WEBVTT

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Let the angels sing the words that brought an

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offering. Peace on earth began in Bethlehem.

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Oh, yeah. was in my early 20s I had a child who

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was about a year old I was not married I was

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living with my girlfriend I was not engaged and

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we slept together in the same bed and we fought

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a lot a lot of issues that kind of thing we were

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working our way through what it means to kind

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of like have two separate incomes and two separate

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ideas of how to spend money and two separate

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sets of debts. My debts were far worse than hers.

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And one morning, I woke up and she was gone.

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She'd gone to work. And I realized at that moment

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that I didn't want to live the rest of my life

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without her. It's on. Trust me. It's not on.

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It says it's on. It's definitely going to sound

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better. Got it now? All right. So I realized

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at that moment when I woke up and she was gone

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that I didn't want to live the rest of my life

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without her. And from that moment on, I purposed

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that I would ask her to marry me. I was pretty

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cowardly back then, and I didn't really know

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what the results were. So I kind of probed it

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and talked about it. She talked about it before,

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about being willing to get married, that kind

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of thing. And as I was writing this message,

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I realize now that I've told that story that

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I just told to you probably a dozen times. I've

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told it a lot of times in marriage Bible study.

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I've told it a lot of times in a private counseling

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session, private discussion about relationships

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and things like that. And I realize now that

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I miss an important part when I tell that story

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because as I was preparing this message, I was

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thinking about dreams. And the message is about

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dreams. We're going to talk about what dreams

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are and what they can be. And I realize now that

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the night that I woke up that day and said, I

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don't ever want to live without her, that right

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before I woke up, I had a dream. Now, all these

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years, I'd forgotten about the dream. I remembered

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the not wanting to be without her, being willing

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to get married, that kind of thing. But I had

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forgotten the dream. And then as I was preparing

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this message, the Lord brought it back to me.

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In my dream that night, I was living my life

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without. my girlfriend who would become my fiance,

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who would become my wife. And I was going about

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my daily life, working, doing various things,

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and she never came into the dream. That's all

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it was. She was just absent from the dream. That

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was it. And when I woke up, I realized that I

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didn't want her absent from my life. What I want

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to say to you is that The dream that took place

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right before I woke up was probably more important

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than the realization that I wanted to have her

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as my wife. In Matthew 2, verse 12, it says,

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And having been warmed by God in a dream not

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to return to Herod, the Magi left for their own

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country by another way. In Matthew 1 .20, an

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angel visits Joseph in his dream and tells him

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that it's okay to go ahead and take Mary as his

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wife. In Matthew 2 .20, He is later warned not

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to take his family and flee because they will

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seek the death of the child. It's not just there.

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It's not just Joseph. It's pretty important that

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it was about Jesus. It's pretty important that

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it was about saving the baby Jesus, about carrying

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out God's plan. Those things are all pretty important.

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But actually, if you look in the Bible, you'll

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find lots of opportunities, lots of times where

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God spoke to people in dreams. There's the dream

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to Abimelech. In Genesis 20, where God warns

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King Abimelech through a dream not to touch Sarah,

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who is Abraham's wife, even though Sarah and

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Abraham lied to him and said that Sarah was Abraham's

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sister, when she was, in fact, his half -sister,

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not by the same parent or set of parents. The

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dream of Abimelech is an example of a dream that

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went to a man who was clearly not a Christian,

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and he had to make a decision to do the right

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thing. There's a dream... To Jacob, we studied

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this on a Tuesday night recently. In Genesis

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28, Jacob is fleeing from his brother Esau. He

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lays down on a rock for a pillow. And as he's

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laying there, he has a dream of a ladder reaching

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to heaven and angels ascending and descending.

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And then after the dream, God reaffirms his covenant

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to Jacob and names him Israel. That's clearly

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a dream to a non -Christian. Joseph, throughout

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history, starts with dreams about his brothers

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represented by... sheaves of wheat all bowing

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down to him. They get mad at him. They sell him

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into slavery, and he becomes the dream interpreter.

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He first interprets dreams for some men who are

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in prison. One, he says, well, you're going to

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go back and serve Pharaoh. The other says, Pharaoh's

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going to take your head. And both of those things

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come true. Later, he's called to interpret Pharaoh's

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dreams, and he interprets those dreams and becomes

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second man in all of Egypt. Through that plan,

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God saves his entire family as they come to Egypt

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and get food to eat when there's a terrible famine

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going on in the land. And they ultimately move

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into the land of Goshen where they will stay

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for over 400 years until long later under a pharaoh

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who doesn't remember all that Joseph did for

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Egypt. They are harshly enslaved and God calls

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his people out of that. The prophet Daniel interprets

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dreams on more than one occasion. And then we

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get into the New Testament and we see the dream

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of the Magi, the dream of Joseph. And let us

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not forget the dream of Pilate's wife when Pilate

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is actually sort of holding Jesus on trial and

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deciding what to do with him, Pilate's wife says,

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don't have anything to do with this righteous

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man. I have suffered much in a dream today because

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of him. And she warns Pilate not to go ahead

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with the crucifixion, and yet they do. And then

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still later in Acts 16, Paul has a, quote, a

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vision at night. He has a vision at night of

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a man in Macedonia pleading for help. We believe

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that it's entirely possible that that man, or

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at least out of that going to that man, comes

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Luke. who then writes the book of Luke and Acts.

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The vision at night led Paul to travel to Europe

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to spread the gospel. So here is my question.

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Might God speak to you in a dream? The answer,

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of course, is yes, because God can do anything

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he wants. All things are possible with God. But

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is it more likely that God will speak to you

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in a dream than that he will not speak to you

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in a dream? God is the same yesterday, today,

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and tomorrow. He has spoken to non -Christians

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and Christians in dreams. So why would he not

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speak to you or to me in a dream? The answer

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is, of course, he would and he could. The question

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is, is there enough room in your dreams for God

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to do so? Is there enough room in your dreams

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for God to speak to you in a dream? The things

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that we focus on all day fill up our dreams.

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We dream about a new job, a different situation,

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a stressful problem that we're having at work,

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etc. Our subconscious mind burns off stress from

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the things that we experience all day long, and

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that's what you encounter as you dream. The things

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that you focus on all day fill up your dreams,

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and our subconscious mind works through them

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and deals with the stress so we can be healthy.

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Now, the truth is you don't remember much of

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what you dream. And if it is resolved in your

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dream, in other words, it has come to completion,

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then when you awake, a lot of times you'll not

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remember it. So if you move past the REM state,

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that's where you have a lot of your dreams, the

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REM state or stage one sleep are the two places

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that we dream. And if you move past the dream

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out of REM state into another stage of sleep,

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then when you awaken, you most likely will not

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remember the dream. There's a lot of people say,

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I don't dream. Let's take a survey. In this room,

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if you would say you don't dream, raise your

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hand. You say, I don't have dreams. I see one.

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One person, two people. You say, I don't have

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dreams. When I'm sleeping, three people, four

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people. Okay. So scientifically speaking, it's

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been pretty much proven that roughly 2 % of people

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don't dream. A lot of people think they don't

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dream, but the reality is they do. but they don't

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remember their dreams when they awake. Dreams

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are a cleansing process of your subconscious

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mind. So you have them, but you complete them.

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If you think you don't dream, 98 % likely you

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are a person who completes their dreams. And

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then it being completed or resolved when you

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awaken, you don't remember it. Which is a problem,

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because if God gave you a message in a dream,

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then odds are when you awaken, you would not

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remember the dream. That's the problem. But it's

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not that you would not have the dream or that

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you're not having the dream, at least most likely.

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Rather, instead, you are dreaming and not remembering

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what you dream. If God spoke to you in a dream,

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could you discern it from the many other things

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that are going on in your head? When you awaken

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in the morning and go, oh, I got to rush. I got

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to do this. I got to do that. I've got my routine.

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I got to make my coffee or get my breakfast or

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jump in the car, drive to work. Oh, am I late?

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I got to check my watch first thing. When you're

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doing all of those things in the morning that

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you do when you first wake up, could you remember

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and discern that there was a message from God?

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I submit to you, for those of you who say you

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never dream, probably not. For those of you who

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say you dream but you hardly ever remember your

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dreams, you know you have in the past, but you

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don't usually remember them. Probably not. If

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you don't remember the dream, how would you possibly

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discern it as a vision from God? Does God speak?

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Well, if you're a Christian, you better be able

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to say yes. If you're sitting here under teaching

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and in his word today, then you know that he

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speaks through his word. That's like the minimum.

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But does he speak to people's hearts? According

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to the Bible, the Holy Spirit will come and he

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will teach us or explain to us all things that

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Jesus laid out for us. So based on that one text

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alone, God speaks to your heart through the Holy

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Spirit. And I submit to you then, that is a thing

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in your life. Notice that even with non -Christians,

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the Holy Spirit would also come and convict all

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men of their sin. So when someone is convicted,

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they are feeling or sensing or hearing something.

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That is a thing in their life. So God is at work

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in people's lives, and he's speaking to us in

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a variety of different ways. And so when you

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go to sleep, your subconscious mind will address

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the fact that throughout that day, you experienced

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gravity, you got cold, you ate, you ate spicy

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food, you had upset stomach or did not. You got

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a job, got a promotion, lost a job, desired to

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have another job, got stressed on your job, argued

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with somebody, didn't argue with somebody. Your

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subconscious mind will process all of that and

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along with it process the fact that God has been

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convicting you of your sin and if you're a believer,

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talking to you in your heart. Does God speak?

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Of course we know God speaks. Does he speak in

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a variety of ways? Yes, he does. Does God care

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about the daily events of our lives? We've seen

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that at least three times and really hammered

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it home on a Tuesday night a little over a month

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ago about how God cares about our right now.

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He cares about what you're going through, what

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you're doing right now. If you're sitting there

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tired today, God cares that while you're sitting

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under the teaching of God's word, you're tired.

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If you're in pain today, God cares that while

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you're sitting under the teaching of God's word,

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you're in pain. If you're understanding what

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I'm saying, he cares that you understand it.

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If you're not understanding, he cares that you're

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not understanding. God cares about your right

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now and the daily events of your lives. And he

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is with us through those things. So if I have

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a remembrance dream, a dream about myself walking

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on the beach, and if I am walking on the beach

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with Sherry, Sherry will be in my dream because

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Sherry is on the beach with me. My ears hear

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her sand crunching underneath her feet. My ears

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hear her breath. I feel her hand. If I'm holding

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her hand or she's holding onto my arm, I hear

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the conversation that we are having. In the same

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way, if you are dreaming, your subconscious is

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going to process your dreams as if God were functioning

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with you throughout the day. Because he is indeed

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with you throughout the day. You feel his presence.

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You hear his voice. You feel his conviction.

