When Dreams Hit Reality (Chester UMC)

This week we're talking about. Dreams and.

Dreams I. Not everyone.

Everyone has. Dreams in the sense that when we

sleep at night, our brain plays. Movies that we didn't.

Ask it to play. And sometimes.

We can remember those movies and.

Sometimes we can't. Sometimes they're fun and.

Sometimes they're not fun at all.

Everyone has those. Kind of dreams.

If we didn't have those kind of dreams, my.

Understanding is is we'd all. Go mad and that wouldn't be a

good thing either. But not everyone has the kind of

dreams that Joseph had. Dreams that were were inspired

and given by. God.

Dreams that were an image and picture of what?

God was planning to do in the future.

Some folks get those kind of dreams.

Some folks. Get that vision and inspiration.

From God and maybe. It it comes while they're

sleeping, or maybe it's an idea or an inspiration that comes to

them. While they're awake and and.

Thinking and working or playing or or dancing or singing or

whatever. And, and some folks get that,

Not everyone. Does but but some.

People do, and we're going. To talk today about dreams.

And and and and reality, particularly when God.

Inspires us with a dream, a vision of the.

Future and and what? Does that look like,

particularly when we're living in these systems that are

stacked? Against us.

Joseph was certainly living in a system stacked against him.

He was. He had ten older brothers.

And and. Birth order.

Was everything in. Joseph's day, he was he had,

he's going to have to, it was going to be had to be 10 deaths

before he was going to inherit anything significant from his

dad. On the other hand, he was his

dad's favorite. Son and and his.

Dad did Joseph the disservice of making sure that all of his

older brothers knew that he was his dad's favorite.

Son, you've probably. Heard the story of Joseph and

the. Coat of many colors.

We're just. You know, a little myth busting

here this morning and and. Hope I don't burst anyone's

bubble too much. It probably wasn't really a coat

of many colors. Much less dramatically, it was a

probably a better translation as a coat with long sleeves.

Which which? You might think, wow, that's

kind of boring. Not exactly.

For us, maybe, but but a long sleeve coat was not a work coat.

A long sleeve coat was a luxury coat.

A long sleeve coat. Was a dress coat a long sleeve

coat was something you wore if you were important, rather than

something you wore if you were a servant and the youngest brother

got the long sleeve coat while all of his older brothers were

out doing the hard work of. Tending the family's flocks.

So it was definitely a sign of favoritism, that gift of Joseph

of here's a long sleeve coat for you, just maybe not as visually

appealing as we. Would like.

Joseph had these dreams and and in the first dream, and you

know, Britt just read it, he his brothers sheaves, which

symbolize his brother they. Bow down to him and then in the.

Second dream Not only do his brothers bow down to him, but

his mother and father bow down to him as.

Well, now. We're going to talk in a minute

about the wisdom of telling his brothers about these dreams.

But he did. He announced to the whole

family, hey, I had these dreams. I had these dreams where you all

bowed down and I was ruling over you.

How about that Bros? And and.

The brother's response? We didn't get all of it.

We got. This in that reading that his

brothers hated him all the more but.

The brothers response was this, the next time they were out in

the fields and Joseph was sent out to them and we remember as

well the last time Joseph was out in the fields with his

brothers he went back and tattle on his.

Brothers and told. Their dad, they.

Weren't doing a good job, he just.

Had all sorts of, you know. PR problems going here.

Human relation problems. But Joseph goes out to see his

brothers again, and after the. Tattling and after.

The dreams the brothers decide to teach him a lesson, so they

do what any good brothers would do they beat the snot out of

him, threw him in an empty. Cistern.

And planned to kill him but decided hey why don't we make

some money from him instead so they sold.

Him to a group. Of people traveling through

Canaan on their way to Egypt. They sold their brother into

slavery. They got his.

Cloak dipped it in sheep's blood.

And told their dad he'd been eaten by a lion.

That was their response, to which I can only respond with

the immortal words of Ron Burgundy.

Boy, that escalated quickly. It hadn't really got out of hand

fast And jumped over now it did, didn't it?

Yeah, that that that Escalade. That was a perhaps a bit of an.

Overreaction to a bratty, arrogant, snotty younger

brother. Perhaps a bit?

