The Right Man for the Right Plan : Matthew 1:18-25 10/18/2020

Good to see everyone. Thank you for being here today and thank you for saying happy anniversary to us. Been 30 years 30 Goodyear. Martha just asked me why oh why you always think she said you think we'll make it 30 more 30 more years, but I hope that we are I hope so, but thank you for that and Today what we want to do. As we want to continue in the Nativity Story So if you remember last week we talked about five reasons why Jesus had to become a man. And so what I want to do today is I want us to look. At some of the players in this Nativity Story now remember and we'll put it up. This is our series a king is coming and the Nativity Story well today. I want I want to talk about is the title of this sermon is the right man. For the right plan the right man for the right plan. And I want to talk today about how the ordinary. Just your common ordinary men and women. Can do the extraordinary? And we're going to talk about an ordinary man today. Now the goal of many people today, especially many young people is to someday become famous know we all think about. Well if I could just be a sports star of country music star and we see all these celebrity endorsements that influence the popularity of everything from breakfast cereal to shoes even to the election of the president. You know, you see all the time in the news where they will have some celebrity on there talking about how you should vote. Now why we should listen to Hollywood. I don't know but evidently people think that we ought to but in the time that Jesus was born and what I'm going to talk about today is his father his Earthly adopted father Whose name was Joseph. Now, you already know we've already talked about one Joseph in the Old Testament for the last three or four months. Well, we going to look at another Joseph today and but in that day me and did not desire Prestige and fame. What they desired was a good reputation. And I think we can learn from something from that today Joseph stood by Mary. And he stood by God. Even when the choices that he made we're not easy what we're going to learn today is we going to learn just like we did in the other Joseph life how that if we'll just trust God and if we will obey him when he tells us to do something God will bless us. He will bless us if we can be found faithful just like Joseph was Joseph sometimes called the Forgotten man of Christmas the Nativity Story you say well, why is that because he was the adoptive father of the Lord. Why is he forgot? Well, let me tell you something about Joseph in the Bible. Joseph is spoken to He has spoken up about. But Joseph never speaks a single word in the Bible. The father of the Lord Jesus the Earthly father adopted father the Bible never record a single syllable coming off his lips. You going to stay behind the world you going to preach the sermon about a man who never spoke in the Bible why I'm going to do it because many times the way we live speaks louder than the words we say. The way we live and that's what I want us to look at today. If you look at Matthew's genealogy, and we won't do that. Joseph was actually a potential King. He was a person of Royal Blood yet. We know very little about him. He comes on the scene here and in Luke and in Matthew 1 and as soon as he comes on the scene, he leaves. And you very rarely read anything else about him. Mary went to the temple and she sacrificed to turtle dove marry his wife. And from that we can probably gather that he was a poor man. We know that he was a carpenter. And he was probably just a simple practical ordinary man, and he probably just wanted to live an ordinary and orderly life pursue his craft maintain a good name in the community attend church or the synagogue and raise a family that sounds like many of us probably that's why we want to do. We just want to work and make a living and be faithful to our wives and husband and raise our children and go to church and love God and we're satisfied with that just ordinary people. I mean, that's what most of us are we're just ordinary people. So let's read the text that we're going to look at today. It's comes from Matthew chapter 1 and I want to read verses 18 to 25. Now. This is what the Bible says now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together. She was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Ben Joseph her husband being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things but holding Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a Dream. Well, this is another Joseph that has a dream it. Alright appears to him in a dream saying Joseph son of David that there's his royalty do not be afraid to take to you marry your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying in this is Isaiah. 