Today we are continuing to our series as worship. We’re taking a look at worship through the events of Christmas. I hope you’ve been enjoying the devotionals we prepared though the week. If you don’t have a copy there are a few left in the back. Also if you want to take one to share with someone, this is a great way to share about our church, but most importantly about our God so one and either use it or give it away.
In this series we’ve looked at how adoration and singing is a part of worship. That is what most of us think of as worship and we saw that with the angels and shepherds. We’ve looked at how obedience is a part of worship through the story of the wise men. Those men that we know very little about but we we know that worship was their motive and obedience was the result. We’ve looked at how prayer is a part of worship through the story of Zechariah. The key elements we saw there are that even when we have to pray for something long-term that doesn’t mean the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is, “yes” but it has to wait on God’s timing not ours. Secondly we must also be believing. Too many times we are like Zechariah and even though we know that we are praying to the God of the universe we still think that our limitations apply. The good news is that they don’t, not to Him. That is why we are to pray was worship. When we worship we put the focus on something, hopefully, other than ourselves. It is our all that is within me response to all that God is, and says, and does. When we do that our faith is in Him, not in ourselves, and we will understand that He is the answer and not us. Zechariah became an example of unbelief in the heart of a believer, but God didn’t let him stay there. If you’re praying and the answer is delaying hold on to your faith and remember the one who you are praying to. Make Him the focus, of not just your prayer, but your life, Everything that you say and do and believe, that is worship. It is not just a Sunday morning event, not just to music in your car. It is trusting Him, following Him, and listening to Him with everything that you have and do.
Today we are going to look at the life of another man that we know very little about, but who I believe understood this principle very well. I believe that because we see it in his actions. His name is Joseph and He was the step father of Jesus. We’re going to look at what Matthew 1 tells us about him.
Matthew 1:18-25, ‘This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about; His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 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. 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 be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him ‘Immanuel’ – 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 had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
We don’t know as much about Joseph as you might think we would about someone who played such a key role in the earthly life of Jesus, but what we do know tells us a lot about him and I think we can see parallels in our own lives. One of those is that we all make plans. We plan vacations, we plan things for our families and kids. We plan projects. Right now you have plans forming for how to spend next weekend. We plan lots of things. We generally make plans focused on our happiness and advancement. We don’t generally plan things that we aren’t going to like, unless we have too. Think about how many people you know schedule their regular cleaning at the dentist. On April 15th look at how many people will be lined up to drop off their taxes, and we live in a world where you can do that over the internet. We just simply don’t like to do things that will be unpleasant, so those aren’t the things that we plan for.
Joseph was like us, he had been making plans. He was betrothed Mary. It meant way more than just being engaged. This was about a year long process. It involved building a room to be her bridal chamber. It involved saving money. It involved purchasing and planing what was necessary for a week long party. Betrothal was a big deal. It took a lot of effort, and a lot of planning. But I’m sure Joseph was fine with it, because he had life with his new wife to look forward too. See because of all of the effort that he was going to have to go through, she would have already been considered his wife during this this time. He was planning and preparing, but it was a happy thing. We can relate to all of that. Maybe you can remember planning for your wedding. Maybe a vacation that was far too long in coming. We can all relate to planning something that we were looking forward too.
Think about this, remember that feeling, and think about how you would feel if because of something that you had no control over, something that wasn’t your fault, you had to give it up. That is where Joseph was. He would have been working so hard on those wedding preparations, so hard to make everything perfect and then, bam, his wife turns up pregnant, and it’s not his. All of his plans are ruined. We’re like that, we make plans, but even our best plans are subject to interruption.
