From Law to Grace

The following dream really struck me as a message for the church for the days to come. It has to do with God's people moving from an understanding of law and legalism based on works of the flesh into a greater understanding of grace.

I was with some family driving through a city. There was great financial stress in the nation that was causing people to become emotionally unraveled and sometimes hostile. I told my family we should get a field that we could grow our own food in. We traveled out of town and went toward Napa (wine country).

As we traveled there were groups of people that were acting insane and were running with animals. I thought of Nebuchadnezzar and how he became crazy and lived with the cattle. There were other groups of people who I thought were also crazy but then realized they were actors practicing a play. (These two groups of people represent two ways people deal with traumatic times. Some run to their carnal tendencies while others begin to put on a show, pretending to be someone they are not).

When we arrived in Napa we bought three bottles of wine. I wanted to try one so I took a small sip. It was not enough to affect me at all but I realized I had broken the law by having an open bottle of alcohol while driving. I became ashamed and hid which prevented me from seeing where I was driving, and thus I hit a planter in the parking lot. A police officer saw me and came to investigate. He saw the open bottle and saw the broken planter and wrote me a ticket for them. I remember thinking, "How will I ever be able to pay for this?" The police officer continued to follow me and write tickets for many things he saw me do wrong. I then realized he was a friend of mine and a Christian. He then wrote me a personal check for a very small amount that was not nearly enough to cover the debt, but I threw the check down and yelled, "How can I ever pay this debt?" He then told me he also had a debt he could not pay.

I woke up and heard a voice say, "You need to go to 'Bridal Paradigm' class this Saturday (Bridal Paradigm is a class about identity in Christ and resting in the grace of God). I knew that Saturday represented the Sabbath rest of God.

The friend represented Christians who are still trying to enforce the law even though they know they cannot keep it themselves. The purpose of the law is not to "police" people but to reveal our need for God and lead us to run to His grace. Many are feeling a frustration at not being "good enough" as they try to work for God. The answer is to find rest in what Christ has already done on the cross. As He moves His people toward this revelation we will be ready to help others be free. Trying to keep the law in our flesh cannot bring freedom. Only faith in the finished work of the cross will bring true freedom. It is this revelation that will release power to help a broken world. The law and the works of the flesh will lead people to utter frustration and turn them to run to God's grace and find rest in what Jesus has done. Many people are feeling this frustration and sensing there is more. Rest in Christ and allow Him to work in you. There you will find true freedom and peace. God is leading His people to walk in His Spirit and not according to the flesh. Abba is teaching His people to yield to His Spirit and rest in His works. Our debt has been paid and the way has been made. Consider Romans 8:3-4.....

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.