Never Forget Your Future
Pastor Erickson preaches from the story of Joseph in Genesis 37, the dreamer who held on to his heritage as a son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to the dream God gave him. He calls the church to remember how God brought them through, to claim a new spiritual heritage in Jesus, and to have a vision for their future.
The message in 6 points
A dreamer and a hymn
Joseph's brothers mock him as a dreamer, and God calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Pastor Erickson notes that Amazing Grace begins with John Newton's past and ends with his future, and he names his message Never Forget Your Future.
48:56A spiritual immune system
The immune system keeps a record of every germ it has defeated. In the same way, he says, we must remember how we overcame past trials, so that when the same test comes again our spirit can rise up and say not this time.
52:40Joseph knew who he was
Sold by his brothers, a servant in Potiphar's house and a prisoner for years, Joseph kept telling himself he was the son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that he had a dream. Even in prison he helped everyone he could.
59:47A new spiritual heritage
Some have generations of faith behind them and some are the first in their family. He says a person caught in a generational curse is a new creature in Christ, adopted as a son and heir, like a racehorse valued for its bloodline.
1:08:54Where there is no vision
Frustration and discouragement are signs of a person with no dream. Every person, not only the pastor, needs a vision for their own life, or they become idle and make poor choices. He urges people to get back involved in the new year.
1:18:59A dream that saves others
Knowing who you are breaks the cycle of falling into the same sin. Joseph's dream saved his brothers and the line of Judah. He invites people to receive a new heritage through the Holy Ghost and baptism, and calls the dreamers to the altar.
1:25:33
In his words
“You've got to remember who you are and where you came from, you've got to have vision of where you're going, and you've got to have a dream of what you're trying to reach to.”
“I know who I used to be, but I also know who I'm about to be. Oh, Mom and Dad can't give me my identity, my Grandma and Grandpa can't give me my identity, the only one that can give me my identity is my God.”
“I want to disprove this mindset, because every single person in this house has got to have vision for their life.”
Taken word for word from the video, with punctuation added.
Scripture
He reads
Genesis 37:19-20
19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
King James Version.
Exodus 3:6
6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
King James Version.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
King James Version.
Galatians 4:4-7
4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
King James Version.
He also points to
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