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This is what Jesus died for. He didn't just die

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to pay the price for our sins. He died for a

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relationship with us in which we have a presence

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with him and he has a presence with you. He wants

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you with him for an eternity. He began that on

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the cross long before you or I were ever born.

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Then when you were born, he desired from the

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moment you took your first breath to spend time

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with you. And that's what he's doing. His presence

00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.759
is with you. His presence is with you when you're

00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.820
sleeping, when you're dreaming. So the question

00:14:42.820 --> 00:14:46.759
is, how do we... become a people that receives

00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:48.799
the messages of God and delivers them to people.

00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:51.399
That's what a disciple is, right? A disciple

00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:53.539
receives the messages of God through his work,

00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:54.940
through his teaching, etc., and I submit to you

00:14:54.940 --> 00:14:57.519
through dreams, and then delivers those messages

00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:01.559
into the world. You follow? He delivers those

00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:03.700
messages to people. That's what a disciple does.

00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:07.100
In Job, the book of Job, in chapter 33, it says,

00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:09.840
it's actually Elihu, which is my favorite guy,

00:15:09.899 --> 00:15:11.259
because he's the only guy who kind of gets it

00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:15.149
right. He comes and speaks to Job, When he speaks

00:15:15.149 --> 00:15:24.289
to Job, he brings out God's wisdom into Job's

00:15:24.289 --> 00:15:26.149
life. Remember, what was Job's one thing that

00:15:26.149 --> 00:15:28.289
he was doing wrong? Does anybody remember? He's

00:15:28.289 --> 00:15:32.289
only got one thing. What was it? He was alleging

00:15:32.289 --> 00:15:34.769
that God was treating him unfairly or unjustly.

00:15:34.830 --> 00:15:39.129
That was his one thing. And so the bottom line

00:15:39.129 --> 00:15:42.190
is, Elihu's getting it right, and Elihu then

00:15:42.190 --> 00:15:45.269
says this, Indeed, God speaks once or twice,

00:15:45.330 --> 00:15:49.029
yet no one notices it. In a dream, a vision of

00:15:49.029 --> 00:15:52.710
the night, when sound sleep falls on men while

00:15:52.710 --> 00:15:55.470
they slumber in their beds, then he opens the

00:15:55.470 --> 00:15:58.330
ears of men and seals their instruction, that

00:15:58.330 --> 00:16:00.909
he may turn man aside from his conduct and keep

00:16:00.909 --> 00:16:03.269
man from his pride. He keeps back his soul from

00:16:03.269 --> 00:16:05.750
the pit and his life from passing over into Sheol,

00:16:05.909 --> 00:16:07.809
which is representative of hell. You follow?

00:16:08.289 --> 00:16:11.210
So what did he just say? He said, indeed, God

00:16:11.210 --> 00:16:14.210
speaks. To those who are not hearing God, God

00:16:14.210 --> 00:16:17.409
is speaking for sure. To lost people who do not

00:16:17.409 --> 00:16:19.389
hear the voice of God, God is nonetheless still

00:16:19.389 --> 00:16:22.769
speaking. Indeed, God speaks once or twice, yet

00:16:22.769 --> 00:16:26.549
no one notices. In a dream, a vision of the night

00:16:26.549 --> 00:16:30.730
when sound sleep falls on men while they slumber

00:16:30.730 --> 00:16:32.529
in their beds. What did he just say? As he's

00:16:32.529 --> 00:16:34.970
representing God to Job, he's saying that it

00:16:34.970 --> 00:16:36.980
doesn't have to be a mystery. What God has to

00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:39.460
say doesn't have to be a mystery. Instead, people

00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:41.960
need to learn to listen to their dreams. Because

00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:45.679
in that, God is speaking. God is speaking through

00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:49.419
dreams, the word says. In Acts chapter 2, Peter

00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:51.320
is preaching at Pentecost. Do you know this story

00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:53.940
at all? So they were kind of speaking what everybody

00:16:53.940 --> 00:16:55.639
thought to be gibberish. And then all of a sudden,

00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:57.700
everybody could understand their language. And

00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:00.100
so whatever language they spoke, they could understand

00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:01.440
what they were saying. And Peter gets up and

00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:04.160
he speaks. It's in Acts chapter 2. And he quotes

00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:08.029
some very famous verses. From Joel chapter 2.

00:17:08.109 --> 00:17:10.390
Easy enough to remember. Acts chapter 2, Joel

00:17:10.390 --> 00:17:13.130
chapter 2, right? And this is what it says in

00:17:13.130 --> 00:17:15.869
the book of Joel. It will come about after this.

00:17:16.069 --> 00:17:18.960
Pin that. It will come about after this. that

00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:22.000
I will pour out my spirit on all mankind, and

00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.640
your sons and daughters will prophecy. Your old

00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:26.960
men will dream dreams. Your young men will see

00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:29.400
visions. Even on the male and female servants,

00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:32.420
I will pour out my spirit in those days. I will

00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:34.420
display wonders in the sky and on the earth,

00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:37.220
blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will

00:17:37.220 --> 00:17:39.279
be turned into darkness and the moon into blood

00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:41.619
before the great and awesome day of the Lord

00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:45.259
comes. And it will come about that whoever calls

00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:48.539
on the name of the Lord will be delivered. For

00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:51.000
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be

00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.700
those who escape, as the Lord has said, even

00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:57.019
among the survivors whom the Lord calls. So first

00:17:57.019 --> 00:17:58.799
of all, before we go back to the beginning, it

00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.220
says, And it will come about that whoever calls

00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:04.480
on the name of the Lord will be delivered. And

00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:07.039
I submit to you that that is in response to what?

00:18:07.140 --> 00:18:09.240
In the verses that I just read to you, that I

00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:11.529
just quoted, it is in response to what? It is

00:18:11.529 --> 00:18:13.789
in response to this, that I will pour out my

00:18:13.789 --> 00:18:16.029
Spirit on all mankind, and your sons and daughters

00:18:16.029 --> 00:18:17.690
will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams,

00:18:17.869 --> 00:18:20.029
your young men will see visions. Even on male

00:18:20.029 --> 00:18:21.769
and female servants, I will pour out my Spirit

00:18:21.769 --> 00:18:24.549
in those days. He will display wonders. And then

00:18:24.549 --> 00:18:26.329
it says, and it will come about that whoever

00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:29.009
calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered.

00:18:29.250 --> 00:18:31.190
So the end of it is, people will be delivered.

00:18:31.390 --> 00:18:34.349
Is that not what we desire? And when will people

00:18:34.349 --> 00:18:37.910
be delivered? In response to people receiving

00:18:37.910 --> 00:18:41.319
God's Holy Spirit and... receiving the dreams

00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:44.299
and the visions and God pouring out his spirit.

00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:46.759
That's when people will be delivered as they

00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:48.680
cry out to the Lord. And it will come about that

00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:51.000
whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be

00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:53.940
delivered. So when will all of this happen? Verse

00:18:53.940 --> 00:18:58.039
28 says, and it will come about after this. So

00:18:58.039 --> 00:18:59.720
there's something right before verse 28 that

00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:03.119
tells us what it is. And then verse 28 comes.

00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:05.599
So Joel was saying this will happen and this

00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:07.859
is when it will happen. This is how we can get

00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:11.200
there. And Joel 2, verse 11 begins like this.

00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:34.180
It says, In other words, rather than grieving

00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:35.960
or mourning over the bad things you've done,

00:19:36.910 --> 00:19:39.130
Correct your heart. Set your heart upon God's

00:19:39.130 --> 00:19:42.349
way. Now return to the Lord your God, for he

00:19:42.349 --> 00:19:45.009
is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger,

00:19:45.190 --> 00:19:47.890
abounding in loving kindness and relenting of

00:19:47.890 --> 00:19:50.910
evil. And then to 15, it says, blow a trumpet

00:19:50.910 --> 00:19:53.970
in Zion. Consecrate a fast. A fast is when you

00:19:53.970 --> 00:19:55.670
go without something for self -discipline or

00:19:55.670 --> 00:19:58.210
to direct yourself to the right place or to entreat

00:19:58.210 --> 00:20:01.769
God. Consecrate a fast. Proclaim a solemn assembly.

00:20:02.009 --> 00:20:04.150
That's when we come together to worship God and

00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:08.059
we take it seriously. Gather the people, sanctify

00:20:08.059 --> 00:20:10.359
the congregation. That means to make holy, that

00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:13.279
we do the right things. Assemble the elders,

00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:16.059
gather the children and the nursing infants.

00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:19.019
Let the bridegroom come out of his room and the

00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:21.920
bride out of her bridal chamber. Let the priests,

00:20:21.980 --> 00:20:24.980
the Lord's ministers, weep between the porch

00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:28.380
and the altar. And let them say, spare your people,

00:20:28.460 --> 00:20:31.319
O Lord, and do not make your inheritance a reproach,

00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:34.710
a byword among the nation. Why should they among

00:20:34.710 --> 00:20:37.109
the people say, where is their God? In other

00:20:37.109 --> 00:20:39.509
words, why should the world look at us and say,

00:20:39.589 --> 00:20:41.990
where is the God of the Christians? And the answer

00:20:41.990 --> 00:20:44.769
is they should not. Then the Lord will be zealous

00:20:44.769 --> 00:20:47.670
for his land and will have pity on his people.

00:20:47.769 --> 00:20:49.970
The Lord will answer and say to his people, behold,

00:20:50.410 --> 00:20:53.390
I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil,

00:20:53.650 --> 00:20:55.990
and you will be satisfied in full with them.

00:20:56.089 --> 00:20:58.589
And I will never again make you a reproach among

00:20:58.589 --> 00:21:02.130
the nations. And after all of that, what did

00:21:02.130 --> 00:21:04.769
they do? What did God's people do? They came

00:21:04.769 --> 00:21:06.829
together in a solemn assembly. They recognized

00:21:06.829 --> 00:21:10.369
that following God is serious. This is big business.

00:21:10.490 --> 00:21:13.309
This is more than money, more than sorrow, more

00:21:13.309 --> 00:21:15.529
than pain, more than hurt, more than lostness,

00:21:15.609 --> 00:21:17.789
more than all the world's struggles or everything

00:21:17.789 --> 00:21:19.670
that you're facing. The most important thing

00:21:19.670 --> 00:21:23.289
is turning to God. And when we make turning to

00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:25.190
God the most important thing, more important

00:21:25.190 --> 00:21:26.630
than your entertainment, more important than

00:21:26.630 --> 00:21:27.950
your money, more important than your relationships,

00:21:28.029 --> 00:21:30.329
and it's really turning to God and we do that.

