Joseph's POV (Pastor Aaron Trelfa, 12/10/22)

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We are going to get into today's service, but first I want to ask is everybody here aware of what POV means?

No, we got a couple of thumbs up for those who don't know POV is just a shorthand for point of view

And so if you see if you happen to come across any things that that's POV. That means it's from that point of view

so we're going to look at

the Christmas story the birth of our Savior from

Joseph's point of view

Today before we do that though one more quick word of prayer

Loving Heavenly Father again, we are we are thankful for

Christ condescension we are grateful that before the foundations of this earth were laid you you saw us and you saw

the potential you saw the

Possibility that with free will comes risk and the and the need for a Savior

And so we are grateful that before this earth was shaped and formed the plane was in place for a Messiah

And so as we reflect right now on

Jesus as we consider an aspect of that

Reality we pray that your Holy Spirit would be present drive our points home. We ask in your name. Amen

Amen

How many of us have either gone to boarding academy or maybe have had a sibling or are a parent of someone

Who has gone to boarding academy?

We've got a couple of hands here

I have the privilege of having my middle son Evan

Currently attending Georgia Cumberland Academy, which is our conference's boarding school

He's a freshman. So he's only coming to the end of his first semester and he's still learning the process if you know what I mean

It was a rough start or making adjustments. I am glad to say that as we're nearing December

We're finally coming around to where we hope he continues

As we were kind of considering what to do with our son as he finished the junior academy level in our school

So eighth grade is he boarding? Is he going to stay perhaps at College Dale Academy here in College Dale nearby?

Would we consider another option because there there are options and all of them are good

Even if they are a little different, I'm grateful that our church has a fantastic

Educational system and I'm glad that we are blessed enough that my sons

Mostly have been able to grow up in that system

And so we wanted Evan to do this we wanted him to have this opportunity

Different than our oldest son Evan from a young age about seven ish

Seven ish I'm getting the confirmation from the back about seven

He was first introduced to boarding school idea this concept of going away to school

When we lived in Kentucky the Kentucky, Tennessee conference. I want to do that when I get old enough

I want to go away to school and and not be here

And it'll be so much fun and I can learn and I can stay in like a little hotel room and in the in the dorms

And so on I

Just about chalked it up to this is just a seven-year-old who's probably looking to get away from mom and dad and you know

Maybe I'll just get to play all day long and so on well. He'd never dropped the idea

From seven years old onward all throughout school

He kept kind of ticking off his years then saying I'm that much closer to boarding school

I'm that much closer to well. I mean as a dad. I started to go how bad are you wanting to get away from us?

We had that conversation I asked him I wanted to make sure that he wasn't just trying to leave home

But no he really had his heart set on that experience

He wanted to have a different type of educational experience

Then one normally has if they're like at home and kind of commuting locally

I said okay. I'm not I'm not opposed to that. Let's give this a try

So in in learning about Georgia Cumberland Academy and then talking to the deans and talking to other conference officials and talking to other

Parents who have either gone themselves in years past or whose kids are currently there

You kind of feel out

You know there are questions that come to mind

You know there are questions that come to mind

What are their expectations in terms of like work-school balance because most of our academies you work a little bit

What kind of quality of education are they going to have is this second rate or will they be prepared for?

Life and early adulthood and perhaps university when they come out of high school

How do we handle boy-girl relationships because in my home we can do certain things to a certain level

But how rampant do they run on campus those kinds of questions?

You know in terms of the you know I've got sons

I don't have any girls so I don't you someone else is going to have to answer this question

But I wanted to know what kind of male role models my son might have

I'm certainly not perfect, but I know that as a father

I want to raise my son according to my ideals. I'd like him to see my character

Because I believe that's the father's role

I want to demonstrate to that to him and hopefully he'll adopt the good things

And forgive me for the not so good

So you wanted to find out you know I wanted to find out about the male role models there

So I you know I would ask those kinds of questions and kind of get a sense for the character of who he would be

Around is that I think that's kind of fair when we're looking at sending our child out of our

From underneath our own roofs and under the roof of someone else

Is that relatable to those of us that raised our hands?

