Liv’in The Dream
Matthew 1&2
Emmanuel Christian Church
12.8.24
INTRODUCTION: Last week we took the time to walk in the sandals of Mary and Elizabeth. Two women whose lives had been turned upside down by God’s plan to save the world. The account reminded us that God’s plans are often NOT what we would choose and approve.
His plan to save the world? Two babies born to two women- one unwed and TOOOO young to be a mother, the other, OOOOLD- way too old to become a mother! So what does that tell us?
1 Corinthians 1: 27 God (has) chose(n) the foolish things of the world to SHAME the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to SHAME the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to NULLIFY the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
PROPOSITION: Remember, God specializes in the unimaginably, incredible- and accomplishes it through the absolutely improbable! Why? To bring Himself glory by granting us His amazing grace!
So, this week, it’s our turn to walk in Joseph’s sandals.
Luke 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
Luke 2:4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
Joseph had a PROBLEM.
- Actually, several problems!
- The “census” was a problem.
- There are three reasons a government takes a census.
- In our nation, a census determines representation in the House of
Representatives. It’s a way to protect our individual political rights.
- In the ancient nation of Israel, a census was used as a means of drafting men into the army. That doesn’t sound like much fun!
- In the case of the census issued by Caesar Augustus, it was all about racing taxes. THAT definitely is no fun! And judging by other evidence regarding Joseph and Mary’s financial state- getting more taxes out of them would be like wringing water out of a dry sponge!
- The trip to Bethlehem was a problem.
- If you’ve ever ridden a donkey, you might have some idea.
- If you’ve ever ridden a donkey while pregnant, you might have a better
idea.
- If you’ve ever ridden a donkey while pregnant for a distance of 90
miles, then you REALLY understand what Joseph and Mary were
dealing with! DEFINITELY NO FUN!
- Arriving at Bethlehem was a problem.
- Remember, this was Joseph’s hometown.
- The family reunion with uncles, aunts and cousins promised to be just
a little awkward in the explanation of Mary’s condition!
- Who was going to believe that not only was Mary still a virgin, but her
baby was conceived by God’s Holy Spirit!!!!
- Any reasonable observer of this couple could only conclude Joseph
and Mary were a couple of “Wack Jobs”!
APPLICATION: PROBLEMS- you think YOU have problems? Well, maybe you do. You might even think that your problem are worse than Joseph’s- and maybe they are. So what do you do? Look for comfort. But here’s where you need to be very careful. Looking in the wrong place is only going to make it worse. Drugs and alcohol only dull the problem. Pleasure and promiscuity can only distract you from the problem. Real comfort- the kind that comes with no regret and leaves you at peace comes only from God. Listen to this testimony from a guy who faced all kinds of problems, from illness and death threats to imprisonment and beatings:
2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Let’s walk a little further with Joseph:
Matthew 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Matthew 1:20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” — which means, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Joseph had a DREAM.
- Actually, not one- but three!
- Dream One: “Take Mary home as your wife.”
- Dream Two: “Flee to Egypt.”
- Dream Three: “Return to Israel and settle in Nazareth.”
- These dreams must have seemed more like “nightmares” than dreams! - Each one of these “dreams” were guaranteed to uproot Joseph’s life!
- Taking Mary as his wife threatened his reputation.
- Fleeing the country for Egypt- that’s what fugitives do!
- Coming back from a foreign country after having fled meant re-
establishing everything!
- Let’s face it, dreams aren’t much to go on! It almost doesn’t seem fair.
After all...
- Zechariah knew God was up to something, because he had been
struck unable to speak...
- Mary was pregnant, and she knew she was a virgin...
- At Jesus birth, the shepherds had a whole choir of angels to make
the point...
- And the Magi had a supernatural astronomical phenomenon lead
them to Jesus!
- Joseph just had DREAMS.
- But wait a minute! Didn’t Jacob, AKA, “Israel” also have a dream? And wasn’t that dream a repeat of a promise God had made to his grandfather Abraham 100 years earlier? In the book of Genesis, Moses himself gives us the details...
Genesis 28:10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
- Why would Joseph put so much confidence in a dream? As a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and King David- he knew his family history!
- Joseph believed that God was in the process of keeping His promise to his family’s line and that the promised “blessing of all the earth” was the unborn baby carried by his wife Mary!
- And Joseph had the testimony of the prophets to confirm the messages of his dreams:
- Dream One: “Take Mary home as your wife.”
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (800 years earlier)
- Dream Two: “Flee to Egypt.”
Hosea 11:1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. (750 years earlier)
- Dream Three: “Return to Israel and settle in Nazareth.”
Matthew 2:21 ...So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
TRANSITION: These events had been set in place before the beginning of time. The angels said it, the prophets confirmed it, and now...
Joseph had a CHOICE.
- Faithful obedience, or the path of least resistance.
- The path of least resistance is ALWAYS a temptation! But “playing it
safe” and taking no risk requires ZERO faith. And as the Scripture
reminds us- “Without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.”
- On the other hand, faith demands ACTION. The entire 11th chapter of
the book of Hebrews chronicles Bible heroes who allowed their
convictions to inspire their actions!
- In the book of James, we hear these inspired words of God “faith
without deeds is useless”!
TRANSITION: So what was Joseph to do? His first impulse was to take the path of least resistance - to put Mary away “quietly”- divorce her. But Joseph WAS a righteous man. Joseph KNEW his family history. Joseph BELIEVED the angelic dreams. Joseph TRUSTED that God was on the move, and was about to keep His promise to Abraham!
CONCLUSION: I’ve always thought it was a little strange that as we celebrate Jesus birth, WE EXPECT to get the PRESENTS! Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
But, if we are to give Jesus a present- what can you give to the One who spoke universe into existence and who holds it together by His powerful word! I mean really! Can we give Jesus ANYTHING?
Yes. We can give Him what Joseph gave Him our absolute OBEDIENCE. Obedience when it doesn’t make sense. Obedience when it upends all of our plans. Obedience when it costs us dearly.
Jesus said: ““If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
That kind of surrendered submission is what obedience is simply about. And it’s the only real Christmas gift we can give to Jesus!
I think if we lived back in Joseph’s day and asked him how he was doing in the midst of all this- he’d say “I’m just liv’in the DREAM!”
