Phase 3: Dreams Part 3

Big Idea:

Spiritually mature people build their dreams on God’s Word.

Intro:

Good morning [church online]...

Today, we’re finishing up our 3-part series on “Dreams,” based on the book, “Created to Dream” by Rick Warren. And when I say “dreams,” what I mean is “God’s purpose for your life.” I mean what Paul refers to when he writes...

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 of us for a special purpose. Our lives have both value and meaning. There’s a God-given reason we exist. Therefore, it’s important we both discover and pursue that dream.

And for the past few weeks, we’ve discussed what the dream-journey looks like. Rick Warren mentions 6 phases associated with discovering and pursuing God’s dream. The first 4 phases are...

Discover God’s dream for your life.

Decide to act.

3. Persisting through delays.

4. Dealing with difficulties.

Unfortunately, I must inform you that experiencing delays and difficulties isn’t rock bottom on the dream-journey. Because Phase 5 is

Phase 5: Facing Dead Ends.

If you wanted to give up on delay and difficulties, dead ends are going to be [low key - did I use that right?] TOUGH...

I want to start off by telling you 3 stories:

2 from the Bible.

1 personal...

In the Bible, God had a dream for the Israelites. We’ve been talking about this… God wanted them to be His special people as they lived in the blessings of the Promised Land. But then, they experienced 400 years of slavery in Egypt. I’d say that’s both a major delay and difficulty.

...But then God miraculously saves them! And as they march in freedom towards the Promised Land, guided by Moses, they run into a massive dead end - the Red Sea.

…and to make things worse, the Egyptian army was barreling down towards them to kill them.

Exodus 14:11 ESV

They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?

God’s dream for their lives was dead...

...In the Bible, the second story involves a guy named Nebuchadnezzar. He was the king of Babylon, which is modern-day Iraq. He was a real dude. You can google him. God used him to punish rebellious Israel in the early 6th century BC.

At the time, Babylon was the most powerful empire in the world. And Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, capturing many Israelites, and taking them to Babylon.

And one of the captives was Daniel. God had gifted Daniel in many ways and the king became a huge fan. One night, God gave the king a dream...

He saw this massive, beautiful, fruitful tree - one that provided for the entire world. It was the greatest tree in the world! But then, an angel ordered the tree to be cut down… “so that everyone may know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world.” (Dan. 4:17)

The king was both afraid and confused by the dream; and no one could help him, that is, until Daniel interprets the dream. Daniel says, “You are that tree! And God wants you to humble yourself, repent, and use your power for His glory instead of yourself!” You see, God’s dream for King Nebuchadnezzar was that he’d use his influence to point people the One True God!

…after that… a year passes. There’s a delay. Then, look what the Scriptures say...

Daniel 4:30–33 NLT

As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’ “While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’ “That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.

In a moment, Nebuchadnezzar lost his kingdom, possessions, power, and mind. I’d say that’s a pretty big difficulty; in fact, that’s a DEAD END! The dream is over, homie.

...I know what it’s like to be there. In this series, I’ve shared God’s dream for my family connected to planting this church almost 7 years ago. God put it on my heart in 2012, but we didn’t move until 2015. There were many delays and difficulties. And… there was also a DEAD END.

In 2014, we served at a church training us for church planting. Janelle and I were on the worship team and also led a “Life Group.” It was an amazing time. We made many friends, some who are still very close to us today.

But during that time, two things were happening...

We were wondering if God wanted us to stay in San Diego instead of moving. Life was good. And there were rumors that I might go on staff.

At the same time, I had just finished my undergrad in Biblical Studies and felt God wanted me to apply for Seminary. I was accepted to Gordon-Conwell in Massachusetts and loved the idea of living on campus, getting my theological training, while also being introduced to New England culture.

Now, there are too many details to share today, but let’s just say the delays and difficulties started coming rapid fire...

Have you ever seen that movie Act of Valor? Not that I’m recommending that movie - it’s not necessarily family friendly - but there’s this scene when the soldiers are rescued by a boat with a minigun on it (coolest sounding gun)… but that’s how fast the difficulties started coming… and all of a sudden the dream was dead!

Not only was I NOT going to be on staff at the church...

Not only was I NOT going to Gordon-Conwell...

But I didn’t even know if we were church planting anymore!

… everything fell apart. It was a DEAD END! In my mind, the DREAM was DONE! And so was my faith too! I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a Christian anymore.

