How do you practice the PRESENCE of God?
What are your expectations for Christmas? Are you one who is hoping that the holiday season will be the perfect time of the year? Joseph and Mary started their married life with one set of dreams and found very quickly that was not how it was going to turn out. The question I want to answer this morning is what can we learn from them that will make your life better, every single day?
Let me illustrate this for you with a story I heard. There were three sons of a man who died. He left behind 17 camels. In his will he gave half of the camels to the eldest son, one-third to his middle son and one ninth of his camels to his youngest son. Now you may have guessed that lead to some problems. 17 cannot be divided evenly in half, 17 cannot be divided by three and it cannot be divided by 9 either. This lead the boys to start bickering. Finally in desperation they went to a wise old woman and ask for help. She thought and thought and then She responded that all she could do was give them her camel and hope it would help. They were going to refuse but she said take it and if it helped they could pay her later, if it did not then forget about it. So now they had 18 camels. The first son took his half or nine camels, the second son took his third or six and the last son took his ninth or two. 9 plus 6 plus 2 equals 17 there was one camel left over which they gave back to the old lady and everyone was happy.
Now here is our Christmas problem. We are all struggling to divide up our lives in ways that do not work out. We try with all our might, but without outside help we will never succeed. People approach the Christmas season with hope and find that they are tangled up in the expectations of the holidays.
Joseph found himself at what should have been one of the happiest times of the year with a problem that put a damper on the whole thing.
How do you practice the presence of God? Usually when we have a problem we give up, get upset, we complain and feels sorry for ourselves. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
To understand this we will need to divide it up into three parts. They are all linked, but need to be seen as separate parts. There is the PROBLEM we are dealing with, the PRESENCE of God and the PROMISE of his help.
THE PROBLEM
Joseph found himself with a pregnant bride. He was faced with a problem and he thought he had found the answer to. His Plan a quiet divorce. It would save him from being embarrassed and it would save Mary's life.
The Bible is full of people who have problems. Some get answers and some do not. The difference is those who practice the presence of God and live with the great promise are the ones who come out winners.
Every problem we face is much like a skip point on an old vinyl record. Whenever the needle gets to the scratch on the record it skips and repeats the same line on the record over and over. You have to gently nudge the needle past the scratch so it will stop skipping and repeating. Until you deal with a problem it is just like a skip point on a record. It will repeat over and over and over and over and over and over.... This makes the problem even greater. This is where we need to know how to practice the PRESENCE of God and to apply the PROMISE of God to our lives. Anyone without a problem does not need to proceed.
THE PRESENCE
Joseph and Mary had to experience the truth of the presence of God. How does a pregnant 14 year old girl deal with the problem? How does a man about to be married and finds out she is “with child” deal with the problem? How do you handle your problems? How do you practice and experience the presence of God?
We need to be aware of God in our lives. Now the solutions God comes up with are almost always different than the one we would come up with. They usually require our complete commitment and they usually seem illogical.
How about having to tear down the walls of the great city of Jericho. I would have chosen plastic explosives, artillery, tanks. God chose Trumpets!
Let’s go fight a giant. I would send a whole squad of men with machine guns and grenades. God sends a boy with a sling shot!
Let’s get the people across the red sea. I would have set up a boat building workshop and swimming lessons for everyone. God sends a mighty wind and they cross on dry land.
Feed 5,000 by a lake. I would have called Papa Murphy’s and KFC and hoped they allow charge cards. Jesus takes one small boys lunch and Presto lunch for 5,000 plus.
"We know that in all things God works for the Good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8.28
It is vital if we are going to experience the presence of God that we are aware that that no matter what is happening. No matter how wrong it seems that:
IN ALL THINGS – God has your back
FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM – God only has positive plans for your life, even if you cannot see them.
CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE – This is not about you, it is about his plans for your life. (My whole life I have wanted to go this way, but every time God has said NO those are your plans and if you go that way you are outside of my will for your life. God says GO THIS WAY. Sometimes it seems like daily I have to choose between my plans and God’s plans and his purpose for my life.)
We must remember that "God is able to make ALL GRACE abound to you, so that in ALL THINGS at ALL TIMES, having ALL THAT YOU NEED, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9.8
It is a simple when we look at it.
All grace-This is not a limited offer.
All things-There is no boundaries to what God is able to handle.
All times-There is no clock on what God does.
All you need-God has you covered in advance.
When we are in the presence of God we are in the presence of what he want to do for us and through us. We need to be like Paul who said, "I can do ALL THINGS through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4.13 NASB We usually think of this as our get out of jail free card, but it is not. When you look at what Paul is really saying it is very different. "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4.10-13
Paul is not saying everything is going to be great. He is saying that no matter what happens God is with us. We will never be alone. We are always in his presence and even if thing seem wrong to us they are part of God's master plan.
