WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.919 There we go. All right, here we go. The Dreamer, 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:06.969 the life of Joseph. Now, if you have the companion 00:00:06.969 --> 00:00:08.769 piece, and again, I'm just going to let you guys 00:00:08.769 --> 00:00:10.929 know because it's the first week, you will see 00:00:10.929 --> 00:00:14.029 certain words underlined. That is to help you 00:00:14.029 --> 00:00:17.070 in finding your answers. Okay, the answers that 00:00:17.070 --> 00:00:20.449 are on there. I tried to make it something as 00:00:20.449 --> 00:00:22.170 easy as I could do, knowing you're all a lot 00:00:22.170 --> 00:00:24.269 smarter than I am. So hopefully you will figure 00:00:24.269 --> 00:00:26.850 it out. If not, we will also send something out 00:00:26.850 --> 00:00:28.890 or put it on social media with that, or you can 00:00:28.890 --> 00:00:32.409 email and we'll send it to you. How many people 00:00:32.409 --> 00:00:37.240 here... remember their dreams. How many of you 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:39.659 are willing to talk about any of your, oh, that 00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:42.600 went straight down those hands, right? Some dreams, 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.740 right, some dreams can be exciting, right? Some 00:00:45.740 --> 00:00:48.439 dreams you remember and are, you know, almost 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:51.100 like you're living in them the next day. Some 00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:53.299 of your dreams are terrifying, we call those 00:00:53.299 --> 00:00:56.380 nightmares or night terrors that are maybe still 00:00:56.380 --> 00:00:58.939 with you at the end of the day. Now here, all 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:01.460 honesty, we've already prayed for the extension 00:01:01.460 --> 00:01:05.060 of grace. How many of you that are in deep, meaningful 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:08.099 relationships, whether marriage or dating or 00:01:08.099 --> 00:01:11.120 otherwise, that you have had a dream where you've 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:14.200 gotten so mad in your dream at your... I already 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:17.000 feel the tension rising. Already so mad that 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:19.840 you actually carry that anger through your day. 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:24.739 Come on. Show your hands. Right? Cheyenne, yours 00:01:24.739 --> 00:01:27.599 went up way too fast. And so understanding that 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.200 there are times our dreams can really impact 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:34.140 us. There have been times that I've had dreams 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:36.799 where maybe I'm mad at Carrie or one of the boys 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:39.659 or the dogs, and I wake up and I don't want to 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:41.739 deal with them. And they're like, what is going 00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:44.599 on? And I go, well, when you did that thing. 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:47.340 And they're looking at me like, you're insane, 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:51.340 more than they normally do. It's like those dreams 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:54.180 can impact us. And that really is the life of 00:01:54.180 --> 00:01:58.099 Joseph. Joseph was a dreamer, that God met with 00:01:58.099 --> 00:02:01.359 him in dreams. Some of us call it prophecy, right? 00:02:01.420 --> 00:02:04.000 Some of us call it foreknowledge. But Joseph 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:07.359 had a gift and a connection with God about dreams. 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:11.539 So we're going to start with the power and the 00:02:11.539 --> 00:02:15.430 problem of dreams. Because, again, I'm not a 00:02:15.430 --> 00:02:17.389 dream interpreter, right? We're not going to 00:02:17.389 --> 00:02:20.710 even go down that road. But God, throughout his 00:02:20.710 --> 00:02:23.430 word, throughout the scriptures, the story of 00:02:23.430 --> 00:02:26.430 the sovereign God, dreams are used. And there's 00:02:26.430 --> 00:02:29.789 something powerful about dreams. And maybe not 00:02:29.789 --> 00:02:31.889 just the kind you have at night, but the kind 00:02:31.889 --> 00:02:35.469 that grips your heart. Maybe a lot of us live 00:02:35.469 --> 00:02:38.169 in a dream or a deja vu because of things we 00:02:38.169 --> 00:02:40.569 dreamed. We walk through things of life that 00:02:40.569 --> 00:02:42.229 you've never done before, but you go, whoa, I've 00:02:42.229 --> 00:02:45.110 been here before. Maybe that was a dream. That's 00:02:45.110 --> 00:02:47.289 all done in what we call the subconscious, and 00:02:47.289 --> 00:02:49.530 we can't really make sense of it. But the Lord, 00:02:49.669 --> 00:02:52.530 the sovereign God, the one who gives us the subconscious, 00:02:52.849 --> 00:02:55.650 works in that. We see that throughout scriptures. 