I want to encourage you, if you would please, to open your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter
! 1. We're continuing our Advent series in Matthew chapter 1 and 2. And if you're using the Pew
! Bible, I would encourage you to turn in your pew Bible to page 807. Matthew chapter 1,
page 807. Before we begin, just a couple of things by word of announcement and encouragement.
First, I do want to encourage you to come. If you have not heard yet, please come this evening to
the Christmas concert, Christmas celebration. A chance for us just to sing some more songs and
be reminded of what Christ has purchased for us and what His coming meant for us in terms of sending
His Son as Savior of the world. The second is, I would just encourage you to please be
remembering the Malumba family this morning. There was a family tragedy that took place this morning
and their hearts are broken and grieving and they could use your prayers in encouragement.
There aren't any details right now to share with you, but I just would encourage you to please
be in prayer for them as a family. Lots of heartache, lots of sorrow, and they could use your
encouragement today. Let me pray for them right now as I lead us in prayer for our time together.
Father, thank you. Thank you, Lord, for what Jesus means to us. He means forgiveness and cleansing.
He means salvation. Because of Christ's coming to earth, coming as a baby, but coming to die,
coming to pay the price for sin, and then coming to rise again from the dead so that we could have
newness of life and hope with you, of living with you for eternity in heaven. Lord, thank you for that,
what that's accomplished for us in terms of the body of Christ and the comfort and encouragement
that we can feel from one another as part of this family. And God, my heart, even this morning,
is grieving along with the Malumbas, and I pray, Father, that your special presence would be with
them today. Thank you, Lord, that you are the God of all comfort. Thank you that because of your son,
Jesus, that that comfort is not far away, but that it can be near. It can be accessible. It can be close.
It can be experienced. And so, Lord, I pray that as you are the God of all comfort, that you would come
and minister your comfort to them, encourage them, help them, strengthen them, go before them, Lord.
May they experience in fresh ways your presence and your help with them in this time. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. This morning in our passage today, in the second half of Matthew chapter 1, we're going to see an
announcement that's made by the angel, an announcement that's made that points backwards to a prophetic
witness given by Isaiah 700 years before. A virgin will conceive and bear a son. Think about the
significance of the significance of 700 years. Just kind of put that in our own framework so we can begin
to kind of wrap our heads around this a little bit. The significance of a prophecy that reaches back
so many years. So 700 years for us would be 1324. That's over 450 years before America was even a nation.
That's almost 200 years before the Protestant Reformation. That's 100 years before the printing press.
That's the century. The 1300s was the century of the Black Death that kind of plagued Europe.
That was also the century of the Hundred Years' War that was fought between England and France.
It's only 100 years after the death of Genghis Khan. It's only 100 years after the completion of the
Crusades. It's only 100 years after the signing of the Magna Carta. And any of you who know history
can appreciate the significance of reaching back that far. And yet the testimony of God's prophetic word
spoken to a prophet 700 years ago and now beginning to finally come true, taking place as we're going to see
in Matthew chapter 1, the beginnings of this virgin that's going to conceive and bear a son.
The significance of this prophetic word is not just that it's preceded or comes to us from hundreds of years
in the past. But the significance of this prophetic word is that it comes in an untimely way.
It's a word that comes during a troubled period in Judah's history.
It's a word that comes to a wicked king named King Ahaz.
King Ahaz, as we find in 2 Kings 16, who burned his sons on the altar to Molech.
This king who sacrificed offerings, it says, on all the high places and under every green tree.
This king who took the very gold and silver out of the temple to fund his campaign and defenses
to Assyria and defending him from the northern ten tribes of Israel who were to come and try to take over.
This king who constructed an altar in the place of the bronze altar in the temple,
moved that altar aside and constructed this new altar by the pattern and design of the Assyrian gods.
This was the king who received this prophetic word, a virgin will conceive and bear a son.
The nation was being threatened by Syria and the king of Israel who had formed an alliance of war against Jerusalem.
We find in Isaiah chapter 7 verse 2 that when the house of David was told,
That's a graphic picture of the terror that the people in Jerusalem were experiencing because of the threat of this war.
So God sends the prophet Isaiah.
He sends this prophet Isaiah to meet Ahaz.
And we find in verse 4 that Isaiah gives a word of assurance to King Ahaz by saying,
Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, or be faint-hearted because the Lord is going to rescue you.
The Lord is going to deliver you.
