I believe God sets dreams in people's hearts. I believe God is the ultimate dream giver. Some of his dreams are outrageous. Noah building a massive ark. Moses delivering Israel from four centuries of bondage. Paul taking the gospel to all the nations and planting churches. Martin Luther standing against the abuses of the Catholic church and ushering in the reformation. John Wycliffe translating the Bible in to English so all the people could have access to God's word. William Carey believing God wanted to save the heathen in foreign lands and starting the modern missionary movement. Martin Luther King Jr. believing God for racial equality.
All outlandish and outrageous dreams. I am sure along the way the so called experts might have tried to distract all these people. Many people like the status quo or at least are willing to accept it. Change is hard for people. Dreamers constantly upset the status quo. They hear from God and accept God's often impossible dreams. They appear outrageous to the non dreamer.
Wisdom would dictate safe and predicable dreams. These can be accomplished with human effort and often without the intervention of God. God's dreams are outrageous. They require His help or the whole venture fails. Outrageous dreams are so big, pervasive, and impossible that only God can bring them to pass. Only God can make those dreams become reality.
I think of Moses tending his sheep on the backside of the desert lost in his thoughts. God suddenly interrupted his life and planted an outrageous dream in his heart. God called Moses to break four hundred of years of bondage of the people of Israel to Egypt. Outrageous! Impossible! Impractical! The odds were stacked way against Moses. Practical wisdom would have counseled no way no how can this be done.
Moses even argued with God over this dream but in the end God set a massive outrageous dream in his that would drive him for the next forty years till his death. Moses believed God and had a front row seat to see some of the greatest moves of God in the history of the world. The ten plagues. The parting of the Red Sea, water coming from a rock in the wilderness. The sending of manna. All of this began in Exodus chapter three when God stepped down onto planet earth burning a bush but not consuming the bush. In that moment God invaded the heart and life of one Moses. God chose Him for an outrageous dream. OUTRAGEOUS. Moses believed God to make it come true though. MORE OUTRAGEOUS!
Picture this, after this incredible encounter with God Moses goes home. His wife immediately knows something is wrong. She can see the pensive look on Moses' face. She recognizes something is on his mind so she asks, "What wrong with you?" How can Moses truthfully answer that question? How can he say, "Honey we need to talk. We are about to move from your father and instead of working as a shepherd and I going into a new line of work. I am going to be a deliverer for my chosen people. I am going to Pharaoh and tell him to let Israel out of four centuries of slavery. I have no army. I have no weapons but this will be my new line of work. This is what God has planted in my heart and called me to do."
I would have loved to see her response. Truth is I have seen this response over and over again in my life. More times than I can count God has set an outlandish dream in my heart. He has called me to impossible and impractical tasks. Many around me have doubted. Many counseled against my following through with the things God put in my heart.
This was the case when God called me out of serving as a pastor for five years to travel full time. That proved to be a giant step of faith. I left a church I had served five years. I left a parsonage. I left a steady salary all to follow the outrageous dream of starting No Compromise Ministries and trusting God to open doors for me to preach. Many thought I had made a foolish mistake. We did this with no place to live. What did God do. He opened a door for us to live in a mission house for a year. He sent a businessman to give us $6,000 so I could at least get a thousand dollar a month salary for six months so we get off the ground. He sent a youth revival, another series of youth events in a town fifty miles from home. He opened doors for me to preach revivals, youth camps, and retreats. In time God would expand my vision globally and opened the door for me to travel to Cuba. He worked to take the dream of writing books from out of my head into reality. In those years I published Only Believe and Life on Altar. Since then I have published Behold the Faithfulness of God, Sitting With the Savior, and Forty Days to Shake the City.
It was even more outlandish when God called Brenda to quit her job at JC Penney where she had worked for fifteen years. She had always brought in the bulk of our income. She made more than twice what I was making as an evangelist. We had just bought a home on faith, another story for another time. Nothing appeared more outrageous than her walking away from a steady career and a handsome salary. We wrestled in prayer and eventually obeyed this outlandish outrageous dream. People thought we were crazy. Looking back on that now it was the best thing we did for our family. Brenda got to raise our four boys and did not start working again until a couple of years ago when the boys were all in school.
Was it tough? Yes. Did we face some very lean times? Yes. Did we question God at times? Yes. Did God come through over and over again for us. Absolutely. God proved the doubters and the nay sayers wrong. God worked miracle after miracle that astounded us then and still astounds me today.
I know there are some of you reading this who are wrestling with God at this very moment because He has set an outrageous dream before you. You have gone back and forth. You do not have any peace because this invitation from God for something outrageous dominates your every waking moment. You look at what could be and it makes your heart beat faster. It is a preferred future you desire. On the other hand you look at the impossibilities. You see the obstacles. You see how impractical the dream appears. You hear the voice of the enemy telling you to retreat back to safety, to settle for the status quo. Still the call of God persists and the dream looms large over your thoughts.
Many will be the voice of reason to you. Stay where you are they say. That could not be from God they will counsel. If I am the only voice speaking the opposite I shout with all my being, "Go for it. Throw caution to the wind if you have really heard from God. Follow Him completely. Trust Him wholeheartedly. Obey Him promptly. Burn the ships and believe God for your outrageous dream if He planted it in your heart. Who cares if you appear to be foolish. What does it matter if people do not understand you. God is beckoning you to a life of adventure. He is ushering you to a front row seat to see His miraculous power on display. Do it. Obey God and follow the dream He has planted in your soul."
You can play it safe. Many do. You will fit right in. You will live a good life and enjoy modest blessings but you were created for more. I truly believe God sets dreams in the hearts of all His children. Sadly many ignore them or downright refuse to be a part of them. I want live opposite of that. I want to live out the dreams God puts in my heart and if I were to even share a few of them you would think I had lost my mind.
They are outrageous dreams. They are outlandish. I believe they are straight for God and so here I go again. Believing for the impossible. Swimming against the grain of practical wisdom. Defying the odds. There are no outrageous dreams with God. Hang on. It is going to be a thrilling ride for the rest of my life. I hope you will join me in trusting God for outrageous dreams.
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