Dharius Daniels - Dreams and Nightmares

From something that won’t change, doing it the King’s way teaches you to change it, and I want to know, does anybody want change? A change church is a kingdom church. I want to teach about something from a kingdom perspective today, and I want to read Genesis chapter 37, beginning at verse 5. If you’re ready, say, «I’m ready.» Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. I want to talk from this subject in this final sermon in the Detour series: «Dreams and Nightmares.» As we prepare to plow through the soil of this scripture, I want to use this introduction as an opportunity to make an announcement, and the announcement is simple. I’m looking for somebody today. I’m looking for those who are allergic to average. I’m looking for those who are sick of settling. I’m looking for those who are mad when they are mediocre. I’m looking for dreamers. Where are my dreamers? Let me clarify what I mean when I say «dreamer.» When I say «dreamer,» I don’t mean people who simply have dreams. When I say «dreamers,» I’m referring to dream chasers. It’s one thing to have a dream; it’s another thing to chase one. A dream chaser is a person who possesses a picture of the future that affects the way they live in their present. Y’all missed it. I said a dream chaser is a person who possesses a picture of their future that affects the way they live in their present. This is why dream chasers are often misunderstood and can be a catalyst for confusion in others. Some people looking at your present don’t understand why you’re behaving in your present the way you are. They can only see your present; they don’t understand why you’re building an ark when there are no clouds in the sky. Did you hear what I just said? I said they don’t understand why you’re building an ark when there are no clouds in the sky. But dream chasers possess a picture of the future that affects the way they behave in their present. They don’t just live by what they see in their heads; they live by what they see in their hearts. It’s a person who is managing their today based on what they see in their tomorrow. It’s a person who is able to survive the pit only because they see the palace. I’m looking for dreamers! If that’s you, say, «Right here! Right here! Right here! Right here! Right here!» Now, here’s the reason I’m looking for dreamers: I’m looking for dreamers because there’s something I need to tell you. I was reading this story in Genesis about one of the most dynamic dreamers in Scripture, a gentleman named Joseph, and I saw a truth in his story that I feel we need to talk about. Here it is: I believe Joseph wants me to tell you that the same dream that is your source of excitement is going to be the same dream that becomes the reason for your anxiety. Did you hear what I just said? I said Joseph wants me to tell you that the same dream you shout about will be the same dream you stress over. Did you hear what I just said? Dreams are not, ladies and gentlemen, simply sources of excitement. Dreams can be the catalyst for anxiety. Sometimes, catch this: when I say anxiety, I am not saying that the anxiety is a result of the dream itself. I am saying that sometimes the anxiety is a result of the assumptions we make about the dream—assumptions we make about when it’s going to happen, assumptions about where it’s going to happen, assumptions about how it’s going to happen. Watch this! Assumptions about who it’s going to happen with are also involved. The enemy operates in the arena of assumptions. Paul calls them «vain imaginations.» A vain imagination is simply an assumption we’re making; it’s something I’m imagining that’s being influenced by someone other than my eternal God. So, the enemy wants to use our imagination to create expectations about when, where, and how God is going to do a thing, so that we end up attaching—watch this—we attach our assumption to God’s promise and treat the assumption like it’s part of the promise. So, when the assumption we make is inaccurate, we presume that the promise isn’t coming to pass. God’s like, «My promise wasn’t wrong; your assumptions are.» You assumed it was going to happen this way, you assumed it was going to happen with them, you assumed it was going to happen by now, and God’s sitting there staring and saying, «The only thing I told you is that it was going to happen. I didn’t say it was going to happen then. I didn’t say it was going to happen with them. I didn’t say who it was going to happen with. I just said it’s going to happen.» I need somebody who’s at a point in your life, spiritually and emotionally, where you can say with honesty, «That’s enough!» All I need to know is this: are you still going to do it? With tears in my eyes, I just need to know, «Are you still going to do it?» With the frustration I’m facing, I just need to know, «Are you still going to do it?» So, we end up with real disappointment because of wrong assumptions. We’re attaching assumptions to the promise when the promise itself is a promise that should stand alone. So, God’s like, «Dream chasers must be individuals capable of arresting their own assumptions because the source of a lot of our anxiety is not the promise itself; it’s the assumptions we have.»