Moved to Believe

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Good morning Chapel family. Welcome to the second Sunday of Advent. We’re taking this Advent season to look at four main characters in the original Christmas story, and how they responded when they heard the news. See, you and I have experienced so many Christmases, so our view of Christmas is colored by all kinds of memories and traditions and nostalgia that we’ve built up over the years. But for these four people, there was none of that. The announcement of Christ’s birth was completely out of the blue. And here’s what I’ve realized: in every case, the person hearing the news was moved to action. They didn’t just experience certain feelings or emotions; they found themselves doing things they never would have done otherwise. And I believe this Christmas, maybe more than ever before, God wants to move us. This world desperately needs it.

Now, before we look at the Scripture, I would like to share with you a very special reading. This is from Dr. Seuss’s book, On Beyond Zebra. It’s not as important as the Bible, but it will set the tone for today’s message. So listen carefully…

Said Conrad Cornelius O'Donnell O'Dell, my very young friend who was learning to spell, "The A is for Ape, the B is for Bear, the C is for Camel, the H is for Hair, the M is for Mouse, the R is for Rat ... I know all twenty-six letters like that. Through to Z is for Zebra, I know them all well," said Conrad Cornelius O'Donnell O'Dell. "Now I know everything anyone knows from beginning to end, from the start to the close, because Z is as far as the alphabet goes."

Then he almost fell flat on his face on the floor when I picked up the chalk and drew one letter more. A letter he had never dreamed of before. And I said, "You can stop if you want with the Z, and most people stop with the Z, but not me. In the places I go, there are things that I see that I never could spell if I stopped with a Z.

"I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends, my alphabet starts where your alphabet ends. My alphabet starts with this letter called yezz, it's the letter I use to spell yezzametezz. You'll be sort of surprised what there is to be found, once you go beyond Z and start poking around. So on beyond zebra explore like Columbus, discover new letters like wum, which is for wumbus, my high-spouting whale who lives high on a hill and who never comes down till it's time to refill. So on beyond Z, it's high time you were shown that you really don't know all there is to be known.

And I’m going to stop right there; I know you’re hanging in suspense, but you’ll have to buy the book to hear the rest. In case you didn’t catch it, here’s what Dr. Seuss is saying: Just as we have 26 letters to spell words, we also have certain mental categories, that we have developed over the years, and we fit the experiences in our lives into those categories. But every once in a while, we experience something that doesn’t seem to fit any category we’ve ever seen before. We can’t spell it with the 26 letters we’re familiar with. And when that happens, it’s a crisis moment: it’s disorienting and disturbing…AND it’s an incredible opportunity to grow…to expand our alphabet…to realize that God is bigger and more mysterious than we ever knew.

So today we’re going to look at the story of Joseph. When Joseph heard the news of Christmas, and especially the role he was called to play in it, he was moved to believe. I’m not saying he didn’t have any faith before this moment. He was a faithful Jewish man who believed in God. But—like most of us—his faith was kind of small. It was limited. And God was asking him to expand his faith to a size that it had never been before. And I have a feeling God is calling us to do the same thing.

So, let’s look now at today’s Scripture: Matthew 1, beginning in verse 18. I invite you now to hear the Word of God…

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: 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.

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. 21 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.”

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” (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 did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. This is the Word of the Lord.

So…what do we learn from the story of Joseph? First, we learn that Small Faith Limits Us. Small faith limits us. Let’s think about Joseph. In that culture, the average age for a man to marry was 18-20 years old. So Joseph was a very young man. And Mary was likely even younger—probably around 15. Can you imagine the conversation that must have taken place between them? And remember: at this point, Mary had already been met by an angel, who explained to her that she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. So when it actually happened—when Mary realized she was pregnant—she knew why. It was impossible and it was crazy…but it was happening—and she knew why. And I don’t know when she told Joseph. Did she tell him as soon as she was visited by the angel? We find out in Luke’s Gospel that Mary spent the first three months of her pregnancy at the home of her relative, Elizabeth. So maybe she waited until she came back home from that visit, right around the time she was starting to show, before she broke the news to Joseph. But at some point, she sat down with her fiancée and she had a really hard conversation. “Joseph, I’m pregnant, but it’s not what you think.”

