We're talking about dreams. Today, and specifically, when?
When? We have dreams, dreams given to
us by God, visions given to us by God.
Plans that we believe. Come from God in a.
System stacked against us. What do we do?
How do we live? How do we respond when those
dreams hit reality? Because dreams, always.
Hit. Reality.
Always, always, always there's a.
It was a very noted general in Europe.
I think he lived like in in general.
In the 1800s. I can't remember for sure.
And his name? Is very difficult for me to
pronounce. Helmuth von Moltke, the.
Elder. Which is a mouthful.
And he was. Very well respected.
I believe he was Austrian. He might have been Prussian, but
I think he was Austrian. And very.
Well respected, very much feared, a great, brilliant, very
successful military leader, military strategist.
And he was known. For this rather.
Lengthy quote as well. No plan of.
Operations extends with certainty beyond the first
encounter with the enemy's main forces.
Like his name, that's a mouthful.
It's been shortened and paraphrased a lot to a quotation
that you might have heard somewhere along the way, which
is quite a famous quotation. No plan survives contact with
the. Enemy the idea that that that
Moltke. Understood is that no matter how
good our plans are. When?
They face resistance plans. Change plans, change Mike.
Tyson had a similar idea. He expressed it much more
succinctly and much more colorfully way back in 2002.
He was doing an interview with HBO before his fight with Lennox
Lewis. And the interviewer said, you
know, we're talking to the Lewis folks, and they say Lewis has a
plan for how to beat you, Mike Tyson.
And Mike? Tyson's response was everybody
has a plan until. They get hit and.
That's how it worked. Tyson beat Lewis like he beat
just about everybody else that he faced.
And everybody has a. Plan until they get hit.
Now the dream, the plan, the vision that we're.
Looking at mostly. Today is Joseph's.
The one that. He had when he was still a very.
Young man, maybe. Just a little older than a kid
and John read a. Portion of that.
Well, he read those. There were two dreams, actually.
I'm not sure you faded out something yesterday.
I hope it went. OK, so, but it's a good.
Point to make though, and thank you for making it, Shay.
We would we. Have these dreams from God like
Joseph had? What happens?
When they hit reality. Joseph dreams.
He had two dreams. They were very, very similar.
In the first dream, Joseph, who was one of twelve brothers.
He's the. 11th of 12. So he's way.
Down the chain. Of authority.
Every older brother has more authority than he does for him
to inherit any meaningful portion of his father's.
Estate he he would. Have to have eleven older
brother or ten older brothers die and you know.
No one. Most people aren't rooting for
their. Older brothers to die.
I don't know that. Joseph was.
But he had a dream. He had two dreams.
In the first dream, the dream was about his eleven brothers
bowing down to him, and then his second dream was about all of
his brothers and his mother and father.
Bowing down to him and that. Bowing down, not just an act of
humility, that is. You are our ruler.
That's why his brother said what?
Do you think? You're going to rule over us.
Not a chance. Little brother.
And then the. Scripture has this.
Fun line and they. Hated him all the more.
The reason why they hated him all the more instead of just
hating him is Joseph had already given them reason.
To hate him. Little brother.
Who was the least? Expert of all of them, except
maybe his one younger brother, Benjamin.
One of the times he went out to the his brothers, they did the
work, they did the hard work, they managed their father's
flocks. Their father was.
Wealthy had. Lots of flocks.
Joseph went out into the fields with them.
One time and came back and. Told dad they weren't.
Doing a very good job, yeah. He was a rat as.
Well. And.
A tattletale and a know it all and.
On top of that. He was daddy's favorite.
Daddy's. Favorite little boy?
Now I'm going to bust a little bit of a myth here you've
probably heard of. Joseph and his coat of many
colors. Probably that.
Coat of many. Colors is a mistranslation.
We don't know for sure, but it probably is.
It probably was not a. Coat of many.
Colors it was probably. A coat of long sleeves that he
gave him and you're like. Well, that's boring.
What's the big deal about a coat of long sleeves?
