Ordinary People

The podcast episode discusses the significance of Mary and Joseph in the story of Jesus' birth. It questions why God chose ordinary people like them and emphasizes the importance of faith and obedience. The genealogy of Joseph is explored in Matthew chapter 1, while the details of Mary's background are not provided. The episode then delves into the angel's visit to Mary, her acceptance of God's plan, and Joseph's dream where he is told to take Mary as his wife. The host encourages listeners to imagine themselves in Mary and Joseph's shoes and consider their own faith and obedience. The episode concludes by urging introspection and a deepening of one's relationship with God. Hey there, it's Anna with God's Podcast. We're going to start today's podcast with a prayer. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Father, I come to you through your Son, Jesus Christ, and I lift up each and every person listening. I ask that you open their ears, their hearts, and their minds, Lord. I ask that you give them a wisdom and understanding of your verses, and that I'm only a vessel to be used by you, Father, that I want to glorify you and praise you and thank you because you gave us Jesus Christ, your Son, who died for us on the cross for our sins. Father, we just want to say thank you, especially during this season. Let us open our hearts. Let us open our minds to you and what you did for us. We want to say thank you and praise you and glorify you because without you, nothing is possible, but through you, all things are possible. We pray all of this in Jesus' name, amen. In this episode, I want to do something a little bit different. I know we all know the story of Jesus' birth, but this holiday season, if we can look at the characters God chose to be Jesus' parents, in this episode, I would like to talk about them because they are a crucial part of Jesus' story, and it had me thinking about questions like why did God choose Joseph? Why did God choose Mary? Why did God choose ordinary people like you and I to magnify an immaculate story of Jesus' birth, a story of a virgin who gives birth to Jesus, who's going to reign and be seated at the right hand of the Father? Why did He choose the people that He chose in the stories that He tells us? Is it because we can relate to them? We can understand a life that they're living? Maybe because He wants us to know that we are loved by Him, and that He chooses people like you and me. So let's dig deep into Matthew chapter 1, which explains the genealogy of Joseph. In verses 16 through 17, it explains Jacob was the father of Joseph, and this is where Matthew explains how Joseph became. It takes us through generations of generations of generations, explaining from Abraham to David, from David to the exile to Babylon, and from there the exile to the Messiah, Jesus, and where Joseph fits in, showing that Joseph's father was Jacob, who was related to David, who was related to Abraham, and how the story goes along with the genealogy and how it all fits together. Now, according to the Bible, it doesn't really explain who Mary truly was or what she was like growing up, but it does say that she was a woman from Nazareth. She was an ordinary woman. Like I said, it does not go in great detail about who she was before she gave birth to Jesus, other than she was a virgin, who God chose to be the mother of Jesus, and eventually became Joseph's wife. Joseph was a carpenter and was Jesus' earthly father, and as the genealogy explains, he was a descendant of the fourteen generations of Abraham and David and Jacob. But ultimately, Jesus' parents were ordinary people of that time, like most of us today. Why do you think God chose those people, like Mary and Joseph, to be a part of a significant immaculate story in the Bible? Why do you think he doesn't choose famous royal people? I feel like God uses people like us, like you, like me, because God wants us to know that we too can be used for his glory. We too can be used for others to see, hear, and understand God's love. God can make miracles out of people just like us, just like he did with Mary and Joseph. He took two ordinary people who were going to be married and have a family, and through a huge dilemma, miracle in their way to show us faith, trust, obedience, grace, mercy, commitment of two people who love each other, and so much more. It is a reminder to all of us who are married, but also to believers of who God is, and even when we fully cannot comprehend or understand what God is doing, to stand firm in God and our faith. I mean, could you truly imagine being Joseph or being Mary and having this happen to you? I'm going to read Luke 1, verses 26-38 to tell you the story about Mary and what happened, and then I want you to think about while I'm reading this to you, what would you do? What would you tell the angel that comes to Mary? How would you comprehend it? Would you be okay with it? Would you do it, is the question. I know I'm not explaining exactly who they are, but I'm explaining it so that you can understand that they are people just like you and me, and this too could happen to any of us. God can put a miracle, something immaculate, right in front of us, and we have to make the decision. Are we going to be faithful? Are we going to be obedient? Are we going to listen to him? Are we going to do what