We Must Seek His Face! (revised)

Jewels from Judy: We Must Seek His Face

Judy Bauman

www.thefathersloveim.org

On April 8, 2002, I had a dream that I believe holds important insight for the Body of Christ at this critical time. While the world would have us focus on it and its troubles, I believe the Lord desires to have an audience with us.

Dream:

In this dream I was in a third world country as a missionary with three other women. We planned to be there for some time as we had rented a place close to where we were to minister. The dwelling was connected to others like it; all of them were dilapidated and surrounded by a chain-link fence. As I walked to a local café for a job interview, I saw clothing and bed sheets hanging above the street drying. The clothes were dull in color, but one sheet was light blue. When I came into the café I noticed a puddle of fetid water in the middle of the dining room floor. I went out to the alley where earlier I had seen a mop and brought it into the café and cleaned up the mess. There was no bucket to rinse out the mop, so I took it back out to the alley.

A frail, old man walked toward me in the alley. It was now night. He looked as if he had expected to find me there. With broken English and a weak voice I barely heard him say, "My life's work is about to be revealed." He slumped over and looked as though he were about to die. I moved to catch him, but he was not as concerned about his failing health as he was to relay the message. I leaned in closely to listen.

He looked directly into my eyes with determination and declared, "We must seek His face!" He reached toward me gently taking my hands and placed them on either side of his cheeks so that his face was cradled between them. He had deep lines in his face like the lines in Mother Teresa's face. As I held his face, he intently looked into my eyes and asked, "Where is my face?" I answered, "It is on your head." He then asked, "Where is my head?" I replied, "It is on your body." Then he resolutely stated, "Remember this!"

His eyes remained fixed on mine and his face was still resting between my hands. Suddenly, his eyes turned into lion's eyes and his face morphed from a man's face into a male lion's face!!! I could feel his thick mane in my hands! Everything faded from view and all I could see were the lion's eyes and face. For a moment terror hit me, but just as quickly I knew I was safe. I realized that this was not the lion that seeks to devour, but rather the Lion of the Tribe of Judah! (See 1 Peter 5:8 and Revelation 5:5). Slowly the Lion's face faded, but the Lion's eyes remained and stared directly into my eyes without breaking its intense gaze.

I awoke, but as I lay there in the darkness I could still see the Lion's golden eyes piercing my soul. The Holy Spirit said, "Get up and write it down." I assured the Lord I would not forget it. He asked me four times before I got up and wrote down this dream. (See 1 Samuel 15:22; Habakkuk. 2:2)

Interpretation:

We must first understand that interpretation of dreams belong to the Lord. (See Genesis 40:8) It is also important that an interpretation bears witness to the one had the dream. There is no universal meaning to symbols in dreams, but there are some general things we can work with in understanding our 'pillow parables'. Seeking the Lord God Almighty is the first course of action when trying to understand our dreams.

LOCATION AND COMPONANTS:

· Third world country - While this was clearly a poverty stricken area, earthly poverty can also be viewed as Jesus revealed in Revelation 2:9 and 3:17. We can think we are rich when we are poor in the Lord's eyes, and on the other hand we can think we are poor but actually be rich.

· Three women - May be symbolic of Christ's 'inner circle' of friends.

· The Missionary - In this dream I believe I represent believers willing to go where the Lord sends them. (See Isaiah 6:8). Note: At the first posting of this dream in 2004, I was not yet sent out as a missionary (see Mission News). Missionaries should never send themselves into the field or go because they are being pressured by well-meaning invitations. We need the Lord to open the door and send us.

· Fences Dwelling Place - Denotes a protected close-knit community. It was clear that we were to live and work (dwell) with the people to whom we were sent. (See Acts 18:3 and 1 Corinthians 16:19). It reflects the Lord's example throughout the Gospels of living everyday life with His disciples. My sense was that we had signed a lease to stay for three to six months.

· Dull Clothing - The people had not yet exchanged their earthly garments for heavenly ones. (See Isaiah 61:3; Colossians 3:12-17; Revelation 19:7-9).

· Blue Sheet - Its significance confirms this dream holds heavenly revelation.

· A Café - A favorite and familiar place to me. When I was young, my parents owned and operated a café, hotel, and restaurant. I love the fellowship of a small café where locals gather, and I see it as a place to minister outside of the church building.

· Job interview - The apostle Paul was a good example of working in marketplace ministries. My goal was not so much to make a living there as it was to be positioned to meet the local people who frequented the café. (See 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10).

· Fetid water - This puddle of filthy water seemed symbolic of a lack of excellence in the workplace and places of fellowship - just accepting a mess rather than taking action to clean it.

· The Mop - Was already filthy, but it was the only tool available to clean where the people ate.

· No Bucket - Not having all the tools needed to do the job with excellence.

· Cleaning - I remember feeling compelled to clean the mess on the floor even though I had not yet been hired. Over the years the Lord has trained me to be obedient to clean a mess even when I have not made it. Because of this act of obedience, I was in position to make a divine connection and receive kingdom impartation.

· Alley - Although it would seem to symbolize a place of fear (meeting someone in a dark alley) to me an alley represents a place of discovery. I spent a great deal of my childhood in exploration in the alley behind my parent's hotel. Many treasures can be found in an alley if you know where to look! (We must be careful giving universal meanings for places and things in dream interpretation.)

