Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!
March 28, 2017 ~ His Way!
"God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it.In a dream,
in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds,
then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction" (Job 33:14-16.).
1. Your ability to step into extreme abundant life is connected to your ability to hear God's voice.
- In Scripture, the practice of invading the logical world with supernatural communication is widespread and commonplace, almost ordinary. What is not ordinary (yet) for the Church is an awareness and acceptance of this form of revelatory communication and the ability to interpret it.
- Oh Lord, increase our capacity and appetite for hearing You!
2. God spoke to people in the Bible in these ways:
a. Throughprophets (I Samuel 22:5; Hebrews 1:1) - over 50 times!
b. Byangels (Genesis 22:11; Luke 1:11-13) -over 50 times!
c. Invisions (Acts 9:10; Genesis 15:1) -over 50 times!
d. Through a trance (Acts 10:10) - approximately 3 times!
e. Indreams (Genesis 28:10-16; Matthew 2:12) - over 60 times!
f. By a gentle whisper or other audible voice (I Kings 19:12; Acts 9:4) - over 20 times!
g. Innature, through miracles, by the Spirit, through Jesus Christ, the Scripture, symbols . . .
3. God speaking to people is a common occurrence! How is God speaking right now?
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. But the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2).
4. God is at work in everything. If we have eyes to see Him moving, we can partner effectively with what He is doing.
"The world has hijacked the realm of symbolism to such an extent that it is almost despised in western Christian thinking. But in the Bible, God speaks through symbols and metaphors that need interpretation. Jesus, Himself, used parables repeatedly to share the deep things of the Kingdom. He has always spoken in this way and will continue to do so. 'He who has ears to hear; let him (or her) hear!' If the Church will not listen to revelatory language, the Lord will speak to the world directly, as He did with Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. How many people in our society and culture are starting to have amazing experiences in a revelatory spiritual context? They need the correct interpretation. And such an interpretation can only come from practitioners in this Heavenly, pictorial language, people like Joseph and Daniel.Through their understanding of God's symbolic language, these two ordinary people turned the fortunes of God's people at critical times through their alignment with God in understanding dream language. The New Age movement has taken revelatory language prisoner, but God is in the business of setting captives free." Graham Cooke
5. Your dreams are trying to tell you something. Don’t close off insight because of fear or shame.
"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up"(James 4:10).
"Confess your faults to one another and pry for one another that you may be healed" (James 5:16).
6. Basic Principles for Interpreting Dreams:
(a) Realize it is a gift and a skill developed over time (not overnight) - find trusted people who have the skill of dream interpretation and learn from them (b) Invest time in learning to hear from God because an intimate relationship with the Lord is foundation to interpreting, (c) Rely on Scripture for understanding or you may form an opinion that is not from God, (d) Observe all the symbols, metaphors and word plays of thedream – they are all relevant. (e) Isolate the feeling of the dream (how did you feel upon waking from the dream - ex: exposed, lost orthreatened, etc). (f) Pay attention to colors and numbers, (g) Who is the main character; what is the main theme. (h) Pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance in the interpretation and for His insight into the meaning of the dream.
7. We must search out the hidden things of God!