Wednesday Evening Worship 12/18/24

Channel: Bible Baptist EL RENO

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] our light and so they should have the

[0:03] words up there on the the slides there

[0:08] if we could get those pulled up there

[0:10] real

[0:15] quick and we're going to go ahead and

[0:17] sing that first verse again as with

[0:19] gladness men of old on that

[0:22] first as with gladness men of old did

[0:28] the guiding star

[0:32] behold as with joy they hail its light

[0:37] leading onward be mean bright so most

[0:43] gracious Lord may we ever more be led to

[0:51] thee as with joyest steps they sped to

[0:57] that lowly cradle

[1:00] bed there to bend the knee

[1:04] before him whom heav and Earth adore so

[1:11] may we with willing feet ever seek thy

[1:17] mercy

[1:20] seat as they offered gifts most rare at

[1:25] that cradle root and be so may we with

[1:31] holy Joy pure and free from sin's

[1:37] aloy all our costly Treasures bring

[1:42] Christ to thee our Heavenly King on that

[1:48] last holy Jesus every day keep us in the

[1:56] narrow way and when Earth ly things are

[2:01] past bring our Ransom Souls at last

[2:07] where they need no star to guide where

[2:12] no clouds thy Glory

[2:18] side and then if you would join us as we

[2:21] turn to our next song Come Thou Long

[2:24] expected

[2:25] Jesus come to set thy people free from

[2:29] from our fears and sins so let's lift it

[2:32] up as we sing Come Thou Long expected

[2:44] [Music]

