July 24, 2016
Morning Worship
Text: Joel 2:28-29
Subject: Dreams, Visions, and Prophecy
Title: The Joy of Servanthood
Last week I spoke to you about how Jesus was both God and man – not just partially one or the other but fully God and fully man.
This week I want to Look at the human side of Jesus, but I want to do so by looking – not at what He came to do on our behalf – but the pattern He established for our life here as the church – His body.
In John chapter 13 Jesus gave us an illustrated sermon of what our lives should be like. As He washed the feet of the disciples He told them that it was the very thing that they should be doing. And they did. In their submission to God’s will for their lives that disciples created an atmosphere for even greater things to happen. And the same can be true for every one of you who are here today or those who might be listening via the Internet. Servanthood has never been meant to be a burden, but to bring joy to you and all those around you. In your faithfulness to the LORD’s will for your life and for this church you will experience grace. The more faithful you are with the grace given you the more grace you will receive.
Now let’s shift gears here a little. Have you ever been stuck in a place in your faith where it seems like you just can’t make any connection with the LORD? I mean, you pray, and you study and you go to church and you pray some more… and it seems like you are going nowhere!
I’ve been there! I’m being the servant like I was called to be. The pastor of Palmyra First Assembly of God… doing all the work of the ministry – teaching and preaching and loving people and making phone calls and hospital visits – all the stuff a pastor is supposed to do! And yet I seem like I am stuck in a rut. And every time I ask myself what is going on I come to the same conclusion. I am spending more time being a servant than I do listening to the voice of the Master. And I realize how much I am missing out on.
Do you know that the Master wants to speak into your life every day? The Master to His servants? And even more so in these perilous times we are living in!
Joel 2:28-29 (NIV2011)
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
I will appropriate it to my life today…
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…
(Spirit Move video)
I will pour out my Spirit on all people…
Joel 2:28 (MSG)
28 "And that's just the beginning: After that— "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people:
Listen to me! Here is the thing that we have to get. Even people in the world can do good things. They take care of the poor, have compassion on the oppressed, feed the hungry, house the homeless… but they don’t have the Holy Spirit. Does it make any difference as long as people are being taken care of? It does to God. Because if you are going to be His servant then you must be willing to take the time to know what His will is for everything you might do.
Was the apostle Paul a servant of the living God? Sure he was. The most effective evangelist of all time. But in Acts 16 we see Paul making plans to go into areas where it was not God’s will that he should go. He could have gone into Asia or Bythinia… that’s where he wanted to go. But each time the Spirit of the Lord stopped him.
Now look at this. How did Paul end up knowing where the Lord wanted him to go and serve?
Acts 16:9-10 (NIV2011)
9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Oh can you see this? The Lord desires to pour out His Spirit on you for a purpose.
Prophecy, dreams and visions.
Prophecy is not limited to your sons and daughters, nor will it be only old men who will dream dreams or young men who will see visions. The point of this verse is that people from all walks of life, regardless of gender or age, will be able to receive these gifts.
But just as Paul received his guidance through a night vision, it was because he was willing to listen to what the Lord was saying to him. And when he heard, he did…
What does it mean to serve the Lord? We tend to use this language all the time that is called Christianese… And in this language the term serving the Lord or Living for the Lord means being a good person and not doing bad things. But can you really serve the Lord without taking time to hear from Him?
James 4:13-17 (NIV2011)
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” We have a plan for the things we think we should be doing…
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
If it is the Lord’s will shows our intent to hear from God and then do it…
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
James 1:22 (NIV2011)
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Go back to Joel. 28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Prophecy, dreams and visions from the Lord. Who are they for? Everyone!
Someone might say, “Well I don’t have the gift of prophecy”. Have you ever taken the time to just wait in His presence to hear from Him/ How would you know if He wants to give you a word of prophecy if you never listen?
Luke 6:40 (NKJV)
40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
Did Jesus listen to the Father? Was He prepared for the everyday work of His ministry?
How did He get that way?
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
Jesus took time to listen. Now the scriptures don’t tell us how Jesus heard from the Father. Was it a word of prophecy, or a dream or a vision? The real value here is that He knew the voice of the Spirit and however God chose to reveal His will to Jesus, He understood it. He took time to listen.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
Real servants can serve by receiving what the Lord wants to pour out on you. Is it the Father’s will that people receive prophecy dreams and visions? And that is where the joy of servanthood becomes a reality. I know that I am hearing from God and am prepared to do His will.
I just want to share with you what the Lord has shown me in the last few weeks.
I come over to church in the mornings and read and pray and then just take time to listen. From time to time I receive a word of prophecy that I know I need to share. And in the past I have had dreams that I knew were from God that I have recorded. But just in the last few weeks I have begun to receive from the Lord in a different way. First I get on my face before Him and just listen for his voice. But instead of hearing I begin “seeing” in my mind’s eye pictures or video clips. It’s not easy to explain, but I know the Lord is showing me things.
Let me share.
July 11 – I saw a picture of something blowing in the wind like sawdust. The Lord said it was chaff. He is removing (blowing away) all the junk that is mixed in with the good so we can see the good more clearly.
Then I saw a picture of what appeared as an aerial map. It was a little bit like the shape of Australia but it wasn’t Australia. The area was green, which symbolized life and the area outside the shape was fuzzy-out of focus. On one edge of the green was a bright star. That was this church. The star shines brightly but is clearly on the edge of becoming full of life or out of focus.
July 18 – The same scenario… I saw a window with a sunbeam shining through and in the sunbeam what appeared to be dust particles only the particles were very bright. I looked closer and saw that it was the presence of the Lord – and then it was gone, and id sensed the Lord saying that there is a brief window of time available for this church to experience His presence in a miraculous way – but then the window will close along with the opportunity to touch this city.
July 22 – in my minds eye I saw 3 things.
1. a video like it was taken from a low flying helicopter flying over the ground. There was nothing familiar. The ground seemed barren. Everything was passing by quickly.
2. With each one of the different fly-by views I saw there was a small black cross in the center.
3. Each scene was very clear, but lasted on for a short time and then faded.
Servants don’t just do. They hear. They take time to listen to the Master and the Master is saying to the church today:
You are a bright light on the edge between health and obscurity. There is a window available for you to experience My presence in a way you never have before and in doing so the Lord is opening a window for you to touch different segments of this community. But the door will close quickly.
My point is this. I did not receive these visions because I am someone special. I received them because I chose to take the time to wait on the Lord to pour out His Spirit on me in the form of prophecy, dreams or visions. I received them because I am His servant.
And He will do the same for you.
He has given me revelation to share with you. As a servant who has heard the Master’s voice I pass it on to you.
Now, will you take the time to listen? And then begin recording what you sense the Lord showing you. Write it down. If you don’t understand it ask the Lord to show you what it means. Then you can determine whether it is for your own personal benefit or if it is something for the whole church.
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)
3 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
