The Characters of Christmas # 2
JOSEPH -- "I’LL OBEY."
Hope Christian Church, Tamarac, Florida
December 7, 2003
Dr. David L. Haun
Joseph - truly a man of God. I wish I could be more like him. Joseph was probably a mature man, perhaps a widower. He was a blue-collar worker, a carpenter. He must have been a good one, no doubt skilled of hand and good with details. Joseph was a man of integrity, a man of faith, a sensible man, a willing servant, and level headed Most important, Joseph was willing to obey. Perhaps that’s why God chose Joseph to raise his Son... Today, let’s look at Joseph and the example he offers us. For what God longs to see in 2003 are some Josephs here at Hope.
Our Scripture is from two New Testament sources as found in The Message: The NT in Contemporary English.
Matthew 1;18-24
The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus -- ’God saves’ -- because he will save his people from their sins." ...Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream. He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
Matthew 2:13, 19-23
God’s angels showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, "Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until further notice.
Later, when Herod died, God’s angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. "Up, take the child and his mother and return to Israel ... Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother, and reentered Israel. When he heard, though, that Archelaus had succeeded his father, Herod, as King in Judea, he was afraid to go there. But then Joseph was directed in a dream to go to the hills of Galilee. On arrival, he settled in the village of Nazareth.
I. JOSEPH OBEYED. HE TOOK MARY INTO HIS HOME AS HIS WIFE
A. He protected Mary, removed her social stigma, and provided godly leadership to his family.
1. It has been said that women teach their children what it means to be gentle. Men teach their chidren what it means to be spiritual.
2. Joseph taking that stand protected Mary from the vicious gossip that could have come. I read somewhere that it would be strange for someone nine months pregnant to make that long trip for the census registration. She did not have to go. Joseph could have registered for both of them. And the suggestion was that maybe he took his wife with her to protect her from all the whispers she would have had to endure if she had stayed home. --unknown
B. Obeying was not an easy thing for Joseph to do.
1. He knew he would face the taunts and laughter of his neighbors and community.
He can’t keep his wife happy - She wandered even before the wedding
He can’t keep his zipper zipped and his lusts in control.
2. He must have cried out "God Why?!"
CAN WE OBEY LIKE JOSEPH?
A. Change habits and lifestyles in faithfulness to God?
Joshua 24:14 Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD .
B. Welcome the unwelcome and accept the offensive?
Luke 15:1 -ff Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Then Jesus told them this parable: (the sheep and the shepherd, and a wife wih a missing coin.)
You see, our goal as believers and as a church is twofold: First, attempting to reverse the status of the lost. That which was missing has been found. God’s grace is the offer of acceptance to the unacceptable. The sheep, lost in danger is found and returned. The coin, lost in uselessness is found and returned to value. In the two parables, each "finding" was followed by a celebration with family and friends. As the Scripture says, there is true joy in heaven over one lost who is foiund.
II. JOSEPH OBEYED. HE FLED INTO EGYPT.
A. There was much this caused him to give up.
His family, his employment, his position
B. It demanded a total change in life.
From a position of respect in town, he became a fugitive, hiding in Egypt
CAN WE OBEY LIKE JOSEPH?
A. Give up our posessions, our positions, our pride?
These can be the most difficult habits to give up. We tend to stockpile our belongings, safeguard our positions, and shield our pride. They are the most difficult things to turn over to God. But they are what he wants most of all. Because God knows if we are willing to give him our posessions, then greed will not enslave us. If we can surrender our position, then God can restore us to the position He wants. If we can humble our pride, then God can use for his purposes. Joseph obeyed and gave up each of these. Can we?
B. Accept the total ownership of our life by God?
Ephesians 3:7-8 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
III. JOSEPH OBEYED. HE CAME BACK HOME.
A. This was a risky move for Joseph to take.
The king was dead, but that doesn’t mean his polilcies have died. Harod’s son is still on the throne. I believe God allowed Joseph to return to his former home town for Mary and the baby’s protection , to fulfill scripture, and as a blessing to Joseph for his loyalty, giveng him the chance to again have the chance to live a life with his extended family.
B. It demanded starting over yet again.
Joseph lost his business and livelihood when he feld from Israel to Egypt. Now, God calls him to again uproot his family and lose the new business he has established to return home. It can be hard to have to keep starting over again. But Joseph did it - he obeyed.
CAN WE OBEY LIKE JOSEPH?
A. Can we step beyond our fears and hesitations?
Can you and I trust God enough to give up all we’ve held important and start over again? Can we step aside from a life style that does not please God and begin in a new way as God’s new child?
B. Can we start over again?
IV. JOSEPH OBEYED: HE REARED JESUS AS HIS SON.
A. He fulfilled the daily rsponsibilities of being a father.
He taught his son what a boy needed to know to successful grow into manhood
B. He never "knew" the results of his faithful obeying.
Mary came to know the outcome of her faithfulness. As Simeon prophecied, Mary would experience a sword in her heart (Luke 2:35) as she watched her son suffer and die. But she would live to see the resurrection and experience the birth of Christ’s church. Joseph witnessed the miracle from the glory side of heaven (which our faith says is even better)
CAN WE OBEY LIKE JOSEPH?
A. Can we willingly serve God without thought of personal outcome?
B. Can we pour out our efforts for God without ever seeing success?
Like Joseph, we sometimes cry "Why?" And all we hear in response is "Trust Me." God’s ways are not always our ways. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We wish there were answers, but all we can hear is "Trust Me." Can we trust God to bring success out of our effects that seem to be only failure?
I heard a wise man just this week say that "living in faith is almost like walking backwards. We can’t see where we are going. We aren’t sure where to place each step. All we can see is the past behind us, never where the next step will lead ahead. And God says "Trust Me." Look at all the ways I have helped in the past. Remember all the times I have been there. Now, take that step backwards in confidence - in faith that I control. Can we obey like Joseph...
V. GOD OFTEN WILL CALL US TO DO MORE THAN WE THINK WE CAN DO. BUT HE NEVER WILL CALL US TO DO MORE THAN HE CAN DO.
A. Henry Blackaby in his book Knowing and Doing the Will of God, made an encouraging observation. He writes: Some people say, "God will never ask me to do something I can’t do." I have come to the place in my life that,if the assignment I sense God is giving me is something that I know I can handle, I know it probably is not from God. The kind of assignments God gives in the Bible are always God-sized. They are always beyond what people can do, because He wants to demonstrate His nature, His strength, His provision, and His kindness to His people and to a watching world. That is the only way the world will come to know him. (Nashville, Tenn. Lifeway Press, 2002) 116.
B. In the Bible, God always is giving God-sized instructions.
Abraham - to found a nation when Sarai his wife was too old to have children
Moses - to lead the nation across the sea, bring water from a rock, and fulfill the promise of Israel
Gideon - defeat the Midianite army of thousands with 300 men
Jesus told the disciples to feed the multitudes, share his message and make disciples of all the nations.
None of these things were humanly possible. But each of them were within God’s ability and God’s call.
Conclusion
Are we able to obey like Joseph? Yes we are! God longs for and looks for men and women who will obey when he calls to faithfulness! There’s a poem that begins:
Are you able, says the Master, to be crucified with me?
Yea, the sturdy dreamers answer, to the death we’ll follow thee.
Lord, we are able, our spirits are thine.
Remold them, make us, like thee divine.
Thy guiding radience above us shall be
a beacon to God to love and loyalty.
So the call is to each one of us.... "WILL YOU OBEY? ARE YOU ABLE?