00:21:30.670 --> 00:21:34.670
Then, verse 28 says, then it will come about

00:21:34.670 --> 00:21:37.190
after this that I will pour out my spirit on

00:21:37.190 --> 00:21:40.869
all mankind. So you want to hear from your dreams?

00:21:41.789 --> 00:21:45.769
Repent and take God seriously. You want to hear

00:21:45.769 --> 00:21:49.970
from God daily all day long? Then focus on God

00:21:49.970 --> 00:21:55.250
daily all day long. There are false dreams. That's

00:21:55.250 --> 00:21:59.619
a real thing. Jeremiah 29. 8 and 9, it says,

00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:01.880
for thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,

00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:04.440
do not let your prophets who are in your midst

00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:07.400
and your diviners deceive you and do not listen

00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:10.059
to the dreams which they dream for they prophecy

00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:13.240
falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them,

00:22:13.259 --> 00:22:15.279
declares the Lord. Now that's interesting, isn't

00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.680
it? Can you imagine that this is where we actually

00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:20.900
live? This is the place at which we actually

00:22:20.900 --> 00:22:24.259
live. The God of heaven who is with us and in

00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:27.809
us and speaks to us on a daily basis. and speaks

00:22:27.809 --> 00:22:31.430
to us in our dreams, we don't convey his message.

00:22:31.750 --> 00:22:33.730
We don't tell others what they need to know.

00:22:34.210 --> 00:22:36.630
We surely don't about our dreams because we're

00:22:36.630 --> 00:22:38.609
not paying good attention and taking the steps

00:22:38.609 --> 00:22:40.470
that we're going to talk about today on how to

00:22:40.470 --> 00:22:42.490
hear from God in our dreams. So at the very least,

00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:44.869
we're missing the communications of God in our

00:22:44.869 --> 00:22:47.130
dreams, but then we're also missing the communications

00:22:47.130 --> 00:22:49.450
of the pastor. And I'm not judging anyone or

00:22:49.450 --> 00:22:50.849
whatever, but the pastor stands up and preaches,

00:22:50.890 --> 00:22:52.509
and this is the word of God. And how many of

00:22:52.509 --> 00:22:55.150
you take the lightning point? And throughout

00:22:55.150 --> 00:22:57.130
the week, share it with your family and your

00:22:57.130 --> 00:22:58.769
friends or whatever who are in different churches

00:22:58.769 --> 00:23:00.630
or don't go to church at all. How many of you

00:23:00.630 --> 00:23:02.309
put it on your Facebook page or your Instagram?

00:23:02.529 --> 00:23:04.230
Now, we've got pictures of people standing in

00:23:04.230 --> 00:23:06.670
the mirror because they're cute, but nothing

00:23:06.670 --> 00:23:08.869
about God's word. I know, because I've been on

00:23:08.869 --> 00:23:11.670
there. I see what we post. So the question is,

00:23:11.710 --> 00:23:13.509
why do we not take the message of God and deliver

00:23:13.509 --> 00:23:15.369
them? And here's the amazing thing. This is what

00:23:15.369 --> 00:23:17.349
this verse tells us that's truly amazing, is

00:23:17.349 --> 00:23:20.890
that the lost people who do not know God will

00:23:20.890 --> 00:23:23.529
convey the message that they say are from God.

00:23:24.039 --> 00:23:26.680
And as believers in God, walking with God in

00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:28.519
the presence of God, we need to know enough not

00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:30.900
to listen to what they say. In fact, to refute

00:23:30.900 --> 00:23:33.500
it because they are not sent of God. So you've

00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:35.460
got lost people out there that are winning thousands

00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:37.700
of sheep and seating 10 ,000 people in their

00:23:37.700 --> 00:23:40.460
quote unquote church building this Sunday. And

00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:42.660
you've got people who truly follow the Lord and

00:23:42.660 --> 00:23:44.119
have the Holy Spirit and teaching the word of

00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:46.779
God. And the people that are sitting in the 10

00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:48.740
,000 people churches, they will not hear it.

00:23:48.819 --> 00:23:50.680
Not only would they not hear it because they

00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:53.279
are sold out on their guy. But on top of that.

00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:55.079
They won't hear it because the people who are

00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:57.220
truly hearing from the Lord aren't delivering

00:23:57.220 --> 00:24:02.299
it. And we're supposed to not hear it from those

00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:04.819
who are of the world, but rather hear it from

00:24:04.819 --> 00:24:07.680
the Lord and then deliver it. If God did not

00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.779
send them, they came as an enemy. This is especially

00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:13.079
true because they were claiming to come from

00:24:13.079 --> 00:24:16.279
God. Now I ask you again, is there room in your

00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:20.740
dreams for God to speak to you? These are the

00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:22.819
conclusions. If you go through the Bible, and

00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:24.759
this is what's called a topical sermon at this

00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:26.380
point, if you go through the Bible and you kind

00:24:26.380 --> 00:24:28.140
of wrap it all together, these are the conclusions

00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:31.200
that we come up with. When God's Spirit is present

00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:34.859
among people, they dream. Dreams that mean more

00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:37.880
than just cleansing of the subconscious mind.

00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:42.000
Sleep, then, for us, becomes like going to class

00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:45.279
or going to worship, going to Bible study. You

00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:47.720
have a responsibility when you lay down to sleep

00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:50.650
to be prepared. The next time you're nodding

00:24:50.650 --> 00:24:53.190
off, I want you to hear my voice saying to you,

00:24:53.210 --> 00:24:56.450
the phone is ringing. The next time you're drowsy

00:24:56.450 --> 00:24:58.710
and you start to go to sleep, I want you to hear

00:24:58.710 --> 00:25:02.970
the phone is ringing. God is calling. All day

00:25:02.970 --> 00:25:05.230
long, every day, God is with you. But we get

00:25:05.230 --> 00:25:07.690
this idea that we go to, I'm tired now. I'm going

00:25:07.690 --> 00:25:09.670
to push it as late as I can or I'm going to do

00:25:09.670 --> 00:25:11.829
the things I have to. I'm so fatigued. I'm so

00:25:11.829 --> 00:25:14.009
tired. And I go out like a light and I don't

00:25:14.009 --> 00:25:15.609
remember a thing and I wake up 8 to 10 hours

00:25:15.609 --> 00:25:18.829
later. That is not how you are supposed to sleep.

00:25:19.210 --> 00:25:21.650
You need to prepare yourself so that when you

00:25:21.650 --> 00:25:24.250
go to sleep, you realize you are about to block

00:25:24.250 --> 00:25:27.549
out eight hours of time to rest your physical

00:25:27.549 --> 00:25:30.809
body. But your soul doesn't need rest. While

00:25:30.809 --> 00:25:33.250
you are sleeping, your soul, it doesn't have

00:25:33.250 --> 00:25:36.029
muscles to regenerate or cells to cleanse so

00:25:36.029 --> 00:25:38.490
those cells can put out their feces and it goes

00:25:38.490 --> 00:25:39.789
into your blood, which goes into your kidneys,

00:25:39.890 --> 00:25:41.549
which in the morning when you get up, you've

00:25:41.549 --> 00:25:44.450
got to go pee. Your body needs that. Your soul

00:25:44.450 --> 00:25:47.599
communes with God while you're sleeping. And

00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:50.339
if you go to sleep so sleeping that you're going

00:25:50.339 --> 00:25:52.599
to sleep so deeply that you're not going to be

00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:54.660
able to remember anything when you wake up, then

00:25:54.660 --> 00:25:57.180
you have a problem. You need to go to sleep prepared,

00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:58.779
just like you're supposed to come to worship

00:25:58.779 --> 00:26:01.380
prepared. Did you pray before you came in? Did

00:26:01.380 --> 00:26:03.559
you study your Bible yesterday? Did you think

00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:05.079
about what God's doing in your life and how it

00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:07.000
might relate to this? Did you have a bizarre

00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:09.380
dream this week and go, hey, I wonder what that

00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:11.279
means? And now Pastor Dan's preaching on dreaming.

00:26:11.460 --> 00:26:14.960
Or you may tonight. If you go to sleep the way

00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:16.750
you normally come to worship, you're going to

00:26:16.750 --> 00:26:19.049
be unprepared because most Christians come to

00:26:19.049 --> 00:26:21.809
worship unprepared. We come into the presence

00:26:21.809 --> 00:26:25.190
of a holy God in worship or with the body, and

00:26:25.190 --> 00:26:27.930
instead, we're not ready. We're not excited.

00:26:28.130 --> 00:26:31.289
We're not expecting. And that's the next thing.

00:26:31.849 --> 00:26:34.250
We come prepared into the presence of the Lord.

00:26:34.269 --> 00:26:36.690
We come expecting. You should go to sleep expecting

00:26:36.690 --> 00:26:39.069
that God may deliver a message to you while you're

00:26:39.069 --> 00:26:41.349
sleeping. And your subconscious mind will go,

00:26:41.450 --> 00:26:43.170
hey, something might happen while I'm sleeping.

00:26:43.390 --> 00:26:46.339
And it stays awake. So here's the problem. Your

00:26:46.339 --> 00:26:49.380
subconscious mind essentially only has short

00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:52.720
-term memory capability. So you remember it maybe

00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:56.859
when you first wake up. Maybe. But it lasts for

00:26:56.859 --> 00:27:01.079
about 30 seconds. Now, if you can take a thing

00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:03.380
and ingrain it in your subconscious mind, it

00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:06.160
becomes like programming. If your subconscious

00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:08.799
mind will attach to something, it becomes part

00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:10.700
of essentially who you are, at least in your

00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:13.660
thought processes. For example... When you sit

00:27:13.660 --> 00:27:15.259
down on your couch and have nothing else to do,

00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:17.339
do you look for the remote? Why do you do that?

00:27:17.400 --> 00:27:18.799
Why do we sit down on the couch and if there's

00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:20.519
nothing else going on, we're not busy? First

00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:22.039
thing we do is look for where the remote is or

00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:24.099
reach for the remote. Why do you do that? Because

00:27:24.099 --> 00:27:26.440
it's become ingrained in your subconscious to

00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:28.220
do that. It's a muscle memory. When you step

00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:31.160
up to back, do you tip on your toe? They call

00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:33.420
it testing the water in preparation to swing.

00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:35.559
Why do you do that every time? Because somewhere

00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:37.940
along the line, you learn to do that and it became

00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:40.460
ingrained. And it's not just muscle memory. It's

00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:42.359
in your subconscious. And so you do it. And now

00:27:42.359 --> 00:27:44.220
you do it without even thinking. And you need

00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:46.519
to come to the point where you go to sleep prepared

00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:49.539
and expecting without having to go out of your

00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:51.299
way. But until you do that, you need to start

00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:53.059
going out of your way. You have to start preparing.

