The Stealer Of Dreams

The stealer of dreams.

How many of us have ever had a dream?

Childhood dreams, teenage dreams, dreams for your family and children, secret dreams. Ladies did the Knight on a white charger ever come along?

Lets be honest we have all had dreams. However dreams are not the prerogative of the young.

The world knows the power of a dream, a pop song says,

Everybody’s Gotta Have A Dream

Something to keep you alive inside

Everybody’s Gotta Have A Dream

Something to dry all the tears you’ve cried

When you fall to your knees praying for the end

It’s your dream that gets you up again

Dan Ward

Martin Luther King said,

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

The Christian must have dreams and visions of the future, after all the future is what it is all about. Joel wrote,

“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams,

and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit

even on servants—men and women alike. Joel 2:28 Living Translation

Let me ask three honest questions,

Have you ever had a dream for the things of God? A dream that involves your role in the plan of God? Have you ever discovered the awesome power of a dream?

The chances are that your answer is yes!

Another question,

Is it possible that the dream came from God?

If the dream seemed too big to be possible then the answer is probably yes.

Last question,

What happened to the dream?

The chances are that it failed to materialise or you became weary and let it slip.

I want to address the reason that this happens to normal honest Jesus loving believers.

Jesus said,

Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJ

“I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. NLT

Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. Message