RESTING IN GOD

The paradox of the Christian walk is that the 'resting in God' that the Bible talks about (Heb 4v1) is not just something of inaction (Psalm 46v10), but is achieved by both an active submission to His will (James 4v7 / Luke 13v24)) and an active beholding of Christ (2 Cor 3v18). While we may clearly understand what it is to submit and obey, we may not have as great an understanding of what it is to behold Jesus or the fact that only by an active beholding of Him can we be enabled to continue to obey in a loving and fruitful way born by the Spirit and not by the works of the flesh. The following passage gives us great insight into what exactly beholding the Lord means:

2 Cor 3v18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

This passage of scripture shows us that the beholding of Jesus is primarily a contemplation of His glory. This means that we must make it an active and continuous practice in our lives to think about Christ's goodness and His person. We must take time to think about His love and offer our thankfulness to Him, and sing to Him with full sincerity and gladness. We can stir ourselves up to do this by thinking about all the wonderful works of God that the Bible tells us about, the hope that He has given us, the grace He has shown us and the good things He has done in our lives and for others. Furthermore, we can meditate on His perfect character and the creation He’s made and how that reveals His power and majesty. We can also do this by listening to good worship music, listening to others worshipping Him, worshipping Him ourselves by song, and by speaking in tongues. There are obviously many things about the Lord's glory that we can contemplate, and of course, a speaking and communing with Jesus and a reading of His Word should be central in all these things. As we contemplate Him in this way, we are changed by the renewing of our minds (Roms 12v2), and this is a key ingredient to the fruitful resting that God has in mind for His people.

In light of the above, we come to understand that both obedience and a beholding of Christ are inseparable ingredients in a true rest of God, and go hand in hand, for like faith and works (or faith and fruit), there cannot be one without the other, for one springs from, complements, completes and perfects the other. If we only have obedience, we may be no better than the Pharisees who worked but had no real and true love for Christ, and if we only have a beholding of Jesus, we may be no better than demons, who believe but also tremble because while they believe, they do not obey Him. True Holy Spirit breathed obedience will come because of a true love for, and empowerment from Christ, which itself has come from beholding Him, and a real beholding of Jesus will come because we are submitting to, and obeying Him in a right and fruitful way and for the right reasons, being motivated by a love for Him, not just a holy fear.

WARNING DREAM: EARTHQUAKE AT ROBINA TOWN CENTRE

DREAM: EARTHQUAKE AT ROBINA TOWN CENTRE

*Please read the following as I believe I’ve had the same dream twice from the Lord, and I’ve never had that in my life before. I believe that the Lord giving me the same dream twice is because He is confirming it and also underlining the importance of it.

I had the following dream on the 20^th of this month in December. I believe I had the same dream a few years ago as well:

I was at Robina Town Centre with someone else and we were going to see a movie (just to note that in the dream, the movie theatre was located over the other side of the shopping centre, near where the Church is located). We thought we had our tickets and so approached one or two cinema employees who were checking tickets, but for some reason there was a problem with them and we weren’t being let through. I was trying to sort out the problem but not having any luck. I went outside the movie theatre to try and call someone to sort out the problem. While I won’t go into all of the details about what happens next, it did involve me going into a shop at one point, where it seems as though it had been raining because apparently I had brought some water into the shop that had come from my shoes (so rain may be an indication of when this will happen). I was on the phone while in the shop, but then left when the shop owner asked me to leave because of the water that it seemed I was bringing into the place because of the rain.

I was making my way back to the movie theatre and was about 100 feet or so from it when, all of a sudden, it seemed as though an earthquake/sinkhole was taking place because just beyond the theatre, about 50-100 feet away from it around the area where the Church is located, the whole ground rose up and then fell and looked as though it was being completely broken up (it also seemed as though there was fire inside of it, which I think could have been symbolic). My immediate thought was one of relief, as I thought to myself something like, ‘Thank goodness there was a problem with the tickets.’ At first I didn’t know if the earthquake was going to reach the theatre itself, but it quickly expanded, so quickly in fact that it quickly advanced towards me so that I found myself running from it. Although I started to run from it, it quickly reached me and so I found myself in the midst of it. This was an unusual experience in the dream, as though I was in the midst of it for a while, I was not being hurt by it, even though it was like I was in the midst of the ground and concrete being crushed up around me. All of a sudden, while still in the dream, the experience was over, and I found myself looking up from where I believed the earthquake had taken place. At that point it seemed that I was looking up at a steel-looking shelter that had what looked to be a wave-like roof.

