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Dream Angel

Matthew 1: “20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him zin 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. [1]

 I.  Consider

     A. Purpose

     B. Properness

II. Comfort

     A. Surrender

     B. Supplication

III. Confirm

     A. Comfort

     B. Conception

Introduction:   Mark is considered the first account of the four gospels so we started there last Sunday.  Matthew and Luke have the genealogical records of how Jesus’ earthly life came to be.  Luke’s genealogy is from Mary’s side and Matthew is from Jesus’ earthly father Joseph.  Next week we will be two days after Christmas so then we will look at Luke’s account that describes Jesus’ birth but today we will concentrate on Matthew’s more Jewish sided account.

There are always two sides of a story they say.  We look at things of this world through eyes that sometimes suffer from tunnel vision.  We make up our minds of how a thing is and if we get stumped on a thing we worry and worry and worry until we exhaust our thought process and then many times we finally give up thinking that there is no common sense result to the thing.

In this short life of mine it is then when finally the answer comes.  For those who are used to being the one that people look to for results, it is very hard to sit back and let someone else take control of the thing you feel responsible for.  If you don’t understand that and you have a spouse, consider the time that their health deteriorated to the place that you had to allow someone else to take charge of the greatest responsibility in your earthly life.

If and when you can do that, it will more than likely not be considered a blessing.  How can turning over my greatest responsibility ever be a good thing?  In all my years surrender has always been instilled in me as that thing which I must never do!  What kind of a husband am I anyway?  I will never let this thing happen!

Right then is when you are ready for God to take control and fix the thing that you are not able to fix.  Right then is when you will finally be faced with the truth that you absolutely can trust God.  Staying awake and figuring every way that you can with all the experience and education that you can draw on will lead you to the place of utter exhaustion and then when all you can rely on as a human has failed, then and only then God will send that one to prove who He is.

Hard headed, strong willed, thick sculled, whatever you want to call it that is the type of person that God seems to like to deal with most.  When you think nobody can tell you nothing, that a double negative by the way, when you think that way He will show you how right you are because then you will know that He can show you everything when you are finally ready to listen and trust Him alone.

Scripture:  Today’s scripture is Matthew 1:20.  When you have found it please rise to your feet for the reading of God’s written word.

Prayer: Please be seated

Message:  Follow as we hear starting from verse seventeen through the end of chapter one.  Double seven generations from Abraham to David; double seven generations from David to the Babylonian exile; double seven generations from exile to Jesus.  To the Jew this genealogical record is significant.  To the non-Jew it is amazing and no it is not coincidental.

Consider this; a man has asked for the hand of his lamb in marriage and all is well in the world.  She is going to be my faithful wife.  They are faithful to wait until marriage.  What a novel idea in this generation!  Somehow she starts showing signs that there is more going on than just a fair young virgin should have going on.

What should I do now?  What are people going to say?  Why me Lord?  What purpose could this possibly serve?  The questions are racing though the mind of this man Joseph who is a descendant of King David and he can’t understand why this is happening to him.  This is not proper for me take Mary as my wife now that she has become pregnant with a child that I had nothing to do with but I do so love her.  I can’t think!  I can’t tell anyone because that would be terrible for my reputation.  Should I just end the engagement?  Lord help me because I do not know what to do and I am exhausted beyond reason.  Self-centered Joseph was about to become selfless Joseph.

When the translators of the KJV start a sentence with the conjunction “but” something is about to happen.  But while he, Joseph, thought on these things…  I am sure there was more going on in Joseph’s head than just simple pondering.  There a lot in that word behold.  Pay attention to this!  Here comes the answer!  Don’t miss this!

Answers to hard things don’t often come until you have exhausted all the normal or natural things that God has given you the earthly powers to decide for yourself.  In those times you have got to be put into a comfortable place so that still small voice of God can be heard about all the thought that are going on in your mind.

