The Academy Award winning film, A Beautiful Mind tells the life story of John Forbes Nash. Nash was a brilliant mathematician attending Prinston University; on his way toward receiving world acclaim, he became involved in a mysterious conspiracy against the US. Nash worked to break Russian codes hidden within newspapers and magazines.
Unfortunately, this top secret work was not being done for the government in order to prevent a real threat. Nash was living out an imagined schizophrenic world made within his own mind. When Nash is hospitalized for his schizophrenia, his paranoia only increases. John is convinced that the Russians are trying to prevent him from discovering their secret messages. Only the love of his wife is able to help him hold on to reality.
Far worse than the death of a friend, John Nash slowly comes to realize that many of the people in his world never existed at all. Electric shock therapy and medication helped to control Nash’s delusions. However, his life is far from normal. Wanting to have a normal life he secretly stops taking his medication, but his schizophrenic world re-emerges. When his psychotic behavior is discovered, Nash again faces returning to the psychiatric hospital for treatment.
Nash tells his wife if he returned to the hospital that it would kill him; he believes that somehow he would be able to beat his disease. The doctors have told her that because John could not differentiate between what was real and only imagined that he would be a threat to himself and even to her. If Nash would not be willing to commit himself to the hospital then the doctors had prepared papers for his wife to have him committed.
With the support of his devoted wife John Nash is able to overcome his schizophrenia. Years later having beaten his disease, Nash is honored by his fellow professors at Prinston and is also awarded the Nobel Prize in economics. Who said dreams can’t come true?
John Forbes Nash and his wife let go of their painful past; they dared to dream again. Together they overcame the obstacles that would hold them back and worked to see their dreams become a reality.
This morning we begin our 50-day spiritual adventure, “Daring to Dream Again; Overcoming Barriers That Hold You Back.” How many of you have ever had a dream in your life? Have you ever imagined the “divine-daring dream” that God has for your life, or have you dreamed God’s dream for our church?
God wants to give you dreams; even more, God has promised to give you a dream! God says, “I will pour out my Spirit on ALL PEOPLE”; by His Spirt you will dream dreams; you will see visions. (See; Joel 2:28 NIV). If you are here today as a believer, then God’s Holy Spirit is living within you and will give you a “spirit-filled imagination” to dream His dreams.
Unfortunately, many who have had a God-given dream for their lives have had those dreams fade or even die. Unforseen tragedy, the circumstances of life, failure, or weariness have caused many dreams to come to a premature end. Far greater than the economic losses were the dreams that were suddenly broken by the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001.
When dreams become a nightmare and hope for the future is lost, DARE WE LET OURSELVES DREAM AGAIN? When our dreams seem to crash all around us we sometimes stop dreaming because we don’t want to set ourselves up for more disappointment.
GOD WANTS TO RESURRECT THE DREAMER IN YOU. IT’S TIME TO DARE TO DREAM AGAIN OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS THAT HOLD YOU BACK.
“Overcoming a Painful Past” is our first step in daring to dream again. We begin our adventure today looking at Gideon. His story is found in the Bible in the book of Judges chapters 6-8.
The book of Judges records the history of Israel prior to the time when the nation was ruled by a king. God’s plan was for Israel to be a “theocracy” that is a nation governed by God. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. The book of Judges shows how Israel continued in a four-step spiritual cycle that was repeated over and over again.
1. The cycle began with SIN. The people rebelled against God and everyone did as they pleased. Repeated throughout the book of Judges is the statement, “Again [the nation] did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
2. Sin was followed by JUDGMENT. God would let neighboring nations rise up to oppress the people of Israel. The nation was placed in bondage to their enemies as a consequence of their sin.
3. Judgement would finally cause the people to PRAY. When things got tough enough, then they asked God for help; “O Lord deliver us from our enemies!” Isn’t that just like us?
4. Then in response to Israel’s prayers, God would bring SALVATION. God would establish a leader or a Judge who with God’s help brought Israel freedom from their enemies. Unfortunately the deliverance from their enemies never lasted because all too soon the cycle would start all over as “again Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
+ Read: Judges 6:1-16
Judges 6 begins another cycle of sin, judgement, prayer and salvation for the nation of Israel. We see the people “again did evil in the eyes of the Lord” (verse 1). As a result of their sin God brought seven years of judgment through the oppression of the Midianites, the Amalekites and the termites . . . oh wait, that’s not what it said (verses 2-5). Israel then began to pray; they called out to the Lord for help (verse 6).