When Linda and I first God married it was a great day. We were so happy. I was working as a Senior Staff Accountant at Circle K. Everything was going well. We went on our honeymoon and came back. I went back to work. It was a good time. We were making plans to buy a house, we were talking about when we wanted to start our family. We were making plans. But plans change. Most of your will remember that we ended up waiting 14 years to start that family. But it was more than that. We got married on November 12th, got my first ever Honey Baked Ham as a bonus from work for Christmas. I didn’t even know what one was. Then the day that we went back to work after New Year’s. Circle K reorganized, my position was one of several thousand that was eliminated. It was a bad day. What do you do when you’ve had all these plans and now they are interrupted? When you’re driving home, trying to think of how your new bride of less than 2 months is going to respond to the fact that you beat her home from work and worse that you won’t be going back? What do you do.
You’re thinking I’m going to say you turn to God, but hopefully you’ve already been walking with Him. So either you turn to Him, or you just start talking to Him. Either way you take it too Him and you cry out to Him for help. Tell Him, about your fears, tell Him about your hopes, even that ones that you’ve lost, tell Him what is going on. He already knows, but He wants to hear it. As you do so, you know only get the benefit of seeking the help of the most powerful being in the universe, but emotionally, you begin to transfer your burden to Him. it may be something that feels to great for you, the reason is that it probably is, but it’s not too great for Him. So tell Him about it. Let Him share in carrying your burden with you.
Think about your burdens and then think about the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 46. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah.” Selah, pause and think. Think about that. We have all of these things that go on in our lives and we think that they are so big, they can become mountains in our minds. But they are nothing compared to what God can do. You think you’ve had a bad day or face difficulty? The Psalmist says, “Though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the sea.” You think your problems are big. We still have ground to walk on. Even when calamities strike. God is still there, nothing changes that, nothing removes Him. He doesn’t get board, or lose focus on us because of ADD. He is ever present. He is always there. Worship allows us to focus on Him, and simply to acknowledge this truth. He is there and when your plans are interrupted, his in not just ever present, He is help in time of need. The best thing to do in those times, is to turn to Him, it is a form of worship, because we focus on Him as our help, we tell Him our hurts and fears, and then we believe that He can and will help us. It may not be in our time, it may not be the way we thought, but God is faithful. Our job is to believe, worship Him, and then do what He tells us to do, or what is consistent with what He would want us to do.
It is a decision that we have to make though, we can feel sorry for ourselves, we can try to fix it ourselves our we can seek God. This is where we find Joseph in Matthew. Joseph had made plans but now he was at the point of decision. What does he do with Mary, he could have divorced her while letting everyone know what was going on. He could have publicly accused her, which may have resulted in her stoning. But he finds a third option a compassionate one. It says, “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Do you see it? He had options. He had things that He could have done. Things that in the flesh might have made him feel better. But he made the decision he did “because he was a righteous man.” He was walking in the footsteps that he felt God would have for him. What a great example for us. When we have plans, when those plans blow up, what do we do? It starts with prayer of course, and we when we pray, then we listen and wait for an answer. But while we are waiting we need to move in a direction that is consistent with the character of God and with what we know about God.
Why is it important to be in a Bible Study class? Why is it important to read your Bible and read books on the Bible by solid theologians? Really simple, so that you can know God better. So that when the storms of life hit, when your plans are interrupted you are familiar enough with the character of Christ to know where he is leading.
I want to share with you this story of someone who had plans and then had them interrupted. Every time he started to move forward something interrupted again. Yet out of that time came perhaps the crowning achievement of his life.
It was 1741, and an old man was wandering the streets of London. His name was George Frederick Handel. At this point, he was angry at life. His mind kept going back to the time when he was famous and had the applause of royalty and the elite of London. But now his mind was full of despair and hopelessness about the future, for the applause was gone. Others were now in the spotlight and envy began to possess him. Added to that, a cerebral hemorrhage paralyzed his right side. He could no longer write, and doctors gave little hope for recovery. The old composer traveled to France and began to soak in the baths which were said to have healing effects. The hot mineral baths seemed to help, and his health began to improve. Eventually, he was able to write once more, and his success returned.
But then he faced another reversal. Queen Caroline, who had been his staunch supporter, died. England found itself on hard economic times, and heating large auditoriums for concerts was not permitted. His performances were canceled, and he began to wonder where God was.
