Dreams & Visions Seminar SESSION 2

Transcription

1 The Connection of Dreams and Being Filled With the Holy Spirit Joel 2 1. God is going to pour out His spirit on all flesh 2. People will prophesy 3. Young men see visions 4. Old men dream dreams Acts 2 the fulfillment of Joel 2 God moves from the outside, stone (Sinai) to the inside, heart (Upper room) Verse 17; Peter said (spoken by the prophet Joel) that now that the Spirit has been poured out you should be able to prophesy, see visions and dream dreams. Apostle Paul had a supernatural encounter with Yeshua on his way to Damascus. We should be able to see into the spirit realm A dream is the most common vehicle that God uses to communicate. In Judaism it is understood that something mystical takes place during sleep. Our soul is loosed to some degree from the material attachments of the earth. We become focused on the jobs and things at hand and tied to this earth. So in the state when our soul is loosed God comes and speaks. Question; If God can communicate with you when you are awake, why couldn t He communicate with you when you are asleep? Joel tells us that the result of the Spirit of God poured out on all flesh is that we will be able to prophesy, speak by inspiration of the Spirit. God can give a witness to your heart to minister in a simple non-threatening manner to someone. Reaching out to someone and never being aware. Revelation 2 Seven times the Spirit says, He who has an ear to hear, let him hear Spirit is speaking but we must have an ear to hear The Holy Spirit reveals Himself as tongues of fire, as a dove and a pillar of fire to the children of Israel. Many think that the only way we can hear God is if we listen to a sermon preached or read the Bible or other books. The Bible, Word of God is infallible (perfect, foolproof, reliable, flawless) to lead us to God but not replace God. First disciples did not have Bibles but were totally dependent on the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said it was important, necessary that He goes away so another (Holy Spirit) comes and He will lead you into all truth (John 16:13). 1 P a g e

2 God speaks to us by both scripture and Spirit. What you hear or see of the Spirit will never contradict the scripture or replace the Word of God. John 8:38-39; But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. They were so focused on the letters of the written word that they missed the Living Word. The Holy Spirit can give subtle promptings within and with visions regarding life s decisions but He will never contradict the Word! Prophetic promptings, dreams and visions should never replace your personal study of God s Word but inspire you to study more. Dreams/visions allow us to see in the spirit; God allows us to know something that would not be known in the natural. John 5:19; Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 1 Samuel 3:4-8; Account of Samuel as a young boy hears the Lord gently call his name three times while he is asleep. He who has an ear, hear; it is easy to miss the voice of God. Acts 16:9; And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Acts 18:9; Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; Numbers 12:6; Then He said, "Hear now My words: "If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not all dreams are from the Lord. Just as we are being bombarded by all kinds of material in the natural world we are also bombarded by all kinds of spiritual material in our sleep world. Just as we are influenced with many things that surround us in the physical world there is also a supernatural atmosphere that surrounds us. However we do not need to fear the supernatural. Most dreams are just the working out of things encountered day by day and especially influenced by our fears and insecurities. Although not prophetic they do give insight to what is happening inside. Visions and dreams seem a bit mystical to our Western culture but in many other cultures i.e. African, they consider dreams to carry directional and revelatory insight. Westerners have lost the mystical aspect of faith in Messiah which we see mentioned in Colossians 1:24-27; the mystery (secret or hidden truth) which has been hidden We are to be ministers of the mystery, God s Spirit literally lives in us. 2 P a g e

3 God communicate with dreams and visions in Genesis Genesis 15; word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision which he had conversation Genesis 37:5; Joseph has a dream Genesis 40:5; butler and baker have dreams Genesis 41:1; Pharaoh has a dream Exodus is full of imagery of the tabernacle where the presence of God came. Matthew 27:50-51; when Jesus died the veil of the temple was torn in two. Now the separation of God was removed and we have access to Him and He now speaks to each of us. To be led of the Spirit one must give consideration to his dreams. Joseph s dreams determined his destiny and launched a chain of events when he told his family and their response to his dreams. (Genesis 37:9). Why would God use the sun, moon, stars bowing down and not simply reveal the parents and brothers directly in the dream? Why did Jesus speak so often in parables? God desires that we seek Him out and ask Him what the dream or vision means. Dreams and visions are the results of the Holy Spirit poured out. The art of remembering your dreams takes Practice Discipline Just as the disciples had to seek the Lord to understand the parables, we also must seek God to understand our dreams. Seek and you will find. Matthew 7:7 Luke 11:9, 12:31 Hebrews 11:6 Acts 10 gives account of a vision or trance that Peter had to eat unclean animals Left Peter questioning the vision Revelation of the vision comes in verses and God wants you to take initiative to discover Him. We need to be actively involved in seeking Him. To disregard your dreams is to disregard God 3 P a g e

