Former President Woodrow Wilson once said, “We grow by dreams. All big individuals are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day,or in the red fire on a long winter’s evening. Some of us let those great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams come true.”
In this week of “Dreamworks” we are discussing the angle of “Wearing the Dream”. This is the week that carries the underlying theme of “Just do it.” Phil Knight began a company in 1972 because he was not satisfied with the current status of athletic shoes. Because of his dissatisfaction we have today an athletic shoe phenomenon called, NIKE. In Principle, dissatisfaction gives birth to great dreams. If life were great at it’s current state and could not be better, then their would be no use for dreaming or dreamers. God looks at the state of our culture today and places a demand on us for dreaming. It is time for you to “Wear the Dream”. History is laced with men and women who have had dreams, not superficial dreams, but dreams that have found their place in reality. Someone once said, “Yesterday is like a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is like ready cash. Use it wisely, for today is the most precious possession you can have.”
I believe every young person hear tonight can wear the dream by applying ideas found in our story tonight.
Idea #1: Returned to Camp (vs. 15)
Once Gideon learned that God had given him the Midianites and their camp he worshipped, but then he returned to camp. Gideon, returned to let others know that they were getting ready to see the fulfillment of God’s dream for Israel. To receive a dream and try to achieve it by yourself is the conception of failure. God gives us dreams and expects us to return to a place where our dreams can be owned by others. In returning to camp what you are saying is that I am ready to return to that place where I will find what I need to make my dreams come true. You find three comforts in the “camp”. They are:
1. Comfort of Relationship
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be over powered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4.9-12
2. Comfort of Resources (love, encouragement)
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
1 John 4:7-12
3. Comfort of Refreshing
“Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.”
Ex 15:27-16:1
To wear the dream and begin to make it happen you must return to camp and receive the comforts of the camp.
A woman was heartbroken when her dog disappeared. She put an ad in the paper offering a reward for its return. The next morning the phone rang. It was the voice of a woman: I’m calling about your dog." Then she began to cough. She explained she wasn’t feeling too well. In fact, she hadn’t felt well for three years since her husband had died. She went on to say that after her mother and father had passed away, that recently her sister had contracted cancer and was undergoing painful treatments. Her friends weren’t doing well, either. She gave details of their various illnesses and went on to describe the funerals of several of them. After thirty minutes of this, the woman who had lost the dog tried to get the caller back on the subject. She asked, "But what about my dog?" The other woman replied, "Oh, I don’t have him, but I thought you might be feeling badly about losing it, so I thought I’d just call to cheer you up!"
This morning I was talking to a leader and asked them how their day was going. They said they read Job this morning and in comparison their day was going great.
Idea #2 Called Out (vs. 15)
As Gideon is the voice of one man calling out to his army, you can be the voice a generation calling out to our city to be a city of youth that is passionate about pursuing God. Paul says that how can one be saved unless they hear. There is a dynamic about a generation, a mass of youthful humanity, that is calling out. There is a message that is in your mouth that must be spoken to this generation. Someone once said, “You cannot choose your calling. Your calling chooses you. You have been blessed with special skills that are yours alone. Use them, whatever they may be, and forget about wearing another’s hat. A talented chariot driver can win gold and renown with his skills. Let him pick figs and he would starve.”
Why could Gideon call out to his army with such vigor and confidence?
1. Faith in God - “to say”
2. Confirmation from God - “to boast”
3. Mandated by God - “to avow”
Do you exhibit these same qualities? You should! God is the same today as he was in the day of Gideon. At times coaches will call out to their players in an aggressive fashion to motive them to achieve the dreams and goals they had set.You must be calling out, declaring by faith, what God has said to you. The Lord has put a dream in your heart, why not believe, do you want to believe that God is playing a game with you. God is not teasing you in regards to using your life for greatness. You, all of you, are a voice that is calling. Like John the Baptist I declare that you are to be a voice of one calling out in the wilderness of the 21st century that there is way in which to walk in intimacy with God and to live the best life possible. You are to wear the dream by calling out to those around. You are mandated by God to do so, and you have been confirmed by the promises of God that your life is earmarked for greatness. Be a voice, Be one who is calling out to those around and challenge them to live at another level.
Idea #3 Lead by example - (vs. 17)
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Follow God instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.”
Let me share with you one example of what young people around the world are doing to lead by example.
“And the army is disciplined. Young people who beat their bodies into submission. Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms. The tattoo on their back boasts, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them? Can hormones hold them back? Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them? And...the generation prays: like a dying man with groans beyond talking, with warrior cries, sulphuric tears, and with great wheel barrow loads of laughter! Whatever it takes, they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cozy little hiding place. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs. Laughing at labels, fasting essentials….Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives—swap seats with the man on death row—guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair. With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them. Their DNA chooses Jesus. He breathes out, they breathe in. Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus…. From Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner. Guaranteed.
This is an excerpt of a prayer hand written on a wall in the Revelation Prayer Room located in Chechester, England. I believe that word sums up what I would say about “leading by example”. All people are looking for is authenticity. Authentic relationships, authentic parents, authentic people. Lead by example and you lead authentically.
