Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. When we think of Dr. King most of us remember his “I have a dream” speech delivered during the March on Washington in 1963. There have been a few memorable speeches made on the shores of America. But the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. will linger on for many years to come. He dreamed of a day when racial justice and equality would be the rule of the land. So we remember today not only the dreamer but the dream itself. The dream has not yet been realized, but we are further along than we were because of dreamers like Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream.
But have you ever stopped to think that God had a dream too? God puts his dreams into people who will carry out his dreams. I believe God‘s dream for the country was the same as Martin Luther King’s. In a real sense God gave His dreams to him. God is the source of all dreams for the betterment of human society. On the eve of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and at the beginning of a brand new year, our thoughts may be turned toward dreams, goals, aspirations, and resolutions. You should have a dream. Dreams involve purposes for living. Without a purpose for living our lives are drab and dull. Without a purpose for living we lose all hope for life. But as you ponder your dream today, I want to invite you to put God in your dreams. Some of our dreams are frivolous and foolish. Some dreams lack reality and substance. Some people dream of winning the lottery. Considering the odds, that’s a pipe dream. I read about a movie called Hoop Dreams, about some high school kids dreaming of playing in the NBA. For most of them that dream is unrealistic. They are living in a dream world. Their dreams have failed the test of reality.
But God gives us dreams which can be accomplished because they are the products of his desires, dreams that spring from his plans for our lives. Consider if you will, the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. Joseph was a dreamer. You will remember the story of Joseph and his dreams. Joseph had a dream from God that one day his family would bow low before him. In fact, God gave him two dreams of the same kind. After the second dream there was no doubt that the dream had come from God. God was in the dreams of Joseph. Put God in your dreams. How do you do that?
In the first place, ask God to show you His dreams for your life. I am convinced that when God gives you a dream it is for your benefit and the benefit of others. God gives his dreams to men and women who will work to put those dreams in action. The great accomplishments of the world have come from dreamers that God had chosen. God is the source of all truth and wisdom. God dreamed that His people needed to read his word. So he gave John Guttenberg the dream of the printing press. God had a dream that his people needed to have light shown in the dark places of this world. So God gave Thomas Edison the dream of the electric light bulb. God had a dream that human kind needed a better mode of transportation than the horse and buggy. So God gave the dream of the automobile to Henry Ford and others. God had a dream that humans needed to span the great distance separating them. So God gave the dream of an airplane to the Wright Brothers. I believe God gives dreamers dreams to further the comfort and well-being of his people. Talk about your intelligent design! God put intelligent design in the minds of dreamers to bring his dreams to fruition.
God gave Joseph the dream that he would be the means of saving his people. The purpose of the dream was not that his father and brothers would bow before him. The purpose of the dream was that Joseph would be instrumental in saving his people from starvation in Canaan by bringing them to Egypt where there was plenty of food. Ask God to show you His dreams for your life.
Maybe God still has great dreams for this church. This great church is about to call a new pastor. The days of the former pastors are over. God is ready to do a new thing in this church. Let God put his dreams in you for the advancement of this church. Do not be lulled into complacency by the accomplishments of the past or the status of the present. Complacency is the enemy of dreams. You are the largest church in the Presbytery, one of the largest in the denomination, and one of the most prestigious. You have dozens and dozens of activities and ministries for all members of the church. Take a look at the bulletin and the newsletter and see all the many programs and activities of this church. Your outreach extends to the heart of West Philadelphia and beyond. Yet God still has dreams for you and your church. God has dreams that you can be even a better church. God may not yet be through with this church. God does not allow us to rest on our laurels. God is constantly pushing us forward to bigger and greater achievements. It’s dream time! Ask God to show you his dream for this church. Ask God to use you in bringing his dream to realization.
But you may say what difference can my dream make in a church of over 3000 members? If I were in a smaller church of 100 my dream might make a difference. But if God shows you a dream for your church God can use you to fulfill it. One person with a God-given dream can change any church. And if enough people catch the dream from God, miracles can happen. I don’t know what needs to be done in this church. You know. And surely God knows. Look around and ask God to put his dreams in you for this church.
One thing God wants to give all of us is His dream that we may have a closer relationship with Him this year. God has a dream that we might love him more dearly this year and follow him more closely. God has a dream that we may develop a closer relationship with our spouses, family members, and friends. God has a dream that we may share His dreams with one another and support each other in those dreams. I believe God uses dreamers to do great things. I believe God uses dreamers to further his dreams for humankind. I believer God uses dreamers who in the words of George Bernard Shaw refuse to look at things as they are and ask why, but dream of things that never were and ask why not. Do you have a dream today? Ask God to show His dreams for your life.
