The Dreamer: The Life of Joseph - Dreams

There we go. All right, here we go. The Dreamer,

the life of Joseph. Now, if you have the companion

piece, and again, I'm just going to let you guys

know because it's the first week, you will see

certain words underlined. That is to help you

in finding your answers. Okay, the answers that

are on there. I tried to make it something as

easy as I could do, knowing you're all a lot

smarter than I am. So hopefully you will figure

it out. If not, we will also send something out

or put it on social media with that, or you can

email and we'll send it to you. How many people

here... remember their dreams. How many of you

are willing to talk about any of your, oh, that

went straight down those hands, right? Some dreams,

right, some dreams can be exciting, right? Some

dreams you remember and are, you know, almost

like you're living in them the next day. Some

of your dreams are terrifying, we call those

nightmares or night terrors that are maybe still

with you at the end of the day. Now here, all

honesty, we've already prayed for the extension

of grace. How many of you that are in deep, meaningful

relationships, whether marriage or dating or

otherwise, that you have had a dream where you've

gotten so mad in your dream at your... I already

feel the tension rising. Already so mad that

you actually carry that anger through your day.

Come on. Show your hands. Right? Cheyenne, yours

went up way too fast. And so understanding that

there are times our dreams can really impact

us. There have been times that I've had dreams

where maybe I'm mad at Carrie or one of the boys

or the dogs, and I wake up and I don't want to

deal with them. And they're like, what is going

on? And I go, well, when you did that thing.

And they're looking at me like, you're insane,

more than they normally do. It's like those dreams

can impact us. And that really is the life of

Joseph. Joseph was a dreamer, that God met with

him in dreams. Some of us call it prophecy, right?

Some of us call it foreknowledge. But Joseph

had a gift and a connection with God about dreams.

So we're going to start with the power and the

problem of dreams. Because, again, I'm not a

dream interpreter, right? We're not going to

even go down that road. But God, throughout his

word, throughout the scriptures, the story of

the sovereign God, dreams are used. And there's

something powerful about dreams. And maybe not

just the kind you have at night, but the kind

that grips your heart. Maybe a lot of us live

in a dream or a deja vu because of things we

dreamed. We walk through things of life that

you've never done before, but you go, whoa, I've

been here before. Maybe that was a dream. That's

all done in what we call the subconscious, and

we can't really make sense of it. But the Lord,

the sovereign God, the one who gives us the subconscious,

works in that. We see that throughout scriptures.

The kind of dream that makes you believe something

might be possible. The kind of dream that whispers

God might be doing something here. But let's

be honest, dreams can be dangerous. Again, we

can hold on to issues in our dreams and carry

them on into everyday life, and that's never

good. Because what happens when the dream creates

tension? Or the dream doesn't make any sense?

Or the dream seems to make your life harder?

And maybe, even more honestly, what happens when

God gives you a glimpse of something in the future,

but not the full picture? That's where we meet

our friend Joseph. Not as a hero yet, not as

any kind of ruler, but as a young, immature,

favored, maybe a little arrogant dreamer. And

yet, God is already at work. So let's jump into

Genesis 37. So it's going to be the first 11

verses. Again, we use the ESV English Standard

Version for teaching. You use whatever you might

have on your phone or the Bible you brought with

you. It also is going to be on the screen. We're

going to be in Genesis 37, the first 11 verses.

Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings,

in the land of Canaan. These are the generations

of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was pastoring

the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with

the sons of Benah and Zalphah and his father's

wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them

to their father. Now, Israel loved Joseph more

than any other of his sons because he was the

son of his old age. And he made him a robe of

many colors. But when his brothers saw that their

father loved him more than all of his brothers,

they hated him and could not speak peacefully

to him. Now Joseph had a dream. And when he told

his brothers, they hated him even more. He said

to them, hear this dream that I have dreamed.

Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field.

And behold, my sheave arose and stood upright.

And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and

bowed down to my sheave. His brother said to

him, Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are

you indeed to rule over us? So they hated him

even more for his dreams and for his words. Then

he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers

and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream.

