“Don’t Let Life Stop You from Dreaming: Joseph’s Story”

Introduction

Marian Anderson said, “When you stop having dreams and ideals – well, you might as well stop altogether.”[1] It is so exciting to be celebrating with our graduates this year! We are proud of you and look forward to how God will use you in the forthcoming years. You have been challenged and encouraged throughout your educational journey to pursue education, and today is proof that you have completed the first leg of your trip. Your academic journey encouraged you to pursue success! You have been encouraged to pursue what makes you happy. You have been and will be encouraged to pursue many things. The prophet Jeremiah encourages believers to trust God’s expected end for their journey. Once again, you will be encouraged to pursue these things as you plan to matriculate and attend college to earn an associate’s, bachelor's, or master's. You will be encouraged to leave behind your parents’ influence to pursue your desires. I would encourage you to pursue knowledge, success, and joy. God has given all of you the mind to learn all you can. God wants you to know success and happiness in this life. God wants you to succeed as you press toward the mark of higher education and obtain the tools necessary TO BE WHAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO BE!

Graduates remember that life is good as you begin settling into adulthood or headed to a new job venture, that Jesus is with you (John 16:33), and that he wants you to live a whole life (John 10:10). Remember life is good and hard as you face hardships that seem irrational but are transformative opportunities (Ephesians 6:2). Remember your father and mother and do not be so quick to discard them because you “feel” grown. As hard as it may be, it would be best if you still were teachable through your parents’ successes and failures. Even at your age, they still can speak life into you, and you honor them by listening and considering their counsel. Remember your church family. Jerusalem is your church family that stands with you and is ready to serve you.

You don’t have to be the lone ranger, ruled by pride, to prove how much of an adult you are. You can prove adulthood by knowing when it is okay to be “Tonto” that day. Proverbs 16:18 provides wisdom on how to keep from falling and self-sabotaging your success: a haughty spirit, a spirit of superiority. God did not create us to be autonomous. Instead, we are to entirely depend on the Lord while serving and being served by other trustworthy servants.

God often does his best work in the community, and believe me, you will want to be a part of that work. Psalm 24:1 reminds us that everything and everyone belongs to the Lord. All you have and everything you will have belongs to the Lord. You are granted stewardship over what He gives you, but ultimately, He owns it all. The Lord has the right to give and to take away. You must hold on loosely to all He has given you and, at the same time, be good stewards of everything the Lord has placed in your care (1 Peter 4:10). Remember to grow in faith through guarding against worldly wisdom and live our Biblical wisdom. May your life reflect what you say you believe about God. Spend time with the Lord, asking him to reveal your heart. This will help you live in ways that advance the Kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of self. Continue to grow in your knowledge of, love for, and obedience (Hebrews 10:23). Lastly, remember to be on a mission. Whether far or near, no matter the stage of life, where you live, or what you do, you must remember that you are still called to reach the world according to Matthew 28:19-20.

Graduation from high school and college is an exhilarating time. However, the excitement also comes with a ton of stress. Graduation, whether from college, high school, middle school, or even Kindergarten, can bring excitement, relief, and the start of big new plans; for many graduates, it also can bring up uncertainty, insecurities, and a sense of loss. Some people refer to it as transitional stress.

· The lowest stress levels are recorded in adults older than 72.80% of millennials who are stressed about money, as millennial stress statistics show.

· Teenagers report a stress level of 5.8 out of 10 during the school year.

· One in five college students has thought about suicide.

· China has seen the highest rise in workplace stress—86%.83% of Americans are worried about the nation's future.

· Nearly 25% of people report feeling extreme stress during the holidays.

· 45% of college students seek counseling due to stress.

· Around 70% of students are often or always stressed about schoolwork.

· About 14% of US citizens exercise regularly to handle stress.

[1] https://sankofaedition.com/blogs/know-sankofa/top-100-inspirational-graduation-quotes-by-notable-black-figures

Context of Message

However, I plan to look at the scriptures today to see what God says about these pursuits. What should you pursue? Why should you pursue it? What are your dreams? How do you get from your “pit to the palace?” As you go into the rest of your lives to develop and manifest your dream and begin these pursuits more independently, you need to know what God calls knowledge and wisdom. You need to know what He calls success and what He knows is the source of joy—different from what the world would say. I encourage you to learn what is true and how to discern the difference between the facts and agendas being pushed today. Today requires more than yesterday, so work while it is day as if it is your last day. Joseph’s story educates believers and graduates on the inspiration for your dream, the implications of your dream, and the instructions in your dream.

Joseph, the next to last son of Israel (Jacob), was born to his second wife, Rachel. Joseph was the son who removed Rachel’s reproach because God remembered her as she requested the Lord to give her another son, which he did later when she had Benjamin (Genesis 30:30). The children of Leah were from Jacob’s strength. At the same time, Joseph and Benjamin were children. Joseph enjoyed favor from both his mother and father as he was their “miracle child.” Joseph was that sibling you would fight because he did what Dad and Mom told him. Joseph's trouble did not begin with a coat of many colors; he started with reporting to his father about his brothers and that Israel loved Joseph more “because he loved Joseph more than any of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a coat of many colors.”[1] Being young, Joseph wore his coat, not realizing the anger and resentment rising in the other ten brothers. What made Joseph different? What made Joseph special? Why was Joseph favored?

As graduates, you dream of the day when you will walk across the stage, receive your diploma, shake the principal’s hand, and stand while everyone takes your picture. As you return to your seat, it doesn’t hit you until they instruct you to move your tassel, and at that point, your dream is realized. However, some despise your dream and will go to great lengths to sabotage your dream. Joseph’s brothers stomached Israel, loving him more. They tolerated Israel by giving him a coat of many colors, but what broke them and will break others in your life is a dream where you succeed, and they do not. Joseph's two dreams revealed how God would elevate him over his brother, father, and mother. Even Israel had a problem with Joseph’s dream, but he kept what Joseph said in his heart. “Dreams create divine inspiration in some while creating devilish intentions in others.” His brothers decided to kill the dreamer, thinking that would solve their problem….

[1] Genesis 37:3 English Standard Version, 2012

Dreams will position you…Genesis 37:28; 38:1-6; 39:23

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Lord Fisher’s Advice to Young Midshipmen

A young midshipman, greatly daring, wrote [the] late Lord Fisher [a] letter on behalf of [the] junior officers in his gunroom to this effect: “My Lord, you were once a midshipman like ourselves; and now you are at the head of our profession. Can you tell us how you did it?”

[Fisher responded,] “Get a vision of the great thing you want to accomplish. Get a plan of the way in which you hope to achieve it. Be prepared to battle for it. Pray earnestly to God to give you the victory.”

Joseph’s brother thought they would kill the dreamer by tossing him in a pit, thus negating his dreams. Throughout your educational journey, understand that you started in a deficient position. According to UNCF, educational inequality and disparity will still be evident in 2024. African American students are less likely than white students to have access to college-ready courses. Black students are vastly underrepresented in honors and advanced placement courses. African American students are often located in schools with less qualified teachers, teachers with lower salaries, and novice teachers. There are systematic biases in teacher expectations of African American students, and non-black teachers were found to have lower expectations of black students than black teachers. African American students are less likely to be college-ready. Black students spend less time in the classroom due to discipline, which further hinders their access to a quality education. Black students are nearly two times as likely to be suspended without education services as white students. Other factors positioned you in an “educational pit” where sports seem the only way out, but you must dream bigger. Yes, God allowed Joseph’s brother to toss him away, but he still fell right into God’s hand in the pit and the slave traders. Sometimes, you experience being thrown away and sold out, but trust that God is working through the pi.

Dreams will reveal your gift…Genesis 39:2-6; 40:8, 16, 22

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott “The Buried Talent Makes Us Liable to Judgment”

“Paul also recognized and extolled, as no other New Testament writer, the multiplicity of spiritual gifts. He called on everyone to find out his own particular gift and abide by it, so as to be fruitful in good works and helpful in building up the body of Christ.… The buried talent makes us liable to judgment; that ought to be borne in mind and preached today, when talents in the Christian church are for the most part buried, and the office-bearers only too often help, consciously or unconsciously, to dig graves for them.”

