Embracing God's Vision: Dreaming Big Together
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God's dream is to restore his people into a unified, redeemed family that dwells with him forever. That is God's big dream. That's a God-sized dream, isn't it? Because we can't agree on the same color, right? We certainly can't agree on the same way to run a country or the same, you know, flavor of ice cream, you know, not that we can't have uniqueness, but we can hardly agree on anything. And then we hear God's dream is to restore his people into a unified, redeemed family that dwells with him forever. [00:42:49] (44 seconds)
But for now, sin, brokenness, sadness, faithlessness, disease, those things still exist. We deal with them. But it's God's dream that we be so much more and part of something so much bigger and grander. But it's his dream is an already dream, but not yet dream. And it's the work of Christ for salvation, the work of salvation that has been finished. As Jesus actually said on the cross in John 19, verse 30, we hear him say, You know, it is finished. It is finished. And then he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. [00:46:47] (53 seconds)
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days, when you pray, I will listen, if you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Just to understand the context that's going on in this, the prophet of Jeremiah, in this letter, this is a letter to God's chosen people. Okay, we can get that. The Israelites, they've rejected God's dream for them. [00:49:31] (40 seconds)
And God wants to use that exile, and the people can use that exile to grow in their faith and their dependence and trust on God. They can lay the true foundation, as we talked about last week, faith. They can be restored ultimately for themselves as in their true identity. Their true identity is to be instruments of the true God. They're chosen people who are instruments to fulfill God's dream for all of humanity, all the world, all creation. [00:52:43] (36 seconds)
It's not uncertain, and it's worth working towards. It's worth it. Now, the Christians and the body of Christ are called to dream big. We're called to dream God's size, dreams, because God's vision is like, and dream is just unbelievable. But we're called to do that as well. We cannot allow struggles and challenges to alter our dreams or decide just simply as a body of Christ to play it safe or to limit our dreams to dreams that are comfortable and predictable and have these comfortable and predictable results only, or they're controllable. [00:56:27] (45 seconds)
For I know the plans I have for you, it says, says the Lord. There are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Again, this was written to those who had survived, actually been besieged, you know, in the Holy Land, and they've been brought somewhere to Babylon. These are the surviving elders. These are the surviving priests. These are the surviving prophets, the people, even the false prophets. Now, the problem with the false prophets, as we heard earlier, is they were filling the minds of the people with false hope. [01:06:08] (40 seconds)
It's very practical in the human understanding of things. But it's like the Holy Spirit has filled our conversations, our dreams, our praying. Past generations have been faithful with their giving and their generosity to trust him and what he's trying to accomplish with John Wesley. And we are beneficiaries of that. I mean, how can we? I mean, we get the benefit of actually redoing some areas that we maybe get to benefit from, but we had no part in supporting and making happen. So the scripture goes on and says, they are plans for good and not for disaster. [01:10:27] (38 seconds)
In our church, John Wesley, it's not just about buildings. Even though we have to have some things that we capitalize, expenditures, but it's about transforming lives, marriages, families, connecting more people, individuals, next generations, being alive, strong, so we can help transform and renew people's lives in Jesus Christ. Right? Amen. Amen. I mean, it's bigger than us. And sometimes we just need to know that and remember that. I need to remember that all the time. And they are plans for good and not for a disaster, for disaster. [01:11:22] (37 seconds)
Our faithfulness today positions us within God's plan for our church's future. Let me reread that. Our faithfulness today positions us within God's plan for our church's future. We have heard of tipping points, and I close with this. We've heard of tipping points. Those are those critical moments in industries and lives, whatever it is, where a minor change makes a huge, major difference. And you think about that water, 33 degrees Fahrenheit, is water. And water at 31 degrees Fahrenheit is ice. The tipping point. [01:15:38] (44 seconds)
