Dreamer or Schemer?
Probably all of us would be a little bit stunned. If we were actually able to keep track of the amount of time we spend focused on entertainment, there's not a useful tool, or there's not a particular tool. That allows the new that they used to say, I'll go look in the TV Guide Circle. All the shows that you watch last week and people said, well, I watch two or three shows and every 20, when you got through circle.tv guys, and all that stuff is just a way to track it much anymore, but the time of entertainment is is is a lot.
I've been reading about some Scholars who are putting forth the idea and you may have heard this before that for a very long. Of time virtually the only entertainment that people have had was to share their dreams. Now, that sounds about as boring as you can get. When I was growing up my younger brother, love to tell his dreams took two or three days to do that. If he could tell you the movie in about twice, the time it took to watch the movie. So most of us, probably the idea of sitting and listening to somebody's dream, just is not too exciting. Except for, what else were you going to talk about? Where else was their creativity? We're going to say, well, you know, and Imagination, I can imagine that it got kind of the place for people. Like Willow gel is really good at telling his story and he's really good at telling his dreams of asking the one about a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Stories that made it were probably really. And you can start to see the route that takes place in in our own entertainment and as people Envision things and create things in, and maybe dream things that most common dream of Americans is, The extra room on your house. Were you find a door and you open it up and go? I didn't know we had a game room. So many people have had that particular dream that it just was really colors. Everything that goes on in the workshop in the research there. Dreaming in the Bible is extremely common happens all the time. In fact, I will look at it time and time again, that we talked about the Visions were talking about normal dreams were talking about a very a variety of circumstances, but it's all of these difficult circumstances or situation where God is intervening in a dream situation, to provide information, he's communicating with people, we just come to the. Of the stalking and focusing on on Jesus's birth and they're in a dream, Mary finds out what God has planned to find out. What got us playing the wise and find out information. Jesus is sold. To go back to Nazareth, but it said, to go to Egypt.
And so I got to thinking about all those circumstances I'd like to share some of those. I'm also going to ask for feedback and if, if you look at this, a couple weeks down the road, so you pulled that is really boring. Please tell me because sometimes because I have those vampire ideas but they like they don't really work.
We're going to start about talking kind of the golden age of dreaming this morning. The other, the story would the certainly be Joseph Joseph, as you know, shares history and you probably, but wondered before, why did he tell his brothers, the story? Why didn't you just keep that to himself? Well, if that was part of an entertainment process, you can understand because those were good ones, something that we really would have been interesting and packed. Everybody would have been involved in the part of those dream, so it evens up to his father, a little bit quickly. Look at the story. We know that his brothers decided that they wanted to Get rid of it. Take an intermediate step instead and sell them. If you want Uptown in Egypt working for potiphar and God, blesses everything that he does. And so Potiphar's house is very successful during that time mrs. Potiphar interrupts, that process and brings it to the hall, and Joseph whines up in prison. Where once again, he has the opportunity to deal with dream, and it is successful and interpreting dreams all the way to the pointed. Pharaoh comes on the scene and it Genesis chapter 41, Pharaoh has two drinks. He dreams that
he has the Korn the Scuse me the towels full fat cows and then the seven leaned cows coming, consume the healthy ones, sleep some more, he dreams about the dream, this time with plants, corn or wheat and the healthy plants are again consumed. It is numbers of 7 in and a favor was, is really confused by that. What's ass mean, what is what I told her the picture and the
Sorry, the wine guy in The Bread Guy.
Who were in prison, bring their story to Joseph, Joseph tells them their stories as I mentioned and now he's brought before pharaoh. And Pharaoh says, can you interpret this dream? And Joseph is like a job again. And so, he tells about that means, it's going to be seven years of incredible resources, followed by seven years of thirst and famine. And if somebody was smart, they would store up from the good years to have for the bad years and Pharaoh is impressed by that and Genesis chapter 41 beginning. And verse 37, Ben Farrell said to Joseph since God has made all this known to you, there was no one so Discerning. And why is it you you should be in charge of my Palace and all my people or to submit your orders. Only with respect to the throne. Will I be greater than you?
Go ahead to the next verse. I think it's the Earth may not be.
Play nothing good to say, robe in Elizabeth fischels.
Sorry, guys, go back too far. I left one out. It sounds like a good plan. And the interesting part to be is if you'll look at this passage, if you read, if you read the next verse down, as well, you'll notice at Pharaoh's using a formal name for God. He's using the tournament is probably going to be. RiverCenter, reminiscent of God, it's a formal term for God. And Play row. Basically just gives everything over to Joseph. To get done and incredible things happen. They're actually historical things. One of them weirdly enough, the domestication of cats that she traced back to the story of all this green and the fact that the protection that the cats provided in. And so there's also a moment in time where all the people in Egypt become slaves, and Trace back historically to Joseph again because there's a time where they don't have any more to sell. So they have to sell themselves literally about to have food during the brain, games are very difficult. I'd like to look at some characters from the story from this dream situation and think in terms of are these guys dreamers or steamers? And I'm Dreaming as a dreamer. I'm trying to say somebody who's carrying out God's plan. And steamer being otherwise and the first one that pops up right here is farro. Dreamer or steamer.
well, if you look carefully at what Pharaoh does, he does everything that God and dance. When Joseph says, this is the way it is Pharaoh says, okay. Okay, okay, okay. and as you look as a fact, Is going to be played out over a period of years. That's just it just as long successful. Seven-year period followed by the dark time the hard time and so they stick with the plan all the way. Now just think about that for a second. What is Faro risking? By going with God's plan. This is life is Legacy and the future of this nation, nothing really riding on this.
This is, this is a Crossroads. If this doesn't work.
There's no future for Egypt for the whole region, obviously, but there's no future for Egypt. I just can't help but wonder if over those years, when everything is going so well. if there weren't people, especially people who were the associates of pharaoh and working for pharaoh who weren't saying things like, you know, all this stuff up. Well, you're driving the price down. It's not as valuable as it used to be. We got way too much of the stuff there had to be voices. They were giving opposing opinions, may be so much so that that they're even bringing pressure or threats to Pharaoh. So it sounds like they rode. This is, yeah, this is a good idea, Joseph. I like what you said about the dream, I liked about your plan, so we're just going to turn the country. Basically over to you for the next couple of decades. He does that, but there's risk involved with that and he's making a decision for himself for all the people of his country. And like I said before,
For the region this. Well, I think the thing we can pull from that is when in doubt,
That's really what payroll does. Ray Romano argue and probably would have argued. He himself was a guy but in doubt, see what we got. Now, we probably got into the place in our culture where we don't automatically do that anymore. We looked education. We looked at elect we looked at any other sources and often times when those things don't turn out like we wanted them to or they don't provide the answer. Then we go back to God this morning I'd really like to encourage you. As you look at the new year. Did the fill in the confusing gaps. Doing it God's way. You look in your Bible. I usually, all of these things that God has taught us all of this wisdom and information. It's been handed down to us and we can look at people hundreds of years ago. We can look at people in previous generations who constantly were saying. Okay, these ancient words of wisdom were of value and I use them and I demonstrated my life and the way I live in the things I accomplished that by following the plan that God had in mind. I had a better life. Because I was doing it God's way.
What was like at the second? Character, mrs. Potiphar or dreamer is not a lot of Doubt here.
This lady's perspective is nothing but selfish, she wants what she wants. And life for her is just that, it's getting her way. She wants Joseph. She doesn't care whether it's moral. And I'm just, I'm being judgmental. And I probably shouldn't say this by sabotaging Joseph. She was going to sabotage the plan to save the whole Nations. You mind, if I really don't care. You know, it's all about me. and we know people like that and they scheme in that particular, what he's concerned with what she wants and because What she wants is primary then everything else is available to be ruined or sabotage. Look at your sister's First Response. In Genesis chapter 39 verses 8 and 9. Joseph refused with being charged. You told her, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, everything he owned. He has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house. That my master has withheld. Nothing from me except you because you were his wife, how then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God.
Would it be a sin against spot for sure would be a sin against Potiphar's wife. Joseph is saying no to do something here and he doesn't know what it is. He doesn't know what God's plan is and this moment the plans going to get pretty dark for him. He got sold into slavery, he's place is a master of how things are going well for him to this woman. Complicates his life and because he makes the right choice. What happens to him? Gowanda prison. He is able to be beneficial to people in prison and there's there's a positive things because he's in charge there, but he still stays there. pretty easy time for him to get pretty discouraged. I would think there is a price for Joseph to pay because somebody else wants their way. And I am, pray that comes up a lot of times in our lives. We don't always know what it is. Is motivating this person back, thirty years ago, there were people called crazy makers and then that was because something psychological, you weren't really understood as well at that particular point in time. And and it's a, you were so selfish that it had to be their way. No matter what it was or how it came out. Play everybody here has had this experience drive out of the parking lot right there. You're sitting there and you're sitting there and you're sitting there waiting to turn left and then somebody from the neighboring parking lot drives right up there. And wait until there's an opening and they jump out there ahead of you. And you have to wait and wait to look to another and it's like is all the world selfish. Yeah, driving is a really good instructional laboratory for finding out how really self-centered people are caught up in that because we got miss you someplace else. Or if somebody took advantage of us, not just on the very simplest of terms. the only point I want to make is we can get into places where we want, what we want, And we lose sight of the fact that it's going to impact other people. Maybe a lot of people may be in very very serious ways and yet we continue to say, okay, I want, like, I want it. The third character, I'd like to look at is Ruben. Ruben is the oldest son? Bruins had a falling-out, with his father, for a very good reason, and Genesis 35:22 this while Israel was living in that region. Ruben went in and slept with his father's concubine bilhah and Israel heard of it.
