Sermon - “Dream Bigger Than What You Can Imagine!!!”
Sunday, February 24, 2013 Faith Temple Sioux Falls, S.D. Pastor Jeff Hayes
Title: “Dream Bigger Than What You Can Imagine!!!”
Help from What is Your Dream by Donny Granberry
Help from Kevin Jergenson! Sermon Material!
Scripture: Ephesians 3:20 , 21 plus others
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV) – “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, verse 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20- (Message) “God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us!
Introduction: 1. We want the very best for you!
2. We want God’s plan for your life to be
completely fulfilled.
3. What we want is His power to do immeasurably
more than all we ask or imagine.
4. That’s what we want for you and for the church!
5. What is your dream?
6. The question this morning isn’t can you dream,
everyone can dream, but do you have the
courage to act upon it?
7. Who is this for? All generations!
8. Biblegateway.com
9. Young’s Literal Translation Ephesians 3:21
10. “to Him (is) the glory in the assembly in Christ
Jesus, to all the generations of the age of the
ages. Amen.”
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Title: “Dream Bigger Than What You Can Imagine!!!”
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt
First, The Process of a Dream.
1. Process –(Definition) “A series of continuous actions that
lead us to a particular result.”
2. Must remember that dreams and goals are a process.
3. “Usually, God will not lift you up out of your dream and set
you down in the center of its fulfillment.”
4. There is a process in a dream and God helps us with every
step!
5. One day after striking out in a baseball game, Charlie Brown says, “Rats! I’ll never be a big-league player. I just don’t have it! All my life I’ve dreamed of playing in the big leagues, but I’ll never make it.”
To which Lucy replies, “Charlie Brown, you’re thinking too far ahead. What you need to do is set more immediate goals for yourself.”
Charlie Brown senses a ray of hope. “Immediate goals?” he says.
“Yes,” replies Lucy. “Start with the next inning. When you go out to pitch, see if you can walk to the mound without falling down!”
6. Real Life (The Process of a Dream)
7. A dream takes the talents God has given to us, it takes work,
Blood,sweat and tears! It takes getting out there and
believing God can help us!
8. *Story of Michael Dell*
a. In 1983 a young man named Michael Dell graduated from
High School.
b. He had a passion for computers and would take them apart
and rebuild them.
c. He discovered that he could build them for one forth of the
price even adding more memory, bigger monitors, and
faster modems,
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d. he would be able to sell them cheaper with a handsome
profit. His dream was to build and sell computers.
e. That fall, under a lot of pressure from his parents he
enrolled at the University. After his freshman year, he
dropped out of school
f. and started Dell Computer Company with $1,000.
g. Three years later, the company did a private placement
offering stock to a small group of investors.
h. At that time, Michael Dell was 22 years Old and Dell
Computers had 150 million in annual sales.
i. Today, Dell Computers is a 57 Billion dollar company, with
the leading market Share in the US.
j. He said, I followed my dream. I learned by doing and by
making mistakes, and I got smart people to help.
k. #1 The Process of a Dream
7. The Children of Israel dreamed of living in the Promised Land,
but the only way to get there was through the wilderness.
8. We will not be able to trust God for the completion of
our Dream, until we see His faithfulness in the process.
9. Do not despise the process, for that’s where we learn to trust
God.
10. “Trust God for the journey and not just the destination!”
• We discover His power in Red Sea situations. (Up against
the wall!)
• When we are led by Him, there are no sign posts. (No GPS)
• Can we get up every morning with our eyes on our destiny
and steadily move towards it.
• Can we refuse to become like the children of Israel who
murmured and complained in the wilderness.
· Any negative people in the world??? Take a survey and during one day write down the negative comments verses the positive comments.
· As you are doing it be positive and don’t complain!!!
· Can we trust God for each step of the journey, to fulfill our dreams and not complain???
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A song I love says:
At times the load is heavy, at times the road is long, when circumstances come your way and you think you can’t go on,
When your feeling at your weakest Jesus will be strong,
He’ll provide an answer when you’ve found all hope is gone, He’ll find a way.
At times your heart is breaking with a pain that’s so intense, and all you hold are broken pieces to a life that makes no sense,
He wants to lift you up and hold you, and mend each torn event,
He’ll pick up the pieces that you thought had all been spent, He’ll find a way.
For I know that if He can paint a sunset, and put the stars in place, if He can raise up mountains and calm the storm tossed waves, and if He can conquer death forever to open Heavens gates, I know for you, He’ll find a way.
If you are in a situation and you can’t find heads from tails, remember you are in a process.
The process can be difficult, the road can be rough, the land can be like a wilderness, but you will never taste of the milk and honey without completing the process.