And as a means of deliverance and as a sign that God will deliver you,
why don't you, King Ahaz, ask of God for a sign,
and he will give you this sign to confirm this word that he has spoken.
But Ahaz stubbornly says,
I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord.
Now this was not humility.
This was at the heart of rebellion and defiance against God himself to refuse to ask from God a sign.
So God says, fine.
Fine, Ahaz.
I will give you a sign for myself.
And we find this verse in Isaiah 7 verse 14.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel.
God would deliver Jerusalem from the threat of this war.
He would deliver them in a physical way.
And that physical deliverance would stand as a proof of the ultimate deliverance that God would give
through this future son from this virgin who would be God with us.
This Emmanuel, this presence of God among his people
who would provide something better than this physical deliverance.
He would provide a spiritual deliverance through Christ.
We find that God stands over history.
God is the one not only to declare what would come, but to bring it to pass.
God is the one, as we saw last week,
who will establish his purposes through his power and through his people.
We're going to see that continuing story this morning.
The account that Matthew will give of the God who stands above history.
The God who makes history come to pass according to his specific word.
So if you're there with me in Matthew chapter 1,
let me read for us the first several verses beginning in verse 18 down to verse 23
to establish for ourselves a context of our study today.
It says,
The temptation for us,
As we move into this new scene,
Is to now pick up the story and to assume that the characters have changed.
That now Joseph becomes the main character of this story.
But in fact, this opening line continues to establish
That Jesus Christ is the central figure of the story.
That's our first point this morning.
Jesus Christ continues to be the central figure of this story.
Notice, now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.
And so we're going to see this is a record of Christ's birth.
This is how it unfolded.
These are the events by which the narrative of God,
The prophecies of God related to his son begin to unfold.
The record of Christ's birth that we see here in verses 18 to 25.
Matthew makes sure to emphasize this point that he started from the very beginning.
That this account continues to be about the person of Christ Jesus.
That Joseph and Mary will just be instruments of this narrative.
Others who are involved as people in this genealogy.
This story of God.
This story of Jesus Christ that begins to unfold for us in this passage.
It's to emphasize that Joseph and Mary,
They're just players in God's master plan.
And for us, this morning,
As those who have believed in Jesus,
Those who have been drawn in to God's plan of redemption for the world,
And this gospel narrative that we have been invited to take part in,
That we too can be part of this plan of God,
Just like Joseph and Mary.
Matthew began this gospel by emphasizing the preeminence of Jesus Christ.
There in verse 1.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
And then he concludes the genealogy by emphasizing this final name of the record.
Jesus Christ that we see in verse 16.
Joseph, the husband of Mary,
Of whom Jesus was born,
Who is called the Christ.
And then,
Matthew will summarize this entire genealogy,
And draw attention to the ultimate result,
Who was, of course,
Jesus Christ.
There in verse 17.
All these generations,
From the deportation to Babylon,
To Christ,
Were 14 generations.
There at the end of verse 17.
The figure that stands above this passage,
The figure that draws the ultimate attention for us from this passage today,
Is Jesus himself.
Jesus who is the Christ.
So we'll find in our passage,
Jesus who means Savior.
Christ,
Which is the word for Messiah.
This true King of Israel.
He is Savior and Christ.
Christ, Messiah,
King,
The anointed one.
We begin to learn more of the details of this birth of Christ,
As we continue our way in verse 18.
That this is a record of Christ's birth,
But we find that Jesus himself was conceived by the Holy Spirit in verse 18.
Notice,
When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,
Before they came together,
She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
By Jewish custom,
Betrothal was just a piece of the entire marriage union.
There were two stages in this Hebrew marriage.
The first involved betrothal,
Which was more than an engagement.
It was an actual legal contract between a young man and a young woman.
Guaranteeing that they would ultimately be married,
And make it to this final stage of marriage,
Which would include this consummation,
This marriage ceremony.
The marriage was almost always arranged by families.
And often arranged by the families,
Without either the groom or the bride being involved in the process.
A contract was made to the bride's father.
It was a dowry,
Paying the bride's price.
The groom would pay this price,
To help cover the expenses of the wedding ceremony itself.
But also as a guarantee of marrying,
Ultimately marrying his daughter.
The contract was considered binding,
As soon as it was made,
And it was legally binding,
For the two individuals that participated in it.
We get some details of the betrothal,
As we look at the corresponding account,
In the gospel of Luke.