…it’s football season, so I’ll share this detail... I literally punted my Bible. I don’t share that to be disrespectful, but to be real. It was over for me!

And maybe you’ve been there too. You’re doing your best to follow God’s dream and nothing is working. And now, you’re ready to give up because it seems like the dream is dead.

Maybe that’s your life right now...

If so (or if, in the future, you get there), remember this…

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

There is divine purpose behind dead ends.

And here are 4 things Pastor Rick shares that can help us when we face dead ends…

1) Remember what God can do.

… I’m going to just give you the second thing now too since they’re connected...

2) Rely on what God says.

In the book of Acts, we meet a man named Cornelius. A Roman Centurion. A good man. Well respected by his community… by both Romans and Jews. In fact, he was a “God fearer.”

What that means is although he wasn’t Jewish, he worshiped the God of Israel. He likely went to synagogue and was knew the Old Testament Scriptures. And that’s awesome!

However, there was a big problem. A huge dead end. Though God desired Israel to be a light to the world - a nation attracting other “peoples” (Katia) to God - they never did that. Instead, they focused on keeping people out!

And though Cornelius was respected by the Jewish community, when it came to his faith, he was a second-class follower. He was better than the pagans, but in their minds, he’d never truly be a child of God. Not like the biological sons and daughters of Abraham! And I imagine it was heartbreaking for Cornelius (someone who loved God) to be stuck at this faith-based DEAD END.

But he didn’t give up. He had a dream of dwelling in God’s presence and kept praying, kept worshiping, kept seeking. And I wonder if Cornelius didn’t ever come across the words of the prophet Hosea, which said...

Romans 9:25 NLT

Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, “Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.”

...because he never gave up on his faith, even though he faced a dead end. Then, all of a sudden, an angel came to him and told him God’s heard all of his prayers and accepted his worship. And his next step was to invite the apostle Peter to his house... not knowing, at that very moment, Peter was actually in the process of refusing to come because he too didn’t associate with non-Jewish people. Thankfully, God deals with Peter’s heart, he comes to Cornelius’ house, preaches the gospel...

…that is, we are all sinners (both Jews and non-Jews) deserving judgment. But God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die in our place (for our sins), that WHOEVER (Jewish or not Jewish) believes Him would not perish, but would be forgiven and receive eternal life. They would be accepted into God’s family!

And the Scriptures say...

Acts 10:44–45 NLT

Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.

And I share this story for two reasons...

Be like Cornelius. When you face a dead end, remember what God has said! Too often in dead ends, we listen to what everyone else except for God - but it’s His voice that matters most in dead ends.

Again, be like Cornelius. When circumstances seem impossible, remember what God can do… He can DO anything. It seemed impossible for Cornelius to be in God’s family, but Jesus (who is God) did the impossible so he (and anyone else) could be in brought into God’s family!

3) Face the facts with faith.

When you face very real, impossible, visible, factual dead ends, take a step of faith anyways. And it’s not pretending the dead end doesn’t exist. The dead ends are real. Just don’t be discouraged by them. Face them and embrace them as part of the dream-journey.

As I was talking to our River Kids Director, Jackie, she likened it to the movie Frozen… sometimes we need to “Let it go.”

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying “let the dream go.” I’m saying “let go of trying to deal with or understand the impossible facts in your own strength” as you pursue God’s dream.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

When you face the dead ends, “let it go” and live by faith. Give the impossible circumstances to God. Tell Him, “This is Your dream. You are in control. I’m going to trust You even though I don’t understand.” And then...

4) Expect God to deliver me.

I’ve heard our church planting resident, Dennis, say, “I always believed God could do impossible things, I just didn’t believe he would do them for me.”

Faith isn’t just believing God CAN do things, it’s living with the biblical expectation that He WILL do things. And if we are truly pursuing God’s dream by faith, we can have an expectation that God WILL deliver us from the dead ends!

Jesus said, “According to your faith (your biblical expectation) let it be done,” ( Matt 9:29)...

When the Israelites faced their dead end (the Red Sea) on the way to the Promised Land (God’s dream for them), what happened? God did the impossible! .

Exodus 14:13–14 ESV

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

And in that faith-filled, expectant moment, the DEAD END became DELIVERANCE. And moments later, the Israelites took this picture on the way to Promised Land...

