In these last days, we are living in a world where civility and decency have been discarded like yesterday’s trash. When movies that glorify the hunting down and killing of political opponents for sport are being produced and celebrated, well, I can only say I would never have imagined our world could degrade so far. Evil and nastiness have always existed, in the dark corners and shadows of this earth, but in the past few years, these things are stepping out into the light, becoming “normalized” and most sadly, accepted by many, many people.
In many ways, social media has contributed to this problem, becoming a platform for nasty and hateful, divisive comments. I’ve seen it all too often, on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, YouTube videos, people are posting belittling, ridiculing or mocking comments about individuals based on their skin color, their “looks”, their age, their beliefs, their politics, and sometimes based on nothing at all. The rise of social media has given people a nearly anonymous platform to be rude or cruel to other people. Some call this cyber-bullying, and it’s so commonplace that many people find themselves actually becoming numb to the madness and are beginning to see it as “normal”.
In the United States and other Western Nations, we have free speech (for now), so people are free to say all manners of hateful and unkind things to one another with practically no fear of legal repercussions. Sadly, sometimes these comments are extreme and do lead to depression and even to suicide in some people. In-fact, there is a relatively new term “bullycide” that has been coined for children and teens who have been bullied so badly that they live in a constant state of fear and confusion, sometimes to the point of taking their own lives. In recent years, many of our Government officials and media organizations use their highly visible platforms and “pulpits” to lead the charge in this war on civility. They are now using extremely harsh and shocking rhetoric that denigrates their opponents and sadly stirs up division and hatred among the masses, with the potential to even lead to violence. Who is behind all of this ugliness on earth? I think we know the answer to that.
But what I want to tell people today is that there is ONE who loves each of His children, His Entire Creation, with a love that is so pure, so passionate, so intense, so perfect, that it cannot be compared to any type of love that exists on earth. This LOVE is NOT contingent upon what we look like, what we do, how much money we have, how famous or popular we are, but instead is based on who (or whose) we are. God loved the entire world population enough to die to save us.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Those whom God chose before the foundation of the world to be His Sons and Daughters, are precious in the sight of the Lord. Why didn’t God choose everyone? Because God has “foreknowledge” and therefore knows each and every one of our hearts before we ever drew breath on this earth, those who would BELIEVE in His Son Jesus, and those who would NEVER BELIEVE. To ALL who would BELIEVE in Jesus the Christ, God gave them the ability to become part of HIS FAMILY!
John 1:9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Wow, God considers you one of HIS CHILDREN if you BELIEVE that SALVATION (Divine Rescue) can ONLY COME through JESUS CHRIST. God loves each and every child of His with a love that cannot be measured OR compared to any other love on earth. If you belong to Jesus, HE loves you more than your spouse, your parent, your children, or your friends. Jesus loves you more than you will EVER be loved. Let’s let that sink in for a moment. The ever existing God Almighty, Creator of the Universe, All Powerful, All knowing, loves each and every child of His more than they could even imagine. It’s hard to wrap our minds around this. I‘m going to tell you, God’s love is real and it is tangible. Many years ago, I literally felt God’s love while awakening from a dream where He had rescued me from evil. When I awoke, I was enveloped in this most wonderful feeling, a sensation of love that honestly, it’s hard to describe. The best I can say (and it doesn’t do it justice AT ALL!) is that it felt…warm, like the warmth of the sun (SON). It was such an awesome and supernatural sensation (one with no equal) that I never wanted it to end; however, it only lasted for a few seconds before it dissipated and was gone. I have never felt this sensation again, and yet I know that God’s love is waiting for each of His Children in Heaven. If you, as a Believer, haven’t yet felt God’s Love, let me just say…you WON’T be disappointed! But even if we can’t yet FEEL God’s LOVE, it is REAL, and it is closer than our next breath via His Holy Spirit! Jesus LOVES YOU and ME, and HE will NEVER leave US!
The other night, I was given a dream that caused me to go back and reread and research Jesus’ Parables, and Holy Spirit brought me to a new understanding that was just stunning and quite humbling.
On August 3rd, 2019 I had a dream that I think may have been from the Lord. Regarding dreams and visions; in Joel 2 and Acts 2, God tells us that IN THE LAST DAYS He will pour out His Holy Spirit on ALL FLESH. God’s children would dream dreams and see visions and PROPHESY. These are GIFTS from the HOLY SPIRIT that are to be used to edify and build up His Church (His people/His “Called out ones”) – not a building.
Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
How do we know if a dream is from the Lord? First, we must pray for discernment from the Holy Spirit! Also, as long as a dream or vision is in line with God’s Written Word (Bible), than it could definitely be from God. If a dream, Rhema (spoken word), or vision is contrary to God’s written Word, then it isn’t from God. God’s Word is our “plumbline”, it IS the “voice of truth”, and JESUS IS the WORD of GOD made FLESH.
