Today is the day that the Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad in it and everyone said

Amen

So my name is Ryan. I'm a lead pastor here at Peace Church If we haven't had a chance to meet yet, we'd sure love to make that happen before you head on in here but one thing you should know about me is that when I was growing up my dad had this rule and The rule was we cannot put up the Christmas tree until after Thanksgiving. Now, Second Service applauded at that, and you guys didn't, which means I like you guys better.

My dad just had this rule, and so for me, I loved Christmas growing up, and so for me, Thanksgiving was just like that entryway to the Christmas celebration. Now, for as much as I love Christmas, for my adult life, that was just ingrained

and instilled in me. And so I always just kind of had it in my home that we don't set up the tree till after Thanksgiving. Maybe we'll listen to some Christmas music ahead of time, but we don't set up the tree until after Thanksgiving.

Until this year.

My kids are all at that age where I got second grade and some other grades in there. I have a senior, I got that one. They kind of just said, we really want to set it up early. And you know what? I just, I caved. I did. I caved. So we set it up the week before Thanksgiving, but I just, I noticed something about this year. I don't think I was the only one. I don't know what it was. It felt like this year in particular, it just seemed like everyone was setting up their trees before Thanksgiving and I mean before Thanksgiving as in some of us

And I have proof on Facebook before Halloween So, let me ask you a question here who puts their tree up before Thanksgiving, let me see Loud and proud. All right Who sets up their tree after Thanksgiving like it's a rule. We only just Wow. Okay. All right Wow, okay, all right. Last ditch effort.

Who hasn't set up their tree but plans to before Wednesday, anybody? All right. Now listen, the Christmas tree,

I get it's a cultural way to mark the holiday.

It's not like a biblical mandate. Something we, most of us do, but here's the thing, and I'm pretty sure I'm right about this. The reason that we love the tree, we love putting up the tree and seeing that glow, whether you like the white lights or you like the better choice of multicolored lights,

wherever you fall on that, I think one thing we all agree on is that the tree is like a visual representation of the mood and the joy that it's meant to embody Christmas. Doesn't it? Like, when you have the tree up and there's the glow of the tree in your living room or wherever you have it. It just it just is like a picture of how things are meant to be right. Like it just calm yet joyous where everything goes right. At least at least that's how we think it should be

in our in a in a in a ideal world. Christmas is meant to be joyful. It's meant to be a break from the bitterness of life. And so for many of us, we can't get the tree up fast enough because of the mood that it sets and what it represents. That Christmas is supposed to be a time where everything goes right. But we know this, that Christmas is part of life and if you've lived for any length of time then you probably realize that life doesn't always go according to plan.

So we have a question before us, and it's kind of like a two-part question. The first part is this, is how will we respond in the face of brokenness or hurt or pain or our plans falling apart? That's the first part of this question.

And the second one is this, is does the purity, power, and joy of Christmas show us something deeper about how to handle life all year round? Here's what I'd say to you, I think it does. I don't, I think the over commercialization of Christmas has kind of ruined this notion that there is something

about Christmas that we are to hold throughout the entire year. There's something about Christmas that is supposed to be part of our lives that help us to handle when those things don't go according to plan when life begins to fall apart. And I think one of the beautiful ways that we see this modeled in Scripture is in the man Joseph, a man who handles things with such honor and integrity when his life does not go according to plan. We see this in the adopted father of Jesus and the way that he reacts when his plans begin to change. And so would you please turn to Matthew chapter 1.

Now if you are just joining us in this sermon series, what we've been doing is we've been looking at the news of Christmas and how we've been looking, what we've been doing is we're looking at how different people throughout the Bible, how they heard and were and reacted to the news of Christmas. And we've been looking at that and thinking like, okay, how does that help us in our response to the birth of Christ, our response to Christmas?

We looked at the news to his mother. We looked at the news to his relatives. We looked at the news given to his people, the shepherds. But today we're going to look at the news to his father, Joseph. So we are going to read verses 18 to 25 today. That's on page 10, 26. If you want to use the Bibles here. Now, listen, when it comes to Joseph, we don't know much about him. The Bible doesn't, doesn't give a lot of words to tell us about who this man is, but we do see something incredible in the pages, in the passages that we do have. So we're going to pick up as much as we can

from this man today. And I think when we do, you'll be able to see that he was actually quite a remarkable figure. Joseph, he was an incredible man who responded incredibly to an impossible situation. So let's read about him. So if you are able, and if you are not, that is perfectly okay, but if you are able, whether you're here or in one of our venues, would you please stand for the reading of God's word?

