INTRO: After last week’s message on the background of Joseph’s family life, today we will dive right into the story as it unfolds here in Genesis 37. The opening lines of Joseph’s story reveal that he was a dreamer of dreams. Verse 5 says, “Joseph dreamed a dream;” but he didn’t dream just one time. Verse 9 says, “and he dreamed yet another dream.” Joseph had dreams and he lived out those dreams.
I submit to you that you and I need to dream. We need to have a vision and a plan for how God might use us in a big way. God has a dream, a call, a vision of usefulness, a task of distinction for every one of His children. The life of Joseph illustrates what can happen when we dream big and follow God.
Illus: A certain evangelist's wife died, and when he had to be away in meetings, he hired a babysitter to take care of his two sons. He would always bring them a gift when he arrived back home. One day, however, he came home and had forgotten to buy the boys a gift. When they asked for their presents, the father told them that he would take them to the store and that they could have whatever they wanted. When they arrived, the first thing they saw was the candy counter. They decided they wanted to buy candy. Their father said, "Let's look around a little more first." Then, they went to the toy department and saw some cowboy suits, complete with guns, hats, ropes, etc. They both yelled, "This is what we want!" Their father replied, "Let's just look around a little first." Next, they went into the sporting goods and found basketballs. They began to dribble these about the place and told their father that they wanted to buy the basketballs. The father said, "let's look around just a little bit more." So they continue to shop and as they did, they spotted 2 brand new 10 speed bicycles against the back wall. Their father saw what they were looking at and said, "How would you like to have those bikes?" Those 2 boys left that store with far more than they bargained for because their father refused to let them settle for less that his best. You see, he had intended to buy the bikes all along! Those 2 boys thought candy would be wonderful, but their father had something far more wonderful in mind.
I wonder how many times God has had something big in His heart and mind for us, but we missed it? We weren’t looking for it, we didn’t have the faith that we should have had.
If you remember four things about your dream of usefulness, it won't matter how dark the clouds, how depressing the circumstances, or how determined the critics are, you will always be aware of the fact that God has something special for you.
I. The dream derives from God.
– It is not uncommon in the Bible for God to reveal things to His faithful servants through dreams. Joseph wasn’t the first or the last to get a dream from God.
– Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that this dream came from God, but it seems clear that since everything came true and was eventually accomplished that it did in fact come from God.
– Joseph gathered all the brothers around and told them the details of the dream. They were all in a field binding corn or wheat into sheaves or bundles. Joseph’s bundle arose and stood upright, while the sheaves which his brothers had bound surrounded Joseph’s sheaf and bowed down to it.
– Well that didn’t sit too well with these jealous, carnal men! They already didn’t like the favoritism he got from dad or the fact that he frequently brought unto Jacob an evil report of their behavior. The brothers fiercely resented the meaning of the dream. They made it clear that Joseph would never have dominion over them.
– So Joseph did the only natural thing – he told them his other dream! In the second dream, the sun, moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to him. The idea is that Joseph’s father, mother, and 11 brothers would one day bow down to him. He would one day be preeminent over his entire family.
– Okay, it should go without saying that the family’s reaction to all this was less than enthusiastic support. They didn’t say, “Great Joe, let us pay for your seminary education!” No, they wanted to kill him.
– Let’s pause for a second and talk about this whole exchange. There are two things that commentators and pastors say about Joseph that I am not too sure about.
– (1) Joseph was a cocky, arrogant, and too self-assured young man. That his fancy coat and big ego drove him to be a tattle-taling little squirt that flaunted and bragged to his brothers – and the dream proves it. Alright, did you see or hear anything in the Bible that would suggest that? Nothing bad or negative is ever said about Joseph. We have no idea about what kind of attitude he had. He could have been very humble and gentle in his dealings with them.
– (2) Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Theologians say that there are as many as 15 similarities between the life of Joseph and the life of Christ, therefore, Joseph is an Old Testament type of Christ. A couple issues, first, the Bible never says that Joseph is a type of Christ. And second, if he is a type of Christ, Jesus wasn’t arrogant and cocky. These two grand ideas that Bible scholars have about Joseph....one disproves the other!
– It is as simple as this, beloved: Joseph had a dream from God and he was excited to share it with people. And if you go around sharing with people what God is doing in your life, you’re going to make some enemies! Understand? If you walk into the restaurant this afternoon, stand up and say, “Could I have your attention please? I’d like to tell you what Jesus Christ has done for me, they are all going to look at you like you got four heads.
– The point is this: There are people out there, saved and unsaved alike, that will not understand the dreams that God gives you. You will be hated simply because of the call of God on your life. You will be hated because of your commitment to that call. You will be hated for your character. Like Joseph, you will even be hated for the clothes you wear. The world sadly hates God, and they will take it out on you as a follower of Jesus Christ.
II. The dream disregards your circumstances.
– Joseph was from a dysfunctional family, he was the 11th boy of 12. Genesis 37:18– brothers conspired against him; v.21– thrown into a pit; v.28– sold as a slave; Ch. 39– accused of rape; Ch. 40– thrown into prison. Joseph was forsaken by his family, forgotten by his friends, and frustrated by his failures. But all these things were part of God's plan for his life. All of these initial setbacks and roadblocks helped that dream from God be realized.
