Joseph:-
Live your dreams.
There are many different aspects to life.
There is eating and drinking and there is working to ensure that you eat and drink.
There is shelter from the weather and there is clothing for the body.
There is family and love and there are special occasions.
But anyone will tell you that life is more than this.
Most people have within themselves a deep desire for something more.
If you go through Mandeville on the way to Gore you will pass the Mandeville airport.
The airport consists of an incredible collection of vintage aircraft – a
Niche aircraft restoration factory. A vintage aircraft restaurant and a new project that will be a vintage railway that runs around the precinct of the airfield.
Why is that there – because someone had a dream beyond the normal essentials of life.
Full marks to the people who created this.
In the Christian life there are many people who have had dreams.
Have you heard of Elizabeth Fry???
She lived from 1780 – 1845.
They called her the genius of mercy. She was a humble Quakeress, who dared to enter the terror of the early english nineteenth century dungeons and minister to the prisoners she found there She walked where even the prison governors feared to tread, and her faith won great victories. The wretched prisoners responded to her call, her efforts, made Partliament move in prison reform. The whole of Europe listened to her teaching, and prison reform took on a world-wide aspect. Not only prisoners, but beggar, destitute, anmd all those less fortunate than herself, received help from this couragoeous and meek woman who conquered the world by mercy.
Why?
Because one day she had listned to William Savery the American preacher, and he had made her feel for the first time that there was a God.
Elizabeth had felt the call, and hers was no fickle nature. From now on she must dedicate her life to the service of humanity, for she did not believe in half measures.
Elizabeth Fry had a dream and her dream trickles down through a stream of love into the prisons of our present day.
ILL.(Melvyn Newland Sermon Central.) A few years ago a study was made of 200 people that we would call "very successful." It was discovered that all 200 had one common denominator: each had dared to dream big dreams & set goals, & reach out to achieve those goals.
ILL. The apostle Paul dared to dream of a world where all mankind would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. And even though he was persecuted & beaten, shipwrecked & imprisoned, Paul kept on following his dream.
Joseph had a dream as a young man and that dream propelled him through the rest of his life – following God to become both a statesman and provider for God’s future nation called Israel.
The results of Josephs dream trickle down to this present day as well. Israel was saved by God’s purposes working through Joseph’s life – in our own age we see God continuing that process through these remarkable people.
Recently in our own area there has been much suffering and hardship.
Yet if you drove through this area as a foreign tourist you couldn’t help but think that this place is among the most beautiful places on earth.
Yet sadly in this paradise we live in two people have recently saw fit to take there own lives.
This morning I want to encourage you to be a person who lives God’s dream. Because if you are living God’s dream you will pursue the things that God wants for your life.
There are three phases to Josephs dream that I think we can learn valuable life lessons from.
The first phase is getting God’s dream.
We dream all kind of things.
Some of our dreams are pure fantasy
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
by James Thurber
"WE’RE going through!" The Commander’s voice was like thin ice breaking. He wore his full-dress uniform, with the heavily braided white cap pulled down rakishly over one cold gray eye. "We can’t make it, sir. It’s spoiling for a hurricane, if you ask me." "I’m not asking you, Lieutenant Berg," said the Commander. "Throw on the power lights! Rev her up to 8500! We’re going through!" The pounding of the cylinders increased: ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa. The Commander stared at the ice forming on the pilot window. He walked over and twisted a row of complicated dials. "Switch on No. 8 auxiliary!" he shouted. "Switch on No. 8 auxiliary!" repeated Lieutenant Berg. "Full strength in No. 3 turret!" shouted the Commander. "Full strength in No. 3 turret!" The crew, bending to their various tasks in the huge, hurtling eight-engined Navy hydroplane, looked at each other and grinned. "The Old Man’ll get us through," they said to one another. "The Old Man ain’t afraid of hell!" . . .
"Not so fast! You’re driving too fast!" said Mrs. Mitty. "What are you driving so fast for?"
"Hmm?" said Walter Mitty. He looked at his wife, in the seat beside him, with shocked astonishment. She seemed grossly unfamiliar, like a strange woman who had yelled at him in a crowd. "You were up to fifty-five," she said. "You know I don’t like to go more than forty. You were up to fifty-five." Walter Mitty drove on toward Waterbury in silence, the roaring of the SN202 through the worst storm in twenty years of Navy flying fading in the remote, intimate airways of his mind. "You’re tensed up again," said Mrs. Mitty. "It’s one of your days. I wish you’d let Dr. Renshaw look you over."
Dreams of fantasy are not what we are talking about.
Nor are all dreams good.
Some people dream bad things and set out to fulfill that dream.
Other people dream futile things – the dream may contain nothing wrong in it in itself but because it is not God’s dream for the persons life it is a terrible waste of God’s resources.
Nothing can be more obscene in this life than the relentless pursuit of wealth.
There is another kind of dream that is more dangerous than any.
That is the religious dream that is not from God.
Such a dream often comes from somebody who very confidently will tell you – God told me!!!
God has been tremendously misquoted over the years and normally you will find that if God has told you something he will tell you with supporting evidence – often from somebody else.
Fantasy is one thing but what we need is to get God’s dream for our life:-
Listen to what happened to Joseph.
GE 37:5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 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."
GE 37:8 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.
GE 37:9 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."
GE 37:10 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?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Firstly God gave Joseph a dream
Secondly God gave him a second dream that was similar to the first.
Establish
God’s dream for your life.
If God is going to give you a dream for your life he will give you multiple reinforcements.
God’s dream for your life will never be far away from the more noble thoughts of your heart.
Notice that Joseph shares his dream with his brothers – and his Father.
There are two kinds of reactions one his Brothers scoff and his Father rebukes him –
Does that mean that the dream is wrong??
