Rev. David Holwick ZO Matthew's Christmas
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 17, 2006
Matthew 1:18-23
BEYOND YOUR EXPECTATIONS
I. Many aspects of life follow "scripts."
A. Our script for life.
1) You go to school.
2) In high school, you get a boyfriend or girlfriend.
3) You learn to drive.
4) You go to college.
5) Then you get married and have a career.
B. Sometimes you have to ab-lib.
1) Scripts can take detours.
a) How many of you at age 14 knew you'd be where you
are now?
2) It doesn't always work out the way we expect.
a) Disappointments.
1> Where others fall short.
b) Failures.
1> Where we fall short.
c) Successes.
1> Sometimes it comes together in a wonderful way.
2> Even better when we did not expect it.
C. Christmas followed a special script.
1) God had laid it out long ago, but no one had figured it out.
2) According to the Bible, he has YOUR life laid out also.
a) It is a good thing you don't know that script.
b) Be prepared for surprises.
II. Christmas is a classic example of off-base expectations.
A. It wasn't what Mary expected.
1) Luke fills in here: she knew she couldn't be pregnant
because she was a virgin.
a) Her expectation was: 1. marry Joseph, 2. start a family.
b) Reversing the order caused lots of turmoil in her
neighborhood.
2) Virgin Birth was prophesied, but low-key. Isa 7:14
a) Most Jews would have thought Isaiah 7:14 referred to
the prophet's own wife.
b) The name "Immanuel" is a hint that something out of the
ordinary was involved.
B. It wasn't what Joseph expected.
1) He was ready to marry his young bride.
2) He logically assumes she has been unfaithful.
a)
A Romanian guy named Florin Mazilu had a similar
experience.
After his bride dumped him just before the wedding,
Florin took an unusual step.
He spread word in his hometown that he would marry any
girl who fit into the wedding dress and the wedding
ring he had ready bought.
Within hours he had found 21-year-old local Ana Maria
who was a perfect fit.
He admits it was unusual, but says it has worked out
beautifully.
"I knew she was perfect the moment I saw her."
(I wonder if he said that for the first one, too.)
#33886
b) Joseph gets an even better deal.
1> He gets his first choice.
2> And she is purer than he could have imagined.
C. It was exactly what God expected.
1) He tends to do big things in an unusual way.
III. What are your expectations?
A. Our spiritual expectations are rather predictable.
1) Max Lucado asks people to complete this sentence:
"If God is God, then...."
Typical answers:
... There will be no financial collapse in my family.
... My children will never be buried before me.
... My spouse will always love me and be faithful.
... This church will never have a big fight.
... My prayers will be answered.
2) When these expectations go unmet, doubt sets in.
We tell God, "Show me and I'll believe."
He says, "Believe and I'll show you."
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B. Real faith takes place in the margins.
1) Neither Mary nor Joseph really had a stupendous miracle
thrown in their face.
a) Instead, they received messages from angels.
1> How did they know their own minds weren't just
making it up?
2> All they could do is trust God in faith.
b) It wasn't until 30 years later that they could see
something tangible.
2) Your greatest spiritual lessons will probably be answers
to questions you never thought to ask.
a) These answers come in moments when we do not expect
them.
b) They come when we are trying to follow God because
he is God, not because we want something from him.
IV. God can do more.
A. It is not wrong to expect things from God.
1) Make any request you want.
2) But remember that his will is bigger than your puny request.
3) Trust that his answers are the ones you need.
B. Getting the most out of life...
In 1727 the poet Alexander Pope wrote in a letter:
"Blessed is he who expects nothing,
for he shall never be disappointed."
#1481
1) In John 10:10, Jesus says,
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to
the full."
2) Expect great things from God.
a) Challenge him. Put him to the test.
b) Do great things for him.
V. God with us.
A. The great promise of God's presence.
B. Not just with us, but in us.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 1481 "The Advantage of Expecting Nothing," by David G. Myers & Malcolm
A. Jeeves, Christianity Today magazine, April 22, 1988, page 27.
# 6273 "If God Is God, Then…," Max Lucado, www.sermoncentral.com
newsletter, June 23, 2003.
#33886 "If the Dress Fits...," Richard G. Wimer, Wit And Wisdom,
http://www.witandwisdom.org, December 4, 2006.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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