Ep.8: Let’s Talk About Holley Gerth’s “You’re Made For a God-Sized Dream”-part 2

Thoroughly Equipped’s Focus on Scripture and Good Works

Welcome to Thoroughly Equipped, a podcast for women where we compare the popular women's ministry teachings, books, conferences, bible studies, etc. to scripture. Our focus is 2 Timothy 3, 16 -17, that all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so the man or woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

And welcome back to Thoroughly Equipped, I'm your host Melba Toast. We are getting into the second part of our critique on Holly Girth's book, You Were Made for a God-Sized Dream, Opening the Door to All God Has for You.

Holly Girth specializes in coaching and motivating women to accomplish their dreams and that is the purpose of this book and she is just full of encouragement. Encouragement to go after that God-sized dream.

In the last episode, we went through chapters 1, 2, and 3. We discussed the idea of being made for more versus being made for good works prepared beforehand for us to walk in. We discussed some of the ways Holly used to discern if we had been given a God-sized dream, comparing those to scripture.

And in chapter 3, we looked at what a God-sized dreamer's heart looks like and asked if our heart really measured up to it. In the next four chapters, Holly will give direction on what might come next now that we have discerned that we are a dreamer who has been given a God-sized dream.

Holly will give us practical advice on how to accomplish and get started towards that God-sized dream. So, chapter 4's title is What Comes Next for You? In chapter 4, she is laying the foundation for a purpose statement used to define our dreams.

Defining a God-Sized Dream by What, Why, and Destination

Girth describes how dreams start out as ideas and begin to grow. Over time, we start to see it. We are then advised to study and write down our dreams in three sentences that will define it. First, the what of your dream, which describes what you want to accomplish.

These sentences need three distinct parts. First, the what of your dream. This is exactly as it sounds, a description of what you want to accomplish. For example, my dream is to transition out of my job and to be a stay-at-home mom with my kids.

Or, you might say, my dream is to get promoted to partner in my company. Page 68. Second, since, quote, God-sized dreams take commitment, tenacity, and stubborn willingness to be obedient no matter what happens, end quote, page 69, we need to write down and commit to the why of a dream.

Quote, you might say, I want to be promoted to partner in my company because I can have more influence than ever before with my coworkers. Or, you might say, I want to be promoted to partner in my company because I'm competitive and I can't stand it that the woman who sits next to me might beat me to it.

Whatever the reason, it's okay to admit it. God already knows. Once you put your why out there, it's time to ask God if your agenda matches his. Is this a why that resonates with his heart too? End quote, page 69.

And finally, third, know your destination. She wants us to understand the destination of our dreams. Quote, what does it seem God is asking you to accomplish? End quote, page 72. Basically, quote, you have many opportunities and options in your life.

You'll even have many God-sized dreams. But I believe you will only have one primary purpose. End quote, 72. So, let's take a quick look at these. In episode one, I went into how scripture equips us for every good work.

That means it tells us what good works are and why we do it. In Ephesians, we were told why God saves us. Because we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do a purpose? No, to do good works, plural.

We are not saved for one God-sized dream or even many God-sized dreams, but we are saved to do the good works that are directed to us in scripture, that we are prepared, that were prepared beforehand for us to walk in.

What are these good works? Paul goes on in Ephesians to tell us, husbands are to love their wives, wives are to submit to their husbands, children are to obey, servants are to submit to their masters, and masters are to treat their servants in love.

That we receive from the apostles how we ought to walk and to please God, just as we are doing, that we do so more and more, for we know what instructions the apostles gave us through the Lord Jesus, for this is the will of God, our sanctification.

First Thessalonians 4, 1 -3. This is the what that God has prepared us for. Now, let's look at the why. Does Paul say why we are to do these good works? Yes, because of Christ. The why for the good works told to us in scripture is the very thing that pleases God.

It's not the work itself that pleases God, nor is the work something God needs us to do. The faith motivating the work is what pleases God because it's done in Christ. Hebrews 11 -6, 1 John 4 -19. Holly goes on to give a little disclaimer on discussing the why of our dreams.

Quote, we are human and having 100 pure motives is impossible for us. We will always struggle with our flesh as we pursue our dreams. End quote, page 70. While she's right about this, she never goes into the number one pure motive that does please God, faith in Christ.

Instead, we're told to acknowledge that there is a mix of both and not to let that be a reason to stop dreaming and planning. Quote, don't let it make you feel guilty or deter you. End quote, page 70.

Now, you're to know your destination, says Miss Girth. Setting goals here is what she's encouraging. The problem with this is Jesus says we are not promised tomorrow. She acknowledges that God may, quote, radically change our course like he did for Paul, Moses and the disciples.

