1. It’s not whether or not God speaks, but HOW he speaks. The story throughout Genesis is how God was interacting with his people, and speaking into their lives – He spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden, Cain as he struggled to understand why his offering was rejected, Noah, as he outlaid his plans to destroy the earth, Abraham, Hagar, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Laban, Joseph – God spoke directly, through angelic messengers, through dreams and visions – but he had relationship with his people – Right here, at the beginning of the Bible, God sets the precedent of relationship, communicating with his people, speaking purpose over them – And God is unchanging – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the same God that we worship today, and his desires haven’t changed at all – he desires relationship, to speak purpose over you.

2. God has a big dream for you. One of the themes of Genesis is jealousy – God has an assignment on your life – Ephesians 2:10 – the challenge comes down to comparison – instead of receiving God’s dream for you, you want what someone else has – when you are not living in intimacy with Jesus, you can easily begin to look at others who are, and become jealous of what you don’t have – Q: In the absence of a God-sized dream, have you given yourself to a lesser vision for your life? Author Will Mancini put it this way: “Our heart is made to live in a larger story; having lost that, we do the best we can by developing our own smaller dramas. Look at the things people get caught up in: sports, politics, soap operas, rock bands. Desperate for something larger to give our lives transcendence, we try to lose ourselves in the smallest kind of stories.”

3. Expect opposition to the dream God has placed in your life. Again, the enemy will use WHATEVER he has to in order to discourage, discredit, steal and ultimately DESTROY your dream. So, EXPECT IT! In this passage, he used those closest to Joseph to discourage his dream – maybe you’re convinced of something God has spoken over you, but your circumstances seem to be moving in the other direction – STAND FIRM and DON’T GIVE UP! (Gal 6:9, Phil 1:6)

4. God uses ALL THINGS for his glory. A bit of a spoiler alert, but God will use Joseph’s slavery for his good and his purpose – James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28 – God was the giver of the dream, and he will be the one to complete what he starts – HE IS A PROMISE KEEPER.