It's just an amazing thing. Matthew chapter one, if you will, Matthew chapter one, Matthew chapter one, you're going to be looking at verse 18 through verse 25 of Matthew chapter one. I said this morning, we talked about Mary this evening. We're going to talk about Joseph and I'm just so thankful for the things that we can learn from these people's lives. And as I mentioned this morning. Mary, her life could be summarized in that one word, submissiveness. And let's be submissive to what God has called us to do, and even when we don't have all of the answers. Here in Matthew chapter 1, starting in verse 18, notice the Bible says this, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee, marry thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all of this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, that is, the angel of the Lord, had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. Let's go to the Lord in prayer, we'll get started here this evening. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord we are so thankful for the opportunity we have to be here in Your house. We thank You Lord for the Christmas story. Lord I'm so thankful that this is not just some fairy tale, it's not just some feel good story, but Lord this is a historical account, this really happened. And Lord this was a complete momentum shift, if you will, Lord, in what was going on in the world. And Lord no one had ever came like Your Son had Lord, I pray that You would just help us to see the magnitude of the birth of Christ being virgin born, and Lord His death on the cross of Calvary. And Lord if there is anyone here that does not know You as their personal Savior I pray they would come to know You tonight. Lord as we studied about Mary this morning I pray that You would just help us to hide those truths in our heart. And Lord as we study about Joseph tonight I pray that we would learn some things And Lord, that perhaps we didn't know before or be reassured on some things that we had been taught before, but Lord, maybe had forgotten about or had slipped our mind. Lord, I pray that your name would be honored and glorified in everything that's said and done. We ask all these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. In the Bible we have of course in the beginning of the New Testament you have four Gospel records. Now it is not four different Gospels. We know that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was just put across here by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And it is the Gospel according to these men. And it would be as though you were looking at the same thing or the same individual and you have four people that are standing at different angles where they're going to see different things about that individual or that thing, about that ministry. And that's what we find as you read through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You're going to find that all of them agree with each other. They are in complete agreement, but you're also going to find some details in some that are not in others. Not because, well, they just didn't think those things were important. No, they saw it from a different viewpoint. And as you go through the gospel records here, you find that Matthew presents our Lord and Savior as the King of the Jews. He presents him as the Messiah. He presents him completely different than what the other records are going to present him. And what we just read here in Matthew chapter one is a story unlike anything the world had ever heard before. for as long as mankind has been writing, no doubt there's been different men and women, different ones that had been writing stories and things that people could read. And no doubt there were great things that were being written and great stories that people loved to hear. If we went around the room tonight and I asked what was a favorite story that you were told as a child, maybe it was from a grandparent or a parent, maybe another loved one, whatever it may be, We would all have those certain stories that would come up in our mind, and they're special to us. And no doubt there were stories that were special to these people as well. But when this happened, this was unlike any story that they had ever heard. Oh, they knew that the prophets had talked about the Messiah coming. They knew that Isaiah had talked about a Messiah that was going to come, and this one that was going to be called Emmanuel. But for many years, people had talked about this Messiah, and people had said, well, I hope he comes in my lifetime, and they had passed away. And the next generation, well, I hope he comes in my lifetime, and they had passed away. This was just another generation. These people that we're reading about in these stories here, they did not get up that morning saying, I believe Messiah is coming today. They just knew he was coming. And in the midst of everything that's going on, the hustle and bustle of life and all of these things, you find this couple, you find Joseph and you find Mary. They were espoused at this time. They were not married. They were not living together. And as you study these people, you're not going to find that God goes into great detail about their life even before, but he takes great care in telling us exactly how they reacted to the word of the Lord coming to them. We talked about this morning with Mary. Of course, she was submissive and she had some suffering she had to go through. But as the angel of the Lord came and was telling her exactly what was going to happen, we know that she asked that question. How can this be? She didn't have all the answers. And he began to explain some things. And still in the human mind, it was just inconceivable what was going on and what was going