I ask Doug Reed if he would share the notes from his message he shared with Discovery Church Prescott yesterday and he was kind enough to say yes.
Here are the notes in outline form from his sermon that touched so many.
The Pathway to Your Dreams
“Principles of Destiny Fulfillment from the Life of Joseph”
Message Text: Genesis 37-50 *** ROLLAR COASTER ILL. ***
*** LEROY STORY — I want to start today by telling you a story I read a long time ago about a mischievous kid named Leroy — He was good kid (about 7-8 years old) with an evil streak… One day Leroy went to his mother demanding a new bicycle — His mother decided to use this moment to help Leroy examine his heart and the way he acts — She said: “Well Leroy, it is not Christmas and we don’t have money lying around to buy you anything you want… So… Why don’t you write a letter to Jesus and pray for a bicycle instead of asking me” — After he threw a heathy temper tantrum his mom sent him to his room….He finally sat down to write a letter to Jesus — Version #1 went like this: “Dear Jesus I have been a good boy this year and I would appreciate a new bicycle, Your friend Leroy.” — Now… Leroy no more than finished the letter and he realized he had just wrote a pack of lies to Jesus (ELAB) — Version #2 – “Dear Jesus, I have been an OK boy this year and I want a new bicycle, Yours truly Leroy.” — He knew he had not even been OK… So he tore it up & tried again — Version #3 – “Dear Jesus, I have THOUGHT about being a good boy this year…Can I have a bicycle?” (ELAB and APPLY) — He knew he had been terrible and was deserving of nothing… (His walk) — (Going into the catholic Church) — (Taking the Virgin Mary statue and running back home and hiding it under this bed) — FINAL VERSION — “Dear Jesus, I’VE GOT YOUR MOMMA … If you ever want to see her again then get me a bicycle! …YOU KNOW WHO —
—— The details may be different… BUT most of us have childhood memories that relate well to the story of LEROY (ELAB)
*** ME AS A KID For me it is MISS JONES ROSE GARDEN — OR… The damage that countless baseballs and other projectiles did to our house or our neighbors property…
BUT… WE GREW UP… Or at least some of us did! — Perhaps the 1st step in our growth process is… We begin to DREAM about the FUTURE
*** TRASH MAN DREAM — POLICE OFFICER DREAM
Perhaps the 1st step in our GROWTH PROCESS getting a dream! – Nothing accelerates maturity like DREAMING! (True emotionally & spiritually )
- DREAMERS are GROWERS! (When your not dreaming… you stop growing)
The enemy hates GROWTH because he hates advancement — He wants you to stay the same When you GROW the devil loses track of you – Your never TRAPPED when your GROWING
— Being a “GROWING DREAMER” will set you up for your Divine Destiny
** MY CALL AT 16 — The DREAM God gave me for the future caused a DRAMATIC ACCELERATION in my GROWTH PROCESS **
SEE…* Dreaming is a form of PRAYING (God meets you there) — Your DREAM-LIFE should be intertwined with your PRAYER-LIFE
(TRANSITION — BUILT FOR DREAMING)
The good news is…Everyone in this room has been designed by God to be a DREAMER … It is in your spiritual DNA… * God built you to DREAM!
— The desire to SEE MORE.. To BE MORE… To live a life that really matters! ……. THIS is something that God has put in every PERSON on the PLANET!
*** BRIDGE LETTER — Event in Wisconsin – 4 sermons – (The “ATTITUDE” girl story) — The LETTER — She was no place Spiritually… Had been hurt and molested… Yet… Even in her condition her SOUL knew that she should she was built for something MORE! — “Oh my life is like standing at a BRIDGE, but not being able to see it because there is too much fog. And you have to jump on it with both feet or you won’t find that BRIDGE. I have seen your friends on the other side, happy as they can be. I want that happiness to but I can’t give myself over. What if the the BRIDGE caves in? What if God does not catch me? I have so many questions.” See.. Even in her hurting condition she knew that God had something better for her — BUT… She also knew that the JOURNEY would be a PROCESS… (A BRIDGE) ….. It was SCARY and would not be EASY… But everyone is born to CROSS the BRIDGE from where they are to where Good wants them to be! – DREAM! ***
SEE… Dreaming is not for wimps… Because dreaming creates EXPECTATIONS — DREAMING makes you VULNERABLE (A by-product – ELAB)
We all have BROKEN DREAMS & ALTERED DREAMS … Beat up DREAMS ——— No ones FANTASY comes TRUE! (My plan verses God’s plan ILL.)
