Old men dreaming, young men seeing visions

Some folk just see life differently. They dream! Their drummer’s cadence is off-meter. What consumes the interest, energy and time of the majority seems to be of little interest to dreamers. Western industrialized cultures have little time for dreams. Hard data, provable theorems and observable phenomena are the currency of Western decision making. Dreams are eerie, spooky, too weird for serious consideration in a society that interprets life with numbers.

Joseph’s brothers, eleven of them, said, "‘Here comes that dreamer!’ . . . Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’" (Genesis 37:19) The envious siblings discarded their meal ticket! If it hadn’t been for a trading company passing by, Joseph would have starved to death and they would have also.

The Patriarchs and prophets were familiar with dreams. It is what makes Daniel, Ezekiel and others so interesting! When Peter stood to explain the phenomenon of Pentecost he quoted Joel, "‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’" (Acts 2:17) As we live the "last days" we ought to be comfortable with dreams and visions.

We "older men" ought to expect dreams as normal, as much as Pentecostals profit from speaking in tongues. Younger men should expect to experience God-inspired visions, an escape from committee-driven strategy, and a holy interruption to business as usual. Dreams and visions facilitate a divine freedom from institutional goals and measurements. By the Spirit, in dream or vision, David Wilkerson saw young people more than 150 miles away whom others were walking past without notice. Loren Cunningham received a Spirit vision, the mobilization of 100 thousands of young people in missionary service. Dreams and visions change the world!

Dreams and vision bring glory to God. They outlive the dreamers and visionaries. The fruit of what is born of the Spirit makes Jesus known. Public recognition is almost inevitable. We still talk about Joseph. Daniel is a major hero of the faith. But everyone who understands their stories stand in awe of the power and mercies of God. Decades before it was fulfilled Joseph dreamed the dream that saved a nation from starvation and gave us Moses and the Exodus story as a building block for our faith. His siblings didn’t sit in a committee session and develop a clandestine strategy to get "that dreamer" into Pharaoh’s inner circle.

National and international conditions require another generation of Spirit-dreamers. The church thrives when dreams and visions accompany other manifestations. If you see or hear of a quirky person, one who marches to a different cadence, hears a voice that others cannot, sees what is invisible to the masses, listen to him! Watch him! Ask the Spirit to give you discernment. "That dreamer" may the be one who God uses to save a generation!