Dear Heavenly Father

I get it. I understand that You allow things to happen to those whom You love, but I really need You right now. I am, what I would estimate as being completely broken. I feel as though I am at my last straw. I know You put on us only what we can handle but it feels as though I will break at any minute. I have faith in You. I believe in You, but I see so much going on around me and I can’t get my heart rapped around what is in my head. I can quote those Scriptures to myself as well as others but it is beginning to be hard to keep them true in my own eyes. I don’t feel the need to pastor a church anymore, I don’t feel the need to be some kind of teacher anymore, I just want to feel that You are there. I know You are but that is getting hard to keep in my mind. The cares of this world, the debt, the finances, the responsibility, all these things are weighing heavily on my shoulders. I don’t rely on these things but at the same time I I I am responsible for them and I know that. I am not trying to blame You for my situation. I am not trying to whine my way out of what I am responsible for but I am just asking for a little reminder. Just one small glimpse of hope because I have lost all hope tonight. I have nothing left to cling to but I am leading my family in a time where I feel like I am not worthy to be given such a wonderful task and that scares me. I know what You have called me to do but it has not and does not seem to be something that is going to work out. I fear so much that what I have done previously has been forgiven but that I have somehow disqualified myself like King David with the Temple. My family does not deserve to suffer from my shortcomings but that is only my opinion and I really have no say so on the matter. I can’t cause time to stop, I can’t stop things from happening. I don’t believe that You have abandoned me but I do wonder what is going on. So if I am not learning something, and walking around in this wilderness over and over then please SCREAM it out to me. You know me. You know how I learn and how I get caught up in things. If I am not listening, please get my attention. Please speak to me. Please let me know where and what I am doing or not doing. I denounce any sin in my life and I only ask for the one thing that you desire from me……LOVE

Your son

Matthew 6:6

1. A trustful father

Acts 16:16-34

The Jailer

We all know this story; Paul and Silas are in prison. They had been beaten and placed in what some have described as their hands and feet shackled together, making the pain that much more unbearable. Yet they were singing and praising God all the while (there is a sermon there).

Suddenly, there is a great earthquake and the doors are opened, and the prisoner’s chains fell off, (God really gets this man’s attention) and Paul stops him as he is preparing to commit suicide because he would surely be killed if all those prisoners had escaped.

Had he heard them singing?

Did he already know of their reputations?

Were their reputations that much more cemented by the fact that they as well as all the prisoners were still there (v28 “We are all here”)

On that day this man stepped out of the darkness and into the Light. How do we know he was a saved man? He took Paul and Silas home with him.

This was a man who yielded his heart to Jesus!

I’ll admit that when I was imagining this whole episode while I was reading it, I was amazed, not at the earthquake, or the shackles falling off the prisoners. These are wondrous things, but God was pointing me to the jailer. I saw this man taking Paul and Silas home. I saw him sharing his experience with his family. I watched as he and his family listened to Paul and Silas as they explained the price Jesus Christ paid for them, and I saw them all come to this saving grace.

This man went home a believer and his whole family believed because of him.

What a leader!

What a trust this family had toward this loving father.

Can I be that kind of leader?

Can my family trust me enough in Christ to lead them and know that I can take care of them in Him?

This family followed him because they could trust him.

Does my family know that I am going to God with our problems and needs?

Am I listening to God for counsel when it comes to my family?

Can I be that mind of leader?

What an example!

V34

How do we know he was truly saved?

He washed their stripes.

He took them in.

He fed them.

Can I be that kind of servant leader?

Can I teach my children that I practice what I preach?

Can I show that kind of humble leadership?

Or do I act like the disciples?

Jesus washed all their feet, even Judas, when they wouldnot do it because it would mean someone else might look better than they did.

How many times am I like that?

Am I giving my life, my all to Christ so that it is plainly seen in my everyday life?

I tell you it fills me with great awe at the responsibility that God has blessed me with, even though it does scare me a little.

1. A tearful father

Mark 9:14-29

Here was a father with a problem at home with his child. How very helpless he must have felt. The boy had been that way for some time and I am sure this father was at his wit’s end.

He was broken. I am sure, if given the chance, he would have taken his sons place in a minute. He had come to Jesus for help. What could have been going through his mind when the disciples couldn’t help him? He must have been literally on his knees.