00:02:56.750 --> 00:02:58.729 The kind of dream that makes you believe something 00:02:58.729 --> 00:03:01.849 might be possible. The kind of dream that whispers 00:03:01.849 --> 00:03:05.849 God might be doing something here. But let's 00:03:05.849 --> 00:03:08.669 be honest, dreams can be dangerous. Again, we 00:03:08.669 --> 00:03:11.090 can hold on to issues in our dreams and carry 00:03:11.090 --> 00:03:13.669 them on into everyday life, and that's never 00:03:13.669 --> 00:03:19.349 good. Because what happens when the dream creates 00:03:19.349 --> 00:03:23.069 tension? Or the dream doesn't make any sense? 00:03:23.870 --> 00:03:26.949 Or the dream seems to make your life harder? 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:30.620 And maybe, even more honestly, what happens when 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:33.620 God gives you a glimpse of something in the future, 00:03:33.699 --> 00:03:38.099 but not the full picture? That's where we meet 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:41.919 our friend Joseph. Not as a hero yet, not as 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.759 any kind of ruler, but as a young, immature, 00:03:45.180 --> 00:03:49.759 favored, maybe a little arrogant dreamer. And 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.379 yet, God is already at work. So let's jump into 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:56.090 Genesis 37. So it's going to be the first 11 00:03:56.090 --> 00:03:58.289 verses. Again, we use the ESV English Standard 00:03:58.289 --> 00:04:00.729 Version for teaching. You use whatever you might 00:04:00.729 --> 00:04:02.550 have on your phone or the Bible you brought with 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:04.550 you. It also is going to be on the screen. We're 00:04:04.550 --> 00:04:07.629 going to be in Genesis 37, the first 11 verses. 00:04:09.090 --> 00:04:12.189 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, 00:04:12.189 --> 00:04:14.669 in the land of Canaan. These are the generations 00:04:14.669 --> 00:04:18.930 of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was pastoring 00:04:18.930 --> 00:04:22.329 the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with 00:04:22.329 --> 00:04:26.069 the sons of Benah and Zalphah and his father's 00:04:26.069 --> 00:04:30.050 wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them 00:04:30.050 --> 00:04:32.689 to their father. Now, Israel loved Joseph more 00:04:32.689 --> 00:04:36.509 than any other of his sons because he was the 00:04:36.509 --> 00:04:40.009 son of his old age. And he made him a robe of 00:04:40.009 --> 00:04:42.879 many colors. But when his brothers saw that their 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:44.939 father loved him more than all of his brothers, 00:04:45.139 --> 00:04:47.660 they hated him and could not speak peacefully 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:52.300 to him. Now Joseph had a dream. And when he told 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.240 his brothers, they hated him even more. He said 00:04:55.240 --> 00:04:57.720 to them, hear this dream that I have dreamed. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:01.079 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field. 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:03.800 And behold, my sheave arose and stood upright. 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:06.339 And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and 00:05:06.339 --> 00:05:09.660 bowed down to my sheave. His brother said to 00:05:09.660 --> 00:05:13.379 him, Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:16.259 you indeed to rule over us? So they hated him 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:19.879 even more for his dreams and for his words. Then 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:21.920 he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:24.759 and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream. 00:05:24.980 --> 00:05:27.399 Behold, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars 00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:33.040 are bowing down to me. But when he told it to 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:35.699 his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:38.180 him and said to him, What is this dream that 00:05:38.180 --> 00:05:41.139 you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and 00:05:41.139 --> 00:05:43.959 your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:46.540 the ground before you? And his brothers were 00:05:46.540 --> 00:05:49.660 jealous of him, but his father kept the saying 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:54.759 in mind. A lot going on there, right? We see 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:56.439 a lot about Joseph. We see a little bit about 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.100 Jacob. We see, unfortunately, about the brothers. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:02.720 So let's... Break down this idea of dreams with 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:06.560 my first point. God speaks before we're ready. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:10.560 Now just that in of itself binds us. Because 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:12.339 sometimes when we get a word from the Lord or 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:15.420 when we feel the Lord calling us to do something 00:06:15.420 --> 00:06:17.519 or to move something, we don't believe we're 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:21.689 ready. That happens all the time. So Joseph receives 00:06:21.689 --> 00:06:25.670 something real from God. It was a dream. It is 00:06:25.670 --> 00:06:29.589 an imagination. It's not ambition. This is a 00:06:29.589 --> 00:06:32.970 revelation from the Lord. But here's the tension. 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:38.550 Joseph has the dream, but not yet the maturity 00:06:38.550 --> 00:06:42.879 to carry it. So when I'm reading this and I'm 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:46.379 doing my study, Joseph, being a young man, is 00:06:46.379 --> 00:06:49.540 given something profound from God and does not 00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:52.300 know how to carry it yet. You move that to the 00:06:52.300 --> 00:06:54.420 New Testament, it's why new believers should 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:57.000 not be put in places of leadership. Because they 00:06:57.000 --> 00:07:00.000 become conceited. Because there's something about 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.980 growing as a believer, getting weathered by the 00:07:02.980 --> 00:07:06.199 ups and downs of life, to realize three profound 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:08.079 truths. I'm going off script, it's not on your 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:10.680 sheet. That we don't know everything, we'll never 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:12.540 know everything, and we need to be okay with 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:15.980 that. That's called wisdom. That's called maturity. 00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:19.279 It's the arrogant one that always has an answer 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:23.879 for everything. It's the fool that believes they 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:27.500 know the same amount as God. And where does this 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:31.160 play out for Joseph? Because he shares his dream 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.720 quickly. Boldly. As I'm going to put it, without 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:38.459 wisdom. Hey brothers! You're all going to bow 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:43.420 down to me. How many of you have brothers? How 00:07:43.420 --> 00:07:45.240 many this would go over well if you told them 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:51.079 the same thing? Really? You guys, Jack, Teddy, 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:53.019 you think that's going to go well? All right. 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:56.720 That's not exactly a recipe for family unity, 00:07:56.860 --> 00:08:00.259 right? You're at family dinner. and you're in 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:02.399 the, well, we'll go, there's a lot, Schleicher 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:05.879 house, right? And one of the kids stands up and 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:08.339 said, you're all going to bow down to me one 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:11.459 day. Jason, how are you taking that? Loving, 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.860 okay, yeah. Jason is a better man than I, right? 00:08:15.139 --> 00:08:16.980 Because mine would have been like, you can go 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:19.779 to your room. Yeah, bow down to me, I'll lock 00:08:19.779 --> 00:08:22.720 you in a closet. And so understand that this 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.560 brought a lot of family tension. But don't miss 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:30.459 this. God often gives vision before he gives 00:08:30.459 --> 00:08:33.019 formation. We see this throughout the scriptures, 00:08:33.299 --> 00:08:35.940 especially in the Old Testament. Moses had a 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:38.460 calling before the wilderness had to shape him. 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:41.299 David was anointed before he was ready to reign 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:44.720 and lead. The disciples were called before they 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:47.100 understood the cross. We talked about that at 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:51.259 the communion table. And Joseph, well, he got 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:54.960 dreams before he was refined. This is not about 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:58.480 Joseph's greatness. This is about God's sovereign 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:01.779 initiative. The Belgian Confession, Article 13, 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:05.759 reminds us nothing happens in this world without 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:11.080 his, God's, orderly arrangement. Orderly arrangement. 