Fighting For Your God-Given Dream Series

Today we’re continuing the sermon series "Dreaming Big for God." God wants us to be encouraged about dreaming big for Him and that’s what this series is about. One of the most rewarding things you can do with your life is envision the big dreams God has for you!

Two weeks ago we began with the topic of fulfilling our God-given dream as seen in the attitudes of Abraham. Last week we considered finding our God-given dream by revisiting Jacob’s wrestling match with God.

Today’s topic is Fighting for Your God-given Dream. It’s one thing to find your God-given dream, it’s another to try and fulfill it – but it is sure that it won’t be fulfilled without a fight.

Dreamers always encounter some sort of opposition to their dreams. But’s that okay. That’s part of the process. It makes us sharpen the image of our dreams all the more, and our struggles make us hungrier to realize our God-given dreams.

No one’s life story illustrates these things more than the life of Joseph, the dreamer we’re going to analyze today. But before we get to the story of Joseph, here’s a story from American history.

Bishop Milton Wright handled his western jurisdiction of the United Brethren Church with the skill he’d learned over a half a century of churchmanship. His area was the sprawling, growing western region of the United States just as the 19th Century gave way to the 20th. Of the many pronouncements he was called on to make, one was a judgment on several popular writings of the day suggesting that man might design and construct a machine that would make him airborne. A statement by Bishop Wright was obviously needed.

"Only angels are meant to fly, and not a man!", he sternly wrote.

Those words were considered final to many in that day. But it was near this same time that two young men, two brothers in their thirties, labored on a primitive machine at the sandy beach of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. These brothers had a great faith to add to the very doubtful project. You see, they dreamed that it could be done in spite of the pronouncements to the contrary.

Man, as well as angels, not only could fly, they should fly.

Their first attempts were abortive. They didn’t even get off the ground. But they kept fighting for their dream until finally, on a lonely beach, the brothers proved Bishop Milton Wright wrong when their flying machine became airborne for a total of 128 feet.

And what were their names?

Orville and Wilbur Wright, of course, the famous sons of Bishop Milton Wright, who once said it couldn’t be done.

Having your dreams brought into question is a common denominator for all dreamers.

Joseph started dreaming as a young man and never lost sight of his dream in spite of seemingly overwhelming odds. That’s why we’re looking at his life. If Joseph could hang on to his dream with what he went through – then any of us can!

We’re going to determine today, from Joseph’s life…

THE FIVE CRISIS POINTS OF FIGHTING FOR YOUR GOD-GIVEN DREAM AND GOD’S CRISIS PLANS TO OVERCOME THEM.

1. Crisis Point #1: Treachery

The primary antagonists in Joseph’s life were his own brothers who hated him so much they sold him as a slave. Actually, they wanted to kill him, but they compromised their plan and only made it look like he died.

There were two reasons they hated Joseph so fervently. First of all, Joseph was his daddy’s favorite so his brothers envied him. Jacob inherited the mistake of showing favoritism from his parents. He even gave Joseph the special multi-colored robe as a token of his special affection.

The second reason Joseph’s brothers hated him was because of his dreams.

Genesis 37:5-11 (NLT) One night Joseph had a dream and promptly reported the details to his brothers, causing them to hate him even more. 6 "Listen to this dream," he announced. 7 "We were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all gathered around and bowed before it!"

8 "So you are going to be our king, are you?" his brothers taunted. And they hated him all the more for his dream and what he had said.

9 Then Joseph had another dream and told his brothers about it. "Listen to this dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!" 10 This time he told his father as well as his brothers, and his father rebuked him. "What do you mean?" his father asked. "Will your mother, your brothers, and I actually come and bow before you?" 11 But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father gave it some thought and wondered what it all meant.