Why I am going to the Boston Night of Worship (Oct 29)

Fenway Family, let's join with the body of Christ in this moment.  DW

http://www.bnow2010.com/

Throughout scripture, praise is a weapon that releases captives, snatches victory away from the hands of defeat, and delivers God's people. It is the sound of praise that drove demons from the mind of Saul, tore down the walls of Jericho, broke the chains off the apostles' feet, and delivered the city of Jerusalem from certain destruction. Praise is the sound of worship when still in captivity, joy when foundations are laid yet a work not complete, and jubilation when your enemies lie defeated at the bottom of the Red Sea.

Too often the church has chosen between apathy and distress rather than victory or defeat. A people that have been bought out of captivity, cleansed by the blood, delivered out of darkness, adopted into God's family, and made alive together with Jesus should never be forced to choose between the twin evils of lethargy and fear. Sadly, today if you were to read mainstream newspapers or some Christian newsletters, you would be tempted to think the church in America has been neutered, the age of Islam is at hand, and the moral decay of America may have at last tipped the scales towards judgment. Anger and pessimism, sorrow and sadness, complaining and fear seem to mark the church. Efforts to pray focus on the oppressing gloom and increasing darkness of our nation rather than the glorious future God has promised his church.

It is therefore no “small coincidence” that God has chosen to raise up in this region and for such a time as this a young man from the continent of Africa, Zenzo Matoga, who resonates with a sound that casts out fear, proclaims freedom, announces victory, and calls the Church to set their eyes on Jesus. In a region that has for decades lived under the oppressive atmosphere of man-made religion, humanistic education, and self-glorifying achievement, a movement (Boston Night of Worship http://www.bnow2010.com/ ) has emerged that echos the cry of Paul, “Set your mind on things above (where Christ is seated at the right hand of God!). And not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:1-2)

I believe the favor God has bestowed upon Zenzo and the Boston Night of Worship (as witnessed by the thousands that gathered and the hundreds that were turned away at last fall's Night of Worship at MIT) is not just the result of individual or corporate consecration or expectation, but a sovereign move of God in which he intends to shake his church free from apathy and fear and deliver a death blow to the strongholds of humanism and intellectualism that have for far too long kept New England ensnared. I will be the first to confess that a spirit of heaviness has pervaded and controlled much of New England and its church. It is my understanding from scripture that the God-ordained prescription for a spirit of heaviness is to put on a garment of praise (Isaiah 61). This means putting off seasons of mourning, shedding the rags and ashes of solemn fasts, and standing in the beauty and gladness that have been bestowed on us in Christ.


Can the church in New England finally confess that God has set the Cornerstone of his church in New England firmly in place? The gates of hell cannot prevail against us because they cannot prevail against Jesus. It is only when we lose sight of this reality that we begin to cede ground to the enemy.

What then distinguishes a victorious church and region from a losing one? One thing. Praise.

Praise invites the hosts of heaven, causes havoc in the enemies camp, and displays the splendor of God. Rejoicing is the Biblical antidote that produces strength and resolve for the work of rebuilding ancients cities and restoring places long devastated (Isaiah 61). It is the difference between 40 more years in the wilderness and entrance into the promised land. Seasons of prayer and fasting must lead us into to the gates of thanksgiving and doors of praise so battle can be won. ( Psalm 100:4, Nehemiah 8)

Just like God released a word to Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 20, God has given a word to New England. He has promised us revival. What if the walls of intellectualism that Derek Prince prophesied about await an united roar of praise before they come tumbling down?1
Are you ready to rebuild ancient cities and restore places long devastated? Put on a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness! Surely we need strength, power, and faith to push forward. Then surely the joy of the Lord must be our strength.
Praise is a choice. It is those who refused to be overcome by heaviness and praised while their feet were still shackled and the walls of their cities still besieged that saw the power, salvation, and glory of God manifested in their day.

That is why on October 29 I will make a choice to join with Zenzo and the saints of Boston to unleash a cry of praise that heralds the beginnings of revival.

Yours for His Glory,

David W. Hill

Team Leader || Fenway Church

http://www.fenwaychurch.org/
http://www.twitter.com/David_W_Hill


1Derek Prince 1972 “Boston is the Jericho of America and when the walls of intellectualism come tumbling down, the Lord will pour out his Spirit on the whole land.” http://jaesonma.com/jhop-boston-uprising-2/