What I can't understand

What boggles my mind

To this day and I and I have prayed about it

And and men and women wiser than me more deeply spiritual than me more engrossed in

In these kinds of thoughts than I have wrestled with this idea of

The second person of the godhead leaving out from under the roof of heaven if you will

To come to this house

This third rock from the sun this house

This third rock from the sun this house

And and as a baby being entrusted to

flawed

imperfect poor

stumbling

swayed

humans

What happened in that conversation?

Who knows when in the past when the three members of the godhead in

in

Discourse

Considered the plans that needed to be laid if their creation needed to be redeemed

And jesus christ said i'll do it

That's on me

If mankind trips up and falls because it's better that we grant them free will we create them with free will

And they choose to love us

Then we create automatons that by force are programmed that way that's always better to love with free will than force

But there's risk and jesus said i'm willing to bear that risk

I don't know

I don't know how that conversation went

Uh, the bible tells us that the father himself is love and loves you not because of the propitiation

But he provided it

because of the love

The love comes first and then the payment not the other way around

So maybe there was a back and forth maybe

Maybe it was not you but me. Maybe it was we can work something out. I don't know the bible doesn't tell us that

But we do know that they were on the same page the character of love is their existence

Not just an emotion

And so they couldn't help themselves they being the three members of the godhead. They couldn't help themselves but say

We will pay the price if

Well, then that also meant that heaven had to give up something

And the father

Looking at the son

Had to say who can I trust you to?

What character qualities should they possess?

How will they raise you we've seen

Uh the possibilities of free will being exercised in the pro and the con

What if I give you up and these people?

Don't live out the way that we wish they don't model our character my character

Maybe they aren't good role models for you

Maybe they don't set a fine example or their boundaries are too loose or maybe they're so tight

That it messes you up from the beginning

Maybe I mean, I don't know we're kind of hypothesizing some of these things

But we do know that at some point the father and the son and the holy spirit in unity said

Jesus is going to go out from under the roof of heaven and under the roof of these humans

And so when the fulfillment of time came and jesus was in the middle of the earth

So the fulfillment of time came and jesus was incarnate

When it was declared to mary first, you know, this is going to happen to you and

And praise god that as a teenager she had the faith to say let it be done to me

right

But we read in matthew and if you still have that open we're gonna we're gonna look at this because we're gonna shift a little to

Or a less talked about character in this story if you will and we're gonna learn about

joseph

Because there was not just one

Single parent in this household. There were two

There was the wife and there was the husband

Generally speaking

When you look at the bible and you're considering weightier matters

You look at what god has given a lot of real estate to in terms of number of words the more real estate

Typically the more weight kind of the more attention you should put into it

so the fact that love and grace and mercy and and obedience and and and

The coming salvation and so on there's a lot of real estate to that pay attention to it

Joseph doesn't really get a lot of mentions

in the bible

He's there in matthew. He's mentioned again in luke we can

correctly infer that because

Jesus gave mary over to john while hanging on the cross that that joseph had already passed away

because that kind of

Responsibility only happened when the husband wasn't there and then the son is taking care of the mom

So we know that that was going on. We know that there were other brothers and sisters

Historically it is believed that that joseph had been married before

That perhaps there were other children that were a part of this. So we're looking at like half

uh brothers and sisters of jesus

uh, so this was

I guess as you say kind of a mixed family kind of kind of relatable to us. Is it not?

Uh, this is this is not you know when when we look at these bible characters, uh, this is just a side note. Um

I'd love to find the relatability to them

I think too often we put them on such a pedestal and say I can't be like that or I can't ever and I can't

I don't know. They they were they were men and women like us. They had family dynamics like us

They had flaws and and blemishes like us and they had shining moments like we do

Praise god for that praise god for the relatability. Like I say, there's nothing new under the sun, right?

