Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
November 16, 2003 - W0346

I want you to know that though I want to instruct from the Bible and give advice and counsel when you are faced with problems, when your dream is shattered, all the instruction in the world will not carry you through. Sure it will help give you the navigational points that you need. Yet the only thing that will carry you through will be in the person of the Holy Spirit. He is the one that the Bible says is called along side to help. So weíll give you instruction, but weíll have to ask the Lord by His Spirit to help carry us during those times. .

So letís pray: Holy Spirit, would you not only be here to anoint the message, but remind us that You are there as the message. You are the one who is called alongside to help because man can give instruction, but You actually bring help. We thank You for that, we welcome You, spirit of the living God. In Jesus name, Amen!

ìFor the dream comes through much effortÖî (Ecc.. 5:3)

Yes, dreams sure take effort. In fact, throughout the Bible we find how peopleís dreams were doubted, questioned, challenged, refined, and sometimes taken away. And every one of us will go through times when our dreams will be shattered. It may be through a betrayal, a mistake, or even our own character flaws that will cause our dreams to be postponed. So the Bible gives us a great example of that in a man named Joseph. He had a dream. However, God had a lot to do in Joseph before He fulfilled that dream.

Q1:  Have you ever had a dream shattered? What happened?

So keeping in mind that we must call on the Holy Spirit, when our dreams are shattered, here are three points to remember to also guide us through those times. The first isÖ

1.      IN EVERYONEíS HEART IS A GOD-GIVEN DREAM.

Thatís right! The Lord placed a dream of what we can be for God in our hearts. Of course it might lie under the rubble of character flaws: mistakes, past mistakes, immaturities, or hearts that are not yet ready to apprehend that dream. Yet in everyoneís heart is a God-given dream. It could be a dream to have a God-glorifying family, to be a minister, a missionary, or a business person who honors God and impacts his or her community.

Those are great dreams. Therefore, we must steward this God-given dream well. In other words, since God placed the dream within us, He will fulfill that promise. In turn, our responsibility is to make sure we steward the process wellóthe timing, obedience, and faithfulness with which we follow Him until the fulfilling of that promise will be critical. So be careful not to switch roles andÖ  

?        KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WISH AND A DREAM.

Sometimes we have a wish and that is a temporary desire or aspiration. However, our God-given dream is our major overall assignment. If we donít know the difference between the two, weíll pursue a wish that is temporal, passing and negotiable. And when thatís shattered, our whole life seems to fall apart. Yet how will we know the difference? Well if itís a God-given dream ask yourself, ìWill God hold me accountable in that day for this?î Living in a big house and having money may be nice but, God wonít hold us accountable to whether or not we acquired either.

Q2: What do you feel is your God-given dream and how are you pursuing it?

A God-given dream is something God will hold us accountable for. They are not passing aspirations. Itís something our life has to be about and we give major effort to. Are we willing to give our life towards the fulfillment of that dream? Or is it just a wish for something nice? You need to know the difference becauseÖ

?        BOTH WILL BE TESTED.

ìOne night Joseph had a dream and promptly reported the details to his brothers causing them to hate him even more.î (Gen. 37:5)

Joseph had a dream, but he didnít have the heart to steward it well. So God tested him and He will test us also. So we must know the difference between a wish (something that is temporal) and a dream (something that is eternal). For that reason, our dreams will pass through the refining furnace. God will allow us to have our dream challenged, thwarted, blocked, and doubted. And He might even ask us to die to that dream. ìCast your bread on the surface of the waters for you will find it after many days.î (Eccl. 11:1)

Now why would He ask us to die to our dream when He in fact placed it in our heart? Well, sometimes we hang on to our dreams and we want to fulfill it in our own way and our own time. So sometimes the only way God can get us to let go is if He shatters that dream. It doesnít mean the dream is gone, but rather itís switched to Godís hands. Then when we do that, God will point to our heart because we may have the right dream, but a wrong heart.

Q3:  How is or how has God tested you? Did you know or do you know whether or not you are pursuing a wish (something temporal) or a dream (something eternal)? 

So just as God worked on Josephís heart He will work on our heart also. And here is the first thing God will do. He will start toÖ

?        SCRUB THE MOTIVES OF YOUR HEART.