We see in Luke chapter 1 verses 26 and 27,
In the sixth month,
It says,
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee,
Named Nazareth,
To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,
Of the house of David,
And the virgin's name was Mary.
Several important details are confirmed,
By this account here in Luke.
First we see that Mary is a virgin.
We see that here in Luke's account.
We saw that in Matthew's account as well.
This betrothal period,
Which was intended to bear out,
Or to prove out,
Mary's fidelity,
As a person who is pure in her loyalty to Joseph.
Her loyalty would be confirmed by scripture,
By God himself,
In both of these accounts.
As Matthew 1.23 talks about a virgin,
Who conceives and bears a son.
Luke,
As we find an angel comes to a virgin,
Who's betrothed to Joseph.
A virgin whose name was Mary.
And while this betrothal period,
It would raise questions,
From a human perspective,
Of Mary's fidelity to Joseph.
We find that the Bible affirms,
Her loyalty to Joseph.
But a loyalty that goes even,
That is even greater than loyalty to Joseph.
It was a loyalty to God himself.
We find in Luke 1.28,
The angel comes to her and says,
Greetings,
O favored one,
The Lord is with you.
And then in verse 30,
The angel says to her,
Do not be afraid, Mary,
For you have found favor with God.
Mary was loyal to Joseph,
But more importantly,
Mary was loyal to God.
She was a servant of his.
And Luke describes,
How Mary would have this child,
In verse 35.
It says,
Mary comes to understand a little bit,
About how God is going to accomplish this in her.
The Holy Spirit himself will overshadow her,
And his power,
The power of the Spirit,
Will allow her to conceive this son,
Jesus.
Upon finding out,
That she is to conceive,
By the Holy Spirit,
She makes her way to Judea,
The hill country of Judea.
And she goes to spend,
The next several months,
With her close relative,
Elizabeth.
Elizabeth,
Who,
Remember,
Also received an announcement,
Through her husband,
Zachariah.
Both of which,
Who are old in years,
Well beyond,
Their child bearing years,
She was barren,
And yet,
This miraculous conception in her,
That took place,
And John the Baptist,
Would be,
The product of,
Of this conception.
In Luke chapter 1,
Verse 56,
We find,
Mary remained,
With her,
With Elizabeth,
About three months,
And returned to her home.
And upon returning,
To Nazareth,
Mary,
It says,
In our text this morning,
In Matthew chapter 1,
Mary is found,
To be with child.
But not just found,
To be with child,
But found to be with child,
By or from,
The Holy Spirit.
Providentially,
Mary's journey,
To the hill country,
Of Judea,
Helped to protect,
Also the integrity,
Of Joseph,
And this union.
But it has raised,
Other questions,
About her faithfulness,
From a human standpoint.
But the text here,
And what we read,
Throughout Jesus' public ministry,
The news of Mary's pregnancy,
Didn't seem to make its way,
Into the mainstream.
At the beginning,
Of Jesus' public ministry,
In his hometown,
We find in Luke chapter 4,
Verse 22,
It says,
All,
And all spoke well of him,
Speaking of Jesus,
And marveled,
At the gracious words,
That were coming,
From his mouth,
And they said,
Is not this,
Joseph's son?
And then,
Toward the end,
Of Christ's ministry,
In Galilee,
Jesus comes back,
To his hometown,
In Nazareth,
And we find this account,
In Matthew chapter 13,
Verses 53 to 55,
When Jesus had finished,
These parables,
He went away from there,
And coming to his hometown,
He taught them,
In their synagogues,
So that,
They were astonished,
And said,
Where did this man,
Get this wisdom,
And these mighty works?
Is not this,
The carpenter's son?
Is not,
His mother called Mary?
Are not his brothers,
James and Joseph,
And Simon and Judas?
So whatever,
Whatever news,
Had begun to spill out,
Was not yet mainstream,
So they caused a,
Public stir,
Joseph had heard the news,
But now he had a decision to make,
He was faced with a dilemma,
So we come to verses 19 and 20,
To see how now this dilemma,
Would be resolved in his heart,
It was resolved because,
Their union was preserved,
By an angelic instruction,
Preserved,
By angelic instruction,
Notice in verse 19,
Her husband Joseph,
Being a just man,
And unwilling to put her to shame,
Resolved to divorce her quietly,
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,
Joseph is left with a decision,
A dilemma,
What will he do?