· Nighttime - Speaks to me that the "hour is late". This fact is daily becoming more and more evident. Below is a link to a word the Lord gave me for the Church concerning this hour. This is a meaty word and is not for the faint of heart (see Hebrews 12:4-11):

http://www.thefathersloveim.org/the_hour_is_late1

· Old Man - As a rule I respect the elderly and lookout for their wellbeing when it is within my power to do so. The old man looked and sounded like the older of "the two witnesses" in the movie, The Omega Code. Symbolic of the "witness" of the church as it exists today; the old man had refined the most important truth he had learned in his entire life into one final statement. I detected a hint of regret in his voice as he spoke, yet he was determined to make sure I understood. I had the impression that he had known and even served the Lord for years, but had not fully understood this simple but profound truth until the very end of his life. He may have been busy doing the work of the Lord, but did not spend time developing a intimate relationship with Jesus. Because he had specifically shared this revelation with me - I have felt a great sense of responsibility to clearly convey this message.

His life's work revealed: We are to seek God's face then pass that wisdom onto the next generation like a runner who passes a baton in a relay race. When it takes an entire lifetime to come to a revealation, the next generation can begin there. We don't have to learn everything all over again but learn from what other's have built on and run from there. He relayed the purest and most simple truth - "We must seek His face!" It is very important we receive and live out the impartation from the passing generation, and then prepare to relay it to the next. However, we must be careful not to mix the new wine and the old wine skins. (See Psalms 78:5-8; Matthew 9:17 and Hebrews 12:1)

· Near Death - Represents the "old way" of doing things in the church is dying. The admonition given to us by the church now passing is: "WE MUST SEEK HIS FACE!" If we hold dear this charge, this new emerging church will be known around the world by the intimacy it shares with the Father, the Bridegroom our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit. (See Isaiah 43:19)

· Holding His Face - The old man dynamically illustrated that when we seek God's face we are to hold on and not let go of Him even when it looks scary. We have to learn to recognize and discern the Lord in all situations. In Revelations 19:12 it states that Jesus will come back bearing a name that no one knows but Himself. This means that we must know Him by the Spirit. God reveals Himself and His ways through His names. What is this name that we do not know? That is the point, we do not know and we will not know. We must passionately pursue Jesus to intimately know Him by His Spirit. We need to understand the significance of the warning Jesus gave through the parable of the five foolish virgins. (See Matthew 25:1-13).

· The Order of His Questions - To get to the face I had to look to the Head, to find the Head I had to locate the Body. In interpreting this dream the Lord instructed me to, "Go to your husband and then to the Body of Christ and ask what it means to them personally when they hear, 'We must seek His face.'" I have now compiled those insights and incorporated them into this interpretation. More than that I knew it had to do with true submission as God meant it, not man.

THE HEAD - Has two significant parts:

Christ is the Head of the Church -Jesus is the Head of His Body! We tend to look at those in ministry as the head, but this is biblically incorrect. Ministers are more like a hand that grooms, tends and cares for the Body of Christ. Let the "hand" not obscure "the face"! We as the Church are to be subject to Christ to attain unity of the faith. Anyone trying to take Jesus' place as Head will be removed. (See 1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12:4-8; Ephesians 4:11-13; 2 Peter 2).

The husband is head of his wife. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Wives are to be subject to their husbands as the Church is subject to Jesus. When the old man asked me where his face was I knew he was referring to both Christ as the head of the church and my husband as my head. (See Ephesians 5:21-33 and Colossians 3:18-21).

THE BODY

· The Body of Christ - Are the individuals who believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He was born of a virgin, was crucified, died, buried, and on the third day He was resurrected. Those who believe in Him and have called upon His name are born anew into the Body of Christ and make up The Church. Each member, whether male or female, is part of the Body of Christ, and is in effect, a son, a friend, a soldier, an ambassador of Jesus Christ, and a temple of the Holy Spirit. (See Galatians 3:28; 4:4-7; Matthew 5:9; Ephesians 2:18-22; 5:32; 2 Timothy 2:3; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 5:20).

· The Lion's Eyes and Face - Because I spiritually recognized Who was piercing my soul, and because I know His great love for me as a believer, the natural fear passed through me. Perfect Love casts out fear! (See Hebrews 4:13; Revelation 1:14; 1 Corinthians 3:9-16; 1 John 4:18).

· Obedience - When the Lord asked me to get up and write this dream, I was lazy and slow to obey. I was certain I would remember it. Three days after the dream I wanted to prove this to the Lord, so without looking at my notebook I typed the dream in a word document. Feeling sure of myself that I remembered all the details I then consulted my notes. I did recall most of it, but much to my dismay I had forgotten the whole sequence of the man's face turning into a lion! How could I have forgotten this? Pride! I thought I knew better than God! In this, the Lord showed me that I need to be - and we as a Body need to be - quick to humble ourselves and obey the Lord immediately when He asks us to do something. I believe it is important to be transparent and include this as obedience is vital to our being positioned to receive impartation from the Father. (Daniel 4:37; Romans 7:19; Hebrews12:6-11; Habakkuk 2:1).

We Must Seek His Face, Church!

In the Father's love,

Rev. Judy Bauman

Note 1: Four months after I had this dream the Lord put a book into my hands written by Dr. Dale A. Fife, The Secret Place; Passionately Pursuing His Presence. I highly recommend this book and to follow it up with his second book, The Hidden Kingdom. If you are serious about seeking God's face, these books will bring fullness to your search. I want to encourage you to take time with the Scriptures referenced both here in this article as well as Dr. Dale's books. God's Word holds the key and is The Standard.

Note 2: Four years after reading, The Secret Place, I was ordained into Mountain Top Global Ministries headed by Dr. Dale Fife! God's ways are so awesome! He is full of surprises when we seek His face!