Christ Lutheran Church: Welcome

Dreams - March 12, 1008

Dreams

Sixth Wednesday in Lent

Revelation 3:1-8

March 12, 2008

Rev. Dave R. Garwick

I really like that first line which the kids just sang.  And I especially like the fact that it was the kids who sang that line which went, "Dreams, we all have dreams, what we can be, what we can do."

"We all have dreams."  I really hope that is true.  But you know what?  I'm finding a lot of kids who do NOT seem to have any dreams at all.  When I visit kids at college, do you know what is the most common answer I get when I ask them what they want to do in life?  By far, the most common answer is, "I don't know".  When I ask them more and more questions about what they mean, what they are meaning is, "I don't really care.  It's no big deal.  Nothing really turns me on."  I find that really, really sad.  Of all the people who have ever lived on this earth, we have more opportunities than almost anyone has ever had.

I hope each of you kids DOES have dreams of what you can be, of what you can do.  And, kids, if you don't have dreams of what you want to do when you grow up, find one.  PLEASE find a dream.  I mean a REAL dream.  Find something that really lights your fire.  What kinds of things do you like to do that you could make a living at?  What kinds of things do you do well - the special gifts that God has given you?  Or, who do you see doing stuff that looks kind of cool?

When I was in sixth grade, there was a kid in my class in Willmar.  He was kind of good at science stuff.  He became an astronaut - the first human being to ever walk in space.  Heidi Rosati had a really close friend who was kind of a nut...she became on of the most famous television actress comedians.  I once had a girl in Confirmation who someday wanted to be a pilot.  She became one of America's first women Navy fighter pilots.  My daughter has a friend who went to high school in Minneapolis with a guy who was in a lot of class plays.  His name is Josh Hartnett who stared in his first movie as a fighter pilot in "Pearl Harbor".

And I have a godson who was kind of a nerd in high school who got into things like VCR machines and sound systems.  He now is one of the most famous audio visual technicians who works for the Dallas Cowboys, the White House and some of the biggest entertainers in the world on every continent of the planet.  Vicki And Doug Pieper's son Kevin wanted to fly since he was in second grade.  Now he is an Air Force pilot.  Dale and Becky KenKnight's son always wanted to be a doctor and now he is in medical school.  I have known kids in this congregation who really loved little kids.  A lot of them have grown up to become teachers.  Some became youth directors.  Some of them grew up and became some of the best mom's and dad's in this very church!

Kids, find a dream now - a dream you can dream about, and prepare for right now.  It makes life so much more fun and exciting.  Parents, it is my opinion that kids who have dreams are the ones who are least likely to make bad decisions from day to day.  They are the ones who do the best at everything...because the have something at stake.

Bur here is the most important part.  It is what the kids sang next: "Lord, with all we are, we pray that our dreams will lead us, will lead us to You."  Kids, having a dream is NOT the most important thing:  it is the SECOND most important thing.  The MOST important thing is that you have a dream that will serve the Lord.  And you can do that with most any dream.  I have seen football players and coaches use their dreams to bring others to Jesus by their example and their speeches.  I think one of the most important dreams as far as God is concerned is to be a mom or a dad who get their kids FROM God and then raise their kids FOR God.

You know what happens when people follow dreams that they do NOT use for God?  Well, it's like what Jesus in heaven said about a church in a town that was once called Sardis.  what Jesus said was that, "You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up!  Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God."

Why do you think God has given us so many opportunities to dream about?  Just to give us something to think about?  If you dream about raising a family, why do you think God has given you that dream?  If you dream about becoming an actor, why do thou think God has given you THAT particular dream?

In fact, when you have a dream, do you think that it is YOUR dream?  Or could it be GOD'S dream...for you?  The last part of that song was really a prayer addressed to God where you prayed:

In our eyes, You see tomorrow
On that day, one thing we know:
There's a dream from One who loves us,
a dream that's greater than our own.

When Jesus sent that letter to that church in Sardis, He said that there were two kinds of people.  The first kind of people He was NOT pleased with.  These were the people who LOOKED like they were alive, but whom He said were just as good as dead.  there was not much to them.  Their dreams did not fulfill GOD'S dreams for them.

But then there were people whom He said walked with HIM.  These were people who used their dreams to walk with God:  mothers who worked hard to raise their children to love God, teachers who opened children's minds to receive God, soldiers who showed mercy to God's precious people.

God told the people of Sardis that if they were just making reputations for THEMSELVES but were really dead inside toward Him, what He wanted them to do was to "wake up".  What HE was please with was people who used their dreams, not just to make reputations for themselves, but who used their dreams to walk with HIM.

The last part of what you just sang was that, "There's a dream from One who loves us, a dream that's greater than our own."  THAT's what you sang.  So now, find that dream to walk with God.