1 Genesis 37: Preaching/Teaching
Notes
Transcript
Living God Dreams
Living God Dreams
ETS-Joseph’s dreams looked crushed.
EOS-Obstacles to living out the dream God has for your life.
DDS-Take a disc test or ask questions from Maxwell book about awareness
Gospel Connection-Jesus was sold into slavery, It looked like Jesus‘s dream was put to death when he went to the cross, but we see how God makes all things new.
God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
The God of the universe has a wonderful plan for my life. When I began following Jesus in 1998 I believed this wholeheartedly. I did not know exactly what it looked like but I believed it to be true. No longer was I living for my plan, which was pretty nice-the American dream. Now there was a plan that was greater than me and I believed that God had a plan for my life.
Do you believe that God has a wonderful plan for your life?
Or to put it another way, are you a God dreamer?
Today we are going to look at a God dreamer.
Setting of where this God dream Was taking place
Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.
These are the records of the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.
I want us to see that Joseph was in his youth. Guys we do not need to wait and raise the bar for our kids, we need to raise the bar for our kids to follow after God right now.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.
Far more than being a nice gift, this tunic set Joseph apart from the brothers as the favored one, probably indicating that he would receive the inheritance (i.e., the leadership and the double portion). Joseph was Rachel’s son after all, the son of the wife that Jacob had chosen before being deceived by Laban, and the son of his old age.
Ross, A. P. (1998). Creation and blessing: a guide to the study and exposition of Genesis (p. 598). Baker Books.
His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
Here is the setting of were this God dream took place, and what I want us to see it the setting was far from perfect. This God dream took place where there was a father who showed favoritism. We see favoritism in the Bible and it is never good. Where there was polygamy going on (Jacob had multiple wives), Joseph was in a position of leadership and was basically reporting his brothers for their bad work and he was younger.
Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible 1. God’s choice of Joseph 37:2–11
Joseph’s “bad report” implies that the brothers were participating in serious wicked behavior. This is not hard to believe in view of their former treatment of the Shechemites and their later treatment of Joseph and Jacob.
Or in other words his brothers saw him as a tattle tale, whereas his dad saw him as faithful. It was in the middle of this that Joseph had a God dream for his life, in other words he believed that God had a plan for his life. He believed God had a destiny for his life.
I did not know the exact plan that God had for me when I first starting following Jesus, but I knew it was a great big plan because I had experienced this great God.
God does not want us to settle for anything less than his great plan for our lives.
But like any great movie and any great stories their are obstacles.
Today I want to look at some Obstacles that can keep us from living out God’s great plan for your life.
1. The first obstacle that can keep us from living out God’s dream Is OURSELF (5-11).
1. The first obstacle that can keep us from living out God’s dream Is OURSELF (5-11).
Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
Joseph was immature
Joseph was immature
This is kind of like the preacher who yells at you in front of everyone, “you are going to hell.”
How do we know he is immature, read the rest of the story.
He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had;
for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Joseph was probably right in most of this, as we are going to see his brothers do not seem like the best of guys, but the way Joseph was sharing his dreams was not in a good way.
Could you picture me saying, I am Going to be the man and you guys are going to be losers.
One of the things we want to be as a church is a empowering church.
One of our core values as A church is that we are a sending church and not a seating church.
What this means is, we want everyone here to live out their God dream, to dream big dreams for God.
Joseph’s God dream is in jeopardy of not happening before it even starts.
At does not stop at 1 dream
Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have 1had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?”
His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
He almost sound he almost sounds like a cult leader
Joseph dream did not start well
Joseph dream did not start well
As we are going to see Joseph’s dreams did come true but he made a terrible impression.
Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible 1. God’s choice of Joseph 37:2–11
“God’s future agent and mouthpiece in Egypt could hardly make a worse impression on his first appearance: spoiled brat, talebearer, braggart.”
What Areas of your life are your immature in?
When I worked with college students I was climbing the ranks quickly. I then went through a difficult situation that could have ended my Ministry career. I was hurt, but what I realized is even though II was done wrong their were immaturities that I needed to grow in.
Application
Are you getting in your own way to live out the God dream that he has for you?
As a new believer who had this God dream, what I had to learn was that God had to work in me before he worked through me.
Having the great dreams were not bad, Joseph had faith even at a young age but God had to do a mighty work in his life.
God wants to work in us before he works through us.
We all battle with immaturity.
The most powerful person in your life is you.
One way that we mature is to preach the gospel to ourselves everyday.
Because of Jesus:
I am unconditionally loved by God
I am fully pleasing and acceptable in his sight
I am a new creation
There is another obstacle that can keep us from our God given destiny:
2. The next obstacle that can keep us from living out God’s dream Is OTHERS (12-28).
2. The next obstacle that can keep us from living out God’s dream Is OTHERS (12-28).
What kind of people do you Surround yourself with?
Dream takers or dream makers?
Joseph’s brothers at this point where dream takers.
I want to ask you right now are you a dream maker or a dream taker.
Because you can be a person who celebrates and gives vision to others to be the person God wants you to be or you can be a person who takes people’s dreams away.
Joseph‘s brothers were dream takers
Setting: here is what is going on now!
Remember Joseph had leadership over his brothers.
I wonder if the reason that Joseph had such better …
I think Jacob went from a dream taker to a dream maker-Remember Jacob finally broke free from Laban-the deceiver now had this wrestling match with God. This was later in his life and remember Joseph was his younger son, and I personally think the reason Joseph was this guy with high moral character who walked with God is because Jacob raised him like this.
Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem.
Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.”
Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.”
Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
What do we need to know about Dream Takers? They are not Neutral!
What do we need to know about Dream Takers? They are not Neutral!
When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.
They hated Joseph and his dream so much that they wanted it to be destroyed.
Has someone destroyed your dream that God has put in your heart?
Now most people are not going to killed for having a dream-but dream killers have the power to kill your dream.
Are you dreaming God dreams anymore?
Do you still have a great vision for what God wants to do in your life?
No one has the power to take away the God given destiny that he has for our life.
They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!
“Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
When this dream looked like it was on it’s last leg, God still has the final word.
Our God who spoke the earth into existence. Our God who created the mountains and made the ocean, our God who defeated on the third day wants us to dream God dreams.
What do we need to know about Dream Takers? God is in control [not them]
What do we need to know about Dream Takers? God is in control [not them]
Do you really realize how little control we have and how much control God has?
Genesis 37:21 (NAS)
But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.”
Don’t you love the word BUT in the Bible
Joseph was dead for all practical purposes, But Rueben
Isn’t this the great hope we have of the gospel we are dead and going straight to hell BUT God
I love the other word here RESCUE
God is on a rescue mission to bring people from all over the world to himself
WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL
If all we think Jesus came to do was make us a little bit nicer we are not going to need him very bad but if we believe that he rescued us from the pit of hell we are going to want him.
He is in control.
Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.
So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him;
and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
God used the very brother who could have been the most bitter towards him to be the one who rescued him. He was an unlikely candidate. But remember God is in control.
No person can take away the very dream God has put in your heart.
I am by nature a man pleaser.
Let’s not waste another minute trying to please man.
Let’s give our lives to be God pleasers.
We just saw Dream tackers
But there are also dream makers
Jacob became a dream maker for Joseph and
God created us to be dream makers! Jacob a changed man.
God created us to be dream makers! Jacob a changed man.
I think Jacob went from a dream taker to a dream maker-Remember Jacob finally broke free from Laban-the deceiver now had this wrestling match with God. This was later in his life and remember Joseph was his younger son, and I personally think the reason Joseph was this guy with high moral character who walked with God is because Jacob raised him like this.
Jacob became a dream maker for Joseph and
Illustration-You know what I realized working with college and youth so much. Is that it is sometimes the Christian parents who are the biggest obstacles for their kids growing in their faith. Then I think about the Mormon culture. Their culture is a culture that is willing to send their kids any and everywhere to send this message that is a works based gospel-a false gospel. What if Christian Parents celebrated their kids serving the lord as much as we celebrated their grades, sports…
Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Judah was the line that Jesus would come from
“Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.
Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.
They decided to kill him, and only the chance to make a quick profit made them change their minds. DA CARSON-New Bible Commentary
Jesus would later be sold-CHRIST CONNECTION
Constable quote here
Dream Maker-Don Pucik-Share story about how he planted a church and this was not even on my radar screen yet!
Application:
Whose dreams are you believing in right now?
Who is believing in your dreams right now?
Are you someone‘s dream maker right now?
What about towards your:
Your spouse, your kids, your friends.
3. The last obstacle that can keep us from living out God’s dream Is PAIN (29-36).
3. The last obstacle that can keep us from living out God’s dream Is PAIN (29-36).
I want us to read this next part with Joseph in mind. Here is a guy who earlier thought he would be leading his brothers and many others.
And now all he has:
Pain
Jealousy
Betrayal
hurt!
God dreams do not negate pain!
God dreams do not negate pain!
We have all went through pain: Could be emotional, Physical, self inflicted, we are all experiencing some king of pain.
Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.
He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?”
So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;
and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”
Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.
God redeems pain for good!
God redeems pain for good!
Is Pain keeping you from dreaming God dreams again?
Is pain keeping your from a big vision of God and the plan that he has for your life?
One of the boys coaches this last week gave me this quote:
If you want to be great you have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Doesn’t that sound like fun.
This coach pushes the boys hard. As we were working out I watched another player at the other end just shooting baskets. He was a good little player, but he was just shooting basic shots. Then I watched this coach push the boys HARD. When my boys where done, now I give them credit they worked hard, really hard during the workout, but when they were done they did what the guy on the other end was doing just shot shots. If you want to be great you have to embrace pain.
Gospel Point-
The good news of the gospel tells us that our hope is that God defeats the ultimate pain through the cross, by dying on the cross!
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
Key Applications:
Planting Renovation City Church is a dream
A dream that we are a church that reaches many with the life changing message of Christ
A dream that we are a church that is growing to be more like Jesus
A dream that we are a church that makes disciples that makes disciples.
A church that changes the world.