From vessels of clay to vessels of mercy

I greet you my brethren, in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we are one family, of one mind and having one common purpose – to glorify God through obedience; offering up to Him true charity birthed in pure hearts that are daily circumcised by the working of His Spirit engrafted within us. I thank our Father for this wondrous work of regeneration effected in the souls of those who serve him in Spirit and in Truth according to the commandments of the 2nd covenant, as taught by His stewards, the covenant apostles of the second 8th week. How incredibly blessed we are to be living in this time of the latter rain; experiencing this outpour of His grace that has been prophesied of for millennia!

Of late I have been rejoicing in how time and again God reveals to us this great work that is taking place inside of us, even despite who we are. God has always chosen as his servants those who man would not have chosen. He chose David to defeat the giant Goliath even though he was the youngest, and smallest of His brothers; Josef even though his own brothers despised him enough to sell him off as a slave; and Jesus too chose ordinary folk like fishermen when there were many very learned priests and theologians having spent their whole lives in the study of scriptures. God’s wisdom is not that of man’s; He is no respecter of persons… Act 10:34-35 “…God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” And so, even now He is calling us out of every nation - looking not at our frailty, but at the faith in our hearts. 1Pe 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” HALLELUJAH!

God recently gave me a regeneration dream that I’d like to share with you for your edification. In the dream I was confronted with many frustrating situations in which I behaved with much irritability, anger, annoyance – and just generally a complete lack of righteous choices. Then at the end as I walked off, my dad walked with me and I experienced peace as he spoke comforting words to me. Then I saw a skydiver dressed in black fall to the earth with no parachute, and I covered my eyes as he hit the ground. My dad said to me that we can no longer walk away from such things and I agreed and went over to the man. The parachutist was still alive; his left arm distorted under his body which was convulsing as he lay on his back with his face hidden behind the black helmet. I knelt down and touched his shoulder and started praying in tongues, and immediately his right arm shot up as his hand grasped at mine. So I took his hand in both mine and continued to pray, hearing my dad then also praying in the spirit.

As I prayerfully reflected on this dream the Spirit showed me how the Lord is bringing healing to my soul as I go through my cycles of growth; removing the fruits of iniquity that had formed through years of laboring with the tools of unrighteousness (such as anger, malice, bitterness, etc.) Before coming into covenant with God, we used those tools because they symphonized with the signature and appealed to the soul; but in reality they worked death to the soul. But once we come into covenant with God we learn to walk with Him (represented by my dad in the dream); no longer using those destructive tools, but the tools of righteousness as we now follow a new record and pattern – Jesus Christ. We experience His Peace, His comfort and guidance; and we grow and increase in wisdom, knowledge and understanding. As a result of these new tools, we now work with the grace of God; submitting to His Government, Truth and Spirit; Jesus mediates the covenant and regeneration takes place as we daily die to self and are resurrected in His likeness as the fruit of the Holy Spirit are formed in our soul. We then are no longer just recipients of His grace, but also become stewards thereof; beacons of hope as we through our priesthood intercede for those still trapped in darkness and despair (symbolized by the parachutist).

I reflected on this dream again a few days ago after sharing the gospel with someone, and being amazed at how the Spirit just repeatedly brought relevant living knowledge to my mind no matter which direction our conversation went in. I realized that the Lord was showing me that it is He that makes us able ministers; where in my own right I could be rather scatterbrained, I was now drawing not from my own record / signature, but from the anointing of the living knowledge of Christ, and from His virtues formed in my soul; and as a result charity was flowing from my lips like streams of living water! And I could see the grace impacting her, and my faith was strengthened.

And finally: as I was writing this I was thinking on how the righteous are repeatedly in the scriptures referred to as a “peculiar people / treasure” unto the Lord. And as I looked up the word “peculiar” I realized that what our modern understanding had reduced to something in the line of “somewhat odd”, actually has a far greater meaning which I would like to share for your reflection:

Webster dictionary: “PECU'LIAR, n. Exclusive property; that which belongs to a person in exclusion of others.”

Exo 19:5 "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine"

-Blessed are they who keep their eyes fixed on Christ, for they reflect NOT on the annoyance in circumstance, but on the anointing in faith.

Your sister in Christ

ErikaB
Student S8W MosselBay South Africa