Before I get into my message today, I want you to pick a number, any number. Did you pick a number larger than a million? If not, then why didn't you?
In 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin picked the number one followed by 100 zeroes while they were still graduate students at Stanford University. That number in mathematical terms is called a googol, and that became the name of their new enterprise. Today, Google operates the largest search engine in the world with internet users performing hundreds of millions searches a day.
Jim Reese, chief operations engineer of Google, says this about Brin and Page: “It takes a lot of confidence and courage to go ahead and do that [i.e., to be that big]. It's rare to find people who think on such a grand scale and are able to create a great product at the same time.” (FreshMinistry.org, 11-5-02; www.PreachingToday.com)
Google’s founders were dreamers, and that’s what it takes to accomplish great things. It takes a great dream to do great things, and that’s true not only in business but also in the ministry to which God has called us.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven He told his followers, “Go and make disciples of ALL nations” (Matthew 28:19). That was a big dream especially when there were only eleven disciples to start with, and that’s still Christ’s dream for every church, because Jesus promised to be with us in that task “until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
The question is: How do we fulfill this big, God-given dream right here on Washington Island? How do we accomplish the vision Christ Himself gave us nearly 2,000 years ago? How do we do great things with the great dream Jesus has presented to us?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis 37, Genesis 37, where we learn some lessons from the life of Joseph about seeing great dreams come true.
Genesis 37:1-2 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. (NIV)
Joseph, their little brother, was probably an obnoxious tattle-tale at this point in his life, no doubt because he was his father’s favorite.
Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. (NIV)
Literally, he made him a tunic of palm or sole. In other words, Israel made Joseph a tunic which reached to the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet. It was a full length undergarment, which in Joseph’s day was worn by only two people in the tribe. It was worn by the head of the tribe AND his designated heir.
Genesis 37:4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. (NIV)
Literally, they could not say “shalom” to him – the common greeting of the day. They were so angry that their dad had chosen Joseph to be the primary heir they couldn’t even say “hello” to him.
Genesis 37:5-8 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. (NIV)
They hated him all the more, because not only had their father elevated Joseph to a high status in the tribe, it seemed that God himself was going to elevate Joseph, as well.
Genesis 37:9-10 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” (NIV)
This time, the dream indicated that his whole family would one day bow down to him: the sun and moon representing his father and mother; and the eleven stars representing his eleven brothers.
Genesis 37:11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Outwardly, Joseph’s father rebuked him; but inwardly, Joseph’s father wondered if Joseph wouldn’t indeed rule the whole tribe one day. But Joseph couldn’t read his father’s thoughts. All he knew at this point was that his whole family had rejected his dreams – not only his brothers, but his father as well.
Those closest to him rejected Joseph’s dreams, and that’s often the way it is with most of our dreams. Those closest to us often reject them initially.
Poor Mark. His mother named him after the gospel writer, hoping that he too would tell the gospel truth, but 13th Century Europeans found it impossible to believe Mark's tales. He told stories of an epic journey lasting a quarter of a century beginning when he was only 17. He claimed to have traveled across the steppes of Russia, the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, the wastelands of Persia, and over the top of the world through the Himalayas.
He was the first European to enter China; and through an amazing set of circumstances, he became a favorite of the most powerful ruler on planet earth, the Kublai Khan. Mark saw cities in China that made European capitals look like roadside villages. The Khan's palace dwarfed the largest castles and cathedrals in Europe. It was so massive that its banquet room alone could seat 6,000 diners at one time, each eating on a plate of pure gold.
Mark also saw the world's first paper money in China and marveled at the explosive power of gunpowder. There, he witnessed the manufacture of massive amounts of steel, so much so that it would take Europe more than 500 years to catch up. Mark became the first Italian to taste that Chinese culinary invention, pasta. As an officer of the Khan's court, he travelled to places no European would see for another 500 years.
