Christmas 3 - Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-38

Thank you so much for joining us today. I am extremely encouraged about our musicians, both our choir and these folks up front here, with the exception of Steven, whom we pay to fix everything in this building, including cigarette lighters.

With the exception of Steven and Bonnie every person on this platform is a volunteer and it is, it is amazing. So thank you. I am not a volunteer, but I am thoroughly incompetent. So here we go. Let me say one thing before we look at our message.

That is this Christmas Eve. Services, 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM. They're one hour

each. They're the same service with the exception that at 4:00 PM we're having a kids choir. So the kids will be singing at 4:00 PM service only and not at 6:00 PM. There will be a nursery at 4:00 PM, ages 0 to 3:00.

At 6:00 PM, no nursery is available, so either, you know, come to the 4:00 PM or bring your kids with you, whatever, whatever you prefer. But looking forward to that, we have a terrific Christmas music, a killer good Christmas story that I'm going to be telling if I do say so humbly myself. And then we're, we're going to worship the Lord together, obviously.

Joseph and Mary both paid the price.

Question! Is there anything in this world for which you would liquidate everything?

So friends, today we are looking at another response to Jesus from the

1st century. In fact, two responses to Jesus as we've been talking about reassessing our responses to Jesus. Jesus as we acknowledge him versus Jesus as we treat him. And so that's what we're going to be looking at today.

And I want to ask you to pray with me quickly, please. Lord, we do need your guidance as we think today about this response of Joseph and the response of Mary to the Lord Jesus. I pray for each of us that we would calm our hearts. Our hearts would be open on the Godward side to see what you're saying, to see what you're expecting, to reflect on our own lives, to be people who think about our thinking and people who think about our actions, think about our emotions, think about our relationships. And that we, like Joseph and Mary, are people who are open on the Godward side. So we entrust our time. We need your help in this. We ask it in Christ's name, Amen.

I want to ask you, friends, if there's anything in the world for which you would give up everything. You would liquidate everything. I mean sell the house, sell the cars, cash out the life insurance, sell the wedding ring, clean out your Edward Jones account, clean out your bank accounts, sell the books, sell the tools, sell the guns, sell the sewing machines, sell your clothes that you would just.

Walk away with everything liquidated and the clothes you're wearing and a jacket. Is there anything in the world for which you would liquidate everything? Now, for me personally, I wouldn't do it for a piece of property or a Lamborghini or, you know, a prize piece of artwork or something like that. I can't think of anything in the world that I would say is valuable enough to liquidate everything. Now I think I would liquidate everything to save the life of a child or my grandchild or one of my children's spouses. I think I would be willing to just clean it all out, go back to my 19 year old level of poverty without education and a part time job and everything I owned and two cardboard boxes. I think I do that for the life of a family member. Is there anything that you would liquidate? Everything for ?

This is a passage and a message today about the question of people who risked everything to embrace Jesus, who risked everything they had to embrace Jesus. What would you be willing to risk everything for? It's about Joseph and about Mary, and their stories are so familiar we hardly think

about them. But these are people who took a big risk to embrace Jesus. Both of them did. Both of them. Did this happen during their betrothal period?

So in the time of Jesus' birth, there was a sort of a three-part marriage process for the Jewish people.

Number one - Is betrothal. That's where the families had made the arrangements that they were going to marry each other. It involved a legal contract. They were married in the eyes of their society and in the eyes of their priests. They were completely married, but they were living together. They hadn't consummated their relations. And they were waiting a year. And typically in that year, two things would happen. The husband would build a home for him and his wife to live in. And the husband would come up with the bride price to pay her father #1 the bride price says I'm committed to your daughter.

Number Two - It says I'm compensating you for the loss of a family member, but I am committed to this relationship.

Number Three - The last step in the marriage was the actual marriage ceremony, the processional to the house.

Consummation of the marriage and that was the whole three steps that happened in the New Testament times. In this situation, these two people were betrothed. They were not yet living together, but they were married. They were married. They were considered married in their culture. So I want to begin by thinking about the response of Mary. What did she stand to lose as she was thinking about what the Angel was saying to her, thinking about Joseph, thinking about. All that was going on in her heart and life.

What did Mary stand to lose?

So a very familiar verse passage rather Luke 1:26. “It says, “This now in the six months the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendant of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in the Angel said to her, greetings favored one, The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement and kept pondering what kind of statement this was. The Angel said to her, “Greetings O Favored one, the Lord is with you, Do not be afraid, Mary. For you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great, and He will be called the Son of the Most High God.

