Genesis 37:5 " Joseph had a dream..."
It was once said that the poorest person in the world is not the one without a cent, but the one without a dream. A God given dream is a snapshot of what is to come. A God given dream provides for us the fuel to go through hardship and turbulent times.
When someone receives a vision or dream from God, he can't hardly imagine what he is going to go through to reach the fulfillment of that vision. It's as if God is saying with your vision, " This is what I am about to prepare you to receive." And then you go to the potter's house to get forged, bent, broken, and finally prepared to receive what has been promised.
For those that know Susan and I, you know of the trials we have gone through. Just like Joseph, we went through tough times, we went through EVERY emotion in the book, we experienced times when we wanted to leave it all, and times of great confusion as to why God would allow us to go through certain things. In retrospect we understand why certain things needed to happen, and the ones we don't understand, we praise God anyway because of Jeremiah 29:11 which says "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
The Back side of a tapestry
Pastor Joel Stockstill from Bethany WPC in LA told me once that the Believer's walk can be likened to a tapestry. If you have never seen one, go check one out. On the back side of the tapestry you find a mess!! A conglomeration of twisted string and crooked lines making no sense at all. You almost wonder why someone would even bother in making something like that. But once you flip it over and see the front of it, it all makes sense. You see a masterpiece, and then you understand that those crooked lines and twisted areas and "make no sense" patterns were ALL necessary. Once you understand and accept the scripture verse " And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. "(Rom. 8:28) you will begin to have peace in turbulent times knowing that you will make it, and you will not be defeated or embarrassed!!
Susan and I have gone through tough times and we graduated!!! We have our scars, and we have a limp but we know that it will all be worth it. After all we are the apple of His eye!!
If God has given you a vision, hold on to it tight!! Don't let go and don't quit. It's all being worked out. Just be led by the Spirit of God and you will see your dream come to pass!!
Please continue praying for us!!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Back from the grave
Ezekiel 37
“The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.”
This vision from God represented to Ezekiel the condition of the nation of Israel. Desolation, Death, Division, and Dried out. In a nut shell Israel was in bad shape.
As you read this passage today the vision takes upon a similar but different interpretation:
If you were able to see everything going on in just this city you would get a similar vision. But in this vision God would begin to show you and the people of your city beat up, raped, high, killed, mugged, abandoned, depressed, alone, forgotten and angry.
If God were to open your eyes and you were able to see these things you would become overwhelmed.
But God didn’t stop at just showing Ezekiel the condition of the city he then asked the question: Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”
What God was asking Ezekiel and he is asking of us today is “is their any hope?” After Ezekiel saw everything he saw he answered the only way someone could answer: “Only you know God. “
God asked the question to reveal the obvious!!! The only way that this city, state, nation, world can ever see a significant change is through God.
And God’s next action displayed how things are going to change. HE USED A MAN!!
And he is still using men and women today to PROPHESY HIS WORD TO THE DRY BONES!!!
You must get ready in:
1) Your identity: stop copying what you don’t want to become.
2) Your speech: God’s word must be on your lips
3) Your heart: detach yourself from THINGS and attach yourself to God.
4) Your standard: become an instrument of righteousness.
5) Your resolve: let this conviction be in your heart. IF NO ONE ELSE WILL GET UP THEN GOD MUST BE READY TO CHANGE A NATION THROUGH ONE MAN!!!
6) Your passion: this means pursuing God even if you don’t feel like it. You pursue him not because of feelings but because.
Your friends around you are crying out “Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.'
And God through you is going to say: “God, the Master, says: I'll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I'll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you'll realize that I am God. I'll breathe my life into you and you'll live. Then I'll lead you straight back to your land and you'll realize that I am God. I've said it and I'll do it. God's Decree.'"
There is a hope and it comes in the shape of people proclaiming Gods message.
Will you rise and prophesy? God is waiting for you and so is a city….
“The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.”
This vision from God represented to Ezekiel the condition of the nation of Israel. Desolation, Death, Division, and Dried out. In a nut shell Israel was in bad shape.
