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Release the DreamActs 16: 6-10We see that Paul on his missionary journey had planned to turninto Bithynia, after the confusion of being stopped by God fromdoing that which God had called him to do.

In Troas Paul has a vision or a dream. We are not told how theHoly Spirit communicated his will to the other missionaries withPaul but we may assume that Paul told them about his experi-ence. They set off and the gospel was brought to Europe.

This is the importance of dreams and visions; they are one of theways that God uses to show us things for the church and for ourown lives. Our study is about releasing your personal dream. Forthe purpose of this study we are treating dreams and visions asone and the same.

Week 1: Dreaming dreamsMany people say “I don’t dream, I never dream.” Yet the truth isthat everyone can receive a revelation for their own life from God,in fact, this is the way to spiritual growth and understanding. TheHoly Spirit can use many different ways to speak to you and hesometimes chooses the way that best suits you.Think for a moment about Paul and what he felt.

Read Acts 16: 6-8.If this was your experi-ence what would youdo? (discuss).Would you bewondering what washappening, hadsomeone sinned, hadyou lost sight of yourpurpose, had fearinfected the team,maybe you had missedGod’s call?2

Paul would have been desperate to hear from God. When weseek God we find our answers in his presence.

If you are desirous to hear God then you can because he isalways willing to speak to and guide his children. So how can Idream dreams? Receive revelation?First, be desirous to do God’s will

Tell him that you love him andwant to serve him. When youare alone sing songs of praiseand worship to him, why notsing your own song to him orsing along to a worship CDthat moves you? Allow love forJesus to well up within you.John in chapter 14 verse 15of his gospel records Jesussaying, “If you love me youwill keep my commands.”

The verb keep used is notimperative but future. Those who love Christ will provetheir devotion by their obedience.

Second, be available to do God’s willAvailability can be understood in two ways:

First, ease of use or user friendly. Are you easy for God touse? Often opportunities come through being part of alocal church and the leaders of that church. Are you easyfor leaders in your church to use, are you user friendly?

Second is accessibility, which speaks of openness,convenience, ease of access and ease of understanding.Do you make yourself available, easy for leaders toaccess and open to do what is requested?

People often say to God that they are available but they reallymean only when it is convenient or when it’s something I want todo or if I can fit it in with everything else. 3

There is an old song written by Chris Bowater and below are afew lines from the song: Chorus: “Here I am, wholly available As for me, I will serve the Lord.”

Verse 1 “So Lord I give myself to help the reaping”

Verse 2 “God’s looking for a people who are willing”

Verse 3 “In darkness are we ready to be light”

Third, be in the place to hear GodPsalm 24: verses 3-4 “who may stand in his holyplace? He who has clean hands and a pure heart ...”We should be aware that if we have sin, un-forgiveness,bitterness, self-first-ness, or selfishness in our lives thenthese things will distort what we hear God say to us.

We must be careful what we hold in our hands, in ourheads, and in our hearts. Hold onto and think about thingsthat are true, noble, lovely, admirable, excellent orpraiseworthy and the God of peace will be with you.(Philippians 4:8-9)

These three are the start to hearing God and improving ourcommunication with him. Why not write down in a journal thesteps that you personally should take to hear God better? Look atthe journal each day during the study and allow God to guide youas you seek to dream dreams for your life.

Questions:1. Share the different ways that you have heard from

God.2. Describe how the Holy Spirit has spoken to you.3. What is your favourite worship song, can you sing it in

your small group (or in my case just a little of it perhaps)?4. Are you really available?5. How do you make yourself available for God to use?4

Week 2: Raising the dreamIt is important to say, although obvious, that not all dreams arefrom God, but in our study we are only dealing with dreams andvisions that are from God. If you have a dream or a vision andyou are not sure whether it is from God or not think about thefollowing:

Give it time, don’t try to rush things or force thingsSpeak to a leader in your home churchAsk yourself “Is the dream an escape from something or adoorway to something?”Be willing to hide it in your heart and let it alone.

We need to raise a dream in much the same way as you wouldraise a child.You need to feed the dreamWe will need to provide nourishmentfor the dream, that is we should readthings, study and learn things that willbe helpful for the dream. Forinstance, if the dream was to go toIndia on a short term mission, thenyou would read about India, StudyIndian culture, and talk to people whohave been to India. In this way youfeed the dream. If the dream is fromGod then all things Indian willfascinate and excite you.When you feed the dream with facts and truth, you will soonbecome aware if the dream is from God or not.