End quote, page 73. Paul, Moses and the disciples physically met with the Lord. If we look at these examples, all three were called to the same dream or purpose to preach to God's people salvation and to lead them out of slavery and into freedom.

This is a great commission that all disciples of Christ are called to, Matthew 28, 19. While we may not have a physical encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, we have his word that directs us to the same purpose.

But regardless, we are not promised tomorrow. We can make plans, but when we do, we say, if God wills. Always keeping in mind that whenever we feel God may lead us, may not be what he sovereignly has planned for us.

That means instead that we're going to look for God's provision day by day and serve him just for today. We are not to quit no matter what. Dreamers are to keep the dream in front of them. We are not to let distractions of life keep us from accomplishing the dream.

Most God-sized dreams aren't discarded. They are simply overcome by distractions. The pile of laundry stares us in the face while our dream waits quietly in a corner. A stack of bills that need to be paid demand our attention while our goal of writing a book silently sits somewhere in our hard drive.

In one way, God-sized dreams can be very loud. In another way, they don't ever demand to be heard. If you push them away or quiet them down, eventually they'll comply. End quote, page 82 to 83. So here's where scripture differs.

In Christ, the act of doing laundry is a good work. Paying bills are a good work that we were created in Christ Jesus to do. But to Holly, they are distractions from the really good work that God wants you to accomplish through your dreams.

This is where the fruit of a God-sized dream or purpose makes these simple acts done in love to family and neighbors corbin. We are to always look to the dream as the ultimate service to God at the expense of what God has called us to do in scripture.

Quote, we take responsibility for what God has entrusted to us. And yet in the end, it's ultimately simply about obedience, about taking the next step of faith. End quote, page 85. This is at the very heart of the God-sized dream doctrine.

The idea of what or who our faith should be placed in. In the purpose-driven God-sized dream doctrine, faith is always pointing towards the goal or purpose. God has made you for a dream or purpose. Your faith is in believing that God will help you accomplish said dream or purpose.

In scripture, faith is pointing toward a person, the person and work of Christ, not a purpose or dream. This is a big difference. So I felt this is very important. So let's look into this a little more.

Faith in Christ Versus Faith in a Dream

In Ephesians 2, 4 to 10, the apostle Paul writes,. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love which he has loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your doing, it's a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Martin Luther defines grace this way, Grace means the favor by which God accepts us, forgiving sins, and justifying freely through Christ.

End quote. That's Luther's works, volume 12, page 376. It's by God's divine favor through Christ that we are saved, and it is by God's divine favor through Jesus Christ that we are also sanctified. Very clearly, and taught all throughout the scriptures, we are told to direct our faith toward God and his son.

We are raised in Christ so God may show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us. God is pleased with us because we are in Christ by faith, and this is why I have a problem with the God-sized dream doctrine, because it teaches that we please God by accomplishing his purposes, when scripture tells us that we please God because we are in Christ.

Having faith in Christ results in every big or little thing we do, dishes, diapers, submitting, etc., as good and pleasing to God because in Christ they are complete, perfect, righteous acts of obedience.

If the faith is on the dream, it is the dream or purpose that is righteous or pleasing to God. Remember, Holly claimed that it's all about our obedience towards this purpose, but scripture tells us it's about more.

Faith in Christ is about obedience, his obedience that is given to us in faith, which is full, perfect, complete, and pleasing to God. A faith directed toward a God-given goal or purpose or dream will always have obedience that doesn't measure up because it's fueled by our sinful efforts reflecting what Paul says.

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh sold under sin, for I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate, Romans 7, 14 -15. In Christ, our faith can be displayed in the little or the big, in our strengths and our weaknesses.

In the purpose-dream doctrine, the faith is acted out through anything that applies to that dream. It's a limited faith with limited actions. The faith in Christ strives to make us more like him, while the faith in the dream drives to make us accomplish the dream.

Like Holly said in her disclaimer, it is impossible to have 100 pure motives, yet in Christ, we do have 100 pure motives because Christ had 100 pure motives. Believing in him and being baptized in him clothes us in his 100 pure righteousness.

This is a much different faith talked about in scripture than in the purpose-driven God-sized dream doctrine. In the next four chapters, they go into issues that Holly believes keeps you from accomplishing the God-sized dream.

She addresses how to overcome our fears, the warning disclaimers that come with God-sized dreams, what to do when things go wrong, how to stop sabotaging yourself. We will only go into chapter 5 today and leave the others for part 3 of this critique.

Fear, Anxiety, and the Limits of a God-Sized Dream

Chapter 5 is titled, A Guide to Overcoming Your Fear. Fear camps out right next to whatever it is you're most called to do. That means the closer you get to your calling, the louder fear sounds. End quote, page 88.