We're going to read the gospel according to Matthew chapter 1 verses 18 to 25. Would you hear God's word? Now the birth of Christ took place in this way. 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. But as he considered these things, 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 Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from the sleep,

he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but he knew her not until she had given birth to a son and he called his name Jesus. Amen. This is God's word. Let's pray and let's continue. Let's pray first. Father in heaven above at all times, remind us that you hold the heavens and the universe in the palm of your hand. So father, would you hold us close when life doesn't go the way that we planned? And give us perspective to know and remember that you will come again to make all things new

So let the joy of Christmas help help us to hold on to that hope And we pray these things in the power of the Spirit and by the blood of our Savior Jesus It's in his name we pray and everyone said amen And amen go ahead and have a seat So Christmas is a time of joy and good news. So here's some good news for you today.

I do believe this is good news, even if it is challenging. But it's this Joseph's reaction to the news of Christmas shows us how we should respond in life with honor, faith and action. So let's take a moment and see how Joseph reacted to Christmas, to the news of Mary's pregnancy, to God's revelation. And then we'll let that challenge our response to both Christmas, but also life. So let's first look at Joseph's reaction, then we'll look at our response. But just for a moment, just for a moment, especially if you're a man in the house,

put yourself in Joseph's shoes. You're an honorable man. You do the right thing. You play by the rules. You get engaged to a great woman, only to find out that she's pregnant and not by you.

What do you do?

What do you do in the in the in the face of that seemingly disgrace and humiliation, that sadness, that brokenness, what do you do in that moment? Let's find out what Joseph did, because he did at least three things. His reaction is marked by honor, faith and action. Joseph's reaction to Christmas, again, Mary's pregnancy and God's revelation. He reacts with honor, faith and action.

He's honorable in the face of disgrace. He's faithful to hear from God. And when he does, he took action. But the first thing let's look at is the way this man responds with honor. I once heard a wise man, a very wise man, not me, by the way. I once heard a wise man say this in the face of crisis.

Christians don't rise to the challenge. We sink to our level of discipleship.

I take those words to heart, especially as a pastor.

Hear me.

We most certainly want to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ. We want to see people who are not walking with Jesus, who walk as enemies of God, repent and place their faith in Jesus and get saved. We want to see that. Amen. Amen. But that's not all the church is called to do. When you look at the great commission, Jesus final great commission for us, the mission he sets us on is to go and make disciples, not just go and make converts, but we are to disciple people. So yes, we

want to reach the loss, but we also want to disciple the church. And when I look at this man, I just feel like this is a man who has been discipled well. If you ever wonder why God chose Joseph to be the adopted father of his own son, I think this passage should be your answer.

Because we see Joseph as a man of honor, not just for his own sake, but do you see the care he has for Mary? Yes, he's bound by some cultural limitations for his time, but he seeks to honor her, even in the midst of everything that's happening.

Look at the verse that says, before they came together, Mary was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Joseph doesn't know this at this point, but this is how he responds. In verse 19,

And her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. Now listen, divorce was to legally break off the engagement. Things were a little different in that culture. Back in that culture and engagement was a legally binding arrangements. See, for in our world, engagement just means a man got on his knee, asked a woman to marry him,

and she said yes. And that's just kind of how it is until they actually get married and sign a legal document. But in that culture, to get engaged was a patrol, though it was a legally binding agreement between two families and so they weren't married yet but they still had to go through a legal process of self separation and it says joseph being a just man and unwilling he was unwilling to do this he was unwilling to put her to shame he resolved resolved keep that word in your head he resolved to divorce her quietly he doesn't want to disgrace her he's still caring for their even though he's

feeling like they need to separate. Listen, I'm sure he was hurt. I'm sure he was confused. I'm sure he was mourning the loss of life as it was supposed to go. This was a just man. This was a good man. This was a godly man who played by the rules. He did everything he was supposed to do. And this was the hand that he was dealt. So rather than just folding on life and throwing his cards down, he plays the hand that was given him and he does it with honor.

Even in the midst of pain, hurt, confusion, anger, mourning, sadness, loss, Joseph is still a godly man. He does not let the situation around him dictate how he is going to respond. He's going to respond based on the honor that God has instilled in him. He acts like a godly man. He upholds his integrity and listen here, he also seeks to uphold the integrity of Mary as well. Do you live and operate with this level of honor towards yourself and towards others? There's not many who do.

