Joseph: Don't Let Go of the Dream God Gave You

Introduction

Duncan came from London with his team to spend a weekend at a Paris church. Before opening his Bible, he shares a few prophetic words the Lord placed on his heart: God is going to silence the background noise that drowns out his voice, he is going to knock down in an instant what is cluttering your life, he is going to tear down strongholds centuries old. Then he opens Genesis 37 and 39 and walks you through the story of Joseph, a teenager with a dream, a pit, a prison, and a promise that holds firm in the dark. Three simple points: build your life on what God has promised you, stand firm in the trial, and let the promise weigh heavier than the temptation.

Message Outline

1. Build your life around what God has promised you

• Joseph is 17 when God gives him two dreams: his brothers' sheaves bow down before his, then the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow down before him (Genesis 37:5-11).
• He's not a particularly tactful teenager. He's confident, self-assured, probably a bit clumsy, the kind of boy everyone wants to mock. But if you come across a young person like him, don't be too hard on him: he may be carrying a promise from God.
• Duncan holds on to one phrase: the more seriously you take what God has told you, the more you move in the direction of his word, the more he tends to fulfill his promise.
• Remember Noah: God tells him to build a boat for a promise that seemed ridiculous. He was called crazy, arrogant, foolish. But God had spoken. So build, even if it looks crazy in others' eyes.
• Never let go of the promise God has spoken over your life and over your church, never.

2. In the trial, God does not leave you or forsake you

• His brothers see him coming from a distance, plot against him, want to kill him: "Let's kill him, throw him into one of these pits, and we'll see what becomes of his dreams" (Genesis 37:18-20).
• He is betrayed by his own, those closest to him. His father, who loved him more than all the others, believes him dead. He then spends years in a foreign prison.
• Duncan imagines what Joseph might have told himself: "Why was I stupid enough to talk about those dreams? Were they even true? Maybe I'd just eaten too much cheese the night before..."
• The difficulty is that your heavenly Father has a very different perspective from yours. Think of the cross: the disciples had followed Jesus for three years, they thought they held the hope of the world, and they see him die. For them, it's the end. For God, it's the beginning, the start of the great plan of redemption.
• At the end of his life, Joseph is reconciled with his brothers and tells them: "You meant to do me harm; God has turned it into good, to accomplish what is happening today, to save the lives of a great number of people" (Genesis 50:20). He reassures them, he provides for them and their little ones.
• If you're going through a dark time and you hold firm to God's promises, he has a plan. He will not leave you, he will not forsake you. Knowing it in your head is one thing, living it in your heart is another.

3. Let the promise weigh heavier than the temptation

• It's certain that you will be tempted. The proof is that Jesus teaches you to pray every day: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
• Joseph becomes more and more prosperous in Egypt, to the point that he manages Potiphar's whole household. His master's wife pursues him, day after day: "Lie with me." Joseph refuses: "How then could I do such a great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:6-10).
• How did he resist? He knew this wasn't God's plan for him. He refused to sin against his master, and above all against God. But Duncan adds an observation: Joseph was probably able to say no because he held firmly to the promises God had placed on his life.
• As a chaplain in a large London prison, Duncan has seen simple things: if you tell an addict to stop, it's very hard. But if you give him something greater to live for, a higher calling, more appealing than what's stealing his life, he can say no.
• Four truths to remember about temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13): no temptation you go through is unique, thousands have experienced it before you; God is there with you in that very moment; you will not be tempted beyond what you can bear; there is always a way of escape.
• How many times have God's plans for your life, for your city, been delayed or blurred because disciples of Jesus did not follow Jesus?

Key Takeaways

• God speaks concrete promises over your life and your church, your responsibility is not to let go of them.
• A 17-year-old can seem arrogant while still carrying a real calling: don't judge too quickly.
• The more seriously you take what God has told you and the more you walk in that direction, the more he tends to fulfill his promise.
• In the pit, the prison, the betrayal, God does not leave you; his perspective is wider than yours.
• What seems to be the end can be the beginning of his great plan of redemption (Joseph, the cross).
• You resist temptation when God's promise over your life weighs heavier than what's pulling you down.

Personal Application

1. What promise has God already placed on your life that you no longer dare say out loud?
2. Is there a "Noah" in you who should start building today, even if the project seems ridiculous to others?
3. What pit are you going through right now where you need to remember that God does not abandon you?
4. In what area does your perception of your situation contradict the wider perspective God has of it?
5. What temptation keeps recurring in your week, and what promise from God can weigh heavier than it?
6. Where is the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13) that God has already prepared for you and that you refuse to take?

Verses Cited

• Genesis 37 · Joseph's dreams and his brothers' betrayal
• Genesis 39:6-10 · Joseph and Potiphar's wife
• Genesis 50:20 · "God turned it into good"
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 · No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man
• Joshua 1:5 · "I will never leave you nor forsake you"
• Hebrews 13:5 · "I will never leave you nor forsake you"

Further reading

• What Is Christian Service?
• What Is Biblical Hermeneutics?
• What Is a Home Group? Definition and Role

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I keep trusting when everything seems to go against what God promised me?

Joseph dreamed that his brothers would bow down before him, and yet he ended up at the bottom of a pit, sold as a slave, then in prison in Egypt. The promise did not die out during those dark years, it was maturing. God's perspective is very different from yours: what you see as an end can be a beginning. Keep telling yourself that God will not leave you, will not forsake you, and that he has a plan for you.

Why did Joseph refuse Potiphar's wife?

Joseph himself says he cannot commit such a great wickedness and sin against God. He knew this wasn't God's plan for him. But Duncan adds an observation: Joseph was probably also able to say no because he held firmly to the promises God had placed on his life. When you have a greater calling to live for, you can say no to what consumes you.

How do I resist temptation according to 1 Corinthians 10:13?

Duncan draws out four truths from the verse: no temptation you go through is unique, thousands have experienced it before you; God is present with you in that very moment; you will not be tempted beyond what you can bear; and there is always a way of escape. Look for the escape God has prepared, and remember that his promise over your life weighs heavier than what's pulling you down.