Part 3 (1/2)

a The common grounds on which the enemy gains access are: a Unforgiveness a Rebellion a Witchcraft a Generational curses a Wrong confession a Extreme jealousy, envy, and rage a Strongholds a p.o.r.nographic nightmares may indicate a multi-stranded stronghold which manifests and operates as l.u.s.t.

a Spirit-sensitive counseling is suggested for nightmare and p.o.r.nographic dream sufferers.

a G.o.d uses adversity to refine us.

a Dreams may appear weird because G.o.d uses parables to communicate to us.

a Jesus is the best communicator the world has ever known because He employs parables using everyday realities to speak to every person at their level and on their wavelength.

a G.o.d uses metaphors because: a They create a more memorable message.

a They are more readily heard.

a They stimulate reflection and action.

a They readily convey vision.

a They refocus the familiar in a new light.

a They bypa.s.s the heart's self-protective mechanisms.

Endnotes 1. F. Sofo, Human Resource Development (Woodslane, Warriewood, NSW. Australia, 1999).

2. T.L. Brink, ”Metaphor as data in the study of organizations,” Journal of Management Inquiry (1993) 2.4, 366-371.

3. M. Broussine and R. Vince, ”Working with metaphor towards organizational change,” Organizational Development: Metaphoric explorations (London: Pitman Publis.h.i.+ng, 1996).

4. W Bennis, ”The four competencies of leaders.h.i.+p,” Training & Development Journal (1984), 38.8, 14-19.

Chapter Five.

Are All Dreams From G.o.d? (Part 2).

By Adrian Beale.

Because of the nature of some of their dreams, many people think that G.o.d is not the author of all dreams. The authors believe that G.o.d speaks to us through every dream, but is He the author of every dream? Yes and No. The vast majority of our dreams are G.o.d speaking directly to us. However, the Scriptures also seem to indicate that the enemy has an ability to provide visionary experiences, and we ourselves are able to influence what G.o.d reveals through our dreams.

Dreams From the Enemy Consider the enemy for a moment. When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, the devil was able to manifest a vision of the future. The Bible records, ”Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (Luke 4:5).

Note that the devil was able in some way to provide a vision of future kingdoms. Who led Jesus into this situation to be tempted? G.o.da”the Spirita”did (see Luke 4:1). G.o.d was always in control. He knew the enemy's abilities and allowed it. Who auth.o.r.ed the vision? On one level, the devil did, but on a far superior level, G.o.d did because He had foreknowledge of the devil's plan, permitted it, and used it in accordance with His will and purpose. We must always remember that the enemy can only do what G.o.d permits. For this reason, we should not be too quick to ignore or discredit any dream on the grounds that ”It is not from G.o.d.”

Biased Dreams It also appears that G.o.d will reveal the agendas on our hearts through our dreams. This seems to be the essence of G.o.d's communication through Jeremiah, For thus says the Lord of hosts, the G.o.d of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed (Jeremiah 29:8).

It may be that this text does not refer so much to a ”self-generated” dream, but rather that it is potentially explained by another Scripture, Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ”Thus says the Lord G.o.d: *Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the mult.i.tude of his idols'” (Ezekiel 14:4).

This says that if we come to G.o.d with preconceived plans (our idols), then G.o.d will answer us (in this case, in a dream) according to that which is in our hearts. G.o.d causes the dreamer to dream a dream that reveals the idolatry within the heart. In terms of G.o.d's statement to Jeremiah, these are the dreams ”you cause to be dreamed. ”

The dream is a message from G.o.d to show dreamers the states of their hearts and is designed to bring them back to G.o.d. This is why Ezekiel continues to say, ”that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart. . . ” (Ezek. 14:5).

Balaam Balaam went through a similar situation. He was initially told not to go with the messengers of Balak the king of Moab who wanted him to curse Israel (see Num. 22:12). However, when the next envoy came to Balaam with the promise of greater reward, we find G.o.d apparently changing his mind and telling Balaam to go with them (see Num. 22:20). In the morning, as Balaam sets out on his journey to Balak's camp, we find out that G.o.d is angry with Balaam (see Num. 22:22). Why? Balaam was going against the purposes and command of G.o.d by going with Balak's men.

How can that be the case when the Bible records that it was G.o.d who told Balaam to go the second time? ”And G.o.d came to Balaam at night and said to him, *If the men come to call you, rise and go with them. . .' ” (Num. 22:20). G.o.d spoke to Balaam what he wanted to hear. In Balaam's case, it was his greed that allowed his heart to be seduced. Similarly, G.o.d will speak to us in dreams that our hearts ”cause us” to dream because of the idolatry there.

