What is Your Dream?
Summary
The sermon explores the significance of dreams and God's plan for our lives, inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and the life story of Joseph. The speaker emphasizes that God has placed a dream within each person, and it is crucial to discover and follow this dream to live a meaningful life. Although the path may be fraught with challenges and adversity, as Joseph's experiences illustrate, God is in control and has a plan for us. The sermon encourages looking beyond difficulties, trusting God's timing and plan, and living a life that reflects God's purpose, whether in church service, professional life, or other areas. The message is an encouragement to reclaim one's dream, live faithfully, and witness God working through adversity to fulfill His promises.
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Key verses
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.
Prov 29:18
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Your eyes have seen my yet unformed substance; And in Your book were all of them written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
Ps 139:13-17
But Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be distressed or too angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be no plowing or harvesting. God sent me before you to establish for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 45:5-8
Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.”
John 21:18
Scripture quotations translated from Bibel 2011 © Bibelselskapet.
Discussion questions
- 1.What dreams or longings has God placed in your heart, and how can you take them more seriously in your daily life?
- 2.How can we learn to see God's plan and control, even when we experience adversity, challenges, or when things don't happen in our timing?
- 3.In which areas of your life can you actively seek God's guidance to live out the purpose He has for you, and what small, concrete steps can you take in that direction?
- 4.How can we use adversity as an opportunity to grow and discover new aspects of God's faithfulness, as described by the speaker?