to happen. But yet she said, let it be. Let it be. And here in the book of Matthew, we find this account about Joseph and we find exactly how he reacted to the word of the Lord coming to him as well. What you find is in different groups throughout the world, there's different occultist groups and they worship Joseph and they worship Mary, but neither one of them should be worshipped. Of course, we're talking about Joseph tonight. Joseph was a sinner just like you and I. That's why he could not be the human father of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He was a fallen creature. Joseph needed a Savior just like you and I needed a Savior. When we find Joseph in this passage in Matthew, we find that he had great faith in God. Of course, there was no doubt some things that he would struggle with, just like we struggle with different things. But when you think about what happened to Joseph, when you think about all of the details of this story, and yet he still trusted God, you cannot convince me that he was not a man of great faith. Because he didn't understand all the details either. As we look at this man, Joseph, of course, we heard the other night when Brother Sean was preaching, he had mentioned some things about Joseph and did a great job expounding on those things. And we're gonna talk more about Joseph here tonight. And I want us to notice here tonight, first of all, let's notice this man, Joseph, and let's notice his faith. You know there's a lot of people throughout the Bible that are known as people of great faith. When you think about faith you'll think about Abraham. You'll think about this man that God told to leave everything that he had and just to go. God didn't tell him where he was going, he just said go. And that's what Abraham did. When you think of Moses, of course Moses had his downfalls like each and every one of us. When you picture this man standing before Pharaoh, the mightiest man in the known world of that time, and he stands there and says, God said, let my people go. When you think of Moses standing there, or you think of Moses as he was standing before the Red Sea and did exactly what God told him to do, and all of a sudden the Red Sea parted there and they walked across on dry ground. All of those things through Moses' life. When you think about Moses, you think about faith, do you not? What about the disciples? Oftentimes we give them a hard time, different failures in their life and all of that, but what I also remember is this, when the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was walking along possibly the shore there and he looked out there and he saw Peter and James and John and he told them this, he said, leave your nets and follow me. And the Bible says in a straight way, they left their nets and followed him. That takes faith. We think of these giants in the scripture, you think of Samson, you think of all of these different ones, David and Solomon, and you think of all of these prophets and all of these people that are known as people of great faith, but very rarely would you hear in the list of people of great faith would you hear the name Joseph. Oh, you may hear that name speaking of the Joseph back in Genesis. Think of this one that was sold into slavery by his brothers and this one that stayed true to his God and God didn't forget about him. You may hear about that Joseph, but very rarely would somebody mention this man. But he exemplified great faith, did he not? The Bible says, that Joseph was a just man. Look at verse 19, then Joseph her husband being a just man. The Bible says that he was just. This means that he was a man who had placed his faith in the promises of God. He believed the Lord. Abraham justified by his faith, not by his works. He did some great things, but he did not do them to be saved. He did those because he was saved, because he had trusted in the promises of God. Just as there was a time in my life when I trusted Christ as my personal Savior, I asked God to forgive me and I received Christ. There was a time where Joseph believed the promises of God as well and God counted it unto him as righteousness. God himself declared that Joseph was a just man. He was justified because of his faith in God. And that faith was a requirement. Uh, can you, uh, imagine as, as Mary was going through and having these thoughts of, of what had just happened and, and, uh, now here's, here's Joseph. He hears about these things. And, and, uh, the, the Bible says here, the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise man as his mother, Mary was espoused to Joseph. before they came together. She was found with child of the Holy Ghost." Can you imagine what's going through Joseph's mind here? Wait a second, this isn't what I signed up for. All he knew is there was this lady named Mary that he loved very much and he wanted to marry her. They had entered into the espousal period there and then now all of a sudden this news is dropped upon him. Bible says he was a just man, was not willing to make her a public example. and was minded to put her away privily. As we read of Joseph and Mary, we find that they are espoused in this passage here. And that espousal period was like an engagement period today. They were promised to one another. When a person was espoused to be married, there was no physical contact during that espousal period. And the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, many people will will point to a portion in scripture when they talk about divorce and all, and they'll say, well, see, even the Lord said for the cause of fornication you could file for a bill of divorcement. Well, that's exactly what He said. Why is that? Because fornication is before marriage. Adultery is after marriage. Once you