This is really long I know–But I do not apologize. Nor do I force you to read this.

What you do know is that this past Sunday (March 23, 2008) was Easter Sunday. But what you don’t know is that lately I’ve been tired—really tired. All I’ve wanted to do lately is sleep. I’m not sure why, just am. The mixing of these two ingredients may shift the chaff from the wheat, or you might say that it really shows where a person’s heart really stands. So this weekend I was faced somewhat of a choice: go to church Easter Sunday, or stay home and sleep. Not much of a choice to debate I know . . . there is no question about what any God Fearing Christian should do in this situation. Even though I could have come up with a long, long list of excuses of why I shouldn’t go to church on the Sunday that Christ rose and conquered death—I chose to do the right thing and not make excuses. Boy am I glad I chose the right thing to do on such a day as this!

Sleeping in till nearly 11 AM and not going to church was just flat out glorious! I was tired. I rested. Isn’t that what you are suppose to do on the Lord’s Day? So here I am, exhausted from life, discouraged, wondering why I waste my life doing this Burn thing, just wishing I could have more of a life, wishing I could go back home to Papua New Guinea, not understanding why I am the way I am, not understanding why God let me become a third cultured missionary kid (TCK or an MK). I woke up thinking that my life is stupid and that there has to me more to this thing we call God, and I’m probably also slightly annoyed that I know everything else in the world leaves me unsatisfied because that only leaves me with one option—God.

Sleeping in is slightly unusual for me on a Sunday—not to mention an Easter Sunday. But with unusual days come unusual things. I think it gives God some extra room to speak. Instead of him saying what you would expect him to be saying on a day like Easter—I won’t put the words in his mouth because I really don’t know what he might have said to the rest of mankind today, I wasn’t on the page—He is able to say what He needs you to hear. Read more

Wheaton, IL l March 21, 2008

In one of the worst snow storms I’ve ever been in…especially in late March..we gathered together with our new and old friends on Good Friday in Chicago to launch the first burn in the Windy City. For those who braved the unexpected pounding of winter weather during this time of year…we experienced and tasted the reward of Jesus death on the cross - His Presence dwelling among us. There is no better way to spend Good Friday!! It was tangibly felt as we gazed upon the beauty of the Lord and poured out our finest on His feet in hopes that the fragrance would spill out of the prayer room and fill this great city like Mary’s fragrance “filled the room”.

We cried out on behalf of all the injustice in the city and pleaded that God would release the healing, restoration, and salvation He died for over 2000 years ago and that a habitation would be created in the city where His glory can rest 24/7/365. Just thinking about how that is going to happen can be overwhelming until you realize that He actually wants this way more than we do. In fact, thats the very reason that He came to earth, died, and rose again. All our hopes and cares are pinned on His ability to rally a city to pray and worship together!

I have had the most intense warfare of my entire life just to get up to Chicago and Detroit this weekend! That is probably even an understatement, Even though I’ve traveled all over the world the past 15 months and it seems to many more spiritually dark regions than these cities…I’ve never come up against stuff like this before. For starters…the day I was leaving to fly up to Chicago…I was out getting a few last minute things with my wife and this lady slammed into our car destroying the drivers side panels and causing the usual long report, insurance, police process stuff. Then I got home to finish packing and found out that our hot water heater was broken and gas was leaking out one of the hoses in my house!! So if that wasnt enough…I checked my flight in the middle of that and found that it had been canceled due to weather!! The enemy was really working his schemes to keep us from launching this deal. So after I was able to at least turn off my gas off and rebook my flight to the next morning….and i finally made it to Chicago…the worst was thrown at me on the way to the Burn. I got a call that someone had stolen my identity and charged over $30,000 at different stores, on credit cards, and even tried to get a house loan in my name!! They knew my social security, address, personal information, and had multiple fake ID’s in different states!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?? THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE. So from the minute I got to the Chicago Prayer Furnace for the BURN launch…I had to talk to fraudulent departments, banks, credit bureaus, and investigators all over the US to verify information, cancel stuff, and figure what to do with this mess. This took well over two hours and the minute I got off the phone is when we were supposed to start the BURN preview. This is not really the mental, spiritual, or physical state you want to be in before you lead a service…but I knew the Presence is the very thing I needed on this Good Friday night. This intense warfare was a fresh reminder that His Presence was our only hope again. Its our only hope EVEN WHEN things are good and we feel capable!!

