Give A Brother Some Credit

Matthew 1:18–25 KJV 1900

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Brothers listen to me don't leave your brother out here by myself today when it get real quiet I need to hear you say amen, okay

Matthew Chapter 1 Verse 18 this is our family series I'll be teaching on this all month. It says this is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph but before they came together she was found to be pregnant through the holy spirit. 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 but after her 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 ought to give him the name Jesus because he will save the people from their sins and all of this took place to fulfill what the Lord it said through the prophet the Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel which means God is with us when Joseph woke up he did with the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son and watch this and he meaning Joseph gave him meaning Jesus the name Jesus I want somebody to find somebody around you and tell him give a brother some credit Give a brother some credit ladies and gentlemen from Genesis to Revelation the scriptures are inundated with information that communicates the unique emphasis that God places on the family the scriptures are repeated with Revelation that reveal that the family has had a prominent and pivotal place in God's plan and purposes for the world Family Matters Come on say it again say man again Family Matters it is the institution that is intended to educate young boys and young girls with character traits and life skills that are going to help them accomplish the purpose that God's given them and become the individuals that is describes are Salt and Light somebody say family in other words it is it is the agency through which God helps raise up not little people that look like us but little people that look like him somebody say family yes it is the fabric of society it is the Catalyst for change when the family is a healthy neighborhoods are healthy when neighborhoods are healthy communities are healthy when communities a healthy cities are healthy when Cities a healthy counties that healthy when county is a healthy States a healthy when states are healthy regions are healthy when regions are healthy nation is healthy when the nation's get healthy the world gets healthy but it is all linked and tethered and tie to the health of the family the Family Matters Not only is this evidence sociologically it is also evident scripturally when you look at the Book of Genesis which details and Records the creation narrative you will see something very significant you will see that all of the work that God does in the first five days whether the days of literal or metaphorical is of no consequence, but in the first 5 days all the work that got does is in preparation for the creation on the sixth day everything he does in day 1 through 5 it's a get ready for what he was going to do on day 6 he didn't create grass for grass and atmosphere for atmosphere and animals for Animals he created it because he knew what he was going to create on day 6 and that's us it's people it is his most prized possession it is the apple of his eye he care so much about us he said through the prophet Zechariah don't you touch my people to touch not mine anointed he said his Zachariah with the apple of his eye are you following me so far people it is of such importance that you'll note that those of you that are familiar with the order of events in the creation are that you will not miss you a note that Satan didn't show up in the garden until Eve did but as long as Adam was alone the enemy was Idol but the moment Adam and Eve came together in holy matrimony the enemy saw a partnership that was going to accomplish God's purposes for the world and he attempted to attack that partnership. He saw a man and a woman come together and he attempted to attack that partnership because he knows now that Adam will be able to accomplish some things with this partnership that he could not accomplish independent of partnering with Eve it is something we call and Theological circles complementarianism that God creates two different genders and these genders are equal in value they are equally loved by God but they are created differently and distinctively and a complement one another and each of them bring something different to the table that cannot be replaced by the other gender you not talking to me in here that way man walks in a room something different than male anatomy walks in the room a different approach to seeing things and thinking through things different perspective walks in the room that cannot be replaced by the same gender with complement one another and different ways and yes a woman can cover a man's role in the sense that she can provide for the children she can raise the children she can be there when he can't be there but a woman can never bring to the table what a man brings to the table and a man can never bring to the table what a woman brings to the table because you've been created psychological and physiological different I know that it is not popular in circles to preach in the teach complementarianism we really a scribe in our contemporary cultural context to egalitarianism which suggests rolls can be interchanged but the scriptures are very clear that that is not the case.

I believe that this book says and teaches that male and female he created them and we complement one another God is not arguing that every woman needs a husband that's not his argument Paul Paul promotes singleness in the New Testament that's not the argument the argument is the human species needs a man The earth needs men and women It's not saying everyone needs marriage it’s saying that the earth needs men and women I saw the enemy recognizes the power of this partnership that that would complement one another that they're different things that we bring to the table that innately we respond to different things differently and God understands that understands that sucks that that that people need man and so it may not be the husband it may be the father that maybe the uncle it may be a surrogate father but the enemy understands this and this is why since the Garden of Eden he's been attempting to attack the family because he understands the power of partnership the family is supposed to be a place that puts me on the path to purpose So we must begin to put Family First. What does that mean it means? That we must be intentional about prioritizing its health and productivity and the question we need to try to address and answer today it is how we need to begin where God began and that is we need to begin with a man I'ma say it again we need to begin workout begins we need to begin with the men we need to understand that God is not some mad scientist who just randomly creating Creations just to see how Stuff turned out he was very intentional in his creation he created created Adam as Adam and he created Adam first for Reason Not that Adam is more important but he understands the degree and the dimension of influence that Adam has and so we're going to address some of the issues in families that are plaguing the people that we serve we've got to start with Adam because when Adam is absent the enemy is busy this is the problem you can't fix and reach the adam who's absent while you ignore the Joseph who's present let me say it again we become so obsessed with the Adam who's absent that we're not properly encouraging and motivating and appreciating the Joseph who's present The writer reveals in verse 13 he says but encourage one another daily

