Christmas Surprises

Nathan P. Cook

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https://research.lifeway.com/2017/12/13/do-not-overlook-joseph-christmas/

http://www.joyfulheart.com/christmas/joseph.htm

Would You Understand?

Matthew 1:18–24 KJV 1900

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

Introduction:

When it comes to my wife, I am a very jealous man. If I thought my wife was “cheating” on me I would not understand.

Most men are very Jealous by nature. We are jealous and we tend to take pride in our wife and our families. So the thought of our wife being pregnant or our children not really being our children.

Joseph shows us four things we should not do all of which could be summed up by saying Don’t Jump To Conclusions.

Matthew 1:18–19 KJV 1900

Joseph was a better man than most men I know. He obviously was upset and confused by the fact that Mary was pregnant and the baby wasn’t his. I’m sure his pride was hurt. He probably went over and over in his mind what she had done and what he should do about it..

It is very possible that he gave some consideration to having her stoned to death,(which was applicable by law),

Ultimately he decided to handle things quietly and not disgrace Mary publicly.

I’m sure that Joseph was very concerned about all this, but he could have been spared some grief by not jumping to conclusions or worrying about people who do jump to conclusions.

#1: Don’t Stop Listening To God.

Wait till you have all the facts

Matthew 1:20–21 KJV 1900

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

When we get upset, we often silence everyone else, including God. When things are going wrong often, in the back of our minds we blame God. Once we decide that God is against us, we stop listening to Him.

But God always has the answers to our situation but if we aren't listening we can’t hear them. Joseph recieved his instructions in a dream and he could very well have woke up and said, “well, that was a crazy dream”.

But he had faith that God was speaking to him.

#2:Don’t Underestimate God .

God’s directions and instructions for your life are worth listening to and obeying

Matthew 1:22–23 KJV 1900

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

God has a plan and His plan include you and I. God has given us many promises in the Bible and He will faithful fulfill everyone of them. God can do anything He wants even if it seems impossible to us.

We see in these verses that God was fulfilling exactly what He said He would fulfill in the Old Testament.

God is still in control and is waiting for us to totally surrender our lives to Him.

#3: Don’t Stop Obeying God.

Let Go And Let God

Matthew 1:24 KJV 1900

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

Joseph simply obeyed God regardless of what other people were saying or thinking.

Men have a difficult time dealing with home issues when we are around other people because we want to make sure everyone know who is in charge.

Our wives can disagree with us and sometimes even yell at us in private and we can flip the switch and mute her, but if she does it in front of other people you will experience the text book definition of over reaction.

Joseph was able to exercise enough maturity to do what God had commanded despite his nature as a man.

Joseph did not question God’s instructions he followed them.

#4: Don’t Delay

Always obey God without delay.

Conclusion:

Christians, we must stop jumping to conclusions, listen to God, don’t underestimate God, and obey Him.

If you will do these things, just as Joseph, you will find joy and peace in your relationship with God.

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