“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”

Nothing could be less true.

We are navigating through various forces that help form your future.  And “words” are one of those forces!

Words are powerful.  They can encourage you or discourage you.  They can make someone feel accepted or rejected.  They can change the atmosphere, create memories, save a life.

“If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.  A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse.  A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds.  A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything – or destroy it!  It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire.  A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.  By our speech, we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it.” –James 3:2-6

Words accomplish things.  They destroy things.  Like a bit in the horse’s mouth, or the rudder in the captain’s hand, words steer our lives.

So what words will you choose to steer yourself through this season of your life?  It’s your choice.  It’s my choice.  God lets us choose life or death, blessing or curse.  And he encourages us to choose life! (Deuteronomy 30)

You can choose words of doubt, words of anger, words of discouragement.  You can talk to yourself negatively, and use words of defeat.  Or you can use words of worship, words of faith, words of encouragement!  You can get the Word of God in you, in your heart, and in your mouth!

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” –Joshua 1:8

When you start making your words line up with God’s words, you will steer your life into God’s will – into God’s best!

There are many powerful scriptures that can change your life by getting them into your heart and into your mouth.  But if you don’t know where to start, here are a few that could help you renew your mind:

• 2 Corinthians 9:8
• Philippians 4:19
• Psalm 84:11
• Psalm 5:12
• Psalm 35:27
• Matthew 17:20

Change the words you say to yourself, and you could bring change to the people around you!  Your family and friends need an encouraging word from you.  Say “I love you.”  Say it.  Say “I appreciate you.”  “You did a good job.”  “God has great things for you.”

What’s going on in your heart?  What’s going on in your mouth?  What words are steering your life?

Choose words of life!

We have been navigating through the topics found in Pastor Kevin Gerald’s book Forces That Form Your Future with messages, book reading, and small groups!  Here’s the second part to The Force of a Dream:

A dream gives us a whole new set of resources.

In Genesis 28, we find Jacob on a journey.  He stopped to rest and he had a dream.

“Jacob awoke from his [dream] and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." –Genesis 28:16

Did you catch that?  “When I looked before, I didn’t see God. But now, through the lens of a dream, I can tell the Lord is here!”

God – the Ultimate Resource – is here!  Once you know God is in it, you’ll know that anything is possible!  A dream will let you see what you have available.  Look through your dream lens!

A dream transforms our outlook.

“Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on its top.  And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.” –Genesis 28:18

Jacob took the stone he used for a pillow, and turned it into an altar for worship.

He took the place called “nothing,” and changed the name to “the house of God.”

Had the rock changed?  No.  Had the place changed?  No.

But something changed in Jacob!

Here’s a massive truth that we try our best to communicate to people:  It’s not our surroundings that need to change. You need to change!  I need to change!

Our dreams can draw us closer to God.

“Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey… then the LORD will be my God. This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” –Genesis 28:20-22

Jacob had a dream from God, and responds from his heart.  He sets up an altar.  He makes a promise.  He commits to tithe.  His sense of dependence went from emotional concept to reality.

A true dream born of God will cause you to believe in God and in yourself in new ways.  It will cause you to be highly dependent on Him, because you know you can’t do it on your own.

It’s a great day when we realize God is not just interested in us obeying rules and regulations, but that He is interested in our lives counting for something significant!  That dream in you is from Him, and He wants to help you see it realized!

Our church is going through Pastor Kevin Gerald’s series “Forces That Form Your Future” – book study, Sunday messages, and our new Rock Groups!  We can’t do anything to earn God’s love, but there are things we can do to help us live bigger lives and make better choices.

The Force of a Dream

A dream is a picture – or a vision – of a preferable future you carry within your soul.  Someone you want to be, something you want to do, some great challenge you want to accomplish.  Your dream is God revealing His plan for you!

A person with a dream lives a very different life than a person without one.  In Genesis 28:12, Jacob had a dream.  In Genesis 37:5, Joseph had a dream.  In 1 Kings 3:5, Solomon had a dream.

You were born with a great seed of potential.  Your dream is the picture of that potential fully realized.

A dream gives you direction.  Proverbs 29:18 says “Without a vision, people perish.”  We can’t be successful without a sense of where we want to go.

A dream unlocks your potential.  A dream makes us stretch ourselves, not merely respond to circumstances.

A dream adds value to your life and work.  Your life moves from earning a paycheck, to funding a dream.

A dream predicts your future.  A dream is not a 100% guarantee of success, but your chances of success will increase immeasurably.

In Genesis 28, Jacob is on a journey.  He’s going from “Beersheba” which means “completeness,” and he’s heading toward “Haran” which means “crossroads.”  He’s moving from a completed season to a crossroads – a place where the next season begins.

He’s in between, and he has a dream.  A dream of “a ladder set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” (Genesis 28:12)

Jacob’s dream, like yours and mine, tied together the pieces of his past, present and future.  In verse 13, God basically says, “Jacob, I know where you’ve come from.”  In verse 14, He says, “I know where you’re going.”  And in verse 15, He says, “I know where you are right now, and I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised!”

God has a dream for you.  It’s already in you!

God knows where you’ve been and all you’ve done.

He knows where you are, the state of your heart, every thing that’s going on.

And He knows where you can go from here, and even promises to stay with you until the dream comes to pass!

That dream in your heart is not something you came up with on your own.  And it’s not something you can do on your own.  A true dream will cause you to believe in God and believe in yourself in new ways.  It will cause you to be dependent on Him!

Awaken dreamers!  Awaken those dreams!

“I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” – Genesis 28:15