Tear Down the Walls: Hillsong Concert Reflections

Seeing Hillsong in Chicago was a dream come true! What an amazing worship team, anointed church and men and women of faith! I had the opportunity to visit one of their church campuses when i was in Sydney the Christmas day before last. And i secretly wish i could go back in time and attend their college in Sydney...i guess there's maybe still time for that, huh? :) Anyways, the concert was absolutely...NEEDED. A breath of fresh air, an encouragement, amazing. I love when concerts become about glorifying God and worshipping God with fellow brothers and sisters, and less about the group themselves. What an act of humiliation and worshipping our Savior! Though i just returned from a seven hour drive and have much more to reflect on, I felt an urgency to write a few things that God has been revealing to me, changing in me and things He affirmed at the concert.

1) The concert - the worship was astounding. Joel Houston and the Hillsong team are truly inspiring! To see how they "made themselves available" for the Lord to work in them and through them is AMAZING! There were times during the worship God just really broke me down. Literally - i was moved to tears. Like, i could not stop crying if i tried! It was so LIBERATING and FREEING. Tears of joy in knowing the Lord was breaking me and continues to do so more as I "make myself available". I don't think there's much that is more beautiful than worshipping Our Creator and Beloved Father with thousands of fellow believers, striving to know HIM and MORE OF HIM!



2) One of the songs that absolutely hit my heart was "Tear Down the Walls". Wow. I can not describe the...fulness i felt in that moment. Just pressing into to the Lord and lifting my hands in sweet surrender and worship brought a sense of wholeness. Truly, i could and would stay in that moment for eternity. Worshipping Him, trusting Him, and seeking Him is where i want to be. During that song, I just felt a lot of my own walls crash down. I felt an overpowering reassurance and a desire for the walls of people all over this world to be torn down and replaced with the unshakable and unfathomable love of Jesus Christ!

Look to the skies, hope arise,
see His majesty revealed.
More than this life, there is LOVE,
there is hope and this is real.

I was reminded of a thought that had plagued my mind a couple of years ago, and a discussion i had with someone that was very dear to my heart -why do people stop loving each other? How does that happen? I had this image of each of us - whether it be in a romantic relationship, friendship, etc. building up walls of hurt, anger and fear - brick by brick, unknown to the other person in that relationship until it was towering between the two of them/us. We build walls. To "protect ourselves" or even to isolate ourselves. I have to pray and dwell more on why the Lord brought this thought back to me in that moment, but this is the facebook note that i wrote a couple years ago that briefly touches on this idea HERE

Lord, no more walls. Tear them down, in Your name. No more darkness, no more isolation. May we see You in Your glory. Tear down our walls. Break any barriers that inhibit us from loving our brothers and sisters. Our friend. Our spouse. Reveal Yourself to those that have built up a wall isolating them from YOU, the One True Source of LOVE UNENDING!!!



3) In that time of worship, I had this image involving focus. Yes, it may have been sparked from looking through and figuring out my new lens during the concert (haha), but whatever the case, the idea of "focus" was laid on my heart. As i praised God with my eyes shut, truly "focused" on Him, I pictured the entire room and all that surrounded me go in and out of focus - the hands raised in adoration, the band, everything. It was as if I was looking beyond that - seeing past the walls that enclosed the venue, and just picturing Christ - His hands outstretched and opened towards the heavens, taking in all His creation. As everything around me continued to zoom in and out of focus, the image of Jesus never did. He remained the center of the image, everything revolving around Him. He is the only constant, the only thing we can rely on for eternity.

...let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith... -Hebrews 12:2

4) I had a weird dream a few nights ago. I'm not usually one to study my dreams, as a lot of them are absurd, silly ones that seem to be nothing but compilations of thoughts, ideas, and people that are on your mind. But this one was different. While a couple people in it may have been on my mind that day, the idea of the dream was different. I dreamt Scripture - that's DEFINITELY a first for me. Since this was new, I didn't just forget about the dream. After talking to my mentor, I feel an affirmation that the dream was about of one my biggest fears - a fear i haven't been able to let go of. And, while my biggest fear came true in the dream, the Scripture that someone spoke into it was an affirmation of God's power and truth and love. While someday, this fear may very well come true, God is so much bigger than my fears. I'm not going to get into the dream, but the scriptures that were so clearly spoken in the dream were: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" -1 John 4:18 and "Even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" -Psalm 23:4

5) I want nothing to stand in my way and inhibit me from following God to the ends of the earth. Wherever He leads, I want to go. No hesitations, no second thoughts. I want to follow Him. A year ago, I wouldn't have wanted to leave the familiarity. Now, i want nothing more but to seek Him wholeheartedly.

Let us make ourselves available to the Lord.