4 Keep a dream journal to maintain a record of what the Holy Spirit is saying. The Holy Spirit is real, reveals the things of God and is not to be reduced to simply a doctrine. To receive the fullness of the Spirit you must receive the fullness of the Word. Seven times in Revelation 2&3 we see the phrase, To him who has an ear, let him hear. Amplified Bible; He who is able to hear, let him listen to and give heed to what the Spirit says. Characteristics of left/right dominate brain Left Right Part 2 1. Verbal Using words to name, describe, define 2. Analytic Figuring things out step-by-step and part-by-part 3. Concrete Relating to things as they are at the present moment 4. Abstract Taking out a small bit of information and using it to represent the whole thing 5. Temporal Keeping track of time, sequencing one thing after another, doing first things first, second things second, etc. 6. Rational Drawing conclusions based on reason and facts 7. Digital Using numbers as in counting 8. Logical Drawing conclusions based on logic, one thing following another in logical order 9. Linear Thinking in terms of linked ideas, one thought directly following another, often leading to convergent conclusion 1. Nonverbal Awareness of things, but minimal connection with words 2. Synthetic Putting things together to form wholes 3. Symbolic Using a symbol to stand for something 4. Analogical Seeing likeness between things, understanding metaphoric relationships 5. Non-temporal Lacking sense of time 6. Spatial Seeing where things are in relation to other things and how parts go together to form a whole 7. Intuitive Making leaps of insight, often based on incomplete patterns, hunches, feelings or visual images 8. Holistic Seeing whole things at once; perceiving the overall patterns and structures, often leading to different conclusions 4 P a g e

5 Basic Types and Symbols 1. Type Shape, style or resemblance of that which is to come (Romans 5:14) 2. Symbol Something that represents someone or something (1 Corinthians 11:10) 3. Pattern The exact way something should be made (Exodus 25:9) 4. Shadow To pre-figure that which is to come (Colossians 2:16-17) 5. Figure Same thing as type (KJV) 6. Sign Signal, omen, or evidence of that which is coming (Genesis 9:17) 7. Wonder A conspicuous miracle that validates what is coming will, in fact, come or happen (Acts 2:9) 8. Parable A fictitious narrative that illustrates a parallel truth (Matthew 13:3) 9. Metaphor A parable or simile 10. Allegory A story/narrative, a parable or simile Use and types and symbols The interpretation belongs to God (Genesis 40:8) Four levels of interpretation 1. Literal 2. Allegorical This is that 3. Philosophical 4. Hidden Aids to the interpretation process Ask God for an understanding of the dream. This is the most important aspect of dream interpretation Study the parables of Jesus Study the dreams and visions interpreted in Scripture Remember that most dreams have manifold applications Recognize patterns when you have more than one dream per night. Most dreams (80-90%) will be different scenes about the same subject 5 P a g e

6 Symbols of transportation in dreams Airplane Church or corporation. The bigger the plane, the bigger the influence. Note where plane is located. 747 Jet Movement or training facility, equip people Helicopter Small home group, quickly gets into the spirit Hang glider Rides on the wind of the spirit through humility Space ship Outer limits or mystic realm Bicycle Individual ministry requiring your balance Speedboat Short-lived excitement SUV Missionaries, overcome rough terrain without difficulty Jet plane Empowered by God to get somewhere Cement mixer Issues in life need to be solidified and, when they are, they provide a foundation Limousine Short ride to destiny Bus (is it school or public?) Can be church with great influence Train Movement of God, large and powerful Armored car Major protection from God Car at gas station Power Fred Flintstone car Requires lots of effort Convertible Open heavens, revelation Chariot Major encounter from earth to heaven Ship or ocean liner Large movement or church is mission minded Tugboat Helps ministry to leadership 6 P a g e

