Ep.7: Let’s Talk About Holley Gerth’s “You’re Made For a God-Sized Dream” part 1

The Purpose of Thoroughly Equipped and the Standard of Scripture

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.

Hello and welcome to another episode of Thoroughly Equipped. I am your host, Melba Toast, and we're getting into a new book critique series on Holly Gerst, You're Made for a God-Sized Dream, Opening the Door to All God Has for You.

Why “God-Sized Dreams” Conflict with Scripture’s Teaching on Good Works

Okay, so let's get started. Now, I really liked this title. I mean, don't you? Doesn't it make you feel like saying, see, I knew I was important. I knew I wasn't created to just be a helper, to just bear children and house clean.

I was made for more. Holly Gerst specializes in coaching and motivating women to accomplish their dreams. That's the purpose of this book, and she is full of encouragement. Encourage me to go after that God-sized dream.

Now, just out of curiosity, what is the difference between a God-sized dream and a regular dream? I think about the description God-sized, and I think of what we read about God in regards to his size in scripture, that he fills the heavens and the earth.

That's Jeremiah 23 -24. So does that mean that my dream will fill the whole earth? Now, I'm saying all this tongue-in-cheek, of course, but I am laying a very simple, fleshly response to the premise of this book.

In fact, I believe the encouragement toward what Holly calls God-sized dreams points to works that look more like the feminist American dream of being all that you can be than the humble servanthood of Titus 2 or the Proverbs 31 woman.

I am sure if you've been in Christianity long enough that you've heard this doctrine at some point in your life. Even devotionals push the you are made for a great purpose kind of talk. At the heart of this doctrine slash teaching is why God made you, what he made you for, and what are good works.

These questions are what we're going to delve through as we go through Holly Gerst's book, You Were Made for a God-sized Dream. Now, chapter one is titled, The More You Were Made for. Holly says that we're all made to dream, quote, we really are made for more, end quote, page 13.

As children, we dream about being and doing all sorts of things. And as we get older, though, she says, quote, as we mature, so do our desires. Yet in these early dreams, we often find the seeds of something more God has planted within us, end quote, page 14.

Is this true? Are we made for quote, unquote, more? What does scripture say we are made for? Ephesians 2 .10 says, we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We were created for his glory, Isaiah 43 .7 and Romans 11 .36. Whatever we do, we're to shine our lights so that the world may see our good works and glorify God. That's 1 Corinthians 10 .31 and Matthew 5 .16.

We were made to believe in Jesus Christ, to do what he commands and to love one another, John 6 .29 and 1 John 3 .23. But nowhere in scripture does it talk about being made to live out our dreams. So her idea of more is different than what scripture says.

Quote, as long as you're alive, God wants you to go further, dig deeper and draw closer to him. And I believe dreams are one of the primary ways God makes that happen. Every dream or desire you have that comes from God is an invitation for more intimacy with him.

End quote, page 17. Now, is this true? Are desires that come from God invitations for more intimacy with him? Well, how does scripture say we become intimate with God? We know if we had been told the gospel correctly, that we are all born in sin, making us separate from God and children of wrath, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love, which he 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.

That was Ephesians 2 .3 -7. We also know that Christ is one with the Father, as John 10 .30 says. So, notice what Ephesians says about us. We are raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places.

In Christ, we have intimacy with God the Father. Not only are we in Christ, but we are given the Holy Spirit who causes us to walk like Christ, for if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit, Galatians 5 .25.

We are already intimate with God by the Son and through the Holy Spirit. As we get to know Christ more, we get to know the Father more and the Spirit more. I wouldn't say we gain more intimacy with God by living out our God-given desires, but that we gain more knowledge of God the more we walk in the Spirit.

So, a marriage can be a kind of good description of this. We are intimate with our husbands because the marriage itself has allowed that to happen. Because we are now united, we now share in intimacy as time goes.

As we walk with each other, our knowledge of each other grows, making our relationship more intimate. Let's apply this idea of living out our God-given desires as bringing us closer to God. So, here's sort of an example.

We are all given the desire to eat. As we eat, are we getting closer to God? Well, maybe, maybe not. But we can also go in the opposite direction as well. Aren't there things directed and given to us by God that we don't desire to do, such as loving our enemy, that actually bring us closer to God?

So, in essence, our dreams and desires are not where we get more intimacy with Him. Christ is who has done that. Moving on, she talks about five lies we tell ourselves that keep us from dreaming. One, dreaming is selfish.