have, once you've came together and you have been married and the document is signed since for thousands of years, there's been a legal document. It's not only between man and woman, and it's not only between this couple and the state, but it's between man and woman and God almighty. And understand this man Joseph here says he was a just man. He was not willing to make her a public example. He was minded to put her away privily. He could have broken that espousal period. He could have done that and no one around would have blamed him for doing so. Everyone would have agreed with him. You know it's easier to do things that are wrong when you have people that agree with you. This man was not making this decision because the world would look at him and say, wow, what a great man of faith he was. He was making this decision knowing that by making this decision to stay espoused to Mary, the world would mock him and ridicule him and be asking this question, maybe not to his face, but definitely in their mind. Why would you stay with a fornicator? Because that's what the world would think. Many times we make our decisions based on what people are going to say, or what people are going to think. Well, I'm not going to do this because of what my friends are doing, or what they may say, and all of those things. And many times we allow that to keep us from serving the Lord. Can I help us here tonight? Not one person is going to stand before God except for you for your life. No one. Oftentimes we do not follow the Lord and we do not, we don't serve the Lord in the capacity in which we've been called to simply because of what someone else may think. Lord help us. This man, Joseph, he was, no doubt these thoughts are going through his mind. It says here that he was, he was minded to put her away privileged. He could have done that. He could have put her away, but can you see Joseph's mind as it's turning? at this time, and as he thought on these things, there in verse 19, it says he's not willing to make her a public example, is minded to put her away privily, and he's thinking about all of this, and during these thoughts, notice verse 20, but while he thought on these things, while these thoughts are going through his head, while I, I don't really know what's going on here. I don't really know what the answer to this is. All of this is new to me. I didn't know that I would be placed into this circumstance here. And you know, I could put her away. I don't want to make her a public example, but I could do this privately and just end all of this. And it says, while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him. Many times we will beat ourselves up and we'll Ask ourselves, well, I just don't know why I'm having these thoughts that I'm having. I just don't know why these things are coming to my mind. And oftentimes we beat ourselves up because of those things. Here's the answer for that. The reason we have thoughts that we're not supposed to have is because we have a sinful flesh. But understand, God wants to speak to us, and he wants to give us the victory over those things that we're thinking about, or maybe a circumstance that we're thinking about, something that we're thinking about doing. And understand, God knows exactly what's going through our minds. It wasn't a coincidence that Joseph was thinking about these things, and that's when the angel of the Lord showed up. No, it's because God knew that this man, he had a good heart. He was a just man. It was just his flesh. There were all of these things coming about him and the angel of the Lord showed up to him and said, Joseph, fear not to take unto thee married as thy wife. Don't fear about these things. God has everything under control. And many times we would say this, well, if God would come to me like that, then I wouldn't have to worry about those things either. But can I help you here tonight? Every time you crack open this book, that's how God comes to you. He desires to speak to us from his word. God's given us everything we need right here. We just have to obey it. The angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and he told Joseph that Mary was the woman who was chosen to bring God's son into the world. Joseph heard this message from the angel of God. We read this morning in Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14, this is the fulfillment of that prophecy. Joseph knew what Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14 said. He had been taught those things from a young age. He knew exactly what that had said. But I highly doubt that ever one time growing up he thought, you know what, I'm going to be married to the one that the Lord chooses to send his son to this world through. He didn't think about that. No, of course not about a Messiah coming, but here he is thinking on these things and all of a sudden the Lord or the angel of the Lord is speaking unto him, you know I would. wouldn't think it was a far stretch to say that during this verse 20 here, while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying, Joseph thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee, marry thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and goes on talking about these things. And then in verse 24, Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. I think there's a time where when Joseph woke up, I don't think it would be a far stretch of the imagination to say when Joseph woke up he thought of the prophecy of Isaiah. He said, wait a second, this is what I had heard before. This is what mom and dad had taught me. This is what grandma and grandpa had talked about. This is what I had learned from the different priests or the scribes. This is what we had heard about. And it says