The Vineyard Church

As I looked out the window of my house at the frozen, snow-covered earth I wondered about what we would be facing in this New Year. I began to ask the Lord what 2009 will look like and how it will be different from the previous hard season we have just gone through of economic crisis and the various trials we had all faced over the course of the last year. The Lord gave me a word of hope, speaking to me the way he does using numbers and metaphors. He said it was a word for this year, the year of the “nine sequence.” He even gave my daughter Emily a dream about the number nine. I think it is a great challenge to consider for this new season we are in.

In Emily’s dream, the Lord said that the number nine could change any number creating a reversal. Mathematically this is true. If you add 12 to the number nine, you get 21. The number 21 is the reverse of 12. This is an endless sequence using the number nine. He spoke to me about the fact that nine is a number that can be doubled and coupled. This is also mathematically true. If you multiply nine by any number, the product of those numbers adds up to nine. For example, 2 x 9= 18, and 1+8=9. No matter what you multiply by nine; you get a number that adds up to nine. I find that amazing! God began to share with me that this will be the year of things reversing in people’s lives and that there will be things that will multiply bringing double portions, restoration and alignment for those who have gone through many hard times. I found this to be a great word of hope for us in 2009.

As you reflect over the passages in Matthew 15-16 and Acts 22-24, you can see how God’s hand works to restore the lives of many in various situations. He does this in us as we undergo a reversal in our hearts. As it says in Matthew 15:8, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” He was speaking of those who did not have a personal experience with the Lord, but had simply followed traditions and cultural philosophies of the day. From Matthew 15-16, we see many scenarios of those who followed their own understanding and traditions and those who really understood who Christ was, like the woman who had the sick child. I believe the Lord was challenging her understanding of His nature as she sought His compassion for her life. She spoke from the heart, and Jesus answers her in Matthew15:28 by saying, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Throughout these passages we see how the Lord restores, multiplies and gives double portions. As Jesus multiplies bread, He begins to speak to His disciples about developing a clear understanding of His nature, letting go of traditions and culture to grasp who He is and what He is doing. Jesus warns His disciples of “the yeast of the Pharisees,” playing off the metaphor of false teaching that did not convey the truth of the kingdom. Jesus is constantly trying to convey to His people that it is through the eyes of our hearts that we come to understand who He is and His purpose for our lives.

As we turn to the passages in Acts, we see the life of a man who has a real “reversal” of who he is and see what he comes to understand through a heartfelt experience with the Lord. Paul asks two questions we all must ponder in Acts 22:8,10: " 'Who are you, Lord?' and "'What shall I do, Lord?" At that moment, all Paul’s traditions, teachings and culture took a 180 degree turn as he experienced first hand the Lord in His life. As you read through these passages, you see how the Lord transforms Paul and puts his feet on a new path. Even through all the trials, persecution and testing, the Lord reveals His nature to Paul, restoring and aligning his life with the purposes and plans He has for him.

No matter what you’ve been through in the past, remember this is the year of the “nine sequence.” As we go into this new year with all its challenges, let us hold onto the hope of the reversal of those things that have held us back and of the double portions He wants to give as we draw near to Him. As you look out the window of your house and wonder what lies ahead, begin to seek Jesus with your whole heart to understand His nature and experience the blessings He has for you this year. May He give you a double portion!

Rebecca Holihan