Behold, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars

are bowing down to me. But when he told it to

his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked

him and said to him, What is this dream that

you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and

your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to

the ground before you? And his brothers were

jealous of him, but his father kept the saying

in mind. A lot going on there, right? We see

a lot about Joseph. We see a little bit about

Jacob. We see, unfortunately, about the brothers.

So let's... Break down this idea of dreams with

my first point. God speaks before we're ready.

Now just that in of itself binds us. Because

sometimes when we get a word from the Lord or

when we feel the Lord calling us to do something

or to move something, we don't believe we're

ready. That happens all the time. So Joseph receives

something real from God. It was a dream. It is

an imagination. It's not ambition. This is a

revelation from the Lord. But here's the tension.

Joseph has the dream, but not yet the maturity

to carry it. So when I'm reading this and I'm

doing my study, Joseph, being a young man, is

given something profound from God and does not

know how to carry it yet. You move that to the

New Testament, it's why new believers should

not be put in places of leadership. Because they

become conceited. Because there's something about

growing as a believer, getting weathered by the

ups and downs of life, to realize three profound

truths. I'm going off script, it's not on your

sheet. That we don't know everything, we'll never

know everything, and we need to be okay with

that. That's called wisdom. That's called maturity.

It's the arrogant one that always has an answer

for everything. It's the fool that believes they

know the same amount as God. And where does this

play out for Joseph? Because he shares his dream

quickly. Boldly. As I'm going to put it, without

wisdom. Hey brothers! You're all going to bow

down to me. How many of you have brothers? How

many this would go over well if you told them

the same thing? Really? You guys, Jack, Teddy,

you think that's going to go well? All right.

That's not exactly a recipe for family unity,

right? You're at family dinner. and you're in

the, well, we'll go, there's a lot, Schleicher

house, right? And one of the kids stands up and

said, you're all going to bow down to me one

day. Jason, how are you taking that? Loving,

okay, yeah. Jason is a better man than I, right?

Because mine would have been like, you can go

to your room. Yeah, bow down to me, I'll lock

you in a closet. And so understand that this

brought a lot of family tension. But don't miss

this. God often gives vision before he gives

formation. We see this throughout the scriptures,

especially in the Old Testament. Moses had a

calling before the wilderness had to shape him.

David was anointed before he was ready to reign

and lead. The disciples were called before they

understood the cross. We talked about that at

the communion table. And Joseph, well, he got

dreams before he was refined. This is not about

Joseph's greatness. This is about God's sovereign

initiative. The Belgian Confession, Article 13,

reminds us nothing happens in this world without

his, God's, orderly arrangement. Orderly arrangement.

Regardless of what my desk might look like. That

nothing can happen. It goes back to what we sang

about Lord's Day 1. Not a hair can fall from

my head without the will of my Father in heaven.

Even in this moment for Joseph. Even with the

immature sharing, even with the family tension,

all of this is under the providence of God. So

what can we learn from this? Well, for the head,

God's plans don't depend on our readiness. God's

not rolling the dice on you and saying, okay,

Al, you're ready. I can finally put you in. Okay,

Matt, you're good to go. I'm going to send you.

No. God's plans do not depend on our readiness.

For our heart. Don't despise where you are in

the process. Because some of us think we want

to be way farther along. I've got this. I know

everything I need to know. Let's go. Let's do

it. Trial by fire. God doesn't always put you

in that for our hands. Maybe we ask, what is

God forming in me right now? I would have loved

it if Joseph would have asked those questions

first. Because maybe what we're going to go to

next week would not have happened. But all under

the providences of God, what do we see the dream

reveal now? The dreams reveal the heart. His

brothers say to him, are you indeed to reign

over us? So they hated him even more. Now let

me pause here. Because some of you and your family

systems actually deal with hate. And this is

different than siblings saying, I hate that we

always get to watch your TV show. That's not

what we're talking about. There's a deep -seated

hatred here. There's a resentment here. And I

know that I know that I know some of you deal

with that in your family. It's something you

go back to. It's something you might not be able

to shake. But understand that God could be and

will be and probably is using you despite the

hatred in your family. Because we all fall under

the category of sin, right? We're all sinners

in need of a Savior. If you're not a sinner,

you shouldn't have taken communion. but understanding

that God has every right to hate us because of

our sin. But not only does he reign over us,

he extends us grace. But what this dream reveals,

what Joseph, in his words, now reveal about the

three different groups, first and foremost, it

reveals the future. It reveals the heart of not

only the brothers, but of Joseph and Jacob. So

the brother's heart, what does it reveal in the

brother's heart? First, jealousy, bitterness,

and rejection. Wendy, leave that one up there.

You might be dealing with that in your family.

You might be dealing with all three of those

things. God is still at work. God is not going

to leave you in that place. But if it's a heart

issue, what do we have to do? We have to crucify

our heart at the foot of the cross and walk out

with our hearts open to what the Lord has. But

that takes time. There's a process. I know for

me, I've had to work that out with my counselor.

Been in the ministry 22 years, seen a counselor

for 25. Why? Because my seminary made me do it.

And I'm forever thankful that they did. And just

a reminder, if mental health and seeing a counselor

is something you need, by all means, let's talk

about it and we'll get you set up with the many

individuals and counseling centers that we partner

with. But what does it reveal about Joseph's

heart? Well, perhaps pride or immaturity. Right?

He's given a story. Right? It's like a kid with

a candy. Right? He wants to go and tell people.

He wants to do a showing of naivety. That if

we had to think about our lives. that there are

times we're given maybe a good thought to say

or a comeback or something we want to post right

away, a reaction, and we hit post way before

we've prayed about it, way before we discerned

it. Because my guess is, I'm not even going to

make up a statistic for this, my guess is a lot

of the time that is a word that doesn't need

to be said, a phrase that doesn't need to be

posted, a shot or an arrow that does not need

to be shot. So it reveals Joseph's heart, potentially

pride. naivety, but definitely a lack of discernment.

You want to know a mark of a believer growing

in their faith? It is the word discernment. Or

if you go to the Beatitudes, a meekness. Knowing

when to speak, knowing when to not speak and

listen. What does it reveal about dad's heart,

Jacob's heart? I think there's confusion. There's

definitely concern. Yet, He keeps this saying.

He keeps what Joseph has in his mind. I found

that fascinating. Because here's what's happening.

God is using the dreams and the situations to

expose what's already there. Remember, Joseph

was favored. We're told that, right? I guarantee

you, if you have multiple siblings, there is

always going to be a conversation of who is the

favorite. And 99 % of the time, it's the youngest,

or at least in their mind, they believe that,

right? And the oldest can get resentful. All

of my oldest say amen. Well, we have a lot more

than that, but here we go. Understand, and then

the middle one just doesn't know what's going

on. And so understand that what is going on is

exposing what's already there. The dreams and

the movement that God has in your life, first

and foremost, is going to expose where you're

not faithful, where you're not following after

God. Spoiler alert, that stinks. That is a hard

place to be. But sometimes we have to go through

that to be refined by the fire. And this is still

how God works today, right? Success often reveals

pride. Waiting often reveals impatience. Conflict

often reveals what we truly trust, usually ourselves.

This is a picture of what's confessed in our

canons adored. That apart from grace, the human

heart always bends towards itself, towards sin.

But even in a covenant family, sin is present

and brokenness is real. And yet, God is not surprised

by any of it. Which, if we're being honest, is

a sobering thought. That even when we're sinning,

God is grieving something he already knew. Sit

in that for a minute. We're never going to pull

one over on God, right? We're never going to

go, ha ha, God, I got you. It's like trying to

play hide and seek with someone who's omniscient

and omnipresent. It doesn't work. So we've got

to ask ourselves before we go to our next point.

What has God used recently to expose your heart?