00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:55.480
So I do Bible study first thing every morning

00:27:55.480 --> 00:27:57.579
when I get up. Praise the Lord. God convicted

00:27:57.579 --> 00:28:00.160
me of that. I started doing that. And for 25

00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:02.400
years, I was a Christian and I didn't do it.

00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:05.079
And then I started doing it. And now it's becoming

00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:08.079
a habit. Praise the Lord. Right. I want it to

00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:09.500
be a habit. And I'm not saying you have to do

00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:12.740
that, but it is a way of saying, OK, Lord, we're

00:28:12.740 --> 00:28:14.839
in community here. We're talking you and I together.

00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:17.599
What do you got to say? And now sometimes I reach

00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:19.279
for my Bible and I'm thinking about my dream.

00:28:19.299 --> 00:28:21.380
And amazingly enough, because I don't do any

00:28:21.380 --> 00:28:23.539
certain Bible study, I go anywhere in the Bible

00:28:23.539 --> 00:28:26.380
and that verse will relate to something I dreamed

00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:28.680
about. You think God did that? Is God speaking?

00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:31.180
Yes. You need to be prepared. What about when

00:28:31.180 --> 00:28:33.059
you go to sleep? Who reads their Bible? The last

00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:34.970
thing before they go to sleep. reading is one

00:28:34.970 --> 00:28:36.329
of the best things you can do the last thing

00:28:36.329 --> 00:28:37.809
before you go to sleep because it relaxes your

00:28:37.809 --> 00:28:40.869
whole body right so you read and then what if

00:28:40.869 --> 00:28:42.690
you read your bible people say well read my bible

00:28:42.690 --> 00:28:43.930
it probably will put me to sleep because i'll

00:28:43.930 --> 00:28:46.089
be reading things i already know yeah and then

00:28:46.089 --> 00:28:48.190
you go to sleep and your conscious and subconscious

00:28:48.190 --> 00:28:50.130
mind your consciousness is drifting off and your

00:28:50.130 --> 00:28:52.329
subconscious mind latches on to what you just

00:28:52.329 --> 00:28:54.849
read you understand that in this way you could

00:28:54.849 --> 00:28:58.490
literally ask god god questions while you're

00:28:58.490 --> 00:29:00.970
sleeping you could be laying down at night going

00:29:00.970 --> 00:29:04.579
lord you know have you ever uh Have you ever

00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:06.259
told me exactly what to do with this problem

00:29:06.259 --> 00:29:08.279
that I'm facing? And you're praying as you're

00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:09.579
going down to sleep and you're reading your Bible

00:29:09.579 --> 00:29:12.400
and it says Jeremiah 29. Oh, I know the plans

00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:16.359
I have for you. And you go to sleep and you dream

00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:20.440
about the plans that God has for you. And you

00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:23.180
wake up in the morning and then you enact a process

00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:25.359
where you discern what was God saying? What am

00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:27.019
I supposed to do about it? What does it matter?

00:29:27.420 --> 00:29:29.859
But we're not preparing to go to sleep. We're

00:29:29.859 --> 00:29:32.609
not coming expecting. And we're not engaging

00:29:32.609 --> 00:29:35.509
the material that God gives us. For those of

00:29:35.509 --> 00:29:36.910
you who think you're having dreams and God's

00:29:36.910 --> 00:29:38.190
trying to communicate to you, you should be taking

00:29:38.190 --> 00:29:40.130
notes. First thing when you wake up. Why? Because

00:29:40.130 --> 00:29:41.809
your subconscious mind will only leave it for

00:29:41.809 --> 00:29:44.069
a very short time. A number of times I've woke

00:29:44.069 --> 00:29:45.750
up in the morning, had a dream, a new God communicated

00:29:45.750 --> 00:29:47.900
to me in the dream. At least a half dozen times

00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:49.500
this has happened to me. And I didn't take any

00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:52.799
notes. And I lay there. And I repeated an outline

00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:55.619
of the dream over and over and over in my head

00:29:55.619 --> 00:29:58.599
like 10 or 20 times. Memorizing the dream. Like,

00:29:58.619 --> 00:29:59.920
I don't want to forget this dream. I don't have

00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:01.059
anything to write it down. But I don't want to

00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:02.339
forget this. I don't want to forget this dream.

00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:04.380
And I went, this happened. And this happened.

00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:06.200
And this happened. And this was yellow in the

00:30:06.200 --> 00:30:07.480
dream. And this happened. And this happened.

00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:10.619
And I went over and over in my mind 10, 12, 15

00:30:10.619 --> 00:30:12.779
times. And I'm not going to forget it. And by

00:30:12.779 --> 00:30:16.119
lunchtime, it was gone. Couldn't remember it.

00:30:16.569 --> 00:30:18.150
That's happened at least a half dozen times.

00:30:18.430 --> 00:30:20.470
Because the battlefield is in your subconscious

00:30:20.470 --> 00:30:22.970
mind while you're sleeping. And when you awaken,

00:30:23.170 --> 00:30:24.670
you can tell yourself you're not going to forget

00:30:24.670 --> 00:30:26.829
it, but you know better, you're going to forget

00:30:26.829 --> 00:30:29.789
it. So take notes. What about the sermon? God

00:30:29.789 --> 00:30:32.009
might speak to you sometime in this half an hour,

00:30:32.089 --> 00:30:34.069
something seriously important that you need to

00:30:34.069 --> 00:30:35.569
realize that the Holy Spirit might convict you

00:30:35.569 --> 00:30:37.609
of something you're not doing. Or author in you

00:30:37.609 --> 00:30:39.369
something new to do that you've never thought

00:30:39.369 --> 00:30:41.569
of doing before. Just as when I was preparing

00:30:41.569 --> 00:30:43.940
this message, I remembered that dream. That for

00:30:43.940 --> 00:30:46.440
25 years, I've recounted that story over and

00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:48.839
over again. And I had forgotten that it was a

00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:51.099
dream that precipitated those emotions. I thought

00:30:51.099 --> 00:30:52.779
it was I just woke up and she wasn't there. But

00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:55.400
in reality, it was the dream when I dreamt my

00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:58.039
normal life. She had gotten up and gone to work

00:30:58.039 --> 00:31:00.779
before me a number of times previously. So I

00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:03.579
woke up, let's say, 50 times and she wasn't there.

00:31:03.779 --> 00:31:06.180
But on the 51st time, just magically, for some

00:31:06.180 --> 00:31:08.220
reason, it really bothered me that she wasn't

00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:11.960
there. No, it was the dream. The dream caused

00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:13.720
me to realize I did not want to live my life

00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:17.099
without her and started me on the path that I

00:31:17.099 --> 00:31:19.700
needed to be on. You've got to engage the material.

00:31:20.119 --> 00:31:22.099
Take notes if you're having dreams you think

00:31:22.099 --> 00:31:24.700
might be from God. Dictate them if you can't

00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:27.140
write. By the way, I found that I have a hard

00:31:27.140 --> 00:31:29.440
time writing them down fast enough. And so I'll

00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:31.359
use voice -to -text or voice -to -audio on my

00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:34.960
phone or voice -to -email. You can do it in Google

00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:37.559
Drive. You can do it in a document. You can do

00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:40.390
it anywhere. And just push the button. And it

00:31:40.390 --> 00:31:41.990
listens to your voice, and you start talking.

00:31:42.029 --> 00:31:43.470
Just make sure it doesn't turn off while you're

00:31:43.470 --> 00:31:45.750
talking. You can talk the whole dream out into

00:31:45.750 --> 00:31:48.170
an electronic device, and then it'll be wrong.

00:31:48.190 --> 00:31:49.509
There'll be little bits of things that are wrong,

00:31:49.529 --> 00:31:51.509
but you won't forget. You'll be able to fix those

00:31:51.509 --> 00:31:53.289
little things because you've got it all in there.

00:31:53.569 --> 00:31:55.849
You can have a micro... cassette recorder next

00:31:55.849 --> 00:31:58.589
to your bed. Turn it on and talk. What happened

00:31:58.589 --> 00:32:00.910
in your dream? Whatever. You won't be able to

00:32:00.910 --> 00:32:02.509
determine whether or not the dream is from God

00:32:02.509 --> 00:32:03.910
or whether it says something to you unless you

00:32:03.910 --> 00:32:05.529
can remember it. You have to start by remembering

00:32:05.529 --> 00:32:07.730
it. Take notes. The sermon is the same way. Bible

00:32:07.730 --> 00:32:09.990
study is the same way. You need to take notes.

00:32:10.349 --> 00:32:12.529
Dictate. And then you need to prayerfully consider

00:32:12.529 --> 00:32:14.230
what it was you looked at because it could be

00:32:14.230 --> 00:32:15.829
a vision from the enemy rather than a vision

00:32:15.829 --> 00:32:18.220
from God. You've got to figure that out. or your

00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:20.019
flesh will want to interpret it a certain way.

00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:21.400
You know how many times I've had a dream, I woke

00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:23.500
up in the morning and I went, oh, God's giving

00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:25.500
me a pat on the back, I'm doing right. And then

00:32:25.500 --> 00:32:27.259
I got to thinking about it, but wait a minute,

00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:29.940
because actually, in my dream I was doing this,

00:32:29.980 --> 00:32:33.079
but in real life that's not what I do. Oh, God's

00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:35.519
telling me, and that is what's biblical. God's

00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:37.059
pointing out to me that I'm not doing what I

00:32:37.059 --> 00:32:38.640
should be doing, so now I've got to go, okay,

00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:41.680
I've got to repent and turn to God. More often

00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:43.319
than not, if God's showing you how you're supposed

00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:44.839
to behave, probably then it's something you're

00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:47.130
not doing. Because we're not perfect. We don't

00:32:47.130 --> 00:32:49.549
get it right. God can teach us. But we're right

00:32:49.549 --> 00:32:52.190
now dismissing, as we're living, we're dismissing

00:32:52.190 --> 00:32:55.369
33 % of the teaching time. Because you sleep

00:32:55.369 --> 00:32:57.309
about eight hours a day on average. Let's say

00:32:57.309 --> 00:32:59.690
you only sleep six or four. If you slept four,

00:32:59.769 --> 00:33:02.069
you're dismissing 17 % of the sleeping time.

00:33:02.690 --> 00:33:05.430
And the sleeping time is part of your life. 17

00:33:05.430 --> 00:33:07.450
% of your life is if it's only four hours and

00:33:07.450 --> 00:33:10.049
you're not preparing to hear from God. So for

00:33:10.049 --> 00:33:11.430
that four hours, you're just sleeping. That's

00:33:11.430 --> 00:33:14.230
it. I don't listen to God. No, that is not what

00:33:14.230 --> 00:33:16.210
we're supposed to do. God is speaking all the

00:33:16.210 --> 00:33:18.529
time during that time. Take notes, dictate it

00:33:18.529 --> 00:33:20.269
to yourself, prayerfully consider everything

00:33:20.269 --> 00:33:22.109
that might be in there that God is saying, and

00:33:22.109 --> 00:33:24.329
if it's maybe not from God, or are you understanding

00:33:24.329 --> 00:33:27.650
it? And then seek wise counsel. I had a dream.

