Dreaming with God
Review by Unity Ivongbe
Author: Bill Johnson
Dear Dreamer,
This book is for you if you care to make a mark in your generation — a six chapter piece brilliantly written by Bill Johnson seeks to place the believer on the spotlight once again. In sum, he submits that God can really do all things but He will do nothing until we do something…..and infact, He takes delight in that. In his words, “God is secured enough to appear un-sovereign in the eyes of men no matter how vulnerable that makes Him appear”….He is the kind of boss that allows you do your job without breathing down your neck. Isn’t that wonderful? Glory to God!
The question is not whether our desire is from God or not….but about ‘with what & with whom’ have we been in communion’? Have we been ‘abiding’ enough? And this is actually the barometer that measures the credibility of our desires. The word DESIRE is from ‘De’…’Sire’ which means ‘Of…the Father’. Our desires are as efficacious/potent as the Word of God. And God honors them! The thing is how much of the Kingdom we can show is a direct function of the Kings dominion within our hearts (Mt. 10:8);
Key Learnings:
– Dreaming with God is about showing His Wisdom before all men….in the context of unbridled integrity, Creativity, & Excellence. The World awaits our manifestation in this area.
– Only Sons can fill in this gap. Just as scripture says, ‘a servant does not know what the master doing’…..even though he obsessively observes his superior…the difference between son & servant.
John 15:15; Gal 4:1
– John 15:14;
Friends are less concerned about disobeying as they are about disappointing. The friendship is more important than the task.
– 2 Chro. 7:11;
Solomon achieved all that came into his heart (in God)…He was dreaming with God;
– Kingdom mindset says, ‘God has an answer to the problems of this world…and glory to God that we have a privileged access to His throne of mysteries. If we ask Him.
While most Christians have a value for Wisdom…most have no value for the creativity role in it. The kind that gets the world to notice us. Wisdom is vindicated by works…Luke 7:35.
* God gave Moses the spec for the building of the temple….but the ‘know how’ is a different thing entirely and it took Bazaleel to execute it.
#Exo. 31:3-5; Excellent Craftsmanship;
“Everyone doing their God given task with excellence, integrity & creativity is a craft man in the biblical sense”.
* The devil has no creative abilities whatsoever….he only perverts & corrupts.
* The church is advancing….the gates of hell are not. There are 2 angels to 3 demons…we are winning. He is merely making empty moves.
* Trying to do it like them (people of the world) will be like walking in sense knowledge — power without form. Religion. And that will make way for ‘the Ishmaels instead of the Isaacs’.
– Believing for World Impact
* Of true faith, we do not believe because we understand but we understand because we believe (Heb. 11:16).
* Every revelation, gifts and all of the promises of God are never at the surface but hidden. Kingdom mysteries will remain out of reach until they are sought after conscientiously. And God uses this ‘long walk’ to give us a heart burning enough to be able to bear the responsibility that comes with the discovery. And for this, the journey is just as important as the destination.
*It is the glory of God to conceal for & not from us….because rarity is the concept of value.
* A yielded imagination makes for a sanctified imagination — a breeding ground for God’s Visions & dreams.
* 1 Cor. 13:7
Love believes all things….it makes you vulnerable enough to experience God in His power. You are not afraid or cautious but trusting.
* God’s Word reveals the truth of His person — and the more of His Written word (logos) we have in our heart, the more we can hear & believe His spoken word (rhema).
* Key to discerning God’s voice: “you know you have heard from God when you are able to come up with a better idea than whatever you could come up with by yourself”
* Inspirations such as voice & Visions (audio & visual) are just as easy to get as they are as easy to miss. Watch! Inspirations are slippery!
* Worship is when Solomon killed the 3000 cattles and had the savor going up into heaven….it is when the woman with the alabaster box poured the oil on the feet of Jesus. Men may call it another thing. But God often have a different interpretation.
* In the Old Testament, the word testimony means ‘do again’….also confirmed by Rev. 19:10. They are powerful for the edification of the saints.
* “Any gospel that doesn’t work in the marketplace doesn’t work”.
* Service is the key to meeting all of the world’s needs. Unadulterated. Balance of kingship & servant hood. In its purest form. Jesus was king of Kings & yet servant of all.
– Right way to engage: A. intimacy/communion with God, B. Service to mankind and C. Rulership over the kingdom of hell & darkness.
– There is no such thing as a secular employment for the believer….you either see it as a kingdom field or not be involved at all.
#Invasion.
– Every believer is called into full time ministry except that some have no pulpit….we are called to engage with the principal tool of good works and when necessary use words.
– We are called not to only spot specks of evil in the people of this world but those of gold also.
– Serving the world with the goal of getting them saved is a religious agenda and the world often repel this as because they consider it manipulative. But serving for the benefit of another — bringing good works to them will naturally engender salvation with it.
