Joseph the Dreamer: When life isn’t turning out as planned (Genesis 39:1-23)
Do you enjoy dreaming? Do you ever remember your dreams? Do they ever reoccur? Have you ever dreamed about dreaming? Have you ever thought about sharing a dream? Thursday night we went to see Inception at the Imax in London. I will never think about dreams in the same way again. Inception is probably the most complicated, the most fast paced and dramatic sci-fi thriller you will ever see. And on the biggest screen in the world it was one amazing experience. The premise is that professional thieves called “extractors” can invade people’s dreams to steal information via a drug-induced sleep that is shared by two or more people. From the ingenious mind of British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, Inception begs the question: what if you could share a dream with someone? Long before Christopher Nolan dreamed up the imaginary world of Inception, the Bible encourages us to dream, to imagine, to have visions of the future and to share the experience.
‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28)
When Michael was born five weeks premature, and I held that little bundle of life in my hands for the first time, I didn’t know whether the Lord who had given us a son would take him back again. Although I wasn’t quite as old as Abraham, it was the first time I could really identify with him in this passage. Seventeen years later, Mike is taller, more intelligent and more attractive than me. At the age of 75, Abraham enrolled in the “School of Faith.” Now, over 100, he was still having faith-stretching, heart stopping experiences. We are never too old to face new challenges, fight new battles, and learn new truths. When we stop learning, we stop growing; and when we stop growing, we stop living. “The first forty years of life give us the text,” wrote Arthur Schopenhauer, “and the next thirty supply the commentary.” The “commentary” is being written as we listen to God, as we follow His directions, one day, one challenge, one step at a time. Sad to say, many people understand neither the text nor the commentary, and their lives are ended before they have understood the meaning of life.
It often takes an awful tragedy like a rail crash or a close call on the motorway, or some serious air turbulence at 30,000 feet to bring us back to the reality that we are just one step, one second, one breath, one heart beat from eternity.
Genesis 22 records the greatest test that Abraham ever faced. It also helps us see the progressive unfolding of God’s rescue mission for planet earth. For it contains a beautiful prefiguring of our Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary. In both, the lesson from this passage is this: obedientfaithovercomesinthetrialsoflife. I want us to consider five lessons we can draw from the sacrifice of Abraham. We can learn them the hard way or the easy way. Blindly on our own, or with insight and wisdom from God’s Word.
I get to stay in some rather exotic hotels in my travels. I think my favourites would be the Paraa Safari Lodge at Murchison Falls in Northern Uganda, or the Jacir Palace in Bethlehem. My most forgettable stay would have to be the Continental Inn, Bweyale in Uganda where running water and electricity are optional. I tend to rate hotels on the thickness of the towels, how often the sheets are changed and the quality of the toilet paper, if provided.
My most memorable stay must be the YMCA in Hong Kong. It doesn’t exactly look like a hotel. Overlooking Tsing Ma Bridge on Ma Wan Island, Noah’s Ark is the only life size replica in the world. More profitable that the nearby Disney World, Noah’s Ark has five levels including a bio-diversity and environmental centre, a museum exploring expeditions to find the original Noah’s Ark and when you are hungry, a restaurant. But on the top deck, above the animal quarters, is a hotel. Each room has a patio on the top deck that looks out over a biblical garden. Picture yourself building a boat the length of one and a half football fields and as high as a four-story building.
The 18th July is an auspicious day in history. On 18th July 1925 Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which he wrote in prison following the Nazi Party’s abortive coup against the Bavarian government. On 18th July 1936, the Spanish Civil War began which enabled Hitler to field test the weapons he would eventually use in 1938 against Czechoslovakia and Poland. But if those dates were too early for you, do you remember what you were doing in 1962? I was nine years old. I remember coming home from school one day and my mother calmly said, “the world nearly ended today”. It had begun on October 16, 1962, when John F. Kennedy called together his closest advisers at the White House. Late the night before, the CIA had produced detailed photo intelligence identifying Soviet nuclear missile installations under construction on the island of Cuba, ninety miles off the Florida coast.
Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara outlined 3 possible courses of action: 1. “the political course”. Openly approaching Castro, Khrushchev and allies to resolve the crisis diplomatically – an option unlikely to succeed; 2. “open surveillance” coupled with “a blockade against offensive weapons entering Cuba”; and 3. “military action directed against Cuba, starting with an air attack against the missiles.”[1] Thankfully, President Kennedy chose the second option and authorised a naval blockade in international waters against Soviet ships carrying missile equipment. In the brinkmanship that followed during the next tense 13 days as the ships carrying the missiles drew closer to Cuba, it was the Russians who blinked first and backed down.
Three decades later, Soviets, Cubans, and Americans learned how close the world had come to a nuclear Armageddon. A unique conference was held in Havana, in 1992. It was attended by former Kennedy administration members, Soviet participants in the crisis, and a Cuban delegation led by President Fidel Castro. Soviet General Anatoly Gribkov admitted that Soviet commanders in Cuba had been authorised to fire their tactical nuclear weapons without further direction from the Kremlin had they been attacked.
