5 Things That God Does With Dreams

Most of the passages we have looked at basically infers that God speaks through dreams. I find today’s passage particularly interesting because it doesn’t need us to do any inference. It tells us plainly that God speaks through dreams and even gives us reasons why He does.

"Why do you contend against him, saying, ‘He will answer none of man's words’? For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man; he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword." Job 33:13-18

The scriptures confront every school of thought that God is too big to speak to man. Many say if indeed there is an Almighty God, He would be infinite and have no basis to speak with finite Man. Some go ahead to say that even if He does, there is no way to capture that. But that is exactly the case. Man is God’s noblest creation. Man is a creation of love and so God will always descent to speak to him. God put Himself in man; He made man in his image and likeness, so we have some form of potential to hear Him.

1. He opens our ears: 

The fact that God speaks is still too marvellous a thought for many. So one way God decides to train our ears is with dreams. With dreams, we can hardly be distracted. We are already cut off from the world around and so would be easier to focus on the elements of our dreams. God opens our ears: the ears with which we perceive divine things. I have a dear friend who dreams about events in the Bible. This experience has opened the pathway for a firsthand experience and better understanding of the scriptures. Ps 16:7 “I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.”

2. He constantly gives us warnings:

For every product that is abused, we get some form of warning signs that we aren’t using them as we ought. A stabilizer will point to a red zone when exposed to dangerous voltage. Phones beep with low battery notification when running out of battery power. Softwares log errors when unexpected parameters are provided. Humans are God’s creatures with a warning mechanism: dreams. One of the many warnings I received in a dream is to read by books at a time when I spent more time doing ‘Church stuff.’ This for me meant God was also concerned about my life outside of ‘Church.

3. He keeps us from pride and self-given purpose:

God made man with a purpose in mind. However, because we are such sophisticated creatures, we can think and decide that our new life purpose is to do something entirely different. This is an aberration and even without judgement leads to self destruction. Just like warnings, God uses dreams to constantly save us from our self-given life purpose. Pro 14:12 “There is a way which seem right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

4. He keeps our soul from the pit:

This I think is one of the most important purposes of dreams. The ultimate result of all the dreams we are given is that we should not pass away with time. It is God’s desire that we migrate into eternity as His Image and likeness that we are. God’s ultimate goal for speaking to us is to once again like the beginning come alive. Without God’s words, we are like Adam without God’s breadth. His words quickens us and builds us into creatures that can live for eternity.

5. He keeps us from perishing by the sword:

As a condiment to the meal of benefits, God also preserves our lives from death by giving us dreams to guide our steps. I have heard of several men whom God spared with a dream.

Paying more attention to the dreams we receive means that we become more alert to hear from God even from other mediums. It also means we can life a life of purpose with constance guidance when we want to slip away. It means we can save ourselves from experimenting our self-given purposes and rather explore God’s predestinated path for which He already made a provision.

Dreams: A Defining Moment

Dreams are not just one way. We can engage God in a conversation. We can pray in the dream too! I am sure that some who always falls asleep at prayer time is excited, “at least I can continue praying in my sleep.” The point here is that, we can ask and receive via dreams too. We should always be alert. We are not primarily creatures of nature. We have more stake in the supernatural world. We can take a peek into Gods agenda for our lives in the dream and live them out here.

1 Kings 3:5-15 

In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, "... Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 

And God said unto him, "Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days." 

And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

God came to solomon in a dream after He had offered a holocaust of sacrifice. Solomon is one man that made the word holocaust to be positive. God came to him in a dream and asked what He wants. That was a life defining moment for him.

We may have been forced to think that life defining moments are those where we sit for an examination or a job interview. Some have done the abominable because of desperation to get a certification or a job. But there are more defining moments in private than we have in public. Solomon in the dead of the night had an eternal choice to make.

I do believe the tales of people who have a dream about Jesus and wake up to a brand new life. It happened to Solomon. He woke up with such amazing wisdom than the night before He slept. We can have defining moments in a dream, but until be learn to take them seriously, we would never make the best of it.

Again, dreams aren’t always just a playback of our daily activities with certain customisations of things we would have done better. Dreams are a portal through which the supernatural world gains access to this world. We can come across information that will change us, our families and our nation.

Dreams: Assurance of Victory

Israel had fallen into the hands of Midian because they turned away from their living springs to the wells that cannot hold water. But God is ever faithful and to restore them again and again. Grace has been coming in trickles to everyone God encountered in the Old testament. God always made a way for them to come through every oppression. And when He does, He uses people. For the deliverance from the hands of the Midianites, God chose Gideon: the little man, from the little town in the little nation!

Gideon rose to power from the minority and he was confronted with a war. He had no formal training as a warrior, He did not command a lot of authority among the people, not even among his own people. But He was judge anyway. It was time for battle and they started recruiting. As they saw the numbers increase they began to shift their trust from God to the army. But God was not set to abandon them to the loss of focus that made them captives initially.

God can Save by a Few

When God was done, they had just 300 people against an army that was already annoyed that some riffraff was planing in insurgency to take over  power. God can decide to save by a few or many (1 Sam 14:6). We need more than large number of Christians to wrath the kind of deliverance our nation needs. We need men who are always focused on the end goal, who do not allow the thirst and hunger of the moment turn them into desperate people who momentarily loose focus of God's will. 