Jacob has four wives, not Reuben's mother, but one of the other wives Ruben has a relationship with and that's going to create serious problems. It appears from the Joseph story. That Ruben is sorry for that. And he's trying to find a way back into his father's. Good graces.
In Genesis 37. When Joseph comes to all the brothers. Here comes at dreamer. They said to each other. Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these sisters and the Ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. When ruined heard this. He tried to rescue him from their hands. Let's have to take his life. You said, oh, shut any blood through a minute. This sister here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him room and said this to rescue him from them, and take him back to his father. He's got a plan. Here's the favorite son. Here's the favored. Son, in Jeopardy. I am the least favorite son. Maybe I can work my way back into some standing by rescuing of Joseph.
Course the other Brother's sell him while Ruben is a way, he's going to say consoling things up. In Genesis chapter 4222. Tell you not to send against the boy, she wouldn't listen. Now, we must give an accounting for his blood and then later on, when Joseph demands, that Benjamin comes down to Egypt, in order for more food to be sold to them, we was going to step up and say, you may put both of my sons to death. If I do not bring him back to you and trust him to my care, and I will bring him back. Another reason I put Ruben in here is Ruben wants to get back into the right situation. So, how is he doing that? He's going to steam his way back. He's going to steam the day, does steam the brothers. He's going to wind up the good guy in this whole deal and he's going to turn this all around and I think there's a very strong impulse for us to do that as well. So that's when we find ourselves in difficult situations, especially those of her own creation. We are so familiar with evening, we're so familiar with doing it the, the backhanded way. But that's what opens up to us. And we said, okay, I get I can do this and I can manipulate that and then I'll put things back the way they were. And we're missing out on this wonderful blessing of forgiveness that God provides worse your way back. Just put it on the table. Leave it behind. And let me take care of it. We try to find our own what a guy says it's through my Mercy. It's through my grace, you can't do it. Through worldly means It's done through this special spiritual process. I have developed this. This pain for but the purchase of Jesus and whenever Satan tempts us to steam our way back in to a relationship to a situation to anything, It's important for single. Why can't it wait a second? You the way to go? Of course, unless there's Joseph. Dreamer Dreamer. He's the ultimate dreamer. He's the guy with the Pure Heart. He's a guy that makes it work. He's a guy that sacrifices so much to put himself in an opportunity to be God's instrument. This guy is 17 years old when the brothers The women that b l m into slavery. He's 30 years old when he's called forward by pharaoh to interpret his dream. He's missed his flight out of lessons. He's missed all of his 20s. Being a slave and being in jail. Now there could be all kinds of resentment building up there. How many of us would have long since quit? Why was God leaving me here? I've done my best to try to be done my best, to do it his way and over and over again, and I needed him and he hasn't responded. And what am I doing here? And yet, Joseph continues to hang in there. And because of the heart of Joseph God sets in motion really, this original development of this. Chosen people to bring about the Messiah. This is like really cool place. It won't God has in mind for all of us. that sometimes people say, well, He's not perfect. Now, he's an arrogant teenager. Who was it? He dances his brothers around, he does a little steaming, you know, when they come down there though to Egypt, he's like he is a boy. He's paying them back but it's pretty narrow. It's pretty good, but even Joseph in his heart. Falls into that way. Kind of sounds like a play than them. It is and we see these cast of characters and the thing I'd like for it to think about more than anything else, is it? God puts us into these situations and he gives us roll Supply.
The role of Pho. the baker, the role, the cupbearer, those four to extremely strong, illustration points of the fact that there was some punishment for the one that was in the wrong, there was recompense for the one who wasn't and you might look at the playbill and say, well, those are minor roles But they were critically important roles no doubt in this whole story. There are other critical roles that we have even know about. And you could spend all kinds of time looking at at the dreamers in the schemers. Jacob himself has a background here and we made it to look at that one. A little bit later on, but it's okay. Where am I in God's plan? Where am I in God's play? As this is being coming to fruition I've been assigned a role. And God wants me to fill my role at my point in time. It may be the lead character and maybe the backup character. It made me that character that seems insignificant but all of those things are critical and all those things are important. We don't fulfill that by scheming our way in there. We fulfill it by letting God work through us to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. That's what Joseph says out. So very much for us. Would you play with me?
The God, our Father in heaven. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the rich stories that put us in so many different directions. Father, we thank you for those who have stepped up to the parts that you have given and played their roles with distinction and brought about success that we benefit by having in the past. Father we pray that as we look to our own time and our own roles in our own your actions that we might be willing to step up and play the role that you've asked to supply. So that you can be successful, your kingdom to be successful, so people can be blessed by your love and by Your Word. Father, forgive us. We make so many mistakes and strengthen us as we go forward. We pray this to your son. Amen.
This morning, we extend the invitation Jesus Christ. You would like to respond to that. We encourage you to do that while we say anything the song together.
