Over the last month I have had the privilege of being in leadership and open gatherings in Newfoundland, Alberta, BC, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve noticed the same thing: there is a new sound in the body of Christ – the sound of hope!
I know many have prophesied and prayed that 2008 would be a year of new beginnings. But I can truly say that I am a witness that there is a newness of life springing up everywhere. In each meeting, I’ve asked the same question: who can honestly say that since the turn of the new year you sense something different in your spirit, like a faith or expectancy that we are about to see God move in ways we have never seen before? Every time 2/3rds or more of the people raise their hands in agreement.
I can feel the change in the air in the gatherings even though we really aren’t doing anything different than we have for years in the nation. We approach each gathering with no preconceived plans or agendas but only a hunger and desire to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church in the province/region in which we are meeting. We begin by entering into the presence of the Lord through worship but now the worship times are bursting with exuberant explosive praise and pregnant with equally intense and prolonged times of deep intimacy. Often we find ourselves waiting in complete stillness, consumed by the fear of the Lord as His awesome weighty majestic presence fills the room.
Often times during the worship the Spirit of the Lord begins to stir people in different ways. In one meeting a young person begins to run around the room with the flag of the province as a wave of faith explodes through the room. In another gathering, an older man steps on stage and begins to worship the Lord in dance. Spontaneously a Gen Xer steps behind him, following his movements only to be joined a few moments later by a young Millennial girl. Suddenly the picture of 3 generations moving in perfect harmony is beautifully portrayed and a door is opened in the spirit for generational honour and reconciliation. At yet other times, the worship team is stirred to sing prophetically or those present are prompted by the Spirit to share words and visions the Lord has given them. It’s as if each person holds a piece of a puzzle that together forms the picture of the Lord’s desires and purposes for the province or region. Many times the Lord begins to touch deep roots where the enemy has gained footholds and access points to oppress the church in that province or region. And then spontaneously He begins to direct people in powerful times of travail or repentance or reconciliation or declarations of faith as a prophetic/intercessory counter measure to what the enemy is trying to do. Every time I’m amazed to see the unique ways in which the meetings unfold and I’m filled with awe at the wisdom, love and determination of the Lord to see His church released to the fullness of His purposes. It’s like I’m watching a master conductor lead a well-trained symphony orchestra to play a prophetic song that is rising from the land itself.
With every gathering, I am becoming more and more overwhelmed with the longing the Lord has to make the church of Canada a dwelling place for His glory. We know that each one of us is a temple of the Lord and that His spirit is dwelling inside of us. But still the Lord is longing for something more, to see the “building together” of His body, as each one of us as living stones are fit together to make a temple, a corporate habitation for the Lord. (1 Peter 2:5)
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:21-22
We have experienced times of the “corporate dwelling place” as we have gathered together as a nation. But now it seems the Lord is focused on building this “tent of meeting” with His body province by province, region by region. And soon I believe we will see the same corporate habitations being built in our cities, our local churches and our families. Because God’s desire is not visitation but habitation – to find a dwelling place among us every time we, as His body, gather in His name.
We believe this is a critical season for Canada as the Lord seeks to establish a permanent canopy of the glory over our nation, province by province, region by region. And to move forward as one army in this season, we need to receive not only a divine blueprint from the Lord but also a deeper revelation and impartation as to what it means really to be living stones, members of one body, fit together by His hand, walking in absolute submission to One Head, One Commander and Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ.
For 3 days next week, from February 18-20, there will be a meeting in Toronto of a small representative group of the many leaders from across Canada who are walking together in this journey. This group comes from many different parts of the country, from different streams in the body, from different ethnos and from different age groups. We will meet together to wait upon the Lord for His blueprint and trust Him for another revelation of the glory He has given us that we might be one (John 17:22).
We want to encourage all of those who carry this same heart – to see Canada fashioned as a resting place for the glory of the Lord – to pray and join your faith with ours during this time. If you know others who have this same heart, please forward this email to them and encourage them to pray. And if the Lord speaks anything to you, through a word, a scripture, a vision, a dream – please share it with us. You can send an email to kingdom@watchmen.org or fill out the “share what you’re hearing report” on our website by clicking here.
Immediately following the leadership meeting, we will be entering into another provincial gathering for Ontario, starting the evening of Thursday February 21st at 7:00 p.m. and continuing until Saturday evening. For more information on the gathering and to register, please click here.
May the Lord find within Canada in this day and hour a faithful company of those who will enter into the covenant of David in Psalm 132
He swore an oath to the LORD and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
"I will not enter my house or go to my bed--
I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids,
till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob." Psalm 132:2-5
all my love
David
To subscribe or unsubscribe to these mailings, please go to http://www.watchmen.org/JoinLists.asp.
