Salvation is Not by Self Works

I saw a woman on her elbows and knees on the ground in sorrow and grief; in physical and spiritual pain.(This woman represents the corporate body of Christ who are faithless and hopeless in the apostate Church.) I felt she was going through trials and tribulations and giving into her soul and flesh rather than allowing her spirit man to be in control. Rather than believing the Word and walking by faith, she was giving into her physical sight and feelings of pain and suffering. 2Co 5:7 NENT (for we walk through faith, not through sight) (Rom. 8:13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.)

I then saw, in the spirit, demons around this woman pushing her down and hitting her. Although she was humbled on the ground, the demons were constantly hitting her because she was letting the demons attack her and not casting them off. She was unknowingly giving the devil power over her [through her faith in the devil and the curse.] Eph 4:27 neither give place to the devil.

I felt the Lord was allowing this to happen to get her to a place where she will use her faith to walk in authority, and in the Spirit. (Sometimes the Lord allows us to be backed into a corner by the devil so that when we have nothing left to lose, we will come out swinging and fighting. This is unfortunate but often times the case because many Christians are either ignorant or spiritually lazy. We must be faithful to use that authority He gave us.) Luk 10:19 Lo, I have given you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you.(Gal. 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.)

I felt that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. God was allowing the demons to do to her what she was permitting them to do. 1Co 10:13 Only human temptation hath overtaken you: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way out, that ye be able to endure it. (We do everything for babies but, as they get older, they are expected to do it for themselves. Also, as we see in Job, the Lord allows satan to try us in order to show us our hidden faults and also bring us into spiritual maturity.)

I then saw Jesus walk over to her and, without any effort, pull a demon off of her and throw it far away behind Him and then the other demons fled. He then got down on her level and grabbed her hand and stood her up. (Just as in the parable of the prodigal son, the Father ran to meet him where he was and brought him the rest of the way home.) She was comforted and strengthened in faith and boldness and He wiped away the tears from her eyes. Rev 21:4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and: death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are gone.

Recently, we've been having an adventure here in the RV campground with this historically cold weather and have lost our water, due to it being frozen, so I haven't been able to cook. Willard and I are also among the unwashed masses. I believe this is symbolic of the water of the Word being frozen in people’s lives. While our water was frozen the Lord gave me this dream: (As we will see, people have been cold towards God’s Word, it has become frozen and ineffective in their lives.)

In extremely dim light, almost complete darkness, I saw the biggest, most massive key ring you can imagine, and it was loaded to the gills with all different kinds of keys, practically layers of keys. The keys were various kinds of metal, some looked extremely old and had surface oxidation because of their age. They were crushed against each other and there was no way to fit even one more key on the ring. (i.e. they are unable to be used to lock or unlock anything or bind and loose anything. Jesus told His disciples in Mat. 16:19 I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Many Christians are not taking the keys that Jesus gave to them and using them; they are all still crushed together on their key ring.)

I asked Father to give me a word by faith at random to help us understand what this is about? And I received by random computer: Col.3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly... (The Word of Christ is the keys to the benefits of the Kingdom. It must dwell in us richly in order for us to bind and loose.)

The Holy Spirit was speaking to me through my husband, Samuel, and I felt the presence of God strongly. However, my flesh was fearful, as I could feel parts of my old nature dying. It was being washed away and the Holy Spirit was increasing inside of me. (I feel sometimes my flesh fears dying to self although the spirit and soul desire it. The enemy knows he is defeated and works with the flesh to grasp at every straw in order to survive.). (Rom. 8:13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.)

I was really just desiring to hold onto Jesus and I was agreeing with the Spirit and not wanting to give into the flesh’s fear. (When we are faithful to receive the Word of the Lord through His vessels and submit to it, our spirit man is strengthened as it is washed clean from the filthiness of the old man. Samuel represents our spiritual Husband, Jesus. When we submit ourselves the authority of His Word we bear His fruit in our lives.)

I then saw, to my right, Jesus' giant hand come through the roof of our home and rest in front of mine, indicating and welcoming me to hold His hand. I put my hand where I saw His and felt an abundance of peace and comfort; knowing that He is always there and He won’t let me go. He knows what I am experiencing and He will get me through it. He has already gone through it all for me. (Mat. 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. And Joh. 16:33 In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.)