And we find this description of Joseph,
In verse 19,
We get some clues to his character,
Described as a man who is just,
A just man,
I think,
It's a statement that we often take for granted,
We often forget,
That Joseph was called to this assignment,
Just as much as Mary was called to this great assignment,
And at the very forefront,
Of what is seen in Joseph's life,
Is a man who is just,
Of course he wasn't a man who was sinless,
But he was a man,
Whose moral character represented,
Consistent alignment with the standards of God,
His heart wanted to be true,
To what God said,
And what God's standards required,
So now being faced with this dilemma,
What will he do?
First,
Being a just man,
Would have implications for his marriage,
Because as a righteous man,
Joseph did not want to,
Be bound up with a wife,
That was demonstrating,
At least from a human level,
A level of inconsistency,
And immorality,
Joseph in good conscience,
Could not participate,
Or affirm,
Mary's behavior,
At least up to the point of hearing,
What the angel's announcement was,
So naturally assuming that her pregnancy,
Was a result of unfaithfulness,
Joseph would now do,
What he needed to do,
To preserve his integrity,
And to deal with Mary,
In a way,
That would also,
Demonstrate justice for her,
And compassion,
And care,
So not only did he need to be,
Just in terms of,
Following after the law for himself,
But being a just man,
Also impacted the way,
In which he would dissolve this marriage,
The way that he would treat Mary,
The kind of grace,
And care,
And compassion,
That he would show to her,
Notice in verse 19,
His justice led to this,
He did not want to put her,
To public shame,
That's the heart,
Of justice,
That's the heart,
Of kindness,
That's the heart,
That follows after,
The God of compassion,
And mercy,
So in order to spare Mary,
The disgrace of public divorce,
And censure,
Joseph proposes a divorce,
That would happen quietly,
Out of the public view,
A settlement essentially,
That would be out of court,
As it were,
There's no indication,
Of how Joseph is feeling,
But you can imagine,
The emotions,
That are raging at this point,
Perhaps feelings,
Of betrayal,
Feelings of frustration,
And anger,
And confusion,
But none of that is written,
Into the text,
But what we do find,
Is the heart of Joseph,
Not for himself,
But for Mary,
Joseph's heart,
Was not,
To guard his own shame,
And embarrassment,
His heart,
Was to guard the shame,
And potential embarrassment,
Of Mary,
Indicates,
This deep,
Compassion for her,
This true love,
I would suggest,
That Joseph,
While he doesn't often,
Get a lot of public press,
We find,
Here,
A man,
Who's chosen by God,
And now we see,
His character,
Coming through,
His desire,
To be faithful,
To God's standards,
But has also,
His desire,
To love,
And tenderly care,
For Mary,
Putting her away,
Privately,
Seeking to guard,
Her reputation,
As much as he could,
So,
Joseph,
Contemplates,
As he contemplates,
His next steps,
We find,
In verse 20,
An angel of the Lord,
Appears to him,
In a dream,
This angel,
Who comes with a word,
Of God,
Who helps to ease,
His conscience,
Helps to explain,
This miraculous,
Conception,
Gives him instructions,
On what to name,
This child,
In verse 20,
We find,
The initial address,
Joseph,
Son of David,
Do not fear,
The angel,
Reminds Joseph,
Of his messianic lineage,
The angel,
Calls attention,
To the role,
That Joseph,
Will play,
As being,
In the line,
Of David,
And now,
Legally,
Jesus,
Will have the right,
To sit,
On David's throne,
Because,
Of Joseph's lineage,
Tracing,
All the way,
Back to David,
This,
Will be significant,
Joseph,
In the line,
Of David,
Confirmed,
By the angel,
And encouraged,
Now,
Not to fear,
Do not fear,
To take,
Mary,
As your wife,
We're not given the details,
Of what this fear,
Was,
But perhaps,
He was afraid,
Of breaking,
The commandments,
Of God,
And living,
A life,
That was,
That represented,
The moral standard,
That God had set,
Perhaps,
He was afraid,
Of the shame,
That would come on him,
And come on Mary,
Whatever,
This fear,
Might have been,
And the angel,
Comes,
To alleviate,
His conscience,
And to give him,
