What Every Heart Dreams Of

Text: 1 John 3:1-3 Romans 8:14-17

Theme: The church is God's family on earth. As His children, we are called to reflect our Father's character in how we live and treat one another.

Thank You for VBS!!! Thank you to all who helped decorate! Brooklyn and Eli for staying late and working. For everyone who showed up on a Friday night and all day Saturday. Thank you to our teachers Princess and Emma and Brooklyn for your time and preparation. Thank you to Riina and Terra for preparing the snacks and going above and beyond. Thank you to everyone for showing up and making this the most successful VBS!!! That is Family.

I want you to go back to your childhood for a moment. I want you to think back to when you were running around pretending to be someone or something. For me it was always my dream to be a preacher. I remember dressing up in a suit and standing in front of a mirror saying I’m gonna yell like Jeff Archey. I remember going to the woods at Camp Wetoga and standing at the burnt down church building that had a few pews left. I remember standing there and wanting to preach and teach.

And then at some point we stopped dreaming. There was no more I want to be a … statement. Somewhere between our childhood and our teenage years we quit dreaming. We quit having those moments of wonder. I wonder what space is like… I wonder what fighting a fire is like… I wonder what being a lawyer is like…

Why did we stop… what caused us to stop dreaming? What stopped that wonder in our minds?

We got older.

Bills came.

Responsibilities came.

Heartbreak came.

We got disappointed.

We got hurt.

We failed.

And slowly, without even realizing it, we stopped dreaming.

We became content just surviving.

We traded wonder for routine.

We traded excitement for schedules.

We traded possibility for "that's just the way things are."

But here's what's interesting...

Jesus never stopped dreaming.

Even on the night before His arrest... Even though He knew the cross was only hours away... Even though He knew His disciples would scatter... Even though He knew Peter would deny Him... He wasn't praying about Himself.

He was dreaming about His church.

Turn to John 17:20–21 ““I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

Isn't that incredible?

The last long prayer we have recorded from Jesus isn't about escaping suffering.

It isn't about His comfort.

It isn't even about His own future.

His heart is fixed on people who haven't even been born yet.

He says, "I'm praying for those who will believe through their word."

Brothers and sisters... That's us.

Two thousand years before you were born, Jesus already had you on His heart.

And He dreamed about what His family could become.

I think if we're honest...

Deep inside every one of us are dreams we don't always admit.

They aren't dreams about money. They aren't dreams about fame.

They're the dreams God placed inside the human heart.

Every person longs...

to belong...

to matter...

to make a difference...

to be forgiven...

And the beautiful truth is this:

Every one of those dreams finds its fulfillment in God's family.

1.I Dream of a Place of Belonging

Every person wants to belong somewhere.

It's why kids are desperate to fit in at school.

It's why adults join clubs.

It's why people spend thousands of dollars wearing certain brands.

It's why social media has become such a powerful force.

We're all asking the same question...

"Where do I fit?"

"Who wants me?"

"Who will love me even when I don't have anything to offer?"

Jesus dreamed of a place where nobody had to ask those questions anymore.

Ephesians 2:19. "You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."

Notice Paul's language.

Not members of an organization.

Not members of a club.

Members of God's household.

The church is God's family.

Galatians 3:26–28 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The world divides.

Jesus unites.

No matter your background...

No matter your past...

No matter your mistakes...

There is room in God's family.

2. I Dream of Finding my Purpose

Every child dreams of becoming someone.

"I want to be a firefighter."

"I want to be a doctor."

"I want to be a preacher."

As adults...

that dream changes.

Now we simply ask...

"Why am I here?"

We spend our entire lives chasing careers, promotions, accomplishments, retirement...

and then one day realize...

None of those things actually tell us why we exist.

Purpose is never found in what you do.

Purpose is found in whose you are.

Before God ever called Moses to lead...

He called him to Himself.

Before David ever wore a crown...

He was a shepherd after God's own heart.

Before Paul ever preached...

He belonged to Christ.

Your greatest identity isn't father.

It isn't mother.

It isn't salesman.

It isn't retired.

It isn't successful.

It isn't wealthy.

It isn't athletic.

Your identity is...

Child of God.

Once you know whose you are...

you discover why you're here.

Ephesians 2:10

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..."

God didn't save you just to sit.

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Notice your purpose.

Not simply to attend.

Not simply to survive.

To proclaim His greatness.

3.I Dream of Forgiveness

Here is the sad reality of life

Every person carries something.

Some carry regret.

Some carry shame.

Some carry guilt.

Some carry wounds from someone else.

Some carry mistakes no one else even knows about.

The world offers distractions.

God offers forgiveness.

That's the difference.

People spend years trying to outrun their past.

Jesus simply says,

"Come unto Me."

Think about Peter.

Denied Jesus three times.

Can you imagine carrying that?

Every morning he woke up remembering...

"I failed."

Then Jesus meets him by another fire.

Not to embarrass him.

Not to condemn him.

But to restore him.

"Do you love Me?"

Three denials.

Three opportunities to confess love.

That's grace.

That's forgiveness.

The church should be the safest place on earth for sinners seeking restoration.

Not because we ignore sin.

But because we know what forgiveness feels like.

The greatest dream isn't simply to forget our past.

It's to know it has been forgiven.

Acts 2:38 “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

God doesn't simply cover sin.

He removes it.

4.The Place of Dreams

Remember where we started?

Children dream.

Then life convinces us to stop.

But Jesus never stopped dreaming.

Even on the eve of the cross...

He dreamed of this.

A family where lonely people belong.

A family where ordinary people discover purpose.

A family where lives make an eternal difference.

A family where broken people find forgiveness.

Church...

that dream wasn't fulfilled when Jesus prayed it.

It's fulfilled when we live it.

The world will never see Jesus because He walks these streets again.

They'll see Jesus...

when they see His children.

When they see unity.

When they see forgiveness.

When they see love.

Luke 15:11-32

Jesus says this...

John 14:1–3 ““Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

This Family of God much like the Prodigal son will return home. Jesus is inviting you into that family

So maybe this morning...

you've been dreaming about belonging.

You've been searching for purpose.

You've wondered whether your life matters.

You've carried guilt for far too long.

Jesus has already dreamed about you.

His invitation has never changed.

"Come..."

Become part of the family.

Become one of the children of God.