"The Dreams That Brought Salvation"

The Dreams That Brought Salvation

  “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”       Matthew 2:13

It had been a very strange time for Mary and Joseph and their newborn son.  It was bad enough being pregnant, to travel all the way to Bethlehem.  Then having a baby in a stable was almost more than Mary could bear.  Although the joy of looking down at her son, Jesus, made it all worthwhile. Yet, all those shepherds coming in and bowing down before her son was certainly unexpected, to say the least.  Although she knew what the angel had said to her about Jesus being “the Son of the Most High God” she had never understood the full meaning until that night. 

At least Joseph and Mary were comfortable and warm but they couldn’t stay in a stable indefinitely.  Joseph went into the town and inquired of others if they knew of a house they could rent. He returned with the good news that he had rented a small one room house near the outer edge of the city.  It would be quiet and had room enough for Joseph to do some small carpenter repairs.

One evening they heard a commotion outside and Joseph went to the door, but stepped back as three men, richly dressed, entered. It was obvious they were men of great wealth.  They came immediately and knelt in front of Mary holding the child. They worshipped the Baby as the newborn King.  At length they set their treasures in front of the mother and Child and left. The wise men then went off in another direction for an angel warned them in a dream they should not go near Herod.  Therefore, Herod, when he realized the wise men would not return to him, flew into a rage and he sent his soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the babies’ two-years old or younger.

Before this happened, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt and stay there until Herod was dead. Joseph awakened Mary and taking what they needed, they headed for Egypt. No one has figured out how long they were in Egypt, but it was probably between 1 to 3 years.  Then one night in a dream God spoke to Joseph that Herod had died and He must take Mary and Jesus and return to Israel because it was now safe.

God used dreams to warn the Wise Men not to go back to Herod.  Then through a dream he gave Joseph instructions to go to Egypt and not back home to Nazareth.  If those dreams had not be heeded, Jesus would have been killed with all the other babies in Bethlehem and Salvation would not have come.

God speaks to people today in the same ways He always did; in dreams, visions and in His Word. When God speaks to us it is important to think about it and pray about it. What does it mean and what must we do with it. What we must remember is that not all dreams are from God.  Most people dream, but not everyone has a vision.  Most often, God speaks to people through His Word; the Bible.

When God speaks to you through dreams or visions, it will not fill you with fear, nor will it be about another person and what will happen to them.  As a Christian, you are not a fortune teller, nor is God going to tell your future.  Some people may prophecy but that doesn’t mean they are a prophet.  You will know when God speaks to you because it will stay in your mind.

In the book of Joel 2:28-29 it tells us, “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.  And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”  I believe we are living in those days that Joel wrote about.  God will speak to us in ways that show us direction, warning and encouragement; and always line up with the Word of God.

I do not believe that every dream we have is from God.  I have had many dreams and only a few I knew were from God.  I’ve had a lot of scary ones like being chased and couldn’t get away from whoever was chasing me.  People that follow dreams would have a reason for that dream, but I knew they were not from God.  If it’s not from God, it may be that the enemy of our soul may be trying to bring fear on me.  When you have scary dreams, you just say, “Devil, get out of my dreams because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” I John 4:4

At times, there are people who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior who have dreams or visions, where God is drawing them to him.  Those dreams might be fearful because their souls are hanging in the balance.  Dreams for the unsaved are dreams leading to Salvation and they need to be taken seriously.  Like God warning the Wise Men and then Joseph.  They took those dreams and visions seriously and in that way saved “Salvation”.

Pray that God will give you dreams and visions to share with others, or to understand certain things He wants you to know.  Our job is to be obedient to the Lord and lead others to Salvation.