Dreams Part 2

Big Idea:

Spiritually mature people persist thru delays and difficulties for God’s dream.

8/5 - 9am “Call my people out to dream.”

Intro:

When I was in 8th grade, my dream was to play in the NBA. Don’t laugh at me!

I know I may not look like it, but I was a pretty good basketball player. I wasn’t tall or fast… or super athletic, but I was smart, could play lockdown defense, could pass, and could shoot. I was the 6th man (first person off the bench) for a pretty solid San Diego travel basketball team.

It was the mid-90s, so obviously my hero was Michael Jordan. I studied his life. And my dream was to follow his journey. Graduate from Helix High School (Bill Walton, Alex Smith, and Reggie Bush were alumnis), play for UNC [Maddie I’m jealous], and then onto the NBA.

Now… there were many reasons why that dream never came to pass, but one major reason was there was a limit to my athletic potential.

...Yes, I was fully aware of Michael Jordan’s story (cut from the high school basketball team only to become the greatest player ever). And while his story inspired me, the truth is his athletic potential far exceeded mine. I was just an ordinary kid who loved basketball...

In the book of Acts, there was an ordinary guy named Stephen. He served on the hospitality team at church. He made sure people had donuts, coffee, and cleaned up afterwards. Yet, the Scriptures describe him as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 6:5) Though he had humble beginnings, I think he also had some God-sized dreams. In fact...

Acts 6:8 ESV

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

I believe God’s told him, “My dream is for you to powerfully preach the gospel with your life!” And so he started walking in that...

But… His dream ran into major delays and difficulties. He died!

As Stephen is preaching, it says the people...

Acts 7:58 ESV

Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Dying was a pretty big dream killer… or was it?

Acts 7:59 ESV

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

So, first off… although Stephen died, he didn’t. Why? Because...

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Stephen believed in the Lord Jesus, which means he had eternal life. It’s why he said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” The day Stephen died is the day he became fully alive!

Now, look at what Acts 8 says… after Stephen died it says, “And Saul approved of his execution.” This is the same Saul who would soon become the great apostle Paul.

And later in Paul’s life, as he was following God’s dream for his life, he also experienced persecution like Stephen. He was a prisoner, on trial to be executed, but gets an opportunity to tell his story… and look what he shares...

Acts 26:9–10 ESV

“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them.

I believe… when Paul says I cast my vote against them… what he’s really remembering is the moment he cast his vote against Stephen… giving permission for his execution.

I’m convinced Stephen deeply impacted Paul’s life. How could Paul forget Stephen? And the Bible doesn’t directly say this, but I think, “No Stephen, No Paul.” Stephen’s life powerfully preached the gospel in accordance with God’s dream for his life...

And even today… 2000 years later, halfway around the world… Stephen’s life still preaches the gospel. His life is impacting our lives in this moment. He was an ordinary guy with a God dream that is still bearing fruit thousands of years later. His death didn’t destroy the dream… it was only delayed by some difficulties.

And that’s what we’re going to talk about today. We’re in a series about dreams. And when I say “dreams,” what I mean is “God’s purpose for your life.”

The apostle Paul (the one who killed Stephen) wrote...

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God created each one of us for a special purpose… a dream. We are unique. Handcrafted for a purpose on this earth - a purpose that matters and makes a difference. Therefore, I believe it’s extremely important that we both discover and pursue that dream. Additionally, as I said last week...

Spiritually mature people discover and pursue God’s dream for their lives.

And for 2023, our vision/goal as a church is to “grow up” - to spiritually mature. So this topic fits God’s purpose for our church family. But exactly how do we discover and pursue God’s dream?

Thankfully, Pastor Rick Warren has recently written a book titled, “Created to Dream” to help us. And what I am sharing today is based on what he writes.

And in his book, he gives 6 progressive phases typically found on the path of following God’s dream. Last week, I shared the first two...