Dreams: Voice of Assurance

Sometimes we know what God will have us do but we are still handicapped by fear because we are unsure of the outcome. They needed more than training or motivation to charge into the will of God with excitement. They needed the assuring voice of God. And God answered. He gave one of them a dream. “I had a dream that a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the midst of the Midianites and overturned them.” What an encouragement!

There is nothing more exciting than going through life with the reassuring voice of God for victory. Number of people have been in line for national transformation and all they can hear is “If you can’t beat them join them.” God is speaking to the hears of many again today that “a loaf of early bread will tumble into the camp of the enemies and be overturned.” Don't leave any room to entertain compromise or failure. When God gets involved, He doesn't adapt to the condition. He takes over!

Two Witnesses

One of the most exciting things about that dream was that both the dream the interpretation came from different people none of which was Gideon. This was yet another sign that some dreams are not just our own thoughts, they are God's message to us. God can decide to speak through several people and He usually does. Because a matter is established with 2 or 3 witnesses. While God will give us dreams to conduct our lives according to His will, for more cooperate assignments, He would more likely distribute it among the people. 

Gideon's army was not just a group of people with great etiquette. They were a group of people who had access to receive encouragement from God. If we have not learnt to pay attention to our own dreams, how can we dream for Nigeria?

Not Just a Dream, A Prophesy to Pursue

And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Numbers 12:6-8

God spoke to prophets through dreams. This is interesting because the details of the messages often delivered as prophesy cannot possibly all have been disseminated by dreams. But it was, the scriptures say so. Dreams are an invitation to more, when we pay more attention we get more revelation and when we condition our hearts, we are able to discern God’s message between all the strange dream language.

We often think that we would wake up all of a sudden to hear God as clearly as we hear our friends talk. We have to learn to depart from the noise. Not just the noise on the outside, that is usually the easiest to deal with. The noise on the inside is even more tricky. When we learn to turn off the noise on the inside, we would see how often and clearly God has been speaking.

God has been speaking to His image and likeness in us all the while as though they were face to face, but because our senses are undeveloped, we think He’s been all quiet. The greatest good we can do to ourselves is to live in our true identity so that we can hear God speak to us as face to face when. Dreams are a good way to learn. We should definitely pay more attention, it is an easier and more assessable channel to hear God speak to us. Let us begin to put the pieces of our dreams together and we would see that we have a catalogue of prophesies.

He Gives the Dreams and The Interpretation

When we have a conversation and don't understand what message is being passed, the best thing to do is ask the person speaking to clarify. We don't go about seeking meaning elsewhere. It is in God’s nature to have us keep around him. We often are unable to add detail to our dreams and nudges because we seek meaning outside the giver of the dreams. Interpretation belongs to God, if we do not keep the lines through which the dreams came open, we keep the lines for interpretation and more closed.

All Can Dream, Only Few Gain

And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. Gen 31:24

All Can Dream, Only Few Gain

Dreams are not the exclusives of Christians. Anyone and everyone can have a dream. By this I do not just mean dreams that replay our daily routine or fantasies but dreams that are clearly disjointed from our mental faculties and are clear messages to us from God.

We saw that God spoke to Abimelech in a dream. He was neither a Jew nor did He have a prior experience with the God of the Jews. God could and did reach Him in a dream. However, not for the sake of himself, but because it involved a friend of God. Here again we see Laban, the Syrian, being intercepted in his dreams not to touch God’s anointed. When God reaches strangers in the dream, He really does that for the sake of His own people or to make them His own people.

Man Can Still Hear His Native Language

This proves to me than humanity is more than a bunch of tissues and ideas. Humanity is a supernatural being with far more capabilities than we have discovered. One of such capabilities is an awareness of and the privilege to live a life and connect with a world beyond the physical. Our original identity is God’s image and likeness but sin made us fall away and loose those abilities. So, we still have a inborn supernatural instinct and can intercept traces of communication in the world where sin made man fall from.

We can still catch phrases and expressions from our supernatural dialect, but only those who are reconciled, restores and reinstated can read between the lines, Get God's passion and heart in all that is being said or revealed and consequently make the best of it.

God Leads

God will not leave us clueless at the points where we need to make major decisions in life. But we should not wait till the critical times to lean our ears towards him. Our normal life as Christians is a life that flows from the Vine - Jesus to us - the branches. It should not happen to us at any moment that we are clueless of what instructions are flowing from the vine.

Jacob had just left Laban. And from Laban’s personality he was either about to accuse him of robbery or cancel his agreements altogether. Laban could have asked him to start over, he did it several times before. However, God had another plan for Jacob and was not about to send him back. God warned Laban in the dream and He had to cooperate.

We don’t have to be Christians to have God inspired dreams. But we do have to know God and love Him to make the best of them.

Dreams: Demand for Justice and Wealth Creation

A lot of times we imagine and ask how our faith can positively impact our businesses or financial capacity. We can do nothing without prayer. However, prayer will condition our hearts to focus more on what God wants and what He will have us do. We should not pray with a post office mindset. Prayer is a conversation, we get the most of it when we listen and make the best of it when we obey. Dreams are one of the many ways to hear.

Jacob had fulfilled his time as he served Laban but He was not given his due reward. He served 7 years each for Leah and Rachael and 6 more years for his reward in cattle. However, His pay was cut or changed more than 10 times. When ever Laban notices that the weaker and fewer sheep are plain, he'd announce to Jacob that your reward if the plain. Whenever he sees that the plain sheep are increasing in number, He changes the terms again. Read more: Genesis 31.

I see many people are in this same shoes today. You have served the government for years but you get nothing commensurate for the years you have spent. These days, even your pension is what you have been able to contribute from your monthly salary. Many serve their bosses faithfully but do not get adequate reward. A lot of people feel cheated and used at work. Jacob found himself in the same shoes.

Jacob could have started a protest not to feed Laban's cattle until His complaints were attended to. He could decide to take the laws into his hands and obtain justice by any means. He can decide to transfer aggression to his innocent wives who were Laban's daughters. He could decide to murder 10 of the sheep everyday until his demands are met. However, force isn't always the answer. A boycott isn't always the way out. What did Jacob do? 

Violence and activism aren't the best options we have at our disposal to bring a revolution. We can pray and God can answer. A God-given idea is far more potent than any use of force.

He had a dream and everything changed for him. God showed him what to do. 

And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. Gen 31:10-12

God can give us business ideas in dreams. Or maybe he has been giving us and we just ignore them since we have not been taught that dreams are one of the many ways of God reaching and speaking to us.

Dreams: You and Him, None to Impress

All Access, No Restrictions

The first dream I see mentioned was not even exclusively for "the people of God." No one has the exclusivity of dreams. Abimelech was not a Jew and did not have prior experience with the Jewish God. However God still reached him with a dream. By dreams, I do not mean random series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. I mean the God initiated or divinely directed messages to us. 

We don’t have to be believers to dream. We don’t even have to be believers to have a message from God. Once our paths cross with the people of destiny, God can decide to interrupt our usual sleep with a message. When it is time for us to upgrade our mindset, God can send us a dream too.

Gen 20:6 "And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her."

Touch Not My Anointed
Abraham was God’s friend and God made a vow to protect him and all that was his. This is the same for us who are descendants of the seed of Abraham. It was the culture of Kings at the time to take any woman they desire and wife them. But for people who are Gods chosen we cannot just be instruments to provide pleasure or satisfy the carnal whims of men no matter how highly placed they may be. So, God decided to pay Abimelech a Visit.

Ps 105:13-15 "When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm."

God always looks out for His own. Sometimes, He uses a dream to warn people to steer clear. For Abraham, God used a dream to tell Abimelech "touch not."

A Revelation of Possibilities

A dream could be a revelation of possibilities based on decisions. For Abimelech, God essentially told him that "If you continue to do according to what is in your heart: take another man's wife and not just any man's wife, my friends wife, you'd be a dead man!" God ensures we get the message as urgently as required. He probably would not have got the message if God told him "don't touch Sarah and you will live."

If you continue with what you are thinking, you will die. A similar scenario happened to Jonah and Nineveh: if they continued in sin they would be destroyed. Dreams could be a revelation of possibilities.

Motifs and Intentions also Matter
In the court of law where evidences are presented, intentions and motifs are not tenable. However, when the nature of man is concerned as well as spiritual things, motifs and intentions carry even more weight than our actions and decisions. And so we should take them seriously just as God takes them seriously. Abimelech had not taken Sarah, he was only thinking about it but it wasn't just going away. Abraham had to pray for Abimelech, mainly to recalibrate his motifs and intentions, which were the origin of a possible disastrous fate.

Gen 20:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

It is usually in the secrecy and privacy of our dreams where we cannot deny motifs and intentions that we are often confronted so that we spend our time to actually become right instead of just appearing right to people.

Dreams

Are they not an evidence a life beyond the seen

A portal where the world beyonds reach us

A path with which men reach the world beyond

A connection between the man within and the man we see

Dreams are a real world, the coiners of dreamland know better

We could take a trip from here, call it thoughts or memories

When can begin our trip from there, call it revelation

We can replay our our greatest moments or realise hidden truth

We usually don’t need to take anything along on our way

It is such a self sustaining world with it own life, time

We could create from nothing and own them for life

We can take all we own too and loose it all in there

When our dreams are results of our memories, we know

We just see them as usual and move on with life

How about the times when dreams are a mix of the familiar and strange

Our the nights that we are completely terrified of what we see

We smile over sweet dreams and hope they never end

But for those we do not understand, we are quick to discard

Dreams are a gift from the almighty one, a message

How come we do not pay attention when we receive?

Will He who gave the words, not give a voice?

Will He who gave the scenes not give it sense?

How is it that they no longer call out attention?

How is it that we leave out the honor of searching out?