Two, I don't have what it takes. Three, it's too late. Four, I don't deserve a dream. And five, I don't have time. So, for time's sake, I will only address two lies here, lie number one and lie number four.

Dreaming Is Not a Biblical Measure of Selflessness

All right, so we're going to tackle lie number one, dreaming is selfish. She starts by telling us about a conversation she had with a woman she was trying to encourage to follow her dreams. Quote, she sits on the edge of her chair and stares at the corner of the room.

I watch her fidget and run her fingers along the edge of her jeans. I can tell she's thinking of her husband and children and laundry waiting for her at home. I want to follow this dream, she says, but it just feels so selfish.

From all the women I've talked about, God size dreams. This is the lie I hear most often. Women are a generous gender, but you matter too. So do your dreams. The enemy knows that that is often one little word that can stop our dreams in its tracks.

Selfish, end quote, page 17 to 18. What are good works that scripture tells us are unselfish, especially for a woman? God is clear that his law, the Ten Commandments, are how we love God and love our neighbor.

That's Matthew 26, 36 to 40. In Titus 2, we read about how older women of the church are to teach the younger what is good. This is, of course, unselfish, encouraging us to love husbands and children, be pure and self-controlled, working from home, and submitting to husbands.

All of this is so God's word is not reviled. So do you see what's happening here? The woman in her story, her conscience knew that this dream of hers would take her from serving in her home to serving outside the home.

Now, don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with doing work outside of the home. But if you are feeling that it is selfish to go after a dream because it will take you away from serving in the home where God actually calls women to serve, then trust that it is selfish.

Trust that God's word is right, that serving in the home honors God's word. Quote, if you have yielded to God and you have the nagging desire within you that just won't go away, then most likely it's from him.

And if it is, then he has a way that you can live it out that isn't about selfishness, but instead is about service. End quote, page 18. Now, we're just in the beginning of this and I'm going to give a very stern warning here.

The Lord rebukes those who attend to a quote-unquote service of God at the expense of his word. So here's what I mean. In Mark chapter 7, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for leaving the commandment of God and holding to the traditions of men.

And he said to them, well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, these people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. And he said to them, you have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition. For Moses said, honor your father and your mother, and whoever reviles father and mother must surely die.

But you say, if a man tells his father or his mother, whatever you have gained from me is Corban, that is given to God, then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down and many such things you do.

So Corban here was taking money or service and claiming that it was dedicated to God. So you can see what's going on here. If we take our service and dedicate it to a supposed dream given by God and neglect the actual word given to us by the Holy Spirit, God condemns that.

If we love him, we obey what he commands, John 14, 15. So my dreams don't matter here. God's commandments do. All right, underline number four, which is I don't deserve to dream. She says, quote, listen closely, my friend, you have not been disqualified from dreaming.

Dreams are about the future. We can say these words with the Apostle Paul, a man who had murder, persecuting Christians and a long list of other sins in his past. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus, Philippians 3, 13 to 14, end quote, page 24.

This verse put in context is stated after Paul boasted on what he had and how he gave it all up for Christ and his righteousness. So Paul is saying he's pressing on into the salvation given by Christ, not pressing on to a God-sized dream.

All he does is to win Christ. Christ is the goal, not his individual dream, unless you want to say that Christ formed in him and in the church was his dream. But I don't think that that's the dream she's talking about in the book.

So to sum up chapter one, she acknowledges that the lies don't ever go away. They will chase us. And of course, we must battle them. Quote, it doesn't mean you're not spiritual enough or you're not on the wrong or you're on the wrong path.

It just means our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6, 12, end quote, page 26. Now, the struggle talked about in this verse is not against our dreams. It's against the gospel. The enemy fights against the gospel, against God's word. It has always been that way from the very beginning.

And any dream calling you away from what God has commanded in his word, even if it's something you think you're giving to God or Corbin, it most likely is your flesh or from Satan drawing you away from God's word.

Discerning a “God-Sized Dream” by Strength, Fear, and Joy

All right. Chapter two, titled You Might Have a God-Sized Dream If... So this chapter is all about discerning if that desire in your heart is given by God or not. So basically, you might have a God-sized dream if, if it fits your strengths, she says, if your skills and experience have prepared you for it, if you think or if you can't think of anything else, if you're scared silly, if people think you're crazy, if it's bigger than you are, if it aligns with God's purposes, if it's harder than you thought it would be, and if it leads to joy.

I'm only going to get into a few of these. The first one being the idea that we can know if the dream is from God, if it fits our strengths. So Ms. Gerst says, quote, a strength is a personal characteristic that can be used on behalf of God in service of others, end quote, page 31.

