Apples of Gold
Radio Script for September 22, 2008
“Has God Spoken To You In a Dream?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Aren’t dreams amazing?
Do you dream much?
I know they say that we dream every night, but if I do, I almost never remember it. I think it’s because I get up at 4:30 a.m. and I’m chronically short of sleep, so when I close my eyes at night, I’m gone.
Have you ever had a dream that you really thought was from God? I have, and though it’s hard to prove such a thing, it really sticks with you.
Late one night over 20 years ago I was reading in Acts chapter two. Peter was preaching and he quoted this from the prophet Joel, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
That passage was on my mind as I turned out the light and I prayed, “Lord, it says You will give us dreams. Please give me a dream tonight, one that I know is from You.”
And that night I did have a dream. I dreamed I was in a line of people approaching the throne of God. We were standing there, two-by-two, and next to me was a guy I barely knew named Jim French. I don’t know whatever happened to Jim French, and I’m not sure if I ever told him this dream.
Anyway, we were approaching the throne of God, and all you could see was this brilliant white light. Soon it was our turn, and with heads bowed before the Lord, we received our assignment.
“I’m sending you to the churches.”
And that was it. We had our assignment. “Go to the churches.”
And I woke up. And obviously that dream has been with me ever since.
So the next night I prayed it again. “Lord, give me another dream.”
The next morning I woke up and…no dream.
“Lord, why didn’t you give me another dream?” Then this thought popped into my head, “It says the old men will dream dreams.”
I looked it up and, sure enough, it’s the visions that are for the young men.
But nevertheless, I had my dream, and it has guided me in my work in Christian radio. In many ways the various churches are separated from one another, but in my work I am able to go to a wide variety of churches and bring encouragement and support. And my vision for doing that goes back to that dream I think the Lord gave me with the simple instruction to go to the churches.
Of course every dream is not from the Lord. I’ve had some dreams that were certainly not from God – which brings up the question, how can you tell the difference?
I think the main way is, does it line up with the Word of God? In Jeremiah 23:28 the Lord makes a strong statement especially for people who are spouting off about their dreams. He says, “Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?”
I love that depiction. “What has straw to do with grain?” See, the grain is the Word of God, while the straw is the dream. The Word always takes precedence.
But does that mean there is no place for dreams? No, it just means we have to be careful. I think we can apply the teaching of First Corinthians 14:29, that when someone shares a dream that they think is from God, that “the others should weigh carefully what is said.”
That being said, I think God does use dreams to speak to us, based on what we find in the Bible.
For example, God spoke to Jacob in a dream when he was running from his brother Esau. God also gave Jacob a dream about how to increase his personal flock while living with Laban.
Then Jacob’s son Joseph was quite the dreamer, as well as an interpreter of dreams. Daniel, too, was both dreamer and interpreter.
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream as he was taking over the kingdom.
When you read about the birth of Christ in the book of Matthew, you see dreams affecting the story at some very crucial points. The Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream that he should go ahead and take Mary as his wife. Then he warned Joseph about Herod in a dream, and they fled to Egypt. Then in Egypt Joseph had another dream when it was time to return to Israel, and another dream sent them to Galilee.
There are even some critical points in the Bible where the Lord gave dreams to people who weren’t even His people. In Genesis 20 verse 3 God spoke to the foreign king Abimelech. In Judges 7 God encouraged Gideon by giving a dream to a Midianite soldier. And in Matthew 27 we read about the dream Pilate’s wife had about Jesus.
So yes, I believe the Lord speaks to people in dreams. In Numbers 12:6 He said, “When a prophet of the Lord is among you…I speak to him in dreams.”
On the other hand, we must be careful. Jeremiah 23:25 points out that sometimes people lie in God’s name saying, “I had a dream! I had a dream!”
There really isn’t a lot of detail about dreams in the Bible, not a load of guidelines. But nevertheless, God has used dreams to speak to people at important points in their lives, and I believe He is still doing so today.
So the question of the day is this, “Has God spoken to you in a dream?”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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