Joseph and the Everlasting father

Intro:

As we continue a look at we come to an interesting name given to the coming savior. Two weeks ago we looked at Wonderful counselor and how the coming messiah would be the Pele’ Ya’ats. The counselor beyond our understanding and we are to do what he tells us, we are to listen to his counsel.

Then last week we looked at the methods of a mighty God . How God shows up in the barren remote places of our life an works in common ordinary people who surrender to him. His message does not change but his methods do.

English Standard Version Chapter 9

6  For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

So this week we come to the name Everlasting Father. Read with me

Few words in the english language evoke the kind of feelings as the word father. Even now, I can say those words and you feel something inside. Maybe you travel back in your memories and you picture him, sitting in his favorite chair or couch. maybe you can remember this face when he comes into the room, his voice as he cheers you on from the side as you ride your bike , score a point, or do something successful. For others of you I say the word and it evokes another feeling, maybe loss, fear, anger, sadness your memories are of load voices and fits of rage maybe a figure who is aloof, not present communicating a inconvenience of your presence. A distant person who never really showed love or concern for you.

English Standard Version Chapter 9

6  For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This is one of the more interesting names given to the coming messiah. There have been some that have questioned whether Isaiah is confusing the first person of the God-head with the second. God the father and God the son. He isn’t doing that here. in fact early church denounced this idea as modalism and it has been set aside since. So what is Isaiah trying to tell us. trying to tell the people of Judah. He is declaring that there is coming a Messiah who will in fact have these characteristics. He will be everlasting and He will be fathering.

To a people who had not understood God in this way this was earth shattering . They had only known a distant God and had really only known him by one name, I am but he had revealed himself through the peoples experiences and expressions of his help or judgments. The giving of these names of the coming messiah was signally that the method was about to change.

The people had only understood temporary, they had not understood eternal now Isaiah is telling them that the coming king will be an eternal king that he is not impacted or limited by the temporal. They had none times of slavery, wandering, times of upheaval and time of peace, times of transitional leaders, prophets and judges. And Isaiah is telling them telling us that the coming savior will be one that will not be temporary, will not be dethroned, will not go distant or quiet. The game is about to change to how we understand and interact with messiah.

Then the notion of father- Isaiah is highlighting the divine nature of Messiah

He is pointing out the descriptive analogy pointing out the character of Christ. The coming Christ will be fatherly to us. In that culture a father was not just someone who sired a child. A father was someone who provided and protected to those under his care. Similarly a son was not just someone who was sired, or birthed but someone who was dependent upon someones authority.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

The Birth of Jesus Christ

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.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

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:

As we continue a look at

Bill Pence Jr said this about the christmas story… “If we see Christmas as a season of nostalgia, we’ll be disappointed. If we only want warm fuzzies, presents, and stuffing, the satisfaction won’t last. But if we encounter the Savior, everything changes.”

So what does this mean for us today. I want to look at the idea of how the eternal father change our lives

So let’s look at the -

we come to an interesting name given to the coming savior. Two weeks ago we looked at Wonderful counselor and how the coming messiah would be the Pele’ Ya’ats. The counselor beyond our understanding and we are to do what he tells us, we are to listen to his counsel.

23  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

The Birth of Jesus Christ

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.

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

Then last week we looked at the methods of a mighty God . How God shows up in the barren remote places of our life an works in common ordinary people who surrender to him. His message does not change but his methods do.

1. Fear limits Faith

So this week we come to the name Everlasting Father. Read with me

The situation is this Joseph had a plan and that plan was based on sound reason, mans rules and guidelines. It was what could be or should be done or executed based of a life that required little faith. Based of of human reasoning… Vs 20

English Standard Version Chapter 9

(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.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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,

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

So what do we know about this guy Joseph. We know that he is just, he cared for others and he was a considerate man. He was thoughtful.

Everlasting father…

the word considered is the word - enthy - meo-mai this means to actively think upon something he was thoughtful not rash. He didn't just make decisions quickly or without reason. I would argue that he was a man that was deliberate about his actions, calculating and thoughtful. I imagine he was not someone who routinely lived a life of big faith.

