On December 4th, 2007 Pastor Bob Birch, the founder of Watchmen for the Nations and a spiritual dad to myself and many others, passed away just a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday. Pastor Bob was a faithful man of prayer who cried out for decades for God’s purposes to be fulfilled for Canada. He was a man of great integrity and devoted discipline. I was deeply impacted by his humility and teachable spirit; no matter how old he was (he was 82 years old when I began walking with him) he always said that there was more for him to learn and he embraced every opportunity the Lord gave him to do so. He loved the younger generations and once said that if the purpose God put him on this earth was to release young men and women, then he felt he fulfilled in his calling. During the Jesus movement and throughout the rest of his years, Pastor Bob became a spiritual father to countless young men and women and I believe his legacy lives on in the many lives that he touched through his love, his wisdom, his teaching, his prayer and his unblemished example of leadership as a humble and broken servant of the Lord. Though we miss him greatly, we also rejoice greatly knowing the boundless joy and fulfillment he found that moment in December when he finally came face to face with the Beloved Saviour and Lord whom he adored.
The core of Pastor Bob’s passion was that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would walk in John 17 unity and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. I remember many times he told those of us who walked with him that when he died he wanted one thing printed on his tombstone: let him who has ears hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
For many years now, those who have gathered under the banner of Watchmen have come with this same simple longing to wait upon the Lord and hear what He is saying to the church so that we might see God’s glory come in increasing measures in our nation. God has led us in an amazing journey, revealing to us things that were hindering His presence and has given us steps and strategies to "remove the stones and prepare the way" for the Lord to dwell in Canada.
As a group of leaders met together in Montreal in December to seek the Lord that He might reveal His heart for the church of Canada in this next season, one thing came very clearly to us: God is calling us to carry even more deeply His heart for a unified body who will seek His face continuously. It is not just about doing a gathering now and then but it is about embracing a lifestyle of seeking the Lord that will bring an increased presence of God into ever corner of our nation.
This is why in the next season, we feel the Lord is calling us to a major focus of establishing this “canopy” of continuous seeking of the Lord’s face throughout Canada so that His destiny for our cities, provinces and nation can be released in greater measure. We believe that God will stir many to pray in their homes, and churches and cities but also that we must make many opportunities available for believers of like heart, to gather together in the different regions of our nation for extended times of worship and waiting on the Lord that we might experience a continually increasing canopy of God’s presence resting in greater and greater measure over Canada.
Just as the children of Israel were taught to fight for their brother’s inheritances as they went forth to possess the Promised Land, so it is important in this season for each of us to know when the Lord is asking us to gather together with other believers in our provinces and other provinces in the nation. As each of us follow what the Lord is asking us to do, our collective obedience will be a major key to open the windows of heaven over our nation in a new way.
The first gatherings for 2008 will be in Gander, NL (January 25-26), Prince George, BC (February 1-2), Saskatoon, SK (February 7-9) and Toronto, ON (February 21-23). For more information or to register, please visit Establishing the Canopy section of the Watchmen website or click here.
I’m looking forward with great anticipation and faith to see all that the Lord will do in our nation in this year of new beginnings.
All my love
David
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