Inside Story: Dreaming Dreams ~ Part 3
Inside Story for Friday 29th of December 2023
By Andrew McChesney
Joseph Delamou had prayed to God to reveal His true church, but Joseph didn’t know where to worship in Conakry, capital of the French-speaking country of Guinea in West Africa. After studying the Bible with his English teacher, a Seventh-day Adventist named Fortunate Kaloubilori, he fasted for three days and pleaded with God to reveal His will.
Then Joseph had a dream in which he was locked up in prison. A prison guard was a relative, and he begged him for freedom. “I cannot free you even though we are from the same family,” the relative said.
Joseph attempted to escape but was caught and reproved by his relative.
“Don’t play with me,” the relative said. “If you try that again, I will punish you in a way that you will never forget.”
A voice boomed out with a description of the punishment. “Someone will bring straw and put it under you and set it on fire,” the voice said.
Joseph understood that the punishment represented hell after Jesus’ coming. He prayed, “I’m not better than the others. Only don’t let me die here. I want to accomplish something for You before I die.”
After the prayer, he was somehow removed from the prison cell and into the presence of three soldiers. One soldier said, “Joseph, you must pay the ransom for your freedom.”
“Only God freed me, not you,” Joseph replied. “Jesus paid the price on the cross. I owe you nothing.”
But the soldier insisted, “If you don’t pay, we will take you back to prison.”
“My freedom did not come from you, and you cannot go against God, who freed me,” Joseph said. “My life depends on God, and if you harm me, you are not harming me but God.
The soldiers left, and Joseph turned around and saw Fortunate.
“Your freedom is from God,” Fortunate assured him.
Then Joseph woke up. It was 3:00 a.m., and he was sweating. The dream seemed so real.
He prayed, “Thank You, God. Every time I ask for help, You answer me. I thank You, not for answering me but for loving me.”
Today, Joseph is 24 and a faithful Adventist.
“When I was a child, I asked God to lead me to the right path,” he said. “God answered this prayer by bringing me to the Adventist Church. I am ready to serve God.”
Your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this Sabbath will help spread the gospel in the West-Central Africa Division, which includes Guinea. Thank you for your generous offering.
(17)
I have a story like that one.I joined a new school in form three.Being a boarding school we lived as brothers and sisters and most of the students liked to praise God.However,we came from different dominions.
I now came to join one of my early friends in that school who I decided to share with him a piece of information touching prophecy.
During the entire term it became challenging to agree with him on Revelation and other facts.When it came to the matter touching our dominions although we were all Christians,he used to get annoyed but I never gave up.
I kept praying for God to help the man and try to reveal something concerning which church should join.
Joining form four,I came to school with two different versions of "The National Sunday Law".I asked him to have a look on them but refused.I had a deskmate who was a new comer that year.He was from Catholic Church but borrowed me the book to have a look.
After a day he agreed with the facts that the book touched and asked my first friend(Dominic) to read the book. Dominic was never willing to do so but asked me to pray to God for him to know the fact.
One day I came jokingly to him asking questions about his church and answered that he is now a Seventh-day Adventist believer. It took me time to think how has it came about.
It was nearly closing of term two when he came to believe on the light of God. So he asked me questions concerning Adventism, and I advised him. Being closer to camp meetings I also advised him to get baptized and agreed but was once baptized in his former church.
Opening term three he was happy and completely new reformed. He told me that he was baptized and nothing can change him from Adventist. His mission is now to change his family to join the Adventist church. That is how my mission to change Dominic ended.
Now he is asking advise on how to make his family believe on Adventist. Please help me.