Then one night, as he returned from his walk, Charles Jennens was waiting at his home. Jennens explained that he had just finished writing a text for a musical that covered both the Old and New Testaments, and believed that Handel was the man to set it to music. Handel was indifferent as he began to read the words which Jennens had put together. But then his eyes fell on such words as ‘He was despised, rejected of men. . . he looked for someone to have pity on him, but there was no man; neither found he any to comfort him.’ His eyes raced ahead to the words: ‘He trusted in God. . . God did not leave his soul in hell. . . He will give you rest.’ And finally his eyes stopped on the words: ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth.’ He became aware of the presence of God. He was aware in a new and profound way, and as he picked up his pen the Spirit of God was moving, and music seemed to flow through him. He finished the first part in only seven days. The second section was completed in six days.
Many will remember that when the classical work was first performed in London, and the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ was sung by the choir, King George II was so moved that he stood to his feet. To this day, people still rise to their feet as the great chorus is sung in praise to God.
In reflecting on Handel’s Messiah, Joseph E. McCabe wrote: “Never again are we to look at the stars, as we did when we were children, and wonder how far it is to God. A being outside our world would be a spectator, looking on but taking no part in this life, where we try to be brave despite all the bafflement. A God who created, and withdrew, could be mighty, but he could not be love. Who could love a God remote, when suffering is our lot? Our God is closer than our problems, for they are out there to be faced; He is here, beside us, Emmanuel.”
Emmanuel, God with us. What happens when our eyes or focused on Him. When worship in the center of our lives because we want to make God the center of our lives? When that happens even sacrifice can become a victory. Handel writes the Messiah, Joseph becomes Jesus step-dad. Joseph made his plans, they were in accordance with righteousness. That is implied by Matthew’s note. But then God speaks. He sends Gabriel to tell Joseph His plans and Joseph makes the sacrifice to endure the ridicule that would come from reconciling with Mary, to endure the looks and second guesses. People wondering if the child was his after all, people wondering if he just didn’t have enough pride to move on. To follow through and do what God commanded.
I believe that we all would have made that choice, especially when commanded by and angel. Especially when the blessing is to raise the Messiah, what a blessing that must have been. but understand that there was a sacrifice involved with it. This was going to cost Joseph something. Life is like that with or without God. Getting the things we want requires a cost. If you want a paycheck, you go to work. If you want your yard to look nice you endure 120 degrees. If someone you love is hurting and you can help them you do, even if it costs you something. Most people have to sacrifice something in life. Sometimes there is a pay back and sometimes there is not. But with God there always is. God doesn’t waste a hurt. He uses them to bless us and to bless others. But sometimes we don’t even see what God’s plans are we can miss them.
If you want to know about God’s plans compared to ours simply look over at Isaiah 53, the chapter that contains those words that so inspired Handel. If you want to learn about what God’s plans are like look at these first few verses. “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” These verses have so much in them but here’s what I want us to see for today. God’s plans are not like ours. Often we would do things one way and God chooses to do them another way. Because of that we can miss where God is moving. See, God’s plans don’t always attract our attention at first.
We expect God to be moving in the big things and He’s often moving in the small things. We can miss Him at first. Isaiah said, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.” If you you’ve been praying, you’re waiting for God to show up. Look for Him in the little things. When Linda and I started praying for a child we didn’t know how long it would be. We didn’t know the trials ahead. Sometimes these things take time, and I was willing to put in the effort. During that time we were volunteering with a youth ministry. Then we got called to do it full time. As the years past we formed and attachment to those kids. We knew that part of it was because we didn’t have children of our own. There were Mother’s day lunches and cards, the kids that still call us their second parents. We took comfort in that knowing that God was using our hardship to be a blessing to others. We saw Him moving, even though our prayer didn’t seem to be answered. It is not a coincidence that as we moved out of youth ministry we got a call from someone who knew us and knew our hearts because of our ministry called us on behalf of a family member. God was moving the whole time in small ways preparing His answer for the big stuff. We didn’t know how He was moving but I can tell you in those 14 years we always knew that He was moving. If you’re in a pattern of long term prayer, don’t give up and look for God’s move in the small things.
