A Prophetic Glimpse of 2007
The Dream: (a prophetic indication for the year 2007)
The last road-ministry trip I made last year was profoundly significant for many reasons. Two weeks before I left I had a strong indication that I was to visit a particular woman, who had been in the fellowship we went to Nova Scotia to pastor in 1989. I felt the Spirit was instructing that this would be my final visit with her here on earth- that she, in fact, would not be here for Christmas. I made my visit and carefully said my “Goodbye”. I was informed on Saturday- the last Saturday before Christmas of the year just passed- that her funeral service was taking place.
Before I got out of Ontario on that same trip I began to feel little shots of sadness- and with them came the persistent word ‘closure’- that this trip was about closure. I considered that the closure related to what I had already felt about this woman. However, it turned out to involve issues beyond the passing of the woman- and in fact her passing was to me a strange prophetic indication of a much wider application of what the Spirit was indicating in His speaking to me the word ‘closure.’
The wider reality of closure had to do with issues and images I carried in my heart for the fellowship I once pastored. I am not free to detail those things at this time but I will tell you it was nothing short of miraculous in how the Holy Spirit brought this about.
Having finished my appointed ministry in that fellowship, I was feeling very empty and sad; it’s not easy to walk away from something in which you have invested your heart, soul, guts, and life- and which has now been reduced to almost nothing.
In the swirl of all the emotion of that I kept feeling that the Holy Spirit had something to add to all of this. And I recalled the temptation to resort to sweat, and striving to pull that word out of Him- the way I used to think it happened. However, I knew God did not want me going down that sweaty trail again- that if there was something He wanted speak to me, He would speak and I would hear.
It was a Tuesday night, and I deliberately drew myself back from the striving to hear, and simply said to the Lord that if there was something more to hear then I welcomed His voice.
I went to sleep- and here is what He spoke in the form of a dream. And please remember, as you hear this, that the language of the Spirit is symbolic rather than literal, and that only by the Spirit can the symbolism be interpreted.
The dream
In the beginning of the dream I did not see myself present in it. I was looking into a reasonably large room filled with people. Everyone was seated; no movement, which was significant indicating that each person was stuck where they were and there was no vision beyond their present reality.
There was not a whole person in the room. Every individual was at a particular level of brokenness. The room was filled with disability, brokenness, lost-ness and dysfunction. And perhaps more than any other reality, there was no community or connection within the room. Although people were sitting right up against each other there was no awareness of the others. Each individual in the room was isolated within their own particular brokenness, disability, and dysfunction.
As I looked into this scene there was a word that came to me- the word was ‘chaos.’ It is important to note that this chaos was not characterised by violence or aggressive behaviour. Just the opposite- it was the chaos of passivity, isolationism, non-activity; the chaos of no initiative, no vision- the chaos of consciousness centred in and upon self without reference to anyone else in the room. And the single word that kept coming up out of it was ‘Chaotic, Chaotic.’
Then at the very centre of this scene- the centre of the room- there appeared a figure. She had not been seen before this moment. And although she very suddenly appeared, I knew that she had actually appeared or emerged right out of the centre of this world of brokenness.
She was a much older woman. She was well dressed. She carried an irresistible sense of dignity, quiet authority, purpose- and was very intentional. She was not distracted nor disturbed by the state of the room. She was so focused and full of purpose, it was as if she was unconscious of the chaos. She moved with deliberate step- and was a woman with a mission.
As I watched her, I knew that at one time she had been part of the chaos- she had experienced all of the brokenness, disability, disorder, and dysfunction in the room. But now everything about her spoke of grace, dignity, quietness of spirit, and deliberate purpose. But most of all- in her there was no need to prove anything, no need to defend anything, not even the need to change anything in the room. She was there to accomplish one thing- and I will get to that now.
In her left hand she carried a package wrapped in linen cloth. As she moved out from the centre of the room she spoke these words- “The time has come.” The minute those words were spoken I appeared in the dream and was standing (positioned) right in front of her and very close to her. No words passed between us. She simply shoved the linen wrapped package into my left pocket. Nothing was said, nothing explained, no direction given. But I knew instinctively the most important impartation of my life had just taken place. The woman disappeared and was never seen again in the dream.