Here is Joseph in the PRESENCE OF GOD being told, congratulations you get a pregnant wife because this is HIS PURPOSE for you.
Here you are today in the PRESENCE OF GOD. He is the God of ALL THINGS. What is His PURPOSE FOR YOU?
Joseph did not volunteer for this, it was God’s PURPOSE. Joseph merely had to practice the PRESENCE OF GOD. Yet to successfully practice the presence of God you need to know what His PROMISE to you is.
THE PROMISE
He is the son of God. He is the son of Mary. He was called Jesus, which is the Greek form of the name Joshua, which means "the LORD SAVES." He is IMMANUEL which means "God with us." Then the question is how is he with us and how does that allow me to practice the presence of god?
The answer is found in Matthew 28.20b. Jesus is giving final instructions to his disciples when he says, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." This is the promise of IMMANUEL or God with us. This PROMISE of God with us has two distinct parts. First it answers the Question, HOW LONG? How long will God be with me? Well he says "always." The second question is HOW FAR? How far will God go with me? The answer is "to the very end." (In a minute I will show you how this works day in and day out to make us live more victorious lives.)
WALK WITH ME THROUGH THIS PROCESS... and then we will see it at work so you can clearly understand it.
First you need to clearly define the PROBLEM.
Is it a giant, a sea to cross, a mass of people to feed?
Is it your finances, your relationships, your health, or do you just need to get a clear picture in your mind what the real problem is? Sometimes it may not be clear. Are you depressed? Then why are you depressed? Are you sad, then why? DEFINE THE PROBLEM. Make sure that you are ready for God to come up with a different solution.
Second you will need to practice the presence of God.
Practice the PRESENCE of God means that
ALL GRACE – unlimited power
ALL THINGS - unlimited possibilities
ALL TIMES – unlimited period
ALL NEEDS – unlimited provisions
Practice the presence means you can DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS YOU. You cannot do them alone, but when you practice his presence there are no limits. If he has chosen a path for you then and if you follow it you will never be alone, because you are within his will, you are in his presence. Now, you do not need angels or dreams even though God can still do that if he chooses. You have the Holy Spirit with you. When Jesus promised to be with you he was referring to His Holy Spirit that he has sent into the world to help every believer. This way we are never alone.
Finally Live the PROMISE every day
Don’t forget the PROMISE is God with us.
Does that mean you will understand everything that is happening to you? Not necessarily, but it does mean what you could not do alone he has a plan to make it work and man are you gonna be surprised because God has promised to be with you, How long? – ALWAYS
God has promised to go How far? – TO THE VERY END
Let me go back to Joseph for a minute here, after the problem is defined and he discover the presence of God. Then he has to live the promise. So we learn “And they lived happily ever after.” Mary and Joseph take the train to Bethlehem, find a five star hotel, hang out by the pool. The baby is born in the hospital where they are given a life time of disposable diapers and a trip to Disney land. Is that what it says? The promise is how long – always and the promise is how far – to the end.
NOW YOU ARE READY! Here is where you see what it means to practice the presence of God as you face you daily problems. Here is where you learn how the promise of “God with us, comes into focus. Let's look at what happened to Joseph next and how this should work for you.
I have added the necessary information. Read the following and consider the Problems Joseph faced. There is the continued Presence of God, and see how the Promise of God with us was a part of his whole life.
The Escape to Egypt
[13] When [the wise men] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. (THE PRESENCE OF GOD) “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. (HOW FAR) Stay there until I tell you, (HOW LONG) for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” (HE THOUGHT HIS PROBLEM WAS A BRIDE WHO WAS WITH CHILD, NOW IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO KILL HIM AND HIS WIFE AND HIS BABY.)
[14] So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, (HOW FAR DID HE HAVE TO GO TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD?) [15] where he stayed (HOW LONG) until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: (HOW FAR) “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
[16] When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. [17] Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
[18] “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
The Return to Nazareth
[19] After Herod died, (HOW LONG) an angel of the Lord (THE PRESENCE) appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt (HOW FAR) [20] and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, (HOW FAR) for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead.” (HOW LONG)
[21] So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. (HOW FAR) [22] But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. (NEW PROBLEM) Having been warned in a dream, (THE PRESENCE OF GOD) he withdrew to the district of Galilee, (HOW FAR) [23] and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. (HOW LONG-JOSEPH DIED THERE) So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.” (THE PROMISE) Matthew 2.13-21
Joseph shows us the promise of God, Immanuel, God with us, and how it works. The Promise is HOW LONG? – “always!” The Promise of God is HOW FAR? – “to the very end.”
Here is what you need to do.
Define the problem you face.
Practice the presence of God.
Live the promise every day.
SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END....Jesus