God, I believe, is calling us to embrace a future that really goes beyond what we can probably see. I mean, he's speaking to exiles in the Scripture, and they can't see it. They just see pain, and they see they're in a different place, and they've been uprooted, and their homeland has been somewhat destroyed. But, may we understand that God's calling us beyond what we can just see. He's calling us to this full picture, and we need to trust his plans. [01:16:53] (32 seconds)
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But for now, sin, brokenness, sadness, faithlessness, disease, those things still exist. We deal with them. But it's God's dream that we be so much more and part of something so much bigger and grander. But it's his dream is an already dream, but not yet dream. And it's the work of Christ for salvation, the work of salvation that has been finished. As Jesus actually said on the cross in John 19, verse 30, we hear him say, You know, it is finished. It is finished. And then he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. [00:46:47] (53 seconds)
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days, when you pray, I will listen, if you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Just to understand the context that's going on in this, the prophet of Jeremiah, in this letter, this is a letter to God's chosen people. Okay, we can get that. The Israelites, they've rejected God's dream for them. [00:49:31] (40 seconds)
And God wants to use that exile, and the people can use that exile to grow in their faith and their dependence and trust on God. They can lay the true foundation, as we talked about last week, faith. They can be restored ultimately for themselves as in their true identity. Their true identity is to be instruments of the true God. They're chosen people who are instruments to fulfill God's dream for all of humanity, all the world, all creation. [00:52:43] (36 seconds)
It's not uncertain, and it's worth working towards. It's worth it. Now, the Christians and the body of Christ are called to dream big. We're called to dream God's size, dreams, because God's vision is like, and dream is just unbelievable. But we're called to do that as well. We cannot allow struggles and challenges to alter our dreams or decide just simply as a body of Christ to play it safe or to limit our dreams to dreams that are comfortable and predictable and have these comfortable and predictable results only, or they're controllable. [00:56:27] (45 seconds)
For I know the plans I have for you, it says, says the Lord. There are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Again, this was written to those who had survived, actually been besieged, you know, in the Holy Land, and they've been brought somewhere to Babylon. These are the surviving elders. These are the surviving priests. These are the surviving prophets, the people, even the false prophets. Now, the problem with the false prophets, as we heard earlier, is they were filling the minds of the people with false hope. [01:06:08] (40 seconds)
It's very practical in the human understanding of things. But it's like the Holy Spirit has filled our conversations, our dreams, our praying. Past generations have been faithful with their giving and their generosity to trust him and what he's trying to accomplish with John Wesley. And we are beneficiaries of that. I mean, how can we? I mean, we get the benefit of actually redoing some areas that we maybe get to benefit from, but we had no part in supporting and making happen. So the scripture goes on and says, they are plans for good and not for disaster. [01:10:27] (38 seconds)
In our church, John Wesley, it's not just about buildings. Even though we have to have some things that we capitalize, expenditures, but it's about transforming lives, marriages, families, connecting more people, individuals, next generations, being alive, strong, so we can help transform and renew people's lives in Jesus Christ. Right? Amen. Amen. I mean, it's bigger than us. And sometimes we just need to know that and remember that. I need to remember that all the time. And they are plans for good and not for a disaster, for disaster. [01:11:22] (37 seconds)
Our faithfulness today positions us within God's plan for our church's future. Let me reread that. Our faithfulness today positions us within God's plan for our church's future. We have heard of tipping points, and I close with this. We've heard of tipping points. Those are those critical moments in industries and lives, whatever it is, where a minor change makes a huge, major difference. And you think about that water, 33 degrees Fahrenheit, is water. And water at 31 degrees Fahrenheit is ice. The tipping point. [01:15:38] (44 seconds)
God, I believe, is calling us to embrace a future that really goes beyond what we can probably see. I mean, he's speaking to exiles in the Scripture, and they can't see it. They just see pain, and they see they're in a different place, and they've been uprooted, and their homeland has been somewhat destroyed. But, may we understand that God's calling us beyond what we can just see. He's calling us to this full picture, and we need to trust his plans. [01:16:53] (32 seconds)
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