Elijah had seen God defeat the prophets of Baal.  He prophesied both that there would be a drought and then he prophesied the end of the drought.  Elijah knew that God had used him to perform miracles but now a woman had come against him and Elijah felt exhausted.  God provided for him and instructed him to go and get away for a while.

1 Kings 19:"11 And he said, Go forth, and stand kupon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and la great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a mstill small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that nhe wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave." [2]

We are faced with so many discomforts and then when we are at our wits end, God takes us away.  Joseph had thought all he could think.  Finally God took him to a place of comfortable sleep.  You will miss that unless you read the whole sentence.  Joseph thought on these things but while he did a very special angel came in a dream.  I suppose it is possible to day dream too but to have a dream you must give up on the thing that you are so engrossed in.  So yeah maybe a daydream because in most of my lines of work daydreaming could have gotten me fired.  It means you are no longer concentrating on what people think you should have your mind on.

When Joseph gave up his concentration and allowed himself to dream, just then an angel of the lord?  No, The Angel of The Lord showed up in a dream.  Some of my professors believe that the term “The Angel of The Lord” is actually a Christophany or an instance of Jesus Christ showing up before Jesus appeared on earth as a human being.  Maybe so!  It happened way back in Abraham’s time too.  Anyway a very important heavenly representative of God showed up to Joseph when Joseph left anxiousness and found comfort.

When Joseph surrendered to the truth that the answer was not humanly in him, God supplied the answer to his question.  Supplication often comes when we have the answer within us that God has already supplied so we are not to give up on things and do as some insist.  Let go and let God is the right thing to do unless God has already given you the enablement to complete the task.  Try, try, and try again and then when you have exhausted your means, know that God will give supplication when you least expect Him.  If you surrender too soon and refuse to use that which he has already supplied, why do you think he will continue to invest good after bad?  I don’t even know when to give up.  He knows that too.

Can you imagine a paramedic or EMT seeing a lifeless body saying let go and let God when they have been trained CPR?  Now I’m getting way too personal.  Do that which you know to do and then when the answer does not come, then let go and let God.  Joseph did exactly that.

“Joseph thou son of David,,,”  Not only did The Angel of The Lord know Joseph, He knew everything there was to know about Joseph.  This heavenly being could be trusted.  What He was about to tell Joseph had been confirmed before Joseph heard the message.

Don’t stop what you have started Joseph!  You are in a good place.  Not only did I know who you were and who would descend from but I thought of this one in Mary too.  With the same thought process or conception that I brought you into this world, there is coming another who is conceived of the Holy Ghost and you are very much a part of this story.  Don’t give up.

"21 aAnd she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name ||JESUS: for bhe shall save his people cfrom their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 dBehold, 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."[3]

Let’s pray…

Prayer:

Invitation:  "24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not etill she had brought forth fher firstborn son: and he gcalled his name JESUS."[4]

We worry and we worry and then when we can worry no more God sends His answer.  His name is Jesus.  He came to us all those many years ago on that first Christmas and though his body was taken up He will never leave us.  Don’t worry!  God takes us to the end of our worry and then comes Jesus.  Don’t worry about that one that you love so much and you so want them to find Jesus.  Don’t worry, Jesus is coming.  Jesus is coming again…



z See ch 2:12.
† [Gr. begotten].
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 1:20). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
k So Ex. 24:12. & 34:2.
l So Ezek. 1:4.
m Comp. Job 4:16 (Heb.). Ps. 107:29 (Heb.).
n See Ex. 3:6.
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Ki 19:11–13). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
a Luke 1:31.
|| [That is, Saviour, Heb.].
b Acts 4:12. & 13:23.
c Acts 5:31. & 13:38.
d Cited from Isai. 7:14.
|| Or, his name shall be called.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 1:21–23). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
e Comp. Gen. 28:15. 1 Sam. 15:35? 2 Sam. 6:23. 1 Chron. 28:20. Isai. 22:14.
f Ex. 13:2. Luke 2:7.
g So Gen. 38:4, 5. 1 Chr. 7:16. Comp. Luke 1:31. & 2:21.
[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 1:24–25). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.