Embracing Obedience: Joseph's Journey of Faith
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Joseph is a blue-collar carpenter, and he loved Mary by all accounts, and he wanted to help her, but he was willing to step in, and he wanted to do her and God a favor of providing her with an obedience that minimizes sacrifice. Now, before you are too harsh on Joseph, we do the same thing all the time. We call it damage control. We ask ourselves the question, like, what do I have to admit to? What do I do to fix this? What's the thing I kind of have to deal with in order to keep moving? [00:04:51] (32 seconds)
Some of us get into this place with God where we feel like we are doing him a favor by following him. We feel like we are doing and obeying him. He's lucky to have us. Now Joseph, he finds himself in this very unique moment where when we sort of take a step back, he wants to do Mary a favor, which came from a really good place. Like, he's trying to do something that's really kind, but it wasn't something that God needed or wanted from that moment in the historic reality by which God was intervening for you and me. [00:08:06] (35 seconds)
We obey him because when he says do, he means he designed you that way. And when God says don't, he means don't hurt yourself. And we actually believe that. See, God graciously intervenes with Joseph. I'm so glad that he did before Joseph gets too far down the road in damage control of trying to take care of this with Mary and doing her and God this favor by divorcing her quietly. Instead, he goes from an obedience that minimizes sacrifice to an obedience that embraces power, which is the kind of obedience that God calls all of us to. Our faith looks for ways to advance, not avoid. [00:12:03] (36 seconds)
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. She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by his prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. [00:13:45] (37 seconds)
Sometimes we do God a favor by performing. I mean, I'm sure you don't, but you know, some people who do, you don't really feel that way right now about God. You don't really feel that way in worship. You don't really feel that way with that person. But there are times when you just have to like be on and you have to pretend you have to fake it. Like you're the perfect Christian. Like you have no problems or questions. And you think to yourself, I'm doing God a favor. He's lucky to have me because this whole thing would fall apart if I wasn't willing to fake it. [00:18:48] (26 seconds)
On the flip side, when they are themselves simply trying their best and loving others in our family, it's much, much easier to anticipate their needs and their wants to care for them well. Now, God can see everything, but he wants us to embrace full obedience out of love, not duty. We don't choose obedience so that God would love us more. He already loves us the most. We choose obedience so that we can love him more and experience more of him. [00:20:09] (28 seconds)
Matthew records it this way. He says, When Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. Now, if Joseph were hedging his bets, he could have simply stayed betrothed to Mary, hoping, people didn't find out for a while, waiting and not taking the second step, which was a ceremony called the Nisuan. [00:22:04] (34 seconds)
See, when we choose to embrace faith as favor from God, not favors for God, we will often have to sacrifice our otherwise needy, and tidy reputation for something less neat and tidy. People will misunderstand generosity and grace on one end of the spectrum and conviction and calling on the other end, and that's part of what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus. [00:24:07] (25 seconds)
Joseph learned that his obedience wasn't a favor to God, but he experienced God's favor in his life, on his life. So did Mary. Even when immediate circumstances were painful, difficult, or even tragic, it was something that required sacrifice, but carried so much more purpose, promise, and power than what their plan for life would have otherwise carried. They got to play a part in God's plan for the kingdom of heaven that was infinitely much more important than what they were supposed to do. [00:25:09] (30 seconds)
If you're a Christian, then Christmas is this beautiful reminder that 2,000 years ago, this historic event took place in which God won you and me back. Even secular historians, Christian or not, don't deny that Jesus entered human history 2,000 years ago. But here's where we get in trouble. As Christians, sometimes we forget that this act wasn't just for us. Maybe you know Jesus. Maybe your immediate family does. Maybe even your family does. Maybe your immediate family does. Maybe your immediate family does. Maybe your extended family does. That's amazing. [00:26:11] (38 seconds)
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Some of us get into this place with God where we feel like we are doing him a favor by following him. We feel like we are doing and obeying him. He's lucky to have us. Now Joseph, he finds himself in this very unique moment where when we sort of take a step back, he wants to do Mary a favor, which came from a really good place. Like, he's trying to do something that's really kind, but it wasn't something that God needed or wanted from that moment in the historic reality by which God was intervening for you and me. [00:08:06] (35 seconds)
We obey him because when he says do, he means he designed you that way. And when God says don't, he means don't hurt yourself. And we actually believe that. See, God graciously intervenes with Joseph. I'm so glad that he did before Joseph gets too far down the road in damage control of trying to take care of this with Mary and doing her and God this favor by divorcing her quietly. Instead, he goes from an obedience that minimizes sacrifice to an obedience that embraces power, which is the kind of obedience that God calls all of us to. Our faith looks for ways to advance, not avoid. [00:12:03] (36 seconds)
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. She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by his prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. [00:13:45] (37 seconds)
Sometimes we do God a favor by performing. I mean, I'm sure you don't, but you know, some people who do, you don't really feel that way right now about God. You don't really feel that way in worship. You don't really feel that way with that person. But there are times when you just have to like be on and you have to pretend you have to fake it. Like you're the perfect Christian. Like you have no problems or questions. And you think to yourself, I'm doing God a favor. He's lucky to have me because this whole thing would fall apart if I wasn't willing to fake it. [00:18:48] (26 seconds)
On the flip side, when they are themselves simply trying their best and loving others in our family, it's much, much easier to anticipate their needs and their wants to care for them well. Now, God can see everything, but he wants us to embrace full obedience out of love, not duty. We don't choose obedience so that God would love us more. He already loves us the most. We choose obedience so that we can love him more and experience more of him. [00:20:09] (28 seconds)
Matthew records it this way. He says, When Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. Now, if Joseph were hedging his bets, he could have simply stayed betrothed to Mary, hoping, people didn't find out for a while, waiting and not taking the second step, which was a ceremony called the Nisuan. [00:22:04] (34 seconds)
See, when we choose to embrace faith as favor from God, not favors for God, we will often have to sacrifice our otherwise needy, and tidy reputation for something less neat and tidy. People will misunderstand generosity and grace on one end of the spectrum and conviction and calling on the other end, and that's part of what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus. [00:24:07] (25 seconds)
Joseph learned that his obedience wasn't a favor to God, but he experienced God's favor in his life, on his life. So did Mary. Even when immediate circumstances were painful, difficult, or even tragic, it was something that required sacrifice, but carried so much more purpose, promise, and power than what their plan for life would have otherwise carried. They got to play a part in God's plan for the kingdom of heaven that was infinitely much more important than what they were supposed to do. [00:25:09] (30 seconds)
If you're a Christian, then Christmas is this beautiful reminder that 2,000 years ago, this historic event took place in which God won you and me back. Even secular historians, Christian or not, don't deny that Jesus entered human history 2,000 years ago. But here's where we get in trouble. As Christians, sometimes we forget that this act wasn't just for us. Maybe you know Jesus. Maybe your immediate family does. Maybe even your family does. Maybe your immediate family does. Maybe your immediate family does. Maybe your extended family does. That's amazing. [00:26:11] (38 seconds)
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