Not an easy question. Rarely do you get easy

answers. Is it success? Conflict? Maybe even

a warning? Where is he revealing something that

needs refining? Because guess what? We all have

it. We all need it. Because before God fulfills

the dream, he transforms the dreamer. This is

the amazing story of Joseph. And here's my third

point. That God's plan begins quietly. Not with

fanfare, right? Not with a parade, but quietly.

And his brothers were jealous of him, but his

father kept the saying in mind. This moment feels

small, but it is not insignificant. There's no

miracles happening. There's no angels. There's

no dramatic intervention. Things are just going

to go as they're going to go. But what do we

have as we start this sermon series? We have

a dream, multiple dreams. We have a divided family.

But we have a quiet, pondering father. And yet,

this is the beginning of God saving his people.

God is working even when nothing important seems

to be happening. We go, okay, this is going to

end up on Maury or whatever TV show we had to

watch when we got called sick or when we were

sick off of school and when Price is Right was

over. Right? This family should go there. But

God's doing something much bigger. He's giving

us a glimpse of salvation itself. Because this

dream will lead us to first a pit, to slavery,

to prison, to a pharaoh, to famine, but ultimately

to salvation. Joseph thinks it's about him. It's

not. When we think life's all about us, guess

what God's favorite thing to do is? Reminding

us that it's not. This is about preserving Israel.

Advancing the covenant and preparing the line

for Christ. Joseph is a shadow of something greater.

Joseph's story is ultimately about God's salvation

plan. And here's the truth. God's greatest dream

is not your success. It's your salvation. Nothing

happens outside of God's will. So let's connect

this to Christ, our Christ connection. Because

Joseph points us to Jesus. How? Let's break it

down. We have a beloved son in Joseph. We have

Jesus, the beloved son. Rejected by his own,

Christ was rejected by his own. Exalted after

suffering, as we will see, Christ is raised in

glory. Joseph is used to save many. And we'll

get to that part of the story. Christ saves eternally.

So friends, we're about to start a fun journey.

Six weeks we're going to be in this. Lean in.

Enter these places with me as we go where Joseph

is going to go. Because sometimes, or all the

time, we don't understand the dream. So what

do we do when we don't understand the dream?

Some of you are in one of these places right

now. You might be here today feeling like God

has placed something on your heart, but it hasn't

happened yet. And you just want to see God move.

But God is saying, wait. Maybe you're in the

middle of tension that doesn't make sense. Submit

that tension and yourself to the cross. Because

when you think you're above the tension is usually

when that tension takes you down. Or maybe you're

here today wondering if God is even working at

all or if God's even real. If you're here today,

please come find me. Come find one of the elders.

We'll only be able to explain it to you in our

testimony, but there's power in that. That God

is real and he is at work. Because Genesis 37

reminds us today, God is working even when you

don't understand. Spoiler alert, not about you.

God is forming. even when it feels uncomfortable.

And ultimately, God is leading even when the

path feels unclear. Let me sit on this one for

one minute. God is leading even when the path

feels unclear. As a church, there's many paths

that we're going right now. Staffing, building,

new ministries, all the things. And as a church,

we'd love to know what the next 3, 5, 10, 15,

20 years are going to look like. Some of you

are like, 20 years? I don't have to worry about

it. I'll be in glory. But understand that the

best thing we can do as a church, bind together,

even when we don't agree, even when we maybe

sit on different sides of whatever aisle, but

binding together under the cross of Christ to

keep walking if and when God says walk. Through

disagreements, through conflict, through interest

payments, through all the things, we are called

to do it together because that is the church

of Jesus Christ. That is the church of 214 Ridge

Road. So my final challenge for this sermon as

we lead to the next sermon, let's not rush the

dream. Let's not force the outcome. And let's

not assume that we see the full picture. Instead,

together, let us trust the God who gave all of

it to the right people. Because friends, next

week, the dream doesn't get easier. It actually

gets a lot darker. Joseph is going to be sold.

And it will look like the dream might be dead.

But what we'll see is this. God's providence

is not going to stop just because of a pit. Take

that for your life. We're going to see it in

the life of Joseph. Let's pray.