[2:47] Jesus Come Thou Long

[2:52] expected Jesus born to set thy people

[2:59] free

[3:01] from our fears and sins release us let

[3:08] us find thy rest in

[3:12] thee Israel strength and

[3:18] consolation hope of all the Earth th

[3:24] art dear

[3:27] desire of Every

[3:31] Nation Joy of every

[3:36] longing

[3:38] heart on that second verse as the last

[3:42] born thy people to

[3:45] deliver born a child and yet a

[3:50] king hopefully this next part is true in

[3:52] our lives born to reign in us

[3:56] forever hopefully he's the king of Our

[3:58] Lives tonight

[4:00] now thy gracious Kingdom bring by thine

[4:03] own eternal spirit rule in all of our

[4:06] hearts Alone by thine all sufficient

[4:10] Merit raise us to thy glorious Throne

[4:12] it's through God's Merit and his grace

[4:14] and his spirit that we are to live day

[4:17] by day through him so let's lift it up

[4:19] on that second verse as our last this

[4:22] evening born thy people to deliver

[4:30] born a child and yet a

[4:35] King born to reain in us

[4:41] forever now thy

[4:44] gracious kingom

[4:47] bring by thine own

[4:52] eternal

[4:53] spirit rule in all our hearts alone

[5:01] by thine all

[5:05] sufficient

[5:06] Merit graise us to thy

[5:12] glorious

[5:15] throne and at this time we'll have a

[5:17] time of prayer for the offering this

[5:18] evening um brother Josh could you pray

[5:20] for our offering this evening tonight

[5:41] amen you may be seated

[6:27] Matthew chapter number one

[6:30] thankful that you made it to church

[6:32] tonight I hope you're thankful you made

[6:34] it to church tonight and looking forward

[6:37] to a great time in the Lord's house this

[6:39] evening Matthew chapter number one many

[6:42] times uh when we talk about the birth of

[6:44] Jesus

[6:46] Christ we talk about Jesus who's the

[6:48] main

[6:50] character and a lot of people talk about

[6:53] Mary there's another Central character

[6:55] in fact she's a character throughout the

[6:57] gospel she's involved in the Ministry of

[7:00] Jesus Christ she's involved there in the

[7:02] first miracle she's at the

[7:05] crucifixion and she's even there on acts

[7:08] as she's gathered with the disciples but

[7:11] uh there's another character that kind

[7:12] of gets overlooked sometimes and that's

[7:15] Joseph so tonight we're gonna spend some

[7:17] time talking about just

[7:20] Joseph just Joseph so if you're able

[7:22] would you please stand in honor the word

[7:23] of God tonight begin reading in verse

[7:26] number 18 of Matthew chapter 1 and read

[7:29] down through verse number

[7:31] 25 now the birth of Jesus Christ was on

[7:34] this wise when as his mother was espouse

[7:38] to Joseph before they came together she

[7:41] was found with child of the Holy Ghost

[7:44] then Joseph her husband being a just man

[7:48] and not willing to make her a public

[7:50] example was minded to put away privy but

[7:53] while he thought on these things behold

[7:56] the angel of the Lord appeared unto him

[7:57] in a dream saying Joseph thou son of

[8:00] David fear not to take unto thee Mary

[8:02] thy wife for that which is conceived in

[8:05] her is of the Holy Ghost you shall bring

[8:08] forth a son and thou shalt call his name

[8:10] Jesus for he shall save his people from

[8:14] their sins now all this was done that it

[8:17] might be fulfilled which was spoken of

[8:19] the Lord by the prophet saying Behold a

[8:22] virgin shall be a child and shall bring

[8:24] forth a son and thou shalt call his name

[8:27] Emmanuel which being interpreted is god

[8:30] with us then Joseph being raised from

[8:33] sleep did as the angel of the Lord had

[8:34] bidden him took unto him his wife and

[8:38] knew her not till she had brought forth

[8:40] her firstborn son and he called his name

[8:45] Jesus just Joseph like to spend some

[8:48] time talking about Joseph but

[8:52] also learn a few things that we ought to

[8:54] apply to our own lives from Joseph so

[8:57] let's go Lord in prayer tonight D if

[8:59] Lord I thank you the opportunity to

[9:01] teach and preach your word tonight Lord

[9:02] I pray you would please be with us

[9:06] tonight Lord I pray you'd cleanse me of

[9:08] sin and you'd Empty Me of myself that I

[9:10] might get out of the way tonight and

[9:12] your word may go forth Lord I pray that

[9:15] you'd speak to our hearts tonight

[9:17] challenge us from your word help us

[9:19] tonight to do what you'd have us to do

[9:22] in your name I pray amen thank you for

[9:24] standing you may be

[9:26] seated 20 years ago

[9:30] the Lord had been doing a work in my

[9:33] life for a while and I knew beyond the

[9:37] shadow of a doubt that God had prepared

[9:41] for me just as it was found in the Book

[9:44] of Genesis a wo

[9:47] man you know the Bible says in Genesis

[9:50] that bone of my bone Flesh of My Flesh

[9:53] she shall be called Whoa man that's what

[9:56] Adam said when he saw Eve and so in in

[9:59] all these years I've known Beyond The

[10:01] Shadow of Doubt that God prepared my

[10:03] wife Jennifer for me and that God had a

[10:06] hand in it and I'm thankful for

[10:10] it you think God had a hand in making

[10:13] sure that Joseph was part of Jesus's

[10:16] life I know we we talk about Mary

[10:22] often but of all the men in all the

[10:27] world God chose Joseph

[10:31] to have a

[10:32] foundational part in Jesus's

[10:37] life it's no accident we talked about

[10:39] the genealogies on Sunday and tonight I

[10:42] want to spend a little time just talking

[10:44] about

[10:45] Joseph some things that we can learn

[10:47] from his life that I think will be a

[10:49] blessing and encouragement for

[10:52] us we'll start off in our passage

[10:54] tonight and then we'll go into a lot of

[10:56] places tonight the birth of Jesus Christ

[10:59] was on this wise Mary the Mother Mary

[11:02] was a spouse to Joseph now Jewish

[11:06] marriage laws were different than our

[11:08] Western culture laws so there was three

[11:11] parts there was the engagement which

[11:14] moms and dads and dads

[11:18] pre-arranged kind of how it worked even

[11:20] when they were children one dad said to

[11:22] another Dad we're going to work this out

[11:24] so there's an engagement then there's a

[11:26] year-long betral process

[11:29] that betrothal process was legally a

[11:32] marriage but it was not consummated

[11:35] until a year later on the day of the

[11:38] marriage and the marriage

[11:40] feast and so Mary and Joseph are in this

[11:43] betrothal period so it's it's not just

[11:46] they were pre-arranged to be married

[11:49] they were in the eyes of the law married

[11:53] but they had not consummated the

