Make Room for the Holy Spirit
Hi Everyone,
Today I am sharing a dream that the Lord gave me two days in a row. The dream concerns our relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Lord is asking us to make room for him.
The Vision
I saw a blue box about 12” square with a depth of 6”. There was a divider down the center of the box splitting it into two equal compartments: 12” x 6” x 6”. The box was turned on its long side so that the 12” is horizontal and the bottom of the box is in view.
I wanted to make a place for a dove to nest in the lower portion of the box, but because of the divider, it encroached upon the height of the lower section. I had in mind to remove the divider to make more headspace for the dove and her nest.
What I believe the vision means
The dove I believe represents the Holy Spirit, because John was told that the Messiah would be confirmed when he saw a dove alighting on him. John was baptizing people in the Jordan River when Jesus came to him to be baptized.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:11-17
The Baptism of Jesus is a perfect example of the Trinity. Jesus, God the Son, came to John the Baptist to be baptized by him in the Jordan. This was not to cleanse him from sin, for he was sinless, the perfect lamb of God. No, Jesus came to John to fulfill all righteousness and to inaugurate his ministry making it known to the world that he was the Son of God. John saw the Spirit of God descending “like a dove,” upon him. So the Holy Spirit came to Jesus to empower him to do the Father’s will.
And we see God the Father speaking from heaven, making his declaration concerning Jesus:
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17
So the dove in my vision represents the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist tells us that he baptized for the repentance of sins, but that Jesus would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. We see the initial outpouring of the Spirit (the baptism in the Holy Spirit) occurred during the Feast of Pentecost when the disciples were in the upper room, waiting for the promise of God. Jesus told them:
“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49
The Holy Spirit is the power that comes from God, that changes everything. It is the Holy Spirit that comes to dwell within us when we believe that Jesus is God. When we recognize that he died on the cross to pay for our sins, and that he was buried and rose from the dead on the third day, that we would be raised to life with him, then we are able to declare that Jesus is Lord, God and King. When we fully submit to him, giving him lordship over our lives, we become born again and filled with His Holy Spirit.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples became born again and received the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to them and breathed upon them the breath of life.
It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them. After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” John 20:19-23
They received the Holy Spirit and became born again. But as yet they did not receive the fire and power of the Holy Spirit, for the Lord told them that they should wait in Jerusalem until they received power from on high. The power that Jesus spoke of was the Baptism in the Spirit, just as John the Baptist had prophesied:
“I baptize with water, but one who is greater than I will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 3:11-12
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:26
In the dream of the dove and the blue box, I believe that the Lord is asking us to make room for him in our hearts and in our churches. We need to make room for the Holy Spirit to have his way and to be ready and willing to accept the plans and purposes of God.
The box in the vision was blue which represents God, heaven and Godliness.
The box was also very definite in its size and shape. It was square with 12” sides and a depth that was half that length, or 6”.
In the Bible, so many of the structures that Moses was to make for the tabernacle of God were perfectly square:
The altar
“And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.” Exodus 27:1
The altar of Incense
“Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit, it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be of one piece with it.” Exodus 30:2
The Priest’s Breastpiece
It was square; they made the breastpiece folded double, a span long and a span wide when folded double. Exodus 39:9
In the Book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem is also laid out as a square:
The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. Revelation 21:16
In the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet had a vision in which a man with a measuring rod measured out a heavenly temple. Throughout the various areas, the structure of the gates, the courts, the rooms and all of the temple’s holy articles we find again that the square is the theme in God’s design.
The square represents what is right. A 2-dimensional square has four right angles. A cube has many more right angles. A plumb line can determine the trueness of the angles, for all the planes meet at 90 degree angles. It represents stability, for a square or cube is not easily toppled. It represents completeness, perfection, and preciseness. I see it as God’s signature.
Years ago, when I asked God about a certain vision as to whether it came from him, He said, “Look for my signature.” We have to be in prayer, in the presence of God and in his word to be able to recognize his signature. Otherwise we will not know or discern what is true, what is of God, and what is not.
In the vision, the blue box had a partition that divided the box into two equal parts. I wanted to make more headroom for the dove so I was considering removing the partition. So the box might also represent our spirits. As born again believers, our spirits, having come to life, long to commune with God and to be in his presence. But because we still have a soul and a body, our hearts can be divided. As our spirit wants to seek God our soul may still seek and be engrossed with the things of the world: our careers, our possessions, our commitments and our personal concerns. We may have given God a place in our hearts, but often this is restricted to church, its members and church functions. We do not give God all of ourselves, because we do not trust him entirely.
Because of a lack of trust, people may not give God control over their finances. They make their decisions based on their feelings and fears, not considering what the Lord has to say in the matter.
Many people do not trust God with their health, so they run to the medicine cabinet or to the doctors and the hospitals without asking for the Lord’s counsel, or for his healing. There is an amazing story in the Old Testament about a king who did not bother to consult with God but instead sent messengers to ask the god of Ekron. This is quite a story, but I have abbreviated it to these few words:
Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went...
So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. 2 Kings 1:2-4,17
I am not saying that we should not consult doctors or other professionals when we have a problem, but why not consult God first? It may be that the problem has a spiritual cause for not every sickness and disease is caused by germs and viruses. Some are caused by sin and open doors to the devil. For example, Jobs’s plight of losing all his wealth and his children in one day, and losing his health in another, were not due to natural happenings but because the hand of Satan was against him. Here is a New Testament example:
One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.” Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God.
But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
“You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water? Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?” Luke 13:10-16
There are many examples throughout the Bible of ailments and terrible circumstances that were brought on by sin, by curses or as spiritual tests of faith. We need to pray first to ask God to heal us or deliver us from the circumstances. And if there is something behind the problem, we need to know how we can make restitution. If we have grieved the Holy Spirit, let us pray for forgiveness and to be reconciled to God.
