From the Ashes of theBurn - Freedom From Fear

theBurn was last night. Since January we have had five hours of worship and prayer the third Friday of each month. I believe these Burns are the best example of what 6:22 is really all about. My dream is a Burn that literally never stops 24/7!

The first two hours I led worship with the 6:22 band. We played a few songs, prayed and then starting singing United Pursuit Band's song "Break Every Chain." During the song I sensed there was a battle going on between fear and love. I believe the enemy wanted people bound in fear and insecurity and the Holy Spirit wanted people FREE in the love of the Father. I started singing (prophesying?) "there is freedom rising up... Your love sets us free..." It was like we were having to choose between pride and self sufficiency and letting go so that Jesus could really flood our hearts with His love and presence.

Finally I went into a chorus that simply says "come and take Your place in the center of our hearts, come and take Your place." At that point it's like something broke open in the room, and God's love poured into the place. We repeated that chorus for a while and ended by singing it acapella. When the voices quieted we all sat in silence for a few minutes. Not the awkward silence that sometimes accompanies a worship gathering, but a reverent silence that was letting what God did "settle" in our hearts.

As we sat in silence I saw a vision of bricks. They were piled up in a poor attempt to build a house. However, the foundational pieces were on top, so things were not fitting together properly. Finally I saw us praising God and all the bricks got flung into the air, and when we sat in silence all of the bricks fell down into place. The foundational pieces were on the bottom and the house was build correctly. I felt like God was "settling" in our hearts as the one that we worship - the center of our lives. Priorities and idolatries were being rearranged and Jesus was taking His first place. I shared the vision and we continued theBurn with a greater sense of freedom than I have experienced (maybe the most dancing at the Boiler Room EVER!).

A few things I found out later...

• God set some people free to dance for Him for the first time. It was not just an outward thing but an inward freedom from fear that resulted in abandoned, undignified worship. One guy in particular, Josh, was beaming from the freedom he had experienced. Others had not danced for Jesus in a long time. I heard some reports of sore legs today. :)
• Donnie Luper had been reading about us being "living stones" in I Peter 2 right before I had the vision! Confirmation!
• I woke up this morning and part of my daily Bible reading was Acts 16. The story speaks for itself...

23And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.... 25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.