Christmas Courage Series

Turn Your Bibles to Matthew 1:18-24

Title: Christmas Courage

Theme: The Courage of Joseph

Listen as I read Matthew 1:18-24, “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ --which means, ‘God with us.’ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.” Pray!

Introduction: There are many miracles connected with the birth of Christ. The best way of overcoming the world’s view of Christmas is to have a Biblical understanding of the miraculous events that took place at the first Christmas. I remember the first Christmas after becoming a Christian, the holiday season became so exciting to me because the Holy Spirit illuminated within me what Christmas was really about.

I have found personally the best way for me to maintain and restore joy for the Christmas season is to meditate upon what the Word of God says about the lives of those who were so closely involved in the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

Interrogative Sentence: Just what is found in Joseph’s life that made him such a valuable person in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Can these character traits be found in the children of God today?

Propositions: I would propose to you that the Biblical account of the life of Joseph holds truths that the Holy Spirit of Christ wants you to grasp this Christmas season. Many have Biblical revelation or understanding of the life of Joseph. However, Christians who live a life expressing that the birth of Christ is an event worth celebrating take time to invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate Biblical truth into their hearts.

Transitional Sentence: The first truth worth grasping is that the Lord takes ordinary men and makes useful vessels of them. Joseph was a man doing ordinary common work and to my knowledge he held no place of what men of this world would call authority or worldly fame. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus had the character that should be found in all Christian fathers, yet very little is said of him in Christian writings.

What is revealed to us in Scripture about Joseph is that he was poor and he observed the Word of God expressing a heart that is willing to seek out and do the will of God. Luke 2:21-27 says, “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise Him, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord’), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons.’” (Luke 2:21-14) The Bible says Joseph and Mary, “brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what the custom of the Law required…” (Luke 2:27) Joseph as head of his family knew what was written in the Book of Leviticus chapter 12 and made the offering required for a woman who was poor financially. (Who’s Who in the Bible; The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

This is a great encouragement to all Christians. Most Christians are not going to be famous, have a place of authority nor be rich in the world’s eyes. They can, however, become very important in proclaiming the good news of the gospel of Christ as long as they are willing to seek the will of the Lord through the written Word of God and obey what the Holy Spirit of Christ calls them to do. The Holy Spirit gives this exhortation through the writings of the Apostle Peter, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) It has been very well said, “God takes ordinary people and does extraordinary things through them.”