Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Janice Browne
Series Code: IAA
Program Code: IAA000430
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00:01 Do you have dreams and aspirations
00:03 that just sometimes seem impossible. 00:05 Well we believe that God may be putting 00:08 those in your heart, and if he is, 00:10 he wants to fulfill them. Please stay tuned today 00:13 for Issues & Answers, and learn 00:15 a little bit more about this 00:38 Hi, I am Shelley Quinn, and thank you so much 00:41 for joining us. I think today is going to be 00:43 really an exciting day because we are going 00:45 to talking about dreams, goals and aspirations 00:49 and where they originate from and why they are 00:53 important to our lives. 00:54 I was reading once in Luke verse 6, 00:57 chapter 6 in verse 39, where the Bible says 01:01 "For with the measure you use, 01:03 it will be measured back to you. " 01:05 And suddenly what was impressed upon my mind 01:07 were these words, increase the measure 01:10 of your expectancy, for the measure 01:12 you use will be measured back to you. 01:15 I believe that sometimes we put God in a box, 01:18 we're afraid to pray for anything 01:21 that might be too grand. 01:22 We are afraid to attempt the things to bear 01:27 the abundant fruit that God says 01:29 that he wants us to bear because we don't really 01:35 trust ourselves, and what we need to do 01:37 is quit leaning on ourselves and start looking to God. 01:39 Here today to talk to us about this is 01:42 Dr. Janice Browne and Janice we're so glad 01:46 that you have come back and be with us. 01:48 Thank you, I am very happy to be here again. 01:51 Now you have a masters in clinical psychology 01:55 and in your PhD is in leadership with a. 01:59 Concentration in psychology. 02:02 A concentration, tell me a little bit out what a master 02:06 or a PhD in leadership entails. 02:09 Actually it's in educational leadership, 02:11 and it basically entails teaching. 02:14 It entails curriculum development, 02:17 administration, anything that has to do with school 02:22 from grades one up to college, 02:24 and on to the university level. 02:27 I am of course on the university level 02:29 even though I teach in the psychology department. 02:32 So basically it's just an educational degree 02:35 and also it deals with consultation 02:40 and developing leaders and 02:43 leadership skills in individuals. 02:45 Okay, now when you, your husband and you 02:50 were missionaries for a number of years in Ethiopia. 02:53 Yes. That's correct, and when you returned, 02:56 tell me a little bit about the dream that God 03:00 actually planted in your heart almost through a seed 03:03 that he planted in your husband's heart. 03:05 What actually happened is that I interacted 03:10 with so many people there in Ethiopia 03:13 being the President's wife, the constituents, 03:16 the pastors, the pastor's wife. Your husband was the president 03:18 of the Ethiopian Union. 03:20 Yes, he was and I found that when I came home 03:26 I met people in America but they have the same needs 03:30 and I said you know people are the same 03:33 all over the world. They have needs, 03:36 they have goals, they have dreams, they have visions, 03:38 and I started to conceive a ministry 03:42 that would involve training leaders, 03:46 that would involve teaching individuals how to dream, 03:50 helping persons to realize that they do have dreams, 03:54 and that dreams are something special 03:57 that have been given to us by the almighty creator. 04:01 Amen. You know you wanted to start this program 04:06 and let me go ahead and do that for you 04:08 with a scripture from John 15:60, 04:12 and I think that ties in exactly 04:14 with what you are saying. 04:15 Jesus said you did not choose me, 04:18 but I chose you, and appointed you 04:20 that you should go and bear fruit 04:23 and that your fruit should remain, 04:26 we that whatever you ask the Father in my name, 04:30 he may give you. Now Jesus is saying basically 04:36 what you're saying is that he is calling us. 04:40 He puts something in our heart, so that we can go out 04:44 and bear fruit. How do you think all of that works. 04:47 I really believe that according to that text 04:50 God has called us, he has chosen us 04:53 and he has anointed us with the Holy Spirit, 04:57 and once he has called you whether you recognize 05:00 the call or not, there is something within you 05:04 that is a strong desire to either aspire to something 05:09 or to meet a goal that you have set for yourself 05:13 or something that you dream of doing, 05:17 you know its unfortunate that we as adults 05:20 sometimes gets so bogged down. 05:22 We become so jaded and we become so troubled 05:27 and so busy that we really forget to use 05:30 our imagination, our Godly imagination. 