00:33:27.750 --> 00:33:30.029
I think this is what it meant. Do you think that's

00:33:30.029 --> 00:33:31.750
what it meant? Or I had a dream. What do you

00:33:31.750 --> 00:33:33.730
think that means? All the time in the Bible,

00:33:33.769 --> 00:33:36.750
that's what they do almost every time. They say,

00:33:36.890 --> 00:33:39.690
what am I supposed to do about this? And then

00:33:39.690 --> 00:33:42.190
they figure out what to do and they do it. Document

00:33:42.190 --> 00:33:46.109
whatever you can to secure retention. God is

00:33:46.109 --> 00:33:48.950
speaking to you in your dreams. I didn't say

00:33:48.950 --> 00:33:51.170
it. Elihu said it. And he got everything else

00:33:51.170 --> 00:33:52.569
right, he said. And I believe he got that right

00:33:52.569 --> 00:33:56.509
too. Also, discern with prayer, scripture, and

00:33:56.509 --> 00:33:59.990
counsel what your regenerated heart already knows

00:33:59.990 --> 00:34:02.690
of God. You've already been learning something.

00:34:02.950 --> 00:34:05.029
God's already been speaking to you. He's already

00:34:05.029 --> 00:34:08.050
set you on a path. Yesterday he said. Yesterday

00:34:08.050 --> 00:34:10.909
he did. Yesterday I saw. Now I go to sleep and

00:34:10.909 --> 00:34:12.449
I'm dreaming and I'm thinking about this. And

00:34:12.449 --> 00:34:14.409
it might be that your dream actually becomes

00:34:14.409 --> 00:34:16.690
your interpretation of an event that you saw

00:34:16.690 --> 00:34:19.130
in your life if you'll be responsible with your

00:34:19.130 --> 00:34:22.449
regenerated heart. And don't trivialize or seek

00:34:22.449 --> 00:34:25.210
to escape the implications for yourself. In other

00:34:25.210 --> 00:34:28.309
words, no big deal, just a dream. Listen to me.

00:34:28.869 --> 00:34:32.329
You have never in your life, not once ever, had

00:34:32.329 --> 00:34:36.230
a dream that you should have said, I'm just going

00:34:36.230 --> 00:34:40.300
to forget it. It's worthless. Ever. It's either

00:34:40.300 --> 00:34:43.960
a message from God, a message from an enemy,

00:34:44.119 --> 00:34:46.199
and we know what we do with those. You still

00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:47.780
learn from messages from the enemy. You just

00:34:47.780 --> 00:34:51.539
learn the other way, right? Or it's you, your

00:34:51.539 --> 00:34:54.539
flesh, or something in your life that's affecting

00:34:54.539 --> 00:34:57.380
your dreams. That last one is probably the worst

00:34:57.380 --> 00:34:59.440
thing. Those things we just write off. We're

00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:01.059
like, that's okay. It's fine. No big deal. I

00:35:01.059 --> 00:35:02.239
dreamt about playing a video game. I do that

00:35:02.239 --> 00:35:03.860
all the time. If you're dreaming about playing

00:35:03.860 --> 00:35:06.420
video games, you should stop playing video games.

00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:09.300
Because you are blocking out God's ability to

00:35:09.300 --> 00:35:12.219
speak with you by filling your subconscious with

00:35:12.219 --> 00:35:14.519
playing video games. Unless, of course, your

00:35:14.519 --> 00:35:16.239
dream was you're playing video games and God's

00:35:16.239 --> 00:35:18.539
speaking to you while you're playing video games

00:35:18.539 --> 00:35:20.039
or you're seeing something in the video game

00:35:20.039 --> 00:35:21.079
that's speaking to your heart or whatever and

00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:23.539
God's using that. But if you're regularly dreaming

00:35:23.539 --> 00:35:26.880
about anything in your life, boys, girls, sex,

00:35:27.019 --> 00:35:29.119
movies, anything like that, if you're regularly

00:35:29.119 --> 00:35:30.639
dreaming about something and it's filling your

00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:32.599
mind, then you have to ask yourself, can God

00:35:32.599 --> 00:35:34.840
use that to speak to me? And if not, I need to

00:35:34.840 --> 00:35:37.130
repent of that thing. And get to dreaming about

00:35:37.130 --> 00:35:39.170
what God wants me to dream about. Get to listening

00:35:39.170 --> 00:35:42.530
to God. We're cleansing our minds so much because

00:35:42.530 --> 00:35:44.650
we're filling our minds so much with stuff that

00:35:44.650 --> 00:35:46.789
doesn't need to be there. We should be open to

00:35:46.789 --> 00:35:48.949
hearing what it is that God has us to hear and

00:35:48.949 --> 00:35:52.440
not trivialize any dream ever. or seek to escape

00:35:52.440 --> 00:35:54.880
the implications of a dream. In my dream, I did

00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:57.179
something. I would never do that. If in your

00:35:57.179 --> 00:35:58.719
dream you did something and you would never do

00:35:58.719 --> 00:36:00.000
it, then there's a couple of immediate questions.

00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:02.840
One is, would I actually ever do that? Are there

00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:05.739
any circumstances? I'm appalled at my actions

00:36:05.739 --> 00:36:08.000
in my dream. Would I ever actually do that? When

00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:09.940
I was young, married, first five years, whatever,

00:36:10.039 --> 00:36:11.739
I used to dream about being with other women.

00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:14.780
I was unsaved. After I got saved, I realized

00:36:14.780 --> 00:36:16.980
that's an inappropriate dream. Why am I having

00:36:16.980 --> 00:36:19.840
that dream? And I repented. Remember, that's

00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:21.710
how we got where we are. How do you get to the

00:36:21.710 --> 00:36:22.929
point where you can hear your dreams? You repent.

00:36:23.070 --> 00:36:25.469
You turn to God. So I turned to God. I said,

00:36:25.510 --> 00:36:27.309
okay, God, why is this happening? And I said,

00:36:27.349 --> 00:36:28.809
that's never going to happen. I'm never going

00:36:28.809 --> 00:36:30.429
to allow that to happen, right? I'm going to

00:36:30.429 --> 00:36:31.889
ask him, right? That's never going to happen,

00:36:31.949 --> 00:36:34.250
right? And God said, that's never going to happen.

00:36:34.610 --> 00:36:37.369
And some point in time, about 20 years ago, I

00:36:37.369 --> 00:36:39.610
became holy and completely dedicated to my wife.

00:36:39.730 --> 00:36:41.750
And I don't know how, but I got to the point

00:36:41.750 --> 00:36:43.690
where I literally never, even if my wife would

00:36:43.690 --> 00:36:45.510
do something that I find to be an atrocity, I

00:36:45.510 --> 00:36:47.550
never have bad feelings or bad emotions about

00:36:47.550 --> 00:36:50.170
her. We are becoming one person. Do you understand?

00:36:50.760 --> 00:36:53.000
And until you do that, you have to address the

00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:55.000
things that take place in your dreams. They're

00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:58.400
real for a reason. We're all blowing them off

00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:00.480
thinking it's no big deal. And believe me, the

00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:02.559
psychosocial scientific world, that's what they

00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:04.019
want you to do. They want you to think it's just

00:37:04.019 --> 00:37:06.099
dreams and it's no big deal. You can't control

00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:07.619
what you dream about. It doesn't matter what

00:37:07.619 --> 00:37:08.880
you dream about. You can't do anything about

00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:10.840
what you dream about after the fact. Yeah, and

00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:12.019
they're the same ones that teach you that there

00:37:12.019 --> 00:37:13.760
is no God. You don't listen to them when they

00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:15.320
say there is no God. So why do you listen to

00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:16.440
them when they tell you that your dreams are

00:37:16.440 --> 00:37:18.559
no big deal? Does that make any sense? So now

00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:20.599
we're going to be taught by the world how to

00:37:20.599 --> 00:37:22.659
handle our dreams instead of taught by God who

00:37:22.659 --> 00:37:25.260
says that he speaks to us in our dreams? The

00:37:25.260 --> 00:37:28.239
answer is we should be preparing. We should come

00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:30.219
expecting. We should engage in the material.

00:37:30.340 --> 00:37:32.400
We should discern with prayer, scripture, and

00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:34.559
counsel with our regenerated heart about what

00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:36.440
we already know about God. And we should not

00:37:36.440 --> 00:37:38.599
trivialize or seek to escape the implications

00:37:38.599 --> 00:37:41.159
of the dream for ourselves. And this next one

00:37:41.159 --> 00:37:43.460
will convict you probably. It does me. You should

00:37:43.460 --> 00:37:47.420
get there on time or early. but not too early

00:37:47.420 --> 00:37:50.440
or for the wrong reasons. Church starts at 1130.

00:37:50.699 --> 00:37:53.900
You should not get here at 1130 because starting

00:37:53.900 --> 00:37:55.820
at 1130, we are worshiping the holy God of the

00:37:55.820 --> 00:37:59.260
universe. So you should be here by 1115 or whatever

00:37:59.260 --> 00:38:01.860
it takes for you to be here and be ready. And

00:38:01.860 --> 00:38:03.860
that's why some of the young people, teenagers

00:38:03.860 --> 00:38:06.199
are in the room at 1133, they feel compelled

00:38:06.199 --> 00:38:07.639
that they have to tell their neighbor about something

00:38:07.639 --> 00:38:09.500
they did last night and they can't focus on worship

00:38:09.500 --> 00:38:11.639
because they didn't get here in time to get ready

00:38:11.639 --> 00:38:13.900
for worship. And it's not just them, it's us

00:38:13.900 --> 00:38:16.829
too. And not just worship. It's going to bed.

00:38:17.170 --> 00:38:20.530
You should go to bed early because guess who's

00:38:20.530 --> 00:38:23.289
going to be there when you get there? God speaking

00:38:23.289 --> 00:38:27.309
to you. Turn the TV off. Put the book down. If

00:38:27.309 --> 00:38:29.550
it's not the Bible especially. Turn the TV off.

00:38:29.590 --> 00:38:31.789
Put the book down. Stop playing the games. Stop

00:38:31.789 --> 00:38:33.710
eating snacks 20 minutes before you go to bed.