There is a verse I’ve been meditating on that reveals the very reason I’ve been traveling all over the world with an insane schedule pursuing His Presence and His face. This truth is why I’ve given my life to gathering with burners in every tribe and tongue to worship and pray despite encountering intense warfare along the way.

Psalm 26:8

“I love the House where you live, Oh Lord,
The place where your glory dwells.”

This is it. This is the very thing holding my fragile road-weary body together right now. It never fails. Even with all the stress, worry, disappointment, fear, discouragement, and a host of other things I carried into the Good Friday session last night because of what I’ve encountered the past few days (and some I didnt mention)…the moment we create “His House” through our vertical worship and He finds His resting place among us…His glory comes and its all we need. Its enough for us and all our needs. This is why we are doing this and wasting our lives on His Presence. Its not just a good idea, a new fad, or a great hobby. We can only experience complete fulfillment in this life in the place where His glory dwells.

Please pray for me as we build “His House” in Detroit tomorrow night and I leave on the overnight flight to San Francisco for Easter services and then out again on the red eye flight to Corpus Christi, TX the next night to launch the first furnace there. There are hungry, broken, hurting, wounded, discouraged people in these cities that need to rest “in the place your glory dwells.”

We’re going to see God change a nation and a people.

wasting myself on Him…

_sean

Burn Preview

At Pray Amarillo House of Prayer

4808 Bonham
Amarillo, TX 79109

www.BurnAmarillo.com for details

Here is an incredible vision from Adam West at Bethel Church about the BURNING!! It goes right along with what God is doing in the earth today!!

I see myself on a journey to the Sun. The Sun is a long way off, but still blindingly intense. Darkness fills my vision if I turn away from it. As I get closer to the Sun I start to feel the warmth of it on my body. I not only see the light but I also start to experience its effect on my body. The heat increases the closer I get, until the intensity begins to make me feel uncomfortable, but I’m drawn ever closer.
The heat gets so intense that my skin and flesh start to burn, but instead of seeing and feeling decay, there is transformation or transition. The feelings are very intense, my brain tells me it’s pain, but it’s really like nothing I have felt before. As the “pain” leaves I see what I can only describe as “Sun matter” taking the place of my flesh. I am literally changing into the material I am being drawn towards as my flesh gets consumed; It’s best described as having the appearance of gold and white molten metal.
I realize that the new material needs to be kept white hot or it starts to solidify, go grey and become heavy if it is allowed to cool. Finally I am close enough to the Sun that my whole body is like molten metal. I shine as the Sun shines and radiate heat and light with the same intensity but on a smaller scale. I see gigantic flames that leap off the Sun’s surface and those same flames now leap off me. Suddenly there is a thunderous voice commands “Go”. From all over the Sun’s surface I see thousands of ‘bodies’ of flame leaping from the Sun and descending to Earth; As they descend there are cords of flame connecting the ‘bodies’ to the Sun. My spirit tells me I must join them; I want to join them. I jump off towards the Earth with my flame cord connected to the Sun.
As I stand on the Earth I feel a big difference; when I was on the Sun the heat intensity was both inside me, and all around me. Whereas now I feel the cool of my surroundings and only burn from the inside out. I see the flaming cord as my lifeline, as a deep sea diver sees his ‘air line’.
I notice that my feet start to cool on the cold earth and in response I draw energy down my cord and then direct the flames to the parts of my body that need it. As I do this, my feet burn again and I affect my surroundings rather than my surroundings affecting me.
I ask myself what I must do, and the same thunderous voice commands “burn”. As I am already burning I ask for direction but Heaven is silent. Then I see people start to come over to me, drawn by the light and then the heat; some observe from afar and some come close. I offer out my hand, some take it but jump back when their hand feels the intensity of my burning. I tell them to “trust me, hold on and look past the ‘pain’”. Some refuse and get angry with me for hurting them, saying “they were fine before but now their hand hurts”. A few take my hand again and hold on and are transformed just as I was. I take some of my cord and attach it to them and repeat to them my Father’s commands, “Go” and “Burn”.
This process of multiplication continues until there are so many cords connecting the Sun to the Earth that they join into one, great, River and engulf the whole Earth. Until the whole Earth is covered there are those who walk around with burns on their hands, resenting the Church and blaming it for their discomfort; to an extent they are right. The problem is they want to hold onto their flesh and refuse to give up what they know for something better. They had their eyes open to the frailty of man but refused to go any further.
Then there are some that went the whole way and became burning ones but didn’t guard their cord; it was weakened as the cold Earth influenced them. They now walk around almost disabled by the solid, heavy metal that has coated their body; they are more bound now than they were before. Some regret making the move, but others look for someone with a flame to ignite them again. They don’t realize that they are still connected to the Sun and even though their cord is cool they can pull down flames again to ‘burn’. It is important to show and tell them this news otherwise new people will be reluctant to be transformed, looking at their present predicament.
The Lord said, “The ‘pain’ that is felt when flame meets flesh is phantom. It should hurt but I didn’t want it to, so I took that pain at Calvary. There is no pain in coming to me, only transformation. What you feel, can be used as a weapon by the enemy to support a lie; which can prevent or hinder further progress.”
The Spirit asked me “at what stage I thought I was in the Vision”. I placed myself near to the Sun being transformed. The Lord said “No. You are on the Earth as one of my burning ones, connected to Heaven and transforming the earth. The intensity at which you burn is dependent on how much flame you draw down from Heaven and pass on to others; The more you give, the more you will receive, that is the way of growth. I have made all of Heaven available, you choose how much of Heaven you get.”
I then asked, “How do I burn?”
“That is something you don’t need to concern yourself with” came the reply. “What you must concentrate on is feeding the fire. Feed on Heaven and you will burn, making sure every action, thought, motive, deed and plan has it’s origins in the Kingdom.

