Excerpts from: God Smugglers The miracle of Christmas is that God was born in human form. I want to tell you one of the ways Christianity is different from all of the religions in the world. God spoke about everything God has done before it happened and it was written down. Eight hundred years before Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote: "A virgin shall have a son and you shall name him Emmanuel." Emmanuel means God is with us. The miracle of Christmas is that God would be born in human form. But, the miracle of the Christian life is that God would be born in us. Christianity is not a belief system in Christianity, God has supernaturally entered the life of everyone who gives himself or herself to Jesus Christ, and that life begins to grow in us. So it’s about religion. As we live our lives in the world we are God-bearers. We bear the life of God. We bear the light of Christ. So why did God entrust the life of his son to this man? Historically Joseph is pretty much a footnote, there is not much written about him. He lived his life in the shadows, but he allowed God to live through him. This morning we're going to see that Joseph became a God-smuggler. We are in Matthew, the second chapter, the thirteenth verse. We're going past the birth of Jesus so that we can discover more about Joseph and why God would choose Joseph. We can also look at our own lives and why God would use us. "After the Scholars had gone God's angel showed up again in Joseph's dream." Jesus is approximately two years old at this time. The angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. God speaks to us through his Holy Spirit today. Almost all the time in scripture, it is through a dream or some intuitive way that God speaks. "and the angel commanded, "Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him." Herod had all of the male children in the Bethlehem area under age two put to death. "Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod's death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: "I called my son out of Egypt." Every plan of God unfolds through an average Joe or Mary who is listening to God. This we know about Joseph. He had a life practice of listening to God. Spiritual leakage begins in our life when we quit seeking the Lord, and it happens quickly! It's not enough to come to this place week after week, and have this be your primary source of hearing some kind of word or direction from God. It has to be a day-to-day kind of endeavor. Even for Joseph. We read in the first chapter he began to consider divorce. Eventually, he didn't divorce Mary because he was listening to God. This is a hard thing. I find that I have to continually check my focus because I can be so easily distracted from listening to God and taking my directive from the Lord. Psalm 123 says, "I look to you, heaven-dwelling God. I look up to you for help." It talks about focus. Like servants alert to their Master's commands. We're watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy. A lot of us have a tendency to live off of old information. If I went around this room and asked you to share a word, a direction, that you had from God, would you share something that came from five years ago, or even five weeks ago, or would you be able to share a directive that you heard from God this week? We can't live off of old information, God wants to direct our next step. We have to realize the pregnant moments. God is always speaking. God uses average Joe's and Mary's who are listening. We've got to realize the pregnant moments because God wants to do a new thing. How do we smuggle Jesus into unusual places? We begin by listening. Because Joseph had a lifelong practice of listening to God, we see a series of directives. First one: "Joseph, get up and go." In other words, if you are going to bear God's life, bear Christ's light:
We cannot settle into a level of comfort. The Christian life is boring for so many of us because we have not ventured very far from where we began. You know how you start climbing and you get tired, you want to reach that level, the plateau where you can rest for a while and a lot of us sit down and rest. "Come on!" And I say, "Wait, wait!" A lot of us are doing the same. We've sat down to rest but it has become a lifestyle. We have 'plateaued.' God is at work all around us, and is ready to do a new thing through your life. This is what Advent is about. But you have to get up, move, take initiative, risk and sacrifice. Now, notice the next directive: "Get up and carry the child and his mother to Egypt." Carry the child. The number one purpose in life is to carry Christ's life everywhere we go. The purpose of life is not the pursuit of happiness, success and accomplishment. Here is the ultimate question God is going to ask you at the end of your life. First of all, God is not going to say: "Well, how much money did you make? How big did you grow your organization? How successful were you in your investments? How hip, trendy or fashionable were you?" The number one question God is going to ask you is: "What have you done with Jesus the Christ?" Colossians 1:27 says, “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Here is what is so amazing about the Christian life - that God is born in you and me. Christ is in you. The whole reason Christ is in you is to connect people in your network of influence to God's plan and purpose. This church does not exist for you and me to come in here and get religion. It doesn't exist so that we can come and be inspired and edified. It exists so that we can be an outpost of God; Infiltrators into a broken world. Our very life is given to carrying Christ to everyone we know. It is crucial that you are building networks of influence and friendships with unchurched people. This place isn't just for us. We're supposed to bring people with us. What's important - what you should care about every week - is not what seat you get but are there guests here who get your seat. You are here to carry Christ's life to people who are in need. Twenty-eight percent of Americans will be in a church this morning. But on Christmas Eve, 70% of Americans are looking for a house of worship. What an opportunity for you to give an invitation to another person. But it's not just