I became highly conscious of the need to discover what had been imparted- and yet I felt it was out of place to do so at the centre of the room. Without walking there, I was suddenly in a corner- a place of reasonable isolation- but never removed from the room itself.
At that moment Wenda appeared in the room, in the corner with me. I began to tell her that something very profound had been imparted into me and that it was time to discover its measure. I reached into my left pocket and began pulling out the package the old lady had given me. The linen wrapper fell away, the contents began falling out. My pocket was filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars. But here’s the real twist- the more I pulled out the contents of the pocket the more the pocket filled up with money. I was using both hands to try to empty the pocket- money was falling and flying everywhere, but the pocket was never diminished- there was never any less measure in the pocket regardless of the measure that was emptied out. In fact, it was just the opposite; with the release the pocket became even more full than the original measure.
At this point of wonder I turned to share all this with Wenda, and here is what I saw in the dream. Wenda was standing in the same corner with me but was having her own experience of discovery in that corner. Diamonds and a whole variety of precious jewels were falling all around her. They covered the floor at her feet- and were falling on her.
In looking upon and handling all of this these words were heard in the dream- ‘The True Riches of the Kingdom of God Have Come.’ At that point I looked back into the room and not one thing had changed- the chaos remained the same. Then I heard the words- ‘The distribution of the true riches of the Kingdom of God.’
At that point (and this is a bit difficult to express) the room divided horizontally into two levels or layers. There was a surface level, and then a very deep level beneath the surface. This was very important in the dream. The surface level was only paper thin- it was not the dominate nor defining reality. For certain it was there- always present, but as thin as a piece of veneer. On that level the chaos was still present.
However, just beneath that level of the chaos- immediately beneath it and pressing up against it and filling this very deep level beneath the surface was the true riches of the Kingdom of God.
And then two other words came to me in the dream. The first had to do with the relationship between the chaos and the Kingdom riches. And what I clearly heard and understood in the dream was that the true riches of the Kingdom of God are both formed and then manifested in the presence and the pressure of the chaos. Secondly, I clearly understood that there was a choice to make regarding focus; I can focus upon the surface realities of the chaos, or I can see beyond the surface and focus upon the much deeper reality of the ever-present, ever-increasing, always enlarging and expanding true riches of the Kingdom of God. To focus here is not to deny the chaos, but it is to live out of Kingdom reality rather than chaos consciousness.
That is the dream. Without attempting to bring any significant interpretation to it, there are a few things I want to speak into the corporate life of KCF on this first Sunday of this New Year- things I believe to be of a prophetic nature.
First of all I believe there is a definite application to my life and Wenda’s. We have made a very long journey through chaos. In the pressure of that chaos something wonderful has been happening. And by the way, that word ‘pressure’ is significant. Gemstones are not just defined by the minerals that make them up. It is pressure that transforms those collection of minerals into gems. In fact the only difference between coal and diamonds is the measure of pressure.
I mention this only for this reason- and by no means do I wish to be arrogant in this. But the apostle wrote by Devine inspiration that we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. But I always like to add that he did not tell us to think more lowly of ourselves than we ought- for such attitude reflects false humility. What he did tell us was that we should have a mature assessment of ourselves.
In addition to this I feel it is vital that you (the corporate body) must also have a mature assessment of those God has appointed to labour among you. Regarding this, I simply want to suggest that there are Kingdom riches that can only be experienced and realised with the pressure of the journey- and the longer the journey the more significant the riches. In other words there is a mature fruit that can only come with age. There is a quality of wine to be realised only with the process of time.
With that in mind, it causes me no disturbance at all to affirm the truth in this community that we right now are partakers of the very best fruit, the very pure riches, and the high quality gems forged and formed and fashioned in the pressure of the journey Pastor Dave and Marilyn have made. To the extent that I recognise and honour that my heart will be open to freely receive the increase that comes from that impartation. To the extent that I fail to recognise this, my heart will be closed and I will be cheated of the blessing and benefit of that impartation.
This is why the apostle Paul did not draw back from declaring his apostleship. It was not for his benefit- nor was he on an ego trip. He understood that to receive what had been deposited in him by the Lord was very much determined by ones acceptance of who he was in the Lord.