There is an important update for all Burn Directors regarding your Burn Email account at http://theburn247.com/resources/2008/03/18/burn-directors-email-accounts/

You will need to login before you will be able to access and read this announcement.

WELCOME TO THE BURN 24-7 MARCH NEWSLETTER!!!

Take some time and check out all the latest happenings with BURN 24-7 around the world. From our recent article in the 5th anniversary issue of RELEVANT MAGAZINE entitled “the burning ones” (read it online here), to journeying to Australia and New Zealand to see the the flames ignited with our beautiful friends Down Under, to sending off our first long term Burn Team to base in Bali, Indonesia for one full year of setting Southeast Asia ablaze with the glory of God, to all the incredible mission trips coming up this fall and recent updates from the nations BURNING all over the globe…its been one busy month!! We have created this newsletter to highlight a few of the many things happening while giving you a chance to delve into the site a little bit to explore the masses of testimonies and updates from the nations, tribes, and tongues that are burning with us!

With all the incredible things that God is doing with BURN 24-7 and this “burning tribe” scattered all across the globe - the new furnaces being lit in the darkest and coldest places on earth, broken humanity
receiving divine healing, deliverance, salvation, restoration, and a fresh love in our cities, the strongholds and walls being broken down by our persistent and fervent vertical worship and prayer, and the teams of radicals going out from this place of intimacy to bring fresh fire and impact every facet of culture, we are beginning to realize one fundamental truth in all of this.

“Unless the Lord builds the house
Its labors labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
The watchmen stand guard in vain.”

Psalm 127:1

We can have the most charismatic leaders, the hottest website, the best connections, and pour hours and hours into emails, calls, meetings, previews, conferences, teachings and more (which we already do!) but at the end of the day…its all in vain unless He builds His house in our cities. We are believing and contending for complete restoration, salvation, and habitation of God’s Presence from Paris, Texas to Winnipeg, Canada to Kathmandu, Nepal to Byron Bay, Australia. He is going to do it and use our feeble and weak efforts for His glory! This partnership and co-laboring together with God is what we were made for and we’ve all let our personal dreams, ambitions, and hopes die for our lives as we get caught up in HIS dream for a generation and the nations!!

