“Footprints of Courage”
Matthew 1:18-25
Could I have all the men in the room stand? Let’s be honest men – being a man takes a lot of courage. It doesn’t require much to be male, but to be a man – God’s kind of man – takes much courage. As those seated look around, I hope they are seeing a collection of courageous men, not just cool-looking males. Thanks, you can be seated.
Consider 9/11, 2001. Lots of males were there, but only courageous men went in to those burning towers.
Consider the tsunami of 2004. Lots of vacationing males ran away from the water, but the courageous men went towards the water to find the innocent and helpless.
And consider Joseph of the first Christmas. He was definitely more than male! His entire experience with Mary took courage. After all, it was filled with hard decisions. Decisions that required lots of internal fortitude; deep down guts. In a word, courage. That’s the stuff men, not males, are made of. And that’s the footprint Joseph leaves for us – a footprint of courage.
For instance,
• It took courage to resist the plunge towards public vindictiveness. (Matthew 1:19)
• It took courage to listen the voice of God and not the pseudo-wisdom of society. (Matthew 1:20-23)
• It took courage to remain true to Mary in the face of societal pressure and disdain. (Matthew 1:25)
• It took courage to abstain from sex until after the birth of Jesus. (Matthew 1:25)
But where does courage come from? What things come together to produce courage? This morning I want to walk you through the passage in Matthew and provide some insight from Joseph’s life about courage and how we secure it.
1. Practice personal integrity regardless of public pressure. (Matthew 1:18-19)
Do you see the phrase, “Joseph was a righteous man”? This indicates something about what was already going on in Joseph’s life. It tells us what Joseph was already doing: the right thing! Yes, this means he had a heart of belief and was “positionally” righteous, but it also means he was involved in practical righteousness – he tried to do the right thing. In fact, this is the root of the word “righteous” – right! It simply means Joseph did things right. Even when they were hard. Yes, Joseph had a personal zeal for righteousness that was rooted in a passion for God and a thirst for the “right thing.” When you start realizing this, you begin to see that courage is something forged within a person, not forced upon them.
When this becomes your guiding principle – your north star – then it doesn’t matter how difficult or easy the task is. Only one question matters: “What is the right thing to do?” This is how courage is forged for the difficult times – through doing the right thing over and over in the not-so-difficult times. That’s right – when you do what’s right everyday in the little things, you discover that doing the right thing regarding large matters is normal operating procedure.
We often call this integrity. Principled living. Ethics. Character. This is what enables you to make the hard decisions. Because you have settled some things personally, you are able to make tough decisions in the face of pressure. Inwardly, you have “wrestled with the angels” and come to grips with what God is asking of you. And so when the need for courage arises, you’re ready. So while courage is revealed in our difficult opportunities, it is produced through integrity in the everyday occurrences.
In the movie “Cinderella Man,” we meet a man like Joseph. He is a boxer who has lost everything and whose family is starving. His son steals a loaf of bread to help his starving family. The father rebukes his son and makes him apologize to the storekeeper from whom he stole it. This God-fearing father may not have been able to fill his children’s stomachs, but he nurtured their spirits through his integrity.
Let me literally spell out some of the places where we need to practice personal integrity every day. Here’s a list of the small things that actually prepare us for the large things:
• k-i-d-s demand integrity. Do you keep your word to your kids, listen when they talk, and model the kind of lifestyle you want them to live?
• w-o-r-k demands integrity. Are you on time even when no one else will be there that day? Do you fulfill your agreements? Are you supportive and loyal to your boss in your words and actions? Are you honest in your reports and fair in your responses?
• f-a-m-i-l-y demands integrity. Is there duplicity in your lifestyle? Does your family see one thing on Sunday and another on Monday? Do they always see you making excuses when it is convenient for you? Are you honest in your answers about where you’ve been? What you’ve spent? Who you’re with?
• f-i-n-a-n-c-e-s demand integrity. How often do some say, “I’m broke!” then go out to eat 4 nights a week or buy excessive luxuries for their home? Are you being truthful to yourself and each other about your spending habits? Are you being honest about your taxes? What if you get too much change back – do you give it back?
• s-o-c-i-e-t-y demands integrity. Do we vote for those with biblical values? Do we speak up for what is right even when the culture says we’re not “politically correct?”
Be aware, though, that moral purity and integrity is sneered at in our society. The movie “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” made fun of the idea that a man could live to such an age and be sexually pure. And the recent revelations of so many business leaders who have gone to jail over accounting fraud and insider trading lets us know that “business ethics” is all too often a buzz word rather than a corporate code.
Here’s the point, men – Do the right thing every day in every situation! As you do, courage will start to develop. Little by little your integrity will forge courage within you.
To illustrate this, simply draw a circle and write “integrity” in the middle. With that done,notice another component of courage found in our text:
2. Pursue God’s vision, not man’s wisdom. (Matthew 1:20-23)
In this passage, Joseph was instructed by God via a dream. He had a clear vision from the Lord of what he was to do. And this vision – this dream – guided him and brought him clarity, conviction, and courage, even when it wasn’t what society thought he should do. But because he had a clear understanding of what God wanted – the Lord’s visions for his life – the opinions of those not “in the loop” didn’t affect him at all.
Now there are people who debate the validity of dreams, and it is not my purpose this morning to engage in that debate. But it is my intent to show that Joseph put God’s call above all other voices. He was in tune with what God had to say to him. He was in touch with God’s vision for him.
I draw from this a simple applicational question: Whose vision and voice are you tuned in to? You see, God does have a clear vision for your life – a call to obedience that he wants you hear, see and grasp. Are you listening to the Spirit, reading the Word, and seeking the Lord for what he wants out of your life?
Understand something, men – there is an all-out attack on spiritual vision today. Our culture and society will do all it can to make sure you don’t hear from God. Why? Because God’s vision will more often than not conflict with man’s wisdom. The television, radio, ads, mass media – it’s all loud noise designed to distract you from what matters most. And if you let it, that voice will get your attention and not the voice of God. It gets you unnecessarily focused on the non-essentials – the present trivial issues that make up our physical life. God’s vision keeps you centered on the things that matter most – eternal issues regarding our spiritual life.
Here’s what happens when man’s wisdom starts overriding God’s vision – we lose our perspective. That’s right – our ability to see life from God’s point of view begins to diminish, and we start thinking that a larger iPod, bigger home, nicer car, or more lucrative career is our key to a meaningful life. If we let that go unchecked, then that starts filtering out to those around us, and our kids, our friends, our associates, and our family start buying in to that same kind of thinking. Which is exactly why less young men and women are entering ministry than ever before. Fewer college men and women are signing on to careers as missionaries. And why materialism and greed is on the rise. Why? Because men are failing to portray a vision for life larger than what they simply can see and touch.
Joseph, however, knew something bigger was going on than just a birth of a boy. God was being incarnated into man! His “buy in” into something larger and transcendent – the vision God had for his life – was critical to his courage. You see, I believe that until a man finds God’s transcendent cause to live for, he’ll find it hard to find any thing to die for. Courage for the now is never produced apart from a vision for the future.
Men, pursue God’s vision for your life. Get connected with his purposes and eternal goals. Then, with passion and courage, transfer these to those around you. Don’t be afraid to challenge the norm and live boldly with God’s vision as your compass and guide.
To illustrate this, simply draw another circle connected to the first circle and write “vision” in the middle. Done? Now let me draw your attention to one last component of courage found in this passage:
3. Embrace sacrificial action instead of superficial anger. (Matthew 1:24-25)
Don’t you love verse 24? It simply says, “He did what the angel of the Lord commanded…” He obeyed! But what makes this so incredible is that is actions were all sacrificial in nature. When the going got tough, Joseph got sacrificial. Do you see the text?
“…took Mary home as his wife…”
“…had no union with her…”
Joseph is a great example of someone who was very courageous and showed his courage through his sacrificial action. Therein lies the essence of courage – we exhibit it best when we sacrifice for others. Isn’t this the real essence of a hero – Courageous sacrifice? You bet it is!
Think a little deeper about this situation with me. Joseph could have responded in a vindictive, physically angry way – and been completely legal! Imagine how Joseph could have reacted when he found out that Mary was pregnant. At that moment, the only way he could explain her pregnancy, since he and Mary had not consummated their marriage, was that she had been unfaithful to him with another man. She was an adulteress!
Any man would respond under such circumstances with shock (Joseph thought that Mary was a pure and chaste girl. He must have been shocked to the core.), sorrow (his dreams of marriage to this young girl now seemed to be forever shattered.), and anger (Joseph must have felt betrayed. His manly pride would have made him want to punish somebody! No one would have blamed him if he had caused a terrible scene in the village.).
But Joseph’s godly character enabled him to rein in his anger. And instead he responded thoughtfully, biblically, and spiritually in an appropriate manner. In this response, Joseph showed his courage by providing for and protecting his family.
Men, your courage is not seen in your anger or heard in your volume. But that’s what too many of us think. It’s what I used to think. I was like a lot of dads who exert their might when they want to show that they are right. That’s how they view courage – as something loud and boisterous. How sad!
Instead, courage is seen in how well we handle adversity and change. And the best way to handle it is to accept the changes or difficulty upon yourself first. Getting mad and demanding everyone else adjust to you in a moment of hot-temperedness only drives people away. You be the first to do what is tough. Just like Joseph, let your obedient and courageous actions find their roots in sacrifice. Now that’s a real man!
Truth is, courage is often a background concept. It is the hidden, structural beams of a life of sacrifice, for it forms the foundation for a man who lives selflessly. After all, that type of lifestyle is the hardest way to live! So it only makes sense that courage is the backdrop to his life.
Chris Spielman is one of these courageously sacrificial men. When Chris Spielman played for the Buffalo Bills, he was everything a middle linebacker should be: tough, strong and smart, with passion, total commitment and loyalty to the game. In fact, did you know he played the entire 1995 season with a torn pectoral muscle that he sustained in the season opener?
But the game took a distant second place in this thinking during the 1998 season. He chose to stay home. He cooked, took care of his kids, and cared for his wife—by choice. Stephanie, Chris’s wife, was struggling through the stark reality of breast cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy and nausea were Stephanie’s opponents. During her fight, Chris was at her side; his actions supported his "family before job" credo.
When asked by a reporter from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle if he’d consider a return to the Bills late in the season, Spielman said, "I’d play in a heartbeat, but what kind of man would I be if I backed out on my word to her? I wouldn’t be a man at all."
Football fans saw Spielman as a man because of his aggressive, leave-it-all-on-the-field style of play. But what really made him a man was his personal sacrifice for and to his wife.
Men, how are you sacrificing for those around you? How do you respond when life calls upon you to adjust, change, give a little more or go the extra mile? Do you hold your tongue, bite your lip and let the Spirit of God manifest his power through you by sacrificing first? Or do you lose your temper, spew out hurtful words and storm off to sulk? That’s not sacrifice or courage; it’s immature and weak. This week, try exhibiting real courage, not through superficial anger, but through sacrificial actions.
To complete our courage illustration, simply draw a third circle connected to, but below, the first two circles and write “sacrifice” in the middle. Now I want you to see something about courage that these three circles represent: Courage is at its highest when these three circles intersect! That’s right – when integrity, vision, and sacrifice merge, courage is at its peak. The heroes of 9/11, Pearl Harbor, natural disasters, and other sudden crises like these are actually the people who experienced the explosion of these three things at one time. The result? A courageous act that every once calls heroic.
Can you have courage in varying amounts? Yes! I believe these things work in varying degrees as well. But it’s when they come together and are fleshed out that courage is seen publicly and visibly. Before that, it is often hidden, invisible and behind-the-scenes.
As we close, let me show you an incredible time when these three components came together and exploded in the life of the early church. Turn to Acts 4:1-13 and lets see how Peter and John got their courage. After all, that’s what the rulers noticed, remember? Look at verse 13: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John, and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.” How did this happen? Here’s how:
They were 1) practicing integrity by doing the right thing (witnessing of the resurrection), 2) pursuing God’s vision (world evangelization starting in Jerusalem and going to the uttermost parts of the earth), and 3) embracing sacrifice (willing to put their life on the line for the sake of the new church). WOW! No wonder courage exploded from within the lives of Peter and John – just like Joseph, they had merged the three circles ordained by God to be the incubator of courage.
So if you really want to be God’s kind of man, then strive to be a man of courage. It may start today by your willingness to address difficult areas, make hard decisions, submit to God’s vision, or admit personal failure. Will you join me in my journey to be more than male? This Christmas, let’s follow in Joseph’s footprints and be men of courage.
[Pray – invite men to respond…bring wife, family, kids…may God build an army of courageous men!]