We should also provide for the dream. Again, if the dream was togo to India we would need to provide the means to travel. Youmay need to make sacrifices for the dream and of course if youare not willing to make those sacrifices then the dream probablyisn’t from God, providing you are still desirous to do God’s will,available to do God’s will and living in a place where you canhear God. 5

Why not record in your journal what you are willing to sacrifice tofeed your dream?

You need to nurture the dreamDreams need to be nurtured, cared for and looked after. Spendtime with people who have a heart for the same or similar thingsas your dream. It is, however, important to be real. I rememberintroducing a young man to a missionary to China. The youngman said to the missionary, “God has told me to go to China.”The missionary replied, “What are you doing here then?”

Of course the young man only thought that God wanted him to goto China, in fact 20 years on and he has never gone to China.

Dreams are not all about missionsand becoming a missionary or anevangelist or a paid minister in achurch. No, dreams can be Godencouraging you to serve in thechurch, to work with young people orto help folk in the church. To developa dream often means that there is aneed to undergo some training; this isa part of nurturing the dream.

Nurturing the dream means that we should also cherish andsupport what God has given us.

You need to guard the dreamDreams need to be guarded, that is watched over and shielded. Itis therefore important to be careful when and where we share thedream.

If we share the dream in the wrong setting or with the wrongpeople one of two things can happen. First, people can add to thesubstance of the dream in such a way that it becomesunrecognisably changed or, people can disregard or disparagethe dream so that we stop believing it. Second, it is possible toshare the dream before its time.6

Many dreams are lost because the dreamer is disillusioned ordisheartened by others. We must recognise that when people weshare with intend to undermine the dream it is just that they areeither insensitive or absorbed with other things. This especiallyhappens when a person excels at practical things.

You need to discipline the dreamDreams need to be regulated and controlled. It is always good towrite down exactly what God said, through the dream or thevision, as well as actually what was seen.

We must always be able to come back to what God said to usand what we saw so that we can keep with God’s will. This is howwe discipline the dream, by not allowing it to evolve or growoutside of what God said.

Questions:1. What do you do if you have a dream you think is from God

and then discover it was not?2. How would you feed your dream?3. Do you keep a journal of the important things that God

says to you?4. How do you discipline your dreams?

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Thursday mornings9.30 - 11.30am

NOAH’S ARK 3’s-5’s

New termstarts

8th Jan£1 per family

FRIENDSHIP CLUBFriday mornings

10.00am - 12 noon

Thursday afternoons1.30 - 3.00pm

MIDWEEK GROUPS

New termstarts

8th Jan£1 per family

January’s study:‘Release the dream’

Buffet tea and children’s activities included.

February 22nd ......... Nick Nundy from Norwich

MARK TUMADirector of Norwich Youth For Christwill come and share his story at ourJanuary Coffee Cake & Conversation

Meet Mark on January 25th at 4.30pm

Monday morning - Watton District Voluntary GroupJanuary 12th of Diabetes UK

Tuesday mornings - Watton Health Visitors Baby Clinic

Tuesday evenings - Sanctuary Counselling Service& Wednesday mornings

Thursday mornings - Noah’s Ark Toddler & Baby GroupThursday afternoons - Noah’s Ark 3’s - 5’s

Friday mornings - 10.00am - 12noon - Friendship Club

NEW YEAR PARTYfor women

Thursday 15th January7.30pm

Watton Pentecostal Church

JPEG’SPHOTOGRAPHIC

CLUB

Wednesday 28th January 8.00pm‘Using the RAW file format’

PAUL WALDREN

Gallery photo - black & whiteprint

Week 3: Sharing the dream

The most common mistake people make is that they transferGod’s will for them on to other people. They say God told me todo this, therefore we should as a church do this, or we should dowhat. It often means that they will not do anything but that theywant other people to do what God has shown them.

We must remember thatGod’s will is fulfilled byfirst hearing God, thenby the application offaith and then by humaneffort. A dream is notenough, the fulfilmenttakes God’s provisionand the work of men.

Remember if God wants achurch to do something hewill first speak to the leadersand then what you share willbe a confirmation and anencouragement to them.

We should also remember that if the leaders reject yourrevelation for the church they are not rejecting you. The truth isyou have probably not heard God or are trying to apply what wassaid in the wrong way.

The manner in which we share what God has said to us is veryimportant and needs great care. We should always be carefulwhen touching things that are holy.10

Business plan or prayer request?When presenting the dream we should share in a way that ishelpful for other people to grasp. The presentation should be inkeeping with the content and context of the dream.

For instance, if the dreamis to start a resourcecentre or counsellingcentre we should have abusiness plan as part ofthe presentation. Thepresentation howeversimple should include the‘how we can practically dothings.’

When sharing with people who do not immediately identify withthe dream we must allow them the freedom to say “NO” withdignity. However, they may want to help. This is where clarity isimportant in the practicalities of the dream. This enables peopleto help and become part of the dream. The importance of sharingis that it enables other people to work with you or complementwhat you are doing.

Keeping true to thedream is mostimportant whensharing. Thepresentation should bebased on what Godsaid through thedream. There are fourthings that people tendto do when presentingwhat God has said.

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First is exaggeration:this is to overstate orembellish what Godhas said, as thoughwhat God actually saidis not enough.

Secondis ornamentation: this is to add in things, like the latest fad ormethodology, to make what God said look more fashionable andacceptable.

Third is to undermine: this is to destabilise the dream by notworking at the preparation and showing how people canpractically enter in to the dream.

Questions:1. What was the last thing that God said to you for you?2. When have you said “no” God didn’t say that to me?3. What about when large, well-funded organisations want

you to take on their vision, how do you weigh it?4. Have you made a mistake when sharing a dream?

Fourth is to undervalue: thismakes the dream too small orlimits the dream to a pointwhere people will wonderwhat the dream will achieve.

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Week 4: Realising the dreamRealising the dream is about implementation. It is about takingwhat God has said and bringing it to life. It is taking the bones ofwhat God said and putting flesh on it. We should remember ourneed to be diligent with the things of God, things that are holy.

Stages of implementationWe begin of course with the dream or vision that is given by God,and that is directional and requires you to act.

1. Recording the dream

2. Praying through the dream

3. Practical planning

4. Testing the planning

5. Perfecting the planning

6. Implementing the plan

7. Testing the implementation

8. Perfecting the implementation

9. Done

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Questions:1. Give an example of how you have been diligent when handling things that are holy.2. On a scale of 1 to 10 how diligent are you when handling

God’s word?3. On a scale of 1 to 10 how diligent are you when handling

dreams?4. On a scale of 1 to 10 how diligent are you in doing what

God wants for your life?14

24th January: Alpha Training with Mary Walker25th January 10.30am: Guest speaker Mary Walker

25th January: 4.30pm Coffee Cake & Conversation withMark Tuma

8th February; 4.30pm Extra General Meeting

22nd February: 4.30pm Coffee Cake & Conversation withNick Nundy

14th March: Leadership meeting with Paul Weaver,Saturday evening Celebration with Paul Weaver15th March 10.30am: Guest speaker Paul Weaver

25th April: WFTK Refreshment Day

4th – 23rd June (possibly): TFG Mission to India

2nd – 5th July: Taste visit

18th - 20th September: WFTK Weekend at Letton Hall withGuest speaker Mary Walker

Roger, Paul Weaver and Chris

‘TASTE’

Tina with Mary Walker

4th Jan11th Jan18th Jan25th Jan

During the Sunday morning Service we have aspecial programme of activities for children

No Service6.30pm Prayer Service6.30pm Prayer Service4.30pm Coffee Cake & Conversationwith Mark Tuma from Norwich YouthFor Christ

If you would like to know more about any of these events please contact Pastor Chris Pye 01953 881424 or Rev. Roger Pawsey 01953 880920

Watton Pentecostal Church is part of River Ministries (Norfolk)Registered charity number 1054419. In fellowship with Assembliesof God Gt. Britain. A member of Evangelical Alliance.

Dreaming DreamsRaising the DreamSharing the DreamGuest speaker - Mary Walker

4th Jan11th Jan18th Jan25th Jan