This is one of the more interesting names given to the coming messiah. There have been some that have questioned whether Isaiah is confusing the first person of the God-head with the second. God the father and God the son. He isn’t doing that here. in fact early church denounced this idea as modalism and it has been set aside since. So what is Isaiah trying to tell us. trying to tell the people of Judah. He is declaring that there is coming a Messiah who will in fact have these characteristics. He will be everlasting and He will be fathering.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

What do I mean by that… hebrews 11:1

English Standard Version Chapter 11

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

tells us what faith is right. the assurance or promise of things hoped for and the convictions of things unseen. Well what we see in scripture here is that he was a thoughtful and just man meaning that things unseen or hoped for were not to be considered when making a decision.

To a people who had not understood God in this way this was earth shattering . They had only known a distant God and had really only known him by one name, I am but he had revealed himself through the peoples experiences and expressions of his help or judgments. The giving of these names of the coming messiah was signally that the method was about to change.

Joseph was a man who had a faith, but wasn't accustomed to living by faith. He was a good jewish man, had faith in God but what we know of up to this point was not known for living a big faith life.

A) Joseph was experiencing a limited of faith because of fear

Joseph was just and thoughtful but those personality traits in this moment were being manipulated by fear.

We may even have to wonder if that was the normal behavior for this man… remember God likes to use the ordinary for the extrordinary.

Infact I believe God knew this and that is why the angel was sent to him in a dream to encourage him to do what he normally would not do. In this story we see a man who

The people had only understood temporary, they had not understood eternal now Isaiah is telling them that the coming king will be an eternal king not a temporary king that he is not impacted or limited by the temporal.

B) Fear told Joseph his identity was based on the situation, faith says your identity is safe because of the one who is in control of the situation

He was scared by the what if gene. what if this happens what if that takes place, what if I lose by spot in the community what if my reputation takes a hit…

2. Life’s interruptions are a gift not a curse

They had none times of slavery, wandering, times of upheaval and time of peace, times of transitional leaders, prophets and judges. And Isaiah is telling them telling us that the coming savior will be one that will not be temporary, will not be dethroned, will not go distant or quiet. The game is about to change to how we understand and interact with messiah.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

Then the notion of father- Isaiah is highlighting the divine nature of Messiah

The situation Joseph had to consider was not a part of his life plan. But is was a part of God’s plan. God was creating appearance of a messy situation (according to mans plan) and creating a great opportunity a gift of sorts to experience him in a new and intimate way.

He is pointing out the descriptive analogy pointing out the character of Christ. The coming Christ will be fatherly to us. In that culture a father was not just someone who sired a child. A father was someone who provided and protected to those under his care. Similarly a son was not just someone who was sired, or birthed but someone who was dependent upon someones authority.

Remember the people of isreal had gotten to know god through experiences.

Joseph was getting to know God in a new way. He was going to learn to exercise faith and obedience intimately. His faith and actions were going to impact his life moving forward his income, reputation, position in the synagague all were going to force him to rely on God in new deep ways because he exercised faith.

Bill Pence Jr said this about the christmas story… “If we see Christmas as a season of nostalgia, we’ll be disappointed. If we only want warm fuzzies, presents, and stuffing, the satisfaction won’t last. But if we encounter the Savior, everything changes.”

To know God in this intimate way is a gift. its a glimpse of pre-fall and future eternity.

Living by faith allows us to tanglibly keep God as central and deliberatley take a back seat to God in this life

So what does this mean for us today. I want to look at the idea of how Jesus the everlasting father change our lives…

That is often times how we get to know god is through experiences.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

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. [1]

Jesus presence develops faith not fear!

Matthew 1:19-20

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

A look at Joseph:

So what do we know about this guy Joseph.

We know that he is just,

he cared for others and

he was a considerate man.