he asks, or are we going to turn away? So as I read this to you, please take into consideration, what would you do? How would you feel? What emotions would you have? As I'm reading this, try to put yourself in Mary's shoes. I'm reading from Luke 1, verses 26-38. An angel promises the birth of Jesus to Mary. In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin? The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month, for no word from God will ever fail. I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May your word to me be fulfilled. Then the angel left her. Now I ask you, what would you do in Mary's shoes? How would you answer this angel? Would you be obedient to God? Would you listen to God? Would you be willing to answer just like Mary did? May your word to me be fulfilled. Now I'm headed to Matthew 1, verses 18-25. An angel appears to Joseph. 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. 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. But after he 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. 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. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife, but he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Jesus. Now I'm going to ask you, put yourself in Joseph's shoes. What would you do if you were Joseph and your soon-to-be wife told you she was pregnant? Would you believe her? Would you stay with her? And if an angel came to you in your dream, would you believe it? Would you be obedient to what he's telling you or she is telling you? Would you listen to what God tells you to do? Think about it in today's world. Think about what people would think of you. Think about what people would say about you. This started making me think about how strong truly is our faith? How firm are we in what God tells us to do? Are we obedient? Do we worry about what others think of us, if we might be crazy or insane? Living in today's world, it would be a hard story to try to tell your significant other or have them believe what you're actually saying. We live in a world where everything is right up in our face. The media, the news, social networks, and everybody's business is everywhere. Could you imagine this story being told today? I feel like we live in a society where we lack faith, where we lack Jesus, where we lack the ability to stand firm in what we believe in. I feel like we live in a society where sex is overrated. And if you tried telling this story to your spouse today, it would not end the same way. So the reason why I decided to choose characters this season is because we need to take a look at ourselves. We need to take a look at our inner hearts. We need to take a look at how we live in faith. Are we obedient? Are we truly believers? Do we truly have faith enough to believe a story like this? Could we be the same as Mary or Joseph in this story and be obedient to what God is telling us? I feel like this season, we need to dig deeper, not only in God's word, but in ourselves, in our actions, in our minds, what we surround ourselves with, what we are watching, what we are reading, and how we are treating others. Because if we can't stand firm in our faith, and if an angel were to come to us and give us an immaculate miracle that is so unbelievable that people would think that you are crazy or insane, and you can't follow through and be obedient to God, then you have some work you need to do. And you need to stand firm in that faith, you need to stand firm in that obedience, and you need to learn to have relationship and trust God in all things and everything that he tells you to do, even if you look crazy to others, even if you do not fit the mold of society, even if it goes against the grain, because God's word is an example to us of what faith is like through the story of Mary and Joseph, and we need to work on that faith each and every day. So I'm going to challenge you this season to do the Jesus Challenge, which stands for J, journaling, E, experience, S, study, U, understand, and S, speak, which means be in writing with God. Share your experience with others, study his word, understand his word, and speak his word to others. If you can do that this season, please, because we all need God and we all need to share him with others each and every day, because we live in a world where we lack Jesus, where we lack being like him, kindness, understanding, and being free to speak about our love for God. Don't be afraid. Open your heart and do this challenge this season. So until next time, keep bibling, keep spreading God's word. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and share it with somebody else in need, because we all need God each and every day, and you don't know who you may help by doing so. Until next time, friend. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Father, I come to you through your Son, Jesus Christ, and I just want to say thank you. Thank you for coming, allowing us to be able to come and listen to your word, to be able to stand firm in our faith and get better understanding, that you give us words and understanding and wisdom, and that you continue to keep blessing us and continue to keep pouring into our hearts your word so we can share it with somebody else. Father, I just want to say thank you. I want to glorify you and praise you. In Jesus' mighty name, amen.