Now, I agree that God uses strengths that we have to serve people. But I also know he uses weakness. Read Paul's letter to the Philippians. I don't think Paul dreamed nor ever desired to be in jail. And yet, while he is chained, Paul says that in his imprisonment, that his imprisonment is being used by God to proclaim Christ.

That's Philippians 1, 12 to 14. In First Corinthians 11 and 12, Paul talks about boasting in his weaknesses, not his strengths. So what were these weaknesses? All the sufferings he went through in proclaiming Christ, that's verses 23 to 29.

Why did he look at his weaknesses? Because when he's weak, Christ's power may rest on him. That was First Corinthians 12, 9. See, God uses strengths and weaknesses to advance his kingdom. So if he uses both, then I don't need to look at my strengths to see if he can use them to serve others, because he can use my weakness too.

So we might have a God-sized dream if we can't think of anything else, says Miss Gerth. This dream is like someone calling to you deep inside, a voice we just can't ignore. She explains why this is. Quote, we are God-sized, or why are God-sized dreams so compelling?

Because we powerfully experience God's presence in our lives through them. It's not about the destination. It's not what we'll get if we complete the dream. It's about a relationship. End quote, page 37.

Again, this is not found in scripture. God has created all things. We can learn and come to know about him through his creation, but he will look on the one who is poor and contrite of spirit, who trembles at his word.

That's Isaiah 66, 2. We experience and know God in his word. We come to know him and Jesus Christ, whom he sent. Many unsaved people accomplish their dreams and desires. Are they experiencing God? She goes on.

Quote, if God is calling you to a dream, then that's where his presence is in your life. End quote, page 38. Now, there's two things here. One, God is sovereign over all things, even the hearts of kings.

That's Proverbs 21, 1. So, the dreams and desires of those who are not saved are even directed by God. Two, his presence is everywhere. There is nowhere that God doesn't fill. That's Jeremiah 23, 24. From these two things, we can understand that God is involved in everything.

His hand is even at work in the lives of unbelievers, and there is not one specific place or situation to go or see or experience his presence, for his presence and hand is in everything. If we are scared silly, then it's probably a God-sized dream.

She wants to go even further and says, quote, that if you don't fear anything at all, then it's probably not a God-sized dream. Our God is big, wild, and far beyond our understanding and limits. He tells us, my thoughts are not your thoughts.

Neither are your ways my ways, Isaiah 55, 8. That means whenever he asks us to do something, it's almost always out of our comfort zone. End quote, page 38 to 39. Isaiah 55, 8 does not mean that when he asks us to do something, it's almost always out of our comfort zone.

This verse is proclaiming how holy God is, that he is set apart from us and is not like us. So just because God is not like us doesn't necessarily mean he wants us to do things outside of our comfort zones.

God can call us to do this, but he can also call us to serve in our homes. Spending time with our husbands and children, watching a movie can be quite comfortable and a good work done in faith to God.

Point is, good works can be both comfortable and uncomfortable. But finally, you might have a God-sized dream if it brings you joy. Quote, your God-sized dream is meant to bring your soul joy. End quote, page 46.

And if instead you are imprisoned for being a believer as Paul was, what happens to your dream then? Will you still have joy? Paul is in this exact situation when he writes the letter to the Philippians explaining that Christ is what brings us joy.

Suffering with and for him brings us joy. Serving him as he instructs us to brings us joy. We can find joy in anything because we know God is sovereign in all things. We have joy because everything done in faith for Christ now pleases God.

So even changing a diaper can bring us joy because God has placed that work before us to do in faith that pleases him. We weren't made for quote-unquote more. We were made for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in.

These are done day by day in service to our neighbor. God, through his word, has told us what these good works are. And notice that is plural. If we understand that humans without Christ cannot obey the law God has given, meaning humans cannot accomplish good works truly, then we understand the work Jesus did.

Being made for more is not necessary to do good. But as Martin Luther says in his treatise on good works, oh if a man were so to regard himself in his position and attend to its duties alone, how rich in good works would he be in a short time, so quietly and secretly that no one would notice it except God alone.

So let us attend to these works as given to us in scripture. Let us be tight as two women, serving and submitting in our households, being pure and self-controlled, because that is what will honor God's word.

The Heart of a Dreamer Versus the Righteous Standard of God’s Law

All right, chapter three, titled the heart of a dreamer. Now you can't do it. You cannot please God apart from faith. This is a very taboo statement among Christian women today. The purpose of the popular evangelical women's ministry is to encourage you that you can do it.

