Navigating God’s Will
(Matthew 1:18-25)
1. Some people think you can find God’s will by opening up a page of the Bible and putting your finger down, “Bible dipping.” So this guy tries this method of finding God’s will for him. He prays for guidance. He closes his eyes, lets his Bible fall open, points his finger to a text on the page, opens his eyes, and reads, “Judas went out and hanged himself.” He thinks, “This can’t be right,” so he tries it again. The verse reads, “Go thou and do likewise.” In shock, who says, “well, three times is the charm. I’ll try it again. “ His finger lands on the verse, “What thou doest, do thou quickly.”
2. Although we cannot put God in a box, there is a line between faith and superstition, between guidance and magic. We want to carefully interpret the Bible in its context and then observe principles we might apply.
Main Idea: God’s will is something we usually discern with our renewed minds, but sometimes God directs us differently (but never contrary to Scripture); sometimes He hints at those plans, but has not been clear about them — yet He reveals them in His time.
I. Joseph’s Makes An Attempt to Discern God’s Will Through Kind WISDOM, Based On the Believable Information He Has (18-19).
A. Godly Christians make most decisions by attempting to follow Scriptural principles coupled with godly WISDOM, which is what Joseph was doing.
Romans 12:2, “ Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
B. Trying to divorce Mary KINDLY and discreetly was a righteous thing to do.
One of the greatest tests of our character is how we treat others who have wronged us. Divorce is always unfortunate, but sometimes necessary. There is a Christian way to go through a divorce.
Kindness only sometimes determines what we do, but it often determines how we do what we do. As a Christian, I am sometimes kinder than I would have been before I knew the Lord. At others times, I am not. Ongoing challenge. [politics]
C. He could have SHAMED her, had he chosen to do that, but he remembered that she was a human being, as well as a fellow believer in God.
1. The death penalty for adultery, while on the books, had been circumvented in Israel; even if leaders chose this, Rome would have forbidden it.
2. The woman taken in a adultery and presented to Jesus for a ruling was a trap to try to set Jesus against Rome.
3. Both marriages and divorces could be validated with two witnesses; neither required a court hearing, unless a woman was asking the court to order her husband to divorce her. Difference between living together and marriage is social recognition and legal obligation to one’s spouse.
II. God REVEALS His Will in Contrast to Joseph’s Discernment, Because God Has Full Information (20-21, 24-25).
A. No matter how much we think we know, we do not know it ALL, but God does.
B. We must never forget that our attempts to discern God’s will are HUMAN and thus fallible.
C. This dream was no ORDINARY dream; Joseph would take some convincing.
God may lead you to do something that the Word does not address, but He will never lead you contrary to His Word.
D. Why does Gabriel appear in a vision to Mary and in a dream to Joseph? Because he DOES.
1. Too many of us try to standardize our experiences with God (narrowness).
2. God works through His Word and His Spirit, common to all believers. But the particulars vary.
3. Take the experience Marylu and I had coming to HPC.
III. The Will of God Had Already Been Revealed As A MYSTERY in the Old Testament (22-23).
A. A mystery can be information completely left out but later revealed, or something revealed but not with great CLARITY.
“…the gospel writer, Matthew, was not trying to fit Jesus’ life into a traditional mold, but rather turned to Scripture to explain what had taken place in the event of the virgin birth…” [jewsforjesus.org]
B. Jesus was born of a virgin so as not to inherit a SIN nature, the predisposition to sin that we have.
• Some people have trouble believing Jesus was sinless. Some people believe we can become sinless in this life (sanctification).
C. Jesus was born of a virgin perhaps to avoid the CURSE on the ruling branch of David’s descendants.
Jeconiah, also called “Jehoiachin” and “Coniah”), was a king of Judah who was deported as part of the Babylonian captivity. He is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus, in Joseph’s family line (Matthew 1:12).
The curse of Jeconiah is found in Jeremiah 22…“Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah” (verse 30).
… Jesus only had one human parent, Mary. His mother was of David’s line, but not through Jeconiah (Luke 3:31). Joseph was Jesus’ legal father, but not His physical one. Thus, Jesus was of royal blood through Mary, but the curse of Jeconiah stopped with Joseph and was not passed on to Jesus.” [gotquestions.org, edited]
Luke 3:23, “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli...”
D. Jesus was born of a virgin because it was essential that, in a unique way, God was His FATHER.
E. Some Bible content might appear RANDOM, but can deepen as you delve into it.
1. We do not have to find the reason for God doing what He does, but it can be edifying trying to do so. When you see how God harmonizes seemingly conflicting truths, it helps You to believe He will do the same with other seemingly conflicting truths.
2. As you dig more deeply into Scripture and as you renew your mind in the Word — rather that turn your mind off — you will discover more of God’s will for you via the many principles you learn. This includes “unlocking” Biblical mysteries. There is a direct correlation between understanding God’s will and spending time in the Word.
Joseph had to navigate through life as we all do. But he wanted to navigate with God’s compass and do God’s will. Do you and I?
