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The following articles have been written to allow you to read what the Bible states about dreams. More articles will be added as the new book on Dreams is being written. Please feel free to listen and share the files with others.  

Happy Dreaming,

Michael and Pamela Mathews

Why are people dreaming more frequently?

What about those Dreams your having?

God is in the business of sharing information with His people, and he often uses dreams to help protect, guide, encourage, and warn people. Unfortunately, many people disregard dreams as fleeting thoughts, quickly ignore them, or even forget them. Carl Jung sums up our series on dreams by stating “We are so captivated by and entangled in our subjective consciousness that we have forgotten the age-old fact that God speaks chiefly through dreams and visions.”

In Acts 2:17-1 God reminds us that during the last days of the Church age there would be an abundance of people having dreams and visions. Have often wondered why God uses dreams and visions, and why they would increase in the last days?  I believe that God may use dreams in our present day as another means to get our attention. This extra effort shows God’s love and interest in communicating with us; in essence God is whispering in our ears while we are sleeping. This method illustrates God’s love for humanity and desire to communicate with us.  Scripture indicates how accurate this though may be.  In Job 33:14 – “For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.”

In this passage God shares that dreams and visions are from Him. During the coming months we will share important aspects that clearly reveal that we should listen and understand what is happening through dreams. We want to encourage you to start embracing your dreams. However, we also want to warn you that dreams need to be understood and at times interpreted.  Just as a great book or sermon can be miss understood so can a dream. Just as people have a tendency to hear a sermon based on their personality, the same is true of a dream. The fact that people miss construe sermons, or the Bible based on their desires or personality, does not negate the reality of the sermon or Bible.  All this to say…don’t negate all dreams because a few people have falsely represented dreams.

For those who may ignore the theory that dreams and visions are used by God to benefit humanity; please consider the fact that Christianity and religious doctrine have been defined by visions and/or dreams. We have become so logical in religion that we easily overlook the simple scriptural truths that God and man endorsed doctrine based on dreams. Below are a few examples.

1.      Gentiles were accepted into Christianity based on a vision/dream that Peter had. Read Acts chapter 10 and 11 which describe the vision that changed who was accepted into Christianity. Yes that is correct…a dream/vision was given to Peter which was used to allow most of us into the plan of salvation.

2.      The Apostle John’s visions and dreams in the book of Revelation are accepted for the most part as defining the end of times and the return of Jesus Christ.

3.      The dream that Mary received gave her the understanding and grace that allowed her to bear a son named Jesus, who would save the world from their sin; the very beginning of Christianity. A dream was used to pave the way for her to endure the ridicule that she went though.

4.      Daniel’s dreams in the book of Daniel have been used to define past and future prophecy connected to the book of revelation. Most of modern day understanding of the return of Christ is based on Daniel and Johns’ dreams.

Imagine for a moment if any one of these people would have ignored their dreams and/or visions. More importantly imagine with me if more people would embrace their dreams and visions. In the coming months we will share numerous biblical dreams that will captivate and motivate you to embrace God’s words through dreams.  

Below is a poem on dreams recently written by Rick Haling that may help you embrace he reality, pleasure, and personal nature of God communicating through dreams. Happy Dreaming!!

Voyage out of darkness

Sail into the Light

Dream young lady, dream young man

Dream scenes of Gods delight,

God's mission for you to be done

He says in a dream of the task "dont doubt -

"You can! You can!"

So dream tonight,

Follow your vision sir

Seek Him madam

Voyage out of darkness

Sail into the Light

He says in a vision of the task "dont doubt -

"You can! You can!"

Seek His vision for your delight

Let us all seek Him tonight because

"You can! You can!"

He wants us all to know

"You can! You can!".

                                                         Richard Haling

What about all the Dreams Your Having?

I am sure my title has caught your attention because you have been having some dreams lately? I have surveyed numerous people and found that I am able to quickly grab their attention by asking the question ‘Have you had any dreams or visions lately?’  Each person was immediately drawn into my question and surprised by my asking them this question. I have been asking because I realize the timeframe we are living in aligns with scriptural evidence that people will and should have more dreams.