05:33 We forget how to dream and we certainly 05:36 you know don't bother with 05:37 trying to reach certain dreams. 05:39 Now there are people that dream, they dream big, 05:42 they follow through with it whether they're young 05:45 or they're old, and then there are some individuals 05:48 who are afraid to dream. 05:50 They don't know how to dream. 05:52 I was in Zimbabwe about four weeks ago, 05:56 and I did a session on dreaming, 05:59 I called it the dream session. 06:01 God wants us to dream the impossible, 06:03 and I remember very clearly standing before 06:06 about eight hundred women and I said how many of you 06:10 have a dream and people raised their hands, 06:15 and I said how many of you know how to dream, 06:19 and a few raised their hands, and then I said 06:22 how many of you don't know how to dream, 06:24 and I was really surprised at the 06:27 number of hands that went up, 06:28 sometimes dreams have been snatched from people, 06:32 sometimes they're so involved in what 06:34 they are doing, they don't have time for it, 06:36 or sometimes people think that it's impossible, 06:40 but we know that it's not 06:41 because God has told us that it's not. 06:43 Well, and there times that I like what 06:47 you said in the beginning that sometimes 06:50 God puts something in our heart and we get his desire, 06:52 not every desire that we have, not every dream 06:55 we have may be inspired of God, 06:57 and so I would say that one of the most important things 07:00 to do is to make that mental check and go and see if 07:06 what you are aspiring to do, does this line up 07:09 with the principles of the Bible, would you agree. 07:12 I would totally agree with that. Okay. 07:14 And I also really believe that just as we should 07:16 try the Spirits to see if they are false spirits 07:19 or if they are really of the Holy Spirit, 07:21 the same is true with dreams, 07:22 and I really believe that God places dreams 07:25 in our heart, and he gives us the skills 07:28 and abilities and the talents to go along 07:31 with those dreams. We call them talents sometimes. 07:35 Things that you just naturally do. 07:37 I don't know about you as a little girl, 07:39 but I can almost, I almost have a thought that you 07:45 were a little girl you liked to talk, 07:47 you probably liked to talk in front of people, 07:50 you probably have the gift of speech, 07:52 and God knew that, so he eventually put the dream 07:56 in your heart, it was there all the time, 07:58 but he opened it like a flower, 08:00 and he brought you to the point where 08:02 you are living your dream, you are speaking to millions 08:05 all over the world, and not just speaking to them, 08:09 but you are talking to them about God. Amen. 08:11 You are talking to them about things 08:13 that are important to them and things 08:15 that are important to God. 08:16 I know that when God called me 08:17 to full time ministry, I thought 08:19 well who wants to listen to me, what would I say, 08:22 but the one that really sticks in my mind right now 08:25 is your, comes to the forth front of my mind is that 08:29 many times people would tell me, 08:31 I can't tell you how often people told me 08:33 you need to write a book, you need to write a book, 08:35 and I made the comment frequently, 08:38 I'll never write a book unless its for the glory 08:40 of God. well what did I have to say I thought 08:44 and when I remember when I was writing Exalting 08:49 His Word, my first book 08:51 that as I was coming to the final chapter, 08:55 I thought Lord what do you want to put 08:58 in this final chapter, 09:00 and I was writing this final chapter suddenly 09:04 I remembered the Lord reminded me you said that 09:07 you would never write a book unless 09:09 it was for my glory, and now child is the time. 09:12 And I, it hadn't even occurred to me, 09:16 hadn't dawned on me, and I realized that sometimes 09:18 we say things and we don't even realized, 09:23 I mean I wouldn't say it was my dream to write a book 09:25 for God. I just, he gave me a talent, 09:28 and I just simply said I won't write a book unless 09:32 it's for God's glory. 09:34 And then God took that simple little sentence 09:39 as if to say okay I'll give a mandate, 09:41 this is the desire in your heart, 'cause somewhere 09:44 in there must have been, and he gave me the mandate 09:47 to write a book for his glory. 