Believers from every generation answered a call from the Lord to gather in Edmonton August 22- 24, 2013. To read the accounts of what the Lord did, please click the report links below. If you would like to listen to or download an MP3 of the session, click the MP3 link (click the link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”)
The Door Is Open - Part 1 - Living Right Side Up Listen to Session 1 MP3 Listen to Session 1 Worship
The Door Is Open - Part 2 - The Governor Listen to Session 2 MP3
The Door Is Open - Part 3 - Nothing is Impossible Listen to Session 3 MP3 Listen to Session 3 Worship
The Door Is Open - Part 4 - Embracing the Pain Listen to Session 4 MP3 Listen to Session 4 Worship
The Door Is Open - Part 5 - Edmonton Listen to Session 5 MP3 Listen to Session 5 Worship
The Door Is Open - Part 6 - One Family Listen to Session 6 MP3
The Door Is Open - Part 7 - Lay Me Down Listen to Session 7 MP3
The Door Is Open - Part 1 - Living Right Side Up
The gathering exceeded anything we could have hoped for or believed would happen! It was such a joy to be together with those the Lord released to attend the gathering from Western Canada, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland! And for those who could not come, but who supported with your prayers and faith and giving – thank you! It was the collective obedience and sacrifice of all of us that opened the way for the Lord to accomplish the longing of His heart for this gathering.
The Foundation
As we shared in the first session of the gathering, six of seven of us on the Awaken team first met when we served together in Watchmen for the Nations, a relational network of thousands of believers in Canada who share a common heart cry for the Church of Canada to be fashioned into a resting place for the glory of the Lord. For 10 years (1999-2009) this remnant of believers journeyed with the Lord, gathering at His request, walking out prophetic steps of obedience to see the redemption of Canada’s eternal destiny. Our experience in Watchmen and the training and mentoring we received through David Demian, as well as other respected spiritual fathers and mothers from across the nation, have been invaluable and integral in shaping our understanding of the principles of God’s kingdom and rule.
It’s upon this strong and secure foundation, which has already been laid by the older generations, that we believe God is calling the younger generations, Gen Xers and millennials, to begin to build. However, building the first floor of a house is very different than laying the foundation. So while God means us to embrace the values and principles of the journey, He does not want us to try to replicate its steps or create forms or structures from what were rhema words of God in that journey.
Creatures of Habit
This is the tricky part because as human beings we are creatures of habit. So we have a tendency to try to “franchise” revelation from the Lord. When a church or ministry does something that seems to be successful, we try to find a pattern and duplicate it, hoping for the same results. But if we look at the Old Testament we don’t see God “franchising” strategies – the children of Israel only marched around the walls of a city once. Their journey was not about learning strategies for warfare – it was about learning how to follow the presence of God as He manifested Himself in a pillar of fire or a cloud. And so it should be for us.
Our Awaken team, with our spouses, had been in Edmonton for two days before the gathering and as we talked and tried to discern about different aspects of the coming meetings, we found ourselves slipping out of rest and into human planning. Because we have been in so many gatherings, we have unconsciously developed expectations of how things ‘should be done” based on past experiences, good and bad. So without even realizing it, we were falling into trying to fit the gathering into these pre-set patterns more than positioning ourselves to receive revelation and a fresh word from God.
Thankfully the Lord confronted us about this the night before the gathering. Throughout the consecration call we would pray in the Spirit together every morning (except Sundays – just couldn’t get a schedule to work between church in 5 time zones) and from those times, much revelation came that we shared during those three weeks. As we were gathered on Wednesday night, the Lord challenged us by asking, “Why are you forgetting what you already learned during the consecration call? I told you that a new door is opening so why are you trying to force things into an old pattern instead of seeking Me for new ways?”
We were cut to the heart and began repenting right on the spot. That repentance turned into a prayer meeting and, after about an hour, we knew exactly how we were to start the first session of the gathering: confessing our own struggles to everyone so that together we could ask the Lord to help shift us from being people of the mind to people of the Spirit.
