Sunday 21st June - Martin Kedian

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