And I really think Joseph wanted to believe. He saw the earnestness in Mary’s eyes. He knew this girl, and he knew she wasn’t a liar. But still—this was a stretch! There’s a poem by W.H. Auden, and it’s about Joseph’s soul taunting him. And the poem goes like this: “Joseph, have you heard what Mary said occurred? Yes, it may be so. Is it likely? No. Mary may be pure, but Joseph, are you sure? How is one to tell? Suppose, for instance, well, maybe, maybe not. But Joseph, you know what your world will say about you anyway.”

So Joseph wrestled with Mary’s words, and at the end of the day, he just could not bring himself to believe it. Do you blame him? Verse 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. Joseph and Mary were not married yet, but they were betrothed. In our culture you can change your mind and ask for the ring back, right? But in that culture, breaking your betrothal was considered divorce. And if

your betrothed was unfaithful to you, that was actually considered adultery…and the Hebrew Law just expected you would divorce the unfaithful one. So Joseph intended to be faithful to the law by divorcing her.

Now: if he wanted to, he could have gained something by divorcing her publicly. He could have brought her to court, where they probably would have impounded her dowry—all the assets she was bringing into marriage—and they would have given it to Joseph to compensate for his emotional suffering. And if he had paid a bride price to Mary’s father when he proposed to her, he could have gotten a refund on the bride price. So he had a lot to gain by dragging her to court.

But here’s where we start to see something about Joseph’s character. No matter what Mary might have done, it says “he didn’t want to expose her to public disgrace.” So the Hebrew law said you could present a certificate of divorce in the presence of two witnesses—very discretely—and end the marriage that way. And that was Joseph’s plan.

Joseph was a good man. He was a nice guy. This world would be better off if we had more people like Joseph. At the same time, Joseph was a man with small faith. And that’s not an insult; in fact, it’s true of most of us! And having small faith is way better than having no faith! Remember when Peter was walking on the water toward Jesus, but then he quickly started to sink, and Jesus reached out and grabbed him, and you remember what Jesus said? “Oh you of little faith!” Peter had small faith. He had more faith than any of the other disciples, who were cowering in the boat! But Jesus still said he has small faith. And he didn’t say that to condemn Peter; he was inviting Peter to have larger faith! He was inviting him to expand his alphabet beyond the 26 letters that he thought were enough. And it was the same with Joseph. Believing that Mary’s pregnancy was from the Holy Spirit was about as crazy as believing you could walk on water. So Joseph’s small faith was being exposed.

Is it possible God is doing the same thing with you? Exposing your small faith? Inviting you to a larger faith? Maybe there is a challenge in your life that’s just different from anything you’ve ever faced before. Something in your family, or something in your work, or something in your physical health. And the way you’re handling it is being limited by the size of your faith. Just like Joseph. Joseph was planning to divorce Mary quietly. And the quiet part was good—it showed he was a nice guy. But the divorce part was based on his inability to believe what Mary told him. So his plan was determined by the size of his faith, and his faith was pretty small.

See, small faith limits us. There is probably something in your life right now, where God is calling you to stretch beyond the 26 letters you’re used to, but your small faith is preventing it from happening. So you’re making plans that are very logical and practical, like Joseph. And God is calling you to let him out of that box you’ve put him in.

So Joseph went home and went to bed. Little did he know, that would be the most significant night of his life.

Point number two: God’s Call Stretches Us. Verse 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. That’s the same exact crazy thing that Mary had told him! And now he was hearing the same thing from an angel in a dream? Sometimes God needs to hit us over the head with the same message, from multiple sources, before we start really hearing it.

And did you notice the first thing the angel said? Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The thought of not divorcing her—the thought of going through with the wedding—was a scary

thought! Even if he could somehow convince himself that the baby was from God, he was afraid of how that would play out in his life! He was afraid of the social implications, and the family implications and maybe the career implications. It’s such a human tendency, isn’t it? We are afraid of the unknown.