There are moments when our dreams are memory playbacks

There are also moments when we are totally absent in our own dreams

Do we not think it is a call? A world beyond trying to gain our attention

Such times, our dreams do not just mean nothing

Have you ever prayed so hard and waited for an answer

But all the while you waited, you got nothing

Until you weak body gives way to sleep and your spirit comes alive

Then you hear clearly, and see vividly what you ask

Dreams are beautiful, if is a world without restrictions

You find something the more you keep going

You can walk deep into your dreams

Beyond the noise of your learnings and busyness

You can go deep beyond the reach of this realms noise

Only then can you meet with the Father by the streams

Take a moment, look into the waters at His reflection

Not until then will you find your true self

Not until then will you awake will passion to live

Not until then will you walk with esteem knowing who you are

Not until then will you know where to improve

Not until then will you know what to pursue

So much noise in this realm, vain repetitions

I don’t want to be a polished imitation

I don’t want to be a refined echo

I want to be a voice, I want to be the me in God

These are the dreams I desire

We are Nothing Like the Others

We are Nothing Like the Others

Man is nothing like every other creatures. When others were made, they came to being immediately. But when man was made, he laid on the floor lifeless. It took God’s breadth to bring him to life. This tells us a lot: the source of our life is not from nature. We draw life from something far greater from someone - God himself. This changes everything.

Fallen but with Traces of the Best

Arthur Pink once wrote that the fall of man was not that he tripped, fell and broke his little finger. He fell from His very essence. He swapped His life source, buried His identity and traded his survival. Man damped his spiritual senses and became totally bound to the natural senses. Remember, the Prodigal Son? He fell from being a son and started feeding on the meal of pigs. That is a very close description. Man fell from feeding on divine nature to depending on nature for survival.

Restoration is Here

I always like to draw the lines from the beginning so that we can appreciate what we have the more. This gives a clue to what restoration is exactly. If there was nothing amazing about the beginning, there would be no need for a restoration, a reconciliation or a redemption. Jesus came to begin another race, a race of the supernatural species. In this race there is a language, a culture, a norm. In this race healing is the children’s bread (Matt 15:16). In this race, God leads his people (Rom 4:18) they don’t live by guesses and analyses.

We Need to Re-Learn

After having spent a lifetime outside of our true identity, we know nothing of our capabilities. We haven’t experienced the limit of our abilities. The language of the spirit  sound strange to many ears, but that is because we have been away for so long. Now that we are being restored we need to learn about ourselves, our origin, our purpose. We need to reconnect to our source of life. We need to learn to speak, read and understand our original language.

I would like to extend an invitation to all. School of Prophesy, Healing and Dreams Interpretation is a platform where we learn to live in our perfect habitat as Children of God. We learn to walk in our full potential as the image and likeness of God.

Theme: "The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation"

Date: November 23rd - 27th, 2016.

• Wednesday (23rd) - Friday (25th), meeting holds from 5:30 - 8:30pm.
• Saturday (26th), afternoon session holds 12 - 3pm.
• Saturday evening, meeting holds 5pm - 8:00pm.
• Sunday (27th), the meeting holds between 9:00am - 11:30am

Venue: The M.A.N Building, beside Oja-Ota & opposite Total filling station. Idiroko road, Sango Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.

We implore you to pray, plan to attend and also invite someone. Register Here

When God Found A Resting Place

On the first day, God said ‘let there be light’

He separated the Light from Darkness and called it Day

It was good but wasn’t the ultimate, so He couldn’t rest

There was illumination and an exposure of the real status of things

But knowledge alone will not do us much good

On the second day, He parted the waters into the firmament and sea

It was good but wasn’t God’s ultimate, not his best so He couldn’t rest

We can be able to distinguish between the earthly and the heavenly

The eternal and the ephemeral but not be able to lay hold of it

We are not made to distinguish stuff, we are meant to be distinguished

On the third day, He parted the seas and caused dry land to form

He caused vegetation to grow on the land, fruit bearing trees likewise

It was good but wasn't God’s best, so He couldn’t rest

Everything was teeming with life, green and fresh

God was truly at work but He himself wasn’t in those

On the fourth day, He called forth the sun and the moon

He flagged off the commencement of times and seasons

Again, it wasn’t God’s best and He wasn’t about to stop there

God is not in the bright seasons neither is He absent in the dark seasons

God could not confine Himself into seasons, and so He couldn’t rest yet

On the fifth day, God caused the seas to teem with life

This looked great, life from nothing but it was life without Him

Oh how we feel really excited when we innovate and create

Our greatest joys come not from our most exciting works

But from the works that bear our identity and values

Just before the seventh day, God summoned all of himself

Now that all provision has been made, I want to see myself

I want a being that will look like me in every way

The exact looks mattered to him, precision mattered

So He took dust and molded it, every detail was essential

Why didn’t He just speak The Word as He had done for all others?

