Part 4: When Obedience Costs Something - Joseph's Story (Matthew 1:18-25)
TRANSCRIPT:
The first week we were together, we looked at Abraham's story and how how he stepped out when God said, go. Some of you know the story of Abraham or Abraham. And God said, go. And he went. And then we looked at the story of Joseph in Genesis. Joseph, you know, the coat of many colors. You know, the guy with the coat of many colors. And we looked at how how he trusted God in spite of betrayal and in spite of suffering and being in jail, he continued to trust God. He continued to do the next right thing. And then last week, we looked at the story of one of Jesus disciples by the name of Philip, and how when the Spirit of God redirected him from success to obscurity, he didn't. He didn't complain and said he. He listened to God and he obeyed. Today we finish by looking at one last story of the rewards of living the kind of life that is committed to doing the best that they can to walk in obedience to God in the next right thing, even maybe even if obedience Costs something. Now, if you know me, you know that I can easily get lost in the rabbit hole of YouTube. For those of you who know me, that's just my weakness. That's why I actually have a jar of sourdough starter sitting in my microwave right now. I got a picture of it right here, so. Yeah. See, this is I so I, I got started some of, you know, a month ago I started talking about making bread. Right. And then we talked about bread. And now one thing led to another. Here we are like six weeks later, and now I'm making sourdough starter like Phil. It's not twenty twenty. You don't have to do that. Yeah. But anyways, this is what I'm doing. And I hate to admit I'm a sucker for anything DIY, whether that means baking bread or building things. And one of my favorite things is watching videos of people who do woodworking. I don't know if you're anyone else like that. Like for me, like people who do woodworking is just absolutely amazing. And, uh, confession time I literally got distracted for twenty minutes this week. Speaking of watching a guy build a table out of. Have you ever seen this? Like they build a table, like live edge wood. Anyone know what that is? Live edge wood. It's like a slab of wood that still has the bark on it. It's like it's live edge and they chop off the bark. And then what they do is they kind of put several pieces together and then they fill it with epoxy. You ever see anyone seen this? It's fascinating. It's absolutely cool. So and of course it was I was watching this guy build it and like like, oh this is interesting. I'm like, oh. Twenty minutes later I'm like, oh no, there goes twenty minutes of my time. But it was absolutely beautiful. I loved watching it. Now I don't consider myself a carpenter. I do have all the tools, but I can't say that I have the skill. But I've watched enough videos and I've made enough woodworking mistakes of my own to know that success in carpentry can be summed up in a very, very simple phrase. In fact, you probably even know what it is, even if you're not someone who works with wood. And what is that phrase? What's this? Right. Measure twice. Cut once. Right. Anyone ever heard that phrase right? Like if you didn't. If you've never heard that phrase when it comes to woodworking. Here you go. Your dad should have taught you that. My dad taught me that, like, measure twice, cut once, measure twice, cut once. Now, carpenters, at least. At least the successful ones, understand that success in carpentry depends on the ability to control variables. You know, lines. Plumb level, length, height, width. These are all terms that people who are in the trades they understand, you've got to be exact, about. You've got to control those type of things. And there these are all the things that people who who work with would like to know the plan about before they even start a woodworking project. And our text today we come across one of the main characters of the Christmas story that typically doesn't get as much attention as others. We we meet a man by the name of Joseph and. And he's a carpenter, by the way, from a little town called Nazareth. And as a person who made his living through the skill of woodworking, he was probably someone who had an affinity for making things fit, making sure that he could see the plan before he started the plan. Maintained control of all the details so that he was responsible for things lining up as they are supposed to act. After all, his job depended on it. But then one day. One day. Right? One day, God did something absolutely that he did not expect. God interrupted that plan, and Joseph's story reminds us that sometimes doing the next right thing doesn't make life easier. But sometimes doing the right thing does mean that life gets just a little bit more complicated. So I don't know if that's you or if that's been you, and I tell you this, it will be you. Let's just look at the story today. We're going to look at this story and we're going to look at Joseph's story to explore the truth. We find through the Scripture that while obedience to God ultimately leads to the blessing of God in our lives, that's true. There are times that stepping into the right next thing means obeying God, even if it costs us something. So let's look at the Scripture together Matthew chapter one, starting at verse eighteen, it says this. The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way after his mother had been engaged to Joseph. It