God Is Calling Us To Fasting And
Prayer
And To Answer The Call On 7-07-07
In Nashville
And Where You Live!
We are in a Crisis
The Church and the nation are in a crisis! In no uncertain
terms, the elections of 2006 showed us that there is no clear
moral foundation upon which the nation votes. In this present
historic moment, the Church was paralyzed. Tens-of-thousands
stayed home and could not vote as if they were drunk with
disillusionment.
Only one week before the elections, a major Christian
leader was exposed in immorality. Before that, a high-ranking
Republican Representative was exposed. After considering these
scandals, the ongoing exposures of these Christian leaders,
and seeing the outcome of the elections, I felt God shouting
that the Church is in danger of losing its moral authority to
turn a nation.
"Who shall ascend the hill of the
Lord...he who has clean hands and a pure heart," Psalm 24:3-4.
The hill of Lord is the place of the throne, and the
place of spiritual authority. Only those who have clean hands
and a pure heart can stand on that hill and exercise that
authority.
One of our young women in the Justice House of Prayer in
Washington, D.C., had a dream on November 4, 2006, the Sunday
before the elections: "I was at the house on the farm and made
a kind of agreement with a man who was the head of the GOP. In
my dream, this GOP man broke the agreement. I went and
confronted him, and he got in my face and started yelling at
me. He then backed up and I pointed at him and said, "Our God
is neither Republican nor Democrat, He will only honor those
who are morally righteous and just." He left, slamming the
door.
God has a word to say to the Republican Party: "Line up
with moral issues--Marriage Amendment and Abortion--and show
compassion to the poor and the oppressed--show Justice--or I
will remove your lamp stand". He is sifting the Republican
Party for its refusal to stand for moral principle and for
playing political games with its constituents, who in 2004,
voted on moral issues.
This is precisely what happened to the Whig party in the
United States. The issue of slavery divided the party and its
anti-slavery constituents formed the anti-slavery Republican
Party out of which Abraham Lincoln was elected. The Whig party
was no more! If the Churches vote radically PRO-life, then any
political party, REPUBLICAN OR
DEMOCRAT--could be no more.
An Awakening to the Church
But the voice of God is shouting even louder to the
Church!
Revelation 2:18-23 and 26 says, "And to the
angel of the Church in Thyatira write, 'These things says the
Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet
like fine brass: "I know your works, love, service, faith, and
your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than
the first. Nevertheless I have a few things against you,
because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a
prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit
immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
And I gave her time to repent of her
immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her
into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into
great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will
kill her children with death, and all the Churches shall know
that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will
give to each one of you according to your works."
Verse 26, "And he who overcomes, and
keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over
the nations". It is only when the
Church is found faithful in moral purity to her bridegroom,
God, that she can gain spiritual authority over
nations.
In a season of personal temptation, when God was searching
my own heart and mind for inward toleration of Jezebel's
influence, and during the time of Bill Clinton's moral
failure, I received a dream from God. In this dream, a pastor
I know was a high-ranking senator. He had gathered major
governmental leaders together to deliver a message. Bill
Clinton was in the meeting but was sleeping in bed. I was in
the meeting but was clothed only in my underwear and I was
lying in the same bed as Bill Clinton. The pastor's message
was weak and carried no authority. Then he asked me to pray
for Bill Clinton, who was still asleep. I prayed a pitiful
token prayer and then suddenly threw off the covers and ran to
get clothed.
I awoke from the dream in shock! The Holy Spirit spoke
clearly to my heart, saying, "Neither you nor the Church of
America has any power to awaken this nation or Bill Clinton
because it sleeps in the same bed!"
The dream and the Scripture confirm each other. The Church cannot bind the spirit of Jezebel
dominating the nation if the spirit of Jezebel binds the
Church. Only to those who have overcome this spirit,
the Scripture says, will be given authority over the
nations.
This truth makes the present moment with fallen leaders
more profound and pronounced. I am not pointing the finger at
a fallen brother. I mourn for any of them and for my
generation that has been assaulted with the spirit of Jezebel
and lives under the shame of their bondage, which defiles
imaginations and causes nightmarish inward moral battles.
Maybe all our leaders who have fallen are a sign and a symbol
of the whole Church of the nation. From the head to the feet
we are sick, bruised, and beaten up, and we are being exposed
publicly.
