Dream Again

Everything starts with a dream.

• Electricity started with a dream
• Our washing machines started as a dream
• Our horseless carriages started with a dream
• Our picture tubes started as a dream
• Our personal computers and internet started out as a dream
• Facebook started out as a dream

Someone spent countless hours and other resources to make these dreams come into a reality.  They invested in their dreams by going on a personal mission to make these dreams a reality. They saw the finished product in their head. What they saw compelled them to keep working, to keep moving forward. To accept failure as a lesson learned. They never stopped!

When Walt Disney World in Orlando ,FL. opened in 1974, Mrs. Disney was sitting beside Walter Cronkite. Walt Disney has passed away a few years earlier. Walter Cronkite wanted to say just the right thing to Mrs. Disney, so he leaned over to her and said, “Wouldn’t it be great if Walt were here to see this today.” Mrs. Disney wisely replied, “If Walt had not first seen this you would not be seeing it today.”

Back in 1915, a church started when some people dared to make their dream a reality. I don’t when they got this dream or this vision – obviously it was before 1915.  This particular church started in a saloon.  A few people prayed and decided before 1915 that there needed to be a Church of God in Marion, IN so they gathered together in a saloon and had church. Here we sit nearly 100 years later in this beautiful sanctuary, evidence of the time, energy, money, and other human resources that made their dream,  their vision, a reality. Thousands of people have walked through these doors over the years and have been impacted by the gospel. We had to give up one of those people this past week.  Doris was one who believed in the mission and vision of this church. She made pies. She made the communion bread. She taught Sunday School. She served meals on Wednesday nights. She prayed. She studied. She prayed for the needs in your bulletin. Even when she didn’t understand what was going on she believed in the mission and vision of this  church. She knew this church existed for one mission. I am confident she knew it existed to:

• Impact lives
• Influence others
• Encourage others
• See lives transformed

She gave time, money, and other resources to help make this happen.

Our scripture today focuses in on that one mission.

Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

As you can see our mission has already been determined.

We don’t need to pray and ask God what we should be doing. He told us what we need to do. He said go and make disciples. As The Message says, “Go out and train everyone you meet in this way of life”. To translate this  portion of the text literally, it reads “as you go” make disciples. In other words you don’t have to go to a foreign land to make to make disciples. You don’t have to go another city to make disciples. You don’t have to go on a mission trip to make disciples. Christ simply says “as you go”.  As you do life!

• While you are at work.
• While you are at play.
• While you are working out.
• While you are at the grocery store.
• While you are out eating.
• While you are at Starbucks
• While you are at church
• While you are at home
• While you are out serving others

In other words, wherever you go, make it your mission to train everyone you meet “in this way of life.”

This is our mission. Our mission is other people.

In contrast

We have been trained all our life that our mission is

• To accumulate wealth
• To build bigger houses.
• To live comfortably.
• To build our 401k.

There is nothing wrong with these things but if that is what your life is focusing on, then you are missing the mark. I got to see the evidence of this up close and personal a couple of weeks ago when we were in LA. While we were there we got to tour and see some of the homes of the stars. We got to see the homes of Michael Jackson, which he rented for $90,000 a month, Ron Howard, Justin Timberlake , and Brittany Spears. One particular home we saw had 152 rooms in it.  A father gave his 23 year daughter this house as a birthday present.  I believe the home was worth $52+ million.

It was very easy to be hyper-critical of their life style.  But it was quite obvious their mission is to accumulate wealth and stuff.  The more stuff you have the better your image. It is not as easy to recognize this life style in the Midwest. We put a mask on it and call it “conservatism”.

Whether you live in LA or in Indiana, the mission of Christ followers is still  the same.

• Make disciples.

If you have money or you don’t have money, the mission for Christ followers is still the same.

• Make disciples

Whether you live an apartment or own a $52 million home,  the mission for Christ followers is still the same.

• Make disciples

Whether you’re an ordinary Jane or John Doe or your hands and feet our imprinted in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Palace,  the mission for Christ followers is still the same

• Make disciples

While our mission has been determined for us,  how we go about doing that mission is where the adventure begins.

Peter and Paul went about carrying out the mission in different ways to different people. Philip went about the mission his way. Joseph and Mary carried out their part of the mission. Doubting
Thomas did his part. Even John the Baptist and Jesus went about making disciples their own way.  John yelled “repent for the Kingdom of God is near.” Jesus taught on a mountain and spoke in parables.  He never condemned anyone.

All of them had the same mission but how they went about it was unique to them.

While we were busy looking at the foot and hand prints of some famous people, there was a bearded young man there holding up a sign saying “Repent” and was reciting scripture through a megaphone. I don’t know whether anyone was listening or not. But I, personally, wouldn’t do it that way, He did. God will use him and his way of doing it. God will use me and my way of doing it.

All of us in here our unique.  God made us unique. No two of us are alike.  We all have a least one spiritual gift. We all have talents that can be used to encourage others. We all have unique personalities. We all have unique stories. God will use you and your way of making disciples.  But you need to be willing to enter into the adventure. You need to be willing to sacrifice personal comfort. You need to be willing to sacrifice personal agendas. You need to be willing to make some difficult life choices.

God will use you right where you at.  As you go – he will use you. But you need to be willing to go on the adventure. You will need to fight through fears. You will need to fight through insecurities. You will need to fight through anxieties. You will need to fight through your personal inadequacies.

Your fears, your insecurities, anxieties, inadequacies never go away but they begin to lose their power when you face them and remember that last line in vs. 20 – “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” He is with you…………. to the end of the age!

We know what our mission is: “To Make More and Better disciples”.  How you go about that mission is up to you.

When I was 18 years old God made is pretty clear to me that my personal mission was to impact the lives of others for the Kingdom of God. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I didn’t know where I was going to do it. I didn’t know what I was going to do. It was clear I needed to do something.  And the adventure began. I read Isaiah 6:8 –

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

I committed to go wherever I needed to go. I committed to do whatever I needed to do to make more and better disciples. Like Walt Disney seeing Walt Disney world, I saw lives being transformed, marriages being restored, and the weak becoming strong.

Are you willing to go on the adventure of Making More and Better Disciples?

What do you dream about?

• Accumulating wealth or accumulating souls
• Building a bigger house or building the Kingdom of God
• Living comfortably or living passionately
• Living for retirement or life transformation

Do you dream of lives being transformed? Do you dream about your family member, your friend, your colleague, or co-worker coming to know Christ?

Your new dream (I believe) starts with a personal mission statement.

My mission is _____________________________________.

You fill in the blank.

I encourage you to listen to the message to help you understand what has been written here.  Just click on the pic above.