Don’t Kill the Dreamer
February 10, 2003
Joel 2:28
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
KJV
Perhaps one of the most trusted scriptures in the word of God is the passage that I have read to you this morning. It is a passage that brings to mind hope for the future and a common belief that God was moving on the hearts of men to inspire generations to come.
As Pentecostals, we certainly look to this passage as confirmation that the great Apostle Peter was right on the mark in Acts chapter 2, when he was confronted about the events that were going on at that particular time.
It was when he uttered those words that still ring true today… “This is THAT…” that we know he was holding on to this new found experience with one hand, while reaching back into the Old Testament with the other, thus bringing apostolic balance to the UPPER ROOM EXPERIENCE!
However, the apostle said far more that day than “this is that!” He also went on to say tell about things that would take place in the church, or the “body of Christ!”
He said that… and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
VISIONS
Visions are experiences similar to dreams through which supernatural insight or awareness is given by revelation. But the difference between a dream and a vision is that dreams occur only during sleep, while visions can happen while a person is awake (Dan 10:7).
In the Bible, people who had visions were filled with a special consciousness of God.
The most noteworthy examples in the Old Testament of recipients of visions are Ezekiel and Daniel. Visions in the New Testament are most prominent in the Gospel of Luke, the Book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation.
The purpose of visions was to give guidance and direction to God’s servants and to foretell the future. Daniel’s vision, for example, told of the coming of the Messiah.
Dan 8:1
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
KJV
Dan 8:17
So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
KJV
DREAMS
A state of mind in which images, thoughts, and impressions pass through the mind of a person who is sleeping. Dreams have had a prominent place in the religious literature of ancient people.
In ancient times, dreams-especially those of kings and priests-were thought to convey messages from God.
Num 12:6
And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
KJV
Gen 31:10-13
10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.
11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
KJV
In the Bible these were sometimes prophetic in nature. Elihu stated clearly his belief that God speaks through dreams (Job 33:14-15).
Job 33:14-15
14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
KJV
In a dream God warned Abimelech, not to touch Sarah, because she was Abraham’s wife. The Lord spoke to Jacob in a dream in which He renewed the COVENANT and assured Jacob of His protection and presence.
I suppose the examples could go on and on concerning various places in the Bible where dreams and visions were used.
However, I truly believe that God was leaving NO ONE out of the equation, in Joel chapter two, when He listed plainly all sexes, as well as, age groups. God was making sure that we all were included into His master plan!
From these scriptures I want to take off from one particular segment and preach to you what I feel the Lord gave me last night or early this morning.
In the book of Genesis, chapter 37, we read about a man and his sons. Among those sons was one that was favored by their father…his name was Joseph.
While many people here this morning well know the story of Joseph, allow me to hurriedly summarize the story to bring us up to a certain place that I want to minister from…
BRIEF RECAP OF THE STORY
This brings us to another scripture that comes from Genesis 37:18-22.
Gen 37:18-22
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
KJV
I want to use the words of this elder brother Reuben, to preach to you today from this thought… “Don’t Kill the Dreamer.”
Dreamers have always had a way of shaking up their world. One of the most infamous illustrations of this would be a speech that was given on those steps in Washington, DC, when Martin Luther King Jr. stood and said… “I have a dream”…
No matter what your personal position is this morning, if you have ever read that speech in its entirety, you know the measure of passion that was uttered that day!
DREAMERS… they ALWAYS affect their world!
Caleb was certainly a dreamer or a visionary!
He went to a place, this was a literal place, and something happened to him on that day that forever changed his life and the lives of those around him!
Listen to what the scripture says about this man…
Num 14:24
But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
KJV
Men like Caleb that was able to stand up on a mountain and make claim to what he believed the Lord to have given him.
Now to make that sort of a claim is one thing, but to be able to nurture that dream for as long as he did without any glimmer of hope, outside of the Lord…. Listen…
Josh 14:7-12
7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
KJV
This kind of faith does not just simply happen; we have to develop something within us that will establish our steps forever with the Lord!
I don’t want to ever stop reaching for those who have gone before me, as well as, those that God strategically places among us that are dreamers!
No matter how far out the attempt may be, we need someone that is a positive influence among us that will challenge us to reach for greater things in the kingdom of the Lord!
I truly believe that we need to increase our platform for faith and increase our asking…
He said that… “we have not because we ask not…”
James 4:3
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
KJV
Getting back to Joseph… the dreams that God had given him, proved to be more than simply the ego of a young man…but rather, God was preparing a sustainer for the family of Jacob.
However, if I am to maintain the dream for myself, and keep alive the dreamers around me, it will require of me a few things…
Things that I can look into the lives of those who have traveled before me and find…
1. I will, like Paul, forget those things which are behind me and press forward.
2. I will, like David, lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence comes my help.
3. I will, like Abraham, trust solely in my God.
4. I will, like Enoch, walk in daily fellowship with my Lord.
5. I will, like Jehoshophat, prepare my heart to seek God.
6. I will, like Moses, choose rather to suffer than to enjoy the pleasures of sin.
7. I will, like Daniel, commune with my God at all times.
8. I will, like Job, be patient under all circumstances.
9. I will, like Gideon, stand firm even though my friends seem few.
10. I will, like Aaron, uphold the hands of my spiritual leader.
11. I will, like Isaiah, consecrate myself to God’s work.
12. I will, like Andrew, strive to lead my brother to a closer walk.
13. I will, like John, learn to lean upon the bosom of the Master.
14. I will, like Steven, manifest a forgiving spirit toward those who hurt me.
15. I will, like the heavenly host, proclaim the message of peace and hope.
God help us all to keep alive the dreams and the dreamers so that we too can walk in a newness of life in Christ Jesus!
We are where we are today, because someone dared to be different and reached for the stars…
Many times under the heavy load of criticism and false accusations, but thank God they were willing to press on anyhow!
