Dreaming With God - Co-Laboring With God Order Printed Copy
- Author: Bill Johnson
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About the Book
"Dreaming with God: Co-Laboring with God" by Bill Johnson explores how believers can partner with God to see His kingdom established on earth. Johnson emphasizes the importance of dreaming with God, stepping out in faith, and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and empower us in our everyday lives. Through practical insights and personal testimonies, Johnson encourages readers to embrace their role as co-laborers with God and engage in supernatural encounters to bring about transformation in their communities and spheres of influence.
Lecrae Moore
Lecrae Devaughn Moore, or simply Lecrae, is an American Christian rapper, songwriter, and record producer who performs both as a solo artist and as the leader of a group named â116 Cliqueâ. He had a troubled beginning in life but all that changed after he found his faith at 19. Heavily influenced by 2Pac Shakur, and motivated by his new found faith, he ventured into a musical career. He and his friend Ben Washer set up their own independent record label âReach Recordsâ and through it, he released his debut album âReal Talkâ in 2004. In the following years, he brought out six more studio albums, three mix tapes, and two EPs as a solo artist and three studio albums, one remix album, and one EP with his group. He has received six âGMA Dove Awardsâ, two Grammys, two âBET Awardsâ and more. Lecrae is very active in the community and in 2005, he established âReachLife Ministriesâ, the mission of which was to âbridge the gap between biblical truth and the urban contextâ. He is a vocal supporter of the preservation of responsibility and believes that fatherhood should be considered as a value to be installed among men in the United States. He has authored several op-ed articles on race relations in the modern-day America which were published by âBillboardâ.
Childhood & Early Life
Lecrae Devaughn Moore was born on October 9, 1979, in Houston, Texas, USA. His father had always been absent from his life and later became a drug addict. He was raised by his poor but hardworking mother and grandmother. He attended services with them at their local church but the initial response to religion was indifferent at best. Growing up, he lived in San Diego, Denver, and Dallas.
He suffered sexual molestation at the hands of a female baby sitter when he was eight, and according to Lecrae, it left a long-term negative impact on his views on sexuality. In a life full of abuse and violence, hip hop provided him with a refuge.
Besides 2Pac who he admired for his rapping skills, he also looked up to his uncle who introduced him to a life of crime. He began doing drugs at 16 and soon started dealing as well. He kept a Bible with him that his grandmother had given him as a good luck charm.
The turning point in his life came when he was arrested for drug possession. The officer let him go upon Lecraeâs promising that he would read and follow the Bible. He thus started visiting the church again. Upon an invitation from a friend, he also started attending Bible studies.
He was once involved in an accident where he wrecked his car but he himself came out unscathed. This incident further strengthened his belief in Christ and he devoted his life fully to his faith. He returned to his college, the âUniversity of North Texasâ and volunteered and sang at a juvenile detention centre.
Career
Six years after his conversion, Lecrae Moore released the album âReal Talkâ (2004) through âReach Recordsâ, a label he had founded with his friend Ben Washer. It reached #29 spot on the âBillboard Gospel Albumâ chart after being re-released in 2005 by âCross Movement Recordsâ.
In 2005, he formed â116 Cliqueâ with other artists who had signed with âReach Recordsâ. The group owes its name to the Bible Verse âRomans 1:16â. They debuted with âThe Compilation Albumâ in the same year. They have since released three more albums, âThe Compilation Album: Chopped & Screwedâ (remix, 2006), â13 Lettersâ (2007), and âMan Upâ (2011), and one EP, âAmpedâ (2007).
He was nominated for a âStellar Awardâ for the âRap/Hip-Hop/Gospel CD of the Yearâ for his second solo album âAfter the Music Stopsâ (2006). In 2008, he put out his third studio album âRebelâ.
In his fourth studio album, âRehabâ (2010), Lecrae talks about freedom from inhibiting addictions and habits. Both Lecrae and his album received accolades in the 2010 âRapzilla.com staff picksâ, being hailed as the âArtist of the Yearâ and the âAlbum of the Yearâ, respectively.
His fifth studio album, âRehab: The Overdoseâ (2011) was a direct follow-up to âRehabâ, both being highly conceptual works. While âRehabâ was about the victory over addiction, âRehab: The Overdoseâ focused on attaining "grace, love, peace and hope" in Jesus. He won his first two Doves because of this album, one for the âRap/Hip Hop Album of the Yearâ and the other for the âRap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Yearâ for the track, âHallelujahâ.
âGravityâ, released on September 4, 2012, was his sixth studio album and had 15 songs with a total runtime of 57 minutes. It peaked on the âRap Albumsâ, âChristian Albumsâ, âGospel Albumsâ, and âIndependent Albumsâ charts.
