7 Questions About The Prophetic Power Of Dreams & Visions Book

 

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BOOK EXCERPT

I am fascinated by the mysterious world of dreams and visions. In the past, I’d have the privilege of remembering a dream, then I would share with a friend about this weird dream I’d had the previous night. We’d laugh about it and think nothing of it. Little did I know that there is a message in our dreams!

How many times have you dismissed a dream because it was kooky, silly or just downright crazy? In 2004, I had an unusual dream that left me in awe regarding what I had experienced. The dream was extremely intense. After some time of pondering, I realized that I had a divine encounter.

 

My Dream - Floating on Air

“I was in an auditorium serving as an usher in a conference being hosted by Prophetess Juanita Bynum. I was standing in front of the podium along with another usher. Juanita Bynum is swiftly moving up and down the aisles preaching the word of God with passion and authority. I sensed a strong invisible presence surrounding her. As she charged down the aisle toward the podium, I felt the strong presence moving toward me and I was frightened. I quickly turned to run away but the presence overtook me and I fell facedown onto the ground. I was not able to talk nor could I move. I slowly began to rise to the top of the auditorium and float in the air. Other people were floating as well and we were gently bumping into each other. I no longer felt afraid as I was experiencing peace and love.

I floated to the right side of the auditorium and landed gently with my back to the floor. In a strong, boisterous voice that came from the pit of my stomach, I began violently screaming out praise and worship to God - HALLELUJAH!! GLORY TO GOD!! I WORSHIP YOU, LORD!! I felt possessed by the Spirit of God. Juanita Bynum cautiously moved to where I was and stood over me. When she witnessed me screaming violently - it seemed to frighten her and she quickly walked away.”   

I abruptly sat up in bed upon waking and sobbed profusely. I wept for the next two days because I could still feel the presence of God upon me.

 

Excerpted from 7 Questions About the Prophetic  Power of Dreams & Visions by Tytenisha L. Osgood. Copyright © 2020 by Tytenisha Osgood. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author.

 

The Gift of Prophecy vs. The Office of Prophet

    

 

Have you ever wondered if there was a difference between being able to prophesy and being called as a prophet? Let's take a look at the differences.

GIFT OF PROPHECY

The Gift of Prophecy is given by the Holy Spirit.

"A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. "To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another, the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have" 1 Corinthians 12:10. 

The gift of Prophecy is a revelatory gift. Prophecy means to speak forth the word of God by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It is by divine inspiration that a person can reveal things that are unknown or explain things that are complex and to declare the purposes of God. The gift of Prophecy edifies the body of Christ. It helps to build up and strengthen the people of God in their faith. Preaching and teaching the word of God is Prophesying. A child can prophesy! This gift is activated when God has something to say. It's about revealing God's truth to the body of Christ. This is a powerful gift and not one to be taken lightly. "But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them" - 1 Corinthians 14:3

OFFICE OF PROPHET

"He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers" - Ephesians 4:10-11

Jesus himself established these ministries. Prophets are called by God. In your biblical studies, you will see that many of the Prophets in the bible were personally called by God, none of them were self - appointed. You cannot just wake up one morning and decide, I'm going to be a Prophet! You must be called by God.

"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:15

"The prophet's responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ" - Ephesians 4:12.

Prophets are God's mouthpieces. They edify, exhort, bring comfort, correction, and direction to the body of Christ. Prophets are watchmen/prayer warriors that are assigned to different spheres of influence within the body of Christ. Prophets sometimes foretell the future by God's revelation. "The Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets" - Amos 3:7 

Prophets and those with the gift of prophecy move in similar ways. A Prophet has a specific work and assignment that has been ordained by God from birth. Although the gifting's between the office of Prophet and the gift of prophecy are similar, the prophetic office is a ministry and calling that you walk in for the rest of your life and years of intense training is involved. 

Each role in the body of Christ is important. Scripture says, "There are many parts. But there is only one body. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy. You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it" - 1 Corinthians 12:26-27

Blessings,

Tytenisha

Dark Face

 

 Is this the Face of Disobedience?

In 2008 I had a dream. In the dream, a man said, "You are called to teach the word of God". In another dream, a man said, "You are called to prophetic ministry". I'm pretty sure that man was God. Shortly after, I began to have a series of "being in school dreams" which meant I needed to be educated in the areas I was being called to. For the last five years, I've been on this amazing and difficult journey of studying the bible and understanding my place in the prophetic. For those who may not know, prophetic ministry is when a person is called to be a mouthpiece for God. My area of the prophetic is in dreams and visions but it also includes bible teaching and intercessory prayer. In 2012 God was nudging me to test the waters. For a long time, I vacillated between yes, no, for fear of what people would think? Finally, I created this blog which is a culmination of what I was called to do and a step in the right direction, I hope!

