27 Million

I said it here.

How there are twenty-seven million slaves in the world today,

How it's not just a statistic,

How Matt Redman & LZ7 got together,

Wrote this incredible song to share with the world,

To tell the world of this terrible injustice,

How nearly 45,000 young adults jumped up and down as the music video was filmed,

Every ounce of energy they had

Poured out into the one way they could help the cause of justice

Right there,

Right then.

There is something that you can do, too,

To help free the 27 million.

Right here.

Right now.

The song recorded at Passion,

"27 Million",

Released yesterday on iTunes.

Buy it here and share it with every person you know.

Tell them that slavery still exists

And we have to do something about it.

We are commanded to do something about it.

Isaiah 1:17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice.
   Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
   plead the case of the widow.

 

Zechariah 7:8-10

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁸ And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: ⁹ “This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

Also, the music video has been officially released -

Hear the words,

See the passion,

The tens of thousands jumping up and down,

Singing at the top of their lungs for freedom.

Let it move your heart.

Let it rock your world.

Let it spur you into action.

27 million.

Not a statistic.

Many thanks to LZ7 and Matt Redman for their amazing work on this song.  Also, many thanks to all of the people who worked hard to make both the audio and video versions a success.  Praying that it reaches the hearts of millions.

    

After the Dome - Passion 2012

I suppose all good things must come to an end.

We loaded the vans and headed home.

I was somewhat surprised that I didn't want to leave.

As much as I love my family, I would rather have stayed there,

Spending every moment of every day

Worshiping God,

Learning about God,

Discussing God,

Doing God's work.

Before I knew it, we were back.

I went home,

Showered,

Read my Bible.

I got into bed at 5 A.M.

I woke up about eight hours later

Feeling different than I've ever felt

Any morning of my life.

I woke up and my sole desire,

My only thought,

My highest priority

Was to praise God.

I was literally lying in bed,

Hand stretched out above my head,

Singing,

Praising,

So in love,

So in awe.

It was incredible.

I'd never felt that way before.

Even more incredible,

I actually wanted to get out of bed.

That never, ever happens.

I am in no way, shape, or form a "morning person".

I like to get about ten hours of sleep a night, whenever possible.

Not that time.

I wanted to get out of bed.

I wanted to go live

And praise God

And serve God.

It was incredible!

I'd never felt that close to God before.

Even a few days later,

Going to church Sunday night,

I was still so in awe,

So in love,

That, when I walked through the doors late,

Heard the band playing,

The people singing "Set Free",

I was literally walking in,

Singing,

Raising my hand,

And jumping up and down

At the same time.

(I don't usually do that either, though I have been known to on occasion . . .)

I was just so happy to be there,

So happy to have been able to come to praise God,

That I couldn't hold it in.

It was amazing!

Apparently, all those lights are people's iPhone 4s on some kind of strobe light setting.  It looked pretty cool.

Unfortunately,

Even though I'd been praying for days that it wouldn't,

The spiritual high wore off.

I suppose it was kind of inevitable.

After all, if we lived our lives in the "Christian bubble",

Singing and worshiping and learning about God all day, every day,

We wouldn't be doing what He called us to do,

Going out into the world,

Being in the world but not of it,

Being a light to all people.

Still, I wished I could go back to that,

I wished I could spend all day, every day praising Him.

This kind of seemed odd to me.

I guess I always thought that spending that much time doing something -

Even something as awesome and worthwhile as praising God -

Would eventually get,

Well,

Boring.

I think that was because I'd never experienced it.

I think that now I've caught a glimpse of just how worthwhile it really is.

Spending my time in worship and study was so much better,

Brought me so much more fulfilment,

Made me feel so much more alive,

Than any other thing I've ever pursued.

Ever.

I have never felt that close to God before.

It was so amazing and incredible that I can't even describe it!

Those iPhones again - there are so many!

There were some things from Passion that didn't fade,

Things I learned,

Things I now know I need to do,

(Again, I'll get into that later - sorry for the long wait!  Here's a hint, if it makes you feel better.)

