𝟓
𝟏 𝐎𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞,
𝟐 𝐀𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐢𝐥, 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞!
𝟑 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐖𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.
𝟒 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐎 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦.
𝟓 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬:

This passage reminisces about God having done astounding things 'which we looked not for' - and expresses a longing for God to visit with His presence and captivate us again.

Paul quoted that passage, and applied it to the work of the Spirit in the church (see I Corinthians 2).

One feature of revivals, I think, is a heightened awareness of the Spirit.

In revival, there is a profound sense of the Holy Spirit being present in a felt way, in meetings.

There's a clear awareness of, and reverence for what the Spirit is wanting to do. Not only in people's personal walk with the Lord, but also in the way meetings are conducted.

Everyone - leaders and congregation alike, plus visitors - seem completely caught up with what God is doing and what He wants to do in the meetings - intentionally so, gladly so: even though it means leaving programs aside.

It's almost like seeing the way a couple in love mutually interact. The sensitivity to the Spirit; the way the proceedings of the meetings flow with Him. It's all just so authentic.

If someone stands up in such a meeting and happens to slip back into saying or doing something 'ordinary', the people can feel the difference straight away. Church as it used to be just doesn't quite cut it anymore - it's just not the same as staying with the newfound flow of the Spirit - and everyone seems to be able to instinctively feel it, during revival.

Dr Rodney Howard-Browne said, You'll have to pinch yourself, because you'll think you've died and gone to heaven.

It's so wonderful!

But not every church sustained the revival. I therefore became just as keenly interested in why revivals stopped as I had been in how they started.

In reading about revivals that came to a stop, I think you'll find that it usually wasn't God who stopped - rather, somewhere, at some time, there likely was a man who made some decision to stop in some way.

With the result that almost straightaway the meetings fall back into a pattern of just doing what they do, week after week, without the same enthralled sense of anticipation for whatever the Spirit might do.

Like someone whose beloved has gone away, routinely carrying on with many of the same things they did as a couple together, yet without the same real time interaction.

Like they're waiting for something to come back, in the church.

Some believers seem satisfied enough with that, while others hunger for more.

I said to a pastor once, if we want 'revival' to come, instead of waiting for it, figure out why the last one stopped, and then just start doing that, again.

(According to Revelation 2:5, the cure for having left one's first love, is to repent and do the first works.)

No need to pray about it, talk about it, sing about it, or wait for it: just renew your awareness of the Spirit like before.

Over the years I've often felt that what we call 'revival' really should be normal. Revival is just church the way it's meant to be.

Having a heartfelt awareness of the Holy Spirit can be normal, not just seasonal.

'Revival' is actually how the New Testament church was. It's just Bible.

Perhaps you can refrain from using the word 'revival' - if that helps to think of it as just doing the Bible.

'...𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯..." II Timothy 4:2 says.

Regardless of the 'season', just do it.

We can just decide this moment to heighten our awareness of the Spirit once again, and always.

Then just flow with whatever He does.

In order to heighten our awareness of the Spirit therefore, let's remind ourselves briefly of what the New Testament has to say about the Spirit and what He wills to do in meetings.

𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝟏𝟐:𝟒-𝟕
𝟒 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐒, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.
𝟓 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.
𝟔 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥.
𝟕 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥.

There are 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 and 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 of the Spirit, it says. There are things the Spirit wants to give; things He wants done; things He wants to do, in the church.

It says the 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, the 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 all these, in everybody. He works it. That means He wants to be the active one in our midst, working in everyone and through everyone, manifestly so, in our meetings.

The Spirit gives the 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (the demonstration, exhibition, expression, full supply) of the Spirit, to everyone, for the benefit of everyone in the meeting. It's a manifestation, not just an internal working, of the Spirit. And He gives it.

The passage goes on to mention nine ways the Spirit is manifested in meetings: ("...the 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮; the 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦; 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩; the 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨; the 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴; 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘺; 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴; 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 and the 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴" - verses 8-10).

Notice it says the Spirit works all these and distributes them to each person "...𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭" (verse 11).

As He will. The Spirit has a will for meetings - He wants to work, He wants to be manifested, and decides through whom.

The church at Antioch modeled this co-operative relationship with the Holy Spirit nicely.

Let's quickly notice a couple of things there:

𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝟏𝟑:𝟏-𝟒
𝟏 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬; 𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐲𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐞𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐥.
𝟐 𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.
𝟑 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲.
𝟒 𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲, 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐲𝐩𝐫𝐮𝐬.

The Spirit said, "𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝙢𝙚 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭..." (verse 2).

Me - the Spirit was exercising His ownership of the church.

"...𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝙄 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮".

𝘐 have called them, He said.

The Spirit had a will. He spoke. They were just responding.

It's not so surprising that the Spirit was able to be expressed in that way in that meeting. They'd approached the meeting in the first place not with an agenda of their own, only they "...𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥".