Joseph has honor, but then we see God show up working in the midst of the faith of Joseph. That's the second thing that we're going to see, that he reacts with faith. Verse 20. Notice the contrast here. Let's be good stewards, students of our Bibles. First he resolved, he resolved to do this, but then look at verse 20. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared for him, appeared to him. So Joseph, a man of honor and faith, he's considering this. He's working this through. The Bible says that he's considering these things. Now listen, in the original text, I know we can't see it here in English,

but in the original language, the word considers a very rare word. In fact, we only see it three times in the entire New Testament. It's a rare word. It means to think deeply in an internal process of passionate deliberation. Joseph is wrestling with this decision. Yes, he resolved to do this, but it doesn't mean he was at peace with it. He was he was internally struggling. He was wrestling with this. And it's in that moment that God speaks to him. Look at verse 20. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel, 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 should call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. My friends, Joseph is wrestling with this decision, and that's when God speaks to him. And that makes me wonder if more of us would be more open to hear God's word if we wrestled with what God wanted us to do, rather than just simply quickly making up our minds and moving on. For instance, I have to believe that for the faithful in here, for those who know and love Jesus Christ, I have to believe there's someone in your life who you right now are called

to have a faith conversation with, that you're meant to share the gospel with, but you've made it up in your mind that it won't go well, that they won't listen, that you're not smart enough to handle their questions. And so you've made up your mind not to engage. You've resolved to do this. But what I'm saying to you is that on the one hand, Joseph resolved to do this quietly.

In his mind, he knew what he was supposed to do, what he thought was the right thing, but on the other hand, he was still considering it, and it's at that moment that God speaks into his heart. Don't give up on your lost friend so easily. You may have resolved in your mind that it's not going to go well, but I'm telling you, wrestle with it, and I guarantee God will speak into that moment and open a

door and the Spirit will lead a great conversation with you. What I'm saying to you is part of faith is knowing what to do, and part of faith is letting God tell you that you're wrong. God speaks to Joseph, and Joseph's reaction is to take action. And that's the third thing we're going to see. That he reacts with action. Look at verse 24.

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did. Say those two words with me. He did. He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but he knew her not until she'd given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. He did. Tell you what, at the end of my days, if I just have those two

words on my gravestone, I'll rest in peace. That he did. I wonder how many of your gravestones out there, it really should just say, she didn't. He didn't. He was too scared. She was too scared. He did. Tell you what, if that's all it said about me at the end of my days, he did what the Lord commanded, that's a life well lived. He did as the angel Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but he knew her not until she had given birth to a son. Joseph is a true man of action. He did what the Lord said. He was obedient to God. And you know what disobedience means? It means he welcomed Jesus into his life.

That was Joseph's great act of obedience. He welcomed Jesus into his life. But listen here, it says that he knew her not until she had given birth. Joseph didn't get to be with his wife on their wedding night. He knew her not until she had given birth. Listen to me, men in particular. Part of being a godly man, part of being a man of action, is self-control. He knew her not until she had given birth.

This was his right, it was his wife's, it was their wedding night. He had played by the rules, but he knew her not until she had given birth. This is self control. And listen to me, man, let's talk about this for just a moment. The thing about self control is that most people don't realize when you have it. Most of you don't realize when you are engaging self control, they just think that you're a kind, gentle man. Most people don't understand the internal battle that most men have to fight within themselves to maintain self control. No one's

going to give you accolades or an attaboy when you maintain self-control, they're just going to think, what a kind and gentle person.

And I know that you want to be rewarded, and it feels good to get affirmed when you do things

the way that God's called you to do. But I'm telling you, when it comes to self-control, you won't get the accolades from those around you, because they won't know, and they shouldn't know, and it's not their job to know. Self-control is part of what it means

to be a man of faith, a man of action, a godly man. People won't know the level of self-control you have in your life until the one time you lose it. And that one time you lose it, it undoes all of the honor that you've garnered until that moment. And that's just the way it is, gentlemen. Welcome to being a man in this world. This is why men, you must rely on the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit at all times. It does not matter what the world around you is doing. It does not matter the context that is affecting your life. All that matters that

you walk and step with the Holy Spirit. And when you do that, they'll be able to say about you, he was a just and honorable man, not because you live by your own strength, but because you walk by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit guided by the word of God. Self-control is one of those things that should define all men. Yet it is one of those things that most people will never get the affirmation for. They will just translate that as you being a kind and gentle person, because that's the outward facing aspect of self-control.