At a very young age, singing and writing were the first gifts I discovered. I passionately pursued a gospel singing career in my late teens and twenties. When I got married I decided to put the music career on hold to focus on building a family. I used to think singing was my ONLY purpose in life until I had those dreams. Is singing still my passion? It sure is. I still write songs and sing when asked to, but it's been several years since I've considered pursuing a singing career, until recently. This is when I discovered SOMEONE was not pleased with a decision i'd made.

A few months ago, the world was inundated with everything Beyonce. The National Anthem, the Oprah interview, the Super bowl, and her much-anticipated documentary. I watched all of them lol!! Illuminati speculations aside, I surprisingly enjoyed her documentary because of her transparency and her passion for music. I was drawn to the creative side of her because I am creative as well. Beyonce's focus and drive absolutely inspired me. After watching the documentary all I could think about was doing my music again. I quickly sprung into action looking for photographers to take some current photos. I was considering learning how to play chords on the piano so I could sing my own songs. I became consumed with how to market myself and finding gigs to showcase my talent. This went on for about a month with no progress and no callbacks. I was frustrated and annoyed. I wasn't writing, I wasn't studying, I was just stuck. Then I had this dream:

"I had a dark-skinned face. I was looking in the mirror. My features looked different. My hands and body were still brown but my face had a dark complexion. I told God I would accept it if that is what he wanted. I wasn't upset or angry; I just wasn't used to this. I knew I wouldn't stay this way for long".

This dream did not sit well with me. I became very sad and cried a lot. I asked God to give me clarity on this dream. I needed to understand the meaning, and quickly. In my heart, I felt God was not happy with me but I had no idea what I did. One night I was watching John Paul Jackson on YouTube. He is a modern-day prophet who is gifted in the area of dreams and visions. He was sharing his story on how he avoided the prophetic call on his life for a long time because his passion was to be a successful businessman. He talked about knowing God's voice, heeding to his call, and doing God's will. Boom! There was my answer! I honestly felt my "dark face" dream was about me following my personal desires and not the will of God for this particular season in my life. That same night, I came across an article called The Obedient Heart on John Paul Jackson's website. This passage from the article completely sums up my dream:

"If we refuse to do what God wants, evil begins to show its face in our lives. This is a case of simple cause and effect. The closer we are to God, the more we look like Him. The further we are from God, the less we look like Him, and the more at home we are with darkness". 

Is that powerful or what? I know it seems so extreme, but it got my attention! I was moving in disobedience all because I felt the urge to start this music career again when God didn't tell me to. My mind shifted from teaching, writing, and studying to singing, playing the piano, and taking pictures lol! I had to repent and ask God to forgive me for doing what I wanted to do. Does this mean I will never be able to do anything musically? No, God would not give me gifts that I'm not able to use. This is not the time or the season for me to run after that desire.
 
I share this experience to encourage someone to stay on course. If God has given you an assignment or has called you to do a certain thing, do it! Stick with it! Many times the assignment God calls us to starts out exciting and purposeful. Once the excitement wears off and we don't see the results as quickly as we'd like, or even understand where God is going with all of this, we begin entertaining other opportunities and that's when we get into trouble. Doing the opposite of what God has called you to do, no matter how great you think it will impact the kingdom of God, is considered disobedience. After disobedience, you begin to move in rebellion and that's when discipline comes in. God disciplines those he loves right? Don't worry, before God disciplines He extends plenty of grace. God will always communicate with you when you are moving off course. It's up to you to hear it, receive it, and hopefully respond with an obedient heart. Show God you love him by obeying him and trust that the plans he has for you are greater than what you could ever imagine or think.

"Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them" - John 14:21.  
 
Blessings,
Tytenisha

 

 

A Prophetic Dream

What is God Prophetically Speaking to You?

“For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.  He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings. He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride.  He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death” Job 33:14-18.

One of the ways God communicates with us is through dreams. As you can see from this scripture, most times our dreams are about us and what God wants to reveal about our lives, good and bad.  There are times when we receive Prophetic Dreams. These dreams are usually about the future or God revealing something to you that is presently going on that you are not aware of. It could concern you or it could be about someone else. I will share a prophetic dream I had but first I must preface the story.

In 2009 I was unemployed and collecting unemployment. Most of the temp assignments that were coming my way did not pay enough money for me to compromise my weekly benefit from unemployment.  In order for me to accept a temp assignment or a permanent position, I required a certain amount of pay. No one could fulfill my request so I continued to collect unemployment benefits. During my free time I read several books, one of them being, “A Divine Revelation of Hell.” by Mary K. Baxter.

