By Bishop David Oyedepo

Last week, I brought you the introductory part of this series, in which we studied self-discovery as the first pillar of wisdom. I told you that you can’t make a mark on earth, until you locate God’s unique purpose for your life.

In continuation of this teaching, I will show you the relevance of dreams which I have captioned, ‘It’s a dreamer’s world.’ We live in a world where only dreams count. Most people who have accomplished extraordinary feats were dreamers. They dreamt of their inventions long before they came to be. Nobody arrives at a future of greatness he did not dream about in his today.

For instance, any young person you find in the Nigerian Defence Academy is dreaming of a day he would be decorated as a general in the army. You can’t ask him what he is doing in the academy today; he already knows that! The same thing obtains in the medical school. The young medical undergraduate only dreams of when he will emerge as a celebrated surgeon or another medical specialist. Everyone who ever became a celebrity in the secular world rode on the wings of dreams. Dreams are the stuff giants are made of. Unless you are a dreamer, you will remain a dwarf!

It is unfortunate that many people are without dreams. God has a great future for you; but you must dream it today to encounter it tomorrow. It is not just enough to dream, you must believe in those dreams. The Bible shows us the most fascinating dreamer called Joseph. No prophecy went ahead of him telling him that he would be the head of his family. He was a dreamer and his dream secured for him a glorious future.

His dream stirred up jealousy among his brothers, but he didn’t care. He believed in his dream and kept on proclaiming it (Genesis 37). Why? Because once you catch a dream, you can’t but speak it. Let businessmen use their minds to paint pictures of success in their businesses, and it shall be so. That is how to get God committed. Joseph’s dream brought him to the throne in Egypt. If you too can catch a dream for good health, wealth, peace, joy and success, you will ascend your God-given throne.

What is a dream? A dream is a mental picture of a desired end. I am not referring to the night dreams you have after heavy bowls of pounded yam. No! A dream helps you to paint a picture of your desired end and supplies you with inner strength to accomplish it. Therefore, any assignment or mission is accomplished once you can catch a picture of the desired end.

Ever before I got married, I knew I was going to have a blissful married life. God’s Word showed me that marriage is honourable. It showed me that it is not good for man to be alone. I reasoned it out in my mind that if I was not a fighter as a bachelor, marriage should take me further away from it. To the glory of God, over the years that we have been married, I have enjoyed a hitch-free, tension-free marriage! But it didn’t happen by chance. I saw it in the scriptures and I programmed my mind towards its manifestation.

I caught a dream of a hitch-free marriage ever before I got married. Because God is committed to granting our expectation, He granted mine! That is the power of dreams! The miracle you are expecting in your life is possible if only you can open up your mind to picture their arrival. When they arrive in your hands, they will come so effortlessly. Dreams are destiny boosters. To be dreamless is to be doomed.

You need goals: Wisdom is knowing how to handle the issues of life, in order to make them produce your desired results. Once you have a dream, the next step is to translate it into goals. Many who are failures in life today are so because they do not have goals. So, they keep whiling away time because they don’t know exactly where they are heading for. Dreams help you to set mental goals. Martin Luther King Jnr. said: “If you don’t have a purpose for living, you are not fit to live.” You should be able to ask yourself: Where am I heading for in life? Why was I created? What am I on earth to accomplish? When you have ascertained where you are heading for, you put your mind to work and imagine your access to your destination. Dreams help to make the pursuit of your purpose in life more resourceful.

Once you can translate your dreams into goals, and take the necessary action, you are definite-ly heading for dominion. You will emerge a man in charge of the affairs of your life in Jesus’ name!
Friend, the grace for dreaming practical and realizable dreams is the preserve of God’s children. Being a child of God entails confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You can be a child of God right now, as you say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I cannot help myself. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the living God. From today, Lord Jesus, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You for saving me. Now I know I am born again!”

Next week, I will show you the second pillar of wisdom. Remember that it is the wisdom of God that you need to excel in this New Year. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of winners. Our midweek services hold on Wednesdays between 6.00 and 8.00 p.m. We have two services on Sundays between 7.00 and 9.30 a.m., and between 10.00 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.