Because work clothes. Jerkins had no sleeves.
You had to. Have your arms free to move and
do their work. A long sleeve.
Coat was a dress coat. It was a fancy.
Going out on the town. Coat it was a.
Look at me. You have work to do and I don't
coat and that was the. Coat.
Jacob gave his son. Joseph a coat that said let
your. Brothers, do the work while you
have a good. Time and the brothers didn't
like that either. So here's Joseph.
Daddy's favorite Daddy very unwisely make sure everyone in
the family knows he's Daddy's favorite.
Joseph. Prideful, arrogant, know it all,
snitches, rats, tells tales on his older brothers and then
tells them this dream he has about them bowing.
Down to him and. Serving him.
Unsurprisingly, Joseph Brothers reacted poorly.
To this. They were not.
They were not pleased. And the reality?
That hit Joseph. Really quick, was his brother's
reaction. And so.
In response to his tattletaling, in response to his know it
allness, in response to his being daddy's favorite, in
response to his dreams about ruling over them.
They do what any brothers. Would do they beat?
Him nearly to death. And sell him into.
Slavery to people. Leaving the country.
Now to that response, I can only respond with the immortal words
of Ron Burgundy. Boy, that escalated quickly.
I mean, that really got out of hand fast.
It jumped up a notch. It did, didn't it?
Yeah, it jumped up a notch. It got out of hand.
I I think it overreaction. To say the least.
On the part of the brothers there, but that's the reality.
That Joseph faced. He had this dream.
From God. That he would.
Rule over his brothers. And now he's a slave in a
foreign land where he doesn't even speak the language.
And just when? You think it can't get any
worse? Than that.
His owner's wife, falsely. Accuses him of making.
Sexual advances to her and so his owner puts him in prison and
now he's an imprisoned slave in a foreign.
Land where he doesn't speak the language.
And that's where Joseph found himself.
That's the. Reality.
That hit him in the face and that he had to adjust to.
Now there are a few things I wanted to.
Take away. From the story today.
The first one is, I think, the most obvious.
And will. Spend the least amount of time
on which is Be cautious about who you share your dreams with.
Not everyone's a dreamer, and not everyone gets.
It and when you go share. Your dreams with folks.
Some folks will get it. Some folks will be inspired.
Some folks will be excited like you.
Some folks might be doubtful. Other folks will just.
Mock and laugh and ridicule and so we not everyone needs to
know. Joseph didn't need to tell.
Anyone in his family? About those dreams, there was no
benefit. That would.
Come to him or them. From him telling those.
Dreams if he'd kept his mouth shut.
Things might have gone differently.
But he didn't be. Cautious about who we tell.
Our dream to. And just that simple.
Straightforward, we'll move forward Second, is this
receiving a dream vision or calling or promise from?
God does not make you better than other.
People it, it just doesn't. Teresa of Avila is one of the
great Christian writers and spiritual thinkers and
spiritual. Practitioners of of history and.
She taught it this way that that she had a lot of vision.
She had a lot of. Dreams she was.
She was a. A monastic.
And she was instructed. By her superiors.
To write about her experiences. They thought it was valuable for
other. People to know and.
Hear but but. She would teach.
Folks, look this. Doesn't make me better than you.
So the only reason God gives people dreams and visions.
Like this is because. Their faith is too weak.
For him to communicate with them any other way now.
I can't verify that. But.
I see and appreciate and I think we need to follow the humility
that Teresa was trying to. Share which is just.
Because you get a. Vision.
Don't think that makes you. Better.
Than someone else doesn't make you more.
Important than them. That.
Seemed to be Joseph. 'S mindset no.
You think I'm just your little brother?
But one of. These days, I will rule over all
of you. Joseph made himself the main
character of his dream. Made himself the protagonist.
He put. Himself at the top.
And he saw it as being all about him.
But it's not. It's not.
God doesn't give. Dreams and visions to elevate us
and to. Puff us up.
And and and to. Give us a source.
Of of of importance. Or self satisfaction.
That's not why. God gives dreams.
