Sovereignty of God
Hi Everyone,
I am writing today about three visions that the Lord gave me recently. It is God who sovereignly chooses his elect. I have not always believed this, for I was under the influence of various teachers who taught that it is man’s decision to come, or not to come, to the Lord. But I hope that after reading these scriptures you may see things anew, and from the perspective of God’s choice not ours. We are his creation and we were made for his pleasure and his glory, and we are blessed to know him and to love him, and to have salvation in his name.
The Visions
The Button
I saw just a small button with two holes for attaching the button to a garment. The button was made of a high gloss white transparent plastic. It was about ½” in diameter and would have been used on a child’s dress with a back closure, or perhaps on a woman’s blouse with a front buttoned placket. In the center of the button was an eye-shaped depression surrounding the two holes.
The Red Bow
Next, I saw an older woman with stick straight short dark hair uncombed wearing a cardigan sweater without buttons. Holding the sweater tight to the neckline was a red satin ribbon about ⅜” wide tied into a bow with two ends hanging down a few inches.
The Ear
Then, I saw an after-image in red appearing as a single line following the hairline from the temple, down to a square sideburn then up and around the ear, stopping just short of the nape of the neck. The same line that looked like the hairline, around the ear, also appeared to be like the number 5 when it is rotated 90 degrees to the left.
What the Visions Mean
I. The Button
The button is a fastener, sewn on a garment and used to join two pieces of the garment together. The button with a corresponding button hole or loop allows the garment to be opened or closed, and to be put on, or taken off.
I received this vision while praying for direction regarding sharing my thoughts and beliefs with others. Several common expressions came to mind as I prayed for understanding.
“Button it up!” means to end quickly, and “Button your lip!” means to stop speaking. Buttoning up the lip caused me to remember this scripture:
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. James 1:26
And from here I remembered another common expression: “Loose lips sink ships.”
The button is a warning to be careful about how we speak, and careful with whom we choose to share our inmost thoughts, beliefs and doctrines.
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin. Proverbs 13:3
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3
Unfortunately, the world is not necessarily a safe place to share the gospel, and our beliefs. Yet, our faith in the Lord causes us to share the gospel and our testimonies of God’s faithfulness, overcoming fear. A button opens and shuts. What we need is wisdom to know when to speak and when to remain silent.
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, James 1:19
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. Matthew 7:6
II. The Red Bow
In this vision, the older woman is wearing a cardigan sweater with no buttons. Without buttons the sweater remains open. This I believe represents the idea of vulnerability. She is open to all kinds of influences. She may lack the wisdom to seek the truth, or the discernment to reject a lie. She may not have the understanding to take every negative thought captive, or to guard her heart.
The red ribbon that holds the sweater together at the neck, represents sin, for it is red, which Biblically, refers to sin, blood and bloodshed. The red ribbon is tied in a bow, showing that she has accepted the sin, and with her own hands has tied it around her neck. Her carefully tied bow is on display for all to see.
Sin that is flaunted is shameful. The Bible speaks of those who are not born again, as ones who “glory in their shame.
For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things. Philippians 3:18-19
The natural man is dead to his sin. He cannot receive from God, nor can he acknowledge that Jesus is God. He is spiritually dead, and cannot understand the teachings of God. He takes his cues from the world and aligns his life with worldly values and beliefs. He has no desire for the free gift of salvation, and to know the one true living God. He may assume that he is doing just fine without Him.
When we refuse to acknowledge the truth, but instead believe a lie, our sin remains. The Pharisees thought that what they believed was the truth. But Jesus knew that they were spiritually blind.
Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”
“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” John 9:39-41
The woman in the vision reminds me of a friend that I have mentioned in my last two posts. She follows her own faith, of modern Judaism, and believes that she has the truth and God on her side, even though she has no relationship with God. She “practices her faith,” by celebrating the Jewish feasts and keeping a few of the dietary laws.
She is unaware that she has tied a red bow around her neck signifying her destiny, which comes as a result of her rejection of Jesus as her Messiah. The Lord showed me with three visions and a dream, and confirmation in prayer, that I was to remove myself from her. So I gave her the Bible, the New Testament and two documents: one showing the Old Testament Prophecies fulfilled in Christ, and the other Isaiah 53, clearly demonstrating that Jesus is the Messiah.
But unless Jesus opens her eyes to the truth, she will remain in her sin. I have done all that I can to try to reach her with the gospel of God–the gospel of truth, of salvation, of rebirth and of eternal life. But her eyes are shut and her heart is cold to the Lord. So Jesus told me to step away.