And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the House of Jacob forever, and his Kingdom will have no end.”

Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The Angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you. And the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And for this reason, the holy child shall be called the Son of God.”

“And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son in her old age. She was called barren is now in her 6th month. And of course, if you know the story, this is Jesus cousin John the Baptist, the forerunner of the

Messiah. For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, here's a key verse. Behold the bond slave of the Lord. May it be done to me.

According to your word. And the Angel departed from her, what did she stand to lose?

Let me let me say, first of all, who is this woman? The name is Mary, obviously. She's betrothed to Joseph married to a Carpenter, stonemason, contractor by the name of Joseph. She lives in a miniature town in northern

Israel is called Nazareth. It's a town that was very much despised by the people of Israel because of the state.

The thing was, if a man would be righteous, let him live in Jerusalem. If a man would be rich, let him live in Nazareth. This was a very looked down upon town in this city. She's betrothed to Joseph, she's favored by God. She has the blessing of God, and she is also a woman confronted with a difficult situation, a difficult situation. This is like a girl being engaged and coming up pregnant and now what are we going to do? And now whose child is it? And now how is her fiance going to respond? What? Is going to happen and Mary in this situation it says she just completely submitted to God 100% and let

me reread what she said in verse 38.

And Mary said, “Behold I am the bond slave of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” I'm a bond slave. I'm a voluntary servant of God. I call him Lord, which means he's master. He tells me what to do. I will do whatever you are telling me to do. What did Mary stand to lose?

Number one - reputation. People are going to talk because they're not supposed to be together yet. She understands she may lose her husband. She knows he's a righteous man. She knows he follows the law. She even stands to lose her life in this situation. Friends, if he presses charges, she could be stoned by Jewish law. She could. She stands to lose her life. She could lose her home. Joseph could reject her. Her father could reject her. She has no place to live. If that happens, she loses her livelihood. She has no husband to support her and no father to support her. She could lose her family, they could all turn on her. She could lose her place in the community, friends. According to archaeology, the city of Nazareth at this time had about 1000 people.

There was no place for a pregnant girl to hide in a town of 1000. No place at all. I lived for a few years in a small town in western Wyoming. 5000 people.

We had two main activities, it seems like, in our high school, which is underage drinking and premarital sex. That was the two main entertainments. And it wasn't uncommon for a girl to miss her junior year, to be gone to Milwaukee with her aunt and to come home. There's no place to hide in that little town.

There's no place to hide in Nazareth. People talk. People talk like “Can you believe that preacher wore jeans to church today? Even his wife was upset

about that and the shoes don't match. And a black polka dot shirt for Christmas. What is wrong with this man? He doesn't even use the pulpit.” I saved you half of your conversation for lunch. I mean you got nothing to talk about now, but anyway no charge on that.

And here's what else she stood to lose. Simeon said last week, a sword will go through your soul, Mary, a sword will go through your soul. You will stand and watch your boy crucified naked in front of a jeering crowd, your beloved son, the boy whom you love. This woman stood to lose a huge amount and yet she said behold the bond servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as whatever he says.

Number two - What did Joseph stand to lose?

Another very famous passage, Matthew 1:18-25 and the question of what did Joseph stand to lose. Matthew 1”18. ”Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they had come together. She was found to be with a child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, not wanting to disgrace her, had planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son. And you should call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

“Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the Prophet. Behold, the Virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which translated means God with us.”

And Joseph awoke from his sleep, and did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him. And he took Mary his wife, but he kept her a virgin

until she gave birth to her son, and he called his name Jesus.

Joseph was a man who was first of all a descendant of David. He was in the line of the Messiah, as was Mary, which they would have to be for Jesus to be in the line of Messiah. He was righteous doesn't mean he never sinned. It means that he had made a decision to conform his will to the will, law, and character of God. I think it's akin to Romans 12:1 and two for us, that we be people who just dedicate ourselves. Having trusted Christ, we also say, Lord, I will be a person who's not conformed to the image of this world, but who is transformed by your word into a different person.

Joseph was that kind of a man. He didn't want to disgrace his wife. He loved

her. He didn't want to harm her. He wasn't going to bring charges. He wasn't going to have her stoned. He was going to send her away quietly. He was going to just quietly send her to live with her aunt in Milwaukee for a year

and save her as much.

