In the past couple weeks we have been witness to a major turn-of-events in Egypt. Major demonstrations in Cairo's central plaza have led to a long-term dictator stepping down and the overturning of his regime. No one knows what this will mean for the future of Egypt and the Middle East. Some see it as the dawning of liberty and democratic rule in the Muslim world. Others see it as a portent of greater unrest and an opportunity for an extremist Islamist regime to take over in a land that has been an ally in the region to the United States and Israel.

I have no predictions to make--although I see the latter scenario as much more likely than the former. As a side-bar, democratic elections are no guarantee of liberty. If liberty is not enshrined in the rule of law and part of the cultural and societal values of a nation, democracy simply becomes the tyranny of the majority. But this post is not about the philosophy of governance, it is about a 'wake-up dream.'

Jane Harris shared the dream with me. She received it from the Lord several weeks before the upheaval in Egypt. I believe it speaks to the church in the Western world.

Jane was in a dimly lit restaurant, watching a man wait in line at the counter. He looked familiar to Jane, like someone she might have seen in the prayer room at the International House of Prayer (IHOP), where she serves on staff. Suddenly a policeman in uniform and his wife entered the restaurant. They were holding documents, were discussing something quietly between themselves as they looked around the restaurant. Then they approached the man waiting in line and began to talk with him. It became apparent that they were trying to arrest him quietly.

The man began to argue and protest. Voices were raised and soon the whole restaurant was watching as they began to handcuff the man. In the middle of the arrest, with everyone watching, the policeman suddenly stood up on a table and began to yell that Africa and Asia were uniting against us--that is, against Christianity.

As he was proclaiming this, Jane had a vision (within the dream) of people in Africa and Asia chanting in unison and releasing demonic power.

Once the policeman had finished proclaiming the message of warning, he and his wife and the man who had been 'arrested' sat down at a table together and began to eat lunch together. Jane went over to them because they all seemed familiar. They invited Jane to have lunch with them. They told her that they were going to various public places and repeated this performance in order to get people's attention and to release their message of warning.

Jane found herself trusting these three implicitly. She recognized the couple as having attended the Door of Hope Church; the man who had been in line was an intercessor from IHOP. She remembers being filled with admiration for their courage as she woke up.

That is the dream she sent me. What follows is my interpretation and application to Wellspring.

The restaurant speaks of the church--a place where (spiritual) food is served to the faithful. It is dimly lit--that is, the church in the West has a bit of light, but we are not exactly filled with spiritual illumination. The man in uniform speaks of authority; the man at the counter is recognized as an intercessor. The disturbance is created to get people's attention because the message is of critical importance and comes with the endorsement of heaven.

Let me be clear, the point of the message is not to castigate or criticize Asia or Africa. But it is a warning that strong spiritual forces are at work to foment disturbance against the advance of the Christian faith in those regions. The Kingdom of God is advancing dramatically in those parts of the world, and the forces of the kingdom of darkness are being threatened in regions that have been strongholds for centuries. Violence, chaos, wars and upheaval can de-rail the advance of the Kingdom of God as whole nations and regions are thrown into tumult.

This is what we--the church in the West--are being called to understand and to respond to. Our prayers and intercession can hold off the chaos and release the intervention of heaven for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God in these parts of the world. These threatening scenarios can become a doorway of hope if we will wake up and begin to cooperate with the agenda of heaven through our prayers and intercession.

So how do we apply this message from the wake-up dream? To begin with, we need to become aware that we are part of a global Kingdom and that global events impact our brother and sisters in the faith around the world. Behind the headlines we need to see with Kingdom perspective. Then we can pray for God's purposes to be advanced in those troubled areas. We can pray for our Christian brothers and sisters to be protected and encouraged and strengthened through these trials and tumults. If the Lord gives us special revelation about specific situations, we can pray for these things he reveals.

I Timothy 2: 1-3 says: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

In the dream, after the message was delivered, Jane and the three messengers sat down to eat lunch. The point? We can integrate awareness and intercessory response into our daily lives and routines. This is the need of the hour. We need to become global in our perspectives and Kingdom-minded in our responses. God is calling us to wake up to the hour!

Pastor Rick

I got an email and an attached letter from a pastor friend in Newington yesterday. He is asking for our help in addressing an outrage at Central Connecticut State University. He has two children attending there; sends tuition dollars there; also pays taxes to the state to support this institution of higher learning.





The outrage? An "event" entitled: Fornication 101 That's right, scheduled to be held this week at the Women's Study Center of the university an educational event on fornication. For those of you who don't know what this more formal "F" word means, think of the "F" word you do know. Yep--our tax dollars, some of your tuition dollars are going to support a forum to encourage college students in the art of fornication. (But don't get too over-taxed. The university has also secured sponsorship for the course from two sex toy manufacturers.)





Part of the description for the event reads: This course is designed to introduce students to carnal knowledge. Let's set aside for a moment the consideration that college students hardly need encouragement in this heretofore extra-curricular activity. Now, it seems, fornication is becoming a sponsored activity. How in any possible way is this the business of the state--or the mission of "higher education?" At your state university funded by your tax dollars? I urge you to call and email the administration of CCSU to register your outrage. Please circulate this information to all other concerned citizens, politicians, and media outlets to get the word out about this offense to decency. Phone number for the Women's Study Center is 860-832-1655. E-mail address: cobbina-boivinj@ccsu.edu



Now to Corinth. We have just launched a study at Wellspring entitled Cultures Clash at Corinth. The first century Corinthian believers lived in a culture that was quite antithetical and opposed to the values of the Kingdom of God. To be Christ-followers, they had to walk in a different way than the world surrounding them; the world that had seemed normal before they came to know Jesus; the world in which they still had to navigate.



One way leads to life. Many ways lead to life-as-less-than-it-could-be, or to out and out destruction. For instance, they didn't need a course on Fornication 101 in Corinth. It was going on in the pagan temples, bars and brothels all around them. Just like 21st century Connecticut (minus the pagan temples). The sad truth at Wellspring is that the other pastors and I see really great people (teens, young adults and middle-agers) who love Jesus and really desire to follow him mess up their lives with really poor decisions in the arena of their sexuality all the time. It is heart-breaking to say the least.

Cultures clash. The ways of this world and the Kingdom of Heaven are in conflict. One way leads to life--the other, not so much. And it is not just in the arena of sexual behavior and choices that our cultures and world-views clash. That is just one of the most obvious.

So, I want to encourage you to voice your opposition to the Fornication 101 at CCSU. And I want to encourage you to engage with us in the sorting out of Kingdom values in our attempts and desires to be Christ-followers in this present evil age.

Blessings,

RM