here, then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him. He did not waste time. As soon as he woke up from this sleep, it says that he did exactly what God wanted him to do. This is the only time in which a human being would be born without having an earthly father. God said that he would choose a woman, a virgin to bring forth his son into this world. The Holy Spirit would overshadow her and the son of God would be born. His birth would be unlike any other birth in the history of mankind. Joseph knew that the Lord was telling him about the fulfillment of that prophecy found in the book of Isaiah, but Joseph's faith was required. Can I help us here tonight for those of us who are parents? Never discount the weight of the job that God has given to you to raise your children for Him. To have them under the preaching of God's Word. to instill in them what God's Word says, to make sure that you're living with your life. What the Bible says here, I understand that none of us are perfect, we all need the Lord, but understand Joseph here, Joseph had a foundation that had been laid in his life This wasn't something he just woke up one day and said, you know what? This is just something that I think is going to be a good thing. So I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to be the one who marries the one who will bring forth God's son. No, he had this foundation that had been laid in his life and he knew that he was to listen to God's word. He knew that, why? Because a foundation had been laid there. You think there was times in Joseph's life and with his parents and different ones that were his authority. You think there were times where they wanted to do as my dad would tell us when we would get out of line, he'd say, boy, I'm going to put a knot in your head. I needed a few knots put in my head, amen. But no doubt Joseph, he had times like that as well. He had times in which he was disobedient to his parents. He had times in which he did not follow what the scripture said to a T. He had those types of things. But when the rubber met the road here, when these things were happening, understand he remembered something that had some weight to it. It says here, then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife. I believe there was a foundation that had been laid in Joseph's life. Though we will never find ourselves in that same kind of circumstance, we're going to have to deal with things that we cannot explain, and many times it's going to cause us to think and to question what God is doing, but understand the answer always has been and always will be that the only way we are going to make it through trials is in dependence upon God. And understanding that with God all things are possible. We read this morning that for with God nothing shall be impossible. There is no victory in life apart from putting our faith in Christ. Maybe you are here tonight and you are dealing with something that you don't know how to handle. You don't know how you're going to get through this. You don't know if the victory is ever going to come. Well, the truth is, there's only one way, and that is by putting your faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and living for Him, and allowing the Lord to work through your life, being in His Word every single day. God will speak to you. He'll give you the victory. You just have to listen. Joseph's faith was not optional. It was required to make it through what he was dealing with. He had to put his faith in God. It was a requirement. First of all we see his faith. Remember this morning we talked about how Mary had a reproach. She had some sorrowing that went on. And we talked about how the Lord had connected those dots, if you will, from the sore that shall pierce thy soul also to the cross of Calvary. Joseph had a reproach that he had to go through. Notice his sorrow. This person that we're talking about, this is not someone that was a wicked, rotten sinner, if you will, as far as in man's eyes go. This looks as though Joseph lived a life that was a moral life. It looked as though he lived a life that would be acceptable or maybe even above what other men and women would do, not because he was some sort of a super but because he had his faith in God and he was willing to live for God, but he would be mocked. He would be ridiculed. But he knew that that was what would come. And he still followed the Lord. That's how we as believers should be. If we are living for the Lord, we're going to be made fun of. We're going to have a reproach brought upon us. Mary knew that she had never been with a man. She knew that all of her life, this was the truth. Jesus Christ was virgin born. She knew that man had nothing to do with the birth of Christ. People are talking. to the Lord Jesus Christ and they are. telling him that he was born of fornication in John chapter 8 verse 39-42 and saying all of these things. And what they are saying is this, well we know who our Father is. These are the religious crowd and they are talking to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and they are condemning Him and they are saying, well you were born in fornication and all that. Can you imagine being so spiritual that you miss the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ standing right in front of you? Can you imagine being so high up on your horse that you're standing there looking down your nose at the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the one that's going to hang on the cross of Calvary to die for your sins, and you look at him in the face and say this, you're a product of fornication. You say, well, I would never say that. Well, the reality is this, many times we get so stuck in our ways that when God tries to speak to us we miss it. That's how these people