I Had A DreamNot as catchy as MLK Jr's, "I have a dream," but in this case, the essence of the dream is a bit different. You see, I had a dream on the night of December 28th, 2015, at a church retreat retreat in Waring. This dream however was not a dream of future hope, radical change, or an optimistic expectation, rather this was what I believe to be a dream of communication and confirmation. For quite some time now I have been studying and praying about the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit," or the "Baptism of Fire." And while I do believe that all Christians must receive the Holy Spirit, and therefore be baptized in the Holy Spirit to be saved, I do not necessarily agree with the widespread doctrinal teaching or proofs of the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" as I hear it taught. But, that is a whole different story all together. More recently though, I have been considering the importance and role of ordination as a passing on of spiritual authority, or gifts, through the laying on of hands. And though there are several biblical examples, to say that one MUST be ordained by fasting and the laying on of hands by other ordained ministers, in order to do the work of God in the Spirit or with authority, did not seem like an accurate claim. This is mostly because of my own personal experience with God in ministry. The "Guidelines"My friend who introduced the idea of needing a specific ordination experience to me spoke of a 4 part system leading into Spirit filled ministry. These 4 parts are: a calling from God, confirmation from man, fasting and prayer, and the laying on of hands for the passing of the confirmed gift. This is seen in the life of Paul as he was chosen and set aside in the ministry to the gentiles in the book of Acts. But, is this the format that God uses for all his ministers? As far as my friend was concerned, I didn't met the requirements, because I have not been officially ordained, and so I haven't received acceptable spiritual authority. Yet looking at my life experience, to say anything less than, "God is at work," would be a lie. My CallingFirst is being called by God. When I began to dive into the word, I was given a burning desire to know Him and serve Him. While reading through Acts and seeing the lives and devotion of the apostles, I cried out and asked God, "Lord, where are these modern day apostles I can go follow?" His reply was simple, "Go be one." Since then, he has led me, taught me, and worked through me to evangelize, baptize, and disciple many people. Second is confirmation of man. My confirmation has come in many ways. I was allowed to be a leader and teacher with the CMJC for several years, and then received two offers from churches to be hired as the Associate or Youth Pastor. God led me to be the Associate Pastor at Friendship Bible Church where I was accepted by the pastor and board of elders, and voted in by the congregation. I have even had prophetic words spoken into my life for ministry. No one ever said, "this is a prophetic word," rather many things spoken of concerning ministry in my life have come true. Thirdly, though we did not do a group fast, there was prayer on all sides of this journey, and God has led me in fasting and increased His work through me more several times. More importantly, there has been fruit in all of the ministries in which God has guided me. Finally though, is the issue of the laying on of hands and spiritual authority. This is where I had to really read and pray. On one hand, there is a biblical model where men pass on certain things through the laying on of hands, but on the other hand, God does all the He pleases. Yes it is good to have the confirmation and confidence that comes from wise men, but isn't that which comes from God alone even greater? I have always felt blessed that the growth and ministry in my life wasn't the result of a single denomination, strict doctrinal guidelines, or one man's teaching, rather it came from an intimate relationship with God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, however, I am being told, by a very wise friend whom I love, that a calling from God is not enough. Then I had the dream. The Man Who Wasn't ThereAs I was at this church retreat, words were spoken concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the type of experience that was suppose to identify you receiving the "fullness" of the Spirit. So, once again I began to consider the testimonies of others against the Word of God, as well considering all of the other things we just covered in this article. That same night I had a very strange dream. In my dream, I had no definite location. I assumed, at first, that I was still there at the Waring retreat, though surroundings soon gave way to someplace unfamiliar. I was there in close communion with someone, a man, and there with us was another, standing and mocking me. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with a sense of worship and surrender, and in that surrender I fell to my knees. Then the man who was with me came and laid his hand on my head. At that moment, I was anointed and filled with the Spirit in such a way that I fell backwards onto the ground, and I was floored by the immense filling and presence of the Holy Spirit. "Who is this man who anointed me," I wondered. At first I thought it was a man who was talked about quite frequently at this retreat and was well esteemed, but I realized it couldn't be him, because he had passed away a number of years ago. Then I thought it was my friend whose teaching I had been considering, but I realized that it wasn't him either. I looked up to examine the man who anointed me, just to realize that suddenly I was alone. That man was not there. I could still see the other individual, though now much farther away and fading from focus, but the man who laid his hand on me was no more. He had touched me, anointed me, and I had been filled with the Spirit, yet now there was no man to be seen. With that, the dream ended. InterpretationI want to say, that though I don't usually have dreams, they are not foreign to me. However, very rarely have I ever considered them more than what they were..... just dreams. This one though, held weight and wonder. This one spoke to me. Acts 2:17 talks about seeing visions and dreaming dreams. Obviously he speaks of God given dreams that hold significance, and this is the type of dream I encountered on that night. As I meditated on the dream, seeing as how it didn't fade away as normal dreams do, I was led to a conclusion concerning the events. The man who laid hands on me was God. It was He who anointed me, and by His commission I received the Holy Spirit, not by anyone else's. He was identified as a man who was, yet then was not, in order to show that it was He, and He alone who calls, who equips, and who confirms. That though He was there as a man in the the dream, there was no "man" involved in the process. The dream also confirmed something I have always known, yet occasionally reexamined, which is that I have already received the fullness of His Spirit, though there is always room for additional gifts, and I am not lacking anything just because other people's experiences might be a bit more dramatic than mine. The other person that was with us represented the doctrinal viewpoints that I was being given, and they simply faded away as God revealed Himself in Spirit and power to me. Confirmation and QuestionsThe only reason I am sharing this story with you, is because God would not let me sleep until I did. I don't know why, and I maybe I never will. It was truly a strange, but beautiful, thing. Never before have I received a God given dream and the interpretation of it, but I could not be more thankful to have a God that continuously speaks with and guides us. If reading this article has lifted a weight or brought clarity to something in your life, or if you simply have some questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. I would love to discuss how God is using and guiding us separately, yet together.
Go and be blessed.
3 Comments
Faith Worth Imitating: 10 Days with Gospel Ministries InternationalWelcome to Gospel Ministries International Faith, without works, is dead. This doesn’t seem to be a struggle in the day-to-day life at Gospel Ministries International, in Iasi, Romania. Ministering in Romania, Moldova, Transnistria, and Ukraine, as well as other international areas, Ghiorghi Cazacu seems to have made it his commitment to never live a day without purpose. Whenever we traveled, even the little things were found to be significant opportunities to fulfill the “great commission.” During a tour of the largest mall in Iasi, we were approached by a young women handing out flyers. While he wasn’t too interested in her sales pitch, Ghiorghi was concerned with her salvation. He began by asking her whether or not she knew the reason for celebrating Christmas, and after a short Romanian discussion, she was praying for forgiveness and salvation in the name of Jesus Christ! This was a common occurrence though, and almost a dozen people came to Christ simply by giving them a ride in the van and taking to opportunity to share the gospel. Amongst these conversations was a group of young adults traveling together, a half sober women abandoned in the dark fog of a Moldavian backroad, and an Orthodox Priest traveling to his temple. And all these things were simply on our way to do the work of the ministry. Spending a week with Ghiorghi Cazacu and GMI led me to understand the fullness of the term, “Never a dull moment.” Every action was strategic, and every move was a part of a bigger plan. Across Moldova, we stopped by at least 8 GMI planted churches, another one in Transnistria, and of course there was the church at the GMI headquarters itself. But as we traveled, he was pointing out churches all across the country-side, more than I could keep count of; we couldn’t have stopped to see them all in a week even if we wanted to. Traveling with Ghiorghi to see the church planting in Moldova was incredibly eye opening. On the first trip, we were traveling for two days, and the second trip, we left for 5 days, even going into Transnistria. Every night we stayed in the home of a different pastor. The conditions there were quite poor. Most don’t have toilets, and may didn’t even have a tub to shower in. The bathroom was small wooden outhouse with a hole in the ground, but you had to brave the 25 degree weather and wind chill to use it. The homes also