Dream Big
July 12, 2015
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
You need to write this very first statement in your sermon notes. It’s really profound . . . AND what’s best is I thought this up all by myself. Here it goes — I hope you’re ready!!
Have you ever noticed this . . . the same old thing is the same old thing.
I think that’s pretty profound. I could probably stop right now, and you’d spend the rest of the day wondering about that statement. If you missed it . . . let me say it again ~
The same old thing is the same old thing. That’s not always necessarily bad. It’s just a true statement!
Because sometimes . . . the same old thing is really, really nice! Sometimes we like the same old thing. It’s comforting when the same old thing is the same old thing. Isn’t it? It may get old and stale after awhile, but really, the same old thing is kind of nice . . . at least until it gets kind of old.
Do you find yourself listening to the same music, because you like it?
Do you wear the same old clothes because they know every nook and cranny of your body?
Does the waitress know what you’re going to order when you walk into the restaurant?
UGH! Okay, so what’s the point? Well, before I get there, let me tell you, this is a lead in, as we’re starting a series over the rest of July and August. I’m going to be looking at passages from the book of Ecclesiastes. And we’ll see what the writer, Solomon, wanted us to learn about life.
Because Solomon really didn’t hold onto the lifestyle of the same old thing. He was restless, he was a dabbler, he tried all kinds of things. He had it all, yet he wasn’t content with life. So, we’re going to look at his journey over the next couple of months.
Now, what’s the point of talking about the same old thing?
It’s this . . . do you get tired of the same old thing? I probably could live for awhile on Chicago style pizza. But after awhile that really amazing pizza . . . becomes kind of old and you want something different.
I’ll tell you what, this week instead of getting a latte, get a cappacino. Go big time! Really stretch yourself. (I’m joking).
Let’s look at the opening words of Ecclesiastes and get a taste of what he thinks about life ~
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new?” It has been already in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.
Do you hear those words from Solomon? Here’s a guy who had it all, but he tells us this over and over again . . .
Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
That’s pretty depressing. He’s pretty much telling us the same old thing is the same old thing. He pretty much said it in verse 9 ~
9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
You see, we’re not like animals who follow the same old routine everyday. Well, some of us do, but most of us . . . after awhile, we don’t want that. We want something more for ourselves. And I wonder if Solomon, in all of his glory was no different than we are. He was tired of doing the same old thing everyday.
He had it all, yet he had nothing at all!!
We’re not like the animals . . . God created us to dream . . . to imagine what could be. We do what we imagine can be done. What’s the dream burning inside your soul right now?! What is it that you want? I’m not talking about anything material . . . it can’t be . . . that’s not the dream.
What’s the dream . . . the God sized dream that’s burning a hole in your heart and soul right now? BUT, and you know there’s that BUT . . . ugh!
I think too many of us, too many faithful . . . good followers of Christ, have an amazing faithfulness to Christ . . . and at the same time . . .
. . . have chosen a path which is safe, routine and so often . . . it leaves us wanting for more.
But we’re afraid, we struggle, we have our faith and faithfulness, but maybe we’re struggling with our trust and faith in Jesus.
What if we all decided today and tomorrow that we were stewards of the future. That God had entrusted us as to be keepers of the world. What if we really believed we were created to dream and then to accomplish that dream. What if we embraced this as our identity.
What if we said “I was created to make . . .” You fill in the rest!
What if we were to leave here today, and spend some time alone with God and pray to God and talk to God and listen to God and ask God . . .
What is the dream you want to breathe and plant in me that you want me to accomplish? A dream that is so overwhelming that it causes me to lose my breath?
And we allowed God to change who we are and through that dream it began to create in us the person we were called to be and we helped create the world God created us to live in.
What would happen if all of us decided — — in the name of Jesus, with the help of Jesus, we could change the future because of the God sized dreams He planted within us.
Solomon struggled! It’s hard to imagine the people who have it all struggling. Yet, sometimes we compare ourselves to them and we can’t help but wonder how they do it, but they’re struggling in some strange ways because they are in that same trap.
They’re stuck in the revolving door of doing the same thing over and over and over.
As we get ready to close today . . . remember the words of Jesus in John 10:10 ~
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Remember, the thief is satan. His goal, his only goal is to destroy you! He will —
Steal your heart
kill you spirit . . . and
destroy your passion
BUT, and this is a good one and this is where we end . . . But Christ came to give us life and not just any sort of life, but He offers us abundant life. The word Jesus used for abundant literally means . . . beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation; going past the expected limit.
That’s the life Jesus offers us. He offers us more than we can ever imagine. But it takes a dream, and sometimes the need to risk leaving that same old life for the extra-ordinary life. The choice is always ours.
But this week, maybe take a little time to talk to God about life, not about anyone else’s life other than yours. Ask God to breathe into your heart and spirit a dream that is so big that only with God’s assistance could you accomplish it, then go into the world and do it. And while you’re at it, let us join you . . . let us work together to change the world . . . doing it in the name of Jesus!