were. They had been taught that the law was the most important thing. That's what they had been taught. And they were focused so much on the law that they missed the Savior. He said, we know who our father is. We know that your mother was pregnant before she was ever married. We know that she was a spouse to Joseph. We know about your mother. We know how you were born. And we know that it came from a sinful beginning. So that the people. Christ. But Joseph took Mary as his wife because of his faith in God and he was willing to bear that reproach. She knew that they were saying these terrible things about her and about Joseph, but both of them had to believe God's Word over the words of men. Something believers need to understand is that this world is going to accuse us of all kinds of things. It'd be easy for us to want to just tuck tail and run. However, God's told us to do something and it's exactly what he had told Joseph to do. And that's this, to just trust in him. Just trust. Mary and Joseph, they were not wealthy people. They did not have some great mansion. They did not have some great achievement. They didn't get the attention of people because of what they had achieved and because of their worldly goods and all of that. But they had the Lord and they had one another. They had faith in God. Joseph's faith was reproached. He knew that these men would be talking behind his back, but Joseph knew something that the world did not know. If you look in 1 Peter, Look at 1 Peter chapter 4, 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 14. Now anytime you are going through something and you think, well this just isn't fair or I shouldn't be going through this, well look at 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 14. The Bible says, If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. That's a little hard to believe because we'll get all bent out of shape when we're reproached for anything, let alone the name of Christ that says, happy are ye for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part, he is evil spoken of, but on your part, he is glorified. Think about Joseph and Mary and the reproach that they were going through and understand Joseph had a hold of this truth that we find in this verse where it says, if ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. Reproach does not always carry a negative connotation with it. If we are reproached for Christ, that is because we're living for him. But that should not make us ashamed of living for Christ. This world makes jokes about God. They take the Lord's name in vain. They have a God in their imagination who loves everything that everyone does, but they refuse to see that He is a just God. Understand that if we refuse to see God as high and lifted up, and as we read in the Bible where it says, holy, holy, holy, if we refuse to see God that way, understand we have a marred view of God. What's this world want to do? They want to keep Christ in the manger as a baby. Oh, that's a that's a cute little scene. And and it's it's OK for for that to be out there. But as soon as you start talking about a cross of Calvary. And they realize that that happened because we're all sinners. Sometimes the fangs are going to come out. Sometimes they're going to accuse you of all sorts of things. It's amazing all around this world that churches, Bible believers, ones that preaching the Word of God. They are not trying to make people mad. They are not trying to cause a stir if you will. All they are trying to do is tell people the truth. And they talk about this one that died on the cross of Calvary and shed His blood for each and every one of us, and to house a free gift of salvation all you have to do is trust in Him. And this world labels that as hate speech. label those preachers as ones who are disturbing the peace. This world has a marred view of peace if they think that the gospel is disturbing the peace. You see through all of this reproach think about the faith of Joseph. Each and every one of us as Christians should be willing to bear whatever reproach is necessary in this sin-cursed world to be identified publicly and boldly with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But are we willing to bear that reproach? Are we willing to be outspoken about the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The world is going to be cruel. So, for each and every one of us here, so that you can never say, well, I was taken off guard. I didn't know that that was going to happen. Here's a help for us tonight, okay? The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said this, in this world ye shall have tribulations. Oh, wait, it's not just sunshine and butterflies for us? Tribulation. But we can get through that. Why? But be of good cheer. The same one that has overcome the world said, and I am with you always. We may not have all the answers. There is going to be a reproach that comes to us. Understand tribulation is going to come. When you're trying to do your best and you're pouring your heart and soul into something, someone will say something that they should not have said. They will speak evil against you. The devil would like nothing more than for us to give up because of what people are saying. Or, well, you don't have to do that because so-and-so's not doing it. And there's no need to keep preaching that because nobody wants to hear that. That's what the devil wants to convince you of. And too often what we find is we find ourselves living for the approval of man rather than the approval of God and we'll find ourselves in a mess. Why? Because God's plan is proven and we must follow His plan. We must be willing to bear the reproach of Almighty God upon our life. We must be willing to. Are we doing it to