Hit Me

26 days and Facedown40.com is at 2,160,876 hits.

Noble Character on Aisle 5

Kim just had an unusual experience at the grocery store. A little old lady followed her from isle to isle continuously asking for things off the shelf. Kim was glad to help at first, but then it just got weird as she kept asking and asking. Here's to my wife though. I probably would have been tempted to either speed up or make a sharp turn for the frozen salisbury steak section just to get away. Kim, however, kept right on getting her whatever she needed. After about seven isles of this, the old lady said to Kim, "I've been trying to incriminate you, but I guess I can't." Then she went away.

???

Proverbs 31:10,11,20- "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value... She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."

Skeletons in the Church

Fisher, my five-year-old son, woke up from an incredible dream yesterday morning. He came to get in bed with me pretty early because the dream had disturbed him. In the dream, he was going to the church here in Boston where we're holding the 40-days. When he got there, he was afraid to go in. The church was completely filled with people, but they were only skeletons and bones. As soon as he said that the Spirit spoke to me that this was the great army of Harvard and New England.

You can't hear a dream like that and not turn to Ezekiel 37. In it Ezekiel is taken to a valley filled with dry bones and is asked, "Can these bones live?" He is then instructed to prophesy to the bones, and when he does there's a loud "rattling" sound. The bones come together as muscles and tendon attach, but there's no life in them. Then he prophesies for breath to enter them. When it does, they stand up and form a vast army.

Could this be the place that we now stand? The bones have rattled together, and they await breath to enter them for life? It's interesting in the dream that Fisher was afraid to go in to the church. Here's what I think it means. Fisher represents the "fishers of men." There will be no great harvest unless we are willing to enter in to the place of intercession and fasting. Resistance has been great here in Boston. This is no easy row to how. It has become clear that the Church of New England hates the prophetic word of God. Without revelation the bones simply dry up. But we are now 20 days into this fast. Things are shifting and the fate of the nation hangs in the balance. We have recommitted ourselves as a company of intercessors. We choose to press in and intensify the fast. It is so important to move with God in the moment he declares. Windows of opportunity are finite. Waves come and go, and you have to choose to catch the wave.

Facedown40.com

The Facedown40 site that we launched only 16 days ago has now received 1,496,080 hits as of this hour. That's crazy activity. We are completely humbled by how this word has spread all over the globe. We've gotten emails from people the world over saying that they're praying and fasting with us during this 40-day period.

The Fighting 49ers

An extra devotional has been blasted out today, the third day of an intensifed fast coinciding with Purim. Many of our company have intensified their fasts for the last three days during the overall 40-day fast by going only water and some to Esther fast (no food/no water). We feel like God has given us laserbeam focus in this time for our prayers concerning the Middle East. Please follow the link to The Fighting 49ers and read this stirring devotion written by Lou this morning. It is profound to say the least. Please remember that our 40-day fast began March 1 and ends April 9- "4/9". Blast this meditation out to everyone you know. Print it out and post it on bulletin boards. Sky write it if you have to. This could be the Church's finest hour.

They haven't seen economic issues

My good friend Eric Morgan in Muncie, IN forwarded an email to me this morning regarding the Indiana legislation I previously wrote about (see HB1080 and C'mon Indiana). The American Family Association of Indiana issued an email blast this morning. Below is an excert:

STATE LEGISLATURE ENDS: Big Economic Issues Overshadowed Pro-Family Issues

Yesterday was the final day of the Indiana legislature, and it was definitely a race to the finish line for a lot of big issues. Most of the media attention was on Indy Works, Indianapolis fire department consolidation and Major Moves, toll road privatization. These two big issues had a lot of political dynamics that made for some drama and entertaining stories for the media, but there were also some significant pro-family issues headed for the Governor’s desk and then into the law books.

Perhaps the biggest topic of interest for social conservatives in the last couple weeks surrounds two pro-life bills, HB 1172 and HB 1080. The first bill involved recognition that life begins at conception and an informed consent provision informing women considering abortion that at a certain point the child might feel pain. HB 1172 passed the House last night by a vote of 75-23 last night. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to pass the bill before the midnight deadline, and therefore, it died.

House Bill 1080 fared even less well. The language requiring the Indiana State Department of Health to inspect abortion clinics was completely stripped from the bill and education deregulation language was inserted, changing the entire topic of the bill. The ISDH has consistently opposed applying health and safety standards, such as those that apply to other outpatient surgical centers, to existing abortion clinics. In the end, it appears that they won. Yet, it will be a hollow victory if any more Hoosier women are the victims of sub-standard care as were those who testified before the Senate Health Committee in the mid-90’s. This is a battle pro-life supporters will have to fight again in another legislature.

While the Department of Health does not seem to want to know what is going on in Indiana’s abortion clinics, they have shown a keen interest in church picnics and pitch-in dinners. House Bill 1235 passed the last night 78-7 in the House and 50-0 in the Senate with language exempting churches from having to meet retail food guidelines like those applied to McDonalds for simply having an occasional bake sale, church supper or a concession stand.

