Matthew 1:18-25[1]
Rising Above Circumstances
Introduction: Many years
ago A. J. Gordon went to the World's Fair. From a distance he saw a man pumping
water with one of those old hand pumps. The water was pouring out and he said
as he looked, "Wow! That man is really pumping water."
But when he got closer, he discovered that it was a wooden man connected to an
electric pump. The man was not pumping the water, the water was pumping him.[2]
Do you ever feel that you are living beneath rather than
above your circumstances? Do you feel that your circumstances are controlling
you instead of you controlling your circumstances? Consider Joseph’s
circumstances; his fiancée, Mary, was with child. He was disappointed and
fearful. What circumstances do you need to rise above this morning? Whatever
your situation may be, you can rise above it.
Application: If the
threat of terrorism and disease are not enough, consider the moral decline of
our nation. Add to these your personal life losses and challenges, and life
becomes nearly unbearable. Some of you are still hurting from losses in your
life or from poor decisions you have made. In other words, some of you are
hurting because of uncontrollable circumstances and others because of
self-inflicted foolishness.
Some of your losses become especially painful at this time of
year. But, hear this: whatever your loss; whatever your difficulty; whatever it
may be that causes you to dread this season or every new morning, you can rise
above it.
I am not saying that all you have to do is to reach down and
grab your bootstraps and pull yourself out of your predicament. For, there are
circumstances in life, which you cannot rise above in your own power. I have
one word this morning that can set you free from the pain of the past or the
present; the pain of sorrow or regret or anticipation. That word is Emmanuel, which means “God with us.”
It is important that we go deeper to understand this because
it can be misunderstood and misapplied in life. When the scriptures say “God is with us”, they do not mean that
all who are in the presence of God receive the benefits of God’s presence. God
is omni-present. God is everywhere, therefore, God is with everyone, but not
everyone benefits from God’s presence. Many are alienated from God because of
their refusal to submit to God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 139 says, “7Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your
presence? 8If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my
bed in Sheol, you are there! 9If I take the wings of the
morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10even
there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”[3]
Theologian Donald Bloesch says, “Man is in hell not because God is absent but because he is present, and
therefore man is constantly reminded of his guilt and infamy. Hell is exclusion
from communion with God, but not exclusion from the presence of God.”[4]
The Apostle Matthew took the word Emmanuel from Isaiah 7. It conveys God’s promise to save, bless and
protect God’s children. That means that the promise applies to all whom God has
claimed as God’s own through the gift of faith. If you have received the gift
of faith and thereby believe on Jesus Christ, you are God’s child and you live in
communion with God.
God is with you in a beneficial way. God’s presence
provides many wonderful benefits to you; three of which we will now consider.
God Gives Comfort: First, the presence of God comforts God’s children. The word “comfort” literally means “with
strength.” Those whom God comforts are those who trust in God and live in
God’s strength. And, as someone once said, “God
never reveals his strength too early or too late, but right on time – right
when we need it most.”
Courtney, a teenage girl lost her battle against leukemia.
Her family was understandably grief stricken. Their pastor went to their home
and sat with them around the kitchen table. They reminisced about Courtney.
They cried and laughed together as they remembered her life, faith and brave
spirit. Finally, as the pastor stood to leave, Courtney’s mom took his hand, looked
him straight in the eye and said, “Pastor,
don’t worry about us. We’re going to be all right. This is the toughest thing
we have ever been through, but God is with us now as never before. God will
hold us up and see us through.”
Think about her words for just a minute: “God is with us now as never before.” Why
do we sense the presence of God “as never
before” when we are hurting? Could it be that we often have to reach the
end of our strength in order to
recognize the grace of God’s presence? I believe so. For, Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness.”[5]
Isn’t that a great promise? When you, like Joseph, are at the
end of your strength - not knowing what to do or which way to turn, God
comforts you by making his presence known at just the right time. Knowledge of
God’s presence can transform the worst day of your life into the best day of your
life.
Believe the promise! God
is with us! And God’s presence comforts
us.
God Gives Courage: The second
benefit of God’s presence to the child of God is this: courage.