Join us on the ultimate journey for His Presence!! We invite you to go with us, help sow into this move, let your light shine to the nations, and BURN with us night and day to see earth filled “with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

We love you all and are honored to be with you in this quest!!

theres still more.. Read more

Shelter for His Heart by Adam Cates

One of the core scriptures upon which the vision and mission of Burn 24-7 has been developed is the biblical promise of the restoration of David’s Tabernacle in Amos 9:11-12 and Acts 15:16-17. Simply put, David’s Tabernacle was a place of continual worship to God around the Ark of the Covenant. David chose skilled musicians from the tribe of Levi whose sole purpose was to minister to the Lord’s Presence. Most of the Book of Psalms was written from the Tabernacle of David as the musicians and singers received divine revelation in the Lord’s Presence. The Bible tells us that David’s core motive for building this tabernacle was the reality that David was a “man after God’s own heart.”(1 Sam 13:14) Before we can participate in the restoration of the Davidic Tabernacle we must each have a restoration of the Davidic heart. I want to elaborate on what I mean be by that.

Amos 9:11 states that the Lord will restore David’s fallen “shelter.”

Shelter is the operative word here. Who or what was David providing shelter for? Did David think that he could actually provide shelter for God, the Maker of heaven and earth? Did he think that some tent made from wooden poles and animal skins could cover or shelter the Almighty? This is what I think. David was after God’s heart, no matter what the cost. He spent very little time contemplating his own worthiness and instead turned his entire attention on the worthiness, holiness, beauty, majesty and power of His God. Even in his greatest failures, he quickly repented and began to pursue God with a whole heart. The truth is that God provides covering and shelter for us. (Ps. 27:5) However, when we respond to His love by attempting to provide covering and shelter for His heart, He is filled with joy. In fact, He rejoices over us with singing. There is no greater joy to a father than to see his child begin to emulate his character. In effect, David said, “God, I don’t know if it’s possible, but with every fiber of my being, with all I have, I’m going to try and provide the same shelter and cover for Your heart as You have for mine.” This is the mystery and the miracle. Our God allows us the unimaginable joy of being the caretakers and covering of His very own heart. He has made Himself vulnerable to His own creation. We have the ability to bring either pain or joy to His heart. He actually allows us to meet His deep felt needs, not because we are worthy, but because He desires intimacy with His sons and daughters. What a truly awesome God and Father He is to us.

In closing I’d like to weave Jesus into this tapestry because He is the cornerstone of this tabernacle we are participating in. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise that an heir of David would reign on the throne forever. If David was the man after God’s own heart, then Jesus was the man with God’s own heart, making Him both God and man. Because of His finished work on the Cross at Calvary, this tabernacle of worship & intimacy is being rebuilt in the hearts of His people. The “ruined walls” of David’s Tabernacle are being rebuilt with “living stones”, that’s you and I! (I Peter 2:5) The Levites gathered around the Ark of the Covenant. We are now ministers of a new Covenant. God no longer plans to simply dwell among us, but through Christ He will dwell inside us. We are the Tabernacle that is being restored. We are contending for nothing less than the manifestation of Jesus Christ in us and our song and our fellowship with one another. At this very moment there is a heavenly song surrounding the Father and His Son Jesus (Rev 5:13). As modern day Levites and Davidic worshippers, we are asking the Holy Spirit to release that same sound in the earth through us. I believe that when the sound and song in the earth begins to imitate the sound and song in heaven, we will be very close to Return of the King, Christ Jesus! This song is not just composed of audible notes and melodies; it is the very sound of your DNA harmonizing with the Spirit’s groans inside of you for the Kingdom of God to be in the earth as it is in heaven! This is ultimately the sound of longing, desire and love. Jesus is returning to a Burning Bride who is singing the heavenly song of her lover and Lord. Finally, let’s shelter Him with our song. In a world that has hated Him and his lordship, let’s be the ones who minister to the feelings of His heart, not because we are worthy or even able, but because we are after His heart and not even our own deficiencies can separate us from His love. We love You Lord Jesus!!!