The desire to know God more,

Or, at least,

The desire to desire to know God more,

The desire to desire God more,

The desire to desire to desire God more,

(Yeah, that is getting to be a bit much.  Sorry, I'll stop now.)

The knowledge that people still believe,

That our God still moves,

Still reigns,

That He can make amazing things happen.

Oh, there is so, so much that will not fade.

Praise God for that,

Even if I can't always feel the closeness.

If you are an 18-25 year old and couldn't come to Passion this year, I would really, really encourage you to find some way to go next year.  God moves in amazing ways at this conference!  You really shouldn't miss it!


"Set Free" is performed by Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman (I think - sorry, it's hard to keep track when so many artists congregate in one place and sing songs together).  Many thanks to these people for their beautiful music.

Also, many, many thanks to Sylvia for the beautiful post "Poured Out" (my "hint").  This retelling of a great explanation of 2 Kings 4:1-7, coupled with the author's personal response to the message, has a lot to do with what I learned from Passion.


To read more about my experience at Passion, check out these posts:
     At the Dome - Passion 2012
     Incomprehensible - Passion 2012
     I Went Expecting - Passion 2012
     Do Something Now - Passion 2012
     After the Dome - Passion 2012


Linking up over here today, desiring to walk with Him, or at least desiring to desire to walk with Him.  (Speaking of which, the desiring to desire thing is similar to "I want to want to . . .", which I picked up from Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love.  Many thanks to this incredible author and speaker for his words and inspiration.)

Also, please take the time to look at some of the other posts at the bottom of this one, maybe offer the authors some encouragement if you like their posts?  It's a blessing to know you've blessed.

 

Do Something Now - Passion 2012

One of the coolest parts of Passion was what it was about:

That it wasn't just about worshiping God,

That it wasn't just about learning about God,

That it was also about doing what Francis Chan told us when he spoke,

Reading the Bible

And going and doing it.

There are twenty-seven million slaves in the world today.

Twenty-seven million.

It's not just a statistic.

Those are real men, women, and children

In bondage

With little hope of escape.

Twenty-seven million.

At Passion 2012,

A generation was inspired,

A task was set before us,

And we decided to do something.

Now.

God was moving in so many hearts,

Calling us to take up the cause of justice,

To bring freedom to the oppressed.

Our goal was to raise one million dollars.

The organizations we were helping had thought it impossible.

A group of "poor" college students

Raise one million dollars?

But nothing is impossible with God.

The goal was to raise one million dollars.

By the time they told us our goal, several thousand had already been donated.

The first time they mentioned our progress

(I'm reasonably sure it was the first day.),

We had raised over half of our goal.

The first day.

Over half.

Sorry these are kind of blurry.  I think I should have turned my flash on.

Many students had to stand in line to donate.

At some points, the lines had a thousand people in them.

And the students were glad to wait,

Glad to stand in line,

Waiting to give whatever they could

To help end slavery.

A one hundred three-foot hand was erected outside the Georgia Dome,

A sculpture to symbolize the plight of twenty-seven million slaves.

It was covered in items made with slave labor.

Students wrote messages on the items,

Words of hope,

Born of the incredible hope we have

And the hope that we can make a difference,

That we can end slavery.

"Our God is greater!"

Poles were erected,

White flags hanging down,

Twenty-seven thousand of them,

Each one representing a thousand slaves.

They hung over the sidewalks,

Stretching on and on.

We held a vigil,

Late at night.

Forty-two thousand people

Filled up this area,

Prayed for the twenty-seven million.

At midnight, we began to light candles.

Voices began to sing,

First one,

Then thousands.

Oh . . .

We'll be a city on a hill, burning brightly.
We'll be a light to the world, shining Your glory.

Then the sculpture was lit.

There was a huge cheer!

Then people began to chant,

(To this day, I'm not sure if what they were chanting.

It was either "Freedom" or "Jesus".)

Then sing,

Then chant,

Then cheer!

We were moved by God,

And we were so glad to witness Him moving,

Through us,

Through our giving,

Our writing,

The only tiny actions we could take.

We also had another incredible opportunity.

While we were there, we sang many songs.

One of them was written to be shared with the world -

And to share with the world that slavery still exists.