In a philosophy class at
Most of the students took the full hour and filled all the
pages of their blue books writing on the subject “What Is Courage?” That evening the professor telephoned the young
man and informed him that he had received an A+ on the test. The professor
congratulated him and hung up. The two words the student wrote in answer to the
question “What Is Courage?” were
these: “This is.”
“This is.” Do you
see what he did? He didn’t just define courage. He demonstrated it. He acted it
out.
That’s one kind of courage, but there is another kind that is
even better. The better courage comes from knowing that God is with you and that you are a beneficiary of God’s promises. You
can be courageous in the midst of your confusion and pain because God is with you. Even when you know, as
Joseph knew, that he would be ridiculed, criticized, and laughed at you can be
courageous. Knowledge of God’s presence produces comfort and comfort produces courage.
When the angel reminded him of God’s promise that God was with him, Joseph believed. In
faith he stood tall and said to the world, “You
want to know what courage is?” “This
is!” And rising above social pressure, he married Mary and when she gave
birth to a baby boy, Joseph named him Jesus in accordance with God’s will. Emmanuel - God is with us, giving us
comfort and producing courage.
God Gives Purpose: The third benefit of God’s presence
to the child of God is: purpose.
In the spring of 1883 two young men graduated from medical
school. Ben dreamed of practicing medicine on the East Coast. Will wanted to
work in a rural community. Ben begged his friend to go to
There may be nothing better in life than to know one’s
purpose. And God’s presence says to each of God’s children, “I have a purpose for you. I’ve have a job for you. I have a special
ministry for you take up.”
One of golf's great moments came
when a Scotchman demonstrated the new game to President Ulysses Grant.
Carefully placing the ball on the tee, he took a mighty swing. The club hit the
turf and scattered dirt all over the President's beard and surrounding
vicinity, while the ball placidly waited on the tee. Again the Scotchman swung,
and again he missed. Our President waited patiently through six tries and then
quietly stated, "There seems to be a
fair amount of exercise in the game, but I fail to see the purpose of the ball.”[7]
Sometimes, our purpose
is difficult to identify. But, God’s presence not only produces comfort and courage, but also makes God’s purpose
known.
There is a story involving Yogi Berra, the well-known catcher
for the New York Yankees, and Hank Aaron, who at that time was the chief power
hitter for the Milwaukee Braves. The teams were playing in the World Series,
and as usual Yogi was keeping up his ceaseless chatter, intended to pep up his
teammates on the one hand, and distract the
Do you know why you are here? Have you discovered the purpose
God has for you?
Joseph did his job well because He knew God’s will. Do you
know God’s will, God’s purpose for you? God has called you to a specific
purpose. And you can discover your purpose by believing on God’s great promise
of Christmas, the promise you and I can claim today… “God Is With Us.”
Conclusion: No human can
escape ever-present God. However, God’s presence is beneficial only to the
child of God. The benefits include, among many others, comfort, courage and purpose.
In the midst of your trials and tribulations; in your times
of excruciating pain due to loss, disappointment and discouragement; when the
world seems to be falling apart around you, when all manner of evil seems to be
directed your way, remember on word: “Emmanuel.”
God is with you and through faith,
God’s presence comforts you, gives you courage and reveals your purpose.
[1]The idea for this sermon came from Advent sermons at eSermons.com Sermons by Dr. James W. Moore,
ChristianGlobe Network, 2002, 0-0000-0000-15. I have modified the sermon
significantly to reflect a reformed, God-centered approach to the text.
[2] Attributed to “Source Unknown” at eSermons.com.
[3]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ps 139:7-10).
[4] Donald G. Bloesch, Essentials
of Evangelical theology - Volume 2: Life, Ministry and Hope (Prince Press;
Peabody, MA, 1978) 225.
[5]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (2 Co 12:9-10).
[6] Attributed to “Today in the Word, July, 1990,
p. 17” at eSermons.com
[7] Attributed to “Campus Life” at eSermons.com
[8] Attributed to “J. M. Boice, Learning
to Lead, Revell, 1990, p. 38” at eSermons.com