A man by the name of Lou Engle had a dream for a coliseum to be FILLED!!! Lou knew God was going to use his vision for the purposes of glorifying the name of God and kicking off another revival, not just in Los Angeles but around the world. On the 110th anniversary of the Azusa Street Revival the rumblings of another revival have begun!
God is doing a new thing in the land because of a group of believers who listened to the voice of God. Pastors, evangelists, dreamers, community leaders, worship teams, volunteers and approximately 70,000 people filled the Los Angeles Coliseum for a day-long revival. People stood and danced as they worshiped together … as it rained nearly all day long! Some people didn’t move from their spots for over 15 hours! God was in that space and it was evident.
I watched via live stream and felt like I had a front row seat to the healing that took place in hearts and in physical bodies throughout that stadium.
Live streams were being fed from that coliseum in Los Angeles to other stadiums, and churches and venues around the world. Simultaneously an event was happening in Washington DC where an area outside was being filled with a similar event and the two events linked up via live stream… and the two groups prayed for God’s movement among each other’s gatherings.
There was worship. There were thousands of pastors on hand, many of them invited on stage to say a 1 or 2 sentence prayer over the group. There was more worship. There was more prayer. And there was an unspeakable unity among the leaders and pastors that I’ve never seen before.
Christians from just about every tribe and nation were present to call out Christians around the world for a covenant of peace and reconciliation among their brothers and sisters.
I was shaken to my core to watch Turks and Armenians, once at odds with each other, hug and tell each other “Because I am forgiven I offer you peace and forgiveness. I am willing to offer forgiveness as a way of breaking the chains of bitterness among our people – to you. Because God loves you so do I. Let’s put our differences aside and be one in His name.”
BLOWN AWAY.
BLOWN away and even a tad surprised by the next bit.
I watched as an Italian Catholic leader apologized to an American Christian pastor for the rift between the two divisions of God’s church – the Catholic leader noted that he had wanted to wash his fellow pastor’s feet but instead offered to kneel and kiss the feet of the Christian leader… and the sobbing commenced (on my part). The italian catholic gentleman laid face down on the stage and kissed the feet of the American pastor, as they both wept… and the gesture was returned in kind. They knelt together and hugged and sobbed, and accepted each other as if they were long lost brothers.
I watched as Christian Jews waved Israel’s flag and sang the words “Let all the earth praise Him!” Christian Jews together sang “Please forgive us for not receiving your Son as the Messiah!”
SOBBING. I could not quit sobbing. I was watching miraculous things happen with my own two eyes.
And this heart-movement continued… and all of this may be out-of-order as to how it actually went down. But I watched it with my own two eyes and over 48 hours later am still reeling from the things I witnessed. Apparently people were being physically healed throughout the coliseum. But hearts and relationships were also being healed!!!
A revival has started in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people around this globe because of one man’s dream AND his obedience to act on it. As his son explained to the crowd, Lou Engle sold his home to have the funds to pay for the coliseum!
But let me continue with the stories of reconciliation that took place on 4-9-16! I watched as a bishop from the Church of God in Christ urged and pleaded with his African-American brothers and sisters to once and for all forgive their oppressors. He pointed out the continued division among the races due to generational chains of bitterness.
Lou Engle urged all within ear shot – which meant all of those in the coliseum and all watching via Live Stream – to consider who they needed to forgive and to pick up their cell phones. He urged them to stop right then and there and call and text those people. Can you imagine? Phones blowing up around the world – because of this call to reconciliation?!
In this reconciliation vein, lastly Lou Engle called on the various denominations of the Christian church to put their differences aside. Some based on theology, some based on pride… all unnecessary. I, once again, sobbed as I watched leaders and pastors from Vineyard, Foursquare, Assemblies of God, Calvary Chapel, and dozens more come together and extend a hand of reconciliation as they prayed for the Church… God’s church, not theirs.
The “Church” should not be focused on our differences. We have one focus… to show God’s love.
