“Your Dream is Still Alive”
Psalms 126:1-6
Message By: Dr. Michael L. Woods, Sr.
Thesis: The difference in where you are now and where you are going is the realization and manifestation of your God-Ordained dream. In short, your future is literally locked up in your ability to dream! However, many of our dreams have become nightmares; because we refuse to wake up and do whatever it takes to process the dream into fruition; or we have had so many disappointments that we have just given up on the dream with no expectation of manifestation. My assignment today is a prophetic Word from God to remind you to hold on just a moment longer and don’t give up! Because your dream is still alive!
Introduction.
I. Etymology.
A. Dream- (noun) a cherished desire; or a state of mind characterized by abstraction and release from reality.
B. Dream- (chalam) The word means “dream.” It is used of the ordinary dreams of sleep: “Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions …” (Job 7:14). The most significant use of this word, however, is with reference to prophetic “dreams” and/or “visions.” Both true and false prophets claimed to communicate with God by these dreams and visions. Perhaps the classical passage using the word in this sense is Deut. 13:1ff.: “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass.…” This sense, that a dream is a means of revelation, appears in the first biblical occurrence of chalom (or chalom): “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night …” (Gen. 20:3).
C. Dream- (chalom) (verb) to become healthy or strong
II. God speaks through Dreams….
A. God has frequently made use of dreams in communicating his will to men. Please observe,
1. Jacob (Gen 28:12)- And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
2. Laban (Gen 31:24) And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
3. Joseph (Gen 37:9-11)
4. Gideon (Judges 7)
5. Solomon (I Kings 3:5)
6. Abimelech (Gen 20:3-7)
7. Pharoah’s Chief Baker and Butler (Gen 40:5)
8. Pharoah (Gen 41:1-8)
9. Midianites (Judges 7:13)
10. Nebuchadnezzer (Dan 2:1; 4:10, 18)
11. The Wise men from the east (Matt 2:12)
12. Pilate’s Wife (27:19)
13. Mary’s Husband Joseph (Matt. 1:20)
14. In a vision of night a “man of Macedonia appeared to Paul (Acts 16:9)
B. The Process of A Dream
1. Ownership precedes Occupancy
a. Ownership is Spiritual Authority
b. Occupancy is Physical Geography
c. You must own it before you live in it!
2. Occupancy comes with Opposition
3. Giant Obstacles signify Awesome Opportunities. Your pain is always proportionate to your promotion; so don’t curse your obstacles.
Contextual Setting- Psalms 126:1-6 is a song of degrees which contain the testimony of Zion’s release from Babylonian Captivity.
I. Your dream requires a Passport for entry. (Five Things)
A. Environment. “When the Lord turned the captivity of Zion…” Environment is the totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or group of organism, especially the combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of organisms.
1. Turned- to cause to move around in order to achieve a result such as opening, closing, tightening, or loosening: turn the key; turn a screw.
2. Captivity- the state of being imprisoned; or the state of being a slave; Shakespeare said: “So every bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity.”
B. Excellence- (n.) the quality of excelling; possessing good qualities in high degree; superiority; arête; class; distinction; eminence, fineness; goodness; high quality; purity; pre-eminence; supremacy; virtue; and worth. (“Greater is He that is within you than He that is in the world….”-St. John 4:4)
C. Expression. “…we were like them that dream….our mouth was filled with laughter; our heart with singing; and the heathen said the Lord hath done great things for them….” Express Yourself! Work the Dream!
D. Expectation. (apokaradokia) to earnestly look with an outstretched neck without doubt or fear; belief about the future; a mental picture of the future; wishing with confidence of fulfillment; or the feeling that something is about to happen.
E. Endurance. The power to withstand hardship or stress; a state of surviving; or remaining alive!
II. God is going to turn your pressure into POWER! Just keep Moving! The blessing you have been looking for is already there!
Conclusion.
I. Die another Day… (Ask Job)
II. Read Psalms 126:4-6- “4Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. 5They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
III. Your Dream is Still Alive!
