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Series Theme: The secret to winning in the steep learning curve of life is to stay close to the Lord, whose purposes never fail
INTRODUCTION
Just the other day, January 15th, was my daughter Erin’s birthday.
I have always had dreams for her, since the day she was born.
She’s a treasure!
That same day was someone else’s birthday —
I Have a Dream — video clip
That same day was someone else’s birthday — Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK).
Some of you get out of school and off work tomorrow in honor of Reverend King.
He was an amazing human — imperfect like all of us — but a person of great determination — a person driven by lofty dreams.
He learned from His father that it was not acceptable to sit by and allow himself or others to be victimized by prejudice and hatred.
It was not an easy road…as a child he suffered depression and anger…he questioned a lot of things.
As he grew older he knew he had to do more…and he did.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK).
Some of you get out of school and off work tomorrow in honor of Reverend King.
He was an amazing human — imperfect like all of us — but a person of great determination — a person driven by lofty dreams.
He learned from His father that it was not acceptable to sit by and allow himself or others to be victimized by prejudice and hatred.
It was not an easy road…as a child he suffered depression and anger…he questioned a lot of things.
As he grew older he knew he had to do more…and he did.
Five years after his “I have a dream” speech (1963) at the March on Washington, MLK was brutally assassinated while standing on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis (April 4, 1968).
He was only 39 years of age.
pics of Lorraine Hotel Memphis
He was greatly influenced by his father and others who dreamed of racial equality and peace.
It was not a smooth road for him.
Although he won the Nobel Peace Prize, he was still targeted by bigoted governors, individuals, and organizations.
He was even targeted and surveilled by J. Edgar Hoover.
He faced lots of violence and death threats, but none of that stopped his passion for freedom and equality.
His influence still lives on today.
There is still far to go…but we are a better country because of his bravery, passion, and persistence.
Prayer
Joseph had big dreams too.
In we find the famous story of young Joseph.
He was his father’s favorite…Israel even gave him a special coat of many colors.
His brothers resented him, especially when Joseph told them about the two dreams he had
Genesis 37:
Israel was a dreamer (worked 14 years for Rachel’s hand in marriage).
Their son Joseph was a dreamer — but his dreams caused his brothers to hate him.
They plotted to kill him, but ended up selling him into slavery.
Joseph the dreamer became Joseph the slave — Joseph the prisoner — BUT --- he eventually became Joseph the prince.
God used all of those situations, according to His good will, to bring Joseph to a place where he could save many lives from a deadly famine in the land.
Here’s a quick run-down: Joseph was sold to Potiphar (an Egyptian official) and Potiphar placed Joseph in charge of his whole house.
However, Potiphar’s spoiled and evil wife accused Joseph of assaulting her, so Potiphar had him thrown into prison.
God blessed Joseph in prison and he was placed in charge of all the prisoners.
Joseph was able to interpret dreams — Pharoah had a disturbing dream — Joseph interpreted his dreams --- forecasting 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine.
Genesis 41:39-40
God used all of these situations to lead Joseph to where God’s will would be accomplished.
Big Idea: God uses dreams, people, and setbacks to prepare you for His purpose
Transition: Even though it sometimes take a while to recognize, God’s plan and purpose is always good
DREAMS PREPARE YOU FOR GOD’S PURPOSE
Illustration: Dreams dramatically shape our world
Henry Ford
Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison failed at least 1000 times before succeeding with the light bulb…he didn’t give up and the momentum of that invention continues to this day — technology is almost impossible to keep up with
The Wright brothers failed a lot in their attempts to fly…but they kept it up — they had a dream
So many more — Winston Churchill, Billy Graham, Countless missionaries, Inventors, visionaries, scientists, etc.
Can you imagine a world without Velcro?
A. Big dreams create passion
Jacob (Isreal) agreed to serve Laban for 7 years for his dream-girl (Rachel) — ended up having to serve 14…but he willingly did it b/c she was his dream come true
B. Big dreams create momentum
Joseph’s life was shaped by the dreams of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather
He inherited passion, tenacity, and determination from his father
What began with Abraham, continued with Isaac and with his son Jacob —
Joseph picked up the dreamer’s mantle from them — he had a special faith and trust in God that caused him to keep trusting and obeying the Lord...
Eventually his brothers did bow down to him…just as the dreams showed
Fulfilled dreams have a snowball effect.
Application:
Application:
You may never know how your God-given dreams will effect the world, so keep pursuing them
Do you feel like its too hard…that there are too many obstacles…that it doesn’t seem possible?
Transition: God’s plan and purpose is always good…we can pursue it with confidence as we pursue Him with all of our hearts.
He uses people’s dreams and their influence...
THE INFLUENCE OF OTHERS PREPARES YOU FOR GOD’S PURPOSE
Exposition
We could talk about how the other children must have felt because of this favor placed upon Joseph, but the key focus in this story is how Joseph responded to the dreamers and influencers in his life.
A. Israel’s influence upon Joseph
His father had a huge influence upon Joseph’s outlook, attitude, etc.
His brothers had to have had a big negative influence upon Jospeh…but he didn’t internalize it or allow him to become a bitter and sad person.
B. The influencers that influence your life
God uses the influence of many people to prepare us for His purpose in our lives
siblings
family
friends
bosses
More
God uses the influence of many people to prepare us for His purpose in our lives
Think about it…all the way back to your earliest days of life, you have been influenced
Who are those people?
parents
siblings
family
friends
bosses
etc.
Application
On the flip side:
What kind of influence are you to those in your life?
God will use you to encourage, challenge, value, and mentor people in your life
Get involved and actively strive to be a strong and positive influence
Especially let your influence point people to the hope we have in the Lord
Transitions: God’s preparation for His purpose in our lives allows and uses obstacles for His good and perfect plan
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