The Infant Receives Her Miracle
I dreamed of an infant that had a large head but a tiny, legless body. I was feeding her milk, but I knew it was time to give her solid food. As I got her some food, she began to move, and instantly a pair of legs shot out from her torso! She was propelled upward and immediately she began to walk. I watched this creative miracle unfold before my eyes, not realizing that I was in a dream.
Suddenly, in my dream, I saw a businessman in NYC who was a non-believer. He had heard about the miracle, and I watched him as he called another non-believer on the West Coast. The call sparked a wide spread of the news, lighting up the airwaves at a rapid pace. The world was hit with shock and filled with questions about the miracle.
Then I saw a huge field with no beginning or end. I knew that many people would be coming here to satisfy their great spiritual yearning. I watched as the field's parking lot was being prepared for the many buses that would transport the masses. My dream ended.
The Mystery Revealed
I awoke amazed, but felt completely incapable of interpreting such a dream. Who was the mystery baby, and what about the field? I turned to my Bible and began to read in Corinthians, not expecting the answers to come in that moment, but it was there that the Spirit of the Lord began to show me the meaning of the dream and things that concerned His Church and His heart toward His Bride. The interpretation of the dream was right there in 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
In this chapter, Paul explains to the Corinthian church that they are like infants feeding on milk. He encourages them to mature in their thinking so that they can be ready for solid food. After expounding to them what the solid food is, he calls them "God's field."
"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building." (1 Corinthians 3:9)
The infant in my dream represents Christ's Bride who still needs to grow into maturity. In my dream, when she eagerly pursued the solid food, she experienced her miracle, which stunned the world; her coming-of-age miracle drew mass revival. We, the Church, are God's field, and we are being built and prepared to receive masses of new disciples.
What About the Solid Food?
The Corinthians were identifying with their leaders in unhealthy ways. Paul explained that they were acting as "mere men" (see 1 Corinthians 3:3), because their perspective of themselves and their leaders was based on worldly wisdom, which was holding them back from maturity. Instead of basing their identity on being new creations, they were viewing themselves and their leaders as "mere men." They actually found their identity in their leaders, comparing and exalting one above the other. Their identity had moved from being in Christ to being in certain leaders or ministries.
"...For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere human beings?" (1 Corinthians 3:3-4) (Photo via Pixabay)
Here, Paul describes the comparing of ministries/leadership as a form of jealousy and quarreling. Jealousy can manifest by lifting one up and putting another down, and quarreling over differences. Paul is appealing to the infant Bride to stop comparing, and to view themselves and their leaders through the lens of the Spirit.
From God as King to Human Kings
It is an immature way of seeing God's Kingdom when we become needy for certain leaders and over-identify with them in a way that makes us feel complete. It is the spirit of this age, and it can become addictive, ruling our lives and informing our decisions.
This mindset is similar to the attitude that Israel had toward the pagan kings. When the Israelites were first exposed to the kings of the world, they were mesmerized by the pomp and glory of the kingdoms. They saw how the pagan nations lived, identifying with their leaders as if they were gods. The Israelites' appetites were stirred with this wisdom from pagan nations, and they no longer wanted to be led by the prophets. They too wanted a human king and figurehead to place their pride and security in. They asked God for a king, and although God knew that human kings would take advantage of His people, He gave them the desire of their hearts (see 1 Samuel 8).
There is nothing wrong with human kings, but we are from another Kingdom with one King. Of course, we still need national leaders, but this article is not about politics; it is about Kingdom government established by God within His Bride.
Entitlement vs. Honor
Once the Church of Christ was born, God became the King of His people again. He gave the gift of many various ministries to help us to grow and mature. There are many ministries, because each fulfill different functions; but none of them are perfect, since they are carried in jars of clay.
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)
Worldly wisdom personifies entitlement. It urges us to find fault with ministries and assignments that we don't understand. Subtle boasting and pride are always at its root, as it seeks to divide and weaken Christ's Body.
When we pattern our thinking about Kingdom government after the pattern of worldly culture, two things can happen simultaneously: 1) we can actually give too much allegiance to one leader or ministry and 2) we can pull a part another leader or ministry, when both are workers in His vineyard.
One Plants, Another Waters
God uses combinations of ministries to plant and nurture His people. The one who plants is very different from the one who waters and nourishes, but God sees the wisdom in having both of them. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
"...neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor." (1 Corinthians 3:7-8)
When our eyes see from a spiritual perspective, we no longer tear one apart and cling to the other; instead we see Christ in each ministry. We can honor all without having to be under all—or even agree with all—but seeing Christ in each other is our commandment.
"By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
Unity in Ministries
We can sometimes criticize and compare God-breathed ministries, simply because we do not understand their value, resulting in the stunted growth of the Bride. We can place too much importance on one kind of ministry and omit another whose strengths we are actually lacking in. Paul considered this issue to be of great importance, because it prevented the Bride from coming into her maturity.
