A Dream Is Born Part 1

You have a dream.

Maybe it seems unreachable. So stay tuned.

Going to meet a man from the pages of the Old Testament whose dream had to die before it could come to pass an incredible story and we hope will stay with us church in Chicago.

This is running to win sir is clear thinking helps us make it across the finish line.

Estimates are tell us about our new series on running to with well first of all, Dave. I want to wish everyone who is listening very blessed new year and even as we think about nature. We recognize that it is God's hand, not ours. And we've certainly been learning that in the last few years, but we anticipate the future with a great sense of optimism because after all, as we face the decisions that are before us. We know that God is for us, and I suppose that that's a good way to summarize the series that we are beginning today titled keep your dream alive even as a boy.

As I read the Old Testament and the story of Joseph. I was reminded of the fact that this young man had a dream and in the end, even though the dream was given to him as a teenager eventually. That dream was fulfilled despite the ups the downs, the tears, this is an exhilarating series that's going to give so much encouragement and hope to all who listen. So right now I don't want you to listen carefully as we introduce the series. Keep your dream alive. All of us have our dream stone way.

Some of our dreams are fulfilled, maybe even beyond our expectations. Other dreams are in the process of being fulfilled. We aren't there yet but it might be happening but there are also many other dreams that are not fulfilled. In some instances dreams that will never be fulfilled dreams that may have to do with a career or a relationship or even emotional wholeness.

There are certain dreams that people might have that will never come to pass, you don't have to live long in life. Before you realize that we are always surrounded by people with shattered dreams.

All of us have those kinds of dreams we never understood that certain events would transpire in our lives that would shatter our optimistic ideals, but more often than not they are shattered.

What we going to do in the next few messages as we look at the life of Joseph is to answer some questions.

How do we know when a dream is from God. How do we distinguish between God's dream and our own dream. When we do, what does God do with our broken dreams and how does God fulfill a dream, how much power does he have at his disposal if he wants to see one of our dreams fulfilled what Van understand of course that I'm not talking about those dreams that we have in the night talking about desires and dreams of the night, flee away.

I had one of the craziest dreams last night, but then I have so many of them last night.

I actually dreamed that I was flying along and able to take care of some garden while I while I was flying over them. Can you imagine that word all that come from. I have no idea. Take your Bibles and turn to the 37th chapter of the book of Genesis in Genesis chapter 37 where we have the story of a 17-year-old boy who had a dream and he had a dream that eventually was fulfilled as though the dream died many times before it happened before I begin to talk to you about Joseph, we have to spend a little bit of time trying to analyze who he really was, what are his roots to answer that question we have to say what kind of a family. Was he from. I know that the word dysfunctional is oftentimes overused but I really do think that without stretching its meaning at all.

Joseph came from a dysfunctional family. Let me tell you a little bit about his family. First of all, there was a passive father by the name of Jacob. He was only distantly related to his sons, never deeply involved. For example, his oldest son Ruben had a sexual relationship with one of Jacob's that is one of his father's concubines as mistresses and the Scripture simply says, and to Jacob heard of it. He had one daughter. I've often felt sorry for Dina. Imagine her with 12 boys in the family she gets raped by some pagans that he doesn't know anything about it. Where in the world are you Jacob when you are needed, but he hears of these things and he doesn't intervene.

He doesn't counsel his daughter. He does not reprimand his son. He just lets it go. It was a passive man also was a man who had a lot of favoritism in the family.

Now you have to understand that he had two wives and two mistresses. He was married both to Rachel and to Leah who were sisters and the Scripture says that he loved Rachel but he didn't really love Leah can you imagine that situation in the home and then the Scripture says also that he loved Joseph, who happened to be. Of course, as you might've guessed a son of Rachel and that he loved Joseph and Benjamin and they were his beloved son. Favoritism. Where did that originate well whatever goes around comes around. This was part of the family line. This is the way in which things were done because in his own family.

A generation earlier the same thing happened you member Jacob himself was a twin. Esau was his brother, and then you have of course the parents. Isaac and Rebekah is a nice ring to that name. Rebecca but you have that situation what happens. Jacob is favored by Rebecca and he saw is favored by Isaac and so you have conflict in that home, and you know the story of how Jacob stole Lisa's birthright ESA comes out from hunting and he comes to the house and is very famished and that Jacob is making this pot of stew in Hebrew, it says that red stuff that lentil soup and he says give me some of it and and Jacob says okay I will. But you have to sell me your birthright first and so ESA, being a man of the world wanting what he wants when he wants it said yes. I won't even take time to tell you the story of the deception of how then he stole the blessing by tricking the old man.