Living Right Side Up
Most of us are living inverted lives – with our minds in ascendency over the Spirit instead of the Spirit in ascendancy over the mind. Because of this we struggle to walk in Kingdom ways because the things of the Spirit are foolishness to the natural mind – they can only be spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14) So if we try to hear the Lord through the grid of our human mind, it’s going to be like trying to listen to a radio station with constant static. We are never going to hear clearly because we are living upside down. We need to turn things right side up and become true sons and daughters of God, led by the Spirit of God in every aspect of our lives. (Romans 8:14)
To hear more about this and our journey in the first session of the gathering, click here to access the MP3. (click link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”)
To hear a selection of worship from the first session (please note this is raw board mix – not professionally mixed) click here to access the MP3. (click link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”)
Love,
Stephanie
On behalf of the Awaken Team
We desire our journey to be an expression of the corporate body and not just a few of us, so if the Lord gives you a vision or dream or speaks to you through a scripture or if you have a story or testimony you would like to share, please send it to share@awakenthedream.org.
If you would like to stay connected with Awaken the Dream and the journey, you may sign up at http://www.awakenthedream.org/connect.
The Door is Open - Part 2 - The Governor
Have you ever been in worship when suddenly the whole atmosphere shifts and you can feel a tangible presence of God that captivates your heart? Everything in your being starts yearning to run and soar with the Lord. But no matter how hard you try to “take off”, you feel grounded, as if something is constraining you and pulling you back to earth.
I had this experience in the second session of the gathering. We had felt to begin the Thursday evening session in worship, waiting for the Lord to release further instructions to us. The worship team was entering into deep places with the Holy Spirit and I could feel not only myself but many people longing to do the same. But every time the worship would build to a point that it seemed like we were going to break through to a new level, something would hinder us and we would drop back down to earth. So the whole worship session felt like a yoyo: up and down, up and down. And when the worship ended, there wasn’t the release that comes when you know you have fulfilled what the Lord intended. It was more like knocking and knocking on a door until finally we got tired and things sort of faded out to an incomplete finish. And the promise of “something more” hung heavy in the air.
During the worship, I kept asking the Lord, “What is going on?” And He spoke one word clearly to my spirit – governor. I looked it up in the dictionary and found this definition: an attachment to a machine (as a gasoline engine) for automatic control or limitation of speed.
Then the Lord said to me, “People are being limited by their past experiences and so, even though the door is open, they are not able to enter into the new.”
Corporate worship can sometimes be like going to a swimming pool with a group of people. When the worship starts, you get excited and jump full force into the pool. But just as you start enjoying the water, someone suddenly yells “Ok, out of the pool.” It’s only at that point that you realize, to your horror, that other people, while dressed in bathing suits, haven’t actually ever left the edge of the pool. Since you are standing there sopping wet while everyone else is dry, you can feel kind of stupid for your exuberance.
If this happens to you a few times I will guarantee that the next time you go swimming, you will think twice about jumping into the pool first. Maybe you’ll just stand on the edge and poke a toe in to test the water and see if anyone else is going to jump in first.
This is how a lot of Gen Xers have felt in worship in church. As soon as worship starts, we get excited and dive in head first. But just as the presence of God is building, suddenly someone gets up and says it’s time to do announcements or take an offering. To shift from intense passion or intimacy of communion with God into planning the next church picnic is like shifting straight from fifth gear into first gear. It’s grinding and painful. So much so that subtly we can start holding ourselves back.
That’s how our past experiences become a governor on our spirits, preventing us from going full speed in the way we know God has fashioned us to do. What God desires is to free us from this governor, so that we have no limitations in our passionate pursuit of the presence of God in worship and every other area of our lives.
So how can we get free from the governor of past experiences? It’s not by trying harder or forcing ourselves. In fact, it’s the opposite – it’s by coming into a place of greater surrender.
To hear more about how God wants to free us from the governor, click here to access the MP3 from the Thursday night session of the gathering. (Click link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”)
Love,
Stephanie
On behalf of the Awaken Team
We desire our journey to be an expression of the corporate body and not just a few of us, so if the Lord gives you a vision or dream or speaks to you through a scripture or if you have a story or testimony you would like to share, please send it to share@awakenthedream.org.
If you would like to stay connected with Awaken the Dream and the journey, you may sign up at http://www.awakenthedream.org/connect.
The Door is Open - Part 3 - Nothing is Impossible
There is a persevering faith in the older generations (the boomers and builders) that is an incredible inheritance for the Gen Xer and millennial generations, if we will have the humility to receive it.
So after worship, we had the privilege of hearing Rick and Nell, as well as Danyele Bloom, the national president of Aglow Canada, share with us from their life journeys. Then, in accordance with 2 Timothy 1:6, then prayed for us and laid hands on us to impart to us from the rich deposit of persevering faith the Lord has built in their lives.
