Joseph - A Man Who Listens to God
Matthew 1-2
1 Kings 3:9, (MSG)
"Here's what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil.
1st A listening heart obeys even when it doesn’t understand
Matthew 1:18-21, 24-25, (MSG)
The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus — 'God saves' — because he will save his people from their sins." Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
2nd A listening heart obeys immediately
Matthew 2:13-14, (NLT)
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother," the angel said. "Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother.
3rd A listening heart is constantly in tune with the Lord
Matthew 2:19-22, (NLT)
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. "Get up!" the angel said. "Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead." So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod's son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee.
Proverbs 4:18, (NIV)
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
4th A listening heart is cultivated in God’s presence
Luke 2:22, 25-33, (MSG)
When the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God in Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God: God, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. With my own eyes I've seen your salvation; it's now out in the open for everyone to see: A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations, and of glory for your people Israel. Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words.
Luke 2:33, (NIV)
The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
Luke 2:41, (NLT)
Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
