My parents became Christians at the end of the Jesus Revival. Both my parents were Catholics who became Christian. Our new church was “My Friend’s House Christian Church” (Pentecostal/Assembly of God). Our church verse was Proverbs 18:24 ” . . . but there is a friend who is closer than a brother.”
As a child I remember hearing the Lord’s call. I remember hearing the pastor call up front those who wanted to receive the Holy Baptism. As a child I was very quiet and I remember the struggle in my heart to be bold and step forward. I waited, turned to my dad and told him, “Jesus is calling me and I have to go.”
As a child I would talk to Jesus like a friend. I would ask him questions and he would answer me back. I also remember as a child looking at people and I would know things about them. I would see things in their eyes. I remember as a young girl dreaming. One night I dreamt of a tornado swallowing up my family. Shortly after my family stopped going to church. Everything we believed changed. Our home was out of order and a lot of things came in our home that should not have.
My dreams were always nightmares – I would see demons. My moods would change according to where I was or with whom I was. Life seemed hard. I did not have any peace or victory. I struggled in my heart: I experienced the love of Jesus, but I also experienced abuse of power and bad character.
Years passed and in 2000 I received a vision of an Angel. He had a message for me from God. At this time I was in complete rebellion to the Lord. His message was that “God loves me”. At the time I did not want to go back to church. I knew returning to the Lord meant I would have to surrender. I eventually returned to church in 2003.
In 2005 a man from England was visiting my church. I heard the Lord tell me this man had a message for me. There was one empty seat left by this man on Thursday evening. I sat down, turned to him and told him to go ahead and give me the message. He did and my life unraveled shortly after. Three years later I met another man with a revelatory gift. I recognized something different about him.
In 2012 I went for prayer at Ventura Healing Rooms. The woman praying for me was prophetic. She invited me to pray with her. She was excited about my gifts. I had been so used to keeping what I know private. I was shocked at her interest and acceptance. They gave me language to describe how I do life such as prophetic, prophecy, “seeing,” and navigating etc. They taught me about identity and destiny.
In 2015 the Lord called me to Bethel: more language, more people – just more. My journey is still moving ahead.
By Sheryl Sena
blog.bethelprophetic.com 
November 15, 2017 at 5:36 am
Yes I have that seeing gift too and always felt I didn’t fit in with the churches I went to and kept my gift to myself. I would see into the spirit realm and also get lots of dreams which I write down and still trying to figure out what they mean. I am taking John Paul’s class “Understanding Dream and Visions” I am getting bits and pieces but not anything prophetic or put together that makes sense. Any help would be appreciated. I live in suburb of Sacramento County.
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November 16, 2017 at 6:33 am
Hi Debra,
Thank you for reaching out. I want to encourage you to stay in hope – BIG HOPE. The Lord has a plan for you life- a wonderful beautiful plan. A very wise woman told me to remember that “God is good”- He made us for love. I know for me being accepted after so many years of keeping things hidden -gave me freedom. A freedom to grow in who I am, to grow in grace & love and to grow in my gifts. Even if you are only getting bits and pieces – keep listening and investing time in the class with John Paul Jackson. Also, I want to encourage you to continue to reach out to different churches until you find one that you feel is a good fit. I know Bethel has a sister church out in Sacramento “Jesus Culture Church”. You may also want to visit some other ministries such as; “The Healing Rooms” and/or “International House of Prayer” in your area. Keep seeking a prophetic community/community. Community helps us grow in our identity. (James 1:5) -tells us to ask God for wisdom and it will be given to us. It sounds like you are already seeking wisdom. I believe the Lord will continue to help you piece together more of the puzzle pieces.
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December 13, 2017 at 8:31 pm
I am still trying to believe God for this gift He has given me. Yet I feel I still haven’t broken through. I decided to branch out to the unknown. and joined a women’s group in JC and these women are really needing acceptance with things they have never opened up to others about. They seem to feel accepted afterward with the encouragement they get. But their problems stem from a lack of forgiveness, not understanding the reason for the season they are in, of course opening one self in front of those you don’t know is in of itself a break through. Most of these testimonies are about their child hood and getting beatings, being used by parents to get them money, and much more monstrosities. I do feel accepted yet because I can’t stay to minister to the person sharing due to having the work the next day this hasn’t been very rewarding to see how others encourage and pick up on things about the person sharing. Such an awesome group of women. So many hurting. Wish I could help. Have a Merry Christmas and happy new beginnings as we near 2018.
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