Over the last few years the Lord has continuously given us clear instructions through dreams and visions. Most of the dreams have been very fuzzy in their application. In other words, you need to understand how they apply to the situation you are facing. But also every time we listened to them and obeyed what they were instructing us to do, it turned out to be the most profitable part of our life.

A few days ago my daughter, Rocki Starr, had an epic dream that I want to share with you now.

“I was in a place where there was a large covering overhead. There were waterways constructed with cement. The multiple lanes with running water were rivers that were wide enough for one watercraft. In each lane there was a classic wooden water-sleigh with a motor in front. People vigorously came running towards the motorized water-sleighs that were in the multiple river lanes and jumped on. All of the watercraft were in a race.

“My dad, Misty, and several girls were in our raft ~ like the seven wise virgins. The watercraft were off and going, then the rivers opened up to a large open place with no lanes. I saw a Christian family pull up next to our raft, I waved ‘Hi!’ and a friend called out to ask me how I was doing. Before I could answer her, all of the cemented river-ways reappeared, but they all went in different directions ~ and our water-sleighs were pulled apart as we went down separate paths.

“Our river-way flowed through a large house, and my dad suggested that we all get out to rest and be refreshed. Everyone went into different rooms within the house to rest. Upon looking around the house, I realized that the owner could not be found, which left me with a creepy feeling. I told our group that it was time to leave the house because we were not supposed to be there.

“We found ourselves in a circular room with little windows, and the room swayed back and forth. I looked out of the window and came eye-to-eye with a huge towering mechanical doll which had a black eye. I realized that we were in the brain of another massive doll. We stood at the precipice of a long, slick steep hill. At the bottom of the hill was flat ground. An identical long, slippery steep hill was at the other side of the valley. 

“I could see three other huge mechanical dolls fighting on the other hill and they slid and fell into the valley below. The terrain made it too difficult to climb out of the valley once you fell into it. When I looked out of the little window in the doll’s head, I noticed that the doll with the big black eye didn’t like the way I looked at it. The doll swung at me and our doll fell down the hill a long ways. At this point I was saying to myself, ‘We should’ve stayed in the river. We shouldn’t have stopped in the house. Why didn’t we keep going?’”

Interpretation:

The multiple cemented river-ways were preordained pathways of God’s glory. And we were protected under the Lord’s covering. We could end up in different river pathways if we chose, but the rivers were all cemented, preordained, finished.

Now, sometimes people are bothered with the thought of the river being ‘planned.’ They think that the river will flow just any old way they want it to. So, when they step out of the river they think they are still in it because they think being in a river means ‘options.’ But, this is a deliberate, destined river. This river is headed for a lasting, eternal, and glorious destination ~ even in this life!

The seven wise virgins are the vigilant intercessors on Periscope who are faithful in prayer every day, keeping their lamps filled with oil. The Christian family, who we saw on the open waters, is the Church in San Francisco whom we miss. Calling the seven virgins to leave the house was the call to get back in the river, to stay in the river.

When we found ourselves in the head of the mechanical doll, which was like being in confinement, there was no way out. I was reminded of the Scripture that says, ‘You shall be the head, and not the tail; above only, and not beneath.’ Even though we are called to be the ‘head’ as we will be, we were a head and part of a religious organization that was in a war. I felt like the massive body of the doll was operated by the people of the organization. We were in the wrong place. Once we were a part of the religious war and fell into the valley, it was almost impossible to get out. The organizations were going to fight to the death. I feel like the Lord is giving a clear warning to stay away from the fighting organizations and stay in the river!

A dream that is this heavy you must be careful not to make quick conclusions about. Instead, meditate and pray so that we do His perfect will and stay in the center of the river of provision for our lives. I love you very much!

Sometimes we get so caught up in the deception displayed by the world. We forget how God’s judgement is absolutely pure, innocent, and just. 

When I first thought of calling God innocent, I felt a little scared; He is so mighty and powerful, does the word innocent even apply to Him at all? But after much prayer and contemplation, I realized that God can put things into a sea of forgetfulness. Once He forgives us, His complete demeanor towards us is innocent. Wow! What an amazing truth!

