A DREAM ... A VISION ... TRUMPETS ... HIS IDEA!!!
by Doug & Karen BraunWe know being a prayer warrior is God's Idea!
Doug's Dream ... February 2007
In my dream, I was dropped onto a street. There was an army of young soldiers, dressed in full army fatigues who seemed to be without a leader. They were on the streets with weapons, automatic rifles and pistols in their hands. They were unaware of the enemy that surrounded us which were popping up through trap doors in the roofs of surrounding buildings. I yelled and had a sense of urgency to take out the enemy before they took us out, but only a few soldiers responded and their weapons didn't work well. I grabbed one of the soldiers weapons to shoot at the enemy but it wouldn't work. I moved the army up the street to a place where we entered an armored personal carrier. We got into this and the same sense of unaware was still prevalent. The carrier was made of steel and glass and was all bullet proof. But one of the windows was open, so that the army was susceptible to being hit by bullets. I woke up.
This dream seemed to highlight three issues.
- there was no awareness of the enemy
- all had weapons but they malfunctioned
- the army seemed undisciplined and unresponsive to instruction.
Immediately I began to ask God that we, his people would be a disciplined army who is aware of the threat of the enemy. May we have weapons of righteousness in our hands which are well oiled and maintained. Give us the courage to "pull the trigger" and take out the enemy. Allow leaders to step into place
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV) "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Karen's Vision ... March 2007
From the side, I saw the front row (with no end) of an army standing at attention dressed in full medieval armor complete with sword and shield. They were in perfect alignment, side by side. The face shields were open revealing faces of children - some with glasses, men, women of all different ages and races. The army armor was alike in size, though individuals inside varied in stature. Their gaze was full and intent on the One they stood before. I could only see the brilliant radiance and glory shining out from the One the army stood before. The reflection off their armor was breathtaking and beautiful.
- their gaze was focused and fixed
- they were trained and disciplined
- they were awaiting their orders
- they were not distracted, looking to the sides or behind them, only forward
The Lord brought to mind the following verses from Numbers 9:23 (NIV) that says,
- "At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order.
- From Hebrews 12:2 (NIV), "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith ..."
- And from Ephesians 6:10 (NIV)"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
Trumpets ... God's Word highlighted for both Doug & Karen - March 2007
With this army image we discovered there are two major divisions in every army. The officers and the enlisted. The officers make up the leaders, managers and executive directors, whose role is to inspire and prepare people to accomplish their objective by being visionary, anticipatory and conscientious of concurrent activity. The enlisted are the laborers, technicians, supervisors, hands on men and women of that group. The General instructs both groups to gather information. The more complex and demanding the task the more these two groups have to work together as a team in participatory leadership. When all the team work is done and the General is informed of the challenges, what the enemy is doing, what others are doing, friendly forces etc. then General declares the mission and action plan. From this we understood why the Lord highlighted Numbers 10:1-10 for us.
Breakthrough is the trumpet call for two sectors - champions and groups. Our mandate developed from this passage:
C - Celebrate God stories
R - Resource and train how to contend for God's harvest of souls
A - Assemble champions and groups of prayer for the domains of our cities great or small
C - Commission for the advance of God's kingdom
"Now the Lord said to Moses, 'Make two trumpets of hammered silver for calling the community to assemble and for signaling the breaking of camp. When both trumpets are blown, everyone must gather before you at the entrance of the Tabernacle. But if only one trumpet is blown, then only the leaders-the heads of the clans of Israel-must present themselves to you.
'When you sound the signal to move on, the tribes camped on the east side of the Tabernacle must break camp and move forward.When you sound the signal a second time, the tribes camped on the south will follow. You must sound short blasts as the signal for moving on. But when you call the people to an assembly, blow the trumpets with a different signal. Only the priests, Aaron's descendants, are allowed to blow the trumpets. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation.
'When you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you, sound the alarm with the trumpets. Then the Lord your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies. Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind the Lord your God of his covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.' " Numbers 10:1-10 (NLT)
Will you fix your attention on the ONE calling you to inquire, hear and obey?
God led Doug & Karen Braun to develop Breakthrough after praying, "Our answer is 'Yes, Lord! What is the question, keep us from any distraction." More of their story to come.