Reflections of “Embracing the Dream” Gathering – Quebec – Aug 2008

How do we begin to share the wonders of the Lord’s presence at the “Embracing the Dream” gathering this past summer? 

We have experienced a measure of a breakthrough so that we could rejoice and say the Lord has done great things!  Hour after hour we worshipped, danced, wept, sang and declared God’s promises; at times it seemed as if creation itself joined in. Truly, a day in His courts is better than a thousand elsewhere!

An inter-generational group of three hundred leaders from various spheres of ministry (church, business, politics, education, media, arts) across Canada, gathered together in August just north of Quebec City. They came together to seek the Dream of God’s heart realized – the fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus in John 17.  In preparation, the Counsel met from the 10th -12th with a posture of humility, laying down their giftings and deferring to one another in order to see God’s Dream realized in our nation.

A shift was seen in the leadership of the gathering towards a more corporate expression as various Counsel members took up the baton and facilitated the meetings. Prior to that, the Lord had led the team to enter into a covenant with Him and with one another in owning the vision of seeing the Body become one as Jesus prayed in John 17. As a prophetic picture of their posture, they felt to use some salt.  From the earliest of times salt has been a symbol of the covenant of loyalty. (Num.18:19, Lev.2:13)

“When Jesus told his disciples “ye are the salt of the earth. He was speaking of this covenant of loyalty and the need to walk this out. Covenant people are people who have come through the fire together. They are people loyal to one another. They are people who will die for one another. They refuse to entertain malicious charges against each other, they are people who love one another, and serve one another because their word is their bond. They are people of one family.” ¹

We felt that the Lord wanted to release, in our nation, the principles of the Kingdom that He has taught us in our journey.  His desire is that they be lived out in a practical way in every aspect of our lives – as individuals, but also in our families, churches, cities and provinces.  This was modeled very clearly one evening. Provinces were given the opportunity to share. Twenty three from Saskatchewan got up and told of how the Lord brought a breakthrough in their province and taught them how to walk as family, literally laying down personal agendas for each other.

A story was told of how one member was going through a very difficult time and was overwhelmed. She was sitting at her desk at work, when she was interrupted by an unexpected knock on the door. The door opened. In shock, there stood three of the core intercessory leaders in the province who had driven for hours to get there.  The Lord had earlier prompted these three to go and encourage her.  So in obedience they went, regardless of the personal plans they had for that day. They went for lunch to connect and “walk alongside” her. This was not an isolated incident of such Kingdom care being shown.

This story brought a desire for this degree of “family” to be walked out in every province and city.  A young girl observing how her parents and the church in Saskatchewan were walking turned to them and declared: “I am honored to walk with you …where you go I will go, your people will be my people, and your God my God.”  

We dreamed that in every province/region or city, trusted leaders would walk together corporately and provide a safe spiritual covering under which believers can be called together to worship and wait upon the Lord.  We desire to hear what the Spirit is saying on a regular, continuous basis and that we would obey Him with an attitude of “whatever…until – whatever it takes until the glory of the Lord fills our province/region or city.”  This was seen day after day as we endeavored to discern what was on God‘s heart. At times in the Counsel meetings we would try to hear and sense the direction God wanted us to go but not be sure of how to go there. Then He would surprise us in the larger group meetings as He sovereignly exceeded our expectations.

At the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games just a few days before - 08/08/08, we were amazed to watch the final torch runner effortlessly run along the stadium walls towards the goal as he was carried along by supportive ropes. We felt this was a significant picture for the Church as we run with the torch towards the goal – it will appear as if we are running but really the Lord will be carrying us along to our final destination.
A memorable moment in the gathering was when the attending First People’s leaders wanted to affirm their acceptance of the Government apology made June 11, 2008 where Prime Minister Stephen Harper had declared:

“Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian residential schools. The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history…Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country”
They offered gifts to the governmental leaders present and prayed for righteousness, justice, wisdom and understanding to be the mantle they would walk in.

….We prepare the way…… we prepare the way of the Lord”
He has called us to prepare the way for a great harvest and for His Kingdom coming to earth. He is preparing the way for the fullness of the Gentiles and the opening of the eyes of the Jews. For the curse of death over the next generation to be broken and their eyes opened.

Through dialogue and time together in worship, the Generations expressed a deep desire to walk together. As Kenny Blacksmith, one of the First People’s leaders has said, “That we would walk in each other’s shoes, laying down our own way of doing things”. We don’t know how to walk together but we want to and we want to dream God’s dream together. Three images from the gathering stand out:

• That of a person in his 50’s and one in his 30’s trading shoes and tying their feet together as they walked alongside each other.
• The other of a young lady in her 30’s tying her ankle to a wooden stake. In Native culture, a warrior at the beginning of battle would stake himself at the fore front of the battle.  In effect he is saying, “You will have to get past me to get to my people”.  By this act she was declaring, “On behalf of my generation, count me in!”
• A drummer, 18 years old starts to drum. The Lord’s spirit releases him. Another drummer 28 years old joins in on the same drum.  The dancers come forward with pace sticks and start pounding in like rhythm… on and on it goes. Then in an instant they stop… Silence.  A loud thunderclap is heard! Then quietly a young Quebecois girl goes to the microphone and starts singing. « Voulez-vous rêver avec moi, voulez-vous rêver à nouveau; Canada, rêve avec moi, Canada, rêve à nouveau » “Will you dream with me, will you dream anew, Canada dream with me, Canada dream anew.”

Whether or not you were able to come, if your heart resounded with God’s dream and you prayed, you have played a part in establishing the canopy of God’s presence in our nation. This establishing of the canopy needs to be done intentionally, daily seeking the Lord in the secret place, as to how to build relationships of love and accountability. Will you dream again for a nation that is embracing God’s dream, a place where He dwells? A country that reflects the original dream of the King of France, “to establish a Christian colony that would bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations.”  A country where He has Dominion from Sea to Sea!