Untitled Sermon (2)

Matthew 1:18–19 KJV 1900

18 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. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

More than just a man

Seeing that tonight, as we begin our three week series, we are nearing the Holiday that we celebrate the beginnings of the life of Jesus…I want to use the life of a figure that was very prominent in the early years of Jesus life…that being the life of Joseph.

Seeing that tonight, as we begin our three week series, we are nearing the Holiday that we celebrate the beginnings of the life of Jesus…I want to use the life of a figure that was very prominent in the early years of Jesus life…that being the life of Joseph.

I think it important that even as God would come to earth in the form of humanity, he would not usurp the structure that he put in the place for the development and nurturing of mankind. Jesus could have sort of just depended from heaven and showed up as a 30 year old man…or just utilized mare as sort of an incubator, and then upon birth kind of done things independently…but he didn’t.

While there likely could have been many different women in that day that would have fit the prophetic profile of who would be the one to give birth the Jesus…perhaps it was who she was betrothed to that made the difference. God knew that Joseph wasn’t going to kick up dust and leave town. He knew that in spite of the risk and the cost to his reputation, Joseph was the kind of man that was going to stick around and raise Jesus.

I believe that even in his birth and his being raised, Jesus was reinforcing the importance and the essentiality of the family structure.

The Bible doesn’t say a lot about this man Joseph, outside of the earliest years of Jesus life…but we know he was there. Jesus reputation throughout Nazareth was that he was “the carpenters son”.

The key statement that I want to use is found in Joseph being a just man

In a day that we make excuses for the lack of male role models and men that we can depend upon and count on, we overlook and downplay the inadequacies of ourselves by saying “well…I’m JUST a man.”

This trend begins even as children…

It starts out when we are kids and they say “boys will be boys”... Kill the neighbors cat...well, boys will be boys

Burn the house down...well, boys will be boys... Run around with your pants around your ankles…well, boys will be boys.

There is a big difference between being a JUST man and being JUST a man.

Too often we use the excuse “I’m just a man” to live spiritually bankrupt lives that are stagnant and failing.

We don’t worship because... ”im just a man”

More excited about fishing and hunting than we are about being faithful to church because...I’m just a man”

Society provides the excuse to failures that destroy homes and wreck lives...well, he’s just a man.

A man steps out of his marriage and commits adultery and he quickly uses the excuse... “I’m just a man”.

A man gives in to compulsions and addictions for substance abuse and appetite for pornographic images and rather than striving to overcome, the excuse is employed “I’m just a man”.

Here is what the facts say about being “just a man”

If you are “just a man”:-

A recent survey conducted by the Barna Group found that approximately two-thirds (64%) of U.S. men view pornography at least monthly.

Eight in ten(79%) men between the ages of 18 and 30 view pornography monthly Two-thirds (67%) of men between the ages of 31 and 49 view pornography monthly One-half (49%) of men between the ages of 50 and 68 view pornography monthly

In other words...its just what men do...its just men being men.

Furthermore, the surveys and studies that have been conducted that there is at most a 2% margin of difference between those of society as a whole and men that profess to be Christian.

A few more statistics: o Statistics say that 45% of men are heavy drinkers and have problems with alcoholism.

-  21% of married men admit to being unfaithful in their marriage, while 74% said they would be unfaithful if they knew their spouse would never find out. -  93% of the prison population is male 85% of youth in prisons are from fatherless homes. Let me first say that I am not here today to heap condemnation on the men that are here today. I realize that we are humanity and we have weaknesses. The Bible tells us that we are all born in sin and shapen in iniquity...so undoubtedly everyone of us struggle with the pull of being “just a man”... but we don’t have to settle for being “just a man”. The difference between being a just man and just a man is not perfection vs. the lack thereof. The difference between a just man and just a man is not that one has no struggles and no failures, while the other has great failures and faults in his life. No…the difference is responsibility. For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again; But the wicked shall fall into mischief.

The issue of being a just man vs. just a man isn’t relegated to the married men and fathers. If you wait until you are a husband and a father to take responsibility for the choices that you make in life…the likelihood is that you will always be “just a man”.

We know this about the just man Joseph…who was handpicked to be the man that would raise Jesus Christ.

He was a carpenter. In that day and time, the father would pass on their trade to their son. We know ultimately, Jesus was going to answer the higher calling…but undoubtedly, Jesus spent time with Joseph learning from this just man.

Overt the next few weeks, we are going to study some of the qualities of a just man that we can learn from Joseph the carpenter.

Today, we are going to look at the fist of those:

Measure Twice, Cut once:

Every carpenter is familiar with this slogan. Im not even a carpenter, and I’m familiar with this slogan. This became an iconic slogan among carpenters, not because one time a carpenter messed up and only measured once and then cut and found out that the cut was incorrect. No…this is a popular statement among carpenters because it is a common mistake. Likely every carpenter at some point learned the hard way that taking time to accurately measure before you cut is important.