He was thoughtful.

the word considered is the word - enthy - meo-mai

this means to actively think upon something

I picture the thinker statue of deep contemplation by Rodin Large

he was thoughtful not rash.

He didn't just make decisions quickly or without reason.

I would argue that he was a man that was deliberate about his actions, calculating and thoughtful.

I imagine he was not someone who routinely lived a life of big faith.

A. Joseph lived a life of small faith.

a. What is faith… faith is the assurance of things obtained and the conviction of things seen. – faith is the belief in the tangible – right?

1. hebrews 11:1

ii. 11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

b.

The situation is this Joseph had a plan and that plan was based on sound reason, mans rules and guidelines. It was what could be or should be done or executed based of a life that required little faith. Based of human reasoning… Vs 20

1. He didn’t have a strong faith muscle.

1. What do I mean by that…

1. He had a faith but up til now if was a small faith.

1. He knew God – the title

2. He knew God - the stories

3. Did he know the person God – he had not experienced God in a way that developed a faith to know him intimately. Like David did, moses, Abraham. They had known the title, stories, and person so it was habitual to live big faith lives

We can be sure as a good Jewish man he knew God the title and he knew God the stories but guys it doesn’t stop there. It cant stop there otherwise its .

What’s pastor well I am glad you asked

1.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.[2]

I think it is safe to say based on the info we have on Joseph that this was the faith he had he knew the title, he knew the stories but he didn’t know the God.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! [3]

He didn’t pray…

He didn’t seek the wise counsel of others.. maybe that of Elizabeth and Zacheriah

2. We can not allow the fear of different to detour the development of our faith.

2. He was stuck…stuck in the clash of hopes and dreams vs realities seen He knew what he had seen or experienced, the realities of the situation. He needed to get to the conviction of the things unseen. The great hope of what could be.

3. Big dreams small realities

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, [4]

1. Is that you today? Have you lived your life in a considerate manner?

2. Do you live this way? How about with our finance… it is all Gods… I know that in title, but do I live it out. Do we actually give 10% off the top then figure out our finances. When it’s a tigh month and I know I have other bills or extra fees do I waver in my faith that God can do and will do the impossible.

3. In a manner that would make sense to the world around you? What might you need to do to experience the conviction of things yet seen?

4. Far to often the world around us needs to see a church who lives out a big faith that has the conviction of things yet seen but instead the world encounters a church that is like Joseph. A people who are too considerate are too thoughtful, a church that would rather do things that make sense to the world around them instead of exercise the faith God placed in them. There are too many josephs at this point in the story then the world needs.

4. God sent his angle to move him to stay the coarse.

I believe God knew that Joseph needed a push in his faith. A tangible encouragement to do what he normally would not have done. God knows his habits and customs

When God asks you to do what you have not normally done it build trust and we need to take God at his word why… because

When we live life in our understanding and abilities we experience what we dream, however God has much more than we can even imagine.

Joseph was going to need to learn to walk in a big faith because of what was going to be asked of him the days, months and years to come.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, [5]

When you lead from fear you open yourself up to miss Gods moment for your life

This is why we have core value #1 faith in a god that can do the impossible. We need to exercise faith in the impossible otherwise all we have is faith in the possible and that is what we can achieve on our own with out God.

Joseph believed God and allowed the presence of the everlasting father , the messiah, …

to eliminate the fear of situational living.

We all have life situations don’t we. Life challenges that are hard and scary and truly we are not sure what to do or we are scared to make a wrong choice or we make a choice and we now regret it… Because of Jesus we do not have to stay in they fear or regret we move past it seeing the opportunities Christ will present.

Faith is a muscle to be used fear brings atrophy to the muscle!

The Christian's faith is a confident assurance in a God who loves us

In the Psalms we see a picture of David, who, like us, experienced times of fear.

reveals his faith with these words: "When I am afraid, I will trust in you."

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? [6]

King David is telling us that it is ok to be fearful, but we are to trust , to put our faith in God who is faithful.