This was a man who had yielded his family to Jesus

Do I have enough faith to watch my children go through something and know that God is working for the good?

Even when things look bleak?

Can I truly trust God?

Can I give my family to God?

Can I let go of the control and give them to God?

1. A thankful father

Matthew 4:18-22

All of the men mentioned here would have to have permission from their father before they just left the business. They would have only gone out with their father’s blessing.

This man Zebedee had yielded his business to Jesus.

But better yet,

This man yielded his sons to Jesus

Again, can I let go?

Can I yield my business, my work, my life, my family, and my all to Christ?

Can I be the father God wants me to be?

Can I be the husband He wants me to be?

Can I be the servant leader He wants me to be?

Children mimic their parents.

Picture this:

A man sitting in his sofa reading the Sunday paper. The door swinging open and his wife and 2 young children come filing in. His wife takes the children to church because the husband just couldn’t ever get into it. Besides, he could enjoy the peace and quiet while they were gone. He deserved it because he worked hard all week. His son comes running up and is barely listened to as he tells his father what he learned that day. Now picture that wild young boy running up the stares, and after a few seconds you hear a loud clomping coming down those same stairs. Now the father pays attention. “What are you doing there, Billy?” “I want to follow in you footsteps” Billy exclaims. That father got right up and went to the bedroom and gave his heart to God.

What kind of shoes am I leaving to be filled?

These shoes we have as fathers are some big shoes to fill. I had to really be honest and question myself. I just hope it has blessed you as much as it did me.

I pray that I fill these shoes I am blessed with the way God wants me to. I will pray for you so please pray for me.

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Gen 15:7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

Gen 15:8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

Gen 15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

Gen 15:10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

Gen 15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

Gen 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

Gen 15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Gen 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Gen 15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

Gen 15:20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

Gen 15:21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Here we have in this passage, a glimpse into a real, live, example of a human being. There are times when we read Scripture too quickly and we tend to raise those who are hero’s in the Old Testament as bigger than life figures that we could never identify with. But when we stop and look at times like these for example, we see a complete and total human being dealing with the God of the universe but feeling the same things that we do and dealing with them in the same manner as we do these days.

Doubt, insecurity, worry, and fleshly thinking.

Gen 15:7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

Gen 15:8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

We have already dealt with the fear that Abram felt, even when God had given him His Word. Now we see a hint of worry. “This is my land, How do I know that I will inherit this land?”

We still see that Abram is flesh and blood. He is a mortal, limited human being speaking to an unlimited God, and yet the Lord still deals with him with such grace and mercy, just like He deals with you and me today.

Gen 15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

Gen 15:10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

God gives Abram a sign and this comes in the form of what would be used in confirming covenants – Jer 34:18,19

Gen 15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

Gen 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

Many times, in Scripture, birds are pictures of evil. Abram had done exactly what God has prescribed for him to do. He has taken each animal and divided them as God described, but pretty soon, the birds get a whiff of the picnic laid out there before them. So Abram drives them away, but he wears himself out.

How many times do we do the same thing. We have done exactly what God has described. We have done exactly what He lays out for us, we have our work set out, laid out for God to use when He sees fit. So we wait on the Lord and right in the middle of our work for the Lord we get side-swiped with evil. We get hit with sin. The birds of evil come down to devour what we are doing and to get us side-tracked or focused on what we are doing, or our fight.

So we decide to do things on our own. We decide to please God by how hard we are working.

The natural thing is to want to drive it away, to fight for what the Lord has given us, to hit sin head on.

But that will only lead to one thing if we rely completely on our own power and our own works

Burn out!!!!!

We will quickly find ourselves in the same situation that Abram found himself in, we will be wore out, beat up, burned up, and sleep deprived when all God wants us to do is rely on Him. Yes there are things that we need to do and things we must take care of, but we must rely on the Lord for what He gives us to do.

Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

Gen 15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Abram must have been wondering what his future would be like, because God seems to throw this in. Again, this shows just how human Abram is, and it shows how our nature is. Right in the middle of all this, he is worried about himself. We also see something that many folks don’t seem to want to acknowledge – the mercy of God

Many times we hear how the God of the Old Testament is a God of death and judgment and how the God of the New Testament is a God of life and mercy but I am here to tall you that they are completely wrong.

400 years God gives the Amorites to give up their lewdness and disobedience before judgment will be handed down.