09:49 So that's amazing, yeah. 09:51 And then a couple of points there 09:53 I would like to point out sometimes 09:54 we don't even realize what the dream is 09:58 and we will just inevitably say it or say something out 10:02 loud and I am a firm believer that words 10:06 of course fitly spoken are like apples of gold 10:08 and peaches of silver. 10:10 We also know that words can hurt, words can bless, 10:14 words can kill, and we know that when you put words out 10:18 there in the universe, and really that's Gods ears, 10:21 he hears those, but they not really 10:24 come from inside of us, they are there already, 10:27 and he prompts us to respond by saying 10:31 those words. So you know as one things in their heart 10:36 so are they when you say things if you say I can do it, 10:40 you know you will eventually began to do it, 10:43 and you will put yourself in a position to fulfill that. 10:47 If you tell yourself that you can't I wish I could, 10:50 but I really can't, then you're limiting yourself. 10:53 God knew that he wanted you to write 10:56 a book to his glory. Yes. 10:58 And so he had you to say I'll never do it unless 11:01 I do it to his glory. That's what he needed to hear, 11:04 and then when the appropriate time came 11:06 he reminded you, my child. Yes. 11:09 This is a dream you didn't even know you had. 11:11 You have done it now, and you wanted to do 11:13 it to my glory, and here it is, and it's to his glory. 11:16 And I do believe there are times, 11:18 you know a lot of people are afraid to pray, 11:21 and ask God's for God's will in their life, 11:24 because they are afraid that 11:25 he is going to put them in Ethiopia. 11:29 And maybe they don't want to be called, 11:31 you know we talked about you recall you were chosen, 11:34 you didn't choose me, I chose you. 11:37 Are there times do you believe that you've said 11:40 that sometimes there is a dream in it, 11:42 it's a strong desire in our heart, sometimes 11:45 I think maybe, I don't know how to 11:47 articulate this Janice. I believe sometimes 11:50 that there is something out there 11:53 and it's not a strong desire, 11:55 I will give you an example when your husband told 11:57 you just a few days after you married that 12:00 God has impressed upon his mind that you were to have 12:03 a speaking and teaching ministry, 12:05 and you were like no, no, no, I am a singer, 12:07 I am singer. So that was God's dream 12:12 he put it first in your husband's heart 12:14 because he knew, I mean that was God's dream 12:17 for you, his plan for you, but you had to accept 12:22 the seed for the dream through your husband, 12:24 would you agree. I would agree, 12:26 sometimes he does send people to us, 12:28 and just as you said people used to come to you 12:30 and says oh you need to write a book. 12:32 You know God sends affirmation and confirmation 12:36 through other human beings, and when my husband 12:38 said that it was very difficult to accept 12:41 not because I didn't love God, not because I didn't 12:43 want to do it but I never thought of myself. 12:46 I teach in a classroom, 12:48 I teach college and university students, 12:51 but to stand before people, and to actually expound 12:56 and talk about the word of God, to preach 12:58 and to teach wasn't something 13:00 that even I even thought I had the ability to do, 13:03 but once when my husband said it, 13:05 the Lord began to put me in places where that talent, 13:11 those gifts would come forward. 13:13 And speaking of dreams let me tell you, 13:15 you know God really does have a plan for all of us. 13:18 Amen. And speaking of Ethiopia, 13:20 when I was sixteen years old, I had a dream, 13:25 I really did. We had our sixteenth birthday party 13:28 for me and in our family there were six children, 13:30 mom and dad, and every sixteenth birthday 13:33 we would all come together with just the family 13:36 and not invite any friends, and we were supposed 13:38 to tell our parents about our dreams, 13:40 and aspirations, and goals were for us. 13:43 And I said to my parents when my time came 13:47 I said and I am the oldest, so it's number one. 13:49 They said what are your dreams Janice, 13:51 and I said I want to be a missionary. 13:53 But listen to this I forgot that I even said that. 13:57 Over twenty years later we get a call 14:00 from the General Conference inviting us to go, 14:04 and it was on New Year's night, 14:06 and I was speaking with my father 14:07 back in the day talking, and for some reason 14:09 I decide to go and see who was calling may be it 14:12 was another holiday call, and my husband said, 14:13 they're calling us to Ethiopia, 14:15 I jumped up and I scream, yes, yes, yes, let's go, 14:18 and he is very calm and he says 14:20 I think that means we'll be going. 