Quote, Fear is not a sin, says Holly, but a gift, page 89. In fact, to her, the more the fear, the more she believes it's God's calling. Quote, Fear is a response to a threat. It means there's risk and something you value is on the line.

If you don't feel that way about your dream, then it's not close enough to God's calling for you. So, why do we resist fear so much? There are many reasons, but one of the primary ones is a myth that holds us back, many of us back.

Fear is a sin. As I dug deeper into scripture, it became clear that fear itself isn't a sin anymore than other emotions we have, such as happiness, anger, or grief. All emotions are just messages about what we are experiencing.

All throughout scripture, God does talk to his people about fear. As I dug into these verses, two primary phases appeared. God says, Do not fear or do not be afraid almost a hundred times. End quote, page 88 to 89.

Yet, these emotions can be a result of beliefs, beliefs about ourselves and about God. Take, for example, anger. Why do we usually get angry? Isn't it because we expect or desire certain behaviors or situations to conform to our expectations?

What about fear? Fear can be a result of lack of trust in a sovereign, merciful, good, and loving God. Holly goes on to say how fear is, quote, more often set off by the lion described as the enemy of our souls.

See, first Peter 5, 8. Waiting to pounce on our hearts when we're hot on the trail of God-sized dreams. End quote, page 89. There are two things here that I believe are problematic with this claim. One, Satan is not on the rampage trying to keep you from accomplishing your God-sized dream.

Scripture tells us Satan is a liar, masquerading as an angel of light, 2 Corinthians 11, 14. Disguising himself as truth and wisdom, deceiving people and drawing them away from God's word and the gospel.

He is a tempter that feeds your ego, calling you to chase and pursue anything but Christ. And two, she tells us that fear is a gift, yet God tells us not to be afraid. How can something God tells us not to do be a gift?

If fear is more often set off by Satan, how can it not be a sin to give way to it? So let's talk about what scripture says about fear. Fear is used two different ways in scripture. Both are the result of beliefs.

Scripture says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9, 10. Clearly, there is a true and healthy fear here that leads to wisdom, something God calls all his children to. This type of fear comes from an understanding of who God is.

He is holy, righteous, pure, true, set completely apart from us. It also comes from a right understanding of who we are. We are sinners, filthy, unrighteous, children with unclean lips. So now when you look at these verses in scripture of God saying, Do not be afraid.

It's because they were rightfully afraid. These men were unclean and knew at any moment God could take their life from them, and rightfully so. So God is in these instances telling these men not to fear because he would not give them what they so rightly deserved.

The other type of fear comes from a result of a different type of belief, one that is not grounded in who God really is. This fear is a result of not trusting that God is sovereign, merciful, and supplies all our needs.

It's a result of not trusting his word, and is often described as worry or anxiety in scripture. Jesus in Matthew 6, 25 -33 tells us explicitly not to worry or be anxious because God provides. Holly wants us to face the fear that keeps us from our God-given dreams.

To her, it's a choice of obedience or rebellion. We have to respond by faith. This is the place where we get to choose obedience or rebellion. It's a myth that all fear is sin, but it's quite true that fear can lead us into sin.

We can say no to what God asks of us. We can listen to lies more than the truth. We can compromise our calling. What ways does she say we should deal with fear? However, fear does respond to truth. When God is speaking to his people about fear, he often follows the directive not to be afraid with the promise about who he is and what he will do.

For example, do not fear for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 4110, end quote, page 93. Fair response, but what the truth is, who God is, she doesn't go on to explain.

Speak truth to fear. If we are still fearful, walk calmly, steadily on to where you were called. Put a leash on fear and just take it with you. Don't feed it. Fear can't directly hurt you, but can keep us from God's will.

It chases us in the opposite direction of the dream we're called to pursue. Harmful fear is general, often about your character, and is usually not something you can control, end quote, page 96 to 97.

No, harmful fear is all about God's character, not mine. It comes from believing lies about God and is so harmful, it can eternally separate us from God if we do not believe God's word. Again, my question is, how can fear that keeps us from God's will, which we are called to pursue, how can that not be a sin?

If we thought about what she's saying a bit, she would turn out to be contradicting her own words. I might choose to reject a God-sized dream because I'm afraid to fail. Does she not see the reason behind that?

This is a result of trusting myself above God, and that is a sin. Since fear is not necessarily a sin, Holly believes you can make fear work for you. So how do you make fear work for you? One, let fear warn you of risks.

Two, let fear tell you what's important. Quote, let fear add wisdom to your journey as you go, end quote, page 98. But how does one get wisdom? Number three, let fear energize you while you embrace the journey.

Number four, let fear lead you to love. Number five, let fear expand your faith. So let's just dive into the last two here. Let fear lead you to love. Quote, when fear comes at you, ask God to hide you in his love, to draw you deeper into it, to whisper to your heart the truth you need to hear so that his voice is louder than anything else, end quote, page 11.