The majority of the people I have surveyed have all stated they have recently had very specific dreams. Two of the people I asked could not remember any dreams, but came back to me within two days and said that they had a dream since I asked them. All the people that I asked and/or that came back to me asked how I knew they were having or going to have a dream.   I started sharing with them the scriptural evidence that in the last days of the church age people would begin to dream more frequently.  The next step with these individuals was to share more of the Gospel and what God’s word said. This recent activity has allowed me to share more of God’s word with people who have been drawn into my explanation of scripture; which was personalized for them.

Since my little study, I started asking many more people including my wife and children if they have been having dreams on a regular basis. I stand amazed to admit that I have since experienced some of the greatest talks with my daughter and others based on something personal such as a dream. Possibly God has a reason for this?

I have found myself sharing with people that dreams are much more normal in our present day than most people comprehend. I share with them that dreaming has been a powerful activity throughout scripture. In fact scripture shares the word ‘Dream’ over 47 times. Before I start telling them about the great men and women in scripture who dreamed, I share the following two powerful evidences that help put their mind at ease.  1). Acts 2:17-18 ‘And in the last days it will be,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.’  And 2)  Daniel 12: 4 ‘But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, and knowledge will increase.’

The passage in Daniel 12:4 is interesting as Daniel was having dreams and visions prior to God making the statement that he was to seal up the dreams (words) until the end of the time. This indicates that the dreams would be revealed and shared when we reach the end of time. We may not be at the very end of time, but we are closer than ever before; therefore dreams should be expected and anticipated as a sign that we are nearing the end. 

I wonder if God uses dreams in our present day to help get our attention. We are too busy 99.9% of the time that God whispers in our ears while we are sleeping. This way we can’t put him off for another day. Of course this thought is just a question and not meant to be a fact. 

I understand there are many nay-sayers reading this who are worried that dreams are spooky and could be influenced by satan, or last night’s pizza talking. Let me challenge you by reminding you that God’s Word does not lie! Also, you should be more considered with the weirdo stuff your kids and spouses are viewing on the internet and television. It is completely healthy to encourage your children, spouse, friends, relatives, and other to process their dreams. We should all be reminded that when the great people in scripture dreamed it was a time of change, a time to warn them, or a time to provide a new direction. Peter’s dream/vision on a house top litterally changed religion. God told him that the dream was intended for him to know that Gentiles would be accepted into the plan of salvation (Acts chapter 10).

I believe that God literally wants the worshippers to arise and enjoy His words, His signs, His wonders, and His spiritual gifts. As we approach the end days we will see these things overshadow the talent of the church. Talents can’t compare to God’s gifts and dreams. I pray that leaders would encourage their people to enjoy, embrace, anticipate, and exercise their gifts and dreams at least half as much as they encourage them to exercise their talents; as God is pleased when we use His gifts and not rely on mere talent.

We are in the very days of change where God is desirous to give dreams and visions to help people. Please feel free to read more about ‘What in Heaven and Hell is Happening’ by visiting http://www.focusonheaven.com. Please feel free to email me and confirm that you two have been dreaming lately at michael.mathews@focusonheaven.com

Happy Dreaming!!

Hearing a Dream and Answering a Dream within a Dream

 
God has choosen to use and increase dreams and visions, as well as increase the use of them in the last days. I trust that you have been able to expand your understanding and comprehension that God loves humanity so much that he chose to use a personal method to get their attention. We all need to keep in mind that it was not this author, or the church that stated God would pour put His Spirit in the last days and people would dream more; it was God himself. This is why it is such a privilege to share on dreams; it was a promise from God and nothing manufactured by any church.  I believe that God chose dreams to manifest himself through us, as He knew the man-made efforts of humanity would require divine intervention to allow individuals to see past man’s feeble efforts to gain salvation. 

This may be why the world and wiser people in the Kingdom have realized that during the last 20 years the more music, churches, conferences, studies, dramas, and books that religion has created the worse the church became. The evidence and statistics indicate that despite all the growth and improvements that man has made, that the sin and accountability within the church has grown in the opposite direction. Even though this sounds sad, God is now having His way and trying to help man believe that He is the author and finisher of the faith, not the man made efforts we have created. I would back away from this somber conclusion if we could support all the efforts of the modern church with man-made scripture passages that said something like the following 17 statements which closely reflect what has taken place in the modern church movement:

1. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will build mega churches.
2. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will have more songs written.
3. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will have better songs written.
4. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will copy Hollywood and other methods to reach people, because the world can produce better quality than I can. (Ouch, Ouch, Ouch).
5. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will have more conferences for people.
6. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will create more religious opinions.
7. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will create more denominations.
8. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will send out TV evangelists.
9. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will have greater fund raisers.
10. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will help churches celebrate how great they are and celebrate every anniversary with them.
11. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will create greater para-church ministries.
12. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will use human love to have a love-fest with humanity so eventually they can introduce them to me.
13. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will let the church compromise my position so people do not feel so offended.
14. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will save humanity through a different kind of gospel as my original gospel was too confrontational.
15. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will view politics as more interesting than the gospel and we will focus our energies on elections, debates, and human intellect.
16. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will change the gospel of hell, judgment, and righteousness because I was just joking around about those things to scare people.
17. In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and I will refocus the intent of my son, Jesus so he will be perceived as ‘Only Love” as people became too offended in the 21 distinct personalities/responsibilities that I gave him!!

I believe that these 17 simple examples compared to what God’s word really does say “In the last days I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and old men shall dream dreams, and your young men will have visions. And your sons and daughters will prophecy,” we can conclude that man cannot create methods to personalize the Gospel like God can. And God chose dream to personalize His love and direction for humanity. I believe that God chose dreams because He foreknew that in the last days the church would get consumed and twist things enough through some of these 17+ methods that He would have to intervene and go directly to each person through dreams and visions stating things such as:

1. I am real
2. I am coming back; soon!!
3. I will build a new heaven and new earth and this one will pass way.
4. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
5. Wide is the gate that leads to destruction and narrow is the gate that leads to life everlasting.
6. I want to help you get on the narrow path
7. I want to save you from hell (Job 33:14)

Almost all the dreams I have had the pleasure of hearing all correlate in some fashion to one of these eight simple God-given instructions that we are blessed to be reminded of.

What an awesome God; who personalizes the Gospel to a perplexed world in which where religion has become so distorted and hindering.  The phrase “Let my people go,” takes on a whole new meaning when ministers and churches realize that God choose to use all His people in the last days; not just talented musicians, ministers, and puppeteers.

A Dream that Provided Prosperity and Protection 

God is the one who foretold that in the last days that people would dream and vision more (Acts 2:17-18). The reason God decided in the last days to increase dreams is due to His desire for humanity to have every option to hear His voice before it is too late. In fact, Job 33:14-18 God states exactly why dreams are given; and that is to save souls. Spend a few minutes and look at the dream.

In this article I want to share a powerful dream about Jacob and his father-in-law Laban. The dream emphasizes the creative nature of God and what happens when people listen to God given dreams.

Dream: A Dream that Provided Prosperity and Protection 

Scripture:  Genesis Chapter 30 and 31

Overview of the Dream: There are two dreams that take place in this scriptural example.

Dream 1: Jacob had a dream from God on how he would prosper Jacob due to the deception of his boss who was also his father-in-law, Laban. In verse 31:10 Jacob shares that the activities of chapter 30 were given to him in a dream. Looking back into chapter 30 God informed Jacob to be creative and help the flocks he watched to start bearing offspring that were spotted, speckled, or stripped. These would normally be seen as the weaker flock. Jacob was also informed to make a pact with Laban that all the offspring that were spotted, speckled, or stripped would be his wages. Laban agreed to the wage pact with Jacob.  Jacob would get all the spotted flock and Laban would get all the pure color flock. Through time Jacob’s method given in a dream produced a mighty flock for him and few for Laban. In verse 11 of chapter 31 God gives Jacob another dream to get out from Laban with Laban’s daughters and Jacob’s flock.

Dream 2: Once Laban heard that Jacob had left and ran away he went after Jacob. He spent seven days tracking him down and the night before the confrontation (31:24) God appears to Laban and warns him not to speak good nor bad of Jacob, another words be neutral, Laban listen to the dream and did not hurt Jacon and his family.

Benefit of the dream: The dream has a direct prospering effect on Jacob. Keep in mind that Jacob had labored for years already without being prosperous. God shares with Jacob a creative way to both breed the flock and make a wage agreement with His unfair boss. By being obedient to the dream, Jacob built his own fortune that outgrew His boss’s fortune. All he had to do was listen the to the dream

In the case of Laban, God’s dream to him was more a warning to not harm Jacob. Without this dream Jacob would have been in for the battle of his life with his boss and father-in-law.