was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, publicly decided to divorce her secretly. Now, most of you here probably are more than familiar with the details of this story. But just in case you forgot, I think it's a good reminder that this moment for Joseph wasn't just some minor inconvenience. It was absolutely, absolutely devastating. Betrothal in Jewish customs and culture wasn't just that period right after getting an engagement ring and, you know, someone saying, I do. It was it was more than that. Betrothal was an agreement where one man and one woman, or in this case, one teenager and another teenager, entered into a legally binding relationship that would be dedicated to the end goal of becoming husband and wife. So much so that breaking this would require a formal divorce. You just couldn't say. I think we need to take a little time to figure things out, like, no, no, we got to go. We got to get this thing done. So imagine this Joseph has been faithfully preparing for marriage. His reputation is clean. How do we know this? He's a righteous man. His plans are set. How do we know that he's a carpenter? I'd like to think that's kind of how it goes. His life is in order. And then comes the news. The young woman he's engaged to, Mary is pregnant. She's pregnant. Now, here's here's the interesting thing. Like when you study this passage of Scripture and when you read what the kind of Bible scholars have to say about this passage of scripture, a lot of them do believe that at this point that Joseph found out that Mary had the baby, Mary withheld from her, at least at that point, that this pregnancy that she was experiencing was from God. And so and so to add to even the like, I think it would be even still worse enough. Like if if the person you were betrothed to said, like, I'm pregnant and you're like, what? We haven't. Yeah, but don't worry. It's it's from God. It would still be disturbing. Right? Right. But in this situation, we don't know. You know, this is where we kind of fill in the blanks. But in either case, whether he actually knew or this was something that was withheld from him, but he began to notice. This would have been absolutely devastating. Joseph knows he's not the father, and he doesn't understand how he got in this situation. And he was probably struggling like any of us would if we were in his shoes, to see what God was up to. You know what it's like to be in a situation where you're putting a between a rock and a hard place. What are the words that come out of your mouth? Uh, I'm not over righteous enough to say that I don't say these things where I. You say, oh my goodness, God, what in the world are you up to? Have you ever said that? Have you ever been there? But in that moment, the most righteous thing Joseph knows to do is to quietly step away. At least that's his next right step. To end things in a way that minimizes damage and preserves the dignity that that Mary would be able to walk away with as an unwed, pregnant teenager, at least the little dignity that she could get in that culture. In fact, one Bible scholar points this out. He says it's the character of these two adults. Mary and Joseph reminds us that God fulfills his purposes by using people of strong character and unquestioning obedience. So this is Joseph. He's doing the right thing. He's making right choices, right? He's trying to do the noble thing he's called righteous. But notice what Joseph doesn't do. Joseph doesn't lash out, does he, Joseph? He doesn't shame Mary, does he? He just quietly begins to plan his way out. As one Bible scholar gives insight to the realities of the situation, he writes this to Mary. Mary would have been an admission of guilt when he was not guilty. Think about that. To have a public divorce would have exposed Mary to public disgrace. And apparently, Joseph's compassion would not allow him to expose her to public humiliation. Therefore, he chose the option to have a private divorce before two witnesses and dismiss her quietly. The law allowed for that. This way, he could keep his reputation while still showing compassion. But notice something here. Even righteous people listen. Even righteous people can make the wrong choice when they're afraid. Even righteous people can do the wrong thing when they're afraid. Fear doesn't always look like panic, by the way. Fear. It always doesn't look like. Ah. Sometimes it looks like control. Like trying to manage the damage or fix the situation ourselves. Look at this in verse twenty. But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, don't be Afraid. Don't be afraid to do what? To take Mary as your wife. We talked about why that would have been very fearful of him. It would be an admission of guilt, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Now, I know it's easy to pick on Joseph because we know how the story ends, right? We know how the story ends. It's one, you know, one thing I pick up from the story is that God honors those with righteous hearts who make him perfect choices. When I look at when I look at Joseph, the one of the things that I notice is that God honors those with righteous hearts who make him perfect choices. And this is why, using the wisdom, you have to do the next right thing with an open heart, to be led by the Lord is so important. Often find yourself in situations where you don't know what to do and and. But if you have the right heart, if you're you're humble before the Lord willing to say, look, hey, there's one of my favorite