Spirit and Truth Ministries
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EMPOWERMENT—DIVINE OR HUMAN?
A Prophetic Dream Given the Morning of January 18, 2001
Don Hawley
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As I’ve mentioned previously, my prophetic dreams almost always are given when it’s time to arise. The culmination of the dream wakes me up and permits me to begin writing down details while they are still fresh. I’ve learned that even the smallest details in a prophetic dream may be important for the interpretation.
This small dream was so interesting that I lay in bed a few moments rehearsing it. As I went over the various elements the Holy Spirit began to impress me that this was not an ordinary dream, and the interpretation began to evolve. So, I am at my computer at 6:30 a.m. to share.
I was driving along a wide, smooth, multi-lane highway making good time toward a destination that was already visible not very far ahead. Since things apparently were going well, I was filled with self-confidence. Then, quite without warning, my vehicle began to sputter and I realized I was running out of gas. It was clear that the engine wasn’t going to operate long enough to get me to my destination. While still in motion I had to make an evasive maneuver to avoid running head on into a black car coming the wrong way in my lane.
My attention was drawn to my right where another black, sporty automobile also was moving at high speed the wrong way in still another lane. I could see that the driver was ex-SDA minister who is a friend of mine. Suddenly he executed a high-speed, 180-degree turn such as portrayed in movie chase scenes. Very impressive!
I had to take my eyes off my fellow traveler to concentrate on my own predicament. Then ahead, completely blocking the highway, was a mound of sand so high as to cut off the view of my destination. As my engine gave its last gasp, the sand brought me to a dead halt.
Sitting dejectedly behind the wheel of my stalled-out vehicle I wondered why my successful journey had come to such an ignoble end. I was still engaged in self-pity when I heard a sound behind me. Turning I saw a huge wall of rushing water about to engulf everything. It came on so suddenly that I had only a moment to take in a deep breath and hold it before finding myself under water.
I wasn’t panicked at first, as I expected the water to ebb away rather quickly and allow me to breathe again. When it became apparent that the volume of water was so great it was there to stay, I started to fight my way to the surface—minus my vehicle. I broke though in a rather brief time and was happily able to breathe again. At this point, as is usually the case, the dream broke off without allowing me to see the conclusion. That’s either because we have the privilege of writing our own ending according to the choices we make, or God is not yet ready to reveal certain events.
The destination, of course, is the Kingdom of Glory, and it is only a short distance away now. The broad highway is the manmade course the church has trusted to take it safely to its eternal destination. It seldom occurs that they’ve been traveling this route, sometimes at high speed, for some 2,000 years without arriving Home. They still believe they’re going to be successful in their journey, and are continually bringing out new sets of manmade plans. Without divine intervention they could still be racing down that broad way 2,000 years hence.
All the cars I saw were painted black, indicating they were of human origin. The only two identifiable drivers were ministers. For the most part they do the steering and the congregation tends to just go along for the ride. I saw that my vehicle represented my own personal ministry. It seemed to be going so well that I developed a degree of self-confidence, so a merciful Lord planned a little detour.
Most autos have “internal combustion” engines, indicating our tendency to look inside one’s self for wisdom and strength rather than to outside empowerment. The gasoline that runs the engines comes from manmade refineries (or seminaries), but in God’s sight it is still crude oil. However, we keep chugging along until God, hopefully, brings us to a standstill where we can think things over.
Some ministries have been tearing along in such a misguided direction that a 180-degree turn is mandatory. Lesser course corrections will not suffice. The other car, whose driver was not identified and that never did turn, represents a broad range of today’s well-known ministries. They look good and are moving impressively, but unfortunately they’re going in the wrong direction and actually doing little for the Kingdom. I’ve noted that much time and energy are expended selling their own books and tapes, or touting the media offerings of similar ministries in a reciprocal arrangement.
I keep hearing from others whose ministry has been in limbo for some time, perhaps years. The sand in the dream represents the desert experience that God placed me in more than three years ago. First he politely invited me to that solitude, but I was too busy advancing his Kingdom. I was pretty sure a vital element would be missing should I drop out. How arrogant we become! Finally, a loving God forced me into the desert very quickly and rather painfully. The dune in my dream was so high that I lost sight of the destination, and desert-dwellers can experience a sense of being lost in the wilderness. However, neither God nor his Kingdom has moved, we just need a new vision.
It’s important to note that I was driving in the right direction. That is, I had a fairly clear understanding of where God was going and what he wanted of us. Unfortunately I was trying to travel that route in a car of my own design; I was steering my own course instead of taking my cues from the Holy Spirit.
Being “stuck in the sand” is really a blessing in disguise. It’s a time for becoming, rather than just doing. It presents an opportunity to abandon our self-designed ministry vehicle to experience an intimate relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is not time lost, but time gained.
Like Moses, those of us who’ve been living in the desert for some time are there for a purpose. The primary need is to acquire humility, so God can trust us with future assignments—service that won’t be derailed with self-involvement. Moses went to class in the desert for 40 years. I doubt I have another 40 years of life in me, but I believe the end of all things is so close that I may get to graduate anyway.
Remember that when God was ready to reinstate Moses he arranged for a one-on-one confrontation at a burning bush. Be of good courage, your own “burning bush” experience may be closer than you think. All things now gather speed and intensity for what lies just ahead.
The latter part of the dream portrays what we all are waiting for whether we know it or not—the great wall of water. This irresistible force represents the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit, an occurrence that will divide the human race into the two camps depicted in Matt. 25:31-46. The physical separation pictured there merely represents spiritual decisions individuals have themselves made previously. Those decisions have to do with each person’s final response to Jesus Christ in the person of the Holy Spirit. This awesome and unavoidable encounter has to do only with the final generation, those alive at Christ’s return. I’ve dealt with this in some detail in the last chapter of my book “THE FINAL TEST—For the Final Generation.”
Remember that I ended my dream minus my vehicle. Even the best-laid plans of men, even the most impressive ministries, will come to naught unless they bear the divine blueprint. There are things happening right now within the Renewal that appear spectacular, but most are still contaminated with the human element. Many well-known names will fade, and many now unknown servants of the Lord will surface for the final moves of God. He knows what he wants to do, and our little vehicles don’t impress him.
Like the church today, the Laodiceans of Bible times were self-confident. They thought they could just keep on keeping on indefinitely, but God finally pronounced it “hot or cold” time. That message resonates for us today.
When I found myself under water in my dream I first thought I could hold my breath, do nothing until the water receded. However, the final move of the Holy Spirit will be of unimaginable magnitude. Other moves of the Holy Spirit in history have receded, but not this one. Holding one’s breath and waiting it out is not an option. We will either move with the flow and surface, or simply drown.
What an awful, wonderful time to be alive!
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