Finishing Your Dream!

Finishing Your Dream! Text: Genesis 37: 3-10

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There are a lot of people that never finish their dream and that’s sad! I can name some of the reasons, but me naming the reason won’t make finishing your dream easier. 1. Satan hates that you have a God dream or vision. 2. Opinion polls, no one cares about your dream like you do. 3. Fear of men, some men love to shoot down your dream. 4. Hindrances or boulders in the middle of the (road) or the dream!

Let’s look at Joseph’s dream together.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

When I make this statement understand, that Joseph was under God’s complete providence as long as he held onto God’s dream.

However, for most of us, I think it would be safe to say, “that it’s not wise to tell your dream to people who might not understand. At least it would be safe to say, “ that timing is very important when sharing your dream.” (Don’t do too much bragging) Joseph’s father ‘Jacob’ had already chosen Joseph as his choice son, and had shown him preferential treatment. Joseph’s brothers were very jealous and envious of Joseph and their father’s relationship with him.

Thus the true story of Israel being saved from starvation and thus the story of Israel being lead out of Egypt after 400 years begins with a God dream given to Joseph!

Was everything easy for Joseph as he followed the dream? No, but I believe if we could ask Joseph what kept him going? He would tell us, “ the dream!”

He hid the dream in his heart, he rehearsed the dream in difficult times and he refused to allow anything to steal his dream!

My uncle Joe was getting up in years he would come over to our house and sat in his car while he and my daddy would talk. He would tell daddy about his dream of owning his own funeral home, but you see he had worked for another man in his funeral home for over thirty years. My daddy would meet his brother at his car in our driveway almost every week and Uncle Joe would tell him his dream again. Every time my daddy would encourage him that he could open his own funeral home and finally after several years of encouragement my uncle step out on his dream. (It became the busiest funeral home around) My uncle is died now, but his son owns and operates it, and has more business than ever, and he has even bought another funeral home! (Dream your dream and do it!)

Before Joseph’s dream became reality, “what kept Joseph going through the trails of life?”

When Joseph was thrown into the pit. The dream. When he was sold into slavery. The dream. When he was exalted in the courts of Pharaoh. The dream. When he was accused of rape. The dream. When he was placed and seemly forgotten in prison again. The dream. When he came up with a plan because of Pharaoh’s dream. His initial dream! When his brother’s came to him in need. The dream. When he saw his father again. The dream. As Joseph provides for Egypt, and countries all around Egypt. The dream. As Joseph provides for his brother’s and father. The dream!