proverbs says this in his heart a man makes his plans, but the Lord orders his steps. If you're that kind of person, I think God honors that even when you make imperfect choices. Joseph is a righteous person. He has righteous intention, but he's wrong in execution. And how does the Lord respond to this? Now he corrects Joseph, but he doesn't just correct Joseph. He comforts him by saying this. Joseph, don't be afraid. Now why is this important? Why is it important that God tell Joseph not to be afraid? Because listen, under underneath every attempt to control our lives is fear. Is fear. Fear that will look foolish. Fear that we'll lose something that we love. Fear that everything that we've worked for up to this point will be all for nothing. Fear that obedience will cost way too much. And yet, what Joseph learns is what we must remember. What he learns is what we must also learn. That fear doesn't mean the absence of faith. Fear is simply the place where faith gets tested. Now, Joseph, notice that God doesn't offer Joseph the whole plan. He gives Joseph just enough to take the next right step. The instructions the Lord sends through his angels are these. Take Mary as your wife and name the child Jesus. That's it. Stay tuned for further instructions. Right, like this is what you're going to do. Now take. Look, just take care as your wife. And then when the time comes, you're going to go ahead and name him Jesus, not Joseph. Look, you're gonna have to name him Yeshua. You're gonna have to name him that, okay? You're gonna have to. I know your name is Joseph, but you're going to call him Yeshua. And that's it. No roadmap, no explanation about what people will think. The angel doesn't say. And by the way, when people say this, just nope. Just says, hey, here's what you're going to do. You're going to marry Mary. And then you got a name, Child Jesus. There's no assurance that the rumors won't come. Angel doesn't say, don't worry. Nobody will judge you. They'll just listen. They won't judge, right? He doesn't say that. There's no guarantee that his parents or Mary's parents would be fully supportive. We don't. I don't know what was the drama behind all that. I mean, can you put yourself. I mean, this is this is real life. Listen, even if you're not someone who calls yourself a Christian, even if you don't believe everything you've heard about Jesus in the Bible, historians know No. Jesus was a historical character. Right. What would it have been like to have been part of that family and to see this go down? Oh, Mary's been throwing up a lot. Oh, she says she's pregnant by the Lord. Okay, whatever. Yeah, and I'm a donkey. Right. What would have been going on here? And I think this is kind of how God usually works. He doesn't just hand us a blueprint for building the life he desires for us. Sometimes. Sometimes God just hands us the next board to nail down. Sometimes in this life that we're building, he just hands us the next brick and says, here, just put put this on top of the last one that I told you to put up. Let's continue in our passage to see how God works in Joseph's life. Verse twenty two, it says this. Now this all took place to fulfill what has spoken through the Lord, through the prophet, see, the Virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son. And they will name. And they will name him what Immanuel, which is translated God with us. Now, I wasn't there, obviously, but I can imagine that from Joseph's perspective, his world felt like it was about to get a little bit more chaotic, maybe even feeling like everything was falling apart. But from God's perspective, everything was actually falling into place. The message the angel of the Lord gave was basically this Joseph. This isn't chaos. This, in fact, is actually fulfillment. Think about that. Joseph's disruption was actually part of God's redemption. Joseph's confusion was actually part of God's clarity. And at the heart of all this is one word, one word, Immanuel, which translated into the language you and I speak today. God with us. If you traveled the road of uncertainty with the Lord, you know as well as I do that this this phrase is the anchor for every unknown, every fear, every cost. You are not alone. You are never walking alone when you can't see what God is doing. Guess what? He is with you when you don't understand where God's taking you. He's not taking you on a journey alone. Remember who is with you. God wasn't asking Joseph to carry the weight of the world. He. He was actually asking him just to take care of the one who eventually would. You don't have to carry the weight of the world. But listen, just take care of the one who will. Verse twenty four When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord angel. As the Lord's angel had commanded him, he married her. But he did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus. He did as the Lord said. Now, in the grand narrative of the Gospels, not much is given to us about Joseph. In fact, at first glance it seems like he's treated more of like an extra in on the set rather than someone playing a lead role. But despite this, his wholehearted desire to remain fearless and stay married to Mary, who was blatantly not carrying his child. By the way, even in the face of possible disgrace and slander by those in his circles of influence, this is the point of what Matthew was communicating. Even though Joseph's DNA would not be passed down to this special child, Joseph would have a significant