Dreams & Mysteries - The Mystery of Dead Promises

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is dreams and mysteries you know here in the Land of Israel there is story that has captivated hearts and has captivated imaginations for years it was first written after the first century about the same time it happened just very shortly after we find it in the history of Josephus he wrote about this story that happened up on the complex called Masada just off of the Dead Sea and Masada is an interesting place it's actually a a cliff that's on both sides of this little area that is very small up on the top on one side the cliff edges about 1,300 feet drop and on the other side the cliff edge is about a 300 feet drop and so it's it's very easily defended it had been used in different times Herod the Great had actually built it up and and made it a quite nice complex actually during his time it was there as a last resort just in case he ever needed it which he didn't but in 73 after the destruction of the temple a thousand of the zealots the Jewish zealots used Masada as a place to hide as a place to to go up to to protect themselves but also to go out from there and to do raids and one thing about a place that's easily defended it's also easily besieged all you've got to do is make sure they don't get out if they can't get in sooner or later something's going to happen Romans don't like to wait after very short period of time they were trying to find a way to get up to Masada and there's actually only one path at that time that you could get up there it's called the snake path it's called the snake path because it's a little winding path it just goes up the the tallest side of the cliff and it's about wide enough for maybe two people or one person on horseback to be able to make it up if you can imagine you're not going to siege a gate with that it's so easy one or two people could could easily defend a place like that forever if they needed to as long as they had food in the nice thing about Masada there was a lot of food that was set there because Herod had it completely set up they had cisterns that had plenty of water that would have lasted for years so the Romans figured out an answer they began to build a siege ramp there the Jews realizing what was happening they began to use rocks and arrows and and to kill the Romans that were working on it so the Romans got smart they took some of the prisoners the Jewish prisoners that they'd gotten in other cities and they made them do the work of building the siege ramp and pushing the the seed ramps up to the wall now the people had a choice to make were they going to kill their cousins were they going to kill their brothers were they going to kill their sisters or were they going to just let this happen and they they couldn't bring themselves to kill their brothers their cousins their sisters and so they let this thing be built and the the Romans did come into Masada but once they got into Masada they didn't find what they thought they would find there was nobody left everybody was dead they came in there was fires burning everywhere now - ladies and five children hid hid out in one of the rooms where they could hide and they tell the story of what had happened they had decided that they would choose ten people by Lots that would then kill their brothers and their sisters and and so they they did that and out of the ten one was chosen to kill the other nine and then killed himself and so it basically mass suicide just as a way say hey you can't defeat us we are going to defeat ourselves in the 1800s Masada was found again after a long period of time and the stories that Josephus had told now had this place that they could look at and they could see it happening one of the things that was built on to Masada when the wall that was facing towards Jerusalem was a synagogue and on the floor of that synagogue there was found a couple Scrolls hidden underneath of the floor in a little area where you would hide the the most important things most precious sayings to you there was a few coins and these two scrolls one had a little portion of Deuteronomy 33 and 34 and the other scroll had a portion out of Ezekiel chapter 37 and I want to read this portion of Ezekiel 37 but as I read it I want to I want you to put yourself in the place of these Jews holed up on the top of this complex of this compound looking down at the Romans knowing that they're there now at the place where everything that they had known and had been destroyed they tried to fight and it didn't work they they'd build up this this belief that they were going to be able to conquer the Romans because of the promises of God and it hadn't happened put yourself in their place Ezekiel has a vision and he writes this the he end of the Lord was upon me and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley it was full of bones and he led me around among them and behold there were very many on the surface of the valley and behold they were very dry they said to me son of man can these bones live and I answered Oh Lord God you know he said to me prophesy over these bones and say to them Oh dry bones hear the word of the Lord thus says the Lord God do these bones behold I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live and I will lay sinews upon you and you will cause flash to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live and you shall know that I am the Lord so I prophesied as I was commanded