His plans don’t always attract our attention at first, because they are different from our. Our plans are generally for our advancement or benefits, but in Isaiah 53 we see that His plan was to suffer for us. Isaiah 53:5, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; and the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Look at those adjectives, smitten, afflicted, pierced and crushed. How many of us would sign up for that job description? Jesus did. He did that for us. To help us and they missed Him and many times we do to. John writes, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
We do that, we miss Him sometimes because He doesn’t come the way that we would think. He moves in the small things and we are looking in the big things. He asks us to sacrifice and we’re expecting blessings. We know that God walks with us, we know that we are King’s kids and we think that that means a life of privilege. But with privilege comes responsibility. We have to sacrifice things. The star athlete signs a huge contract and now finds reports following him everywhere he goes and wanting to know everything about him. The Royal Prince meets and marries a girl. But as part of the position, the one that He has and the one she is getting, the press is everywhere. We’ve seen the pictures to prove it. A person wins the lottery and relatives they didn’t know they had show up.
I’m not saying that we give everything away, what I am saying is that because of the blessings we have in Jesus there are times when He asks us to sacrifice. We can do it because He did it. The other thing we have to realize is that suffering is not a strange thing for followers of Christ, because it wasn’t strange for Him. Jesus went through periods of suffering, not just on the cross. When we read about these words we think of the ultimate sacrifice He made for us. But from the beginning of His ministry He was challenged. In verse 3 Isaiah writes, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Lie one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” What we know of Jesus ministry He was challenged the whole time. The Pharisee’s followed Him to see if He would make a mistake. The people didn’t always like what He said and responded accordingly. His own family thought He was out of His mind and tried to take control of Him. But Jesus knew all of this before hand and He cam for us anyways, because of His love for us. Because it was the only way. A sacrifice was required and He was willing to make it on our behalf. His suffering wasn’t just at the cross. There will be periods of trials that come into your life. Take comfort in the fact that they are not unusual and you are not alone. Jesus walked through times of trials and He is with you to walk with you as well. He is the ever present help in time of need because He can relate.
His plans are not like ours and so sometimes we miss Him. His focus is not like ours either. I want us to look really quickly at three different responses. God’s response was and always has been to minister to us, we are His focus. Look at the promise He was given in Isaiah verse 10, “The LORD makes his life a guilt offering, He will see his offspring and prolong his days and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many.” That was the promise that was put before Him. He focused on us. When we have needs, when we pray, we call out to a God who has demonstrated that He wants to meet those needs, that He wants to meet us. He saw our sin, He saw our needs, He saw the separation and then He chose to move to heal that gap.
In Joseph we see two responses. First Joseph was willing to sacrifice for Mary this was a good response. He could have chosen a lot of things, but he chose the one that would get him notes as being righteous. May we be faithful enough that the same thing would be said of us. That even when we don’t see God’s plan right away, we would still move in such a way that it would be called righteous. We don’t always make the perfect decision, we don’t always do everything right, God doesn’t expect us to. What we do need to do is keep our eyes on Jesus and follow Him as best we can. That way until God speaks we will still be moving in a direction that honors Him.
That is what Joseph was doing and then Ultimately Joseph chose to sacrifice and be obedient to God this is a response of a worshipper. There is a reason why this story is in the Bible, because angels don’t usually show up to tell us what God’s plan us, they do sometimes, but not usually. But when God does speak you need to be able to hear His voice and then humble enough to obey. That is what worship does. We focus on God, we listen for Him, the more we do that the more we are able to recognize Him, to see His movement in the world. To hear what He is saying and what He is not saying. To recognize that He is the one who is high and lifted up. He is above all that we know and all that we can do. When we are accustomed to putting Him in this position. Not literally because His position as God is a fact not a popularity contest, but in our hearts and our minds. Then we will be able to trust Him and go where He tells us to God and do what He tells us to do.