Hebrews 3:13 KJV 1900

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

encourage one another how often, how often, how often encourage one another daily that one another includes the men in your life God would not say give encouragement frequently if someone does not need encouragement frequently and what you need to understand is that you've been anointed it to encourage men I want somebody in this room the catch what I just said your mouth has been anointed to speak words of a life, encouragement and when it comes from the people and I like that matter to us it motivates us to prophetically step into what you spoken over us. You can’t call me to act respectfully when you're treating me different spiritually.

you’ve got to speak me in to the reality that you want me to walk into you want him to work out don't tell him you fat say you been working out he’s going to drop and give you 20 right there but there is in our culture there is an obsession with the negative there is a preoccupation with the negative so it causes us not to properly honor and appreciate those who are carrying out their responsibilities The text in Matthew chapter number one is an amazing teaching tool that will help articulate what I'm trying to communicate now in order really understand what's going on here you got to understand a little bit about Hebrew marital Customs during this. In history as a woman named Mary who was Jesus's mother but it said she was engaged to a man named Joseph Joseph say it again say Joseph marriages were arranged by parents contract and turns when negotiated the terms were agreed up on it means we're married but we don't consummate the marriage we don't become intimate nor do we live with each other there is a year waiting. And the purpose of that year waiting. Was first of all to see to make sure that the woman you were betrothed to is not already pregnant two it was a period of testing to test your ability to be committed to one another and after the year. You could go get your wife take her home consummate the marriage.

So Mary is betrothed to a guy named Joseph in the middle of the Year doing that year. All of a sudden Mary said Joseph we need to talk she said Joseph I'm pregnant We don't appreciate the selfless Act that Joseph engages in so here he is he's one of his own child he's wanting his first child to be his that's with his wife but God had other plans Joseph we don't talk about this didn't believe her so the Bible says he was going to be faithful to the law he want to be faithful to the law right so he wanted to annul or divorce but he did not want to put her to public shame cuz the law require that he take her to the city Gates where the officials were and the law require that her and the guy who got her pregnant should be stoned so he didn't want a Public Disgrace I love this about Joseph even though he was hurt, he didn't hurt out of his hurt

right cuz sometimes men were so quick to react you react before you get understanding right so he waited in the Bible says that God spoke to it and said listen what she's carrying is from the Holy Ghost and your assignment is to help her birth what I impregnate her with Is something and I need you to come alongside her and to help protect what I have put inside of her I put something valuable inside of her my purpose is inside of her my plan for the world is inside of her eye solution to the send problem in the world is inside of her and I want you to protect the purpose for which I put inside that woman don't you put her away In the Bible says that Joseph valued his assignment more than his ego and when most men would have left he stayed when he could have left he stayed

I'm afraid that Christians don't give Joseph enough credit it is almost as it is almost as if we treat the story like it is somehow disrespectful to what Mary did to adequately acknowledge the depth of Joseph sacrifice

The problem is the same type of indifference that we showed a Joseph in the text is the same type of indifference that culture shows to contemporary Joseph in Lord send me a good man you got one but you can't see it you don't recognize the uniqueness of what you have so I can get a man I could get a man you can get a man it's going to be hard to find a Joseph

so you got fathers unappreciated uncle's unappreciated grandfather's unappreciated because the culture has indoctrinated us with such an entitlement mentality that we feel like we're absolutely positively entitled to everything and when we get what we feel like we're entitled to we don't know how to properly honor it because you don't know the uniqueness of it this person might not be assertive enough and they might not be a fast enough they may not be as aggressive enough they may not be sharpened but you got 80% of what some people would give their right arm for and then is 20% over here partly connected to your flesh apart of you you need to deal with it ignore the 80% and search for the 20% not realizing that the 80% is what you need for your purpose Joseph helps you give birth to your purpose and you think company is going to make you happy and it makes you happy that shows you how shallow your soul if just having somebody on your arm makes you happy you need more than company you need to grow because when you become a mature woman of God you want purpose

not can you take me to the movies can you take me to my destiny can you make me a better woman can you handle me with all of my Hang-Ups I need a sister that knows you’re a handful. Stand up and sit back down and say preach pastor now watch this, you can unconsciously judge what God sent you to heal. so you can be with somebody and be judging diagnosing and critiquing stuff about them that needs to be addressed and God's like that's why I sent you to them so sisters maybe the thing you complaining about is the reason you there and the sooner you fix it the sooner you won't have to complain it I just want him to take the initiative