We got to be in the music video.

People were jumping up and down

Every time the refrain came on,

And still singing at the tops of their lungs!

We were fighting for freedom

Any way we could.

The last day we learned how much we were able to do.

We had fully funded all of the original projects.

The leaders of the conference had planned others, though.

They told us exactly what our money had done for each organization,

Gave us an idea of how many we were helping.

Then -

Finally -

We learned how much we'd raised.

I expected two million.

I wasn't disappointed.

The students and young adults alone had raised about 2.6 million.

Two point six million dollars

From college students and young adults!

That wasn't all, though.

The people who run Passion let a few adults join us.

One couple was so inspired

By the way God was moving among us

That they gave five hundred thousand dollars.

Five hundred thousand dollars

Of their own money.

I was just blown away,

In shock.

We had raised over three million dollars

To fight human trafficking.

It blew my mind.

Best part?

It was all Him.

There's no way that forty-two thousand college-age students,

On their own,

Would ever raise that much money

(Even leaving out the five hundred thousand.)

It was Him moving in us,

Through us,

And I was blessed to be a part of it.

If you would like to see (and hear!!!) a little bit of our candlelight vigil, you can watch the CNN news report here.

If you would like to read more about what happened at Passion 2012 (and see awesome pictures), visit this page.

If you would like to read more about how we fought for freedom (and watch the Freedom film), visit this page.

If you would like to donate to Do Something Now and help end modern-day slavery, free the twenty-seven million, visit this page.

"Compelled" is written by Sara Groves and Charlie Peacock, performed by Sara Groves.  "With Everything" is performed by Hillsong United.  "I'm Not Ashamed" is (I believe) performed by Kristian Stanfill and Chris Tomlin.  "27 Million" is written by LZ7 and performed by LZ7, Matt Redman, and Beth Redman (I think).  Many thanks to these wonderful people for their incredible music.

If you are an 18-25 year old and couldn't come to Passion this year, I would really, really encourage you to find some way to go next year.  God moves in amazing ways at this conference!  You really shouldn't miss it!

To read more about my experience at Passion, check out these posts:
     At the Dome - Passion 2012
     Incomprehensible - Passion 2012
     I Went Expecting - Passion 2012
     Do Something Now - Passion 2012
     After the Dome - Passion 2012




Linking up over here today.

Please read some of the other posts that can be found at the bottom of this one.  It's such a blessing to be able to be a blessing to others!

I Went Expecting - Passion 2012

The pastor had told us ahead of time,

Wanting us to see why it was so important that we should go

All the way to Georgia,

Twelve hours in a van,

Four days of not enough sleep.

"God moves in amazing ways at this conference."

So I went expecting.

Turns out he was right.

I'd felt so distant from God weeks,

Even months before.

I'd been praying that Passion would draw me closer to Him,

That I would know Him more,

That He would move in amazing ways in my heart.

My first request was granted the first night.

Being in a room with forty-two thousand,

All of us worshiping Jesus together,

Louie Giglio speaking of how Jesus stops the funeral procession,

How He brings the dead back to life.

I felt it in my heart:

The deadness of distance

Turning into life-bringing closeness.

He brings the dead back to life!

After that, it didn't seem like much happened . . .

Not much happened to me, that is.

Every time my community group met,

Many shared how they had been moved,

How God was touching them,

Working in them,

Changing their lives.

 
One afternoon,

Many of the speakers at Passion were onstage together,

Taking turns reading from Scripture.

They read through the entire book of Ephesians -

Six chapters -

Pausing after each one

So that we could listen for the voice of God.

The Scripture was beautiful,

But that's not usually how God communicates with me

(Other than to say, "Here's how I want you to live, here's what you need to do.  Go do it.")

So it didn't really impact me very much.

After they finished reading, however, they asked how many God had spoken to,

How many hearts had been moved.

About half of the hands in the room were in the air.

Half.

(That's around twenty-one thousand in case anyone was wondering.)

God really does move in amazing ways at this conference!

I was still waiting, though,

Still praying.

"God, I came here expecting.