So let's look at joseph

So let's look at joseph the birth of jesus christ took place in this way. This is verse 18 of matthew 1

When his mother mary had been betrothed to joseph before they came together. She was found to be with child

from the holy spirit

And her husband joseph being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame

Resolved to divorce her

quietly

There's a lot that can be said about joseph in this

Let's place a little bit of historical context a little further into this story

One today, uh teenage pregnancy maybe out of wedlock

That happens

I believe it's happened throughout human history. It happens. We're familiar to it our society responds to it

It's different than they did differently than 50 years ago

But certainly differently than this time in history for a girl to be pregnant

Not married and I keep saying girl because we don't think that mary was very old

For a girl to be pregnant not married was deeply humiliating

deeply shameful and would always equal ostracization

Is being kicked out of the social circle if you will

And in the strictest reading of the the jewish laws she could have been stoned

She could have been put to death

That's how serious this was

It was also

If we understand joseph to be a just man

A just man according to the cultural setting a just man would have followed through with that

A just man would have understood that this was an immoral girl

That she had not controlled herself that i'm okay

And he would have followed through on the legal steps

And he could have done it publicly that was certainly within his right

Uh that would have been just according to the time and the laws

uh

He was well within all of those options

But the bible describes him as being a just man unwilling to put her to shame

I believe we start to get a glimpse into how god views a just person

In our society today I as I look around and in in particular I look at the the

Filth that we find on social media

And every study proves that it's not good for our social interactions, especially the younger. They are when they're engaged in it

But we have a real interesting and I it seems to me as i've kind of worked through this and considered it our society has flipped

Our attitudes of shame a little on its head

It is shameful now for me to stand on the pulpit or in public discourse and say I believe a marriage

Definition is a man woman union

and

Societally it could be shameful to me that to say that I believe a man is only one thing and a woman is only one thing

And because there might be some differences over here that doesn't eradicate

the two

You might be considered uh to be to be

shamed if you if you happen to think that

um this old

ancient dusty collection of just

Maybe some wise sayings, but mostly allegorian stories

Should have a moral guidance in your life definitively

People might shame you for holding that that's superstitious

That's clearly outdated. You shouldn't do that get with the times

Don't you know that we are in the time of modernity and then post-modernity?

But here's here's here's where we get it for

Long-held millennia

millennia long

held traditions and understanding about the human nature or the

the role of the family or how societies have some

Necessary connection that holds them together instead of isolating into little

compartments and little different things and if you still hold to that

Society believes that we should appropriately publicly shame you for holding on to traditional values

That's where the whole idea of the canceling of the traditional values

That's where the whole idea of the cancel culture comes in

If you hold to something traditional or you just simply read let's just use

What we read at the beginning of our praise and sharing if you read remember the sabbath day to keep it holy six days

Days shalt thou do all thy labor and all thy work

But the seventh day is the sabbath unto the lord thy god in it you shall not do any work, right?

If you read that and you go aha I can count on a calendar sunday to friday one to six

I work that's a part of the commandment. I work

But then I that's god's that's his that's sabbath day

If you read that and you want to practice it

And maybe you want to say i'd like to guide my professional experience along those lines

It's proper to to perhaps be publicly called out and get fired

If you hold to again the ideas of human nature people might find out where you work and ask

That you get fired if you if you hold on to that or

This is a real thing in society public shaming if you hold traditional values and then at the same time

What used to be understood as deeply shameful?

Is now applauded and paraded and flaunted and

Is perverting our culture left right and center

For example, it's it's not a secret that that maybe

Husbands and wives have husband and wife activities

But we understood that that was kept private

Now all of that private is not only brought out into public but all of the various options

Are also publicly demonstrated

And little kids are invited to a public event

And little kids are invited to observe

Well, we used to have laws that said that's child abuse and now it's it's proper and and no no

It should be shameful to do those things in front of little kids

It should be

If we look at joseph though

Joseph being a just man

unwilling to put her to shame shows that he had a

better

More heaven-sent understanding of what it is to be sensitive and empathetic to one another