[11:55] marriage and with little ones in the

[11:57] room you understand what I mean mean

[11:59] when I say

[12:01] that nod your head if you understand all

[12:05] right so Mary and Joseph they're a

[12:09] spouse together and she's a spouse to

[12:12] Joseph now of all the women in all the

[12:14] world God chose

[12:15] Mary to bring Jesus into the world and

[12:18] be his mother but God also chose Joseph

[12:22] and they're together now Joseph's got

[12:25] some character to him now we talked

[12:28] about it on Sunday day Joseph is of the

[12:30] royal

[12:32] line but Joseph is not King because of

[12:34] the curse that is on the seed of

[12:37] Jonas and so because of the curse that

[12:39] was placed on the seat of janias that

[12:40] none of them will sit however an adopted

[12:45] child doesn't have the blood that's

[12:48] cursed that's why it all Stops With

[12:51] Jesus he's got every right to rule and

[12:54] so Joseph he's from the Royal Line he

[12:58] finds that Mary is with child of the

[13:02] Holy

[13:04] Ghost verse 19 then Joseph her husband

[13:07] being a just man and not willing to make

[13:12] her a public example was minded to put

[13:14] her away privil and we're going to go to

[13:16] that in just a moment but I want to talk

[13:18] about Joseph a little bit before we get

[13:21] in more into the text now Joseph he was

[13:23] a

[13:24] carpenter we know that through scripture

[13:28] That's a classic blue CER job at the

[13:30] time and one that Jesus was later

[13:32] trained in and as his place in history

[13:36] he is the husband of Mary he's the

[13:39] Foster father of Jesus coincidentally

[13:42] he's the first recorded Foster father in

[13:44] the Bible he adopted Jesus he's

[13:48] instrumental watch this in fulfilling

[13:51] some of the Prophecies of

[13:54] Jesus including that he would be number

[13:57] one of the line of David number two that

[14:00] he'd be born in

[14:01] Bethlehem number three that he'd come

[14:03] from Egypt and number four that they

[14:06] lived in Nazareth all of those

[14:08] prophecies were given in the Old

[14:11] Testament all of those prophecies were

[14:13] fulfilled and Joseph had a part in

[14:16] fulfilling all of those in other words

[14:19] God's plan was accomplished through

[14:24] Joseph now here's some special traits

[14:27] about Joseph first

[14:30] he's the only man to marry a woman who

[14:32] was both a virgin and

[14:34] Pregnant the only one in history to do

[14:37] that and some other things he's from the

[14:40] kingly line of Judah but as I mentioned

[14:43] he's not eligible for the throne because

[14:45] of the curse but because Jesus is not of

[14:48] Joseph's blood he's an heir he inherits

[14:51] the The

[14:53] Throne Joseph is spoken to by an Angel

[14:56] of the Lord four times

[15:00] four different times an angel appears to

[15:04] Joseph Angels appeared and talked to

[15:07] Joseph more than they talked to

[15:10] Mary he he's the Foster father as I

[15:12] mentioned of Jesus

[15:14] himself and according to the sacrifice

[15:17] that he made with the turtle doves he's

[15:20] not of very rich estate we would

[15:23] describe J as poor as indicated by the

[15:25] circumstances of Jesus's birth the

[15:27] minimal sacrifice they able to afford

[15:29] when they went to the

[15:31] temple so

[15:34] Joseph being the husband a just man and

[15:38] not willing to make her a public example

[15:41] was minded to put her away privately Old

[15:43] Testament law according to Leviticus and

[15:44] Deuteronomy he could have had her stoned

[15:46] for

[15:47] adultery he could have killed

[15:50] her secondly he could have brought her

[15:52] before the Sanhedrin and had a public

[15:55] trial they would have asked for

[15:57] witnesses to the crime they to ask who

[15:59] the father

[16:01] was but he didn't do that he was going

[16:03] to put her away privil he was going to

[16:05] give her a writing of divorcement from

[16:08] Moses's teaching he's going to give her

[16:10] a writing of divorcement and put her

[16:12] away

[16:13] priv but while he's thinking on that

[16:15] so he he's going to put Mary away in a

[16:18] situation that she's not ostracized by

[16:22] Society he's going to put Mary in a

[16:24] situation where she's not killed for

[16:26] committing

[16:27] adultery so he's he's he's merciful in

[16:31] his dealings with Mary but

[16:34] remember his

[16:37] wife his espoused wife is pregnant and

[16:41] he knows he's not the

[16:45] father that's that's pretty powerful

[16:47] statement I don't know how many of

[16:50] you if while you were engaged to be

[16:54] married your future spouse showed up

[16:57] pregnant and you knew it wasn't yours

[16:59] how well you would you

[17:03] do but Joseph he's not willing to make

[17:06] her public example also I I want you to

[17:09] notice back in verse number 18 it said

[17:11] before they came

[17:13] together Joseph has some

[17:16] self-control even in his yearlong

[17:19] espousal period he's not taking

[17:22] advantage of Mary in any

[17:25] way verse 20 but while he thought on

[17:29] these things behold the angel of the

[17:31] Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying

[17:34] Joseph thou son of David fear not to

[17:38] take unto thee Mary thy wife for that

[17:42] which is conceived in her is of the Holy

[17:44] Ghost and she shall bring forth a son

[17:48] thou Thou shalt call his name Jesus for

[17:52] he shall save his people from their sins

[17:55] now it's interesting that verse there

[17:57] it's the first mention of sin in the the

[17:58] New

[17:59] Testament the Greek word there hamartia

[18:02] means to miss the Mark it's the first

[18:03] mention of the word sin in the New

[18:05] Testament here in Matthew chapter 1 and

[18:07] it's a proclamation of what Jesus came

[18:09] to

[18:10] do he came to save people from their

[18:13] sins so now remember we talked about it

[18:16] on Sunday the primary audience that

[18:18] Matthew was writing to was a Jewish

[18:21] audience so what they're reading here in

[18:24] these after the genealogies that we've

[18:26] seen now they're reading and they're

[18:29] understanding the marriage laws they

[18:32] understand Mosaic

[18:33] law he shall bring forth the son th

[18:36] shall call his name Jesus for he shall

[18:37] save his people from their sins verse 22

[18:41] now all this was done that it might be

[18:43] fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord

[18:44] by the prophet saying we have verse

[18:48] 23 then Joseph being raised from sleep

[18:53] did as the angel of the Lord had bidden

[18:55] him and took unto him his wife

[19:00] and knew her not till she had brought

