I imagine that the disciples felt courageous while Jesus was with them too but today Jesus is leaving and the disciples were in a state of confusion. They knew they were to wait for the Holy Spirit but then what. Jesus had trained them and taught them much during his time on earth but now they were starting over without him. They weren’t sure what was next.

STEVE GOTTRY
Steve Gottrey had his own training and his training wasn’t easy. Steve Gottry is what we would call a successful man. He owned his own advertising business and had all the toys you could imagine - like a plane, boat and multiple cars. He was living the American dream.

However, all of that came to an end when a shift in the economy turned his whole world upside down . The economy caused him to make poor financial decisions and some bad personal choices. On top of that he lost much of his belongings in a fire and his wife and daughter both had serious health problems. Much reflective of a Job story, Steve Gottry said it was a wake up call for him. 1

GOTTREY AND THE DISCIPLES
He had to start all over. Gottry had to begin to put the pieces of his business back together again but with a different understanding of what he was going to do.

That is where the disciples are today. They would have a different understanding of what the work of Jesus was about.

Gottrey decided that he would get back to basics and stick to one simple rule– FANAFI

FIND A NEED AND FILL IT
Gottrey said although this was simple rule. It worked for him. He found when he stuck to this principle, it made it easier for him to make his decisions. He found this simple principle so successful that he wrote a book on his life and how this principle changed the direction of his business.

Jesus’ ministry was this as well. It was pretty simple wasn’t it. It was find a need and fill it. That is what Jesus did. Jesus found the needs of the people outside of the church to be important and easy for Jesus to fill. He healed lepers - the group that were not allowed to enter the communities around them. He healed the blind and the lame as they were considered physically challenged because of something they or their parents did. He drove out demons and ministered to women all of the people who the church shunned. Jesus found the need and filled it. Jesus wants all people to be included in His grace.

Although the principle is simple, Gottrey said there are some things that really helped him. Finding a Need and Filling it was easier when Gottrey created steps in his business.

BEGIN WITH A DREAM
As Victor Hugo said, "There is nothing like a dream
to create the future." We need a dream, and we need to dream big!

Gottrey says that to begin we have to have a dream

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
That is just what Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher did. He found a need and moved forward to fill it. He had a dream. He called the dream “Free the Skies. Kelleher had a dream that each person who wanted to would have an opportunity to fly. Everyone would find flying affordable.

JESUS HAD A DREAM
Jesus had a dream to that all people though out the world would know Him. Jesus began with a big dream and he knew exactly what he wanted for the world.

Gottrey and Kelleher must have learned from the model that Jesus created. Jesus knew exactly what the world needed. The world needed reconciliation and redemption. Jesus’ dream is that all people belong to the family of God and for each person to realized His saving grace.

Jesus dreamt of a world reconciled to God and to each other. Jesus dreamt and taught of the Kingdom of God revealed now. Jesus dreamt that we would be a world that loved God and each other as one love.

JESUS’ DREAM FOR THE CHURCH
This was Jesus dream. Jesus had a kingdom dream. He had a dream of what the church should be.

LOVE AND VISION
Jesus loved the world. Remember John 3:16 - God so loved the world. And in that love He wanted the whole world saved. 2 Timothy says, “It is God’s will that the world be saved.” Jesus had a vision that all the world would know His saving grace. That His vision was to redeem and restore the world to Himself.

So Jesus prepares them to carry on the dream. He gives them their marching orders. Focus on the dream, guys. He says . . .
Vs. 6 When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?" 7 He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business.”

Don’t set your mind on things that we have no idea when they are, set your mind on the task at hand. Don’t focus on the End times, focus on the here and now. You know if we think about it, no one knows when their own end time is. We could be gone today.

Jesus wants us to dream in the present. He wants us to BLOOM WHERE WE ARE PLANTED.

Bloom in the here and now and not to wait for our eternal life. We are already living in the kingdom of God.

ILLUSTRATION
Pablo Picasso once said, "Everything you can imagine is real." If everything you can imagine is real, and you can start the creation process simply by dreaming it, why not dream big?

What can you imagine for Creekside Church? Can you imagine that each person in the Dunlap area who does not have a church home will have an opportunity to experience Jesus Christ as Creekside Church.

Will you imagine that they not just experience Jesus but that they might make Creekside their church home?

God says, “That everything is possible with God.” So dream big.

Jesus wants us to see and enter into the needs of the people. He wants us to love the people on the fringe of the church. Jesus wants us to dream of all people knowing the loving God that we do. Jesus’ dream is our dream.

That was Jesus marching orders. I have a dream and I need YOU to fulfill it.