You've drawn me so much closer to You,

But You haven't really moved in my heart yet.

I'm still expecting.

I believe that You can still do this,

That You will still move,

Even though there are only three days . . .

Two days . . .

One day . . .

One session

Left."

That's how long it took, too.

We were leaving that morning,

One session left.

I was still praying,

Still expecting that He'd move in me.

He didn't disappoint.

That last morning session was incredible.

The worship was amazing,

The message was even better.

Louie Giglio was speaking again,

(Since he's the only one I've mentioned, I need to stop and say that the other speakers were incredible, as well:  Beth Moore, Francis Chan, John Piper, . . . they were all so amazing!)

This time he was talking about boldness

And about how God uses us,

Probably the two topics I need to hear the most right now.

First, I am not bold.

I am the shy, introverted person who never speaks up in class

Or at Bible study

Unless asked to do so.

I am the person who doesn't like to sit with strangers,

Takes forever to make friends,

And spends most of her time alone, holed up in her dorm room.

(Once I'm around friends, I'm much better, I promise.)

Second, how God can use me has been one of the top things on my mind for the past three years.

Where do I go to college?

What do I study?

You brought music back into my life.  Where do You want me to take this?

What do You want me to do, God?

I want to serve You.

I want to be where You want me,

But I don't know where that is.

One of the best points in Louie Giglio's message went kind of like this:

In our culture, it's as if we have to do so many little things before we can do something great.

You have to go to high school,

Then college,

Then grad school,

Then get a job,

And then God can use You.

The problem with all this is that it's not true.

God can use you right where you are.

"Let's stick a pin in the balloon called 'God's will for your life.'"

God's will for your life is for you to serve Him

Right

Where

You

Are.

That meant so much to me.

I've felt for so long like I need to do x, y, and z -

Finish college, grow more as an artist, get a job -

Before I can do what I feel God wants me to do,

What I feel He's put into my life so I can serve Him.

I've forgotten that I can use my talents to serve Him right here.

My imaginative mind began forming a plan . . .

But more on that in a couple of weeks.

Another cool thing I'd forgotten?

God uses people who work in all kinds of different fields.

You could be a financial planner,

A computer programmer,

A teacher,

A Nascar driver,

(Or a member of a pit crew!)

Anything

And God could use you.

So often I doubt this!

I doubt that God will really use me in the way I feel that He wants to,

But He can,

For He uses all kinds of people.

Wow.

He could really use me.

Wow.

(And more about that in a couple of weeks . . .)

As I mentioned earlier, Louie Giglio also talked about boldness,

About how the only thing we have to fear is living an insignificant life.

That just hit me.

I fear so many things,

The future,

People's opinions of my music,

That God won't use me.

I let these fears control me,

Make me even more timid and shy than I already am.

On the bright side, they keep me humble,

However, they also cause me to hide

Behind excuses,

Inaction.

Speaking of boldness, why am I so scared to tell people about Jesus?

I want them to know Him.

Am I more afraid of opinions I don't really care about -

Or maybe it's actually having to talk to strangers -

Than I am of living an insignificant life?

I don't even understand myself sometimes!

I didn't want to leave that morning.

I wanted to stay in that place,

In that "Passion bubble",

Forever.

I now felt so inspired,

And so bold,

More bold than I'd ever felt before.

I had seen God move

And I had felt God move

And I just wanted to stand up and shout,

At the top of my lungs,

"Our God reigns!

He is not dead,

He is alive!

He is moving!

He is speaking!

Don't you know?

Can't you see?

It's incredible!

My

God

Reigns!!!!!"

If you are an 18-25 year old and couldn't come to Passion this year, I would really, really encourage you to find some way to go next year.  God moves in amazing ways at this conference!  You really shouldn't miss it!

To read more about my experience at Passion, check out these posts:
     At the Dome - Passion 2012
     Incomprehensible - Passion 2012
     I Went Expecting - Passion 2012
     Do Something Now - Passion 2012
     After the Dome - Passion 2012


Linking up with Walk With Him Wednesday today.

Please check out some of the other amazing blog posts, the links to which can be found at the bottom of this post.


Happy Wednesday!