Isaac just before he died. So what you have is this favoritism running through the family and remember a passive father will always gravitate to the child who doesn't give him any trouble he will always gravitate and favor the compliant child and that's what happened here. Joseph was a good boy he didn't give them any difficulty any heartache and so he loves them because of that as well is the fact that he happened to be the son of his favorite wife, but it's only part of the story. He was a passive father.

He exercised favoritism but also Jacob was deceitful.

Remember that the very word to Jacob means cheater, he cheated Esau out of his birthright. As we noticed later on he goes to work for Laban and that he and Laban end up cheating one another, and finally when Jacob wrestles with God there at the J but River remember the Lord said to him tell me your name.

Eddie had to say. Jacob, in effect saying I am the cheater and God says from now on you're going to be cold, Israel, and even in the text.

Here in Genesis 37.

He is called Israel.

Because this of course happens after after the experience of a wrestling with God, with the angel of the Lord at J but was so much for the father.

What about the family itself you realize of course that he was brought up. Joseph was in a blended family.

Today we hear a lot about the blended family because of divorce and remarriage.

And so, two sets of children are supposed to get along and the parents aren't supposed to show favoritism to the children that are not their biological children. You know the conflict. You realize what's going on here in the text. The 12 sons of Jacob were a collection of half brothers from or different mothers. As I mentioned, Jacob was married to Leah and Rachel, but he also had two mistresses Bill and Denzil pot and they also had children and now these guys were supposed to get along. No wonder there was so much treachery. No wonder there was so much jealousy and hatred and so much unders misunderstanding because they they were supposed to somehow make it their mothers didn't get along and now they were supposed to live together and make peace will you know that they made a lot of war along with the piece now of course you have to understand that thrown into this is is the fact that he has brothers that hate him. He's isolated Joseph is isolated because his father loves him and his brothers hate him typical family feud with that background.

Let's pick up the text chapter 37 now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned in the land of Canaan, and Joseph verse two when he was 17 years of age was pastoring the flock with his brothers.

While it was still a youth along with the sons of Bill and the sons of soap on his father's wives and Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. He tattled on them.

You know that there is something that you should never do. If you're a member of the family and that is be a tattletale but he was now Israel, that is. Jacob loved Joseph more than all of his sons because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a very colored a multicolored tunic that very special coat, Joseph's coat. Now we have to stop here and ask what's going on here in the text because the brothers they hated.

They hated Joseph but what really put them over the brink were two things. First of all this tunic.

This special coat because it symbolized first of all airship airship. You know the new international version translates at a richly ornamented row but there was only one of those robes per family and it was usually given to the firstborn and so here is a Jacob who bypasses Ruben, who is his firstborn and he gives it to his favorite son, Joseph, and you can imagine the hostility it's like throwing a match into a can of kerosene so that was part of the problem, but there was something else that just eventually put the brothers over the emotional brink and they said we can't take it anymore and that is their kid brothers dream. Joseph was a dreamer. You'll notice it says in verse five Joseph had a dream and when he told it to his brothers. They hated him even more. Almost have to say that it's understandable that they would to dreams one celestial. That's the second dream the first agricultural notice, it says, for behold we were binding sheaves in the field, and low my she froze up and also stood erect and behold your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my she and his brothers said to him, are you actually going to reign over us. Are you really going to rule over us and they hated him even more for his dreams and his words. Ouch. And then what does Joseph do rather naïvely, perhaps even foolishly, he has another dream well he can't help that you don't control your dreams, but he tells them about a second dream and is just as bad as the first, at least in their site. Verse nine he had still another dream and related it to his brothers and said hello I that still another dream, behold the sun and the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me and even told his father this one that his father rebuked him and said to him, what is this dream that you have had. Shall I am your mother and your brothers actually come down and bow ourselves down before you to the ground and his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in my there you have it.

Hostility all over the place. Perhaps the boy being unwise in sharing his dreams of putting himself in the center with all of the others bowing down before him that did seem ostentatious, but apparently this was a dream that had been evident to him by God because, as we shall see.

22 years later it was fulfilled so much for the family. Would you expect that out of this family. God would raise a Joule, a prince of a man who would be admired throughout all generations, century after century as a model of integrity and godliness.

Well, let's continue. So much for his family. What about the treatment that his family gave him how did they respond to them. But we have to just continue the story. The brothers are out and they are hurting their sheep and it says and that they were in. She comes verse 13 Israel said to Joseph, are not your brothers pastoring the flock at Shechem, and I will send you to them and he said to them, I will go and he said to them go now and see about the welfare of your brothers in the welfare of your flock and bring back word to me on the telly. The rest of the story.