…in 2014, the dream of church planting in Glastonbury was DEAD. And in 2015, nothing changed… until the last week of May when he spoke to my heart at church saying, “Time to go!”

Janelle and I went home, almost in disbelief, asking, “Is God really telling us it’s finally time to go?” I mean… it seemed impossible. We hadn’t thought about it for a year. We didn’t have jobs. We didn’t have the money to move. No circumstance was in place for this to happen - it still seemed like a DEAD END!

Then, at that moment, someone from our Life Group texted us… She said, “I don’t know why, but God put it on my heart to send you this...”

Revelation 3:8 ESV

“ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

And at that moment...

We remembered what God can do.

And if God was says He was going to open doors for us that no one can shut, we were going to rely on that.

We going to take face the facts and take a step of faith...

Expecting God to deliver us!

And… He did! [This room we’re in together is proof!] We’re living in that dream right now…

…and after 7 long years of losing his mind, King Nebuchadnezzar wrote ended up writing the following...

Daniel 4:34–37 ESV

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

God delivered Nebuchadnezzar from his dead end - his sins and mental illness. And he began to truly walk in God’s dream… using his power, position, and influence to tell people about the One True God!

3 Kinds of Deliverance (Response):

And based on those 3 stories, as we close, I want to share 3 kinds of deliverance we can expect from God when our dreams run into dead ends...

1. Circumstantial (external) Deliverance.

When the Israelites ran into the Red Sea and their dream of the Promised Land died, God delivered them from the impossible circumstances.

Today, maybe you’re facing a “Red Sea.” If so, remember...

Luke 18:27 ESV

But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

No circumstance, no problem, is too big for God. By faith, expect Him to deliver!

2. [God will give you] Personal (internal) deliverance.

Spiritual maturity is a huge part of God’s dream for our lives. He wants to develop our character before we can live out His calling. And DEAD ENDS develop character.

My family’s dead end had divine purpose. From 2014-2015, God taught us how to disciple people. God used the DEAD ENDS to transform and prepare us for discipleship in New England.

If you’ve experienced anything good from Life Groups… it can likely be traced to the DEAD END of 2014. And if you’re in a dead end, maybe God is simply preparing you for His dream.

3. Ultimate (eternal) deliverance.

Finally, sometimes we face dead ends, because we are chasing our dreams over chasing God. God loves you too much to let that happen. And God will put a dead end in your path so can deal with that which is most important, your eternal salvation.

Nebuchadnezzar was king before his dead end. He was king after the deliverance. What changed - what God dealt with - was his eternal soul. Before, he lived for himself. Afterwards, he lived for God.

Does God have you in a dead end? Maybe you share Nebuchadnezzar’s struggle with a debilitating mental illness? What if these dead ends are not for your destruction, but to eternally deliver you?

Discovering and pursuing God’s dream for your life is first and foremost about being reconciled back into God’s family.

God loves us and created us for a purpose.

But our sin separates us from God and causes us to live for ourselves.

Jesus came to fix all of that on the cross (to deliver us from our sins), so we can live for God’s dream.

But like Nebuchadnezzar, we must humble ourselves, reach out for God’s rescue, and receive God’s deliverance.

Let me put it this way: Be like Cornelius, not Nebuchadnezzar.

Both were saved, but Cornelius immediately entered God’s Kingdom, while Nebuchadnezzar wasted 7 years in brokenness. The Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation!”

Today, God’s deliverance, His dream, is set before you…will you receive it? Will you turn form your sin and put your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior?

...Real quick, before we end, notice all 4 steps for facing dead ends require responses built on God’s word. That’s because following God’s dream requires knowing God’s word...

You can’t remember what God can do unless you read what He already did.

You can’t rely on what He says unless you know what He says.

You can’t have faith without first hearing His word.

And you won’t expect God to deliver you unless you build that hopeful expectation upon His promise!

That’s why we make a big deal about the Bible at The River Church… to discover and pursue God’s dream, you must discover and pursue God’s word. So...

Download the YouVersion Bible App and read it daily.

Or, be old school and read a paper Bible!

Use RightNow Media (a video-based resource we give away free) to get into God’s Word.

Join a Life Group or prioritize being here on Sundays - both places where God’s Word is taught.

Do whatever you need to do to get into God’s word, so you can live in God’s dream!

Let’s pray… [or communion]

Communion: