The Face of Courage - Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25)
The Faces of Christmas Series
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Introduction
Courage
What picture comes to mind when you think of the word courage?
I think there are a lot of people that think for a person to be courageous, they need to
be fearless or
do dangerous things or
perhaps that those with great courage need to be uncaring so that they can do whatever it takes to accomplish their purpose.
Well this morning, we want to find out if that is true and to do that we are going to look into the face of Courage
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as we continue in our series, the Faces of Christmas, and see what it truly means to be courageous and learn how we might be courageous.
This morning, we will be looking at Joseph.
Joseph is an interesting person to look at among the people who were at the very first Christmas.
If we were to do a play of the nativity using the Bible as the script, Joseph is the only one without any lines. He says nothing.
But even though he has no words, there is much we can learn from him.
Turn with me to Matthew 1:18-25
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We are going to read the account of Joseph learning about Mary’s pregnancy and the angel talking to him and Joseph’s response and see what it means to be a man of courage.
Let’s read.
Matthew 1:18-25
18 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. 19 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.
20 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. 21 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."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which means, "God with us."
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (NIV)
Pray
Ok, as we look at Joseph here, nothing he does looks all that courageous.
I mean, come on, all he does is get married. How courageous is that?
Now I know some might argue that getting married can take an incredible amount of courage, but that is a sermon for another day.
But really what is so courageous?
Well, let’s consider the situation he is in for a moment.
Imagine…
The woman you are engaged to comes and tells you she is pregnant and you know that it is not your child.
Then she tells you some story about how God impregnated her and that she is still a virgin.
So not only, from your point of view, is she cheating on you, she is lying right to your face, and you think she is playing you for a fool.
Your friends and family say you should have her stoned or at the very minimum, you should divorce her (betrothal in that day was a binding contract)
Then you go to sleep and in your dream and an angel tells you that what Mary is saying is true and you should go ahead and marry her.
Here is where Satan puts in overtime.
Now while the text only tells us that Joseph was obedient to what the angel told him to do, I know there was much more going on in Joseph’s head through this.
How can I know that?
Because I have faced Satan enough times where he has tried to get me to doubt what I knew I should do.
Because I have counseled enough people where Satan has tried to get them to doubt what they knew they should do.
And because the Bible tells us that we are not to be unaware of Satan’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11)
Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8 “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Do you think that Satan is sitting around letting God’s plan of redemption go forward?
No way. He is actively opposing those right now trying to live godly lives for the Lord, and we can be sure that he was actively seeking to thwart God’s plan by trying to turn Joseph from Mary.
So did Joseph need courage to do what the Lord had told him to do?
You bet he did.
But where did he get the courage to face this situation?
That is what we need to know.
That is what I need to know, because I need God’s courage desperately to live the life He wants me to live.
Now, maybe some of you are saying, well hey, “Joseph was one of the people that God used in a mighty way. I am just little old me,
trying to make a living
trying to raise a family
trying to get my school work done
I am just an ordinary person.
Listen, Joseph was just an ordinary person like you and me but there are certain things we can learn from Joseph that will help us to have the courage to live to God’s glory because living the Christian life is not for the faint of heart.
It is going to be difficult. Jesus tells us that in this life you will have trouble, but to take heart because He has overcome the world and since He has overcome it, we too, who are in right relationship with Him can overcome it too.
So, the first thing I want to propose is that
Being Courageous requires Righteousness
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What does that mean?
Ok, we believe that Joseph was courageous and the text tells us that he was a righteous man.
Matthew 1:19 - 19 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. (NIV)
But how is Righteousness required to be courageous?
I am saying that it takes courage to live for the Lord and that it is impossible if we are not righteous.
Now the problem with that is that no one is righteous.
But God solves that problem for us by sending Jesus to give us His righteousness.
Listen to what the Lord tells us through Paul in
Romans 3:20-22
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
That is why we must be in relationship with Him. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, we receive His righteousness. It is then that we can be courageous to live for God, because living for God takes great courage.
As an example, consider the apostles.
The disciples went from running scared to being bold and courageous in standing up for Christ and sharing the truth of the gospel and His resurrection.
Listen to what the Sanhedrin was thinking when they saw that Peter and John after having healed a person who was crippled from birth and boldly teaching these teachers about Christ (Acts 4:2).
Acts 4:13 - When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (NIV)
They had received Jesus as Savior and had received his righteousness and were able to find the courage they needed despite being ordinary men.
Application – You need to trust Jesus as Savior
You will not be able to find the courage that you want and need to live a godly life until you have put your trust in Jesus Christ and received the righteousness that is from God.
It is then that we will
be righteous in God’s sight and
be able to live a righteous life.
Joseph was a man who trusted in God. He was a righteous man. Because He put his trust in God, he was able to walk in the ways of the Lord.