He was well within his rights to publicly

Pull mary out and divorce her and let everyone know that she was tainted

But he understood

That if i'm going to love one another

If i'm going to practice the ideals that i've read in the torah

And the prophets if i'm going to put that into practice I cannot

Drag this girl through the mud because in his mind

Maybe she had a momentary lapse in judgment

In exercising his restraint in shaming her he demonstrates that he is a merciful

Man that he is an empathetic

man that he

understood what it would do to her

Her and he was willing to sacrifice his own rights in order to protect

and and

Help her out

I think that's a quality that we can learn for today

If we keep moving on he resolved to divorce her quietly

That was how he was going to

Protect her from the shame

As he considered these things this is verse 20 behold an angel of the lord appeared to him in a dream saying

Joseph son of david do not fear to take mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is from the holy spirit

She will bear a son and you shall call his name jesus for he will save his people from their sins

All this took place to fulfill what the lord had spoken by the prophet

Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name immanuel, which means god

with us

How many of us have had?

crazy dreams

Uh you eat that pizza five minutes before you go to bed

Uh

Maybe you know i've always heard this that it's like spicy foods will do that spicy foods could upset

You know maybe give you some some dreams or something. I don't I don't know. Um, I like spicy foods

But i've never had that I I know some family members of mine who have some wild dreams at times

And they wake up and they go my goodness

How did that get there?

Why am I thinking this?

This to me seems seems like

Joseph could have woken up and thought that the falafel did not sit well

Or his his flatbread or his fish or whatever he had ate the night before

Maybe the olive oil had turned. I don't know

Because maybe he could have maybe he could have woken up and gone

doesn't make sense if she is a virgin how this because

Maybe that verse from isaiah was only talking about the prophet and there are some who actually do propose that idea it didn't

Mean mary it only meant

The during the time of isaiah

He could have

But because we understand that god himself describes him as a just man

Uh, there are not very many men that get that description in in the bible

Joseph knew in one way or another and I would I would love to be able to ask him

How did you know the difference between that dream and maybe other dreams?

I think that's a great question for me. How did you know about this dream? But he he woke up

From the dream from the sleep and he did as the angel of the lord commanded him

This tells us that joseph was a man

Not foreign to the word of god

Joseph was a man who knew the words from heaven and had been blessed or had

exercised and practiced his discernment in knowing that this was from god and not

from a different source

This was a man who had put into his life

The the writings of the prophets and the understandings of the prophets

The the writings of the prophets and the understandings of moses and he had prayed and he had

Gone to to adonai. Yahweh

Jehovah

And he had he had communicated with his

With his god with the god of his fathers and his grandfathers and his great-grandfathers

So that when the time was crucial

He understood that this word was from god and not a different source

We can put into practice this very thing

Because you don't have to have it spelled out black and white but we know and how he responded that he had set the foundation for the crucial moment

Are you setting your foundation for a coming crucial moment?

How are you in your devotions?

How are you in your devotions? How are you in studying the old testament?

uh

The first five books the pentateuch. How are you in reading even the minor prophets?

We we just finished wednesday night reading through three of the minor prophets

The last one was amos was the first time I had read verse by verse all the way through

I think most of our group said the same thing

powerful book

Often overlooked except for maybe two or three verses that are kind of like picked out and used here and there

Great book. Are you reading the minor prophets? Are you sprinkling in some daniel and revelation to?

flex your

cognitive muscles

You got to wrestle with some of those

Are you praying?

I don't know whether you're on your knees or

Still laying in bed when when conscience finally breaks through

Maybe you're praying as you wash your dishes or as you walk around your neighborhood

All of those are great times

To audibly or in your own mind

Talk with your heavenly father

Get to know him when he talks back to you

Listen for those words and and ask to be sensitive for those impressions

Pray for the discernment so that when doors open or when doors close, you know that it's god saying this is my will

How are you in setting and building that foundation?

The bible tells us that the good comfortable times that one one day. I believe one day soon

Are going to come to an end

We're going to hit a tough time. You're going to hit a hard road

And it might not be right before the eastern sun

And it might not be right before the eastern sky splits

Maybe you're going to have a family member this week come to you and say

I don't know what to do. I am at a loss. I'm at my wit's end. I just

I just learned that someone else is having these ideations or these feelings or this

Sin that they've hid for 15 years

That doesn't have to be when prophecy ends that can be in your life tomorrow

When the crucial crossroads come

Are you letting are you laying out your foundation?

