Scripture: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 (cf. verse 5); Acts 2:17 - 21
Title: Dreams, Visions and Whatnot
Theme: Dreams and Visions
This sermon focuses on how God uses Dreams and Visions in our lives.
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world.
There are some stories in the Bible that just capture your attention. Especially some of the stories that we find in the Old Testament. Stories like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Noah building the Ark, Abraham and Isaac's adventures on Mt. Moriah and the battle that ensued between the boy David and Goliath. Those are stories that are able to stir up the soul and help us in our faith walk.
There are other stories that fill us with wonder and amazement. Stories that surround such individuals as Joseph, the son of Jacob, King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel and the Apostle Paul. This morning's passage contains such a story. It is the story of how God used a dream to communicate with King Solomon. It's a story that guides us to that supernatural world of visions, dreams, signs and wonders.
Dreams and visions are amazing things. There are at least 216 references to dreams and visions and the events that surround them in the Bible. The idea of dreams and visions occur mostly in the books of Genesis and Daniel but we see the idea of dreams and visions scattered throughout God's Word.
Dreams and visions are quite similar. Dreams occur when a person is sleeping while visions usually occur while a person is awake. However, there are some times in the scripture where it is difficult to understand if a person just had a dream or a vision. For example, in Daniel 2:19 the prophet is said to have experienced a night vision. We don't know if he had a vision at night or that was simply the way Daniel referred to God speaking to him through a dream.
This morning, let's take a few moments and look at some of the ways that God does use dreams and visions:
I. God Uses Dreams/Visions as Ways to Talk to Us
First off, we must understand that of not all dreams are direct communications from the Lord God Almighty. The Bible tells us that some dreams are just dreams. Some dreams neither promote or contain some deep supernatural meaning. Some dreams are just that - dreams.
+Some dreams are the byproduct of our brains doing their best to process all the things that happened to us that day (Ecclesiastes 5:3). Scientists tell us that dreams are one way our brains deal with an overload of information and stimuli. Dreams help our minds not explode.
It is also not unusual for us to have some vivid dreams after having a difficult, even traumatic, emotional event experienced during the day. People often dream after having an accident, the death of a love one or finding out some difficult medical news. Scientists tell us that our minds use dreams as a way to bring about emotional healing and wholeness.
+Sometimes our dreams are the result of certain types of chemicals that we have digested. We don't exactly know how but there are those people whose diet affects their dream life. There are those people who have experienced what has been called a "pizza dream". That is a dream that happens sometimes after we have eaten a heavy meal near bedtime or have eaten something that is loaded with simple sugars like candy and chocolate right before going to sleep. Certain people's bodies digest all that stuff and they experience some rather unusual dreams/visions as a side effect.
+Certain prescription medications can cause us to have some rather vivid dreams. Drugs like Codeine, Lexpro, Paxil, Medrol and even high doses of Melatonin have caused some people to have some rather odd dreams. And of course people who use Heroin, marijuana and LSD have reported experiencing some rather unusual dream activity as well.
+Some dreams we would rather not experience at all. Those of course are the ones we call nightmares. They too can be the result of too much food before bedtime and/or certain medications. But we need to understand that they can also be caused by demonic activity. Not all nightmares happen because we watch something scary before we go to bed. If our children or grandchildren are suffering from reoccurring nightmares we need to take the time to examine their nightmares and then cover them with prayer and fasting.
The ability to dream or have visions is a part of being human. We all dream. Our Lord God Almighty wired us that way. And it's true that some people dream in color while others dream in black and white. We don't exactly know why. We do know that most people don't remember every dream they experience. It's very common to have a dream at night but wake up with no memory of it at all.
In saying all of that the really great news is that God does speak to us through our dreams. It is one of the ways that God has been speaking to people since the beginning of time. The book of Genesis is full of people who either had a dream or a vision. People like Abraham, Jacob, King Abimelech, Laban, Joseph, the baker and the butler along with Pharaoh to name a few.
I think one of the things that is amazing about that list is not all of those people were followers of the Good God of Creation - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Some of them were downright pagans who God spoke to through a dream or a vision. Some of them in latter books of the Bible like Balaam never did repent and follow God. But that did not stop God from reaching out to them through a dream or a vision.
