Grandma’s House Had No Basement

13 Feb Grandma’s House Had No Basement

Recently while in a dream, I was back again at grandma’s house on Rio in Long Beach, California.  As the dream developed, I was standing in the kitchen next to the hallway when I heard a noise in the basement.  Suddenly everyone was on alert, wondering what the noise was.

Eventually I was elected to go to the basement and find out what was making all the racket.  I remembered my Rottweiler, Timmy (we called him that because he intimidated everyone he met). I called him, and sent him down the stairs ahead of me.

The first room at the bottom of the stairs was filled with common “basement stuff”: old boxes, broken furniture, a rack of jars of fruit that grandma had canned.  And hanging in the middle of the room was a lone, dim light bulb.

As I descended the stairs, Timmy was already searching out the intruder.  In my mind, I could see every room in grandma’s basement.  I had been there so often that I knew it like the back of my hand.  “Where could the noise be coming from,” I thought as I followed Timmy behind a rack of canning jars.  Before I knew what happened Timmy had rousted out the intruder.  We were back upstairs and the dream was over!

While meditating on the dream sometime the next day, and asking the Lord what it might have meant, it suddenly dawned on me.  Grandma didn’t have a basement in her house.  Whoa!  Now that’s strange, I thought.  Why could I see every room in that basement and everything seemed so familiar?

Then I remembered.  I have been in that same basement many times in the past few months.  Sometimes in a school, a church, or perhaps a house that I was visiting.  There, I would be in this same basement.  The rooms of this basement are all connected together.  At the school there was a huge shower and locker room.  At the church there was a large dining hall where fellowship could take place.  And at the house there was a workshop or storage room.

But they were all the same basement at each place, and all of these various rooms were connected together.  So, of course I began to ask the Lord what this all meant?  Why do I keep returning to this same basement?  And, why the different rooms?

Often when there is a repetitive dream, it is the Spirit’s way of getting your attention to a message that God is trying to get through to you; or perhaps an answer that you have been asking for.  Yet for some reason, you are unable to hear.

Basements?  Rooms?  Different places, yet the same?  Then it began to come to me.  Basements are hidden places; below the sight of those outside of the house.  Basements are also places that treasures can be stored, kept safe until needed.  Basements are a place of security.  When a storm is approaching, such as a tornado, we can run to the basement and find safety.

Basements are also an intricate part of the foundational system of the larger house.  These huge concrete walls and strong pillars hold up the entire house and also form the basement.

When speaking of the new C.E.O. of the company, they say that he started in the basement and worked his way to the top.  In other words, he started at the beginning.

So then, basements are:  a beginning place, a foundation, a place of safety, and somewhere to find your treasures.  So what is God saying to my spirit in my dreams?  There are hidden treasures for me that I can’t see or enjoy until I get into the house.  Mysteries yet to be revealed; hidden just below the surface, waiting to be discovered.

Paul refers to some giftings in the body of Christ that are more presentable, or recognizable to public view.  However, other gifts, even though more important, are hidden from public view.  He is instructing us to understand that this is the way God operates His church.

So without the basement, i.e. the place of foundational strength where treasures are stored and secured.  It’s a beginning point.  Without it there would be no strength to the house; there would be no place for the family to enjoy their treasures.

At the great Reinhard Bonnke’s Fire Conference that I attended in Africa, I heard a native African speak one day about his ministry.  He was an old man who had lived in the bush all his life.  I don’t even remember his name and couldn’t tell you much about him except for the fact that he had raised 35 people from the dead. Now, that’s what I call a basement ministry.  A treasure, hidden from the eyes of the world, yet so very vital to the ongoing life and development of the church in Africa.

The stories of basement ministries are unending.  And unfortunately, most of them are unknown. So hidden that we never hear about them; nor do we know or understand their importance to the life of freedom that we may be enjoying.

Take for instance, the story of Father Nash, a great intercessor whose impact and importance to the body of Christ was hidden in a life of prayer.  Yet, his basement ministry of prayer and intercession was accredited to be the key of the great revivals that Charles Finney brought to the American cities.

Father Nash would go into a town weeks in advance of a planned meeting that Finney was about to conduct.  In a hidden room somewhere in the city, he would wrestle in prayer with the spirits of that city until victory was won.

The support team (those who hold up the arms of the leader who is doing the work of the Lord) are the real heroes of the kingdom of God.  Where would our great voices be without the “basement ministries” supporting them, and helping them reach their vision.

Christian television has its well known and popular faces.  Yet, not one of them would be on television without the help of the least important man or woman in the studio.  Everyone from the maintenance man to the fellow throwing switches and fixing wires in the back room.  All of these “basement ministries” make it possible for God’s great and well known generals to lead the body of Christ into victory.

You may feel hidden and at times unappreciated.  “What’s the use? you say.”  “Who cares, who notices?”  God does.  He keeps the record straight.  He knows who really makes the kingdom tick.  And, believe me, those who work in secret He knows how to reward openly.  (Mt. 6:6)

“Basement ministries”, be encouraged!  Remember Who you’re working for.  Not everyone’s the captain; but without the engineer and the man who puts coal in the boiler, the old ship isn’t leaving the dock!

I’m proud to be a part of the basement ministry of God’s kingdom.  I’m satisfied, knowing that as long as I please the Master, my rewards will be continual and eternal.

We may be hidden for a season.  It may look like the parade is passing us by, or no one seems to notice all the work we are doing.  Yet, God never forgets one effort, one prayer, one gift, or sacrifice that is done in faith and obedience.

Basement Lovers Unite!

Apostle George Watkins

Cool & Secure, Ltd.