WHEN YOUR DREAM BECOMES A NIGHTMARE

MATHEW 1:18-25

INTRODUCTION

Joseph the foster-father of our Lord Jesus Christ must have asked the question WHY ME? When he heard Mary was pregnant and he was not the father of the child.

What Joseph did when his plan became a nightmare is a lesson to us all this morning. When your plans and dreams are shattered, when things do not go the way you have planned remember the following words:

• God is too kind to do anything cruel.
• God is too wise to make a mistake.
• God is too deep to explain Himself.

Let us learn:-

I.  A SHATTERING DISCOVERY (MATHEW 1:18)

It Was A Time Of Excitement.

• Mary and Joseph were betrothed to one another.
• This was the ancient Hebrew engagement period, it was as binding as marriage.
• Both Joseph and Mary were excited about their future together as husband and wife
• Joseph and Mary did not expect to be exiles in Egypt, far from their home.

It Was A Time Of Expectation.

• This happened “before they came together”.

It Was A Time Of Embarrassment.

• During this betrothal period, both bride and groom were to keep themselves physically pure for the other spouse.
• Unlike our day, both man and woman were expected to go into marriage as pure virgins. The man wore black, the woman pure white, as a sign of virginity for both.
• It was during this period Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant.
• It was a time of embarrassment for both Mary and Joseph and their families respectably.
• Life is sometimes like that, you make your plans for the future and set things up just the way you want them to be, then something happens to beset your plans and dreams.
• Like Joseph, we also are blind to the fact that God is at work behind the scenes (Isa 55:8-9, Rom 8: 28, II Cor. 4:15-17).
• Remember the life of the other Joseph – He went through prominence in his fathers’ house, through a pit into Potiphar’s house and through the prison to a place of power in the palace.

II.  A SOBERING DELIBERATION (MATTHEW 1:19)

1. Joseph character is revealed.

• In the midst of this most difficult of situations, Joseph’s true self is revealed.
• Joseph was a “JUST” man –He was blameless under the laws of Moses and walked by faith in the Lord.
• It is when we go through difficulty valley and rugged mountains that we discover our true selves. (Job 1:20-22).

1. Joseph’s Choices are revealed.
2. He could publicly humiliate Mary. Mary would have died by public stoning to death. (Deut. 22:13-23)
3. He would divorce her quietly and just walk away from her leaving her to raise the child in shame and poverty.
4. He could marry her and raise the child as his own.

• These three choices were not appealing to Joseph, they were all “AVOID, AVOID “choices.

1. Joseph Compassion Is Revealed.

• Joseph was a very compassionate man – he chose to deal with Mary quietly and go through the process of (Matt 18:21-35, Luke 17:1-15).
• This process is also the command of the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 4:32).

III.  A SATISFYING DECLARATION ( MATT 1:20-23).

• Sometimes the Lord will allow us to exhaust all our human reasoning before He gives us divine directions.

1. It was a declaration of divine providence (V.20)

• God sent an angel to speak to him in a dream
• God sent a word of explanation, of exaltation and of exhilaration.
• Joseph was made to know the origin of the child, the name to be given to the child, the mission of the child.
• God knows the end from the beginning. He is omniscient God.

1. It was a declaration of divine provisions (V.21)

• God entered this world through the womb of a Jewish virgin girl called Mary.
• His son would be called Jesus Christ, the saviour of the Jews and the entire world – Jesus “Jehovah is Salvation”
• Wherever His path leads you, you can count on God’s provisions to be sufficient for the need of the hour (II Cor. 12:9, Heb. 13:5, Phil 4:19)

1. It was a declaration of divine presentations (V. 22-23)

• The child to be born by Mary is the saviour of the world, the deliverer the world has waited for. Since man sinned in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15)
• This child is to be the fulfilment of the law and the prophets (John 1:1-14, Phil 2:5-8)

IV.  A SHOCKING DECISION (MATT 1:24-25)

1. Joseph obeyed the Lord quickly

• True faith answers God’s call, true faith hears the voice of the Lord and simply does the will of God

1. Joseph restrained himself

• No sexual relationship with Mary. Mary had to be a virgin until Christ was born – true willingly puts aside its own desires to do the will of God

1. Joseph waited patiently until Mary gave birth to her son

• When the baby was born, Joseph named Him (Luke 1:63)
• What you think maybe the worst nightmare of your life might become the greatest blessing

CONCLUSION

• When your plans and dreams become a nightmare, don’t try to fix them yourself, don’t quit life, and don’t be bitter – Let God have HIS WAY – AMEN