And that's just the way it is. They won't know the battles that you fought to get there. Just know that I do. And your brothers do. And women, you're not exclusive to this either. I know it works for you as well. There's things you want to say in the moment, but the Spirit says not right now. We have to follow that. He knew her not until she had given birth. But this this last line always hits me. It says, and he called his name Jesus. Now listen, this is because God had told him to do this in a vision. But it's hard for me not to consider this act. This is not just an act of obedience upon Joseph, but an act

of humility. Joseph doesn't even get to name his own son because he's obedient to God. Because a true man of action does what the Lord commands. And the way Joseph reacts to all that is happening in his life, Yes, it is a model for us, especially when things don't go the way that we intend. But there's an even greater model that we have in our life. And it's the one who Joseph raised.

So let's look at our response to him. Let's look at our response to Christmas and to life and see if there's something about the scriptures that help us to understand how we should respond in this world. And I think the first thing obviously is very clear, honor. Honor. Joseph's reaction to Christmas models our response in life. Honor people because God has given us an identity. Now listen, Joseph is reacting to Christmas. Now we don't mean Christmas as in nostalgia and family tradition or the

tree or the family gatherings, but Christmas as in the birth of Christ. For him, this isn't a holiday, this is just part of his life. Yes, Mary is pregnant with the Savior, and yes, God gave him a prophetic revelation about the coming Messiah, but in all of this, Joseph shows us what sort of man he is. But remember, he's a good man, but he's not the Messiah. He responds in honor, he responds in honor, and let me tell you something that you already know. Our true colors come out, not in the way that we act.

Our true colors come out in the way that we react. That's when you show your real colors, is in the way you react to things that don't go according to plan. Everybody can be a good guy when things are good. Everybody can be a good guy when things go the way that we want. It's when things don't go the way that we want, that we show who we really are. It's when things

go south that we find out who the leaders are, who the men of integrity are, who has humility and who has pride, who has honor and who has anger. Joseph was a just man. He was a faithful Jewish man who believed in God. And like all men who not just believe in God, but put their faith in God, Joseph had a new identity. That's what we get when we believe in Christ. We are given a new identity and it's from that identity that we are to live how we are

to live and live and act. Now listen, this is both an Old Testament and a New Testament lesson, but the beauty of Christ's coming is that it's a reminder to us that what was shadowed in the faith of the Old Testament is shown in the full light of the New Testament for Jesus, the adopted son of Joseph. Jesus was that light to bring that light that we might know God more fully, that we might know who we are in God more fully.

And this is because of the gospel of Christ. And so listen to me. God has given me a new identity through my faith in Him and praise be to God because of that I'm not what I once was. I'm not fully there yet, but in the eyes of God, I am his son. I am a son in the kingdom of heaven.

And if you've called on the name of Jesus, then you are a son or a daughter in the kingdom of heaven. And that's who God calls you to be. That's who you are to be in this world. I have a new identity in Christ. And so listen to me.

In no way am I saying that I am the model to follow. I am prone to falter, I am prone to anger. But by the power of the Holy Spirit in me, I am called to live out who I am in God, who I am in Christ. And God calls me to a level of holiness and honor because that's who I am in His eyes. And that is because of my faith in Jesus and His finished work.

And the same goes for you. So if you have not yet called upon the name of Christ, call upon his name today and be dressed in his righteousness and God will see you as his son or his daughter in his kingdom. This is what we have in Christ.

And so let me ask you, where is your faith this Christmas? That's the next thing. We are to respond in faith because God has given us a savior. I said it, but I'll say it again. I know plenty of men who believe in God, but very few men who have true faith in God. And listen to me guys, it shows, it shows, it shows who believes in God versus those who actually put their faith in God. And you can

get all sorts of upset that you feel like I'm judging you, or you can actually take a moment and look in the mirror and see if I'm right. Listen to me, the clearest mirror that you have is not the one in your bathroom. It's the Bible. It's when we look and search what God has said,

when we stand apart from ourselves, when we look through the lens of truth outside of ourselves, you'll see that we all, all of us need a savior. And there's only one and his name, say it with me, is Jesus. Joseph was given the message of Jesus something he never anticipated. And so what does he do?

