We Have Never Been This Way Before  

Many people have been waiting patiently to know what is happening with next national gathering, which we originally thought might be this summer.  While the Lord has confirmed to us the location will be Montreal, we still have not felt a release to call the gathering.  So although the Lord could always surprise us, it seems unlikely at this time that the gathering will be this summer. 

 

We know that in the next phase of our journey in the nation the Lord wants to take us as one army to address the strongholds in the nation.  But like Joshua and the children of Israel, we have not been this way before.  So more than ever, it is important that we continue to seek the Lord for His exact steps to lead us and prepare us for Montreal.  I feel that the timing of the next gathering is not so much absolute as it is relative.  That is, there are clear steps the Lord wants to lead us in to prepare us for what lies ahead. 

 

There are two things the Lord has been speaking to us for this season: one is a new strategy to see prayer mobilized in our cities, the other is the preparation and circumcision of our hearts.

 

God’s Heart for Our Cities

Since the Consumed gathering last August, God has been speaking to us about the importance of seeing the same principles that we have walked in our journey as a nation, walked out in our individual provinces and cities. We believe the Lord is looking for a remnant of believers in each city and province who commit to lay aside their own agendas, plans and purposes so that they might wait on the Lord until He speaks His steps for unlocking the destiny of each city and province. 

 

For the past few months, leaders from the provinces have been meeting together in conference calls.  As we have talked together, we felt the Lord was asking us as a first step to gather in our provinces to seek the Lord.  These invitation-only leadership meetings will be taking place over the next month all over Canada. Please uphold these gatherings in prayer, covering the leadership and asking God to sovereignly download to us His blueprints for every city and province.

 

May 28-30 – Alberta (Edmonton)

June 4-6 - Ontario (Peterborough)

June 7-9 – Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)

June 11-13 – BC (Vancouver)

June 14-16 – Quebec (Montreal) ** Note this gathering is open to all believers in Quebec.  For more information, please email info@watchmen.org

June 18-20  - Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, PEI) - Halifax

 

Circumcising Our Hearts

As I shared in last month’s email (click here to read April’s From My Heart), before the Lord can lead us against the strongholds in the nation, He wants to roll away the reproach of Egypt by taking us into a deep season of preparation and circumcision of our hearts.

 

At this time, I feel the Lord is focusing specifically on two areas:  faith and unity. 

 

First, God wants to bring us to a new level of faith to possess the promises.  Just like the children of Israel, God wants to transform our mindsets from desert wanderers into conquering warriors, who regardless of what they see, will hold fast to the promises of God. 

 

Many in the body of Christ have been hit with a major attack of discouragement, disillusionment, spiritual dullness/confusion and hope deferred over the last several months.  While I know this attack is from the enemy, I believe the Lord has allowed it as a way of testing and purifying our faith. 

 

When I was a child, the dentist used to give me a special pill, called a disclosing tablet, to chew after I brushed my teeth.  Anywhere where I had not brushed well enough to remove all the plaque would turn bright red.  I think this is a good picture of what is happening with this recent attack.  God is allowing it to expose the places inside of us where we are walking in fear, doubt or unbelief concerning the character and promises of God.

 

So I want to encourage you that even while you stand firm against the attacks of the enemy, embrace this season of purification by asking the Lord to flood your life with the light of His truth to expose any hidden areas of darkness where the enemy has gained a foothold through his lies. As I shared last month I really feel Hosea 2:14-15 is a key scripture for this season: God means to turn the valleys of our greatest trouble/sorrow into doors of hope.  I believe there is a special grace from the Lord to expose and heal those areas in our lives where wounds, hurts or disappointments have hardened our hearts in unbelief or doubt, or where fear has been given a door of access.  Jesus said that the sheep know the voice of the true shepherd and they will not follow the voice of a stranger (John 10:4-5). This is the season to believe God to silence the voices of fear and unbelief in our lives that prevent us from being sheep who hear one voice.  His longing is that we would be one flock under One Shepherd (John 10:16)

 

I also believe an important strategy for dealing with the attacks of discouragement and spiritual dullness is to cling to the Word and promises of the Lord.  Just as when Jesus was tested by Satan in the desert, this is not the season to engage the enemy head on but to simply speak to him, “it is written” and “the Lord has said”.  It is a time to saturate ourselves with God’s word allowing the Lord to impart truth in our inward parts, especially as the enemy’s lies are being rooted up and destroyed.  We also need to declare God’s words to us, the promises He has spoken to us for our lives, churches, and our nation.  These are all part of God’s covenant with us as His people and there is power when we declare to the spiritual realm what His word says. 

 

"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." (1 Peter 1:24-25)

 

The second thing I believe God is looking for right now is a people who will commit to maintain the unity of the faith no matter what the cost.  Last fall and in the early winter, there was a strong attack of isolationism and disconnectedness to divide us one from another.  But in the last number of months, many prophetic people in Canada have received warnings from the Lord about a specific attack of confusion, accusation and offense coming against divine (God-orchestrated for His purposes) and covenantal relationships.

 

Many times in this kind of warfare, our minds and emotions are hit very hard so it is important for us to stay very alert to the tactics of the enemy.  God is not the author of confusion or division.  When attacks come to divide you from relationship with other believers, you can know this is from the enemy and not the leading of the Lord.  It’s important for us to be wise to listen intently to the voice of the Good Shepherd so that we do not allow the enemy an opportunity to create a breach.  If we are in disagreement, or if we are hurt or offended, how we position our hearts is most important.  We need to value relationships the way the Lord does, and in love, always protect, trust, hope, and persevere(1 Corinthians 13:8)  Wherever possible we need to continue to walk together and believe the Lord will help us to resolve our differences.  And where there have been broken relationships, we need to know that God’s heart is always for restoration and redemption and nothing is impossible for Him. 

 

This requires a great deal of humility, forgiveness and love.  But I believe that in this season of preparation there is great grace available to us to be transformed into the image of Christ.  When these situations arise we have a choice to react in our human nature (anger, resentment, frustration or hurt) or we can cry out to the Lord to give us a deeper revelation of His love that we may be filled to the measure with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:10).  Love covers over a multitude of sins, I Peter 4:8 tells us, and if we want to be like Jesus and carry the authority of the Lord that will be released in the next season in the church, following the commands and example of Jesus – laying our lives down for others -  is a must.  

 

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3

 

Thank you so much for your heart to stand to see God’s purposes fulfilled, not only in your own lives, but in the cities, provinces and regions of our nation.  May God grant us the grace in this season to rise up in a faith that pleases Him, boldly declaring His word and His promises as One Body in this nation. And may God grant us the power, “to know this love that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19) that we may be brought to complete unity so the world will believe Jesus has come from the Father. (John 17:23)