Second, The Progress of a Dream.
a. Your dream will never progress unless it is pursued.
b. Pursue (Definition) – To seek to attain. To apply ones
energy towards as a chief interest. To follow after
persistently.
c. example: Pistol Pete Maravich – as a boy wanted to be a
professional basketball player. Slept with a basketball,
ate with a basketball, took his basketball to the Saturday
afternoon movie matinees.
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d. He followed his dream persistently!
e. Pursue the dream God has given you no matter how far-
fetched it may seem.
f. Angelina Gibson – wants to be a concert pianist,
persistent in studies and practice!
Some have said….
• Your dreams are like your children; they are your
offspring.
• Your dreams are the joy of the present and the hope of
your future.
• Protect them, feed them, encourage them to grow, for as long as you have a dream you will never be old.
g. Joshua and Caleb spied out the promise land the other spies said that it was impossible to take the land!
h. Not Joshua and Caleb!
I. Numbers 14:24 (Message) 24 “But my servant Caleb—this is a different story. He has a different spirit; he follows me passionately. I’ll bring him into the land that he scouted and his children will inherit it.
j. I can hear the voice of Caleb today, “So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.
Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."
k. I love the Caleb Spirit. This became possible because of the process. (He had been around the block more than
once!)
L. Caleb’s dream could have been stolen:
• Israel refusing to go into the Promised Land.
• Wandering around for 40 years in the wilderness.
• The murmuring of the people.
• The peoples attempt to bring in other Gods.
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• Driving the inhabitants out of the Land.
• His dream included defeating the Anakites. (Giants)
M. Caleb stayed true to his dream, he stayed focused on his dream, and he pursued after his dream.
N. Look at the life of Joseph.
• The betrayal of his family
• The attempted seduction by Potiphar’s wife.
• The false imprisonment.
Joseph’s dream carried him all the way to his destiny as the ruler of Egypt.
We are talking about God given dreams that lead to God honoring results, not self ambition.
Third, The Promise of a Dream.
Promise –(Definition) An assurance given by one person to
another to perform a specified act.
Reminder: God promises us to be with us and what happens
when He is with us and we are with Him…
Amazing Things Happen!
a. Ephesians 3:20- (Message) “God can do anything, you know – far more
than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He
does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply
and gently within us!
b. 1ST PHRASE…“God can do anything, you know- far more
than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your
wildest dreams!”
C. Think Big! God Is Big!
The Things that Happen In God’s World are BIG!!!
D. Donald Trump made a comment worth considering here. “I like
thinking big,” he said. “I always have. To me, it’s very simple: If
you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”
It’s a tragedy when people don’t think beyond their comfort zone.
When that happens, we feel a labored beat of our hearts and a
drying of our spirit.
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E. “Commit your life to God, humble yourself and He will exalt
you!”
F. I Peter 5:6 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty
hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
G. How Does He Do It???
H. Second Phrase of Ephesians 3:20 “ He does it not by pushing us around but
by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us!
NIV - “ according to his power that is at work within us”
I. P R A Y !!! “Come near to God and He will come near to you!” James 4:8
J. He works within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us!
K. Who is in there???? His Spirit!!!!!!!!!!!!!
L. Others may want to work over your dream and destroy your dreams…
M. If God has really placed within your heart a dream, a goal, a call, he will
empower it! Don’t be side tracked by the scoffing of others!!!
N. Think about this, even members of the family of Jesus, discouraged him
about doing God’s will. They thought he was crazy!
O. Mark3:20-21 20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so
that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard
about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his
mind.”
M. Christopher Columbus, intent on traveling the seas in a less than
high tech motor craft, understood the impact of other people’s
expectations and past experience on lofty dreams. “Nothing that
results from human progress is achieved with unanimous consent,”
he said. “And those who are enlightened before the others are
condemned to pursue that light in spite of others.”
N. Joseph’s brothers tried to destroy God’s call and Joseph’s destiny!
O. Job’s wife… why don’t you curse God and die!!!
P. But Job didn’t, his life was more prosperous even after going
Through hell because He trusted in the Lord!
Q. Job SAID, even though you kill me yet will I trust you!!!
R. Joshua, even when the circumstances of life could have called him
And his family away from God what did he say???
S. “As for me and my house, we’re going to serve the Lord!”
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Conclusion: People who make things happen are continually creating new dreams and have the tenacity to try them out, no matter what others think. Dream makers and achievers recognize they are responsible for all the obstacles they allow to get between them and their dreams. They give up all excuses and make the achievement of their dreams a priority. They not only picture in their mind what they want, but generate the energy to produce the end result.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV) – “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, verse 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.
Title: “Dream Bigger Than What You Can Imagine!!!”