(a little backstory: Roland Buck wrote this book back in the 70s, and it detailed his pretty dramatic angelic encounters. This passage came from one of his conversations with an angel…)

“God let me know that events which he has decreed HAVE TO HAPPEN! When he decrees it, an irreversible force is set in motion that nothing can stop. IT HAS TO HAPPEN! People he has included in his unfolding plan are not irreversibly stuck with that plan for themselves unless they want to be. God has predestined the event, but not the individuals. He said, “If you will link arms with me, there will be joy and happiness in it for you. I have FOREORDAINED you to be a partner with me in the great work that I am doing, but I will not hold you to it.”

My own experience is a great example of this truth. For 15 years I did what I wanted to do creatively. I worked harder than anyone else, wrote more than anyone else, and generally willed myself to become a good storyteller. I didn’t believe in “partnering” with God creatively, because I believed that God had given me His creative spirit, and I was to hone it, use it, and create things of beauty myself. I would then “give God the glory”, which basically meant I would say that I did this thing, wrote this story, for Him. That, of course, was only partially true. Deep down, I really did it for myself. For fame. For money. For glory. But hey, at least I was saying the right thing.

The funny thing was, I never succeeded. I knew I was creating good stories; stories people would probably like if they read them or saw them on the big screen, but it was as if there was an invisible forcefield that blocked all my creative endeavors from succeeding. It became the running joke in my family, actually. My failure was becoming something of legend.

But then, God came and asked me to do something. Most of you probably know about my angelic encounter with the angel Breakthrough, so I won’t go into it here. See it here.

Needless to say, for the first time, I decided to “link arms with God” and do what He wanted me to do, even though it sounded terrifying, stupid, and completely out of my comfort zone.

What Roland Buck wrote spoke to me so deeply because I had actually experienced this truth. God asked me to partner with Him, and I could very easily have said no. My wife and I often talk about that–what if I had let the call fade from my memory? What if I had let it sit idle for so long that it became something more out of a dream than reality? What if I had never made Finger of God? I would have never made Furious Love. How would my life be different? Would I still be thrashing around trying to get people to like my creations? How many people would still be locked in their old ways of thinking? I shudder at the thought.

But God, in His graciousness, is calling us to partner with him, but in the end, it’s up to us to say yes. He won’t hold us to it. If we say no, or forget, or hesitate, then He’ll simply move on to someone else, hoping they’ll say yes to His call. He’ll still love us outlandishly, and He won’t hold it against us, but we’ll lose out. Fear or apathy will have held us back from our destiny. I love how the Lord spoke to Roland and told him that “if you link arms with me, there will be joy and happiness in it for you.”

I’m living proof of that.

It’s funny, because even now, I still get emails from people telling me some story about how Finger of God changed their life. It has been over two years since I last worked on that film, so when people bring it up to me, it’s kind of like, “Huh? Oh yeah…” I’m still so grateful for how God continues to use that little movie, and I’ve come to grips with the fact that I will never know the true extent of the fruit God has brought from that film.

A few weeks before Furious Love was released, I had a profound dream that I knew was from the Lord. I have only had maybe four dreams like this in my entire life. In it, my wife and I were in the backseat of a open-top jeep, driving along a huge beach. The beach was massive, at least a half-mile of sand lay between our jeep and the ocean. People were everywhere. Two men drove the jeep (I have since learned that these are, apparently, my two angels who have been assigned to me–I dreamed of them once before, when I was making Finger of God). Suddenly, I saw a big wave in the distance. From this far away, it was still fairly small, but it rose probably 30 feet out of the water and made a resounding crash on the shoreline. Then, shortly after that, an otherworldly, enormous wave rose up behind it. It stretched up to the sky, and was, easily, 1000 feet high. It towered over the entire beach, then slammed down onto the sand. Everyone on the beach was completely covered by this wave. I remember, the tip of the wave crashed right next to our jeep, and some of the spray got on me. Then I woke up.

I immediately understood what this dream meant, although it was hard for me to accept it. The first wave was Finger of God. It caused a stir, to be sure, and many were affected by it. It was a pretty big wave, but nothing like what was coming after it. The second, enormous wave, was Furious Love. I have gotten word after word after word from everyone from close prophetic friends to perfect strangers who all reiterate the same thing: that I have no idea the impact that Furious Love is going to have on the world. In my dream, the impact was enormous and all-encompassing. Everyone who came in contact with it was completely covered by God’s “furious wave”. Interestingly, though, I only felt a splashing of the impact.