now as I prophesied there was a sound and behold a rattling and the bones came together bone to its bone and I looked and behold there was sin is on them and flesh had come upon them and skin had covered them but there was no breath in them and then he said to me prophesy to the breath prophesized son of man and say to the breath thus says the Lord God come from the four winds o breath and breathed on these slain that they may live so i prophesied as he commanded me and the breath came into them and they lived and stood on their feet an exceedingly great army and he said to me son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel behold they say our bones are dried up and our hope is lost we're indeed cut off therefore prophesy and say to them thus says the Lord God behold I will open your graves and raise you from your graves o my people and I will bring you into the land of Israel and you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and raise you from your graves o my people and I will put my spirit within you and you shall live and I will place you in your own land then you shall know that I am the Lord I have spoken and I will do it declares the Lord now let me give you a little context Ezekiel was in exile with the Israelites that have been taken over to Babylon and he's preaching to the exiles the temple had been destroyed their families killed their national identity is gone to outside eyes their captives were mocking them sounds similar doesn't it imagine what the Jews of Masada were thinking we notch fried bones we've already been brought back from Israel you told us that we would be a great army that you'd place us in our land what happened how is this happening to us they had a promise from God but it seemed to be dead do you know what that feels like if you ever had a promise over your church over your child over your destiny does not seem to have come to pass why do we go through this [Music] I have a recurring dream where I'm looking for my new shoes and cloners in other people's homes all different types of homes I'm looking closets under things inside things [Music] pretty much everywhere I can think of I'm always looking but it's very frustrating because I never actually find them shoes and clothing often represent the skills or spiritual gifts needed to accomplish our purpose this dream is showing the dreamer that she has not yet equipped for her destiny she keeps looking in her own life and in the lives of others but is not finding what she needs this dream is an invitation to stop searching in her own strength and to ask God to give her the skills she needs to do what he has ordained goddess concealed messages and the dreams we dream and as we search them out we learn more about his ways decades of study and thousands of dream interpretations gave John Paul Jackson a unique perspective on understanding dreams with the beginner's dream kit you'll be taught to recognize the 20 most common dreams and what they are saying this kit includes the top 20 dreams book John Paul's 2-cd set teaching the basics of dreams and visions the moments with God dream journal and to dream cards to help you understand your dreams for your gift of $60 or more we will send you these important tools designed to start your journey towards a greater understanding of the dreams you dream order your beginner's dream kit today visit dreams in mysteries.com or call one eight hundred five three eight five two eight five I had this dream few years back and in this dream I'm walking with a pastor that I knew the first pastor he was an amazing teacher I'm talking to him and at one point I I stopped him and I say Brian one thing that Ezekiel 37 means is that God will bring our dreams completely to death before he bleeds on them he looks at me he goes yes that is one thing that it means it's not the only thing but it is one thing that he means I began to look at this and this is where this mystery came from let's go back to verse 2 Ezekiel says that the spear of the Lord led him around among the bones and behold there were very many bones on the surface of the valley and behold they were very dry think about another story from Israel's history think about Joseph Joseph has these dreams when he's young and he knows that they're from God he's promised that his brothers are going to bow down to him even his parents would recognize his authority it doesn't happen instead the brothers that were supposed to bow down to him throw him into a well he overhears them plotting to kill him and then sell him into slavery he knows his dad's not gonna be looking for him because he heard his brothers plan to fake his death he gets to Egypt he starts to work his way through the system he works hard for his new master and he gets promoted to a place of influence and then he's falsely accused of rape and unjustly thrown into prison even here he tries to make things happen after interpreting his dream he tells the cupbearer remember me the cup bearer doesn't he's still stuck in prison there's no natural hope of him getting out much less rising to a place of prominence and when he expects at the least the word comes quick get cleaned up change your clothes shave your hair Pharaoh has called for you you see God brings us to the point where either he comes through or nothing happens this is the way that he builds our faith verse 3 says and he said to me son of man can these bones live I answered who Lord God you know I like to think that