A green light,
And the angel,
Continues,
Now,
With further instructions,
We find in verse 21,
She will bear a son,
We find in verse 21,
You shall call his name,
Jesus,
For he will save his people,
From their sins,
We find that Jesus,
This child,
Is destined,
To save his people,
From their sins,
This angel,
Gives specific words,
In specific instructions,
On how to name Jesus,
The naming of a child,
In the Old Testament,
And also,
Spilling into New Testament,
First century times,
Was significant,
A name is often,
Describes,
The birthing process,
Or it describes,
The significance,
Of that person,
Itself,
In the family,
There are times,
In which we find,
Throughout the Old Testament,
That the naming,
Of a son,
Or a daughter,
Helps indicate,
Something about,
The way that they're going,
To be part of,
God's history,
Isaac,
Whose name,
Means laughter,
You remember,
In the narrative,
Where Abraham,
And Sarah,
Laugh,
Because of hearing,
This great,
Promise of a son,
That will come,
In their old age,
And Isaac,
Would be this,
Constant reminder,
Of the laughter,
That they had,
And the joy of God,
In providing them a son,
In hopeless times,
We have,
Leah,
Who names,
Several of her,
Children,
Based upon,
Something significant,
Reuben,
Who was her,
Firstborn,
Means,
Look,
A son,
And she will say,
In Genesis 29,
The Lord has looked,
On my affliction,
And has given me,
A son,
Her second son,
Simeon,
Means,
Heard,
And she says,
She named him,
Heard,
Because the Lord,
Heard that I,
Am unloved,
Her third son,
Levi,
Means,
Attached,
And she says,
Now this time,
My husband,
Will be attached,
To me,
The significance,
Of names,
We find,
Throughout the Old Testament,
Isaiah,
The prophet,
Will also be told,
To name,
One of his sons,
His son's name,
Is Mahershalah Hashbaz,
In Isaiah,
Chapter 8,
Verse 4,
We find the significance,
Of that,
Mahershalah Hashbaz,
Means,
Speed the spoil,
And hasten the bounty,
And we find,
That before the boy,
Knows how to cry,
My father,
Or my mother,
The wealth of Damascus,
And the spoil of Samaria,
Will be carried away,
By the king of Assyria,
God intended,
For,
The name,
Of Isaiah's son,
To stand,
As a beacon,
To the help,
That God would give,
To his people,
Names,
Are significant,
Throughout the scripture,
And this name,
Jesus,
Is no different,
He is to be named,
Jesus,
This is the Hebrew,
Which means,
Yahweh is,
Salvation,
Or the Lord,
Saves,
And of course,
Jesus' ministry,
Not to bring,
Salvation,
In a physical way,
But especially,
To bring salvation,
In a spiritual way,
The angel,
Binding,
The name,
Of Jesus,
You shall name,
His name,
Jesus,
For he will save,
His people,
From their sins,
Draws itself out,
From Psalm 130,
Verses 7 and 8,
Where the psalmist says,
O Israel,
Hope in the Lord,
For with the Lord,
There is steadfast love,
And with him,
Is plentiful redemption,
And he will redeem,
Israel,
From all his iniquities,
Or,
In other words,
He will save,
His people,
From their sins,
The angel now applies,
That prophetic word,
To Jesus himself,
Jesus,
Who will be,
The savior,
It's a fitting quote,
That the angel,
Uses,
Drawn from Psalm 130,
Which is one of the psalms,
Of ascent,
And the psalms,
Of ascent,
Were the psalms,
That were either,
Spoken or quoted,
Or sung,
As the people of Israel,
Would make their pilgrimage,
Up to Jerusalem,
During the Passover,
And of course,
Jesus himself,
Would be,
The Passover lamb,
Jesus himself,
Would save his people,
From their sins,
Drawn from this,
Song of ascent,
And applied to Jesus,
As the savior,
Of the world,
Jesus would provide,
This way of salvation,
This name would mark,
The significance,
And preeminence,
Of his life,
And ministry,
Salvation would come,
From God himself,
Providing a way,
Of salvation,
Through Jesus Christ,
The savior,
And king,
This morning,
Do you know,
Jesus,
As savior,
And king,
His name is Jesus,
He came to save,
His people,
From their sins,
And anyone,
Who comes to the point,
Of recognizing,
Their sin,
Who repents,
And asks,
Jesus for forgiveness,
Who commits,
Their life to him,
And turns,
From their sin,
And turns,
To God,
In obedience,
And makes him,
The master,
Of their life,
To those people,