Denver, CO l 03.10.08

There is something about the raw wilderness that calls to me. Its always been this way. When I was a boy growing up in Montana - where the vast, monstrous, and untamed Rocky Mountains were my playground - this thing has been inside me. It was birthed when I was 10 years old on those epic exploration hikes in dense forests loaded with Elk, across snowmelt steams, and to the highest peaks I could find. With each new and daily adventure beginning with the last school bus stop on the afternoon route to my house …I only had one goal and thought in my mind. I had to go farther than yesterdays journey. It was just an instinct. It was a challenge. I always thought there must be some new undiscovered territory out there that no one has experienced and I’m going to be the one to discover it first! Thank God that my parents had enough wisdom to withhold any boundaries as a kid for how far I could hike, climb or run. I suppose they knew that at some point along the way, I would get hungry and come home for dinner. There is not one single time it didnt work…I always did!

But every time I come back to these Mountains and the “backbone to our nation” as they call it….and escape from the massive concrete Dallas suburbs…I feel this call pull stronger and my heart beat faster. When I take one deep long look at the snowcapped mountains, get in the middle of the woods, and breathe in the fresh crisp air…something changes inside of me. I suddenly feel God rush all over me and FRESH LIFE come to my hectic and complicated world again!! Its like I come ALIVE again in an instant and destiny floods my thoughts. I’ve always wondered if I was just born a tree hugger, a nature freak, or why I still dream of these boyish adventures now at 24 years of age…and I’ve finally realized that this stirring in my heart is simply GOD. He is revealing Himself to me and has been since I was a boy.

I look out at this vast and gorgeous wilderness full of promise and danger and it reminds me of who God is. It reveals the traits of this Being that I am in deep devotion to and have given all that I am to. He is untamed, wild, free, unpredictable, and exhilarating. Life with Him is a journey and an adventure. There is NEVER a dull moment or time when we have it all figured out. With every single day, year, and breath our goal is go farther than the last. Its a challenge. There is a reward. And climbing to the top is worth it. He calls to us to go and seek. He beckons us to risk it all in search of the deepest parts of Him no mortal has yet visited.

NEVER MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT ADVENTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN!!

GET OFF YOUR COMPUTER, PUT AWAY YOUR PHONE, TAKE A DAY OFF YOUR BUSY JOB AND LIFE, AND GO OUT IN NATURE AND REMIND YOURSELF OF WHO HE IS AGAIN. THE REMINDER IS ALL AROUND US. BREATHE IN THE FRESH AIR. MEDITATE ON THE MYSTERY OF HIM. BE CONSUMED WITH THE GLORY, WILDNESS, AND VASTNESS OF WHO HE IS.

It will cause you to forget your petty issues, make the most of your fragile little life, and love HIM and others deeper!

What are you waiting for??

theres more..

_sean

BURN ASIA TEAM LEFT TODAY ON A PLANE BOUND FOR BALI, INDONESIA TO SPEND ONE YEAR OF THEIR ENTIRE LIFE POURING INTO THE LARGEST MUSLIM NATION ON THE PLANET TO SEE THEM BURN BRIGHT WITH THE LOVE OF JESUS!!! HERE ARE THEIR LAST DEPARTING THOUGHTS AS THEY EMBARK ON THIS JOURNEY

NATALIA’S THOUGHTS……
This is so surreal. As I look back on all my packing lists and financial notes, I am so amazed at how wonderfully God pulled it all together. These last couple days have been so incredibly hectic, I had absolutely no idea how I was going to make it. But now as I sit on the plane, those stressful memories just become a big blur, as I feel anticipation rise up. I am going to Bali, Indonesia. I never would have dreamed this in a million years. I am going as a stranger in a foreign land, but even more than that, God is a stranger to His own children. That breaks my heart. I am going to bridge the gap, to bring Christ to the nations. WOW!