- The BATTLEFIELD of EXECUTION is never the same as the LABORATORY of EXEGESIS (Mike Tyson – “Everyone has a PLAN until they get punched in the face”)
(TRANSITION TO TEXT — JOSEPH and GODS PROCESS)
This is what we learn from the story of a DREAMER in the Bible named JOSEPH
—— We find in this man that God certainly gives DREAMS… — But He also always attaches a PROCESS to every DREAM He gives— God always develops the DREAMER before He lets the DREAM come true (SET UP TEXT… This a a BIG STORY because GOD gave Joseph a BIG DREAM)
Genesis 37:5-11 (NLT) “One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”
8 His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. (OLDER BROTHERS JOKE)
9 Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”
10 This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?”
11 — But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.
*** JOSEPHS HISTORY — Jacob is Josephs father and Jacob has 12 sons… including Joseph — These 12 sons will ultimately be the start of the 12 tribes of ISRAEL — Of Josephs 11 brother’s… 10 of them are half brothers… only Benjamin (Joseph’s younger Bro) is a full blood brother to Joseph — Joseph was favored by his father… (THE COAT OF MANY COLORS) (there are many reasons but we do not have time!) — JOSEPH HAS A DREAM that his brothers will bow down to him —— The announcement of that dream was like pouring gas on a fire… ***
Later… Joseph is sent by his father to check on his brothers… They are supposed to be grazing flocks near Shechem but they are actually in Dothan (More in a minute)
Genesis 37:18-20 (NLT) They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other ——— — “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”
Have you ever been HATED because you had a DREAM? Joseph was! (ELAB)
*** THE STORY… They strip him of his robe and throw him in a pit… They talk about killing him… but Reuben suggests they sell him into slavery instead… At that precise moment a band of Ishmaelites from Gilead arrive.… Who are (among other things) slave traders… Jospeh is sold into slavery by his brothers… They even dip his robe in animal blood and tell his father that he has died! — At this moment he is 17…13 chapters later (Chap. 50)… after a long process… 25 years later… at the age of 42 his dream comes true… His brothers & really the entire world bows down to him ***
(TRANSITION TO OUTLINE) — I will share the rest of the story as we go… But let me give you some application… * 3 EXITS on the PATHWAY to your DREAMS
(3 life lessons from the story of Joseph)
- 1. The exit of ALONENESS or SOLITUDE
— Every time God is going to do something GREAT… He SEPARATES
We see this in the life of JOSEPH… He gives him a DREAM…… Then He systematically separates JOSEPH… He has to get him ALONE!
Several Reasons: — TUNE OUT DISTRACTIONS (The great sin of our day)
— SELF CONFRONTATION (Being alone can be too intimate… This is why we turn on noise… We can’t deceive ourselves as well when were alone — No one knows YOU like YOU!)
— PASSION DEVELOPMENT (Passion grows in the dark… A BIBLICAL PATTERN)
— TOTAL TRUST — (God wants to become your source… So sometimes…He gets you to the place where He is all you have… because He is all you need!)
This exit… (like the other two I will mention) does not make sense in the natural (Have you ever had God speak something to you and the exact opposite begins to happen? Am I the only one? – This is what Joseph experienced)
— LOOK AT HOW GOD GOT JOSEPH ALONE:
>>> Joseph was attacked because of his AMBITION
Granted… His immaturity announced the DREAM early… But that does not excuse the hatred of his brother’s
— People love to PICTURE YOU WHERE YOU ARE… They want to keep you there * When you DREAM for MORE it irritates the INSECURITY of others
(My own STORY… Not everyone is CALLED to be on your JOURNEY – Booster Rockets)
— Sometimes God is SAVING YOU from people who don’t really believe in you
>>> Joseph was stripped of his COMFORTS
They take his “Coat of many Colors”… It represented his relationship with his Father… His place of favoritism (ELAB)
BIG… GOOD can be the ENEMY of BEST! (God wanted to be His Father)
—— Sometimes God has to allow your SECURITY to SUFFER (ELAB)
- Sometimes God has to STRIP you of your COMFORTS so He can prepare you for your CALLING (What are you wearing that won’t “GO” where your going?)
>>> Joseph was thrown in a PIT
— Someone always wants BURY a DREAMER! Expect it!
—— KNOW THIS…. PAIN will be a part of your PURPOSE (Blank KEY)
They stuff him into this place that looks like the opposite of what God spoke
— The PERSECUTER’S thought it was their idea… But God is SMART…
— He knows how to weave DETOURS into your DESTINY ————————————————————————————————
NOTE: The result of all this abuse for JOSEPH has really only done 2 things:
— 1. He has experienced PAIN (He can now relate to a hurting world… HIS struggle is creating AUTHENTICITY in him… BROKEN ARM ILL.)
