Klc. June 22 nd 2015
Fathers day
Father hunger
God chose a father for his son
I realised on thursday that i was due to speak today and that it was fathers day
Ok i thought i can do this
How hard can it be
Well i sat to write and pray
And i never expected the mixed emotions
Joy tears thoughts
Stories. Child under 5
Dads presents cost less
I thought of single mothers who have duel roles. God bless you
And dads for whom fathers have been poor role models
And hurting fathers
Fathers waiting for the prodigal to return to father gods house
Lord have mercy
On mothering sunday we honour mothers
On father day we preach about how fathers need to measure up
No guilt trips today
God chose a father for his son
Mat 1::: 18-25 2::13-15 2:::19-25
Today is fathers day i want to speak to you about a man
A father who is very often overlooked
I think in some quarters he is overshadowed by the prominence given to his wife
Im talking about joseph the husband of mary.
And the adopted father of jesus
I have never heard anyone preach a sermon on joseph (.have you )
But i believe its a significant thing that even as god chose mary to be the one who would give birth to the son of god
So in his mighty providence
He chose joseph to be a father to jesus and to raise him into manhood
Mary and joseph were chosen together to be parents
Illustration
Film. Who will love my children
I watched it with jenny
One of those sad movies that your wife wants you to watch
As she systematically cries her way through a king size box of kleenex
The story tells of a poor family with hard working parents with a large number of children
The woman discovers that she has an incurable illness and will die within a year
Her husband is a good man but incapable of raising the large number of children alone
Particularly in those days before government assistance
And so the heartbreaking tale is of a mother who goes out searching for loving parents who will care for all her children
She wants to have them all placed before she goes
But as i recall this film it leads me to thinking about the birth of jesus
Just like that women who loved her children so much that she personally wanted to choose parents for them and not leave it to chance
Father god in the same way went looking for parents to raise his only begotten son
He searched the earth a young girl-- a teenager engaged to be married the bible says she found favour with god she was a choice young lady.
A god fearing young lady
But note.
God also went looking for a father he called mary and joseph as a couple
And here is the point of it
God clearly demonstrates for us that the role of father is a most important one
Fathers are not only needed for the physical act of conceiving a child but they are also needed for the spiritual act of raising a child
The child was conceived in marys womb by the holy spirit
A miracle took place so there was no need for a man to be involved
But a man was still needed to fill the role of father in. Jesus childhood
Having said that. Let me say a word to single parents here today
Please dont despair because father or mother are absent
There is hope god is so gracious
Though my father and mother forsake me yet the lord will take me up
The usual pattern is for father and mother
And to those single parents today we say. We salute you we honour you god bless you for your diligence and devotion
So lets look for a few moments at some of the things the bible says about joseph
1/ a loving man
Look at mathew 1::19. Read
Joseph finds out that mary is pregnant he hasnt had any great revelation yet. What is he to think
What would you think guys
You've fallen in love with this pretty young girl
You do all the right things
You persue her in the proper customary way
In stolen moments you've talked to her about dreams and a future together
A home a family a buisness
And then out of the blue you learn that this sweet girl
(you thought you knew so well)
Is pregnant newly pregnant
And you dont know who the father is
But you know there is on person you can rule out
How does it make you feel angry betrayed
Upon discovery that mary was pregnant joseph would have been obliged to divorce her
Divorce was required to finish a betrothal. Engagement
And this would have exposed mary to public shame and humiliation
But even before god spoke to joseph
He didnt have any vengeance or bitterness in his heart
He was minded for her sake to put her away secretly without a judge
Joseph was kind he loved mary
This was no mills and boon romance
This is real love based on real commitment
Men the bible tells us today that we must love our wives with all that we have
The way that christ loves the church and laid down his life for it
Joseph was a loving man toward mary
But we also see that joseph was a loving man in his relationship towards jesus
Towards jesus
When the child came along -
The child he had not conceived
There was no attitude in joseph that this boy is not my flesh and blood
There was no resentment or indifference towards him
No lack of love
Joseph adopted jesus as his own
He protected him from herods hatred he nurtured him and cared for him
He taught jesus his own trade of carpentry
He adopted the one that the rest of the world would reject
Joseph was a loving man thats the first thing that is clear
Secondly joseph was
2 / a devout man
He was a man who obeyed god
He explicitly followed gods leading and direction
He didn't follow his own marked out plan for life
He wanted gods plan
So when god spoke to him in a dream and told him to marry mary
Even though she was pregnant
He obeyed
Then when god spoke and said.
Take mary and jesus to egypt for safety he immediately obeyed
He closed up his buisness and left
And when god spoke and said it's ok to return again he did as directed
He was a man of obedience
He was a man of faith
It takes faith to pack your bags and head of to egypt with no prospects and no planing
Simply because god said so
He had faith and lived the dream
He could have made excuses and stayed where the prospects look good
But no he was a man of faith
Fathers here this morning you faith will speak to your children
Joseph was a man leaning on god
3/. He was a man faithful in spiritual duty
He set an example for his family
Going to the temple attending the feasts
He was regular in going to gods house
Our kids are watching our faithfulness
4/ he was a wise man
Now please listen to me carefully
Joseph was wise because he redeemed the time
By all accounts joseph had a shortened life we dont read of him after jesus childhood
And at the cross jesus charged john with the care of his mother
So it seems as if joseph was taken from them prematurely
But joseph had used what time he had been given honourably wisely
He had provided for his family
He had set an example that they would remember
He had raised them in the nurture and admonition of the lord
Jesus was not the only son he raised he had two other sons
They wrote books of the bible (james and jude)
James was a leader at the church in jerusalem
He raised his children and left a
Legacy after his lifetime
Conclusion
Fathers none of us know just how much time we have left with our children with our families
A year two years five years
Are we redeeming the time
Encouraging our families at every opportunity setting an example
Providing for their needs
This man joseph inspires me
I am sure he wasnt perfect but he was devoted and he was doing his very best redeeming the time
Happy fathers day