Before God brought His salvation to the people, the Lord wanted to be sure the people got the understood what was happening to them, so He sent them a prophet (verses 7-10). God wanted Israel to know that He had not abandoned them, the people couldn’t blame God for what was happening. Instead, they had rebelled against the Lord. Sin had brought about the judgement of God.
Would the Lord now answer the prayer of the people? Would God answer their cry for help? We find that God will bring His salvation through a most unlikely individual. God chooses to use Gideon.
Gideon is one of the Judges that God chose to deliver Israel from the oppression of their enemies. Like many of us, Gideon had given up on his dreams; he just wanted to survive. Therefore, before Gideon could be used by God, he had to first overcome his painful past so he could dream again.
If you are going to overcome your painful past and be set free to dream again you, then like Gideon you need to:
1. EMBRACE YOUR GOD-GIVEN IDENTITY.
The first step to being set free to dream again is to know your God-given name.
A. THE GIDEON PERSPECTIVE: I’M A NOBODY.
The angel of the Lord finds Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress. Now just incase you didn’t know this; a winepress is used for making wine and not threshing wheat. Why is Gideon there? He’s hiding from the Midianites; he’s just trying to get a little bit of food for his family. Gideon isn’t trying to overcome; he’s simply trying to survive.
When the angel greets Gideon, his response is not full great dreams for the future; he doesn’t respond with hope and faith. Gideon doesn’t say, “Well Lord, it’s about time you decided to use me to set us free from our enemies; I’ve just been waiting on you to say it was time Lord.”
Gideon is living with broken dreams and a painful past. “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about? . . . The Lord has abandoned us and put us in the hand of Midian.”
Gideon and the nation of Israel lived in fear of their enemies. God challenged Gideon to dream the divine daring dream to be free from the oppression of the Midianites.
A painful past will blind us; we are unable to dreaming new dreams. Our vision is blurred and out of focus; we are unable to see any hope for our future because all we can see is the past. When all we see is the failure and pain of yesterday, we read it as the script for all of our tomorrows. Nothing will change.
Why are we blinded to a divine daring dream? Why are we unable to look forward with hope? We have been marked. Past pain and failure can brand our hearts with a false identity; we see only the scar that has marked us.
We have been branded: divorcee, drop-out, drunk, failure, hypocrite, incapable, loser, scardey-cat, stupid. The list could go on and on.
B. GOD’S PERSPECTIVE: HAIL MIGHTY WARRIOR!
God sees us differently! The angel of the Lord didn’t greet Gideon as he would have expected; “The Lord is with you mighty warrior!” God didn’t see Gideon as a nobody or just a weakling. God saw Gideon as a strong and powerful warrior!
✎ God sees Superman; Gideon only sees Clark Kent.
✎ God sees Spiderman; Gideon only sees Peter Parker.
Whose identity have you embraced for your life? Satan identifies you by your failure and sin; he calls you by your painful past. Many of us have grown accustomed to that name, but God has a different name for you, a new name!
+ Isaiah 62:2 . . . you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. (NIV)
Don’t look at yourself with a “Gideon perspective”; see yourself through God’s perspective. Make Isaiah 62:2 God’s personal word to you; put your name in it and memorize it. God has given you a new identity!
God did more than just give Gideon a new identity. As God sets you free to dream again, there is a second step He will encourage you to take. God wants you to:
2. LIVE BY YOUR NEW IDENTITY!
God hears Gideon’s objections, but that doesn’t stop the Lord. God says, “Gideon, stop your complaining. I have given you a new identity, now get up and act on the basis of the name I have given you and not on the basis of your painful past.”
You may feel afraid or inadequate, but you don’t have to let your feelings paralyze you. You have been given a new identity in Christ, so stand up by faith and live according to your new identity.
+ Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (NIV)
You will never fully experience the power of Christ in you until you act in faith. Only as you begin to live out your identity in Christ will you be free to dream again.
Sometimes God makes it easy for us to want to follow him; when we witness the power and strength of the Lord we gladly walk through the doors God has opened.
✎ In Exodus 14, the Israelites seemed to be backed up against the wall with the Egyptian army on one side and the Red Sea on the other. But when Moses stretched out his staff over the waters, God opened the sea before the people; the Lord gave them an open door. Guess what, they walked through it.
Wouldn’t it be nice if God always opened the door first. Sometimes God tells us to get up and move, but God hasn’t done anything yet. These are the times God tests our faith; He wants us to respond with obedience, then he will open the door.
✎ In Joshua 3 God laid out His plan for Israel to move into the promised land. The priests were told to carry the Ark of the Covenant into the flooded Jordan River; only then would they see God’s power to open the river. These men had to risk getting their feet wet, or worse being swept away by the current, but as their feet touched the water God began to pile up the water of the Jordan River.
God required them to act in faith and then they would see His power to work on their behalf. Likewise, God wanted Gideon to move out in his new identity to overcome his painful past and be set free to dream again.
God calls us beyond our own excuses to obedience and action. He calls us to move forward in faith, even when we seem weak. It’s time to stop making excuses! Stop blaming our past; stop blaming God.
We need to stand in faith and live according to our new identity. Act on the basis of who you are in Christ!
God wants to set you free from your painful past to dream again. We’ve looked at two steps which make it possible to be free to dream again:
1. Embrace our God-given identity, and
2. Live by our new identity.
I would like to think that’s all we had to do, but unfortunately you and I are a lot like Gideon. When God gave Gideon a new name and told him to act on the basis of that identity, Gideon still made up excuses! “Lord, I can’t save Israel; my family is the weakest and I’m the runt of the family. God you need someone stronger than me.”
God challenged Gideon to take one more step. Each of us must also take this third step if we are going to be free to dream again:
3. ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S PRESENCE IS WITH YOU.
God gives Gideon a promise, “I will be with you as you go and defeat your enemies.” This is a promise that is repeated again and again throughout the Bible. You are not alone; God is with you! Jesus has given us this promise:
+ Matthew 28:20 I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (NIV)
No matter where you may go, regardless of the time of day, in any and all kinds of weather, GOD IS WITH YOU!
What dream is God wanting to resurrect within your heart? As you embrace your God-given identity, what is it that God want you to see that you can do for Him?
NO MORE EXCUSES! GOD IS WITH YOU! GOD WANTS YOU TO DREAM AGAIN.
CONCLUSION:
God will set you free from your painful past; He will renew your vision so that you can dream again. Turn with me to page 12 in your Adult Adventure Journal (page 16 in the large print edition), or page 3 on the inside of the Adventure bulletin insert. Follow along with me.
Gideon certainly never pictured himself as a mighty hero. He had heard accounts of God’s working in earlier generations, but negative experiences had become a barrier to Gideon’s ever dreaming such dreams for his day.
Taking on a healthy new identity required some healing and some getting used to, but in the end, he performed his role admirably. What negative experiences have brought you pain or shame and prompted you to shelve the spiritual desires you once had? Whether the problem was of your own making or the fault of others, it’s time to let God heal those wounds. The following steps give you a good start.
1. Put a name to the way you have been living. Is it Fearful Gideon, Resentful Mary, Wounded Curtis, Angry Sally, . . . ? Don’t move on to step 2 until you have identified the false name under which you have been living.
2. Now ask the Holy Spirit to show you the new name he wants you to embrace. “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” is the healthy new identity the angel asked Gideon to accept. What new identity might God want you to receive?
Which of your two titles—the false name (step 1) or the new identity (step 2)––do you like best? Which do you want to mark you in the future as you dare to dream again?
As we conclude this morning by coming to receive from the Lord’s table, we will hold in our hands tangible reminders that Jesus has made it possible for us to be set free from our painful past to dream a Holy Spirit inspired dream.
What is in your past that you feel disqualifies you from dreaming God’s dream for your life? Is it a painful divorce? Where you rejected by others around you or by your family? Did you lose a job or quit school? Is there some sin or other failure that has branded you?
God doesn’t see you that way. He has given you a new identity, a new name
+ Revelation 2:17 . . .To him who overcomes, I will give. . . a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. (NIV)
As I went through this step, I called myself “inadequate”, “incapable”, and “unworthy”. That’s not what God calls me. He has given me a new name; a name that I embrace, “Anointed Son”.
As you partake of communion this morning won’t you let the Holy Spirit speak a new name into your heart. God will set you free from your painful past today!
