Within the womb of our spirit we carry dreams: not ordinary dreams, but "God-breathed" dreams. These dreams could be referred to as "dream seeds." These seeds are planted in our inward parts by the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. Once implanted, these precious, supernatural seeds become part of our spiritual DNA. Our dream seeds carry an incredible destiny - a destiny greater than our natural ability to fulfill. Our destiny is so incredible and important that it mandates God Himself, with our cooperation, brings forth the reality of His dreams (His plans and purposes) for our lives.
OUR DREAMER GOD
Our God is an amazing, brilliant, magnificent Dreamer! He always has a plan for His dreams to be fulfilled, and that plan mandates He plant a seed to bring forth a harvest . As we read God's word, we find over and over that our great dreamer God releases dream seeds as He speaks forth the plans and purposes which He has hidden in His heart for their appointed time. Consider Abraham: God's dream was to have a nation in the earth through whom He could send a Redeemer to liberate fallen man. So how did God choose to bring His dream to pass? Not the avenue that you and I probably would have chosen. God's way was to choose a man and woman (Abraham and Sarah) who were childless. God separated this couple from their homeland and took them on a journey to their place of destiny. Once they arrived in the land of Canaan, God began speaking astounding words (dream seeds) to Abraham about inheriting the land of Canaan and becoming the father of many nations.
God instructed Abraham to count the stars, telling him that his seed would be as innumerable as the stars of the heavens. What a promise! After God implanted His dream seeds into Abraham, He seemingly complicated matters by waiting an additional twenty-five years to fulfill His dream. God lingered long enough for "the utter impotence of Abraham's body - which was as good as dead" (Romans 4:19), and for Sarah to become past the age of conceiving (Hebrews 11:11). In the natural this was an impossible situation. However, with God, all things are possible! God Himself would be their Enabler. At some point in Abraham's walk with God, God's dream seeds grew so big in Abraham's heart that "he believed God (vital) and thus became the Father of many nations" (Romans 4:18-22).
Now let us consider (Mary, the mother of Jesus): another example of God choosing to do the impossible through a human vessel. Mary literally carried the dream of God in her physical womb. She became the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke, "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign, Behold, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel God with us" (Isaiah 7:14). When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with the stunning announcement that she, a virgin, had been chosen to carry the Son of the Most High, she asked, "How can this be, since I have no [intimacy with any man as a] husband?" (Luke 1:34). Never before had a virgin given birth; Mary was about to have an unprecedented biblical experience. Gabriel informed Mary that "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you (as a shining cloud); and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing which shall be born of you, will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Her immediate response was surrender, for she said, "Behold I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said" (Luke 1:38).
It is noteworthy that although God would be the One enabling Mary to conceive, He needed a human vessel to partner with Him for the performance of His dream. It is no different today. God's word is filled with His dreams for His Church (Bride) and the role she will fulfill in His great end-time drama. However, in order for our God to accomplish His dreams, He will need His Bride to work in concert with Him. This will require of His Bride a surrendering to her Beloved God with a passionate, unconditional love and an unwavering trust and faith in Him.
GOD'S DREAM FOR THE CHURCH
From the foundation of the world, our dreamer God has planned to have a glorious, victorious, triumphant Church/Bride in this earth. There are many passages and concepts of the Bride of Christ throughout the Bible. From these we glean a vivid portrait of God's dream seeds relating to His Bride. The Apostle Paul, to whom God revealed the mystery of the Church and the glory she would possess, sums up the eternal purpose of God (the passion of His heart) for the Church in Ephesians 3:21, "To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen - so be it." Note the preposition "in". The idea of the Church being filled with God's glory is not some new design that God determined after the birth of the Church. It has always been His intention for His people to possess His glory. For example: God told Isaiah, "Even everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, whom I have made."(Isaiah 43:7) We, the Bride of Christ, have been formed and fashioned to "house" the radiant glory of God.
We find another passage in Ephesians that states: "[That it (the Church) might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the full and accurate knowledge of the Son of God; that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood - the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection - the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and the completeness found in Him" (Ephesians 4:13). God's eternal purposes will be realized as we are transformed into the likeness of Christ, becoming "filled through all our being unto all the fullness of God, having the richest measure of the divine presence and having become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself" (Ephesians 3:19).
Bride of Christ, whereas many are eagerly anticipating the rapture of the Church, or preparing to go through the tribulation, we- His Glorious Bride - need to carefully consider God's plan of the ages: that dream, vision and purpose which He has carried in His heart, which is Jesus Himself coming to His Bride, to flow/move through her before He physically comes for her. As a result of this partnership, we will be doing the greater works that Jesus spoke of in John 14:12 - works greater than any other generation. There will be unusual signs and wonders accompanied with great manifestations and demonstrations taking place all over this world. God's power will flow in unprecedented ways. All humanity will stand in awe as they witness our precious Lord working in and through His Glorious Bride. We will not be mere spectators, but rather participators (partners with God) in the unfolding of God's eternal purpose and dream for His Church/Bride.
Recommended Reading:
The Coming Glory
Consider Your Destiny
Wake Up Sleeping Beauty
Awakened to the Beauty of our True Identity
Scripture References:
Genesis 12:1-9
Genesis 15
Romans 4:19
Romans 4:18-22
Luke 1:26-38
Isaiah 7:14
Hebrews 11:11
Isaiah 43:7
Ephesians 3:13
Ephesians 3:21
Ephesians 3:19
John 14:12 36