August 11, 2002
28"Then after I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions.
Joel 2:28
(NLT)
14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Romans 8:14
(KJV)
A very young child was learning the fruits of the Spirit. Her mom asked her to recite them; "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and remote control," was her reply.
Spirituality is big these days. With the advent of the "New Age" movement, even well-known celebrities talk about spiritual things. Do you know the name Sarah Michelle Gellar? How about the character she portrays…Buffy the Vampire Slayer? In an interview with Scotland’s Daily Record she told them her… personal spirituality borrows from a hodgepodge of religions. I consider myself a spiritual person. I believe in an idea of God, although it’s my own personal ideal. I find most religions interesting, and I’ve been to every kind of denomination: Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist. I’ve taken bits from everything and customized it. But Gellar also did her homework, telling Rolling Stone that she read through the Bible in 1999. Two actors reportedly have become Christians while working on the show, but its emphasis on witchcraft has kept it at the top of many Christians’ Must Flee TV lists.
Buffet-style spirituality (where you pick a little of this which you like from that religion…and a little of something else here and there) is the number one religion these days. We in America are fiercely independent thinkers. We have that John Wayne/Clint Eastwood mentality - Don’t tell me what to do - and if you think you can, well just MAKE MY DAY, Pilgrim.
The problem with that when it comes to spirituality, is that you can be sincere in what you think - it just doesn’t mean you’re going to be right in what you think.
When it comes to God, just because you’re sincere about what you think, doesn’t make you right - or acceptable in God’s eyes. You cannot pick what you simply want to believe about God. In fact, sincerity that is aimed in the wrong direction can get you in big trouble. God reserves for Himself how He is to be worshipped; THAT is the issue and whole idea (for human consumption) of God. He is Sovereign…in charge…or He really isn’t God. We must grasp that obvious command to worship HIM, and not our IDEA of who He is and what WE think! Some things are obvious!
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, Holmes wakes Watson. "Watson, look up at the stars and tell me what you deduce."
Watson says, "I see millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life."
Holmes replies, "Watson, you idiot, somebody stole our tent!"
If we are to grasp the obvious about what Joel and Paul said about living life as led by the Spirit of God, then what is it we will grasp? What can be said about the Spirit-led life?
It’s a Life of Dreams and Vision
It is helpful to define our terms here. A popular television show "Frasier" has a character named Daphne Moon, played by Jane Leaves. She is a winsome British young woman who maintains she has psychic visions. Her life and goals are controlled by whatever she "sees" in these dream-visions.
It’s really pretty funny stuff (especially when she eats pizza with anchovies just before going to sleep - what dreams and visions!).
That is not the kind of visionary Spirit-leadership the Bible holds. Rather, vision is like a window through which we wonder about tomorrow. The word "vision" is chizzaòyoòn (ïBéfˆç), literally, a revelation . It means we contemplate tomorrow. Animals can’t do that. They react to surrounding influences; they respond to instincts within to build a den or protect a cub. Only humans set goals and dream of tomorrow’s possibilities.
Do you have goals, dreams and visions? Are you planning for a bigger tomorrow than today? Are you planning for a greater tomorrow? I mean, are you involving yourself in something greater than yourself?
To be led by the Spirit of God is to bend your will to His and allow His revealed word (as we have in the Scripture) to inform your human mind and spirit - to shape you into the image of Christ, obedient, yielded, usable.
How do you do that?
I’ve known many people who prayed for the will of God to be revealed. Some have sat, unfulfilled for years awaiting the sky to part, and a new Biblical text to unfold mystically before their eyes. They tell every preacher that comes down the pike, "Oh, if I only knew what God’s will was I’d do it." With every revival, and every call for commitment they hold off putting themselves on the line of obedience because somehow the great vision hasn’t yet happened. They live life second-guessing and miserable guilt, sensing they have not followed God.
Others have made a conscious decision to accept and follow Christ, according to the revelation they have, trusting Him to reveal Himself. They got busy in a local church, studied their Bibles, shared their faith and gave of themselves to build the kingdom of God
wherever they are
however they could
with whatever God gave them.
I have seen folks in that second group find the will of God; the first group finds and follows squirrels like Shirley MacLaine into spirituality of the goofy kind.
God has given us plenty of vision. He tells us to cooperate in building His church, the visible symbol of the Kingdom of God.
upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16.18b (KJV)
He tells us to love and care for one another - as we would care for Him in person.
34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25.34,40 (KJV)
He tells us to set our goals on things eternal, great visions, magnificent dreams.
19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Matthew 6:19 - 20 (KJV)
The Spirit-led life is a life of dreams and vision. And…
It’s a Life in the Light
Darkness is for bumping into things. We have all made our share of mistakes. We have all jumped to the wrong conclusion at times. We have all played the jerk! Light is a matter of finding-out that we do not have all the answers, and sometimes we are chasing a dream that may not exist. Reality has escaped, and we’re on the lam with it.
A young woman brings home her fiancé to meet her parents. After dinner, her mother tells her father to find out more about the young man. The father invites the fiancé into his study. "So what are your plans?" the father asks the young man.
"I am a Bible scholar," he replies.
"A Bible scholar. Hmm," the father says. "Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in as she’s accustomed to?"
"I will study," the young man replies, "and God will provide for us."
"And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring such as she deserves?" asks the father.
"I will concentrate on my studies," the young man replies, "and God will provide for us."
"And children?" asks the father. "How will you support children?"
"Don’t worry, sir, God will provide," replies the fiancé.
The conversation proceeds like this, and each time the father questions, the young idealist insists that God will provide. Later the mother asks, "How did it go, honey?" The father answers, "He has no job and no plans, but the good news is he thinks I’m God."
Vision is good - God’s light on that vision will tell us if we have been in the sun too long, or if we are on the right track. James helps us at this point.
5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1:5 (KJV)
Is your vision, your dream a pipe dream? Does it match with God’s will? Bring the light of God’s word to bear on your vision. Again…
How Do I Do That?
There are numbers of ways to verify your dreams and visions. The primary way is prayer and study of the scripture. Does your life’s path line-up with what God said in His word. Much heartache and wasted effort could have been avoided in the past had some penetrating questions been put to the Biblical test. Ananias and Saphira thought they had a good plan. They announced they were going to give all the purchase price of a land parcel to the Lord’s work. They decided to hold back some (nobody would know). God knew, and lying isn’t part of his plan. They thought they had a vision of being chief in the giving department - they wound-up feet first in the morgue!
Question #1 is always: Does it line-up with God’s Word?
Another way to bring your vision to light is to share it with respected leaders in the Kingdom. The scripture says
14Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. Proverbs 11:14 (KJV)
I cannot tell you the number of times I have been saved from myself by the wise counsel of a mentor, or a caring Deacon body. Many times I hold back a decision until I have time to talk with our Deacons. I respect their counsel on my visions. Often I have a good vision, a Godly vision, but my goals may be off. Clarifying our vision and goals by sharing in the light of Godly believer’s counsel is God’s way of sharing wisdom. We can’t live without vision:
18Where there is no vision, the people perish: Proverbs 29:18a (KJV)
Spirit-led - a life of visions and dreams in the light, and…
It’s a Life of Growth
Every living thing is born, grows and dies. That is a life-cycle. Your visions and dreams are living things. If they are nurtured and tended they will grow. Are you growing?
I read a book some years ago by Dr. Robert Dale of Southeastern Seminary ("To Dream Again"). The book outlines the health cycle of organizations - with application particularly for church health. The author traces how things happen in local churches like ours, all the way from first dream, to the pinnacle of ministry, and down the slide to dropout.
In the book’s introduction Dr. Dale suggests there are four ways to revitalize a church, organizationally-speaking.
Policy change - this is the easiest…change the way you do things and create some excitement.
Personnel change - fire the minister (let’s not go there!), or get new lay leaders.
Program change - We do that all the time.
Purpose revitalization…that is, we re-focus on our reason for being here, and re-cast the vision and dream about where we’re going.
I want to suggest to you today that a real hallmark of being led of the Spirit of God is:
not how many "screw loose" ideas you can come up with;
nor is it the way you can pray publicly,
or lay out policy and program changes.
It isn’t about having a phony smile on your face or singing Kumbayah with feeling.
Being Spirit-led is all about sticking to the purpose for which God placed you on this planet. It’s about being an obedient and pliable instrument in the hands of God to accomplish His will. It’s all about hard work and commitment with no personal agenda, other than being the best servant on earth, approved in Heaven. It’s all about what the Apostle Paul told Timothy he needed to be about…
15Study to show thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
Do you dare to be a dreamer? Do you dare to have visions and dreams? Do you dare to bring them into the light of God’s wisdom and share them with the family of God? You can be that way. God told us that Jesus died for that…so that you could be living an abundant life, filled with the poured-out Spirit of the living God. He did it because He loves you.
One of the great dreamers of our time is John Nash. In the movie, A Beautiful Mind. you are treated to the wonderful and compelling story of Nash, a 1994 Nobel Prize winner. His thinking and mathematical formulae have had tremendous impact on business and international relations in recent years.
Nash is a genius, and the movie traces his life through the early years at Princeton, starting in 1947. After a distinguished decade of productivity, Nash suffers a breakdown. He imagines he is involved in deciphering coded messages from foreign enemies. His life falls apart. The beautiful mind becomes the most tortured mind, plagued by schizophrenia.
His loving wife Alisha stands by, fiercely holding things together as John suffers through a mental hospital stay, and his struggle to rid his mind of persons who torture him emotionally. These people only exist within his mind…they’re not real.
In the end, the schizophrenia that haunts John Nash is not sent away, but dealt-with. He chooses to ignore them and love his wife. At the awards ceremony Nash’s acceptance speech has the following statement:
"That search for reason and logic has taken me a lifetime, through the theoretical, the metaphysical and the delusional - and back. And it is only in the mystical realm of love I have found any reason and logic."
Love…the final, lasting, overcoming dream.
Do you want something to build a life on?
Do you want a dream, a vision that will withstand the scrutiny of light?
Do you want a life of growth with reason and logic?
Build your dreams, your visions on this:
God is love.
1 John 4.8
8But God showed his great love for us
by sending Christ to die for us
while we were still sinners.
Romans 5:8 (NLT)