God will allow uncomfortable things to happen and place you in precarious positions to reveal how valuable your gift is. Joseph is tossed in a pit and sold to some Midianite slave traders who sold him to Potiphar. He experiences God’s favor with Potiphar as he becomes his house manager. Did Joseph dream of being tossed in a pit? Did Joseph dream of being sold into Egyptian slavery? Did Joseph dream of becoming overseer of Potiphar’s house? The answer is a resounding NO! Joseph’s dream revealed an ending but not the process of reaching its fruition. Throughout your educational journey, some detours led you to uncomfortable positions. The brothers did not value him or his gift, but Potiphar valued him and his. Herein lies the idea that your gift will make room for you. Joseph’s gift for management and dream interpretation manifested even in less-than-ideal conditions. As graduates, remember that your gifts will grow where you are planted. It is easy to grow in a comfortable place where everyone values you. However, you are entering a world where the bumpers are gone, and the comforts and safety of home seem far away while you sit in a dorm room or while you are for that first interview after receiving your college degree. Joseph was in unfamiliar surroundings with unfamiliar people, yet God favored him and Potiphar’s house. Despite Joseph's present condition, God used it to his glory. Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph of rape, and he ended up in prison on a three-year sentence. Though Joseph was innocent, he still served his time. While in prison, he found favor with the “keeper” or, in our terms, the prison warden. Favor finds you when God is with you. There is no favor outside of God, and it caused the prison keeper to pay “no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.[1] In your life, despite past predicaments, problems, and future failures, God uses all that to glory. You have to be willing to exercise your gift in uncomfortable places so that the blessing of God is revealed through you, even to your oppressor.

Dreams will provide you a platform for purpose…Genesis 41

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott The Qualities of a Missionary

In an early CMS anniversary sermon (1805?), John Venn, rector of Clapham, described a missionary in these terms:

With the world under his feet, with Heaven in his eye, with the Gospel in his hand and Christ in his heart, he pleads as an ambassador for God, knowing nothing but Jesus Christ, enjoying nothing but the conversion of sinners, hoping for nothing but the promotion of the Kingdom of Christ, and glorying in nothing but in the cross of Christ Jesus by which he is crucified to the world and the world to him.

If you can handle being forgotten, you can handle God’s next move. Joseph’s prison stay not only revealed his gifts but also provided him with a life lesson. Everyone you help in life may not help you. Yes, Joseph was favored by Potiphar and the warden, but it did not stop a baker and butler from forgetting about Joseph. They both benefited from Joseph’s gifts, even though it didn't go that well for the chief baker. During your journey, there will be people who benefit from you but will forget about you when they are freed. Don’t become bitter because people do not remember you. Remember that God knows where you are, how long you’ve been there, and why you are there.

Yes, Joseph remained in prison while the chief baker lost his life, and the butler was restored to his position. God positioned the butler in the palace as he dealt with Pharoah in a series of dreams. No one could interpret his dreams, but the butler remembered Joseph. God has a way of jogging people’s memory when it’s time. Joseph is brought out of the prison and made ready to stand before Pharoah. Your educational journey did not just prepare you for college or a job search; it prepared you to stand on a bigger platform before great people. The dreams are told, and Joseph provides the interpretation and solution for Pharaoh’s plight. He was promoted to prime minister, second only to Pharoah, as Egypt’s survival was now in a prisoner's hands.

The dreams were fulfilled as he spoke, and the famine was severe over all the earth. [2]Ironically, Joseph’s brothers, those brothers who tossed him into a pit and sold him to the Midianites, have to travel to Egypt for grain. Joseph had every right to mistreat them, but his time in the pit, Potiphar’s house, and prison provided him time to heal from the pain caused by his brothers. The brothers did not recognize Joseph, and as his dream had predicted, they bowed like the sheaves of wheat and like the stars. Fast forward, Joseph forgave his brothers because he understood that his dreams positioned him to provide an answer to a global question that ultimately would save his family. Joseph said,

5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ [3]

Joseph understood the importance of his dreams as a 17-year-old boy and God’s hand in and over his life. Favor is not just a matter of God making things happen for you. Favor is not just new things or cleaning up your credit. It is about God’s faithfulness when you can’t feel him. It is about God’s guidance when you can’t see the light. It is about God’s help when you feel helpless. It is about God’s joy when you want to jump off the deep end. It is about God’s trustworthiness when you can’t trace him. It is about God’s zenith when you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom. Favor comes to the faithful, not the favorite. They may take your coats, but understand, beloved, that favor is not in a coat; it's on you.Az

God knew you would need grace for the ghetto situations you would find yourselves in. God knew you would need grace for the accusations and the devils you would face. God knew you would need grace when life gut-punched you. Yet, God knew you would need grace to elevate to who you would become. Graduates, remember that favor is still on you after you’ve walked across the stage and out of this sanctuary to remove your caps and gowns. That’s a word for someone that we graduate from faith to faith and glory to glory, but you never graduate past God’s favor.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ge 39:23. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ge 41:57. [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ge 45:5–11.