Now in the word of god and conversing with your heavenly father for those times

Well, joseph clearly did that

And our final point of view from joseph or about joseph in verses

24 and 5 when joseph woke from sleep. He did as the angel of the lord commanded him

He took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son

And he called his name

Jesus

Not only was joseph sensitive to the shame that might come to mary

And humbly

Gave up his right to marry

Gave up his rights in order to protect her

Not only was he sensitive to the word of god

But he was also sensitive to his responsibility and obedience by faith

The angel had spoken he had already discerned this was from on high and not his own imaginations

And he

Lived it out

He didn't just say those are fine words and they make a whole lot of sense or they make me feel good

He didn't say well. Well, maybe that works in this instance, but maybe in an maybe i'll stay married to her

But i'll keep her in the back room

In obedience by faith to the word of god he took mary as his wife

And he took her into his own house and he was a man of faith

Knowing that the child was not his

And only by faith could he accept that it was of the holy spirit

This was a man

on a pillar of faith

Because I can promise you in my mind

Suddenly she goes guess what honey? I don't I don't know if I would yell

I don't know if I would slam doors, but I would certainly probably walk away. There's a 99 plus percent chance that I would walk away

If you are surprised by it and and you knew it wasn't yours because virgin

He had to believe by faith

That she was faithful in their relationship

That this was of god

And that he was to play an active part in it

And just so you know without the credit

He is not credited in the genealogy

He gets small real estate in in the bible of the Bible

He comes and then he goes and in this in this culture that would not have been the first response for a man of his

I guess position in society just being a man. He had a position

But he took mary as his wife

He knew her not till she had given birth and he took her

But he took mary as his wife. He knew her not till she had given birth and he called his name jesus

Joseph was a man of faith joseph was a man of the word of god and joseph was a man of empathy to others

And here's where I would say that he even has a little bit of a type of christ in him

It was deeply shameful for him

To be associated with her

He was always going to be the man who married the woman who had the child out of wedlock

And in his society

Even he was not high on that ladder, but maybe he was a couple rungs up. He would have fallen a couple of rungs

He was willing to be

Shamed and bear that shame with her. He was willing to humble himself to the point of a servant

In this relationship with mary and and this understanding that it was from heaven

We read that description about another man very important to the bible

And I find it

Absolutely fascinating that joseph was a man of this faith

Joseph was a man of this quality of character

And as we consider as we reflect on

The birth of jesus a little bit before now and for the next coming couple of weeks as we reflect on that gift from heaven

As we remember about the faith of mary and she was also a deeply faithful woman

As we look at how perhaps other people responded with the shepherds or with the wise men from afar

Or even if you consider how harrid reacted to this news of a challenger to his throne

Don't forget to consider joseph and wonder if perhaps his qualities should also be found in our own lives

Because when we are being considered of heaven whether or not to be trusted with a rather important

Mission

God is looking for men and for women who can be described as just

as merciful

as empathetic

As sensitive to the word of god

and deeply faithful

As you consider the gift from heaven I would encourage you to consider

The background character if you will joseph

And his point of view and wonder if perhaps some of his qualities

Could be lived out in our lives

So that god might consider you

inappropriate

roof

To place his mission under

Let us pray

Loving heavenly father. We thank you for your word. We thank you for jesus. We thank you for

the examples

of men and women throughout history that you have

Of in

Through inspiration recorded not only for their benefit but for ours today

Lord, I pray that we as a people would be found to be faithful

I pray that we as a people would be found to be gracious and humble and merciful

And empathetic to those that are around us

Our too many people don't find that in today's society and I pray that we would be that

I pray that we would be a people of your word

Lord we look forward to a time when

Knowing you through your word

Can finally come together with knowing you in person

Or we pray that

The time would come soon when you would come back to claim us as your own and take us home

And I pray that until then

Your holy spirit would fill our hearts and our lives convert us from something cold and stony

into warm

And loving and we might be prepared

To go home with you lord. We pray all of these things and we ask your blessing on us the rest of today before we pray in jesus name

Amen