7:14 Behold a virgin shall be with child speaking of Mary embarrass on speaking of Jesus and they shall call his name Immanuel which is translated god with us. Then Joseph being a rouse from sleep did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife. And did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus Joseph obeyed perfectly the Lord. I want you to think how hard it was to a bay this command. now if you go back and look and in in Luke chapter 1 the Bible says that an angel God sent an angel Gabriel to Mary. To tell her that she was going to birth the savior of the world and that the Holy Spirit was going to bump on her. And she was going to have the savior of the world in her womb. Now Mary did not tell Joseph this at the time matter fact, as soon as she found out she ran to Elizabeth, which was John the Baptist mother and she was pregnant with John the Baptist and she told her what was going to happen, but she didn't tell Joseph. So what we need to do today is let's just step through this account. And we're going to see how God uses Ordinary People to do extraordinary things and I want you to put yourself in the place of these characters and just see how if we will obey God and trust him as they did how God can do extraordinary things through us as well. So let's get the point 1.1. Is this the discovery that crushed Joseph and I want you to put yourself in Joseph place and read it here in verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his Mary after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together. She was found with child of the holy spirit. So here's the first thing we need to understand. What does the bible mean when it says, That Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Okay a gay right now you think about engagement in our culture all of us probably before we got married we were engaged. But this betrothal which actually literally it says they were pledged in marriage is what it means. This double trouble of those days means something a great deal more than engagement today. So let's just say you're engaged today. And you been engaged for 6 months and in four months, you're going to get married. And woman you going to marry comes to you and says look. I'm pregnant.

And you are a man and you say wait a minute. Now this see we're going to wait till we get married before we are intimate with one another. How could she be pregnant? Who is it? Who's the daddy? Who's who did this? Right. So what we want to understand here is this betrothal means so much. It was a legally binding contract that had already been signed by Witnesses and could only be broken with a divorce. So if you are betrothed to someone that means that basically you were already married to him before the marriage ceremony in the feast had taken place because if you were going to get out of it you had to divorce this person was engagement today. You don't have to divorce you're engaged and somebody is Unfaithful. He should have you just said get away from me. You know, you're not legally bound to do anything. So you can do as you please. Well, if the husband less say during the betrothal were to die. The woman the engage woman was considered to be a widow. It's not like that today in our engagement. You're not a widow. You're not even married but still the marriage was not consummated until the wedding night when the bride actually went from her parents home to live in her husband's home. Now. This is something else. We need to understand betrothal usually happen. When the girl was around 12 or 13 years old. You see the parents would get together and pick who your son was going to marry or who your daughter was going to marry. You had no say in it. So Mary was probably 12 or 13 years old and Joseph was probably somewhere around 18 before because they wanted the man to be old enough to be financially secure. So you probably have a 12 or 13 year old girl and you have a 18 year old boy and that's the Angels Came to both of them. Now don't think of it. Like we're Mary and Joseph. They've been they've been dating for about five years the Dayton and RJ is not like dating that day the parents chose who you would marry probably at this time Joseph and Mary had maybe never even spoken but a few words to each other. But yet they knew that they were going to be married and once the betrothal was said, okay. These are going to be married that usually occurred within a year to a year-and-a-half. They didn't really know each other that well probably hadn't carried on a conversation maybe one or two times. Is the way it was so though, they were engaged and I want you to look at what it says. After his Mary was betrothed we talked about that before they came together. What does that mean? before they were intimate before they had sexual relations as a husband and wife would you said before that? She was found with child. Is there anything any more illogical than that how in the world could a woman be found with child yet? She has never been intimate with anyone. Do you see how hard this would be for Joseph to understand this? So this was the discovery. The actually crushed him that he found out that his wife. We're pregnant. So just crushed. Well, let's move on number two. That is the Dilemma. That confounded him that confounded Joseph. I look at it in verse 19. Vic Joseph, I noticed it's already calling her Joseph her husband. You see it was binding remember they already called husband and wife even though they're not living together. Then Joseph her husband being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example was minded to put her away