Paul Tripp: The problem is not that you and I dream, the capacity is a God-given gift. It's wonderful and mysterious, and it separates us from the rest of creation. To lose your ability to dream would actually be to lose your humanity. Our problem is not that we dream; our problem is that we let our dreams control us.

Kate Crowley: From Paul Tripp Ministries, this is Right Here, Right Now, connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. Here now is Paul Tripp.

Paul Tripp: I dreamed what it would be like. I really did. It wasn't that it was a bad or evil dream. In fact, with the kinds of dreams I've dreamed, this one was pretty wholesome. It started out as a God's kingdom vision; it was a great need in our community, and I dreamt of how we could meet that need in a way that would honor God and help people.

I could see it in my mind's eye, and the more I dreamed, the more excited I got, and the more excited I got, the more I dreamed. And the more I dreamed, the more my dreams became specific, and the more specific it became, the more it influenced and controlled me. There was a crucial shift that had taken place in the middle of the process.

My dream was to start a Christian school in our community that had such poor schools. And I was convinced that this would be honoring to God and beneficial to the community. But somewhere in the middle of it all, without me ever knowing it, my dream had become my dream.

I knew just what I wanted that school to be like. I imagined every classroom and the kind of education that I wanted to go on there. Somehow, it had ceased being a vision for God's honor and God's kingdom, and became my dream for my school. I had been kidnapped by my dream, and I didn't even know it. I no longer held my dream. It held me. You're like me; there are probably dreams that hold you, and you don't even know it.

Music: "Dreaming My Dreams With You" by Alison Krauss

I hope that I find what I'm reaching for
The way that it is in my mind
I hope that I won't be that wrong anymore
And maybe I've learned this time.
Someday I'll get over you.
I'll live to see it all through.
But I'll always miss
Dreaming my dreams with you.

Kate Crowley: "Rebuilding Dreams," on the new series on "Imagination," here, Right Here, Right Now. Thanks for joining Paul Tripp Ministries right here, Monday through Friday at 11 A.M. on WFIL. Here's where you'll find hope in Jesus Christ, right here, right now.

You can check out Paul's latest book, Lost In The Middle at www.paultrippministries.org, and while you're there, you can look up other resources designed to help you face the tough issues of life. That's www.paultrippministries.org. Right now, here is Paul Tripp with more Right Here, Right Now.

You Get Kidnapped Too

Paul Tripp: Are you aware that what happened to me happens to you as well? It has happened; it may be happening, and it will happen. Do you know that you get kidnapped, as well? You get captured as well. Do you know that your imagination can be taken hostage, and you may not even know it?

Do you know that you were given the ability to imagine so that the eyes of your heart would be filled with the Lord? Do you know that now there are many other things in your heart that compete with God to be the lord of your dreams? Let me say that again because I think it is very important. "Have you realized that there are many other things that compete with God to be the lord of your dreams?"

What I wanted in building that Christian school was not a bad thing. What I wanted was actually a good thing. It was clearly a community need; it would benefit parents and help develop their children. The community was broken in many ways; it was negative and cynical in many ways. There weren't very many good things that happened there, and this would be a bright spot of hope for everybody in the community.

It seemed like such a good thing. It would be a beacon of hope in a place where there really wasn't much hope. But what belonged to God and the community, somehow, became my possession. I wanted to control it all. I wanted to make sure that what I had envisioned would actually, specifically, in the detail that I had envisioned it, come into reality. And at some point, I was so captured by this dream that it would've crushed me if it hadn't taken place.

Now watch what has happened here: a wonderful thing had become a dangerous thing. A God-honoring thing had become a God-replacement thing. A vertical thing had become a horizontal thing. A service thing had become an ownership thing. A worship thing had become an idolatrous thing.

See, my problem and your problem is not that we dream; we've been given that capacity by God. No, our problem is that our dreams compete with the Lord for the control of our lives. Our dreams do, in fact, compete with the Lord for control of our lives.

Good dreams become bad dreams when good dreams exercise the control over us that only God is supposed to have. I want to repeat that again for you. Good dreams become bad dreams when good dreams exercise the control over us that only God is supposed to have. What in the world are you doing with your dreams right here, right now?

