Courage to Do the Impossible

Intro…Fear can take on many forms…I remember a battle I had with fear when I was a freshman in high school...

...fast forward to 2021…as I completed my masters I had to contemplate the next steps…I had a lot of baggage from my past churches…no church is going to want a pastor with baggage…I was growing afraid that God had shelved me and there was not going to be a place for me in ministry anymore…I was fearful of making myself and my baggage known to others…I was afraid to take any steps forward even though I knew God wasn’t finished with me yet...

Transition...What fears have paralyzed you here this morning? What are the next steps God wants you take by faith, but there is something in your heart and mind you fear will happen that keeps you from moving forward?

You know there are things you ought to be doing that give others a better testimony of your Savior but you are afraid of what they might really say to you.

Maybe you are struggling with sharing Christ with your friends, family, neighbors, etc. because you are afraid of the ridicule or rejection.

Perhaps you are struggling as a husband to begin taking the leadership in your home. You’ve not done it in the past and you are fearful of the push-back or arguments if you do it now.

As a wife, you’re fearful of the decisions your husband makes or will make and so you struggle to submit to his leadership.

As a teenager or young adult you are afraid to let your peers know how committed you want to be in your relationship with Christ and that means you have to make some significant changes to your activities and conversations with them.

Perhaps many of us here this morning see the response of our culture to Christianity and we are afraid to set the example of righteousness in our spheres of influence so we let others dictate how we think and act.

Are you here this morning struggling to find the necessary courage to be obedient to the Scripture because your fear of man is greater than your awe of God?

Defining Fear

Healthy respect for danger (this is not the fear we are talking about this morning)

An unpleasant feeling of anxiety or apprehension caused by the presence or anticipation of danger

An overwhelming concern about something that threatens to bring bad news or results

What bad news or results do you fear so much that you are willing to disobey God to avoid?

As we continue our Christmas Series: Responding to the God of the Impossible…we see ourselves living in a time when believers who stand for what is right are often ridiculed and scorned…this has created a fear amongst God’s people to continue doing what is right.

Many believers want to live in isolation because they are afraid of public humiliation or “cancellation.”

Believers become comfortable with compromising their faith in front of others because the thought of losing friends by taking a stand for God is “too hard for them”.

We have a God who does the impossible…who can meet you where you are, change your heart, and make something beautiful and good out of what you think is impossible.

Luke 1:37 NASB95

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Last week Pastor Matthew showed us the response of the wise men to the God of the Impossible…God communicated truth to these Gentiles in a way that seemed impossible (a star and then by a dream) and they responded with obedience to follow that supernatural sign, and then when they found Jesus they worshipped Him as king… The Jewish leaders, who had more information about the birth of the Messiah than the Gentiles, responded with indifference…Herod responded with hatred.

Although they had the truth of the Old Testament prophecies, it made no sense to the Jewish leaders that the King of the World would be born in a small town with little to no significance…humanly speaking it seems impossible for the king of an entire nation to be born anywhere else than an important city to the culture or without the fanfare of a royal birth.

It made no sense to King Herod that he had to compete with a child. It was impossible that Gentile people of wealth and significance would travel all that way to worship a child.

We know that’s just the way God likes to work isn’t it…using the foolish things of this world to confound the wise...

Believing that means we can find hope in knowing that God can take what seems impossible to us and make it possible.

God can take that which paralyzes us in fear and equip us with the courage we need to face that fear!

Not only can He make it possible, but in His sovereignty, He will accomplish everything we need in our life to conform us to Christ.

So this morning as we examine the response of Joseph to the God of the Impossible we can see that...

Main Point: God Provides the Courage to Overcome Your Fears.

Read Matthew 1:18-25…this is historical narrative…(explain)…through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Matthew serves as the narrator to this story…he chose specific details for a reason.

The principle characters of this story are Mary, Joseph, God, and an angel.

The thrust of this text is to show the miraculous birth of Jesus as the Messiah fulfills the Scriptures…he just laid out his genealogy to show his spiritual pedigree gives him that right…

In every historical narrative, the narrator reveals something about the principle characters that is instructive to his audience…let’s examine the character of Joseph.

Our knowledge of Joseph is limited to what Matthew and Luke tell us...

We know he is in the lineage of David...

we know an angel appears to him, and he is present when Jesus was born...

we know he takes Jesus to the temple when he was 8 days old...and he takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt when Herod was trying to kill him...

Joseph also took his family each year to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover and so he was alive at least until the Lord was 12 years old...

after that, you never read about Joseph again, and the assumption is that he died sometime before Christ began His public ministry...

so we don’t know a lot, but what we do know about his story gives evidence to extraordinary faith and impossible courage...

His faith is going to help him make an impossible decision…

God is going to give him impossible courage - let’s start at Matthew 1:18...

now, we probably need to stop there for several reasons, because the details here are very important...

As Pastor Matthew told us last week, the gospel of Matthew presents Jesus to the nation of Israel as the King...

That is why you see His birth line…the king’s genealogy was very important...that is what the first 17 verses are about...

if you compare this to the gospel of Mark, which presents Jesus as the servant...do you find nothing about a genealogy at all...the birth line of a servant is not important...

but when you think about Christ from the perspective of being the promised king who will one day sit on the throne of David...genealogy is crucial...

now, if you just glance over the verses...you find a similar formula...so and so was the father of so and so...or if you have an older translation of the Bible...so and so begat so and so...it is primarily about the fathers---there are a few women mentioned—but always along with the husband and father...

until you get to verse 16...read...

So if you are a careful reader you should observe there is something unusual about the birth of Christ...specific language is used to show that Jesus was uniquely born of Mary...without apparent involvement by Joseph...

how that occurred becomes patently clear in the next verses...but Matthew is already alluding to that as early as verse 16...

We also need to provide some further clarification here…this text tells us that Mary was betrothed to Joseph…

it was similar to our engagement period, but more formal and binding...

After a couple was betrothed to one another, they still lived separately it was a period of testing where they abstained from sexual relations...but they were actually called husband and wife at that point in the relationship...

and to dissolve a betrothal, which would happen because of infidelity during the betrothal period, there actually had to be a divorce...

The text also tells us that during this betrothal period, which generally lasted 12 months, Mary was “found to be pregnant”… in Joseph’s eyes she was unfaithful…people are going to talk..

Joseph is facing an impossible situation and God gives him the courage to make the right decision

Let’s look for Two aspects of the character of Joseph that God used to produce the courage to make the right choice.

Joseph’s heart was right with God

Joseph was a man of God

Old Testament description – Job 1:8 “The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.””

Righteous -- innocent, holy

One who with his whole heart wanted to live in accordance with the will of God.

There is something significant here that all of us need to recognize that is often lost in the Christmas stories…

We say Joseph was a man and that Mary was a woman often thinking of adult men and women.

Most conservative scholars suggest that Mary was probably around 13-14 years old when the angel appeared to her...it is generally believed that Joseph was about 16 years old...

So we are not talking about someone who has been around the block a few times…who has gained a bit of life experience that can make some decisions a bit easier…Mary and Joseph were teenagers burdened with great responsibilities…we all know how tough it is to be a teenager…especially now…keep that in mind as we progress.

So when we say Joseph was a “man” we are really talking about him as a teenager!

Joseph was a man of God whose heart was filled with mercy.

Something important to keep in mind here…Matthew tells US the child is of the Holy Spirit, but it is not until the angel speaks to Joseph in the dream he discovers the truth...

So you can imagine with a good level of certainty the conversations between Mary and Joseph…the idea here is that it has become obvious Mary was pregnant…Joseph knew the baby was not his!

Think about it…you are a teenage boy with a wife you discover is pregnant by someone else! What would you do…what fears do you think Joseph is dealing with at this point.

Joseph had 3 options to take.

1. He could have appealed to OT law which meant she would have to die.

Deut. 22:23-24 ““If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.”

the penalty for this kind of apparent behavior during the betrothal period was being stoned to death.

because of general laxity toward biblical law during this period of history coupled with the Roman influence on Jewish customs...there is no evidence that this penalty would have been carried out...but at least from an OT perspective, that is how important chastity was to be considered among God’s people...

2. He could have exposed her to public condemnation.

there would have been some sort of public shame placed upon her...

Remember...he was a righteous man…which meant that she had embarrassed him, or shamed him...at least it would have certainly appeared from his perspective...so this option would put the shame where some would think it belonged…think about the conversations Mary and Joseph had to have with their parents…public sentiment would have been on Joseph’s side here....so when the baby was eventually born, it would not appear that he was involved and his reputation would be preserved...

and when you think about the argument of the text...that is probably what you would have expected...Joseph was a righteous man...and he could not let this turn of events mar his testimony...but that is not the focus of the righteousness that is being discussed...

3. He could choose a private divorce.

the text indicates this is the plan Joseph was taking...

Joseph was not focusing on how he had been hurt, how he had been mistreated or betrayed [as it would certainly appear at this point]...that was not his concern...

The text says he did not want to disgrace the woman he loved...that’s merciful faith...it’s a tender righteousness...

we of course don’t know the exact passages of Scripture that were motivating and directing Joseph to respond this way but Joseph knew God clearly wants him (and us) to have hearts that are full of mercy...

Psalm 18:25 “With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;”

Psalm 25:10 “All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.”

Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”

Point is that somewhere, somehow, in advance of receiving this potentially devastating news about his fiancé, he had cultivated a heart of mercy.

His love for God and for Mary overruled a desire for vindication!

Character aspect #1 — Joseph’s heart was right with God.

Character aspect #2...

Joseph listened to the Word of God

He believed God’s Word

“But when he considered this”…those are not words you typically hear regarding the teenage psyche!

you can imagine all of the things he wanted to say...or all of the steps he had wanted to take...the emotional component of this must have been incredible...

but he was more than his emotions...he had his faith, his belief system, his knowledge of Scripture...and he wasn’t sure what to do, so he wisely did nothing...at least not right away...

there was a lot more information about what was happening here than Joseph currently possessed...

many times the fear melts away when you understand more of what God is doing, and what He desires...

So God provided the knowledge Joseph lacked…

Look at verse 20 & 21— God used an angel to specifically tell Joseph that Mary had not sinned and that the child she carried was of the Holy Spirit so don’t be afraid to marry her.

God wanted Joseph to take Mary as his wife and to adopt Jesus as his Son.

We often overlook the fact that the angel called Joseph, the son of David…it was important for Joseph to adopt Jesus as his son because Joseph was of the lineage of David…the chosen line of the Messiah…in all matters of the law, through Joseph adopting Jesus, Jesus is linked to David.

Imagine the incredible pressure these two teenagers faced as they were entrusted by God to parent the Messiah!

The message from God was that the Son she would bring forth would be his Savior.

It was the fathers responsibility to give the child a name…so Joseph is being commanded here to accept his role as the adoptive father.

He was to name him Jesus (Greek equivalent to the Hebrew Joshua)…common name, as common then as John or Mike is today…God could have told Joseph to give him a unique name, but with this common name, God sought to identity Jesus as one of us…what does that name mean?

“Jehovah will save” — Jesus came at the strategically appointed time to seal the eternal salvation of all whom the Father had chosen.

Jesus = human name

Emmanuel = who He is = God with us

Christ = his official title = the Anointed One…the Messiah

Joseph had the courage to believe God’s Word…to recognize that the child God was entrusting to Him was HIS Savior, the Christ (Messiah), God dwelling with us.

Read verses 22-23.

Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 to point to the complete fulfillment of that prophecy...

On a side note…many want to negate the virgin birth by claiming the Hebrew word in Isaiah 7:14 is better translated as a young maiden…what Matthew does here under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is a quote from the Greek Translation of the OT (the Septuagint) which uses an unambiguous word meaning “virgin” leaving no doubt!

Matthew writes to Jews to clearly identify Jesus as the Promised King and Messiah…Matthew points out the sign of a virgin mother giving birth to a child in Isaiah 7:14 is completely fulfilled in Jesus!

what is most significant here is not that an angel appeared to him, but that an angel appeared to him and helped him begin to view his circumstances through the lens of Scripture...

His theology made a difference!

So often there is a gap between what we say we believe and what we actually do with what we believe.

We say we believe in the God of the Impossible but then worry about the things we can’t control, as if the only way things could be good for us is if it all worked the way we want them to work.

Worry then turns to fear and we find ourselves not doing what we know we should do and are able to do…or worse…instead of waiting for God to act on our behalf we take matters into our own hands and make a big mess of it...

What if Joseph had carried out his original plan? Jesus would not have been linked to the line of David and could not have been the Messiah!

That wasn’t the case for Joseph was it? Look at what the text says next.

He had the courage to put his faith into action.

Matthew 1:24 “And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,”

apparently, there wasn’t a whole lot of time between when Joseph knew what God wanted him to do, and when he did it....

He finalized the marriage…betrothal lasted a year and the groom would usually march to the home of the bride, take his bride and parade back to his house where they would now be together physically…Joseph violated all the cultural norms and ended the betrothal by taking Mary into his home, but as verse 25 says...

He kept Mary a virgin until after Jesus was born…(this communicates something extraordinary about Mary and Joseph...remember they were teenagers)...

He took Christ to the temple when Jesus was 8 days old and named him.

We know from the reading the gospel of Luke that Joseph followed God’s Word in the way Jesus was raised...

He tells us that each year Joseph took his family to Jerusalem to observe the Passover because that’s what God’s Word taught him to do...

Matthew tells us in chapter 2, that when Herod was trying to kill the Messiah, an angel told Joseph to move his family to Egypt...and that’s exactly what Joseph did

Every record we see of Joseph shows he had the courage to obey God in a culture that could have ridiculed him in every way.

God entrusted the teenager Joseph with the care of His Son…the Messiah…the King of the World…and it was not something Joseph took lightly!

Application:

Joseph was a teenager who accepted his God given responsibilities.

God equipped Joseph with the courage (and wisdom) he needed to be obedient and make the unpopular choice.

What set Joseph apart was his relationship with God.

We can have that same relationship.

His heart was right and full of mercy…we can have that same heart

He listened to the Word of God…we can listen to Word

He put his faith into action…we can put our faith into action

In what areas of your life does the gap between your theology and your practice need to shrink?

What steps do you need to take to bring your practice in line with your belief?

How is God of the Impossible seeking to equip you with courage in …your marriage?…your family?…your finances?…your co-workers?…your peers?

You can have a heart that is right with God by fearing Him and hating evil, you have everything you need for life and godliness in the completed Word of God.

Lesson for Life: Take Steps of Faith that Communicate you Trust God Knows What He is Doing.

My presence with you this morning is evidence that can do the impossible…God broke through my fears and worked in marvelous ways to bring us to Louisiana…Janine and I never ever thought of God’s will leading us to here…but we are so thankful He did.

God knows what He is doing…don’t be more afraid of what man will say or do to you than in what God thinks about you?

You can’t control the response of others or the outcome but you can trust the God of the Impossible.

When obedience seems like an impossible choice that cripples you with fear, remember the impossible is what God does best. He stands ready to equip you with the courage you need to think and act biblically.