As he could save her now, he wasn't going to marry her, wasn't going

to follow through with all this. He was just going to send her away quietly.

But Joseph was a man, and I respect him so much. He thought about his thinking.

Human beings have the ability to think about our thinking. We think these thoughts, we have these ideas, we're deeply dedicated to them, but we have the ability to sit down and say, is this a good idea?

Your dog does not ask himself or herself that question. Your dog says I'm going to chase that car and it's gone. He doesn't sit on the curb and say, you know, paw on the chin. Is this a good idea at this time? It just runs. And I know your dog is brilliant. God bless you. God bless your dog. No emails, please. God bless your dog. But your dog can't think about his thinking.

We can. But we often don't. We often don't. So Joseph thought about his thinking, and while he was thinking about his thinking, he was open on the Godward side. And an Angel comes to him and says, marry the woman, follow through. This child is born of the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy One

of God. And the text says that he got up immediately and obeyed completely. He obeyed graciously.

My granddaughters go to Ambrose Christian Academy. They have a statement that every child there can say “obey, all the way, right away, cheerfully, every day.”

It's a great saying. Now to memorize it and do it is 2 totally different things, but it is a great saying. Obey all the way, right away, cheerfully every day.

And that's what Joseph did. And then it says he kept her a virgin. It seemed to him like the right thing to do. He wouldn't have. He wouldn't have sex with his own wife until the baby had been born.

What did he stand to lose? Wife, reputation and livelihood. Who's going to buy chairs from Joseph and Nazareth now? He stood to lose his friends, his place in the community, friends. I have known people who came to faith

out of Mormonism in a small town in Utah and lost both of their businesses in one year. People just wouldn't do business with them.

I met a Christian man in Morocco who came to faith in a town of 2000 people out of. He and his wife and his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law, four of them came to faith and now they won't do business with him in that town. He walks 30 miles to where they don't know him to get his goat spread because he's a Christian.

It's what you stand to lose. It's what Joseph stood to lose.

But here's what he did. He woke up from his sleep, did as the Angel of Lord commanded him, took Mary as his wife, kept her a virgin until she gave birth, and then she named him the name that nobody in the family had, Jesus. It was not a family name. It was a serious follower. He obeyed seriously. He listened to God. He said I would be willing to be the stepfather of Jesus. I would personally hate that job. Your son is more mature than you. 8000 times in your life you have to listen to the other kids say, how come Jesus never gets spanked? He had six siblings at least, maybe more, and Joseph was the guy who could do it. He was the stepfather of Jesus. And you can imagine if you're going to choose a stepfather, you got to get a sterling guy. He said yes to God. Both Joseph and Mary chose obedience above treasure.

Obedience above possession. Said we're willing to lose stuff. What do you and I stand to lose if we follow Christ? What do we stand to lose if we are

followers of the Lord Jesus? I want to read a couple of passages to you about people who followed God seriously and people who lost stuff.

This is Hebrews 11:32. “What more shall we say? For time will fail me if I tell you about Gideon, Barak, Sampson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness,

obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword from weakness, were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women receive back their dead by resurrection. And others were tortured, not accepting their release so that they might obtain a better resurrection. Others experience mockings and scourgings. Yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn into.

People, there are people who follow Christ where they said you reject Christ, so we're going to saw you in half. And they say the Saul way. Can you think of an uglier way to go out there being sought and have friends?

Boy, I imagine crucifixion is but my goodness, they said, I would rather be sawed in half than reject Christ. They went about in sheep's begins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill treated men of whom the world is not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. I would rather live in a hole in the ground than reject Jesus.

It's what we stand to lose.

Second passage about what we stand to lose.

2nd Corinthians 2:1 Paul says of himself, “In whatever respect anyone else is bold, I speak in foolishness. I am just as bold as myself. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I? Are they servants of Christ? I speak as if I'm insane. Paul says I'm more so in far more laborers, far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes, 3 times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. A night in the day I've spent in the deep. I've been on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights,

in hunger and thirst, without food and cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”

Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concerns? Look at this stuff Paul lost. Look at this stuff Paul lost as he was willing to serve Christ. He lost a ridiculous amount and he stood to lose a great deal. We could lose our business, we could lose our family. We could lose our health. We could lose our lives, friends, We could lose all the way up to our lives for following Christ. It can be amazingly costly. And one of the critical issues of being controlled by the Spirit.