Of an overreaction. But that's what.

Happens sometimes when. We have dreams.

There was a great general I I. Had in my head I.

Can't now I can't remember whether he's he was either.

Prussian or Austrian? I think it was Austrian Tolmuth.

Van Mulka the Elder You know you're important when you.

Got a name like that and he he. He was a very, very, very

successful general out of Eastern Europe.

In in the the. Middle Ages and his his.

Most famous line. That we know from him was this.

No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first

encounter with the enemy's main forces.

Because that's also a mouthful. That quote usually gets

shortened and paraphrased to. No plan survives contact with

the enemy, No. Dream.

Survives contact with the enemy. Whatever plans Joseph might have

been developing out of this dream, whatever he'd been

thinking about what the future would hold.

For him. He was not prepared for what was

going to happen when he told his brothers whom he had made.

His enemies. About his dreams, Mike Tyson put

it even more succinctly and more colorfully when he was going to

be fighting Lennox Lewis way back in the early 2000s.

And he was being interviewed about that.

And the interviewer was like, hey, you know, when Linux Lewis

told us he's got a plan on how to face you.

And Mike Tyson's pithy response was everyone has a plan until

they get hit. And Tyson hit Lennox.

Lewis and Lewis's plan. Went out the window.

Joseph got hit. He got hit hard.

And whatever plans. And whatever dreams he had went

out the window far. From ruling over his brothers.

He was now going into. Slavery in a foreign.

Land with no. Hope of ever.

Seeing his family again. Couple of things I want to talk

about. In this business of.

When our dreams. Hit reality.

One of them might. Be the most.

Obvious one. Out of this whole narrative,

which is be cautious who you share your dreams.

With right? Not everyone's going.

To get it. And and and.

I got I. Got a hunch we got more than one

dreamer in the room. This morning here and.

What's important when we have a dream is.

Generally not a. Great idea to broadcast.

It because not everyone gets it. Not everyone.

'S going to sympathize with it. Not everyone's going to be on

board with it. Some folks will use it as a tool

to beat you up, to tell you how ridiculous you are, to tell you

how foolish you are, to tell you how crazy you are.

You need to let go of those crazy dreams, get back down to

earth. And and and get on get.

On with the business of daily life.

This is a struggle that I've had as I've been a.

Pastor and and. Particularly working with kids.

For the past. You know, 30 plus years is that.

Kids tend to be. Dreamers.

Teenagers especially. And they haven't they.

They they haven't. All been hit by life.

Some teens have. But but most.

Teens haven't. Really been hit by life yet?

To know how hard dreams can be, how hard it can be for dreams to

come true, and and. There's a risk.

When talking with young people, when they.

Share their dreams. I'm going to play in the NBA.

I'm going to play in the NFL. I'm going to be a, a, a singing

star. I'm going to be an actor or so

on Broadway. Or in the movies.

All of these things, it's easy. To trash other.

People's dreams, but. Stories like this of Joseph who

who? No one around him, not even his.

Doting father thought this dream of everyone in the family.

Bowing down to him was. Going to be.

Real, they all thought he was out of line.

They all. Thought he was crazy.

They all thought it was a ridiculous.

Dream and they were all wrong, every single one of them, but

they didn't know that and. Joseph, as he was going off to

slavery in Egypt, didn't. Know that either, but he made

the. Mistake of of.

Sharing his dreams. With people who.

Would not be sympathetic. With people.

Who would not be encouraging with people who would not be?

Supportive if God has. Given you a dream, God has given

you a. Vision of the future you you're

going to you're going to they're.

Going to be times. For sure, when you have to share

that dream with people who will think it is absolutely

ridiculous. Elon Musk understands this.

Now I'm. Not going to stand up.

Here and tell. You that Elon Musk's dreams are

God-given dreams, but Elon Musk has had some wild dreams.

You know, we started. PayPal made a whole bunch of

money enough. Money, that a whole lot of

people with that kind. Of money would have just said,

hey, you know, I can retire and take it easy for the rest of my

life, but Elon Musk. Decided to take his.

Vast fortune and build. Rocket ships.

And everyone around, Musk told him.

That was a stupid. Dream and it's.

A dream for Musk, it's a dream he He really believes we need to

become an interplanetary species.