End of dream.

As I say, years ago I believe I had the same dream, however, I never published it as at the time I believed I needed more confirmation from the Lord that it was from Him. I also wanted confirmation due to the obvious confronting nature of the dream, especially for those that live near Robina, and shop there regularly. I believe that, through the two dreams, the Lord is revealing that there will be an earthquake/sinkhole event close to and at Robina Town Centre some time in the future. I believe that He is also being gracious in confirming the dream by giving it twice, which again, I’ve never experienced before. The fact that the event will just come after a time when I experience having a problem with my movie tickets (and possibly a time when it is raining at Robina), I believe was the Lord also speaking to me personally about the fact that when that happens, I’ll need to leave Robina Town Centre as quickly as I can (but that still that I’ll get caught up in it in some way, but not be hurt by it because of His protection).

However, I believe this dream wasn’t just for me, but for all who read this, Christians especially. The reason for this, especially from what the dream revealed is two-fold. One, it is obviously important to note that, unless the Lord stops it, sometime in the future there will be an earthquake or earthquake/sinkhole type event which causes destruction and so obviously poses a great threat to the physical safety of everyone out there. Two, I believe the Lord was speaking about the need for Christians to be rightly following after Him preceding and at the time of this event, in order to be kept safe if they get caught up in it when it takes place. In the dream itself, I was caught up in the event, in the earthquake, and I wasn’t hurt, but it was clear to me that, if it wasn’t for the Lord, I should have been. The ground and concrete around me, and that I was in the midst of, should at the very least have hurt me and very badly at that, but realistically it also should have killed me as well. I realise that, in the dream, it was only the protection of the Lord that kept me safe throughout the event. Similarly, if anyone else out there gets caught up in this event, it will only be the Lord that keeps you safe in the midst of it, or that prevents and keeps you from experiencing it.

The Bible clearly tells us that Christians receive disciplinarian type judgment because of a loving God who disciplines us just like parents discipline the children that they love (Hebrews 12v4-11 / 1 Peter 4v16-19). The Bible also tells us that, if we are persistently and continually living a life of sin, God will do what’s needed in order to keep us from condemning ourselves along with unbelievers to an eternity in Hell ( 1 Corinthians 11v30-32), and this may involve allowing us to experience sickness or even death (1 Corinthians 11v30). Now let me say this, while God allows normal disciplinarian judgment which involves suffering, there is also a type of judgment which, if we are rightly following after Him, God will not need to put us through (the type that only comes because He is trying to get us to uprightly follow Him again), and that is the type of judgment that I believe the Lord is revealing in the dream via the earthquake/sinkhole event. I believe that the Lord, because He loves His people so much, is wanting to give a clear message, encouragement and warning through the dream that His people need to be right with Him. The Lord wants His people to be right with Him now, leading up to the event and at the time of the event itself so that they can either avoid the event altogether or be kept safe through it if they get caught up in it.

I would not have released this dream if I didn’t think it was from Him. As I said before, I believe I’ve had this dream twice now, which I’ve never had before, and I believe the Lord did this in order to confirm the dream, and underline its importance. There are also other reasons why I believe it is a dream from the Lord, and I’ve previously shared how I test dreams to make sure this is the case. So please take heed to the dream, and pray about it accordingly. If you are a Christian, please make sure you are right with Him! If you aren’t at the moment, then PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get right with Him right now!  The Lord wants to keep you safe, so please make sure you don’t have to experience judgment that you otherwise wouldn’t have had to experience if you were right with Him.