It just isn't. And so when we get these kind of
not everyone's a. Dreamer not.
Everyone's a visionary. But if you are.
Or you have someone in your life that is.
It is important to remember that doesn't make you or them any
better, any more important than anybody else.
We're part of God's story. Third thing.
A God-given dream is not a promise.
Of an easy Rd. Those dreams Joseph had.
Came from God we know. Because they came true, but they
were not a promise of an easy Rd.
It's easy to take a. Dream a vision from God, turn it
into. A plan and say boy.
Now I'm just going to go from here and we're.
Going to get there and it's all going.
To be great. When the journey from.
Here to there might. Involve going.
That way and that way and that way and that way and that way
and that way and that way. Before getting there, going
through a whole. Lot of stuff we would never.
Choose to go through on our own. It's not a promise of an easy
Rd. Elon Musk is someone I think
that that. Is a good example.
Contemporary example of someone who is a visionary and a dreamer
not saying anything. About whether his dreams come
from God or not. That's that's.
Between him and God, not for me. But he is definitely.
A dreamer and a. Visionary and he he's.
One of his first ventures, he was part of developing a company
called. PayPal which is an.
If you haven't used it before, it's an online payment service
and it's really good too. I use it a lot.
It's a secure way to buy things online.
Even if you buy something and it turns out to be a scam, PayPal
will give. You your money back if you use.
PayPal to pay. Even if it even if they can't
get it back. From the person who scammed you.
So it's a it's a good service. And and and when?
Musk sold his share or or or. Made his money from PayPal.
He he made enough money. He.
Could have just stopped. Then you know I never have to
work another day in my. Life.
But he has a dream. He has a vision.
Again, whether this is? From God or not?
I have no comment on but his vision and his.
Dream is that humanity, in order to survive, must be.
Interplanetary and and the only way to get.
To other planets, Mars is where he wants to go is with rocket.
Ships. But nobody was making.
Rocket ships that could get us to Mars or get people.
To Mars. And so Musk said, I'm going to
start a business called. SpaceX to make?
Rocket ships. And that was his.
Dream. For human beings to.
Go and colonize Mars. And every.
Intelligent person that Musk shared that dream with.
Told him he. Was an idiot.
That he was going to go broke. He was.
Going to go bankrupt? You'll never make any money.
There's no way to make money. With spaceships, so it's too.
Expensive. It's the reason.
Why only governments do rockets? It's just too expensive.
Criticism, challenge, difficulty all.
Along the way, now we know Elon Musk.
Is one of the richest, well, the richest person in the world on
his way to becoming the. World's first trillionaire and
SpaceX. Launches more rockets every.
Year than every other entity in the.
World combined. Every other business and
government combined does not launch as many.
Rockets, as SpaceX does every year.
He had this vision, he had this dream, and it wasn't easy
getting there. He works nuts hours.
The man barely sleeps again. The healthiness of.
His lifestyle, his relationship. With God, that's between him and
God. But it wasn't an easy road and
he had lots of opposition and resistance along the way and his
plans have changed along the way and adjusted to that.
A God-given dream is not a promise of an easy.
Road. So it's not a promise of an easy
Rd. if it's not to boost our ego and give us confidence, if it's
not to inspire us to strive for a particular future.
What is the purpose of a God-given dream?
Why does God give dreams? I believe God gives dreams to
reveal God's power. And God's sovereign.
Purpose Receive vil. God's sovereign power and God's.
Purpose. I think that's why God gave
Joseph those dreams. When I first was putting the
sermon. Together, I had a point in my
next point, my or. This is not the point I was
going to make. It was going to make a different
point. When I first my first draft the
point. Was that that this?
Dream gave Joseph inspiration and encouragement.
Through the dark times. If he trust and believed that
God would bring this dream true. Then then that.
Would have encouraged Joseph through those dark times of
slavery. And imprisonment, that's not a
bad point right there. That's a pretty good point.
The problem is it's. Not in the Bible.
When I try not to preach things that aren't in the Bible, I
don't always succeed. But I try as far as we.