Phase 1 is Discovering your dream. One way to do this is to use the acronym, “D.R.E.A.M.”

Dedicate your life to God.

Reserve time alone with God.

Evaluate your abilities.

Associate with godly dreamers.

Make your dream public.

And once you’ve discovered your dream, then...

Phase 2 is Deciding to act! And I shared 6 principles that help us do that wisely.

Now, if you missed that message, you can always go back and find them on our social media pages, website, or podcast later!

Today, we’re moving onto the next two phases. And we’ve likely experienced these phases before, even if we were unaware of them. They are difficult phases. Potentially... dream-killer phases. They are the phases Stephen experienced… and if we’re unaware of them, if we don’t understand the purpose behind them, they may cause us to abandon God’s dream.

I don’t want that to happen, so let’s get started.

Once we discover God’s dream.

And then we decide to act...

Phase 3: Persisting thru delays.

Part of God’s dream for my family’s life involved moving from San Diego to Glastonbury. That dream started in 2012, but we didn’t move until 2015. We faced 3 years of delays. That was tough, especially since I hate waiting.

Am I alone in that? [If you’re with me say, “I hate waiting!”] I don’t even like to wait for movies to load on my phone. Like I want to throw my phone if it takes more than two seconds to load.

What’s crazy is I remember when I first visited CT in 2012. I was waiting for my flight at a Dunkin Donuts in Windsor. I was bored so I downloaded the Netflix app. At the time, I didn’t know I could watch Netflix over cellular data. I clicked on Avatar: The Last Airbender and it started playing! I was so stoked. It took forever to load. It was super grainy… but it worked. It was worth the wait!

But, if that happened today, I’d be so angry waiting, especially if the picture was grainy! It’s crazy how much we hate waiting today.

But here’s a truth we need to understand: God’s dreams are rarely (if ever) accomplished immediately. They require waiting!

I mean… look at the other godly dreamers in the Bible...

It took Noah 100+ years to build the ark.

Abraham waited 25 years for the son God promised him.

Daniel prayed and waited 21 days for an answer from God… even though God sent the angel, with the answer, on day 1. It was like the slowest angel in heaven! Had one wing… feathers falling off. Dollar Tree-angel.

But the truth is: God is not in a rush.

God is sovereign (He’s completely in control).

He knows the beginning from the end.

He’s not surprised or worried by any circumstance.

And His timing is always perfect.

Therefore, anytime we have to wait… it’s because God has a purpose. And one major purpose connected to waiting is spiritual maturity.

God’s dream for our lives involves us becoming more like Jesus - developing Christlike character. And that takes time...

Romans 5:4 (ESV)

...endurance [persisting and waiting] produces character...

As Pastor Rick mentions, “God is more interested in accomplishing something IN us than THRU us.” And a true test of maturity is how well we wait on God. Spiritually mature people trust God’s timing over their personal preferences.

This is not easy… because we hate waiting! But waiting on God is worth it. So, let me share four things we should avoid if we want to learn to persist through delays well:

1) Don’t fear.

Sometimes, as we wait, we start to fear that God has forgotten about us. Yet, remember what God promised...

Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)

... “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

As you wait, you don’t need to fear… because God is with you. He is always with you. Next...

2) Don’t complain.

Very often, our favorite response to waiting is complaining. This is not new for God’s people. When God rescued the Israelites form Egypt… He made them wait to enter the Promised Land… guess what they did? They complained.

Numbers 21:5 (NLT)

and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained...

But do you know what complaining accomplishes? NOTHING! When you are pursuing God’s dream, complaining is like a rocking chair… you waste energy getting no where. It might give you temporary personal comforts, but no progress happens.

Complaining keeps us in the waiting phase because at the root of complaining is our spiritually immature heart yelling, “God, I don’t like your timing!” And God needs us to spiritually mature to follow His dream. Therefore, we need to learn to persist thru delays without complaining.

3) Don’t give up.