Gen 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Gen 15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

Gen 15:20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

Gen 15:21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

When two individuals come together in the ceremony of a covenant, they would take the carcass of the animal to be sacrificed and cut it into two parts. Both parties would then walk between the two halves and shake hands as a binding thing between them. The blood would signify that these two meant business and that if either one broke this covenant, there was blood to pay, meaning the outcome was death for the one who broke this promise.

Abram wakes us to see that God does not just enter into a covenant with Abram – He becomes the surety of this covenant between them, meaning that God takes the initiative to take responsibility for this covenant.

The smoking furnace and burning lamp possibly mean that the sacrifice was completely consumed, meaning that God was satisfied with what is going on.

God then proclaims the total listing of the land that Abrams seed will occupy. The Israelites have yet to receive the total given by God.

Gen 15:1  After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Gen 15:2  And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Gen 15:4  And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Gen 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Gen 15:6  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Gen 15:1  After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Abram has faced many enemy troops, he worshipped the King of Peace and turned away the King of Sodom and these are the after theses things that Scripture speaks of before us today.

He has experienced a great victory in battle and in spiritual realms but now he is living out something that we all tend to face after such great episodes—DEPRESSION!

What was it? FEAR!

Now God has come to Abram and tells him not to fear. Perhaps he is looking at all the new enemies he has made or perhaps he is thinking that he has messed up by not taking the spoils of the battle, either way it is something that we all tend to face when we have such great victories in our lives, especially in our walk with Christ.

God is telling Abram “Don’t be afraid! I am your shield!, I am your protection!” and He is also telling him “I am your reward!, don’t worry about money! I will take care of you!”

Fear and faith almost alwaysseem to go hand in hand and these usually happen together in order to draw out the other. Many times a faithful happening or an enormous spiritual  experience that builds faith usually is followed by fear of some sort. The good news is that God knows us completely and He knows how we work and so He will use these times of doubt, these times of fear to build our faith.

Gen 15:2  And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Gen 15:4  And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir

In Abrams day, not having an heir was not a good thing and if you didn’t then your servants first-born would become your heir instead.  God tells Abram that his heir will in fact come from his own bowels. This child will be Abrams.

Notice that Abram is real. He is not some whitewashed fake illustration that we can look up too. He is asking a question that we all still ask God, especially during these times when God is so quiet.

He asks God “What are You going to give me?”

OK God You are my shield and my reward but what are You going to give me? He asks God even after God has given him His word. Notice that God is so loving and patient with Abram and that gives us hope and satisfaction that God deals with each of us in such a loving way. He doesn’t get mad, or impatient with Abram He just answers him again.

Thankfully, that is how God still deals with His own. He is still patiently answering our questions, using fear if it comes up to build our faith!!

Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Here we see a marvelous picture of the omnipotence and omnipresence of our Almighty All-knowing, All-seeing God.

Now God had promised seed to Abraham and in his haste to help out God he looks to external circumstances, which doesn’t always work, especially when dealing with God. Abraham does what we all do and he gets impatient in wanting to see the work of God, but we also get to see another aspect of the characteristics of God – His timing. His ways are not ours, His time is not ours, yet His time is perfect!!!

What does this tell us?

That God is not shackled to time and space as we know it, but that He sees the end from the beginning. He does not see our lives, as we see it. He sees our begininning and the end of our lives at the same time. He knows all and He sees all. He knows the choices that we will make and the end result from which we will end up.

What does that mean in the grand scheme of things?

I am not sure how He works in regards to our lives and outcomes, mainly salvation. The Bible tells me that He loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son in order for all to be saved. In Peter’s epistle, he tells us, through the penmanship of the Holy Spirit, that God wishes for all to be saved. But not all will be saved because not all will choose Him.

I don’t fall into the party lines of those who wish to believe that we are chosen beforehand as the elect, as some see it. Nor do I choose to believe that we are all predestined to either be saved or damned. But that is just me and how I choose to interpret Scripture.

Now whether God chooses us beforehand or whether in His infinite wisdom and for-knowledge, knowing that we will choose Him instead of our own way, He calls us because we will choose Him is another rabbit trail that I am not ready to get into but it does make certain passages make sence to me

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Mat 22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,

Mat 22:2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

Mat 22:3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

Mat 22:4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

Mat 22:5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

Mat 22:6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

Mat 22:7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

Mat 22:8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

Mat 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

Mat 22:10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

Mat 22:11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

Mat 22:12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

Mat 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

I don’t believe that He would ever limit Himself in order to give us a chance to choose His way or our own. He knows us and is He sees our whole lives in an instant than He knows the choices we will make.

Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

The most important thing to remember is that God loves His children and He will provide for what they need. He sees much further than we do. He knows what is best for us. He knows much better than we do. What a Great and Almighty God we serve!!!!!

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Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

After these things, what things? This came right after the war and the resulting battle between Abraham, his followers, and these evil kings. Perhaps he was regretting turning down the King of Sodom and God might be letting him know here that he did make the right choice.

I am convinced more and more that we are in almost the very same situation that Abraham and his future descendants were in. We are in an age where great faith is needed and will undoubtedly be tested in various ways and for various degrees with each beleiver. Although faith has always been tested and streached by God in order to make us grow because, to be honest, we are generally lazy mortals who usually need a little prodding and pushing in order to grow because we usually get comfortable and adjust well to just about anything that comes our way. We mope and whine about our circumstances and how God doesn’t love us, or we aske what we must have done to make Him mad at us, or whether we made a bad choice and now we are paying or it.

Then we either get bitter and walk away and faith dies in us or we get better and we grow from the experience and we move on with what God is doing and we find that He has something wonderful planned for us that would require such rigorous training. Training that only our present trouble could provide.

I once heard a fiend say “We, as beleivers, are either in the middle of trouble, getting out of trouble, or fixin to get into trouble”. Trouble is and will always be around us and this is by fa the only way that faith can be allowed to grow when God is dealing with us because it is the only way we learn and train. He brews also tells us that this is the only way to properly please God ao then we must look at troubles in a different light than we once did.

We are in the midst of what seems and feels like an economy and community, here in America that is about to either change significantly or crumble into non- existance, but that is what could possibly be just paranoia on our part. You see, we really have always had it prety good here, especially religiously but I do believe that it will all change someday for the worse. I am not sure if our generation will see it but only God knows that.

In Hebrews we have what has always been called “The Hall of faith.” One good reading from it would actually stop a lot of the whinning and complaining, especially for those who have had it as well as I have. I know this for a fact because I read it today.

I say to my shame that I have complained, murmmurred, whinned, and cried about some really useless things to God. I have pouted and griped because my work environment has changed, I have lost wages, lost study time, and I have had to redo everything.

But I have also had to rethink everything, and I do mean everything.

“What did I do/not do?” was the standard cry to God.

“How did I sin?”, “Why are you chastising me so much?” was the cry heard from my lips.

“Where is my reward for being a good little boy?”

God had abandoned me. God had given up on me. God had let me down. You see He had not done what He said He would do.

The truth is He had not done what I thought He was supposed to do and how I love Him so much that He still blesses stupid!!!

You see, when I read the next few verses, I see where I have no reason, nor room to complain or whine at my circumstances.

Heb 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

Heb 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Another friend made the following comment the other day regarding faith

“I was talking with B**** this morning and was saying that we have always been
told…”anything worth having is worth working for”.  Sounds good and makes a lot
of sense.  That is until it comes to the gift of salvation.  It is so worth having, but
we can’t work for it.  B**** then said no we can’t, but when times get tough and
you face a struggle, having and maintaining your faith then becomes work.  How
easy is it for us to give up and blame God for the things happening around us. “

So now the passage from James has a whole new meaning

James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

It takes work for faith to stay and grow and that is exactly where God wants us

He has caused me to re-think everything. My relationship with Him as my Father, my family, the Lordship of Jesus Christ in my life, salvation, church, and life in general. I am still in he wilderness, learning how to be a nobody who can be used by God, and I am not there yet but I have faith and that is all that matters. Gid is my shield, He has been and will protect me and my family regardless of what comes our way and He is my reward. He has supplied Himself as my reward for the future. The things that I have yet to see

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The Heritage of the King Part 2

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

Joseph is the foster father of Jesus and we begin with his being espoused or engaged to Mary. Yet there seems to be a problem, although they are engaged and probably had been for some time, meaning that they were separated for each other, Mary is found to be with child!!!!!

In their culture there were three relationships that a couple had, the engagement, the espousal, and the betrothal.