Hosea 2:10 says, "Now I will uncover
her lewdness in the sight of her lovers..." We are like
eunuchs in Jezebel's palace whimpering our prayers, and even
with our great churches and powerful spiritual programs, the
nation remains unchanged. More than all this, we have crushed
the Lord's heart with our spiritual adultery, we have left our
first Love, and have gone after our Baals as in the time of
Jezebel. But I believe that God wants to allure us into the
wilderness and speak tenderly to us and make this Valley of
Achor (the place of exposure of hidden sin) a door of hope.
"In that day...you will call Me 'My
Husband,' and no longer call Me, 'My Master'" (see
Hosea 2:14-16).
I believe that in this moment in time, if we respond in
repentance, we could release the greatest revival of
confession of sin and a cleansing by the blood of Jesus that
could draw us back into marital faithfulness with our
Bridegroom, God. I believe a great spiritual awakening
could be at hand which could even affect the elections of 2008
and overthrow Jezebel's death-march in this
nation.
God's Holy Prescription--Fasting and
Prayer
What must we do? God's holy prescription for our diseased
state in times of national crisis and moral collapse is in
Joel 2, verses 12-13, 15-16, 18 & 28, which is a solemn
assembly of united fasting and prayer:
"Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to
Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with
mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to
the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to
anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a
fast, call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, sanctify the
congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and
nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from His chamber, and
the bride from her dressing room.
Then the Lord will be zealous for His
land...And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour
out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men
shall see visions."
Seven years ago, we called for a massive Joel 2 gathering
of fasting and prayer in Washington, D.C. It
was named, "The Call," and 400,000 young men and women with
parents and leaders gathered together...not for a feast, nor a
festival, but to a fast, believing that God would respond and
show mercy to our nation. Seven "Calls" took place, the
final being in the Cotton Bowl in November of 2003. We believe
God is still answering those prayers.
At that time, a prophet gave me a word that, "The Call"
would die, but in three years, a crisis would come and then it
would be resurrected. Three years have passed since that word;
the time is now, and the Church and America are in crisis.
God is blowing the Joel 2 trumpet again--on
07-07-07, The Call Nashville!
TheCall Nashville!
In 1993, Bob Jones prophesied, "The
Houston Oilers would move to Nashville, and Nashville would
build God a stadium. And 100,000 people, particularly youth,
would gather for a great mobilization of the army of
God." With this prophecy in effect, I was praying about
holding The Call in Titan Stadium in Nashville on
07-07-07.
While in a prophets gathering, I received a profound
confirmation. Sharon Stone, a prophetic voice from England,
who knew nothing that was on my heart, stood and began to
speak forth this word over me, "There is coming a fresh
recruitment on 07-07-07. I heard the day very clearly, and on
that day, a stand will be taken, and it will bring forth a
great shift." Could it be that The Call in Nashville is
that day of recruitment and that day of shifting? Yet, I still
needed more confirmation.
Then a few days later, I received a phone call from a woman
I had only met one time. She said, "I have written you a
check. What are you doing?" I told her about The Call
Nashville, and to my amazement she said, "The check is for
100,000 dollars." She had no idea that the first Call was
launched by another woman that I did not know, who gave me
100,000 dollars as well.
I experienced the Divine endorsement of God pour over me
just as it did seven years before, and I knew this wasn't my
Call, it was God's Call, and it was time to blow the trumpet
again. If Heaven is releasing, "The Call" again, then there is
still hope for America, for that is the very reason a solemn
assembly is called. In times of crisis, when there is no hope
and no remedy, God says, "Blow the trumpet in Zion, and call a
fast."
Previous Historical Gathering
In 1967, 100,000 young people, ages 15-25, flocked to San
Francisco to experience the hippie movement. This mass
convergence was sparked by the hit song in San Francisco
called, "Wear a Flower in Your Hair." Once there, they
experimented with LSD, pot, immorality, and Eastern mysticism,
in what became known as the "Summer of Love." When these newly
recruited, "Flower Children," returned home at the end of
summer, they brought with them new styles and ideas, flooding
the cities of the U.S. and Europe with a message that opposed
authority and scorned conservative morals. This counterculture
rebellion was fueled by music and art, and it rapidly shifted
global culture.
A great divorce from God and His ways of kindness occurred
in this turbulent time, and the effects of the, "Summer of
Love," are still with us today. The Church is obviously
saturated with those effects.
Renewing Our Vows to The Lord
On the 40th-year anniversary of the "Summer of Love" that
occurred in 1967, we are calling multi-generations to
Nashville, Tennessee. We are calling you on 07-07-07--the
number of covenant renewal, marriage, and the fullness of
time--for a day of national repentance, fasting, and prayer
for our 40-year generational rebellion. We are calling elders,
pastors, mothers, fathers, college students, children, every
race, every denomination, and every age to come and divorce
Baal, and remarry the Lord.