secretly. Now. What is it saying here? Well, maybe Joseph said, you know something Mary has committed adultery. But he knew probably that she was a Godly woman, and then maybe he said well, maybe she was raped. Then you know she could have been raped but if that what happened shortly she would have told him you you would think so Joseph has a dilemma. What am I supposed to do with this woman here? You see the term where it says Joseph is a just man has both a spiritual and a legal connotation spiritual. It means that he was righteous before God. And then legal connotation that he was a just man that he would do the right thing and I think both are intended here as a person. He was righteous and faithful to God and His laws and as a husband because he was in a binding contract he acted with Justice toward Mary, but what did he do? He says, Not wanting to make a republic sample was minded to put her away secretly. What does that mean? Put her away. Will she come through with your boys in it or something like that? How is he going to put her away what he was going to divorce her? Now we talk about today divorce. That's just awful terrible thing. But yet if he would divorce his woman, he was following God's law. That's what the law said that you ought to do. Now what we want to do is we want to see it. So I'm going to put these scriptures up here for you and you don't have to turn in your Bible, but I'm going to turn here and it's Deuteronomy chapter 22. And we're going to look at verses 23 through 27. Now. Look what it says here that this is a law is going to tell you what needs to be done. If a young woman who is a virgin when she is is betrothed when she is to a husband and a man finds her in the city and live with her someone other than her husband. Then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that City and you shall Stone them to death with stones now why the young woman because she didn't cry out in the city and the man because he humbled his neighbor's wife. So you should put away the evil from among you so here's what could have happened. Jealous of the same way you you shouldn't have done this. I'm going to have you stoned. We're going to bring you and the man course there was no man, but logically speaking they had to be a man. Will bring you in a man out here and we're going to Stone you to death. He could have done that but he did verse 25. But if a man finds a patrol of young woman when she was in the countryside and I remember before it was in the city now if you find one in the countryside and the man forces her and lies with her then only the man who labor Hershel die. Well, he could have spared her life if it would have happened in the countryside. You say what? Why is that? What's going to tell us look at verse 26, but you shall do nothing to the young woman. There is in the young woman. No, sin deserving of death for justice when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him even so in this matter, I look at verse 27 for he found her in the countryside and the Betrayal young woman cried out but there was no one to savour you say that if it happened in the countryside, she could have cried out for help, but see there's no one there. So we're not going to kill the woman will just killed a man but it happened in the city. You going to kill both of them about someone would hurt it. And would have called him to save her but evidently you didn't cry out. so both of you die, well That's two of the options that Joseph had. So he knew that if he didn't divorce her that he would fail to hold the spirit of the law, which we just read. But to publicly do it to him was just Unthinkable. He didn't consider her guilty. Joseph frisina position where he couldn't condemn her but he couldn't fully justify the pregnancy either. He was just between a rock and a hard place. So what did he decide to do look at it in verse 19 minded to put her away secretly. You say what Joseph decided is he took the third option? Not a third option was this and we can read about it in Deuteronomy chapter 24 in verse 1 and look at what the Bible says here when a man takes a wife and marries her with Joseph and Mary where it happens if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some unclean the center where she was pregnant and he didn't know how it happened and he writes her a certificate of divorce puts in in puts it in her hand and send her out of his house. In other words, you could divorce divorce a woman privately in they had to be two witnesses there to see it, but you can put her away secretly. So just said I love this woman. She's my wife. I will not have her phone cuz I can't prove what happened. I'm not going to have the man song because I don't know what happened in the city or the countryside. So what can I do? Well because I still love her I'm just going to put her away secretly. You may not think of that but Joseph was showing Mary mercy and Grace right here. He said I'll just put her away secretly is what I will do you see Matthew want the reader to know? Just how Pious Joseph is in and even marry as well. And we need to learn from Jose of his character his discipline and he preferred God's honor above his own. So he said I'll