The amazing truth is Our LORD does speak to humans through the means of visions and dreams. The really cool thing is on the day of Pentecost the LORD said that He was going to continue that means of speaking to us throughout the rest of the ages. Now, when you read that God will give old men dreams and young men visions please don't think that God is going to only going to speak to males. The LORD is not a respecter of persons - God speaks both to and through men and women, boys and girls. All of us can experience a supernatural dream or vision.
We also know that God uses a number of other means to communicate with us. He not only uses dreams and visions but also speaks to us through His Word, through other people, through our consciences, through His small "still voice" and at times even through His audible voice. The manner that God uses to speak to us doesn't matter a great deal. What matters is that we are open to God speaking to us. What matters is that we are in receptive mode whether we are awake or asleep. We don't want to block the leading and the moving of the Holy Spirit. We want to be open to all of God's channels of communication and that includes dreams, visions, God's Word and so on.
II. God Uses Dreams/Visions to Direct Us
Sometimes God has to do some rather unusual things in our lives to get us to go the right direction. This is what happened in the lives of Jacob, Laban, Joseph of the New Testament and the Apostle Paul. Each one of them experienced a dream/vision that helped them understand which direction they were to take to fulfill God's mission in their lives.
The Bible shares with us two major occasions (Genesis 28:10ff; 31:10ff) that God used a dream/vision in the life of Jacob, the son of Isaac. The first one of course is Jacob's famous dream at Bethel where he sees heaven opening up and sees these angels ascending and descending from earth to heaven and from heaven to earth.
That dream was to reveal a very powerful truth to Jacob. The Lord wanted Jacob to know that He was going with him to Haran. Jacob would not be going alone. The LORD also wanted Jacob to know while he was there he would experience many blessings and anointings. And the LORD wanted him to know that one day he would return back home to the Promise Land.
Later on (Genesis 31:10 ff) the Lord again appeared in a dream to Jacob that it was time to leave and go back to the Promise Land. Everything was being put into order for Jacob to return back home. At the same time the LORD was appearing to Jacob to return home, He was also appearing to Laban his father-in-law to not stop Jacob and his family from leaving. The LORD was providing guidance along with protection.
The Gospel of Matthew shares with us several stories about Joseph having supernatural dreams. The LORD spoke to Joseph through dreams and he told him not to divorce Mary, but to take her as his wife. Later on the LORD uses a dream to give Joseph some specific instructions concerning going to Egypt and then coming back from Egypt.
St. Luke tells us in Acts chapter 16 that the LORD used a night vision to get the Apostle Paul's attention. Paul had planned on going east towards Asia Minor/Turkey but the LORD redirected Paul to go west towards Macedonia. Instead of going towards Turkey and the seven churches that John writes about in the book of Revelation, the Apostle Paul goes towards the cities of Philippi, Corinth, Colossae, Ephesus and others.
Does God always us a dream or a night vision? Of course not. But there are times that God does use a dream to get us to go into a different direction. There are times that God uses a dream/vision to get someone's attention that helps them redirect their life. There are times that God uses a dream to help someone begin the journey to come to faith.
That is what happened to a young man by the name of Tariq. As a child Tariq was troubled with reoccurring nightmares. He would dream about these monsters that would come and do their best to hurt him. Tariq would wake up in great pain and mental anguish. His parents didn't know what to do or how to help him. One night in the middle of the same reoccurring dream something unusual happened. Listen to how Tariq describes it:
“One night, in the middle of my dream Jesus appeared,” Tariq explained. “He was surrounded by light. He raised up his hand and the monsters disappeared.”1
There was only one problem. Tariq's family was Muslim. While the rest of the family didn't appreciate Tariq's dream, his mother was opened to the dream and helped Tariq deal with it. She didn't know exactly why Jesus had appeared to her Muslim son but his presence seemed to take away the nightmares and that was enough for her.
Some years later Tariq saw the Jesus Film and seeing Jesus in that movie put it all together. At the end of the movie when the invitation was given he gave his heart and life to Jesus. What God started off in a dream led to his receiving Jesus as Savior and LORD. We serve an amazing God.
