NEVER STOP DREAMING.

BY Fr. MARK IKEKE.

….I am now 85 years old. I am still as strong as the day when Moses sent me forth. "Give me therefore this mountain." Joshua 14:6-15.

There should be no end to dreaming in life. You are to dream in childhood, adolescence, youth time and all through to old age. The moment you stop dreaming that very moment you start to die.

The scripture says: "they will bear fruit even in old age, full of sap and still green." Psalm 92:15.The prophet Joel said, "….the old shall dream dreams."

The word old is from the Hebrew word Zakane and it means aged, ancient, elder, senator, etc. Normally in life, we associate the old with being obsolete, irrelevant, useless, weak, outdated, etc.

"We offer wisdom which none of the rulers of this world have known."1 Cor 2:6. In the divine arena which is manifested in real life, the old is made use of by God. It is what people discard that God makes use of. The rejected is accepted by God. The oppressed is uplifted by God.

God has chosen the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. The useless will become useful, the irrelevant relevant, the disappointed appointed.

Never stop dreaming. Realize that dry bones can rise again. You have not dreamt enough. When you are sick dream of health. Dream prosperity out of poverty. Dream success out of failure. Dream upliftment out of the valley. Dream surplus out of lack. Dream heaven out of hell. Dream love out of hate.

The greatest power in the world apart from the power of the Holy Ghost is the power of the dream in you. The dream you pursue persistently you will manifest. The great Martin Luther King, Jnr., once said: " I have a dream." He dreamt of a society of racial equality where all will be treated as children of God. It has been many years since he dreamt that dream from the mountaintop. The substance of the dream may not have been totally realized, but the dream is coming to past.

The parent of Moses had a dream. They saw into the future of the new child and they committed themselves to preserve the baby. They took a lot of risk in preserving the baby. Let me tell you never to give up your dream. Nobody can take your dream from you. Your body can be imprisoned but nobody can take your dream from you. Right in prison, Joseph was still interpreting dreams. Right in the island of exile, the old man John was still seeing visions and dreaming dreams of a paradise to come. He said: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth." If you see it you can have it.

Without a dream you are lost. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Where there are no dreams the people perish.

Age and adverse circumstances cannot be a barrier to your dreaming dreams and actualizing them. It was at 40 that Moses had the major dream of his life to help in the liberation of his people. When the dream was fought and he was driven into exile, he did not give up on the dream. Your dream can be delayed or detoured but it cannot be denied. The dream was revived when God called Moses at the burning bush. When Moses got into Egypt the dream was to go through a process and a season of suffering. His dream was resisted and persecuted by the Pharaoh.

Without a season of suffering your dream cannot be actualized. The evolution of the dream goes through a process I call "dreamisation."

If you think age is a barrier to dreaming dreams, then think of Abraham. It was at 75 that he began dreaming of a baby and the baby will not come until he was 100 years. Noah was already an old man when he started dreaming of building the greatest boat in his days at God's command. Not the scorn or jesting of the people will stop him from keeping building.

Achievers never listen to the barking voices that want to stop them. There are people who always complain when other people are acting yet they themselves will never act.

Now an old man in prison, Paul wrote most of his powerful epistles. As an old man he was still dreaming. He said: "I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished the race and what is left for me now is the crown of righteousness." 2 Tim 4:7-8. He believed there was still something left. When we get to heaven our dreaming will only just have started.

If age cannot stop you from dreaming then not even perilous times can stop you from dreaming. Even a thief by the side of Jesus dying on the cross, birthed a dream. He did not give up hope. He dreamt of a life beyond armed robbery.
No matter what your past has been you can begin anew. Do not be discouraged by your fall. No matter how great your fall your rising can be mightier. Yours may have been a moral fall and you are living in self-defeatism and refusal to forgive yourself. But God says to you, "Rise, go and sin no more." "Because your many sins have been forgiven let your love also be more." Unto the church in Ephesus Jesus said: "Realize how far you have fallen. Repent now." Rev. 2:5.

In the mist of the legendary biblical fall, God birthed a dream of redemption. Gen 3:15.The fall did not discourage God rather it re-enforced his desire to partnership with humanity.

You can birth a dream in the mist of every tragedy you are passing through. Beauty can come out of your ashes. The Ninevites did not give up hope even in the mist of the doomsday prophecy of Jonah. They birthed a program of fasting and dreamt of a new beginning.

It was right in the mist of his tragic failure that David wrote one of the most powerful psalms-Psalm 50.

It was right in the mist of failure that the apostle Paul birthed the mission to the gentiles after some Jews had rejected the gospel. Move from where you are rejected/tolerated to where you are celebrated.

It was right in the mist of primeval chaos, darkness and disorder that God birthed a new world. You must never forget that the new world order will come out of chaos.

Right in the mist of failure and being mocked by the enemies Samson will rebirth his mission. He prayed and he realized his assignment. Judges 16:28-31.In the mist of the refusal of Barak to lead the frontline, Deborah birthed a dream of leading the battle. Judges 4.There is no situation in this life that cannot be turned to good. As you perceive life so it will come to you. In the mist of tragedy Naomi birthed the dream of going back to Bethlehem, city of bread. In the mist of the failures of Saul and Israel to confront Goliath, there came an opening for young David to become King. One person's failure is another person's opportunity.

In the face of rejection Jephthah birthed a lifetime of war and combat that was to see him to kingship one day. Judges 11.Masada was the place of the defeat of the Israeli forces in about 73 CE, but today it is where the Israeli officers are commissioned.

Failure can never be final and success can never be ending. You can be knocked down but refuse to accept a knockout. Struggle is a sign that you have not been defeated.

I am highly interested in your success, for your success is my celebration. You are made for surpluses don't be satisfied with little. Created for the top don't die at the bottom. The whole world is before you, go and possess.

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NOTE: Fr. Mark Ikeke is a parochial vicar at St. Brendans at 333 206th st in the Bronx. Hes is a priest from the diocese of Warri in Nigeria. He is currently schooling at Fordham University.. Please keep Fr. Mark in your prayers.