What Do You Know Joe? Lessons From an Earthly Father
Matt. 1:18-25; 2:13-15; 2:19-23
June 18, 2006 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
A Video from SermonSpice.com
B Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. Matt 1:18-25 (NASB)
Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared* to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him." 14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON." Matt 2:13-15 (NASB)
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared* in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead." 21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene." Matt 2:19-23 (NASB)
1 God chose Joseph for Jesus’ father just as carefully as He did for Jesus’ mother (essence of the text in a sentence)
a Great fathers are not born, they’re made (essence of the sermon in a sentence)
b I hope you’ll rededicate your efforts of being a great father to your family (objective)
2 What do you need to become a better father? (Probing question)
C Single parents, don’t despair! Your kids are not beyond hope because Mom/Dad is gone.
1 "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up."
2 The normal pattern is for kids to be raised by a mom & dad.
a Single parents have their responsibilities multiplied. (IL) Pam gone
b Single parents, we salute you, we honor you, & God bless you for your diligence with those kids!
3 Let’s look at three things that Joe knows about being a father (transitional sentence)
4 Pray
I Love your family.
A Start with your wife. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
1 The Hebrew marriage had two phases: 1) engagement (12 mos.) & 2) ceremony.
a Joseph & Mary were engaged (legal)
aa Walk in the hills, talk, dream, planned wedding.
bb "I’m pregnant" (Joseph doesn’t know who the dad is, but he knows whose it isn’t).
cc By law, ("If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. Deut 22:23-24 (NASB)) he could have had her stoned, embarrass her publicly.
b Joseph chose to divorce her quietly (out of town, under the radar of public knowledge).
aa God hadn’t spoken to him yet, he just loved Mary.
bb No vengeance, bitterness in his heart.
2 Eph. 5:25 calls us husbands today to love our wives with all that we have. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her Eph 5:25 (NASB)
a Love them by putting their needs first, sacrificially lay down your life for her!
b One of the greatest things you can do for your kids is to love their mom.
B Love your kids
1 Joseph loved Jesus just as if He was his own flesh and blood.
a He protected Him from Herod, nurtured, cared for Him, taught Him a trade (Dad!)
b Joseph adopted the One that rest of the world would reject.
2 Many men today are abdicating their role even toward their own children.
a Fathers are not in the lives of their kids, opting out of the role because of the cost.
b But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Tim 5:8 (NASB) The Bible clearly tells fathers to take care of their children.
aa Physically, spiritually, emotionally
bb Tell them you’re not leaving!
Joseph knows he loves his family, yet he knows more.
II Love God
A Joseph was a man who obeyed God.
1 When God spoke to Joseph, he did more than listen.
a In a dream, God told Joseph to marry Mary. He did. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
b In a dream, God told him to take his wife & child to Egypt. He did. Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared* to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."
c In a dream, God said it was time to go back to Israel. He did! But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared* in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead." 21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
2 It takes a lot of faith to pack your bags & head to a foreign country (no job, prospects, planning) just because God said so. (Faith).
3 Joseph was regular in going to God’s house. Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. Luke 2:41 (NASB)
B Fathers, your obedience /faith/churchgoing will speak to your children (raise them to love God).
1 They are watching you in your walk with God.
a Your kids love Mom, but they’ll follow you, Dad.
b Stats
2 A man was sitting in his lounge recliner & tells his kids to get ready for Sunday School.
a "Dad, are you going today?" the little boy asks. "No, I’m not coming, but I want you to hurry up and get ready."
b The boy then asks, "Did you go to Sunday School when you were a boy, Dad?" He said, "I most certainly did!"
c As the boy was walking away he mumbled, "Yeah, and I bet it won’t do me any good, either."
Loving toward wife, Son, loved God...
III Use your time wisely
A Joseph, by most accounts, didn’t live a real long time.
1 We don’t read about him after Jesus’ childhood, & at the cross Jesus put John in charge of taking care of Mary...so it seems Joseph died young (he used his time wisely).
a He set an example his family would remember
b He had raised them in the nurture & admonition of the Lord.
2 Jesus wasn’t the only child Joseph had; he raised other boys for the Lord also, & possibly daughters as well.
a He had at least 2 boys who were greatly used by God (James & Jude).
b How did Joseph do it? He used his time wisely!
B Dads, we have no idea how much time we have left with our kids & wives.
1 Use your time wisely & make it count.
a 2 years, 5 years, 20 years...only God knows
b What are you leaving behind?
2 Look for & make a point to leave a legacy of a godly father with the time you have left.
Conclusion
A God chose Joseph for Jesus’ father just as carefully as He did for Jesus’ mother (essence of the text in a sentence)
1 Great fathers are not born, they’re made (essence of the sermon in a sentence)
2 We’ve looked at 3 things that Joe knows about being a father:
a Love your family
b Love God
c Use your time wisely
B I hope you’ll rededicate your efforts of being a great father to your family (objective)
1 Dadisms...what have you given, left behind
2 Love family, God, use your time
C What do you need to become a better father? (Probing question)
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Mike Fogerson
