THE ONE FINAL KEY TO DREAMING
MATTHEW 17:20
MATTHEW 28:1-20
INTRODUCTION: We have been looking at the topic of how to dream about more than summer for the last 8 messages. Today we come to what I believe is the most essential ingredient needed if we are EVER to dream BIG for God. Simply put – the key to dreaming is found in what we will do with what Jesus has done! Remember that – what we do with what Jesus has done”.
There is a story about a little girl who was viewing the Pieta statue located in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This is the statue that depicts Mary holding the body of the crucified Lord. The little girl was bothered by what she saw, and turning to her mother said, “What have they done to Jesus?” In spite of her mother’s efforts to hush her, the little girl repeated, “What in the world have they done to Jesus?”
No one did anything to Jesus – mankind may think that they tried, crucified, and hung Him on a cross, but the reality is that Jesus did it to Himself. And when Jesus rose from the dead, He revealed that He was greater than anything else. All of the plans, whether by man or by demon, were simply of no consequence to Him.
I DREAMERS ARE PEOPLE WITH PURPOSE, NOT PROBLEMS
A We Need To Be More Than Reactors
1 Pharisees were REACTORS
2 Sadducees were REACTORS
a Both groups were filed with thousands of “ought nots”
b Result was:
Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.
Luke 11:44 "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it."
1) Reactors look good on the outside, but are dead on the inside
2) Reactors have a way of infecting those they contact
ILLUSTRATION: In a letter dated January 31, 1829 Then New York Governor Martin Van Buren wrote –
Dear Mr. President (Jackson):
The canal system is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as railroads. The federal government must preserve the canal for the following reasons: If the canal boats are supplanted by railroads, serious unemployment will result. Captains, cooks, drivers, hostlers, repairmen, and lock tenders will be left without means of livelihood, not to mention the numerous farmers now employed growing hay for the horses.
Boat builders would suffer. Towline, whip, and harness makers would be left destitute.
Canal boats are absolutely essential to the defense of the United States. In the event of the expected trouble with England, the Erie Canal would be the only means by which we could ever move the supplies so vital to modern war.
As you may well know, Mr. President, the “railroad carriages” are pulled at the enormous speed of fifteen miles per hour by “engines” which endanger the life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty never intended that people shold travel at such breakneck speed.
Martin Van Buren, Governor of New York.
GOOD REACTORS:
§ Good at saying why an idea is wrong
§ Good at knowing why a dream will not work
§ Experts at knowing what is wrong
B The Difference With Dreamers
1 Dreamers see the positive possibilities
2 People in touch with Jesus – When we have really met the Lord, we are not satisfied with simply pursuing insignificant things – BIGGER FISH TO FRY!
a Unwilling to be satisfied with the status quo
b Looking in light of eternity – maintenance of where we are is unacceptable
We need to be like the old riverboat captain, who when asked if he knew where all the rocks, sandbars and shallow spots in the river were, replied, “Nope, I just know where the deep water is.”
We need to go where we can, and not be hindered by where we cannot go!
II DREAMERS ARE PEOPLE WHO AFFECT THEIR WORLD
A Dreamers affect by INFLUENCE
1 Jesus called us salt – a little salt goes a long way
2 Jesus referred to heaven as leaven – A little leaven goes a LONG way
Dreamers can change the church
Dreamers can change the world
Dreamers can change the country
Dreamers can change the community
B Dreamers affect by reflection
Back in 1993, the flight control center of Russia, near Moscow, attempted a monumental experiment – the deploying of a 25 foot aluminum disk. Though the test was not entirely successful due to mechanical problems, they were triumphant in producing an approx. 2 mile disk of daylight on a darkened area of the Siberian region.
1 Understand that we are not Jesus
2 We are reflectors of Jesus
3 Focus on the person of Jesus increases our output
Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
III DREAMERS ARE PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS DID
A When Jesus Rose from the dead he said:
1 Nothing man can do to me matters
2 Nothing the devil can do matters
3 Nothing is too difficult for me
B Possible reactions to what Jesus did
1 Faint – do nothing with what we know
2 Fear – unable to do anything with what we know
3 Faith – Act on what we know
4 Falsehood – dismiss and deny what we know
C When I exercise my faith daily in Christ it is seen in my dreams for Him
1 Faith moves mountains
2 What mountains can we trust God to move?
a Financial ones – pray through them – trust God
b Relational ones – pray through them – trust God
c Occupational ones – pray through them – trust God
THE KEY TO DREAMING BIG FOR GOD IS WHAT YOU WILL DO WITH WHAT JESUS HAS DONE. If he has done all that He has, is anything too difficult for Him? No – Now what will you do with what you know?
D Two Final Choices
1 Accept what Jesus has done for us, and dream big things
2 Reject what Jesus has done for us, and groan at our situation
Faint, fear, faith, or falsehood. That’s the difference between dreamin’ and groanin’!
Dreaming of our opportunities
Groaning at our responsibilities.
Powerpoint available for this message, please email for material