Let me go to the main subject, God’s final judgment ~ the decisions that He places upon our lives. Why was it so difficult for Abraham, King David, Joseph… And the list goes on and on. At the beginning of their lives (or ministries), they went through times of difficulty, more times of difficulty, and then difficulties on top of difficulty. You may be experiencing something similar and wondering, “When am I ever going to get to my place of rest?”

At the same time, we see people who have evil intentions and are doing their evil deeds, and God doesn’t seem to judge them until the end of their lives ~ when suddenly all the world crashes in upon them.

I contemplated this final judgement phenomenon for a long time in prayer. Yesterday, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Those that are righteous, I judge at the beginning of their walk in life. Joseph was judged by Potiphar’s wife, then by pharaoh’s prison, and afterwards he was blessed. David was judged by the sinning of King Saul. Abraham was judged by the passage of time, when his patience showed his faith, and then I blessed him with many sons.”

The Lord said to me, “I am purifying you now, I am purifying your church in San Francisco now, and I am cleansing the state of California. I am fixing and cleansing the city of San Francisco and it will become the holy city you saw in the visions and dreams that I gave you years ago!”

We can all be encouraged by these words. And don’t worry, none of us have to defend them. Time will show us the truth.¶¶¶

As I was praying today, I contemplated the statement, “When you wish upon a star”, made famous by a Disney movie. In the Bible, Jesus Christ is literally called, “the Bright and Morning Star”.

The key to understanding the power of this phrase is to remember that Jesus is the star we “wish” upon. Remember, the government is upon his shoulders, and we are told to cast our cares upon him. If we do what this phrase instructs us to do, we have a literally turned the entire process over to Jesus. This means he is A to Z, the Alpha and Omega. Every step of your dreams coming to pass is literally given to Jesus Christ.

Usually the greatest revelation is found in the simplest of statements. Jesus told his disciplines over and over during the last supper, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” As we rest and wait upon the Lord, listen for the “A”, which is the first step, and then wait for the “B”, which is the next step. This process goes on until we finally come to the “Z”, or the completion of everything. Over the last few years, I have settled everything that has come against my dreams with this one Word from the Bright and Morning Star himself, “You know I am classy. I will take care of everything so do absolutely nothing.”

A key unlocks something that is precious; one of the most precious keys that a congregation possesses is their pastor.

Let me first give you a disclaimer:I am a pastor myself. Years ago, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Richard, it is your fault that your family is not together and it is your fault that the city of San Francisco is not saved. If you will let Me fix your family, the whole city would come to Me.” God spoke these words to me when I was feeling very confident that my family was already in good order. Obviously, by the way the Lord spoke to me, this was not so. During the past decade, I have contemplated this word from the Lord almost daily, especially as I have traveled the world and have observed hundreds of congregations.

The scripture concerning this which constantly came to me was from First Timothy, “One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)” Every time I saw a healthy pastor with balanced, loving children, I saw a healthy and prosperous congregation.

I am not making a conclusion based a on congregation’s size or wealth, but simply based on the genuine love I felt from the families within the congregations when I met them. As a pastor, I want to see the city of San Francisco come to the Lord. God told me the key was my family.

This same key is actually more important for things I previously thought had no connection with the church  at all. Organizations such as companies, governments, and schools in a similar way have a familial structure. As the president, principal, or CEO goes, so goes the entire organization.

I was recently reading about the last days of Walt Disney, and was amazed to hear him talk about his regret of becoming addicted to cigarette smoking. The more I read, the more I saw that he was actually speaking about the Disney organization at large. Walt Disney’s regret was that the company was mirroring what he did, instead of what he had taught them to do.

I notice as a father and head of my family because I have embraced personal prayer and a love for God, my children embrace the very same things. Not things that I taught them to do, but things that I actually did.

Jesus’ teaching from the Message Bible in Matthew 7 says it all:

“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards. “When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this.

The greatest teacher in life is action. As we let Him, the Lord makes our families and our churches perfect.

Many times the source of a word that is spoken sets the stage for the heart of the hearer to be open and receive the word in fresh innocence. Love for the messenger that has spoken fertilizes words into a potential harvest of blessing.