00:09:11.500 --> 00:09:14.080 Regardless of what my desk might look like. That 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:16.580 nothing can happen. It goes back to what we sang 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:18.799 about Lord's Day 1. Not a hair can fall from 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:21.799 my head without the will of my Father in heaven. 00:09:23.299 --> 00:09:26.129 Even in this moment for Joseph. Even with the 00:09:26.129 --> 00:09:28.490 immature sharing, even with the family tension, 00:09:28.830 --> 00:09:33.090 all of this is under the providence of God. So 00:09:33.090 --> 00:09:35.389 what can we learn from this? Well, for the head, 00:09:35.549 --> 00:09:41.070 God's plans don't depend on our readiness. God's 00:09:41.070 --> 00:09:43.029 not rolling the dice on you and saying, okay, 00:09:43.230 --> 00:09:46.250 Al, you're ready. I can finally put you in. Okay, 00:09:46.330 --> 00:09:48.490 Matt, you're good to go. I'm going to send you. 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:52.009 No. God's plans do not depend on our readiness. 00:09:52.110 --> 00:09:56.159 For our heart. Don't despise where you are in 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:58.919 the process. Because some of us think we want 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.460 to be way farther along. I've got this. I know 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:03.120 everything I need to know. Let's go. Let's do 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.279 it. Trial by fire. God doesn't always put you 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:08.940 in that for our hands. Maybe we ask, what is 00:10:08.940 --> 00:10:12.980 God forming in me right now? I would have loved 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:14.980 it if Joseph would have asked those questions 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:17.600 first. Because maybe what we're going to go to 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.519 next week would not have happened. But all under 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:22.379 the providences of God, what do we see the dream 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:26.870 reveal now? The dreams reveal the heart. His 00:10:26.870 --> 00:10:29.789 brothers say to him, are you indeed to reign 00:10:29.789 --> 00:10:37.129 over us? So they hated him even more. Now let 00:10:37.129 --> 00:10:40.429 me pause here. Because some of you and your family 00:10:40.429 --> 00:10:44.730 systems actually deal with hate. And this is 00:10:44.730 --> 00:10:48.769 different than siblings saying, I hate that we 00:10:48.769 --> 00:10:51.690 always get to watch your TV show. That's not 00:10:51.690 --> 00:10:53.539 what we're talking about. There's a deep -seated 00:10:53.539 --> 00:10:55.779 hatred here. There's a resentment here. And I 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:58.179 know that I know that I know some of you deal 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:00.779 with that in your family. It's something you 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:02.740 go back to. It's something you might not be able 00:11:02.740 --> 00:11:06.960 to shake. But understand that God could be and 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:10.539 will be and probably is using you despite the 00:11:10.539 --> 00:11:15.059 hatred in your family. Because we all fall under 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:18.039 the category of sin, right? We're all sinners 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:19.740 in need of a Savior. If you're not a sinner, 00:11:19.860 --> 00:11:22.799 you shouldn't have taken communion. but understanding 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:26.799 that God has every right to hate us because of 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:30.139 our sin. But not only does he reign over us, 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.820 he extends us grace. But what this dream reveals, 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:36.759 what Joseph, in his words, now reveal about the 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:39.700 three different groups, first and foremost, it 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:43.460 reveals the future. It reveals the heart of not 00:11:43.460 --> 00:11:45.820 only the brothers, but of Joseph and Jacob. So 00:11:45.820 --> 00:11:48.039 the brother's heart, what does it reveal in the 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:50.860 brother's heart? First, jealousy, bitterness, 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:54.320 and rejection. Wendy, leave that one up there. 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:58.080 You might be dealing with that in your family. 