I had a weird and scary dream last night. Now, before I go on we need to establish some ground rules, okay? 1. I don't believe in being led by dreams, I believe in being led by the Holy Spirit; 2. The first reason I believe that, is because Romans 8:14 says, "All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God", and that's me; 3. The second reason I believe that is because the Bible says in Joel 2:28, "Your OLD men will dream dreams, and your YOUNG men will see visions". I may not be as "new" as I used to be...but I ain't OLD yet!
In my dream there were "monster-y" and "ghost-y" things all around. It was one of those real scary-type deals where it seems like it's actually happening, you know? And you're being chased, and everything is real creepy, and then you dream that you're awake (but you really aren't), and you get up and go turn the lights on, but the lights won't turn on ('cause you're still asleep), and it keeps happening until you finally actually do wake up and you sit up in bed and yell, "Jesus!" Ever have one of those dreams?
The Jesus part? That's my favorite part of the whole deal. Why? Because this morning, I have absolutely no recollection what my dream was specifically about (other than that it was "monster-y" and "ghost-y" and I couldn't turn the lights on) but i STILL remember the name of Jesus! Specifically. That's the great thing about the Name. When you say the Name of Jesus, fear takes a hike.
Fear is a natural reaction of natural men and natural women. But there is such SUPERnatural power in the Name of Jesus! Ephesians 1:21,22 says that Jesus is, "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED...the head over ALL THINGS to the church." E.W. Kenyon, in his book The Wonderful Name of Jesus says, "We have the right to use that Name against our enemies". Whoo-hoo!!
Anything that makes us afraid, is an enemy. Why? Because God is LOVE and fear is the opposite of love. Fear tears down, love builds up. Fear tends to death and bondage, love tends to life and freedom. Fear steals peace and hope. Love restores peace and hope. The love of God is greater than anything we could ever fear. The Bible says, "Perfect love casts out ALL fear". Fear is no match for love. And God's love for us is embodied in Christ, and put in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
I ain't afraid of no monsters or ghosties! They may make my skin crawl and the hair stand up on the back of my neck - but that's just my natural flesh responding to the fear stimulus. But when I allow the supernatural power of God to take control by using the Name of Jesus (I prefer the shouting method, like this: "JESUS!!!"), fear tucks it's sorry tail and runs back to hell, where it came from. Try it sometime.
I love the story about Smith Wigglesworth the legendary plumber/evangelist. He awoke one night to a ruckus, and satan himself was standing at the foot of Wiggelsworth's bed. Wigglesworth looked at him and said, "Oh, it's just you". And with that he rolled over and went back to sleep. Never forget the REAL power belongs to the children of God, not the enemies of God. Fear? Not!
There's just something about that Name! I remember when our kids were small, bad dreams were a frequent struggle. I taught them Bible verses that promised sweet sleep, and freedom from fear. But I also taught them that in the middle of the night when they woke up afraid, to just say the Name of Jesus! Just saying the Name causes fear to flee in the face of faith!! Works every time.
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