14:23 I could not believe it, my sister when we told 14:26 the family, she said Janice don't you remember 14:28 at the age of sixteen at your birthday party 14:31 you said you want to be missionary. 14:33 So sometimes we have dreams and we forget all 14:35 about them, but God doesn't forget, 14:38 and they may not happen overnight 14:40 but they eventually happen 14:42 and they do take place in our lives. 14:43 You know I think some people are afraid 14:46 of the word dreams because sometimes 14:49 it has a negative connotation like you know 14:51 many a child has been probably 14:54 told you're nothing but a dreamer, 14:56 you will never amount to anything, 14:58 and we are afraid that we are putting our desires, 15:04 how can I say this on the Lord. 15:06 In other words in that scripture 15:08 from Psalms 37 verse 4 it's so misused 15:11 about delight yourself in the Lord and he will, 15:14 what's misused is the 'the' part where he says 15:17 he will give you the desires of your heart, 15:19 and some people think that well 15:22 I want to dream that I am going 15:23 to have this huge mansion, 15:25 and I am going to be the top social life in the city 15:30 or whatever. But the scripture actually says 15:33 delight yourself in the Lord, 15:35 then he will give you the desires of your heart. 15:38 I believe as we delight ourselves in God, 15:41 as we, his will becomes our will and his thoughts 15:47 and purposes becomes our thoughts and purposes, 15:49 that is the safe position from which to spring board 15:54 or segued into a dream if you will, 15:57 that you can, a dream can be birth in a heart, 16:02 a dream that you can be confident in can be birth 16:06 in our heart who is delighting itself 16:09 in the Lord, right. I would agree with that 16:11 wholeheartedly because if you're delighting in the Lord, 16:15 truly delighting in him, then you have 16:18 a relationship with him, and when you have 16:20 a relationship with him, he is able to talk to you, 16:23 he is able to guide you, he is able to put you in places 16:26 and on paths where he want you to be, 16:29 if you are delighting yourself in him. 16:31 I believe that word delighting means not only 16:33 just talking to him but being excited about him. 16:37 Amen. You know and just being so ready to hear 16:42 what he has to say and how he has to say 16:45 it to you that that's delight, 16:47 and then he puts something in you, 16:50 and I say that's a calling. Exactly. 16:54 A dream is a calling. 16:55 You know who Pastor John Carter is and 16:59 he most of our viewers are quite familiar with him. 17:02 He has a number of programs on 3ABN, 17:04 but the Lord called him obviously to be an 17:08 evangelist and when I was mentioning earlier 17:11 at the beginning of the program that sometimes 17:12 we put God in a box, we're afraid to ask 17:15 for something too much. 17:17 Well some people if you call to be an evangelist 17:20 they might say oh Lord let me have a 17:23 successful campaign in Los Angeles, or in Chicago, 17:26 or in New York, or let me do this for that, 17:30 but what John Carter, and I love this about him 17:35 when he prayed his Lord give me Russia, 17:38 not give me Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 17:43 but give me Russia, and the Lord used him, 17:46 I mean he put that and I know 17:48 that was calling of God on John Carter's life. 17:51 He put that dream in his heart, he gave him, 17:55 he burst in him that excitement, that enthusiasm. 17:59 God within, and he gave him that desire 18:03 to evangelize Russia, and God used him to begin 18:07 a huge work in Russia. 18:09 And to me that's why you know 18:14 that's what I used to, I wouldn't say give me 18:16 Coleman, Texas, I would say give me the world Lord. 18:20 And God put me in a place where 18:23 I can speak unto the world, that's amazing. 18:25 Isn't God awesome. Yes he is. 18:27 And he knows what kind of dreams to put in us, 18:31 and he equips us, and you always hear the statement 18:35 and I've heard it before it says he doesn't call 18:37 the equipped. He equips the called. 