Last Saturday I began a series of Bible studies entitled "DARE TO BE DIFFERENT" -a study on the life of Joseph. I was told that 20 youth leaders had registered, but about fifty people turned up! Praise the Lord, there is hunger for God's word.
Today we live in a culture of copying or imitating. We are afraid of peer pressure; we like to conform, because we all like to be well thought of. Everyone is doing it. We sometimes use the term 'today's culture' or the 'done thing' - relevance! I’m all for relevance, but do not use this word to cover our own lack of courage to stand up for our convictions.
Joseph in the Old Testament dared to be different! Joseph as a teen ager was the favourite son of Jacob (Israel) His self assurance, moulded by pain and combined with personal knowledge of God allowed him to survive and prosper where most would have failed. He added quiet wisdom to his confidence and won the hearts of people he encountered - Potiphar, the keeper of the prison, other prisoners and even the king and finally his ten brothers.
The first lesson covered two points:
His dress was different Joseph's coat of many colours, or richly ornamented robe, a tunic of long sleeves, was symbol of authority. Jacob did not hide his preference for Joseph. The dress or robe symbolized pre-eminence, superiority and status. It marked him out as a white collar worker while his brothers were blue collar ones. More than physical dress we want to emphasise the importance of our spiritual garment of Christian behaviour. We put away the old garment of sin and unrighteousness and put on the garments of righteousness provided by the Father though the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
His dreams were different. God used visions and dreams to communicate with many throughout the Bible. God is sovereign and He can communicate using whatever means that suit His purpose. Best of all today He communicates with us through His Word and the Holy Spirit.
Our dreams during sleep are coloured by our thoughts during waking hours. Our secret fears and longings find expression in our dreams. We describe our longings, our hopes, and our ambitions as our dreams. Dreams or visions give us direction and increases our potential. It enables us to prioritise, adds value to our work. When in Christ our dreams our dreams are different from the dreams of the people of the world. For us let our dream be to fulfil the mission of saving souls, growing saints and serving suffering humanity to the glory of God.
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