NORTH YORK CHURCH OF CHRIST

Pastor Roger Marcos
November 25, 2018

TEXT: Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). ²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Introduction:

William Barclay: According to the Jewish idea, the Holy Spirit was the person who brought God's truth to men. It was the Holy Spirit who taught the prophets what to say; it was the Holy Spirit who taught men of God what to do; it was the Holy Spirit who, throughout the ages and the generations, brought God's truth to men. So then, Jesus is the one person who brings God's truth to men.

What Is A Dream?

• A Mental Activity Occurring During Sleep. (thoughts, images, emotions)
• A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep.

A nightmare is a dream which causes fear or horror, or the feelings of pain, falling, drowning or dying. Such dreams can be related to physical causes such as a high fever, or psychological ones such as psychological trauma or stress in that persons life. If a person has experienced a psychologically traumatic situation in life, for example, a person who may have been captured and tortured, the experience may come back to haunt them in their nightmares. Sleepers may stay awake and be unable to get back to sleep for some time.

I. A SOBERING (Serious) DELIBERATION.

A. Joseph's Character Is Revealed - ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

One of the most difficult, hardest situation of love’s journey of JOSEPH was the pregnancy of his bride.

true self is revealed. When Mary’s pregnancy was discovered, Joseph, being a just man-one who was also kind and gave detailed attention to the observance of the law of God, not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly

Lesson: When life goes wrong from our perspective is the time when we can see our true selves. For what we are in the worst of times is what we really are in our hearts!

B. Joseph's Choices Was Revealed. Since the fiance become pregnant, Joseph had three choices:

1. He could expose Mary publicly about her immorality that lead her being put to death by stoning. Deuteronomy 22:23-24 If a man comes upon a virgin in town, a girl who is engaged to another man, and sleeps with her, take both of them to the town gate and stone them until they die-the girl because she didn’t yell out for help in the town and the man because he raped her, violating the fiancee of his neighbor. You must purge the evil from among you.

2. He can divorce her quietly and just walk away from her, leaving her to raise the child in shame and poverty. Deuteronomy 24:1. “Suppose a man marries a woman and later decides that he doesn't want her, because he finds something about her that he doesn't like. So he writes out divorce papers, gives them to her, and sends her away from his home

3. He could remain with her and marry her which would put Joseph in the position of breaking Jewish law according to Leviticus 20:10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife-with the wife of his neighbor-both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.

Note: To Joseph, none of the choices seemed appealing, but he had to choose one of them. Often life presents us with choices that are less than appealing to our human nature. Our duty in those times is to listen to the voice of God and seek to do that one thing that He wants us to do in our situation.)

C. Joseph's Compassion Is Revealed -

Joseph's decision is to react toward Mary in compassion. This was not an easy decision to reach, but it was a decision that was in the best interests of Mary. Instead of making a public example out of her, and perhaps even bringing about her death, Joseph decides to deal with her in a quiet manner. Even though he is sure that she has been unfaithful to him, he still loves her and wants to do the right thing by her.

II. A SATISFYING VALID DECLARATION.

(Note: I find it interesting to note here that the Lord did not send Joseph the answer for direction he was looking for until after he had reached a decision on his own. Sometimes the Lord will allow us to exhaust all our human reasoning before He gives us divine insight into the situation we are facing in life.

A. The Angel Declared A Divine Providence - An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,

(Mt 1:20) "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."

Do you know what the angel was saying to Joseph? He was saying:

• Mary did NOT break the Law.
• Mary was NOT an adulteress.
• Mary did NOT have sexual relations.
• There was no reason for righteous Joseph to keep Mary out of his home.

As these thoughts troubled the mind of Joseph, the Lords sent an angel to speak to him in a dream. The angel brought Joseph a word of Explanation, of Exaltation, and of Exhilaration. Joseph was made to understand the origin of the child his bride carried. He was made to understand that this dream of his that had turned into a nightmare in his heart and mind was really a miraculous work of God

B. The Angel Declaration Was Divine Presentations. 22-23

²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Joseph is shown that the child Mary carries in her womb is none other than the Deliverer Whom the world has waited on since man sinned in the garden of Eden, Gen. 3:15. This baby is to be the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament. He is to be the end of the Law.

C. Joseph's Put Into Action - 24-25 ²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, ²⁵ and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

As soon as Joseph understands what is happening in his life, he reacts in faith. He goes and takes Mary into his home and his heart as his wife. His is a response of pure faith.

He still doesn't know how things will work out, but he knows that God is working and that is enough for Joseph. Joseph's decision must have shocked the whole community.

Everyone probably assumed that Joseph and Mary had not been able to wait for the wedding. He was willing to bear the shame of Mary's pregnancy because he knew it was the work of God. (Note: True faith does not shrink from the call of God just because others do not understand. True faith hears the voice of the Lord and simply does as it is told.)

Joseph's Quiet Resolve. Joseph waited patiently until Mary gave birth to her son. No doubt Joseph cared for the expectant mother as best he could. When the time came and the baby was born, Joseph did the job of the father, he named the boy Jesus. Naming the child was the responsibility of the Father,

Joseph embrace the plan of God for his life.

Conclusion:

Joseph embrace the plan of God for his life in order to help Mary to take good care the incoming Messiah.

I invite you to bring your life to Jesus, mess and all. Let Him have is and let Him do with it that which He wants to do. He does have something better planned for you, the way to receive it is to react to Him in faith