Last month, Norma Jean and I visited the New York Public Library, which is an amazing place. Big thanks to Daniel, from the Chapel for showing us around. And there’s a section of the Library called the Treasures Exhibit, and it’s a collection of historical documents and artifacts. And one of the things they have is the third-oldest globe in the world—it’s from around 1510. And on that globe, out beyond the area that had been explored, it actually has the Latin words, Hic Sunt Dracones, which means “here be dragons.” Isn’t that interesting? Why did they do that? They could have said, “Beyond this, is the unknown.” Or they could have assumed good things! They could have said, “Beyond this, there is gold and beautiful mermaids, and a land full of coconut trees.” But they assumed the worst. “There be dragons out there.”

That’s human nature. We get scared when we’re confronted by something that doesn’t fit our categories. It makes us uncomfortable. So instead of allowing God to stretch us, we push him away and stay where we are. I like the way A.W. Tozer described this. He said we can wind up with a God who can “never surprise us, never overwhelm us, never astonish us, never transcend us.” Let me ask you something: when’s the last time you’ve been surprised, or overwhelmed, or astonished by God?

The angel continued in verse 21: 21 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.” And then Matthew explains…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” (which means “God with us”).

Every one of those verses just adds to the wonder and the amazement! If Christmas has become routine to you, you have to look at this with fresh eyes.

Verse 21 says that this Son that Mary will have will do something so cosmically significant that it will rescue people from all of their darkness and their mistakes and their sins. Wow.

Verse 22 says that this whole thing wasn’t something that God had recently come up with. This was something that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah 700 years earlier. So this was an epic drama that was being played out.

And then verse 23 quotes that verse from Isaiah, and it says people would call this child “Immanuel,” which means…what? God with us. As if this whole thing hasn’t shattered all our categories already—by the way, the baby would be God.

Joseph was being stretched by the call of God. And obviously this was a very unique calling: there was only one person in history who was asked to believe that his fiancée’s baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit and to go through with the wedding. None of us is being asked to do that. But we serve the same God that Joseph served. And he still calls us and stretches us in all kinds of ways.

There’s a passage that I go back to over and over again—especially when God is challenging my boxes. It’s in Isaiah chapter 55—look at this:

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Did you know astronomers have discovered galaxies 13.2 billion light years away? That means that light—traveling at 186,000 miles per second—would take more than 13 billion years to reach what we know as the outer edges of the heavens. And God says that’s about the distance between My thoughts and your thoughts. In other words, we underestimate God by about 13.2 billion light years. Wow.

Psalm 145:3 says, Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

One Greek Orthodox theologian said it like this: “God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder.”

Joseph was starting to realize that God was bigger and more wondrous and more mysterious than he ever imagined. So the next morning, he woke up—and he had a decision to make.

Third and final point: Expanding Faith Moves Us. I love that place in the book of James where James basically says, “You can tell me all day long how big your faith is; I’m going to show you my faith by what I do.” When faith is real, it always shows up in actions. So when we find ourselves in a position like Joseph, and we allow God to expand our faith beyond what it was, that always moves us to action.

So look at verse 24: 24 When Joseph woke up, he…what? He did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Remember, the angel had spoken to him in a dream the night before, and who knows how long he spent wrestling with this decision through the night. But when the sun came up, he got out of bed and he acted: he tore up the divorce papers. He went to Mary, and he said something like, “I don’t get this; I don’t know how we’re going to do this; I don’t know if anyone else is going to believe this. But I believe you. And more importantly, I believe God.”

Do you think Joseph still had any doubts? I think he might have. When I think about the biggest decisions I’ve made through my life, I can’t think of a single decision where I didn’t have some doubt. Maybe it’s just my personality; maybe it’s just because I’m human. Joseph might have still had some doubts. But here’s the thing: he had a bigger faith than he had before. And here’s the most important thing: his faith was big enough to move him to action. If you ask me, “Pastor Dave, how much faith do I need?” my answer is “Just enough.” You don’t have to have perfect faith; but you have to have enough faith to move you to action. And Joseph had that much faith. And he made his decision. And because of that decision he got to play a key role in bringing the Messiah into this world. What an honor!

