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【God’s Dream, Our Dream】Isaiah11:1-9

How are you?

Is it good that we have come here together? Why are we here today?

Is it just to get some fresh air? To enjoy and to have fun?

Today must of course be a day of joy and fun.

But this is not the only reason that we have met today.

No, we must not only meet like this for that reason. Then why are we here

together?

It is because of a dream.

A vision.

We are here for a dream, a vision that we must all have.

What kind of people are happy?

Dreamers.

We must become people who dream.

Then what kind of dream must we dream?

Today’s text shows us what kind of dreams we must have.

Isaiah 11:9 says:

“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,for the earth will

be filled with the knowledge of the Lordas the waters cover the sea.” A world

with no harm or destruction. This is the dream that we must dream/

Why is there no harm or destruction?

Because it is not the world’s power or authority that rules, but the justice and

peace of God.

It is a world in which “the wolf will live with the lamb,the leopard will lie down

with the goat,the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child

will lead them.” Isa 11:6-8

There is no violence, oppression, conflict, division, no hate, or detest, and a

place where each other are a joy and happiness to one another.

The world we live in, or at least the world our children live in, must be such a

world.

It must become a place where those who are like wolves are with those who

are like sheep, where those who are like lions will hold hands with those who

are like calves.

It must be a world where those who are rich, are poor, male, female, religious

or not, whatever race they are, are in unity and live in joy.

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It must not be a world where those who are like wolves, lions, and bears kill

those who are like sheep and calves because they are different.

It must be a world where no sin such as the strong attack and hurt the poor,

and violence and death are used to steal.

Rather, it must be united, peaceful, in harmony, and loving.

This is the dream that we must have.

We are here because of that dream.

This is a dream that the prophet Isaiah received from God.

Israel was judged by Go because of their sins.

God’s judgments were brutal and harsh. Israel was in despair because they

thought that they would be destroyed.

And in this despair, Isaiah proclaimed the dream he received from God.

The Israelites may have thought that Isaiah’s dream was nonsense.

This was how horrible their situation was.

Even some of us may think that this is simply a vision. It is not a bad guess to

take.

This may be because your reality is also painful.

We know that you are in trials that are as bad or worse as the trials of the

Israelites.

Losing all your possessions, your home, and living every day without enough

food, money, or jobs is a hard and painful thing.

Your lives seem hopeless to everyone.

It may seem as if there is no place lower to go and that you have hit the

bottom.

I know that maybe hope may be the wrong idea to speak about in your

situation.

But we must remember something.

The dreams and visions that God released on the Israelites were given at times

of the greatest despair.

These dreams were proclaimed when no hope seemed available.

So the more in despair we are, the more despair our generation sees, the more

we must be able to dream the dreams that God gives us,

We are so used to looking at our reality instead of God’s dreams.

But those who cannot dream the dreams that God gives cannot escape the

despair that they face.

This is why in the most hopeless situations, we must be able to dream.

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The reason God gives us these dreams and visions is because he earnestly

wants us to be able to overcome our hopelessness.

We can say that this is actually God’s dream for us.

God is the one who most earnestly dreams that our world will become like this.

Therefore we must not give up as long as God dreams of the world full of hope.

Then why is it that we must dream God’s dreams when we are hopeless?

No, what is the reason that we can dream?

The first reason is that “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his

roots a Branch will bear fruit.”

Isaiah 11:1

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will

bear fruit.” The Branch is referring to the Messiah who was to come.

The Messiah is the hope for our lives’ restoration and healing.

But where does this Branch come from?

Jesse’s stump.

This means the bottom of a cut tree that has completely dried up.

How can a Branch come out of a dead and dry stump? It is impossible!

But God said that he would bring life from this dry stump.

Then we must believe this for our own lives: even in the dry and dead places,

life can and will spring up.

God will surely make this happen through our Messiah, Jesus.

Even though our lives seem dry and dead like Jesse’s stump, He will raise life in

our family, life, and future, and write new history.

This is the reason Jesus Christ came to our land, to fulfill this dream.

God will bring upon healing and change in your lives, however dry and dead it

may seem.

So trust in Jesus.

Trust in Jesus.

And hope and expect branches of life and hope to sprout from within you.

The second reason we must dream these dreams is because God will pour out

His spirit on us.

Isaiah 11:2

“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of

understanding,the Spirit of counsel and of might,the Spirit of the knowledge

and fear of the Lord—“

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The Spirit of the Lord is one of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and

might,

To dream greatness from impossible situations, we need more than ordinary

wisdom, counsel, and understanding.

But if through the Spirit of the Lord we are given a wisdom, understanding,

counsel, and power that the world does not know, then we can dream these

dreams and even accomplish them.

So do not look for human powers, but seek for the Spirit of the Lord.

I pray that you will not become those who seek anything else.

God will restore and renew our lives through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is creation’s mystery.

And in this mystery we will be newly restored.

The Holy Spirit is also the power of creation.

Through the power that the world does not know, your lives will be healed.

To do so we must have faith.

The Holy Spirit works through our faith.

Therefore I hope you become people who believe and hope.

Seek that the Holy Spirit comes and heals your lives.

And when this happens, your dreams will become reality.

The third reason we must dream is because

Isaiah 11:4-5

“but with righteousness he will judge the needy,with justice he will give

decisions for the poor of the earth.He will strike the earth with the rod of his

mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.Righteousness will be

his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”

God will be with us with righteousness and justice even through our

weaknesses and failures.

And even though the world may be full of violence, terror, war, and evil, God

will judge the world with righteousness, and he will faithfully carry out its

restoration.

It may seem that evil is winning, that violence and wars will never end, but one

day this world will definitely be full of his righteousness, justice, and

faithfulness.

When this happens, then the dreams you dream will also be fulfilled.

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You will be restored to a life of plenty with your beloved family.

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And until these things are accomplished, God’s endless mercy and goodness

will be with you and never leave you.

We may make mistakes, fall into hopelessness and despair.

But even still we must not give up our dreams because God’s goodness and

mercy will be with us.

So even if we fail, even if we make mistakes, we must dream again.

We must never stop dreaming.

When we can dream again, we can start again.

When you think that you have failed, this is when we must dream this dream.

Through the works that God does, this world and your lives will not have

destruction, and you will become God’s holy mountain.

As the water cover the ocean, the knowledge of God will cover the earth.

Today we heard about the dream/vision that Isaiah received from God and how

he proclaimed it.

Just like Isaiah was the first to dream this dream, we must be the ones who

want to dream this dream before anyone else.

We are here because of this dream.

It is because of this dream that we can be one and spend today in joy.

Put your past hurts and pains behind, and hold each other’s hand as we head

out onto the future.

As we fellowship we will dream new dreams and say “this is how the world

should look like”

Today’s festival will be part of this dream.

I hope that you can spend today in front of the Lord with joy because of this

dream.

I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that the dreams we dream will make our

lives more joyful and blessed.

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