put her away privately. That's what he decided to do. So that was the Dilemma that confounded Joseph and he chose to put her away secretly number 3. We see the dream that confirmed Joseph and we see this in verses 22 23 Joseph had a dream. Now. This is what it says starting verse 20, but while he thought about these things you see he was just tore up about this and about fault means that that has he pondered it as he was just trying so hard to do the right thing as he thought about these things but hold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream Saint Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take to you marry your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. You see when you obey God as Joseph did God will give you the direction that you need he was just or he didn't know what to do. So he decided to do the best thing for her and for him put her away. Probably he was not going to make us fat to go over. He's not going to have anyone killed he was going to put her away probably and then all the sudden in God's Providence an angel comes to him in a dream now. What do we think about this? What does the angel do here? What does he tell Joseph? Well, look at it again in verse 21, he says and she will bring forth a son and you look the father you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. What was one of the reasons last week? We said that Jesus became a man so that the prophecy of the Old Testament may be satisfied in this is exactly what they're saying right here. So he gives him an explanation when he says Joseph son of David. We see God's prophetic word being fulfilled and his Providence being carried forth that this child should be in the line of David and he was Joseph was in the line of David. And so Jesus wheel as well, although he was not his physical father by his marriage to Mary he would give Jesus the true legal status because he was of the House of the lineage of David read about that Luke Chapter 2 and then the angel explained he said don't hesitate don't have any hesitation to take Mary to be your wife because her pregnancy was of the Holy Spirit not another man. She hadn't went out and had a fling with someone the Holy Spirit place that baby in her womb. And now Joseph understood the whole matter had been orchestrated by the Lord didn't the other Joseph. We studied understand all that as well. Didn't he? Just work in the life of Joseph behind the scene in here? We see the Lord again and a dream working behind the scene doing what needs to be done. So that the savior of the world could be born. We see the Divine Providence here and then he instructed and he said it I want you to call this baby. I want you to name this baby Jesus and the first 25 states that Joseph call his name Jesus. Now, what does Jesus mean Wells the Hebrew word Yeshua and it means actually is the word Joshua and what it means is you always saves. Jesus means Yahweh saves now in the Jewish world names were not just marked of identification. But they were symbols and and kind of identification and symbols containing the hopes and prayers of the parents of the children. So Jesus means that through him God promises salvation to his people. Go to Jews misunderstood that they thought the word saying that Jesus says or that God says that they were going to be saved from the Romans. Proceed God was not talking about some political Deliverance. He was talkin about spiritual salvation that he would save us from our sins not from her enemies and the Jews did not understand that. And so and then we have we see here of Revelation when it speaks of what the prophet Isaiah says in verse 23 about a virgin. That was Mary. She'll be with child embarrassed and call his name Jesus 800 years before it happened. And that's exactly the way that it happens and its name means Emmanuel God With Us now when you look at it in the Greek, there's an article before the word virgin. So it doesn't mean that a virgin. It means be virgin the Virgin Mary is what it means. They're so both Isaiah Matthew point to a very specific person and it was the Virgin Mary well number for in lastly. We see the decision that consummates Joseph not look at it and verses 24 and 25. After his dream, it says the N Jugs of being aroused from his sleep did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took him his wife. Elephant say it again and did not know her remember what that means being intimate with her did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. You know, what consummate Joseph fear of being the right man for the right plan that he obeyed and trust in God and believe God in friend is the same way with us when you believe God when you trust God and when you obey God God will bless you and he will use the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary. That's just what he does. That's that's what you need. You don't need greater Faith. You don't need a higher education not all you need is obedience and trust and belief. That's how you increase your faith and that matter the amount that link the depth and breadth of your fate. What matters is the object of your faith and if the object of your faith is Jesus and if you believe him and trust him, he