Good Morning! As we start this next week of devotions, I want to encourage you to start to see the dream that God has for your life. Not your dream for your life, not your parents dream for your life, not the dream that others have for your life - but God's dream for your life. Folks, if you're going to see God's dream and get God's dream for your life, you must increase your faith.
In Hebrew 11:1 it says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and being certain of what we do not see." The Amplified Version says, "Faith is perceiving as real what is not revealed to the senses."
Faith starts with the way you look at God and His dream for your life. Faith starts with the way you see things, it starts with your imagination and your perception.
Your imagination is a God given ability. Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Napoleon said, "Imagination rules the world." Thomas Edison said “without imagination, all is lost – for it brings hope to the soul.”
Our God-given dreams determine our lives, they define our lives. So, let me ask you - what is God's dream for life? You know what I have found to be true? The older we get, the more we lose our capacity to dream. Kids love to dream, but the older we get, the more we have been beat up by life, the more pain we have experienced, the more disappointments we have encountered, it seems the more cynicism and negativity and lack of dreaming there is.
The next few days we're going to look at some potential dream busters. You have to be aware of these things if you're going to live the life of faith – if you’re going to establish a dream for your life God's dream!
Some examples from the Word of God of things we need to be aware of -- people and events that shrink or bust our dreams.
#1. Your family is a potential dreambuster.
Genesis 37. The example of Joseph. Joseph was really a big thinker. He was number ten of twelve brothers. Yet he said, "I've had this dream. One day you're going to bow down to me and I'm going to rule over everybody." Right! Sure. Joseph was kind of the Rodney Dangerfield of his family. He couldn't get any respect. Sometimes when you've got a dream the best thing to do is just keep quiet about it around those people who aren't going to be a part of helping you realize God's dream for your life.
They're just going to be critics. The brothers come to him and say, "Who do you think you are Joseph? We know you're just a kid in this family!"
Some of you have experienced that reaction with brothers or sisters and mothers and fathers. You've got a great plan, "Mom, Dad. This is what I'm going to do..." And they say, "Oh... sure! Or, that's to big of a dream or that's a nice goal to have." They deflate your dream. You want their approval but the reaction is thumbs down.
Even Jesus had this problem. Mark 6. Even Jesus had problems with unbelief in His own family and people in His own home town. After Jesus had started His ministry, He goes back to Nazareth. (Home town boy makes good!) He comes home and the reaction is less than favorable. Mark 6:1, Jesus left there and went to His home town accompanied by His disciples. He walks in and starts teaching in the synagogue.
v. 2 "`Where did this man get these things?' they asked. `What's the wisdom that's been given to him, he that has done miracles? Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon and aren't his sisters here with us?" They said, Jesus, who do you think you are? This is just old Joe and Mary's son! And here he comes into town acting like He's God. He was. It says, "They took offense at him."
Whose unbelief has deflated your faith and your dreams? Later on it says, "Jesus said, `Only in his own time, among his relatives and in his own house, is a prophet without honor.' And He could not do any miracles because of their unbelief." He couldn't do any mighty works. Who in your life deflates your dream? Father? Mother? Wife? Husband? Who is it that says, "You could never do that!" Families can be dreambusters.
How should you respond to their unbelief? Keep moving forward. Keep on persevering. Keep on keeping on. AND surround yourselves with people who will come alongside of you to help you realize God's dream for your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment