TIAN’ANMEN MADNESS l BEIJING BLAZE l NEWNESS ON 8.8.8

8.8.8 l Beijing, China
Burners, Contenders, and Fellow Countrymen..
Here I go…trying to wrap up the last 24 hours isn’t gonna be easy (much less summarizing the entire journey)…forgive me in advance for all the details I’m going to leave out. For the sake of those that get easily overwhelmed with too many words on my blogs (wimps..haha : )…

Here is the MEGA HIGHLIGHTS LIST SUMMARIZED BELOW:

- Burning outside in Tian’anmen Square / Downtown Beijing with thousands of bystander Chinese soaking in the PRESENCE

- Confrontation with staunch Chinese Police in Tian’anmen Square 

- Interview with Al-Jezeera News Agency on God and the Olympics while praying for the Iraqi Reporter

- Igniting the last of 4 consecutive China Burn launches in Beijing during the Olympic opening ceremony with the underground church

- Its 8.8.8 with a load of new beginnings

THE MAKING OF MODERN HISTORY

Right now I’m watching the finale of the Olympic opening ceremony in my hotel room less than 5 miles away from where it is taking place live in Beijing. This is a historic event not only for the Communist China but for the entire history of humanity. The date is 8.8.8. While we are getting some shuteye to catch an early flight out in the morning, the rest of the western world is just waking up.

Thousands of people from 204 nations are gathered together in the stadium eagerly awaiting the lighting of the Olympic torch. They are boisterously cheering and aggressively waving their respective flags as millions of people from around the world look on. It is quite possibly one of the most incredible things I’ve ever witnessed in my life. Presidents, Kings, stars, athletes…they are all there. The city is completely on lock down. And I thought Washington DC was bad! There is no way to explain the presence of police and military on the streets here. We just drove across the six rings of the city and there was not a sidewalk, street, and corner not completely covered with them. There vast power and authority is on display to the world tonight.

All the while something is raging behind a dark alleyway off a dirt road in an undisclosed location in the city that is shaking the earth and releasing a fragrance to heaven.

NEW BEGINNINGS UNVEILED

There is an electricity in the air that is impossible to articulate and its far more than Olympic hype. Something is shifting across the nations of the world TODAY. NOW. HERE. Simply put…as the world gathers here…God will not let ANYONE steal the spotlight. He always gets the last word.

As we gathered with the Beijing army (some even coming from inner Mongolia!!) to release the DNA of the BURN and vertical worship (with 3 cities of prep behind us)…we spilled our guts with all the revelation, teaching, and impartation we could muster on our final day to this hungry underground crew. I have NEVER felt a more urgent call to worship and pray. Pregnant with the most gut wrenching unction I’ve ever felt before…we collapsed on our face during the opening set and proclaimed this prophetic decree of our day:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

The people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

ISAIAH 43:18-19. 21

That single moment of raw deep groaning together..Chinese and American…spirit to Spirit..was the reason we came. Something was transfered, shifted, and absorbed that I will never forget. An era of new beginnings was ushered on 8.8.8. We were thrown onto the stage of history with the company of the those whom the world isn’t worthy ( Heb. 11:38) and became the watchmen of not only China…but every tribe and tongue on earth.

I just heard the Olympic announcer of this ceremony become a voice of truth to city and nation as he declared this right now:

“Beijing: You are a host to the present [or THE PRESENCE] and a gateway to the future”

TIAN’ANMEN MADNESS GOES DOWN

The night before the BURN was to launch in Beijing…we arrived and had some stupid, crazy idea to go down in the middle of the communist chaos and stir it up even more. Throwing out all conventional wisdom but zeroing in on the voice of the Lord, we entered the square to join over 10,000 mainly chinese olympic-goers. We burned in front of the Mormon Temple open-air-style earlier this year in 5 degree weather (check out the youtube video) and with a healthy Biblical example (Gideon, Jericho, etc).. we put our 1 year multiple entry visas on the line while our underground friends prayed for us.

We blazed on the same stones that witnessed thousands of Chinese students cry for freedom and become brutally murdered for their demand in 1989. We became the voice of true freedom as we opened our guitars and djembes and let the sound rush forth. And they gathered. Hundreds circled around us within 2 minutes of the first chord strummed and that is NO exaggeration. Only God knows how many people were there before the police came through 20 minutes later. ALOT of sound came out in that time though and I doubt that worship has ever been heard there before.

Reporters, newspaper editors, TV anchors, university students..they all happened to be there at that time and HIS PRESENCE took center stage. After the first police car broke right through our holy huddle (not stopping for anyone…sound familiar??)…the people would not leave. They came back and requested more! So we went for round two and the numbers grew. This outraged the police and they brought two bigger vehicles through the second time. After the fourth interruption…we got the hint and ended with ecstatic prophetic declaration and people cheering. WILD!!

My favorite line was the last policeman driving through rolled down his window and said quietly to me (almost under his breath)…“please come back tomorrow.”

This doesn’t even begin to capture all that went down during this episode. Watch the video that will post on our youtube account in a few days.

INTERVIEW WITH AL JAZEERA NEWS

Lucas, Caleb and I ventured in front of the massive Olympic Stadium (nicknamed the “Birds Nest”) to check it out and pray. Lucas was sharing this powerful dream he had on the plane flying to Beijing of the stadium as we were in front of it. In the dream, the powers of darkness were working to strangle out the glory of God and keep it bound over the nation..but the glory and Presence of God grew so strong that it burst forth and  broke every ancient yoke and bondage once keeping it back. As I was capturing this vision (to post it on youtube)..tons of people began to crowd around us. Up to the at point, we had been interviewed several times by China Daily and ESPN about the Olympics and the excitement in the air. None of us expected what was to come.

An Arab reporter named Kareem walks up to me and asks if he can interview me. I asked him what it was for and he responded with “Al Jazeera News.” He had no badges or press pass because he said the committee refused to grant them…but explained how he flew in from Qatar to cover the games. He asked me questions and I began to talk about how I feel God has a bigger plan for Beijing than even the Olympics and He was gathering the nations together for something even greater - A display of His glory!! He was a little baffled…but kept talking. He shared his story about his family back home in Iraq and the hardships they are enduring. We then began to pray for him while his recorder was still on!! I felt the Presence of God in that place and we all just stood there for a minute after the prayer feeling real good. He then invited us to come to Bagdad next summer..total confirmation for BURN BAGDAD 09 baby!!

I mean…what are the chances that God would bring a radical muslim from Al Jazeera news to come FIND US and then open the door for us to pray fire over him!! That is sure new beginnings for me!

A FRESH ERA

China has entered into something fresh and alive. The Tian’anmen Square episode represents an openness to this new sound God is ushering in on a mass level. The ravenous fire of the BURN now blowing wildly depicts the dry kindling [underground church] ready for something all consuming and new. Almost every Chinese pastor, apostolic leader, evangelist and worshipper we talked with across the nation repeated this phrase: CHINA IS READY FOR A NEW THING - WE NEED IT NOW MORE THAN EVER. A revelation coming to me was that persecution doesn’t blot out politics and religion in the underground church [trust me], they are alive and active due to our stinking flesh. But the church is unified in its plea for something fresh. They all want it and will give anything up for it. This desperate hunger to “forsake all” is what makes me weep and join together in their plea.

A fresh era is at hand in China and God is “raining down righteousness” and the “earth is opening wide” to receive it [Isaiah 45:8].

Let every nation, tribe, and tongue join together in this pursuit.

Check back later to see all the videos posted on our youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/burn247.