Tariq's encounter is not just a one off. There are hundreds of stories similar to Tariq's. The LORD has used dreams to help people redirect their lives since the beginning of time. Does the LORD always use dreams in this fashion? No, but we need to be open to dreams and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal their meaning to us. We need to be open to the LORD using whatever means He needs to help us along our faith journey.
III. God uses Dreams/Visions to Warn Us
One of the strangest ways God used a dream to warn someone was in the life of King Abimelech. We find his story in Genesis chapter 20:1-7.
King Abimelech was getting ready to marry Sarah, Abraham's wife. Abraham had told everyone that Sarah was not his wife but his sister. Actually, Sarah was Abraham's half-sister but back in that day it was not seen as being wrong to marry one's half-sister. I know, strange times.
Abraham was afraid that if he told King Abimelech that Sara was his wife that King Abimelech would simply kill him and take her to be one of his wives. Sarah was so beautiful that any man seeing her instantly wanted to be with her. Even though she was in her late 80's she was still a beauty queen.
It didn't help that the culture of that time allowed such barbaric behavior. Many of the ancient kings felt that they had the right to have any woman they wanted. If they wanted a beautiful woman and she was married then there was no problem. All they had to do was to kill her husband and take her as their own. Promise solved.
And sure enough as soon as King Abimelech thought he could have Sarah he takes her and puts her with his other women to prepare a day when he could marry her. But God was not happy with Abraham, Sarah or King Abimelech.
Abraham and Sarah had already messed up with Sarah's handmaiden, Hagar. God had revealed to Abraham and Sarah that Sarah was to have the promise child with Abraham as the father not King Abimelech. God was not going to let Abraham and Sarah mess this up. To make sure everything went according to plan the LORD appears to King Abimelech in a dream and scares him to death. If Abraham and Sarah are not going to get a clue then God will step in and put all of this foolishness to a halt.
Thankfully, King Abimelech understands and quickly sends Sarah back to Abraham and prays for forgiveness. That's what happens when the Lord speaks to you like He spoke to King Abimelech:
"But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, 'Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.'" (Genesis 20:3 NKJB).
Abimelech wants nothing to do that would cause God to take his life or to curse him or his people.
In the Gospel of Matthew we read how the Wise Men were given signs and wonders along with scripture and dreams. They were led to the Promise Land by the stars. They traveled for weeks and perhaps months by looking at the heavens for guidance and direction. They ended up in Jerusalem for further instructions. There they heard the scriptures being read to them telling them that they should go on to the city of Bethlehem where they would find the Christ child. Once they found Jesus, Matthew tells us that they worshiped and honored Jesus and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Earlier they had promised King Herod that they would return to him and tell him that they had found the Christ child - the one who would become the king of Israel. However, they were warned in a dream to go back a different way because King Herod did not want to honor and worship Jesus but wanted to kill baby Jesus. King Herod did not want a rival king even if that king was still a child.
The wise men's story is an amazing one. They are completely open to God's direction and guidance. If God wants to speak to them through nature they are open. If God wants to speak to them through His Holy Word they are open. If God wants to speak to them through visions and dreams they are open. Their lives are completely surrendered to the LORD and are fully open for the LORD to speak to them regardless of the manner in which God chooses.
I think they show us the way we are to approach God. If God wants to speak to us through a small still voice then we are to be open. If God wants to speak to us through His Holy Word we are to be open. If God wants to speak to us through nature we are to be open. If God wants to speak to us through signs and wonders, dreams and visions we are to be open.
The only thing that God does not want us to do is to go to psychics, mediums, fortunetellers and the like. These are forbidden areas for us to find consultation. The same God that gives us a dream or a vision will (if we are faithful in time) reveal to us that dream whether it be through someone like Joseph, Nathan or even an angel like he did with Daniel and John. Most of the time God Himself will help us understand the dream by His Holy Spirit.
IV. Sometimes God gives us Dreams to Encourage Us and Promote Us
King Solomon's dream was a dream intended to both encourage and promote the young King. He is a just a young man. He knows that in his own strength there is no way he can measure up to being a king like his father King David.
