I was watching a sermon from a well-known preacher in the States one night when I couldn’t sleep. After a while, I got sleepy and tucked myself back in bed.
I dreamed that this preacher was coming to town with a whole American-style entourage. I was keen to see him but couldn’t find space. Somehow, in looking for a way to get in, I casually got directed to an exclusive area where I’d be able to meet him and be ministered to by him in person. I didn’t know how it happened but I was grateful and brought someone along with me.
People were waiting and watching expectantly. But this preacher didn’t come and he didn’t come. After a long while, I wanted to go to the bathroom and freshen up but didn’t want to miss him, so I waited longer.
Suddenly, an excited buzz circulated around the room that he was arriving. Part of his entourage arrived in lou of him - but it still wasn’t him. A sense of deflation settled over the room.
I finally went to the bathroom to freshen up. There were shoes and clothing strewn all over the place. It was a mess and filled with people everywhere I turned. Distraction had taken hold of people attending to themselves.
I came out and the preacher still hadn’t arrived. As I continued to wait, there were constant rumours of him arriving. But he didn’t come and he didn’t come. There was a man who looked like him and had a small group around him - but it wasn’t him. I started feeling like he wasn’t going to come and wondered whether I should leave. Maybe this was just a big ruse.
I started milling around, looking at the crowd. I went outside and saw it was set up like a huge carnival. The person I came with called me over to a large crowd gathered together.
There was a man on stage and there was talk that this was him. It wasn’t him. It didn’t look like him at all. Didn’t sound like him. But this large crowd was settling for this circus because they wanted something to attend, and they wanted to be entertained. They wanted excitement and signs and wonders to justify their time and justify being there. But the more I looked and watched, the more obvious it was, this was an imposter. This man had dark, smudged eye makeup around his eyes and held the mic like a rock star but he was talking about nothing.
Beneath the stage was an open pit. Inside the pit were hung woven wicker cages of prisoners with two to three people inside. Their hands were tied to the top of the cages above their heads and they were moaning. At first, I wondered if they were part of the circus act going on, on stage, but it didn’t seem like it. Nobody seemed bothered by their distress. They didn’t seem to be aware of each other. They seemed to be in their own world of isolated misery, even surrounded by so many people. Who put them in those cages, I couldn’t see, but their attachment to the stage above them was clear.
The person I was with waved as though it were all a bit of fun but I didn’t think it was. I felt sorry for the people in the cages because they didn’t even seem to know if this was real or not. There were so many in there. And the view of them was open to all those hundreds and thousands of people milling around listening, watching, trying to have a meaning and purpose for being there. But nobody was really listening and nobody was really seeing. It was pitiful. The atmosphere was lost. Completely devoid of meaning. Just people milling around with nowhere else to go and not really caring.
I asked the Lord what the meaning was, even though it seemed obvious.
Message:
Don’t follow false prophets. Be careful not to even hold any person in too high esteem – only God. Follow Him only.
The world is lost, looking for experiences rather than what’s real. The world is looking for Jesus in other things and people. They don’t want to wait for Him but a choice is needing to be made.
‘Show people around you meaning in me. Describe who I am.’ They don’t want to pursue the truth. They’re impatient, rude, proud and just looking for experiences to keep them entertained. They don’t even know how lost they are.
We are one person amongst hundreds and thousands. Discern what is real and what is counterfeit. Don’t be drawn away from waiting for Jesus, the real deal.
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