Cooperative Obedience
Words of Faith 9-11-26
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2026
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Matthew 1
[22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means, "God with us."
[24] 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 had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1

[22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"  which means, "God with us."

[24] 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 had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

When God acts in a life, there are always two things going on-- the plan of God and the obedience of man.

God is sovereign, yet God is always seeking humans' cooperative response. In the case of Joseph, God's plan had been in the works since the beginning of time. God revealed the plan centuries in advance through various prophets. Surely Joseph began to sense that something was going on here that was much bigger than him.

After all, this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"  which means, "God with us." The God of all the universe was coming to be “God with us” in this baby to be born to Joseph and Mary.

But there was also a need for a cooperative response from Joseph. There was a need for obedience. God was inviting Joseph to participate in His marvelous and sovereign plan. Joseph would have to cooperate with this most unusual circumstance, take Mary as his wife, have no union with her, and give his firstborn son a name that was neither his own nor a family name!

Why would he do such a thing? Simply because being a part of God’s plan is always better than rebellion. Can we ultimately impede the will of God? No. Can we take an uncomfortable route? We often do. But for Joseph, no matter how uncomfortable obedience was, disobedience would have been much worse.

We don’t know for sure, but years later Joseph very likely chuckled as he reflected on any hesitation he may have felt. Obedience is always better. God’s way is always best and brings blessing that we could never imagine.

Did you know that God is at work all around you? He is inviting YOU to be a part of His marvelous plan. His invitation may not appear comfortable, but you can be sure it is more pleasant than disobedience. Once you respond in faith to His invitation, you can be sure that His blessing will far outweigh any inconvenience or discomfort.

Lord, give me the faith that I need to respond to Your invitation today. I desire to cooperate with You in Your sovereign plan. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2025
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2025 Jeffrey D. Hoy.