please God or are we doing it to please man? Man will let us down. When you do what you do for the Lord, you're going to keep marching forward no matter what people are saying, no matter what people are doing. This is the reason that Joseph could make it through difficult times. It's because he had faith in God. Yes, his faith was reproached, but he kept pressing on. I think every one of us could say tonight, I know someone that at one point was on fire for God, But they allowed themselves to get their eyes off of God based on what someone said, or what someone did, or a pain that came to them. Maybe they were hurt by someone in the church, whatever it may be. Every one of us could say, I know someone that's not serving the Lord today because a reproach came upon them in some way. All of us could say that. But let me ask you this question. Are you willing to have that said about you? When people look back and say, well, I know so-and-so, and boy, they used to serve the Lord, but something happened. Well, they used to serve the Lord, but then, you know, so-and-so said this, and this person acted this way, and I'll tell you, they were serving the Lord until so-and-so stopped serving, and then they stopped serving. Well, how could that be? It's because they're serving for man's applause. what people will think about them rather than what God would say. Not only do we see his faith, not only do we see the reproach there, but I want us to notice lastly and very quickly here this evening, notice his reward. Joseph's faith was rewarded. Think about this, he was the head of the household in which the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ grew up in. God gave Joseph a wife who loved the Lord. He was the husband of Mary. And understand, if your spouse is saved, you need to realize how blessed you are. Being able to walk through this life with someone who loves the Lord, it's a great blessing. It's a reward from the Lord that is oftentimes forgotten about. Joseph was blessed and rewarded by God. His faith was rewarded. Mary loved the Lord and her heart was given to God. And we all see that God allowed Joseph to lead this family when they received the word that Herod was seeking to kill this baby. God spoke to Joseph and Joseph took his family and they fled to Egypt under the direction of God. We as fathers need to understand how important it is, how blessed we are to have the opportunity family and spiritual matters. Joseph was rewarded by God, providing for his needs. God provides for all of our needs. Joseph was not a rich man. He did not have many worldly things. And we know that because when he came into the temple, the sacrifice that he was to give was one that the poor would give. It was just two doves. He didn't have means in which he was able to bring some greater sacrifice. No, he had to bring the doves. Why? Because they didn't have many things. They didn't have much money. The faith life, understand in the world's eyes, is not a rich life. But in God's eyes, it's a rich life. You see, through all of this, Joseph had to have faith. His faith was required, and it's still required today. His faith was reproached, and it's still reproached today in this world that we live in, in which many people, they claim to be religious. Did you know over 60% of Americans claim to be saved? Over 60%. Some say as high as 70%. Okay, if that's the thing, our nation would be completely different. There's a problem if 60% of America is saved and yet everything is happening in America the way that it's happening. You see, many times we think to ourselves that, well, you know, people are well-meaning. They may be well-meaning, but they're lost. and they need to be saved. Understand, faith is required. This world is going to make fun of our faith, but we need to understand that our faith will always be rewarded. When we look at the life of Joseph and the word of God, we need to see how God used him, how God spoke to him, how God guided him. But we cannot forget why the Lord was able to use him. It was simply because Joseph was willing to obey. You see, in Mary and Joseph's life, talk about Mary this morning, Joseph tonight, in both of their lives, we see submissiveness. And in neither one of their lives do we see that all the details were given to them. We just see they were submissive with what they had been given. Joseph did not know what the next step was, but Joseph knew who was guiding the next step. It's my prayer that each and every one of us, that we would not forget about Joseph and Mary as we read through the Christmas story, as we ponder these things, as we think about all that God has done, especially this time of year, thinking about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ being born of a virgin, that we don't forget about the submissiveness that was seen. And if we will live our life with that type of submissiveness, God will do great things through your life as well. Every person we see throughout the Bible and you see God doing a great work, you're going to see pockets of submissiveness through their life. David was a man after God's own heart. Yes, he had sin. Yes, he was not a perfect man by no means. Can I help us here tonight? David often times is put on a shelf, or put on a pedestal if you will, and people will talk about David, and they'll talk about all the great things that he did, and he did some wonderful things, but he was an adulterous murderer. That's what he was. How could God use him? He was a man after God's own heart because his heart was trending in the right direction. We're going to fail. We're going to fall. But we don't have to stay in that failure and we don't have to stay on the ground. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. We must be submissive.