00:04There are three possible sources of our dream visions.
00:09Natural dreams that are reflections of ourselves, or
00:12Spirit dreams that bring messages from the spirit world, or
00:17God dreams that speak as the continuing voice of Jesus.
00:21We begin with natural dreams as reflections of ourselves.
00:25These come as a result of the activity of our subconscious minds,
00:30processing the events and concerns of the day.
00:33As our bodies rest, our minds get busy.
00:37Or as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, a dream comes when there are many cares.
00:42Natural dreams make up the vast majority of our dreams.
00:46As we've seen, they're an important part of regulating our physical and emotional health.
00:52They've even been called the guardians of our sanity, as they clean out our minds,
00:57a bit like housecleaning for the brain.
01:00Natural dreams are best recognized by the way they reflect the everyday happenings of our life.
01:06It wouldn't be surprising, for example, if you're having a conflict with your colleague at work,
01:11and you see yourself knocking them out in a boxing ring as you sleep.
01:15Or if you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed by a particular issue,
01:20you dream of yourself drowning under a tidal wave.
01:24It may seem like natural dreams aren't worth noticing.
01:27After all, they do their work without us.
01:30But they're still worth listening to.
01:33As psychologists have told us,
01:35dreams are a way of working out what's going on beneath the surface of our lives
01:40and point us towards resolution.
01:42The second possible source of our dreams is messages from other spirit.
01:47Spirit dreams are supernatural, and even psychologists find them difficult to explain.
01:53Practically every culture in history, apart from the West,
01:58have understood dreaming to be a way of communicating with spirits.
02:02Spirit dreams may contain previously unknown information,
02:06premonitions of the future or the appearance of non-human beings.
02:10They may feature angels, the spirits of those who have passed and evil spirits.
02:16In Scripture we see all of these.
02:18The third source of our dreams is the voice of God.
02:22Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be His continuing voice on earth,
02:27enabling His followers to know God personally and partner with His mission.
02:31So, when the Holy Spirit speaks in dream visions,
02:35the message will be consistent with the life and teachings of Jesus.
02:39Reflect.
02:40If you've had a God dream, how was it different to a natural dream?
02:45Pray and journal.
02:47Lord, teach me how to discern the source of my dream visions.
02:51Lord, teach me how to discern the source of my dream visions.
02:52Lord, teach me how to discern the source of my dream visions.
02:55Lord, teach me how to discern the source of my dream visions.
02:56Lord, teach me how to discern the source of my dream visions.
02:57Lord, teach me how to discern the source of my dream visions.
02:57Lord, teach me how to discern the source of my dream visions.