He is patiently waiting for us also to grab His hand [and lean upon His strength.]. Isa. 41:10 fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

I then had a vision of a person swimming alone in deep, open water late at night, and there was no moonlight. (Swimming in water in the dark represents going through trials [in our ignorance]). (These dark waters represent the curses of this world that we are buried under from birth.)

If the person stopped swimming, they would sink under the water and drown. (Swimming or treading water represents fighting to escape the curse of this world using the Water of the Word so that we can overcome death and have the life of Christ.) (If you flee from crucifying the flesh, you will fall away from Jesus.). However, the person gracefully, gently, and calmly kept swimming towards the land. (Cooperating with Jesus during the refining process). (Jesus is represented by the land. He is the anchor for our souls through the rough, watery trials of life. We must endure these trials to reach our Promised Land, who is Christ.)

The person rejected all thoughts and feelings of fear, panic, doubt, unbelief, and vain imaginations about what could happen to them. They, instead, stayed focus on their goal to get to the land. (The devil loves to remind us of all the “monsters in the deep” and he tries to get us to be fearful so that he can prevent us from reaching our promised land.) (They got through the trial by trusting in God’s Word and by doing spiritual warfare and prayer).

The person didn’t race or rush or burn themselves out, but they kept a steady pace and they didn’t stop at all. They eventually got to the land and they couldn't be happier. (Slow and steady wins the race.)

(I believe the lesson of this vision is: Don’t try to run ahead of God or do your own works but rest in the finished works of Christ and wait patiently for His promises to manifest.)

I had a vision of myself submerged 55 yards deep underneath open water, far out in the ocean. (The number 55 represents two fold grace.) Below me the water was so dark, and I could see that the only light was above the water. (Just as in Samuel’s revelation above, these waters represent the curses of this world that we are buried under from birth.) (Darkness is separated and pushed away from the Light.) Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. (Jesus is the Light and His Word enlightens us. Joh 12:35 Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. 36 While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light.)

I kept swimming and moving to get to the top where the light was. ([This represents having a] love and desire for our Father and Lord Jesus) I didn't want to fall any further down into the darkness and I wanted to get to the top quickly so no creatures would find me. (This represents fighting to escape the curses of this world and the demons that take advantage of it. The curses represent the deep dark waters. The waters are both blessing and cursing as God told Moses. When we’re in the water we swim towards the light, which is Jesus, the Word made flesh. As we swim towards the Light, we overcome the curse of sin and death to have the life of Christ.)(We must avoid the enemy and the grasp of the world [represented by the creatures of the deep].) 2Ti 2:26 and they may sober up from the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto that one’s will.

I just wanted to get out of the water and get to the light. It seemed difficult and took much physical energy to finally swim to the top.(Fighting our flesh nature to escape the curses of the world is a difficult trial.)(Nothing can be achieved by ourselves. We must rely completely on the Lord’s strength) Pro 3:5 Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding: And Php 4:13 (NENT) I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.

When I got to the top, I took my first breath and it was so wonderful to be able to breath in the air. (Taking in a breath is taking in the Spirit of God because they are the same word in Scripture.)(Taking in the breath of life and being filled with His Holy Spirit.) It was a big achievement to finally get out of the water and I was happy to be able to rest and to be above water. (Representing triumph in the victory of Christ.)

However, there was no land or boat in site. There was literally nothing but water as far as I could see. There was no raft, literally nothing that I could do to get out of this water. (The open waters force us into the release of ourselves [and our independence], and to completely rely and believe in the God of our salvation; walking by faith and not by sight.) 2Co 5:7 (NENT) (for we walk through faith, not through sight)

I saw myself deep under the open water again, but I saw Jesus as a giant and he was looking at me from above the water into the light. He reached his hand to me and pulled me up to the top of the water. (Representing His love and grace to save us.) Mat 14:31 And straightway Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him, and saith to him, Thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Out in the open water, only God could pick us up with His hand and bring us up to Him. Or only He can send other people as His hand to help. We are completely and totally reliant on Him for everything including our breath and existence.

Thank You our wonderful Heavenly Father for drawing us to You and setting us free and doing more for us than we could ever understand. Thank You for bringing us out of the darkness and into the light and for bringing us through all these trials. Thank You that You have carried us our whole life and You will continue to carry us into Eternity! It’s all You!

