Running after dreams without God is futile. When we achieve our own ambitions apart from God’s dream we come up empty.
▸ Alexander the Great was not satisfied, even when he had subdued the nations of world. He wept because there were no more worlds to conquer; Alexander died at an early age in a state of debauchery, depravity, and wantonness.
▸ Hannibal, who filled three bushels with the gold rings taken from the knights he had slaughtered, committed suicide by swallowing poison. Few noted his death, and he left this world completely unmourned.
▸ Julius Caesar, the ruler of the great Roman empire conquered 800 cities, only to be stabbed in the back and murdered by his best friends at the scene of his greatest triumph.
▸ Napoleon was a feared warrior, who after conquering most of Europe leaving a trail of terror, spent the last years of his life banished from his beloved France.
▸ Adolf Hitler, Germany’s fuhrer who gained control of most of Europe during WW2 and systematically slaughtered over 6 million Jews committed suicide in an underground bunker after he saw the Allies turn the tide of the war and take Berlin.
Today we come to day 15, the beginning of our third week for our 50-day spiritual adventure: “Daring to Dream Again–Overcoming Boundaries That Hold You Back.” How is your adventure going?
Two weeks ago we began our adventure looking at Gideon: “Overcoming a Painful Past.” God calls us [1] to embrace a God-given identity, [2] to live out his new identity, & [3] to acknowledge God’s presence with Him. Likewise God wants heal the pain of our past as we are set free from a false identity and begin to see ourselves from God’s perspective. The Gideon perspective says, “I’m a loser”, “a nobody”, “unworthy”. God sees us differently; He give us a new name and empowers us to live out that identity by His Spirit.
Last week we looked at David; he was able to acknowledge God’s presence because he was on a daily God hunt. David did not let obstacles keep him from seeing how God was working in his life. We to can discover how God is with us each day through [1] an obvious answer to prayer, [2] unexpected evidence of God’s care, [3] an unusual linkage or timing, and [4] help to do God’s work. Let’s take just a moment and hear how some of you discovered God’s presence with you this past week as you went on your daily God hunt.
This morning we are going to look at an unlikely bible character, JUDAS. We don’t often talk about Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus with a kiss; when we do it is often in regard to how we may like Judas betray our Lord by our actions. This morning, however, we are going to look at Judas’ life from a different perspective in order to see “What Happens When Dreams Die.”
Judas is a great Hebrew name. Like the name Jude, Judas is a form of the name Judah and means “Praise”. By his name Judas was a man who would give praise to the Lord. Judas was from Southern Judea, a small town called Kerioth, thus his surname Judas Iscariot “inhabitant of Kerioth.”
Judas was a faithful Jew, but like many living at that time he was dissatisfied with what he saw around him. And who could blame him? The Jewish nation was under the control of the Roman Empire; Rome was cruel to those held under their heavy hand. Because Judas was not satisfied with the Roman occupation, he like many of his fellow Jews longed for the day that the promised Messiah would come to set their nation free.
Judas shows us an important principle about dreaming. Dissatisfaction is a key to being able to dream of something new. Satisfaction–having things good–is often the enemy of spiritual growth. Strange as it may be, the first step to personal revival or revival in the church, the first step toward having a Spirit-inspired imagination and dreaming God’s dream (or dreaming any dream for that matter) is to be dissatisfied with how things are.
ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH HOW THINGS ARE IN YOUR LIFE, OR HAVE YOU BECOME DISSATISFIED WITH THE CONDITION OF HOW YOUR LIFE IS GOING? Don’t be satisfied with the “status quo”. Dream of a better life. Let God give you a Spirit-inspired imagination to see what can be as you move forward with God by your side.
Judas was a dreamer. He was looking forward to the day when Israel would again be free. I believe that’s what drew Judas to Jesus.
Jesus spoke to the people about the kingdom of God. With a nation looking for a deliverer from Rome it would be easy for them to sometimes misunderstand Jesus. Have you ever noticed that sometimes people hear more than what is actually said? Some may have heard or quoted Jesus something like this:
God’s people, are you looking for an alternative? Are you looking for a change? God’s kingdom offers you something new. Does Caesar comfort you when you morn? If you are looking for comfort look to me and be blessed! In God’s kingdom those who are oppressed and mistreated are cared for; I will wipe away your tears. Are you wanting to see righteousness? Will Herod treat you fairly and do what is right? In God’s kingdom you will be blessed with righteousness and truth! Would you like to find some mercy? We all want that; the merciful will be blessed. Do you think that’s on Pilate’s agenda? It’s on mine. Listen to the good news that I tell you about God’s kingdom! You are blessed!
Jesus announced God’s kingdom; He made it know that He was the Messiah. People wanted to believe that Jesus was the one they were looking for to set them free from the hated Romans! The Messiah has come!
