Date: April 25th, 2010
Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder
Title: Capturing God's Dream
Text: Genesis 37,38
Introduction
Neighbor Nudge:
When you were young what was one thing you wanted to be when you grew up?
When I was young my Mom bought these books called “My schoolbook”
- picture – friends
what you want to be when grow up
report card
Funny go back & think of what I wanted to be and where I am now.
Little boy staring at the stars)
Story of someone with a dream
It started like so many evenings. Mom and Dad at home and Jimmy playing after dinner. Mom and Dad were absorbed with jobs and did not notice the time. It was a full moon and some of the light seeped through the windows. Then Mom glanced at the clock. “Jimmy, it’s time to go to bed. Go up now and I’ll come and settle you later.” Unlike usual, Jimmy went straight upstairs to his room. An hour or so later his mother came up to check if all was well, and to her astonishment found that her son was staring quietly out of his window at the moonlit scenery.
“What are you doing, Jimmy?”
“I’m looking at the moon, Mommy.”
“Well, it’s time to go to bed now.”
As one reluctant boy settled down, he said, “Mommy, you know one day I’m going to walk on the moon.”
Who could have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 years later when James Irwin stepped on the moon’s surface, just one of the 12 representatives of the human race to have done so?
Today I want us to look at Joseph and his Dreams
We find Joseph’ story in Gen. 37 – 50. Takes up the most space of any of these great characters in Genesis.
Learn 3 things from Joseph & his dreams
1. Origin: Dreams Are to be Captured, not Created
Genesis 37:5 - Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. [6] He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: [7] We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."
His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" [11] His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
God gave Joseph a dream.
- A dream of being a leader.
- A dream of making a difference.
- A dream that God had a significant role for him.
- A dream that seemed arrogant….like “Who do you think you are that you think you will amount to anything more than our family. To think you’ll be anything more than a herdsman….and farmer.”
- They hated the audacity of Joseph for his dream.
Used to wrestle as a leader – “Got to have a dream. What’s your vision?”
Felt pressure because I thought it was something I had to create….come up with some big , audacious vision that people would rally around.
“A vision is a leaders gift to his people, fulfillment of the vision is the people’s gift to it’s leader.”
Spent a lot of time trying to craft a vision for my life and for the church…
And as I reflected on that….I realized that’s how the world thinks.
The world says you were born without a special purpose designed into your being, therefore, you have to invent your dream if you want your life to have meaning. You see, in the world’s eyes a dream is just like Irwin’s goal of getting to the moon. It’s a goal.
But this passage about Joseph tells us:
A. The Dream is Revealed by God not Created By us.
Ran across a book by Henry Blackaby called “Spiritual Leadership” (loaned out to someone….haven’t got it back)
In the book he quotes the oft-quoted verse from Proverbs that says,
“Without a vision the people perish.”
He points out that the real translation of that verse is…
“Without revelation the people perish.”
Vision isn’t something you “create”, but rather it is something you “capture.”
- God already has a vision.
- God already has a plan.
- You don’t have to create one.
All you have to do is allow God to reveal what he has in mind for you…..to capture his vision.
To capture what part you play in his vision of restoring this world.
In our campaign, we used the metaphor of a potters wheel. The theme was “Shaping our future.”
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.(Is. 64:8)
The potter has in mind what he wants to do with the clay. He has a picture in his mind.
Other places in Scripture it says he designed some for noble use and some for common use.
B. The dream precedes you.
The dream is why God formed you. It helps explain who you are and why you are here.
Book: When God First Thought of You”
- What did God have in mind when you but a spark in his mind?
- When you were being knit together in your mother’s womb as the Psalmist reflects.
- In Jeremiah we read
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart.”
And so you don’t have to devise a dream. You need to capture the dream God has for you.
Cordeiro p. 27
A story is told of a Christian nurse who attended a very sick man confined to the intensive care unit of a hospital. Although the man was only in his early 60’s death loomed closer every day. The nurse would periodically have the opportunity to talk to the man at a spiritual level and she would often pray for his salvation and healing.
One night his breathing became so labored and the doctors feared he wouldn’t make it. Nurse spent the hours beside his bedside that night praying for his healing.
The following day she expected to come back to work and find an empty bed. To her surprise she came back and saw the man sitting up, eating his meal, and looking remarkably healthy.
She couldn’t help but say “Praise the Lord! You’re healed!”