00:38:34.349 --> 00:38:36.750
Focus on your time with the Lord that starts

00:38:36.750 --> 00:38:39.329
when your eyes go shut and you fall asleep. That's

00:38:39.329 --> 00:38:41.730
an important time. Just the same as this is an

00:38:41.730 --> 00:38:44.730
important time. In fact, maybe even more important

00:38:44.730 --> 00:38:46.849
because it's just you and God and evil spirits,

00:38:46.969 --> 00:38:49.409
demons and angels. It's just the spiritual realm,

00:38:49.590 --> 00:38:51.789
right? If the room is cold, your body will feel

00:38:51.789 --> 00:38:53.789
it, but it probably won't greatly change the

00:38:53.789 --> 00:38:56.809
context of your dream. The point is this. We

00:38:56.809 --> 00:39:00.989
should get there on time or early, but not too

00:39:00.989 --> 00:39:03.969
early, right? Because too much sleep, too much

00:39:03.969 --> 00:39:07.269
rest brings about destruction for a man and not

00:39:07.269 --> 00:39:10.210
for the wrong reasons, right? So how many people

00:39:10.210 --> 00:39:12.199
run to their bed when they're upset? I'm not

00:39:12.199 --> 00:39:14.059
saying anybody in this room does that, but some

00:39:14.059 --> 00:39:16.039
people do that. Like I'm upset, I'm mad, I'm

00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:17.440
sad, whatever, and they go run in their bed and

00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:19.699
take a nap. They go lay down. Now there's anything

00:39:19.699 --> 00:39:21.900
wrong with going and meeting with God, but they're

00:39:21.900 --> 00:39:23.800
not going to meet with God in sleep. That's not

00:39:23.800 --> 00:39:25.159
where they're going. They're going to get away

00:39:25.159 --> 00:39:27.440
from everybody else or get away from the situation.

00:39:27.940 --> 00:39:31.360
They're vacating the premises, so to speak. And

00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:33.619
so if they were going there to meet with God,

00:39:33.780 --> 00:39:35.820
they would start with prayer. And then if they

00:39:35.820 --> 00:39:37.599
fell asleep, there'd be a chance that God could

00:39:37.599 --> 00:39:39.119
speak to them about what they're going through,

00:39:39.179 --> 00:39:41.559
but that's not what's going on. It needs to be.

00:39:41.619 --> 00:39:43.840
So you get there on time and early, prepared,

00:39:44.179 --> 00:39:49.139
expecting, engaged, discerning. Notice that missteps

00:39:49.139 --> 00:39:51.739
are possible. And because missteps are possible,

00:39:51.940 --> 00:39:54.360
people want to dismiss this whole thing. Pastor

00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:56.139
Dan is telling us we can dream and hear from

00:39:56.139 --> 00:39:58.920
God. And I have a pastor brother friend of mine

00:39:58.920 --> 00:40:01.059
who would say that's not possible, even though

00:40:01.059 --> 00:40:03.000
the word says it clearly. But he says if you

00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:05.440
tell people that, they're going to go and try

00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:07.119
to hear from God and do what it is that God wants

00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:09.239
to do, and they're not qualified. That's called

00:40:09.239 --> 00:40:11.500
sacerdotalism. The only people that are qualified

00:40:11.500 --> 00:40:13.219
is the preacher who gets up to talk on Sunday.

00:40:13.280 --> 00:40:16.460
That is wrong. I am not qualified to hear from

00:40:16.460 --> 00:40:19.599
God because I am a preacher or a pastor. I am

00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:21.659
qualified to hear from God because Jesus Christ

00:40:21.659 --> 00:40:24.659
died on the cross for me and saved my soul. And

00:40:24.659 --> 00:40:27.480
I turned to him and he sent his Holy Spirit.

00:40:28.019 --> 00:40:30.860
And now I can hear from him. And if you have

00:40:30.860 --> 00:40:32.940
not done those first five steps, then sure, you

00:40:32.940 --> 00:40:35.099
may not hear from him or you may have significant

00:40:35.099 --> 00:40:37.159
missteps. But the bottom line is if you will

00:40:37.159 --> 00:40:38.559
listen to the God of the universe, you can do

00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:39.940
what the God of the universe tells you to do.

00:40:40.360 --> 00:40:42.139
You can become faithful and obedient. Romans

00:40:42.139 --> 00:40:44.380
12 says you can know what is good and perfect

00:40:44.380 --> 00:40:47.340
will is. Missteps are possible. False dreams,

00:40:47.579 --> 00:40:50.260
false interpretations are possible. And we go

00:40:50.260 --> 00:40:52.500
back to handling our dreams appropriately, being

00:40:52.500 --> 00:40:54.820
prepared, coming, expecting, engaging the material,

00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:57.019
discerning with prayer, getting there on time

00:40:57.019 --> 00:40:59.780
and early and for the right reasons. As within

00:40:59.780 --> 00:41:02.559
life, there are missteps. These missteps are

00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:04.840
largely avoidable. You don't have to do that.

00:41:04.860 --> 00:41:07.199
You can stop being taught by the world how to

00:41:07.199 --> 00:41:08.960
dream or how to interpret your dreams or how

00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:10.559
to understand what God is trying to do while

00:41:10.559 --> 00:41:12.980
you're sleeping and be taught by the Bible and

00:41:12.980 --> 00:41:15.820
today by me and today by the Holy Spirit for

00:41:15.820 --> 00:41:19.559
our entire church how we can see and reason based

00:41:19.559 --> 00:41:22.079
on what we have happening while we are sleeping.

00:41:22.400 --> 00:41:25.539
The third thing to see is dreams. Dream communications

00:41:25.539 --> 00:41:28.460
are not meant to substitute for his daily presence.

00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:32.510
We have him with us daily. And that's where we

00:41:32.510 --> 00:41:34.489
get our primary direction. You say, well, God

00:41:34.489 --> 00:41:36.050
doesn't seem to be directing me. You need to

00:41:36.050 --> 00:41:38.210
repent and turn to God. You say, I don't have

00:41:38.210 --> 00:41:39.989
any real convictions of sin throughout the day.

00:41:40.090 --> 00:41:41.369
Whenever I do something wrong, I don't really

00:41:41.369 --> 00:41:42.989
feel anything. You need to repent and turn to

00:41:42.989 --> 00:41:45.250
God. Because according to what we read and according

00:41:45.250 --> 00:41:47.030
to what's true in Scripture, if you repent and

00:41:47.030 --> 00:41:49.130
turn to God, God will fill you with his Holy

00:41:49.130 --> 00:41:51.570
Spirit. And his Holy Spirit always has a certain

00:41:51.570 --> 00:41:53.829
sort of feeling about sinful behavior that you

00:41:53.829 --> 00:41:55.969
engage in. Now, if you chase him away, chase

00:41:55.969 --> 00:41:57.610
him down deep, stop listening to him, tell him

00:41:57.610 --> 00:41:59.610
to shut up, you probably won't have any feelings

00:41:59.610 --> 00:42:02.170
for a while. But he's not going to be gone. He's

00:42:02.170 --> 00:42:05.429
still there if you're truly saved. They are not

00:42:05.429 --> 00:42:08.550
meant to substitute for his presence daily or

00:42:08.550 --> 00:42:12.550
for his word in us. Read your Bible. Study and

00:42:12.550 --> 00:42:15.789
grow. Dreams will never supplant that. You need

00:42:15.789 --> 00:42:18.070
to know the word. And how are you going to test

00:42:18.070 --> 00:42:20.230
your dreams by the word if you don't know the

00:42:20.230 --> 00:42:23.340
word? Indeed, these dreams are an accompanying

00:42:23.340 --> 00:42:25.340
feature. That's what we read. They are an accompanying

00:42:25.340 --> 00:42:27.659
feature of his presence. And if you are living

00:42:27.659 --> 00:42:29.780
with him throughout all the days, then you can

00:42:29.780 --> 00:42:31.679
safely assume that he will be with you throughout

00:42:31.679 --> 00:42:34.639
all of your dreams. They are a feature of his

00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:37.460
presence and they occur with meaning, like we

00:42:37.460 --> 00:42:40.699
are discussing, only after his presence is initiated

00:42:40.699 --> 00:42:45.039
by him. The Pharaoh, Abimelech, all of them had

00:42:45.039 --> 00:42:47.559
dreams. Abimelech was able to understand his

00:42:47.559 --> 00:42:49.760
dream enough to say he was not going to take

00:42:49.760 --> 00:42:52.769
Sarah. pharaoh couldn't even understand his dreams

00:42:52.769 --> 00:42:55.150
when you hear joseph interpreting pharaoh's dreams

00:42:55.150 --> 00:42:57.929
you go oh yeah duh that's what it makes that

00:42:57.929 --> 00:43:01.090
makes sense it's radical to mobilize the entire

00:43:01.090 --> 00:43:03.409
entire country for seven years to store up food

00:43:03.409 --> 00:43:04.630
because we think there's gonna be seven years

00:43:04.630 --> 00:43:07.389
of famine coming that's radical but it's clearly

00:43:07.389 --> 00:43:09.570
what that dream could mean right that's an obvious

00:43:09.570 --> 00:43:11.730
meaning and pharaoh couldn't figure that out

00:43:11.730 --> 00:43:14.409
and so the point is these dreams are an accompanying

00:43:14.409 --> 00:43:17.489
figure a feature of his presence and they occur

00:43:17.489 --> 00:43:20.110
with meaning like we are discussing, so you can

00:43:20.110 --> 00:43:22.550
understand them and act on them and do what you

00:43:22.550 --> 00:43:25.590
want to do only after his presence is initiated

00:43:25.590 --> 00:43:28.070
in us. If God is present in your dream, then

00:43:28.070 --> 00:43:29.889
there is something that you can learn. If you

00:43:29.889 --> 00:43:32.010
are sleeping with God in you, and if you are

00:43:32.010 --> 00:43:33.590
a Christian, you are sleeping with God in you.

00:43:33.610 --> 00:43:35.570
And if you are... then there is something in

00:43:35.570 --> 00:43:37.909
your dreams that you can learn from. Our part

00:43:37.909 --> 00:43:40.650
is clearly the repentance. It's just the turning

00:43:40.650 --> 00:43:42.590
to God. The entire passage that I read from the

00:43:42.590 --> 00:43:44.449
book of Joel, what did it say? Have a solemn

00:43:44.449 --> 00:43:46.150
assembly, bring the entire family, everybody

00:43:46.150 --> 00:43:48.289
get together, worship God. Yeah, it said all

00:43:48.289 --> 00:43:51.260
of those things. holy is our God, and we must

00:43:51.260 --> 00:43:53.880
wholly turn to this holy God. And when we do

00:43:53.880 --> 00:43:55.960
that, his presence in us will be real, and he

00:43:55.960 --> 00:43:59.320
will be real with us 24 hours a day. And when

00:43:59.320 --> 00:44:01.199
you are in sin, he'll be there to convict you.