My daughter Misty Dejavu Gazowsky went through an experience this year that has truly made her a handmaiden of the Lord. A few days ago, she had a dream, and told us, “I saw a Renaissance fresco with the face of a man whose outstretched arm and fingers were pointing toward a sunset. On the top of the painting was written, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’

Then I saw people who were completely bound and constricted up to their necks by twisted weeds and vines that wrapped around their bodies. Moses appeared before them with his staff and commanded, “Let my people go!”

Please pray about this dream; I believe it’s about you.

Pastor Richard

The ways of God are the treasure that unlocks the keys to His kingdom. God said, “They always go astray in their heart and they have not known My ways.” And remember that Isaiah said this about God’s way, “Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth…” 

Today, I want to talk to you about one way of God that is extremely obvious, but just as the proverbial elephant in the room, we so often ignore it. It is the complete fulfillment of patience: waiting on God’s perfect intervention that completes the situation at hand. Jesus put it this way, “By your patience possess your souls.” 

If you take a moment to dissect the words that Jesus spoke in this Scripture to our generation, patience is the glue that holds our souls together until we possess the very promises that God is giving us ~ physical, spiritual, and relational.  God-given treasure is the gold and silver that will last forever. Yes, it could even be a career, if that career is the one God has called you to, and you have the patience to reach it. Then it will be a complete flowering fulfillment that will be historical not only to you and to your children, but to succeeding generations. 

Patience has to do with timing. How do you think when you wait? Are you resting, or are you running (worrying) mentally? Is there pressure coming from things you feel are delaying you, that you missed, and maybe are even past their expiration? God tries every aspect of our thought process in the process of “patience possessing our souls”. This sophisticated process of God testing us brings us into internal cleansing and spiritual purity, especially in the intellectual process of our mind. 

I do not want my explanation to make it complicated. Think as a little child ~ if Daddy says, “Wait”, we wait!  

Just before my mother and founder of our church, Pastor Emeritus Marilyn Gazowsky passed away, the clouds of pending trouble were hanging above our ministry. In 2015, I woke up one morning and stood next to my bed.  The Lord said, “You know I am classy. I will take care of everything so do absolutely nothing.” These simple words have strengthened me in a way that is hard to comprehend, especially His first statement ~ “You know I am classy.”
Synonyms for “classy” include elegant, sharp, exclusive, and select. A man full of class is called a gentleman.  I have been studying the ways of God; they are higher than our ways. This eye-opening revelation keeps blooming like a flower with each new level of understanding of His ways ~ how every decision, method, and point of contact from God in our lives is always full of class.
Let me give you this incredible example of God’s classiness. Our church in San Francisco, A Place To Meet Jesus, has gone through a traumatic event~ the loss of our traditional place of worship. Yet God comforted every single person in our congregation, even the children, in a way that only He could do. One particular way God offered comfort during this time of testing was through the animated movie, “Sing”.
Consider a few of the coincidences within this movie. The production company that made the cartoon movie is named Illumination, and the name of our youth group is Illumination. The characters in the film are animals from every species imaginable, as every member of our church is just as diverse a population. The main character wears a bowtie ~ which has been a trademark of mine since before the film was produced. And there are many more!
When you watch the movie “Sing,” you can see how each character represents a person in our church. It’s stunning to see the similarities. The humor is enlightening, because it shows us how heaven sees our situation. The main storyline in the movie involves the loss of their theater, which is a poignant storyline in our church’s recent history. The movie has a happy ending, for the theater and its characters are restored and assembled under the marquee. All is well because it ends well.
Time and time again my family and I have watched this movie “Sing”, and we have laughed as we see new insights into this wonderful journey we are on. Which brings into remembrance the words of God’s prophet Timothy Snodgrass, to maintain a spirit of “goof”. God has a way of letting you know what’s going to happen. This is why the Scriptures say, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”
In some instances, God will not warn you when a negative “suddenly” occurs.  If God didn’t warn you first, the best thing you can do is to not respond to the fiery darts aimed at you. Instead, simply wait. God will speak about how to respond. Even when I have had to wait for two or three days for God to give me a response, His answer is full of class. Wow! His ways are so classy!