I'm a man of faith I'm pretty sure that if I happened on somebody that just died my first thought would be to pray for them to be raised from the dead but if I was walking through a field and I came upon some bones dry bones I'm not sure my first response would be to pray for resurrection and so God asks Ezekiel this question can these bones live and Ezekiel realizes ok so you're asking me the question I don't see it but because you're asking me you probably have something up your sleeve God you know let's look at another story think about Abraham see God made a promise to Abraham and since he had no one greater to swim by whom to swear he's or by himself saying surely I will bless you and multiply you and thus Abraham having waited patiently obtained the promise so he has a promise of a great nation coming from him he waits twelve years and he still has no children a great nation coming no children uh his wife comes up with his plan he can sleep with her slave girl and have the child through her she then decides that the slave girl has to leave and so he sends this pregnant woman pregnant with his promise out into the wilderness to die God sends her back and Ishmael was born but this is not the promise thirteen years later when there's absolutely no possibility of Sarah having children Isaac is born Ishmael sent away again and then God tells Abraham to take his son to a certain mountain a mountain right behind me sacrifice him and kill him Isaac asked what's going on and Abraham says well God Himself will provide a lamb he held on to his faith even when it seemed like nothing was working sometimes God will call on us to offer up our promises this is when we find out if our hope is in our promises or in him alone God proves where our faith lies through the tests that we encounter God gives us a promise what we do what we try to make it happen in our own power God knows that if our success is tied to our own effort or our achievements it will kill our faith you say we say that we want God to get all the glory as long as we get a commission on the side this revival oh yes we prayed for 40 years for God to move oh this breakthrough yeah we fasted and prayed that this would happen this miracle I've pressed in for greater power and anointing and now God used me God gets the glory and I get a commission cuz I'm so holy because I'm so faithful I'm so anything this faith cannot last faith in self always dies see we try to make God's promises come to pass but we can't God told the Israelites building the second temple it's not by might it's not by powers by my spirit says the Lord of Hosts who are you a great mountain before the rubble you shall become a plane and he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace grace to it it's always been Grace remember Ezekiel's vision verse 5 thus says the Lord God did these bones behold I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live it's not about our activity it's about his it's not by our strength our ability talents our gifts it's about his spirit it is all about him and he is the only one that can truly fulfill his promise to any of us [Music] you can all prophesy but some are prophets what is the difference join John II Thomas as we dig deep into the Ministry of the prophetic practical prophetic training is an equipping course designed to help you grow an anointing character servant to it and effectiveness as you press into the Spirit of God for more clarity and impact through Revelation explore the difference between old and new Testament prophetic ministry the path of growth God takes someone on to expand their sphere of authority how the prophetic office interacts with apostles evangelists pastors and teachers and learn many of the ways the prophetic functions visit streams ministries.com / classroom today are called one eight hundred five three eight five two eight five - catapult your discipleship to the next level recently while I was traveling in Israel I visited some sites with prophetic significance and taught some important lessons about the prophetic gift and functioning in the anointing based on the lives of some of the biblical prophets it's only available to streams Media Plus subscribers visit streams ministries.com /media and subscribe today for $15 a month or 150 for a year you will receive access to prophets of the Holy Land conversations with Johnny Thomas how did he learn wisdom through drink through dreaming the dream lab or a sub focus you can kind of do and an archive with hundreds of videos from John Paul Jackson and other speakers you may have said I will be your slave but God says now you're gonna be my friend this is a great resource designed to help you recognize how amazing our God is and propel you towards fulfilling your destiny yes this passage is about the nation of Israel's national destiny it's about so much more just before this experience God spoke through Ezekiel therefore say to the house of Israel thus says the Lord God it's not for your sake o house of Israel that I'm about to act but for the sake of my Holy Name which you've profaned among the nations to which you came and I will vindicate the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nation's and which you profaned among them and the nations will know that I am the Lord declares the Lord God when through you I've indicate my holiness before their eyes I will take you from the nation's and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you God is