Last week I sat with a leader of the City of Jönköping as we talked about vision, passion, city, struggles, leading, conservative and progressive. We talked culture and people and somehow we needed to address that there are things you can not organise. Although you can organise a lot, it is the heart and the mind of the people that will make the real difference. We tend to think that organising a meeting where a lot of people show up will create a difference.

We talked about the channeled way people think. (“You are not in my stream, so I can greet you, but making a real conversation is too much to ask”!) The way they address their own life and the life of others and mainly that some decades of strategically mind-molding changed a nation from being outgoing, say missionary into inward, self focus narrow minded. So, by now, in order to gather them, we need to organise meetings, even prayer-meetings and we call it multi-cultural or ecumenism.
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Sweden needs mission and the Church of Sweden must go through a reformation to become a missionary force today.

It was this tweet that I read this morning that made me pick up the post I started to write last week. The key word used here is REFORMATION!

We live in a nation of pastors and teachers. We are surrounded by the care for the sheep and the telling what to do or not to do!
But… we mis the father-identity who looks at the lack and understand that the first thing that is needed is: Father forgive me for the way I raised (or did not raise) my children! Forgive me for letting the “ungodly system” taking my responsibility with the results I so deeply understand. Forgive me for the ignorance of even now, thinking that we can send them with the lack of (com)passion, love and community understanding.
A father looks to the condition and understand that it will take some effort, more that pointing, to get this thing changed.

We can not organize change! We can organize meetings, we can send invitations, we can even organize conferences, but somehow we can not make change happen!

Reformation
When Romans 12:2 declares so strong that we can only be transformed (changed) by the renewing of our mind (thinking), our only conclusion can be that we lacked the Word that cause us to be renewed!

When David observes the situations like the returning of the Arch and with it the dying of that caring man or the issue of his son Absalom trying to take over the throne, in both situation he knew that the only responsible person was David himself. Being over enthousiast, made him forget the condition of “carrying” the Arch and even being a bad father made him not speaking justice when his daughter – Absalom’s sister- was raped and it created bitterness!
Meaning that observing the situation of Sweden needs the heart of a father and the Wisdom of God to see, confess and take responsibility!

In the same time I have to agree that at least we see what is on God’s agenda, what His purpose is concerning our wonderful nation and what is ahead of us, more that revival or great meetings.
All over the world we see the same thing happening, where prayer and worship moves from “prayer meetings” into 24/7 devoted young people with a burning heart. We see that where even the Prayer movement is so judged, it is now resulting in receiving the heart of the Father for the nations and the result is….MISSION!

As Sweden is known for its missions, which was the result of a great awakening in 1850 and on, it is Gods desire to turn the curse of individualism into a passionate people that want to be send again!

We can not organize change, we can not make it happen! We need to live the change which results in the example and the multiplication!
We need the patience of a farmer, the compassion of a real father, the revelation of HOPE and the wisdom of His Spirit!

The greatest report I received some weeks ago is this testimony of a Brazilian woman, send to our nation with a passion to see Sweden restored in it’s purpose. When she asked God: Why Sweden? The Father told her that, as every missionair that went out prayed this same cry: Father remember my nation, their tears were collected in a big bucket! Today God is pouring out this bucket back on our nation as an honoring of the obedience of the sons and daughters of our nation!

As God is filling the Storehouses again, we can receive the nations and feed them! They will come and be served!

God’s promise:
Isaiah 33:6 HCSB
“There will be times of security for you — a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.”