OPENING SCRIPTURE:
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. (Genesis 37:1-2 NKJ)

• Joseph comes from a dysfunctional family.
• The good news is that God uses people from dysfunctional families.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.  But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. (Genesis 37:3-4 NKJ)

• Favoritism breeds hatred! Favoritism adds to the dysfunctionality of a family.
• In drama of the life of Joseph, God was working behind the curtains.
• God is working behind the scenes, even in the drama in your life.
• We might not be able to see it, but our God is working.
• God Chasers discover God’s plan for their lives.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)

• Knowing that the creator of all things has a plan for my life is reassuring.

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” (Genesis 37:5-7 NKJ)

• Joseph is full of himself.

And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. (Genesis 37:8 NKJ)

Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” (Genesis 37:9 NKJ)

So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” (Genesis 37:10 NKJ)

The dreams of Joseph became a source of contention for the family. But listen to Jacob’s reaction in verse 11.

And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind. (Genesis 37:11 NKJ)

• Jacob knew something about God’s dreams.

“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. (Joel 2:28 NKJ)

• God uses dreams and visions to speak to His children,
• Does all dreams and visions come from God? Absolutely not! God wants you to be a God Chaser instead of a Dream Chaser.

And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say: “If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams. But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is. (Numbers 12:6-8 NLT)

• When you become a God Chaser, God speaks to you face-to-face.
• When you become a God Chaser, the Holy Spirit will be a dream filter.

When God gives you a dream, He also lights up a fire! A refiner’s fire!
• The fire is not meant to harm you but to protect you.
• The fire is meant to remove any impurities in your life that could destroy the dream.
• These 2 dreams revealed something in Joseph: Pride

“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6 NLJ)
• The root of pride is insecurity. Not knowing who you are in Christ.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20 NKJ)
• Your identity is not in the dream, the calling. Your identity is in the giver of the dream.

God was preparing His refiner’s fire to test out Joseph’s dream.

Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

• Just like God has a dream, a plan for your life…so does the devil. But his plan is to steal, kill, and destroy.
• Be A God Chaser Not A Dream Chaser!

CONCLUSION:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?