Weekend, Part 2

And we've made it to Passion.

I feel overwhelmingly blessed to have had this opportunity to attend a conference like this here in Tokyo. What's more, I was able to go for free--another amazing blessing through my HiBA friends.

The Passion World Tour is certainly that--a world tour. Yes, it travels to different cities in different countries, but it travels to the same Church, the same Body. And that was one of the emphases that night. No matter where we are on this planet, we are one Body--the Body of Christ. One. There is only one Church.

We started off the night watching a video of London's conference. Thousands and thousands of students, leaders, and young adults stood with arms outstretched SHOUTING prayers for Tokyo and all of us there. All of us at the conference and all of us who walk the streets. The 2% of us who are part of the Body and the 98% that are not. Friends, the people on that video were screaming. It was phenomenal to watch. That they cared that much about us, halfway around the world.

And at the end of the night, we in Tokyo, were given the same opportunity to pray. And in the same way we prayed, we shouted, we cried out for Manila, the next stop on the Passion World Tour. We were given bracelets to wear that said "Manila," inviting us to pray throughout the week as well. The prayers of the ones who came before enabled us to pray for the ones that came after, in still another part of the planet. We were also given the chance to physically serve those in Manila by giving an offering. We were able to serve Manila spiritually through prayer and physically through giving. And the giving was awesome. Because we weren't allowed to take an offering in the Tokyo International Forum. Instead, we had to go out into the aisles and pick up an envelope, fill it, and give it back once we left the building. It was more than passing baskets around an auditorium, it was a deliberate, conscious act.

The understanding of what the Church is was so strong in my mind that night. And as I flip through the New Testament and read the letters to the many different churches, the emotion hits me there, too. Paul got it--when he talks about remembering each city in his prayers and praying with joy. When you realize that these people are your brothers and sisters, it's difficult not to weep with joy at the miraculous hand of God that brings so many different people, different cultures, different world views together under His grace. Yes, He has the whole world in His hands!!

The rest of the evening was equally as powerful. Chris Tomlin led worship and we sang in English and Japanese, praising our Heavenly Father. And Louie Giglio stood up to speak, reminding us that our Father, our Abba, is standing over us always, offering us his arms, saying, "I know what you love; I know what you fear; I know your name and your address and your cellphone number. And you know what? I know his, too. And hers. And hers. And his. I know." The presence of the Lord is mighty. His love is engulfing. These are the types of moments that I never want to lose.

One of the worship songs struck close to my heart: Chris Tomlin's "Awakening."

I'll post the words. Read them and feel them and look them up on YouTube or iTunes if you want to hear the song. These words are powerful. Catch the line about the rising sun. Japan, Nihong, the Land of the Rising Sun. What an overwhelming sense of God's grace that line brings.

Also, visit 268blog.com to see photos of the night, read what Louie Giglio had to say about the night, read our comments, and see the other cities as well.

In our hearts, Lord, in this nation
Awakening
Holy Spirit, we desire
Awakening

For You and You alone
Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing
For the world You love
Your will be done, let Your will be done in me

In Your presence, in Your power
Awakening
For this moment, for this hour
Awakening

For You and You alone
Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing
For the world You love
Your will be done, let Your will be done in me

For You and You alone
Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing
For the world You love
Your will be done, let Your will be done in me

Like the rising sun that shines
From the darkness comes a light
I hear Your voice and this is my
Awakening

Like the rising sun that shines
From the darkness comes a light
I hear Your voice and this is my
Awakening

Like the rising sun that shines
Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing
From the darkness comes a light
Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing

Like the rising sun that shines
Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing
Only You can raise a life
Awake my soul, awake my soul and sing