“I Have a Dream Today!”
Have you ever had a dream that caused you to do something
different, make a change, or go in a different direction? Today’s theme word
is “DREAM.” I don’t know about you, but for me what first comes to mind when I
think of the word “dream” is Dr. King and his “I Have a Dream” speech. Many of
us think that probably Dr. King was very actively involved in the civil rights
movement from the beginning. But actually he was not. At first, his dream
was to become a good pastor like his dad and to make a happy family just like
others. But then, the Montgomery Bus Boycott had begun in his community. The
organizers of the boycott sought the support of the black ministers in town. At
that time, King was just 26 years old and reluctant to get involved. But the
organizers already decided to hold the gathering at King’s church, and at the
meeting King was elected the president of the boycott committee. From that day
he became the target of attacks. Almost everyday he got hate mail, obscene and
threatening call. He was sacred to death. He was paralyzed by fear. One night he
confessed his fear to God. Then he heard the voice of Jesus, “Stand up for
truth. And lo, I will be with you until the end of the world.”[1] And God
showed King His dream for His people. He allowed him to go up to the
mountain and see the Promised Land. Since then, Dr. King began to speak God’s
dream into the world through a speech without fear. He said, “I have a
dream today… we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle
together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together…” He
continued to speak and live God’s dream until his last day on earth.
Man’s Dream vs. God’s Dream
In today’s passage Joseph had a dream that changed his life forever. Even
before he had a dream, the Bible says Joseph was a righteous man. He was a good
man. Perhaps his dream might open his own carpentry shop in his
hometown, Nazareth , and get married to
a beautiful, godly woman, Mary, and make a happy family. But one day he found out
that his fiancée was pregnant. Of course, he was shocked. He could have asked that
Mary be stoned to death or punished in some publicly humiliating way. But
Joseph didn’t do that. Because he was a good man, he tried his best to be
compassionate as much as possible for the woman as well as to maintain his
personal integrity. So Joseph resolved to divorce her quietly. That was his
best in that particular situation. That is man’s best. It is to maintain
our personal righteousness and at the same time minimize other’s disgrace. But God’s
best is much, much better than that. God’s dream for us is beyond
all understanding.
The dream that God showed to Joseph was not a mere dream. It was a divine
revelation. This revelation especially tells us three things about who
Jesus is. The first message was that Jesus is the Son of God. An
angel of the Lord said to Joseph, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because
what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matt 1:20 ). The point of the virgin birth is not about Mary is a virgin, but about
Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus had to be conceived from the Holy Spirit and
born by his virgin mother, so that he might be the Son of God. Who is Jesus? He
is the Son of God. The second message was that Jesus is a Savior. The
angel said, “She (Mary) will give birth a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (21). Jesus had
many roles while he was here on earth. But the most important mission and
ministry of Jesus was to save his people from their sins. So when John the
Baptist introduced Jesus to the world for the first time, he did in this way:
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 ). Yes, we need a friend and teacher. But most of all, we need a savior who
will deliver us from our sin and death. Who is Jesus? He is a Savior. The third
message was that Jesus is Immanuel. The Bible says, “The virgin will be
with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which
means ‘God with us’” (Matt 1:23 ). In Jesus, God is
now with his people personally as their Savior. In Jesus, now we can have a
personal relationship with God. Who is Jesus? He is God-with-us.
Knowing God
That is God’s dream that was revealed to Joseph. The divine revelation was
given to him: Jesus is the Son of Man. He is a Savior. And he is Immanuel. What
was Joseph’s response? Immediate obedience. Matthew 1:24 says, “When Joseph
woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home
as his wife.” We can learn from Joseph a very important spiritual principle: “Revelation
+ Obedience = Knowing God.” We never know God unless first he reveals
himself to us. Our speculation about God is meaningless. That is way the Gspel
is a divine revelation from God to his people, not speculation. But revelation
itself is not enough to know God. When we obey as our response to God’s
revelation, only then we are able to know God experientially. In the Old
Testament God has many names. The Israelites learned different God’s names one
by one every time they obeyed. God revealed himself and asked Abraham to
sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed. And he knew God as
Yahweh-yireh, which means “The Lord will provide” (Gen 22:14 ). God revealed himself, delivered his people with his mighty hands from Egypt , and let them cross
the Red Sea . But on the third they began to grumble because the
water was bitter. God gave Moses instructions. He obeyed. And he knew God as Yahweh-rapha,
which means, “The Lord who heals” (Exo 15:26 ). And again the
Israelites had a war against the Amalekites. Moses and his people obeyed God’s
will. And they defeated the Amalekite army and knew God as Yahweh-nissi
which means “The Lord is my Banner” (17:15 ). There is a big
difference between knowing about God and knowing God. When we obey, we know
God.
Cloud of Witnesses
We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses who had God’s dream and
obeyed his leading. Missionary Horace Underwood was one of them. From an early
age God showed Underwood His dream for all nations. Underwood sensed that he was
called to be a missionary. He believed he had been called to India . So I had made
certain special preparations for that field. But then he heard a voice – an
inner voice, saying, “No one for Korea .”[2] He knew
that was the voice of Jesus. At that time, no church seemed ready to enter Korea . Even among
missionaries no one wanted to go there. They thought it was too early and too
dangerous. But Underwood obeyed. So he became a pioneer missionary to Korea . He arrived on
Easter Sunday, April 5, 1885 . In the early years
of his ministry in Korea , he wrote this
prayer:
Lord, nothing is visible at this moment.
Lord, you have planted us on this barren and poor land,
where not even a single tree can grow tall enough.
It is such a miracle that we could come to this land across the wide
wide Pacific Ocean .
Nothing is visible, though, in this land
on which we seem to have been dropped off by your hand.
Only stubbornly stained darkness can be seen.
Only Korean people chained with poverty and superstition can be seen.
They don't even know why they are chained, what suffering is.
They just distrust us and express anger to us as we tell them how to
take away their suffering, which is not suffering to them.
The thoughts of Korean men are not visible.
The mind of this government is not visible.
We are afraid that we may not have any more opportunity to see the women
commuting on Kamas (-a cart
carried by men).
And we do not see what to do.
Yet, Lord! We will obey.
We believe that you begin your work as we humbly obey,
And that the day will come when our spiritual eyes will see your work,
According to your Words,
"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do
not see..."
We believe that we will see the future of the faith of Korea
Although we are as if standing on a desert with bare hands,
Although we are condemned to be Western devils,
We believe that the day will come when they will rejoice with tears
realizing that they are one with our spirit in Christ,
and that we all have one Kingdom and one Father in Heaven.
Although there is no church to worship you, no school to study,
Although this land is filled with doubt of suspicion, contempt, and
disdain,
We believe that in the near future this land will become a land of
blessing.
I am one the great numbers of beneficiaries. In fact, both Joyce and I
gradated from the college that Underwood found. Now South Korea has become one of
the world’s top missionary-sending countries. We may not have God’s dream or
revelation in dramatic ways as Underwood or Joseph had. But all of us in this
room have the same revelation of God, the same gospel: Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus is a Savior. Jesus is Immanuel. Christmas is around the corner. Once
again we celebrate the birth of Jesus. If Jesus is the Son of God, if Jesus is
a Savior, and if Jesus is God-with-us, what would be our proper response? In
what areas of life do we need to give up, take a risk, or make a change today
in order to follow God’s dream for us?
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