Dream Builder’s—Joseph and his dream of many colors
All the circumstances said, “No way.” God said, “No, this way!”
Halfway through the second grade, Mrs. Sergeant, who lived up to her name, sent a note home to the young boy’s parents. It was added onto his report card and therefore entered into his permanent record. It said, “Your son day dreams too much. He is always looking out the window and his mind wanders far from the task at hand.”
What a blow to his future—what a stain on this young boy’s academic career. What if he could never stop this dreaming? What would become of a boy who dreamed of something more—something magical—something so much greater than the task at hand?
Well, be sure our world is crowded with dreamers like this little boy. Some go on to accomplish great things. Others have their dreams eventually pounded out of them. Some have chapters of the Bible written about them and others, like that little second grader, become your pastor and encourage you to discover your dreams together.
This morning we begin a 4-week series on Dream Builders--people who have seen God’s dream and made it their own. We’ll look at three big dreamers, Joseph, Daniel and Peter and conclude with potentially the biggest dreamer of all—you.
We’ll get up close to them all and listen intently as they whisper in our ear. We’ll follow their stories. We’ll examine their faith. We’ll share their struggles. We’ll sit with them as they stare out the window and we’ll look at what God revealed to them. We’ll take time to read the notes that were written in their permanent record. This morning, let’s get close to one of them--Joseph—let’s get close enough to him to hear him whisper our name.
Now, Joseph is a pretty popular name in the Bible. One Joseph was Jesus’ step-dad. Yet, another Joseph loaned his tomb to the Lord that first Good Friday night. But the Joseph we want to look at today—the Joseph we want to hear from is Joseph the Dreamer. Joseph--a young man with a dream that became his reality - in fact he’s the star of one of the greatest success stories of all time. His is a story filled with mystery and intrigue—passion and betrayal—secrets and jealousy--injustice and reward. His is a journey from special son to slave and back again. His is a journey from a palace to prison and back again—from home to exile to honor—from one of 12 to an orphan to a leader of a nation.
This roller coaster life was held together by one consistent thing--he had a dream--a dream from God that held him close to God—a dream bigger than his circumstances. Joseph had an enormous dream and an enormous God to accompany it. All the circumstances said, “No way.” God said, “No, this way!”
God’s dream for us is a seed waiting to blossom.
We might catch ourselves talking about a dream house, a dream job, even a dream relationship.
And several times a year, we can hear ourselves talking about a dream vacation.
Dreams help hold the fragile pieces of life together! Everybody has a dream…or used to.
What’s your dream—what does God have in store for you? Who are you? Whose are you? What’s your dream? Some dreams may seem silly or serious. But,
God’s dream for us is a seed waiting to blossom.
Joseph discovered how a God-given dream can be the over-arching purpose for his life. A dream can sift through your work, your play and your relationships, it can collate your responsibilities and commitments and offer the potential in them all back to God. A good dream can keep bringing you back to the important after a difficult season of chasing the urgent.
Dreams are more than just your subconscious activity when you sleep – and they’re more than just your imagination or a distraction when you’re awake
Pursuing God-given dreams is the cornerstone to discovering your divine purpose in life. Your dream boldly answers the question: “Why am I here?” You know God’s general purpose is for you to grow, to worship, to reach up and out and to reproduce--a good dream, a God-given dream completes you.
Genesis 37:5-11
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.
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?" His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
God’s purpose shapes your dream, and God’s dream shapes your purpose.
Joseph was a person shaped by purpose. Joseph was a boy with a keen sense of direction in his life. I’m sure it developed as he listened to his father tell the family stories of God’s promise to his great grandfather Abraham and how that promise was renewed for his grandfather Isaac and how it was renewed again to his father, Jacob. Joseph grew up with a dream of God for us and God with us—no matter what. Where his brother’s may have memorized the stories—Joseph was mesmerized by the stories.
Joseph lived his life shaped by his dreams. Everywhere Joseph went, every situation that Joseph encountered forced him to remember that his life was being shaped by the bigger dream of being part of what God is doing in his world.
It may sound simple, but most of the time the simple truths are the most riveting. It is simple faith--the overriding assurance that God who made you--who saved you thru the love of Jesus—that He has put you here—right now—to live out his dream.
Joseph so clearly understood the power of God’s dream that he couldn’t stand the thought of missing God’s blessing just because a couple of things didn’t turn out perfectly.