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:00.440 You might be dealing with all three of those 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:04.299 things. God is still at work. God is not going 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:08.139 to leave you in that place. But if it's a heart 00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:11.700 issue, what do we have to do? We have to crucify 00:12:11.700 --> 00:12:14.120 our heart at the foot of the cross and walk out 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:16.700 with our hearts open to what the Lord has. But 00:12:16.700 --> 00:12:20.000 that takes time. There's a process. I know for 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.000 me, I've had to work that out with my counselor. 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:25.580 Been in the ministry 22 years, seen a counselor 00:12:25.580 --> 00:12:28.779 for 25. Why? Because my seminary made me do it. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:32.049 And I'm forever thankful that they did. And just 00:12:32.049 --> 00:12:34.610 a reminder, if mental health and seeing a counselor 00:12:34.610 --> 00:12:36.730 is something you need, by all means, let's talk 00:12:36.730 --> 00:12:38.309 about it and we'll get you set up with the many 00:12:38.309 --> 00:12:40.429 individuals and counseling centers that we partner 00:12:40.429 --> 00:12:43.049 with. But what does it reveal about Joseph's 00:12:43.049 --> 00:12:48.250 heart? Well, perhaps pride or immaturity. Right? 00:12:48.309 --> 00:12:50.870 He's given a story. Right? It's like a kid with 00:12:50.870 --> 00:12:52.649 a candy. Right? He wants to go and tell people. 00:12:52.809 --> 00:12:56.769 He wants to do a showing of naivety. That if 00:12:56.769 --> 00:13:00.179 we had to think about our lives. that there are 00:13:00.179 --> 00:13:02.259 times we're given maybe a good thought to say 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:04.639 or a comeback or something we want to post right 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:08.639 away, a reaction, and we hit post way before 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.799 we've prayed about it, way before we discerned 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:14.580 it. Because my guess is, I'm not even going to 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:16.600 make up a statistic for this, my guess is a lot 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:19.159 of the time that is a word that doesn't need 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:22.220 to be said, a phrase that doesn't need to be 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:25.159 posted, a shot or an arrow that does not need 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:28.399 to be shot. So it reveals Joseph's heart, potentially 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:33.409 pride. naivety, but definitely a lack of discernment. 00:13:34.710 --> 00:13:37.789 You want to know a mark of a believer growing 00:13:37.789 --> 00:13:42.129 in their faith? It is the word discernment. Or 00:13:42.129 --> 00:13:45.289 if you go to the Beatitudes, a meekness. Knowing 00:13:45.289 --> 00:13:47.730 when to speak, knowing when to not speak and 00:13:47.730 --> 00:13:50.929 listen. What does it reveal about dad's heart, 00:13:51.009 --> 00:13:54.230 Jacob's heart? I think there's confusion. There's 00:13:54.230 --> 00:13:58.210 definitely concern. Yet, He keeps this saying. 00:13:58.289 --> 00:14:01.269 He keeps what Joseph has in his mind. I found 00:14:01.269 --> 00:14:03.710 that fascinating. Because here's what's happening. 00:14:03.889 --> 00:14:07.289 God is using the dreams and the situations to 00:14:07.289 --> 00:14:12.370 expose what's already there. Remember, Joseph 00:14:12.370 --> 00:14:16.289 was favored. We're told that, right? I guarantee 00:14:16.289 --> 00:14:18.470 you, if you have multiple siblings, there is 00:14:18.470 --> 00:14:22.029 always going to be a conversation of who is the 00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:26.240 favorite. And 99 % of the time, it's the youngest, 00:14:26.259 --> 00:14:27.860 or at least in their mind, they believe that, 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:30.019 right? And the oldest can get resentful. All 00:14:30.019 --> 00:14:33.360 of my oldest say amen. Well, we have a lot more 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:35.879 than that, but here we go. Understand, and then 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:37.179 the middle one just doesn't know what's going 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:41.120 on. And so understand that what is going on is 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.840 exposing what's already there. The dreams and 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.039 the movement that God has in your life, first 00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:48.600 and foremost, is going to expose where you're 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:50.840 not faithful, where you're not following after 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:56.970 God. Spoiler alert, that stinks. That is a hard 00:14:56.970 --> 00:14:59.889 place to be. But sometimes we have to go through 00:14:59.889 --> 00:15:05.929 that to be refined by the fire. And this is still 00:15:05.929 --> 00:15:09.129 how God works today, right? Success often reveals 00:15:09.129 --> 00:15:13.730 pride. Waiting often reveals impatience. Conflict 00:15:13.730 --> 00:15:17.990 often reveals what we truly trust, usually ourselves. 