Outcome of the dream(s):  A man who worked diligently was finally rewarded and protected from harm.

Lessons learned: 

1)      An interesting lesson is the reality that Jacob was able to entice the flock to breed certain color offspring but putting visuals in front of them. This show the power of watching what we focus on eyes on. It is very apparent that we can literally become the product of what our eyes are focused on. In fact God knew this and therefore gave him the instructions in the dream. God is very aware that we all will become what we focus our eyes and attention on. The verse that fits this concept is Matthew 6:22: “The light of the body is the eye; if thy eye be clean your while body will be full of light; but if your eye be evil, your whole body will be full of darkness and oh how great is that darkness.”

2)      God used creativity to out wit an unfair bosses/people and bless His servant.

3)      God does see fairness and unfairness but in this case did not just zap the unfair boss or drop a money bag from heaven to His servant. He gave a creative yet practical means for Jacob to be obedient.

4)      What happens when people don’t listen to dreams. We don’t know, but it does make you wonder of many of us miss our direction and blessing by ignoring our dreams.

5)      God appears in dreams to both the just and unjust; different messages.

We encourage you to enjoy your dreams and process the reality that God chose to use dreams and increase them in our days. What God!!

Please visit the Dream Center at http://www.focusonheaven.com and hear and read more about dreams.

Scripture: Genesis 37:5-11 (Joseph’s Dream)

“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.” (NIV)

Overview of the dreams:

Joseph was favored by his father, and now it appears he has found great favor with God. This is evident by God showing him through a dream that his brothers and mother and father would have to bow down before him one day. His brothers despised him, and even His father rebuked him. Many people believe that Joseph would have been wise to not share the dream with His family. I believe he had no choice but to share the dream in order to keep the lineage of Christ alive. You will see below.

Benefit of the dreams:

1. Joseph was receiving confirmation from God that he would be raised up to be used mightily by God; Joseph would save many nations later in life because of this dream and his obedience to share it.
2. Joseph would later save His family and the lineage of Christ by having the dream and sharing the dream.
3. Joseph was able to accept his position later in life because of the dreams.

Outcome of the dreams:

Joseph was hated by his brothers because of the dreams he had concerning his entire family bowing down to him one day. Because of this hatred, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. This hatred and sellout by his brothers allowed Joseph to travel a difficult path that allowed him to meet the king of Egypt (Pharaoh) who would eventually have Joseph manage His entire affairs.

Managing the entire affairs also meant that during a critical famine, Joseph could save his family and continue the line of Christ through one of his brothers who would have died in the famine if it had not been for Joseph being sold into slavery. In other words, Joseph was following God’s plan all along, including sharing his dreams with his family when he was younger. Joseph saw the dream fulfilled when His family came and bowed down to Him in Egypt when they needed food to stay alive. Joseph also went on to call one of his sons Ephraim — which means “God has made me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Nations were literally saved because of Joseph’s dreams. All of Egypt and surrounding nations made it through the seven years of famine, and Joseph was the dispenser and manager of the very food that saved them during this time.

Lessons learned:

1)      As Joseph proved, a dream and the sharing of it may cost you a lot of ridicule and possibly your life. Joseph had to share this dream, contrary to many modern-day spiritual chickens who think he should have been quiet. God honors obedience. I believe this may be the reason that God shared the dream twice with Joseph and his family.

2)      God may share dreams more than once to share the importance and significance of the dream.

3)      This dream is the only recorded dream by Joseph, proving he was not just a dreamer. However because of his obedience to the dreams, he became an interpreter of dreams. The combination of his dreams and interpretation of dreams was what saved the nations.

4)      We must be careful that we understand the meaning of our dreams. In this case no one had to interpret his dreams.

5)      Most dreams do not always come to fulfillment right away. It may take years for the dream to become a reality. God uses dreams to help us, encourage us, and direct our paths.

6)      Joseph was a spiritual giant who was being trained for a position of authority. He stepped out in his authority early on in life by sharing the deep secrets and prophecy of God through a dream — even though he risked his life and was hated by his own family.

7)      We each must wonder how many of us have had dreams that we have hidden because of the nature of the dream. Were we ashamed, afraid, or did we even listen to poor spiritual advice to not share the dream?

8)      Serving God is costly but rewarding as you use all the gifts and means in which He communicates to humanity.