197
A VISION OF DISCIPLESHIP
The Golden Sandals
by Trond Standnes
During the night of 21 November 1995 I dreamed the following dream. I found myself walking between some sand-dunes. Here and there were tufts of grass. I was in a hot country. The sky was blue and the sun shone. I wandered on the sands together with a handful of friends. They were my fellow-believers in Christ.
We went to wait for an angel from heaven who was going to deliver something to us. At once the angel came. Around his head he had something that looked a bit like a headband or crown that seemed to be made of gold. The angel moved very quickly and left as soon as he had deposited a pair of sandals in the sand.
The sandals were made of gold but were soft at the same time. We knew at these sandals were for me and we went over to them. When I put them on my friends stood around me held me, because no sooner had the sandals touched my feet than I felt as though my life would come to an end -- that I had no longer had any control over it. My life was offered there and then, even though I didn't die. I had a terrible fear of death.
My friends knew how I was feeling, and they stood around me to give me support and love. I knew that the sandals were to be used to announce the good news of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. I knew then that many would try to take my life because I was a disciple of Jesus, and that this discipleship would require my life in order to serve Him.
Afterwards I was taken to a room. It was very dark in there, and the floor was surrounded by platforms along the edges. On the crowded benches sat adult people and shouted at me angrily. It was a chaotic assembly and I did not feel very safe.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came over me and I talked directly to them on conversion to Jesus Christ. They kept silent, and I spoke with authority and with simple words, and the words had power in them. The people on the platform were seated and pondered on what I had said. Thereafter I left the room and the silent assembly.
Translated from the Norwegian
Historical Footnote
Several years ago at a General Conference in Lønstrup, Denmark (1991), Brother Standnes was told prophetically, whilst hands were laid upon him by the then Presiding Patriarch of the Church, that he would one day serve as an apostle of the Lord. In the vision that accompanied this prophetic utterance, he was seen ministering to the people of Zambia. After a period of inactivity immediately before and after the tragic death of his wife from cancer, he returned briefly to the Covenant before again slipping away into inactivity. He is the former pastor of the Bergen, Norway congregation. He has remarried, is the father of four young children and works in a data consultancy firm.
This page was created on 1 June 1998
Last updated on 1 June 1998
Copyright © 1987-2007 NCCG - All Rights Reserved