The Struggle Behind Every Dream -11 am “2020 Graduates Service”
May 17, 2020
III. I Admit That I Am My Biggest Problem
I will never be able to reach all the great dreams that God has for my life until I admit my own weaknesses and sins to myself,
Genesis 28:11-22
When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
IV. God Gives Me A New Identity And Dream
God looks at Jacob and He doesn’t see all of his sin, He sees all of his potential.
“If anyone belongs to Christ, they are a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new!”
God is far more interested in what you become on earth than what you do on earth
The deeper purpose of a God given dream that He gives you is what you end up becoming in the process of going after that dream.
THE STRUGGLE:
4 PHASES GOD TAKES
US THROUGH TO GET US READY FOR HIS DREAM!
Genesis 32
Genesis 32:22-30
During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”
I. I Struggle With God And Others
Your biggest wrestling match in your life is with God.
The root of all your problems is really your struggle with God.
We rarely change until our pain becomes greater than our fear of change.
We rarely change until our pain becomes greater than our fear of change.
II. God Tests My Faith In His Promise To Bless Me
This crisis is not a quick over, God is testing his patience, testing his faith, testing his trust
God isn’t here to destroy the dream that He gave you, but He is here to get you ready for it by developing you to be able to handle it.
Many people miss God’s best because they give up too soon
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