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NRSExodus
3:7 Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are
in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I
know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from
the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land,
a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9
The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the
Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to
bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."
Every one of
us has dreams, some of them are big dreams and some of them are unfilled dreams
but all of us have dreams. Over the next three weeks I intend to explore with
you what it means to have dreams and why God wants you to fulfill your dreams. When
Disney World held its grand opening in Orlando Florida, the widow of Walt
Disney attended the ceremony. The great park was beautiful, exceeding every
hope and dream. Someone walked up to Mrs. Disney and said, “I wish Walt could
have seen this.” She smiled and replied, “He did.” If there hadn’t been a Walt
Disney to dream it into existence, Disney World would never have been built. Walt
Disney did not let the fact that the technology did not exist to stop him from
inventing it. He allowed his dreams to guide him in spite of the world’s naysayer’s
who said a permanent amusement park will never make a profit. In fact, I am
told, that Disney envisioned a community with the best technology, people
living with the things that we can only imagine as they went about their daily
lives. This place was to be called Epcot. When Disney passed away the people at
Disney could not see what he saw and so Epcot became another amusement park
rather than the community Walt intended it to be. There are two types of people
in the world, those that pursue their dreams and those who deny them. What did
you want to be when you grew up? Did you achieve your dream? When I was little
I wanted to be an astronaut and touch the sky. I learned to fly at a young age
and pursued my dream. What I found was there was a bigger dream than even I
could have imagined.
But if I had
not pursued the big dream, I would not have found the special dream that God
had just for me. George Bernard Shaw sums it up best when he said, “You see
things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why
not?”
Over the next
three weeks we are going to learn about
Discovering the
dream
How to move
out of your comfort zone
Escaping the
bullies
Persevering
through the wilderness
Finding
Sanctuary
Battling the
giants
Entering the Promised
Land
Much of this
material comes from a great little book titled The Dream Giver by Bruce
Wilkinson. In fact I brought a copy with me so that you can see how small it is
and yet I want you to know that it is the biggest little book I have ever
found, next to the Bible. When you think you cannot, read this book.
Do you
remember when you learned to swim? Remember stepping into the water for the
first time and when you stepped out into water above your head. It was scary
wasn’t it? And yet you did not want to appear to be scared so you dived in,
right? Well, for most of us the answer is no. This was unfamiliar territory and
we were not about to step out there.
That is where
most dreams lie. Most of us are in our own comfort zones where we are content
and happy. Life may not be what we want it to be and maybe it could be better,
but hey, I am ok. And besides, no one else I know is out there doing silly
stuff like pursuing their dreams. When you were little, did you parents tell
you that you could do anything that you set your mind to as long as you pursued
it? Or were your parents like mine who suggested that you should just be
satisfied with life as it is?
We’ll talk
about them next week, but suffice it to say that many of us never pursue our
dreams because we are convinced we could not achieve them anyway. But just like
learning to swim, if you step our in faith and with a little guidance, well
wonderful things can happen.
But what does the bible say? Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since
we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every
weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the
race that is set before us,
God is constantly
telling us to run the race. Don’t stand around wishing you had, just jump right
in. But this would require us to step out of our own comfort zones and leave the
land of familiar behind. Why isn’t that what the new minister is asking me to
do? He is saying that we need to step out in faith if we want the church to
grow or for God to speak to us or…..
How would the story
of Israel have ended if Moses had reacted differently? How did he react? Exodus
3:11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and
bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" How about Abraham? Or David and
Goliath? Each of us comes to this place today with a big dream. It may be that
we want to finish our education or help the poor. I remember not to many years
ago that for a young girl to have any ambition was an unthinkable thing. Why,
women are to stay home and have babies and shouldn’t they be happy with that? I
wonder how many of us would be where we are today if our own mothers bought
into that concept. What is your comfort zone? Where is it that you go on any
given day? And while you are there do you ever dream about what might have been
or what might be possible? And do you tell your children and grandchildren that
they can achieve anything if they try? In order to achieve our dreams we first
have to listen for them. I suspect all of you at this point are thinking about
your own dreams, the ones you had or the ones you have. I know an 83 year old
woman who is attended seminary. Oh she will tell you she never expects to
preach. And yet, she was impacting an unbelievable group of young adults just
because she was there. See, she decided to pursue her dream even though life
and time had gotten in the way. It’s never too late to pursue your dreams. But
first you have to value the dream more than you own comfort. Hebrews 11 tell us
that ”13 All of these died in faith without having received the
promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that
they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, 14 for people who
speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15
If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would
have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a
better country, that is, a heavenly one.”
If each of those
that followed God had stayed in their comfort zones, where would we be today?
You have to accept the possibility of failing. In fact God suggests in Hebrews
12 that we are to endure hardships in order to be guided through the childhood
phase of our lives. And we must choose
to be strong and courageous and make decisions not to turn back – a commitment
with no escape clause. Have you ever considered the implications of a
prenuptial agreement? Why the couple has written an escape clause for their
eventual failure. They have one foot out the door before they ever step into
the room. Don’t we do the same thing every day?
I’m gonna listen to this discipleship
stuff, but you are not going to get me to buy into it until I see some results.
I mean, I want the church to grow and I want to have that joy and I want to
have a relationship with God, BUT! My good friend Rick Griffith tells me all
the time that I have to let go of my comfort zone and listen to the quiet voice
of God. Next week we will explore what is holding you back and who is holding
you back. But for right now, do you have dreams? I want you to know that God
has a dream for you. It is there for you to reach out and grab it. Reach high,
for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the
goal!
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