(2Sa.22:2-23 …Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine; 3 God, my rock, in him will I take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge; My saviour, thou savest me from violence. 4 I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. 5 For the waves of death compassed me; The floods of ungodliness made me afraid: 6 The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.

7 In my distress I called upon Jehovah; Yea, I called unto my God: And he heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry came into his ears. … 17 He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me out of many waters; 18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me. 19 They came upon me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay.

20 He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me. 21 Jehovah rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 22 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all his ordinances were before me; And as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.)

In a dream, my husband, Barry, and I, along with people of UBM, were living in a large, old mansion with many rooms. (Joh 14:2-4 In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go, ye know the way.)

We were on the second floor of the mansion, and I remember seeing a large chandelier hanging in the hall from the second floor ceiling which also was open to the first floor. (A chandelier has many crystal ornaments that refract its light into the colors of the rainbow. The rainbow symbolizes God’s promise and faithfulness to mankind.)(Barry: This light could be seen from both floors. God gives light to people at each stage of their growth.) (Isa. 28:9-10 Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts? 10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little. And Pro. 4:18 But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.)

...I only remember walking on the second floor, but I knew there were several small rooms on the first floor that were bedrooms. The front door led to the area under the chandelier, and then the bed rooms were just down the hall. (The front door is Jesus through whom all must enter to come into God’s kingdom. Joh 10:7-9 Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. The pasture represents the bedrooms where we find rest through Christ.)

I was walking around on the second floor, looking for a bed for Zoe. (Barry: Zoe is a Greek word for life, and only when we rest in God do we receive His life.) I saw a bed across the way from where I was, and I grabbed a rope and swung over to the bed. It was hard to do, and I held on to the left bedpost with my left hand. It broke and I had to let it go or I would not make it on to the bed. This was hard because I was thinking it was the only way to get on the bed. (Trying in my own strength [to enter the rest and Life of God.]) (Faith in the promises is the only way to enter the rest. Heb. 4:1-3 Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. 3 For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.)

But as I let it go, I had a renewed strength to hold on to the bed frame with my right hand and swing myself over onto the bed. (We must let go of the things of the flesh and the world to have the rest and the life of God.) Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts. Then I was able to rest on the bed. Then I woke up.

I thought of Eph 3:16-19 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.

I dreamt that we just moved to a dusty, hot outback town and we had lots of broken, wooden items under our carport to remove as rubbish. (Representing getting rid of the wood, hay and stubble [of our lives].) (The trash of the flesh nature tries to crowd out the place of rest for our earthly vehicles or mobile tabernacles represented by the carport.)

So, I called up a man who lived in the town, that had a handyman service to remove it all. When I spoke to him, he said that it wouldn’t cost me anything to have him do it. (The ways of man are deceitful and there is always a price to pay one way or another, as we will see.) He came around and removed it all that same day. (This represents relying on the ways of the world and man to clean ourselves up.)

The following week I needed to get something else done through him, so I went to his building and there were many other people lined up waiting for his services. (Representing seeking worldly methods instead of God’s methods [of faith and rest in His promises that 'it has already been accomplished' by Jesus at the cross].)

So, I waited in line for my turn, which took a long time. Then when it was my time to speak with him, I told him what I needed done and he then told me that I had to pay him $230 from when he removed the things from our carport. (With man, there is always a catch.) (You can’t escape the curse. Man’s methods only shift the curse from one area of our lives to another. Jer. 17:5-9 Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah, and whose trust Jehovah is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat cometh, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?)

I was really annoyed and frustrated because he had said that it was free before, and if I had known it would cost so much, I wouldn’t have had him do it. (Relying on man’s methods is time consuming, frustrating and drains us of our financial resources. We will ultimately regret what it costs us.)

I felt that he had just made up this random number and payment so he could get extra money. I angrily told the man that I won’t be able to pay until Wednesday, which was 2 days away. (Wednesday is named for the god Woden, who is paralleled with the Roman god Mercury, probably because both gods shared attributes of eloquence, the ability to travel, and the guardianship of the dead. “The wages of sin is death”. When we trust in the arm of the flesh the curse of death is upon us and we will ultimately pay with our lives.)(Paying the debt 2 days away represents that 2000 years ago Jesus paid our debt. 2Pe. 3:8 But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Today it is fulfilled only when we accept it by faith. If we do not accept His sacrifice, then the wages of sin is death.)

