[center]PART ONE
"DREAMS AND NIGHT VISIONS"
Text: Job 33:14-18, 29
• [b]INTRODUCTION

The Lord is not limited in the ways by which He speaks to His people. He spoke to:
• Abraham in a night vision Gen.15:1-5
• Moses through a burning bush. Exo. 3:1-6
• Joseph the husband of Mary. Matth.1:20
• Saul on the road to Damascus in an open vision. Acts 9:3-6
Church History
• Polycarp, a man believed to have been a direct disciple of the Apostle John, was given a dream that revealed how he would be killed in Rome and burned at the stake. In 155 A.D., at the age of 86, Polycarp was martyred for his faith just as his dream had depicted.
• St. Augustine lists several of his dreams in his writings and he declared that they were an important way in which God spoke to him and to mankind.
• Jerome, a translator of the Latin Bible, was converted as a result of the Lord appearing to him in a dream.
Contemporary Time
• Christopher Columbus- discovery of the new world vide a dream he had and was told ‘God will give you the keys to the gates of the ocean which are closed with strong chains’
• President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination
• Dimitry Mendeleyev’s discovery of the periodic table resulting in the birth of modern Chemistry and Physics.
• Dr Jonas Salk – discovery of the polio vaccine came about because he took his dreams serious.
• Magdalene and the young brined – They take the prayer point.
God is not limited in the ways that He chooses to speak to His people.
Numbers 12:6 – Then he said, “Hear now My words; if there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.”
WHAT IS A DREAM
1) A series of thoughts, images, and feelings that you experience when you are asleep (Longman dict. Of contemporary English)- Dan.4:5 (NIV)
2) A dream is a seed containing:
• Information - Midianite soldier—Judg.7:13-14
• Direction - Joseph husband of Mary – Matth.2:19-23
• Warning - The 3 wise men -Matth.2 :12
• Tell the future - Joseph -Gen. 37:5-11,Dan.2:20-45
• Convey special messages or favours or blessings –Matth.1:20
• Avert an unpleasant situation
• Teach a divine lesson – Dan.2:19-30;4:8
A. Dreams in the Bible
There are at least 50 accounts of dreams in the
Bible. A few of them are:
• Abimelech’s dream - Gen.20:3-6
• Joseph had a dream Gen.37:5-11
• Pharaoh had a dream Gen.41:15-48
• Solomon had a dream 1Kings 3:5-15
• The wise men had a dream Matth.2:12
• Joseph was warned in a dream to run away
with Baby Jesus Matth.2:13-14
• Pilate's wife had a dream Matth.27:19
B. Sources of dreams
Your dreams can come from 3 sources:
- God -Job 33:14-17, 29
- Satan –Deut 13:1-3
- Man
• the flesh- Ecc.5:3, Isa.29:8
• the spirit- Psm.4:4; 17:3
C.When a dream is from God, it
- Encourages
- Assures
- Comforts
- Directs
- Instructs
- Guides
- Corrects
- Reveals
D. When a dream is from the enemy, satan, it is
- Absurd
- Mysterious
- Unreasonable
- Confusing
- Terrifying
- accidents, attacks
- Closed doors, youths aging fast,
- Chains on necks, closed bibles e.t.c
When it comes from your flesh, it generally mirrors What’s been occupying your thoughts throughout the day, e.g.
- Negative news from the media
- Idle conversations
- 2Cor.7:1
E. Key Issues about a dream
- meaning i.e the symbol or key
- Is it literal or parable ?
- What actions do I take to deal with them
Literal – i.e not a parable –Gen.20:3-7, 1Kings 3:5-15.
§ You identify the parties
§ Real events that you can easily relate with
§ The force or vividness
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