TITLE: Christmas Encounter
INTRODUCTION: How’d you like all that snow? Where’s our north of 90 crowd? You’re probably watching online. Doesn’t it just feel good to be part of history? You’ll all be able to tell the story to your grandchildren. They will talk about it for years. Classic photos will be distributed.
We only got a foot of snow so there’s not much to talk about. Not compared to 3-4 feet! You guys! And you may get even … more! And more snow means more to talk about!
It was hard on us because we didn’t get to see my grandson on his birthday. We didn’t see him Thanksgiving because Friday was our day. Not Saturday either! It was disappointing but I don’t control the weather. Have to take it.
Some people experience upheaval that completely changes their plans. Their future may look nothing like what they had dreamed. However, people who experience pain and hurts at a deep level also find a deep level walk with God. Oswald Chambers called it “soul certainty”. He was writing about Job and all that man went through but Job found that God was still there and still good. He learned God in the trenches of life rather than merely from the pages of a book.
There is nothing like some pain to sharpen our focus on the power and love of God. Job had a lot of questions but he also said, “My Redeemer lives”. We encounter God in the hurts of life!
READ: Matthew 1:23
CHALLENGE: Encounter God’s Presence in Pain
Matthew 1:23 – “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[a] (which means “God with us”).
What a beautiful verse but it comes in a larger context of the powerful Angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph in a dream to explain Mary’s pregnancy to him. Joseph was hurting.
(trans.) What can we learn.
- LOOK FOR GOD IN THE DARK
Vv18-19 – This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: 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.
There are problems but God is working! This is true throughout scripture. Man born blind? God is working! Job? God is working. Lazarus died? God is working. Jesus going to a cross? God is working. God is always at work.
Joseph is engaged to Mary. And before they were officially together as husband and wife, she was found to be with child. The baby bump can’t be hidden. It’s not his child and that was painful. She’s carrying the Messiah but Joseph doesn’t know that yet. What he did know was that the girl he loved and planned to grow old with was pregnant. His life plans were dramatically altered. Visions for the future disappeared like a mirage. Dreams were shattered.
We learn significant lessons about God in life’s classroom of pain. Joseph’s was now weighing the options. He could publically shame her! I’m sure it was ultra-embarrassing as word would get out. “She was found to be with child”! Eyebrows raising, tongues wagging and fingers pointing!
Joseph has a lot to think about and he’s making the best decision that he can.
- In the Dark, React in the Light of God’s Word
It says in the Bible that he was a righteous man. The NIV translates it as “being faithful to the law”. Joseph was a good man who wanted to do the right thing by Mary. He was still guided by Scripture even though he was hurting!
- Act Consistent with Good Character
Hurt doesn’t excuse bad behaivor or give you permission to be a jerk. Some take the idea of Joseph being a just man, as referring to his character. He’s good and kind. He’s not going to shame her publicly because that’s not who he is.
In the Old Testament, they would have stoned Mary. Perhaps here, she’d be wearing the proverbial scarlet letter. Perhaps they would trot her out for a public humiliation like the adulterous woman drug before Jesus. Everyone looking, talking, blaming, and shaming.
Joseph chooses to be kind. He’s not seeking retribution. He’s not looking to punish Mary. It’s not who He is. Circumstances don’t change your character. If you’re a charitable person, people being mean doesn’t change that. When you’re patient, impatient people can’t alter you. Face the darkness with character and keep being who you are, not who the word wants you to be.
If you’re a loving person, that doesn’t alter, right? If you’re nice, you’re just nice! Keep being good even when the world is bad.
- Live According to the Bible
Are you heavy hearted? Don’t know what to do? Confused? Angry? Hurt? Come back to the Scripture and ask this question, “How does God want me to respond”? What’s right? Because right is not dictated by your feelings!
Follow Joseph’s example and react in the light of God’s Word! I’ve shared this before but if a diver is in the deep dark and gets lost, the bubbles always go up! Follow the bubbles because those bubbles aren’t going to lie to you. God’s truth will always lead you back to the surface. Do the right thing.
I’ve said this many times! If you do the right thing, you’ll always land on your feet! You don’t go to the bar or sleep around or lean on drugs because life isn’t going your way. You responding to wrong by doing wrong just makes things worse.
The Old Testament Joseph was a fantastic example of this. He was mistreated and sold as a slave by the brothers who should have protected him. He kept doing the right thing and God blessed that!
- In the Dark, Look for God’s Involvement
v.20 – 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.
The angel of the Lord appears! Pain does not nullify God’s presence! Your hurts don’t mean that God isn’t doing something special in your life.
The child to be born WAS from God. The selection of Mary was from God. The intervention to help Joseph, was from God. The Heavenly Dad is still right there!
Sometimes we cannot see that because it’s not immediately obvious. It feels like He’s so far away! Yet God sends an angel to Joseph. He was obviously aware of Joseph’s concerns. He was even working to keep Joseph and Mary together, for their good. And sometimes when we are at the last knot in the proverbial rope, we experience God in a new, powerful and personal way!
Truth is, it’s the storms of life that make you run for cover in the church. It’s in pain that we’re more willing to grab hold of God’s hand! It’s in the dark that we see the light.
Where you do see God’s involvement in your world? Where have you seen it? I see the involvement in answers to prayer. I’ve seen God move in phenomenal ways through crisis and I thank God for it.
In this Christmas season, may God be especially real to you.
B. OVERCOME YOUR FEARS
v.20 – 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.
- Fears Can Be Put Aside
Joseph, son of David. Joseph was a part of God’s plan! He’s told not to be afraid! Don’t be scared to take Mary as your wife!