Then after serving Kublai Khan for 17 years, Mark began his journey home to Venice, loaded down with gold, silk, and spices. When he arrived home, people dismissed his stories of a mythical place called China. His family priest rebuked him for spinning lies. At his deathbed, his family, friends, and priest begged him to recant his tales of China. But setting his jaw and gasping for breath, Mark spoke his final words, “I have not even told you half of what I saw.”
13th Century Europeans rejected Mark’s stories as the tales of a liar or lunatic, but history has proven the truthfulness behind the book he wrote about his adventures. It was called The Travels of Marco Polo. (Dr. Robert Petterson, All Things New: Our Eternal Home, sermon given at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 11-8-09; www.PreachingToday.com)
Now, what happened to Marco Polo often happens to our dreams. People often dismiss them as the ravings of a lunatic, even our family and friends. But don’t let that stop you from pursuing your God-given dreams.
DON’T QUIT JUST BECAUSE YOUR DREAMS ARE REJECTED.
Don’t give up on the vision God has placed on your heart through the reading of His Word. Don’t stop pursuing those aspirations just because those closest to you dismiss them as silly or worse.
William Carey was once a poor shoemaker with persistent allergies, who became a preacher. Then God gave him a vision for India, and he knew that God could use him to reach that vast country for Christ. He shared his dream with some of his pastor friends in a meeting, and one of them told him, “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.”
His own father called him “mad,” and his wife was totally against the idea, but William Carey didn’t quit. God had given him a dream, and he was going to pursue that dream no matter what. In his own words, he was going to “expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.”
As a result, he went to India in the year 1793, and started a world-wide missionary movement that is still going on today. William Carey is called “the Father of Modern Missions,” because he not only reached the continent of India, his life and work inspires missionaries to this day to share the good news of Christ all over the world.
Christ has called us as a church to make disciples of ALL nations. What is He calling YOU to do as part of that great vision? To share the good news with a family member or friend? To use your gifts and abilities to serve in this great cause? To give or to go as God leads whatever and wherever that might be?
Please, don’t let anybody stop you from pursuing God’s call on your life. Don’t give up just because some people think you’re silly. Don’t quit just because your dreams are rejected. And…
DON’T QUIT JUST BECAUSE YOUR DREAMS ARE NOT REALIZED RIGHT AWAY.
Don’t give up on account of the setbacks and upsets along the way. Please, don’t let the roadblocks and detours stop you from pursuing your God-given dreams; because very seldom do our dreams get fulfilled without some major setbacks along the way.
That’s what happened to Joseph. He obeys his father in the pursuit of his dream and ends up being sold as a slave.
Genesis 37:12-14 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied. So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem – that’s 50 miles north, a two-day’s journey –
Genesis 37:15-17 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?” “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan – another day’s journey north, about 15 miles. (NIV)
Joseph is dedicated in his obedience to his father. He spends all this time looking for brothers who hated and ridiculed him. I don’t know about you, but I would have given up the search long before Joseph did – especially for that bunch of 1st class jerks – but Joseph spent three days looking for them! And what did it get him?
Genesis 37:18-22 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. (NIV)
Reuben was the first-born, the one who by custom should be the primary heir, not Joseph.
Genesis 37:23-28 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. (NIV)
How callous and hateful can these brothers be? First, Joseph has been wondering around for three days and he’s probably very hungry; but when he finds his brothers, they throw him into a pit and eat right in front of them. Then they sell him at a bargain rate for 20 shekels of silver. The going rate for slaves in that day was 30 shekels, but they don’t even consider him worth the price of a slave…
Joseph’s dedication was turned into a great disappointment, and his brothers get away with it all. They deceive their father into thinking Joseph was killed by a wild animal.
Genesis 37:29-33 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?” Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.” He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” (NIV)
How ironic. Years before, Jacob used the skin of a goat to deceive his father into thinking he was his hairy brother, Esau. Now, his own sons use the skin of a goat to deceive him. Oh, they don’t actually say Joseph was killed by a wild animal. They just lead their father to believe it, and that’s a lie just the same.