will bless you. He will always use the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary. That's what he want. And that's what he did here with. You see what happens here. Joseph was caught between What God Says and what makes sense So let me ask you. If someone come to you and said, yeah. It doesn't matter if your fiance is pregnant. Don't worry about that. You just go ahead and marry her. What would you say? I'm not going to do that. She's out of here. She's gone or if you find out your husband has been unfaithful just go ahead and no I know I'm not going to do that. You see Joseph was caught between what God Said Mary Don't Be Afraid. Go ahead and marry her and what makes sense. You say God doesn't make sense all the time. That's what we that's why you have to trust it because he tells us to do things. Sometimes it just seemed so far out of the box and it's not even write the world would not believe that but Joseph did he didn't let his confusion disrupt his obedient. He didn't know everything but he knew enough because he knew what God said to do and that's what we need to do. You see the baby had to be the son of the Holy Spirit and not of Joseph just look at some of the verses we just read what it says in verse 18 before they came together. She was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Joseph. Look at verse 20 that which is conceived in her is of what Joseph know the Holy Spirit he goes on until the first 20 behold the Virgin shall be with that why that's not possible to be a virgin and be with child. Yes it is. In this story it is is the unbelievable you see we have to believe the unbelievable. We have to cut the Untouchable you say we have to understand that God works outside the box and then again in verse 25 and says Joseph didn't know her is it just keeps stressing the fact that they had never been intimate with one another this had to be a miraculous birth in friends. You have to be one faithful person to fall a guy when he says Don't Be Afraid go ahead and take her as your wife. God said it Joseph did it and that's the way that we out to be as well. Now this is not the first time. That God spoke to Joseph beside a dream in a dream you can say well he did it this time, but you don't know what he would do if another big decision would come up. Well, actually, yes, you do know what he would do. Now. You're in Matthew chapter 1 just look at Matthew chapter 2 And look what happens in verses 13 and 14. Now when they had the party but hold an angel of the Lord appeared that your hoses in the dream. Here. It is again another dream saying arise take the young child in his mother flee to Egypt and stay there until I bring you word for Herod will seek the young child to the store him. Remember when Harry was going to kill all the children 2 years old and younger the angel appeared to him and said look take this child to Egypt. Well, what did Joseph do he called? The prayer meeting? Did he discuss it with Mary looking for XIV when he arose he took the young child in the mother by night and the party for agent. He didn't ask where he did exactly what the Lord said. You see. We see him obeying and trust in God again. Well look at it first 19 what happened chapter 2 Now when Herod was dead, but hold an angel of the Lord appeared in the dream. Here. It is again to Joseph in Egypt saying arise take the young child his mother and go to the land of Egypt. Go back to Israel for those in Salt the young child's life or dead. Did he have a prayer meeting? Look at Birth 21, then he arose took the young child his mother and came into the land of Israel feed a baby every single time. This is not a one-time deal. This is the habit of his life. He trusted God, he believed God and he obeyed God one of the lessons. I think that we learn from the life of Joseph. Is that sometimes the most important thing in the whole world? Can happen to the least important people they were some of the least important people that the King of Kings the Lord of lords. Can take up residence in the most ordinary lives that the greatest somebody who ever lived would come to nobody's like Joseph and Mary and you and me and not something we're just ordinary people, but he has come to us and this is the attitude that I think God requires of us Lord. Just tell me what to do. And I'll do it. I might not understand it. It might not make sense to the world. And as far as I know it may have never happened in may not have any precedent at all. Like a woman being pregnant without being intimate. But Lord if you say it, I'll believe it and I will do it. I will have a friend lesson. Here's one of the best things you can do in your life no matter how crazy it sounds. Always obey God and leave the consequences to you'll be nice to him just leave the consequences and that's all he expect you leave the consequences to him. He will work out because he takes the ordinary and does the extraordinary I will be obedient anytime. anywhere at any cost that's what he wants us to say. Today now you willing to say that Lord. I'll serve you anytime anywhere at any cost is a happy day. When we recognize that. We don't have to completely understand everything that God is doing in order to add