JOHN’S THOUGHTS….
As we set out from the airport, you can only think about what our lives and the future hold in Indonesia. We will never be the same. There is a fire inside that burns bright with the Glory of God, and I want to tell everyone I see. As I look forward, I can only look back and say, “Our God is so great! How He has provided for all of us to go and serve the people of Indonesia.” You can think about the signs and wonders, we will see but really all I can think about is this great love my Father has for these people. I start tearing up just thinking about the Father Heart of God and how He wants to break through to the people. Letting them see how much He loves them and wants to set them free. I have been blessed to see the Lord move in powerful ways in the past 3 years as the He has had me move all around for Him. But I know He wants to do so much more. It says in I

Corinthians 13, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all the mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

There have been a lot of great movements in the church, but the movement I know the Lord is having us to start this year is one of His pure love. Let His kingdom come and His will be done in me so that His love in me will change the world and everything that our team touches. Hell knows no furry like the army of God on its front gate, pushing it down and free those who are oppressed. We are going to fight fight fight, for the Glory of the Lord!

ROB’S THOUGHTS…..
It’s day one and I’m sitting on a plane headed toward the next big adventure that the Lord has for me. After no sleep for a couple days and a full spectrum of events, all there is to do now is look to the Lord and the future. I expected a dry goodbye with the family, but to my surprise I was filled with incredible emotion and comfort from the Lord. There is truly nothing greater than the continuity realization of the Fathers love. I am so, so blessed. What is to come? I really have no idea. But to look back past the glitz and glamour of it all; there is true joy in the Lord, in His plan, and in His covering. I will rest under the shadow of His wings, even amongst the crazy world around me. Bless me, oh God, guard my steps and move with me. Your love is sweeter than wine and the forgiveness of this world.

BRITTANY’S THOUGHTS….
These are the first hours of the year in INDO. I am filled with so much excitement about the people we are going to meet and the things we will see. So many new smells, sounds, and feelings. I am embarking on this journey not alone, but with 3 of the most amazing people. Although I have not known them for very long, we have a special connection between us, and I know that God has put us together for a very unique reason. I really LOVE them already.
I feel like this isn’t real. Maybe I am dreaming? The reality of this vision has not fully set in yet. We are going RIGHT NOW! Not in the future any more, this is the present now. It is finally happening.

03.01.08 l Baltimore, MD

I have come to the simple conclusion that God loves showing up in the most random, unexpected and awkward places.

I have this seen this pattern over and over and over again this year already. Its a beautiful thing when it happens because you know - beyond a shadow of doubt - that it is HIM in the room.

Here is a perfect example of that last weekend. So I get invited to lead worship and share at a conference on the east coast along with Mike Pivalachi. He’s a real father in the UK and all over Europe that started Soul Survivor and mentored Matt Redman, Martin Smith and all those monster songwriters. The movement was born out of crazy revival…where thousands of young people were healed, saved, delivered, and lit up by the very Presence of God. Their meetings would go on for hours and hours because the glory was so thick and no one wanted to leave. Simply put…God showed up over and over again and people’s lives were changed. That’s the churches main issue in the west right now…we just need to get GOD to show up and give Him room to move and He’ll change the calloused hearts of men and all those wild things will happen. When Jesus comes in the room…so does healing, restoration, deliverance and POWER. You can’t get one without the other.

Anyway…so I was just coming off cloud nine in Australia and New Zealand where for two weeks we saw the most incredible things happen in the meetings. Jesus touched, healed, saved, and restored so many people…we worshipped and prayed for hours and hours…and the BURN was ignited in the hearts of HIS people in the land down under. I had one days rest with my gorgeous wife and then we hit the road again for this conference on the East Coast. I was really thinking that momentum was building there would be a climactic explosion from the first strum of the first gathering. Well…I was wrong. What I didn’t know going into this was that this was a gathering of the youth groups in Anglican churches all over the region. Now…this wasn’t a bad thing…and I’m not saying that I would not have come had I known this prior. I’m just saying that it didnt start out with “assie-style explosion” I had thought it would. The kids were way more reserved and kinda checking me out before they would even sing along at all. Its one of those “pastoring” roles you have to take on as a worship leader. You worship leaders know what I’m talking about. You have teach and coach along with leading to get people involved and interacting with God. Its a very good thing God wants us all to get back to sometimes so we can remember the simplicity of what we are doing. Its not all about crazy manifestations and stuff…but simply us interacting with Jesus.