18:39 There you go, and sometimes people 18:42 I think refuse to dream or don't dream 18:44 because they are afraid that they can't meet up 18:47 to a standard, or they won't be able to do 18:50 what it is that they feel that 18:52 they have been called to do. 18:53 But God isn't concerned with that, 18:55 his only concern is that we delight ourselves in him 18:58 and as you said earlier that we just be open 19:01 that we are flexible that we are willing, 19:05 and we just allow the Holy Spirit to work within us. 19:08 Whatever it is that God has called you to do, 19:12 he will give the ability to do it. 19:15 He would put people in places 19:17 that will allow you to do it. 19:19 He will actually speak to you in the midnight hours, 19:23 or the way he does to me in the morning about 3 O'clock. 19:26 So I keep this pad and pencil beside the bed 19:29 and as he gives me the ideas, I write them down, 19:31 and I fall back to sleep and I wake up and go 19:34 oh how beautiful, and I know that comes from God. 19:37 Amen, amen. It's a good thing that you write it down 19:40 because if you don't sometimes 19:41 he's done with me, and I think oh I will never 19:44 forget that, and you wake up and think 19:46 oh I know there is something special. 19:48 I've done too. You know when you were talking 19:52 about he will give a vision in the night 19:54 and how he equips the called, not calls 19:58 the equipped, it makes me think 20:00 about our founder of 3ABN Danny Shelton, 20:03 because here is a man with a high school education, 20:07 a contractor, a builder, who knows nothing 20:11 about media, and when God called him to build a network, 20:18 a television network, that would reach the world 20:21 with the undiluted truth of the Three Angels message, 20:26 a message that would counteract the counterfeit. 20:29 He didn't even know, I mean he had no idea that 20:32 God put that dream into his heart and he went out 20:36 with just what he had in hand which was less than 20:39 two hundred dollars, and he just began 20:40 and God met him every step of the way 20:44 as he exercised his faith, and I believe that. 20:47 I know the Bible tells us that, 20:49 God has the Holy Spirit gives us 20:51 each a measure of faith, 20:53 but I believe that God gave him that Holy Spirit 20:59 gift of faith, it's one of the gifts, 21:01 you know it's a manifestation of faith 21:04 that is greater than most people have. 21:07 That has to something special 21:08 anointing of the Holy Spirit. So dreaming is, 21:12 being a dreamer is okay in your mind. 21:14 Almost definitely, remember Joseph. Yes. 21:17 Joseph was a dreamer, of course 21:19 he was a you know pretty verbose about his dreams 21:23 and of course when people hear you say 21:25 and you were bowing down to me, 21:27 individuals don't really like that, 21:30 that happened within his family, 21:31 but Joseph continued to dream, 21:35 and he continued to share his dreams. 21:37 Now sometimes when you have dreams 21:40 Satan is standing right there to crush that dream 21:44 and you can't always tell others about your dream. 21:48 I called them dream crushers. 21:51 They're standing there waiting to crush 21:54 your dream. Suppose the man that made the cell phone 21:58 and big clunky phones that we used to have in cars 22:01 had not dreamed and gone on and done it, 22:04 we wouldn't have a cell phone today. 22:06 Suppose Thomas Edison had allowed someone to crush 22:10 his dream, it would not have occurred or God 22:13 would have given it to someone else. 22:15 But you know going back to the Bible Joseph 22:17 was a dreamer and Joseph eventually lived out 22:22 his dream. And the thing about God 22:25 that I love so much is that he gives us the impossible, 22:31 and he makes it possible because he is a God 22:34 of possibilities,and he is the God of impossibilities. 22:39 He can make those things that we think are just 22:42 absolutely outrageous come true, 22:44 and that's what he did for Joseph. 22:47 Joseph was a dreamer, its okay to dream; in fact 22:50 it is good to dream. 22:52 Now I don't mean daydreaming idly, 22:54 sitting and thinking about things that are not positive, 22:56 things that are not spiritual, 22:57 things that are not healthy, things that 22:59 will not help you to grow. 23:01 We are not talking about dreaming 23:02 about winning the lottery. 23:03 No, we are not. We are talking about delighting 23:07 ourselves in the Lord. 23:08 We are talking about allowing God 23:09 to use our gifts, our abilities, our talents, 23:12 whatever they may to serve others, to serve the world, 23:17 to enjoy life, to have abundant life. 23:20 God wants the best for us, and dreams 23:22 aren't always something that are, 23:24 something that's frightening. 