Shift  #7

Shift My Dreams

by Louie Marsh, 7-24-2022

 

Some Dream Related Quotes

Insomniacs don't sleep because they worry about it, and they worry about it because they don't sleep.---Franklin Adams

 

My life's dream has been a perpetual nightmare. ---Voltaire

A professor is someone who talk's in someone else's sleep.---Wystan Auden

A man of sixty has spent twenty years in bed and over three years eating.---Arnold Bennett

The only time most women give their orating husbands undivided attention is when the old boys mumble in their sleep.---Wilson Mizner

Sleep is an excellent way of listening to an opera. ---James Stephens

 

I never sleep comfortably except when I am at a sermon.---Rabelais

1) God wants me to DREAM

 

" 'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; Acts 2:17 (ESV)

 

What dreams has God put in your heart?
I want to stir you up to dare to dream. To pursue the dream God put in your heart.
To rediscover dreams that may have been dormant. What’s your dream?

• Most of our dreams are to BORING/SMALL!

 

CS Lewis said, “Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.”

Survey by CareerBuilder.com revealed nearly four out of five U.S. workers (84 percent) are not currently in their dream job

 

Across all professions, police and firefighters reported the highest incidence of feeling they have their dream jobs (35 percent). They are followed closely by teachers (32 percent), real estate professionals (28 percent) and engineers (25 percent). Those in travel and nurses also ranked near the top at 22 percent and 18 percent respectively.

 

Those professions with the least amount of workers feeling they have their dream jobs include accommodations/food services (9 percent), manufacturing (9 percent) and retail (10 percent).

 

Key Dream Job Attributes
Salary was one of the least important factors in determining a dream job. Money ranked third (12 percent) compared to having fun at work (39 percent) which topped the list, followed by making a difference in society (17 percent).

 

 

TOP 10 CHILDHOOD DREAM JOBS…

 

OVER ALL

1. Doctor

2. Teacher

3. Veterinarian

4. Musician

5. Movie star

6. Professional athlete

7. Artist

8. Business owner

9. Writer

10. Police officer

 

FOR AMERICAN MEN

1. Professional athlete

2. Doctor

3. Musician

4. Police officer

5. Business owner

6. Superhero

7. Teacher

8. Movie star

9. Architect

10. Firefighter

 

FOR AMERICAN WOMEN

1. Teacher

2. Doctor

3. Veterinarian

4. Movie star

5. Writer

6. Artist

7. Fashion designer

8. Musician

9. Business owner

10. Chef

 

 

HOW DOES A GOD-GIVEN DREAM DEVELOP?

STAGE 1: God gives me a DREAM

 

God gives you a dream.. .an idea, goal, or ambition. Every great accomplishment first began as a God-given dream in someone’s mind

 

“20Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20, ESV)

 

Wayne Cordeiro wrote in "Dream Releasers":

“The richest spot on the face of the earth cannot be found in the diamond mines of South Africa, or in… the oil fields of Saudi Arabia. No, the richest plot of land is in your very own neighborhood… It’s the cemetery. That’s right! The graveyard is the wealthiest place in all of creation. Beneath those rectangular pieces of sod lie countless unsung melodies and unwritten poems. The grassy plots overflow with brilliant ideas that could have transformed entire communities… Our burial grounds reek with unattained successes and unrealized dreams.”

Now Joseph had a dream... Genesis 37:5a (ESV)

 

STAGE 2: I must CHOOSE to follow it.

 

A dream is worthless until you decide to do something about it. For every 10 dreamers, there’s only 1 decision-maker. This is the moment of truth where you decide to invest your time, money, energy, and reputation and to let go of security. If you want to walk on water -you must get out of the boat!

 

"Vision without action is daydream; action without vision is nightmare."

 

“5… and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.” (Genesis 37:5b, ESV)

 

STAGE 3: My God-given dream is  DELAYED.

 

There is ALWAYS a time lapse before your dream becomes reality. God uses this waiting period to teach us to trust Him. Remember, a delay is not a denial. Maturity is understanding the difference between “no” and “not yet.”

 

 

“19They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.”…“23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it…“28Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.” (Genesis 37:19, 23-24, 28, ESV)

 

“3For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3, ESV)

 

‘These things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!” Hab. 2:3 (LB)

 

STAGE 4: Things get even MORE DIFFICULT!

 

Now the problems start popping up. The 2 most common types: critics and circumstances. Don’t worry. It’s all a part of God’s plan

 

“12she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.” (Genesis 39:12, ESV)

 

“6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6–7, ESV)

 

Hudson Taylor said:  "It does not matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies- whether it comes between you and God, or whether it presses you nearer His heart."

 

STAGE 5: I finally come to a DEADEND!

 

Your situation will deteriorate from difficult to IMPOSSIBLE! You are backed into a corner, you reach the end of your rope, it looks hopeless. Congratulations! You are on the edge of a miracle. Trust God

 

 

“13In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. 14Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house…23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” (Genesis 40:13-13,23, ESV)

 

“8For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9, ESV)

 

 

 

Joseph was 17 when he started to dream. God usually starts birthing dreams in us while we’re young. Sometimes as people get older they abandon the dreams In Genesis 37 - Joseph is thrown into a PIT
In Genesis 39 - Joseph is a slave working for POTIPHAR
In Genesis 40 - Joseph is in PRISON
In Genesis 41 - Joseph finally arrives in the PALACE

 

STAGE 6: God brings about my  DELIVERANCE!

 

God provides a supernatural answer. Miraculously, things fall into place! God loves to turn crucifixions into resurrections so you can see His greatness

 

“9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today.” (Genesis 41:9, ESV)

 

“13I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” (Psalm 27:13, ESV)