This wasn't just any creation, He had to formed man with own His hands

This was deliberate because He was about to give The Word a shape too

Always remember that God didn’t just supervise your creation

He made you with His hands, every detail of you

God wanted more than a look-alike, He wanted a do-alike too

He wanted someone who isn’t just a product of the Word

He wanted someone who could use the Word and be the Word

Someone who could bear the Sword of the Spirit until it cleaved

He wanted man to wield His dominion over all creation

And so when the form was done, He put himself into man

God saw these and he saw that it was very good

This was the first time that would happen

All other days ended good, but only the sixth day ended very good

So then, God could finally take a rest: He found a resting place - man

This is our true worth and not what we have or own

Our worth is not in the awesome seasons neither does it deplete in adversity

That God made us with His own hands and He are his image

This is our life’s purpose and not what we find ourselves doing

That God gave us His abilities, to shape the world with the Word

The Sixth Day

What we hear about mostly is the Sabbath, a day of rest and finished works. It is, by far, the most important day in the Jewish week. It is so important that the Jews had the Sabbath year and the year of Jubilee: the Sabbaths of Sabbath. Today, we realize that there is far more importance to the Sabbath than just the seventh day, or the seventh year or the fiftieth year. Again, we see that Israel was a sign of something much bigger and larger. Israel was a physical prototype of a spiritual reality.

Before the seventh day, there is the sixth. While the Children of Israel were in the wilderness and cried to God for a means of sustenance, God commanded manna from Heaven. They were fed with manna every day of the week. However, on the seventh day, manna didn’t fall. God had it all planned out that there would be a double supply on the 6th day such that they could save up for the sabbath.

Ex 16:5 “On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” 

Lev 25:21 “Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years.”

This brings to mind the times when so much of doctrine didn’t matter. We just needed enough to keep us alive for the day. A to of people are self-acclaimed normal Christians who live for the day, they offer just enough prayers for the day; fast just enough for the day; study enough just for a sermon or give enough to feel better. But as we near the Sabbath, a days supply will no longer be sufficient. We need to double our effort.

This is not a piece that encourages that we achieve more by doing more. We are what we are only by the grace of God. We can only do more if we have been endowed with the strength and wisdom to. We do more because we are able to not because without it, we are damned, doomed and dead! The sixth day means we would need more doctrine than we needed for our daily life, we would need more sound doctrine to stand at such critical times.

We would need more prayer than a daily bread, we have to pray for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in the heavens. We would need to study to draw more than sermons but to meet with the Word himself. A nominal life cannot cut it anymore, we need a radical life, we need fanatics. From the day of John the baptist, the Kingdom of God began to Advance forcefully, it would require more than nominal people to advance with it.

Just before the day of the Lord, there was John the baptist who Advanced the Kingdom of God with passion. Just before the year of our Lord there was Simeon and Ann who had been praying for years to see the will of God be done. Just before the Sabbath, there is the sixth day where God gives more abundantly because He has given us a more abundant capacity to contain the unusual supply.

The Cool of the Day: When the Seed Breaks Forth

I was privileged to serve my country under the NYSC scheme in Plateau State. The most exciting thing was that I served in a College of Agriculture: The Plateau State College of Agriculture, Garkawa, Mikang LGA. And I must say it was a memorable year in my life. I met amazing people, ate amazing dishes and fetched water in amazing ways.

Of all my experience in the 12 months, one day stands out. This isn’t because something spectacular happened but I heard something that I would never forget. Being an higher institution with focus on agriculture, you can be sure that any information regarding planting, harvesting, processing, animal rearing etc that comes from there will hold a lot of value. And it is one of such statements that I wish to build today’s thoughts.

I met Dr Oliver Ndam, one of the youngest elders I’ve ever seen (he’ll probably get to see this too). He oozes with so much energy and excitement. It does’t just end there. He also oozes with a lot of love for God, passion for youths and burden for families to stay stronger in this generation. That and more earned him the Regional General Secretary (I hope I got the title right) for FCS (Federation of Christian Students): a counterpart to the SU we have in this southern part of the country. By the way, His wife is everything about him doubled!

I was at his apartment one evening and we were just having a random discussion. While I cannot remember the origin of the talk, I remember that we got to the yoruba and hausa translation for `wheat.` It sounds alike (Yoruba: Alikamo; Hausa: Al kama). I further questioned why there is abundance of wheat in that region despite the harsh weather conditions and there was a sudden illumination from what appeared to be a very simple answer.

Even though the weather condition is harsh most of the year, there is a certain time where things are very cool and comfortable. Dr Ndam mentioned to me that, it is that cool period that the wheat breaks forth and germinates. Once it is able to germinate, nothing can stop it from growing and bringing forth an abundant harvest. The wheat is unable to break forth in harsh conditions and may remain dormant or even die. But once it does, nothing can stop it.

Let us seek God at the times when his dealings with us can be internalized and digested. That is why this piece is named cool of the day. My encouragement for friends who are reading this is we could take some time to meet with and commune with God in the cool of the day or in the cool of our life. Where there isn’t so much pressure, noise or distractions. When the word of God breaks through in the soil of our heart, nothing, I repeat nothing is able to stop the harvest that will follow!

Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them...

Behold, I Will Do a New Thing

Behold I will do a new thing, it shall spring forth

It will not just be a spiritual reality, in the heavens

It will have a physical manifestation on earth

It will be undeniable, undebatable and unarguable

I will make a way in the wilderness, a highway where there was no way

A way forward where people used to travel in circles

A bridge between the realms: men will go and return freely

Divinity will be assessable, Godliness will be attainable

I will make rivers run in the dessert

Where many have died trying to cross

The days before The Way hung glaring on the cross

Where many have turned back or buried in the sand

I will cause my spirit to burst forth as a spring

To give life to all those on the journey

To refresh, clean and sustain the God life within

To cause the tree to be a forest and the forest a fruitful field

But Lord, How can these things be

They are too marvellous to behold, beyond comprehension

How can our dying world come to life?

