If You're Going to Dream, Dream Big!

Introduction

As a prophet, I am often called upon to help people interpret their dreams. The first part of dream interpretation is to determine whether the dream is indeed from God, from deep within the person’s psyche or perhaps the spicy curry chicken from the night before. You see there are many things that affect our dreams. Scores of books are written about dream interpretation.

Everything from psychologists to native American and Eastern mystics claim to have unlocked the hidden meaning of dreams. In fact, much of Freudian and later Jungian psychological orthodoxy is based in large part on dream interpretation.

The Bible is clear that God often speaks to us in dreams. God warned King Abimelech in a dream that Sarah was Abraham’s wife. Jacob had a vision of the ladder to heaven in a dream. But by far the most famous dreamer of all was Joseph.

Joseph as a type of Yesua

Today I want to look into the Old Testament and look at the life of Joseph. Not only as a dreamer, but as we will see, a type of Yeshua or Jesus. You’ll recall that the Old Testament has lots of stories and representations of Jesus just like Y’itzak and the ram were in the Akedah. This story also has its deep symbolisms.

Genesis 37:1–4 NKJV

Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

Joseph was the beloved son of the father.

Like Isaac, Joseph was beloved of the father. And like Isaac and Joseph, Jesus is beloved of the Father.

John 3:35 NKJV

The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.

John 5:20 NKJV

For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.

John 1:18 NKJV

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

So it is clear that there is an intimacy and tenderness between the Father and the Son, which gives a magnificent example of the love of God. How often do you think about Father God loving the Son? It is something we don’t talk about or think about much. We should, because if we do, that informs the love that God has for us. Think about how much more significance John 3:16 has in the light of the knowledge of the Father’s love for the Son!

Joseph was loved so much by his father, that this passage tells us his brothers were jealous of him!

Joseph had knowledge of his coming glory

Joseph dreamed a dream that made his problems with his brothers even more intense.

Genesis 37:5–7 NKJV

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

God revealed to Joseph his coming glory. God was going to place him in a position of authority that would surpass that of his brothers. Jesus came and understood who He was.

Matthew 28:18 NKJV

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Joseph’s dream got him in trouble

The problem with being a dreamer was that his dream got him in trouble. Well, partially his dream. Partially it was the fact that Joseph like to rub his brothers’ noses in his dream, but we’ll get to that later, but let’s look.

Genesis 37:8–11 NKJV

And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

When He declared His authority as a teacher of fellow Jews, it was the Scribes and the Pharisees that took umbrage with Him. Just like Joseph’s brothers had problems with his dreams.

Mark 11:27–12:12 NKJV

Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. And they said to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?” But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

Sent by the Father

Jesus was sent on a mission to tell the world of the Father’s love. That most famous of scriptures that is plastered all over football stadiums and therefore on television sets each fall tells only half of the story. Let’s read that together.

John 3:16–17 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

The world rejected Jesus in His day because like Joseph, they were jealous of His relationship with the father. They thought it was presumptuous of Him to say what He did about Himself. Today, people reject Jesus because we don’t preach the full message. Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, and yet somehow lost in all of the “Christianese” language of His church, that is exactly the message we are sending. Let’s look at Joseph:

Genesis 37:12–20 NKJV

Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.” Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.” And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

Joseph was sent by his Father to find out how his brothers were doing. He was going to them to take a message of love from the Father and to make sure that they had what they needed. When Joseph got to where they should have been grazing their sheep, he didn’t find them. Now, we don’t know how far Sechem from where he was first sent, but we do know that the distance between Sechem and Dothan was about 15 miles. That is like walking from New Song to Tucson Mall via River Rd. Across flat land and with no traffic to contend with at a brisk pace, you could probably make it in about 5 hours!

So like Jesus, Joseph was sent by his father to take a message of love to his brothers, and like Jesus, Joseph had to go out of his way to seek and find his brothers. Joseph made a journey of sacrifice.