about Christmas Eve. We need to be a community of bringers and includers every single week. The apostle, Paul, in the Bible, talks about what it means to carry Christ. "I labor in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you." This relationship with God, Christ in me, is like the pains of childbirth. From watching Ann, pregnancy is uncomfortable. And from watching Ann, I understand that delivery is painful. I've discovered that there's a difference between belief and faith. Belief is that you, in your head, know something's good for you. Faith is when you do it. I can’t count the number of times I've committed myself to an exercise regimen. I’ve started this, started that workout; cardiovascular, weight lifting, jogging, swimming, bike riding through the years. You name it. I’ve started so many. The common denominator in all of them? I’ve stopped. But the bad thing about exercise is that you can't quit! I wish I could take a pill or attain the goal level that I want to attain and then quit. That's what we do. We attain the level that we want to attain and then we quit. The moment I quit is the moment I begin to go backwards. Why are most of us not physically fit or why don't we have a committed physical regimen every week in our lives? It's hard! Why are most of us in this room not spiritually fit or why don't we have a spiritual regimen? Because it’s hard! If we are going to carry Christ everywhere we go, that means that we have to do healthy things. And it is going to be hard. What is the next directive in this verse? The angel says, "Get up, carry the child and escape to Egypt. Flee to Egypt. Smuggle the child into Egypt. Herod is about to search for the child and destroy him." If you have committed yourself to carry Christ's life in the world, you will meet with resistance because we are in a battle with evil. There are forces that seek to destroy the child. Before Christ came into your life those forces weren't against you! They had you. But with Christ in your life, you are a force of good for the destruction of evil and those forces would have you for lunch! The Christian should realize that we are in a battle with evil. This world is a fallen place and contrary to what sociologists will tell you; that man’s intentions are to do good and live in community is far from the truth. Because of the Fall; Adam’s original sin, man is inherently evil. We live in rebellion to God. Until the cross, we were enemies of God. The Scripture says that Jesus would trust no man because he knew their hearts were evil. For the God-bearer this life is not an easy road. Joseph would spend the next two years of his life living as a refugee. Jesus said most people are not going to choose this way. He said this is the "narrow" way. A doctor by the name of Scott Peck wrote a best selling book. He was a seeker when he wrote this book, and has since come to Christ. He is an intellectual, and was trying to find God in the science of psychology and a holistic lifestyle. The book is called "The Road Less Traveled". If you choose the way of Jesus Christ you are on the road less traveled. We need to hear these words as we commit our lives to smuggle the life of Christ everywhere we go. The angel says, "Do not be afraid for I am with you, and the Lord is with you." Andrew and I were watching a documentary on the History Channel one day last week. During World War II there was a group of people called the ‘Fifth Column’. The American government looked for American citizens who could speak the German language flawlessly. They trained at Miami University and then they were dropped behind enemy lines in Germany. These people took on a German identity. They infiltrated the German culture. They smuggled the tools of sabotage into the factories and the munitions plants. They would put less than the right amount of powder in the shells to cause shells to blow up inside of the launchers. They would work in the telephone companies and many times the telephones in Germany were down three out of every seven days. These people were there for one purpose: to sabotage what had become the evil empire of the Nazi organization. They were willing to give their lives for it. How much more for the kingdom of God? To be a God smuggler means that we are at war with evil. We are behind enemy lines and we are to share the scandalous good news of Jesus Christ. In all reality, this season is not about Christmas trees or even nativity scenes. This is about smuggling the life of Jesus everywhere we go. Listen. You're going to die one day and God's not going to ask you if you enjoyed the latest Hollywood premiere, or if you had a nice dinner. God is going to ask you what you have done with his son, Jesus the Christ. Advent is about giving, not getting. Whatever it costs. Wherever it leads. Doing the will of God is really what matters. It is not about success or accomplishments. Like Joseph, it's being willing to put your interests in the shadows to allow God to live large through your life. It is to be dominated by the interests of God and seeing his kingdom break into people’s worlds. We need to remind ourselves that we are a community, that this isn't a program or just a public worship service. We are followers of Jesus. We are Fifth Columnists in the world. We are here to establish a beachhead for God and the purpose of God for this world; that the lost would be found, that the broken would be healed, the hungry fed, prisoners released, that Christ would be brought and taught to all, so as to find God’s song in our hearts.
I try to remind myself of this every day. Isn't that a miracle? The supernatural life of Christ is in you! "The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." What do you hear God saying to you? Step out of your comfort zone. Get up and go! How many times have we rationalized when we know the word of God is, "Come, get up and go?" We are servants of God. We are here to serve. Give more of yourself for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. For the honor of God. Every plan of God unfolds though an average Joe or Mary who's listening to God. Above all else, do not crowd out time with God in your life through mindless activity. It's the most important relationship in your life. It’s time to listen to God. |