All in all, God must have more access to our lives. We keep limiting him, keeping him in a box. We consult him only after every other attempt has failed. Why not instead, avoid all the problems and pain, by just consulting him first?
“You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:2-3
In the vision, I knew that the divider needed to be removed so that there would be more room for the dove. God wants us to remove the hindrances and barriers we have set up that inhibit the Holy Spirit.
We ask ourselves: what stands in the way of our unconditional and total surrender to the Lord?
Is it our desire to call the shots, to do our own thing? We want to be in control, we want the power of decision. Are we concerned that if we give everything to the Lord we will have nothing? Or perhaps we fear that the Lord will ask us to do something that we do not want to do.
It is time to take inventory of our thoughts, our fears and our beliefs. Why do we do what we do? The Lord spoke to me years ago about my behaviors and fears. He said, “As long as you are fearful of man, I cannot use you. You are already being used.”
The Lord was speaking about the fear of man, which is being fearful of what others may say or think about us. Those thoughts and fears can put the brakes on God’s plan for our lives. We can worry and deny God’s will, if we believe that what he asks us to do might potentially cause us embarrassment. We are fearful of being too bold, too pushy, too uncomfortable. But God intends to stretch us by asking us to put our faith in him and step out into the water. That is how we grow closer to God and become more spiritually mature.
We cannot move in the power of God, or believe him for miracles, if we are fearful of what others may say, or fearful of looking foolish. The fear of failure or the fear of the disapproval of others brings our growth to a screeching halt.
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
I believe that God wants us as the church to make room for him to move, and that means we need to overcome every obstacle that hinders him. Everything that applies to the individual believer, also applies to the Church. We say we want a move of God, but do our agendas, our plans, our programs and our pet ministries get in the way of what God would really like to do with us? Our egos, our own ideas, our time limits, and our likes, dislikes and priorities inhibit the move of God.
How often have I, in the past at various locations, heard these words by a pastor after a short set of three “worship,” songs. “Oh isn’t there such a sweet presence of the Lord here.” Then what happens? He immediately makes announcements pulling the rug right out from under the presence of God. Why? Why does this happen and continue to happen week in and week out? After all, why did we come to church? To hear announcements? To hear a canned sermon? Didn’t we come to meet with the Lord, and to pour out our hearts to him, to hear his voice? To receive direction, and his counsel? Didn’t we come to meet with the King, the creator of the entire universe, the one who names the stars and knows the very intimate details of our lives? Didn’t we come to worship? To sit at his feet? To pour out the oil in our alabaster jars? Didn’t we come to wait on him, to hear his voice calling to us?
Why is time so parsed out to the minute? Why do we have to count the minutes and the half minutes? Isn’t God our all in all? Isn’t he worthy of everything including our time?
A church that only pleases itself, may be quite successful as viewed from the world’s perspective. But a church that listens for God’s voice, his instruction and his heart, will be motivated by what moves Him.
Churches that aim to please God rather than people, will have leaders that will disciple, equip and release their people to do the work of God as he directs. They will not try to hold onto their people as if they were the only source of their livelihood and survival.
Believers are trained by the written Word of God and by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, for Jesus, is “The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:13 and John 1:1) Believers should be given opportunities to use their gifts and training in the word to minister to the church and to others.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Every believer is to be a vessel in the Master’s hand, a vessel for noble use.
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20-21
What the Lord is asking us to do is to make room in our hearts and in our churches for the Holy Spirit to move. We need God. Our nation and the world needs God. The whole world is going down the wrong path, the path that leads to destruction. In the world, God is not given his rightful place, but is ignored and deemed to be non-existent. Right now we see our nation and the world bending over backwards to please and conform to the world’s values. Whether they realize it or not, they are bowing down to the devil and his demons, who hold sway over the world. But we are not to be part of them or agree to their ways. Rather we are told to cling to what is good and despise what is wicked.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever. 1 John 2:15-17
The Church needs to be different from the world. We are to be separate. We are the called out ones. It is time for change to take place in our churches. We need to stop trying to emulate the world and please people but instead seek to please God. We must ask ourselves, how can we make more room for the Holy Spirit to have his way? Can we cancel our plans and seek God for his perfect will? We certainly cannot think for God, or assume that we know what he wants or desires. We are foolish to think that we can. Hasn’t God said:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
So let us first identify and remove any desire we may have to follow the world’s view as it pertains to our views of the church, of worship, of purpose, of success and of pleasing God.
Let us come out of agreement with the things that restrain the movement of God in our churches and in our personal lives. Let us remove the arbitrary time restraints that we place on our time with the Lord, corporately and personally. Let us test ourselves in our own faith. Do we trust God in all things, or in just a few things? Do we try to please God or are we all about pleasing people? Are we truly seeking the face of God or are we more interested in seeking his hands and what he can give us? Do we come to worship the Lord or do we come to be seen, to pass out our business cards, or to network with potential clients?
Let us make a break with the things of the past. Repent of any sin, committed or omitted. Let us make a covenant with God to consult with him before our decisions. Let us covenant with God to put him first and his will above our own. We should follow Jesus’ example.
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38
“Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42
I want to share one last scripture, one of David’s psalms:
Open wide, you gates. Open up, you ancient doors. Then the King of glory will come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, who is strong and mighty. The Lord, who is mighty in battle. Open wide, you gates. Open wide, you ancient doors. Then the King of glory will come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord who rules over all. He is the King of glory. Psalm 24:7-10
Come Lord Jesus! Maranatha!
God bless you all! Please share!