Now Gottrey also says, that once we have the dream, we are to plan to achieve that dream.

PLAN TO ACHIEVE THE DREAM
Jesus had a big dream and in that dream, he had a plan.

Vs. 8. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."

Jesus dream was big and His plan was to use all of us with the aid of the Holy Spirit to help realize the kingdom dream.

ONE ACCORD
JOKE:
What was the model of car that the apostles drove to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit? It was a Honda. They were all in one accord.

To have a big dream, Jesus knew his plan had to work and He needed all Christians grab hold of that dream.

They were in one accord. They all had the same understanding of what Jesus wanted.

ILLUSTRATION:
Despite its ever-increasing size, Southwest Airlines has managed to maintain a strong and purposeful culture in which every employee is still on a crusade to free the skies. No employee shows up for work just to "do a job." The Southwest Airlines vision is so strong that every employee is a crusader of freedom.

One accord.

When we are of one accord, with one dream. We are working with a synergy to make it happen. That is part of the plan.

WHAT DOES ONE ACCORD LOOK LIKE
Whether it is the worship team who plan meaningful worship services, to fellowship team who offer refreshments to help each new person feel like they are part of the family of God.

Each member would look at each task in the church as an opportunity to win one more person for the kingdom of God. Each member would welcome an opportunity to find someone who needs a family of God to belong to.

Each member would keep their dream at the forefront of their mind and would work to make that dream a reality.

IMPLEMENT THE PLAN
The kindergarten Sunday School class was learning about how God cares for us in times of trouble. The teacher asked the class to draw pictures of things that make them afraid. After they finished drawing, each child explained to the others what he or she had drawn. Five-year-old Scott had created in vivid crayon a looming funnel cloud, a car, and a man. He described how the man could not get his car started and a tornado was coming toward him. "He really needs to pray, doesn't he?" asked the teacher. "No," Scott disagreed. "He needs to run!"

Plans need action. Listen to the words of the scripture.

Vs. 9 These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. 10 They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared - in white robes! 11 They said, "You Galileans! - why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly - and mysteriously - as he left."

Jesus doesn’t want us to be comfortable in our church. But be uncomfortable in the people who are not in our church.

MARTYRDOM
ILLUSTRATION: FAITH
French writer and Nobel Prize winner Anatole France once said, "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.’

RISK - STEP OF FAITH
When we dream big, we need to step out in faith knowing that our dream is worth the risk. That is just what Kelleher did.

Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher was willing to risk his career for four years (and his own money) while he fought in the courtrooms to get Southwest Airlines on the ground. Though other airlines fought Southwest in the courtrooms, Kelleher was willing to risk everything to "fight the good fight." Why? Because he believed so strongly in the dream that nothing else mattered.

The Apostles and their followers believed too. They risked their lives. Christianity grew so swiftly that it was dangerous for Christians to proclaim Christ in public. Every one of Jesus Apostles with the exception of John were martyred.

To implement a plan, is to believe in the dream that we are implementing and be willing to take a risk.

CLOSING
To realize the dream that Jesus began over 2,000 years ago, all we have to do is take baby steps to be a part of that dream right now.

Each generation began the baby steps to fulfill that dream. That is what we do today in every church. We take the baby steps that are necessary to realize our part of the Jesus dream.

Although we might call them baby steps, they are not for babies. To fulfill the dream that Jesus had we must be strong in spirit – ready to weather the storms that go with any great dreams. We do it because we know it is worth it.

We begin with baby steps right here in Dunlap and move our ministries, like the scripture says, “ through Jerusalem, Judea, And Samaria and to the ends of the world. For us it is in Dunlap, Elkhart and Goshen even to the end of Indiana.

I want to leave you with a poem written by John Turnipseed, Director of People Services at Southwest Airlines.

Dare to Dream
Some people only look at life through eyes that seldom gleam
while others look beyond today as they're guided by a dream
And the dreamers can't be sidetracked by dissenters who may laugh
for only they alone can know how special is their path
But dreams aren't captured easily;
there's much work before you're through
but the time and efforts are all worthwhile
when the impossible comes true
And dreams have strength in numbers
for when a common goal is shared
the once impossible comes true because of all who cared
And once it's seen as reality a dream has just begun
for magically from dreams come dreams
And a walk becomes a run
But with growth of course comes obstacles
and with obstacles come fear
but the dream that is worth dreaming
finds its way to the dear
And the dream continues growing
Reaching heights before unseen
And it's all because of the courage of the dreamers
and their dream.

1. homileticsonline.com, FANAFI
2. zeromillion.com, Why You Need To Dream Big To Succeed.