Forgotten Dreams

Genesis 42:1–7 NLT

When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another? I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy enough grain to keep us alive. Otherwise we’ll die.” So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain. But Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, for fear some harm might come to him. So Jacob’s sons arrived in Egypt along with others to buy food, for the famine was in Canaan as well. Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph recognized his brothers instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where are you from?” he demanded. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.”

Let me remind you or fill in the story for you:

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . . this Jacob from the 1st verse

Jacob was tricked into having two wives (though he only wanted one), then he allowed himself to be manipulated by the two wives, into adding two more.

The result being that Jacob has 12 sons from these 4 wives, yet he favors the two sons that came from the wife he really loved, which happened to be his youngest sons (Joseph and Benjamin). For example he gave Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors, but did not do the same for his older siblings

Naturally jealousy arises. The 10 sons from the other three wives especially can’t stand son number 11, Joseph. (12 was just a baby)

To make maters worse Joseph has a dream that his half brothers would one day bow down before him . . . and he foolishly shares that dream WITH his older half brothers

Long story short . . . the 10 brothers dislike Joseph so much that they sell Joseph into slavery, and convince their father that Joseph must have been killed by a wild beast. Joseph was around 17 when this happened

Roughly 22 years past

Jacob of course believes his son, Joseph is dead

his brothers believe that Joseph is probably dead, or a slave somewhere at best

but actually Joseph is very much alive, and he has not only survived, but through many test and trials has risen to the rank of governor over all Egypt. He is only second to the king in power and authority.

Joseph is the man these brothers have to buy food from in order to save their starving families . . . and they come before Joseph, they bow down before him

and now we get to our key verse

Genesis 42:8–9a (NLT)

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before.

Joseph recognized his brothers

how could he forget these 10

the 10 brothers who betrayed him.

Other scriptures teach us that when they threw him in the pit, Joseph pleaded and begged them to let him go

these 10 were the reason Joseph went from the son of a wealthy man, to a slave in shackles . . . he recognized his brothers

later we will learn that they regretted what they did to Joseph, but not enough to confess and go looking for him

the point is, the 10 brothers are basically the same, just older . . .

When you don’t submit to a God given dream, then year after year, you will find yourself being basically the same, just older . . . I

next month, next year, next ten years, I don’t want to be just older . . . Lord make me better1

But the brothers don’t recognize Joseph

first of all they think he is probably dead - he has survived

2nd the last time they saw him he was 17, Joseph is now around 40 - he looks different

3rd Joseph would have been dressed in Egyptian clothing - he dresses different

4th we learn that Joseph spoke pretended that he didn’t know their language, and spoke through an interpreter a - he talks different

5th - Joseph is the man in charge of everything, the last time they saw him, his only responsibility was tattle telling - now he is a leader of men, he is a person who can handle a lot of responsibilities now

Commercial: When God gives you a dream, be prepared for a transformation in you

Joseph looks different, dresses different, talks different, has different responsibilities

We often think that dreams transform the things around us, but when you have a God-given dream, you transform just as much or more than the situation around you . . . God working on your character is part of the dream

I’ll say it again, I don’t want to just be older, I want to be different, Lord transform me . . . I want someone to say, “I almost didn’t recognize you”

not, “as soon as I turned the corner, I knew it was you”

I don’t want to just be older, I want to be different . . . God let the dream transform me too”

and he remembered the dreams he had about them many years before

Joseph has a “Wow” moment.

As his brothers begin to talk, and he hears his native tongue, he remembers the seemingly impossible dream he had over 22 years ago, that all his brothers would one day bow down to him . .

in that moment Joseph realizes that the dream he had forgotten about have actually come to pass . . .

wow, What God showed me has happened!

Wow, God is so faithful

Wow, God is able to accomplish whatever he purposes

here they are bowing down before me, just like I saw in the dream, God did it

“How did Joseph get to his ‘wow’ moment?”

“How did Joseph reach his forgotten dream?”

He had a dream from God

this is the foundation

a GOD inspired dream

a Calling from GOD

He had the destiny GOD created for him

his dream was connected to his specific role in GOD’S plan

His dream and his God ordained purpose were connected!

notice I keep saying God?

if you want that wow moment . . . your dream, your purpose, plans, goals, have to be rooted in God . . .

in other words you can’t make up your own dream

if you want a wow moment from God:

you can’t be whatever you want to be

or do whatever you want to do,

or become whatever you put YOUR mind to

no, everything has to be rooted in God

become what God wants you to be

do what God wants you to do

become whatever God created you to become

this is important because we live in a time of self centeredness instead of being God centeredness;

today, decisions are based on feelings

today, plans are based on what’s most comfortable, easy,, convenient

that’s why people are making their own morals

making up their own agendas

making up their own truth (my truth)

you can have your truth but eventually you will run into the truth

making up their own gender

people don’t want reality, they want THEIR reality

but if you want to experience that godly “wow” moment, if you want to see forgotten dreams come to pass, you have to yield to God being the writer of your story . . . you’ve got to have a dream, life, goals, plans, that come from God

He had integrity

He could be trusted to do the right thing

even when others would feel justified in doing wrong, Joseph chose to do right

The Bible says that when he worked for the captain of the guard, the captain only had to worry about what he wanted to eat each day

that means that he didn’t have to worry about tasks getting accomplished, the job getting done, or Joseph stealing from him, or Joseph lying to him

and when the captain’s wife repeatedly came onto him, Joseph refused her advances, he said, “How could I do this great evil and sin against God?”(39:9) . . .

she responded by falsely accusing him of rape and he was sent to prison

yet even in prison, Joseph demonstrated so much integrity in prison, that he was put in charge of the prison he was an inmate in . . . the Bible says the warden didn’t have to supervise anything

Joseph proved that if he was put in charge of a household . . . he could be trusted

Joseph proved that if he was put in charge of a government organization . . . he could be trusted

so when it was time for Joseph to be put in charge of every household and every government agency in the nation . . . he already proven he had the integrity to do so

if you want to reach forgotten dreams, you must demonstrate integrity . . . and not a schemer or a scammer

He Helped People

after loving God, the SECOND greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves

at the lowest part of his life . . . . while he was unjustly imprisoned . . . Joseph took time to be concerned about someone else

i’m feeling down, but what’s going on with you?

I sho’ nuff need prayer, but how can I pray for you

I need money, but I can give you a couple of dollars (they won’t help me out of my situation anyway)

Joseph helped people

The Bible says that Joseph took time to notice a couple of other prisoners looking downcast . . . that’s what opened the door to his wow moment

one of those people was a disgraced cup bearer . . . and that would be the person who later opened up the door for him.

no matter how rough it gets, if you want to see a forgotten dream come to pass, don’t stop helping others

Commercial: in fact, the reason God gives you a dream is because he wants to put you in position to help people

at the end of his story, Joseph told his brothers that he forgave them because he understood that God put him in Egypt, so that he could save the lives of many people

Joseph was forced to wait

waiting was involved

the cup bearer who said he would help him as soon as he got out, forgot all about Joseph . . . two full years passed

but at the proper time, the best time, in due season . . . when the king of Egypt desperately needed help . . . a time when the king was ready to listen to anyone who had some insight (even a prisoner) . . . Joseph was able to walk through that door

if Joseph had gotten out earlier, he might have headed back home, and his dream would never have come to pass

but God turned his extended waiting and suffering into a setup . . . a setup for a blessing he could not have imagined

The Forgotten Dream was Remembered because:

The dream he had was from God

He had integrity

He helped people even when he needed help

Joseph was forced to wait

you might forget these four steps, so let me summarize . . . Joseph got that wow moment because Joseph chased after God and not after the dream

now when God opened doors for Joseph, he certainly stepped through them, but Joseph chased God and not the dream

we never see him going after his dream, but we DO see him going after God

he told his master’s wife - I can’t sin against God

he told his fellow prisoners - tell me your dream because interpretations belong to God

he told Pharoah - it’s not me, but God gives interpretations

if God has put a purpose, a plan, in your spirit . . . then chase Him and he will lead you to the dream

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths

In reading this story, especially after Joseph is promoted to 2nd in command of all Egypt, especially after people start bowing down to him in respect, especially after people from neighboring lands start coming to him to buy food . . . it seems that Joseph would have remembered his dream then . . . maybe even anticipated his dream coming to pass . . .

but it was only after they bowed down, after they they said, “we came from Canaan to buy food” that Joseph remembered