You can please God. God has a purpose for you. All you have to do is find it and go after it. Holly Gerth has made a career of this. It's her life statement. Quote, I'm created and called to express my faith through love, especially by bringing hope and encouragement to the hearts of women through words, end quote, page 71.

So this is how she pleases God. And it's clearly expressed in chapter three of her book, You Were Made for More, opening the door to all God has for you. In chapter three, she will describe the moral standards of the heart of a dreamer, pointing out just how wonderful they are.

This is the righteousness of the heart of a dreamer given to us by Miss Gerth. Now God has given us a moral standard too. He gave it so we can know what sin is and compare ourselves to it and see if we measure up.

Looking at his law shows us that we don't measure up and therefore need a savior. The righteous heart of a dreamer has given to us by Holly doesn't do that. Instead, it tells us that we are pleasing God and in that he has chosen us to accomplish a God sized dream.

So I'm going to be flat out honest here. I'm going to look at what she says the heart of a dreamer does and then ask if we really measure up. First one, God sized dreamers are faithful where they are.

Quote, maybe you feel like your potential isn't being used. What are you doing taking care of a few sheep when you sense inside that you were made for so much more? You aren't settling for the status quo and yet you are choosing to thrive where you are today as well.

End quote, page 51. Ever find yourself grumbling about having to take care of the quote-unquote few sheep? How is not settling for the status quo being faithful where you are? What if the status quo is where God wants you to serve?

So how is not settling for it being faithful? See what I'm saying? All right, God sized dreamers keep their hearts open. The God sized dreamer keeps their hearts open despite hurt and suffering. These women should quote, pause and consider what a miracle it is that they do.

End quote, page 54. There is not a single mention of God at work in them. Now Jesus says that if someone strikes us to give them the other cheek to strike, if they ask for our tunic to give him our cloak as well, that's Luke 6 30.

If our enemy is hungry or thirsty, feed him and give him drink. For however it's 25 21. So how are we doing in this? God sized dreamers encourage others. Quote, when you take risks, get up from failures, seek God even when it's hard and eventually make it to the promised land, you make others want to do the same.

End quote, page 56. Notice what she says is the encouragement to others, the taking risks and getting up from failures. So have you at any point ever failed at something and just gave up? If you've had, you failed this at some point and you better make sure you never give up in the future or that will be a discouragement to others.

Now a little side note here, notice that she uses the term promised land to describe arriving or accomplishing your God sized dream. We will get into this on another episode. All right. God sized dreamers are positive people.

These women have positivity in God because they believe God will quote, come through for them. End quote. They quote, don't let the embers of their dreams die, but instead fan them into flame again and again.

End quote, page 57. We need to be very cautious here. It's a positive belief in God himself, despite our circumstances, or is it in the belief that God will bless us and come through on our dreams? Paul is a good example of belief in God, despite his circumstances.

Again, in Philippians, he writes during his imprisonment, which I'm sure was not his goal or his dream. Yet even during imprisonment and possible death, he understood what God was, who God was, and that he would quote unquote, come through for him, either in leaving him on earth to continue to be poured out for the Philippians and their faith and growth, or to take him to heaven to be with Christ.

Now, do you see the difference? A woman with faith in God will know God comes through regardless of the dream or goal planned out, panning out. How are we doing this? Is our faith placed in Christ himself or in the dream?

So God-sized dreamers don't do it all. Quote, God-sized dreamers don't do it all. They only do what God asks. Not doing it all means we can give our all to the one who matters most page 59. If we thought about this a little more, how are we doing in this?

Are you truly giving your all to Christ? Remember that Christ gave his all because we could not. The father sent the son who knew no sin to be sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. Second Corinthians 521.

God-sized dreamers feed hungry hearts. We are all in need, so the dreamers constantly give. So how about this one? Ever want time to yourself? Ever not give even if you felt like you should have? If I did this, I wouldn't need Christ, honestly, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2 68. He gave to us what we really needed more than food, more than clothing, more than encouragement. He gave us the perfect righteousness that could only be accomplished by him so we can be made right with God.

God-sized dreamers pursue a different kind of ambition. Quote, make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, says the apostle Paul. First Thessalonians 4 11. A quiet life, especially on the inside, where all the demands and lies have been silenced and all that's left is ambitious, outrageous, scandalous love calling my name.

