People in right relationship with God should have the personality expressed in Ephesians 5:17-20. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is, And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; ... This reminds me of my earthly father. Even as he went about his work you would hear him, in a low voice, singing and talking to the Lord.
The above paragraph sets the stage for our November 1995 message. This is a message about how Jesus must be the most important thing in our lives. If we love Him we will focus on Him and talk about Him. This is in opposition to being occupied with other gods. (The Winston Simplefied Dictionary tells that a god is a person or thing admired or honored to excess.) Keep this in mind as you continue to read.
In a God given dream, I saw a vessel; it was as if I was looking into a vessel from the wedding in Canna of Galilee. (John 2:1-9) However, instead of water this vessel contained the Spirit of God. That was good, but then I saw something which looked like small black balls swimming in the vessel. I wondered what this meant. Then the Lord showed me the meaning.
Jesus chooses people (John 15:16) and fills them with His Spirit, even the Spirit of prophecy. (Rev. 19:10: 1 Cor. 12:3) The vessel in my dream represented some of these people. After He has poured His Spirit into a vessel, He desires to pour out good works from that vessel. However, many are polluted and the good works are not being accomplished. In my dream, I heard God say, "These vessels are defiled by the gods of their flesh. To one this is ungodly T.V programs; to another it is sports; to another it is money and position; to another it is politics; to another it is ungodly music, and to another it is story or joke telling." When these things are predominate on one's mind Jesus is secondary in their conversation, or He is left out completely.
People talk about what is important to them. Therefore, we can listen to our conversation and find out if we have a god of the flesh. It will become evident by our thoughts, speech and support; it will occupy much of our time. In Ephesians 5:15-16, we read, Look carefully how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as unwise and witless, but as wise ... Making the very most of the time, because the days are evil. (The amplified Bible)
Christians must not allow gods of the flesh to rule their time. Obviously, a god of the flesh will cause us to inhibit the works of God. We must not deceive ourselves and think that we put Jesus first when our focus is on other things. He must come first; then we will not miss out on the things that God has for us.
If we find that we have a god of the flesh, (something admired or honored to excess) we must rejected it. We do this by turning from it and praying for God to help us. Then we begin to do what is told in Ephesians 5:18-20. By the power of His Spirit our spirit communes with God continually, and we spend more time reading and/or listening to His word.
A note from JoAnn: God has done some great things for me and with me. In the future I will share this with you. In the meantime pray for my strength to return; radiation is draining. Thank God I am finished with the series of treatments. Thank you for your prayers, calls, cards and gifts. They have meant so much to me. We love all of you!
Dean and JoAnn Hubbard