John Hagee - Behold The Dreamer Cometh
Consider the power of a dream. Our dreams are the golden ladder by which we climb into heavenly places. Dreams are the mountain peaks upon which we stand and cast a vision into the Promised Land that God has given to us. Dreams are the stuff of which life is made. But again, what is your dream? All great dreams are born in the theater of your mind. Beethoven used to wander in the woods to get his music. In the theater of his mind, he heard the great symphonies of the world before he put them to paper. James watt invented the steam engine. He cranked it up and he shouted to his friends, "Today you see it with your physical eye. But long ago, I saw it in my mind's eye". That's a dream. Columbus dreamed and America was born. Edison dreamed and the night disappeared. America's founding fathers dreamed of a great democracy where all men could be considered equal under the law. They created "The declaration of independence" for a life, a life of liberty, and peace, and happiness. And America was born July 4, 1776.
Now consider the great dreamers of the Bible. Acts 2:17 says, "Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams". God gave Daniel the dream that Nebuchadnezzar forgot. And the world had the parade of prophecy from Nebuchadnezzar until this moment. That is the most profound prophecy in all of the scripture. Bible believers do not have to worry about the future, because based on that dream, we know the future. God gave Joseph a dream. He took Mary and Jesus, and they fled into Egypt to save their lives. Peter dreamed. He was on the rooftop of Simon the tanner, and he saw a sheet that was let from heaven. Peter looked the at it and said, "What's in there is filthy". That was a prayer shawl actually and it contained gentiles. And Peter, being an orthodox Jew, saw it as being unclean. And God said, "Don't you call unclean what I have cleansed".
God sent him to the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion. And he preached to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. And everyone in that family came to know Christ and were filled with the Holy Spirit. Why did God choose Cornelius to be the first gentile in the history of the world to hear the gospel? Acts 10:22 gives you the answer. "Cornelius was a Roman centurion, a just man, who had a good reputation among the Jewish people". I ask the pastors of America now, does your church have a good reputation among the Jewish people? Have you ever done anything to try to bless Israel or the Jewish people? I believe God has blessed this church because we've done everything in our power to bless Israel and the Jewish people. And we will continue to until the end of time. But the point is this: the Bible is filled with dreamers.
But what's your dream? What's your dream? Joseph had two dreams. He dreamed and it infuriated his brothers. And when they saw him coming later with food to help them, they said, "Behold the dreamer cometh," and they said it in mockery. Joseph's first dream was on earth as eleven sheaves of grain bowing in the field. Thirteen years later, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt and they bowed down to him, because they wanted food. They were starving to death, which their little brother had the keys and could give them all the food they needed. They did not recognize him for who he was, but this was Joseph. Dreams do come true. It took 13 years, but dreams do not have an expiration date.
This picture is another example of the exact comparisons of Joseph and Jesus. Just as Joseph became royalty in Egypt, so is Jesus Christ royalty in heaven and on earth. The first time Jesus came, he was a baby in Bethlehem's manger. But the next time he comes, he will be King of kings and Lord of lords. Hallelujah. He will not wear one crown: he will wear many crowns, meaning he is Lord of all. The first time Jesus came, he was the lamb, the Lamb of God led to the slaughter. The next time he comes, he's going to be the lion of the tribe of Judah and he's going to rule the world with a rod of iron. Give the Lord a shout of praise in the house.
The first time he came, he came riding on a donkey. The next time he comes, John the revelator says, he will be riding a milk-white stallion in the clouds of heaven, followed by the angels and the Archangels to rule and reign this earth forever and forever and forever. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! The first time he came, he was nailed to a cross. He was spit upon. He was mocked. The next time he comes, he's going to sit on the throne in Jerusalem, and of his kingdom, there will be no end, not ever! The first time he came, people mocked him. They put the sign "King of the Jews" over his head on the cross. He will fulfill Joseph's dream of earthly sheaves bowing before Joseph. Because the Bible says of Jesus, "Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father".
Atheists, the day is going to come when you are going to bow. Pagan kings, the day is going to come when you will bow. Leaders of the world, the day is going to come when the God that you're mocking now will sentence you to the fires of hell, because of your rejection of the gospel. That day is coming! Joseph's second dream was in the heavens. The sun, the moon, and the stars bowed down to him. The message is that Christ is Lord in the heavenlies. Here's why Joseph's dream could have become a living nightmare. He came from a dysfunctional family. His grandfather, Abraham was dishonest. Abraham put his wife in another man's tent, told her to spend the night there. "Tell him you're my sister".