How can nature’s downturn be averted?

The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you all

The power of the most high will overshadow you

And every soul that will believe will bear my name

Every heart that will receive will stand in my place

I will put my word in your mouth and my thoughts in your heart

The same words that created the universe, the same spirit

You will speak and the earth will hear, all of nature together

You will be the image and likeness of God in reality

Let Doubts Propel You Rather Than Paralyze You

Everyone gets to experience a moment of doubt when we need facts. Everyone reaches an age where second hand information is no longer sufficient. The older we get, the smarter we become and the more questions we have. We all need first hand answers: a personal experience. I once read a popular author say “If you have never doubted, you probably have never believed enough”. Christianity is a continuous cycle of seeing the invisible, doing the impossible and becoming the impeccable. These things do not make sense. And if you think hard enough, you will get questions. Everyone gets to the point where we need answers to move on.

While doubting, confusions and questions may arise at one point or the other, we are not meant to pitch a tent around it. Unfortunately, not everyone comes through their doubts and uncertainties. Some are overcome. We shouldn’t be. A lot of people love to be confined to the sick bed because of the remarkable amount of attention you get there. These should drive us to find answers and overcome doubt with our passion, except we do not need answers. If we do need answers, we should let our doubt propel us rather than paralyze us.

I love to hear people perform poetry and make speeches. I see how powerful rhetorics are. They help tie up every loose end with strings of curiosity. Imagine someone has an answer for every of your rhetorical questions during a presentation. Such a person spoils the fun and breaks the flow; he breaks the beauty of dynamism. When we leave questions unanswered, we create a very comfortable hospital bed where we learn about all the problems we have and do nothing on moving forward.

I enjoy the company of really smart folks. I love the way they reason, generate questions and perceive their environment. When intelligent people are caught up in this web, they come up with really eloquent presentations and arguments. Unfortunately, all are still filled with questions and confusions and far less answers. Our minds can easily be captivated because it already seeks adventure. We want solutions, not just a formal and coherent presentation of life problems. We want answers not just beautifully packaged and rephrased and paraphrased questions. 

Skepticism tickle my ears, but when I want to move ahead, I find answers.

The City of My Mind

It used to be a very lively city

Full of fun and a lot of activity

Sound of music, myriads of dancing

Playful use of lights and colors

All in the little city of my heart

My thoughts flowed in synchrony

Each fitted like an adjoining puzzle piece

My words flowed like a warm spring

A surprising demonstration of wisdom

To even me the speaker

Friendship made sense, I had a reason to stay

Men full of flaws but I never saw any

I saw masterpieces in progress

People waiting to storm the world with grace

I could endure anything for what I saw

Nothing could pierce the thick skin I'd grown

Nothing could diminish the inherent cheerfulness

My river flowed only one way, down

Cos I lived in the highest state of ecstasy

It was a perfect world in there until...

I let doubt in, I no longer trusted the government

So I decided to run own affairs

Only then did I realize how complex governing was

I couldn't manage my own little heart

And I stopped blaming the government of Africa's largest nation

There were too many moving parts

Organizing thoughts, finding words

Staying cheerful, remaining optimistic

Appreciating relationships, overlooking faults

Choosing color and light, turning up music and dance

First the lights dimmed out and the colors faded

Couldn't see the good in men any longer

Obviously didn't have wise words to say anymore

For wisdom comes with foresight

And foresight comes only by illumination

Then the lights went out and couldn't see nothing at all

Already strained relationship ties broke

Then the chords delivering the music where shattered

It was a sharp loud noise followed by dead silence

Then if that were all, it would be great

Great music gave way for uncoordinated noise

Noise gave way for dead silence

Purified silence gave way for the ugly stench of chaos

All because I decide to take control of my life

So I awoke and decide to restore everything

I swallowed my pride, even though I could have given it up all together

I sought for the governor, though he never left me even in darkness

Got on my knees, though He was ready to forgive

Confessed my wrongs though he knew every detail

I asked for a candle light but He gave me daylight

Then suddenly the chaotic rumble ceased

And gradually the sound of music was restored

It was a more beautiful sound than everything I've ever heard

It was a song about a fresh supply of love every morning

The beautiful part was it had my name in it

Then the light came back on and I saw friends all around

There were already holding hands offering prayers

Their chords were firm and tuned to give music

What a sweet sweet sound that was

This couldn't have happened so quickly

God already began to work before I began to pray

The colors were restored and I could love again

I saw beauty, grace and destiny being unveiled

Now the storm is over, the sun is in its zenith

I never want to run my own affairs

My life looked so much better than it was

Only the maker could have made it better

It's the end of the drought.

You Are Dust, But You Don't Have to Return to Dust

You Are Dust
Gen 3:19 "You will eat food by the sweat of your brow until you’re buried in the ground, because you were taken from it. You’re made from dust and you’ll return to dust.”