______
It would seem that the "Purpose Driven Bake Sale" is entact and secure for the Hoosier state.

Ides of March

Major breakthrough in the last few days! Also, major resistence. It may sound silly to you, but witches have shown up at our meetings. There have been spiritual attacks, but that's to be expected with the pot we're stirring. We're messing with systems that have been in place for a long time. Too long. Religious spirits have had dominion over the Church of New England for far too long. The're manifesting in crazy ways all over the place. The occult has deep roots here too. We've had to battle unusual sickness and confusion at every turn. There have been dreams revealing witches cursing our community and what we're doing. Strange things are beginning to manifest on the street corners as our people are coming in contact with people while walking around town. One of our young people was standing on a corner yesterday and was drawn to look at a woman approaching him. As they stopped to gaze into each other's eyes, she began to shake violently and uncontrollably. Basically, the city of Cambridge has become a beehive of spiritual activity. Prophetic dreams in our community have blown off the charts. We're going after this Islam thing hardcore. I'm daring to believe that my God is bigger than the spirit behind Islam. We're believing for massive sweeping conversion in the muslim community. It could be the greatest harvest the Church has ever seen. One of our prayer leaders had a dream last night in which she was approached by a muslim man. In the dream, she knew he was from Persia. He said to her angrily, "Your prayers are going out everywhere. Stop what you're doing now, or I'll kill you!" She was consumed suddenly with fear, but then she began to plead the blood of Jesus. As she did this a whirlwind erupted around her and continued to grow forcing the muslim man to step further and further back. C'mon, that's what I'm talking about. God has not abdicated one one square inch of the earth. He is going to war on everything He did not create. Will he find an army willing and ready for battle?

Again and again, I'm not talking about hatred or violence toward man- any man. But I AM talking about extreme violence in the heavens. Prayer and fasting that explodes like smart bombs in the enemy's camp. Laser beam accuracy in our prayers as we call for His will on earth as it is in heaven. Dreams and the prophetic word give us that secret intelligence. We will not be a people that simply react- always on the defense against the Devil's advance of his kingdom. We will be the offensive arrow of the Lord's victory. To the victor go the spoils, and I want to sack the enemy's camp. The spoils are the countless souls waiting to be rescued and liberated from bondage.

Isaiah 58:6-9 (NKJV)
Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, “Here I am.”

Please go to www.facedown40.com/cms/ to read the daily meditations that are being written by Lou Engle, Mike Bickle, Francis Frangipane and Dutch Sheets. These are powerful devotions aimed at focusing our prayers and fasting during this 40 day season. Right now, though, we feel like the next three days are a key turning point. Before we ever came here, there were dreams indicating that the "Ides of March" would be pivotal. In the last couple days, we have again received direction that this next few days are crucial. The Ides of March refers to March 15. Last night there was a dream in which the 13th, 14th and 15th of a calendar were highlighted in yellow and seemed to jump out. Could these next three days be specifically significant in turning the tide of the battle? We believe so, and so we are responding with extreme measures. In the midst of our 40-day fast, we are calling for an even more intense fast. Many are moving to water-only fasts and some are even moving to an Esther fast (no food, no water). Let it be said in the end that we didn't shrink back from the battle and that we never gave up.

Dreaming in Boston

We have experienced some clear breakthrough in prayer in the last couple 0f days. If you don't already know, we have our entire company of intercessors here in Boston for 40 days of 24/7 prayer and fasting. We're specifically targeting the issues of Great Awakening and the Middle East with a focus of revival on America's college campuses. Harvard, the first university in America, is our flashpoint. Overall details for these issues can be found at www.facedown40.com. Details for what we're doing at Harvard can be found www.jhopboston.com (click on the link for Uprising).

Three key dreams have come in the last couple days that are rocking us. I'll save the interpretations for later and just give the dreams for now.

1. Thorns and Thistles (Kim Lockett)
Everyone from JHOP was gathered together, and we were looking out at a massive field of wheat that was ready for harvest. In between us and the field though was a dense area of thorns and thistles. We all looked over to the side and saw Lou Engle talking with Bob Jones privately. We strained our ears to overhear Bob telling Lou, "The harvest is guaranteed if you can get to it." The implication of this statement was not one of doubt but more of a challenge.

2. Joel in the Basement (Chris Berglund)
Chris was in a house and it was nighttime. He was told that Joel had arrived and was in the basement. He asked when he could see him, but was told that he couldn't see him until morning.

3. Persian Cats (outside the camp from someone unfamiliar with what we're doing)
Lou Engle was standing in one of the gates to Harvard Yard. In front of him was a beautiful persian cat that was distracting him. While looking at the first cat, a second persian cat that was completely demonized was using it's claws to rip and shred his back.

I'll try to write about some insights soon. Stay tuned.

GRRRRRRRRR

That stands for Grand Rapids as in Michigan. I've been in MI for the last four days preaching and teaching at Kentwood Community Church. A group of their young people fasted for 30 hours this weekend, and my friend Jeff asked me to come and minister during that time. I feel like bones are rattling here. Ezekiel was taken into a valley of dry bones and asked "Can they live?" The Lord instructed him to prophesy to the bones, and they began to rattle and come together. When they stood to their feet, they made a vast army. It has been an incredible weekend of not only sharing what Kim and I are doing in DC but also imparting a warring spirit and faith for prayer and fasting. I am totally encouraged by what I have seen here. Dreams have exploded immediately. One key adult leader had a significant dream that I think is a window of destiny for this group. What's encouraging is that the dream had a sense of urgency and dealt with building an army of soldiers. Many of the young people received windows dealing with personal issues and callings, and they felt confident that God was communicating intimate things with them. What more could you ask for?

Shake, rattle and roll.