Discovering Your Dream – Part 2 Series

INTRO: When he was eighty-eight years old, the late Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once found himself on a train. When the conductor came by, Justice Holmes couldn’t find his ticket, and he seemed terribly upset. He searched all of his pockets and fumbled through his wallet without success. The conductor was sympathetic. He said, "Don’t worry, Mr. Holmes, the Pennsylvania Railroad will be happy to trust you. After you reach your destination you’ll probably find the ticket and you can just mail it to us." But the conductor’s kindness failed to put Mr. Holmes at ease. Still very much upset, he said, "My dear man, my problem is not ’Where is my ticket?’ The problem is, `Where am I going?’

Most Christians feel like this at times. They know they’re supposed to follow the Lord and be a good person, but beyond that they’re not sure.

Someone has aptly said, "Living without God’s plan for our life is like sewing with a needle without thread, or writing one’s biography with a pen empty of ink."

Review: Discovering God’s plan for your life:

-We are God’s workmanship (from where we get our word poem). We are God’s poem to this world. The strange thing is we are the ones who will determine if it will be read.

-People are blessed who find their purpose in God and try to fulfill it.

Today: We are going to look at what is holding you back from your dreams (purpose). TITLE: Discovering Your Dream – Part 2

TEXT: John 21:3

I. Background. Jesus has come and gone.

A. Jesus had begun his ministry three years earlier, calling his disciples, and teaching them and others about the kingdom of God.

1. Peter, who was one of the Lord’s closest disciples, was a rugged fisherman.

2. He chose to follow the Lord. He stayed with Jesus, ate with Jesus; they basically did everything together.

-Peter followed Jesus—he knew he was the promised Messiah from God.

3. Peter was the one who pulled Jesus aside and rebuked him because the Lord was proclaiming he had to suffer and die. That’s when Jesus rebuked Peter.

-Peter was just being the protector.

4. Remember at the Last Supper Jesus was telling his disciples that all of them would fall away. -Peter proclaimed, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you."

5. But, as we know the story, Peter denied him three times and ran away. -Jesus was then taken, tried, and crucified.

6. Can you imagine the guilt and shame Peter endured. He dropped the ball and denied the Messiah.

7. Now he’s heard about the risen Savior. But it’s not what it used to be, he feels like a loser.

B. Peter’s dream came to a screeching halt.

-He was going to be the rock of the church of Jesus Christ. He was going to rule and reign with Jesus.

1. "Now that’s over, I’ve failed." (I’m sure this theme went over and over through his mind.)

TS: This brings us up to the point of the text.

2. What was Peter doing? V. 3, "I’m going out to fish." -But I thought Peter was supposed to be a fisher of men. (Luke 5)

-Could it be Peter was beaten and had given up (in his mind)? Point: A person without a future will always return to his or her past. IT. Things that can hold you back from your dream.

A. Failure. Peter failed Christ so he was going back to the old ways.

1. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen folks come in, get excited about God, walk with him a bit, and then return to their old ways because (in their mind) they failed.

-Those dreams and plans they sensed from God are now smoldering ashes because they failed the Lord. So they give up and walk away.

2. You know what happens when you go back to the old ways. Look at Peter as an example. He went out fishing all night and he caught nothing!

-Peter should have known he’d forgotten the words of Jesus: "Apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5c)

3. Failure has a way to destroy the dreams God has set in your heart.

-Proverbs 24:16, "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." -The point is: You will stumble and fall. Get up.

Question: What failure is holding you back from God’s dream, where have you failed that is hindering your dream for God?

4. You need to realize how many famous people failed before they made it. -George Washington lost 2/3 of all battles he fought.

-Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs during his career. But he struck out 1333 times, twice as often as he hit a home run.