Welcome to 2017!
1. What is a dream?
- A dream is a desire of your heart that won't go away.
- A dream is a desire in your heart that God put there.
- A dream is a desire to achieve something that stays with you.
- Dreams from God are always bigger than your capability.
- Dreams from God are always about your impact on people for their eternal destiny and the fulfilment of their life missions.
- Dreams are compelling desires
Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 21:2 You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.
The implication in these verses is that God wants to be in your dreams. In fact the Hebrew language picture of this is of an empty vessel being filled. God wants to pour dreams into you, dreams of blessing and impact and breakthrough.
2. The result of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is dreams and visions
- The language of the Holy Spirit is dreams and visions
Acts 2: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
3. People in the Bible had dreams
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians,enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.” Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.” The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honour. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.” Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.” The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.” This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death. When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you you have made known to us the dream of the king.” Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”
Nebuchadnezzar was desperate to know the dream. He knew he had one, but he couldn't remember what it was. Sometimes we forget the dream. Sometimes we need to find wise people not only to interpret the dream, but to tell us what the dream is.
So many people are lost.
- Lost in their job
- Lost in their debts
- Lost in survival
- Lost in their hurts.
Why? Because they don't understand the journey.
4. Getting in touch with your dreams.
Ps 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Getting in touch with your dreams starts with getting in touch with your hearts desires.
This is your life, your one and only life. You and God determine what's possible!
In 5 years Columbus opened up a whole new world by discovering the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola and North and South America.
In just under 5 years Michelangelo painted the Sistine chapel.
In less than 5 years Shakespeare wrote ‘Hamlet, ‘Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and 5 other immortal plays.
You have the same number of hours per day that were give to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.
If you don’t have a dream, how can you have a dream come true?
Exercise: multiply your age x 365 = ?
Now take the number 27375 and deduct your answer from that = how many days you have left on earth.