They will experience,
The salvation,
That Jesus,
That God,
Intends to give,
Through his son,
Jesus Christ,
Well this,
Angelic word,
Is now confirmed,
By prophetic witness,
We find in verses,
22 and 23,
All this took place,
To fulfill,
What the Lord,
Had spoken,
By the prophet,
Behold,
The virgin,
Shall conceive,
And bear a son,
And they shall call,
His name Emmanuel,
Which means,
God with us,
God's message,
Delivered by the angel,
Confirmed by the word,
Of the prophet,
This merciful,
Promise,
Of protection,
Given to this,
Wicked,
Rebel king,
Who followed,
After the heathen nations,
Who desecrated,
The temple,
Who refused,
To acknowledge,
The delivering power,
Of the God of Israel,
And yet,
Who still received,
This promise,
Of deliverance,
All of this,
To show that,
God's promises,
Are not dependent,
Upon the character,
Of his people,
But on the character,
Of God himself,
God makes promises,
And God sees them through,
It rests,
On his character,
And the deliverance,
That Jerusalem,
Would experience,
From a military,
Standpoint,
Would just be,
A symbol,
A foreshadowing,
Of that future deliverance,
He would give,
Through his son,
Jesus,
Emmanuel,
And by,
Sign,
This greater deliverance,
Would come,
In this future,
Day,
Future prophecy,
Regarding this future king,
Was embedded,
In this word,
And although,
Not clear,
On the surface,
The angel,
Directed by God himself,
To draw out,
This unfolding plan,
Of God,
Kind of worked,
Into the prophets,
And now applied,
To Jesus himself,
This mystery,
Of God,
That was beginning,
To unfold,
Before their very eyes,
And I love,
How the angel,
Describes,
The outworking,
Of this promise,
Notice,
He says,
They,
Will call him,
Emmanuel,
Not you,
Will call him,
Emmanuel,
But they,
Will call him,
Emmanuel,
Who are the they?
It's those,
Who experience,
The blessing,
Of God's forgiveness,
It's those,
Who come,
To Christ,
In faith,
It's those,
Who enjoy,
Now the blessing,
Of the indwelling,
Holy Spirit,
God,
Really,
And truly,
Is in us,
Those of us,
Who've,
Made a profession,
Of faith,
And asked for forgiveness,
Of sin,
And that is a presence,
Of God,
That not just comes,
On the moment,
Of salvation,
But a presence,
That continues,
Until we meet,
With Jesus,
In that future day,
It's a presence,
That empowers us,
It's a presence,
That strengthens us,
It's a presence,
That helps us,
This theme,
Of God's presence,
That's woven,
Through this gospel,
Of Matthew,
We find it,
At the beginning,
And also at the end,
In Matthew chapter 28,
Verses 18 to 20,
Says this,
Jesus came,
To his disciples,
And said to them,
All authority,
In heaven,
And on earth,
Has been given to me,
Go therefore,
And make disciples,
Of all nations,
Baptizing them,
In the name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And the Holy Spirit,
Teaching them,
To observe,
All that I have commanded you,
And behold,
I am with you,
Always,
To the end of the age,
God is with us,
God strengthens us,
God deploys us,
On this mission,
And doesn't leave us,
Without power,
The power of himself,
To fulfill the objectives,
That he's called us to,
I'm with you always,
Emmanuel has come,
And now,
All that Joseph,
That Joseph had feared,
Begins to change,
In a moment,
Now his perspective,
Has been realigned,
Now the,
The significance,
Of this moment,
And the call of God,
On his life,
Has become clear,
The impossible,
Has happened,
The mystery,
Has been unlocked,
And God,
Has chosen,
To allow Joseph,
To take part,
In this promised,
One,
Given 700 years before,
And now,
Becoming fulfilled,
In front of his very eyes,
And so now,
We find,
The responsibility,
That Joseph has,
To now carry out,
The objectives of God,
As a faithful servant,
In verses 24 and 25,
We find,
When Joseph woke from sleep,
He did as the angel,
Of the Lord commanded,
He took his wife,
But he knew her not,
Until she had given birth,
To a son,
And he called,
His name,
Jesus,
This is the ongoing,
Commission,
That we've been given,
As God's people,
To continue to carry out,
God's plan,
As faithful servants,
That's our final,
Point this morning,
It's carried out,
By God's faithful servants,
Joseph receives this word,
And what does he do?