Jacob was deceitful. He was a heel catcher. He stole the birthright from his brother, Esau. Jacob fled in terror from Esau because Esau was going to kill him. He fell hopelessly in love with Rachel, the daughter of Laban. Jacob was deceived by Laban, his father-in-law, to work 14 years for Rachel's hand in marriage. The point: what you do to others, God will see to it that that happens to you. Jacob deceived his father, so he was deceived by his father-in-law, and it cost him 14 years of his life. I repeat, what you do to others, God will see to it, it happens to you. Joseph's family tree had rapists and liars and murderers on every branch.
The point is, as a pastor, I'm concerned about Christians who concentrate on their past and blame their family relationships for their present behavior. Saint Paul gives you a clue to survival. "Forgetting those things which are past". Say that with me. "Forgetting those things which are past". It's over! Move on! Yesterday is history. It's gone forever. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is called the present: therefore, you should use it as a present to fulfill your dream now! Quit trying to understand your sin: forsake your sin. Confess your sin and forsake your sin. Quit trying to justify your sin. Quit trying to explain your sin. Everybody in this room has a sob story. Some of yours are better than others, because you rehearsed it longer. Quit trying to please people who don't like you. Forget them and move on. Walk away from your past. Dream the impossible dream. Nothing is impossible to those who dream.
Joseph's dream could have easily become a nightmare, because he had a passive father. A passive father is a destruction to developing children. Simply stated, fathers, you get involved in your children's life and you stay involved in your children's life until they get married and leave your house. When Jacob was coming back, face to face, to face Esau, remember now he had stolen the birthright from Esau. And Esau is now chasing him. Jacob sent his wife out to face Esau, because he was too gutless to go out there. Coward! Caesar-milk toast extraordinary.
Are you a passive father? Passive fathers destroy their children by refusing to discipline them. You get involved in their life! "No" is a legitimate answer to something they say. Get involved in their life to give them a course correction immediately when they're making a mistake that you know is a mistake. Passive fathers create insecurity and they frustrate your children, producing an insecure child. Father, have you talked to your teenage children about the game plan for their lives? Why not, especially when they get to be teenagers? Why don't you guide them? Don't let the schoolhouse guide them. That child belongs to you. You guide them.
Let me tell you something. God is not a passive father. Hebrews 12:5 is a snapshot of God. "You are my sons if you endure chastening". That means discipline. "But if you refuse chastening, you are illegitimate and you are not my sons". I don't think you can say it any clearer than that. God's point is people, who refuse God's discipline, are not God's children. You will not be a leader, nor should you be a leader if you can't follow the Lord. The Bible gives requirements for your dreams to come true. Step one is define the dream. Write it down. Write it down clearly. That's not my idea, that's God's idea. Habakkuk 2:2 says, "Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets". That means it is clearly expressed and you know what you're trying to do. The fact is that people with goals succeed, because they know where they are going. If you're going nowhere, any road will take you there.
When Diana and I attended a conference at the Oral Roberts University many years ago, pastor Cho from south Korea was preaching. Pastor Cho had a church of over a million people. That's a large congregation. But he was a great man of God. And he preached on this text, "Write the vision down". And I said to Diana, "We're going to do that". And in that service, before we left the building, I opened my Bible and wrote down everything I wanted God to do in my adult life. They were so far beyond belief that at that time, we laughed while we wrote it. But all ten of those things have come true. One of the main reasons people do not reach their goal is because it's not clearly defined. Every football field has a goal line. Because 11 people on the offense huddle and make a specific plan to get the ball past that goal line, every player has an exact assignment.
So what is your goal? What is your dream? What is your plan to achieve that dream? If you fail to plan, you can plan to fail. Divine dreams require patience. The Bible says, "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, though it tarry". Say it with me. "Though it tarry". "Wait for it, because it will surely come". Joseph's dream took 13 years. Wait for it. David's dream took 12 years from the time Samuel anointed him to be king until he became king. What happened in those 12 years? In those 12 years, he was running. He was running for his life, because Saul was trying to kill him. David's dream took 12 years. Wait for it. Be patient. I don't like the word "Patient". I don't even like to say it, but that's how it is. Be patient! Divine dreams are often birthed because of uncommon pain.
