11 Mar When a 11-year old receives the Sermon Message in a Dream…

In a small rural community in New Zealand, an 11-year-old boy received a God-dream. In the dream, he saw half his bedroom bathed in light. The other half bathed was in darkness. He was standing in the centre of the room between the light and the darkness. Then he heard a voice saying, “choose.” Thankfully, when he woke up, he chose the light.

Unbeknownst to the boy, God had also been speaking to his senior pastor. That Sunday as the boy shared the dream with his friends at church, the pastor preached a sermon to the rest of the congregation. The theme? On not being “lukewarm” and how God is calling us to choose between hot and cold (Rev. 3:14-16)!

Personally, I love this testimony because it highlights so much about the nature of our God Conversations.

1. Holy Spirit Calls us to Follow Jesus

Firstly, the boy’s testimony shows how the Spirit speaks as the continuing voice of Jesus, calling us to follow. Our God conversations will often challenge us to make choices about the way we live. The choice to walk in God’s way of light is made when we first come to know Jesus, but the Spirit call us to continue making it throughout our lives. As Jesus said, the Holy Spirit speaks to bring conviction of sin and lead us into righteousness (John 16:8).

In convicting us of sin, Holy Spirit works to release us from the death-producing behaviours that limit our lives and separate us from God’s love. God calls to turn away from our greed, selfishness, pride and the love of anything that rejects him. It is a call to change our minds, or to use the old-fashioned word, to repent. Although it may not feel like it at the time, this is a positive message as it turns us away from death and towards life!

2. Holy Spirit Speaks to Young and Old

Secondly, in this story we also see how God spoke the same revelation to both a young boy and an older man. One was a child – immature and relatively uneducated – the other, a theologically trained professional. What a profound demonstration of God’s universal revelation! Scholars call this phenomena the “democratisation of the Spirit.” No-one is left out when God pours out his Spirit! The gift of access to revelation is available to male and female, young and old (Acts 2:16,17).

We are also reminded here that the key to hearing God is not age, experience or status. The young boy was able to receive the depths of revelation as much as the older man. The key is an open heart. May we never be beguiled into thinking that our status, knowledge or experience elevates us in God’s kingdom. As Jesus said, we must become like “little children” to enter it (Matt. 18:3).

3. Holy Spirit Speaks Twice

Finally, this testimony reveals a common feature of God conversations under the New Covenant – God spoke twice! Holy Spirit spoke the same message to two different people – the preteen and the pastor. This is the beauty and wonder of the New Covenant. The fact that God speaks to more than one person provides us with an objective witness and helps us know when a message is from God. We see this dynamic in the experience of the early church when God spoke to both Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10). It is one of the most important means of discernment and reminds us of the importance of testing God’s voice in community. It also means that after God’s words have been confirmed, we can have the confidence to follow. May we follow the example of the young boy and the older pastor as we heed God’s voice and always choose the light over the darkness!