– Illus: It started like so many evenings. Mom and Dad at home and Jimmy playing after dinner. Mom and Dad were absorbed with jobs and did not notice the time. It was a full moon and some of the light seeped through the windows. Then Mom glanced at the clock. “Jimmy, it’s time to go to bed. Go up now and I’ll come and settle you later.” Unlike usual, Jimmy went straight upstairs to his room. An hour or so later his mother came up to check if all was well, and to her astonishment found that her son was staring quietly out of his window at the moonlit scenery.
“What are you doing, Jimmy?” “I’m looking at the moon, Mommy.”
“Well, it’s time to go to bed now.”
– As one reluctant boy settled down, he said, “Mommy, you know one day I’m going to walk on the moon.” Who could have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 years later when James Irwin stepped on the moon’s surface, just one of the 12 representatives of the human race to have done so.
– That means that God's plan for your life, and your dream of being somebody for God are not affected by home life, educational background, how many parents you have, the way your parents treat you, your looks, your talents, your people skills. You must recognize it as part of God's plan for your life. Who do you think sent the slave caravan into the desert at the precise moment? If Joseph didn’t use his past and his circumstances as an excuse to not serve God, then maybe you and I don’t have a leg to stand on!
– I know we like to talk about the Christian journey as being pie and the sky by and by, but face reality, it isn’t always like that. Don’t be so foolish to think that doing God’s will and following a vision for your life will be easy.
III. The dream is not detracted by critical people.
– People will want to stifle your dream, and people will hate you because you want to live for God.
– Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law said the telephone would be a toy no one would ever play with. Lord Calvin, a British physicist said that radio had no future. A British astronomer named George Bidell Airy said that the computer is absolutely worthless. In 1899, Charles H. Duell, Director of the U.S. patent office said that everything that can be invented has been invented.
– I am glad that those who dreamed big concerning their inventions were not detracted by the critics.
– Critics are a dime a dozen, but dreamers who press on in the face of critical people are getting rare.
– Look at verse 8. What were the brothers really upset about? His arrogant attitude? His ego-driven dreams? Look at it. There were mad at his words.
– Again, I don’t think there is any grounds to assume that Joseph had some kind of arrogant, nanny-nanny-boo-boo attitude as he shared his dreams. I have already said that if you just begin to tell people about what God has laid on your heart to do, you’re going to make some people mad.
– Words are enough to rile people up. Have you ever said something to someone in a calm, cool way and they still got mad? You said calmly, “You know, I am concerned about the choices you are making lately.” And they retorted back, “Don’t yell at me!”
– Did you yell? No, what happened was they didn’t like what you said, so the only angle of defense they had was to exaggerate the way you said it.
– Still, we are responsible for what we say and how we say it. Turn to Acts 6:10. I think this represents a goal that all of us should have in our communication with others. They could not resist the spirit or the wisdom of Paul. When we speak with others, when we share what God is doing – we must be mindful not only of what we say, but how we say it. Amen? We are to be careful both with the text of our voice and the tone of our voice.
IV. The dream does not dismiss preparation.
– From Genesis 37:2 to Genesis 41:46, 13 years go by. It can take years of faithful a dedicated walking with God to see your dream of distinction for God to be realized.
– If you think that the realization of Joseph’s dreams was automatic and easy, you’ve got it dead wrong.
– In 13 years, God would take Joseph from a place of honor in his home to a pit. Then, from a pit to Potiphar’s house. From Potiphar’s house to prison. And after prison, finally Joseph would get to the palace.
– If I may connect the last point with this point – part of preparation to be used of God has everything to do with your circumstances and how you handle them.
– God often chooses circumstances to break us and shape us in order that He might use us. You see, before God can use us, He probably has to break us.
– All people that were mightily used of God in the Bible were at one point broken. Before usefulness is brokenness.
– Theologian A.W. Tozer said that “God will never use a man mightily, until He has bruised him deeply.”
– I don’t know how God is bruising you lately, but perhaps you should look at what He is bringing into your life as His way of breaking and strengthening you for some future task.
– Joseph’s life is a living, breathing example that what matters most is not so much the events or circumstances of life, but how you respond to them.
– Jesus came that we might have life, and not just life, but that we may have it more abundantly. We are not to merely survive, we are to thrive!
– Don’t lose your dream of distinction in the midst of unfavorable circumstances. Like a pliable piece of clay in the hands of a master potter, cooperate with what God is doing in your life.
– He just may be preparing you for something big!
– Illus: In “Winnie-the-Pooh,” Pooh and Piglet take an evening walk. For a long time they walk in companionable silence. Finally, Piglet breaks the silence and asks, “When you wake up in the morning, What’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast?” answers Pooh. “And what do you say, Piglet? I say “I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today?” Small expectations yield meager results.
– With God’s help, develop a dream of distinction.