Music: "Eyes On The Prize" by Bruce Springsteen

Paul and Silas bound in jail
Had no money to go their bail
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Paul and Silas thought
They was lost
Dungeon shook and
The chains come off
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Freedom's name is mighty sweet
And soon we're gonna meet
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
I got my hand on the gospel plow
Won't take nothing for
My journey now
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Hold on, Hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on

Sadness, Discouragement, and Broken Dreams

Paul Tripp: I want to talk to you about sadness, despondency, discouragement, disappointment, maybe even despair. I don't know if you have thought about this, but let me get you to think about it now. Do you know that many of the crushing disappointments we face in our life are directly tied to our imagination and the dreams that have captured our hearts?

Here's how it happens: Because we are humans, we dream. That, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. It's actually a God-glorifying thing because it's a thing that God created. But over the years, something important takes place; it is a crucial shift. Our vision of God, as the only glory really worth living for, was progressively replaced by a competing glory vision, that is, by a dream of something else.

That other thing became more than some distant hope for some distant future. It somehow grew in size, and grew in authority, and grew in influence until it became the thing that we were living for. Increasingly, it began to control our imaginations. Increasingly, it consumed our dreams. Increasingly, it became the thing that shaped our behavior. Increasingly, it structured our words, conditioned our emotions, and built our plans. But all of that progressive development, all of that growth of influence, all of that acquisition of power by this dream is taking place in the dark hallways of our hearts, unseen and unnoticed, lurking there almost without us realizing it at all.

And so, we never knew it was happening. We didn't ever plan it this way. We put our lives' hope in the wrong thing, and when you do that, it will disappoint us. You see, whenever your hope disappoints you, it's because you have the wrong hope. You see, our problem with our dreams is not that they're always ugly, and sinful, and unworthy; sometimes they are, but many times they are not. Sometimes our dreams are beautiful, and wholesome, and good.

You and I have dreamed many wonderful dreams. We've dreamed many God-honoring dreams. We've dreamed many people-benefiting dreams. We've dreamed dreams that we should be proud of. But here's the problem, our dreams tend to become a replacement glory for the one glory that was meant to shape every aspect of our existence.

I know I do this a lot, and I am going to do it again because I think these principles are so significant and important to the way we live everyday life and the way we relate to God and people. Here's the problem. Our dreams tend to become a replacement glory for the one glory that was meant to shape every aspect of our existence.

Now you have got to understand why I use the term 'glory'. God is a God of great glory. His glory is meant to be the thing that we live for. And so, as human beings, we're wired for glory. We like, glorious things. That's why we like the triple overtime NBA game. That's why we like the triple mousse cake. That's why we like that dramatic movie; we're wired for glory.

Animals are not like that. The animals don't score one another as they're doing physical feats. The penguins don't score one another as they're jumping into the water. No, we're glory-driven, glory-attracted, glory-oriented human beings. That's so much a part of our humanness.

So let me get back to the principal because maybe now it will have more power. Maybe now it will make more sense. Our dreams tend to become a replacement glory for the one glory that was meant to shape every aspect of our existence. You see, having your imagination filled with the glory of God in a way that gets you up in the morning and gives you a reason to press on is the only safe place for your heart to be.

You see, the only safe place for your heart ever is when your heart is moved, and motivated, and directed, and controlled by the glory of God. It's not the glory of a great steak; it's not the glory of a great garden; it's not the glory of a great job. It's not the glory of a great romance. It's not the glory of great kids, or great vacations, or great books, or great clothes, or great whatever that was ever supposed to control my heart.

Now, none of those things are bad in themselves. It's not bad to want comfort; it's not bad to dream of pleasure. It's not bad to dream of a possession that's beautiful that you would like to have in your house, but you must not be kidnapped by that dream. You must not be controlled by it because you have to face this fact: You were made for God and God alone. And all other dreams will fail us, no matter how successful we are at achieving them, because our dreams cannot be our savior; our dreams cannot be our own personal messiahs.

Your dreams cannot give you what God and God alone can give you. Your dreams were never, ever designed to fill those deep longings in your heart that only God can fill. Your dream does not make a good lover, and it will not make a good lord. Again, the problem is not that you and I dream; the capacity is a God-given gift. It's wonderful and mysterious and it separates us from the rest of creation. To lose your ability to dream would actually be to lose your humanity.

