INTRO...

PEACE: At Christmas time, Peace is a word that is thrown out a lot. And I think we all long for PEACE. I was thinking about how the word PEACE is used in our everyday language: peace of mind, I need peace and quiet, keep the peace, I have inner peace, rest in peace, speak now or forever hold your peace, peace maker, peace out…and especially at this time of year we see the word PEACE in advertisements and greeting cards…reminding us that a deep longing in our souls is to have peace in our lives and when we read the christmas stories and hear phrases like “Jesus is the ‘prince of peace’” and the angels saying “peace on earth” it informs the longing in our heart for peace in our own lives and we long for that to be true in us.

NEWS: But sometimes, our peace can be shattered because of things going on in our lives, difficult situations, or challenging circumstances. Or maybe it is the reporting that comes with “bad news”.

OUR RESPONSE TO NEWS: How we respond to news can reveal some things about our heart and our trust in God and lead us to a place of anxiousness, fear or to a place of hope and peace…

GODS NEWS: Sometimes God sends “news” to us through our circumstances, through people…sometimes it is good, sometimes it is bad; sometimes we respond with joy and happiness and other times we respond with fear and pain and disappointment. Working through why we react the way we do is important as a disciple. In the end, as a follower of Jesus, we want to trust God in the middle of these situations and experience the peace of knowing that no matter what happens, God is in control…he loves me and whatever happens is for my good and his glory. But we don’t always respond in that way.

Today I want to talk about both of those things…unexpected ‘challenging’ or even ‘bad’ news and the pathway to peace in the midst of it…our main object is Joseph…and I hope that we can learn from his response to the unexpected news he received so that we too might live in peace with God at work both in and through us…

UNEXPECTED NEWS RECEIVED AND GIVEN…

MARY GIVEN NEWS…

[LK 1:26-40] Mary gets unexpected news from Gabriel
[LK 1:56] Mary goes to tell Elizabeth (relative) and stays for 3 months

PART I … UNEXPECTED NEWS…
[TAKE MARY AS YOUR WIFE]

MT 1:18-19 || MARY’S UNEXPECTED NEWS TO JOSEPH…
-- Mary returns and now has to have a conversation with Joseph...he got some very unexpected news…[Emotions] can you imagine?
-- He must have been heartbroken, disappointed, angry, and confused. He was a “just man” kind/tender/caring toward her. Joseph is heartbroken over Mary’s news about being pregnant. He was experiencing the opposite of PEACE...anxiety, anger, stress, anguish, worry, tension, distress, fear, doubt, desperateness.
-- What would people say about him? Mary? Their marriage? What a mess. This is terrible news!

MT 1:20-21 || ANGELS UNEXPECTED NEWS TO JOSEPH…
--An angel/dream/confirming Mary’s version of the story.
-- Joseph “considered these things” [vs20]...which would have involved praying, contemplating God’s will on this...he didn’t respond in raw emotion/rashly/hastily...it seems he was calculated, acted in love, acted righteously, justly.
-- He wanted to do the right thing and through the dream, the angel gave him direction…Joseph had a choice to make with this unexpected news…he could “divorce her quietly” or ‘take Mary as your wife, and name the baby boy JESUS’

MT 1:22-25 || JOSEPH’S OBEDIENT RESPONSE…
-- Immediate/Complete OBEDIENCE
-- He took Mary as his wife. This was a difficult and complex thing to do…to do the right thing to please God and bless Mary
-- It led to peace for everyone (not that it wasn’t hard, but the end result produced peace in that situation

God’s Word + Our Obedience = God’s Peace

MT 1:22 [IS 7:14] || PROPHECY FULFILLED...
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)”

MT 2:6 [MICAH 5:2] || ANOTHER PROPHECY FULFILLED...
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

PART II … MORE UNEXPECTED NEWS…
[FLEE TO EGYPT]

AFTER A WHILE IN BETHLEHEM…
-- Joseph is faced with some more unexpected news that would require faith and obedience. [MT 2:1-12 is the wisemen, we will deal with them in a few weeks]

THE REASON FOR NO PEACE…
-- We see the wise men come to bring gifts to Jesus, and a new dangerous situation arises with Herod...Jesus’ life is being threatened!

MT 2:13 || ANGELS UNEXPECTED NEWS TO JOSEPH…
-- Again, God had a plan…sent an angel in a dream to tell Joseph what to do… “go to Egypt”...think of the anxiety, the stress that would have put on Joseph and Mary to hear that Herod was planning to kill their precious baby?! Especially knowing you were supposed to be taking care of this promised messiah, the future King…what a huge responsibility! The stress of picking up your stuff and hastily moving from Bethlehem to Egypt was no small feat...this was going to be sacrificial obedience, it was going to be costly [thankfully God provided financial means with gifts from wisemen], there would have been catastrophic consequences if he had delayed
-- Herod did end up killing [MT 2:16-18]…but Jesus was spared, why? Because…

MT 2:14-15 || JOSEPH’S OBEDIENT RESPONSE…
-- “he rose, took the child and his mother BY NIGHT…”
-- This was an obedience that was immediate and complete. His actions saved the life of Jesus.