Sometimes waiting makes us turn around and give up. Don’t do it. Instead...

Psalm 27:14 NLT

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

I know waiting is not easy. Waiting takes faith. It takes courage. It’s a necessary part of God’s dream for your life. So, don’t give up!

4) Don’t forget.

How many of you remember Forgetful Jones? Some of yall forgot he was on Sesame Street. Why? Because time makes us forget.

And when we spend time in the delay-phase, we often forget about who God is, what He’s done, and what He’s promised. When the Israelites waited in the wilderness...

Psalm 106:7 NLT

Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.

When God saved the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, it wasn’t because they deserved it. He did it because He loved them. He did it because He promised to do so. And when He acted on that promise, He did mighty and miraculous deeds (sending 10 plagues).

And when the Israelites were finally free to pursue God’s dream - to live in the Promised Land… they started walking towards it but ran into the Red Sea. They were delayed like Spirit Airlines. And as they waited, they FORGOT and chose rebellion instead.

Know this… rebellion never results in God’s dream. Instead, we must REMEMBER:

Remember who God is.

Remember what He promised.

Remember what He’s done.

...But delays aren’t the only thing we face as we pursue God’s dream...

Phase 4: Dealing with difficulties.

In the middle of a dream, we also deal with difficulties...

First off, following God’s dream is a partnership. He allows us to participate in the process. Which is great, except we’re often the biggest problem. We’re often the source of our own potentially dream-killing difficulties.

Anyone make really dumb decisions only to have to later say, “God, I’m sorry. Please save me?”

That being said, there are other reasons we face difficulties...

Reasons outside of our control.

Reasons, that if we don’t understand, may cause us to give up on God’s dream prematurely.

Therefore, when dealing with any kind of difficulties, Pastor Rick encourages us to remember that...

Every problem has a purpose.

God doesn’t want you to give up; He wants you to grow up.

Difficulties are part of God’s development plan. God tells us to expect difficulties… Jesus said...

John 16:33 ESV

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Difficulties are part of living in a world broken by sin. Furthermore, in God’s perfect wisdom, God strategically uses these difficulties to bring about His dream for our lives...

Acts 14:22 (NLT)

...They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships [deal with difficulties] to enter the Kingdom of God [pursue God’s dream].

Dealing with difficulties develops God’s dream. So expect it. That being said, here are...

3 Keys to dealing with difficulties:

1) Determine the reason.

Again, YOU MIGHT BE THE REASON for the difficulty.

Sometimes you will make a sinful or selfish decision.

You might follow bad advice.

You might follow the wrong crowd.

You may prioritize your circumstances over your faith.

Therefore, you may need to pray...

Psalm 139:23–24 ESV

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Ask God, “What is causing this difficulty?” And maybe you discover... it’s not you!

Maybe it was someone else’s bad decision and you’re the victim.

Maybe it is spiritual warfare - you got opps from the devil because you following God’s dream is a threat to his kingdom of darkness. So, he’s attacking you!

Or, maybe God is the source of the difficulty… which leads us to the next key...

2) Determine the result.

We may need to ask, “What does God want me to learn?” I read this verse earlier...

Romans 5:3–5 NLT

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

God’s dream for our lives - His calling - requires us to grow in character - to be more like Jesus.

You’ve all heard the saying, “Pressure creates diamonds.” We don’t like it, but we know beautiful things happen when we’re shaped through God-ordained difficulties.

Our church was 3.5 years old when the COVID pandemic hit. In the context of New England church planting… we were still a baby church. And now we faced one of the greatest difficulties of our time!

I’m not gonna lie… as the pastor, it was HARD. Before COVID, I didn’t really know what I was doing. When the pandemic hit, I really didn’t know what I was doing! I was in real trouble!

But now, I can honestly say, God had a purpose. He taught us so many things. And He shaped us into a stronger church. And now, we’re more equipped to follow His dream of bringing the gospel to Glastonbury and the surrounding communities!