Secondly, ask God to sustain his dreams in your life. Just because God gives you a dream doesn’t mean the dream will have smooth sailing through life. The dream will come across obstacles and opposition. There are always those who will put stumbling blocks in the path of your dreams. Joseph’s brothers hated him because of his dreams. They hated him so much that they conspired to kill him. We see this in our text when they said, “let us kill him and then we shall see what will become of his dreams.” Any dream worthwhile will face hard times and great trials. Even if your dream is to lose weight this year and to become more physically fit, some people may envy you because they won’t have the will power to do likewise. Whatever your God-given dream is some people will be upset with you and instead of complementing you, will seek to put stumbling blocks in your way. Most dreamers face hardships, frustrations, and disappointments. It comes with the territory of being a dreamer. Martin Luther King, Jr. surely faced hardships and difficulties. Joseph must have thought his dream had died when his brothers put him in a pit to die. Even when he was rescued by the traders and sold into Egypt, it didn’t look too good for his dream. When he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and cast into prison it didn’t look promising for his dream. But God sustained Joseph in his dreams. God blessed Joseph through it all. God brought him from a pit and a prison to a place in the palace. Don’t be discouraged if your dream is not shared by others. Dreamers are not popular with many people. Dreamers threaten the status quo. Dreamers tend to turn things upside down. Dreamers are dangerous people in the eyes of many. Even great dreamers of the Bible have faced hard times. Dreamers like Noah, Joseph, Moses, Ezekiel, John the Baptist, and even Jesus have encountered hostility. People dislike dreamers because they call us beyond our traditions, challenge our thinking, and convict us of settling for less than God’s best for us.
Also don’t expect your dream to come true in a short time. Dreams sometimes take a long time to come true. Sometimes you have to wait for your dreams. Nothing happens over night. Changes are sometimes slow in happening. Job dreamed for the day when his trouble and pain would be over. But he had to wait for his change to come. But God will sustain you when your dream is in a waiting stage.
Finally, ask God to satisfy His dreams through you. There came a time when the dream that God gave Joseph came true. God can not only show you His dream, sustain you in his dream, but also in the end satisfy the dream. God works the dream out in his own way and in his own time. Maybe the dream doesn’t come true as you hoped it would. But let God’s will be done. Even Joseph’s dream did not completely come true. There came a time when the people were enslaved and persecuted in Egypt. God had to raise up another dreamer named Moses to accomplish his dreams for his people. Sometimes the dreamers die, but the dreams live on. We may have to pass the dream on to others. The founders of this church back in 1873 had a dream for this congregation. But they did not see it rise to its present state. They had to pass the dream on to others who worked out God’s dream for this church. We may have to pass the dream on to others. God’s dreams can never die. Martin Luther King, the dreamer was killed. But the dream still lives on. The dream has been passed on to others who will work on to accomplish the dream. Dreamers may die, but dreams never die because they are conceived in the mind and purpose of God. Do you have a dream today? Put God in your dream and watch Him work out His dreams in your life. God is still looking for dreamers who will put his dreams to work in their lives? Will you be one of God’s dreamers.
Dreams are not the prerogatives of the young only. Some here may say that my day of dreaming has passed. I am too old to dream. You are never too old to dream. God can use dreamers of any age. The truth is that anybody can have a dream. Peter in his sermon in Acts said that a new day had arrived. The day of Pentecost had come. Changes were occurring. New things were happening. A new day was dawning. Peter said that the young and the old shall dream dreams. Pentecost has come to this church, so to speak. The young and the old can dream together.
I just celebrated my 82nd birthday. And
do you know what? I still have a dream. I am still dreaming. I am convinced that God is not through fulfilling His dreams in my life. Keep on dreaming. God does not intend for the flame of your dreams to die out.
God had promised Caleb the mountain of Hebron when the people reached the promised land. When they got to the land, Caleb told Joshua to let him take that mountain. Caleb told Joshua, “I am 85 years old and just as strong and vigorous as I ever was. Give me that mountain. I’ll take it.” Caleb would not let the dream of that mountain die out. Keep on climbing the mountain of your dreams.
In closing let me say, dream on church! Climb every mountain. Ford every stream. Follow every rainbow till you find your dream. Put God in your dreams. And climb that mountain. Ford that stream. Follow that rainbow, till you find that dream. Dream on church. You and your new pastor, dream on! Let God put His dream in you.