I don’t mind recognising this truth regarding Dave and Marilyn- but I am a bit awkward with what I feel I need to say at this point. But the truth is we have been added to this house; we have not been hired by this house to perform ministry or to fill certain roles. We have been added to the house by the Holy Spirit and have been set in the house by the Holy Spirit. The first (and make no mistake about this) the first and defining reality of our being joined to this house is that we have been joined to Pastor Dave and Marilyn- joined in life, in spiritual experience, in vision, joined in mission and joined in ministry; and perhaps above all we have been joined in love- in mutual respect and honour.
But there has also been a joining or a pooling of the Kingdom riches, the gems and precious stones of Kingdom realities and values which have been formed in our lives over the course and through the pressure of the journey God has taken us on. Whatever the measure of that may be, that measure is now being poured out into the corporate life of this fellowship.
There is a strong prophetic word in all of this. First of all the greatest measure of our contribution of the true Kingdom riches is not behind us but in front of us. Secondly this contribution is to be centred in this house- this community. Consequently, you are the recipients of our greatest contribution. But thirdly, all of this is not finally about us as an end in itself- it’s about the mandate God has given us from the streets of our city to the nations of the world. And as such, it is going to require every drop of what the ‘aged lady’ in the dream imparted. And regarding what has been received it is going require- going to demand- open hands of release as opposed to tight fisted possession.
The scripture that has come with this is the following, and I would suggest that it be viewed as a theme scripture for the coming year and that we display it each Sunday morning.
ISA 60:1 “ Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD
has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep
darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will
appear upon you. “ Nations will come to your light, And kings to the
brightness of your rising.“ Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all
gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your
daughters will be carried in the arms. “Then you will see and be radiant,
And your heart will thrill and rejoice;
My prophetic sense of the year ahead is that we are going to experience an increased consciousness of world darkness, and yet right in it’s presence and just beneath its paper-thin surface we are going to experience a release and distribution of Kingdom realities like never before in our experience. And while we are going to hear the report of this from many quarters of the church- none will be as experientially real as what we are brought into around the activity in that field next door, the streets of our city, and the nations beyond.
The last road-ministry trip I made last year was profoundly significant for many reasons. Two weeks before I left I had a strong indication that I was to visit a particular woman, who had been in the fellowship we went to Nova Scotia to pastor in 1989. I felt the Spirit was instructing that this would be my final visit with her here on earth- that she, in fact, would not be here for Christmas. I made my visit and carefully said my “Goodbye”. I was informed on Saturday- the last Saturday before Christmas of the year just passed- that her funeral service was taking place.
Before I got out of Ontario on that same trip I began to feel little shots of sadness- and with them came the persistent word ‘closure’- that this trip was about closure. I considered that the closure related to what I had already felt about this woman. However, it turned out to involve issues beyond the passing of the woman- and in fact her passing was to me a strange prophetic indication of a much wider application of what the Spirit was indicating in His speaking to me the word ‘closure.’
The wider reality of closure had to do with issues and images I carried in my heart for the fellowship I once pastored. I am not free to detail those things at this time but I will tell you it was nothing short of miraculous in how the Holy Spirit brought this about.
Having finished my appointed ministry in that fellowship, I was feeling very empty and sad; it’s not easy to walk away from something in which you have invested your heart, soul, guts, and life- and which has now been reduced to almost nothing.
In the swirl of all the emotion of that I kept feeling that the Holy Spirit had something to add to all of this. And I recalled the temptation to resort to sweat, and striving to pull that word out of Him- the way I used to think it happened. However, I knew God did not want me going down that sweaty trail again- that if there was something He wanted speak to me, He would speak and I would hear.
It was a Tuesday night, and I deliberately drew myself back from the striving to hear, and simply said to the Lord that if there was something more to hear then I welcomed His voice.
I went to sleep- and here is what He spoke in the form of a dream. And please remember, as you hear this, that the language of the Spirit is symbolic rather than literal, and that only by the Spirit can the symbolism be interpreted.
The dream
In the beginning of the dream I did not see myself present in it. I was looking into a reasonably large room filled with people. Everyone was seated; no movement, which was significant indicating that each person was stuck where they were and there was no vision beyond their present reality.