— 2. He is ALONE (For the 1st time in his life… He is truly alone… Which is right where God wanted him to be)
*** 200 MILES IN THE WRONG DIRECTION — The start of my traveling ministry at age 33 — 4 Florida Churches offered me a position — The big trip…There for a month — Last night in Tampa…No direction from God — I though God might speak to me on my drive… 17 hours — The call from the YP — Going to the Pastors Office… His ‘Word’ for me…”God has called you to a a place of trust, not a place of security… but you keep wanting to go back to Egypt.” — The tapes they gave me…My drive… God is speaking… 2 hours later I should be in Gainesville on HWY 75… Instead I am almost to Fort Meyers… I just went 200 miles in the wrong direction! (Round trip) — ELAB MY REACTION …Blamed God… Blamed Jeanne.. — Passing the Church I was at about 5pm… Finally passed Gainesville around 7pm — Starting to get my spirit right… Called a friend and told him the story… He made fun of me… Then suddenly had a word from God (Everyone is a prophet today!) — “Doug… This was a bad day to make a wrong turn wasn’t it? — (My reply) — God is lessening the Margin of Error ion your life.. In the past you could disobey and He would make up the difference… but now God is going to hold you accountable for the maturity He has placed in you… You must hear his voice and obey… Don’t make a wrong turn or it will cost you dearly.” (ELAB the rest) — My all night drive — God speaking — Me telling Jeanne that we are not moving to Florida (ELAB) ***
APPLY: God had to pick a day when I was in the car for 17 plus hours — — He wanted me ALONE… He knew I would never sit there otherwise!
- 2. The exit of EDUCATION or TESTING
—— If a DREAM is really from God it can be TESTED
In order for God to GRADUATE… He has to EDUCATE
This is what He does for JOSEPH… He takes him through a series of TESTS… To teach him and to FORM HIM into the person who can live out the DREAM
(GOD POSITIONS JOSEPH) — Look at the providence of God to this point… God gives Joseph a dream… Then.. some time later (Gen. 37:13)
His dad sends him to check on his brothers in a place called Shechem…
— They are not there… They are in DOTHAN… Dothan is an 80 mile journey for Joseph… After his long journey to SHECHEM (Traveling on Donkeys)
BIG… DOTHAN literally means… “A PLACE OF BURDEN” — God takes Joseph from a place of COMFORT to a place of BURDEN
They throw Joseph in the Pit… And just as they sit down (to eat) … A caravan of Ishmaelites from Gilead arrive … Gilead is 40 miles in the opposite direction!
(Go over the GEOGRAPHY — To Shechem — To Dothan — From Gilead)
(But they were there to harm him? No.. It saved Joseph from his brothers & himself!)
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) “I know the plans I have for you, plans for your good and not for your disaster — to give you a hope and a future”
In a PIT? God has a CARAVAN on the way! What looks like a disaster could be the very providence of God… Positioning you so He can EDUCATE you!
- God uses the PAIN of POSITION to prepare us for our DESTINIES
The question is: Do you see PROVIDENCE where others only see DISASTER?
SEE… HOW you view a something is dependent on WHO handed you that something – (MY MOM & THE WORM)
(TRANSITION) >>> JOSEPHS 4 TESTS: (FAST)
— THE PIT: Abandonment… The exact opposite of his dream
— THE PALACE: Joseph is purchased by a wealthy man named Potiphar… God’s favor… Then Potiphar’s wife goes after Joseph (39:6 He was well built and handsome) — Joseph keeps his purity and is arrested anyway (ELAB)
— THE PRISON: This is the TEST OF TIME… God’s favor is on him… but 13 more years past… * The greatest test of a DREAM is the TEST of TIME
— THE PROMISES: After interpreting a dream for him … Joseph is promised by Pharaoh’s Cup-bearer that he will help Joseph (40:23 — He forgot all about Joseph and never gave him another thought) — BROKEN PROMISES!! (Who has let you down? Your DREAM is not in their hands! It is in Gods!)