To hear more about what was shared Friday morning, click here. (Note: click link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”.)
Click here to hear the worship from Friday morning including the declaration - Nothing Is Impossible!
If your heart is stirred as you listen and you want to receive an impartation of faith, it’s not too late. There is no time or distance in the Spirit. As Danyele said, people are only instruments through whom the Holy Spirit operates. You can reach out and receive an impartation of faith, right now, directly from the hand of the Father. Let’s pray this prayer together:
“Father, I don’t want to live any more in the limitation of my human understanding because I know Your desire for me is to live by persevering faith. So I’m asking you to impart into my life a gift of faith, the faith that against all hope believes. Father I choose to take my place in the procession of faith of generations and say, ‘I throw off every hindrance and the sin that so easily entangles. And I run with perseverance the race marked out for me, fixing my eyes on Jesus, the author of perfecter of my faith.’ In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
Love,
Stephanie
On behalf of the Awaken Team
We desire our journey to be an expression of the corporate body and not just a few of us, so if the Lord gives you a vision or dream or speaks to you through a scripture or if you have a story or testimony you would like to share, please send it to share@awakenthedream.org.
If you would like to stay connected with Awaken the Dream and the journey, you may sign up at http://www.awakenthedream.org/connect.
The Door is Open - Part 4 - Embracing the Pain
But rather than pressing into the Lord for understanding, we have often swung one of two ways: we have laid the blame for our suffering squarely on the shoulders of the older generations (“If only they weren’t so vision-driven/task-oriented/controlling and would get out of the way and let someone else lead!”) or we have believed a lie that, for some reason, God has forgotten us (“I’m too messed up, God has given up on me/passed me by”).
Both these lies have kept us wallowing in self-pity and trapped in despair because we have failed to see the bigger picture of God’s eternal purposes and sovereignty. We know that we are wired with an almost obsessive need for the presence of God and a longing to see the headship of Jesus recognized and honoured in the Church through a sensitivity and obedience to the Holy Spirit. And yet we haven’t understood the price that needs to be paid by a generation destined to shift the Church into experiencing a new measure of the manifested Glory of God in our midst.
Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 4 that we have this treasure (the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ) in earthen vessels so that the power may be seen to be of God and not man. How can light be seen through a clay jar? By breaking it.
Knowing that He cannot share His glory with any man, in His wisdom and mercy, God has been taking Gen Xers through an intense journey of brokenness. This has been an act of love for our protection, not our destruction.
Understanding and embracing, rather than resisting, the pain or suffering the Lord has allowed in our lives to shape and prepare us, is key to our release as a generation.
To hear more about God’s journey with Gen X, click here. (Note: click link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”.)
At the end of the session, we took a time to worship and offer ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. Click here to hear the worship from Friday afternoon.
Love,
Stephanie
On behalf of the Awaken Team
We desire our journey to be an expression of the corporate body and not just a few of us, so if the Lord gives you a vision or dream or speaks to you through a scripture or if you have a story or testimony you would like to share, please send it to share@awakenthedream.org.
If you would like to stay connected with Awaken the Dream and the journey, you may sign up at http://www.awakenthedream.org/connect.
The Door is Open - Part 5 - EdmontonThe Lord directed us to have an open worship night for the city of Edmonton on the Friday night of the gathering.
When the Israelites entered into the Promised Land, they were commanded to fight for their brother’s inheritance. Even Ephraim and Manasseh, who received their portion before crossing over the Jordan, were required to cross over and war until their brothers were established in their inheritances.
This is a picture of how the Lord wants us to function as a Body in our nation. The Church in each province, region, and city is meant to display a unique facet of the glory of God in accordance to the purposes the Lord has entrusted to them. As we contend for the blessing and breakthrough of the Body in different places, the nation is strengthened.
Just as people gifted with prophetic insight receive revelation and speak into the destiny of an individual, the Lord will also speak through the prophetic regarding His purposes for the Church in a city, province or nation.
In March 2002, Patricia King, a well-known prophetic voice, released the following word while visiting Edmonton:
“I was asking [the Lord] specifically about Edmonton, and I have been seeing for two days now a vision of like a military post. It’s like a pillar post, and it’s right here in this area. And tonight as we were worshipping, I actually saw like that portal of glory coming down upon this. And then I started seeing that out of that military post was coming armies of soldiers. And then I saw them get up on the horses with Jesus and follow Jesus and I believe there is a mandate – one of the mandates – on this area is for the people of God to become the warriors of God, and to be called as a military post in the Spirit to contend for the victory of the Lord and to be protectors for this region.
And I saw that on the top of this military post, there was almost like a lighthouse and it was turning around with light going out into all the regions around you. And the Lord wants to use the Edmonton region to have significant impact on all the areas around you, to the north, the south, the east and the west where there will be a releasing of the light and the glory of God but it’s going to come through a warrior posture. A warrior posture: standing and saying, “Jesus, You are the King of Glory, the Lord mighty in battle, the Lord of Hosts”. He’s the Captain of the armies of heaven, and I believe that God wants to release into this region a revelation of Psalm 24, and I believe that Psalm 24 is going to be a significant scripture for Edmonton. That is, all the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, all it contains and all that dwell therein. It says, ‘Open up ye gates, open up ye gates, and let the King of Glory come in. Who is the King of Glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of Glory. The Lord mighty in battle.’ And there’s something so significant about that scripture for this particular region. And I prophesy it out right now that the city of Edmonton and the region around this area will become as a military post that will honour the King of Glory, and that will be used to release the light and the glory of the gospel like a lighthouse going around into all the regions around it and will stand as a protector in the nation of the plans and the purposes of God.”
During the worship on Friday night, the worship team began singing out Psalm 24 – even though they had no prior knowledge of this prophetic word. So when the worship was finished, this prophetic word was shared and spiritual leaders from Edmonton and the surrounding areas led the whole gathering in prayers of agreement, spiritually aligning and reinforcing what the Lord has already spoken over Edmonton.
To hear the Friday evening worship, click here.
To hear the prophetic word and prayers made after worship, click here.
Love,
Stephanie
On behalf of the Awaken Team
We desire our journey to be an expression of the corporate body and not just a few of us, so if the Lord gives you a vision or dream or speaks to you through a scripture or if you have a story or testimony you would like to share, please send it to share@awakenthedream.org.
If you would like to stay connected with Awaken the Dream and the journey, you may sign up at http://www.awakenthedream.org/connect.
The Door is Open - Part 6 - One Family
Weeks before the gathering, the Lord laid on our hearts the importance of having at least a seed of millenials (born c. 1980-2000) in the gathering. Saturday morning we had a wonderful opportunity to hear the hearts of some of those millennials the Lord called to the gathering.
One young woman from BC shared her burden to see her generation walking together, both with one another and with the other generations. She also shared a vision God had given her during the gathering where she saw her generation, holding hands with the Gen Xers, forming a line right across the nation.
A young man from Manitoba also shared with us what God was revealing to him during the gathering. He confessed that had come out of obedience to the Lord but without any heart for Gen Xers. But that was soon remedied as God began breaking his heart for Gen Xers. He spoke a word of encouragement and blessing over Xers and then asked other millennials, if they were in agreement, to stand with him and release this simple but powerful prayer/declaration:
Lord, make me an advocate of every other part of the body. Make me a ligament. I will spur others on with all my might.
The hearts of all those present in the gathering were so touched that we came to the front of the church and, as the generations stood intertwined together without any gap, as one family we made this same declaration!
To hear more of what was shared and declared in the Saturday morning session please click here. (Note: click link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”.)
Love,
Stephanie
On behalf of the Awaken Team
We desire our journey to be an expression of the corporate body and not just a few of us, so if the Lord gives you a vision or dream or speaks to you through a scripture or if you have a story or testimony you would like to share, please send it to share@awakenthedream.org.
If you would like to stay connected with Awaken the Dream and the journey, you may sign up at http://www.awakenthedream.org/connect.
The Door is Open - Part 7 - Lay Me DownDuring our Saturday afternoon session, the Lord directed us into two prophetic acts as a way of sealing everything He had been speaking to us about during the gathering.
First, the Lord directed us to anoint our necks as a proclamation that we are bowing to the yoke of the Lord and declaring that we will not be a stiff-necked people.
Second, the Lord asked for all Gen Xers who felt called to stand for the fulfillment of God’s purposes for our generation, to step forward as a prophetic statement that they are walking through the open door and joining with the company of those from across the nation called for such a time as this.
In accordance with a picture the Lord had given us earlier in the gathering, first all those present formed a large circle, while the Awaken team stood in a smaller circle in the middle. As we all began to sing Lay Me Down (a song the Lord gave us as a theme for the gathering) , those Gen Xers feeling to stand for our generation stepped forward, moving from the wider circle and into the smaller one. Then together as one family and as an intercessory representation of the body of Christ in Canada, we all bowed our necks and anointed them with spikenard, declaring that God will have in the Church of Canada a “soft-necked” people, who will easily bow to His Lordship and take upon ourselves His yoke alone.
