We do live in the WORLD. But on the day after Passover, April 7th, we
traveled to the far southwest corner of Colorado to gather with 70 others in a
week-long celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We met at the San Juan
Bible Camp, 8,500 feet high in the Colorado Rockies, in the midst of a
beautiful, pristine pine forest. The camp was led by my dear friends, Steve and
Shirley Rees (the Peregrinnatti). It will be very difficult for me to find
words to express the unity, purity and joy we experienced as one big family in
Messiah Yeshua; and pretty much impossible for me to usher you into the weighty
glory of the Presence of God we all felt as we kept "David's Tabernacle Worship"
every morning and evening. Yet, I want to try to share it with you, because it
was the closest thing to the Acts 2 model that I have ever tasted in all my many
years of ministry and worship.
We were 72 in all - a number that seems to mean a lot to the Lord! Moses
took 72 elders with him to the top of the mountain to have a banquet with
Yeshua. During this anointed week, 72 of us gathered at the top of the mountain
to worship and to experience a "rehearsal" of the Wedding Banquet of the Lamb.
I kept waiting for things to get tense as the days went by. We were, after
all, gathered together in a small space with shared bathrooms and showers, one
big kitchen to cook in, one dining room to eat in, and 29 children among us! By
Thursday of that week a sense of awe was overshadowing me, as I realized I had
never heard a single conversation of gossip, a single cross word, or a single
children's quarrel! "What is this?" I wondered. "How can so many gather
together and maintain such integrity, cheerfulness, and kindness toward one
another?
Over and over I witnessed women caring for one another's children, men
being quick to help with everything from cooking meals to fixing broken-down
cars and feeding toddlers. During Torah studies I heard various opinions
offered in humility, with no divisions and no arguments. Everytime we got into
the line for meals, younger children ushered us ahead and said, "Please go
first, you are the elders." The entire camp was operating in a biblical order
of respect and esteem for one another that was unlike anything I have
ever experienced. Was it the emphasis on and time spent in worship that was
blessing us? Our schedule called for David's Tabernacle worship to begin at
8:30 a.m. and continue until 10:00 a.m. We had about 8 psalms that corresponded
with the season of Unleavened Bread and with accompaniment of piano, harp,
guitar, drums and dancers, we spontaneously chanted and sang these psalms over
and over, allowing the Ruach to speak through the worship, and pausing when
someone had a word from the Lord. Sometimes the children would come forward and
lift our hearts with their pure worship; sometimes the Celtic drums would start
beating out a war cry, and the dancers would be stomping Satan under their
feet! Other times the gentle simplicity of the harp washed over us. After
about the third day, no one wanted to leave David's Tabernacle, and because of
Steve & Shirley's great hearts for worship, entire morning schedules were
forsaken in order for the worship to continue on as long as the Spirit wanted us
there! I had never experienced this before either.
I became keenly aware that something entirely NEW was taking place. We
talked among ourselves about how weary we all are of conferences with hectic
schedules, and gatherings where children and adults are separated. Here we were
all together - from the youngest (2 months) to the oldest (72) - doing
everything together as the Body of Messiah, in the spirit of love and unity.
All in one accord!! So, continuing daily with one accord in the
temple, and breaking bread together, they ate their food with gladness and
simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people." (Acts
2:46-47).
As the week drew to a close and we were approaching the final High Shabbat
of Unleavened Bread, the men began preparations to construct the kadar
(wedding chamber) for the Bride to enter in with her Bridegroom. The women
sewed, ironed, and hung beautiful panels of fabric in breathtaking colors.
Inside the kadar were placed numerous candles, a basin for washing
hands, and one for washing feet, a menorah with seven lights, and glowing
banners honoring King Yeshua. There are many pictures of this amazing week on
my website, and I hope you will take time to visit the slide show on the front
page: www.doorkeeperministries.com.
The pictures are worth a thousand words!
The men were given ketubahs (marriage contracts) for their brides. Tears
streamed down my face as I watched these 12 men kneel before their wives and
once again ask the privilege of taking them as wives, and ushering them into the
wedding chamber. (Yes, we had 12 men there, beautifully symbolic of the 12
tribes!) One couple at a time we entered, closing the gleaming white curtain,
and sharing a time of incredible intimacy together, making new vows to one
another. We emerged from the wedding chamber with lighted candles and
tear-stained faces, and I watched the little children's faces as they saw the
love and romance their parents were sharing. What a witness in their young
lives of God's model for holiness in marriage!
Now we are all back home in the world - but I have a sense that none of us
will ever be the same. How could we be, after tasting God's way of life?
Through all that lies ahead of us, we will remember how we spent one glorious
week doing what it tells us in Romans 12:2: And do not be conformed
to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may
prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God.