00:15:19.070 --> 00:15:21.190 This is a picture of what's confessed in our 00:15:21.190 --> 00:15:24.470 canons adored. That apart from grace, the human 00:15:24.470 --> 00:15:27.929 heart always bends towards itself, towards sin. 00:15:28.129 --> 00:15:32.250 But even in a covenant family, sin is present 00:15:32.250 --> 00:15:36.889 and brokenness is real. And yet, God is not surprised 00:15:36.889 --> 00:15:40.950 by any of it. Which, if we're being honest, is 00:15:40.950 --> 00:15:44.789 a sobering thought. That even when we're sinning, 00:15:44.809 --> 00:15:52.850 God is grieving something he already knew. Sit 00:15:52.850 --> 00:15:56.389 in that for a minute. We're never going to pull 00:15:56.389 --> 00:15:59.230 one over on God, right? We're never going to 00:15:59.230 --> 00:16:02.730 go, ha ha, God, I got you. It's like trying to 00:16:02.730 --> 00:16:05.149 play hide and seek with someone who's omniscient 00:16:05.149 --> 00:16:08.809 and omnipresent. It doesn't work. So we've got 00:16:08.809 --> 00:16:11.190 to ask ourselves before we go to our next point. 00:16:11.350 --> 00:16:15.370 What has God used recently to expose your heart? 00:16:15.789 --> 00:16:18.690 Not an easy question. Rarely do you get easy 00:16:18.690 --> 00:16:24.500 answers. Is it success? Conflict? Maybe even 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:29.059 a warning? Where is he revealing something that 00:16:29.059 --> 00:16:32.580 needs refining? Because guess what? We all have 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:36.940 it. We all need it. Because before God fulfills 00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:41.879 the dream, he transforms the dreamer. This is 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.799 the amazing story of Joseph. And here's my third 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:51.769 point. That God's plan begins quietly. Not with 00:16:51.769 --> 00:16:55.750 fanfare, right? Not with a parade, but quietly. 00:16:56.690 --> 00:16:58.909 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his 00:16:58.909 --> 00:17:01.769 father kept the saying in mind. This moment feels 00:17:01.769 --> 00:17:06.230 small, but it is not insignificant. There's no 00:17:06.230 --> 00:17:08.430 miracles happening. There's no angels. There's 00:17:08.430 --> 00:17:10.990 no dramatic intervention. Things are just going 00:17:10.990 --> 00:17:14.690 to go as they're going to go. But what do we 00:17:14.690 --> 00:17:16.569 have as we start this sermon series? We have 00:17:16.569 --> 00:17:19.890 a dream, multiple dreams. We have a divided family. 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:23.440 But we have a quiet, pondering father. And yet, 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:26.859 this is the beginning of God saving his people. 00:17:27.220 --> 00:17:30.200 God is working even when nothing important seems 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:32.900 to be happening. We go, okay, this is going to 00:17:32.900 --> 00:17:36.599 end up on Maury or whatever TV show we had to 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:38.319 watch when we got called sick or when we were 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:39.960 sick off of school and when Price is Right was 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:45.869 over. Right? This family should go there. But 00:17:45.869 --> 00:17:47.950 God's doing something much bigger. He's giving 00:17:47.950 --> 00:17:51.789 us a glimpse of salvation itself. Because this 00:17:51.789 --> 00:17:55.309 dream will lead us to first a pit, to slavery, 00:17:55.529 --> 00:17:59.130 to prison, to a pharaoh, to famine, but ultimately 00:17:59.130 --> 00:18:04.490 to salvation. Joseph thinks it's about him. It's 00:18:04.490 --> 00:18:07.809 not. When we think life's all about us, guess 00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:10.509 what God's favorite thing to do is? Reminding 00:18:10.509 --> 00:18:14.390 us that it's not. This is about preserving Israel. 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:18.220 Advancing the covenant and preparing the line 00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:22.460 for Christ. Joseph is a shadow of something greater. 00:18:22.579 --> 00:18:25.980 Joseph's story is ultimately about God's salvation 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:30.140 plan. And here's the truth. God's greatest dream 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:37.480 is not your success. It's your salvation. Nothing 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:41.980 happens outside of God's will. So let's connect 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:45.279 this to Christ, our Christ connection. Because 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:48.480 Joseph points us to Jesus. How? Let's break it 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:52.319 down. We have a beloved son in Joseph. We have 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:56.640 Jesus, the beloved son. Rejected by his own, 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:01.539 Christ was rejected by his own. Exalted after 00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:05.940 suffering, as we will see, Christ is raised in 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:10.329 glory. Joseph is used to save many. And we'll 00:19:10.329 --> 00:19:14.329 get to that part of the story. Christ saves eternally. 