God’s strategy for Joseph was not designed for comfort or speed — God was forming Joseph — God had a DESTINATION in mind for JOSEPH
— The real issue when it comes to all our DREAMING is quite simple:
- We value the PRODUCT of our lives, but God values the PROCESS
— We are concerned with ARRIVALS but God is all about the JOURNEY
The BIGGER the DREAM…. The LONGER the PROCESS — God is a God of PROCESS
BIG… YOU GROW INTO YOUR DESTINY!! (ELAB)
*** YOU GROW & YOUR MINISTRY WILL GROW STORY ***
- — 3. The exit of BROKENNESS
——— In CHAPTER 41 this story takes a turn (ELAB Pharaohs DREAMS)
After Joseph interprets the DREAM he is put in CHARGE…He is now the 2cd most powerful man in the world… The DREAM is coming true!
— He goes from the PRISON to the PALACE! (God promoting you is never the issue)
—— In Chapter 42-45… We see the specifics of Josephs DREAM come true
(Plenty then famine) After 7 years of plenty and a few years of famine… …….… His own family comes looking for food… His brothers bow down
WEIRD ACTIONS BY JOSEPH: His brothers come & He recognizes them
— He calls them spies — Imprisons the youngest — Puts silver in with their grain to make them look like thieves — Does it a second time after they come to give it back and beg for mercy — A major confrontation happens in chapter 45
— Then… He finally reveals himself… WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
>>> JOSEPH is struggling with BROKENNESS
— His brothers have no idea how much danger they are in… But God has prepared JOSEPH… And the DREAMER is ready for the DREAM to come true
*** ILL. People who ARRIVE to where they want to be… but they have a BAD SPIRIT by the time they get there… THIS WILL NOT BE JOSEPH ***
- The hardest thing God can ask a DREAMER to do is to SEE their VICTIMIZATIONS as a part of the DREAM
*** 5 WAYS TO HURT SOMEONE (don’t write them down 🙂
1. Verbally
2. Environmentally (Protectors become the predators) —
3. Personally (Deny an Identity)
4. Physical abuse (Harm body)
5. Abandonment (Leave them alone and unprotected) ***
Josephs Brothers had done all 5 to him… And now all he has to say is “off with their heads” & no one will even question him! (BROKENNESS is NEEDED!)
BUT… JOSEPH has BECOME the DREAMER within his DREAM — He never stands taller than this moment — Winston Churchill would have called it “His finest hour” — Joseph has been prepared for his destiny
Think of all that depended on Josephs DREAM:
—— The salvation of his family — His own DESTINY — Millions would have starved to death — Josephs and his family would live in peace in Egypt for generations… The very future of Israel would be put in place
(He imagined ruling his BROTHERS… God imagined him ruling the WORLD)
Joseph had committed to the PROCESS — He had BECOME the DREAMER He lived the DREAM…. Not the one he IMAGINED… the one GOD IMAGINED!
- God always DEVELOPS the DREAMER before He lets the DREAM come true
Because God knows how BIG the DREAM really is… So He wants you to be READY
*** JORDAN BASEBALL ILLUSTRATION ***
CLOSE: 50/20 VISION
The GOLDEN VERSE of the 13 chapters dedicated to life of JOSEPH in GENESIS is GENESIS 50:20 (NLT)
Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good
— He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people
*** 50/20 VISION — You have heard of 20/20 vision? (ELAB) — I am praying that you will have 50/20 VISON!! — This is the kind of vision that JOSEPH HAD in Genesis 50:20 — See… most people can only see life in one direction… The inward direction of THEMSELVES… The direction of ME (ELAB) That is normal 20/20 vision — Life is about what I can see... Life is about what is happening to me — Joseph had something much better…. 50/20 VISION —— LIFE IS NOT ABOUT WHAT I CAN SEE…. It is about what GOD CAN SEE… GOD HAS A PLAN! — God can turn around HARM and make it for YOUR GOOD and the GOOD of OTHERS (ELAB BIG) ***
BIG… When your a DREAMER things don’t “GO YOUR WAY”… They “COME YOUR WAY”… Expect the BATTLE and have 50’20 VISION!
ALTAR: A PRAYER / WORD FOR THE DREAMERS
— The DREAMS God has for you begin and end with JESUS (Salvation)
ABANDON the FANTASY… The way you PICTURE IT needs to be nailed to the cross… Your need for INFORMATION reveals your IMMATURITY
— You were BUILT to DREAM but will you commit to the PROCESS?
(What if I told you the dream was about to come true? — Test of Time)
Maybe you feel ALONE… God always SEPARATES what He intends to make GREAT… EMBRACE the SOLITUDE and get to know your Father!
— Some here are in a PLACE OF BROKENNESS…
God uses BROKEN PEOPLE! – BROKENNESS is where the anointing thrives!
— GOD GIVE US 50/20 VISION!!!
Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good — He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
stevelummer.com 