“Yup” he said cheerfully. “I feel great. You and your prayers…you healed me.”
The nurse quickly responded, “Oh no! I didn’t heal you. God did. And now it is your responsibility to find out why.”
That sounds strangely familiar to Mordecai’s question to Esther.
Esther had been placed in the king’s chambers as the king’s wife. There was legislation before the king to call for the extermination of her people.
Mordecai asked:
“But who knows but that God has put you there for such a time as this?”
The question for us to ask in our life is really…
- “Why me? Why here? Why now?”
- For what purpose has God placed me here at this time?
And we can ask that question at many levels:
- Individually – For what reason am I at this school? Is it just for me to learn? Or has God got a kingdom purpose for me?
- Why does God have me at this church?
- Why has God brought us together at this time?
- What does he have in mind for us?
Point:
You don’t have to find a dream.
You don’t have to conjure up some big, grandiose scheme and plan for your life.
Rather, as a Christian you believe God is a revealing God. He had a plan in mind for you when he created you.
Your task is simply to discover God’s dream for your life.
That relieves a lot of pressure
C. God’s Dream has 4 main components
He has revealed 4 things about his dream
1. He dreams for you to know him and love him.
- He created you for relationship. Find your purpose in him.
- He wants for you to not live life on your own, without his guiding, helping, empowering hand in your life. No, he wants you to live in the knowledge that you have a Heavenly Father that knows your needs before you ask
- He wants you to know his divine power that is at work in you.
- He wants you to know that you do not walk through this world alone as an orphan but he is with you.
- He wants you know that you do not live powerless but you can do all things through his strength in you.
- He wants you to live not thinking no one cares about you but that he cares so much that he died for you. You are that valuable.
Part of God’s dream for you is to live in the knowledge, and awareness of how much you are loved, valued, important, in God’s heart.
2. He dreams of you loving people like he does.
Little girl – woke up from nightmare – Mommy would you stay with me.
Well, I will for awhile. But let me pray for you. Because Jesus is always with you.”
Litle girl:
“But I need someone with skin on.”
God’s dream for us is that we would be transformed into the image of his son” showing his love, grace, and acceptance. To be Jesus with skin on.
Matthew 5 tells us his loving is distinctly different than world’s in 2 ways
- Love broader – not just friends, and people who like us, but those who are on the margins, those who look funny or dress funny, don’t quite fit, different color of skin.
- Love deeper – go the 2nd mile with people. Go further – have more patience, greater commitment to them….love not just with words but in actions and in truth. Won’t just say “I wish you well but seek to meet their material needs.”
And so God dreams of a group of Christ-followers who seek to come together in a community that accepts all, loves practically, cares about each other, forgives each other…that lives out in its community life different than the world.
3. God’s dream for you is that you will become increasingly like Jesus.
He loves you as you are but he doesn’t want you to stay that way. He wants to shape your heart, your values, your world-view, your attitudes, your behaviors to increasingly reflect his.
Think of it this way:
Had a baby. Who would want that baby to always stay that way? Always have to breast feed them or blend up their food. Always spoon feed them. Always have to clean up their mess. Always have to keep them from doing something they don’t know to be dangerous.
None of us.
We love our babies…but we want them to grow up.
Biggest frustration of parents is kids who don’t really grow up…..big bodies but still babies.
- got watch what they are feeding their brains
- want everything done for them, don’t want to work
- want you to clean up their messes –
- want you to protect them from the consequences of their decisions.
- That drives a parent up the wall
God loves spiritual babies, but his dream is that they will grow up.
- That we will learn to feed ourselves and nourish our souls and not depend on someone to do it for us
- That we would learn to clean up our messes. Learn to take responsibility for our actions and say “I’m sorry” and learn from our mistakes.
- That we would learn to make wise choices and not get mad at him when he doesn’t keep bailing us out of our selfish, foolish ones.
- God’s dream is that we would grow up in the image of Christ and be adults who can procreate & nurture another generation of children….not remain children ourselves.
So part of God’s dream for you is to be actively engaged in growing your Christian life. God’s dream for you is not to remain a sp. Child or adolescent, but to become a spiritual adult.
4. God’s dream for you is to live his mission.
God has a mission of redeeming and restoring this world. He dreams of us joining him in that mission.
When studying missions – William Carry – 1st missionary in modern day movement….shared his dream of going to India and sharing Christ there.