Our role is obedience. Page 61. In First Thessalonians 4 11, Paul says, quote, we urge you brothers to do this, which is love, more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

So it's not about fighting the drive for ambition on the inside, but about being quiet among our neighbors and working with our hands. Again, how are you doing in this? Have you silenced all the demands and lies in your head?

Our role is not merely obedience, but faith that results in obedience. It was faith that caused Abraham to obey the call to go out, even though he didn't know where he was going. Hebrews 11 8. It is to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who justifies the ungodly.

His faith is counted as righteous. Romans 4 3 to 5. Faith in Christ produces obedience because it's not dead. James 2 20 to 26. And we walk by faith, not by sight. Second Corinthians 5 7. So without this faith, any obedience outside of it will not please God.

Hebrews 11 6. So how are you putting faith in Christ, or are you focusing on your role to obey? God-sized dreamers trust his love. Holly describes a time her pastor urged her to pray, asking God to reveal to her what she needs to see in her own heart.

Quote, I waited to hear a flaw, a struggle, a secret note even to me. But the words that drifted into my heart were the last ones I expected to hear. Stop doubting my love. End quote. Page 62. So a God-sized dreamer trusts in God's love.

If you have ever doubted that God loves you, then you're not a God-sized dreamer. Notice also that God talks to her apart from scripture. Scripture tells us to believe in him and especially in the word.

It tells us we are we are loved, but not because of ourselves, but because God is love and because of Christ. We were children of wrath as Ephesians 2 3 tells us, but God being rich in mercy and love made us alive in Christ.

He has kept us from God's wrath and we are loved in Christ and can love others because we are in him. That's 1 John 4 13 to 19. Quote, thank you for daring to believe what he says he really means. Faith is believing in God, but it's also believing only because of Jesus that he also believes in us.

End quote. Page 63. Yes, she actually said that. She actually says that it's because of Jesus God believes in us. Now, where is this found in scripture? I certainly don't know. Does God need to have faith in us?

Is this something Jesus won for us in his death? God having faith in us? And remember, this is all in the context of going after the God-sized dream. So, did Jesus need to die so God the father could trust and believe that we would accomplish the dream he's given to us?

I think it's a little prideful to assume that. God-sized dreamers embrace enough. Quote, God saw all that he had made. That means people too. And then he said, very good. Genesis 1 31. End quote. Yes, but the fall changed all that.

We became cursed. She says we are, quote unquote, very good because, quote, it's not because of who we are, but whose we are. End quote. But she doesn't go into this. For someone who may have heard the purpose-driven gospel, we belong to God because of the purpose or dream we have been given by him.

We are not his because Christ has bought us with his blood and redeemed us from the law, as Galatians 3 13 to 15 says. My question is, is this what Holly Gerth believes? Because that is a different gospel.

We are to stop saying we're not good enough. Quote, this is the heart, the foundation of God-sized dreams. We can trust that what we do is also enough because we understand our part is obedience. But if you simply say yes to Jesus and whatever he asked, then it is more than enough.

It's world changing. End quote, page 64. So why then did Jesus have to die if we can be more than enough by obeying? We are not enough. Even Paul gave up his legalistic obedience to pursue Christ. That's Philippians 3, 4 to 10.

So how are you doing with this? Do you believe that you are enough? If you do, you're good enough to be used by God for a God-sized purpose. But if you're like me and know you're not enough, then trust and believe in Christ who gives his righteousness to you and purchases you with his blood.

Trust in him and you are his and he will perfect you and keep you till the day of his return, Philippians 1, 6. She concludes the chapter claiming that our quote, most valuable asset as a God-sized dreamer is our heart.

It is where we hear his voice and learn how to follow faithfully. End quote, page 64. But our heart is not where we hear God's voice and learn how to follow faithfully. Scripture is where we hear God's voice and learn how to follow.

The scriptures are God's word, 2 Timothy 3, 16. They are truth and they sanctify us, John 17, 17. So how did you do? Did you pass the moral standards of a God-sized dreamer? Are you a quote, gift to this world, my friend?

End quote, page 64. If you're like me, you're thinking, no, I'm not. I'm not a gift. Good. Then you can take the true gift. Jesus is the gift. So I hope I have shown you in this part of the series that you are not made for quote, unquote more, but are made for good works that God has prepared beforehand that you should walk in.

And in the next part, we will cover chapters four to chapter eight, in which it goes into what comes next after you figured out that you're a God-sized dreamer who has been given a God-sized dream and what the rules and the steps are to take moving on.

All right, until next time, let us be women in God's word.