Joseph goes about 60 miles from Hebron which is in the South all the way to shake him, which is toward the north and east trying to find his brothers to see how they are doing so that he can bring back a report to his father that he remembered the bad report that he had given earlier but he gets there and they're not there so he needs a man who says you know I think I saw your brothers 10 miles further north at a place called Douthat and that's where he went. And that's where the brothers confronted him by the way Douthat and you can go there today. It is what is known as a tell it is a mound because the city has been destroyed and rebuilt and that's the place, incidentally, were Elijah saw the angels surround the town of Douthat a story that takes place in the book of King here is Joseph now and he's coming toward his brothers and notice what happens. Verse 19. They said to one another. Here he comes. This is the dreamer's come and kill him and thrown into one of the pits and we will say a wild beast about him. Then let us see what will become of his drain to the point kill him. You kill his dreams that will be the end of it. We don't want to listen to this young guy who's talking about us bowing before him, and that in the multicolored the richly ornamented robe will take care of him children was interesting that in this context, Ruben, who happens to be the older brother steps in and says no, let's not kill them. Ruben says shed no blood. Verse 22, thrown into this pit that is in the wilderness but do not lay hands on him that he might rescue them out of their hands to restore them to his father. You know you read this and you say is it because Ruben was such a really kindhearted guy was he touched by the grief of his younger brother perhaps.

But then, perhaps not.

Maybe it's because he knew that he was in the doghouse with his father because of what he had done to his father's mistress and so he may have just feared the wrath of Jacob. We do not know but at any rate, Ruben says let's throw him in the pit and let's set simply keep him there.

At that point Ruben makes a mistake because all of the other say yes yes thrown into the pit and that was fine. It says in verse 25. They sat down to eat a meal they raise their eyes than behold, a caravan of additional lights were coming from Gilead with their camels bearing a romantic gum and the balm and murder and on their way to bring them to Egypt and Judah and were going to encounter him again. He said to one of his brothers. What profit is us for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood. Let's sell them so they sell them for 20 pieces of silver and Joseph is on his way to Egypt. Ruben was not there when it happened. He was having lunch, she obviously was eating a Reuben sandwich and it took too long and he goes and Joseph is no longer in the pit. I can't believe it.

And they say we sold them for 20 shekels of silver. Benjamin wasn't with them, 10 brothers therefore are left each of them gets two shekels of silver. They make up a lie and they tell their old father Jacob as they took that coat and dipped it into animal blood and showed it to him and said is this the coat that you gave to Joseph and he says yes and they say that they will then I'm wild beast must've devoured him and that's really the end of the story they they put out the light of their brother.

They thought they sold them but they said they had killed him and and that was really the end of the story for one T2 years. Those brothers hid that lie in their hearts. And just like a siren that that continues to get to lower in its dB because of a battery that is beginning to expire in the very same way their consciences. No longer could be touched by anything. Maybe throughout the years as they saw a coat like code Joseph sort. Perhaps they walked past the pit they remembered what happened but they bound themselves by an oath and they kept the secret and Jacob of courses I'm going to go to the grave morning for my son.

He can't even believe that they would tell them such a lie.

He assumes that what they are saying is true and that the end of the story for now. From his point of view.

Let me ask you a question. How does Joseph take this you think he took it so stoically, you know, sometimes we exalt him as if he was almost a supernatural person know the Bible does not record any specific sin that he committed and so we tend to exalt the saints and think that they were not touched with the same infirmities as we are not so 22 years later Judah is going to be speaking. And he does not know that Joseph is present and I want you to read the story begin in chapter 37 and read to the end of the book of Genesis. So you see it all in context and he does not know that he's in the presence of Joseph and he says these words.

Judah says this has happened to Aussies talking about his own distress because we saw the distress of our brother and his pleas for help and we did not help him. All I want you to catch of this today.

He knew and every one of those brothers knew that selling an anti-Egypt was probably far worse than death could ever be. And here's a 17-year-old boy now who doesn't get a chance to say goodbye to his father. He doesn't know whether or not his father has been told the truth, believes that so far as he knows he will never see his family again. The dream die's die. Yes, my friend, this is Pastor Luther Joseph's dream die when he was thrown into the pit. What a story this is. And of course it's a true story is the story of a young man who kept on believing when there was no reason to think that God was on his side. I'm holding in my hands a book entitled, when a good man falls. This book actually looks through some of the stories of the Old Testament where there was failure. You don't find Joseph in this book, because there are no references to him failing but you do find people like Samson then no you even find New Testament people such as Peter the apostle who denied Christ the title of the book is when a good man falls.

Now I wrote this book to give you encouragement and hope, because failure is everywhere. Well, for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. Here's what you do go to RT W offer.com. Let me give that to you again. RT W offer.com or if you prefer, call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Now, we've met Joseph and his dream is the dream you have for your life farther away than ever. Take heart, although Joseph had a dream of rolling his brothers. He ended up in slavery. A lesser man might have given up for Joseph dream never died. Next time on your dream alive will turn again to Genesis chapter 37 as Joseph's brothers decide to kill their dreaming sibling. This is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody church