Hope in Trust
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Introduction
Introduction
Trying to figure out presents.....
there is real joy in obedience.
Today we are going to talk about the crazy perspective of Joseph.
Context
Context
There really is not a whole lot we know about Joseph. Matthew gives us the most information....as we saw last week Luke tells the story from solely Mary’s perspective. Mark does not even mention him at all and John’s gospel only briefly. Why is that? Why so little about Joseph....and in fact, why so little about Jesus family? Well it is because their story is not the focus. It is all about Jesus and showing the theological and historical culmination of his coming.
Because of the little information and continued mention of Mary, many scholars speculate that Joseph dies at some point before Jesus public ministry. We know that when Jesus is a child later in Luke Joseph is around, and we know that Jesus becomes skilled in carpentry so the assumption is that Joseph passed on these skills…then nothing.
Nonetheless we can learn a little about hope and trust from Joseph.
The marriage:
Joseph and Mary are pledged to be married. Betrothed is a better english word for the cultural understanding here. Possibly this marriage was arranged by parents but whatever the case this was the engagement period.
During this engagement it is likely that Joseph paid a considerable amount of wealth to Mary’s family… called the bride wealth. Women were thought to be little more than property....they were not quite on the level of slave but they were definitely servant. This is not to say that they didnt have power for they did wheel more power in subtle ways over the family....Now listen, there are parts of the bible that are not ok. God breaking into culture. So husbands…you dont get to take something like this and justify how you treat your wife.
So during the engagement period, perhaps Joseph has paid the significant amount of bride-wealth. He learns that she is pregnant. And they clearly have not done the thing that is necessary for that to happen. Imagine what goes through his mind.
Now, verse 19:
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
It is often thought that Joseph was considering avoiding some ridicule that would come his way but let’s really weigh this out...
The law had within it the most relaxed divorce:
Within the law: if your wife becomes apostate (they stop coming to church), less efficient running the household, insulting or inappropriate behavior. Of all of these sexual misconduct was easy and obvious.
And think of it this way, if he were to go see his pastor for advice in this day and age....his pastor would probably not only allow it but encourage it.
This huge financial investment would be returned to him.
And if this marriage was completely arranged....he probably barely even knows her!
I wont go into all the detail about what he could have done to Mary publically....He decided he wanted to do this quietly.
Then he has a dream....only 5 dreams that God speaks to people in the gospels…all in Matthew, most at the beginning and with Joseph. This guy receives communication from the LORD in dreams.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “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. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “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.
Matthew 1:
I mean think about this message....wouldnt you at least wonder, was that really God or indigestion. This defies all logic for Joseph. The kind of miracle that he had only heard different things about from his Jewish roots.
Hope in trust
Hope in trust
Faced with fear, with social pressure of judgement, faced with countless questions and doubts, even has his religion on his side....he chooses obedience. This is why Joseph is in the Birth story at all....his obedience.
The message today is very simple....there is joy to be found in obedience. We have a gift of hope as we learn to trust in Him. Even in the most difficult things in our lives.
How do we make difficult decisions?
Seek the Lord. I wonder what it means that he “had mind to divorce her.” Did that mean he was praying about it or weighing this leading up to the message with God.
Friends, some of us wallow around with our problems but we dont pray about it. We have discounted prayer to the point of thinking it only has a place when we have an hour in the morning.
When you are considering something difficult…consider this, does it align with who God is and who he is calling me to be?
does it align with justice of God or is it just revenge?
does it align with love of Jesus
does this decision have the kingdom in mind or is this a selfish decision.
Community—> In accountability
Why is obedience so important?
Why is obedience so important?
1. In obedience there is joy.
When we obey God we get to step out into a new realm of possibilities that only exist in the place of complete surrender.
This is where we get to see God do amazing things. I have shared before about how God brought us to Kingwood. Weeks after marrying Lauren and moving her to Kentucky....I had to ask her if she wanted to move back and leave her job. In this obedience there has been real pure and complete joy in our life.
2. When we obey God there is a peace in the middle of chaos.
D.L. Moody says this: “There will be no peace in any soul until it is willing to OBEY the voice of God.”
Some of you are living these chaotic lives and that is because you are not obeying. Some of you can’t obey because you do not know the voice of God.
Obedience brings peace because it speaks of identity.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Obedience is a bad word to our ears. You hear a owner speaking to an puppy…trying to teach obedience. Obey me, sounds like the words of an angry parent or an abusive spouse. But that is not the meaning here.
AW Tozer: “To escape the error of salvation by works: we have fallen into the opposite error of salvation without obedience.”
We have hammered this point home that God saves us freely and that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation or grace. So much so that we have convinced ourselves that obedience is not part of the gig as well. We are walking around without the saving life of Jesus Christ in our veins because when given the possibility of walking with him, we choose ourselves.....that is obedience....walking with him.
Matthew 1:
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
When Joseph woke up, he did what God told him to do. This advent....this is the opportunity for us to wake up AND follow.