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Joseph Used in God's Work of Salvation

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[Matthew 1 : 24]

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded

him and took Mary home as his wife.

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There is a small town in the country of Judah called Nazareth. There were two people here,

Joseph and Mary, who loved each other. The two had promised to marry.

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One day, as the wedding day was nearing, Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant.

The child in Mary's belly was clearly not his child.

 Joseph thought that Mary had cheated on him and had met another man.

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Joseph was a righteous man who served God well.

Although he was very betrayed by Mary, he did not want to embarrass Mary, whom he loved.

So he quietly decided that he had to break his marriage and went to bed.

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While Joseph was asleep, Mary's work had a complicated head.

But that night, an angel of God appeared in Joseph's dream.

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The angel of God said these things to Joseph.

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.

It is the Holy Spirit's work for Mary to have a baby.”

An angel of God told Joseph that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit

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The angel continued to tell Joseph. “Mary is going to have a son, but you should call him “Jesus.”

He will save his people from sin.” The angel told Joseph that the child Mary was pregnant with

was the “Messiah” from God.

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It is surprising that the virgin Mary became pregnant.

The Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah was a woman's descendant,

and that he came to this earth through a virgin body.

So Mary's pregnancy was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy!

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More than 700 years ago from the time the angel appeared to Joseph,

God used the prophet Isaiah to prophesy how the Messiah would come to this earth.

[Isaiah7:14] Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Now the angel was telling Joseph that the Messiah was coming through Mary's body.

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After waking up, Joseph realized that he had a great misunderstanding of Mary.

Joseph obeyed what the angel said. Joseph took his fiancee, Mary, as his wife.

The two became a couple.

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Even after becoming married, Joseph acted carefully so that the Messiah could come to

earth in holiness. He did not sleep with his wife, Mary. Joseph waited with Mary until the child,

who was pregnant because of the Holy Spirit, was born on this earth.

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Mary had a child in time. Joseph named the child "Jesus" as the angel said.

Joseph became the physical father of Jesus, the Messiah.

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It is no coincidence that Joseph became the father of Jesus, the Messiah.

God made it clear through which family the Messiah who came to earth in the flesh would come.

God said he would come as the descendants of Abraham and David, the father of faith.

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Joseph was a descendant of Abraham and David.

In the genealogy recorded in Matthew Chapter 1, it is recorded that Joseph was a family

member of Abraham and David. Joseph's becoming the physical father of Jesus is an amazing

event that reveals that Jesus is the true Messiah recorded in the Bible.

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God sent Jesus, his only begotten Son, to this earth and did what he had planned for a long time.

Joseph was a man who was properly used in God's plan of salvation by obeying the word of God

that cannot be understood by human thinking.

Joseph stood in a position of wonderful and great grace that he had never thought of.

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We, too, are in the same position as Joseph. Sometimes it may be difficult to do what God says.

At such times, I want you to think of God who worked through Joseph.

Thinking that our obedience can be used in the great plan of God,

let us be people who receive and enjoy great grace that the world cannot give by humble obedience.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)