I now realize that I probably never will know the true impact these films have, and in reality, that’s probably a good thing. There isn’t much I can take credit for with these things. Obviously, I’m obedient and do what I feel God is asking me to do, and yes, I needed to train enough in my past to be able to tell a good, tight story, but in the end, these are God’s films. If He doesn’t show up, I’ve got nothing to write about. If He doesn’t move on people, then no lives get changed.

So am I bummed that I don’t know what’s going on out there? Sort of, but not really. The Lord gives me enough feedback to keep me moving forward, but not so much that I start to think that, yeah, I really am kind of a genius. If I ever get to that point, I’ve ordered my family and friends to hold an intervention and remind me just how much of an idiot I really am.

All artists have egos. I am no exception. But God is bringing me to a place where my ego, my identity, is not wrapped up in what I create or how many people it affects. My identity is found in Him and Him alone.

Thank God for that.

In three days we have passed 100,000 tickets sent out. Churches are still surging to sign up as the word spreads, and churches who have already had showings are scrambling to add more because of the overwhelming response they are getting. By all intensive purposes, Furious Love is shaping up to be a monster. And while that is very, very cool and personally gratifying, it’s nothing compared to this…

Testimony #1: At a premiere in Aurora, Illinois, over 1000 people show up. We find out just before showtime that witches are in the audience. After the showing, people are streaming down the aisles to receive Jesus or get prayer, and one man approaches Robby Dawkins (the big scary bald guy at the end of the film) and informs him that he’s a witch. He then says, “I have to have this power in my life, mine is so inferior.” Robby prays with the man, and someone who had originally come to curse the film leaves with a brand new relationship with the King of Kings.

Testimony #2: At another showing, a church is so rocked and convicted to love their fallen world, that they corporately, after the film, begin to pray and intercede for the strip club that is just down the street from them. Their prayers are born out of love and compassion, not judgment. The next day, a woman who works at the strip club calls the church, out of the blue, and asks for their help in getting her out of the club and the sex industry.

How do I feel to see my two years of sacrifice and hard work being received with such fervor and excitement all across the globe? Feels great. How do I feel about those two testimonies, and the countless others we’re receiving everyday? Words cannot describe.

Please, send us your testimonies as they happen. Or comment on this post and share them with the world. But above all, love extravagantly. Love without agenda. Love as you are loved.

Then watch the world change around you.

It’s another thing entirely to watch it unfold right before your eyes.

Furious Love premiered in over 500 locations in 19 countries around the world last night.  I attended two premiere’s here in Chicago last night, one of which had over 1000 people in attendance.  I stood there and watched all these people stream in; they had all gotten babysitters, paid their hard earned money, and ventured out into the cold night to come see a movie I made.  My crew, Matt and Braden, stood by my side all night, and we kept looking at each other in disbelief.  How could this be happening? 

We spoke to the crowds, not really knowing what we were saying.  Then the movie began.  I kept hearing audible gasps, crying, and words of praise to a God who was suddenly becoming bigger than ever to everyone in the theater.  The movie ended, and streams of people began filing to the front.  So many came forward that the churches putting this on had to go recruit more people to help pray.  A witch got saved.  I met two young girls afterwards who accepted Christ at the showing.  People walked up to me afterwards in a daze, not knowing exactly what to say, so they just mumbled "thank you".  The whole thing was surreal and humbling.  

And now there’s today.  The testimonies are beginning to pour in.  All around the world people are waking up to the reality of God’s ferocious love for them; for those around them.  People are getting saved.  Many are still trying to process what they saw, what they experienced.  

I spent 18 months living with this thing, experiencing all of this firsthand.  I had some of the most intense spiritual experiences of my entire life while sitting alone in my studio, putting this story together.  Often times I would emerge like an animal coming out of hibernation–shocked that there was still a world filled with bright lights and loud cars.  I made this movie in a sort of spiritual cocoon, and now I’m realizing that those who watch it are entering that cocoon as well.  When many of them emerge, they are, like me, new creatures.  More beautiful than they were before, simply because their eyes have been freshly opened to the majesty, power, and greatness of Love incarnate.  

Many churches are scrambling to set up more showings of the film, and that’s exactly what I hoped would happen.  Use this film as a launching pad to more and more opened eyes, but then take it further.  This film is not the revolution.  It is simply the spark.  

You are the real revolution.

That, of course, leaves me home alone with the kids.  And here I am, on the night before my life will most likely change forever, alone in my living room as my children sleep peacefully upstairs.  I guess it’s time to ruminate, look back, and wonder about what is to come.  The only problem is, I’m as numb as can be.  

People keep asking me if I’m excited.  I’m excited for what God is about to do, absolutely.  Am I excited about the praise and adulation that’s about to come?  Not really.  Am I excited for the hate mail that’s bound to come as well?  Definitely not.  Am I excited about speaking engagements, interviews, and all the stuff that goes with that?  Yes and no.  But do I actually FEEL anything at the moment?  Strangely, no.

Before I started making Finger of God, my greatest desire was to be well known.  I wanted people to love the things I wrote, and in turn I figured they would love me as well.  Of course, if you asked, I would have told you that my greatest aim was to glorify God through my work, but in my heart of hearts I wanted to glorify God AND be made famous in the process.  And of course, my entire life, I failed at everything I ever tried creatively.  It’s a longer story than I have time for here, but something happened that finally (and mercifully) killed my dream of fame forever.  It was one of the worst yet best days of my life.

So here I am.  Millions have seen my first film.  Hundreds of thousands of people are about to watch my second film all at the same time.  And I can’t help but note the oddity of my numbness.  Maybe it’s simply too much to handle.  I’ve been getting a glimpse all week of the types of reactions this film is about to get, and it’s overwhelming to say the least.  And that’s all from just one showing.  What’s going to happen when God unleashes His Love on over 500 churches around the world at the same time?  And how is that going to change my life?  

My goal with you all has always been honesty.  When you watch my movies, you’re hearing the God’s honest truth as I witnessed it.  I won’t hype anything beyond what actually happened, and I have the same questions about it all that most of you do.  And now, 24 hours before an atomic bomb of love is about to go off, I don’t know what to think.  I’m not really sure what to do.  

I am awed and humbled by the excitement I have seen from many of you regarding this film.  I can’t wait to hear the testimonies of what God does through it.  But I guess I just want to point out, before all heaven breaks loose, that although, yes, I did make this movie, and although, yes, it was without question the hardest spiritual journey I’ve ever had to go through, it doesn’t make me special.  Certainly not any more special than you.  

I’m the donkey Jesus decided to ride in on tomorrow night.  What He will unleash once He dismounts me and speaks to you…well…now THAT gets me excited.

Enjoy the film, everyone.  The King approaches… 

At 4 am on Wednesday morning, February 10, Chicago had an earthquake.  My wife and I were awakened by it, and our whole house shook.  It happened at exactly 4 am, and also happened to be 4 days before the release of Furious Love.  Not only is this a pretty rare occurrence for Chicago, the epicenter of the earthquake just happened to be a mile from my house.

Later that morning, I began to receive emails and phone calls from people I trust, people who have proven themselves to me, over and over, as accurate hearers of the Lord.  They were all telling me the same thing: this was no ordinary earthquake.  This was a prophetic sign from the Lord that a great shaking of His church, of the world, is coming.  

I have a group of people I refer to as my "ring of fire".  These are people to whom I submit myself–they are my spiritual brothers, fathers, and mothers.  They are spread around the world, and are some of the most extraordinary, humble, God-fearing people I have ever met.  They also care about me in a very deep way, and don’t give a rip about how I can advance them or their ministries.  They just want to stand beside me and lift me up in prayer.  I mention them, because they began to contact me as well, and they were all telling me the same thing: that God had been waking them up at 4 am for weeks!  They had never understood why…until now.  

Robbie Dawkins, who is in Furious Love, called me and told me that God woke him up just before 4 am that morning and said, "I want to tell you something."  10 minutes later, his house was shook to its foundation by the earthquake.  The Lord then spoke to him and said, "The earth groans for the sons of God to reveal themselves." 

Now, do I think that the imminent release of a movie caused this earthquake?  I’m not ready to go there yet, but the sheer amount of words I’ve been receiving are certainly giving me pause.  God is getting ready to do something extraordinary, and if this little donkey can be of some assistant to Him, then it is the greatest blessing of my life to play even a small part.  

Later in the day, I received a copy of a prophetic word spoken by Kim Clement back in 2008, when he prophesied that there would be an earthquake in Chicago, and that God would be bringing forth righteous media.  Hmm…

What does all this mean?  I have no idea.  I am a little nonplussed, intimidated, and humbled at the moment.  Part of me wants to just bury my head and let this firestorm pass, while another part of me doesn’t want to miss a thing.  I started this process just wanting to make a really good movie about God’s love.  As I continuously learn, though, God’s plans for us are always bigger than we could ever imagine.  

Please join with me in prayer for God’s love to truly shake the very foundation of unbelief and passivity.  Pray that He use this film, and the tens of thousands who are about to see it, to storm the gates of hell and reclaim that which was lost.  Pray for the revolution of love to begin.

Buy it here.