July 2001

[Part 195]

“Sleeping Beauty” [CC]

“The Purpose of Dreams” (22)


Hear this timely Word of the Lord from Joel 2:21-32,

“Fear not, O land; but be glad and rejoice for the Lord will do great things. Be not afraid, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are springing up and the tree is bearing her fruit! Yes, the fig tree and the vine are yielding their strength! So be glad, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain moderately; and now He will also cause both the former and the latter rain to deluge you in as at the first. Threshing floors will be full of (the finest of) wheat and the vats will overflow with (new) wine and (anointing) oil! I WILL RESTORE TO YOU ALL THE YEARS THAT ARE CONSUMED BY THE LOCUST, which is My great army composed of cankerworms and palmerworms and caterpillars that I have sent among you (to eat up your fleshly thoughts and ways)! Now you will eat in plenty and be satisfied, and you shall praise the Name of the Lord your God Who has dealt wondrously with you! Now My people will never be ashamed for they will know I am in the midst of Israel [lit. “Those who rule and reign with God”] and I, and no one else, am the Lord your God! So My people will never be ashamed and afterward it will come to pass, I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON A-L-L FLESH and your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions!!”

          So much is being said here to God’s people but permit us to amplify just a few portions. The first is God’s two-word introduction: “FEAR NOT, O LAND!” Child of Jehovah, beware of any doctrines that promote “Salvation-by-terror” instead of “Salvation-by-L-O-V-E”! While it is true that all sons of the first Adam do inherit a spirit of fear, it is not the clean Fear of the L-o-r-d that is “The beginning of Godly Knowledge and Wisdom!” (Pr 1:7; 9:10) Rather the natural man is “Subject to bondage all his life to the fear of d-e-a-t-h” (defined: “Carnal-mindedness!”Ro 8:6) And since all men are carnally-minded, this also renders them in bondage to the “Fear of m-a-n” (Heb 2:15; Pr 29:25) But the spiritual man “Has not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but has received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry, ‘Abba’, meaning, ‘Daddy or Papa’, as the Spirit of the Lord bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God!” (Ro 8:15-16) Besides Scripture assures us, “God IS LOVE” and“There is NO FEAR IN LOVE!” (1 Jn 4:8,18)
           Case closed!!
           All true sons of God, at some time or other, felt as if they had forfeited years of their lives to suffering, sorrow, separation, or loss of some kind. But Father is promising here to RESTORE all those abstracted years! This does not mean He will tally up each calendar year we endured varying devastations and disasters; rather it means, for example, if someone“stored” groceries in his pantry for a month, as they were consumed, he would have to “re-store” new supplies for the next month! Similarly God “stored” [only the image and likeness of] His Divine Attributes in natural man, who quickly consumed them on the “lusts of his flesh” (Jas 4:3) just like the prodigal son! But as God gives man His Spirit of Repentance [which brings a complete change of mind to Christ’s Spiritual Mind, the full REALITY of those types and shadows of Anointed Attributes are “re-stored” in us!! Remember how the prodigal son was given all his inheritance, yet when he returned repentantly, His father produced a fresh cache of endowments that even made his older brother jealous! How ignorant we mortals be who squander our souls’ affections on this world in a self-deception that the treasures we exchange for our inherited talents [See: Mt 25:15] have any eternal value whatsoever! Never have so many strived so hard for so little! Everything of the earth must return to the dust - even our own flesh- so ALL IS VANITY- BUT GODLINESS!!
          One final thought, our Father says He will POUR OUT HIS SPIRIT ON A-L-L FLESH then our sons and daughters will prophesy; our old men will dream dreams, and our young men shall see visions!! We know that this time is now being fulfilled! Never before has there been such an OPEN REVELATION of God’s Christ! Father is already “re-storing” His true sons with His Divine Attributes and Abilities! We are prophesying; we are dreaming dreams; and we are seeing Visions of His Glory! This is the Golden Hour, beloveds, when the “Beauty of Holiness” (Ps 29:2) is being revealed in the hearts of a spirit-minded people! I pray that He opens your hearts and eyes and ears and minds to this unfolding Miracle!

[TO BE CONTINUED]