The Engagement

This could take place at any time in the child’s life, because marriage was mainly by arrangement and agreement through the parents. If the circumstances were right, and each family had children around the same time, and the parents agreed on the arrangement, then their children, regardless of age, were engaged to be married at a future date.

The Espousal

This is the beginning of the point of maturity where the two partied involved could be married. Usually this would be in the early teens, ending at around fifteen or sixteen for the girl. This is like what we know of as engagement today. The man and woman have accepted the agreement of their parents, and each other, and they will set themselves apart for each other. This separation would last for a year as they prepared and planned for their marriage. During this time they are considered married because the only way to break it is through a writ of divorcement

The Betrothal

The year of espousal is over and now the marriage begins. On the wedding night, the father would take the signs of his daughter’s virginity, the bedcovers, and keep them, in case there was a question as to whether she was actually a virgin or not.

This was something that the father did in order to protect his daughter and it must have happened a lot in order for this practice to be adopted.

It is during the espousal period that we find Joseph and Mary in these passages. Now take into consideration that they were separated, physically in order to prepare for their marriage and what has come up causes a great problem.

Mary is with child, she is pregnant!!!

We can learn a lot from how Joseph reacts to this situation.

Usually we think of Joseph as an older, less important character then Mary and we miss just what kind of person he was.

He was a moral merciful man

Under the Jewish law, this constituted infidelity, or adultery, and Mary could be stoned to death for such a betrayal to her husband. Joseph was in great turmoil. He must have loved her because he begins thinking of how to spare her the embarrassment and possible death.

He was a logical man

He could have chosen to divorce her publicly and made it well known that he had nothing to do with this child. He could have taken her to the town square and had her stoned to death. Yet he chose to do not the easiest but the right thing. Regardless of what people would whisper and gossip about them

He was a dreamer

The angel came to him and told him what God was doing. He listened and did as he was bidden. He didn’t just put it away from his mind either, he arose and took her to be his wife

The virgin birth was as hard to believe then as it has been these days by the scoffers. The enemies of Jesus knew, even when He began His earthly ministry that there were suspicious circumstances surrounding his parents

John 8

37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.

There were rumors everywhere even that Mary had become pregnant from a Roman soldier, but the record is set straight here in the Gospels. What strength these two precious people of God showed because it could not have been easy. They most assuredly would have been the object of ridicule, whispering, and gossip. All the while knowing the truth that no one would beleive

The Heritage of the King Part 1

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.

   David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Jesus Christ is the only One who has a complete history tracing His lineage here on the earth. This particular genealogy traces His lineage back through David and to Abraham, both placing Him as the seed of Abraham and in the kingly line of David through Joseph, His father through marriage. God promised David that someone from his family would reign over Israel FOREVER through his descendants.

1 Chronicles 17

God’s Covenant with David

 1 Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under tent curtains.”
2 Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
3 But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. 5 For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. 6 Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’ 7 Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 8 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 9 Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 10 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house. 11 And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. 14 And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.”’”

From that time forward, a descendant of David through Solomon’s branch would sit on the throne as King of Israel – but 400 or so years later, around the time of the Babylonian captivity this line of kings had become so evil and wicked that God had endured enough and He cursed the royal line declaring that no son of the present king would ever reign over Israel again

Jeremiah 22

24 “As I live,” says the LORD, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; 25 and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return.
       28 “ Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol—
      A vessel in which is no pleasure?
      Why are they cast out, he and his descendants,
      And cast into a land which they do not know?
       29 O earth, earth, earth,
      Hear the word of the LORD!
       30 Thus says the LORD:

      ‘ Write this man down as childless,
      A man who shall not prosper in his days;
      For none of his descendants shall prosper,
      Sitting on the throne of David,
      And ruling anymore in Judah.’”

Joseph was in this line of dethroned kings that come out of Judah, which places Jesus physically in the line of Judah even if it is from marriage

And it proves that God has always had a different idea

25 ‘Now to you, O profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 26 thus says the Lord GOD:

Ezekiel 21

      “ Remove the turban, and take off the crown;
      Nothing shall remain the same.
      Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
       27 Overthrown, overthrown,
      I will make it overthrown!
      It shall be no longer,
      Until He comes whose right it is,
      And I will give it to Him.”’

