PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Genesis 37-38
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him.” (Genesis 37:5)
Martin Luther King had a dream, and he was killed for it.
Jesus had a dream (the kingdom of God), and he was killed for it.
As the story unfolds, we will see that Joseph’s dream comes true.
He does become ruler over his family, and their lives are saved through him.
But these stories show us that God’s dreamers don’t necessarily live the dream life.
I am a dreamer by nature, I am always envisioning possibilities.
But not everyone sees these possibilities, people often get stuck on what is.
Jesus’s dream of the kingdom is more than a dream, it is the future!
He endured our nightmare to make God’s dream come true; one day we will see it!
A day of justice, equality, goodness and peace for everyone who desires it!
In the meantime, our job is to live this way, until the dream comes true.
We love, serve, care, share, give and forgive… like Jesus, whatever the cost.
We will face doubt, resistance, obstacles, hardship, sacrifice and pain.
But like Joseph, like Jesus, we will see that dream come true, and it will be worth it!
PRAYER
Lord, you didn’t just preach the kingdom, you saw it, felt it, lived it, dreamed it. Thank you for not giving up on the dream, even when others did not see or support it. Help me not to lose the dream either.
Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. Little did Judah know that in sparing Joseph he was not only sparing Joseph’s life but also his own family from famine in the future. But Judah is no hero – the story of his marriage to a Canaanite women and the death of 2 or his sons whose behaviour displeased God and then holding back his 3rd son from marriage to his eldest son’s wife Tamar and the death of his wife – leads to a further sordid tale of immorality in which he now father’s twin sons via his daughter-in-law. After going through the stories of Jacob and his wives, Dinah and of Reuben sleeping with his Father’s concubine – now we get the story of Joseph being sold out and left for dead as far as his father is concerned -(how could the boys stand there and watch their Father grieve?) and then the story of Judah and Tamar. It is on this shaky foundation – God continues to carry out his promise to Abraham and calls out a nation to be a nation by whom all people’s are to be blest. Yes, Jesus earthly ancestry was mired in sin – and so is mine – yet Jesus overcame sin for me. It is He in whom I have living hope!
The reading of Joseph and what happened to him is like a foretelling of what Christ would do for us. Through Joseph’s faithfulness he would save the world during His day. He was rejected by His own and yet God used him in a miraculous ways saving his family. Christ too was rejected by His own and yet He too saved His family – for all who believed in Him are called His children. God saved His people and me.
[Verse]
I know he rescued my soul
His blood has covered my sin
I believe I believe
My shame His taken away
My pain is healed in his name
I believe I believe
[Pre-Chorus]
I’ll raise a banner
‘Cause my Lord has conquered the grave
[Chorus]
My Redeemer Lives
My Redeemer Lives
My Redeemer Lives
My Redeemer Lives