Unfortunately Jesus’ plan was not what the people envisioned. Judas was selected to be in Jesus inner circle; he was one of the twelve disciples. Judas began to understand that what he was looking for in a Messiah was not what Jesus was really offering. Instead of overthrowing the Romans, Jesus began to talk about being put to death. The dream which Judas had of finding a Messiah to set Israel free from the Romans was beginning to die.
+ Read: Matthew 26:6-16
Judas understood what Jesus was saying; he didn’t like this talk about death. Judas knew that if what Jesus said about being crucified was true, then the lives of the twelve were also in jeopardy. Couldn’t the other disciples understand that they were all at risk? They were arguing about who should be the greatest in Christ’s new kingdom, but not Judas. Judas could now see that Jesus was not planning to seize power from the Romans; he had to do something.
What motivated Judas to betray Jesus? We can’t know for sure; perhaps not even Judas could tell you the reasons why he chose to do what he did.
+ Proverbs 16:2 All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. (NIV)
Some would say Judas just wanted the money; John tells us that it was Judas who started the argument that the money wasted on Jesus could have been used for the poor (John 12:5). John also tells us that Judas would sometimes help himself to the money given to Jesus and the disciples (John 12:6). But it had to be more than just money. Thirty pieces of silver is the value of an ordinary slave; surely the priests would have paid more if Judas would have asked for it.
Others have said that perhaps Judas wanted to manipulate Jesus. Jesus’ talk about death would stop if He were confronted with a real cross. The nation accepts Jesus as their king, so if Judas could put Jesus in a place where He would have to choose between death and a crown, surely Jesus would take the crown and establish a new Jewish nation.
Perhaps Judas was just looking for a way to save his own neck. If Jesus wanted to be a martyr and if the other disciples could not see that their lives would be in jeopardy to stay with Jesus, then Judas would at least find a way to save himself. He didn’t join Jesus and the disciples to die for no reason at all.
Whatever his motivation may have been one thing is certain; Judas could see that things were not turning out as he had hoped. Little by little the dreams that Judas had were dying.
No one wants to see their dreams die; we all want to believe that our dreams are possible. Dying dreams create an internal crisis. What are we going to do now?
The death of our dreams can be good. The Bible says that God will cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him (see Romans 8:28). How might God be working in our lives as we see our dreams dying?
God can use the death of our dreams to give birth to His divine daring dream. God can resurrect our dead or dying dreams to be more than we had ever imagined! God’s dream for our lives is so much better than we can dream on our own. Instead of holding onto a dead dream, we should let God transform our dream into His dream with a Spirit-inspired imagination bringing new life and power!
+ Judas missed the resurrection. Read: Matthew 27:3-5
Judas did not just miss being a witness to Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Judas missed the opportunity to let God resurrect the dreamer within his heart. God could have restored Judas in order that he could dream with a Spirit-filled imagination and see more than just an earthly kingdom.
God’s plans–the divine daring dream–was bigger than Judas could imagine. God’s dream was better than Judas’. However, Judas lost the chance for God to come to him and like Gideon and give him a new identity. Judas could only see his guilt and a dream that had died. God could change Judas’ identity from “Betrayer” to “Forgiven”; and set him free to dream God’s dreams for his life.
What caused Judas to miss the resurrection of his dreams? When our dreams are dying, what will prevent us from letting God birth or revive His dream within us? Consider these dream killers that we find in Judas’ life.
1. WORLDLY VALUES will distort a God-given dream, and the dream will die when separated from God.
God’s values and priorities are very different from those things that our world says are important. We want to “look out for number 1”, or cut to the front of the line. Jesus said that in God’s kingdom the greatest would be the servant of all and the first would be last (Matthew 23:11; Mark 10:31). We want to accumulate wealth and possessions; Jesus said that no one could serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24).
Judas apparently tried to hold onto the values of the world and still follow Jesus. Judas wanted a position in the kingdom that he believe Jesus would set up when the Romans were defeated. Judas had a love of money that caused him to steal from his friends. Worldly values kept Judas from being able to receive God’s dream of a kingdom beyond this world.
None of us can hold onto worldly values and a Spirit-inspired dream. Values that are misplaced outside of God’s kingdom will distort our dream. God will let our dreams die in order that we might let go of the values of the world; God wants us to dream His dream–His way.
2. BITTERNESS and RESENTMENT will choke the life out of our dreams.
Judas was with the disciples in the upper room after he had agreed to betray Jesus for the 30 pieces of silver. Jesus knew what Judas was planning, but Jesus still showed Judas how much He loved him (see John 13). Jesus took the place of a servant and washed the disciples feet, even the feet of Judas. While they were reclining at the table for the Passover meal, Jesus gave Judas the bread dipped in the wine. This was done for those whom the host wished to honor.
Jesus was reaching out to Judas in love, but Judas could not accept it. Judas’ heart had grown calloused through bitterness and resentment. Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray him; none of them could believe it was possible. Each began to ask, “Is it I?” “Is it I?” Knowing his plan to had Jesus over to the Jewish leaders, Judas mocked the Lord by denying his involvement in such a plan by joining with the others saying, “Is it I?” (Matthew 26:21-25).
When we hold on to bitterness or resentment it will choke the life out of our dreams; jealousy and malice are poison to our souls. If we are going to dream a Spirit-inspired dream our hearts must be transformed.
+ Ephesians 4:30-32 30do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (NIV)
3. ISOLATION from those who share God given dreams will burry our dreams alive.
Judas tried to undo what he had done; he returned the money to the priests saying, “I have betrayed innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). Unfortunately when Judas saw that what he had done was wrong, he went to the wrong people. The priest offered him no pity or Godly counsel.
Judas cut himself off from those who had shared a God-given dream; Judas was alone. Imagine how the story might have changed if Judas had humbled himself and sought out Jesus, or if he had gone to find the disciples. That would have tested their understanding of Jesus’ teaching too; would they forgive as they had been forgiven? We’ll never know.
Judas was isolated and unwilling or unable to go to the very people he needed the most. Hopeless and filled with despair Judas took his own life. His dreams had died.
+ Ecclesiastes 4:10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! (NIV)
When you face what seems to be the death of your dreams, don’t make the same mistake Judas did. Search out those whom God has given you to share the dream; remember God’s dreams are bigger than we are and must be shared.
4. REMORSE or SHAME without Godly sorrow is a death sentence for us and our dreams.
+ 2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (NIV)
Judas felt the shame and guilt for what he had done; he knew that Jesus was innocent. Unfortunately in his remorse Judas didn’t call out to God for forgiveness. Judas could have run to Jesus before it was too late.
Judas had witnessed not only the great miracles which Jesus had preformed, but he also saw how Jesus was willing to forgive sin. Judas should have known that Jesus was always ready to forgive sin.
> Judas was there when the religious leaders had brought the woman caught in the act of adultery. He watched as Jesus with compassion and forgiveness knelt next to the woman and began to write in the sand. Judas, like these religious leader, knew that the law required that she be put to death for her sin. Jesus’ response was let him without sin cast the first stone. No stones were throne. Jesus sent the woman away forgiven to sin no more (see John 8).
> Judas should have know that the heart of Jesus was full of mercy and forgiveness–even for him. Surely if Judas would run to Jesus he would find acceptance and forgiveness from him. Why should Judas continue to fear possibly dying with Jesus, as he would end his own life? If only he had run to Jesus instead of running away from Him!
Don’t make the same mistake Judas made. When you are confronted with your sin don’t just have a worldly sorrow; don’t let your heart grow hard towards the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Run to God and ask for His forgiveness.
+ 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (NIV)
CONCLUSION:
Have you come to a time when it seems that your dreams are dying? Are you questioning God wondering if he even cares for you. God is with you to birth and resurrect His God-given dreams within your heart.
+ Ephesians 5:17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. (NLT)
Judas was afraid of the cross; death was not what he had bargained for when he decided to follow Jesus. Judas understood that if he was to follow Jesus, then he would have to take the path of the cross. Judas was right; the eleven disciple who remained faithful to Jesus all died for their faith in Christ. God birthed within them a dream that was bigger than they were; a dream worth dying for. Judas’ dreams died, and ultimately he died with them.
We must also be willing to take the way of the cross–the way of death. When our dreams seem to be dying it’s not time to give up hope; it’s time to run to God and let Him resurrect His God-given dream within us.
Turn with me in the adult adventure journals to page 27 (page 35 in the large print edition). Dreaming a divine daring dream means that we must set some Godly goals.
SET GODLY GOALS
As the months of following Jesus passed, Judas came to realize that his dreams and Christ’s dreams were different. Money and power were not bottom-line concerns in the kingdom of God. Unfortunately, this member of Jesus’ original Twelve set aside godly goals and let the barrier of self-centered desires prompt him to make a tragic mistake.
Goals, whether stated or unstated, need to be regularly checked to see if they are consistent with Christ’s desires. This GOALS acronym helps simplify that process.
Get God’s input.
“Don’t act thoughtlessly,” cautions Paul in Ephesians 5:17, “but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do” (italics ours).
Own it.
Fix in your mind God’s answer. Psalm 37:23–24 reads, “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”
Apply it.
Lay out some initial plans for meeting your God-given goals, and begin putting them into action. In John 13:17 Jesus says, “You know these things—now do them! That is the path of blessing.”
Live it.
Keep working on realizing your godly goals until they become a way of life. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).
Seek God’s input again.
The upward call of God is worth a lifetime of pursuit. In Philippians 3:12 Paul writes, “I don’t mean to say that I have already . . . reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.”
Don’t be afraid of the death of a dream. God can use that time to birth His dream in your heart. God can resurrect His God-given dream that has been misdirected in your life.
Goals–our dreams–need to be regularly checked to see if they are consistent with Christ’s desires.
Let me encourage you to set some godly goals and then go for it. Live your life to see your dreams become a reality.
