Scripture: Matthew 18 v 18 - 20: "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
When we finally tame Covid-19 sufficiently to settle back into some form of normal life, we have been told repeatedly that nothing will ever be the same again on planet Earth. There will be a new normal.
In a physical sense we will have to reorganise our personal, business, national and world economy. It has taken a severe hammering and affected all people everywhere. There have been major job losses as businesses are forced to tighten their belts past the last notch if they hope to survive.
The travel industry is in complete tatters. Luxury holidays, sea cruises, resorts and hotels are in jeopardy. Our recreational pastimes are all suffering. And on the horizon a vaccination to combat this deadly foe is being invented to bring some closure to a year we can only describe as 'Annus horribilis'!
In a spiritual sense, what does new normal mean for us? We need to assess what is happening right now. Large gatherings of all kinds are unlawful, including church meetings and services. The new normal for now is fifty people well spaced and properly masked. No touching, no hugging, no handshaking, no kissing, no tea after, no singing, no shouting, no coughing, no sneezing. Regulated by law.
Jesus says, don't worry, where only two or three are gathered in My name, I am in your midst. They can regulate people but they cannot regulate Jesus or the Holy Spirit! So be of good cheer God is many steps ahead and is putting His own plans in motion.
The New Normal from Heaven's point of view is that God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.
Acts 2 v 17 - 20: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:"
So the enemy can pour out his viruses on all flesh and our God can counteract with pouring out the Holy Spirit likewise on all flesh. Set a legal precedent and He has the right to act on it too. And up the game. The enemy will rue the day he started this pandemic as he will reap pandemonium in his dark domain as all his subjects, sinners, demon-possessed and evil doers suddenly have their eyes opened to the true power in the Universe. His name is Jesus Christ and He is coming to claim His own.
Since 2015 we have had a series of Blood Moons on very significant dates, jubilees, Rosh Hashanah, etc. and these are important for our new normal......The day we are all waiting for, the coming of Jesus. He said there would be signs in the heavens like the moons and this comet NEOWISE still visible in the northern hemisphere. Last week five planets clustered around Moon. The heavens are packed with signs!
So be not afraid of the new normal for as God fed the Israelites for forty years in the Wilderness with manna and quail, so will He find a way of keeping us all fed and healthy. He is the God of miracles and when we stop trying to make miracles happen thats when He shows up because He will not share His Glory with others. Meaning us.
So to recap - the new normal for believers is a massive increase in the true power of the Holy Spirit in what can only be a world revival. An increase in miracles, millions being born again, demons being bound and cast out, people being healed, people being released from asylums, dementia, Alzheimer's, cancer, AIDS, Covid-19, and other plagues.
There will sadly be diehard opponents of our new normal who will increase persecution of Christians and Jews. We are in a war and they make laws that are very unfavourable to our lifestyle. People of radical religions will take exception to the liberty revival will bring to many and it will get nasty. It's already nasty, so it will get nastier.
Even if we are only two believers, even one person on their own, Jesus will never leave us. Our choice right now is to get a whole lot closer to Jesus. Go back to the roots of our Christian life and walk as Jesus did, in complete faith and confidence in His Father, in the face of misunderstanding, plots, arrest and death.
He triumphed over it all and because we were in Him, and are still in Him, we can triumph too. We are the New Creation, no longer only human, citizens of Heaven already, walking the the Light of Jesus. They on the other side are afraid of us, so they throw insults to make us back off. Why? Because greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.
Jesus Christ is alive in us and it terrifies the world. They hate that voice, it brings conviction of sin and makes their truth a parody of lies. They will protest, become anarchists, march, burn, be violent to drown out that voice that brings them face to face with eternal judgment. As Jesus said on the Cross, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do!
I cannot give you soft talk here. The new normal is going to be physically and economically tough. We all know this. It's a reality check. But if we have faith in God's ability to bring His countermeasures into play, it will keep us going in the right direction and bring blessings to many.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise and worship You in Spirit and in truth. You do all things well and You have made provision for the new normal to defeat the wiles of the devil, just when he thinks he has won. Help us in our weakness, add Your strength to us that we may overcome all obstacles. In Jesus' name. Amen.