Abraham Lincoln stood on the docks at New Orleans, and he saw a black family being sold into slavery. A son was being ripped from the arms of his mother. A man was being separated from his children. Abraham Lincoln dug his fingernails into his hands until they bled. And he dreamed of the day the curse of slavery could be abolished in America. That dream drove him through a nervous breakdown, through ten political defeats. He became president and signed the 13th amendment forever ending slavery in America. God bless that man. Divine dreams come from God, not other people. Others have opinions, but your direction should be based on the Word of God. Divine dreams are sustained by the favor of God. Esther received favor from the king because God sent her there. Ruth received favor from Boaz, and Obed was born that became the great, great, great grandfather of king David and Jesus Christ.
When you have favor, you can do what other people cannot do. Favor is worth all the gold and silver and wealth of the world. When you have God's favor, you can achieve what other people cannot achieve. You are not a Caesar-milk toast blob of protoplasm stumbling along in the darkness, hoping something good will happen some time. You are led by the torch of truth to produce a blazing trail of uncompromising accomplishment. Because you are a champion for Christ, you can be the light of the world. You can be the message that people are looking for. You can be the example the nation is searching for. You can save someone the embarrassment of destroying their lives. If you will practice your dream, God will make your dream come true. Uncommon dreams require uncommon preparation. Joseph was 13 years in preparing. Moses was 40 years on the backside of the wilderness, preparing to go back to Egypt to face the place of his failure. Jesus prepared for 30 years for a ministry that lasted for three and a half years. But that three and a half years changed the world forever.
So let me make an application to the young people who are here. Do you want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a heart surgeon? You're going to have to make uncommon preparation. When the others graduate from college and they're out running to the beach, you're going to be pounding the books year after year, after year, after year, because some day, people are going to trust their lives to your preparation. It's a noble calling. Do you want to be president of the United States? You have uncommon preparation for that. Don't give up on your dream. Stay the course. Climb the stairways to the stars. Don't be pushed by your problems: be led by your dreams. To achieve your dream, it takes a team to achieve a dream. T-e-a-m, together everyone achieves more. Say that with me. Together everyone achieves more, team.
The Bible says, "Two are better than one". You might want to look at your husband right now, lady. This is in Ecclesiastes 4. "Two are better than one... For if they fall, one will lift the other up. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up". It takes a team to achieve the dream. It takes a team to achieve the dream. Cornerstone Church is a team of people anointed by God to fulfill a divine mission. I've been preaching the gospel and teaching the Word of God over radio and television to America and the nations of the world. And what a wonderful journey it's been. In addition to that, I am the founder and chairman of Christians united for Israel, a pro-Israel organization with over 11 million plus members, and a staff of leaders that blankets the nation. I write books. I communicate with political and spiritual leaders in America and around the world. How can I do that?
I can do this because my son, Matthew, is now carrying a great deal of the burden of this church. This is the greatest lead pastor in America right there. Every division of our church has a gifted leader. It would take my 20 minutes to go through that. But we have an organizational structure that would make a Forbes 500 company jealous. And all of it is led by people who are willing to help each other fulfill the great commission of carrying all the gospel to all of the world. We're not here to compete with each other: we're here to complete one another. We don't work for each other: we work with each other for the glory of God. The test of a true leader is taking the vision from me to we. And I want to tell you, this church has got to be one of the greatest churches in the United States of America for the way you bless the world.
Dare to dream the impossible dream. Have the desire to do something bigger than yourself. Have the persistence to stay the course. Have you given up on your dream? Today, I want you to let it be reborn. Try again. Moses did. God Almighty did. When he wanted to start a wonderful world, he started with Adam and Eve, and they fumbled the ball. Then he came and tried Noah. In his generation, they were so bad: God repented that he ever made a man, and he drowned everybody on the earth. And then he found a man named Abraham. He said, "I know this guy will stay the course. He's got some rough edges, but I know he'll teach teach his children in the way of God". God had to start over. If you tried and failed, don't be afraid to admit it. Failure is a great teacher. Just get a hold of your dream and recognize that you and God are going to get it done. You're going to get it done. Give him praise and glory in the house.
Can we stand? How many of you in this room can say, "Pastor, I've given up on my dream. The pit and the prison have crushed my dreams. Today I want to put my hand in the hand of God and begin to dream again"? If that describes you, slip your hand up please. I'm going to pray for you right now:
Heavenly Father, in the authority of Jesus' name, for every person in this room who has given up on their dream, for every person who has come from a dysfunctional family, for every passive father in this room, let them discover the dream that God has given that their lives may be filled with joy unspeakable, in Jesus' name. Amen.