If. Humanity is going to survive.

And he wants to. Have a colony on Mars and and

maybe beyond that somewhere someday.

And that's his. Dream and everyone told him he

was. Nuts, they said.

You can't make. You're going to lose everything.

They told him. But he had this vision.

He had this. Dream And now he's what?

The richest man in the world on his way to becoming the first

trillionaire in history and. SpaceX launches more rockets

into space every year. Than.

Everyone else in the. World Combined.

Governments and private agencies.

Combined Musk when he started sharing that dream, he had to

deal with the. Reality that most folks weren't

going to. Accept it, but you also need to

find people that will buy into your dream that will be.

Captivated by the. Dream that when you share it,

they don't say hey, you're nuts. You say hey, how can I?

How can I help? Where they could say at least

say. Wow that sounds amazing.

I hope everything goes great. It's going to be.

Tough. It's going to take a lot of

work. But keep at it.

Be cautious about who. You share your dreams with.

The other thing to be cautious with when?

We get a dream from God. Is to remember that.

Receiving a vision, calling a dream from God does not make you

better than other people. I think that was part of Joseph.

'S problem here. You get the sense that with his

dad's favoritism. Combined with his dream.

That he had that Joseph maybe thought I really do deserve.

To rule over my family, I. Deserve to be in charge.

I'm better than these guys, you know, if it's the, the

tattletaling is really the. Key there that that notion of

I'm I'm going to go. Back to my dad.

And rat out my brothers because I think they're not doing their

job very well. I'm going to give him a bad

report to Dad. He's the youngest.

He knows less. About what they were.

Doing than anybody. There, but he was sure that he.

Knew more? And was going to tell him.

That's not what a vision or a dream from God means, Saint

Teresa. Of Avila, who had.

Visions and had dreams. Used to say this.

She said that that God usually communicates with people that

way because they're they're too weak and have too little faith.

To hear anything else, she said. Having the dreams.

And the vision, she said. Is not a sign.

Of being closer to God or stronger in your faith.

It's the sign of being. Weaker in your faith and God

says the only way they're going to get it is if I make it.

Really, really like stupid. Blame to them?

I don't know whether that's true, can't verify that.

Teresa. Taught that, I think.

Partly for two reasons. One.

To help keep herself humble so she wasn't drawn into the

temptation of thinking somehow she was better than other

people. And also to make it clear to

folks. That don't get those kind of

dreams. This is not because there's

something wrong with you, God. Gives dreams.

For a reason, God gives dreams for a purpose and that.

Reason or purpose is. Not to elevate.

The ego of the person who has the dream or the vision.

Is not. We tend to take those dreams

human beings, because we're human beings.

We're broken by sin. We're we're.

Falling we got. Issues we got.

All we got all. Sorts of issues and we get these

dreams and we. Get these visions and.

See this lot in the. World around us that.

People really do think that that's that's all about.

Them that they're at the center of it.

That they're the bigwig and the big.

Deal and I've got this grand vision and I'm just going to

going to. Force the world.

Into the mold that I think it ought to fit into and you can go

back and look. At, at at.

Great visionaries of the past who had that.

Thomas Edison was 1. Thomas Edison, smart guy.

Had a lot of great ideas, did a lot of awful things to his

competitors. Because for Thomas Edison, it

was all about Thomas Edison. What can I do?

How great can I be? What can I achieve?

What can I become? He did a lot of great.

Things massive. Ego.

Massive ego dreams can do that. If we, if we do like Joseph,

seem to be doing. And take that dream and and

mistakenly assume that we're the main character in the dream.

That the story is about. Us that the plan?

Is about us, but. It's not.

It's not it's God's story. It's God's.

Plan. He's just letting us know.

That we've got a. Part to play in it.

And and gives us a hint and a glimpse.

Of what that part is going to be.

And a God-given dream is not a. Promise of an easy.

Road This is the other thing that come a lot of times when

folks have dreams and have visions and ideas and it's like.

Well this is great I feel like. God has promised this and then

and then again. No plan survives contact with

the enemy and everyone's got a plan until they get hit.

And having a dream, a vision from God is not a promise of an

easy Rd. These.

Dreams that Joseph. Had were from God.