Hold on don't lose me on this

Joseph Was given the message of Jesus and so you know what he does He sets his pride aside and he sets his plans aside and he welcomes Jesus into his life That is what Christmas is all about, my friends. You are hearing the news of Jesus. So set your plans aside, set your pride aside,

and like Joseph, welcome Jesus into your life. Joseph was given God's message in a dream, but you are given God's message in the gospel. But it's the same message. To set your pride aside, set your plans aside, and let God come in, let Jesus take control.

And this is what Christmas shows us, that Jesus was born of a woman, that he might live a human life so that he could be the sacrifice for human sin, die a human death on the cross, and when he does, that's the penalty that you deserve.

He stood in our place, that's why he came. That baby who was born in the manger, that's the Savior who invaded earth on a rescue mission to pull you out of your own sin, to get you off the path of wrath, and get you set in the kingdom of heaven. That's what we get to celebrate at Christmas. My friends, please, don't let your big takeaway from today be that Pastor Ryan said you could put your tree up before Thanksgiving. You can totally do that, but that's not the point.

What I want you to know this Christmas is this. It's that the King has been born, and He has ushered a new rule and reign, and that's the kingdom that we get to live in. That's the kingdom that we get to represent. That Jesus came and He did all that He said that He was going to do,

and because of that, He is our only sure hope. He is the rock at which we put our faith upon. And because we have such a great hope, you know what this means? It means that we can confidently take action. And that's the last thing that we see from Joseph.

That we are to take action because God's given us an assignment. So God told Joseph to take Mary as his wife, and he does. God told Joseph to raise Jesus as his own, and so he does. He took action because that's what God told him to do. And so now you have to decide You here in the worship center you in the chapel you in the venue you are watching online And yes, you who are listening later on a podcast. It's time for you to decide. What are you going to do?

You have to decide are you going to be a person of action who responds like Joseph or not? are you going to do what God has called us to do through the gospel and receive Christ and live according to the kingdom? Are you going to follow the ways of the world and continue to be beat up by the expectations of society? Here it is, December 22. And let me give you very one thing that you can do. Now listen, I am going to the bottom of the barrel, my friends. There are many great things that God's called us to do, but I'll

give you one bottom of the barrel thing that you can do right now to respond in action. And it's simply this. Invite someone to Christmas Eve this Tuesday. We have four services throughout the day and night. Let's fill each one of them for our last Christmas Eve service in this space. And if you missed what I said last week, let me remind you, all studies show that a Christmas

Eve candlelight service like the one that we are going to have is the number one service of the entire year that non-Christians are most likely to accept an invitation to There is literally no better time than right now To invite someone to church and that is like the lowest easiest thing that you can do in response to the gospel message For those of you who have faith in Jesus is simply invite someone here

my hope My hope for Christmas Eve is that people from all walks of faith, all walks of life, walk through these doors on Christmas Eve. My hope for Christmas Eve is that people from all walks of life walk through these doors on Christmas Eve. Is that your hope? It's your responsibility to make it happen then. This is a very rare opportunity where people's hearts are uniquely open to hear something different and we have a message that's different than what the world is giving them.

And so, church, Christmas Eve is a chance for you to demonstrate the love of Christ by loving everyone who walks through these doors. Listen, we're gonna sing the gospel through songs that we know and love. We're gonna hear a Christmas message and we're gonna have a powerful visual representation

of the light of Jesus by the way that we light candles. Do not let this opportunity pass you by without inviting someone to something that God may use to impact their life. Because, you know what? This is life.

This is the assignment if you if you know and love Jesus Christ and you are to be his agent here in this world you are to be his ambassador this is what it means to live life as a Christian that we represent Jesus in this world that's your assignments and so the least thing that you can do is invite someone to Christmas Eve don't miss out on life because true life is found through the gospel of Jesus Christ,

and we get to see it in this, that Joseph's reaction to the news of Christmas shows us how we are to respond in life with honor, faith, and action. So don't miss this opportunity. You are called, equipped, and destined for this moment. So don't let it pass you by.

My friends, if you are a Christian, then you are an ambassador for Him in this world. So be that this Christmas. Walk with honor, walk with faith and be a person of action. And with that, I say to you, Merry Christmas and amen. My friends, we have this great hope because of the great call that we have in this great child born at Christmas. And listen, I don't know if you've gone and experienced the birth But it's a bloody thing. So is your salvation.

Your salvation was a bloody thing. It's what Christ did on the cross for you, that our Emmanuel came and spilt his blood. So we get to sing about that powerful act here and now. So amen. So amen. Let's stand and let's prepare our hearts.