Solomon was not the man you would go to if you needed to get rid of a lion or a bear. That type of mission was not in his wheelhouse. He was not the kind of man that you put up front leading your army into the teeth of battle. He was not the kind of man to run rough shod over all 12 tribes of Israel.
Instead, Solomon was a intellectual. He was a scholar at heart. He was a diplomat. He was cut from a very diverse piece of cloth than his father. Solomon was a peace maker and a builder. He was a man who knew how to promote serenity and prosperity. He was a man who was able to bring everyone around the table and find common ground rather than go outside the gates of Jerusalem and fight battles with swords and shields.
Verse five tells us that the LORD appeared to him in a dream and as a result God not only encouraged Solomon but rewarded him with this amazing mind. God granted Solomon the ability to be a man of great insight, understanding and knowledge. He enabled Solomon to see and experience things no other human being since Adam has experienced. Solomon was famous for his ability to write, to compose music and for his wisdom and intellect. Solomon possessed more wisdom and knowledge than any man alive at the time.
"Behold, I have done according to your words, see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall ahy like you arise after you." (1 Kings 3:12 NKJB).
God used a dream to get Solomon's attention and to bestow upon him these wonderful gifts.
God used dreams and visions to do the same in the life of young Joseph of the Old Testament. God showed him the future, God revealed to Joseph His plans and it was through a dream that God promoted Joseph. It was not Joseph's individual dream but it was his ability to interpret that dream. Joseph was shown supernaturally the dream of Pharaoh and God used that as a means for Joseph to not only save Egypt but his own people as well. Then God used the famine to reunite Joseph's family and save them as well.
Did you know this morning that Albert Einstein believed that he received certain insights through dreams. He attributed his theory of relativity from a dream that he had as a child. That dream made such an impression on him that later on in his life it opened up the doors for his mind to understand the theories of space, time and matter. The power of dreams and the ways that God uses them is simply amazing.
This morning, most of us have at one time either watched or used a sewing machine. Did you know that the inventor of the sewing machine needle got the idea from a dream? Elias Howe; the inventor of the sewing machine needle was working on all kinds of ideas and one night suddenly in the middle of a dream it was revealed to him what he needed to do. He was up by 4 am and by 9 am the first sewing machine needle had been invented. The power of dreams and the ways that God uses them is simply amazing.
Most of us here this morning wouldn't know anything about a man by the name of Frederick Banting. However, anyone who has to take insulin today might know a little about him. Frederick Banting is the father of creating and using insulin. He got the idea by way of a dream. Millions of people have been able to live productive lives who otherwise would have died had this man not been open to receiving a dream. The power of dreams and the ways that God uses them is simply amazing.
It was said that many of Beethoven's greatest works of music came from dreams. He would hear the music in his dreams and then write them down afterwards. It has also been stated that some of his dreams featured instruments that have yet to be invented. Sadly, Beethoven did not leave behind some of the diagrams of those instruments. It would be interesting if having those instruments would cause us to love some of his music even more today.
We should not dismiss our dreams this morning. Yes, a great many of them will just be dreams that have contain no supernatural meaning, guidance or direction. Yes, some of them may be just our minds processing all the stuff that is going on in our lives. And yes, some of them may be because we ate too much of the wrong kind of foods the night before.
But we must understand that dreams and visions have been promised to us by the Holy Spirit. It is there in the Bible in black and white. While not everyone may dream or have a vision the fact is Acts 2:17 tells us that the LORD will use this method to talk to us as individuals and as a community.
After Saul's (Paul's) encounter on the Damascus road there needed to be someone who would bring healing and wholeness into his life. Most Christians were scared to death of Paul for good reason. He had done his best to put them into prison and/or put them to death. No rational person wanted to be near this man.
However, God used a dream/vision to tell a man by the name of Ananias to go and receive Saul. We find the story in Acts 9:10 - 19. It's an amazing story of how God had to connect to Ananias in a rather unusual way so that Paul could be brought to faith and start his spiritual journey. It would have never happened if Ananias had not been open to receiving a dream/vision. It would have never happened if Ananias hadn't obeyed that dream/vision. That is the power of a Spirit given vision/dream.
