Your dreams may not be God’s dreams.

Steve Brown:
Your dreams may not be God’s dreams. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was author and seminary professor Steve Brown, and this is Key Life. We’re all about radical grace, because of what Jesus has done, God’s not mad at you. Keep listening, and that message will set you free to live a life of joy and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re studying Philippians, and we’re looking at Philippians 3:7 through 11. I’m not going to take the time to read that to you again, but it’s a wonderful text. And we’ve seen that within what Paul said in that particular text, there are a number of lies that one can identify. And then ask oneself, am I believing that lie? Truth is always a good thing. I’m working on a book, by the way, and I’ll let you know when it comes out. It’s called The Lies Christians Believe: Dealing With Guilt and Shame and Fear and Regret. And for the last few months, I’ve been working on that book, thinking about the lies we believe. And sometimes we do. I remember one time when I was a young pastor and serving my first church, there was a lady in that church who only read books with happy endings. And only had friends who lived in that same bubble. And only watched television shows that were happy television shows. And then she got significantly ill, then terminally ill. And then, and then she was going to die. That was my first experience with that sort of thing. And I thought in those days that doctors were all knowing and all wise. Do you know the difference between a doctor and God? God doesn’t think he’s a doctor. Anyway, the doctor said that she couldn’t take the bad news, but they had a problem. They needed somebody to help her sign a power of attorney. So, the nurses after she was unconscious and the medical bills could be paid. And so, without telling her the truth, I remember holding her up on a pillow. And guiding her hand as she signed the power of attorney. And when I think about that, I blush. I feel so sad. And I think, how could I have done that? We owe people the truth. And we owe ourselves to believe the truth. And I’ve been dealing with lies for a long time working on this book, and I’ve found a lot of lies that I believe. Now, if you’ve been listening to our study in Philippians, we’ve seen that it’s a lie to say and think that you find joy in what you acquire. Paul said that’s a lie. The second lie, you find sorrow in what you lose. Sometimes that’s where you find joy. You find God in what you do. If you work at it, if you’re really religious and you pray a lot and read the Bible and memorize Scripture, you’ll find God. No you won’t, God will find you, and if he doesn’t, you will never walk with God. Another lie, You find Christ in what you merit. In other words, if you’re good enough, it will make up for the bad stuff in your life, and you’ll go to heaven. That’s a lie. It doesn’t fit the truth of salvation by Christ alone, faith in him, and grace. And then there’s another lie and we talked about it a little bit yesterday, you find contentment in what you avoid, Philippians 3:10.

I want you to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, or I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings becoming like him in his death.

Paul is saying, if you’ve got to suffer, don’t run away from it, run to it. M. Scott Peck, in a very good book written a number of years ago, he had been a psychiatrist who wasn’t a believer, who became a believer and had some significant things to say once that happened. At any rate, in his best selling book, The Road Less Traveled, let me give you something that he said.

The attempt to avoid legitimate suffering is the root of all emotional illness.

Let me say that again.

The attempt to avoid legitimate suffering is the root of all emotional illness.

Yesterday, we talked about Jesus and the thing about the Incarnation and the most amazing thing is the Incarnation itself. But that He suffered at every point as we suffer. Not to keep us from suffering, but to suffer as we suffer. Did you ever think that Jesus was afraid? He was, just as you are afraid. That he was lonely? He was, just as you are lonely. Did he want to run from suffering? Yes, he did, just like you want to run from suffering. He prayed.

Father, I would rather not drink of this cup, but not my will, but your will be done.

And then in Hebrews.

The joy that came to Jesus himself in his own suffering.

I’m not being flippant or glib about what I’m saying. But if you’re going through a tough time, and I read the letters, and I go through the prayer list that we maintain at Key Life. And I pray for everyone who asks for prayers. I’m not minimizing the suffering. I know it’s hard. When the doctor says you’ve got cancer, that’s awful. I know that’s awful. If you’re going through a marriage problem, that’s, I’m not going to put a good spin on it and say all things work together for good. They do, but that’s a cliche if you’re not careful. If your kids are not walking the faith, if you’re going through a tough time at work, I know those things. That’s what it means to live in a fallen world. Don’t deny it, run to it. I have a friend who said that that’s where Jesus meets his own. And then I have one other lie from this text. And it’s this, you find hope in what you dream, Philippians 3:11.

And so somehow,

that means that he doesn’t know when he will die

to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Let me tell you something. If you believe in immortality for any other reason than the fact that a dead man got out of the grave and said you could too, you’re kidding yourself. There is such pathos in the words of Mark Twain. Who thought of death and the end of everything when his daughter died. And he expressed his nihilism with these words. He, by the way, was too sick to even go to the funeral. And he said this.

I have never greatly envied anyone but the dead. I always envy the dead.

The reasons people would say that he’s wrong and believe in life after death are absolutely astounding. The springtime brings forth the flowers and the green leaves of the dead tree go through a resurrection, therefore, I believe in life after death. You’ve got to be kidding? Victor Hugo said.

That he believed in life after death because he had not finished what he set out to do in this life.

Victor, old boy, I wouldn’t depend on that. A woman told me she believes in life after death because her husband promised that he would see her again. Well, I know you miss your husband, but that’s not the reason for believing in life after death. Those are your dreams. God’s dream is one of where he finds you, he changes you, he promises you that you will live forever. And He fulfills all of His promises. And we will. Because all of our sin is covered. And Heaven is a place you can be as sure of, as if you were already there. And then there are other dreams, and I’m not going to spend much time on them. But you dream, is the dream of the boy you want to date going to come true? Is the dream of having a life without pain going to come true? Is the dream of getting that job going to come true? Is the dream of always being healthy going to come true? Maybe, maybe not, but God’s dreams are different than yours and his dreams are dreams that are meant for your benefit and for your blessing. And so, you don’t find hope in what you dream, you find hope in what God has taught you to dream because his dreams are amazing. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thanks Steve. That was Steve Brown and if you’re just joining us, we’re on a journey through the Book of Philippians. And today we heard some really great news about where to find real hope. More from Philippians tomorrow, do hope you’ll join us. Hey, have you ever watched any of the Avengers movies? My favorite part in those is where Captain America says Avengers assemble. Well, we had something kind of like that when Steve invited the four voices of Key Life to join him for an episode of Steve Brown Etc. Pete Alwinson, Matt Heard, Justin Holcomb, Jerry Parries. They were all there. And the result was a very lively discussion about why they’re hopeful for the future of the church. We’d love to send you that entire episode on CD for free. So, call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your free copy of the CD featuring the Voices of Key Life. And finally, if you’re blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing by giving? Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text, just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950. And as always, please remember, big or small, monthly or one time, every gift matters and every gift helps. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.