Lecrae released his first mixtape âChurch Clothesâ on May 10, 2012, through digital download for free. It was followed by âChurch Clothes 2â (November 7, 2013), and âChurch Clothes 3â (January 15, 2016). He has also released two Extended Plays till date, the EP version of âChurch Clothesâ, and âGravity: The Remix EPâ, both released in 2012.
He has collaborated with the likes of Trip Lee, Tedashii, Canon, Mali Music, and Ty Dolla Sign. âColumbia Recordsâ signed him in May 2016, in a contract between them and his label. His most recent work, a track named âHammer Timeâ, which is a collaborative effort with 1k Phew, was released on June 23, 2017.
On May 3, 2016, he published his memoir titled âUnashamedâ through âBroadman & Holman Publishersâ. It debuted at #19 spot on the âNew York Times Best Sellersâ list.
Philanthropic Works
In 2011, Lecrae, through â116 Cliqueâ and the âReachLife Ministriesâ, instigated the campaign âMan Upâ, focused on providing guidance to young urban males on fatherhood and Biblical manhood. In March 2015, ReachLife was deactivated and â116 Cliqueâ shifted its attention to contribute to âPeace Preparatory Academyâ, a Christian school in Atlanta.
In May 2013, he worked alongside several other celebrities on a media initiative named âThis is Fatherhoodâ. Jay Z, Barack Obama, Joshua DuBois, Lecrae himself, and others have appeared in the initiativeâs promotional public service announcement videos.
Major Works
In a career marked by successful artistic ventures and awards, Lecraeâs greatest musical achievement is unarguably his seventh and the latest studio album âAnomalyâ, released on September 9, 2014. It was the first album in history to debut at #1 on both âBillboard 200â and âTop Gospel Albumsâ charts. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA.
Awards & Achievements
Lecrae Moore received a Grammy in 2013 for the âBest Gospel Albumâ for his sixth studio album âGravityâ. He won his second Grammy in 2015 for the âBest Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Songâ for the track âMessengersâ which also featured the Christian pop band âFor King & Countryâ.
He was named the best gospel artist at the â2015 BET Awardsâ. In 2017, he was the recipient of the âBET Best Gospel/ Inspirational Awardâ for the song âCanât Stop Me Now (Destination)â.
On March 14, 2016, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate from âCanada Christian Collegeâ.
Personal Life & Legacy
Lecrae Moore met his wife Darragh at a Bible study when they were both teenagers. They have three children together, two sons and a daughter. The family resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 2002, he was informed by his then girlfriend that she was pregnant with his child. The couple had an abortion, a decision which he has regretted since. The incident was the subject of the song âGood, Bad, Uglyâ from âAnomalyâ.
Trivia
Lecrae portrayed the character Dr. Darnall Malmquist in the 2014 independent film âBelieve Meâ.
We Wish to See Jesus
âSir, we wish to see Jesus.â Little did they know how well they spoke â not only for themselves, but for the whole human race. John 12:20 reports that âsome Greeksâ had come to worship in Jerusalem for that fateful Passover leading up to Jesusâs crucifixion. They approached his disciple Philip, who told another disciple, Andrew. Together, the two came to their Master with the request of the Greeks âto see Jesusâ â to which Jesus gave this spectacularly unexpected response: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. That was not the answer they were expecting â the disciples or the Greeks. But their wish to see Jesus was not rejected but redirected. It was an admirable wish, profoundly so â and if they remain in Jerusalem for the week, they will soon see the most important sight of him, crushing as it at first will be. His time has come to be âglorifiedâ â which will not mean leading a charge to overthrow Rome and seize the crown, but laying down his life. Like a grain of wheat, he will not bear much fruit unless he first dies. These Greeks will indeed see him, and glimpse a sight far greater than they could have anticipated or imagined â far more horrible, and far more wonderful. They will witness the depths of his humiliation that will prove to be the very height of the glory of the one who truly is Davidâs long-promised heir to the throne, as shocking and unexpected as it will be. And as they see him â in his divine and human excellencies, united in one person, and culminating in the cross and its aftermath â they will have all they wished and more in the request they made expressing the deepest longing of every human heart. Infinite Abyss Famously, Blaise Pascal wrote in his Pensees of âthe infinite abyssâ in the human soul that we try to fill with all the wonders and the worst this world has to offer. There was once in man a true happiness of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present. But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself. So also the great Augustine, more than twelve centuries before Pascal, had spoken of the great, undeniable restlessness of the human heart, until finding its rest in God: âYou have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.