TITLE: What Joseph Can Teach Us About Shattered Expectations TEXT: Matthew 1:18-25 THEME: God’s plan is greater than our shattered expectations.

"You'll shoot your eye out."

We identify with Ralphie because we have all had a dream that has been unrealized or even shattered.

Matthew Murray “Why didn't any changes occur or any love or help come when I accepted you as Lord and Savior?”

How should we respond when our expectations are shattered?

I. Be faithful to God in your uncertainty (18-19)

Matthew 1: This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

I. Be faithful to God in your uncertainty (18-19) A. Joseph had a right to be disappointed and angry.

I. Be faithful to God in your uncertainty (18-19) A. Joseph had a right to be disappointed and angry. B. Joseph sought what was right in spite of his disappointment and anger.

Joseph teaches us, "Be ready to accept God’s Will, whatever it might be." Joseph was open to the will & leading of God. But it did not come without a cost. He had to give up his expectations that he had spent much of his life waiting for

After her third and fourth divorce Brinkley claimed, "I can now say unequivocally I would never get married again." And if she ever designed another line of perfume based on her feelings of marriage, she has a perfect name for it: "Stinks," she said, "I would have to call it Stinks.”

Many are disappointed in how things have turned out for them. As believers we can cry out, like Joseph must have cried out, "God, how can this be?" But like Joseph we hear a still small voice from God saying, "Trust Me."

How should we respond when our expectations are shattered?

II. Listen to God to understand his greater plan (20-23)

Matthew1: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew1: She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

II. Listen to God to understand his greater plan (20-23) A. God communicated his plan to Joseph.

II. Listen to God to understand his greater plan (20-23) A. God communicated his plan to Joseph. B. God had a significant role for Joseph to play.

His task is this, "Take care of Mary and the baby Jesus." Joseph had the important role of caring for the needs of others. Had Joseph not obeyed Jesus would have been born in a fatherless home and in poverty. Joseph provided the foundation for Jesus’s upbringing.

II.Listen to God to understand his greater plan (20-23) A.God communicated his plan to Joseph. B.God had a significant role for Joseph to play C.God’s plan was greater than Joseph’s expectations.

“Does God speak to you?”

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God— this is your true and proper worship.

Romans 12:1-2 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

How should we respond when our expectations are shattered?

III. Act on Gods new plan for your life (24-25)

Matthew 1: When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

III.Act on Gods new plan for your life (24-25) A. Joseph did what was commanded of him

The name Greek name Jesus is the same name as the Old Testament Joshua. Jesus and Joshua are essentially the same name it is just that the Greek alphabet does not have same letters to coincide with the Hebrew. Both names come from two Hebrew words: Yahweh and Shua which combined means “Yahweh saves.”

III.Act on Gods new plan for your life (24-25) A.Joseph did what was commanded of him Joseph’s role in the life of Jesus is significant.

It seems God had a better plan than what Joseph had envisioned and I can imagine later in life Joseph praised God for the privileged role he had been given.

Darius Rucker- That God for what I missed Got a baby girl sleeping in my bedroom And her mama laughing in my arms There's the sound of rain on the rooftop And the game's about to start I don't really know how I got here But I'm sure glad that I did And it's crazy to think that one little thing Could've changed all of it

Darius Rucker- That God for what I missed Maybe it didn't turn out like I planned Maybe that's why I'm such, such a lucky man Like the girl that I loved in high school Who said she could do better Or that college I wanted to go to 'Til I got that letter

Darius Rucker- That God for what I missed All the fights and the tears and the heartache I thought I'd never get through And the moment I almost gave up All lead me here to you I didn't understand it way back when But sitting here right now, it all makes perfect sense

Darius Rucker- That God for what I missed How I cried when my mama passed away But now I've got an angel looking out for me today So nothing's a mistake For every stoplight I didn't make Every chance I did or I didn't take All the nights I went too far All the girls that broke my heart

Darius Rucker- That God for what I missed All the doors that I had to close Everything I knew but I didn't know Thank God for all I missed 'Cause it led me here to this It led me here to this Thank God for what I missed.

APPLLICATION 1. You will have shattered dreams and unrealized expectations in life. That does not mean that God is done in your life or that He will only grant you second best. In fact He may have something far greater in mind.

APPLLICATION 2. Our attitude and trust in God shape us significantly. If we harbor anger and resentment for the hardships we have faced in life we will become disillusioned with God and we miss out on his bigger plan.

APPLLICATION 3. When we listen to and obey God in spite of our hardships He will bless us beyond our greatest expectations- even if that requires us to wait.

Tony Snow "We want lives of simple, predictable ease— smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see— but God likes to go off-road."