NATIONAL COMMUNITY CHURCH

November 6, 2016

Wake Up and Dream

Joel Schmidgall

108 years of losing! 108 years of losing! The Chicago Cubs losing streak is over! It was the longest streak by almost twice the amount of any other franchise in any major sport. I’ve never met somebody who hated the Cubs because the Cubs have never beat anybody. It’s like the little kid in elementary school who never wins a race, right? Nobody hates that kid because he never beats anybody. You can’t hate on that kid. That is us. The lovable losers. I remember my first prayer memory as a kid was praying over the Cubs that they would win and then watching them loose. And then somehow I became a pastor! So this week was a huge week in our house. The Cubs in game seven of the World Series about to break this streak and I was so excited. I got up on Wednesday night to our family and I made a decree, I don’t make decree but I made a decree, I said for one night, children, I revoke all bedtimes! And you can stay up any living and breathing human can stay up as long as you want to watch the Cubs game! I got cheers from the family and one little girl from the kids’ section actually made it to the ending.

That night when we got to that holy moment, and I say holy moment, and the Cubs did it and we won and we broke it, we woke up Zeke. We got him up to cheer but his eyes were glazed over so we all went to bed. The next morning, Zeke got up and came in our room and said, ‘Dad, what happened? Did the Cubs win?’ I felt so bad because he is one of the biggest Cubs fan in our house right now and he missed the biggest Cubs party of the century. But we got him up? But he was in this sleep walking state. He was there but he wasn’t there.

Now, here’s what’ interesting, I felt like I was the one dreaming. And I was. I was in an altered state of reality to what I had known for my whole life. I think Zeke’s experience is one that is not so different from our daily walk of life. Many of us are up and we are in motion and we are functioning but in reality, we are sleep walking through life missing those moments that the Father has placed in our path to enjoy along the way. And then we get up on a weekend and we go to church and we say, ‘God, what happened? Was there victory?’ And He is going, ‘What happened? I got you up, I pulled you up, it was right in your path, are you kidding me?’ Except for those of us who have hung out with the Father and spent some time with the Father and who have lived this week in a dream state, an altered reality to what we have known. We have experienced something unique. We’ve experienced something different. If I would have titled this sermon, I would call it wake up and dream.

We have this saying around NCC. We say we want to be part of the dream that God has given you and we want you to invite you to be part of the dream that God has given the church. We always come back to this statement. On your way in, you got a booklet. When you look through this, you will see a picture that is counter to the cultural narrative that is being told. It is a dream state. This is an altered state of reality that is happening in our city and around the world of what God is doing and how He is active among his people. Take some time to read through this and to look through it and to pray for it and to join in in what God is doing.

For the next four weeks, we are going to talk about dreams but not the kind of dream that allows you to just wander off in your mind and get whimsical and think about fantasies or different things. No, this is God’s dream. His dream over his people, what He has called us to. To dream on earth is to be awakened to a heavenly reality.

Acts 1, we see that Jesus has died on the cross and He has been raised from the dead and He was hanging out with the disciples and He was in his last moments on earth and He gives them the directive and the disciples ask Jesus in verse 6

“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

In other words, the election system is broke, Jesus, this is a hot mess. Do you see who is about to step in and potentially become President? Are you going to step in and do something or is this going to be doom and gloom? Well tell me the Bible is not applicable to our day today? Jesus says in verse 7

7And He said to them,“It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

In other words, quit freaking out about the political possibilities! Let me say that again. Quit freaking out about the political possibilities! You are scaring the kids! God’s authority is not dependent upon political authority. Put that in your pocket and pull it out this Tuesday.

Jesus says in Acts 1:8, this is A1:8, we talk about this in missions here at NCC.

8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Mein Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

So, the disciples asked Jesus when He was going to restore the kingdom of Israel and Jesus replies back to them, no, you will receive power. He puts it back on them. Then He ascend up into heaven and as He does and the disciples are caught just looking in to thin air and while they are looking into thin air, the angels show up and they say what are you doing? Why are you just standing there looking at air? It is time to actually go and do what He called you to do. It was though they were caught in a state of sleep walking. And in verse 8, Jesus shakes them and tries to wake them up and in verse 11 they are shaken again by the angels trying to wake them up. Wake up and dream. Wake up and go to the Upper Room and when you go to the Upper Room, you dream. You step into a heavenly state of reality and when you go there, then mission will flow out of that place. God’s presence always precedes his power. Can I get an Amen?

Maybe we need to stop praying for his power and start getting into his presence and stepping into the relationship that He has called us into. So the disciples step out and they step into this moment and the disciples and 120 people go and pray and they seek God for 10 consecutive days in the Upper Room and we find them in verse 2 of Chapter 2.

2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.3Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, andonesat upon each of them.4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

People were outside the house while this was happening. And they started gathering around. What is going on in there? The Scriptures say they were amazed and perplexed. And they keep asking what is happening? Maybe these guys are drunk on wine. This is when Peter has to get up and he stands up in verse 14 and says

“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.15For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it isonlythe third hour of the day.16But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.

