All of us have dreams. For some, the light of our dreams may have
been snuffed out or greatly dimmed through the adversities of
life. Perhaps your dream concerned your family or your church
or your finances or your ministry. But whatever that dream is
composed of, the faith of God can give it substance and make it
come to pass in your life.
Don't give up hope. Commit your dreams to the Lord. . let Him
work in your heart and he will bring them to pass. Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith, has dreams. He dreams of seeing
every man and woman, boy and girl, saved, sanctified and filled
with the Holy Ghost. He dreams of seeing you and I full of the
peace of God, prosperous, healthy and fulfilling our mission on
the earth. He's the One that begins a good work in us and he will
complete it, too.
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the
race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2, KJV).
Jesus came to earth with a dream. . .to set mankind free. . .
to seek and to save the lost. . .to destroy the works of the devil.
But even Jesus' dream did not come to pass immediately. It took
time. He did not start doing miracles, opening the blind eyes
and raising the dead when he was a baby. In fact, he was 30 years
old when His earthly ministry began. His dream is still finding
fulfillment today.
Jesus suffered in order to see His dream come to pass. For the
joy that was set before him (that is, our salvation) he endured
the cross. It was not fun going the cross. It was not a July picnic.
It wasn't Jesus' idea of entertainment on Friday afternoon. No,
he suffered. But he suffered for a purpose. . .that you and I
might be set free. . .that the Kingdom of God may come forth in
the earth. He had a vision, and He kept walking forward until
that vision was fulfilled.
The scripture says that we must "run with patience"
the race that is set before us. Jesus is the "author"
and the "finisher" of our faith. There is a development
of faith in our lives.
Today you may be able to believe God for a loaf of bread, but
eventually, if you develop your faith, you may be able to believe
God for the bakery. You may be able to use your faith today to
help one person see Jesus as their Savior, but eventually you
may see thousands come to know Christ.
In every race there is a starting line, a course and a finish
line. Today you are on the course, not the finish line. You are
in the Christian race. You must keep going to see the victory.
It's wonderful to dream dreams, but it is much greater to see
them come to pass.
The Apostle Paul said, "But none of these things move me,
neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish
my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of
the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts
20:24, KJV).
When his life was nearly over, he said, "I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
(2 Timothy 4:7, KJV).
Many people become discouraged because they don't see their dreams
come to pass immediately. They have the seed of greatness in their
hearts, but what they see with their natural eyes is so different.
They set their eyes on the circumstances of life and they wonder
why God does not bring substance to their dreams, why their situation
is dark, why their path is cloudy, why nothing seems to work.
Hold on to your dream. God wants to give you the desire of your
heart.
Sometimes, there are "dreams" in our heart that are
not of God. But when we are born again, the Lord begins to sanctify
our dreams. He gives us dreams that conform to His will. As we
continually surrender our lives to Him, He places dreams within
us that conform to the heavenly pattern. They are holy dreams.
. . and precious before God. Allow God to define and refine the
dreams of your heart until your heart becomes like His heart.
Then as your dreams are like His you will see your dreams take
on substance, first spiritual substance and then natural substance.
Remember, Jesus is the author and the finisher or your faith.
Your dreams can come true, in Jesus name.
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and
they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray
you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding
sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood
upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made
obeisance to my sheaf. (Genesis 37:5-7, KJV).
Joseph dream did come to pass, but it took many years. It
had to be sanctified, defined and refined in the crucible of life.
When He first had his dream, he was a young whippersnapper, wet
behind the ears, caught up in the excitement of being his Father's
favorite son. . .an egotistical, snotty teenager. . . a spoiled
brat.
But when the dream finally came to pass, he was mature, stable,
and developed. . .the prime minister of Egypt. . . a man used
of God, not to bring glory to himself, but rather to help others.
. . a man used of God to deliver his family and to bring a people
to a place of nurture and protection, where a nation might develop
and become God's holy people that he would take into the promised
land.
In other words, Joseph's dream fit into the dream of God. It was
part of God's grand plan to bring deliverance to the earth through
Jesus Christ. Likewise, your dream has a part in that plan as
well.
He wants your family to be a light. He wants your business to
be a channel of blessing. He wants your ministry to change the
world. God has a great plan for you. Glorious things are spoken
of you, O city of God. Rise in your glory and see the dream fulfilled.
Don't allow the discouragement of the present hour latch a hold
of you and keep you from seeing the fulfillment of your dream.
Get an inward vision of success and don't let go until God brings
it to pass in your life. Your dreams can come true, in Jesus name.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, KJV).
Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, (Hebrews 11:33, KJV).
Your faith can change things. If things are not just right in
your life right now, that does not mean that you do not have faith.
Faith is the substance of the the things "hoped for"
the evidence of things "not seen." That which is seen
does not require faith. Faith is for things "not seen."
When you have faith in your heart you have the thing, even though
you don't.
You can't see it, touch it, feel it, handle it, but you have it.
You have it in your heart. It's like that with salvation. You
have it, but you can't see it. You know your sins are forgiven,
that you're going to heaven when you die, that Jesus has prepared
a place for you, but you don't see it with your natural eyes.
It's real, you just can't see it.
It says that through faith they "subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
. ." Through faith you can change your world.
You may have never held a crusade, but you're an evangelist on
the inside. You have faith in your heart. You may not even have
a business, but on the inside you're a successful business man.
You may not have a child, but in your heart your a mother of successful
children. Your heart is the place where dreams live, where they
grow and where they must be protected.
There are many enemies to your dreams. Those enemies may be people,
or circumstances, or your own stupidity. But with perseverance,
you can overcome your enemies. It's not the smartest fighter that
wins, it's the one that's standing at the end. When you fall down,
get up. Learn from your mistakes. Keep an honest heart. Be teachable,
but most of all, don't give up. Keep your dreams alive. Keep giving
them to the Lord, that He might shape and mold them for His glory.
Your dreams can come true, in Jesus name.
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and
the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death; (Philippians 3:10, KJV).
Some people think that the Christian life is all about dying to
self, crucifying the flesh and becoming empty, beaten down vessels
for the Lord. But in reality, the message of the Christianity
is a message of life. We die. . .that we might live. We empty
ourselves. . . that we might be filled. We give up a lower life.
. . in order to receive a higher life.
Jesus endured the cross for a purpose. He did it for the joy that
was ahead. He died that we might live. After the death comes a
resurrection.
When Christ takes over in our life our dreams become holy unto
the Lord. He will bless prize fighters, business people, homemakers,
construction workers and preachers. He's for all of us, not just
some of us. Some people think that in order to be holy you have
to live in a monetary and chant all day long.
No, we are to live out our holiness in the arena of life, where
the people are, where the rubber meets the road, where there are
struggles and problems and conflicts and everything else, where
there is sin and sorrow and hurt and pain. . . where the sinners
are. . . the ones that Jesus died for.
When Jesus is reflected in your life, when you live excited for
the Lord, when miracles are happening in your life, people are
touched. People were drawn to the great men and women of the Bible
because God was in their lives and something was happening. God
was splitting the Red Sea. Fire was coming down from heaven. The
temple was being built. God was working through faith-charged,
supernaturally endowed people. This is what God can do in your
life as well. Nothing is impossible with God. Your dreams can
come true, in Jesus name.
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through
faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:12, KJV).
When we read the great miracles of the Bible and of the great
lives, we have a tendency to think that it just happened all at
once. But the great heroes of the Bible were not overnight successes.
And the great heroes of faith today did not get where they are
by the Holy Ghost Express, the great spiritual Amtrak in the sky.
No, nobody knows how many prayers, how much crying, how much agonizing
and groaning took place before someone has been raised up a great
leader or an example before God's people. Nobody knows how many
false starts, mistakes, misfit efforts have taken place before
someone finally learned to get on track with God and be used by
him. Nobody knows how many muddy fields, how many hurtful relationships,
how many lonely nights it took to produce a miracle ministry like
Katherine Kuhlman's. Only God knows. . . but when the dream comes
true, it's all worth it. It's all worth it to see God have his
way.
Moses, the "overnight success," spent 40 years in the
wilderness. David, the boy King, spent years being chased around
in the wilderness by King Saul. The Apostle Paul began as Saul
of Tarsus, and spent years in training and preparation for his
eventual calling.
Friend, your dreams can come true as well. Don't give up hope.
Nurture and protect your dream. Keep an honest heart and a teachable
spirit. Feed your faith daily with the Word of God and keep on
keepin' on. Get into a good church that preaches faith in God's
Word. Pray and give yourself to God. Make Jesus the absolute Lord
of your life. In this way, He can finish your faith, and cause
you to reach the full potential of the call of God on your life,
so that you might completely fulfill your destiny on the earth.
With His help, your dreams can come true, in Jesus name.