There was not a whole person in the room. Every individual was at a particular level of brokenness. The room was filled with disability, brokenness, lost-ness and dysfunction. And perhaps more than any other reality, there was no community or connection within the room. Although people were sitting right up against each other there was no awareness of the others. Each individual in the room was isolated within their own particular brokenness, disability, and dysfunction.
As I looked into this scene there was a word that came to me- the word was ‘chaos.’ It is important to note that this chaos was not characterised by violence or aggressive behaviour. Just the opposite- it was the chaos of passivity, isolationism, non-activity; the chaos of no initiative, no vision- the chaos of consciousness centred in and upon self without reference to anyone else in the room. And the single word that kept coming up out of it was ‘Chaotic, Chaotic.’
Then at the very centre of this scene- the centre of the room- there appeared a figure. She had not been seen before this moment. And although she very suddenly appeared, I knew that she had actually appeared or emerged right out of the centre of this world of brokenness.
She was a much older woman. She was well dressed. She carried an irresistible sense of dignity, quiet authority, purpose- and was very intentional. She was not distracted nor disturbed by the state of the room. She was so focused and full of purpose, it was as if she was unconscious of the chaos. She moved with deliberate step- and was a woman with a mission.
As I watched her, I knew that at one time she had been part of the chaos- she had experienced all of the brokenness, disability, disorder, and dysfunction in the room. But now everything about her spoke of grace, dignity, quietness of spirit, and deliberate purpose. But most of all- in her there was no need to prove anything, no need to defend anything, not even the need to change anything in the room. She was there to accomplish one thing- and I will get to that now.
In her left hand she carried a package wrapped in linen cloth. As she moved out from the centre of the room she spoke these words- “The time has come.” The minute those words were spoken I appeared in the dream and was standing (positioned) right in front of her and very close to her. No words passed between us. She simply shoved the linen wrapped package into my left pocket. Nothing was said, nothing explained, no direction given. But I knew instinctively the most important impartation of my life had just taken place. The woman disappeared and was never seen again in the dream.
I became highly conscious of the need to discover what had been imparted- and yet I felt it was out of place to do so at the centre of the room. Without walking there, I was suddenly in a corner- a place of reasonable isolation- but never removed from the room itself.
At that moment Wenda appeared in the room, in the corner with me. I began to tell her that something very profound had been imparted into me and that it was time to discover its measure. I reached into my left pocket and began pulling out the package the old lady had given me. The linen wrapper fell away, the contents began falling out. My pocket was filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars. But here’s the real twist- the more I pulled out the contents of the pocket the more the pocket filled up with money. I was using both hands to try to empty the pocket- money was falling and flying everywhere, but the pocket was never diminished- there was never any less measure in the pocket regardless of the measure that was emptied out. In fact, it was just the opposite; with the release the pocket became even more full than the original measure.
At this point of wonder I turned to share all this with Wenda, and here is what I saw in the dream. Wenda was standing in the same corner with me but was having her own experience of discovery in that corner. Diamonds and a whole variety of precious jewels were falling all around her. They covered the floor at her feet- and were falling on her.
In looking upon and handling all of this these words were heard in the dream- ‘The True Riches of the Kingdom of God Have Come.’ At that point I looked back into the room and not one thing had changed- the chaos remained the same. Then I heard the words- ‘The distribution of the true riches of the Kingdom of God.’
At that point (and this is a bit difficult to express) the room divided horizontally into two levels or layers. There was a surface level, and then a very deep level beneath the surface. This was very important in the dream. The surface level was only paper thin- it was not the dominate nor defining reality. For certain it was there- always present, but as thin as a piece of veneer. On that level the chaos was still present.
However, just beneath that level of the chaos- immediately beneath it and pressing up against it and filling this very deep level beneath the surface was the true riches of the Kingdom of God.
And then two other words came to me in the dream. The first had to do with the relationship between the chaos and the Kingdom riches. And what I clearly heard and understood in the dream was that the true riches of the Kingdom of God are both formed and then manifested in the presence and the pressure of the chaos. Secondly, I clearly understood that there was a choice to make regarding focus; I can focus upon the surface realities of the chaos, or I can see beyond the surface and focus upon the much deeper reality of the ever-present, ever-increasing, always enlarging and expanding true riches of the Kingdom of God. To focus here is not to deny the chaos, but it is to live out of Kingdom reality rather than chaos consciousness.
