045 - The Youngest and Smallest
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free...”
Luke 4:17-18
We’ve shared a lot recently about Paul Cain's Stadium Vision and the prophecy he received of Luke 4:18 "for Paul and for the world." God has gripped us with a vision of the scroll of Jesus being opened up to this generation like never before in history. This is available to young and old. Yet, there is an emphasis on the youth and children right now that demands our attention.
Last year on 4/18/18, Chris Berglund dreamed that we were on a football field called theCourt of Angels.It was 4th down with 18 yards to go and Paul Cain hiked the ball to Lou Engle.Lou immediately handed it off to the youngest and smallest player on the team.This player went on to run the ball into the end zone scoring 14 points - a double portion!When we heard this dream, it was clear to us that the "4th down with 18 yards to go" was another indicator of Luke 4:18 where Jesus identifies with Isaiah’s prophecy about His very own mantle and ministry.
We believe the first half of Chris' dream was partially fulfilled two weeks ago at The Send. We literally gathered in a football stadium where Lou, along with a second generation of evangelistic leaders, handed off the ball to tens of thousands of young people committed to engage the world with the Gospel of the Kingdom. Surely God is at work capturing the imagination of our youth with the reality of who they are in Christ.
At one point in the gathering, a young man from Detroit shared his testimony on stage. He had grown up on the streets, ravaged by drugs and sexual abuse. Then one night he stumbled into Ford Field auditorium in the middle of TheCall Detroit. Soon after, this young man gave his life to the Lord and began to be transformed. Before long, God sent him as a missionary to Africa where he has spent the past five years seeing people of his own race being set free from the bondage of Islam. What would it look like for Jesus to live out his scroll through the lives of hundreds of thousands of believers, like this, who could say,“...As He is, so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17)?
At the same time God is raising up a new generation of sons and daughters to cast a net of salvation across the earth, the enemy is weaving a web of destruction. This past week in Boston, there was a committee hearing for Senate Bill 70 that seeks to ban conversion counseling for minors struggling with gender identity. The language of the bill proposes that to question or seek to redirect a minor’s gender orientation is child abuse. If passed, this bill could ultimately lead to children being taken out of their families. There are several other states also seeking to pass similar legislation focused on the youth.
Meanwhile, one of our leaders had a warning dream this week in which the far left produced an animated movie for children which promoted sexual deviation. In the dream, the producers made the movie into a game, which sowed devastating seeds of sexual immorality and gender confusion into the minds of innocent children. Truly the battle lines have been drawn in the spirit, and the youngest and smallest have been targeted with the cruelest intent.
Photo of Lou and Therese Engle at The Send. We later noticed the stage clock in the background.
Yesterday marked 30 days left in the fast and 40 days until April 18th. Let’s pray daily for the unrolling of the scroll of Jesus over this generation. Pray for the youth of our nation, for the "youngest and smallest" of your families, and for every prodigal son and daughter to be snatched from the enemy’s snares and radically encountered by the love and purpose of God.
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18
Pray with us to shut down Massachusetts SB 70, along with similar legislation in other states, so that children will not be hindered from receiving help and truth in their hour of need. Pray for a revolution of righteousness to rise up in its place. Let us stand before the throne of God’s mercy, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and exalt the victory of the cross over the spirit of Jezebel and all of her defilement.
May this be the “generation of Jacob” (Ps 24:6) who seeks the face of God and carries the message and substance of His Kingdom all the way to the end zone.
