Never Let Anyone Kill Your Dream!

“Never Let Anyone Kill Your Dream!” Genesis 40:6-23
Compass of Salinas/Marina Life Group Discussions May #4
1. Got any dream killers in your life? Joseph sure did. Please read Genesis 40:6-23. • Summarize the action and main character behavior.
• What is the main learning or application you get from this passage?
• “The best way to avoid disappointment is not to expect anything from anyone. Sometimes we create our own heartache through expectations.” What do you think? Is that true or do you disagree? Say why.
• “You will end up disappointed if you think everyone will do for you as you would for them. Not everyone has the same heart as you.” What do you think? Is that good advice or no? Explain.
2. Joseph is living in a dungeon, and it looks like his only hope of getting out of there……forgot all about him. But he kept his dream despite the discouragements. How? Consider the following: Make up your mind to ignore dream killers. It may surprise you to hear that one of Jesus’ biggest and most recurring temptations was discouragement. Every day He was invited to become discouraged and give up preaching and teaching. In fact in John chapter 6 a crowd of several hundred got up and walked out on one of His most heartfelt sermons. People said that His preaching stepped on toes. They wanted a preacher who was less challenging and didn’t step on toes and so they left. One day Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth and gave a sermon. They didn’t like it. They thought Jesus was arrogant. They tried to stone Him. Every day Jesus was invited to be discouraged and to give up. But He did what He told His disciples to do - - Dust your feet off of the dirt thrown on you, and go on to the next village. The Pharisees called Jesus demonic. Jesus ignored them. Dream killers are all around us. Ignore them. George Foreman in his autobiography Foreman’s Guide to Life said that when he retired as Heavyweight Champion of the World, he decided to become a preacher. But people said, “You can’t be a preacher. You are a boxer and boxers can’t preach.” Dream killers. He ignored them and became a preacher anyway. And then a couple of years later he missed boxing, so he decided to train and win back the heavyweight champion title. He was 43. People said, “You can’t do that. You are 43. You are too old. And besides you’re too fat. Give up that silly dream. You are a preacher and preachers can’t box.”

Dream killers. Foreman had them. You have them too. You may be married to one. You may have a parent who is a dream killer or a brother or sister. It may even be your best friend who is a dream killer.
Foreman ignored them and won the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World a second time anyway. Never let someone who gave up their dream…talk you out of yours!
Dream killers will always say your dream is too big. But I say - - If your dreams don’t scare you, your dreams are too small.
Joseph believed in his dream when no one else did. He stood alone with his dream. Hanging onto our dreams means we must be willing to be the only one who believes it can come true.
Will you make up your mind to prove your dream killers wrong? “The person with big dreams is more powerful than the person with all the facts.” Einstein • Underline the most important sentence in your opinion and say why.
• Has anyone ever tried to talk you out of your dream? What was your dream and how did they try to discourage you?
• What do you think of the Einstein quote? Just nice words or is there any truth/encouragement in it? Explain your opinion.
3. Joseph is in a dark dungeon. He is a slave. It would not surprise us if Joseph asked ‘Where are you God? Why this?” But he doesn’t. Consider this: 3 times in 2 chapters the Bible says “God was with Joseph.” Really? Then why are all these bad things happening? Why was Joseph sold as a slave? If God is with him, why is he in prison the last 10 years? Gideon lived during a time when the enemy was crushing God’s people. They overran the country. Gideon cried out “If God is with us, then why do we have all these problems?” Or David in Psalm 22 verse 1 says - - “My God, why are You so far from helping?” Both David and Gideon wobbled in their confidence in God. So did Abraham and Moses. And so did the father who pleaded with Jesus to heal his dying child. Jesus told him that everything is possible for him who believes. And then the father said: “Jesus, I believe. But help me in my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Jesus heals his child! Jesus does not ignore this man with “barely believing faith”. Jesus says even if we have faith the size of a tiny seed, He still will help us. Isn’t there someone here with a dream that looks more and more impossible and your confidence in God is as tiny as a tiny seed? God is still good to believers who barely believe. So don’t let dream killers make you give up on your dream. Remember that God cannot make a dream come true if we give up on it. So many good things happen because a person does not give up. And Pharaoh had a dream and the next day Joseph was CEO…all because he stayed in the race and did not give up his dream. When Mrs. Potiphar lied and Joseph was thrown in prison, God did not say “Opps, I didn’t expect that.” When the cupbearer broke his promise and left Joseph in prison 2 more years, God did not say, “Oh my! I didn’t see that coming.”