When you deal with difficulties following God’s dream, don’t give up. Grow up! There is a purpose for this painful process. Which brings us to the final key...

3) Determine the response.

When we face problems, we need to ask, “How should I respond?”

Response:

As we close, let me share 3 ways that can help us persist through delays and deal with difficulties. And I’m going to present them this way:

I’m going to give you a “don’t” - a what NOT TO DO. And it’s important we pay attention to this first part, because “the don’t” is usually our natural “do” when we encounter delays and difficulties.

Then, I’m going to give you an “instead response.” This is how God would have us response during phase 3 and 4.

1. Don’t carelessly drift; instead, courageously confront.

Growing up in San Diego, I’m very familiar with the beach. I don’t like the beach because it’s crowded, sand gets everywhere, and the ocean scares me! [Have you seen that video of the drone following the shark just swimming by people completely unaware - NOPE!]

Nevertheless, I’ve been in the ocean enough times to know that the current causes you to drift. You think you’re in the same place, but if you’re careless, you move away from where you’re supposed to be. Delays and difficulties can do the same thing to our dreams.

When we wait, we can forget about God’s plans. More than that, we forget there’s a current in this world always pulling us away from God. And if we’re careless, pretty soon we’ll have drifted from God’s dream.

Additionally, when facing difficulties, our first reaction is to run and find something easier. But pain is often part of God’s process. Problems have purpose. Don’t let difficulties make you drift from God’s dream.

…instead, courageously confront it. Say...

I will wait on the Lord because I trust His timing.

I will courageous confront the difficulties because I believe God is using them to transform my life!

2. Don’t discard it; instead define it.

What do I mean? Well, when things aren’t going our way, many times we abandon ship. Don’t do that. The Bible says...

Hebrews 10:36 ESV

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

What we need to do is endure. Grow in grit. And a good first step is to simply DEFINE the phase you’re in! Defining the phase reminds you that these problems are part of God’s purpose.

Instead of giving up and throwing away God’s dream, simply say, “Oh… I recognize this, I’m in phase 3 (of phase 4). I need to endure. And if I do, God’s dream is just ahead.”

3. Don’t despair; instead declare.

Can I say something that’s true, but may also be a little offensive? I’m not saying it to hurt our feelings… but the truth can hurt.

Can I say that today… Christians are kinda spiritually wimpy. Like, if we could draw our spiritual character, it would look like this!

When we face delays and difficulties, we tend to get wimpy… we despair. Don’t do that. Instead, DECLARE GOD’S PROMISES. Remember and stand on what He has said!

Philippians 1:6 ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Delays and difficulties cannot defeat God’s promise over our lives. When we trust God, He WILL complete the dream He started!

2 Timothy 2:4 ESV

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Paul compares us to soliders. We are not wimps. We are God’s warriors. And spiritual darkness shakes when they see us living in this truth.

1 Chron 12:8 describes King David’s army as men who had “faces like lions.” Lions are fierce. They are royalty. And so are we...

Revelation 1:6 NKJV

and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

So, why do we despair over delays and difficulties? Fight!

...In and of ourselves, we may be ordinary people with dreams we’re all too willing to give up on, all too soon. But when we feel that way… we must remember what God says...

He has a purpose/dream for our lives and is able to do far more abundantly than all that we can ask or think according to His power at work within us.

He says no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined what God has prepared for us who love him and it’ll be eternally worth following His dream.

He says I am always with you and will finish what I start!

So, if He said it, believe Him. Don’t give up. Persist through delays, face the difficulties, and follow God’s dream for your life!

Let’s pray...

Father, search our hearts this morning! Show us anything that needs to change. Help us to see the purpose you have for the delays and difficulties. And gives us the strength, grit, and faith to pursue Your dream for our lives. We repent of our sins and ask You Jesus to save us. In Your name we pray, amen.