On August 3, 2019, I dreamed that there was a very precious jewel being released into the world. It was worth billions of dollars. It was kind of like we were participating in some type of “game” where the Jewel would be hidden, and we were to look for the jewel. It seemed like we were on teams. Thousands, and perhaps even millions of people were playing this “game”. My husband and I were one of the teams. There were many teams. When the starting bell rang (or whatever kicked the game off), everyone took off in a frenzy. Most people went far, far, far, to try to find this jewel. They traveled many miles, and dug many holes, trying to find it. People were FRANTIC, desperate to find it because of the great value of this gem.
Can you imagine someone giving away a billion dollars, saying that it was hidden or buried somewhere, and finders-keepers?
People were going NUTS! I also saw ungodliness as some teams searched for the jewel, as though they thought that the ungodliness was part of the game, or perhaps they just got distracted from the goal. But my husband told me that he’s seen this type of game before, and that we were going to stay close. My husband had a feeling that the gem was buried very close to the starting point. It didn’t take long before we were alone, everyone else had run on ahead of us, we found the gem. It was buried, but not super deep, and not far from the place we had started. Hubby’s hunch was right. It was yellow..and looked kind of like this…
After we found the precious gem, we knew we would become “targets” for the ungodly people because this was the most sought after gem…ever. It was PRICELESS, and if measured would have been worth billions and billions of dollars! People wouldn’t think twice to kill us in order to obtain it. My husband then had the idea of burying the gem in some remote mining location until “the heat” was off, or until the other people settled down. I was unsure because I was worried someone else would find it. I wondered if we should perhaps give it to a trusted friend to watch over until we could retrieve it. But hubby really felt like it was safer to bury it, so we did indeed bury it, very deep in the ground in an out of the way mining facility. He felt like giving it to another person to “guard” could put them in danger.
Upon awakening, I pondered and prayed over this dream and was immediately reminded of Jesus’ parables. There were millions of contestants and a single precious gem worth billions and billions of dollars. We found the gem relatively close to the starting gate, but then felt like it wasn’t safe to carry it around. We decided to bury it and come back later to retrieve it. In seeking the interpretation of this dream, the Lord led me to a very similar parable in Matthew 13.
In Matthew 13, Jesus actually relays 8 important parables or stories that teach about how HE will spread the Good News of the Gospel throughout the World through His Chosen Vessel, His “Church” or Ecclesia (assembly of people who are called out of “the world:). Jesus taught the first 4 Parables in Matthew 13 to the crowds (mixed multitude), while the final 4 parables, along with the explanation for one of the previous parables, was only taught to His 12 Disciples.
Matthew 13: 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
Jesus later explained this Parable to His Disciples. “The Sower” was sowing seed on various types of soils. When the soil was too close to the road, rocky, thorn infested, or shallow, the seed did not grow much, and actually ended up dying. When the soil was perfect, the seed grew big, strong, and flourished producing much fruit. Jesus goes on to tell us that the Sower (the man) in the parable is God, the seed is the Word of God (Jesus/Holy Spirit), the soil represents individual humans (and even hearts) who are made from the dust of the earth. The birds represent the devil. The fruit that grows from the seed that is planted in the GOOD SOIL is the FRUIT that grows out of the HOLY SPIRIT. The fruit can also be thought of as the Good works that God Himself has prepared for each BELIEVER to “complete” before the foundation of the world.
Matthew 13: 24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
https://dyingworld.org/2019/04/05/mystery-babylon-tares-among-the-wheat/
In the 2nd parable, “The tares among the wheat” we again see that the sower is God, and the field is the world. The Good seed is Jesus (Word of God/Holy Spirit) that grows to produce wheat (God’s people). In this parable we are introduced to the enemy (satan), who sows bad seed (devil’s lies/nephilim) in among the good seed. The bad seed grows up to be tares (weeds), but sadly, they are very difficult to distinguish from the good seed until the time of the Harvest. Because God is not willing for ANY of His Wheat to perish, He tells the Angels (Harvesters) to leave the bad seed alone until the time of the Harvest, when it’s easy to distinguish between the wheat and the weeds.
For expediency’s sake, I’m not going to list all 8 parables, but you get the “gist”. The field is the world, the sower is God, the good seed is Jesus/Word of God, the bad seed is satan’s lies that produce weeds, the harvesters are the Angels. Now we come to one of the parables that Jesus ONLY shared with His Disciples, not the crowds or “mixed multitudes”. It’s in this Parable, that I see much of the symbolism from my dream on August 3rd.
Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Standard Interpretation
The way that I’ve always interpreted this Parable is that the treasure is Jesus, or the King of the Kingdom of God. In fact, we’re told that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a Treasure (hidden in a field). Jesus is the pearl of Greatest Price! In this parable, we’re not told what the field represents, but we see in the parables above that the field is the world. I always thought that the man who sold everything to buy the field and gain this treasure (Jesus/Pearl of Greatest Price) was the Believer in Christ. On one level, I think this may be a very good interpretation. But there are often multiple ways to accurately interpret Scripture. Holy Spirit led me to a different interpretation, one that REALLY showcases the LOVE of our God.