So..we starting with the basics and moved on from there…it was steady growth…but it was growth none the less. I had to pull out some old school youth group jam songs which brought me back to my days learning how to play in Virginia. The times where I had so much passion and so little skill that I would consistently break 2-3 strings on my guitar per worship set!! Those were the days!! We could hang out on 2-3 chords for hours because that is all we knew!!! Anyway…so it was the second night of this conference and we had the best worship time yet….God’s presence really came in thick and the kids could totally feel and understand it. Trust me…regardless if they know or dont know the song…or if the style is thier kind or not…NO ONE can deny when HE comes in the room with. That is what we are going for with each worship time. That HE would actually come in the room so we can get to know Him better and interact with the King of Kings! After the worship set…Mike comes on stage and looks to me and says…”I think He’s here…lets just hang out for a minute.” So we hung out in silence for 10-15 minutes waiting for the Holy Spirit to do what He wanted to do. (When is the last time you and your worship team did this??? you should try it!). He obviously came for a reason and it sure wasn’t because our music was so good. We have to learn to embrace the awkwardness of these silent moments…when everyone is checking their watches and wondering when we are going to move on and you hear a few loud “coughs” echo around the room - WE MUST WAIT…WE MUST SIT…WE MUST REST. The one thing we will find out in these times is that HE ALWAYS COMES WITH AN AGENDA. And WOW…did He have an agenda this time around.

From the back of the room..people began to weep…and i’m not talking about sniffles and just a little cry. Kids were wailing at the top of their lungs!!! The Holy Spirit was doing His stuff and you could feel the literal wind in the room. Then it the most unexpected, crazy, wild thing happened in middle of this quaint Anglican youth retreat. This girl at the front of the room began to yell at the top of her lungs and a massive long shriek came out of her as the demons tormenting her were released. I looked over at Mike with astonishment and asked “did this JUST happen here?!” He smiled and was like…”uh..yea…THAT just happened HERE.” We were both laughing and celebrating what God was doing even though it was a complete scare and bewilderment to the kids in the room. They had NEVER seen anything like this before and many were frightened at what was going on. I loved Mike’s incredible way of teaching them and assuring them things were alright. He said in the classic Brit accent “What I do when i’m worried and frightened on a plane flight is look to the cabin staff…and if they dont look worried…then there everything is OK. But if I dart out the back door to get out of here…then you better be right behind me.” This was so good for them to hear and let them know that what was happening was really GOD!

The whole thing just cracks me up…because I even had specific people tell me and others before the conference that they did not believe in healing…even though they needed it in their own bodies!! Then God showed up and healed them anyway!! We had more reports of physical healings this weekend than anything we’ve done this year and it was at a place where many people were not used to it and didn’t even believe in it!! Along with this came restoration, inner healing from deep issues, and an ignition of a fresh passion for God!! Kids were shaking on the floor God was moving so powerfully through their bodies! We weren’t even playing music at all when this whole deal broke out…so it was not just some “mood” set by the music or manipulation thing….it all came out of silence and waiting on the HOLY SPIRIT. And these people aren’t acclimated to the prophetic flow….so they don’t know how to manifest “on cue” or anything. Thats how you know it was so legit. I think God does things this way so only HE can get the credit for what is happening. He’s the only person in the world that has the right to be an ego-maniac. Thats the way He likes it.

Reports are still pouring from kids all over the nation who had their life changed in this incredible Anglican youth conference. We were renewed and brought back to the simple principle that God can do whatever He wants, wherever He wants, whenever He wants. We want to keep it that way and always believe that HIS Presence can quickly destroy the doubt and unbelief that we carry.

We are going to see an increase of HIS POWER released in the least expected places like this…as long as we give Him TIME and SPACE…We will get what He came to give. We will be empowered and actually go out from these times ready to change the world. It will make our lives more efficient and effective in every way.

These are the times we are living in…get ready.

for generation and nations to see..

sean