[19:03] forth her firstborn son and he called

[19:05] his name

[19:07] Jesus so Joseph he's righteous he's a

[19:10] just

[19:12] man and he's not going to make an

[19:14] example he's a merciful man he could

[19:15] have had her

[19:16] stoned he's a gracious man he could have

[19:20] obtained a divorce but he remained

[19:21] married to her verse 19 in verse number

[19:25] 20 and 21 he listened to God

[19:29] in verse 24 he was obedient to

[19:34] God humbly almost everyone would believe

[19:38] that by his taking Mary as his wife

[19:42] after her

[19:43] pregnancy would

[19:47] indicate that he was the father and that

[19:50] they had been together before

[19:56] marriage by taking her as his wife wife

[19:59] he took the opportunity to say doesn't

[20:02] matter what other people say I'm going

[20:04] to obey

[20:06] God in verse 25 he has

[20:10] self-control he was married to

[20:13] Mary but he did not have relations with

[20:15] her until after Jesus was

[20:21] born why did he do that well verse

[20:24] 23 let's look at

[20:26] it now all this was done that it might

[20:29] be fulfilled which was spoken of the

[20:30] Lord by the prophet saying

[20:32] Behold a virgin shall be with

[20:37] child the Bible

[20:39] said scriptures said she need to be a

[20:43] virgin to bring forth the

[20:45] Messiah watch this even though he had

[20:48] every

[20:50] right he obeyed

[20:52] God he obeyed the word of

[20:55] God he could do what a husband could do

[20:58] but instead said he chose to obey God

[21:02] and his

[21:04] word so he he he doesn't take advantage

[21:08] of

[21:09] her now we know that Jesus is

[21:13] born after that Jesus is born we'll talk

[21:16] more about that here in just a minute

[21:19] but after that Jesus is

[21:22] born we find a situation happens and

[21:27] they are not able to get into the

[21:31] end the Bible says there's no room for

[21:34] them in the end according to Luke's

[21:37] text so what does he

[21:39] do well turn in your Bibles to Luke

[21:42] Chapter 2 and we'll see what Joseph

[21:48] does we'll start reading in verse number

[21:56] one we came to pass those days that

[21:59] there went out a decree from Caesar

[22:00] Augustus that all the world should be

[22:02] taxed don't you love the government in

[22:04] their

[22:05] taxes this taxing was first made when

[22:08] cenius was governor of Syria and all

[22:10] went to be taxed everyone into his own

[22:12] City Joseph also went up From Galilee

[22:15] out of the city of Nazareth into Judea

[22:17] under the city of David which is called

[22:19] Bethlehem because he was of the house

[22:21] and lineage of David to be taxed with

[22:24] Mary his espoused wife being what great

[22:28] eight with

[22:31] child means she's ready to have the

[22:37] baby

[22:38] now they didn't Uber to

[22:41] Bethlehem they didn't get a taxi they

[22:44] didn't get a

[22:46] cab they journeyed to

[22:50] Bethlehem with a very pregnant

[22:56] wife complication along the way

[23:00] difficulty along the way but

[23:05] Joseph

[23:07] obeyed the

[23:09] law and did what he was supposed to

[23:14] do verse six and so it was that while

[23:17] they were there the days were

[23:19] accomplished that she should be

[23:21] delivered she brought forth her

[23:23] firstborn son wrapped him in swalling

[23:25] clothes and laid him in a Manger because

[23:28] there was no room for them in the

[23:31] end Joseph was

[23:34] resourceful though there was no room for

[23:36] them in the ends he found them a shelter

[23:38] to stay in that was warm and

[23:42] safe Joseph was

[23:45] resourceful continues on Joseph we

[23:48] mentioned already was conscientious

[23:50] toward the government even though he

[23:52] probably didn't want to pay taxes he

[23:54] went on anyway

[23:59] we know also that he travels with his

[24:02] family and he gets to the manger where

[24:06] they're born and then back in Luke

[24:09] Chapter

[24:10] 2 or excuse me Matthew Chapter

[24:14] 2 the wise men

[24:17] come and in verse 10 we find they're no

[24:20] longer in the

[24:22] stable they're in the

[24:25] house Matthew chapter 2 verse1

[24:29] so he provided for his

[24:32] family when the wise men came the family

[24:35] was in a house not in the

[24:37] stable so he's taking care of his family

[24:40] now again he's doing this with limited

[24:43] means but he's taking care of his family

[24:46] he's providing for

[24:48] them back to Matthew Chapter 2 I want to

[24:51] read you a few more verses and we'll

[24:53] come back to Luke Chapter

[24:56] 2 Matthew Chapter 2 and verse number

[25:03] 14 when he arose actually read verse

[25:07] 13 and when they were departed behold

[25:10] the angel of the Lord appeared appear to

[25:12] Joseph in a dream here's a second

[25:14] appearance saying arise take the young

[25:17] child and his mother and flee into Egypt

[25:20] be thou there until I bring thee word

[25:22] for Herod will seek the young child to

[25:26] destroy

[25:27] him watch what he does when he arose he

[25:30] took the young child and his mother by

[25:33] what

[25:35] night and departed into Egypt he didn't

[25:39] procrastinate he arose while it was

[25:41] still night to obey God said go to

[25:45] Egypt Joseph woke up out of the dream

[25:48] all right let's

[25:49] go now he just got the gifts given to

[25:52] them by the wise men so he's got some

[25:55] extra there he's he didn't procrastinate

[25:57] and he's protective of his family he did

[25:59] not hesitate God said herod's coming he

[26:02] got up look at verse 15 and he was there

[26:06] until the death of Herod that it might

[26:09] be fulfilled which was

[26:11] spoken excuse me of the Lord by the

[26:14] prophet saying out of Egypt have I

[26:17] called my son watch this Joseph's

[26:19] obedience to God fulfilled

[26:24] scripture Joseph's obedience to God to

[26:27] go to Egypt to to stay there he was

[26:29] protecting his family he he stays there

[26:32] for a period of

[26:34] time and herod's out

[26:37] looking for baby

[26:42] Jesus back to Luke Chapter

[26:47] 2 and verse

[26:51] 21 Luke

[26:54] 2:21 and when eight days were

[26:56] accomplished for the circumcising of the

[26:59] child his name was called

[27:02] what

[27:03] Jesus which was so named to the angel

[27:06] before he was conceived in the

[27:08] womb so eight days he goes for the

[27:13] circumcision and when the days of her

[27:15] purification according to the law of

[27:17] Moses were

[27:19] accomplished they brought him to

[27:22] Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as

[27:26] it is written in the law of the Lord

[27:27] every

[27:28] that openeth the womb Shall be Called

[27:30] holy to the Lord and to offer a

[27:33] sacrifice according to that which is

[27:36] said in the law of the Lord a pair of

[27:38] turtle does or two young

[27:41] pigeons say it this way he's careful to

[27:43] keep God's

[27:46] law Joseph he

[27:49] travels after the purification days 40

[27:52] Days Later takes Jesus to the temple

[27:54] they dedicate him they travel back

[27:57] they're they go to

[27:58] Egypt and in the journeying to Egypt and

[28:01] everything else that God does to

[28:04] protect

[28:07] Christ Joseph's a part of

[28:10] it

[28:12] now these things about Joseph are not on

[28:16] an

[28:18] accident the angel as we said earlier

[28:22] came to him first in a dream he he

[28:25] married Mary in Matthew chapter 1 he

[28:27] went to bethle beem for the census in

[28:29] Luke chap 2 Jesus was born in Matthew

[28:32] 1:25 the angel came to him in a second

[28:34] dream in Matthew 213 he fled to Egypt in

[28:38] Matthew 2:14 an angel came un him in a

[28:41] third dream let's go back to Matthew

[28:43] Chapter 2 in verse number

[28:52] 19 but when Herod was dead behold an

[28:55] angel of the Lord appear in a dream to

[28:58] to Joseph in Egypt saying arise and take

[29:01] the young child and his mother and go

[29:03] into the land of Israel for they are

[29:05] dead which sought the young child's life

[29:08] he arose and took the young child and

[29:10] his mother and came into the land of

[29:14] Israel so he has an angel appear to him

[29:18] a third dream he returns to Israel in

[29:20] verse 21 look what happens though in

[29:23] verse 22 but when he heard that arus did

[29:26] reign in Judea in the room of his father

[29:28] Herod he was afraid to go thither

[29:32] notwithstanding being warned of God in a

[29:35] dream he turned aside into parts of

[29:39] Galilee so God gives him a dream the

[29:42] fourth one to steer him to Galilee he

[29:46] went to live in Galilee specifically

[29:48] Nazareth look at verse 23 and he came

[29:51] and dwelt in a city called Nazareth

[29:53] watch this that it might be fulfilled

[29:56] which was spoken by the prophets he

[29:58] shall be called a

[30:01] Nazarene so here's a here's another

[30:04] interesting thing even in Joseph's

[30:07] fear God directs him right where he

[30:10] needs to go and he's submissive to obey

[30:13] God even in his moments of

[30:16] weakness now we don't know how Joseph

[30:18] died the Bible does not tell

[30:21] us we just know in fact that he's dead

[30:24] by the time of Jesus's

[30:26] crucifixion and more than likely he's

[30:28] already dead by the beginning of Jesus's

[30:31] Earthly

[30:33] Ministry so some lessons for life from

[30:37] the life of

[30:39] Joseph lesson number one we don't have

[30:42] to have a central starring role to serve

[30:46] the Lord and fulfill his plan lesson

[30:49] number one from the life of Joseph we

[30:51] don't have to have a central starring

[30:53] role to serve the Lord and fulfill his

[30:56] plan God can and has used greatly quiet

[31:01] steady faithful people like

[31:05] Joseph to help bring about God's will

[31:08] for

[31:10] Humanity you don't have to have the

[31:12] starring

[31:13] role everybody talks about Jesus and

[31:16] they talk about Mary very few talk about

[31:19] Joseph but of all the men in the world

[31:22] that God wanted to influence the early

[31:24] stages of Jesus's life it was Joseph

[31:29] in fact as we watch the early stages of

[31:31] Jesus's life Joseph takes him to the P

[31:34] the temple during Passover every

[31:37] year

[31:39] Faithfully every

[31:41] year takes him to the Passover we know

[31:43] all the way up to the age of

[31:45] 12 we know that he's there and that's

[31:48] when they forget him and they think

[31:50] they're with the other parent and like

[31:52] that's never happened to any

[31:56] parents but

[31:58] we see that Joseph is

[32:00] a not the central character but he's a

[32:04] very important part and he we know that

[32:07] he teaches Jesus because later on they

[32:09] say is this not The Carpenter's

[32:12] son the influence that he had we'll talk

[32:15] about that more here in a

[32:16] minute another

[32:18] thing that we ought to learn from the

[32:21] life of Joseph is humility doesn't need

[32:23] to be noticed and admired for things

[32:26] that are done

[32:28] humility doesn't need to be noticed and

[32:30] admired for things that are

[32:33] done is perfectly happy to be in a

[32:36] supporting role Jesus and even Mary had

[32:39] much more Central roles in the gospel

[32:41] but Joseph was an UNH Herald but still

[32:45] very valuable figure in all of it

[32:48] humility does not need to be noticed and

[32:51] admired for things that are done another

[32:53] lesson to learn from Joseph this is good

[32:55] is self-control and is often an

[32:58] underappreciated fruit of the

[33:01] spirit

[33:03] Temperance imagine if Joseph hadn't

[33:05] controlled

[33:07] himself just think about it for a moment

[33:11] if he hadn't controlled himself and he

[33:13] had relations with Mary it was after all

[33:15] his wife it's his right to sleep with

[33:18] her

[33:20] and but it took away what the Bible

[33:26] said what would have happened

[33:29] would that have disrupted God's

[33:32] plan just something to think

[33:35] about another thing to remember is

[33:37] sometimes God withholds something from

[33:39] us just for a time for our good before

[33:44] giving it to us at the right

[33:47] time sometimes God withholds something

[33:50] from us just for a time for our good

[33:54] before giving it to us at the right time

[33:58] Joseph had to keep Mary pure for a

[34:01] time again even though it was his

[34:06] right now the Bible later records They

[34:09] had four other

[34:11] Sons and Daughters as

[34:15] well which pokes a big giant

[34:18] hole in the catholic's doctrine of the

[34:22] Perpetual Virgin

[34:24] Mary because she was not a perpetual

[34:28] virgin meaning an ongoing one know she

[34:31] had other Sons and

[34:38] Daughters

[34:40] now some lessons so far but here's a

[34:43] lesson in particular for parents parents

[34:46] be sure to start your child

[34:50] outright Jesus was the Fulfillment of

[34:53] all of the

[34:54] laws including the one for circumcision

[34:57] that days that we read about

[34:58] purification sacrifice at 40 days and

[35:02] observance of the Passover Joseph's

[35:04] adherence to the law of God helped

[35:06] assure that Jesus also fully fulfilled

[35:08] it want you think about this he came to

[35:11] fulfill all the

[35:12] law meaning in his

[35:15] childhood when he couldn't get to Temple

[35:18] on his

[35:19] own his daddy made sure he got

[35:22] there his daddy made sure that he did

