Joseph, an Extraordinary Dad

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Today is father’s Day!
10 funny things about being a dad
1. Your kids think you know everything until they turn 13. Then they know everything and you don’t know anything.
2. You can go to a public Rest Room by yourself without a support group.
3. If someone forgets to invite you to an event, he will still be your friend.
4. You can stop by to see a friend without bringing a little gift.
5. If another guy shows up at the same party as you in the same outfit, you probably will become lifelong friends.
6. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds.
7. Car Mechanics tell you the truth.
8. Your friends will never trap you saying, “Notice anything different?”
9. If something mechanical doesn’t work, you can smash it, and throw it across the room to the garbage and go buy another one
10. You can do your nails with your pocket knife.
Look at a father who always gets overlooked… Joseph the Earthly dad who raised Jesus. In some denominations, he is overshadowed by his wife, the mother of Jesus - the virgin Mary.
It’s significant that he chose Mary and Joseph to have and to raise Jesus into manhood.
Film - Who will love my children? It’s a true life story of Lucille Fray, a farm wife, who had 10 kids and finds out that she has an incurable disease and will doe in 1 year. Her husband is a good man, but there is no way he will be able to take care of the children so she sets out to find parents for all of them who will raise them in her absence.
Just like that mom searched all over for suitable parents for her kids, God had to search to find suitable parents for Jesus… his only begotten and beloved son. He found a young girl, a teenager who was engaged to be married. The Bible says that she found favor with God. She was a God fearing person.
God also went looking for a father as well. He called Mary and Joseph as a couple. God showed that the role of a father is as important as that of the mother. In Jesus case, Mary conceived Jesus by an act of the Holy Spirit, so Joseph wasn’t needed for the conception. But he was needed to raise and love and train Jesus up into a man.
If you are a single parent… God Bless you as you fill both roles. Don’t be upset that you are raising them alone… you are not.
Psalm 27:10 NLT
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.
However, the normal pattern is for a mother and a father to raise children together.
Let’s look at several characteristics of Joseph...

Characteristics of Joseph

1. Joseph was a loving man

The bible shows him to be a caring and affectionate man. You can see that in his relationship with Mary.
Joesph loved Mary
Matthew 1:19 NLT
19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
Joseph finds out Mary is pregnant and freaks out… somewhat. He had not seen the angels or anything like that, so what was he supposed to think. Girls don’t get pregnant by themselves and he knew it wasn’t his.
He had done everything the right way and boom… here she is pregnant. No little house with white picket fence around it…
He didn’t even know who the father was… he knew she said it was God, but … He knew the baby wan’t his and I am sure he was devastated… and felt betrayed.
The penalty for adultery in those days was death by stoning. It also applied to sexual relationships during the time when they were engaged. It was starting to ease up because Joseph had a choice to bring charges or not to bring charges. If he divorced her, and that was the only way he could not marry her at that time, it would expose Mary to public shame.
Before god even spoke to Joseph, he was not wanting to harm her. It would have been easy to be vengeful and punish her, but he didn’t. He was going to put her away discreetly.
Joseph was being kind to Mary because he loved Mary. The Bible tells us toda that we are to love our wives.
Ephesians 5:25 NLT
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
Men, we are to love our wives like Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her. Joseph loved Mary this way. But he also loved Jesus.
Joseph loved Jesus
When the child was born, the child that was not Joseph’s, Joseph did not have a bad attitude or hold less than kind of love. Joseph loved Jesus, adopted Jesus and raised him as his own. He protected Jesus from Herod… nurtured and cared for him… taught him his own trade - carpentry.
Joseph accepted and adopted the one whom the rest of the world would reject.
Unlike Joseph, today we see males who abdicate their role toward their own children. Men are opting out of the father role for various reasons that all are irresponsible.
The Bible says,
1 Timothy 5:8 GNB
8 But if anyone does not take care of his relatives, especially the members of his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Joseph was a loving man… that’s clear, but he was also a devout man.

2. Joseph was a devout man

What does that mean?
Joseph was a man who obeyed God.
He followed the Lord’s leading and instructions. He didn’t develop his own plan to live his life and raise the SOG, he followed what the Lord wanted him to do.
When god told him in a dream to take Mary as his wife, he obeyed. When God told him to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt, he obeyed. When God told him to go back to Israel, he did… he obeyed.
Joseph was a man og obedience.
Joseph was a man of faith
It takes faith to move like Joseph did when the Lord spoke to him. It takes faith to pack up everything and move to a foreign country with no job prospects and no plan.... just because God said to…
Fathers, let me tell you. Your faith with speak to your children. Raise them in an environment of faith in and towards the Lord.
There is a story about a farmer who had worked over a bumper crop of grain - a badly needed crop of grain - a badly needed crop that was going to pay off many creditors and secure the family for another year. But just a few days before it was due to be harvested a freak wind and hail storm ravaged the property, and the harvest was lost. The man stood with his little boy looking over the fields of destroyed grain. The boy expected to hear his father cursing in despair. But instead his Dad began to softly sing: “Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.” Years later that boy, grown into manhood, said: “That was the greatest sermon I ever heard!” His father had shown him faith where the rubber meets the road!
Joseph was leaning on God… he was a man of faith.
Joseph was a man who was faithful in spiritual duty.
Joseph set an example for his family in the spiritual area. He was a regular at the tmple.
Luke 2:41 NLT
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
Did you hear about the little boy who was playing on a Sunday morning while his Dad was in a lounge chair reading the paper. And the father said: “Son, get yourself ready for Sunday School”. The little boy asked: “Are you coming with me today Dad?” The man replied: “No, I’m not coming. But I want you to hurry up and get ready”. The little boy then said: “Did you used to go to Sunday School when you were a boy, Dad?” He said: “I most certainly did!” As he walked away the boy mumbled: “Yeah, and I bet it won’t do me any good either!”
Your kids are watching your faithfulness.
Joseph was a loving man… toward Mary and Jesus… and he was a devout man… obeying God being faithful daily.

3. Joseph was a wise man

Joseph was wise because he redeemed his time with Jesus. I believe that Joseph died while Jesus was a teen… we don’t read about him in scripture after Jesus childhood and at the cross, Jesus asked John to look after his mother. At this point, his brothers and sisters probably did not believe in him.
While his time with Jesus was short, he used it wisely. He set an example for the family for worship and integrity. He provided for them and taught Jesus to do the same work he did. He raised his family to follow the Lord.
Two of his other children were used by the Lord as well. James and Jude, half brothers of Jesus wrote their perspective books in the Bible. James was the head of the church in Jerusalem.
Joseph raised his children to follow the Lord and left a legacy
Joseph raised his children to follow the Lord and left behind him a legacy that continued after his life time.
Conclusion
Listen to me. None of us knows how much time we have with our families. Only God knows.
Are you redeeming the time like Joseph did? encouraging your families… setting an example for them… providing for their needs?
1 Timothy 5:8 NLT
8 But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.
Providing for them is more that just putting a check on the table every week. It’s that but it’s much more. Affection… Example… godly counsel… Laughter… warmth… Loving concern?
We have to provide for our own… Joseph is inspiring. I know he want’ perfect, but he was devoted and he did his best.
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