THE EDIFYING PURPOSE OF PROPHECY

From everything we read and know of the Old and New Testament, we realise that the main reason God gave prophecy was to keep His people on the straight and narrow or encourage and warn them to come back to Him if they were living in a wilfully sinful way or living according to ways that were right in their own eyes, but not right according to His ways. Primarily, this is the same reason God gives prophecy to His people today, and this is why it is edifying and it is considered a 'gift' to the people of God through Jesus Christ. Prophecy is always edifying for a few reasons (notice how all of these things are based on and encourage our faith, love and walk with the Lord):

1) If we are already rightly following after the Lord, it encourages us to keep doing so, knowing that spiritual protection is guaranteed if we continue, and also being aware that physical protection will often be granted as well (although not always if the Lord has a special purpose in mind, usually connected with our service or our being more conformed into His image through the fellowship of His sufferings).

2) If we are already rightly following after the Lord, it reminds us of the hope that we have to know that we have a God who is in control of all things, even those things that seem chaotic, random, and that may involve hardship, suffering and loss.

3) When prophecy we’ve been given in the past starts to be fulfilled when we go through very tough times, if we are rightly following the Lord, it protects our faith and trust in God and strengthens it (1 Timothy 1v18-19)

4) Prophecy shows us just how much God loves us and is concerned about our lives- both spiritually and physically.

5) Prophecy shows us that we have a heavenly Father that loves us so much that He does not want us to be harmed or destroyed by a sinful life (and He doesn’t want us harming others because of our sin), both for the present and for eternity. We have a Father who is concerned enough about us to do everything to prevent us from going down a destructive path as a result of the consequences of our sin.

6) Prophecy shows us that we have a heavenly Father that, if we are not swayed by His grace, loving kindness and His voice, is even willing to give us extra discipline (above what we already receive if we are true children of God- see Hebrews 12v7-11) us to get us back on the right bath, or to protect our salvation/eternal destiny (*1 Cor 11v30-32). However, prophecy shows that the Father would rather us avoid extra disciplinarian judgment by turning back to Him before the prophetic event happens (if that event is to do with hardship or judgment or both).

7) Through prophecy the Lord can give us hope for the future to know that there are good things ahead. These can come in the form of promises (2 Peter 1v4) or revelations which show us what God is going to do in the future, either to pour out His Holy Spirit or work great works amongst His people or to save the unsaved.

8) God gives ministerial gifts through prophecy:
1 Timothy 4v14: Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

We know that anything the Lord or the Holy Spirit reveals to us is edifying and is important, as it comes from a loving God who cares greatly about us. Prophecy is essentially the Lord’s voice giving us knowledge of something to come for a definite reason and purpose, and that purpose is always good. At the end of the day, the Bible tells us that the gift of prophecy’s purpose, just like every other gift’s purpose, culminates in the following:

Ephesians 4v11-16: ‘v11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.’

So, in this coming new year, may God bless you through each of the gifts of the Spirit, including the prophetic, not only so that your faith and love for Him will be protected, strengthened and grow, but so that you’ll be equipped for ministry, edified, become unified with others in the Body of Christ, know the Lord and not be carried about by all kinds of ungodly doctrine and deceitful men. And also so that you’ll be able to speak the truth in love, grow up in Christ, benefit others in the body of Christ by what the Lord has given you for that purpose (and so allow the Lord to join and knit you more closely with other Christians), and so edify yourself and others in love.

DREAM: DESTRUCTION COMING TO SYDNEY

THE FOLLOWING IS WHAT I POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON THE 29TH OF APRIL, 2012:

Warning Dream: Destruction coming to a part of Sydney

*John 16v13: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

*Acts 2v17: “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.

Hi all. Last night the Lord gave me a dream about destruction coming to a part of Sydney. This isn't an easy thing to share, and while the Lord's given me a desire to know about the future, it is often a bitter/sweet thing. That is why I woke up with a heavy heart this morning, because of what He showed me. I've learned very clearly how to tell the difference between just a normal dream, and what is from the Lord. So I know this is from Him, and I know that He wants me to share this warning ie.- 1 Cor 12v7: 'Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good'. The Lord loves His people so much that He doesn't want them to be asleep when He sends judgment, and He loves the world so much that He doesn't want them to perish. Don't be afraid! Don't be anxious! Pray about everything, have a Holy fear of the Lord, walk with Him, and He will guide you and keep you!

