THE ANGELS OF CHRISTMAS: Divine Messengers - The Angel to Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25) 12-15-24

THE ANGELS  OF CHRISTMAS: Divine Messengers - The Angel to  Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25) 12-15-24

“God is with Us” 10 day devotional

The Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth

INTRODUCTION

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 

But after he had considered this, 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. 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.” 

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭1:18-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I.  THE HOPE AND PROMISE OF MARRIAGE

“The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”

‭‭ Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“Marriage should be honored by all,”

‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭4A ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

‭‭ 1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

A.  Hope

B.  Wishful thinking

C.  Reality

Marriage is when you agree to spend the rest of your life sleeping in a room that’s too warm, beside someone who’s sleeping in a room that’s too cold.

Unknown

II.  HOPE IN THE LIGHT OF DISAPPOINTMENT

A wife woke up one morning and said, “Honey, I just had a dream that you bought me a new gold necklace. What do you think it means?”

“I don’t know, but Valentine’s Day is coming soon. Tuesday, you’ll know,” He replied.

A few nights later, she again woke up after having a dream, “This time, I dreamed you gave me a pearl necklace. What do you think it means?”

“You’ll know Tuesday,” He replied.

The night before Valentine’s Day, she again woke up telling him about her dream, “This time I dreamed that you brought me a diamond necklace. What do you think it means?”

“Honey, be patient. "You’ll know tonight." he said.

That evening, the husband came home with a package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--to find a book entitled, "The meaning of dreams."

Steve Miller, Sermon Central, February 12, 2006.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

A.  How do we deal with reality?

One Christmas my husband put an assortment of beauty products in my stocking. I tried one of the facial masks, and was about to wash it off when my eight-year-old son, Callum, walked in. I explained to him that it was a present from his dad and it would make me beautiful.

He patiently waited by my side as I rinsed and patted my face dry.

“Well, what do you think?” I asked.

“Oh, Mom, it didn’t work!” Callum replied.

Lynn Thibodeau, Ajax, Ontario

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

‭‭ 1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

B.  The foundation of hope is trust.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

‭‭ Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

III.  HOPE IN THE PROMISE OF GOD

A.  Angel - the messenger of God

B.  God's Word - our source of hopeful information

C.  Faith - trust in God

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭62‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

IV.  LIVING IN HOPE

In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert hit the Louisiana coast. At that time it was considered the “Storm of the century.” It battered the shoreline, severely disrupting the shrimping business. Many shrimp boats were lost, causing great concern for several families dependent on shrimping for their livelihood.

On the morning news I watched an interview with a shrimp boat owner. He was asked how the storm would impact the shrimpers. With the devastation of Gilbert as a backdrop, this man said, “well, there is a good side. The storm will have stirred up the bottom of the ocean, making for better shrimping once we’re able to get back out there.” This man understood hope!

Stevenson, P. (2007). 5 Things Anyone Can Do to Lead Effectively (p. 18). Indianapolis, IN: WPH.

A.  Joseph woke up and did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him.

B.  Joseph took Mary home as his wife.

C.  He did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son.

D.  He gave him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

‭‭ 1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Eugene Peterson (Living the Message: Daily Help for Living the God-Centered Life) points out that what a lot of people call hope is in reality something different. It's wishing, not hoping: and wishing and hoping are not the same thing.

"Wishing," Peterson says, "is something all of us do. It projects what we want or think we need into the future. Just because we wish for something good or holy we think it qualifies as hope. It does not. Wishing extends our egos into the future; hope grows out of our faith. Hope is oriented toward what God is doing; wishing is oriented toward what we are doing."

Peterson goes on to say that we can picture wishing as though it were a line coming out from us with an arrow on the end, pointing into the future, pointing toward that thing we most want to possess. Hope is just the opposite. It's a line that comes from God out of the future, with its arrow pointing toward us.

"Hope," he continues, "means being surprised, because we don't know what is best for us or how our lives are going to be completed. To cultivate hope is to suppress wishing -- to refuse to fantasize about what we want, but live in anticipation of what God is going to do next."

HomileticsOnline.com, 11/27/11, illustration for Psalm 85.

CONCLUSION

Have you ever seen the Christmas classic, A Christmas Story, the saga of a little boy named Ralphie Parker growing up in Gary, Indiana of the 1950’s. Ralphie has been drinking Ovaltine for months, saving up box tops so that he could send in a get a Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring. Finally the Secret Decoder Ring arrives. He listens to Little Orphan Annie on the radio, waiting for the secret code message. He carefully writes down the code and then rushes off to the bathroom to be begin the decoding process. The suspense builds as he decodes the first few letters "Be sure to.." Be sure to what. The fate of the world could rest in his hands. His pencil flies as he feverishly struggles to decode the rest of the message. "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." A crummy commercial?! Sometimes you just don’t feel like you get what you asked for.

That is not the case with the Christmas story.  The fulfillment of the hope is greater than we can imagine.

Hope and promise are key elements of the Christian life.  Hope and promise play a major role in the Christmas story.  Hope and promise are evident in marriage.  We need hope in light of inevitable disappointment.  Our hope needs to be based in the promises of God.  We need to live a life of hope.  Christmas is about hope.

Bruce Emmett, Sermon Central, March 5, 2001.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins     and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.