Again we see this principle at work…
God’s Word + Our Obedience = God’s Peace

MT2:15 [HOS 11:1] || ANOTHER PROPHECY FULFILLED...
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt, I called my son.”

PART III … EVEN MORE UNEXPECTED NEWS…
[GO BACK TO ISRAEL]

-- Things seemed to be going fine, they HOPED at some point they would be moving back to Israel

MT 2:19-20 || ANGELS NEWS TO JOSEPH…
-- Once again God gave clear instructions, through/angel/dream...“go back to Israel”

MT 2:21 || JOSEPH’S OBEDIENT RESPONSE…
-- Again, immediate, complete obedience

MT 2:22A || THE REASON FOR NO PEACE...
-- He was afraid to go back because of Herod’s evil son

MT 2:22B || ANGELS NEWS...
-- Again, through an angel in a dream, his concerns were affirmed and he was told to go to the district of Galilee…where Nazareth was a city

MT 2:23 || JOSEPH’S OBEDIENT RESPONSE...
-- He obeyed…again, immediately and completely

GOD'S WORD + OUR OBEDIENCE = GOD'S PEACE...

-- Looking at Joseph's life we can see that this was a very consistent pattern. We don’t have tons of information about these early years of Jesus’ life, of what Mary and Joseph experienced as a young family, but we do see moments that were extremely difficult, challenging, stressful, riddled with anxiety…and yet Joseph…listened to the Lord, obeyed him completely and experienced the peace God provided in his life.

-- The Bible states that those who have God’s word, who listen and obey it, can experience his peace.

[PS 25:10]
“All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

-- When we embrace God’s ways, one of the by-products of obedience is the blessing of His peace.

Q: what can we take from Joseph’s example…some principles to follow…4 things…

#1…To experience God’s PEACE…WE SHOULD OBEY WITH FAITH…NOT FEAR
-- Don’t be AFRAID. No matter how dire the situation looks, do what God is instructing you to do
-- Joseph was willing to face social ridicule, and rejection by his family, to take a pregnant woman as his wife.
-- For the sake of peace, for the sake of obedience, what are you willing to face…with faith?
—> “Lord give me Faith instead of Fear” [prayer]

#2...To experience God’s PEACE…WE SHOULD OBEY IN HIS TIME NOT OUR OWN
-- WAIT until God gives you instruction before you act…stay connected to him…don’t act in haste…
-- WAITING IS OBEYING || [PSALM 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”] This is a principle that God continues to work out in my life regularly
-- Joseph's option to divorce or not…he considered it…he was patient and did not act hastily
-- Joseph waited in Egypt until God told him to leave, living their life
--> “Waiting is obedience…it is active, not passive”

#3...To experience God’s PEACE…WE SHOULD OBEY IMMEDIATELY w/o DELAY
-- Do what God asks you to do RIGHT NOW
-- Joseph woke up and obeyed, doing what he was told, right then
-- He took Mary as his wife the next day
-- He got up in the middle of the night to go to Egypt
-- He changed course mid-stream going to Nazareth instead of Jerusalem
--> “Delayed obedience is disobedience”

#4...To experience God’s PEACE…WE SHOULD OBEY COMPLETELY not PARTIALLY
-- Do EVERYTHING God asks you to do…COMPLETELY…all of it
-- Joseph did everything he was instructed to do, completely
--> “Partial obedience is disobedience”

PRAYER, REFLECTION AND COMMUNION...

-- Are you experiencing GOD’S PEACE in your life?
-- What are you afraid to do that God has instructed you to do?
-- Where are you impatient/getting ahead of what God has instructed you to do?
-- What are you delaying to do that God has instructed you to do?
-- What have you partially completed that God has instructed you to do?

A STATEMENT OF FAITH...
“God, desiring your peace…today I will obey you by DOING _______”

A SIMPLE PRAYER...
"Jesus...I will obey with… FAITH not fear... I will trust In YOUR TIME, not mine...I will obey IMMEDIATELY without delay...and I will obey COMPLETELY not partially"

--> GOD'S WORD + OUR OBEDIENCE = GOD'S PEACE

-- WHAT IS JESUS SAYING TO YOU TODAY?
-- WHAT IS JESUS ASKING YOU TO DO?
-- WHO IS YOUR ONE THAT JESUS IS CALLING YOU TO LOVE AND SERVE?