I didn't get much sleep last night, or for the last week, or two, or ten. If you are a prophetic person or an intercessor and have tips on how to sleep, kindly toss them my way. It's seems that over the last few months I have been sleeping for about two hours and then waking up, non stop, every night. I usually don't dream or if I do, I don't remember them. This morning was a change of pace. I finally was able to lay down and relax at about 4:30am. I knew I had to wake up early to do some IT work today so my dread of the 6am alarm was looming. As I finally fell asleep I was blessed with a dream that I can actually recall. I believe there is a really good message here so I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to share this with you. I was in a room, it looked to be a garage or pavilion where a large gathering was taking place. It was open to the outside and open to the public, I could feel the fresh air blowing through that area. I knew there were a large number of people there but I was not able to distinguish anyone's face to tell who exactly they were.
In my spirit I felt that there was a large, dynamic mixture of those that were there. People who party, drink, have fun every weekend, people who never touch the stuff, people who have never attended a day of church in their lives, people acting holier than thou and being far too religious to ever have fun even in the presence of Jesus himself. People who are athiest, Jewish, Christian, catholic, muslim, new age, witches, the whole nine. I felt the Holy Spirit so strong with some of these people. Others felt like dried grass, barely able to stand on their own.
I walked over to the fridge to get a drink of water. Upon opening it, I noticed a chunk of rancid rotting meat on the door of the fridge. It looked like a block of hamburger with one end pink and the other end rotten. I didn't think much of it, and I closed the door. As I looked down, in my hand, I was holding a large hand full of fresh ripe raspberries and blueberries. It seemed as if I had had them the entire time. I was there. They were ripe, looked really good to the eye and smelled amazing.
I glanced up with my gaze and on top of the fridge there was a black wire basket full of rotten fruit and various insects. As other people came walking in, I would see them reach up and toss their own fruit into this basket. What I noticed about this fruit basket was that it was overflowing with a wonderful variety of fruit in different stages of decay, mold and infestation. There were flies and maggots all over it. Although there was a beautiful mixture of fruit in the basket, everything that was tossed in there as these people walked in, was contaminated to a varying degree. I didn't understand why anyone would put their fruit into that basket to be covered in insects, and to rot. Nor did I understand why people would bring their own contaminated fruit to be served to others. I was questioning in my mind why anyone would want to eat of that basket or why any sane person would bring delicious fruit to a gathering and toss it right in to that mess.
All of a sudden it hit me, I was tempted to toss my fruit into that basket. I hesitated but I continued to see everyone else doing so. Immediately I felt that I was alone, standing out as the only one in the entire area that hadn't tossed their fruit into this basket. I heard whispers about me, I was being mocked, I felt singled out, isolated and as if I was missing out on something. Then, without me being 100% aware of the decision I just made, my arm (my flesh) tossed my fruit up into that basket. Flung it right in there. In my mind I was thinking wait a minute, how did that happen? There was a small moment where in my mind, I gave permission to my flesh in an underlying desire to want to blend in. It was like my Spirit couldn't stop me in time. As soon as it rolled off my hand, I felt the regret, and then the panic. As my fruit landed in that basket, at first it seemed fine. I started to feel a sense of pride. I was in total denial thinking that there was no way that rotten fruit would harm my ripe berries. My fruit would be different, it would be safe from the contamination.
I was wrong.
Moments later I saw my fruit turn dim, get mushy, and begin to grow dark molded spots. The flies on that other fruit also began to land on my fruit. My once ripe delicious fruit was now rotten like the rest of it succeeding my desire to blend in. The only thing I did was toss it in. Try to fit in. Try to go with the flow. To try and blend in with the crowd, to not be singled out. In mere moments, that decision destroyed the beauty I carried in to that area with me. The sweet taste, the bright colors, the nourishment I would have received from the fruit that I had grown, harvested, cared for and held close. It was all gone, in a single moment when the free will of the flesh overcame the discernment of the Spirit.
"Don't spoil your fruit, Ash"
As I woke up, I asked the Lord for clarification on this dream. What He put on my heart was that this is exactly what many of His children are doing, yes even those that call themselves disciples. Yes I'm preaching to myself as well. Many are mixing their fruits of the Spirit with other rotten fruits, with the covered in grace mindset thinking they are safe from the contamination of this world and of their flesh.
They have part of their lives where they live righteous, pray, walk in the fruits of the Spirit, and then they turn their backs, shut their doors and live in sin behind them. No sin is greater than the other. The murderer's sin is no bigger than the one who is stuck in idolatry. The liar is no better than the thief. The thief is no better than the selfish person taking the last piece of steak not knowing if everyone else at the cookout has eaten. The cookout guy is no better than the person stuck in pornography, and that person's no better than the drug user, and those sins of addiction are no better than jealousy or envy. Jealousy and envy occur more in churches on Sundays than addicts do getting high all week.
I remembered the block of rancid hamburger meat. The thought came to my head, would I eat it knowing it was cooked with half good meat and half rancid meat? No. Would you drink a glass of water that was half filtered water and half toilet water? No. Would you eat fruit that was half rotten? No. Would you get into a plane if the fuel was half jet fuel and half urine? No.
So why do we endanger our salvation by mixing with this world? Why would we not risk any of those other things but we risk going to hell with our separation from Christ daily?
We all need to pay attention to our fruits and to our flesh. To live as close to Christ as we can. We have to welcome the Holy Spirit as our guide, as our partner, as our discerner for every decision we make. We can't preach Jesus, walk in the spirit and live in sin with the flesh. Wide is the path, but narrow is the gate.
Are you prepared for the narrow way? Are you prepared to go it alone? When all your family, or all of your friends choose to go another way, can you walk the narrow path? Be mindful of who you mix with. Jesus sat with sinners, not to mix His fruit, but to call them to repentance. He didn't sin with them and then preach to them. He showed them unconditional love, He stood for the absolute truth of the word and He called them out of their mess and into the promise of salvation.
I implore you to not give in to the flesh. I come with the warning "Don't spoil your fruit". Not with your words, not with your actions, not even with your memes on Facebook. Don't do it. It's not worth it.
It's time to take the beam out of our own eyes and to walk the narrow way! Be the Jesus that is in you. That's what He died for. It's time to sharpen one another, to come up higher and to be all that Christ designed us to be. The salvation of this world is depending on us. We need to act like it every day.
Matthew 7 Judging Others
7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Ask, and It Will Be Given
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The Authority of Jesus
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
1 Peter 1:14-25
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for
“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
James 3 Taming the Tongue
3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
Wisdom from Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Acts 22:14-16
14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
John 10 I Am the Good Shepherd
10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
I and the Father Are One
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.
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