As you read this passage today the vision takes upon a similar but different interpretation:
If you were able to see everything going on in just this city you would get a similar vision. But in this vision God would begin to show you and the people of your city beat up, raped, high, killed, mugged, abandoned, depressed, alone, forgotten and angry.
If God were to open your eyes and you were able to see these things you would become overwhelmed.
But God didn’t stop at just showing Ezekiel the condition of the city he then asked the question: Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”
What God was asking Ezekiel and he is asking of us today is “is their any hope?” After Ezekiel saw everything he saw he answered the only way someone could answer: “Only you know God. “
God asked the question to reveal the obvious!!! The only way that this city, state, nation, world can ever see a significant change is through God.
And God’s next action displayed how things are going to change. HE USED A MAN!!
And he is still using men and women today to PROPHESY HIS WORD TO THE DRY BONES!!!
You must get ready in:
1) Your identity: stop copying what you don’t want to become.
2) Your speech: God’s word must be on your lips
3) Your heart: detach yourself from THINGS and attach yourself to God.
4) Your standard: become an instrument of righteousness.
5) Your resolve: let this conviction be in your heart. IF NO ONE ELSE WILL GET UP THEN GOD MUST BE READY TO CHANGE A NATION THROUGH ONE MAN!!!
6) Your passion: this means pursuing God even if you don’t feel like it. You pursue him not because of feelings but because.
Your friends around you are crying out “Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.'
And God through you is going to say: “God, the Master, says: I'll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I'll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you'll realize that I am God. I'll breathe my life into you and you'll live. Then I'll lead you straight back to your land and you'll realize that I am God. I've said it and I'll do it. God's Decree.'"
There is a hope and it comes in the shape of people proclaiming Gods message.
Will you rise and prophesy? God is waiting for you and so is a city….
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Will the rain ever come??
One of the biggest challenges that people who are promised something have to face is waiting for the fulfillment of the promise. In the book of Genesis Noah had to wait a long time for the flood to finally come. He had rallied his family, endured mocking and ridicule, worked very hard, and he was doing something he had never done before to wait for something he had never seen before.
Have you ever been promised anything? And then had to wait. I believe that Noah's patience in waiting was a direct result of the person who gave him the promise...GOD. A promise is only as valid and powerful as the one giving it. Noah knew that this rain was coming.
Next Level Ministries or " NLM" has been in God's furnace cooking for 34 1/2 years now, and in 2009 IT'S COMING OUT OF THE OVEN!!!! God had spoken in my heart for years that it was coming!!! And I waited patiently.
What will NLM look like?? I don't know! I DO know though, that it will be a church without walls, a church that seeks and saves the lost, a church that disciples and sends out leaders all over the world, and a church that restores lives and visions. This church will be a cross preaching church, a praying church, a worshipping church, a fasting church, an outreach church and an In love with God church. I think I see a rain cloud coming!!!
We will be creating a launch team January of 2009 to tentatively have our first service May of that same year.
Please pray for us and support us as we begin the 501c-3 process, and begin praying that God sends us the right people to begin his work the right way.
Until ALL have heard,
Oliver Lee
Have you ever been promised anything? And then had to wait. I believe that Noah's patience in waiting was a direct result of the person who gave him the promise...GOD. A promise is only as valid and powerful as the one giving it. Noah knew that this rain was coming.
Next Level Ministries or " NLM" has been in God's furnace cooking for 34 1/2 years now, and in 2009 IT'S COMING OUT OF THE OVEN!!!! God had spoken in my heart for years that it was coming!!! And I waited patiently.
What will NLM look like?? I don't know! I DO know though, that it will be a church without walls, a church that seeks and saves the lost, a church that disciples and sends out leaders all over the world, and a church that restores lives and visions. This church will be a cross preaching church, a praying church, a worshipping church, a fasting church, an outreach church and an In love with God church. I think I see a rain cloud coming!!!
We will be creating a launch team January of 2009 to tentatively have our first service May of that same year.
Please pray for us and support us as we begin the 501c-3 process, and begin praying that God sends us the right people to begin his work the right way.
Until ALL have heard,
Oliver Lee
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