So how about you? How is God stretching your faith? Some of you are thinking, “Well, I’m a good person! My faith is fine.” And I believe you’re a good person. So was Joseph—he was a really nice guy. But God was calling him to something more than being a nice guy. How might God be calling you to be more than a nice guy or a nice girl, and stretch your concept of what’s possible?

As I was studying this passage, there was a little phrase that stuck out to me. The beginning of verse 24 says When Joseph woke up, he took Mary as his wife. When Joseph woke up. And I know that’s talking about him literally waking up from sleep. But I think we can also take it symbolically. Because Joseph was waking up from his old life, with his small faith, and he was waking up to a larger world—a world where more things were possible, because his concept of God was bigger. When Joseph woke up….

So here’s the question I want to leave you with: how will your world look different when you wake up to a larger faith? You’ve been held back by fear, and the smallness of your faith, and the boxes you’ve put God in. But God is shaking you and saying, “Wake up—I’ve got something better for you!” What will that look like for you?

Maybe your small faith has kept you trapped in an addiction to alcohol or pain pills or food. And God is saying, “Wake up! Can’t you see that I’m more powerful than those substances? It’s time to move beyond that.” And you’re going to make that big step and reach out for help.

Maybe your small faith has kept you sitting on the sidelines here at The Chapel. You love coming to church here, but God is saying, “Wake up! It’s time to get in the game. It’s time to offer your gifts to volunteer in Chapel Kids or special needs ministry, or somewhere else.” What a great way to start the new year. I was talking to one of our worship volunteers. And he said, “I was reading in the Gospels about Jesus calling Peter to step out of the boat, and I knew God was speaking to me. I’d been putting it off so long, and I knew it was time to respond.” So he obeyed in faith…and God is using him powerfully.

Maybe your small faith has you stuck in a job that you can’t stand. And God is saying, “Wake up! It’s time to start networking or putting our your resume or taking online classes!” For some of you, that’s terrifying—there be dragons out there! But God is saying, “One step at a time. Trust me.”

Or maybe your small faith has you dreaming really small retirement dreams. Dreams that are all about your comfort and your leisure. Golf and fishing and rotting on a beach somewhere. And God is saying, “Wake up! This is the perfect time of life to invest in my kingdom!” And by the way, I just heard from John Oostdyk, who directs the Workmanship Program in Paterson—the free, Christian trade school. They’re looking for three more general carpenters, an HVAC person, and someone who can teach fine woodworking. Perfect opportunity for a retired contractor—so if you’re interested, come talk to me.

Maybe you’re a young family, and your small faith has closed you off to the idea of adoption. The concept of adoption doesn’t fit within your alphabet—it’s just not something you’ve ever considered. Or maybe you’ve looked at it as only for those who can’t have biological kids. And God is saying, “Wake up! There are so many kids out there who desperately need a loving home, and I want you to open up your heart and step into the process.”

Or maybe you’ve been having a tremendous couple of years financially. You know, I’ve met a lot of people who are struggling because of the pandemic, but I’ve met just as many people whose business is booming. So maybe you’re one of those booming people. But your small faith has kept you thinking very selfish thoughts about your financial blessings. And God is saying, “Wake up! Can’t you see I’m positioning you to be a tremendous blessing to a particular person, or a particular ministry or to your church? You say, “Well, I’ve never done that before.” So what? Don’t be that person anymore. Respond to God’s extravagant gift of Jesus Christ by giving extravagantly back to him.

When Joseph woke up…his faith was bigger than it was the day before, and based on that larger faith he took a step of obedience, and his entire world opened up. Does that mean his life became easy? Not at all! There would be challenges and struggles, and I’m sure he was misunderstood and misjudged. But he was walking by faith. And there is no better way to live.