[35:26] what he was supposed to do his daddy

[35:28] took him down to Egypt his daddy brought

[35:30] him out of Egypt his daddy settled him

[35:32] in Nazareth before he Jesus humbled

[35:35] himself as a baby before he had full

[35:38] control of his own life he submitted

[35:41] himself to the leadership of Joseph and

[35:44] God chose Joseph to bring him up the

[35:47] nurture and admonition of the Lord

[35:50] parents make sure you would start your

[35:53] children off

[35:54] right the age of 12 it is said of Jesus

[35:58] that he increased in wisdom and in

[35:59] stature and in favor with God and

[36:02] Men Joseph played a role in that I

[36:06] believe with all my heart that Jesus's

[36:08] care for his mother was Illustrated to

[36:10] him as a child through

[36:13] Joseph how Joseph cared for

[36:15] Mary Joseph's a just

[36:18] man another lesson we can learn from

[36:21] Joseph is this sometimes God uses

[36:24] governments for his

[36:26] plans even their seemingly senseless

[36:29] decrees because Joseph obeyed the

[36:32] government's command to go to his

[36:33] hometown and to be counted even though

[36:35] the timing seemed terrible with Mary

[36:38] about to give birth Jesus was born in

[36:40] Bethlehem and this prophecy was

[36:43] fulfilled can you imagine if Joseph said

[36:45] it's it's too hard a journey with a very

[36:48] expecting wife let's stay

[36:52] home but he

[36:54] did he did the hard thing which was the

[36:58] right thing because God told him to he

[37:02] obeyed God another lesson we can learn

[37:05] from Joseph as God provides for our

[37:07] needs even for

[37:09] emergencies though sometimes the

[37:11] provision is not what we had hoped for

[37:14] or

[37:14] expected Mary needed a place to give

[37:17] birth Jesus was on the

[37:21] way so Joseph found them a

[37:24] place that was simple but it worked

[37:28] and on the other hand God sent the wise

[37:30] men later on with Rich gifts to give to

[37:33] this poor

[37:34] family and then Joseph only days later

[37:37] loaded up the family and headed to

[37:40] Egypt I'm pretty sure that God's gifts

[37:43] help Finance their trip we don't know

[37:46] how God will provide only that he will

[37:50] provide

[37:57] another lesson to learn from Joseph is

[38:00] obey God

[38:03] immediately when the angel first told

[38:05] Joseph to take Mary as his wife because

[38:07] she was carrying Jesus he awoke and did

[38:09] just

[38:10] that when he was told to flee to Egypt

[38:13] he took his family while it was still

[38:16] night watch this when we know the right

[38:18] thing to do we should do it immediately

[38:20] without

[38:22] delay it's a lesson we can learn from

[38:24] Joseph obey God immediately

[38:32] another lesson we can learn doesn't

[38:33] matter what other people think of us as

[38:36] long as we are right before

[38:39] God Joseph by marrying his pregnant

[38:41] fiance was practically declaring that

[38:44] the child was

[38:45] his everyone they knew naturally would

[38:48] have assumed impurity on both of their

[38:50] parts however Joseph was

[38:53] willing to accept that stigma so that he

[38:56] could obey the Lord

[38:58] Lord and provide legitimacy

[39:00] respectability and protection to Mary

[39:03] and her

[39:04] son another lesson we can learn for

[39:07] Joseph don't just assume that someone

[39:09] else is going to do

[39:12] something ask and make sure or else take

[39:17] responsibility for it yourself don't

[39:19] just assume someone else is going to

[39:20] handle that ask and make sure or take

[39:23] responsibility

[39:24] yourself traveling back from Jerusalem

[39:26] after the Passover Mary and Joseph were

[39:29] with a large Caravan traditionally the

[39:31] women traveled together and the men

[39:32] traveled together they were likely

[39:34] separated by some distance probably

[39:36] Joseph assumed Jesus is with Mary and

[39:39] she assumed Jesus is with

[39:42] Joseph when they really had left him

[39:45] much

[39:47] behind much anxiety and time could have

[39:50] been saved if they had asked to make

[39:53] sure from presumption comes nothing but

[39:56] strength right lesson we can learn from

[39:59] Joseph don't just assume someone else is

[40:01] going to do something

[40:03] as another lesson we can learn from

[40:06] Joseph is just because an emotion is

[40:08] natural and reasonable doesn't mean that

[40:11] it's

[40:12] warranted Joseph and Mary the Bible

[40:14] tells us were anxious when searching for

[40:17] Jesus but he was the

[40:21] Messiah he's God's

[40:24] son of course God was going to take care

[40:27] care of

[40:30] Jesus and Jesus was going to react to

[40:33] the situation by doing the wisest thing

[40:35] he

[40:37] could but his parents were anxious and

[40:45] fearful another lesson we can learn from

[40:49] Joseph was Joseph was known by his

[40:52] trade shown because in Mark 6:3 they

[40:55] said Jesus was called the son of a

[40:57] carer and a man's work is very important

[41:00] to him and often integral in his

[41:06] identity we need to realize and respect

[41:08] this that sometimes a man is identified

[41:11] by his

[41:13] job so don't get so frustrated with them

[41:16] sometimes if they're identified by their

[41:19] job so some lessons to learn from

[41:25] Joseph so with all these lessons that

[41:29] we've talked about

[41:31] tonight sir if we were to travel back

[41:34] and you were

[41:35] born over 2,000 plus years ago would you

[41:39] have enough character that God would

[41:41] choose

[41:43] you to raise the

[41:48] Messiah would would you be able to

[41:52] handle with Biblical distinction and

[41:57] care and mercy and

[42:01] instruction like

[42:07] Joseph fast forward to today are are we

[42:10] people of humility or people of

[42:13] recognition are you

[42:16] okay if nobody knows your

[42:19] name are you okay if you're not the

[42:23] center of attention and everybody knows

[42:27] knows that you're in the

[42:29] room are you

[42:34] okay you'll notice in the life of

[42:39] Joseph when the wise men came they

[42:41] presented Jesus the gifts they didn't

[42:44] give them to

[42:46] Joseph but when God wanted to lead

[42:51] Jesus while he was a child somewhere God

[42:54] chose Joseph to appear to to him and

[42:58] direct

[42:59] him sir if you have a family God wants

[43:02] you to be the one that he can direct and

[43:05] guide to know where your family needs to

[43:09] go so some lessons we can learn from

[43:12] Joseph we don't have to have a starring

[43:14] role to be used of God we don't have to

[43:18] have our name and lights to be used of

[43:21] God we just need to be

[43:24] humble like

[43:26] Joseph submissive to the leadership of

[43:29] God like

[43:32] Joseph willing to sacrifice our own

[43:35] desires for what God wants like

[43:42] Joseph of all the men in all the

[43:45] world he chose

[43:47] Joseph to be the adopted

[43:52] father of the

[43:53] Messiah Jesus Christ

[43:59] sir what if it had been

[44:03] you how would you have handled Mary's

[44:08] situation how well if you would have

[44:12] responded to the leadership and

[44:14] instruction of Jesus Christ would you

[44:18] delay when Christ said go when God said

[44:21] go would you

[44:22] delay would you

[44:24] pause would you say well I'll get to it

[44:27] but not today no don't procrastinate do

[44:29] what God says there are some things that

[44:32] you don't have to pray

[44:35] about there are some things that are

[44:37] clear in the word of God you just know

[44:39] God said it you need to do

[44:41] it you don't have to pray about it well

[44:44] should I or should I not let me pray now

[44:46] just know what God says in his word just

[44:48] do

[44:49] it Joseph he's we call him just Joseph

[44:54] but he's more than just Joseph he's a

[44:58] righteous man that God chose to

[45:03] use what about

[45:06] you there's not a whole lot of verses

[45:09] about

[45:11] Joseph he goes off the scene probably

[45:15] before Jesus's public Ministry begins 30

[45:18] years in the life of Jesus he's probably

[45:20] already off the scen by

[45:25] them not whole lot of verses talk about

[45:31] him but all of eternity in all time God

[45:36] brought Jesus at just the right time and

[45:40] God brought Mary and Joseph together to

[45:43] be the

[45:44] couple that would guide Jesus Christ to

[45:48] be the child and eventually the man he

[45:51] would

[45:54] be now you may

[45:57] not be bringing up the

[46:00] Messiah but if God allows you to have

[46:07] children would you bring them up like

[46:09] Joseph and

[46:11] Mary would you have some character to

[46:14] you would you be one that

[46:18] humility and submissiveness to God could

[46:21] be said about your

[46:24] life I want you to imagine tonight with

[46:27] me as we close invisible piece of paper

[46:31] and a pen in your

[46:34] hand and God said to

[46:37] you these are the

[46:41] traits that I see in your life right

[46:46] now would any of them line up with

[46:51] Joseph submissive to the word of God is

[46:54] that on your character trait list

[46:58] willing to obey whatever God says to do

[47:01] is that on your character trait list a

[47:04] humble right spirit is that on your

[47:09] character trait

[47:11] list willing to be in the

[47:17] background not have to be the star is

[47:21] that on your character trait

[47:24] this imagine it tonight

[47:27] piece of paper and the

[47:30] pen what would God

[47:33] say there were a few verses to be added

[47:37] to the word of God about your

[47:41] life what would those few verses

[47:44] say about

[47:49] you now I got good news you're still

[47:53] breathing there's time to change the

[47:55] list

[47:58] if there's some areas to grow

[48:00] in it's a good time to say God Circle

[48:04] this one I need to work on this one God

[48:07] God help me with this one this character

[48:10] trait God it needs some

[48:12] work Lord

[48:15] help help me be submissive to your

[48:19] leadership help me to respond to your

[48:22] word like I

[48:24] should help me to be okay

[48:27] in the background and not in a starring

[48:32] roope help me God I need

[48:37] you I need

[48:39] you what's on your list

[48:43] tonight or

[48:45] maybe you can flip the list

[48:48] over and on the back

[48:50] side God says here's some things that

[48:54] need some

[48:55] work to get get out of your life and he

[48:58] begin to

[49:00] write five things that God said get

[49:05] out get rid

[49:07] of remove

[49:10] it what's on your list tonight that God

[49:14] would say

[49:16] hey I like this in your

[49:18] life yes it needs some work but I like

[49:21] that it's there you can work on it but

[49:24] I'm glad you've got it or maybe it's on

[49:27] the back side of the list you need to

[49:30] get rid of this it's hindering what I

[49:33] can do in

[49:35] you tonight I'm GNA pray the Holy

[49:39] Spirit brings to your mind the

[49:42] list what you doing for him and what you

[49:46] need to quit

[49:47] doing and you deal with it tonight let's

[49:51] all stand with our heads bowed and eyes

[49:53] closed tonight

[49:56] character of Joseph be like

[50:01] Joseph what's on your list tonight say

[50:04] Pastor would you pray for me God's

[50:06] convicted me on some things that are on

[50:07] the back of the list that I need to work

[50:11] on Pastor would you please pray for me

[50:13] that you just slip your hand up and put

[50:15] it down I see those hands thank you

[50:17] thank you hey tonight's a good night to

[50:19] work on that

[50:21] list here say Pastor there's some things

[50:23] that God circled on my list of some

[50:25] things I need to imp prove it would you

[50:28] pray for me Pastor that you just lift

[50:30] your hand up and put it down I see those

[50:32] things see those hands yes hey tonight's

[50:35] a good night to ask God God I need you

[50:37] I've decided to follow you I need your

[50:40] help Lord would you step out would you

[50:43] do business with God don't wait don't

[50:46] hesitate don't

[50:47] procrastinate obey God when he says to

[50:50] move move heavenly father I pray your

[50:53] will be done during this invitation time

[50:55] help us to rest respond in your name I

[50:58] pray amen as Brother Sam leads us you do

[51:01] business with God tonight I have

[51:05] de to follow

[51:09] Jesus I have

[51:12] decided to follow

[51:16] Jesus I have

[51:20] decided to follow

[51:23] Jesus no turning back

[51:32] no

[51:34] join still I will

[51:38] follow no one join me still I will

[51:45] follow no one join me still I will

[51:51] follow no turning

[51:54] back no we're going to play through

[51:57] another verse maybe you're not

[52:00] Joseph but ma'am would you have the

[52:03] character of

[52:07] Mary would you respond

[52:10] to extreme circumstances in a way of

[52:14] trusting

[52:15] God believing God in his

[52:18] word

[52:20] tonight have you decided to follow him

[52:23] wherever he leads wherever it goes

[52:27] have you decided to follow Jesus all the

[52:32] way how about it

[52:35] tonight God has brought some things up

[52:38] on the

[52:40] list don't just be a hearo of the word

[52:43] we a doer

[52:45] also respond to him let's sing that

[52:48] first verse together as a testimony to

[52:51] God tonight

[52:53] ready I have decided

[52:57] [Music]

[52:59] sing it out

[53:00] now I have

[53:04] deci to follow

[53:08] Jesus I have

[53:11] decided to follow

[53:14] Jesus no turning

[53:18] back no turning back all God's people

[53:22] say amen you may be seated want to

[53:25] encourage you to pray for one another

[53:26] pray for those that are sick pray for uh

[53:29] visitors to come Sunday uh the Sunday

[53:32] Christmas service you know pray for

[53:34] those to come uh someone sent me a video

[53:37] clip today of a man outside putting a

[53:39] banner on the side of the church so we

[53:41] want to invite you to join us this

[53:44] Sunday and people just walk by so he got

[53:47] excited he's like I'm gonna put some

[53:48] trees up by the banner so he put some

[53:50] trees up and flashing lights said hey

[53:53] come join us this Sunday and people just

[53:55] walked on by

[53:57] so he got him some of them inflatable

[53:59] fan things and one was Frosty the

[54:02] Snowman and another one was a rinder and

[54:04] it said come join us this Sunday people

[54:07] just walked on by so he got him a whole

[54:11] group of singers to stand outside and

[54:13] they were singing Christmas carols

[54:15] trying to get people's attention so

[54:17] they'll come to church on

[54:19] Sunday people just walked on

[54:22] by finally in his frustration he got the

[54:26] singers and the Inflatables and the

[54:28] lights and decorated the whole church

[54:30] with lights and he had the banner said

[54:32] come join us this Sunday and he brought

[54:34] in goats and sheep and had a live

[54:37] nativity scene and people just walked on

[54:41] by finally out of his frustration he

[54:44] goes ah what am I going to have to do

[54:46] and somebody stopped said hey you need

[54:49] something he walked up to the individual

[54:52] said hey

[54:53] I'd like to invite you to join us at

[54:55] church this Sunday

[54:58] first said okay what

[55:01] time see the best way to invite people

[55:03] to church is not the lights it's not the

[55:05] Inflatables it's not the any of those

[55:07] things it's just people inviting

[55:10] people so do that this week invite

[55:13] somebody to

[55:14] come it would be I don't know amazing if

[55:18] somebody you invited to church came on

[55:20] Sunday got saved and God changed their

[55:23] life for all eternity it might just be a

[55:26] little little bit exciting for something

[55:27] I don't know it may be like one of the

[55:29] best Christmas presents you'll get this

[55:35] year but if you don't invite anybody is

[55:38] not going to happen to

[55:40] you so I'd encourage you invite somebody

[55:43] to come Sunday morning be preaching on

[55:47] uh Jesus then also Sunday night with the

[55:50] Christmas canata the Salvation message

[55:52] and that also encourage you to come be a

[55:55] part of that all right pray for one

[55:57] another if you brought gifts in for uh

[56:00] the bus Christmas tree make sure you

[56:02] placed them over there if they still

[56:03] need to be wrapped please let us know

[56:05] and we'll make sure they get wrapped I

[56:06] know some brought some in today that

[56:08] we're wrapping for them and so I'd

[56:10] encourage you if you forgot them bring

[56:13] them before Sunday bring them by the

[56:15] church if you need us to make AR ranches

[56:17] for that just let me know I'll try to

[56:19] work that out to the best to my ability

[56:21] all right so thankful you came tonight

[56:24] hopefully you're thankful you cameon

[56:27] and looking forward to a great Sunday

[56:30] and just a wonderful time to spend

[56:33] talking about the Lord and so this

[56:35] Sunday you know the Sunday before

[56:37] Christmas A lot of times people will

[56:38] come so this is what I need you to do

[56:41] you're dismissed tonight I want you to

[56:43] pray specifically for

[56:47] Sunday pray for visitors to come pray

[56:50] for regulars to come pray for people

[56:51] who've been sporadic in their attendance

[56:53] to

[56:54] come and let God change their life so I

[56:58] encourage you to pray before we're

[57:00] dismissed tonight pray now if you want

[57:02] to get

[57:04] bold find you a seat somewhere and pray

[57:07] for somebody to sit in that seat come

[57:11] this next Sunday all right so I

[57:13] encourage you to pray that God would

[57:15] bring folks to church on Sunday and the

[57:18] word of God would change their lives

[57:20] Christmas time is a great time for

[57:22] people that have been out at church to

[57:24] show back up let's pray for it we have

[57:28] not because

[57:29] we so let's do it let's pray and seek

[57:32] the Lord all right so we're going to be

[57:34] dismissed in a song and then after that

[57:37] song I'd encourage you take just a few

[57:39] moments to pray and ask God bring

[57:42] somebody to change their life for

[57:44] eternity now some of you may need to sit

[57:47] in your seat and pray that God changes

[57:49] the life that sits in that

[57:53] seat like you that God Change Your Life

[57:57] on Sunday

[57:59] amen amen amen God's able we just need

[58:03] to ask let's all stand brother Samuel

[58:05] come lead us in our dismissal song

[58:13] tonights of orientor that last verse

[58:15] that says glorious Now Behold Him arise

[58:19] King and God and sacrifice

[58:25] [Music]

[58:31] glorious Now Behold Him

[58:35] arise King and God and

[58:41] sacrifice

[58:43] hallelu

[58:47] hallelu the Earth and

[58:51] Sky

[58:53] oh star of wonder star of light star

[59:01] with Royal Beauty

[59:05] bright Westward leading still

[59:10] proceeding guides us to thy Perfect

[59:17] Light and hopefully we take that light

[59:19] with us this week you are dismissed

[59:22] [Music]