Know Joseph never once meditated on those dreams.
To give himself hope. Inspiration and encouragement.
While he was enslaved or imprisoned.
As far as we. Know he never.
Thought about the dreams. During that whole time, but
there came a point when his dreams.
Intersected with reality. If you know the story, you know
while he was in jail. He met some.
Other servants of the king, the Pharaoh.
One of those was eventually released and restored to his
position after Joseph had correctly interpreted some
dreams. And then when Pharaoh had a
dream. That his magi.
And wise men couldn't interpret this, Servant said.
Hey. There's a guy in.
Jail named Joseph. He can interpret that dream for
you. He's good at this stuff.
So Pharaoh called Joseph. Joseph interpreted the dream.
Pharaoh said that is it, that is it and the dream.
The meaning of the dream that the Pharaoh had was that there
would be 7 years of tremendous prosperity.
In Egypt, in which there would be abundant.
Food supplies created tons of. Grain.
And then there would be. Seven years of.
Famine when there would be nothing grown and harvested and
fair or. Joseph's plan was.
Will take the. First seven years we'll create
big stockpiles, then we'll have enough to.
Make it through. The bats next seven years
Pharaoh was like. Great idea you're in.
Charge. And he made Joseph the second
command in the whole Kingdom of Egypt, the only person, Joseph.
Answered to Was Pharaoh. Himself.
And it took. Years to get there, for all of
that to play out and. All of that to happen and years
later when the famine hit, two years in the famine, people up
in Canaan, there was nothing left and Jacob said to his sons.
I heard there's. Food in Egypt go down to Egypt.
And buy some food. Bring it back up here.
And so they go down to Egypt, and they meet with the man and
Pharaoh's empire. Who's in charge of the food
distribution? And he's the most powerful man
in the Kingdom outside of Pharaoh.
And he sits on a throne. And they don't recognize their
brother Joseph when they go and bow down to him and ask if they
can buy. Food for their.
Family back up in Canaan and it's then that the.
Bible tells us. That Joseph remembered his
dreams. It was then that he remembered
when his brothers were in front of him, when he had power over
them, when all. Of the tables were turned.
And he'd gone. From being the.
Weak and significant little. Brother.
To being the second in command of the Kingdom, when everything
was stacked in his favor and Joseph remembered the dreams.
And at that point? Joseph had a choice.
He could. Choose one of two different
routes. He could say.
I'm in charge now. I have power over you.
Time to me to teach you a. Lesson you.
Who mocked me, You who ridiculed me, You who beat me, you who
sold me into slavery. Now you're going to get yours
and it ain't going to be friendly and it ain't going to
be nice. That was one choice.
Joseph could have done that. He could have thrown them all in
jail, had them all executed on the spot.
No one would have batted an eye. Or.
Joseph could. Do one other thing and it's what
he ultimately. Chose to do to.
Recognize and surrender to the hand and.
Purpose of God. Including his.
Brother's role. In that purpose, because of that
dream, Joseph knew now that. All of that he had.
Experienced including the. Pain and the suffering had not
been because. His brothers were evil, but
because. God had a plan.
This is what Joseph said to his brothers.
He tested him first. The story.
'S more complicated than that. He wanted to make sure that they
weren't still. Behaving.
Evilly toward their siblings. That they had learned, they had
grown, and they. Matured and they demonstrated
that they had. And when?
Joseph finally reveals himself. This is what he.
Says 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. For two years now there has been
famine in the land and for the next.
Five years, there will be no plowing.
And reaping. But God sent me ahead of you.
To preserve for you a. Remnant on Earth and to save
your. Lives by a great deliverance
God. Gave Joseph the dream so that at
that moment in time Joseph could see not.
Evil brothers who had betrayed. Him but the hand of God.
That had used his. Brother's.
Mistakes to put Joseph in a position to save their lives.
To see the purpose. Power and sovereignty of God,
and that's what Joseph. Saw he saw that all that had.
Happened to him, was not to make him the center.