00:44:01.260 --> 00:44:03.519
And when you're asleep, he'll be there to spend

00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:06.039
your time sleeping with you. He will be there

00:44:06.039 --> 00:44:09.739
if you've turned to the Lord. If you have sinned,

00:44:09.929 --> 00:44:11.690
Maybe during this you've been convicted. I don't

00:44:11.690 --> 00:44:13.250
come to worship right. I don't do this right.

00:44:13.289 --> 00:44:14.849
I don't do that right. I stay up too late. I

00:44:14.849 --> 00:44:16.690
spend too much time on certain pursuits, and

00:44:16.690 --> 00:44:18.230
I don't really have room for God to speak to

00:44:18.230 --> 00:44:20.710
me or train me or help me grow. Then you need

00:44:20.710 --> 00:44:22.730
to repent and turn to God. If God is right now

00:44:22.730 --> 00:44:24.150
saying to you there's something in your life

00:44:24.150 --> 00:44:26.210
that needs to be cut out so you can follow him

00:44:26.210 --> 00:44:28.150
and have this kind of a presence with him 24

00:44:28.150 --> 00:44:30.210
hours a day, not just while you're wide awake

00:44:30.210 --> 00:44:31.630
and studying your Bible, not just while you're

00:44:31.630 --> 00:44:33.670
sitting in church being preached at or just while

00:44:33.670 --> 00:44:36.050
you're singing worship songs, but 24 hours a

00:44:36.050 --> 00:44:37.889
day. And if there's something in your life that's

00:44:37.889 --> 00:44:39.989
interfering with that, then come. Cut it out.

00:44:40.070 --> 00:44:42.389
Turn to God and say, that's got to go. And if

00:44:42.389 --> 00:44:44.650
God wants to let it come back, then God will

00:44:44.650 --> 00:44:46.590
let it come back. God will say, okay, now I want

00:44:46.590 --> 00:44:48.429
you to take that thing up that you cut out of

00:44:48.429 --> 00:44:50.309
your life and you're going to use it specifically

00:44:50.309 --> 00:44:52.610
for me. I've had that happen to me a couple of

00:44:52.610 --> 00:44:53.909
times in my life. I've said, no, you can't do

00:44:53.909 --> 00:44:56.170
that anymore. That's just not going to be for

00:44:56.170 --> 00:44:59.489
you anymore to do that. And then I'm like, okay,

00:44:59.510 --> 00:45:01.510
God, as you say, as you wish, it's fine. I'm

00:45:01.510 --> 00:45:04.010
moving forward without it. And then God said,

00:45:04.110 --> 00:45:07.280
okay, now take that and use it this way. That

00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:08.980
skill that you learned there, that ability that

00:45:08.980 --> 00:45:10.400
you have, that talent that you picked up in that

00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:12.960
hobby, now I want you to use it this way. And

00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:15.039
if you can't use it for God, it doesn't belong.

00:45:15.380 --> 00:45:17.559
Because if you can't use it for God and it is

00:45:17.559 --> 00:45:19.500
in, then if it doesn't affect you throughout

00:45:19.500 --> 00:45:21.059
the day, you say, well, I still read my Bible.

00:45:21.139 --> 00:45:23.780
I still pray. Yeah, I'm on my phone five hours

00:45:23.780 --> 00:45:26.280
a day, but I still pray. I still read my Bible.

00:45:26.320 --> 00:45:28.199
I still do all of these things. And so, yes,

00:45:28.239 --> 00:45:29.760
I'm still a Christian. I'm still following God.

00:45:30.079 --> 00:45:33.500
But the problem is, eventually, you have to go

00:45:33.500 --> 00:45:36.039
to sleep. And when you go to sleep and you dream,

00:45:36.239 --> 00:45:38.480
what's going to be in your dreams? The little

00:45:38.480 --> 00:45:39.960
bit of Bible that you read for seven minutes

00:45:39.960 --> 00:45:42.159
today? The one and a half hours you spent in

00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:44.659
a worship service? The one moment you spent counseling

00:45:44.659 --> 00:45:46.280
with somebody as they ask you to pray for them?

00:45:46.639 --> 00:45:49.360
If you spend exactly three hours a day with God,

00:45:49.500 --> 00:45:52.280
focusing on God, serving God, looking to do what

00:45:52.280 --> 00:45:54.800
God would have you to do, and 21 hours a day

00:45:54.800 --> 00:45:56.960
doing what you want to do the rest of the time

00:45:56.960 --> 00:45:58.539
so that you can call yourself a Christian, you

00:45:58.539 --> 00:46:00.400
can guarantee while you sleep, if God speaks,

00:46:00.659 --> 00:46:02.469
you're not going to hear him. Because your mind

00:46:02.469 --> 00:46:04.110
is going to be busy dealing with all the other

00:46:04.110 --> 00:46:06.550
15 hours that you were awake, not focused on

00:46:06.550 --> 00:46:10.309
God. And that's the math of it. And that's where

00:46:10.309 --> 00:46:12.909
we are. And as a people, I think we need to return

00:46:12.909 --> 00:46:15.510
to God. And as a Christian people, the world

00:46:15.510 --> 00:46:17.809
over, I think we need to return to God. We need

00:46:17.809 --> 00:46:20.289
to repent and turn to God and say, there are

00:46:20.289 --> 00:46:21.909
things in my life that are interfering. You say,

00:46:21.969 --> 00:46:23.530
but they're not interfering. I'm still serving.

00:46:23.590 --> 00:46:24.889
I'm still praying. I'm still worshiping. I'm

00:46:24.889 --> 00:46:26.809
still giving. Yes, but how are you sleeping?

00:46:27.260 --> 00:46:29.460
Well, I'm sleeping $7 or $8 a night. Yes. And

00:46:29.460 --> 00:46:30.940
when's the last time you woke up and remembered

00:46:30.940 --> 00:46:32.340
that God said that you're doing something in

00:46:32.340 --> 00:46:34.659
a dream? Is your subconscious mind active with

00:46:34.659 --> 00:46:37.099
all of those other activities that you're doing

00:46:37.099 --> 00:46:39.099
that's not hearing from God so that when you

00:46:39.099 --> 00:46:41.860
sleep, you dream, God speaks, but he can't be

00:46:41.860 --> 00:46:44.119
heard over the roar of your subconscious mind

00:46:44.119 --> 00:46:46.260
processing the things that you are doing on a

00:46:46.260 --> 00:46:47.820
daily basis that have nothing to do with him?

00:46:48.480 --> 00:46:49.960
You say, they're not sin. They're good things.

00:46:50.019 --> 00:46:51.599
God gave them to me to enjoy. The Bible even

00:46:51.599 --> 00:46:53.820
says that. Yes, okay, it's fine. How do you sleep?

00:46:54.119 --> 00:46:56.039
Are you in community with God while you're sleeping?

00:46:56.280 --> 00:46:58.639
Are you hearing from the Lord? You see why it's

00:46:58.639 --> 00:47:00.760
so important now that day in and day out, we

00:47:00.760 --> 00:47:02.079
make the choices that we make. You say, well,

00:47:02.099 --> 00:47:04.519
I just made a little slip up. God repented. The

00:47:04.519 --> 00:47:06.860
Bible says that if you repent, turn to God after

00:47:06.860 --> 00:47:09.440
screwing up. 1 John, I think, 1 .9, right? He

00:47:09.440 --> 00:47:11.380
is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse

00:47:11.380 --> 00:47:13.639
you of all unrighteousness. So if you repented

00:47:13.639 --> 00:47:16.119
and he forgave you, where's all that cleansing?

00:47:16.639 --> 00:47:19.139
Why is that needed? Why do we need to be cleansed

00:47:19.139 --> 00:47:21.289
if we were repented and forgiven? Because there

00:47:21.289 --> 00:47:23.630
are impacts, there are things that happen after

00:47:23.630 --> 00:47:25.369
you have sinned. You tell a lie, you repent,

00:47:25.550 --> 00:47:27.110
and you're forgiven, right? You're going to go

00:47:27.110 --> 00:47:29.889
to heaven, but you told a lie. It affected you.

00:47:29.949 --> 00:47:32.590
Where did it affect you at? In your bicep? It

00:47:32.590 --> 00:47:34.530
affected you in your heart. Okay, now that's

00:47:34.530 --> 00:47:37.550
cleansed, forgiven. How about your mind? It affected

00:47:37.550 --> 00:47:40.650
you in your mind. Is your mind cleansed completely?

00:47:41.030 --> 00:47:43.110
No, we do that by the renewing of our mind over

00:47:43.110 --> 00:47:45.449
a period of time. When is your mind renewed?

00:47:45.989 --> 00:47:49.400
Most? While you're sleeping. So what does your

00:47:49.400 --> 00:47:53.219
focus of sleep need to be? God. God has to be

00:47:53.219 --> 00:47:55.219
your focus of sleep. I submit to you, go to sleep.

00:47:55.320 --> 00:47:57.579
Your subconscious mind follows the Lord while

00:47:57.579 --> 00:48:00.099
you're sleeping. It's attentive. It listens.

00:48:00.260 --> 00:48:02.360
You wake up. You listen to what God said, the

00:48:02.360 --> 00:48:04.599
time that you spent with him. If you have ignored

00:48:04.599 --> 00:48:07.440
God while you were sleeping, even while you were

00:48:07.440 --> 00:48:10.260
going to sleep, while you were walking, whatever

00:48:10.260 --> 00:48:11.679
else you might have been doing when you were

00:48:11.679 --> 00:48:14.880
waking up, repent and turn to God. If you have

00:48:14.880 --> 00:48:17.280
taken your responsibility as a child of the king

00:48:17.280 --> 00:48:20.659
lightly, repent and turn to God. If you have

00:48:20.659 --> 00:48:23.199
never been a child of the king in truth, repent

00:48:23.199 --> 00:48:25.280
and turn to God that you might be saved through

00:48:25.280 --> 00:48:28.900
the sacrifice of Jesus into his lordship, which

00:48:28.900 --> 00:48:31.760
includes while you're sleeping. I'm going to

00:48:31.760 --> 00:48:33.900
close with an illustration. This morning I got

00:48:33.900 --> 00:48:35.920
up. Something's totally written. Hadn't planned

00:48:35.920 --> 00:48:37.559
on this illustration. I walk up into the couch

00:48:37.559 --> 00:48:40.880
and Ariana's watching Right Now Media. The episode

00:48:40.880 --> 00:48:42.260
that she's watching right now, Media, is about

00:48:42.260 --> 00:48:45.420
Joseph. Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh's dreams,

00:48:45.659 --> 00:48:48.000
Joseph representing his family, Joseph forgiving

00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:49.639
his brothers, you know, that kind of whole thing.

00:48:49.980 --> 00:48:51.820
In the middle of that, there's an illustration.