And when bad things happen to you, God doesn’t say “I didn’t see that coming. That ruins My plans for you.” No. God is never surprised at the bad things people to do you. He just works around it.
God will get ‘er done. He will get ‘er done. But you’ve got to ignore the dream killers and not give up. • Underline the most stimulating or challenging sentence and say why.
• What is that quote teaching us about unbelief and faith?
4. Never equate the facts with what God is doing. Consider this: “Never confuse the facts with the acts of God.” For years it looked like God was doing nothing for Joseph. His brothers abused him. Mrs.
Potiphar lies and he’s thrown in prison. The cupbearer forgets his promise and Joseph rots in prison 2 more years.
But Joseph does not think God is doing nothing. He does not complain. He does not let the facts steal his confidence that God is still good even in the worst of times.
Joseph is confident God is working invisibly. You see, invisible does not mean unreal. The wind is invisible but pushes a sailboat across the sea. Love is invisible but it does wonderful things.
You can’t see a bullet flying through the air. It’s invisible to your eye but you better believe it's real. You can’t see God working but don’t think that means He’s not.
God is moving people around in the dungeon and giving Pharaoh dreams no one could interpret. God had everything and everyone in position to make Joseph’s dream come true.
But for 10 years no one could see God at work. It looked just the opposite. The day before Joseph became CEO no one could see that coming…except God who had been at work and moved everyone into position.
I can’t imagine how hard it is for some of you, how dark your dungeon is, how impossible your dream looks today. But the Bible promises that God is with you just as He was with Joseph. Jesus says in Hebrews 13 verse 5, “I will never, never leave you, nor forsake you.”
And in Isaiah 41 God says to you, “I am with you! I will strengthen you and help you!” (Isaiah 41:10)
When your life is a dungeon and it’s dark, the most important thing is focus. Will you focus on dream killers and what they say and on your circumstances…or will you focus on God who makes dreams come true, who took Joseph out of the dungeon and made him CEO?
It’s a choice. So what’s your choice? What will you focus on? • Underline the most challenging or helpful sentence and say why.
• Sum up in a few sentences the main point of that quote.
5. Consider this quote on the importance of the words we speak: Words are seeds. Don’t talk yourself into giving up! Words affect us. They do things to us. The first Aides survivor believed he could be healed
and constantly said so. He was the first survivor because words are seeds.

Words are seeds. What words you speak become seeds that germinate and produce either dandelions or flowers in your life.
Words of faith release God to turn your dungeon into a tunnel. That’s why I say the first battle we must win if our dreams are to come true, the first battle we must win is with ourself. Many people talk themselves into discouragement. Listen to yourself speak this week. Are you talking yourself into discouragement? Honestly, I listen to the negativity of some people and I think “No wonder they are so discouraged! Who would not be the way they are talking?” • What is the most challenging or important sentence and say why.
• Most people pay no attention to their words. They have little or no idea how the words they speak affect them! People talk themselves into discouragement. They talk themselves into anger as they ventilate on what happened. They talk themselves into unforgiveness. The more they talk, the more stubborn they are in their opinion. Or, they talk themselves into forgiving, into more faith, into holding onto their dream. What do you think about that?
• What does Proverbs 18:21 say?
• Psalm 34:12-4
• Matthew 12:36-37
• In a couple of sentences describe America today and the tongue of people around you. In the environment we are in, how do we keep control of our words?
• What will be your strategy for watching your words? What will you do to keep from conforming to the world?
• The challenge: start noticing your words. At the end of the day ask yourself “What words have I been saying today and how are they affecting me?” Our words DO THINGS TO US.
Pray for each other.
Memory: “The tongue has the power of life and death.” (Proverbs 18:21)