Dream Big Series

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

ENGAGE

When we were kids, I think most of us probably had big dreams. I still remember regularly shooting the basketball in my driveway and pretending that my shot at the buzzer won the national championship. But by the time I got to high school and was only 5’ 9” tall, I realized that I probably ought to change my dreams.

As we get older, our dreams usually change. Sometimes our big dreams revolve around making lots of money, buying a nice car or a bigger house, success in our jobs, obtaining positions of influence or prestige, a special vacation, or even shooting a deer. For me, my big dream has changed from making the winning shot to hoping that an Arizona Wildcat player will one day do that.

TENSION

For many of you, it’s not really hard to figure out what your big dreams are because you talk about them often and post about them on social media. And, at least for the most part, there really isn’t anything wrong with those dreams.

On the other hand, there are probably some of you this morning who have either given up on your big dreams, or even worse, you have quit dreaming altogether.

So as we begin this morning, I want you to think about your big dreams, and in particular, I want you to think about your big dreams when it comes to serving God. And as you do that I want you to answer this question:

What would you be willing to attempt for God

if you knew you couldn’t fail?

I think we’d all agree that Paul had some big dreams when it came to advancing the kingdom of God. Unfortunately, at one time those big dreams were his own dreams, and not God’s. And we also know that his journey to carry out those big dreams was often interrupted and changed dramatically. That has been true in my life, too. Sometimes my big dreams have been my own, and not God’s. And even when I was pursuing God’s dream for my life, there have been some obstacles and roadblocks along the way. And I’m pretty sure those things have been true of your life, too. But this morning, we’re going to get some great advice from Paul on how to dream big for God and how to pursue those dreams even when it’s difficult.

TRUTH

As I mentioned last week, Romans 15:13 essentially ends the “meat” of Paul’s letter. Beginning in verse 14, the letter becomes more personal. From that point on we find a variety of personal greetings and comments. So it’s tempting to just skip over this part or to rush through it. But, as we were reminded a couple weeks ago, all Scripture is written for our instruction and our benefit, so we’re not going to do that.

We are going to cover a larger chunk of Scripture today than we’ve done in much of our study of Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome, not because it’s less important, but because this is a section that will be more profitable for us if we step back and take a look at the big picture rather than get too deep into all the details here.

Although there is some overlap, Paul addresses two different aspects of his ministry in this section. In verses 14-21, Paul begins by addressing his fellow disciples, but he is primarily writing about his ministry to unbelievers.

[Read Romans 15:14-21]

Paul reminds his readers that his big dream, the one he received from God, was to take the gospel to the Gentiles. So most of his ministry up until this time had been spent traveling to new places and preaching the gospel in places where it had not yet been proclaimed.

It’s important to note here that this big dream had been uniquely give to Paul by God and not universal for all the disciples:

• Peter, and many of the other apostles, had been called to stay in Jerusalem and primarily minister to their fellow Jews.

• Apollos was primarily one who built on the foundation of others in order to help those who were already disciples to mature in their faith

• Others like Silas and Barnabas were more “behind the scenes” people who supported the work of Paul and others.

That is an important insight because it reminds us that each one of us has been given a unique role within the body of Christ and each of those roles are equally important. That is why we often say that we are all “ministers”. So your big dream and my big dream are likely to be much different.