Bring Out Your Dead

By Jason Batt Topic: TopicsKeywords: , , ,

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

Show Monty Python Clip  /  Setup a quick history of the Black Plague
There is a plague running rampant amongst our world today.  And there is a loud voice walking outside with a handcart, by each of our lives shouting:  “BRING OUT YOUR DEAD!”

Read 2 Kings 4 / Explain history and context
THE BOY WAS HER DREAM!

Read it again.  Key points to bring up while discussing 2 Kings 4:

  • WE HAVE A BIG GOD WHO WE HONOR MOST WHEN WE DREAM BIG DREAMS AND MAKE BIG REQUESTS:
  • We all dream . . . the older we are, the fewer the dreams.
  • At some point, we act cynical at the mention of dreams (don’t taunt me with fantasy)
  • But we all have dreams, it’s the nature of man.  We have the mind of Christ.  He dreams . . . he creates.  We dream . . . we create.
  • God has dreams for us:  Jeremiah 29:11:  “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and give you a future and not to harm you.”

DREAMS ARE FRAGILE:

  • Dreams are fragile if not tended.   They can appear dead.
  • Dreams do need care . . . they must be attended to often.  We want quick realization of our dreams.  If they don’t manifest right away, we become discouraged and disillusioned and neglect them.
  • Without dreams, the motivation in life is quickly extinguished.  Life becomes a burden rather than an adventure.  “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
  • Satan does not fear a dream given by God.  He fears you pursuing a dream given by God.
  • What are dream killers?  Doubt, fear, cynicism apathy, disbelief, anxiousness, panic
  • How do I keep a dream alive:  Surrender, trust, hope, believe, patience, It doesn’t require manipulation, striving, and grasping.
  • PROVERBS 3:5-6. Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD!

  • Satan cries:  “BRING OUT YOUR DEAD . . . and I’ll haul them away.”  Even if they’re near death, bring them out, I’ll haul them away, take them off of your hands, release you of your burden.”
  • Jesus cries:  “BRING OUT YOUR DEAD . . . and I’ll give them new life.”  That’s what Christ does . . . over and over, he brings life to dead things.  In the garden, God breathed the breath of life into dust, the bones in the valley that Elijah saw came back to life, Lazarus walked again, over and over and over and over.  God restores our dreams.
  • Jesus promises life from death.  And he has been proven to deliver on that promise . . . over and over again.  ROMANS 4:17-18:  “because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.”
  • Elijah’s reaction is God’s reaction.  HURRY!  THEY’VE ASKED!  QUICK!  I MUST RESPOND!
  • Having a God-breathed dream speaks to our deepest needs . . . it is a shout from the heavens saying:  “YOU ARE NEEDED!  YOU ARE WANTED!  YOU ARE SPECIAL!  YOU ARE CHOSEN!”
  • God does not give false hope.  “If a son asks for a piece of bread, you won’t give him a stone.”
  • What happens if you have a dream lying out on the table near death?  TREAT LIKE THE EMERGENCY IT IS.  Look at the mother’s reaction:  URGENCY, PERSISTENCE, DESPERATION!

It must be personal . . . you, your dream, and your God.  The dream God has given you must consume you . . . God will not be relegated to a corner of your life.

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