Joseph was working this out, he had to determine if he was going to led fear lead or faith win. What muscle was he going to flex the fear or faith muscle. Was he going to trust in what he could control or was he going to trust the God in control

2. Jesus presence in our life elevates own focus. Joseph was focus on the challenge at hand instead of the eternal focus. In times of struggle elevate your focus

1.

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.[7]

A. What were the things that Joseph feared?

a. Joseph fear the crowd over God.

i. The people? The family – basically the opinion of others

Joseph knew that the opinion of others would make life difficult.

Things it would impact:

1. Work – his reputation… people don’t like to do work with people they think poorly of.

2. Position ? his position in culture, at synagogue, in the position in the town

3. fear Mary’s faithfulness… was she unfaithful would she be unfaithful again

What you feed grows: What you focus on feeds your faith or your fear

, 18… she was found to be with child… vs 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

What we focus on is a window to where our soul is anchored -23It is often said “the eye is the window to the soul”. The eyes do communicate various emotions. Wide-open eyes communicate fear, while a squint of the eyes communicates anger or disgust. Dreamy eyes are said to communicate love and affection.

Joseph was focused on the wrong things in the story before his attention was redirected. He had to be directed to a heavenly focus and eternal perspective.

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.”[8]

his plan is for you to participate in his plan

your elevated purpose as a christ follower is to be the tangible expression of Gods love in a loveless world

3. To experience the gift of Jesus , (Joseph needed) we need to loosen our grip on life

To receive the gift of Jesus we have to loosen our grip … obedience is our gift to Jesus

1. 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,[9]

Joseph woke up and let go of his concerns about his plan for life and walked in faith. He determined to loosen his grip and experience the gift.

He let go of his plans for his own life – his idea for the best coarse of action He let go of preferences for his life - his wants his desires his choices he let go of his place he held so dear – the place he thought he would hold in the eyes of others exchanged for the place he held with God.

When we obey and step toward the gift of the everlasting father we experiences that He has good gifts for us to experience

It becomes easier when we understand that God is good not bad and he gives good gifts

A Father give good gifts – ,

· 1) God’s gift’s may not be what you expect.

o Joseph thought the gift was his bride so he was wrecked when he believed she was unfaithful

o The real gift was experiencing God’s faithfulness

o The gift was experiencing tGds faithfulness in the life he lived

§ -For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. [10]

§ The gift Joseph was able to receive was to experience God’s faithfulness in new ways. It moved from head knowledge to life knowledge. He was now living in Gods faithfulness, the experiencial life of Gods faithfulness.

· (2) Wrapping paper is not the present. – Jesus in human form is not the gift. The gift of life ( a babies birth, isn’t the gift the gift of his death and new life is the gift)

o The gift of life ( the wrapping of humanity a baby ) was not the complete gift the gift is what he offers…

o He is God’s gift to man’s predicament. He is fully human (“child,” “born,” “son”), but he is also divine,[11]

· (3) The gift is not only to be treasured, but applied. We ought, therefore, to elevate our minds to that blessed and everlasting life, which as yet we see not, but which we possess by hope and faith. ()[12]

2.

Have you ever had a moment in life when you thought man this is going to be a real bummer and it turns out to be a real joy? Often times the gift isn’t what we think it is… If I put myself in Joseph’s shoes I might have been the same way… thinking man this is a real bummer I probably would have focused on many of the same things and I have to ask what was the gift that he received…

Maybe it’s a first hand look at the the Christ child, maybe it was hearing direct from God maybe it was being a part of god plan… those are all good but I believe

the gift isn’t what it appears to be… marys pregnancy isn’t a sign of her unfaithfulness but Gods faithfulness

the wrapping is just the beginning of the gift not the gift itself… the moment we see is the precursor to the miraculous gift not the gift itself.

The Temporary pleasure of our gifts is a glimpse of the glory of our eternal father. - Jesus is the ultimate gift that gives eternal life

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[10] The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[11] VanGemeren, W. A. (1995). Isaiah. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 482). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

[12] Calvin, J., & Pringle, W. (2010). Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (Vol. 1, p. 312). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.