After many years of interacting with a lot of people, the quickest definition for the origin and end of man is 'dust you are and to dust you shall return.' This is the big line the priest utters at the grave of a deceased. This is the phrase spoken to millions of Catholics on ash Wednesday every year. Not forgetting the sober evangelical sermons bidding people to believe before they meet this inevitable fate. But what should we observe from this?

This is not man's purpose statement. This statement was uttered in judgement not in creation. It is a consequence of sin not the blueprint of man. The statement was made by God to man response to man's sin. Does it hold after man is regenerated? This brings me back a little. Let us see from the very beginning, who man was made to be.

In The Beginning, It was not So
In the beginning, it was not so. Though man was made of dust, it was never a point of emphasy. The emphasis was the image which he bore. Man was made in the image and likeness of God. He was crowned with glory and honour and all of creation was under His dominion.

Psa 8:5 (EasyEnglish) You made their place a little below God. You made them feel as kings.

Gen 1:26 (KJV)And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

In the beginning returning to dust was not an option. If we take returning to dust seriously, we should take the beginning even more seriously. If we take God's utterance in judgement seriously, we should take His initial purpose more seriously. If we take His wrath seriously, whatevet happened to believing His love and intention?

Sin Brought Death; Righteousness Brings Life
The issue of returning to dust was a curse of sin. By one man, sin came and then death. But by another, resurrection from the dead (1Cor 15:21). Sin is the origin of death. If we believe on the saving grace of Jesus, then resurrection from the dead should be our expectation not return to dust.

We can't afford to eat the food of angels and still die in the wilderness. If sin is removed we can say that 'image of God you are and to the image of God you shall return.' That is exactly what Jesus came to do: to eliminate sin, to annihilate sin and exterminate it. For this purpose the son of man was manifested to destroy the works of the enemy. When sin is taken away, the glory of God, the image of God, is restored.

Redemption is simply restoration to the original. If it doesn't reach the original height then it isn't complete yet. If all we have is forgiveness of sins and we still perish and return to dust, we have promises yet unfulfilled. God can be considered unjust if the judgement of 'dust to dust' isn't reverted. But glory to God, He is just and all His ways perfect!

Jesus Brings Life
The Cross sorts out the issue of Sin and Death. Jesus restores us to the Garden of God. Now that we have entrance to the Garden of Eden, things do not go on automatically. We still have to reach for the tree of life and eat its fruit before anything can happen. However, I reckon that there is fear in man. The fear of the fall still lingers in our memory. Now we avoid both trees of life and knowledge of good and evil. We refuse to eat from the tree of life thinking that staying safe is just fine. But, alas! Idleness or remaining in our comfort zone will not automatically remove the death-venom of sin. We need to reach deep into the centre of the Garden and eat from the tree of life so we can live forever.

Before we proceed we must consider very keenly what the tree of life is. We need to know so that we can live forever. This tree must be so important to God, that it was the same reason man was locked out of the Garden. Man wasn't primarily locked out of the Garden as punishment. He was locked out because God couldn't afford a compromised image of himself living forever. However, now that we are being restored to the image of Christ, do you not think God will grant us access? If He still withholds this from us, it simply means there are certain things in our life God won't want to see for the rest of eternity. We should not succumb to defeat and conclude this is the best we can get. We must strife to continue in sanctification so we can be crowned with glory and life.

God’s Message to the Intercessors

This is a note to members of the household of faith

The family and friends of God, the Lovers of the Lord

Men who bear a great burden for the body of Christ

Women pregnant with the promise of the kingdom

"I have blessed you with visions, dreams, utterance and zeal

To take a peak into eternity and have a passion to pursue

You look into the realm of the spirit and know what I want

You are endowed with strength to let it be done on earth

"When you with Me, your face lightens up with joy

When when you return there, you wear a mask of gloom

In my presence your joy is unspeakable

In the presence of men your heart is heavy with burdens

"You have an idea of the promises of I made you, how good they are

You look into the earth and it seems it hasn’t moved an inch

In your prayers, your are encouraged that My work will be complete

But you open your eyes to the world and are ashamed

"You see men use My name to enrich themselves

You see people propagate their own will rather than Mine

And you are sad, sorrow grips you from deep within

You wonder if My will will ever be done on earth

"You cover your head in shame, how can they soil Father’s name

But the I says: my name is Holy is cannot be soiled

I dwell in another realm unable to be reached by the impure

That is what Holy simply means - incorruptible

"I have good news for you too, that is where my Church dwells

Young, beautiful, perfect, without spots, without wrinkles

You dwell with me where nothing of the earth can corrupt

In light where nothing of darkness can comprehend

"How then do we have strangers, wolves ravaging the Sheep?