Discrediting G.o.d It is really important that we do not move too quickly to discredit the source and, therefore, the veracity of our dreams. Let me give you a couple of examples. While I was working in a teaching role at a Christian rehabilitation program, one of my students had a dream that he was injecting his own neck with a syringe. Now this was something that he had never done in real life. On similar occasions other Christian teachers had told me that, ”G.o.d would never remind a person of where they've come from.” They would try to further discredit the dream by saying, ”That's sick; that's from the enemy!” But on this occasion, I simply asked the dreamer, ”Are you seeking a quick fix here? For this is the interpretation of your dream.” As I asked this question, you could see the conviction of the Holy Spirit on the person's face as his heart was revealed. That student did not want to fully embrace Christianity, but was undergoing the program with an ulterior motive, and G.o.d revealed the motivation of the heart.

Another example that is not uncommon is when a married man or woman may dream of having s.e.x with someone other than their partner. Don't be too quick to write these dreams off because of the pangs of guilt. This is particularly important if there is no s.e.xual arousal in the dream. (s.e.xual arousal generally indicates a l.u.s.t or temptation issue is involved.) Sure enough, in the natural, this does not sound like a work of G.o.d. However, when we consider that one of the metaphors for s.e.xual intimacy is ”union” with another, and if we understand that kissing may be interpreted as ”embracing” or ”seduction,” we learn not to write off these messages so quickly. So, a man being kissed by a woman in black may be G.o.d saying we are being seduced by death! And we need to consider the name of the person (if that person is known to us) kissing us in the dream. Being kissed by ”Linda,” for example, may say that we are embracing the enemy. Linda means ”one who comes with wisdom,” but its German root lindi means ”serpent” or ”snake-like.” These are serious warnings that we would be wise to heed.

Dreams: The Product of Brain Chemistry or Conditioning?

Some may even believe that dreams are merely the product of brain chemistry or conditioning. If that is the case, how would you explain two people getting exactly the same dream? Honestly, what are the chances? Yet this has been recorded on several occasions, but I will cite only two readily-available and doc.u.mented accounts to confirm my point.

Firstly, in Reinhard Bonnke's book, Even Greater, Reinhard details the story of how he and his brother, Jurgen, had the same dream, though thousands of miles apart and living very different lives. The dream showed Jurgen crossing a suspension bridge and falling into an abyss. After this dream, Jurgen asked G.o.d to confirm that it was indeed a warning from Him by verifying it in some way through his brother. When Reinhard wrote to Jurgen detailing exactly the same dream, the witness of the two dreams led Jurgen to receive Christ as his personal Savior!1 Secondly, in the book, India: One Act of Kindness, by Brendan McCauley, G.o.d gave two sistersa”Bini and Beena Thampya”the same dream of the Second Coming of Christ on the same night to encourage them and their family in their dedication to the Lord's work in India.2 If you want to feed your faith, both of these booksa”which are present-day accounts of the Acts of the Apostlesa”are well worth the investment.

Take Them All Seriously Finally, if we believe that G.o.d is only the author of some dreams, and if we discredit the weird ones as either from the enemy or as figments of our own imagination, we have become like those who rule out unpalatable pa.s.sages of Scripture as uninspired. I like that dream, but I don't like that one. So all the nice dreams are from G.o.d, and all the othersa”corrective and disciplinary onesa”are from the enemy. When we pick and choose which dreams are inspired and which are not, we close ourselves off from the full counsel of G.o.d. The ultimate consequence of this is spiritual insensitivity, leading to an imbalanced and powerless Christian walk.

Rather than ignoring them, we are to realize that dreams are dealing with real heart issues. Consider how much of the problem of our heart's insensitivity or bias is addressed when we begin to see that G.o.d is communicating through all dreams and start to take them all seriously.

Summary: Chapter Five.

a G.o.d speaks through every dream.

a G.o.d, the devil, and our own hearts influence the dreams we dream.

a Beware of idols in your heart because G.o.d will answer you according to your idols.

a G.o.d responded to Balaam's inquiry with what he wanted to hear.

a Go slow in discrediting dreams on the basis of their apparent source.

a Two people having exactly the same dream may answer the question of whether brain chemistry or conditioning are responsible for our dreams.

a Don't pick and choose which dreams are inspired.

a Take all dreams seriously.

Endnotes 1. Reinhard Bonnke, Even Greater (Orlando: Full Flame LLC, 2004).

2. Brendan McCauley, India: One Act of Kindness (Oklahoma City: Tate Publis.h.i.+ng, 2004).

Chapter Six.