He said that won’t work, and that he needs it now or our electricity would be cancelled. (Representing threats and attacks on our minds by the enemy to keep us in fear and reliance on the world’s ways instead of God’s ways.) (The enemy is a liar. Only when we walk by faith do we have any power.)

I replied to him that I would only be able to pay if God gives me the money for it, and He wants me to pay you. If God doesn’t provide the money for it, then I know that you lied about me having to pay you this money. Then I woke up. (Satan will always try to remind us of our past debts and convince us that they are still owed.)

Last night I dreamed that my husband, Matthew, and I were vacationing in Germany. (Matthew means, “gift of God” and represents Jesus who is God’s gift to humanity to reconcile us back to Him.) (Germany is representing the roots of my flesh nature, since that is half of my biological heritage).(We must not give our flesh a vacation from its crucifixion.)

We were sitting in the lobby of a gift shop. (representing all the world has to offer.) In front of us was a little display of leather, handcrafted purses (Leather represents fleshly works because it is the clothing of a beast and the purse represents storing up our mammon, which Jesus forbade us to do. This is fleshly works too.). Each purse was unique. (Everyone has their own fleshly struggles, and none can think they are better because they don’t have someone else’s problem.)

I picked up a small brown purse and admired how beautiful it was. I don’t think I was planning on buying it, but thought it would be harmless to look. There was no price tag, but it seemed we had been to this shop four years previously and that the purses cost $120 at that time; so I reasoned that they probably cost a little more than that now. (We must be careful not to fall into the trap of admiring the things of the world. It seems harmless initially, but it's a trap to draw us away from the Kingdom and it comes at a high cost, as we will see.)

Matthew began to show me something on his phone, but I don’t know what it was (representing distractions).(Again, Matthew as a type of Jesus, wrote in Isa. 45:7, I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things. God will allow the enemy, represented by the phone, to distract us and lead us into a temptation to indulge our fleshly desires. i.e., don’t look if you don’t want to buy. This is what opens the door for the enemy in our lives.)

As I was watching his phone screen, I began to mindlessly start eating the purse (representing partaking of flesh). It wasn’t until he was done showing me whatever it was that I realized that I had eaten the whole purse. I was a little shocked at the realization of what I had done. (The enemy is sneaky and causes us to unwittingly err from God’s ways. In the Old Testament a person who sinned unintentionally had to provide their own sacrifice as in Num. 15:27-28 And if one person sin unwittingly, then he shall offer a she-goat a year old for a sin-offering. 28 And the priest shall make atonement for the soul that erreth, when he sinneth unwittingly, before Jehovah, to make atonement for him; and he shall be forgiven. But in the New Testament the Bible says in Jas. 4:17 To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. So in the New Testament believers have the blood covering of Jesus when they sin unintentionally. He has already taken care of our debts.)

I went to the front counter and told the dark-haired woman behind the desk what I had done and at first she just said, “Don’t worry about it.” (When we fail we need to get back to justification by faith). But I insisted that I was at fault and had to pay something. (This represents self-works because of condemnation). Then she changed her mind. (I gave permission to the enemy by unbelief in the sacrifice of Jesus) She then told me that that purse cost $2000 (Jesus paid my debt 2000 years ago). (We get into trouble when we try to pay our own debts for our sins because the devil is likely to oblige us.)

I was like, “uh-oh”, because I didn’t have $2000 and I was not in my home country (We are sojourners in the earth and will never make it to our home country [or promised land] as long as we believe we need to pay our own way). I fumbled through my purse and only had $300. (We never have enough to pay our debt of sin. So, we should not accept condemnation, but trust in the Lord’s salvation. We are justified by faith. We must hold on to faith and not self- justification. I thought of the pure Nard that Mary poured on the feet of Jesus in preparation for His burial being worth 300 silver coins. We already have the price paid by His death and burial.)

There were also a few bills that looked like 'game-play money', printed on only one side, that were $2000 bills. I wasn’t sure how they got there or if they were real, so I decided not to try to use them. (There is no value in play money. You can’t buy forgiveness. He paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.)

At the end of the dream, we left the building and my husband Matthew (Representing Jesus) went and spoke to someone I didn’t see, and we were absolved of the debt and freed to go. Then I woke up.(Amen! Thank you Jesus for paying our debts that we couldn’t pay.)