â Moses, seeking to leverage Godâs remarkable favor on him, was so bold as to ask to see Godâs glory. God permitted him a glimpse of the afterglow of divine beauty, not his face, and Moses made no complaints. Yet redemptive history was not done at Sinai. Centuries would follow. The kingdom would be established in the land, and decline. Human kings would rise and fall, and the nation with them. And the same Gospel in which the Greeks expressed their wish to see Jesus opens with one of the most stunning claims possible: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. The desire to see Jesus was far more profound than these Greeks could have guessed. They wished for amazement in the presence of someone great. And what they got instead anticipated the heavenly vision the apostle John would receive while in exile on the isle of Patmos. Behold the Lion In Johnâs vision, none in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, is at first found worthy to open the scroll of Godâs divine decrees of judgment (for his enemies) and salvation (for his people). Sensing the weight and importance of the moment, John begins to weep â perhaps even wondering if his Lord, the one who discipled him, the one to whom heâs dedicated his life as a witness, is not worthy. One of heavenâs elders then turns to him, and declares, in Revelation 5:5, Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. Having heard the good news, John turns to look â and what does he see? Not a lion. He says in verse 6: I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes . . . . We might mistakenly assume this was a disappointment, that John, hearing âLion,â experienced some letdown to see a Lamb. But that is not how John reports it. This Lamb is no loss. The Lamb is gain. The one who was just declared to be the only one worthy is no less the Lion of Judah. He is also the Lamb who was slain. The Lion became Lamb without ceasing to be Lion. He did not jettison his lionlike glories, but added to his greatness the excellences of the Lamb. He is a Lamb standing â not dead, not slumped over, not kneeling, but alive and ready â with fullness of power (âseven hornsâ), seeing and reigning over all (âand seven eyesâ). So too for the Greeks in John 12 who wished to take counsel with the purported Messiah and Lion of Judah. Whatever disappointment they experienced in the moment in not having their immediate request fulfilled, and whatever devastations they endured on Good Friday as they watched in horror, it all changed on the third day. Then their wish, and perceptive inquiry, was answered beyond their greatest dreams â not just Messiah, but God himself, the very Lion of heaven. And not just divine, but the added lamblike glory of our own human flesh and blood, and that same blood spilled to not only show us glory but invite us into it â Jew and Gentile, Greek and Barbarian. Looking to Jesus Plain as it may seem, the author of Hebrews provides profound direction for the human soul when he says, simply, âConsider Jesusâ. This is not a one-time exhortation, but continuous counsel, for every day and at any moment. And again, at the height of his letter, drawing attention to the great cloud of witnesses, Hebrews charges us to âlay aside every weight and sinâ and ârun with endurance the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faithâ (Hebrews 12:2). There is unmatched power in the Christward gaze. As Jesus himself would soon say, in John 14:9, to the same Philip who relayed the Greeksâ request: âWhoever has seen me has seen the Father.â Paul too, in one blessed flourish in 2 Corinthians 4, would celebrate, and commend, the unsurpassed glory of the Christward gaze: âbeholding the glory of the Lord [we] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.â Unbelieving eyes have been blinded to âthe light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,â but we, by the mercy of God, have eyes of the heart opened to âthe light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.â We might here speak of the manifest Christocentrism of the New Testament, and a kind of healthy asymmetrical trinitarianism in the Christian faith â âcontemplating the Trinity through a christological lens,â as Dane Ortlund writes, âand Christ through a trinitarian lens.â We wish to see Jesus. He is the interpretative key to the Bible, the pinnacle of history, and central in Christian preaching, evangelism, and sanctification, and so we fix our eyes on him. Biblical trinitarianism doesnât constrain us to symmetrically parcel out our attention and focus to each of the three divine Persons, according to modern notions of fairness, balance, and equality. The New Testament is far from âfairâ in this way. Rather, as humans ourselves, we receive a peculiar centrality of the God-man, as the one Person of the Godhead who has drawn near in our own flesh, taking our own nature, to no diminishing of the Father or Spirit, but precisely according to their plan and work to direct attention to Jesus. âSir, we wish to see Jesusâ would be a happy refrain to echo at key junctures in the Christian life. Before morning Bible meditation: âI wish to see Jesus.â Before conversations with the unbelieving: âI wish them to see Jesus.â For pastors, preparing to preach, to imagine these words on the lips of our people: âSir, we wish to see Jesus.â Made for Him We were indeed made for God â with an infinite abyss only he can fill, with a restlessness of soul satisfied in nothing less than him. And even more particularly, we were made for the God-man â for the greatness of God himself who draws near, in our own flesh and circumstances, in the person of Christ. The lionlike greatness of God in his divine glory is sweetened, deepened, and accented by his lamblike nearness and human excellencies. And his glories as the humble, meek, self-giving Lamb are enriched and magnified in the register of lionlike poise and majesty. We wish to see Jesus â to know him as both great and near, and enjoy him forever. Article by David Mathis Executive Editor, desiringGod.org