Focusing on our differences and what WE feel is right is where we’ve all gone wrong. God never intended for His body to be divided. And while He knew it would happen (as He is all-knowing) it grieves His heart to see our divisions. I believe God was glorified in the actions of humanity on Saturday April 9th, 2016 as men and women stood together on stage and called for a unity among all of mankind. Men and women prophesied. Men and women called on God to do a work among His people.
And I can’t imagine that anyone watching just a few minutes of this event could deny God’s existence. The power of the Lord was present whether you were watching via Live Stream or there in person.
I was mesmerized. I had so much to do on Saturday. But God had something else in mind for me. I turned on the Live Stream and the day was gone for me before I knew it. I was in my lounge wear until about 4 pm and forced to get ready so we could take care of some things. I just wanted to stay in front of my laptop and continue to watch the move of the Lord.
On several occasions, as the camera would pan the crowd in the coliseum, I wondered what it was like in person. Worship boomed through that coliseum. The crowd was somewhere between 70,000 and 93,000 (seating capacity for the coliseum) bit it was merely a drop in the bucket in terms of the amount of people who were worshiping around the world. And can you imagine when all of those voices will be together in Heaven… worshiping TOGETHER in Heaven?!
Now more than even I am EXPECTING great things of His Kingdom… and it’s because of what was shared at #AzusaNow. It’s not because of any of the people leading the event. But we can thank OBEDIENCE among His children for what happened on 4-9-16. God has been working on some hearts to bring about His work … and that was on display for us on that stage.
I am expecting God to continue to work in the churches, and the hearts of individuals, and the families of those who participated (whether they were there in person or via Live Stream). There are no coincidences in God’s kingdom. Everyone who needed to be present or learn of the fire that was lit, because of Azusa Now, did or will learn about it in the near future. Many life-changing things were birthed on 4-9-16 (and even leading up to it) that we will see through until Christ’s return.
I urge my friends and family and readers here – have you searched your heart for areas of bitterness that need to be released? Have you searched your heart for what’s right? Have you set down the yoke that is not yours to carry? Have you broken the chains that have continued from generation to generation in your family – which you were never meant to be bound by?
I watched as Shawn Bolz called out people from this crowd of over 70,000 people. God had given specific details to Shawn to share with specific people in that crowd. I watched as Shawn shared specific messages from God into the lives of people in that crowd naming very specific details about their personal lives. In those moments I once again saw the depth of God’s love for those people. It was God’s way of saying “I see you. I care about your desires. I know you. I am working in your lives.” People were involuntarily brought to their knees in those moments of intimacy with the Lord of the universe! Hearts were mended as they heard directly from their Heavenly Father that He cared for their smallest concerns and their biggest dreams.
God is waiting to knock you off your feet too – are you ready for it?
I urge you – move into reconciliation with those that you’ve held out bitterness towards – and He will move you into the promises He has for you. Accept His forgiveness in your life and He will work THROUGH that to give you the grace needed to extend forgiveness to others. Move into reconciliation and flourish in His peace.
It’s deep, I know. And it’s the truth. It’s life-changing. Take it from me, friends… He wants to do AMAZING things in our lives. Are you ready? Do you want this? Take the first step today.
Call out to Him. He is our Father, who sent His son to the earth … to live among us and walk this gritty life with us. And then He was crucified on a cross and uttered, as He was dying, that God forgives us. Did you hear that?! God sent all that He loved to this earth to show us His love. And God gave us His son’s life to show us how much He loves us! We are redeemed because of Christ’s sacrifice.
We have been forgiven. Why can’t we accept that deep, deep love of sacrifice and then turn around and extend it beyond our walls of inadequacy to others? OH! But we can!
Tell someone you love them today. Tell someone their Heavenly Father loves them today.
His mercy runs deep.
It WILL change lives… are you ready? Do you want this? He does.
Lori J. Tisdale 