The pastor started the meeting with a word from 1Cor 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
During the worship time, the song “As we Gather” was sung and Samuel said that we should sing this song in the coming Kunming trip. It was mentioned that the phrase that Olive Connexions uses came into mind as this song was sung, the phrase is “to be crushed like the olives so that the goodness within can flow out”.
Mary saw a picture of many fireflies in the darkness, coming together to bring light to the people, it is like being a blessing to them who are in the darkness. Isa 60:1-3 came to her, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn”. When she waited upon the Lord, she got this impression that this vision is like a piece of the puzzle, part of the big picture. Isa 49:3 ‘He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor”’ and Isa 49:6 ‘he says, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”’ Indeed, the glory and the light comes from the Lord, He made us to be the light so that we can bring light and be the light to the people who have yet to know him.
Joshua saw a vision of a big ship with a sharp bow, cutting through the waves easily. It, being a big vessel, creates a wake behind it while the surrounding smaller boats have to navigate through the waves created by its wake. The interpretation that came to him is that the smaller boats who are moving behind the bigger vessel have to steer (and compromise) against the waves created by the bigger vessel and it is counter productive. He felt that God wants us to go for the course that He has already charted for us and not to follow behind somebody’s trail. 1Cor15:58 came to his mind too, that we are to stand firm and let nothing deters us from doing the work that the Lord has set for us.
Another interpretation of the vision is the sharp bow of the ship is like the God’s word, who always goes before us and is sharper than any double edges sword. We are to use it to penetrate whatever hindrances that we may encounter.
Samuel shared Jn 12:24 “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” He felt that this verse tied in with the phrase about the olives being crushed so that the goodness of it will flow out. The Lord wants us to really put his kingdom and his work before ourselves. Overall, the message that the Lord has spoken through the various visions and interpretations is to be an impact to the ‘gentiles’ around us.