Of the story. So that he could now rule over
and dominate. And destroy his brothers.
But so that God. Through him.
Could save his family. That's what Joseph did.
That's what the dream did for Joseph It.
Let him know that even the. Evil that his brothers.
Had done to him was not their own thing.
It was God's plan. It was God's purpose.
It was God's power. It allowed him to.
Forgive his brothers it. Allowed him to.
Love his brothers it. Allowed him to understand and
reframe all of the misery of the his.
Life for the past decades. That it was the hand of God.
So that I could save my family. And that's what he.
Did that's what he did. God's intent, Joseph understood
Trump's our intent and our. Feelings, however, Joseph might
have felt about his brothers, however the brothers might have.
Felt about Joseph. Whatever they intended to do,
and we get this even. More explicitly years later, so
Joseph brings. His whole family down to Egypt,
it's. Going to be 5 more years of.
Family you. All come down here.
I'll take care of you. You won't lack for anything the
whole time you're here. It'll all be good.
God brought me here for this.
And then? Years later, Dad dies.
And the brothers get. Worried.
Because you know how that works. When siblings are fighting.
Sometimes the only thing. That keeps them from really
going at it. Is mom or dad?
And now Dad's dead and the brothers are going, oh.
Hey Joey, little brother, hope you're not mad about that whole
selling you into slavery thing still.
And Joseph reassured them one more time.
He said this. You intended to harm me, but God
intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being
done, the saving of many lives. You intended it for harm, but
God intended what you did. For good.
Even the evil that. Joseph's brothers did.
God intended it. For good.
And God's intent Trump's theirs. And God's intent Trump's.
Their feelings about Joseph. God intent Trump's.
Joseph's feelings about. Them what?
Matters is that God? 'S plan and.
Power and purpose. Was to put.
Joseph in a position. To save his.
Family and many, many, many, many others.
And Joseph did it. Joseph did it.
I think that's why God gives dreams to help.
Us recognize the. Power and purpose and
sovereignty of. God.
God doesn't give. Everyone dreams.
But we can all live in this principle, in this hope.
Of God's power and sovereignty and purpose, no matter what.
We face one of the most. Beautiful prayers I I've ever
read it was written. By John Wesley and.
Because John Wesley in the United Methodist Church likes
long complicated. Names.
We call it a covenant. Prayer in the Wesleyan tradition
just rolls off the top. I suspect you all have.
Prayed this prayer here before. It's in our hymnal and and it it
comes so much. Out of the.
Spirit of Joseph's statements to his brothers.
What you intended, the evil God intended for good.
This has been God's hand so. That I can save lives, so that
lives well, so that God could save lives, That lives could be
saved. And this is a prayer.
Apart from having our own dreams, our own visions or or
even a a God. Given dream or God-given vision?
If we've got those, great. If not.
This is still. True that Wesley taught.
Us to pray this way. I'm no longer my own.
Well, I'm sorry back up a bit. Father in Heaven, I am no longer
my own. But yours?
Put me to what you will rank me with whom you will put me to
doing. Put me to suffering, let me be
employed. By you or set aside.
By you. Let me be exalted.
For you or brought. Low for you?
Let me be full. Let me be empty.
Let me have all things. Let me have.
Nothing. I freely and heartily yield all
things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now O. Glorious and blessed God.
Father. Son and Holy Spirit.
You are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth.
Let it be. Ratified in heaven.
Amen to surrender our lives, our experiences, our.
Future. Our best, whatever God wants.
And. That was the spirit with which
Joseph was speaking. He had been through.
Hell, but instead of. Seeing it as a reason to hate
and resent and judge and condemn he.
Saw it as God. 'S plan of salvation for those
whom he loved and those whom he had never known before.
God gives dreams those dreams. Are not a promise.
Of an easy Rd. they should not be.
Shared. Indiscriminately, they should
not be as taken as a sign of the.
Importance of the Dreamer. But indications of.
God's purpose, God's power, God's.
Sovereignty as an opportunity to surrender.
To God's will. In Jesus name, Amen.
Amen.