So, with all this in mind what do we do? How do we handle such things as dreams and visions?
1. I believe we must be open to any means that our LORD wants to use to speak to us - be it His Word, His Audible Voice, His Still Small Voice, Our Conscience, a Vision, a dream or whatever. I believe we are to surrender our hearts, minds and souls to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. It should be one of our greatest desires to become a great big receiver to His leadings and guidance.
2. I believe we are filter everything through His Holy Spirit. When it comes to dreams we need to always remember that not all dreams are Holy Spirit given. Some are simply normal dreams while others may be the result of a strange diet or our minds doing their best to process all that we have been doing at the time. But then again some dreams do come through God's Holy Spirit. We don't need to take our dreams lightly.
3. If we do think we have had a special dream one of the best things we can do is to try to write down as much of it as we can remember. Then we must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants to share with us - it would be good for us to look at all the dreams in the Bible. And for us to look at all the symbols that we find in the Bible. They can be of great value to us.
It is true that there are a number of dream sites and books about dreams but we must be careful in using them. Not all of them are spiritual and not all of them are holy. There are a lot of people playing with witch craft and psychics who want to tell you what your dream means for a few dollars in their pockets. Stay away from such people and things. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you.
The Bible and the Lord is the best ones to go to with a dream. The God who gives the dream will give you its meaning if you pray for it, search for it and wait for it. God does not talk to us through any means just to let us go around in confusion. If we don't understand our dreams after a period of time then let them go. It could be that they were just dreams with no supernatural meaning at all.
And if we do have a supernatural dream we have to be careful to follow God's leading step by step. In the book of Daniel we read how King Nebuchadnezzar was given this wonderful dream. It was to help him get closer to the Good God of Creation - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It was to help him understand the power and presence of God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
However, he took the dream and twisted it. He didn't intently listen to Daniel and instead saw an opportunity to elevate himself. Instead of his life and his kingdom being only a part of the future he created this image in which he was all of the future. That is why King Nebuchadnezzar made the whole image out of gold. Nebuchadnezzar thought he could take God's dream and recast it. He thought he could make sure that no kingdom existed after his. He thought by making this image of gold he would rewrite history. He was badly mistaken.
In the last book of the Bible, John the Revelator does the opposite. He follows the instructions laid out in his dreams/visions. He writes exactly what the Lord revealed in a series of dreams/visions. And today, we are all the better for it, for we have the Book of Revelation.
In my life time I have enjoyed a great many dreams and visions. Most of them have just been normal everyday dreams. A few of them have been given to me to guide me, reveal God's plan for me and to bring encouragement and peace. A few of them have revealed God's plan for a community of believers or for an individual that God wanted to promote. I don't take any of them lightly.
I do open my life up for God to speak to me through any means that He decides. A long time ago I started asking God to speak to me through the night. Psalms 46:10 tells us that we are to be still and know that God is God. What better time to be still than when we get ready to fall asleep.
I figured this out - if we have to be asleep for around 2,900 hours a year why not ask the LORD to use that time to spend time with us, talk to us and guide us. Think about that - 2,900 hours a year. Most people sleep more hours a year than they work. So, if we are going to be in a relaxed mode for that long why not ask the LORD to come and speak to us? That is approx. 1/3rd of the hours we will live in a year. Why wouldn't we want the LORD to speak to us?
I guess one of the ways we could end our service today is to give everyone a cot, a pillow and a warm cup of milk and tell you to go and do your best to dream. That might be nice but I don't think it would work too well. God will give you the dream or vision that He wants you to have - you don't have to manipulate it. All you have to do is to be open and ask God to do His Will in Your Life.
Not everyone will be given a dream or a vision. But it never hurts to ask God. Who knows - God has used dreams and visions before - perhaps He has one for you as well.
What we can do is to sing a hymn about allow God to work through us and speak to us. This morning let's close by singing that old hymn - I AM THINE O LORD
As we sing play special attention to the words; especially the last verse.
Song/Open Altar/Prayer/Blessing
1(https://www.cru.org/us/en/communities/ministries/the-jesus-film-project/does-jesus-appear-in-dreams.html