That is the dream. Without attempting to bring any significant interpretation to it, there are a few things I want to speak into the corporate life of KCF on this first Sunday of this New Year- things I believe to be of a prophetic nature.
First of all I believe there is a definite application to my life and Wenda’s. We have made a very long journey through chaos. In the pressure of that chaos something wonderful has been happening. And by the way, that word ‘pressure’ is significant. Gemstones are not just defined by the minerals that make them up. It is pressure that transforms those collection of minerals into gems. In fact the only difference between coal and diamonds is the measure of pressure.
I mention this only for this reason- and by no means do I wish to be arrogant in this. But the apostle wrote by Devine inspiration that we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. But I always like to add that he did not tell us to think more lowly of ourselves than we ought- for such attitude reflects false humility. What he did tell us was that we should have a mature assessment of ourselves.
In addition to this I feel it is vital that you (the corporate body) must also have a mature assessment of those God has appointed to labour among you. Regarding this, I simply want to suggest that there are Kingdom riches that can only be experienced and realised with the pressure of the journey- and the longer the journey the more significant the riches. In other words there is a mature fruit that can only come with age. There is a quality of wine to be realised only with the process of time.
With that in mind, it causes me no disturbance at all to affirm the truth in this community that we right now are partakers of the very best fruit, the very pure riches, and the high quality gems forged and formed and fashioned in the pressure of the journey Pastor Dave and Marilyn have made. To the extent that I recognise and honour that my heart will be open to freely receive the increase that comes from that impartation. To the extent that I fail to recognise this, my heart will be closed and I will be cheated of the blessing and benefit of that impartation.
This is why the apostle Paul did not draw back from declaring his apostleship. It was not for his benefit- nor was he on an ego trip. He understood that to receive what had been deposited in him by the Lord was very much determined by ones acceptance of who he was in the Lord.
I don’t mind recognising this truth regarding Dave and Marilyn- but I am a bit awkward with what I feel I need to say at this point. But the truth is we have been added to this house; we have not been hired by this house to perform ministry or to fill certain roles. We have been added to the house by the Holy Spirit and have been set in the house by the Holy Spirit. The first (and make no mistake about this) the first and defining reality of our being joined to this house is that we have been joined to Pastor Dave and Marilyn- joined in life, in spiritual experience, in vision, joined in mission and joined in ministry; and perhaps above all we have been joined in love- in mutual respect and honour.
But there has also been a joining or a pooling of the Kingdom riches, the gems and precious stones of Kingdom realities and values which have been formed in our lives over the course and through the pressure of the journey God has taken us on. Whatever the measure of that may be, that measure is now being poured out into the corporate life of this fellowship.
There is a strong prophetic word in all of this. First of all the greatest measure of our contribution of the true Kingdom riches is not behind us but in front of us. Secondly this contribution is to be centred in this house- this community. Consequently, you are the recipients of our greatest contribution. But thirdly, all of this is not finally about us as an end in itself- it’s about the mandate God has given us from the streets of our city to the nations of the world. And as such, it is going to require every drop of what the ‘aged lady’ in the dream imparted. And regarding what has been received it is going require- going to demand- open hands of release as opposed to tight fisted possession.
The scripture that has come with this is the following, and I would suggest that it be viewed as a theme scripture for the coming year and that we display it each Sunday morning.
ISA 60:1 “ Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD
has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep
darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will
appear upon you. “ Nations will come to your light, And kings to the
brightness of your rising.“ Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all
gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your
daughters will be carried in the arms. “Then you will see and be radiant,
And your heart will thrill and rejoice;
My prophetic sense of the year ahead is that we are going to experience an increased consciousness of world darkness, and yet right in it’s presence and just beneath its paper-thin surface we are going to experience a release and distribution of Kingdom realities like never before in our experience. And while we are going to hear the report of this from many quarters of the church- none will be as experientially real as what we are brought into around the activity in that field next door, the streets of our city, and the nations beyond.