Is self-control, which is the willingness to postpone gratification, get something better later, and give up something now.

There's a very famous motivational speaker years ago. He's passed away now. His name is Zig Ziglar. Zig Ziglar was a serious follower of Jesus Christ. He loved the Lord Jesus. He says this. The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want now. It can be crazy costly to follow Christ. It can be crazy costly. But we also have to think about the question of what do I stand to gain? What do I stand to gain if I'm going to liquidate everything?

What do you and I stand to gain in that situation? So Romans chapter 8:31, 32 a here's what it says. “What should we say to these things? If God is

for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son? But delivered Him over for us all. How will He not with Him freely give us all things? I

can gain everything because of what God promises to me. Matthew 19 verse 29. “Everyone who has left houses, or brothers or sister or father, or mother, or children or farms for my sake will receive many times as much and will inherit eternal life. But. Many who are first will be last and the last will be first friends. When you're a believer, when you're a follower of Christ, you have homes in every nation on the planet. You have family in every nation on the planet. You have people in every nation on the planet who care about

you because you have mutual faith. Part of the point is we stand to gain a great deal by trusting Christ. Now it takes 40 hours to. Explain everything. We don't have 40 hours. I made a list. It's against this. It's against the law of homiletics to read a list, but I'm going to.

We gain forgiveness of sins, eternal life, meaningful life right now, indwelling the Holy Spirit, power to do what we should do, ability to obey God, freedom from the tyranny of sin, and there's another 40 hours worth of stuff.

What in the world does it cost and what do I stand to regain? And so the key question is, what would I be willing to liquidate to follow Jesus? What would I be willing to liquidate? What would I be willing to risk to follow Jesus? The early disciples who were called by God in Matthew chapter 418 to 22 walked away from their boats, their Nets, their families, and their livelihood. Walked away from the tax collector table. Just got up.

It'd be like you owning a business and Jesus coming to the door and saying follow me and you just walk away. Employees are sitting there, customers

are standing there. You're just gone. They just walked away from all that. They were willing to give that up to follow

Christ in England. Early missionaries would go to England, Africa, with their belongings packed in their coffin.

They knew I'm not coming home. I got my clothes and my books and my whatever in my coffin and it's going to be shipped with me to England, Africa, because I'm not coming back to England and I'm fine with it.

What would I be willing to give up to follow Christ? Matthew chapter 13::44 The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who found a treasure in the field and from joy over it he goes and sells everything he has and he buys that field. He simply says this treasure is so amazing, I will give up everything for it. I am willing to give it all up to liquidate everything to have this treasure.

Of relationship with the king and live in the Kingdom. I'll give it all up. Here's a core idea, friends.

Following Jesus is crazy costly, and it is crazy rewarding. Crazy costly and crazy rewarding. I have a friend who's in the Afghani Air Force. They owned 67 airplanes, and four days before Kabul fell to the Taliban, he and his fellow

pilots took those 67 airplanes and flew them to Tajikistan. To keep them out of the hands of the Taliban. And then he was. Held there for four months. Sent to England for four  months. Finally got to Idaho Falls, ID, of all places.

And last month, his wife got out of Afghanistan and joined him in Idaho Falls to keep an airplane out of the hands of terrorists. He left his wife for an unknown period of time. Some of those pilots' friends are still waiting for their families. They just said it's worth it. I'm going to pay this price.

And so the question for us is, what have I given up? What would I be willing to give up?

Friends, there's a piece called The Disappointment of Joseph. It's a Christmas story from Matthew 1:18 to 25. It's written by a man named

Stephen A Walker. Some of you know him as Pastor Steve. And it is an amazing story. It's 12 minutes long. I only have 6 ½ minutes left. I'm depressed out of my mind. I'll figure out what to do here.

“Joseph stared into the deep brown eyes of this newborn child, wrapped in strips of cloth torn from an old tunic. Who are you? He whispered. Why have you come? Are you really the promised one? Was the Angel right? Tears welled up in his eyes and he blinked them back, feeling the draft of the cold stable. He drew the baby close to his chest in his arms and stared and pondered and wondered.

A year ago, he had been the happiest man in Nazareth. Had learned his craft well from his father, Jacob. He was a builder by trade, a stone Mason, a

Carpenter, and a contractor all rolled into one. So he had come from a good family, from the lineage of King David. He was certainly average in every other way, neither rich nor poor, prominent nor unknown. He was simply Joseph, and he liked it that way. He had saved enough money to be married, and he had his eye on a certain young woman for some time. I married the daughter of Heli.