What caused Joseph to forget his God given dream

the passage of time, but that’s not all

no one in the family supported the dream - his brothers mocked, his father scolded him

betrayed by his brothers because of the dream

working hard for many years, but not being compensated, will drive dreamy thoughts away

being thrown in prison for a crime you didn’t commit will certainly make you forget about dreams

he helped a guy in jail, and the guy said he wouldn’t forget Joseph, and then he forgot Joseph - when you help people, and they act like you ain’t never done anything for them, that can cause you to forget dreams

it’s no wonder he forgot the dream - he had been through a 22 year period of trials and tribulations, he was not trying to dream, he was trying to survive . . . and even after those trials, Joseph was busy running an entire country that is in crisis

But the good news is that GOD doesn’t forget about the dream he gave you

God has a way of telling you the end of the story, without spoiling the end of the story

in other words, God is a great story writer . . . and he will write your story so full of twist and turns and suspense and cliff hangers that you will sometimes start to feel that the ending he showed you was someone else’s story . . .

But praise God that though everything might look wrong, feels wrong, and the timing is so off that YOU forget the dream, God has not forgotten the dream

Joseph would testify that if you just stay true to God, then even when you forget, God remembers

And as long as you walk with God, whatever dream God has for you cannot be stopped

no matter what comes your way, no matter how high the mountain, no matter how deep the valley

When Joseph’s brothers betrayed him, they mocked and said, “now let’s see what becomes of his dreams” . . .but God used that to send him to the location of the dream

When his master’s wife lied on him and sent him to prison . . . God used that to put him into position for the dream

When the butler forgot all about him . . . God used that to set up the timing of the dream

And when Jacob told his sons, “why are you all staring at each other? Go down to Egypt to get us some food” . . . God used that to fulfill the dream

because when we forget, God remembers

Modern Day Example

don’t want you to say, “Pastor said you will have a dream and then after a few years you will run a country”

God communicates various ways: dream, vision, passion, speaks to your heart and mind

and God gives each of us what is meant for us

I’ve shared this testimony but not in this context

when in elementary school, my Sister would convince me to play school

she was in charge of the school

we were the teachers and her stuffed animals were the students

then we would switch classrooms

many years passed, we grew up, sister went on to become a teacher, FWISDmy

as for me, after goofing off, I finally graduated, teaching school was not on my radar at all, got married, and I was trying to survive . . . in that goal to survive, I did some substitute teaching, then I started driving a forklift in a warehouse while looking for more work

with no push from either of us, WMBC started a school

God moved on my sister’s heart to teach there - her church/she was already an educator . . . made sense

the 2nd year of the school, God surprisingly moved on my heart to teach - ain’t gonna lie, spending a Texas Summer in a warehouse, made it easier to hear God’s voice that I should move from forklift driving to teaching

So we taught (she was in charge of the school), and just like in most schools, the kids would gather their things to go to their next class.

but one day we figured, we would have more instruction time, and less chaos, if the teachers did the switching, and the students remained in their seats . . . and that’s what we did . . . . and then one day while we switched classes, we remembered the dream (exactly what we did as kids)

being teachers

sister in charge

teachers doing the switching

we didn’t have to chase the dream - didn’t even know we had a dream

and the dream was for the benefit of others - to not only educate young people in academics but about God

and we never planned or strove to work together as brother and sister, but though we were far from perfect people, we were two people chasing after God, striving to please God

and God made the dream come to pass, led us right to it, for when we forget, God remembers

if we would put our energy is seeking God, living right, and helping people . . . God will lead us right where we are supposed to be! . . . and nothing can stop it

Psalm 37:23–24 NIV

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

He will lead you to the dream

Salvation is the same

Jesus explained to his disciples that he would rise again . . . but things got so chaotic that they forgot the dream

and on the 3rd day, when Jesus rose, the angel had to say, “remember what he told you while you were still in Galilee?

delivered into the hands of sinful men

be crucified

and on the 3rd day rise again

and the bible says, “and they remembered his words”

this is the pattern, whatever God says, he will make it happen

just follow after him, and go along for the ride . . it will be very bumpy and difficult, but you will arrive at your God ordained destination

if you give your life to Christ, God will make your salvation happen

the road might get bumpy and difficult, but you will arrive at your God ordained destination!