The Banquet continued

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This follows on from my reflections about Pastor Ray McCauley's message that shopping could be added to the list of spiritual gifts. I thought the joke was in poor taste when i heard it but after seeing how few people were at the weekend festival to celebrate Lesotho's heritage and culture, I realised that there is in fact a profound message behind the joke.
One "minor" incident during the ceremony pointed to the message that the Holy Spirit would have brought forth if anyone had had ears to hear. A minister of the church got up to speak and a young boy who was badly crippled and appeared to be mentally retarded to suddenly came limping across the field and stopped in front of the pulpit. The minister paused and looked to the side where the security personnel were standing, signaling to them to do something about this "intrusion". The security personnel did not react and in my spirit I felt the fear that seized them as they recognised the demonic force operating in the boy's life. And yet he was not physically threatening in any way; I realised that he was in fact asking for help and deliverance, that he was not there to cause any kind of commotion. The minsiter of the Lord was oblivious to this poor soul's need and I wondered what to do: part of me was ready to jump up, interrupt the ceremony and run to meet the young boy's need. I asked the Lord if this was what he wanted me to do and he said no, the timing was not right. He was only using the incident for the Holy Spirit to convict the minister of listening to things from the world instead of to what God's Word says. I realised that this was a minister who does not believe in faith healing; had the ceremony not been for the purpose of the king lending his benediction to the annual festival, the Lord would have dealt with him. The young boy then walked past the minsiter into the tent where the speakers and guests were seated and it was at that point that the security personnel reacted and came to take him away. How ironic that the security personnel overcame their fear of the unclean spirit to perform their duty to protect a government minister but could not do so to assist a minister of the Lord!!
The king's speech was just another speech, a formality. It had no impact and his presence at the festival could have easily gone unnoticed. This is what the nation has reduced the monarchy to: patrons of the arts and culture whose appearance in public makes for an excellent photo opportunity. No wonder the churches of Morija, once the epicentre of evangelism in Lesotho, are now dead. The monarchy and the evangelical movements in Lesotho have always worked hand in hand and this is what the Lord is going to restore to this nation. The only thing of signifinace in the king's speech was his mention of how the mountains make of Lesotho a 'fortress". It is this fortress that the Lord will use to create places of refuge and safety for those who are prepared to once again consecrate all aspects of their life to him. I went to Mroija thinking that I would learn about consecration from the history, traditions and heritage of this important mission centre. Instead, I learned about how easily the enemy strides across the field and blcoks God's Blessing when we stray from God's Word, make excusues for not taking up the cross and turn important functions into objects of idolatry instead of consecrating them to the Lord.