They may take what you own and increase what you owe

But what you are, who you are is safe in Christ, In me

Though thousands fall at your side, none actually reaches you

"I see you’re fed up of the shows and entertainment too

But between all of that, I am still able to sieve out heart-felt praise

I see men gather to be tickled, excited and affirmed

But between all of that I am able to sieve out the saints

"I see business men, merchants and money changers

But they are not sufficient to blind me from the faithfuls

In this world, you seem small and insignificant but to me you are huge

Every other is blown like the winnow chaff, it’s only my Church I see

"My breath give you live, but blows the chaff away

My love builds you up but makes the wicked hide in shame

My fire purifies the gold but consumes the stubble

Nothing unwanted makes it through, only that which bears my name

"I have kept for me men, incorruptible, perfect, passionate men

From every nation, every tribe, every tongue they send supplies

From every dispensation and time; past present and future

Just be sure to reach them all, pass the Gospel on

"Some would be easy like John, filled from the womb

Some would be cooperative like Timothy was from childhood

Some would be at the shore like Peter, you’ll have to travel to meet them

Some would be have to be renamed like Paul, because the weak cannot bear their past

"My Church is marching on, the Gates of Hell cannot prevail"

He Wants Us to Listen Because He Speaks

God asks us to seek him because He can be found. He is not an idea or a principle. He is a person, we can build a relationship with Him. He has an habitation, we can locate Him. He has intentions and thoughts, He can be understood. He has a voice, He can be heard. He wants us to ask because we would receive. He asked us to knock because what we have between us and the infinite God is a door, not a wall. We do not have a God who dwells in a realm that is inaccessible to us. There is no permanent divide between himself and mankind.

What if what we seek is an answer? What if what we ask is a question? What if what we want to be sure that He wants us to knock the door we are headed for? It does’t matter if our questions are about Him, what we want to do or what he wants us to do we would always receive answers. We serve a living God. He is so full of words He has an alias, The Word. He wants to be heard, to be reached to be understood.

God is a Father

That God is not an idea but a personality is not sufficient. There are billions of people who are alive but there will never be a need for them to communicate with you. God is a Father and that makes a whole lot of difference. He can speak (this is ridiculous but should be stated). We are created in His image and bear some resemblance to Him. Speech and the desire to communicate is one of the many things we share. He wants to speak, He speaks and we need him to speak.

Father’s in old times were responsible for a whole lot. These days, children have decided to take this responsibility upon themselves. I believe father’s should still do this irrespective the extent of civilisation or modernisation. However, the dominant occurrences proved to me that beyond the earthly father, there is one who desires to lead, guide, protect and bring us into an inheritance.

Fathers in the jewish tradition were responsible for teaching their children a trade, finding them a partner (husband or wife) among many other things. These days data will not be sufficient to decide what the best job for us will be or who would be the best partner for us. Father’s are responsible to help children learn about life. We need to turn to God to make the best choice for life and destiny. And here is the good news: God is willing to impart in us understanding of our identity, purpose and assignment. He is willing to lead us every step of the way, even for things we consider ridiculous.

How Do we Hear God's Voice Then?

I hope to mention a few things in this line very soon. But if you are in town here is a meeting where there would be a lot of detail about learning to hear God and live in this natural world with the privilege of supernatural information.

Where are the 'God Saids’?

As kids, we would hear 'God said' all the time

It came true most of the time, meaning they were right

But even more often than the fulfillments

We would learn that God speaks to His children

We knew we had to learn how to hear God

It became an aspiration, a desire, a hope

We would act in plays and mimic the preacher

We would sit in a place and replay the voice of the Bible teacher

Fast-forward today and all the God saids are gone

Maybe not all but most have been replace by 'I feel’

Most removed so that we can make sense to others

Now, the world is filled with opinions and feelings

If I never believed that words hold power, now I do

As we replaced the ‘God saids’ with the ‘I feels’

We began to bend from God’s word towards our feelings

We were no longer accountable to God but to ourselves

When we say God said, we’re not just passing a message

We are teaching a generation that God speaks

When we say God said, we aren’t just speaking

We are seeking for a confirmation from the rest of God’s people

When we say Thus Saith the Lord, we prophesy

And we are asking the prophesy to be judged

But when we say I feel, no one can question that

It is I who really knows how I feel, listen or leave

We wanted to leave religion out of the office

But we ended up also leaving our faith out of the home

If you should say ‘I feel’, it shouldn’t be to family or friends

Our dearest people should know our deepest burden

The smartest people cite the source of their information

Only the proudest people or thieves - plagiarists - leave it out

Stating your sources isn’t weakness, it is wisdom

People leave references so others can verify or take it further

How else do we want to lead people to the father

When we bring the most creative answers with no citation

Or you want people to find you for more?

People hide their sources for that purpose too

Only men who want to hoard information will do so

Men who collect tolls as people to go through them

The whole world cannot come to you or through

But the whole world can find the Source

The Bible remains the most influential book

Because men were confident enough to say ‘God said’

If you wonder why it is still a wonder

This is one of the many reasons

A lot more books have been lot in time because

They are filled with opinions and prejudiced perspectives

When you say I feel, be sure it started with you and ends with you

If you’re sure it’s God’s work, be confident say ’God said’

God’s people are drawn to 'God saids'

Intellectuals are drawn to ‘I reads’

I don’t even know know those drawn to ‘I felts’

And are those the kind of people we want to draw?

Let those with burning passion find the truth and pursue

Let the younger generation learn that with the A B C

There is a life beyond what we see

We can learn the language and we should

It is okay to make mistakes and miss our targets with the 'God saids'

When you get it right no one will remember the misses

Find a home a family where you can make mistakes

Make them until you can’t make another

Be bold

Be confident

Be resolute

Be 'God said.'