had very limited sources of heat. What really impressed me and impacted me as we traveled was the unity, the constant peaceful presence of the Holy Spirit, and the complete, unwavering, devotion to the Lord, regardless of the circumstances. Church Planters in Gradinita, Moldova One such house was that of Peter Halikov. Peter, his wife Christina, and their infant daughter Evelyn, lived in a home that would have been condemned in America. No indoor bathroom or tub, only two functional rooms, and only one with heat. They prepared food, ate, and washed in a small cold kitchen, and had one small room heated by a wood furnace where they lived and slept. Still, they were enthusiastic to greet us, as were all the brethren, and they had a sparkle and joy in their eyes that made the physical circumstances almost seem to fade. Not too long ago, this family was living in the city, with mostly modern conditions, but they gave up everything to live in this small forgotten village in order to do the will of God, and were now being supported through GMI as a church planting family. Daily Life and Ministry In Moldova, life is hard. Everything is a chore, and living the normal day-to-day life is constant work. Everything is homemade or grown, and they live, for he most part, by the fruits of their own labor. Though it’s their livelihood is more of a struggle, there are far less distractions. No Wi-Fi, no 4G LTE smart phones, and no Facebook. They had their family and their communities and that was it. The result though, is families and communities that are well connected. Every home we visited was joyful and serving, the children were mild and obedient, the wives were busy in the home and with the children, and the men were meek and focused. Families were together and invested in one another, and since the homes we visited were all Christian homes, we were in constant praise and worship and fellowship. What an amazing blessing it was to see the transformative power of the Spirit among these villages and the fruit of God’s work through GMI. Personally, I gained a lot in my 10 days with Ghiorghi Cazacu and GMI. Mostly I learned what it really means to be led by the spirit, to lay down your life for the gospel, and how to make disciples. Everywhere we went, every person we spoke to, and every dollar exchanged was for the purpose of building God’s kingdom. Everything was recorded and accounted for in an act of integrity and accountability that should set the standard for ministry. To most people in our modern American church, discipleship is a weekly bible study, some Q&A, and maybe even some good educated advice. Many times parents even leave the discipleship of their kids to a Wednesday night service and the youth pastor, but Ghiorghi took a different approach. In the morning, before and after eating, around discussion, while traveling, when we saw an ambulance, or for any other reason really, Ghiorghi was always leading in prayer. Outside of prayer, he was always working for the Kingdom, and taking his disciples with him to see and to serve, and among all these things, the praise of Jesus Christ was always on his lips. The first night of my arrival, all the household, about 12, was gathered together just to sing praises to the Lord, pray, and be edified. The next day Ghiorghi had the young disciples prepare and serve food for the poor, led in worship, and send them home with a month of supplies. On Sunday, the young disciples led worship and read scriptures that they themselves organized before the message, and then we all went and visited a brother in the hospital who had an appendectomy. While we were there, they all began singing praises to God, gaining the full attention of the rest of the recovering patients, and began to speak and pray with the others. At least one man came to Christ. In every circumstance, Ghiorghi was feeding them the word of God, giving them opportunities to serve, and they were doing life and ministry together. There was a closeness, and a level of accountability and obedience that I realized should be the core of true discipleship. Conclusion GMI has a long term strategic vision and approach for the Kingdom of God. The vines of the ministry are branched out in every direction, and you find the roots of it all at the main headquarters in Iasi, Romania. There it begins with evangelism and discipleship, and church planting which has extended out and been reproduced from Romania to and everywhere in between. From there, they feed the poor, care for orphans, preach Christ in schools, provide for widows, run rehabilitation centers, and is even establishing a 2 year bible school in Moldova. All the while sponsoring pastors and leaders to continue being a light in the darkness and salt the earth. All in all, Ghiorghi Cazacu is a man on a mission, and he continues to run GMI as a Spirit led ministry with the highest level of integrity and accountability. Ghiorghi truly holds a faith worth imitating, and he seems to strive towards a vision that shapes his every word and deed: Glorify God and bring all people into the obedience that comes from faith.
Find out more and subscribe to our free newsletter at: www.aim4theworld.org |
Details
Darrin MillerWorking for the Lord. Archives
October 2016
Categories
All
|