Over a period of thirty days, God gave Mary Baxter visions of hell and commissioned her to tell the world to choose life. For some reason, one particular experience she had stayed with me. While in hell Mary noticed a small framed woman who was about eighty years old. The woman had no flesh, just bones and she was being burned by a continuous fire. The woman had one leg and there seemed to be holes drilled in her hip bone. Mary asked Jesus what happened to this woman. Jesus explained that while the woman was on earth she had cancer and surgery was done to save her life. Many people came to tell her about salvation and how Jesus could heal her, but she rejected God over and over. She said God gave her cancer and therefore she hated him. Eventually she died and the same way she existed in earth is the same way she will exist in hell for eternity. I thought to myself wow; I don’t want anyone I know to end up there!  Shortly after reading the book I have this dream about old ladies:

"I'm sitting in the pew of a church and its kind of empty and dimly lit. One by one old Caucasian women with canes are going to the altar to pray or be prayed for. An old lady is standing at the front waving for me to come on. I see Mother J (a prayer warrior in my old church) sitting in a pew to my right. I felt aggravated and annoyed being there. I keep saying to myself, why am I here? I get up to make my way to the old lady waving for me but I'm very hesitant. She rushes me along and hit me hard on my left arm. I fall down to the ground and roll into a fetal position crying profusely. Mother J came over to comfort and encourage me."

Temporary Assignment:

I always keep a dream journal next to my bed. As soon as I awoke, I jotted the dream down. I had no idea what this dream meant. I knew that it involved prayer because of Mother J and the old women going to receive prayer. I asked God for revelation on the dream but did not get it. The following month I accepted a seasonal temp position at UPS working in the HR dept. The pay was right for me. After four weeks in HR my supervisor explained the assignment would be ending in a couple of days. She asked if I was interested in temping for the Dispatch department in the basement because two ladies were going out for surgery. Without hesitation I said yes. The agency called to offer me the position but explained the pay would be $3 less. Now I'm annoyed and hesitant to accept.  I wrestled for a day with making my decision. I didn't want to burn my bridge with the agency, so I said yes.
 
Dispatch was tucked away in the basement where the UPS drivers worked. I assisted them with their route schedules and made sure packages were delivered on time. Immediately I felt annoyed and aggravated. I kept thinking to myself, why am I here? The pay sucks! Complain, complain, complain. The room I worked in consisted of five women.  All of the women were nice and openly shared their personal health issues with me. They talked about how mostly everyone that worked in dispatch including the drivers had health problems or was going to have some kind of surgery. One of the women I was covering for was having surgery for cervical cancer. After a couple of weeks I became friendly with everyone including some of the drivers.

One day an older woman in her late sixties named Linda was leaving for the day and dropped her rosary beads on the floor next to me. She picked them up and proceeded to tell me that she was an Atheist but her children were Christian. She said awhile back she had cancer and so did a friend of hers. Her friend was healed or beat the cancer because of the rosary beads. Her friend suggested she take the rosary beads so that she could be healed or beat cancer as well. Linda said she could have cared less whether she lived or died, it just didn't matter. Fortunately she beat the cancer but her outlook on life made me extremely sad. When she walked away I began to cry. I wished she believed in God.

My Dream Manifested:

Linda reminded me of the old woman in hell who had cancer. All of a sudden, I remembered my dream. I scanned the dimly lit room I was currently working in and noticed all the women were old enough to be my mother or grandmother. The same thoughts and feelings I had in the dream I was experiencing in reality. I became extremely overwhelmed because there was a purpose in me being at UPS. I felt so much compassion for these people. I felt responsible for their souls. God set me up! Lol!!  He lured me into the first temp position because of the pay and he knew I wouldn't refuse the second position because I didn’t want to burn a bridge with the agency. I needed to understand what my assignment was at this job, so I reached out to Mother J.

One evening after bible study I explained my dream to Mother J.  I asked her if was to talk to these people about Jesus? This made me nervous because I didn't want to turn these people off with all this Jesus talk. Mother J. reminded me, "One person plants the seeds, another person waters it and God gives the increase" - 1 Corinthians 3:6-7. She said all need to do is listen to the needs of these people and pray for them. Pray for Salvation and healing in their lives. I felt encouraged and comforted by her words. For the next month and a half, I became a listening ear, an encourager and a prayer intercessor for my co-workers at UPS. 

Interpretation:
The dream God gave me was prophetic. It was about the future and an assignment he had for me. The old women in the dream represented older women I was going to work with. The annoying feelings I had and the hesitations were true feelings that I was going to experience at UPS. The woman waving for me to come meant that I had an assignment from God. Me falling down in a fetal position and crying represented my intercession / prayer for these people. Mother J. represented herself as an encourager and advice giver. I had no clue what this dream meant until I experienced it. God cares about everyone!!  He wanted to bring healing and Salvation to a small group of people that I didn't know existed. He used me to plant the seeds and hopefully someone else will water them. It's been three years this month! I often wonder about that group. 

God is so incredible! He speaks to us in my many different ways. We absolutely cannot keep him in a box. Don’t toss your dreams because they don’t make sense. Pray and ask God for revelation. Write it down! Keep a journal that you can refer to when your dreams begin to manifest.  God may have an assignment for you!

Blessings,
Tytenisha