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INTRODUCTION…
I dreamed a dream
·
We all dream dreams and experience the
pain of shattered dreams.
o
Leaving behind of childhood
dreams
o
Sudden break of attempted dreams
o
Slow cracks of unrealized dreams
·
If the pain of shattered dreams is not addressed
it impacts the way we see all of life.
THE CORE OF OUR DREAMS
·
Are dreams are rooted in the core longings
of who we are. (Genesis 1-2)
o
Not good to be alone –The longing to
love and be loved in relationship
o
Fill the earth –Longing for posterity
and legacy
o
Rule the earth –Longing to have
influence and make an impact
·
The dream of humanity was shattered with
the Fall/ Sin –leading to shattered dreams for all of us
Tim Lundy: Many things
kill dreams in our lives. We’re told to grow up and we forget about the amazing
dreams we have for ourselves as kids before we begin to doubt and fear our
future. Idealism tends to fade with age which is why so many kids are
optimistic and so many adults have such a bleak outlook on life. People ground
out dreams in place with reality and what’s in front of them. They are told
reality trumps potential future reality or goals they claim are out of reach.
More than just
ourselves and others telling us not to dream, there are events that happen in
our lives that shatter and break the dreams we have: getting fired, divorce, abused,
denied, betrayed, getting diagnosed with a disease, loss of loved ones… at the
end of the day we find ourselves believing, “Life has killed the dream I dreamed”.
*Vincent Van Gogh Example*
If you look at the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh you know he wasn’t
exactly having an easy life. In his artworks he would often use the color
yellow –which he used to represent God and “the light”. If you look at starry
night you can see a town under a sky of bright stars. The town itself is dimly
lit with only small windows of light able to be seen. In the center of the town
is a church that has no lights on and is completely dark. Vincent was saying
God’s glory isn’t really found on earth or in people’s lives and is certainly
not in the church. God is in the sky –He is far above beyond our reach. The
overall tone of the piece is forlorn and dismal.
If you
look at later works by Vincent –such as his painting of Lazarus –he finally
started using yellow in great hues towards the end of his life. Vincent placed
his face in the face of Lazarus in the painting to show that he too could resurrect
his life from misery and could overcome his own shattered dreams.
The
fact is –We are God’s dream. He sought to have a relationship with us and
genuine love with us. We are His creations
-His dreams brought to life. And what we want is to have that love, make
a mark on the earth to know our lives amounted to something, and leave
something behind for future generations to remember us by.
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WE CAN GROW IN AND THROUGH SHATTERED DREAMS (Ephesians 1:15-23)
·
Background (vv15-16)
o
“For this reason” -summarizes all that
He has done for us and in us
o
Paul’s prayers –because they are not finished
yet
WHAT
WE NEED TO KNOW IN ORDER TO GROW
·
To know Jesus in a growing,
experiential relationship.
·
The core longings of your heart/soul
are only ultimately fulfilled in Him.
·
The pain of shattered dreams can bring
you closer or cause you to pull back from God.
·
The key to growing in that love
relationship is by “knowing” Him more.
·
To know at the heart level the Hope
of His calling. (v 18a)
o
We must have hope –hope is the oxygen
of the soul.
o
The hope is based on the surety of
what God has done and will do.
o
The key is to release the hopes of my desires
for the hope of His calling.
Tim Lundy: God did not
give up on the dream – He redeemed it. God can also help us achieve our dreams.
In Ephesians, Paul was reminding Christ’s followers of the fact that they were
Chosen. Paul was praying for them in thanks for their devotion and sharing his
gratitude for people. He was also praying for the hope of continued growth in
the church and the followers of Jesus.
To know God and receive
His love you must receive wisdom from Him through Jesus. You need to
acknowledge that God will be the source of your dreams redeemed. You need to “know”
God –not just know of Him or show up at church and occasionally read the Bible
or sometimes think about Him –you need to have God in your life. You need to
give Him love, receive love from Him, and follow the life He leads you to.
Relationships take time
and sacrifice. Studies show that for the first 2 years of a relationship a
couple will be in a state of “euphoria” or idyllic feelings. After that time
the nostalgia fades and you’re left with the actual relationship. That’s why
people who have been married for a while aren’t as clinging and openly
affectionate as young couples are. People
mistake euphoria for love and when it ends they assume the love is gone and
they end the relationship and move on to the next. There’s no longevity,
growth, or devotion to that kind of relationship. Real relationships require
work and commitment. It’s a deeper kind of love that isn’t as easily frayed.
God wants a
relationship of depth and longevity. He also wants us to achieve our dreams.
There is a difference between the dreams we have for ourselves and God’s dream
for us. God has had a plan for each person since birth. When people ignore that
plan and refuse to follow it in pursuit of their own desires those people tend
to get lost. They lose sight of what truly means something to them and their
lives are not fulfilled. Trust in God –He knows you better than you do. He
wants to give people the things that they want, but is more concerned about
getting people the things that they need.
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·
Know at a heart level the treasure
we are to Him, (v 18b)
·
As His children we are the very riches
of God.
“Paul
prays here that his readers will appreciate the value which God places on them,
His plan to accomplish His eternal purpose through them…and that they may
accept in grateful humility the grace and glory thus lavished on them,” –F.F.
Bruce, the Epistle to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, p.227
·
The key is to quite trying to prove your
worth and find the value in Him.
·
To know at a heart level the
incomparable power of God for us. (vv 19-23)
·
God redeemed the shattered dream of
humanity through Resurrection.
·
God reveals that dream through His church.
·
The ley is to trust that His power
is working for you and through you.
Tim Lundy: We dream of
riches, but we are God’s riches. Imagine going to heaven and seeing streets
paved in gold and walls made of every precious stone imaginable and God takes
you aside and says, “I want to show you my vault where I keep my treasure”. You
can’t even begin to imagine what kind of treasure He would have in that vault. He
pulls the vault door back and you go in and suddenly you see thousands and
thousands of photographs. God pulls one off the wall and shows it to you and
says, “This is my treasure. These are my children.” And in and among all of the
millions of photographs you look down and see your picture.
Why do we go out of our
way to be the strongest, richest, most powerful, most beautiful, most exciting
people on the planet? Why do we go out of our way to try and impress everyone?
Why do we chase things that lead us nowhere? You have nothing to prove to God –He
knows you. You don’t have to go out of your way to impress people; they might
not love you even if you do. You don’t need to impress God, He will always love
you. If you really want to test how much
a person loves you, don’t try to impress them –try to disappoint them. How many
would still be by your side if you failed, made mistakes, and lived openly
flawed? Men would desert you, but God would never waiver.
God isn’t holding you
back from your dream –you are holding yourself back from God. Trust in Him. He
wants the best for you. His dreams for us are bigger and more perfect than any
we could possibly imagine.
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Discussion
Questions
1. What are your shattered dreams?
Have you ever dealt with the pain of your shattered dreams? Do you believe Christ
can transform your pain?
A
shattered dream is a boy dreaming of being a famous baseball player, but gets
hit by a car and becomes paralyzed for life. I’ve never experienced a shattered
dream of that nature. I’m a dreamer so dreams are my almost constant state of
being. I imagine myself in many situations and have found out by mulling life
over in my thoughts what it is I want out of life. When I was younger I wanted
to be strong, wealthy, and capable of fighting for people. I kind of wanted to
be a super hero. Then as I got older my dreams changed and I started to imagine
myself in realms that were actually achievable. I think I originally imagined
myself as I could never be because I thought any dream I could have for myself
could never really be achieved. In my 20s my dreams changed and became much
more vivid and true to life. It was around that time that I handed my life over
to God. I decided that “being an artist” wasn’t really working out and my
dreams were half-baked and going nowhere. I decided that whatever God would do
with my life would ultimately amount to more than anything I would be able to
achieve on my own. My life was a waste so I gave what I thought was a useless
mop to someone I thought could use it to clean.
Then
I was led. Found out about the Zodiacs –which definitely helped me figure out
my life purpose. Got Zoloft to overcome my Social Anxiety Disorder –which helped
me gain self-confidence and a greater sense of self. Was led to Toastmasters
and consequently my minister friend who introduced me to Christianity. I always
felt looked after and taken care of so I never had to worry or question the
fact I was being led. Everything just kind of seemed Meant-to-be. Ultimately my
life is in God’s hands. It’s nice. I don’t have to worry as much because I know
everything that happens has its reason and as long as I continue to listen to
intuition and being open to life I know I’ll be fine.
2. In what ways are you growing in experiential
relationship with Christ? Do you know Him more today? Do you spend time with
Him, read His words, and listen to Him? God has definitely become
a lot clearer and more vivid to me. I understand who he is more and continue to
learn more and more about Him and how someone can connect to Him. It’s all a
journey to Him.
3. In what ways are you placing hope
in your desires more than His calling? What is God calling you to do right now in life? Do you trust that His
calling is a better plan than even your own dreams?
I
wouldn’t say I place more hope in my desires than His calling because the
dreams I have for myself don’t mean anything if they’re not attainable or
fulfilling. Again I’m just trying to be led where He wants me to go to do what
He wants me to do. I trust He knows best. Right now feels like I’m supposed to
be accumulating. I think I’m slowly being led to action, but for now it’s
important for me to KNOW more than DO.
4. Do you believe that God looks at
you as His riches? What would change if you found your value in Him? I
think people would value themselves more if they realized how valuable they really
were in God’s eyes. I believe every person is God’s jewel.
5. Do you know God’s incomparable power
is available for you today? How do you need His resurrection power in your life
today? Ask Him to redeem your shattered dreams and to reveal His perfect love
in and through you. Sometimes these “questions” get a little
out there and it’s hard to respond to them. Ethereal is one thing, but this is…
a little too out there.
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