DREAM:

I was in Sydney with my Mum, just in front of the Sydney Harbour bridge (and what looked similar to the place of the Rocks in front of the bridge). I looked up into the sky and it was completely grew (storm clouds) and I just knew that, not only was this storm going to bring incredible destruction with it, but also that it would bring deadly tornadoes that would decimate the place I was standing in. I

I looked at the buildings in front of me, and while they looked attractive and in pristine condition, I knew that they would be UTTERLY DECIMATED by the storm and tornadoes that would be unleashed on the place. There was a man who was trying to 'button down' the outside appearance of his place (a frilly plastic covering at the top of his shop, like the ones you see sometimes outside of ice-cream parlours). I laughed because I knew that that should've been the least of his worries. I knew that what he was doing was completely in vain because there would be NOTHING left of his shop/building. I said to Mum that the last time I had been in Sydney I had felt very disturbed (in my Spirit). It was as if I now knew why (that the storm was approaching). I went on to the roof (which was coloured white and blue= purity and heavenly), I had an umbrella and Mum was still with me.

It was then that I looked up into the sky and saw a large blue rescue helicopter (that looked as though it was the type of chopper that could pick up a large amount of people from being in immediate danger), and watched as it turned and flew away.

Then I wondered why I was on the roof. I kept moving with Mum on the roof when I saw another sight. A man and a woman appeared (the woman was from the tv series- '7th Heaven') and looked at each other. Immediately they recognised one another, as they had had a history of going out with each other in the past. The man loved the woman and the woman the man, and each wanted to be with each other, however the man wasn't sure that the woman really wanted to be with him. The women had been 'on and off' again with the man ad nauseam (again and again and again and again). She had frequently gone back and forth with him. However, the woman reached out to him and he reached out to the woman and they both loved each other, and he still loved her. They spoke to each other and when they did their words were in perfect sync (it was like the conversation revealed that they were meant to be together and that they were meant to be 'one'); their words and conversation agreed with each other perfectly.

Then the dream ended.

INTERPRETATION:

The dream shows that destruction is coming, at the very least, to a part of Sydney, which is very likely to be the area around the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This destruction will come in the form of an INCREDIBLY destructive storm (I cannot over-express the severity of this storm) which will include immensely destructive tornadoes. This storm will DECIMATE the area around Sydney Harbour (at the least), and may also indicate that GREAT DESTRUCTION will hit a lot of Sydney.

The couple represented Jesus and His people; they are both made for each other, and He loves them, but He is not sure whether they want Him, because they have been so 'on and off again' with Him. They speak the same language and they do love each other, but the bride must reach out to Him and stay in a constant relationship with Him in order to secure their safety (previously she has been in and out of a relationship with the Lord so many times the Lord doesn't know if she really wants to be with Him). The helicopter represented that fact that the Lord is wanting to keep His people safe through this time, and 'airlift' them to safety so to speak. The white and blue roof represents the same thing, as does the umbrella. Their protection lies in living in purity (white), then His heavenly protection (the blue on the roof + the blue helicopter) will be upon their house and He will be their umbrella of safety.

There are many examples in the Bible of Christians that died when God's judgment came because they weren't living Godly lives, but rather in disobedience to Him.There are many scriptures that show this as well. If Christians walk with Him, the Lord will keep them safe when this destruction comes and He will save them out of it. If they don't, they won't be safe from the storm that is coming. Many won't accept this dream because they don't have the doctrine for it. The Lord showed me another dream where, though His people thought they were adults in their walk with Him, they are really children in their walk and in their understanding. To themselves and others they appear as adults, but they are really children, that is why many won't accept this dream warning, because they don't have the understanding of the Lord and His Word that they need to have in order to be able to accept it.

I would plead with people that if they live in Sydney to pray about this dream and to consider their walk with the Lord carefully, so that they will be kept safe. If you are reading this, you can be assured that, barring the Lord changing this act of providence out of His mercy, that this dream will come to pass. When it does you will realise that the Lord reveals the future to His people and that this word is true. The Lord watches over His word to perform it.

This has been incredibly hard to share. This is a very bitter (because lives will be lost)/sweet (because His justice is a good thing) thing. The Lord desires that none should perish, but the Word says that He will be no means acquit the guilty if they refuse to repent. There is a short time of grace for everyone, but no one knows when the Lord will say, 'Time's up.'

God bless to everyone out there. Please have 'ears to hear'. The Lord's warnings bring life to those that hear and accept them!