a friend. You don't have to understand the whole story. You don't have to see the big picture just the bay what he says and I think some of the most exciting things will happen to us when we say yes before we know what we're saying yes to And that's how God works. Friends, you don't need greater Faith this morning. Let me say that you don't need to expand your face. What most of us need to do is we just need to exercise our faith that we already have that's just what we need to do and I want to say something the story today has been about Joseph. But I want to end it talkin about Jesus. Now I've had people tell me before. But I'm a Christian and I believe in God. But I don't know about all this stuff about Jesus and dying on the cross and resurrected in three days. I don't know about Jesus. But all I know is I believe in God and I think that's enough. my friends list the Bible says that the demons believe in God and tremble, but are they saved? No, they're not. You say you can't have God. without having Jesus now I've heard of people say would look you always talk about the Holy Spirit and how he comes and lives within us and he guides us and leads us and can Vicks us and he's the one who walks along beside us and I in this world, but that's who I believe in if he's living inside of me and he's the one that practically helped me in my life. Then that's who I'm going to work. I'm going to worship the Holy Spirit. A friend that's good that you worship and you pray to the Holy Spirit. But you can't have the spirit unless you first have Jesus. You see the only way to have it all. Is you have to have Jeep let me know straight back in World War II they was a very rich man. Who had a son who was in the Air Force? And his son was flying a mission and his son was shot down in a plane and died in the crash. Will this rich man wife had died about two years prior to his son's death. In this man spent the last eight years of his life all alone. And he wrote In His will and he was very rich. He says when I die, I want everything that I own all the buildings and businesses and all I want all that sold and I want the money to go to the Charities that I've listed below. But this old man also had a 5 million dollar art collection. And he says what I want to happen is I want you to take my art collection and I want you to auction it off. Well, the day came for the auction Hunters of people. They're wanting to bed on this art collection in the first item. They had was just a single painting and they took the veil off of it and auctioneers said the old man wanted this auction first. And it was a picture of a young man in an Air Force uniform. And no one knew who it was except for one other man that was there. And he said that's the old man son. And the auctioneer ask for bid and no one would bid on it. Finally the old man out of respect for the family who was there? He said he said I'll be at $100 for Ochsner say well, we got $100. Do we have a hundred fifty and nobody would be 125. Nobody would be he said going once going twice. He said sold to this gentleman for $100 just out of respect for the family. He bought it because he knew the family. Auctioneer turn to the crowd and said well thank you for being here today. The auction has ended. And everybody looked around one man said white men that this man has 5 million dollar Art Gallery all of us are here to bid on this art. How could the auction be over? And the man said well the old man that died he put in his will. That whoever buys the son gets the rest of the art gallery.

He says what? He says it says right here and he read it. Whoever gets the Sun. Gets it all. Well, I saw you thinking. God the father has a son his name is Jesus. When you get Jesus you get it off. You get it out. But you won't get any of it unless you first get Jesus. And when you get Jesus. You get the father who selected you? You get the son who died for you and you get the spirit who sealed you friend if you want it all you better get the Sun. And so we looked at Joseph today a humble man. Who obeyed God who listen to God even when circumstance said, otherwise and God blessed him by sending the savior of the world through marry his wife all because of his obedience friends. If you want a life that God is going to bless like that. You just say anywhere anytime at any cost and you'll see that God will use the ordinary to do the extraordinary. Amen. Let's pray father. We do. Thank you and praise you and love you today. Lord we thank you for this story of Joseph, even though he never speaks a single word that is recorded in scripture. But the way he lived his life his trust his believe his obedience. Speak far louder than any words that he can say. Lord we thank you for Jesus today in for salvation. We thank you for the Holy Spirit. We thank you for the fight. We thank you that the Trinity was involved in all of this. And Lord help us today to be more like Joseph. To be humble to be quiet. to be obedient help us to obey you and leave the consequences to you Lord increase our faith help us to exercise the faith that we already have to live a life in a way that you can take the ordinary and do something extraordinary in Christ's name. I pray amen.