23:26 Some people are frightened by their dreams, 23:29 but sometimes God just puts dreams in our hearts 23:31 to do things we love to do. 23:33 I want to clarify because you said some people 23:36 are frightened by the dreams. 23:37 We are not necessarily talking about 23:38 the type of dream that you might 23:40 receive in the middle of the night, although the Lord 23:42 says this will happen in the end times 23:46 that he will give these dreams. 23:47 We are talking about a desire that 23:49 God can plant deep in your heart, 23:51 and it can be, I mean if suddenly you are desiring 23:56 something that seems beyond your reach 23:59 it can be very daunting, 24:00 but its something that my advice would be see 24:05 if you agree with this. If someone were asking me 24:08 about is it dangerous to dream, 24:11 and I think sometimes it is, there is certain type 24:14 of dreaming that is dangerous where people 24:17 just will not submit and commit their lives 24:21 to the Lord, but if they are, if somebody asked me 24:25 if it was dangerous to dream. 24:27 I think what I would say is not as long as 24:29 you are taking this dreams before the Lord 24:32 and asking Lord is it from you, because 24:34 if it's from God, you know even the Lord 24:37 may make you a very successful businessman 24:40 and his purpose may be, so that you can fund things 24:43 that happening. You may not be called to be a missionary 24:46 or an evangelist, but he may have 24:49 you be a very successful, 24:50 give you very successful business ideas. 24:53 So that you can fund the work in his harvest field. 24:56 And I really do believe that for every original 25:00 there is a counterfeit, and sometimes our dreams 25:04 are real and they come from God, 25:06 and then there is a counterfeit from Satan 25:09 that might be right there as well, 25:11 or if we as we said earlier don't delight ourselves 25:15 in the Lord. We might get that dream and corrupt it. 25:19 That God dreams for you to be a great businesswoman 25:24 or a great man, and of course he gives you 25:28 that dream, he gives you that desire, 25:30 he gives you that opportunity, 25:31 but then you don't use it to help others to do anything 25:36 that is a benefit other than for yourself 25:39 or your family, then I think 25:41 that Satan is properly corrupting that dream. 25:44 For example somebody is given an incredible music 25:48 talent, and they had this gift of having a life 25:54 you in music ministry perhaps, 25:57 and then they end up corrupting the talent, 26:00 the gift, and using it to serve in the 26:06 carnal industry. So there's times that 26:08 how would you as a parent if you were talking 26:12 to parents out there. 26:14 How would you guide a child 26:15 that you're trying to explain the benefits 26:19 and the dangers of dreaming. 26:21 Well first of all I think first 26:23 and foremost prayer is necessary. 26:25 Parents need to pray for themselves, 26:28 and they need to pray with their children. 26:32 Parents have a responsibility to share 26:35 the love of God with them, and to be as God 26:39 would be with them. You know the greatest sermon; 26:41 the greatest message is what a person 26:43 does rather than what they say. 26:45 As far as their dreaming is concerned, 26:48 I firmly believe that parents can help to make 26:52 mold and shape a dream in a child 26:55 or they can destroy it. They can decimate it, 26:59 they can corrupt it. 27:00 I think when parents talk to children, 27:03 they need to talk to them from the vantage point 27:06 that they're special, God has something special 27:09 for them to do, and that they can do it 27:11 by the grace of God and with his help. 27:13 Amen, and I think that's wonderful advice, 27:16 I would add to that perhaps 27:17 that they also ought to model. 27:19 The parents shouldn't always 27:21 come to your children and act like things 27:25 are impossible. If God's on your side, 27:27 all things are possible. Dr. Janice Browne, 27:30 we enjoy having you at 3ABN so much, 27:33 and thank you for bringing this delightful topic today. 27:38 Thank you, it's my pleasure. 27:40 For those of you at home please remember 27:42 don't put God in a box, 27:44 the measure you use will be measured back to you. 27:47 So increase the measure of your expectancy, 27:50 and the way that you do that is get into the word, 27:53 find out what God's promises are to you 27:56 as his child, and then hold fast to those, 28:00 and let God plant dreams in your heart. 28:03 And may he do more than you could ever imagine 28:07 with those dreams and plans he has for you. |
Revised 2014-12-17