To hear more of what happened in this session, please click here. (Note: click link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”.)
If your heart resonates with the call to be “soft-necked” and live your life in a more complete submission to the King, Jesus, then we encourage you to join in as you listen, anointing your own neck and praying the prayer with us.
And if you are a Gen Xer and you feel that you are one of those the Lord is stirring to stand to see His purposes fulfilled in our generation, then, wherever you are, we encourage you to step forward and join in singing the song.
Lay Me Down (Chris Tomlin)I lay me downI’m not my ownI belong to You aloneLay me down, Lay me downHand on my heartThis much is trueThere’s no life apart from YouLay me down, lay me down
It will be my joy to sayYour will, Your wayIt will be my joy to say
Your will, Your way
It will be my joy to sayYour will, Your wayAlways
Remember there is no distance in the spirit and if you are an Xer who has made that commitment and would like to connect with others of the same heart across the nation, please email us at share@awakenthedream.org. Psalm 68:6 tells us that God sets the lonely in families and we believe in this hour, He is knitting many of kindred spirit from all generations together so that we can have the safety and comfort of not walking alone.
Love,
Stephanie
On behalf of the Awaken Team
We desire our journey to be an expression of the corporate body and not just a few of us, so if the Lord gives you a vision or dream or speaks to you through a scripture or if you have a story or testimony you would like to share, please send it to share@awakenthedream.org.
If you would like to stay connected with Awaken the Dream and the journey, you may sign up at http://www.awakenthedream.org/connect.
The Door is Open - Part 7 - Lay Me Down
During our Saturday afternoon session, the Lord directed us into two prophetic acts as a way of sealing everything He had been speaking to us about during the gathering.
First, the Lord directed us to anoint our necks as a proclamation that we are bowing to the yoke of the Lord and declaring that we will not be a stiff-necked people.
Second, the Lord asked for all Gen Xers who felt called to stand for the fulfillment of God’s purposes for our generation, to step forward as a prophetic statement that they are walking through the open door and joining with the company of those from across the nation called for such a time as this.
In accordance with a picture the Lord had given us earlier in the gathering, first all those present formed a large circle, while the Awaken team stood in a smaller circle in the middle. As we all began to sing Lay Me Down (a song the Lord gave us as a theme for the gathering) , those Gen Xers feeling to stand for our generation stepped forward, moving from the wider circle and into the smaller one. Then together as one family and as an intercessory representation of the body of Christ in Canada, we all bowed our necks and anointed them with spikenard, declaring that God will have in the Church of Canada a “soft-necked” people, who will easily bow to His Lordship and take upon ourselves His yoke alone.
To hear more of what happened in this session, please click here. (Note: click link to listen – a window will open in your internet browser. To download the mp3 simply right click on the browser and select “save source as”.)
If your heart resonates with the call to be “soft-necked” and live your life in a more complete submission to the King, Jesus, then we encourage you to join in as you listen, anointing your own neck and praying the prayer with us.
And if you are a Gen Xer and you feel that you are one of those the Lord is stirring to stand to see His purposes fulfilled in our generation, then, wherever you are, we encourage you to step forward and join in singing the song.
Lay Me Down (Chris Tomlin)
I lay me down
I’m not my own
I belong to You alone
Lay me down, Lay me down
Hand on my heart
This much is true
There’s no life apart from You
Lay me down, lay me down
It will be my joy to say
Your will, Your way
It will be my joy to say
Your will, Your way
It will be my joy to say
Your will, Your way
Always
Remember there is no distance in the spirit and if you are an Xer who has made that commitment and would like to connect with others of the same heart across the nation, please email us at share@awakenthedream.org. Psalm 68:6 tells us that God sets the lonely in families and we believe in this hour, He is knitting many of kindred spirit from all generations together so that we can have the safety and comfort of not walking alone.
Love,
Stephanie
On behalf of the Awaken Team
We desire our journey to be an expression of the corporate body and not just a few of us, so if the Lord gives you a vision or dream or speaks to you through a scripture or if you have a story or testimony you would like to share, please send it to share@awakenthedream.org.
If you would like to stay connected with Awaken the Dream and the journey, you may sign up at http://www.awakenthedream.org/connect.