You see, God cannot work where there are wrong motives. We must ask why we want God to fulfill our dream. Is it just because we want to look good to others or have more money? Well if our motives are not right even though we have the right dream, God will postpone the fulfillment of that dream. Why? ìWe ask and we donít receive because we ask with wrong motivesÖî (Jas. 4:3)  So the process begins with God refining our hearts. And thatís exactly what he did with Joseph. He scrubbed the motives of his heart. You see we need to have a greater motive, a greater desire than to just want success, a big house, more money, or to look good.

Q5:  Take some time and ask God to check your heart. Do you need to allow God to scrub the motives of your heart? Why or why not?

Keep in mind that we will never see our dreams come to pass unless our heart is scrubbed of wrong motives. And in the process we may find out it wasnít a dream but merely a wish. And if it is a dream, God will be scrubbing our hearts in order to fulfill that promise.

Now Joseph was fruitful in whatever God gave him in each season. He learned everything he needed to know in the classroom of adversity. As a result, he became the second most powerful man in the world during that time.

So there will be times when the Lord allows us to go through adversity also because it is the best school weíll ever attend. Thatís why we mustÖ

2.      STAY FAITHFUL IN ADVERSITY.

Regardless of what life hands us, we must remain faithful. ìÖthe LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.î (Gen. 39:21) Joseph was faithful in adversity. He even excelled in seasons where he knew it was not what God destined him to do.

Itís so easy for us to curse our surroundings and communicate our displeasure. We may not feel destined to do a certain job or live a certain way. Yet no matter what our circumstance, God wants us to stay faithful in the midst of it.

Now God will sometimes take us in the opposite direction and away from our dream. Itís not because Heís taking our dreams away. Rather it is in the midst of adversity that we must learn to stay faithful becauseÖ

?        FAILURE IS ONLY WHAT YOU DEFINE AS SUCH.

Donít consider it a failure when dreams are shattered. First of all, it might be just a wish that God is refining out. He wants us to catch sight of our eternal life assignment. Whatever it is, we have to make sure that it has an eternal sparkle and not just a temporal one. Be assured that God will test both. Thatís because our personal motives are often linked and even if we canít see it. Still theyíre woven all through the fabric of our being. And the Lord has to take out every thread so that only God is there and there is no flesh.

Now Iíve had many setbacks, but I refuse to call them failures. Failure is an inspiration for greater encouragement for forward movement. It leaves only that which is refined and that can go through the fire. You see flesh cannot go through fire. It will burn. Yet that which is gold and silver will only be refined in the fire. Thatís why God takes us through adversity and refines us so that weíll survive. Nevertheless, we will never be refined and flesh will always be interwoven in our motives if we are afraid of adversity. And though we sometimes feel like weíre all alone, know that Heís always there.  ìÖGod left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.î (2 Chr. 32:31)

Q6:  How have you handled failure in the past? What were the results? What will you do from now on?

So God will keep testing our hearts and scrubbing our motives. Yet in the midst of those times, in those shattered moments, what do you do?  Well though we may have a tendency to do soÖ

?        DONíT TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS.

Sometimes we feel God is a little slow, so we hurry the process by taking shortcuts. Abraham and Sarah did that. ìSarai said to Abram, ëNow behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maidÖí And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.î (Gen. 16:2) God was still working on their hearts when they took matters into their own hands.  

And we have a tendency to do that too, but donít do it!  If we do, we only compromise and settle for second best. Sometimes we compromise because the promise is what we think will give us value. However, God wants our hearts connected to Him, not to the promise. Thatís why God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. When Abraham finally let go of the promise, an angel of the Lord intervened and Isaac was spared. You see, God wanted Abrahamís heart, not Isaac.

Remember that we will never find our identity in the promise; we will always find it in the Lord. So let Him fulfill the promise. Yes sometimes He will shatter our dreams in order for our hearts to be returned to Him. Heíll take care of the promise and we just need to take care of the process. Therefore, make sure toÖ

?        KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PROMISER.

ìNow glory be to God whoÖis able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream ofÖî (Eph. 3:20)