No it doesn’t – but it does suggest that perhaps it is wise not to share your dreams too widely.
Having said that , curiously it was Joseph’s brothers jealousy that caused them to sell him to traders that set into process a domino effect that fulfilled the very dream that they were reacting to.
The second reaction is in the heart of one who scoffed him – Joseph’s Father –
” but his father kept the matter in mind.”
Many years later – before he died his father would see the fulfillment of that dream.
If God has given you a dream no matter how incredulous it may seem – wise people will keep that dream in mind.
It is wise to share your God given dreams with those who will support and encourage you. But one thing I HAVE NOTICED THAT IS A WARNING – WATCH YOU DO NOT SHARE YOUR DREAM ONLY WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE IN YOUR CLOSED CIRCLE.
You could be in danger in such a case of merely getting lip service from them.
This, no matter how sincere they may be.
Christians can get it wrong.
A person who tells you only what you want to hear is not really being a friend.
Lots of people have been guided by God’s dream for their lives.
Joseph, Jesus’ Father was reguarily guided by dreams and he changed his direction accordingly.
The Second principle we learn about fulfilling your dream is:-
Don’t be put off by lifes circumstances as you move to fulfill your dream – no matter how drastic they may be. If God is in it and you keep your eye on the dream it will be fulfilled.
A brief summary of Joseph’s life will demonstrate how drastic his circumstances were.
Joseph after the dream was –
Mocked
Attacked
Betrayed
Sold
Enslaved
Employed
Trusted
Betrayed
Imprisoned
Trusted Trusted, Consulted,
Elevated Reunited -------------
Dream Fulfilled.
So much of what we see here is negative.
But Joseph has a dream.
After you have established God’s dream for your life surely the encouragement is to have faith in God.
If God gave you the dream surely he is capable to fulfill it.
You might think that you are too old.
What you dreamed about may not have eventuated.
But think of Joseph – Joseph was very young when he got his vision. Too young to be out working with his brothers.
While I could not locate anything to identify his age – Joseph had had a long time away from home.
He had been employed – imprisoned and Superindentent of the Royal graneries for 7 years or more. He was married with two sons.
In short it had been a long time but God was working out his purposes.
Joseph lived among a people who had false gods but none of this made him lose sight of God’s vison and purpose for his life.
Joseph never said it “can’t happen”
One thing I have noticed in ministry in my encounter with people, and that is – the roadside of the church is litterred with people who have someone else to blame because their dream has been shatterred.
Hardship is no excuse in the Christian life.
About three months ago through a spot of miscalculation my car crashed through a fence and was almost written off.
Did that crash mean I would never drive again. No.
It meant that I would drive more carefully next time.
One of the keys to all of this is faith.
1JN 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Joseph must have had to practise enormous faith in the Egyptian prison.
Thirdly – Joseph handled success well.
Admittingly Joseph put his brothers through the hoops a bit.
But by and large he coped with success.
One of the great traps of success is that it can go to your head.
Joseph never did that.
Jesus never did that:-
PHP 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
PHP 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Prepare yourself for success by cultivating humility.
Because when you succeed you are going to need to be faithful to the end.
Many succeed in conquering the suffering and hardship barrrier only to succumb to the success trap.
We need to be alert to both and conquer both.
Jesus did that.
Before he had to face the cross he had to endure and travel safely the road of palm Sunday where people worshipped – praised and adored him – all of it deserved.
How easy for him in the midst of all of this success to be diverted from God’s dream – Nothing less than the salvation of all who would believe in His son.
Jesus was never deflected from his dream
Let me share a story shared by Melvyn Newland (Sermon Central.)
ILL. Dr. Paul Brand, a well-known doctor & author, was raised in India. His parents were missionaries there. In his book, "In His Image," he writes about his mother. It is one of the most touching stories I’ve ever read.
He writes that when his mother was 75 years old, she was still walking miles every day, visiting the villages in the southern part of India, teaching the people about Jesus.
One day, at age 75, she was traveling alone & fell & broke her hip. After two days of just lying there in pain, some workers found her & put her on a makeshift cot & loaded her into their jeep & drove 150 miles over deep rutted roads to find a doctor who could set the broken bones. But the very bumpy ride damaged her bones so badly that her hip never completely healed.
He said, "I visited my mother in her mud-covered hut several weeks after all of this happened. I watched as she took two bamboo crutches that she had made herself, & moved from one place to another with her feet just dragging behind because she had lost all feeling in them."
He said, "At age 75, with a broken hip, unable to stand on her own two legs, I thought that I made a pretty intelligent suggestion. I suggested that she retire." He said, "She turned around & looked at me & said, `What value is that? If we try to preserve this body just a few more years & it is not being used for God, of what value is that?’"
So she kept on working. She kept on riding her donkey to villages until she was 93 years old. At age 93 she couldn’t stay on her donkey anymore. She kept falling off. But she didn’t stop preaching. Indian men would carry her in hammocks from one village to another. And she continued to tell people about Jesus Christ until she died at age 95.
Paul Brand writes, "My most vivid memory of my mother is of her propped up against a stone wall as people are coming to her from their homes, schools, & places of work. I can still see the wrinkles in her face, & her skin so tanned by the weather & the heat.
"I saw her speaking to those people. I looked at them & saw the sparkle in their eyes, & the smiles on their faces. And I saw them deeply moved by the message of God’s love, spoken by this old woman. I knew what they saw was not an old woman who had passed her prime, but a beautiful person bringing tidings of love straight from heaven."
(story courtesy M Newland Sermon Central.)
first phase is getting God’s dream.
Secondly -Don’t be put off by lifes circumstances as you move to fulfill your dream – no matter how drastic they may be.(Practise faith.)
Thirdly – Be prepared for success not failure.
Joseph handled success well!