We have to see others as they truly are. And do all that we can to share the word of truth with them. But it is God who opens the eyes and makes a way for people to come to him.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30
God the Father, draws us to Jesus. He is sovereign over all things and has chosen us to be holy and blameless. We may believe that we chose him as an exercise of our freewill, and because of our choosing, God gives us the Holy Spirit and we are then born again. But this is “putting the cart before the horse.” Jesus tells us:
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you.” John 15:16
Paul speaks of God’s elect, his choice of those who will receive his grace and gift of salvation:
But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love, He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will. Ephesians 1:4-5
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
I had been taught that it is man’s freewill that chooses Christ, but I have come to see that the Bible does not teach this in regards to salvation. Salvation was always God’s plan, so He sovereignly chooses those who will inherit salvation.
Because everyone is born into sin, and has the sinful nature, he is unable to seek God, for he is spiritually dead.
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Romans 3: 10-12
It is God who chooses whose eyes he will open, and in whose hearts he will place his Spirit. We do not know who will come to the Lord, so we share the gospel with all people, in hopes that they will hear the voice of the Lord calling them. He will fill them with the Spirit so as to make them alive, and receptive to the voice of God. He chooses us and quickens our spirits, for without the Spirit, without God’s awakening, they remain spiritually dead and incapable of receiving him or the word of God.
My friend is incapable of hearing and responding to the voice of God, for to this day and hour, her spirit is spiritually dead. It is only the Lord who can move upon her heart to save her and deliver her from sin. I can do a song and dance, and stand on my head, but without the Lord drawing her, nothing will happen. She will not believe, without the opening of her spiritual eyes, and without the spiritual understanding needed to embrace God’s gift of salvation.
For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ Matthew 13:15
III. The Ear
The last vision was of an after-image of a continuous, red, single line that followed the hairline outlining the side of the head and around the ear. This scripture came to mind:
“As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Hebrews 3:15
The Israelites in the wilderness tested the Lord, and brought him displeasure. They complained and wandered for forty years because they simply failed to trust him. Their faith was tenuous at best, and short-lived. They trusted in other god’s more readily than trusting in God Almighty who had performed miracle upon miracle and sign upon sign. They did nothing but bring him grief.
For forty years I was angry with that generation, and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known My ways.” So I swore on oath in My anger, “They shall never enter My rest.” Psalm 95:10-11
The writer of Hebrews uses this quote to describe the Hebrews of his day, in the first century, and compares them to their ancestors of Moses’ day. This passage shows that those who physically hear the message of Christ will not all believe. Only those whose hearts have been opened to receive the word, will take root and believe. Those who are not called of God will not be able to receive him.
For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.
Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said:
“So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’”
And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:2-3
Romans chapter 9 is a very important chapter on the idea of election and predestination. The following is a portion of the text that really explains this well.
It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring. For this is what the promise stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac. Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand, not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not! For He says to Moses:
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden. Romans 9:6-18
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” He said this to show those in his hearing, who belonged to the Lord, and who did not. He was speaking to the Pharisees, who claimed to be children of God but were not, for they could not believe.
Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” John 10: 24-30
In this next passage, the Lord has another encounter with the Pharisees, who refused to believe him. Jesus again explained that only those who have ears to hear are able to believe his message and accept him.
Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!
Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:43-47
It is God who calls us and gives us the ability to hear what he would have us believe. We cannot come to him without his empowerment. The last words that Jesus spoke to his Church were recorded by John in the Book of Revelation. He was instructed to send his letter to the seven churches in Asia Minor, who were undergoing severe persecution, first by the Jews, then later by the Romans under Nero who took up their cause due to his wife’s conversion to Judaism, and his need of a scapegoat for the burning of Rome.
To each of the seven churches John records the Lord’s message, ending with a promise specifically for them:
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
“To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7
“The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.” Revelation 2:11
“To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17
And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery —just as I have received authority from My Father. And I will give him the morning star Revelation 2:26-28
Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels. Revelation 3:5
The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name. Revelation 3:12
To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:21
So, to each of the churches the Lord prefaced his message with: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
By this we know that it is the Lord who calls us, anoints us to hear and to seek his face. We seek him for understanding and wisdom. In worship and in service to him, we give him honor and praise. When we pray we should wait for him to answer, for we are his sheep and he opens our ears to hear his voice.
So today, we should understand that it is God who chooses us as his treasured possession. He is sovereign, and his will stands. We are a love gift from the Father to the Son. It is His sovereign will and grace that we have been chosen.
I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. John 17:6
This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. John 6:39
Let’s pray and seek God on behalf of others. Perhaps we will move the heart of God to show mercy, and save those who seem so far away.
I hope that you have greater understanding of the sovereignty of God regarding salvation, for it truly brings a greater appreciation for the love and mercy of God, knowing that he alone opened our eyes and placed his spirit within us, so that we could respond to his call to follow him!. Please continue to pray that God sends workers into the harvest fields, and that we all are willing to show the love of God to others. Be greatly blessed as you explore the scriptures for yourself. We are to understand and know the word of God. If this message challenges what you have believed, then please, read and study for yourself, so that you may approve what is God’s pleasing and perfect will. And that you will be able to rightly hand the word of truth! God bless you all!