In my dream, the baby who only drank milk was stunted, but as soon as solid food was introduced, she received her miracle, and the world instantly was astounded at the revealing of the glorious Church. "The field" is the corporate Bride being prepared for the great harvest, and the masses will come to her light when she rises and shines in her mature state.
How to View Leaders, Ministries and One Another
Paul and Apollos were simply obeying God in their assignments. They were not gods or perfect beings, but recreated sons and daughters of God, walking out what God had asked them to do in His field in their own unique way. Though we live in the culture of the world, we must not identify with our church or ministry leaders the way the world identifies with their icons. All leaders will and do make mistakes. If we shut our brains off and lord up a leader or ministry in our hearts, we can miss the voice of God. At the same time, we can also be placing undue expectations on leaders to perform in ways they were never called to.
The culture of the Kingdom is not only formed by those called to lead, but by the entire Body of Christ. We are all responsible for the condition of the Church in our generation. We are instructed to give our leaders double honor (see 1 Timothy 5:17), while still keeping God as the Lord of our lives.
God Is Opening Our Eyes – We Are One!
Because the church in Corinth saw themselves as mere men, they viewed others as mere men too. But the reality is, once we are born of the Spirit, we are reborn as supernatural children of God, who are already seated with Christ in heavenly places.
God is opening our eyes to see ourselves and one another in the fear of God. We are no longer mere men! Now we can view ourselves and each other as sons, and we can see the ones who lead and serve us as brothers and sisters who are gifted by God to help us in our journey with Christ. We are all one!
True unity of the Bride doesn't happen through unity gatherings or doctrinal agreement, but through simply discerning Christ in fellow Believers and respecting one another as co-heirs.
The leaders who serve the Body belong to and benefit all of us. After all, there is a ripple effect in the Kingdom—since we are one. We know Christ inside of us, but we also must recognize Christ in each another, and as we do, the "nutrition" that has been locked up in certain parts of the Body will flow freely from one part to another. Suddenly we will mature quickly and our legs will grow. We will see the masses come to us and the glory of the Lord cover the earth in ways never seen before. (Photo via Piqsels)
You Are More Powerful Than You Know
"So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours...and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." (1 Corinthians 3:21-22)
We are more powerful than we understand. All things belong to us, and we don't have to crave things that are already ours. All of the leaders belong to us personally, so does all of life—both the future and the past. It is all ours. We can leave behind the poverty mindset of the world and step into our limitless mandate to be the glorious Bride of Christ, because we are of Christ and in Christ!
The Final Dream
I received the dream of the baby in 2020, but knew it was not time to release it. A few weeks ago, I felt the time had come and asked the Lord to confirm it. I dreamed again; this time I was in a café with a leader friend from a completely different stream than mine. We began to talk about things pertaining to the Church and differed over something unknown to me in the dream. He separated from me and left the café.
Right there in the café, my eyes were drawn to a group of tiny, precious Muslim children. Their leaders instructed them to worship and they obliged immediately. I saw their tiny, little bodies huddled together, bowing before a false god. My heart broke as the Spirit spoke to me right there in my dream about the depths of need in the world, and for His desire to see His Bride put aside their small disagreements and find oneness in His heart for the lost.
After this, I walked out of the café and found my friend sitting at a table. I told him what was happening in the coffee shop and that we did not have to agree, but we needed to be friends. My dream ended.
Jesus said that He would no longer call us servants but friends when we follow Him and know what He is doing—not simply out of obedience, but with the fullness of our will and desire. He is asking us to let go of our petty jots and tittles that we hold on to so vehemently and embrace each other, becoming one.
"You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:14-15)
A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, and it is our season to stand, but we cannot stand without receiving our legs. We need them so that we can walk forward as the glorious field of God, ready for the great harvest to come to us, for they are crying out for the sons of God to be revealed (see Romans 8:19).
"By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
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Mandy Adendorff
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Website:Â www.mandyadendorff.com
Mandy Adendorff is a visual artist, author, prophet and founder of Firehouse Supernatural Schools. The trajectory of her life was dramatically altered when she had an encounter with Jeshua Messiah at the age of fifteen. Being an orthodox Jew, Mandy kept her faith a secret until receiving the courage to share her faith with her family. She has not stopped preaching and demonstrating the good news of the kingdom at home and abroad for over thirty years. In 1998 Mandy, her husband Stuart and their two daughters immigrated from South Africa to Connecticut where they lead in business and ministry.
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Mandy Adendorff is incredible! Not only is she a gifted and anointed artist, but she carries a powerful grace of the Holy Spirit to bring people into encounters and a deeper intimacy with Jesus Christ.
