A short sermon-style motivational video by Justin R. Lester urging viewers to replace undisciplined dreams with God‑oriented vision. Lester contrasts dreams (comfort, potential without action) with vision (discerned, God-given direction), illustrates his point with Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus as an example of vision fulfilled, offers practical reflective questions, and briefly promotes his book Necessary Endings.
Chapters
Welcome to Made for Mondays. I'm so glad you're tuning in with us this morning or this evening or this afternoon. Whether it's on your car ride home, the car ride to work, no matter where you are, I hope that something today will encourage you to be all that you possibly can be. Today we continue our journey through our book, Necessary Endings. And we're at our second to last ending today as we'll talk about the ending to your last dream. I look forward to engaging with you as we talk about how you've been called to have vision and not just a dream. Are you ready? Let's dive into Made for Mondays. You were made for Mondays. Mondays don't own you. You own it. Let's talk about the ending to your last dream. Necessary endings, Part 4. 5. I don't know. Ending to your last dream. The difference between dreams and vision is discernment. Because it's one thing to dream about a job, it's another thing to know what God has said about that dream. Dreams are beautiful, but discernment is what gives clarity and ensures that you're not walking down a path that can destroy you. Hear me. Dreams lead you to people, but vision leads you to God. Vision leads you to your future. Dreams with discernment are a vision. Dreams without discernment are just really good stories. And that's how we often love our last dream. We can hold onto our last dream because our last dream is the space we dwell in that makes us comfortable with the mediocre nature of potential. You know, my grandmother used to say this all the time. She said potential simply means you haven't done anything yet. See, thought and prediction leads us to stay in our heads, hoping for someday. Like, you know, the most busiest day of the year. The busiest day of your life is someday. When are you gonna go back to school? Someday. When are you gonna stop doing xyz? Someday. When are you gonna try this out? Someday. When are you gonna do this? Someday. Someday is the busiest day of the year. I want you to move your somedays to today. See, success is no surprise to visionary people. They know what they want and what is to come. And they determine and describe a plan to get to where they desire to be. They expect results on the journey. See, vision for a lot of us may seem elusive, but it's an important life principle. Vision is the ideal future orchestrated by God. You will never amount to much if you are satisfied with who you are today. I want you to be irritated with what you see. If you. If what you see is not what you know you're going to become. God's vision for you defines success as radical obedience to God's special direction for your life. You might hear me talk a lot about God in this, because vision, well, that's where it comes from, you know, for me, I get to preach a lot of the same Christian holidays every year. I get to preach Easter, I get to preach Christmas, and I get to preach these same old ones every year. And every year I challenge myself to see a different perspective or a different character whenever I preach. So allow me to engage the Christmas story. The beautiful the Christmas story is these are people who trust the vision of God, not their dreams. It was the fulfillment of people who God gave vision to, and they trusted it. They weren't comfortable with what they saw because they were looking for something beyond themselves. Christmas is nothing more than God's crazy little vision that came to pass. You don't believe me. Isaiah 9,6 puts it like this. Now unto us a child is given. See, Remember, Isaiah was written 600 years before the birth of Jesus. It was a vision. It was not a dream. It was a vision that God gave Isaiah that was fulfilled. I want you to put yourselves in the shoes of people of Israel starting in Isaiah 7. Isaiah 7:14 says this. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and we will call him Emmanuel. Now, this is the first sign of a direct correlation with Matthew, chapter one. In Isaiah 7, a baby is prophesied. That baby comes to us. In Isaiah chapter 8, we believe that this baby is the foretelling of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. Now, contextually, it was a tense political time in Jerusalem. Around 7:30 B.C. assyria was busy in the north. In Damascus, they were bracing themselves for attack. They joined forces with Judah. But King Ahaz did not want to work with the alliance because. Because it was believed he had already paid to be with Assyrians. So God confronts Ahaz and asks him if he trusts God or if he trusts the Assyrians. The affirmation that God gives is not that he would have to fight or be concerned with the battle, but the affirmation that Ahaz receives is, you're going to receive a powerful baby. Isaiah 9 comes along and says, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. Those living in the land of deep darkness, on new lights dawn. You've enlarged the nation and increased their joy. They rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice as Dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them. The bar across their shoulders, the rod of the oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning and will be fuel for the fire. But for us a child is born, for us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called a wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, the Prince of peace. And the greatness of government, of peace will be no end. He'll reign on David's throne over and over, his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of God will accomplish this. God tells Ahaz, you're gonna win. Why? Because you have to live. Because the kingdom is bigger than you. It will only come through your faithfulness. Now, while some scholars suggest that this is Josiah or Hezekiah, the kingdom as vast as what is described in Isaiah 9 is much more descriptive than anything Josiah or Hezekiah accomplished. It's God's kingdom. It's the coming of Jesus. Those of you who are non Christian, listening to this, I know you may not like this, but I want you to see this as historical fact. Those of you who are Christian, man, this excites us. Because God's word was a baby is going to come. I want you to trust God's vision. Because God's kingdom is not as big as your dream. God's kingdom is as big as God's vision. Christmas is a crazy vision that came to pass. Your life is God's vision coming to pass. So I don't want you to be just dreamers. I want you to be people who have vision. I want you to hold on to the truths of what God has spoken over you. I want you to hold on to the truths of what wakes you up in the morning. Real great leaders are not the ones like dreams are not the things that put you to sleep. Dreams and visions are the things that keep you awake. It makes you come alive. When God says, go, go. When life says move, move. And the future is calling to run towards it. I want you to be a person of vision. That way you realize you put in perspective the battle. I don't have to fight this because I've got to live. Here's some questions I want to ask you to grab a hold of what your vision is. Number one, what are you good at? We do a very good job of talking about what we can't do? What are you good at? What do you accomplish with ease? Number two, what is your favorite leadership principle and what is it about that principle that stands out to you as to why it's your favorite? What are you currently working on? Why are you currently working on that and what makes it easy for you to work on that? How do you stay emotionally and intellectually fresh? And what advice would you give someone if they listened to you? Listen, you're made for Mondays. Mondays don't own you. You own your Mondays. Craft the vision that you know is true for the end of this week. Run into it and see the best is yet to come.
Well, hey, Made for Mondays listeners.
Justin here.
I'm on here to give a shameless plug about. Well, my book. I wrote a book called Necessary Endings and this book is simply a book detailing. It's called Some Things need to die.
For you to live.
It details four different funerals that I believe you need to have to go on a journey of mental well being and mental success. I pray that you take a moment to go ahead and grab it. You can grab it on my website@jr Lester.com or on Amazon. It's a book that addresses mental health, faith journeys, relationships, friendships, everything in between. Prayerfully, it'll help you be all that you need to be everything God's called you to be. So go ahead, take a copy of Necessary Endings. Some things need to die for you to live. Available on Amazon or jr lester.com thank you.
Well, thank you for joining us for Made for Mondays. Thank you for joining us for Made for Mondays. I hope that something was said that will encourage you today. Let's say our affirmations and get ready to go. Repeat after me. Say I am me, I can be me and no one will stop me from being me. Hey, have an amazing day. You were made for Mondays. Mondays don't own you. You own your Mondays. Now go and conquer and be well. God bless you today.