going to move yeah he promised to bring Israel back from exile and the onions of Ezekiel's day saw the fulfillment the Jews at Masada they did have a promise from God but it was not for that time it was almost 1900 years later that the people were really restored to the land but it was still about more than that was the promise that God would take people dead in their sins and breathe on them let's go back to zico's vision it says and then he said to me son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel behold they say our bones are dried up and our hope is lost and we're in cutoff therefore prophesy and say to them thus says the Lord God behold I will open your graves and raise you from your graves for my people and I will bring you into the Land of Israel and you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and raise you from your graves o my people and I will put my spirit within you and you shall live and I will place you in your own land then you shall know that I am the Lord I have spoken and I will do it declares the Lord this is God's Word to you believe that I am the one that raises from the dead let's go one more story think think about the crucifixion of Jesus from the disciples perspective when you're the one in the story it's always harder to see what's really going on we know the story so it doesn't have the same emotional impact that it did for them put yourself in their shoes for just a minute their King doesn't want to be a king he keeps saying stuff that reminds them of what they hoped would happen but he keeps switching things around they're confused and then he says that he's leaving the Romans whom he was supposed to defeat take him destroy his body kill him and leave him in a grave they have no hope let's go back to Ezekiel's vision and he said to me son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel and behold they say our bones are dried up and our hope is lost we are indeed cut off the disciples didn't see what God knew we don't see what God knows we often think that our promises guy it won't happen is dead it is so dead that the bones are dry but one word from God and life begins to blow it blows on our hearts our hope our dreams the God who raises the dead can breathe in your promise it probably won't look like you want it to but it will look like what he has determined it's been said Hope deferred makes the heart sick I've learned a secret I know how to guarantee that hope will get deferred decide when and how God will fulfill his promises this is what the Jews of Masada did their hearts were so sick that suicide seemed reasonable even honourable don't put your hope on the promise don't put it on your understanding of the promise keep your hope in God alone and you will never be disappointed Israel's promise is still not completely fulfilled Paul says that all Israel will be saved they will receive life from the dead but it's much different than they expect God will give life to every promise that he has spoken the promises of God are yes and amen but there is no guarantee that it'll look like we expect it to or we want it to well what promise do you have that's not fulfilled is your child that was called by God to ministry running it caught up in drugs selfishness materialism or pride do you have a prophecy about a business that's delayed maybe the healing of an illness that lingers or a breakthrough and anointing it has yet to manifest a church still waiting for revival don't give up does it look like the opposite has happened don't quit God's promises are all yes and amen in Jesus Christ it may take time but wait for it he is faithful and he will not fail begin to speak to that mountain grace grace Oh God unless you provide grace nothing will happen I can't make this thing happen in my own strength only you can make this happen come move now take a moment to think of that promise that unfulfilled dream feel the pain of it for just a minute remember that the disciples looking at the broken body of Jesus being laid in the tomb feel the pain of disappointment for just a minute see these bones they're very dry now let me speak over these bones bones hear the word of the Lord come together every circumstance it needs to happen for this promise to be fulfilled come together receive strength receive flesh bones come together Spirit of God breathe breathe on your people breathe on these bones bones receive life receive the Spirit of God and come to life promise be fulfilled prodigal come home sickness go pain leave marriage be healed relationships be restored church be revived passion for Jesus arrived Spirit of God moved and the lives of your people caused life to come - promises fulfill your word you were faithful we trust you let the army rise let the promised land be occupied let destinies be released let life come [Music] because when God breathes it doesn't matter how dead a promise looks the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is still at work today quickening our mortal bodies quickening our spirits and causing the promises of Jesus to come to pass for you and me

Channel: Dreams & Mysteries

Views: 23,560

Rating: 4.8846846 out of 5

Keywords: Dreams and Mysteries, Streams Ministries, John E. Thomas, God, promises, masada, Jesus, Ezekiel 37, Christian, dream, dream meaning, Bible, dream interpretation, clothes, shoes, crucifixion, Joseph

Id: VNuHyiYsW8k

Length: 29min 23sec (1763 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 10 2017