00:48:51.980 --> 00:48:53.039
You can go on there and watch it right now if

00:48:53.039 --> 00:48:54.300
you want. I can't tell you what the program was,

00:48:54.340 --> 00:48:57.360
but Ariana could. And there's a story. It's a

00:48:57.360 --> 00:48:59.579
story about a boy. He goes sailing with his dad

00:48:59.579 --> 00:49:01.940
in a pretty big sailing boat. And he's with his

00:49:01.940 --> 00:49:04.179
dad, and he's up on the prow of the boat looking

00:49:04.179 --> 00:49:05.760
out, and the wind's blowing in his face. You

00:49:05.760 --> 00:49:07.159
know, like that Titanic thing, right? And the

00:49:07.159 --> 00:49:08.639
wind's blowing. He's like, oh, happy. What a

00:49:08.639 --> 00:49:10.760
beautiful day. And the sun's shining. Dad pulls

00:49:10.760 --> 00:49:12.880
the boat out of the dock. Sail and boat starts

00:49:12.880 --> 00:49:15.199
moving pretty good. And they're winding through

00:49:15.199 --> 00:49:18.420
this river to get out. The dock is way back from

00:49:18.420 --> 00:49:19.960
the shore. And he's winding through this river.

00:49:20.019 --> 00:49:21.340
And it's a pretty scary river. And there are

00:49:21.340 --> 00:49:23.800
branches hanging over. And you can see sandbars

00:49:23.800 --> 00:49:26.400
and crocodiles and everything. And the boy is

00:49:26.400 --> 00:49:29.300
terrified. He's scared. But all the while, the

00:49:29.300 --> 00:49:31.519
dad just keeps steering the boat, tending the

00:49:31.519 --> 00:49:34.699
sails. Steering the boat, tending the sails.

00:49:34.920 --> 00:49:36.940
And he navigates the river. Pretty soon, he's

00:49:36.940 --> 00:49:39.570
out onto the water. And it's a big wide open

00:49:39.570 --> 00:49:41.550
sea, and there's no land in sight. If the boat

00:49:41.550 --> 00:49:44.190
goes down, the boy's scared. He's like, oh, man,

00:49:44.409 --> 00:49:46.469
what's going to happen here? There's no land

00:49:46.469 --> 00:49:48.010
in sight. We're so far from anywhere. What if

00:49:48.010 --> 00:49:49.409
the boat breaks down and something happens? We'll

00:49:49.409 --> 00:49:51.289
be stuck out here, and he's terrified. But his

00:49:51.289 --> 00:49:53.030
dad just keeps steering the boat and tending

00:49:53.030 --> 00:49:54.670
the sails, steering the boat and tending the

00:49:54.670 --> 00:49:57.469
sails. And they're fine. And then a terrible

00:49:57.469 --> 00:50:00.639
storm comes up, and the waves get high. Over

00:50:00.639 --> 00:50:02.880
half the keel of the boat. Over half the length

00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:04.679
of the boat. The waves are up and down. And the

00:50:04.679 --> 00:50:06.719
boat's crashing down in a huge splash. And the

00:50:06.719 --> 00:50:09.059
boy's soaked. Lightning flashes and thunder roars.

00:50:09.059 --> 00:50:10.539
And his ears are ringing. And he's terrified.

00:50:10.860 --> 00:50:13.059
He's terrified. And his dad just keeps steering

00:50:13.059 --> 00:50:15.480
the boat and tending the sails. Steering the

00:50:15.480 --> 00:50:17.860
boat and tending the sails. And what the boy

00:50:17.860 --> 00:50:21.659
doesn't know is that the dad has a ton of experience.

00:50:22.260 --> 00:50:25.340
He's been in storms before. He's been in twisty

00:50:25.340 --> 00:50:27.940
waves before. He's been in open water before.

00:50:28.489 --> 00:50:31.489
He's seen it all. He's done it all. He's been

00:50:31.489 --> 00:50:37.329
there. The dad is steering the boat and tending

00:50:37.329 --> 00:50:40.929
the sails. And the boy is terrified because he's

00:50:40.929 --> 00:50:45.090
learning to trust his dad. His dad comes forward

00:50:45.090 --> 00:50:46.349
while he's tending to take a little break from

00:50:46.349 --> 00:50:48.730
tending the sails. Say, okay, hold on. Slow down.

00:50:49.329 --> 00:50:51.969
Everything's fine. I'm tending the sails. I've

00:50:51.969 --> 00:50:53.690
been through this before. Everything's going

00:50:53.690 --> 00:50:56.210
to be fine. And that's what everybody wants.

00:50:56.699 --> 00:50:59.000
Everybody wants that peace. They want that feeling,

00:50:59.079 --> 00:51:00.760
that joy, that they can do whatever they want

00:51:00.760 --> 00:51:03.000
and God's got the wheel. And when it's like that,

00:51:03.179 --> 00:51:05.000
God's going to have to take you into the narrow

00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:08.699
ways or the crazy storms to get you to trust

00:51:08.699 --> 00:51:12.739
him. And you've got 16 hours a day of waking

00:51:12.739 --> 00:51:15.920
time to willingly decide, okay, Lord, if you

00:51:15.920 --> 00:51:17.900
want me to go left, I'll go left. If you want

00:51:17.900 --> 00:51:19.260
me to go right, I'll go right. If you want me

00:51:19.260 --> 00:51:20.599
to go into the storm, I'll go into the storm.

00:51:20.619 --> 00:51:23.579
I trust you because I know. You can see it all.

00:51:23.619 --> 00:51:25.460
You can do it all. Everything is possible with

00:51:25.460 --> 00:51:29.260
God, like Mary said. But you've got eight hours

00:51:29.260 --> 00:51:35.599
a day that you've not been using. And this sermon

00:51:35.599 --> 00:51:41.139
is giving us back those eight hours. We need

00:51:41.139 --> 00:51:44.659
to prepare ourselves for sleep. We need to expect

00:51:44.659 --> 00:51:48.059
God to speak in our sleep. We need to be ready

00:51:48.059 --> 00:51:50.340
to write down whatever he says or ready to somehow

00:51:50.340 --> 00:51:52.590
or other record it so we can remember it. And

00:51:52.590 --> 00:51:54.550
then we need to learn from it. If you need to

00:51:54.550 --> 00:51:56.309
ask others for counsel, what does it mean? If

00:51:56.309 --> 00:51:57.730
you've got an idea, but you want to run it by

00:51:57.730 --> 00:52:00.769
somebody else, do that. Pray and say, God, what

00:52:00.769 --> 00:52:02.889
is it? And God will say, well, it's this. So

00:52:02.889 --> 00:52:04.570
it was blue because of that, or it was big because

00:52:04.570 --> 00:52:07.630
of that. Today, I picked up three dream journal

00:52:07.630 --> 00:52:09.230
entries. Two of them are in a spiral notebook

00:52:09.230 --> 00:52:10.530
that I've been carrying around recently. One

00:52:10.530 --> 00:52:12.090
of them is in an old black journal that I had.

00:52:12.510 --> 00:52:14.929
And I read them all. And now I can look back

00:52:14.929 --> 00:52:17.769
and go, oh, I think I see what God was trying

00:52:17.769 --> 00:52:20.789
to say then. But I hadn't done the work. This

00:52:20.789 --> 00:52:24.309
is not just for me. It's for all of us. And it's

00:52:24.309 --> 00:52:26.929
not even just dreams. Visions are on the table

00:52:26.929 --> 00:52:29.750
as well. While you're awake, daydreaming. Your

00:52:29.750 --> 00:52:32.170
daydreams. If your daydreams are about things

00:52:32.170 --> 00:52:35.449
that you're doing and not things about God, you're

00:52:35.449 --> 00:52:38.349
wasting your daydreams. I'm asking you to become

00:52:38.349 --> 00:52:41.250
men and women who are focused on God, repent,

00:52:41.510 --> 00:52:43.610
realize He is holy, turn to God, do the things

00:52:43.610 --> 00:52:45.030
He would have you to do, cut out things that

00:52:45.030 --> 00:52:47.690
interfere. I'm asking you to do nothing less

00:52:47.690 --> 00:52:52.400
than dream the dreams of God. Interpret. those

00:52:52.400 --> 00:52:56.760
dreams and live those dreams. And I'm saying

00:52:56.760 --> 00:52:59.340
to you that this is what the Bible says we must

00:52:59.340 --> 00:53:02.719
do. Something been missing in your life? Could

00:53:02.719 --> 00:53:05.219
it be that God's been telling you what it is,

00:53:05.260 --> 00:53:08.659
but you're not hearing him because he's telling

00:53:08.659 --> 00:53:12.699
you while you're sleeping? If you're here today

00:53:12.699 --> 00:53:15.099
and you need to repent, you need to turn to God,

00:53:15.139 --> 00:53:17.280
you need to commit yourself to do something that

00:53:17.280 --> 00:53:19.000
God would have you to do, whatever it is, this

00:53:19.000 --> 00:53:21.039
is your opportunity as we sing this coming song.

00:53:21.519 --> 00:53:24.260
I'm asking you. God is asking you. God is convicting

00:53:24.260 --> 00:53:26.760
me in my spirit that I have not done. So I will

00:53:26.760 --> 00:53:28.400
repent before you, even though I maybe have done

00:53:28.400 --> 00:53:30.960
more in listening to God during my dreams than

00:53:30.960 --> 00:53:34.219
others have. I have not done it right. And because

00:53:34.219 --> 00:53:36.380
I have not, and because I have not taught this

00:53:36.380 --> 00:53:42.340
in the 20 -some years, 25 years that I've been

00:53:42.340 --> 00:53:45.340
preaching, because I have not taught this, I

00:53:45.340 --> 00:53:49.079
know you have not heard it from me. It's time.

00:53:49.900 --> 00:53:52.559
It's time we got back the hours while we were

00:53:52.559 --> 00:53:55.940
sleeping and listened to the Lord. And it's going

00:53:55.940 --> 00:53:57.900
to require some sacrifice in the hours while

00:53:57.900 --> 00:54:00.280
we're awake. But for each hour you give up on

00:54:00.280 --> 00:54:02.460
something that doesn't belong in your life, you

00:54:02.460 --> 00:54:04.920
gain eight hours while you're sleeping. Not just

00:54:04.920 --> 00:54:07.480
eight hours of rest, but eight hours of renewal

00:54:07.480 --> 00:54:10.860
and communication with God. Would you stand with

00:54:10.860 --> 00:54:13.420
me and sing this song? And then our services

00:54:13.420 --> 00:54:15.920
will be through for the day. And I will ask you

00:54:15.920 --> 00:54:18.860
to go forth and as you do rest, as you do sleep,

00:54:19.150 --> 00:54:20.769
We need to be prepared to commune with God.