Genesis 37:34-36 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son.” So his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt t o Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. (NIV)
Literally, the captain of the slaughterers – i.e., the executioners. Potiphar was the chief executioner, and Joseph was his slave. This was a major set-back! Joseph went from being the primary heir of his tribe to being a slave of Egypt’s chief executioner himself with his life in potential danger every day. So much for Joseph’s dreams of one day ruling the entire family!
This was not going forward; this was going backwards, and that happens to us as well, in the pursuit of our dreams. Often, there are setbacks along the way.
In 1836, the fledgling Washington National Monument Society announced that they had chosen Robert Mills’ plans for the construction of a monument to our nation's first president. Mills had slaved for months over the elaborate drawings, and he had dared to dream big – a granite obelisk soaring 555 feet high, slated to be the tallest structure in the world.
But the funds didn't come in as fast as the society had hoped. Construction didn’t start until a full twelve years later. Then the engineers discovered that the ground at the site was too soft to support the weight of such a huge monument, so they had to start over farther north.
Work proceeded smoothly for six years, and major figures began donating marble to the project. But in 1854, when Pope Pius IX donated a marble block from the Temple of Concord, a group of saboteurs stole the block and destroyed it. The incident shocked the public, and donations nearly stopped.
Then members of the Know-Nothing political party broke into the society's offices and actually seized possession. Vandals continued to deface the monument, and construction finally stopped dead in 1855.
What remained of Mills's soaring dream was a squat, ugly, 150-foot stump. Robert Mills died that year.
But his vision would not die. 25 years after his death, 50 years after Mills' dream began, work resumed. Four years later a cast-aluminum cap was placed over the granite tip. Today Mills’ monument stands as the tallest masonry structure in the world, with over a million visitors every year coming to see the realization of his dream. (Kevin A. Miller, Secrets of Staying Power, Word, 1988; www.PreachingToday.com)
Any dream worth pursuing is going to experience roadblocks and setbacks along the way, but that is no reason to stop pursuing the dream.
William Carey didn’t. When he got to India, he labored for seven years before he saw his first convert. He labored many more years to complete his first translation of the Bengal New Testament, but it was totally incomprehensible, so he had to start all over again. Then years later, a fire in his shop destroyed everything he had worked to accomplish – all his dictionaries, all his translations, everything – but Carey never quit. He plodded on until God used him to reach the entire country of India and beyond.
Setbacks are no reason to stop, because in God’s sovereignty, our setbacks are but stepping stones to success.
That was certainly true in the life of Joseph. Sure, he got sold as a slave, but that got him to Egypt. Later, he’s going to be thrown into prison, but that puts him in touch with one of Pharaoh’s attendants; and eventually, that attendant brings Joseph to Pharaoh’s attention and Joseph ends up ruling Egypt itself. Each setback actually brought Joseph closer to the throne.
God had not abandoned Joseph, no! God was leading Joseph through his setbacks to the fulfillment of his dreams in a way far beyond anything he could have ever imagined. Before all this, no doubt, Joseph saw himself simply becoming a tribal leader of a nomadic tribe in Canaan’s desert, but God was leading him to be second only to the mighty Pharaoh in the one major world-power of his day.
In God’s sovereignty, our setbacks are but stepping stones to success. So don’t quit just because you face a setback. Don’t give up just because of a few reversals along the way.
Consider Jesus. He was rejected by his brothers and nailed to a cross. His followers were heartbroken, thinking His mission had failed. It was a huge setback in their minds, but the cross was the very thing God used to save us from our sins. And now, Jesus sits at the right hand of God in the place of all authority.
So trust Him with your life, and trust God to bring about His marvelous plan for you no matter what happens. Please, don’t let anything stop you from pursuing your God-given dreams, not rejection nor reversals, because (as I’ve said before) in God’s sovereignty, our setbacks are but stepping stones to success.
Douglas MacArthur once said, “People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. Worry, self-doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair; these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust. (Douglas MacArthur, Leadership, Vol. 3, no.2; www.PreachingToday.com)
Please, don’t let that happen to you.