role in Jesus's life. Joseph would. As I saw Corey out there swinging the baby right? Joseph would take turns. He would hold that little one that will one day hold the whole world in his hands. Joseph would train this little one as a child, even maybe mentor him in the trade that was probably passed down to him from his father and his father's father. Before all this, Joseph needed to choose to listen to the word of the Lord and not be afraid. Which makes me wonder how many opportunities do we miss because of our fears. I wonder how many opportunities we miss because we're afraid. And listen, I'm not talking about the situations that feel unlucky. You know, the ones, the unlucky situations like, oh, you know, unlucky. I missed that parking spot. I almost had it. Someone was. Or someone. I'm not talking or missed opportunities. I'm not talking about that. I'm not talking about that lottery ticket you didn't buy or or that sweepstakes you didn't register for. I was talking with the guys at men's group, and like, there's this whole sweepstakes thing like, oh, yeah, and someone got one thousand bucks and I'm like, oh, I knew I should have done it. I could have won. I'm not talking about that kind of missed up. I'm not saying what I'm talking about. I'm not even talking about the school you didn't get into or the promotion you hope for. I'm not talking about that relationship. Maybe you wished you had another chance at. I'm talking about the kind of opportunities like like Joseph realized he was given opportunities that actually have. And I'm going to push you a little further because not just like the regular everyday opportunities, but if I could talk to you as like a brother or sister in Christ, you know, like the like the opportunities that have eternal implications. Like, not not just making the right decision about whether your jobs or I'm talking about eternal implications, opportunities to experience life in the flow of God's desire to accomplish his will in the world, opportunities to store treasures in heaven, as opposed to the kind of opportunities that only offer reward here on earth. Because it's one thing to talk about like, don't have any fear. Go ahead. And, you know, you know, take that venture. And I think, I think there's a lot of wisdom in that, like take that venture in this life, but there are certain things that we have no fear in and we see God's blessing, but really, honestly only leave their mark here on earth. And there are certain things that we could walk with confidence with the Lord that actually have eternal value, that has eternal value. Now what am I talking about? What am I going towards here? I wonder how many times we have missed out on what God wants to accomplish through our lives, because we allow our fears to make us believe that we need to get control of things, instead of allowing God to be in control of us. I'm talking about. If you're around here long enough, I talk about this all the time. Living life on mission, being a witness, sharing the gospel, letting your life shine so that those who are around you can see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. Oh, I just I gotta go to work. I don't want to get fired. Okay, great. I get that. And you're worried about all those things. But what about the heavenly things? What about worrying about what God wants to accomplish in this life? Joseph was worried about disgrace here on earth, but God was wanting to accomplish his mission that carried on past his. He was wanting to save people from their sins. And I think when you think in those terms, it's it's it's got to be fearful because the things that the decisions you have in this life are. I mean, let's be honest, some of the decisions you have to make in this life, there's a lot of fear behind it. But then you start thinking about like, oh, like, what does God want to accomplish in my own life? And then there's shame. There's doubt, there's fear. And and I think there's a reason why Jesus spent much of his time teaching and preaching on this very topic of fear anxiety. Right? I mean, look at this. I'm just going to give you a quick overview, like just in case if you don't know this, but I think you should see that Jesus talks about this a lot. Matthew ten thirty one. So don't be afraid. You are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Matthew six twenty five. Don't be anxious about your life. Will you eat what you will drink, nor about your body what you put on as it will go on later? It says instead, what? Seek what first the kingdom of God Matthew fourteen. Don't be afraid. This is Jesus walking on water. Don't be afraid. Take courage, I am here. Luke twelve thirty two so don't be afraid, little flock, for it gives your father great happiness to give you the kingdom. And of course, there's John fourteen one through three. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. Joseph's story reminds us that the most faithful people in God's story are rarely the ones in the spotlight. Highlight. So if you feel like God's not using me, who am I? I'm insignificant. I'm not coming off. I'm no Billy Graham. I'm. I'm not. Listen, the ones that God often use are those for whom history will tell history. You won't know it now. History will tell are not in the spotlight. Instead, they're the ones who quietly trust that when life falls apart, God is still holding the whole world together, that he has the whole world in his hands. More importantly, Joseph's story points us this is the most important thing. Joseph's story points us to Jesus, because it's not a story about how Joseph's faith was so strong. The main point of this story is actually how faithful God is, and that's really the heartbeat of the entire series. Abraham trusted in God's call. Joseph trusted God's purpose. Philip trusted God's Spirit. Mary and Joseph trusted God's plan. Who has this been about? God, this has been about God. And every story we've looked at points to one truth that following God in the unknown always begins with and ends with. Trust begins and ends with trust. Because that's what faith in motion looks like, right? Stepping, standing, following, surrendering. And maybe the next right thing for you is to finally trust Jesus. Not as a religious idea or a a a stalworth of moral integrity, which some people do. Uh, we often call this, uh, someone. Oh, goodness gracious, Wheaton's texting me. Let me silence. You forgot to do that before I got right. Theologians often call this the new move of people who say they're Christians. Really are just people who are. therapeutic, moralistic, deist. They believe in God because it makes them feel good. Therapeutic. Moralistic. They believe in God because for the most part, they like the rules about not sinning and like not killing and not stealing. And the Jesus represents Jesus represents most of the moral stuff that they feel is morally right. And Jesus calls out the things that they so therapeutic moralistic deism. And at the end of the day, they want to be able to say, well, God said, God said, right. And so they're not really followers of Christ who submitted their life to Jesus and said, I want to increasingly learn what it means to submit no matter what I feel, no matter what I think to this, to this, I want to submit it to Christ and His Word. Right? Maybe the first step for you is to say, you know what, I I'm done trying to figure out whether or not the Bible aligns with my innate sense of being, and I just want to admit that I do not know. So, Lord, I want to trust in you today. And maybe today is the day you begin to really submit to Christ and submit to His Word. Maybe, maybe the next right thing for you is to stop trying to control everything. You believe in Christ, and you've submitted your life to him. But it's kind of like this. It's kind of like this. It's, you know, like God, I'll follow you. Okay, okay, okay. Okay, okay. Nope. Step to me. I'll catch you if you fall. I don't know why. My legs are kind of weak. I'm just gonna hold. No, just let go of the table. Right. Like, I gotta control these things. You're. I believe in you, but you're still holding on. I'm trying to find this old video that I. That I have the trust fall off. Some of you remember it, but like, we we we often do that. Maybe for some of you. Some of you, you just need to let go. Sorry. God, I'm going to trust you. Maybe it's to obey in something that you've been putting off. Maybe it's that you're you are submitted to God, but you're also so busy, you feel like. But God wouldn't want me to be irresponsible. I have all these things I gotta do. Well, maybe God wants you to obey today. And that thing he's been telling you to do. You don't need to just see the whole plan. You don't have to have every answer. Listen, you just have to take the next right step. Now, I know some of you who have whatever Enneagram as a person that needs to see every step or whatever, Myers-Briggs. And you're like, that seems sacrilegious and you're being insensitive to me. Listen, for you, that's going to be really, really hard for some people. It's not going to be as hard. But the same thing is true. No matter your personality style, we all need to learn how to lean into trust in Jesus. We need to learn how sometimes just to say, I don't know what this is going to look like, but Lord, I trust you and you're going to. You've got the whole world in your hands. So taking the right step sometimes maybe trusting Jesus, it means it. Maybe it means trusting Jesus. It means releasing control. It means choosing obedience, even if it costs you in a scary or uncertain as that may feel. Here's the good news whatever the next right step looks like, at the end of the day, if you're a follower of Christ, you are not alone. You are not alone. Not that Jesus is Michael Jackson, but the song comes. You are not alone. I am right, right, right. This is this is our Lord, not Michael Jackson, but right, the Lord. He's with you. He's with you. Do you believe that? Because the story doesn't end with Joseph fixing what was broken. It ends with Jesus entering into brokenness. Joseph tried to fix this is broken situation. I'm trying to fix this. Little did he know that Jesus was actually saying, this brokenness is mine. And that's how God still works today. I think Abraham stepped out. Joseph endured. Philip obeyed. Joseph surrendered. And whether you know it or not, it's your turn. It's your turn to take the next right step. Trusting that the same God who called these people actually still calls us. So as you step into the week ahead or the months ahead, my prayer for you is that you would walk with courage into whatever unknown lies before you, that the unknown doesn't have to faze those who follow Christ. And may you trust that God is present in the waiting, working in the middle. And he's faithful, ultimately in the end. And so may you find peace, not because you've got it all figured out, but because Emmanuel, God with us, walks with you every step of the way.