We need to receive God’s righteousness to
be righteous and
walk courageously,
like Joseph
Have you received Jesus Christ as your Savior?
If not, then you need to do that. I want you to think about that question, and if you have not received Christ, I will lead you through an opportunity to do that.
So, to be courageous you need righteousness.
But, also,
Being Courageous requires selflessness
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Listen to what the Angel tells Joseph
Matthew 1:20-23
20 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. 21 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."
The angel tells Joseph that the child in her is from the Holy Spirit and that the child will save the people from their sins.
He is basically saying “Joe, this whole thing is much bigger than you. It is not really about you, but about all humanity.”
Courage always requires selflessness.
It is selflessness that allows the soldier to run into the battle to save a buddy.
He is not thinking about himself, but about someone else.
Without a selfless attitude, we selfishly think about ourselves.
What is in this for me?
Why should I continue on in this relationship with this woman who is already pregnant?
I will get ridiculed by friends. I will be the laughingstock. I will be humiliated!
Wait. This is not about me. This is bigger than me.
Selflessness.
To act courageously, requires you to be selfless. You can’t be thinking about yourself.
Apply
Husbands, are you being selfless? Are you loving your wife as Christ loved the church, or are you only loving her if she is being the type of wife you want her to be? What type of example are you setting for your kids or other people?
It takes selflessness to be a courageous husband thinking about your wife and kids willing to protect them and provide for them.
Wives, are you being selfless? Are you thinking of your husband or are you only thinking of what you want? Are your daughters learning from you how to think about others or just themselves?
You will never be courageous if you aren’t selfless.
Finally,
Being courageous is all about obedience
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Matthew 1:24
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife
He obeyed.
Obedience is a step of courage in itself, but it is as we continue to obey and do what the Lord wants us to, he gives us more courage.
Courage is something that we can continue to grow in as long as we obey what God tells us to do now.
Joseph didn’t think through the Lord’s command.
Well if I take her to be my wife, what are my friends and family going to think of me?
Will this affect my business in anyway with people thinking there is immorality in my home?
No, instead he just obeyed.
We see in other saints as well are challenged to be courageous and obey.
Joshua
Back in the Old Testament, Joshua needed courage to lead the people of Israel into the promised land.
How was he going to get the courage necessary to lead these people?
Joshua 1:7
7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
God was saying, listen,
I have good things in store for you.
It is going to get scary from a human standpoint, but
I am here to get you through it.
You are going to need courage though and
here is how you can get it.
Obey just what I told you to do.
Don’t waver and
when you need the courage to act, I will be there to give you strength and courage.
God has already given you the courage to take the step of obedience that is right in front of you. You may not and probably don’t have all of the courage you need to finish what you may be facing, but you do have enough for one step, the next one.
This is what is called walking by faith.
We exercise the courage He has given us to take the step before us.
We trust that He will give us more courage to take another step later.
It is steps of faith and courage like that which will
move us forward into the abundant and full life, and
bring glory to God in the process.
Realize that having courage does not mean that you will not be scared.
Courage is not a lack of fear, but the strength to act in spite of fear.
Application
I want you to think for a moment, about what is in front of you that you need courage to act on.
Job Decision
Maybe it is a job decision.
Maybe you sense God has been leading you to work less and devote more time to your family or serving the Lord, but you wonder how you will make it.
Maybe you need a different job. In this environment making a change to work less or in a different job will take courage.
Relationship Decison
Maybe it is a relationship decision.
Maybe you need courage to take a stand for purity and righteousness in a relationship you are in. In this society, that will take the courage of the Lord.
Sin Issue
Maybe it is a sin issue or addiction.
Maybe you have some sin that is controlling your life but you are afraid to take a step of closing that sin off from your life for fear that life won’t be as good anymore or you won’t be able to cope.
Whatever is in front of you, I will tell you that if you have received the Lord as your Savior, He has given you the courage to take the next step. You just need to take it.
It will be scary. It will be difficult, but if you will trust in the Lord and open yourself up to Him, you too can live courageously and experience a life of living for the Lord that will not be possible without taking courageous steps that are in front of you.
I am going to pray and then we are going to close in worship singing O Holy Night.
There is a line in that song that says, “For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn” meaning that the birth of Jesus made a new day available for everyone who will trust in Him.
As we pray, I want you to realize there is a new morning available for you today, but it is contingent on
you receiving Christ as your Savior if you haven’t already or
you recognizing the courage He has given you and obeying despite being scared.
I am going to pray that God would help you recognize that and that you would obey what He is calling you to
Or that you would receive Him as your Savior this morning, as the only way to eternal life and the beginning of a “new and glorious morning.
Let’s pray.
Stand as we worship the only One who gives salvation and strength and courage.