He obeys,
He obeys immediately,
He obeys directly,
He obeys completely,
He obeys this word,
That the angel has given,
He aligns his heart,
Consistently,
With what God has said,
He continues,
To demonstrate himself,
As a man,
Who is just,
And righteous,
Desiring to follow,
After God's commands,
Joseph,
Also chose,
To preserve,
His wife's dignity,
It says,
He knew her not,
Until she had given birth,
To a son,
Joseph's commitment,
To the word of God,
Established his fitness,
For the task,
That was before him,
His heart,
And life,
That were pure,
He walked,
Sought to walk,
In a way,
That was worthy,
Of the Lord,
Fully pleasing to him,
And the promise,
That we have,
Bearing fruit,
In every good work,
In increasing,
In the knowledge of God,
That's the prayer,
Of the apostle Paul,
For the church of Colossae,
And that's the hope,
That all of us have,
That is if our hearts,
And lives,
Are aligned to God's word,
We seek to,
To live in a way,
That's worthy,
Then we can be useful,
For him,
Useful for every good work,
Study to show yourself,
Approved to God,
A workman that needs,
Not to be ashamed,
That's the call,
For all of us,
And Joseph's posture,
Of faithfulness,
And righteousness,
Would be the trend,
Of his life,
Again spilling into,
Luke chapter 2,
Verse 21,
We find that Joseph,
At the end of eight days,
He,
Jesus was circumcised,
And they called,
His name,
Jesus,
He obeyed,
The command he was given,
And then in Luke chapter 2,
Verse 22,
When the time had came,
For the purification,
According to the law,
Of Moses,
They brought Jesus,
To Jerusalem,
To present him,
To the Lord,
As it is written,
In the law,
Of the Lord,
And then in verse 24,
They came to offer sacrifices,
According to what is said,
In the law,
Of the Lord,
And then in verse,
Luke chapter 2,
Verse 39,
When they had performed,
Everything,
According to the law,
Of the Lord,
They returned to Galilee,
And then in Luke chapter 2,
Verse 41,
Now his parents,
Went to Jerusalem,
Every year,
At the feast of Passover,
Why?
Because that's,
What the law,
Of the Lord demanded,
And Joseph,
As a faithful servant of God,
Sought to lead Jesus,
In a way,
That was consistent,
With the word of God,
And so he was useful,
He was chosen,
And he was fruitful,
That's the promise for us,
That's the,
That is the privilege for us,
Maybe I should say that,
The privilege for us,
As God's people,
Is that we can,
Experience,
The power of God,
Working in our life,
This Emmanuel,
Who has come,
To everyone,
Who has believed in him,
Do you believe,
In Jesus?
Christmas isn't just about,
Christmas trees,
And about lights,
And shopping,
And family,
And food,
All of those things,
Are wonderful,
But Christmas is about,
The coming,
Of the Savior,
Savior King,
Do you know him,
Have you accepted him,
As your savior,
Have you asked forgiveness,
For your sins,
Have you been drawn,
Into relationship with him,
Is the relationship,
That you have with God,
Consistent,
And perpetual,
And fresh,
Every day,
And does the testimony,
Of your life,
Bear forth,
The desire,
For God in your life,
The presence of God,
To share,
The wonder,
Of what God has done,
For you,
With the people around you,
May God help us,
This Christmas season,
To make much,
Of Jesus,
Let me pray,
Lord thank you,
For sending your son,
Your son Jesus,
Who came to save,
His people,
From their sins,
Lord thank you,
For the great,
Mercy,
In leaving,
The glories,
Of heaven,
And coming,
To this earth,
As a baby,
In humility,
Thank you for making,
A way of salvation,
Through the cross,
And through your resurrection,
I pray if there's anyone,
Here this morning,
Who does not know you,
As their personal savior,
That you would draw them,
In these moments,
To yourself,
Make them your own,
May they enjoy,
The experience of Emmanuel,
God with us,
And for us,
Who have experienced,
May we,
May we be deliberate,
May we have urgency,
In our lives,
To share,
The wonder,
Of Christmas,
Christ coming,
That first,
Advent,
With those around us,
As we anticipate,
Your second coming,
Your second advent,
And Lord tonight,
As we come together,
And to be reminded,
Again of this,
I pray that you would,
Draw us back together,
In worship,
In celebrating,
Our great savior king,
In Jesus name,
Amen,
God bless you,
Have a great week,
Hope you've won't,
Thank you.