They were predicting the future. They were showing Joseph what

his future held, but the path to that future LED through getting

beaten up by his brothers, sold by his family into.

Slavery. Used as a slave.

Betrayed as a slave. When his employer's.

Wife lied about him and said he made sexual advances to her.

When she's the one that made advances to him.

And so he went from the unenviable position of being a

slave to be. Yeah, to.

Even more unenviable position of being a.

Prisoner and he was thrown in jail where he was forgotten.

For years. And years and years.

That was the road that Joseph. Traveled, betrayal by family,

taken to a foreign land where he didn't know the language and was

different from the culture where he lived as a slave and then as

a prisoner before the dream finally became a reality.

That dream from God is not a promise of an easy road, and

often it's the thing that maybe. We can.

We can. Hold onto and God.

Gives us that dream so. That so that when things get.

Bad as they do, that we can keep.

Going. Even through the difficult times

and even through the dark times, we don't know that those dreams,

that these dreams did that for Joseph.

There's no point in Joseph's story where the bad.

Things are happening. Where we're told that Joseph

went, you know. But God gave me that dream, so I

know it's going to get better. We have no.

Sense that that the dreams had any sort of inspirational power

in Joseph's life as he was. Traveling this dark and winding

Rd. Into his future, a road that was

filled with with. Uncertainty and and and

powerlessness in a system stacked against him.

So what's the purpose of a dream?

Then if it's not to give that vision.

To give that that sense of hope that carries us through.

What is the purpose of a dream? It it could be part of that, but

the purpose of the dream really is to reveal.

God's sovereign power and purpose.

God gave Joseph the. Dream not.

So Joseph would know that he. Was more important somehow.

God gave Joseph the dream so that in the end.

Joseph would know. That God was the one that was.

Working in his life. That God was the central player

here, that God's power and God's purpose were over everything

else that was. Happening to him.

It wasn't the dream, wasn't there to elevate Joseph in

Joseph's eyes, certainly not there to elevate Joseph in his.

Brother's eyes. The dream was there to elevate.

God in Joseph's eyes. So that Joseph would know this

is God. The next time.

We see Joseph. Talking about, thinking about.

Even remembering this dream is over 20 years later, he was a

slave, he was thrown in prison. He got out of prison because he

interpreted Pharaoh's dream. Pharaoh had a dream and none of

his Magi, none of his wise. Men could interpret the dream

and a fellow prisoner of Joseph who.

Was now a servant. To Pharaoh said, hey, there's a

guy in jail that interprets dreams.

And so Pharaoh asked him and Joseph interpreted the dream and

Pharaoh's like, that's it, that's it.

Joseph's got it. And he was.

So overwhelmed by Joseph's wisdom.

Insight and understanding. That he put Joseph in charge of

his empire, second only to the. Pharaoh and the meaning.

Of the dream was that there was going to be 7 years of

prosperity in. Egypt.

Tremendous prosperity with tremendous harvests.

And then there was going to be 7.

Years of famine. And so Joseph was put in charge

of harvesting, and during those years of prosperity, we're going

to get to that. It wasn't all.

Lambs and bunnies. The Pharaoh used it to do a.

Massive land grab and and and got extraordinarily wealthy

through all of. This and Joseph helped him do

it, but he put Joseph. In charge and they stored up

grain they had they created these massive warehouses and.

Storehouses. So that when the famine times

hit. They would have food.

To live on when the famine times hit.

It hit. Even up in Canaan and Jacob

sent. Their brothers down his,

Joseph's brothers down to Egypt and said, I've heard there's

food in Egypt, go get some food in.

Egypt and they came down and there was.

Joseph. In charge of the whole.

Thing. And they didn't recognize it had

been. 20 years. Joseph was a little more than a

kid. When they sold him.

And they thought he was dead. Or, or at most enslaved

somewhere they had no idea where he was.

Certainly didn't expect to see him sitting on a throne.

Acting in the name of the Pharaoh, but.

When they came to ask for food. They bowed down to him and.

The Bible says Joseph. Remembered the dream.

He also remembered his brothers had been really.

Really awful to him and he wanted to find out.

Whether they had. Grown any?

So we put him through some. Tests.

I'm not going to go through all of it this morning, but.