New Interpretation
The field is the world (Matthew 13:38), but the treasure symbolizes God’s people, His “called out ones”, those who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit HIDDEN within them. We’re told that the Treasure is the Kingdom of Heaven that is HIDDEN in the field. The Holy Spirit is that portion of the Kingdom of Heaven that is present on this earth. The man who sold EVERYTHING to buy the field isn’t the Christian (like I previously thought) because the Christian isn’t the one who gave up everything to “buy” the treasure. In-fact, our God loves us so much that HE FREELY gave us the TREASURE at NO COST to us. Salvation is the FREE GIFT of GOD! But just because it was FREE for us, doesn’t mean that it was FREE for GOD! The man in this Parable is the same man “sower” of the previous parables. The man is God. God, Himself, gave EVERYTHING to obtain the treasure that was HIDDEN in “jars of clay”? JESUS gave EVERYTHING, NOT US!!!
In the Old Testament, God called Israel His “special treasure”. In the New Testament, the Gentile (non-Jewish) “church” or “called out ones” are GRAFTED into the Israel of God.
Exodus 19:5: Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Psalm 135:4: For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
Malachi 3: 16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
Malachi 3: 17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
1 Peter 2: 9: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
2 Corinthians 4:7: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
The man hides his treasure in the world. Prior to our calling, the individual members of “the church” (called out ones, NOT a building) are lost, but then we are found (called by God) and God’s Holy Spirit is hidden inside of us as we are hidden again in the world (Ephesians 2:1-7). Jesus told His Disciples that after He ascended to Heaven, the world would NOT see HIM anymore, but HIS DISCIPLES would SEE Him, via His Holy Spirit who would be HIDDEN within our hearts. We are hidden with Christ (Colossians 3:3), and the world recognizes neither Him nor us (John 1:10).
Colossians 3:3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
John 1:10: He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
Here’s the most fantastic part of this parable that is almost difficult to imagine! The man sold all that He had so that He could buy the field that contains the treasure. Jesus gave up what He had before the incarnation, He was born a man, and He gave up His life so that He could have the authority to plunder Satan’s domain through the preaching of the Gospel to the nations and the salvation of those who believe. The Treasure (Matthew 13:44) represents the preciousness of Christians to Christ, who can see their hidden value and sacrifices all to possess them.
We (God’s children) are the TREASURE! This is HUGE! Do you feel unloved, unworthy? Do you feel like your life doesn’t matter? Have people called you all manner of names? Have they said hurtful things to you or treated you like a piece of gum stuck on the bottom of their shoe? When you belong to JESUS, HE views you as a TREASURE! He views you as a PRICELESS TREASURE! Just look at HIS JOY at giving ALL that He had to buy the field so as to OBTAIN the TREASURE…you and me!!!
In the dream, I saw that the PRICELESS treasure was a yellow GEMSTONE. I had to look this up to see what this might represent.
The Bible says the New Jerusalem created by God will have twelve foundations, with each one shining a different kind of light based on a particular precious stone (Revelation 21:19). The seventh foundation (seven is god’s number of perfection and completion) has Chrysolite within it.
The Greek word translated “chrysolite” means a gem that looks like the color gold or yellow.
CHRYSOLITE – This word Chrysolite occurs only once in the entirety of Scripture (as the 7th stone in the New Jerusalem). This gemstone is not mentioned either as being embedded in the High Priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:15-21) or as one that Lucifer was ORIGINALLY created with (Ez. 28:11-13). The Chrysolite’s color of golden yellow was associated with the sun and Sunday.
Chrysolite is the seventh precious stone used to create the foundation of God’s New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:20). What is the “New Jerusalem”?
Revelation 21:2: And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
The New Jerusalem is another name for the BRIDE OF CHRIST, God’s Called out ones, His “Church” (Ekklesia). The only place in the entire Bible where we see this yellow stone, this Chrysolite, is as the 7th stone in the foundation of God’s Bride (New Jerusalem). In the dream, this beautiful, PRICELESS treasure, the yellow stone, REPRESENTS God’s people, JESUS’ BRIDE!
When people speak poorly of you on social media. When you are ridiculed, mocked, made fun of, and just plain bullied…remember…
Jesus, the GOD of ALL CREATION, views you as a PRICELESS TREASURE, one that HE was WILLING to lay aside HIS DIVINITY and take on the likeness of human flesh, giving HIS LIFE to rescue you from certain death. And although Jesus died one of the most painful and humiliating deaths possible, HE counts it as JOY because HE has obtained HIS TREASURE!
You are a BEAUTIFUL, PRICELESS GEM in the eyes of the LORD!
Pray for those who do not yet know the Love of Christ. Pray for those who are getting caught up in the ugliness of this world, those who seem to enjoy hurling hurtful, hateful words, as a weapon. Pray for them because those who engage in this behavior are hurting themselves as well as others. They probably don’t know or realize that they truly will have to stand before a Holy God and give an account of every idle word that they have spoken (or tweeted) (Matthew 12:36). God loves them too, and desires that ALL would be saved and NONE would be lost (2 Peter 3:9)! This world is passing away, and everything that can be shaken is being shaken. Only that which is connected to the TRUE VINE..Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will remain. Hang onto Jesus in these tumultuous times! He LOVES YOU more than anyone will EVER love you! God Bless!
