Dream, Part 3: Determination

If you have your Bibles, turn to the book of Mark. We have been in a series called "Dream". A lot of us need change in our lives and during the beginning of the year, a lot of times we will set goals, or look at different targets that we would like to hit. I think all of that is important and valuable because you really can’t have change in your life unless you have a plan. There always has to be a plan. There has to be a decision that is made. We talked last week about diligence; one of the best friends of a dream is a person that is willing to be diligent every day.

We are also going to talk about being determined. I believe the two bookends of the dream that God wants to give you and seeing the dream come to pass in your life is determination, being determined. A lot of times we can talk about a dream and for some it ignites them. There is a spark on the inside because there is this feeling of I have a dream in my life; I have a dream about getting married. I have a dream about this creative idea I feel like has been given to me. I have a dream about being used of God in my workplace. For other people, sometimes you talk about a dream and it can be a depressing thing. It can add hurt because they feel like someone has stolen their dream or that their dream has been wounded or that their dream has been lost. All these things can take place in our life, but we have to, at times, be able to focus on God’s promise because God has promised us in this book of truth, this Bible that we have, which is, I believe, God’s divine journal for us. I believe that in this Bible, God offers you and me a dream. He offers us a life and purpose and mission that is beyond just existing, just living as a zombie. There is more to life than just functioning.

One of the scriptures we talked about is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." The other scripture we looked at is Hebrews 11:6. It tells us how we have to walk in faith. That if we have a dream; if we have a hope, if we have a promise in God’s word that we have a future; that we can have a purpose in our life; that we can live in God’s will. One of the things that have to merge with that promise is the element of faith. Faith is where we rely on God and trust in God. Even though we can’t see it, there is this feeling that we are going to trust God. This is what the scripture says in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." The rewards of God are given to those who diligently seek Him. I believe God wants us to dream a big dream.

I learned a little something about this. We were getting ready to start Healing Place Church and one of the men who have helped shape my life is Pastor John Osteen. He passed away a few years ago. We would go over there to Lakewood Church and speak for them. One weekend we were there and Pastor John wanted me to share about seven minutes at the church about what God is doing among your people. I was nervous and he said, "You have seven minutes, not eight." DeLynn was going to sing a couple of songs and she wasn’t nervous at all. I spoke as fast as I could. It took about five minutes. When I was walking down the stairs he said, "Blessed are the short winded, you will speak again." I was sharing the dream about South Baton Rouge and I was kind of fumbling through it and he looked at me and asked, "How big is your dream?" He said, "We serve a big God that has a big dream. You need to get a hold of a God-size dream."

I find out the more I think about it that many times the consequences of our life are determined by the size of our God. A lot of times due to schedule and due to life, we have shrunk our God. Our life says that we serve a tiny Jesus, but in reality we serve a gigantic God. Can I have a better Amen? That ministered to me. He wrote the first check that was ever given to Healing Place Church. What is your dream? What do you want to see happen in your life? How big is your "want to"? How tiny has God become based on the condition and the circumstances that you face? What is the story that you want to see written across the pages of your life? There comes a time where we’re going to have to be determined if we are going to see the dream of God come to pass in our life. I like being around people that are determined; that are willing to go through change; that are willing to pay a price; that are willing even at times to suffer so the dream of God can come to pass. I see them all the time here at Healing Place Church.