Discovering Your Dream Series

INTRO: Tommy Barnett, pastor of Phoenix First Assembly of God, tells a story about a lady in their city.

He writes:

Not long ago a woman in our city who was known as a "bag lady" died. Everybody thought she was flat broke, but when people retrieved her body at her home, they found trash cans full of money and cash stuffed under carpets and hidden in many other places. She was worth millions, but her treasure remained hidden and unused.

Christians do not realize the treasure that is hidden in them and if they are not careful they will end up just like this "bag lady" by not using what she had.

2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

God living in us—what a treasure we have that we need to utilize in doing his work.

TS: Every one of us on planet earth was created by God to have a dream, a destiny, and a reason for living.

Think of this: When God created you, he needed something done on earth that nobody else could do, so he designed you to do it better than anyone else.

TITLE: Discovering Your Dream TEXT: Ephesians 2:10

1. We are God’s workmanship. Today do you realize you are God’s handiwork? God does good work, he does not make any mistakes.

A. Workmanship is poiema in the original language. It is where we derive our English word poem. 1. It literally means that which is made, a manufactured product.

In other words, our conversion is not an end, it is a beginning. We are a part of God’s new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and God continues to work in us to make us what he wants us to be.

B. I remember the first time I tried to write a poem. It was for my lovely bride Tammy.

1. Being the romantic person I am, I decided to write my new love a poem. I had this job as a security guard working nights where I found I had a lot of time on my hands, and I wanted to surprise her. So I spent all night laboring in love, tediously rhyming words, getting just the right words and their meaning, intricately weaving this masterpiece.

I was so excited to give her this poem. I could hardly wait to get home to see the expression on her face. I got home, gave her a big kiss, and handed her my night’s work. I was bracing myself for one of those emotional moments where your wife cries because she’s so happy. Tammy read the poem and there was no excitement, no enthusiasm. In fact she didn’t think it was that good.

2. Sometimes people in life feel they have nothing to offer God, that they don’t have a very good poem so to speak.

-The truth is God has something for each and every one of us. It’s called good works.

3. These good works or divine opportunities can be found by your dreams.

[I. What is a dream? (By dreams I don’t mean nightly thoughts as the brain sorts out the day’s events.)

A. What I’m referring to are the goals and visions that burn in your heart, those things that burn within you.

1. That dream within your heart is your spiritual DNA, the very blueprint for who you are. -A dream does not drive you, it draws you.

2. Without a dream (purpose) people will be frustrated and disillusioned and will miss out on what God had for them.

B. Everyone has a destiny and a purpose. It’s not just for the elite, but everyone.

1. The question is: Are you going to fulfill your destiny?

2. Maybe today you have been lured away from your dream. Maybe you feel your life is destined for insignificance.

-Don’t lose heart, the Bible tells us he knew us at the creation of the world. (Revelation 17:8)

-He is our shepherd, he knows our names and the hairs on our heads. He has us inscribed on the palm of his hands (Isaiah 49:16). He has called us by name and we are on his mind all the time. As David said, "The Lord has been mindful of us." (Psalm 115:12)

Point: God has a plan and purpose, a dream, for you.

C. How do I know my dream is from God?

1. Understand your dream did not originate with you.

-It resides within you, but God put it there. He is the source of your dream.

2. When people dream without God, they find it hollow and unsatisfying. Don’t chase a dream without God.

-Tommy Barnett gives a list of six things to look at when evaluating if your dream is from God.