7 Semi-truck Carrying load to delivery, depends on what is being delivered Streetcar Local ministry or church Submarine Stealth or below the surface Camper Transition, won t be there long, returns Motorcycle Ride on power, easy to get in and out Wrecker Rescue and repair Roller-skates Individual ministry with lots of effort Tractor Evangelistic work in harvest Ice skates Holy and graceful Steamroller Leveling places, capabilities Seaplane Land or water, get in and out of difficult places Pickup truck Delivery, helps ministry Understanding Symbols Who is the lion referred to in these scriptures? Proverbs 28:1 1 Peter 5:8 Revelation 5:5 Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus defines the symbols in verses What is the meaning to each symbol? Sower Field Seed Tares Enemy Harvest Reapers 7 P a g e

8 Develop Personal Understanding 1. Refer to Scripture this should be the first place you look 2. Understand your colloquial expressions or idioms that you hear every day. God will turn them into pictorial forms for dream purposes Chip off the old block 3. Develop a dream vocabulary Family traits Nicknames (Pumpkin, Peanut, Rosebud) 4. Make a list, giving each item definition as interpretation comes, even if you don t understand the meaning Seed = Faith (Matthew 13) Seed = Word (Matthew 17) Seed = Kingdom (Matthew 13) 5. First ask yourself, What is the symbol doing? Then if necessary, What does it mean to me? 6. Make notes on your feelings/emotions in the dream. 7. Seek counsel from those who understand dreams. Be aware that others may bring their own personal interpretation. 8. Don t try to get interpretation from someone just because they are your friends. People People who appear in your dreams may have several meanings. 1. You may be dreaming prophetically about someone else 2. God may be showing you a part of your self 3. Do not assume surface interpretation Examples A dream of a spouse being unfaithful should not be a confirmation to suspicion. Rather God may be dealing with your own insecurities and need to establish trust. Disturbing dreams about a boss or pastor is not a reason to distrust these people but may be dealing with your ability to submit to people in authority. Look at the dominant trait of the individual and/or what that person symbolizes to you. How does that person make you feel? God may be using the image of this person to pinpoint a blind spot in your own personality that needs adjustment. 8 P a g e

9 If in a dream a friend tries to dominate or control you, ask yourself, Is this something I do with my friends? Dreaming about a child you know may be revealing areas of immaturity in you. Dreams about a mother, sister, or grandmother might be addressing the soft, tender, gentle and submissive traits. Dreams involving a father, brother, or male figure might be addressing the strong, intellectual, or authoritative traits. A crowd of people may represent your concern with public opinion feelings of peer pressure. At least 95% of your dreams will have personal application! There are two spheres of dreams: 1. Intrinsic dreams deal with heart issues and our relationship (or lack of) with the Lord. Matters of the soul, personal longings, opinions and emotions Genesis 31, Joseph dreams about the sheaves and his brothers bowing down to him. Daniel 2:3, Daniel explains to Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation as well as the purpose of the king s dream. 2. Extrinsic dreams focus on something or someone other than ourselves Examples are people, nations, cities, and churches Only 1-5% of most people s dreams are extrinsic in nature The greater our intimacy with the Lord, the more extrinsic our dreams will be Genesis 41:1-32, Pharaoh dreams about the 7 fat and 7 lean cows-along with the 7 fat and 7 think heads of wheat 9 P a g e

10 House represents you, church or family Mall church, self, or egotism Elevator increasing/decreasing anointing Attic past or history issues, not using ministry gifts Back porch history past Symbols of Buildings in Dreams Basement hidden unseen issues, possibly good or bad Hospital place of healing, patience Foundation primary issues Bathroom place of cleansing Shower may be getting rid of something, if it s clogged may be communication is blocked Farmhouse much to offer, spiritual food Front porch open vision, put on display Kitchen preparing spiritual food Roof spiritual covering Stairs increase/decrease anointing. Portal or enter into what called to do Shack poor or on vacation Office five-fold calling gifts. Usage of office? Castle fortress, authority, vain imagination. Someone guarded and protected from you Pool anointing, church Apartment transition, temporary dwelling 10 P a g e

11 High-rise will be seen whatever done Trailer park, RV s transition, mobile Arena, sports field life (gave of), place to conquer Restaurant prepare, feast, abundance, involving lots of people Barn resources Church personal School train, equip Wood floor foundation Well positive Cistern stale Department store, storage unit resources Garage restoration Cave negative or emergency shelter Greenhouse prospering, lots of fruit Funeral home pruning, bury past issues Nursing home care and compassion Racetrack going in circles, speed but not getting anywhere Jail great restraint, set captives free Burned house Spirit took away and reconstructs Wheelchair need assistance Bedroom rest, intimacy 11 P a g e