Appeared to be a good and upright Jewess and one who had captivated his heart. According to custom, the marriage had been arranged to the families. The young couple had entered into the formal and public, betrothal period, a waiting time to assure each other's faithfulness. All he had ever wanted

was simply to wed this young woman, have children, work with his hands, provide for his family, grow old together, and honor God with an uncomplicated life. Was that too much to ask?

Yet something greater, something grander, was happening. God was intervening, and his life would never be the same. Shortly after he had entered into the family agreement for the wedding, Mary seemed uneasy around Joseph. It was as if she wanted to tell him something, but she couldn't. In time, though, he suspected the worst. The comments and speculations became rude and ugly. It's a town of 1000 people. There's no place for her to hide.

Mary Joseph, betrothed, was putting on weight, and she fought being sick to her stomach. The older, older women recognize the sign of being with child

and started whispering. Even some of Joseph's friends looked accusingly at him. The talk was that Mary had been unfaithful or that Joseph had violated her virginity. Either way, Paul had been cast over their plans for marriage. Someone was guilty. Someone had to be responsible. Joseph had waited to confront Mary so that the painful moment would bear a measure of dignity and privacy. He also wished only for the truth. Finally, he could wait no longer.

Walking alone with her, he asked, Are you pregnant? The answer could not have been more surprising or less believable. She was in fact pregnant. But it was a miracle, she insisted, an act of God himself, the Holy One. She continued to speak of visits from angels, ancient promises of the Messiah, confirmations by her cousin Elizabeth. Joseph's thoughts swirled and wandered away from the sounds of her voice, brooding over the craziness, the impossibility of her exclamation. It could not be. It simply could not be.

He fought in his mind about what to do. All his dreams about a normal life in Nazareth with Marietta and kids under his feet vanish. Staring at him now was the specter of a terrible decision. If she was pregnant, it was certain

that he was not the father. He must act righteously. The Law of Moses allowed him to press charges against her, and if she were found guilty of adultery, she would be stoned to death. Unthinkable. He loved her. The alternative was to break off the betrothal with a divorce. His only choice then

How public would he make this? How humiliating would it be for Mary?

He had made up his mind that he would do so very privately, very quietly, for Mary's sake. That night he fell asleep exhausted, weary, and disappointed. His prayers could only form questions. Why couldn't Mary have waited?

Who was the Father? Why wouldn't she tell me the truth? Why did she babble on about angels and fulfillment of Scripture? And like one who has lost her mind? Who thought the ages revolved around her pitiful unclaimed pregnancy? What will I do now? What will happen to Mary? She's the only woman I've ever loved. Deep into the night, God spoke to him through dreaming. It seemed more real than daylight. Himself, an Angel of the Lord, right? Radiant and bright, sharp with detail, full of life and glory, appeared to this day. He could not describe the timber of the visitor's voice, nor the smell of heaven around him, only that both were shockingly different from anything he had ever expected. What he would never forget was what the Angel commanded. 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 will call His name Jesus, because

He will save his people from their sins.

My friend Steve goes on to write at the end of his story. All we want is a good, simple life not disrupted by or surprised by pain, frustration, sorrow, trouble, headache or death. We want to be married happily ever after. We want our days to be full of strength and health. We want our children to make good choices. We want enough money and security to live without worry, with a measure of pleasure. We wanted and we expected. But like small children who open all their packages only to find what isn't there.

We sour in our hearts and question God's right to tinker with our lives.

Where is what we want? Why did? Why did you not give it to me? Why do this instead? Is this too much to ask God? It can be very costly to follow Jesus.

And crazy rewarding.

Let me pray for us. Lord God, you have the right to shape my life as you wish. I lay at your, at your feet, all my expectations of how things should be, how my life should turn out, and I embrace you as my own, just as Joseph embraced Jesus as his own. Father, I hope I put my whole trust in Jesus, whom you sent to save me from my sins. Where I'm disappointed in myself, forgive me. Where I'm disappointed in my life, change me. Open my eyes and heart, help me see the workings of heaven and the twists and turns of my days. I have no right to demand that my plans be fulfilled, only that your will be done. You are God and I belong to you, and I thank you in the name of Jesus our Savior, Amen.