1. Learn to let your dream encourage you
One day, the God who sees our hearts gave Joseph a dream. Now, most of us need a friend or two to tell us our dream isn’t crazy--it’s difficult dreaming alone. The hardest challenge was that Joseph lived in a family of dream-killers. His bothers mocked him and his Father warned and rebuked him. Dreams were apparently okay as long as they didn’t require any cost or accountability—and certainly you needed to stay in your place. Joseph was clearly violating the rule of political correctness.
You see, it’s so frustrating for those who have lost their dream. Those who have no dream left can’t stand being around someone who dreams and sees visions -someone who is excited about life.
What happens, as in Joseph’s case--they must kill the dreamer. So one day Joseph is sent to his brothers. Those who have no dreams of their own often devote their energy to killing the dreams of others.
Genesis 37: 17-20 So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 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."
You may be in a place that is difficult - where it seems like everything and everyone is against you --don’t give up. What you do today does matter. How you relate to those over you and under you will build the character and discipline you’ll need when your dream comes true.
2. Learn to love life under God’s authority
Everyone must submit themselves to someone’s authority. God expects that. Romans 13:1
Joseph learned to love life under authority. Why? He understood some simple truths.
You will always have to answer to somebody. You can choose to rebel against authority, to fight it, to evade it, to complain about it, to criticize it, but you can never be rid of authority.
All along his journey, Joseph related well to the people he was with.
Joseph submitted to his father. Joseph was an obedient son.
Genesis 37:13-14
“Aren’t your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” Joseph’s responsed, “I will go.”
His Father placed him in a difficult position -but because Joseph had done well in the past - Jacob can trust him.
3. Learn to live in the pits, the prisons and the palaces.
Joseph’s reward for faithful obedience was not a coat of many colors from his brothers, but a beating and abandonment.
When Joseph was sitting in the pit we aren’t told what he was thinking. But we do know that God was at work preparing the next part of the journey. God was preparing a caravan to take Joseph to Egypt. And God was softening the hearts of his brothers from murder to greed. God was able to use the greed of his brothers to spare and transport Joseph exactly where God needed him to be.
Joseph was stuck in the pit unaware of what God was doing and unaware for many years but he didn’t give up being who God needed him to be.
Joseph was demoted by becoming a slave but he was not de-motivated. Joseph was a motivated slave. He served his master Potiphar the same way he served his father. He was under his authority and submitted to his ways, his words and his will. And he built relationships with those around him.
The result was that God blessed Joseph and Potiphar. Potiphar learned that he could trust Joseph.
Because Joseph focused on his purpose, he kept his dream alive by learning and growing even when he was a slave. Much of what Joseph learned as a son from his father he put to work as a slave and much of what he learned as a slave he would later use in prison and then take all that knowledge with him to the palace.
Joseph responded to the temptation to sin with Potiphar’s wife by obeying three spiritual principles that had become part of his character:
1. Keep your word.
2. Keep the covenant of marriage sacred.
3. Keep God in control.
Joseph’s immediate "reward" for his faithfulness was imprisonment. Now that could make an ordinary man bitter and depressed. But Joseph was far from ordinary. He was a dreamer. So, as Joseph was not de-motivated as a slave he was not depressed in prison. He quickly remembered that God had a purpose for him and that he was in the process of seeing his dream come true.
What did Joseph do in prison - he responded to those in authority over him by submitting to their ways, their words and their will. And he built relationships with those around him. You can either honor God’s dream or drift away from Him.
The result was that God blessed Joseph and those in the prison learned that they could trust Joseph.
When Joseph was brought before Pharaoh to interpret a dream—he remained humble and said in Genesis 41:16 "I can’t do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." Joseph’s circumstances continually changed but his character didn’t. Joseph experienced years of “downward” advancement that eventually landed him a king’s reward.
Joseph finally was elevated to the position he deserved. The record shows that even after having been elevated to the palace Joseph continued to live out his principles.
4. Learn to live in peace with God and non-dreamers.
At long last, some 20 years after following his dream, Joseph finds his brothers bowing down before him in their hour of need. Joseph had followed God from the pit to the prison and now to the palace. Joseph would continue to follow God all the way back to family.
Gen 50:20 “You intended it for harm, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
When no one would have flinched if he had them thrown in a pit, or sold into slavery or fed to wild animals, Joseph was eager to live at peace with these non-dreamers.
He treated them as family.
He spoke to them of faith.
He modeled to them forgiveness.
Now it’s time for us to dream. Whether your life is in a pit…or you’re trapped inside some prison…or you’re living in a palace. Whether you’ve been sold out or betrayed…forgotten or ignored. It’s time to dream again. In these coming weeks, I’ll help you begin to:
Find your dream. Follow your dream. Fulfill your God-given dream.
Let’s pray that God will make us all His dreamers.