Peter reaches back into the ancient prophesy that was given by the prophet Joel and he stepped out he began to cast a vision over the audience gathered there in that place. And it all hinges around one idea, one statement, that God desires to pour his Spirit out on them, out on his people. And when He does, that is when the prophesy flows out. That is when the signs and wonders begin to come out. It starts with God’s presence and it move to his power. Peter carries on and he calls out the sleep walkers and he calls people to repentance in Jesus and that day, 3,000 people come to Jesus. They come to salvation in Christ.

Might I have the audacity today to step into my namesake. The prophet Joel. And to stand up here today and to say to you what he said back in the Old Testament what was renewed and said again in the New Testament, that God desires to pour his Spirit out on you today. God desires to pour his Spirit out on you today. That maybe your sons and your daughters will prophesy, that you as a son and you as a daughter will prophesy, that old men will dream some dreams, that young people will see visions. But we have to wake up to step into an altered reality. We sleep walk. We go around sleep walking instead of dreaming. And they are not the same thing. We can sleep walk right past need. We can sleep walk right past our calling. We can sleep walk right past those people that God has put in our path. But the dream is to see a reality that is alternative to your perceptions. Dreaming is essential to becoming fully awake.

Dreaming is essential to becoming fully awake. When you are actually sleeping, your dreaming is essential. REM is critical to your growth and to your health. Your brain will do many things to protect that REM sleep. For example, when your alarm goes off or when the phone rings, the brain will try to take that sound and incorporate it in an alternate reality to protect that dream. Contrary to popular belief, dreaming is not a passive state. It is an active state where the brain is working. And because your brain cells are scrambling to progress through a series of important steps. And the basic premise is this. Your brain will degenerate in an awake state had it not been for the cognitive activity that happens in a dream state. Your spirit life will degenerate if you don’t find and make time to spend in the Upper Room. Prayer is an REM cycle. And it is not passive. It is active and it is regenerative to your soul, to your spirit, to the reality of heaven coming to earth within your very being.

We don’t need a new plan for our city. We need a dream. God’s desired reality among us. We don’t need a new plan for race relations. We need a dream. Where have our plans got us? Degeneration issues and problems. But God says, it is time to step back from problems and it is time to step back from issues and years of injustice. Look what it says in Galatians 3:28

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The only way to get a kingdom reality on earth is if we go to that Upper Room and we get out of a cultural mindset and step into a kingdom mindset. And then what do we do from there? Just like Peter, you have to step across boundaries. We can get up into the Upper Room but if we come out and just do our own thing, Peter didn’t do that. He didn’t get out of the Upper Room and go home. He got up and he stepped across boundaries. Are you willing to push past fear and past boundaries?

What about the challenges in our city? The statistics that are overwhelming and the education and the poverty and the crime rates, what do we do about these things? We’ve got to get a dream over these things. We’ve had a conviction for years and that conviction has turned into a dream and you know for a couple years we’ve been working on building an actual Dream Center. A ministry center that is open full time for community. And the vision is this, a place to awaken dreams and develop radical dreamers. A place where hope can become habit. A place where mission becomes a movement. A place where we catch dreamers and pull them in and we fill them with the Spirit of God. Mentoring, youth programs, legal aid, music development, recording studio, artist development, a place of dreaming. In fact, many of you have donated to this thing. I want to pause right now to say thank you. Your investment is already making a difference and we are not even completed with the building yet. Thank you for your investment.

I want to take just a minute to show you what is already happening and to put a face with the place right now. Check out this video.

[video clip]

[Joel]

Ty went on a mission trip to California and he didn’t just attend, he was preaching the gospel to guys who came where he has come from. That didn’t just happen in a day. That happened in some years of investment and discipleship in some kids who could have gone a different direction. But they got a hold of a dream and God’s dream go ahold of them and changed their course. And just like each one of them had some challenges growing up, this building has brought us some challenges and we’ve had some serious challenges, foundation issues and the permitting process and local leaders and walls caving in. One thing I’ve learned through this process is this, if you want to do something good in this city, you have to really want to do something good in this city because it is not easy. But I also know this, some of the greatest challenges in life precede some of the greatest gains for the kingdom in life. That is what is happening and that is what’s going to continue to happen.

Now, for the Dream Center to become reality, we are only months away from completion. As you will see from the picture up here, the financial finish line is $615,000 away. So we are in 40 days of prayer right now for that specific number, $615,000. I share that years ago someone said you always share the testimony after it happens but share the struggle with us. We want to be a part of the struggling because then the testimony is that much sweeter. So put it on your prayer list. You might even consider investing in the dream. This is interesting, when you think of your investment portfolio, you think about stocks and bonds that will return you finances and money. What about your spiritual investment portfolio?

Transcribed by:
Ministry Transcription