Don’t tell him put that down that's blue and orange that does not go together of sir you need to put on, tell him I want to see you in this what I'm saying is we have this culture that the enemy has indoctrinated us with philosophies on how to approach and how to treat men when the only one who can really tell you how to treat them is the one who created them so you got all the stuff in the Bible about how men are to be treated but no one or not no one but very few Christian churches are actually teaching women with the Bible has to say about how to treat men so let me give you two things here is what the Bible says when it comes to children

number one, Joseph should be honored and obeyed by his children Ephesians chapter 6 verse number one says children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right

Ephesians 6:1 KJV 1900

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

number one is right to honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise what's the promise your days will be long upon the Earth which means it's right number one,

Number one is right to honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise what's the promise your days will be long upon the Earth which means it's right number one,

Number two is wise meaning Daddy seen some stuff you don't see yeah this is this is this is this is this is one of the challenges that you have we have a kids that many of us have come through experiences that built-in us character traits and life skills that have made us fruitful and productive and so that productivity has enabled us to provide a life for our children what they are sheltered from that pain yet they robbed up them so they don't know what it's like

so you need to honor and you need to obey your father cuz you been very blessed you been very fortunate and somebody's working very hard to provide that for you and you have no idea how much pressure they're under and we can't even explain it to you we can explain it to you until you actually go through it some stuff is just only when you get grown and and have bills Number two Joseph should be loved and respected by his women All in the scriptures the Bible says love the wife love the wife love the woman love the woman then it says respect a man respect a man respect a man respect him cuz he needs respect cuz that's what he should bring to a home order mother's nurturing and caring somebody say respect what does this mean this means a few things let me give you this real quick.

Love and respect him in the way you communicate to him and in the way you communicate about him Solomon says everything about women that Solomon says I believe cuz he has had enough experience

Proverbs 21:19 KJV 1900

It is better to dwell in the wilderness, Than with a contentious and an angry woman.

he says it's better to live in a desert Than with a quarrelsome woman.

He says it's better to live in a desert Than with a quarrelsome woman.

Solomon said I would rather go to the desert and sit in sand and drink water out of a cactus How are you communicating to him? You will never know the impact of some of your words have on him How do you communicate to him and then how do you communicate about him What do your friends know about him that's none of their business? okay okay let me share this with you, your friends are your friends and you have the right to tell your friends whatever you want to about you cuz that's you You don't have the right to tell people you trust that he don’t trust about him Why you telling everybody but the one who can fix it?

Love and respect him in the way you cover his weaknesses 1st Peter chapter 4 verse number 8

1 Peter 4:8 KJV 1900

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

says above all love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sin it does not condone it does not endorse but it does not exposed unnecessarily issues to people who don't have the authority or the competence to fix them.

When you expose issues it should be two people who can give you guidance on how to fix them or two people who can fix them directly but if you're just sharing his stuff just to share his stuff you don't fit the proverbs 31 criteria cuz it said the heart of her husband safely trust in her now knowing what you know would you trust you he don't talk to me would you who knows weaknesses they shouldn’t know

Intimacy into-me-see There should be some things you see that nobody else sees because you're intimate but when you take what's been shared and shown with you in that space and begin to Take It Outside that Circle then you lose his trust. He owes you love not trust trust is earned have you earned it everybody wants men in the church nobody wants to do what's necessary to get them here everybody wants better men but when we start teaching stuff on how you can help men become better people don't want to do what it takes to get better Number 3 love and respect him in the way you conduct yourself Mother, love and respect him in the way you conduct yourself

wife love and respect him in the way you conduct your conduct yourself

respect him in the way you conduct yourself but don't have them pull in your coattail in public settings cuz you're about to go off like oh God my wife is upset help me Jesus the way you conduct yourself love and respect him in that way

I wish I could put you in my brain and help you see some of the things I've seen I wish some of the stuff I've heard and stuff people to share with me I wish you could just feel what I feel and see what I said and see how broken men are Most of these men are Walking Dead Man You wouldn't even know it They're so hurt, broken Empty Unfulfilled

Ignored

some of them trying to do the best they can and even some of them don't even know their father and they get treated just disrespectful I'm not saying every man's of Joseph I'm not saying your dad is a Joseph listen let's just be honest some father's not good Fathers some guys are good guys are learning.

Most of us all we're doing is repeating patterns that we saw right when I got my kids nobody gave me a manual how to figure it out Made mistakes but I’m trying but it's acceptable for you to be hurt but we can't be hurt I'm telling you these men are empty