00:19:16.910 --> 00:19:19.009 So friends, we're about to start a fun journey. 00:19:19.569 --> 00:19:22.970 Six weeks we're going to be in this. Lean in. 00:19:23.690 --> 00:19:27.109 Enter these places with me as we go where Joseph 00:19:27.109 --> 00:19:31.410 is going to go. Because sometimes, or all the 00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:33.750 time, we don't understand the dream. So what 00:19:33.750 --> 00:19:36.329 do we do when we don't understand the dream? 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.059 Some of you are in one of these places right 00:19:40.059 --> 00:19:43.180 now. You might be here today feeling like God 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:45.799 has placed something on your heart, but it hasn't 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:49.019 happened yet. And you just want to see God move. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:53.099 But God is saying, wait. Maybe you're in the 00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:56.900 middle of tension that doesn't make sense. Submit 00:19:56.900 --> 00:19:59.720 that tension and yourself to the cross. Because 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.140 when you think you're above the tension is usually 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:05.259 when that tension takes you down. Or maybe you're 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:07.240 here today wondering if God is even working at 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:10.700 all or if God's even real. If you're here today, 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.799 please come find me. Come find one of the elders. 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:16.160 We'll only be able to explain it to you in our 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:18.900 testimony, but there's power in that. That God 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:22.259 is real and he is at work. Because Genesis 37 00:20:22.259 --> 00:20:27.460 reminds us today, God is working even when you 00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:29.819 don't understand. Spoiler alert, not about you. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:34.869 God is forming. even when it feels uncomfortable. 00:20:36.150 --> 00:20:39.769 And ultimately, God is leading even when the 00:20:39.769 --> 00:20:44.650 path feels unclear. Let me sit on this one for 00:20:44.650 --> 00:20:48.410 one minute. God is leading even when the path 00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:52.690 feels unclear. As a church, there's many paths 00:20:52.690 --> 00:20:55.549 that we're going right now. Staffing, building, 00:20:55.869 --> 00:21:00.039 new ministries, all the things. And as a church, 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:02.579 we'd love to know what the next 3, 5, 10, 15, 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:04.839 20 years are going to look like. Some of you 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:06.700 are like, 20 years? I don't have to worry about 00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:10.339 it. I'll be in glory. But understand that the 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:12.880 best thing we can do as a church, bind together, 00:21:13.099 --> 00:21:15.980 even when we don't agree, even when we maybe 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:18.920 sit on different sides of whatever aisle, but 00:21:18.920 --> 00:21:21.660 binding together under the cross of Christ to 00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:27.259 keep walking if and when God says walk. Through 00:21:27.259 --> 00:21:29.640 disagreements, through conflict, through interest 00:21:29.640 --> 00:21:32.980 payments, through all the things, we are called 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:36.680 to do it together because that is the church 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:40.240 of Jesus Christ. That is the church of 214 Ridge 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:44.119 Road. So my final challenge for this sermon as 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:47.660 we lead to the next sermon, let's not rush the 00:21:47.660 --> 00:21:52.769 dream. Let's not force the outcome. And let's 00:21:52.769 --> 00:21:55.890 not assume that we see the full picture. Instead, 00:21:56.089 --> 00:22:00.569 together, let us trust the God who gave all of 00:22:00.569 --> 00:22:05.730 it to the right people. Because friends, next 00:22:05.730 --> 00:22:09.990 week, the dream doesn't get easier. It actually 00:22:09.990 --> 00:22:13.230 gets a lot darker. Joseph is going to be sold. 00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:18.890 And it will look like the dream might be dead. 00:22:20.140 --> 00:22:24.259 But what we'll see is this. God's providence 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:29.380 is not going to stop just because of a pit. Take 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:31.640 that for your life. We're going to see it in 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:33.940 the life of Joseph. Let's pray.