But it doesn’t end there. Look at what happens in verse 18. It says:

Genesis 37:18–20 NKJV

Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

So while he was coming they conspired to kill him. What is it about Joseph that made him stand out? It was his coat of many colors. The symbol of the father’s love made him despised by his brothers. Jesus was also despised from a distance:

Matthew 2:1–4 NKJV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

So king Herod is likewise troubled and he too sets a plan in motion to kill Jesus. What is it that makes both Herod and the brothers so jealous? Well, in the case of the brothers, it is the idea that Joseph would somehow rule the family in their stead. While in the case of Herod, well, it’s the same isn’t it?

Rejected by his own

But the persecution by Herod was not the only, nor the most dangerous prosecution that Jesus would face. The biggest treachery was the rejection He faced at the hands of the Pharisees and Sadducees for these were His own countrymen. His very own brothers, just like Joseph.

Sold by His Brothers

One of Jesus’ own talmudim sold Jesus out. Judas Iscariot would betray the beloved son of the father for thirty pieces of silver.

What about Joseph?

Genesis 37:21–28 NKJV

But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Both sold. Both then set up for a trial.

Times of Trial

Jesus faced a trial before the Sanhedrin, and was condemned for a crime He didn’t commit. What about Joseph?

Well skipping down to chapter 39, we see that Joseph is sold to a man named Potiphar. Now Potiphar was a governmental authority and because of Joseph’s strong work ethic, he made Joseph in charge of most of his household. But Joseph had a problem, see he was a good-looking man. Well let’s pick up the story there:

Genesis 39:7–20 NKJV

And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.” So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.” So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.

So there he was, in prison but through nothing he had done. But even in the prison, God was with him.

Jesus was also in prison – He was nailed to the cross and died. He went to hell and set the captives free! On the third day He rose again from the grave to receive all honor glory and power. What about Joseph?

Keep dreaming

While in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of the king’s cupbearer and his butler. While the cupbearer forgot his promise to tell Pharaoh about Joseph, a time came when the king had a dream of his own. This is where we pick up the story.

Genesis 41:9–36 NKJV

Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.” Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.” So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good. Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”

Well the rest of the story says that Pharaoh set Joseph as the second in command over all of Egypt, and through him, all of Egypt was spared during the 7 years of famine. When his own family ran out of their own provisions, they sought Pharaoh, but who was in who saved them in the end?

So it is with Jesus.

John 1:11–13 NKJV

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Who were His own? The Jews. They did not receive Him. So then what did He do? To as many as did receive Him, He gave the right to become children of God. Look at verse 13 – not of blood or the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. In other words, these people who did receive Him were not His own. They were not automatically children of God like the Jews – no. These were the ones to whom he gave the right to become children of God! After suffering rejection at the hands of his brothers, he went somewhere else to fulfill his dream didn’t He? Who are you talking about pastor? BOTH. I could be talking about Jesus or I could be talking about Joseph because see, Joseph did something as a prophetic foreshadowing of what Jesus would do. But pastor in the end it says Joseph’s family was saved. Well, have you read what it says in the New Testament about Israel?

Romans 11:25–27 NKJV

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

There is something to think about here. Look at verse 26 specifically. From whom is He taking away ungodliness? Who is Joseph’s father? So what is the sin that He is washing away? The sin of Jacob and his sons is the sin of rejecting the beloved son!

Conclusion

What can we take from this? We’ve talked about plenty today. But I believe God is saying this to us today. If you’re going to dream, dream big! Get a hold of God’s vision for your life!

Don’t boast of what God is going to do, rather be confident that He’s going to do it. Why? Because He loves you! You are favored by God.

Expect opposition because of the jealousy of others, and even rejection from them. False accusations are nothing new to those who would dream big dreams. Take them in stride; continue to hang on to the dreams that God has given you, even if those dreams seem to have died a humiliating death.

Remember that it is during the times of trial and the apparent death of your dreams that God is equipping you with exactly what you need to come to the fulfillment of His purpose in you. Jesus Himself said:

John 12:24 NKJV

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

And your Father said this:

Isaiah 66:9 NKJV

Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.

If you are in that place where it seems like all His promises are lost and you are unable to see your way straight, there is good news for you today! God will make a way where there is none. That is His promise to you. Keep dreaming, keep believing, keep holding on. You are in great company. After all, Jesus was a dreamer too.