More worryingly, U.S. officials had mistaken a number of Soviet actions as deliberate “signals” from the Kremlin when, in fact, they had not been cleared by Khrushchev. And unbeknown to the White House, officials of the CIA and the U.S. military had also undertaken a number of unauthorised and aggressive operations such as dispatching covert sabotage teams into Cuba which were similarly misunderstood by the Soviets. To compound the misunderstanding, during those tense 13 days, a U.S. military aircraft accidentally strayed into Soviet airspace. This combination of unauthorized military actions, misinterpreted political signals, and significant failures in intelligence – all threatened – but for the grace of God – to hurl us into an apocalyptic Armageddon scenario – such as we would probably not be meeting today. It was the closest the world has come, so far, to nuclear war. With heightened anxiety over Iran’s aspirations and pre-emptive strikes by Israel and/or the USA, never before has the importance of diplomacy to solve international disputes been so critical. And yet, there is another war, a far more insidious, destructive war, that engulfs our world.
This is the story of Shaun the Sheep. Shaun was a short-sighted Sheep. He is always wandering off and getting lost. He lives with his friends and is a happy sheep. His master loves him and cares for him and provides everything he needs. But Shaun is always wandering off and getting lost. His master calls him and searches for him and eventually finds him and brings him home rejoicing.
Shaun loves to play in the garden on the swings and slide. He loves climbing trees. But Shaun is a short-sighted Sheep. He is always wandering off and getting lost. His master calls him and searches for him. He eventually finds Shaun and brings him home rejoicing.
Shaun loves to help out in the church. In the office and the kitchen. Making tea and coffee and washing up. He loves making music and playing with computers and distracting the staff. But Shaun is a short-sighted Sheep. He is always wandering off and getting lost. His master calls him and searches for him. He eventually finds Shaun and brings him home rejoicing.
Shaun’s favourite place is the Sunday Clubs. He loves playing in the crèche with the toys and reading Bible stories. But Shaun is a short-sighted Sheep. He is always wandering off and getting lost. His master calls him and searches for him. He eventually finds Shaun and brings him home rejoicing.
Shaun loves to be in the Church and help with the flowers and straighten the chairs. But Shaun is a short-sighted Sheep. He is always wandering off and getting lost. Then one day Shaun gets really lost and is put in the lost property box. Oh dear. His master calls him and searches for him but cannot find him. His master is very, very sad. So his master leaves his other 99 sheep and goes in search of Shaun. He searches very high and low.
Eventually he finds Shaun, sitting in a charity shop window. He looks very sad and lonely. His master goes into the shop and gladly pays the price to buy Shaun back. His master is so happy to find Shaun. He brings him home rejoicing. And that’s the story of Shaun the Sheep. Shaun the short sighted sheep who was lost and redeemed. His master paid to get him back. That is what ‘redeem’ means – to pay for something you really want back.
You know we are like Shaun the sheep. Sooner or later we all get lost and lose our way. The Bible says, “we all like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6).
But we don’t have to stay lost. Jesus said “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). That is how he ‘redeemed’ us. He bought us with his life.
Titus says, “[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.“ (Titus 2:14)
The Book of Romans explains it like this: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)
Ephesians says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)
We are all like Shaun. Whether you are lost or found. Jesus promises today: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)
Jesus wants us to listen to him and come to him and stay close to him so that we will never get lost again. Lets say a prayer to thank Jesus for redeeming us.
Thank you Lord Jesus for loving us so much that you gave your life to redeem us, to buy us back. Help us to listen to your voice through the Bible. Please purify us and make us a people that are your very own, eager to do what is good. In Jesus name.
You can see lots more photos of Shaun the Sheep here and on Flickr here
“As followers of Jesus called to be peacemakers, we need to understand the context in which Jesus lived, as well as the current tragic conflict in the Holy Land. This tour offers both as we follow the Jesus story, and meet with indigenous Christians committed to incarnating the spirit of Jesus today.” Lynne Hybels (Advocate for Global Engagement, Willow Creek Community Church)
“This encounter will stretch and provide you with insights on how to lead your church more effectively. It will also provide a life-line to those of our Christian family that remain in this turbulent region of the world.” Steve Haas (VP & Chief Catalyst, World Vision)
“If you want to make a difference to the ‘peace-process’ stalemate, this tour is for you. You’ll get to see the main biblical sites but more importantly you will meet fellow church leaders working for justice, peace and reconciliation and discover how you can partner with them.” Stephen Sizer (Senior Pastor, Christ Church, Virginia Water)
Tour objectives in collaboration with the Willow Creek Association, Holy Land Trust and World Vision:
Renew our appreciation for the ministry of Jesus the Servant as the model for our personal commitment to God’s purposes.
Experience the land and its culture to broaden our understanding of Scripture and renew our spiritual commitment.
Deepen our understanding of current events in Israel/Palestine and of their global impact.
Meet with local leaders to learn of their work for peace and justice in the Middle-East.
Create opportunities for North American churches to partner with Middle Eastern churches and agencies.
We recently asked 80 church members what or who was most influential in their becoming a Christian. Here are the survey results:
1. Parents 27%
2. Relative or Friend 23%
3. Youth Leader 6%
3. Youth Camp 6%
3. Bible reading 6%
3. Alpha/Christianity Explored 6%
4. Pastor 5%
5. Sunday School Teacher 4%
5. Dream or Revelation 4%
5. Christian book 4%
6. Church Service 1%
7. Mission 0%
8. Evangelist 0%
Half of all those surveyed, said that a relative or friend was most influential with parents comprising the largest category. Next in significance, 10% attributed their conversion to a youth leader or youth camp.
In total, church based staff, programmes and events, accounted for only around 20%.
What does this tell us? That special evangelistic events are at best a means by which Christians can introduce family and friends to Jesus, but they are no substitute for genuine friendship and trust. Humbling statistics for professional clergy and evangelists.
Our own statistics corroborate those found in other surveys. See this article from the US based National Network of Youthworkers
Leadership Journal also recently published the findings of a survey of 750 Muslims who converted to Christianity. The survey revealed the five predominant reasons they chose to follow Christ.
The lifestyle of Christians. Former Muslims cited the love that Christians exhibited in their relationships with non-Christians and their treatment of women as equals.
The power of God in answered prayers and healing. Experiences of God’s supernatural work—especially important to folk Muslims who have a characteristic concern for power and blessings—increased after their conversions, according to the survey. Often dreams about Jesus were reported.
Dissatisfaction with the type of Islam they had experienced. Many expressed dissatisfaction with the Qur’an, emphasizing God’s punishment over his love. Others cited Islamic militancy and the failure of Islamic law to transform society.
The spiritual truth in the Bible. Muslims are generally taught that the Torah, Psalms, and the Gospels are from God, but that they became corrupted. These Christian converts said, however, that the truth of God found in Scripture became compelling for them and key to their understanding of God’s character.
Biblical teachings about the love of God. In the Qur’an, God’s love is conditional, but God’s love for all people was especially eye-opening for Muslims. These converts were moved by the love expressed through the life and teachings of Jesus. The next step for many Muslims was to become part of a fellowship of loving Christians.
The respondents were from 30 countries and 50 ethnic groups. The survey was prepared at Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of Intercultural Studies, and reported in Christianity Today.
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students shared a story of what had happened to his son. Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, “Do you think they’ll let me play?” Shay’s father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, “We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.”
The French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in London on Friday. He came to make a programme for the BBC. It was to mark the 70th anniversary of another BBC programme made for France by Charles de Gaulle on the 18th June 1940. The general had fled his country the day before as a new administration, headed by Philippe Petain, sought an armistice with Hitler. In the stirring radio appeal Gen de Gaulle declared himself leader of the “Free French”, spawning the French Resistance, which went on to play a crucial role in defeating the Germans. He told his nation that “the flame of the French resistance must not and will not be extinguished”. Posters displaying his words were put up all over London in the days that followed the broadcast, to galvanise French exiles.
Although it may seem hard at times to believe it, we are at war.
We are part of the resistance against the evil powers at work in our world. That is one of the reasons we meet every Sunday – to train and prepare ourselves for battle. This morning Archbishop Edmund from Kebbi in Nigeria described the very real war going on there between the Christian south and Muslim north. It is a conflict being played out in a number of African countries. But we make a profound error of the first order if we equate this as a war between religions or peoples. In Toronto recently I gave a presentation on the Christian Jihad at a conference of evangelical and Muslim leaders. Jihad is translated in English as “Holy War”. It literally means “struggle”. In the New Testament, the language of conflict and warfare is used to describe the struggle Christians face in living the holy life as God intends. In the first instance, the ‘Holy War” or struggle faced is internal not external. It is personal and not political. The apostle Paul’s two letters to a young disciple called Timothy provide a fascinating insight into Christian jihad as Paul employs the metaphor of the ‘soldier’ to describe the Christ follower. Here are the verses:
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12)
“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs; rather, they try to please their commanding officer.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
Toward the end of his life the apostle Paul couple look back confidently and say, past tense,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8)
When you were young, who were your heroes? Who did you want to become? Who did you pretend to be? Whose posters did you have on your bedroom wall? My first recollection was wanting to be the Lone Ranger. Then it was Scott Tracy of Thunderbirds.
Then it was David McCullum as the Man from UNCLE. Then I finally grew up, and simply wanted to be James Bond. What about pop stars? Who did you idolise? While my mother probably wanted me to grow up to be like Cliff Richard, I wanted to be Paul McCartney of the Beatles. But, strumming a tennis racket and growing my hair long didn’t make me a rock star. In the 1970’s I graduated to the Beach Boys and made myself a full sized surfboard at school.
The problem was it didn’t float… In the 1980’s when Steve Ovette and Sebastian Coe were competing for an Olympic place, I bought myself a tracksuit and went through a jogging phase but it didn’t last more than a fortnight. In the 1990’s when Tiger Wood was winning every golf tournament, I bought myself a new cap and putter to try and improve my game, but it hasn’t worked, yet. Aspiring to be like someone else is natural. Whether it’s a positive or negative role model seems to depend on whether you are a parent or a child.
