God’s Will for You - What’s Next?

Dream Again: Moving Toward Your God-Given Vision

Scripture References

Primary text

• Proverbs 29:18
• Mark 8
• Habakkuk 2:2

Other references

• Psalm 126
• Acts 2
• Hebrews 11
• Jeremiah 33
• Acts 20:24
• Ephesians 2

Overview

God is still speaking, and His native language is dreams and visions. When we hear Him, hope rises, purpose clarifies, and joy returns. Pastor Chris Hodges urges every believer to move beyond passive church attendance, listen for God’s vision, write it down, and pursue it until it blesses people and honors Jesus. Whether your dream is missing, stale, or only half-formed, the Lord stands ready to touch you “once more” and restore clear sight for the next step.

Context

This message is the second in a mini-series drawn from Pastor Chris’s book “What’s Next.” After exploring the four steps of the spiritual journey last week, he now focuses on the final step—making a difference—by learning to dream with God.

Main Points

God speaks in dreams and visions

• God does not have a speaking problem; we often have a hearing problem.
• Dreams and visions are supernatural ideas you could not produce on your own.
• “Where there is no vision, people perish” (Proverbs 29:18)—vision loss leads to relational, emotional, and spiritual death.

Why vision matters

• Without revelation people “cast off restraint”; life drifts into survival mode.
• Psalm 126 links restoration and joy to dreaming again.
• Health in the soul and vision in the heart rise and fall together.

Start dreaming: the bucket-list illustration

• Story: Dr. John Maxwell required a handful of friends, including Pastor Chris, to write five bucket-list items overnight. What began as eight items has grown past 100, ranging from kissing Tammy on the Eiffel Tower to planting 2,000 churches.
• Story: One “impossible” item—flying in a supersonic jet—became reality when two Air Force colonels arranged an F-16 flight vetted all the way to the Secretary of Defense.
  • Lesson: Never say never. God delights in exceeding what we can ask or think.

Five kinds of dreamers

1. No Dream – Often reveals distance from God. Faith naturally produces vision (Hebrews 11).
2. Wrong Dream – Good but not God; centered on self, not eternity. Surrender redirects the dream.
3. Stale Dream – Once alive, now flickering due to delay or difficulty. Requires a radical reset: prayer, fasting, fresh pursuit.
4. Vague Dream – Real but unarticulated. Habakkuk 2:2 commands: “Write it down.” Goals become actionable when documented and reviewed.
5. God Dream – God-honoring, culture-defying, heaven-impacting, and seemingly impossible—large enough to demand divine help.

Cultivating a God dream

• Draw near: “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things” (Jeremiah 33).
• Daily surrender: Everything we have originated with God; we leverage it for eternal impact.
• Expect a reward judgment (Acts 20:24, Ephesians 2): Jesus will ask how we used what He entrusted.

“Once more” — receiving fresh vision

• Passage: Jesus heals the blind man in Mark 8. After partial sight, He touches the man “once more,” and he sees clearly.
• Application: Even if vision was lost or blurred, God offers a “once more” touch today.

Key Truths

• Vision loss, not circumstance, is the root of soul fatigue.
• God-sized dreams rekindle life, health, and joy.
• Writing the vision is an act of faith that turns hope into movement.
• Radical pursuit—prayer, fasting, surrender—re-ignites stale dreams.
• The ultimate dream is making an eternal difference that will be rewarded by Christ.

Response

• Draw near to God daily; reduce competing noise so you can hear Him.
• Start (or update) your written bucket list with both fun and kingdom goals.
• Review the list monthly and take one practical step toward a dream.
• Surrender every resource—time, talent, possessions—to God’s purposes.
• Fast and pray when vision grows dim, asking the Holy Spirit to blow fresh fire.
• Serve in your church immediately; significance begins with simple obedience.

Closing

Jesus still offers a “once more” touch for anyone whose sight has faded. Today can mark the moment you move from survival to significance by dreaming again with God.

“Once more he laid his hands on the man’s eyes, and he saw everything clearly.”

Receive that same invitation, write the vision, and run the play God designed uniquely for you.

Prayer

Pastor Chris led the congregation in two prayers:

1. A call for believers to receive fresh vision: asking God to reignite dreams, silence worldly noise, and sharpen clarity.
2. A salvation prayer: admitting sin, trusting Jesus’ death and resurrection, and surrendering life to Him—destroying the barrier and beginning a close relationship with God.

Resources

• “What’s Next” by Chris Hodges