Apparently, an old guy in church stood up and said; ”If God wants to save the heathen in India, he doesn’t need you, he’ll do it himself.”
- Is that God’s dream?
- Is God’s dream for us to be spectators and watch his work in the world.
God’s dream is to put together a team – like a football team. People with different gifts, different roles, different responsibilities, and to bring them onto the field and engage them in the game.
- You were not designed to be a spectator.
- You are designed to be a player.
In the Body analogy – you are an eye, an ear, an active member of the body.
God had in mind a role for you to play in his body, his mission. You are significant.
- And so the question is: “Why me? Why here? Why now?” Why has God put me here?”
- What is his dream for me in this body as to my part?
Summary:
Whatever else God has in mind for you, I know those 4 things make up a good part of his dream for you.
He has healed you and…
Now it is your responsibility to discover the reason why.
Transition
It takes a lot of pressure off when we realize we don’t have to create our dreams, because God reveals them. Our role is to capture his dream for our lives.
Joseph also releases a lot of pressure on another front as well.
Not only in the formation of the dream, but also in the fulfillment of it.
2. Fulfillment: Fulfilling Our Dreams doesn’t Rest All on Us
- God Reveals
- God Enables
Sometimes though we think we have to make our dreams come about.
- We come to think we can bring about God’s dream by our hard work.
- We have to work longer, harder, smarter to make it happen.
- We have to plan out how to achieve our dream
- We think “we” bring about God’s dreams.
Think about Joseph’s life.
- What did Joseph do to bring about God’s dream?
- Did he have a master plan to get to the top – a ladder to success.
Think of Joseph’s ladder.
Joseph’s Ladder of Success
1. Get sold as a slave by your brothers to a passing caravan. Be taken to a foreign country where know one knows, know one can help, and know one cares.
2. Get thrown into prison by a false charge of sexual harassment on the job.
Get accused of going after the boss’s wife.
3. In prison interpret the dreams of men on death row.
4. Be forgotten by the people you helped for 2 years.
Joseph’s ladder has a lot of down steps.
But then there is one big step – he interprets a dream and gets promoted to the minister of Agriculture and saves his brothers from famine by a wise stewardship plan.
The reality is: It wasn’t Joseph who accomplished the dream. It was God. It was God’s sovereign plan & grace.
Gen 45:4 – 8
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.?a?
8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
Gen 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Joseph realized. It’s not about me. It’s about God’s grace and sovereign plan.
Does that mean Joseph did nothing?
No.
What was Joseph’s part?
1. Bloom where you are planted
Joseph was faithful and kept doing his best. He just showed up and did his job
“Bloom where you are potted and God will move you to a bigger pot.”
That’s all Joseph did. He sought to bloom wherever he was planted. He just did his best.
2. Believe
- Joseph believed God could use him even when his brother’s didn’t.
- Joseph believed even when the train was going in the opposite direction.
Question could be asked this way:
What hinders us from realizing God’s dream in our lives?
Key thing: Unbelief
Joseph’s brothers and father didn’t believe this was God’s dream for him. They sought to dissuade him. They thought he was arrogant and foolish for thinking he was going to be or do something in God’s kingdom.
One of the big hindrances on your road to realizing God’s dreams for you will be unbelief.
a.Others unbelief.
People who will think,
- “Who do you think you are to think you can do that?”
- “Do you really think you are that good? Are you that self-deluded.”
And often we fail to seek after God’s dream because we believe the unbelief of others.
- We accept their limitations.
- We allow them to determine our dreams
Marion Edelmann once said:
No person has the right to rain on your dreams.
b. Our own Unbelief
Joseph was unique, in that even though others didn’t believe in him, he believed God could use him.
And that is often the difference:
“Do you dare to believe the audacious dream that God could use you to do something for his kingdom?”
- Moses did. He felt inadequate but he dared believe God use him
- Gideon did – He knew he was the least in his family. His family was the least in the tribe. The tribe was the least in the nation but he dared believe God could use him
- David dared. His father didn’t think he held enough chance to even bring him in from the field when Samuel was looking for a king in the family.
- Jeremiah dared. He dared to believe that even though he felt he couldn’t speak god could use him as a prophet.
- Esther dared. She dared to believe God put her there for a reason.
- Peter dared. Peter dared to believe that Christ could take a sinful, coward of a man and help him walk on water and feed his sheep.
