Sermon Series: God in the Life of Joseph 12-4-2011 Pastor Bruce Plummer                                           

God in the Life of Joseph  Matthew 1.18-25 

Today we’re going to begin to prepare ourselves for Christmas by studying God in the life of Joseph. 

Of course, this is the New Testament Joseph, the husband of Mary, the step-father, foster father of Jesus.  Wow, what a calling this man had!  He was called to take an amazingly important, intimidating job and do it in relative obscurity with many challenges. 

The people who do the most amazing things in this world, do what they do without most of us knowing who they are.  There are lots of people in the tabloids, people on magazine covers, who we know way too much about.  Are they the ones accomplishing great things?  Not usually.

It’s the nature of God's calling that most of the people He calls have to do so without fame.  The mothers and fathers, servant leaders, business people, managers and students, carry out God's will with great sacrifice and not a lot of human appreciation outside of a few close relationships.  So if you’re going to be great in God's economy, you need to get used to the fact that God appreciates you even when others don’t.  Your greatest reward really is in Heaven.  And how you carry out your assignment is important; even vital.

Joseph.  Trained and raised to be a carpenter, an artisan, a man who worked in wood mostly, with tools and his brains and his calloused hands.  He wasn’t known outside of his small, obscure town of Nazareth. 

But he loved God and he loved a girl.  Mary, also obscure.  He was betrothed to her.  That meant that they had entered into a contract to officially marry at an agreed upon time in the near future.  There was ceremony and witnesses and signatures. But who knew what would happen next?

Mary turns up pregnant and it wasn’t their child.  Surprised, shocked at the news (it just wasn’t like her) he was even more confused when she said it was the Holy Spirit that was responsible for her condition with an angel visit involved.  It was so unbelievable that he couldn’t speak, likely.  He had to go and think.  Of his three options, the kindest would be for him to quietly end the betrothal, like a divorce, also before a couple of witnesses.

But while he thought about all of this, wrestled with this, his calling becomes clear.  He’s tossing and turning on his bed and in a dream, an angel explains what Joseph needs to understand and then do. 

Marry this pregnant fiancée.  Believe that this is a unique conception and child, the only one of its kind.  Name him Jesus.  And raise Him as a father for His Heavenly Father, enduring all that means. 

So he did.  And we know the rest of the story.  But what we forget is that even though there were great difficulties, dangers and challenges with this calling, Joseph followed the calling even on down to being pulled out of the way completely when God said it was time.  The last time we see Joseph directly is when Jesus is 12.  Sometime after that he likely died a premature death and was taken out of the picture, perhaps so that Jesus’ Heavenly Father could have the place He deserved.  Like John the Baptist.  He must increase and I must decrease.  Wow. 

So from the example of Joseph, what can we learn about the normal calling to lead in obscurity? 

1. Humility is a great asset.  If Joseph was proud, angry, “hey, I deserve better than this!” kind of guy, he would have never qualified for the amazingly important position he inherited.  He raised, in an earthly sense, the Messiah!  When a dad was needed to care for, comfort, hang with, teach and provide an example for the Son of God, Joseph was the one God used.  It wouldn’t have happened if he yielded to the significant embarrassment and pressure he must have received.  Can you humble yourself and take God's calling?  Mom, dad, worker, etc?

2. Believe God's revealed will.  Did you notice how that when God spoke, Joseph listened?  Granted, he was confused for a while, but he wrestled with God until it was clear and he embraced it.  So many times God speaks something, we agree it’s God, and we end up neglecting it or setting it aside.  Believing means that we embrace what God says and prayerfully do accordingly. 

3. Lead in your assignment.  Plainly, Joseph is the servant leader of this little family.  He names Jesus, as was the custom.  He was warned in a dream to “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word…” And he did.  He packed up the family, put them on a donkey or whatever, and went to Egypt.  And it happened again when God told him to return.  Do you just let life happen to you?  Or do you lead according to God's word?  Women, men, wherever your quiet calling is, do you lead? 

4. Provide for and protect your assignment.  How did they finance going to Bethlehem, then Egypt, then back to Nazareth?  Joseph worked.  He had a skill and he used it to provide.  And when they came back to Israel from Egypt, he listened to the news, considered that Archelaus was now in charge of Judah, went back to Nazareth instead of Jerusalem.  Yes, God warned him, but he protected his assignment. 

Was Joseph important?  Was he relegated to obscurity by the Lord?  You may feel that you live a life that is unimportant because it’s being lived in a small town, in a small way, with unknown people.  That doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that you carry out your assignment with true humility, believing God, leading from God's revealed will, providing for and protecting the assignment God gave you.  Because the obscurity of the assignment is never indicative of its importance, its potential.