What might Joseph be afraid of? He might be afraid of what people would say. What if they didn’t believe the story? What about his reputation? Would he be seen as immoral? Could it impact business? Would Jesus be seen as an illegitimate child? What about the responsibility? This is something that would bring a stigma to his life I’m sure. So, from that perspective it would be very difficult.
Fear is a road block! A lot of times we’re not stepping forward because we’re afraid to do it. Fear is like all the snow that makes the roads impassable. Faith is sunshine and warmth.
Joseph, son of David. Don’t forget who you are. It’s good to remind ourselves that we are a child of God! Don’t be afraid! Specifically, the fear for Joseph is marrying a woman carrying a child not his own. He’s afraid of what’s going to happen. What will people say. That’s all stuff you don’t control.
Stop worrying about what you don’t control and trust God! We don’t need to worry about what everyone else is doing. What they say.
See God as that person who is always there because the more we trust God, the less we fear!
The future is scary. Pain is scary. Uncertainty is scary. Doing new things is scary. But what is God calling you to do? I’ve been out of my comfort zone plenty of times but God is faithful. Please don’t allow it to control your life. What if I take a stand and do right? If we didn’t overcome fears, we wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing today.
I appreciate the encouragement of God. And sometimes it’s the encouraging word that helps someone over the hill of fear! “Don’t be afraid, you can do it”. “Don’t be afraid, it’s going to be alright”. God encourages him in the right direction.
What are you afraid of right now? Where might God say, “Don’t be afraid”?
- There is a Purpose to the Pain
V21 – She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”
She is going to give birth to this child and you will give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins! He can absolutely help any one of us to fix the messes we’ve made. He can pull us out of bad places.
Let’s understand that the desire and movement of God is the salvation of people. He wants to rescue and deliver. You’re here today and perhaps God is doing something special in your life to help you to draw closer to him. He is in the process of saving you.
The biggest issue we have is the penalty of sins.
Cf to a marble in your pocket. One for each sin. Now swim across the lake with those marbles. It’s impossible! You need Jesus! He takes all that you owe! He paid it on the cross.
There are times I’m going through deep waters but God has a purpose in it and I take comfort in that! Happy Times Can Come from Hard Times. You’re afraid of the child in her womb! That child is going to change the world! Don’t be afraid! Better days were ahead. There’s a purpose to it.
C. COMFORT IN GOD’S PROMISES and PRESENCE
Matthew 1:22 – 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”[g](which means “God with us”).
I don’t know that if I have ever thought about this verse from Joseph’s perspective. But what did the promise actually mean to him? He’s thinking about divorcing his wife and the way the angel is changing his thinking is quoting Scripture. Your wife being pregnant is fulfilling a prophetic Scripture.
So, from Joseph’s perspective, the ordeal is going to make much more sense now. The very first application of this verse in the New Testament is to him. You can take Mary because she’s the virgin that would be with child!
God does fulfill the promises and that is comforting.
- God’s Promises Bring Comfort
God fulfills His words to us. There are some wonderful promises in the Bible and I appreciate that I can count on them! For instance, if I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me of all of my sins. This is the power of God to wash away sins and get rid of them!
He even promises to make a way out! He promises to save all who call on him.
I remember years ago, I had a friend and we were trying to use chemicals to break the rust off old rare metal fruit jar closures we had found. My friend gets a special chemical to break off the rust. A day later, he check on it, and it had dissolved completely!
God promises to take our sins as far as the east is from the west! He promised to purify us.
A lot of people believe that people cannot change but that’s untrue! We see that God is powerfully to change people’s lives. God gives wisdom, guides, protects, answers prayer!
God will fulfill his word and none of his promises will go undelivered.
- God’s Presence Brings Comfort
I typically think of this verse from the human perspective of our lives. Immanuel means God with US. This is such an encouraging verse. Wow!
And I love how it interprets the name for us. It’s God WITH us! The word “with” by definition means “aid or help”. It means to be with someone and to help them!
I remember my kids when they were younger were with me a lot. They didn’t necessarily help me LOL! They would stand there and everyone once in a while I’d ask them, “How am I doing”? “Am I doing a good job”? Pick up the shovel or rake or whatever we were doing. Get moving!
Being with someone isn’t that great if you’re not helping. This winter I bought a snow blower. That is going to be an enormous help to my back.
I saw people calling out for help but I’m not from near enough to help them because I’m in south county. You realize, those near were in the best place, not me.
I have so often seen that God has answered prayers and I’ve stood back amazed and realized that I owe him all things. He really comes through.
God asked Moses to go to Egypt to request the release of the Jewish people and to lead them to the promised land. What was the comfort? I’ll go with you. He had many concerns but God came through!
In Psalm 23, we will fear no evil because God is with us. When God is with us, we don’t need to be afraid!
You will call him Immanuel which means, “God With Us”. And the proof positive is the birth of Jesus which we celebrate this Christmas season. Every time we think about the manger and a nativity remember that this is “Immanuel. It’s God with us”.
Let’s look for that and seek not just an answer to prayer but to sense that amazing presence!
And the fact that he would even want to go is a beautiful thing. Being with others is the most powerful thing in the world.
What you have going on right now? God is with you!
- Jesus is the Ultimate Gift to the World
Jesus Christ is the ultimate gift to the world! This son, who will be named Jesus will also be Immanuel. God with us! He’s also Jesus the one who saves from sin!
Sometimes we need to come back to our roots. Back to the biblical foundation of God being with us. And then purpose. Jesus had a purpose to save the world from sin.
Joseph had to make a decision to accept and believe this news that the child really was the Savior of the world. That God was really doing a work in this situation. It took faith.
Do we really believe in Jesus? Do we really believe that He is the Savior of the world? Do we really believe that God sent Him to us to help and change our lives?
If nothing else, let’s allow this to be a season of faith!