One of the keys to realizing God’s dream is believing God can use you.
I love this quote attributed to Nelson Mandela – president of South Africa and who brought them out of apartheid
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant?
Who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just some of us: it's everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Source: Nelson Mandela 1994, Inaugural speech
I love that line
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
A lot of times we label the reason for not going after our dreams on fear. But fear is a symptom, not the root. The root is unbelief. We believe we can’t do it, and that creates fear.
Friends, I am proud to be a part of this congregation because you dared to believe we could be used of God in a significant way in the Downtown Centre. Many people talked about the need. People felt something needed to be done. But as a congregation we dared to believe that God could use us.
Few weeks ago – woke up in night – just gripped with fear
“What if this fails?” But as I analyzed what I was feeling I heard these words, ”Who do you think you are?” “Do you honestly think you are strong enough, big enough, good enough to lead a congregation in this endeavor? What if you are just deluding yourself?”
Came back to this point:
I’m not smart enough, good enough, rich enough, connected enough…to do this…I am just a part of a team of people who chose to believe God wanted to do this and he could use us.
What is the dream God has for you?
You will never know unless you take a risk…a step of faith…a willingness to believe God can use you.
c. Keep Believing
I’m sure there were many times when Joseph was tempted to give up on the dream.
Times when he was tempted to get bitter with God – “God, what are you doing? I certainly could have got to these dreams by a better route than you.”
Times when he perhaps was tempted to quit and just go with the flow.
But he didn’t. He continued to cling to his dreams.
Application
Realizing God’s dreams will be tested
- We will face adversity.
- We will face obstacles that threaten to undo us.
- We will face challenges bigger than we think we can overcome.
- Sometimes it will look like you are going backwards not forwards.
3. Lesson # 3:
God’s Plan is full of surprises
Turn over to Matthew 1:
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah,
Notice: Where’s Joseph?
Our thought would be that Joseph would be in the family tree of Jesus.
He is the brightest, best, most moral, most available to be used of God of all 12 brothers in his family.
But what line did Jesus come through?
Judah?
Who is Judah?
In Genesis - 13 ch devoted to Joseph. 1 to Judah (Gen 38) and it isn’t very flattering
- Judah was one who sold his brother.
- Judah was a guy whose life was pretty messy.
- And yet Jesus is called “The Lion of Judah.”
Point:
God is full of surprises in his plan.
- He doesn’t always use the brightest lights, the ones most voted to succeed to bring about some of the most significant events for his kingdom.
- Sometimes he uses some pretty obscure and messy people.
- He saves some of the most important roles for the obscure.
Encouragement is:
- Maybe you don’t have it all together yet.
- Maybe you wouldn’t show up in the top 10 list of people most expected to be used by God
- Maybe your role in the kingdom is pretty obscure in terms of attention
- Maybe your life is still a little messy.
But God accomplishes his best work through lowly instruments.
Perhaps you need to be reminded today – God is full of surprises….and just maybe because of his grace you play a much bigger role in his plan than anyone sees at the time.
- Maybe you’re the Mom who instilled a life of faith and sowed a seed of greatness in a child
- Maybe you’re a Dad who inspired by your humility & sacrifice someone who would do whatever it takes
- Maybe you’re the Grandparent who believed in that grandchild when no one else did
- Maybe you’re the S.S. teacher who instilled a belief in a youth
- Maybe you’re a friend who walked in to a person’s life when the world walked out.
The lesson of Joseph & Judah is this:
Sometimes we have great dreams for our lives…and sometimes God has great dreams for our lives that we know nothing about.
Conclusion
a. God has a dream for you
- You don’t have to try and find or create or manufacture a dream. God has one. You just need to capture it.
- You need to capture in your context what God’s 4-fold dream means for you:
- Love him, love people, learn to be like him, and live his mission.
b. And the fulfillment of God’s dream isn’t based on your works, your smarts, your abilities. You can’t by your work accomplish God’s dreams for you. So relax.
Your role:
- Bloom where you are planted.
- Believe – God can use you
- Keep believing when adversity comes.
God can use it to bring about his purposes.
c. God is full of surprises
God will often use some very unlikely instruments to accomplish his plan…
Prayer
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The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Is 64:8
a Or save you as a great band of survivors
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ge 45:4-8
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ge 50:20
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 1:1-3