* Mountains of Influence that must be invaded by kingdom oriented people:
– Home
– Education
– Church
– Media (electronic & print)
– Government & Politics
– Commerce & business
– Performing Arts (including entertainment & sports)
Every time we are missing from these spheres, what we say is that their darkness is more powerful than our light and we fear that they may quench ours. Invasions is the responsibility of light. We must occupy the land.
* All knowledge is not what we need but revelational knowledge…that’s what keeps us thriving while others are failing according to Hosea 4:6; this REVELATION enlarges the playing field of our faith; God will not give us more anointing than the revelation we have
* Revelation cannot be earned neither can any new truth be invented….they are only as discovered or received,
The Holy Spirit is the voice of Revelation. He speaks the thoughts of God according to 2 Corinthians 2
* An old adage says it is easier to steer a car when it is already moving than when static. Keep going & God will be leading you…keep a posture for forward motion….like Apostle Paul, live in the greenlight district and not the red. By all means, keep it going!
* If we truly function from our seated position in heavenly places…we will access deep things that make solutions to all of the world’s crisis. We must take advantage of our vantage positioning.
* For the peoples of this world (unregenerate), the creative key isn’t taking off them….even though they are rebels…they have still been created in God’s image & likeness (Roms. 11:29). And also Job 32:8 still applies.
* Excellence is a kingdom virtue….and different from perfectionism. That one is a corrupted idea. And a show of religion.
– They may not know or say, but Jesus is the desire of nations…and our job is to make Him visible as much as possible.
* Only by pursuing a life that is committed to excellence will kingdom people ever be able to attract and influence the influencers of our society…
* Occupy is a military term that requires a military approach…and requires soldiers on ground for the work. The kingdom work.
* Determination is not enough and we will have to bend to Jesus to fire us up for the task…like Paul, pray continually in the Holy Spirit and build up an edifice(mountain) from which God’s plan for our lives will find fill expression in the word (1 Cor. 14:4)
* “Excellence is kingdom, perfectionism is religion and poverty is demonic”. And excellence comes from doing our best for others. The true idea of Service.
* For the true kingdom person, there is no demilitarized zone…nothing like secular & spiritual life….Monday to Friday/Sunday. Spiritual life only.
* In Gods order of things, He would rather choose he available over the qualified….alot of times, those we see making kingdom mark were not the first choice but most willing;
* As reformers & restorers, we must be careful not be found tearing down the same Nation, we are designed to rebuild. No matter how tempting it may be to speak what is the ‘reality’, we must speak life.
* If Jesus needed to increase in favour with God according to Luke 2:52, don’t tell me you don’t need favour….dont tell me God comes through for all people in the same way. Don’t tell me God provides resources for our assignment in the same way. Knowledge gets us to increase in favour with God. Prayerfulness & holiness also. They are very key.
* The Holy Spirit is a person and not a tool. God’s Word is like the surgeon’s knife that cuts in order to heal
* Truth is multidimensional in the way that there are lesser and greater truth….building up line upon line and precept upon precept
* In matters of Sanctification, The blood deals with sin, but it’s water that addresses impurity (see Eph. 5:26;
– Every question has an answer and there is a solution to every problem….up in heaven and all that we need is to take a peep.
– We must access His world to change this one. Let’s take Sneak-peep. The best of songs have yet to be rendered and we can listen up to heaven to catch the lines. The best of movies and artwork and political strategy are up there waiting for us to connect.
* The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation are the Guardrails that keeps us safe from the perils of religion.
* One of the secrets of maintaining a revival is being thankful for what God has done, while remaining dissatisfied because there is more.
* The soul that is bound by worry, jealousy, anger, resentment, and the like, is incapable of creativity on a consistent basis. It’s impossible to thrive in that kind of environment of negative energy. Travel light.
…..those are power drains.
* Ministry to God must precede ministry to people (if it will ever be effective);
* An important truth to know is that even though the devil has been defeated, many of his works still remains unchallenged…..hence 1 John 3:8; as responsible kingdom people, we must stay on the offensive.
* God has blessed us with all things (& justifiably so) but we are the stewards of the timings for the expression of these things (John 2:4) infact we can draw back the hands of time; without a doubt, our passions can engender the move of God….it isn’t really in God’s hands.
* We have no excuses….isn’t it mind bogging that God cursed the fig tree for not bearing fruit, even OUT of SEASON. That’s unthinkable. We must stay fruitful by all means!
And again, a reminder on the goal: “No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because THEY WILL ALL KNOW ME, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.….” (Jer. 31:34).
Ps1: A personal takeaway goal: prosper in business and be self-sufficient in ministry;
Ps2: In the way some can see (by word of knowledge), issues with individuals and families, Kingdom people should be able to spiritually detect national problems and recommend solutions creatively
The END