This declaration comes to pass from the appearance of Gabriel to Mary before our Saviors birth

Luke 1

30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

And this will come to pass in the future physically with the return of Jesus Christ

Matthew 25:31 (New King James Version)

  
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

Zechariah 14 

4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
      Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
      And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
      From east to west,
      Making a very large valley;
      Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
      And half of it toward the south.
       5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
      For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
      Yes, you shall flee
      As you fled from the earthquake
      In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

      “ The LORD is one,”
      And His name one.

But how do we tie Jesus Christ physically to Joseph and Mary?

Some say that we can tie Jesus to Mary through the book of Luke Chapter 3. This particular genealogy traces the kingly line through Nathan, another son of David, and it goes past Abraham and reaches back to Adam

Luke 3

23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Jesus Christ is King of Kings

He is fully God – He is deity

He is fully man – He is the God-Man, He is flesh and blood

He is the King of Kings

Although Jesus grew just like any other baby, He is the only exception that ever existed

He was different. He was not genetically related to either Mary or Joseph.

How do we know?

Jesus Christ is sinless and both of his parents were under sin

Jesus Christ was a special creation, just like Adam, born with no physical mother or father although He had to be born under the Law as a Man

Galatians 4

4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Philippians 2

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 5

So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:

 7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Hebrews 6

19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7

 1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

Need for a New Priesthood

   
11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 17 For He testifies:

   
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is thebringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Greatness of the New Priest

   
20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:

      ‘ You are a priest forever
      According to the order of Melchizedek’”),

Just like the first Adam, Jesus had no physical mother or father, only God,  thus no sin nature, no inherited sin, no sinful flesh.

He was absolutely pure and without sin

Without blemish or spot

John 1:29

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus Christ is God

He is fully God

He is the Son of God

He is the Image of God

He is the Form of God

He is equal with God

He is God in the flesh

How do we know that Jesus Christ is fully God in the flesh? John 1
tells us.
How do we know that Jesus Christ is also fully man? Paul tells us in
Phillipians chapter 2, but we also have another example:
Matthew 4:1-11

We see how Jesus was tempted to do things on His own will and by His
own authority and not God’s,
Satan tempted Him to make stones into bread – and do things His own
way or AUTHORITY WITHOUT BEING THE CHRIST

He tempted Him into throwing Himself off the tallest point on the
Temple or DEATH WITHOUT THE CROSS

He tempted Him into bowing down to Satan to receive the kingdoms of
the world or THE KINGDOMS WITHOUT THE COST

In each instance Satan is constantly temptimg Jesus into using his
own authority and therby going directly against God’s.

He is doing the same today with folks.
He is telling them “you must hurry, get that license! God will bless
it! You already have the authority to do it! He will bless you for
taking the initiative and jumping out there if faith! He will be
impressed with your tenacity and your drive!”

I can say to my shame that I have been duped by these same words.

But notice that in each episode Jesus did not act out his own
authority even though He was the only One in the world with the right
to do so. He could have chosen his own will but aren’t you glad that
He didn’t?

No He chose God’s will and He bowed to the authority of God. He used
the Word of God to defend Himself, deny the flesh, and defeat the
devil. If He used the Word of God, then how much more do we need to
be in His Word?

Yet we don’t, we have other things to worry about. there is always
something more important than study to do and the cults use it
against the weaker bretheren.

When they get a new convert, they pick someone who will teach that
convert their doctrine. This person will be “on-call” to them at all
times and they will come to their house to lead them through their
teachings. They know that the very first thing that people desire is
to be loved, and they will work this up until they have their new
convert where they want them, they keep them this way up until they
have them so brainwashed that they could never leave or forsake their
beleifs. They are then completely sold out to the cult.

Why is is we don’t do that in our own fellowships?
Why can’t we love like that, a true love where Jesus Christ shines
through us?

We are armed with eternal life and we have been commissioned to go
out but we spend our time worried about ministee licenses and getting
what we want as quickly as possible and brother Bill you are not the
only one I have heard make that claim. Those Microwave Ministers are
everywhere and they are teaching the church. Would that not explain
why the body of Christ is so weak?

True taught, blood bought, lifetime learners of Jesus Christ are
needed to lead the body and they seem to be few and far between.

But I beleive that just as God has kept a remnant of Israel that
still bow to Him, that there is still a remnant of the body that is
being prepared to lead when He sees fit and when He calls!!