GOD SPEAKS THROUGH DREAMS

I want to share with you the dream I experienced this past night; knowing that often within dreams are stories and meanings.

I met a young pastor whose church was “dying”. He invited me to come pastor his church. After some thought, I agreed that I would bring our congregation to join his and I would pastor.

Our first meeting was an evening meeting and within minutes the room began to fill. As the crowd grew, so did the excitement. Within a half an hour the seats were filled in front and to the right which also had ample seating. Within the crowd I could see familiar faces of former members of our church. They were looking around in excitement.

Just before the service was to begin, as I prepared to preach, the former pastor placed a page of scribbled notes upon the pulpit and said to me – “since there’s such a nice crowd tonight, I think I want to preach.” I said, “I thought you said you realized that you aren’t a preacher and you needed me.” “I did”, he replied, “but since I need to go away to get a job and I will be will be going away for awhile, I want to preach tonight”. I quickly examined my heart and analyzed the situation. I thought, “if I am to be Pastor, I must show my leadership’. “Didn’t you advertise that I would be speaking?” I asked “Yes,” he answered, “but this is the best crowd we have ever had!” I remember thinking, ‘Isn’t it interesting that a day ago he had lost all interest in this church and now he wants to preach’. I quietly insisted that we would go on with the service as planned. Crestfallen the man replied, “Ok, I won’t preach, but can my daughter sing a special during the offering – since we will be leaving?” Reluctantly, I agreed. Someone to the side said, “Offering should be GOOD” tonight!”

I took the podium, “In just a moment I will be delivering the Word of God to you. I know it will bless you and in the mean time, little Sue is going to sing a special for you.”

As the music started, I looked around; I was excited. I thought ‘last week we had three people and tonight there must be over a hundred – look what God has done!’

“I must change my message’ I said to myself I will preach, “Come and see what the Lord has done!”

I need a Bible” I knew the quote was from the Word of God, but I couldn’t say from where. I began to look for a Bible to find the Scripture reference. There was something that looked like a Bible by my chair. I picked it up and it was a Bible that had been turned into a decoration, painted gold with glitter pages all glued together. I picked-up what appeared to be another Bible, but it was an old worn song book.

In looking for the Bible I overturned a glass of water. A lady on the other side of the platform approached me with much fanfare offering to clean up the mess. With much disturbance she began moving the curtain behind me and the table beside me, in general causing quite a disturbance. At the same time, I realized that a former member of our church was moving throughout the congregation greeting old friends and handing out Christmas presents that she had from the previous Christmas. She had quit the church before she could give them out and so she was delivering them now.

About this time the song caught my attention and it was a pleasant melody that really didn’t have anything significant to say. The song was closing and I still didn’t have a Bible.

I awakened to the thought, it all seemed great for a moment; a sanctuary full of people ready to hear God’s Word; but I then realized that it was just “church” as usual, not at all as God would have it.

In my dream the other pastor had been cordial until we no longer shared the same agenda; the women moving about, the confusion, the politics, it all seemed too familiar. I wanted to preach “COME SEE WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE”; see how we had only 3 people a week ago and so many now, what success! The only problem was I couldn’t find Scripture to back my message.

As I stood in my bathroom in the early morning light reviewing this all-too realistic dream I realized that what we find comfort in is so seldom God.

I wanted to preach that this was all God’s will, but it wasn’t. So little of what we call “Church” is. We have our ornaments; like the shellacked Bible and the old hymnal, lifeless traditions; gathering dust. We have people who come to be seen; they like to “serve” as long as they can create enough commotion doing it as to get noticed. We have people who come to church for friendships – more interested in friendships with each other than friendship with God. We have the fair-weather Christians (some are preachers, who want to belong), but only as long as the church is “successful”. These people are ready to leave the church as soon as it doesn’t measure-up. Then there are the others who want to be heard, but have nothing to say. And last but not least; we have the Man of God who has become a pulpiteer; a great preacher, a motivator, who honestly wants to please God, but allows the world’s measure of success divert Him from what God intended His Church to be. We all like the broad way, but it’s the narrow road which runs to the Kingdom of God.Isn’t time we care more about BEING THE CHURCH THAN GOING TO CHURCH?