To see whether they would betray Joseph's younger brother

Benjamin in the same. Way they betrayed him.

But they hadn't. And they wouldn't.

And they didn't. And.

Finally, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers.

And, and he knew that he had power over them at that point,

and they knew. That he had.

Power over them at that point now.

The stacking had tipped the other.

Direction and Joseph to reassure them, said this to them, and

then well in the moment of his. The dream intersected with

reality. He had a choice.

He could despise and seek revenge against his brothers.

He could say you. Dirty, rotten, awful folks, I'm

going to. Get you back Or he could do what

he decided to do, which is to. Recognize and surrender to the

hand and purpose of God. Including his brother's.

Role in God's purpose. Hear this?

This is what Joseph said. 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. When Joseph finally remembered

the dream. When his brothers were.

Bowing down to him. Joseph understood.

That God gave him that dream, so he.

Would know that his enslavement was God's.

Purpose and plan, not his brothers that his imprisonment

was part of. God's purpose.

And plan not his brothers. That his elevation was part of

God's. Purpose and plan, not his own

wonderfulness. So that Joseph could see.

That all of these things that had happened to him, the good,

the bad and the. Ugly were part of.

God's purpose and God's plan not.

For Joseph's sake, but for the sake of others, so that others

could live Joseph's whole. Family could live now.

They would be saved from the famine because of what God had

LED Joseph. Through and what?

God had brought Joseph. Through And it was dark and it

was painful and it was. Hard, but there was a purpose.

Behind it and that. Purpose was to save to save

lives. And that's what Joseph saw in

that moment, as that dream came back to him, when his brothers

bowed down before him. That this whatever bad thoughts.

He'd been thinking about. His brothers for those. 20 some

years he was in. Egypt, whatever they.

Were he was like now I get it now.

This was God. God did this.

And it's not an awful thing. It was a painful thing, but it

wasn't an awful thing. It was a saving thing.

It was a saving thing. You see God.

'S intent trump's our intent and our.

Feelings even years later. Years later, just the whole

family moved to Egypt. Jacob got him some really nice

land. The favor said bring.

Your family down. Glad they're here, gave him

some. Great land and then.

Jacob died years later and the. Brothers were like, and now he's

going to get us. Now we're in trouble, They kind

of came to just say. Hey, Joe, you know, just.

Really want to say thank you for all the nice things you've done.

Just was like, don't worry, don't worry.

And what he said to them then is a is a line you've probably

heard. Before.

What you intended for evil, God intended for good.

This I I. You, you meant to do me harm,

but God meant this. For good.

And God's intent Trump's our intent and our feelings every

time. God's plans and God's purposes

trump You intended to harm me, but God intended it for.

Good to accomplish what is now. Being done the saving of many

lives. Years later, Joseph could still.

See it and. Because he could see it.

He could forgive his brothers as Halls, he could see that.

He could love his brothers because he could see that he was

able to show mercy. And compassion to his brothers.

Because he could see God's. Hand in all of.

This it was easier for. Him to let go.

Of the temptation to spite. And hatred and revenge.

I think that's why God. Gives us visions.

Why God gives us? Dreams so that when it happens,

we can see. That it was God.

Not our own ingenuity, not our own wisdom, not our own

greatness, not our own wonderfulness.

And so when? When we hit the rough spots

along the. Way we can see you know what?

This is God too. This is God too, walking

through. All of this mess, all of this

pain. All of this heartache to get to

this. Place that God promised we.

Would get to. I am not everybody's a dreamer.

I got a feeling we got some dreamers in the room, some folks

with some. Visions of the future.

And when you know it's like God, maybe you already know it's God.

Maybe you've got this vision I. Don't know.

I don't know how that's ever going to happen.

However it happens, if it's from God, God will bring it.

That'll make it happen. That'll bring you to that point.

And The thing is, is to remember.

That it's God we got. Joseph had a lot of work to.

Do along the way. It was not an easy.

Road God didn't just pluck him up and.

Drop him down in the throne someplace.

But all of that work, all of that pain, all of that

heartache, all had purpose and it was the dream was a sign that

God was there all along the way. Hold on to that with your dreams

that promise from God and trust. God with it.

And and let it. Humble you.

And let it. Inspire you to grace.

And compassion for others in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen.