Sermon Title: Joseph - Quietly Letting God Come Through For You.
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Indeed, Christ is the sole reason for the season; for without Him, there would be no Christmas.
May your life’s Mission, Actions and Surrender be solely unto Christ; and precisely to this, I pray a Blessed Christmas to you and your family!
Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.
In the scheme of the original Christmas story, we would all agree that he is a rather critical and essential character.
His every recorded action in the gospels was immediate obedience to the guidance of God; and is exemplary for every true believer who professes faith in the living God.
And yet, throughout the Christmas narrative – he never had any speaking lines.
Not a sound, nor a pip.
And for Joseph, the events leading up to ‘Christmas’ was truly hurtful and sad.
Pledged to be married to a beautiful young girl from a religiously reputable family; only to find out that she was with child – and according to her, she was “made pregnant through the Holy Spirit” no less. (Ref: Matthew 1:18-20)
The trust between Joseph and Mary had been broken.
He must have felt severely betrayed.
According to the law of Moses, Mary had committed adultery, and worse, blasphemy.
And according to the same law of which Joseph was faithful to, he had clear recourse.
In his hurt, he could have gratified his grievance by going to the religious authorities because Mary clearly committed those two sins – both of which would result in death by stoning.
Although Joseph was “faithful to the law”; he was also profoundly kind.
In a world where disgrace was a fate worse than death, he did not want to expose Mary and was planning to quietly divorce her.
So, Joseph was a man who recognised the law of God; but most importantly, he recognised the heart of God – in which is found, goodness and mercy.
Still, his heart must have deeply troubled and heavy-laden as he entered a restless sleep.
And there, “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.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).
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 did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son.
And he gave him the name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:20-25)
For such a significant character like Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ – the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour -it was highly unusual that he had no speaking roles; no lines to perform, no songs to sing - but what he had was a lot of listening roles.
That Joseph was recorded to have made no statement, speech nor supplication in the events that preceded the birth of Christ must surely inform our experience of the reality of Christmas.
We must learn to listen to God.
For three more such recorded instances in Matthew 2, Joseph was immediately obedient to the guidance of the Lord through his dreams. (Ref: Matthew 2:13, 2:19, 2:22)
Joseph was quiet before God; and the Lord came through for him each and every time.
Likewise, we must constantly be ready to take in, and receive God’s guidance in our lives.
Like Joseph, we must learn to be faithful to His Ways; and open our lives wholly to God.
Stop trying to talk to God; shut up, and start listening to Him.
For most of us, we have said, or prayed, plenty.
Where is the ‘quiet’ in our quiet time with the Lord?
Stop trying to express an opinion to our Lord; or understand the events of our lives on our terms, or on our extremely limited abstraction of the world.
Stop trying to base our decisions on our blinded perspective of what is really happening to us, or to the world.
We must rely utterly on God.
Joseph has no speaking lines but he had the most important role of listening to God.
And when he listened, he obeyed – out of humility before God, and out of faith in God.
Because he was faithful to the Word of God, he must have remembered the words of Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6-7 amongst the hundreds of prophecies regarding the Messiah:
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Imagine Joseph’s amazement when he realised it came down to him – out of all who belonged to the family of David - to name the Christ-child.
Imagine Joseph’s amazement when he realised that it was indeed the zeal, or the Spirit, of the Lord Almighty that was responsible for the immaculate conception of the Christ-child.
Exactly as was prophesied – Joseph became a critical figure in the Christmas story before he was faithful to God, His Ways, and Words – and was ready to quietly let God come through for him.
If this had been part of a Christmas play, Joseph’s moments would have found him sleeping, and dreaming – awakening to precise instructions from the Lord and silently obeying His every direction.
All this time, Joseph has been listening to God; actively looking out for His Signs to him; actively obeying Him out of faithfulness and humility.
Joseph’s wisdom to be faithful, humble and obedient to God was certainly passed to his children – most evidently so, to Jesus’ earthly brother – James who later wrote:
13 Who is wise and understanding among you?
Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:13-18)
Such was his legacy – chosen, with Mary - to be earthly stewards of the Son of God – and parents to godly children; for a life lived in the wisdom that comes from heaven, he has certainly reaped a harvest of righteousness.
Joseph knew of his utter need for God; and so he actively sought the Lord and was prepared to listen attentively to Him.
He was prepared to humble himself before God’s mighty hand - to quietly let God come through for him.
For his quiet faithfulness, Joseph was rewarded with clear directions from the Lord in his dreams; and then some more, as he overcame:
If ever you are faced with the prospects of humiliation, obstacles, fear, problems and wickedness because of your faith in God, quietly let Him come through for you.
He knows your every need, and prayer – before it was ever a need or prayer.
All you really need to do is to still your heart in spite of the storm; in the certain knowledge that God is with you, and that He will come through for you.
This Christmas, learn to remain quiet – and be still before God. (Ref: Psalm 46:10)
As you reflect upon the past year in gratitude, and look forward to the new year, believe that in your quiet faithfulness before God, He will come through for you in the things that are truly worthy of His eternal Kingdom.
Look at every event in life as God’s way of revealing His signs to you.
Rest in the knowledge that He will minister His Rest upon you; and where necessary, guide you in your dreams.
Remember that He guides you “along the right paths for His Name’s sake.” (Ref: Psalm 23:3)
This Christmas, in your gratitude for His Goodness in your life, resolve to rely utterly on God – by actively listening and faithfully obeying immediately.
This Christmas, learn from Joseph’s example – to quietly let God come through for you in all that you do for His glory sake; and when you do, be assured that His Peace and Wisdom will be upon you.
Of course, He might well speak to you in your dreams – just as He did to Joseph.
Blessed Christmas.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Thank You for the perfect gift of Salvation and Eternal Life through Christ Jesus, Your Son; our Lord and Saviour.
In Him, we who are weary may truly rejoice in the certain Hope that You are with us; having saved us from the wages of sin, and freed us to be citizens of Your eternal Kingdom.
In deepest gratitude for Your Love, I resolve to be faithful to You in every way.
Teach me each day to know Your Heart more deeply.
Speak to me, O Lord, in every way – even in my dreams; and help me listen to you more!
My rest belongs to You; because You are my Rest.
Thank You for giving me a heart that is equipped to listen to Your voice.
Over all the noise of the world, Lord I choose to only receive Your guidance; be ever faithful to Your Ways and open my life wholly to You.
In quietness and trust, may I always know with the deepest certainty – that You would come through for me each and every time.
Holy Spirit, restore the quiet in my quiet time with the Lord; and help me refrain from bringing my thoughts to our conversations.
Help me to actively look out for Your Signs; and obey You in faithfulness and humility, and with utmost immediacy.
Like Joseph, grant me wisdom that comes from heaven – evidenced by purity, the love for peace, consideration and submission to Your Will, full of Your Mercy and good fruit, impartially and sincerity – that I may reap “a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:17-18)
I acknowledge my utter need for Your Presence and Power in my life; and humble myself before You - that I will live solely for Your Holy purposes of inbreaking the Kingdom.
May I listen attentively to You and obey Your every sign.
And when I am faced with humiliation, obstacles, fear, problems and wickedness because of my faith in You, let me know with every certainty that You will see me through.
Above all, as we commemorate Christmas - thank You, Heavenly Father, for revealing Your infinite love through Christ, and bringing forth the blessing of this eternal relationship that I share with You.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Indeed, Christ is the sole reason for the season; for without Him, there would be no Christmas.
May your life’s Mission, Actions and Surrender be solely unto Christ; and precisely to this, I pray a Blessed Christmas to you and your family!
Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.
In the scheme of the original Christmas story, we would all agree that he is a rather critical and essential character.
His every recorded action in the gospels was immediate obedience to the guidance of God; and is exemplary for every true believer who professes faith in the living God.
And yet, throughout the Christmas narrative – he never had any speaking lines.
Not a sound, nor a pip.
And for Joseph, the events leading up to ‘Christmas’ was truly hurtful and sad.
Pledged to be married to a beautiful young girl from a religiously reputable family; only to find out that she was with child – and according to her, she was “made pregnant through the Holy Spirit” no less. (Ref: Matthew 1:18-20)
The trust between Joseph and Mary had been broken.
He must have felt severely betrayed.
According to the law of Moses, Mary had committed adultery, and worse, blasphemy.
And according to the same law of which Joseph was faithful to, he had clear recourse.
In his hurt, he could have gratified his grievance by going to the religious authorities because Mary clearly committed those two sins – both of which would result in death by stoning.
Although Joseph was “faithful to the law”; he was also profoundly kind.
In a world where disgrace was a fate worse than death, he did not want to expose Mary and was planning to quietly divorce her.
So, Joseph was a man who recognised the law of God; but most importantly, he recognised the heart of God – in which is found, goodness and mercy.
Still, his heart must have deeply troubled and heavy-laden as he entered a restless sleep.
And there, “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.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).
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 did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son.
And he gave him the name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:20-25)
For such a significant character like Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus Christ – the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour -it was highly unusual that he had no speaking roles; no lines to perform, no songs to sing - but what he had was a lot of listening roles.
That Joseph was recorded to have made no statement, speech nor supplication in the events that preceded the birth of Christ must surely inform our experience of the reality of Christmas.
We must learn to listen to God.
For three more such recorded instances in Matthew 2, Joseph was immediately obedient to the guidance of the Lord through his dreams. (Ref: Matthew 2:13, 2:19, 2:22)
Joseph was quiet before God; and the Lord came through for him each and every time.
Likewise, we must constantly be ready to take in, and receive God’s guidance in our lives.
Like Joseph, we must learn to be faithful to His Ways; and open our lives wholly to God.
Stop trying to talk to God; shut up, and start listening to Him.
For most of us, we have said, or prayed, plenty.
Where is the ‘quiet’ in our quiet time with the Lord?
Stop trying to express an opinion to our Lord; or understand the events of our lives on our terms, or on our extremely limited abstraction of the world.
Stop trying to base our decisions on our blinded perspective of what is really happening to us, or to the world.
We must rely utterly on God.
Joseph has no speaking lines but he had the most important role of listening to God.
And when he listened, he obeyed – out of humility before God, and out of faith in God.
Because he was faithful to the Word of God, he must have remembered the words of Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6-7 amongst the hundreds of prophecies regarding the Messiah:
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Imagine Joseph’s amazement when he realised it came down to him – out of all who belonged to the family of David - to name the Christ-child.
Imagine Joseph’s amazement when he realised that it was indeed the zeal, or the Spirit, of the Lord Almighty that was responsible for the immaculate conception of the Christ-child.
Exactly as was prophesied – Joseph became a critical figure in the Christmas story before he was faithful to God, His Ways, and Words – and was ready to quietly let God come through for him.
If this had been part of a Christmas play, Joseph’s moments would have found him sleeping, and dreaming – awakening to precise instructions from the Lord and silently obeying His every direction.
All this time, Joseph has been listening to God; actively looking out for His Signs to him; actively obeying Him out of faithfulness and humility.
Joseph’s wisdom to be faithful, humble and obedient to God was certainly passed to his children – most evidently so, to Jesus’ earthly brother – James who later wrote:
13 Who is wise and understanding among you?
Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:13-18)
Such was his legacy – chosen, with Mary - to be earthly stewards of the Son of God – and parents to godly children; for a life lived in the wisdom that comes from heaven, he has certainly reaped a harvest of righteousness.
Joseph knew of his utter need for God; and so he actively sought the Lord and was prepared to listen attentively to Him.
He was prepared to humble himself before God’s mighty hand - to quietly let God come through for him.
For his quiet faithfulness, Joseph was rewarded with clear directions from the Lord in his dreams; and then some more, as he overcame:
- Humiliation - with Humility before God;
- Obstacles - with Obedience to God;
- Fear - with Faith in God; and
- Problems - with Peace from God;
- Wickedness - with Wisdom from God.
If ever you are faced with the prospects of humiliation, obstacles, fear, problems and wickedness because of your faith in God, quietly let Him come through for you.
He knows your every need, and prayer – before it was ever a need or prayer.
All you really need to do is to still your heart in spite of the storm; in the certain knowledge that God is with you, and that He will come through for you.
This Christmas, learn to remain quiet – and be still before God. (Ref: Psalm 46:10)
As you reflect upon the past year in gratitude, and look forward to the new year, believe that in your quiet faithfulness before God, He will come through for you in the things that are truly worthy of His eternal Kingdom.
Look at every event in life as God’s way of revealing His signs to you.
Rest in the knowledge that He will minister His Rest upon you; and where necessary, guide you in your dreams.
Remember that He guides you “along the right paths for His Name’s sake.” (Ref: Psalm 23:3)
This Christmas, in your gratitude for His Goodness in your life, resolve to rely utterly on God – by actively listening and faithfully obeying immediately.
This Christmas, learn from Joseph’s example – to quietly let God come through for you in all that you do for His glory sake; and when you do, be assured that His Peace and Wisdom will be upon you.
Of course, He might well speak to you in your dreams – just as He did to Joseph.
Blessed Christmas.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Thank You for the perfect gift of Salvation and Eternal Life through Christ Jesus, Your Son; our Lord and Saviour.
In Him, we who are weary may truly rejoice in the certain Hope that You are with us; having saved us from the wages of sin, and freed us to be citizens of Your eternal Kingdom.
In deepest gratitude for Your Love, I resolve to be faithful to You in every way.
Teach me each day to know Your Heart more deeply.
Speak to me, O Lord, in every way – even in my dreams; and help me listen to you more!
My rest belongs to You; because You are my Rest.
Thank You for giving me a heart that is equipped to listen to Your voice.
Over all the noise of the world, Lord I choose to only receive Your guidance; be ever faithful to Your Ways and open my life wholly to You.
In quietness and trust, may I always know with the deepest certainty – that You would come through for me each and every time.
Holy Spirit, restore the quiet in my quiet time with the Lord; and help me refrain from bringing my thoughts to our conversations.
Help me to actively look out for Your Signs; and obey You in faithfulness and humility, and with utmost immediacy.
Like Joseph, grant me wisdom that comes from heaven – evidenced by purity, the love for peace, consideration and submission to Your Will, full of Your Mercy and good fruit, impartially and sincerity – that I may reap “a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:17-18)
I acknowledge my utter need for Your Presence and Power in my life; and humble myself before You - that I will live solely for Your Holy purposes of inbreaking the Kingdom.
May I listen attentively to You and obey Your every sign.
And when I am faced with humiliation, obstacles, fear, problems and wickedness because of my faith in You, let me know with every certainty that You will see me through.
Above all, as we commemorate Christmas - thank You, Heavenly Father, for revealing Your infinite love through Christ, and bringing forth the blessing of this eternal relationship that I share with You.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.