The principle of the saying is simply this, take time to planing properly and thoroughly will save you from waste and more work in the long run. It is emphasizing the importance of not getting ahead of yourself. Considering the consequences of actions that can’t be undone.

As just men, we need to measure twice and cut once!

consider the consequences of our actions.

When we are working with plywood and 2 X 4’s an incorrect cut can be costly.

According to Home Depot’s website a 2 X 4 is going to cost you roughly $3. A sheet of 4 ft. By 8 ft. sanded plywood is going to be around $30. A few incorrect cuts and the cost begins to add up…

But with plywood and 2 x 4’s you can always go and buy more.

When it comes to reputation, the cost is much greater. When you begin to live a life that is just haphazardly filled with actions that you can’t go back and correct, the cost is much greater.

The cost is apparent in our reputation

Proverbs 22:1 NKJV

1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

- A tarnished reputation is a hard thing to restore. It takes a lot of time and a lot of consistent actions disproving the poor choices.

People in the church as well as in the world are watching our actions. I know the whole “don’t judge me thing” looks really good on paper…but its not a reality. People are watching your actions, and they are making decisions about who you are based upon how you live your life.

- Failing to consider the consequences of our actions is like spreading fertilizer in your bedroom.

- Most think that just living without consideration of their consequences is like fertilizing a garden…its fun…its beautiful…sure it stinks…but we won’t have to deal with it later on…

But your name and your identity is something you are going to have to live with the rest of your life! So measure twice and cut once.

2. The cost is apparent in o

When we don’t consider the consequence of our actions, it impacts the people in our lives.

The world would tell you that when you are young, being sexually active and sewing your wild oats is the way to go…what they don’t tell you is that one day you are going to have to sit across the table from your future spouse and tell them about all of your wild oats.

When we aren’t responsible in our actions we leave a wake of broken relationships and wounded people in our past. It is much easier to treat people with respect and be responsible in our actions than it is to go back and try to fix a broken relationship.

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city:

And their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

And while this next statement isn’t from the Bible, it is absolutely Gospel truth:

William Congreve - hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. - To scorn someone is to make them feel worthless or rejected.

The bottom line is wether it is a brother or it is a relationship with a woman…its much much much easier to maintain a relationship than it is to repair.

So many people don’t measure twice before they cut…with their words, with their actions and they end up isolating themselves…nobody wants to be around them. Nobody respects them.

The cost is apparent in our influence

Builders who run up cost because of poor craftsmanship don’t get asked to build houses.

When people watch the lives of leaders whose lives are marked with actions that are reckless and wasteful, it destroys our influence.

If we want to be trusted, followed and believed in…measure twice and cut once…the more that people see you building a stable house in your own life, the more likely they are to ask for your input and your advice in the building of their house.

One of the most faulty statements I have ever heard is “do as I say not as I do”. It doesn’t work that way…in fact, I would say that its usually the opposite. Those that you are influencing are not only going to do what you do…they are going to do what you do in greater measure.

Here are two similar sayings that are absolutely principles that govern our lives just as certainly as the law of gravity.

- What one generation does in moderation, the next will do in excess.

- What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.

In the lives of Abraham and Isaac…Abraham the father lied that his wife Sarah was his sister in order to save his own neck.

His son Isaac duplicated this deceit when he stated that his wife Rebekah was his sister…with Abraham, it was somewhat of a truth as Sarah was his half-sister….however, with Isaach - Rebecca was a distant relationship…there was not truth to it at all.

If we tolerate being unfaithful to church…in other words we don’t make the house of God an absolute non-negotiable in our lives…the next generation will do that in excess.

Areas in our lives that we need to measure twice:

1. Finances:

When we measure our income and then we live within that, we position ourselves for success. When we measure our income and then decide that we are going to live more extravagantly and affluently than we can afford…we may be able to make that work for a short time, but down the road we will pay the price.

2. Physical Health:

Taking care of our physical bodies. Don’t get me wrong. This physical body is going to wear down sooner or later. Their will be health conditions that are outside of our control. However, we can help ourselves by measuring of our physical health…be aware of your health and then take action to protect your health.

Taking care of our physical bodies. Don’t get me wrong. This physical body is going to wear down sooner or later. Their will be health conditions that are outside of our control. However, we can help ourselves by measuring of our physical health…be aware of your health and then take action to protect your health.

3. Spiritual Health:

We measure our spiritual health by asking ourselves some straightforward questions and responding with some honest answers. How is my church attendance? How is my prayer life? Am I giving faithfully? How is my joy? When is the last time I had a spiritual breakthrough?

We measure our spiritual health by asking ourselves some straightforward questions and responding with some honest answers. How is my church attendance? How is my prayer life? Am I giving faithfully? How is my joy? When is the last time I had a spiritual breakthrough?

I don’t want to be just a man…excusing my reckless actions and the wasted resources of time and relationships with the excuse of my irresponsibility. No…I want to be a just man…and again the difference between being “just a man” and a just man isn’t that I don’t have any flaws or that I live a perfect life…the difference is that I measure and then I cut. I evaluate and then I take action! If I have fallen, its time to get back up!