The book of Hosea is clear--God uses wedding vows as a
symbol of renewing covenant with His people. Hosea 2:19, says,
"I will betroth you to Me forever, I
will betroth you to Me in righteousness." We are coming
to renew our vows. We will cry out to God for a release of
Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (paraphrased), "Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on
your arm, for love is as strong as death, the vehement flame
of God, as unrelenting as Sheol, loves flames are fiery
flames, the fiercest of all, many waters cannot extinguish
love, and rivers cannot sweep it away."
Our only hope for an idolatrous people is the fiery love of
God that is stronger than the passions of this world. We have
got to get an awakening that is stronger than the hellish
addictions of our culture. Oh God, marry us
again!!!
Newspapers and websites across America are saying that on
07-07-07, more marriages are occurring then ever in history.
Wedding Chapels and churches are booked across the land. But
could we be in a time, a Joel 2 time, where our marriage to
Jesus is of higher priority than our natural marriages? What
if God would really test us on the urgency of this hour, and
in particular the Biblical Joel 2 mandate? Let the
Bridegroom come out of His chamber and the bride out of her
dressing room (see Joel 2).
We have received the following report that a pastor said to
a couple, "I cannot marry you on 07-07-07, even though the day
is set. I must go to Nashville on 07-07-07--it is the highest
priority." The couple was understandably upset by the decision
of the pastor, but the following week a special guest speaker
spoke on Joel 2 at the Church declaring, "Let the Bridegroom
come out of His chamber..." With tender hearts toward God, the
couple publicly asked forgiveness for their response to the
pastor and said, "We are going to Nashville and will postpone
our marriage."
We are receiving many reports now of couples changing their
marriage dates because they have heard, The Call. I believe
that pastors must make hard decisions, for it was the priests
who were to weep between the porch and the altar, crying out,
"Spare your people, Oh God." Also, the elders have been
affected with internet immorality and compromise. We must
gather and bear the reproach before the Lord. Who knows, He
may turn and pour out His Spirit as promised in Joel 2:28,
"And afterward I will pour out My Spirit
upon all flesh..."
The Number 40 is Significant
Recently while in Nashville, my friend and godly statesman,
Don Finto, spoke a word to me that lit my fires of faith. He
said, "I have a 1971 Time Magazine article that states three
times, that the Jesus Movement began in 1967, and that
Jerusalem was taken back by Israel in 1967."
After a 40-year judgment, could we be in a
season in which a great spiritual awakening could occur in
America, and the Jewish people would return to Yeshua?
God administrates His Kingdom through prophetic time periods,
and the period of 40 years is one of the most significant.
When Jesus fasted 40 days, He was tempted in the wilderness
just as Israel was tested in the wilderness for 40 years.
Jesus confronted the temptations of satan, quoting the very
Scriptures in Deuteronomy that pertained to the 40-year
failure of a past generation.
In Ezekiel 4, Ezekiel is given a prophetic prayer
assignment; He is told to bear the iniquity of the house of
Judah for 40 days, a day for each year of their iniquity
(verse 6). Here again, we see an intercessor bearing the
40-year failure of a past generation in a 40-day prayer
assignment. I believe now, with all of my heart, God is
calling us to fast and pray for 40 days--from May 29 to
07-07-07, and bear in intercession the 40-year failure of the
60's generation, and then gather on 07-07-07 to call on God
for the promised rains of revival.
Hosea 2:16, 21-23 "'And it shall be,
in that day,' says the Lord, 'that you will call Me 'My
Husband,' and no longer call you my Baal.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that
I will answer, I will answer the Heavens and they shall answer
the earth, the earth shall answer with grain, with new wine,
and with oil, and I will have mercy on her who had not
obtained mercy. Then I will say to those who were not My
people, you are My people, and they shall say you are my
God."
Let a great Jesus movement come forth in America, and out
of Nashville may music come forth that will reap the harvest
and carry revival more powerfully than the Beatles carried the
rebellion. If the Church repents in Nashville, the culture
could be transformed in San Francisco. Nashville is the
gateway to the Church, and San Francisco is the gateway to the
culture.
The trumpet is clear and the nation is summoned, from the
pastors to the bridal chamber, and from the elders to the
little children. Forty days of fasting, prayer, media
turn-off, and intimacy with God--May 29th to 07-07-07 to
return to the Lord. A Joel 2 solemn assembly. A day to take a
stand and to shape history. May those hearts who are stirred,
come and return to the Lord.
Lou Engle
reprinted with permission from http://www.thecall.com