Here is the bottom line; here is the thing that we've got a face: Our problem is not that we dream. Our problem is that we let our dreams control us. You see, a dream for a good thing is a good thing until that dream becomes a ruling thing. A dream for a good thing is, in fact, a very good thing until that dream becomes a ruling thing. And then, that dream becomes a bad and dangerous thing.

You see, what happens in the hallways of our heart, our dreams actually start to become functional replacements for God and His control over all of our lives. The problem is not that we dream; the problem is that we dream idol...I-D-O-L...dreams. Our dream begins to become what we worship and what we serve. It begins to take possession of our hearts, and when that happens, God has been replaced.

Music: "The Power Of The Cross" written by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.
This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath--
We stand forgiven at the cross.

So What Did You Dream About Yesterday?

Paul Tripp: I always say this in these programs, but I'm about to say it again: "so what about you?" What did you dream about yesterday? What is the thing that gets you up in the morning? Be honest! Don't just give the Sunday school answer, "God!" What thoughts just flood into your mind in the morning? Why do you get up with any kind of enthusiasm at all? What vision do you live in active pursuit of?

What are the desires in your heart that have morphed into needs? What are the things you tell yourself that you just simply cannot live without? It's not an option. You can't live without these things. Could it be that, in your life, a once God-honoring dream has become a God-replacement dream? Could it be possible that a war of worship and a war of control are taking place in the world of your imagination? Could it be that your world of imagination is a collision of kingdoms, the kingdom of God colliding with the claustrophobic little kingdom of self?

Permit me, for a moment, to take you back to my story. You know, there was no doubt about it; that Christian school was a great idea; it was needed in the community. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that it was needed. It honored God, and it helped children. It was a good thing to do. But my dream for the school began to compete with God's dream for me. Before long, it wasn't what He wanted for the school, but what I wanted. My dream had become very specific, and I was laying plans for how it would all come about.

Then all of a sudden, in a shocking moment I'll never forget, other leadership came into the school; it was a bit of a coup. It hurt me very much. I was replaced as the sole leader of that school. I was crushed. I couldn't believe it. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I had a knot in the pit of my stomach every morning when I got up.

I wasn't devastated because God's dream had been obstructed. That's not what devastated me. I was devastated because I had been robbed of my dream, and I didn't know what to do. I was angry. I wanted to fight. I was bitter. I thought of what I would like to do.

Now, I know you're like me; I know you get seduced; I know you get tricked; I know you are tempted. So, I have to ask you this question, "What, right here, right now, has captured your imagination and is in control of your heart?" Maybe it's a desire for your marriage. Maybe it's a desire for your friendship. Maybe it's a desire for money, or power, or acceptance. Today, you awoke as a person in pursuit of a dream, and what dream is that, and is it possible that your dream now controls your heart? You're a dreamer. Who owns your dream, God or you?

(Music Interlude)

Where do you run for help and comfort when your dreams have come crashing down at your feet? Where do you go when you know you've been taken captive, and you just don't know how to free yourself? What do you do when you're facing huge disappointments and paralyzing fears? How do you deal with the fact that you so easily lose your way? You so easily fall under the control of things that were never, ever, ever, ever meant to control you.

Now, hear this. Isn't it comforting to know that Jesus walked on earth as a real, physical man? The Bible says in Hebrews 4 that He was tempted in every point just like we are; yet, He didn't fall, and He didn't sin. Jesus understands how attractive and seductive the created world can be. Jesus understands the war of worship and control that takes place in our hearts. Jesus faced the temptation to forsake the Father's plan for another plan, but He not only understands, He won the battle, unlike us. He is the only place where you can find help and comfort.

You see, you have to admit your weakness; you have to admit your frailty; you have to admit your inability. You will never free yourself from your slavery to your dreams. You need rescue, just the kind of rescue that Jesus has promised to give you.

Kate Crowley: "Following God's Game Plan," Paul Tripp on Right Here, Right Now, more from the new series, "Imagination." And be sure to tell a friend.

Now, in his new book, Lost In The Middle, Paul Tripp looks at the hope that can be experienced, no matter what season of life you may be living. That's Lost In The Middle. Log on to www.paultrippministries.org. That's all one word; paultripp, spelled T-R-I-P-P, www.paultrippministries.org.

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