There's no mention of getting to know the one who loves us in scripture. Where do we hear his voice and receive his truth? Scripture. Jesus, in his prayer before his crucifixion, asked the father to sanctify the disciples in the truth.

The father's word is truth. As the father sent Jesus into the world, so Jesus sent the disciples into the world. And for their sake, Jesus consecrated himself that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Jesus did not ask for those only, but also for those who believe in him through the disciple's word. This is the church, that they may all be one, just as the father's in Jesus and Jesus is in the father, that they may also be in the father and the son.

And so the world may believe that the father had sent the son. The glory that the father has given the son, the son has given to them, that they may be one, even as the father and son are one, Jesus in them and the father in Jesus, that they may become perfectly one.

So the world may know that the father sent Jesus and loved them, even as the father loved the son. John 17, 17 to 24. Jesus's prayer tells us of how we, the church are sanctified by God's word, that we are one with the son and the father.

And I loved by Christ as God loves Christ. Just how beautiful is that? I agree that when fear comes at you, we should hide in his love and let God's word speak louder than our fear. But she doesn't mention getting to know the one who loves us in scripture.

This would be a great place to mention the power and efficacy of scripture and conquering our fears. But unfortunately, so far, scripture is very lacking in this book. We are to let fear expand our faith.

Quote, so from now on, you're to look fear in the face and know that God doesn't ever command what's impossible. So no matter how you feel, no matter how big the obstacles may seem, no matter how loud the fear may sound right now, you can move forward in faith.

End quote, page 103. Again, the underlying goal is to direct your faith towards the God-sized dream that was given by God. And so God would never command you to accomplish a purpose that you cannot achieve.

But is the statement true? I want to point you to the rich young ruler in Luke 18, 18 to 27. And so I'm going to read. And a ruler asked him, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good?

No one is good except God alone. You know, the commandments do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness on your father and mother. And he said, all these things I've kept for my youth.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. But when he heard these things, he became very sad for he was extremely rich.

Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. For it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

Those who heard it said, then who can be saved? But he said, what is impossible with man is possible with God. So, yes, he does. God does command things that are impossible for men to accomplish. Those who heard Jesus speaking to the rich young ruler understood what Jesus was saying.

They understood from his teachings that our righteousness must exceed the Pharisee's righteousness, Matthew 5, 20, and that we must be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect, Matthew 5, 48. The young ruler loved his wealth more than he loved Christ.

The listeners understood from this that righteousness was impossible for men and therefore asked the right question, who then can be saved? Does Holly think that we can obey the Ten Commandments perfectly?

For those who hold to the purpose-driven dream theology, God's law is not rightly taught. It is taught as rules for a successful life. God knows best, so listen to him and follow his rules and you'll be successful.

But it's more than this and that is what Jesus is telling the young ruler. They are not just rules that lead you toward a good and abundant life. God's law shows you that you do not love God nor want to follow Christ.

For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all, James 2, 10. To transgress one point of the law is to not love God and neighbor, the sum of the whole law, Matthew 22, 37 to 40.

The law is our schoolmaster that brings us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith, Galatians 3, 24. Paul says in Galatians 3, 21, that if there had been a law given which would have given us a good and abundant life, then righteousness would have been by the law.

This is why our faith is not directed toward what we do for or give to God, but is in what was done and given to us. In our sinful nature, it's impossible to obey God's law. This is what the Reformers called total depravity.

The law rightly taught shows us our depravity and our need for a righteousness apart from our own, the need for a Messiah to fulfill all righteousness. God's word shows us our depravity and points us to faith in Christ, to be given his righteousness, and to equip us to walk in the works God prepared beforehand for us.

This love casts out all fear because we are no longer under wrath from the impossible righteousness commanded for us to do, for all was accomplished by Christ and given to us as a gift. Are you beginning to see the difference between the theology of a God-sized dream Holly is encouraging us towards and the good works God has created us to walk in as taught to us in scripture?

Can you see where this type of theology neglects such beautiful teachings that are light of burden and Christ-focused? One points us to a faith in a dream while the other points us to put our faith in a person.

One teaches that fear is not a sin and how we can use it to our advantage, while the other teaches that fear is a result of what we believe about God himself. While the God-sized dream teachings boost our egos and prop ourselves up, lifting up our dreams and desires, they take our eyes off the one whose purpose was and is far greater than ours.

Closing the Critique and Looking Ahead

Here is where we'll end part two of our critique. In the next episode, we will dive into chapters 6, 7, and 8 as Holly goes into the disclaimers and pursuing our dreams and explains how to stop sabotaging ourselves.

So, until next time, I pray you are looking and learning about who he is and what he has done for you. I pray you are in his word.