So the Spirit immediately matched their willingness.

A new international ministry was birthed that day - all because of the special relationship they had with the Holy Spirit in the meeting.

God will visit us with His presence and do wonderful things which we couldn't even have imagined - when we let Him own the room and hold the floor, as this ministry team did at Antioch.

The Spirit wants to do things, but we have a role in it too.

Paul commended the Corinthians for desiring the things of the Spirit and for not coming behind in any gift.

Paul also said not to 'despise' or 'forbid' certain manifestations of the Spirit.

It is possible to get in the way of what the Spirit may want to do in a meeting.

He told someone to 'stir up the gift that is in thee'.

Sometimes we just need to stir up the things of the Spirit again.

"Quench not the Spirit," he also said.

I think one of the most important attitudes to cultivate if we want to see the Holy Spirit move, is unity - recognizing one another - making room for one another, esteeming others better than ourselves.

Where the brethren dwell together in unity, there the Lord commands a blessing - it's like the anointing oil which ran down Aaron's beard.

(To illustrate this attitude:

Reverend Daniel Jones, of Moriah Chapel in Loughor Wales, and the deacons, sensing Evan Roberts' tenderness and earnestness allowed Evan’s request to speak to the youth after the regular service, which sparked the Great Revival of 1904-05. Evan just hosted the Holy Spirit.

Pastor John Arnott of Toronto Airport Vineyard Church invited Randy Clark to stay in Toronto for an initial few days in January 1994, then as the 'Toronto Blessing' revival shone forth, Randy was warmly welcomed to stay far beyond the original plan, to continue leading meetings, along with others. The revival had no sole leader, and because of that people came from all over the world to see what the Holy Spirit could do where He was truly hosted. It was something any could do, therefore it went around the globe.

Pastor John Kilpatrick of Brownsville Assembly of God invited evangelist Steve Hill to preach. God moved, and Kilpatrik had Steve Hill continue to lead the historic Pensacola Revival through 1995.)

As someone said, something like, "It's amazing what can be accomplished if you don't care who gets the credit".

(Like in the church at Antioch, there were five prophets and teachers all working together. And when the Holy Spirit singled out Barnabas and Saul (Paul) to do a special work, they all accommodated it.)

We aren't all meant to do the same things. But we can all make room for one another.

It says there are 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 of gifts, and 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 in the ways the Spirit operates and works (I Corinthians 12:4-6).

It is God Himself who makes one person to differ from another:

"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦? 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵?" (I Corinthians 4:7).

Even in the Book of Acts, not every meeting, not every ministry, was the same.

(It might be that the Spirit is willing for the music and preaching to stop, and for the whole congregation to be filled with the Spirit, and with joy; to speak with tongues, to see visions, and to prophesy, even the children.

And there might come a moment to preach, or to teach, or to sing.

And the Spirit might point out who He wants to do what.

Some meeting might be for congregation-wide infilling with the Spirit; another might be for some to function in the Spirit.

It mightn't always be the same, but what can always be consistent is our awareness of Him and His will.)

At the table, John leaned on Jesus breast, and he is called the disciple whom Jesus loved. But there is no rebuke of others who didn't lean on Jesus' breast. Had another wanted to, I’m sure they too would have got their turn.

Maybe there's scope to think that the Lord might similarly be happy to work with us each according to our unique desires for meetings.

Just so what is intended for our freedom, doesn't get made a bondage.

Nonetheless:

"Ask anything in my name, and I will do it," Jesus said.

You can have whatever you desire. The Spirit has a will—but He also lets us each host Him in our own way, in the unique ways He has given us.

The Song of Solomon chapter 5 and following, illustrates beautifully this seeking after the manifest presence of God, this mutual relationship with the Lord. His will, and our desires, both. His initiative, our responsiveness, and then mutual responsiveness.

In verse 2, the Shulamite said:

"I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.”

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦: 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵

But she thought within herself:

"I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?" (verse 3)

𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯

"My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him" (verse 4).

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨

"I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.

𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥?

I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer" (verses 5 & 6).

𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, [her awareness of ] 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 [manifest] 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯

"The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me (verse 7).

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦.

"I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love," she said (verse 8

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦

"What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?" (verse 9)

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦!

"My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.

His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem" (verses 10-16).

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

"Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee" (6:1).

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳!

"My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies" (verses 2 & 3).

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 [the awareness of] 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

"Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners" (verse 4).

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴

From verse 5 on:

𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰-𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘮

𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 - 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴

So let it be, between the church, and the Spirit of the Lord.

There shall be revival.

𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝟏𝟓:𝟑𝟎
𝟑𝟎 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐉𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓'𝐒 𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐓, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞;

There is 'the love of the Spirit'.

It is for Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that he draws us to renew our awareness of the Spirit.

"Draw me, we will run after thee" (Song 1:4).

Just my Saturday night thought.