When God Messes Up Your Plans at Christmas

Christmas is a time of joy, of peace on earth and goodwill to all men who love God, but today I want to talk about something we have probably never though if about Christmas...

 

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOD MESSES UP YOUR PLANS?

 

Most of you here love God, but that doesn't mean He is at your beck and call! Somehow along the way we have started to see God as a Celestial Santa Clause. If we're nice and not naughty, If we go to church, if we pray and ask in the right way, then God will grant our request, whatever it is, right?

 

Proverbs 19:21

 

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

 

In the message it says...

 

Proverbs 19:21

 

We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God's purpose prevails.

 

How dare we presume to tell God what we want. He's not our servant, but we should be His. We tend to tell Him what we want, and expect Him to grant our request. How rude, how presumptuous, how pathetic of us!

 

Kristi my daughter was 4 and her mum was talking to a friend. Kristi tried to but in, and Fiona told her she had to wait, as she was talking. Kristi came back a minute later and said, "I've put the stove timer on, you've got 5 minutes!" Amusing, yet also presumptuous, rude and pathetic. She had no power or rights to enforce this, and either do we!

 

At Christmas, we expect joy, we expect people to behave in a loving way, and we are often let down. That's life folks, and I want to look at the first Christmas story to remind and to encourage you to look beyond the season to see God's reason, to look beyond Santa Clause to see God's true cause! To seek not Christmas presents, but seek His presence!

 

So today, let's look at the Christmas message, one we are mostly familiar with, and let's see what happened...

 

Luke 2:1-7

 

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

 

1. MARY AND JOSEPH PLANNED A MARRIAGE

 

Experts think that Joseph was an older man, possibly even in his 70s, and that Mary was a young girl, around 12-14 years of age. However distasteful you may find it, this was their culture, and it was an arranged marriage, entirely normal at the time. This is why Joseph disappears from the gospels, having died of old age in the period when his stepson Jesus was growing up.

 

So this Union was planned and arranged according to their culture, but this was pretty much the only thing that went to plan!

 

2. THEY DID NOT PLAN A SUPERNATURAL VISITOR

 

Mary never saw the visit of an angel coming! 

 

Luke 1:28-30

 

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

 

Confronted by a strange man, she would have been forgiven for checking around to see if she was on Candid Camera! Is this going on YouTube? She is told that she will bear a child without having sex to conceive him, and look at how she responds...

 

Luke 1:38

 

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

 

A little about Mary... The Catholic Church has made her into a saint, and Mary worship is still alive and well. She never set out to be a saint. She certainly never thought herself to have divine powers!

 

But we evangelicals have gone the other way. We give Mary next to no credit at all. In fact, Mary at the tender age of say 14, was an amazing woman of God.

 

How do I know this? Not just because God chose her to bear Messiah in Israel, possibly the greatest honour in the nation for a woman, but by how she responds to the message.

 

The Magnificat is her response recorded in Luke, and it is almost pure scripture...

 

Luke 1:46-55 (Highlights)

 

 

And Mary said,

 

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

 

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

 

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

 

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

 

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

 

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

 

This young girl knew her Bible folks, and I know of few 14 year old girls who can quote scripture like Mary! She was a truly Godly young woman.

 

 

3. THEY DID NOT PLAN A PREGNANCY

 

Matthew 1:18-19

 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

 

Joseph was shocked that Mary was pregnant, and he knew it wasn't his! My daughter Kristi had only a 5 month engage, and there was some gossip that she might be pregnant. It was false. 

 

Imagine the embarrassment, the fear (possible stoning), the shame. And she was still a virgin. Mary had plans, but God messes them up!

 

4. THEY DID NOT PLAN A TRIP

 

Nine months pregnant, Mary faced a trip back to the backwater of Bethlehem. They could have gone to a resort on the coast, they could have travelled business class, but they travelled donkey class, and walked. Imagine that at 40 weeks pregnant!

 

When Joseph and Mary set off, it wasn't a pleasure trip. Caesar Augustus, arguably the greatest of the Roman Emperors, had decreed a census, so he could extract more taxes from people.

 

So there were lots of people on the move, headed towards their home towns. Our heroes were headed to Bethlehem, about 6 miles south of Jerusalem.

 

Back in ancient Israel, it was winter. It was cold, windy and you have to travel everywhere on foot. No trains, planes or automobiles. Just feet, and if you were really lucky, maybe a donkey or a horse.

 

And Mary was 9 months pregnant! They won't even let you fly when you are beyond 37 weeks, so how about sitting on a boney old ass, or walking along a rough old road. Talk about hard traveling!

 

Plus: no Mcdonalds. No KFC. No burger joints, no truck stops and no Holiday Inns! Just hard miles in bandit controlled territory in the middle of winter.  It took days, hard dusty travel, and they camped wherever they could. Which bright spark of a travel agent organised this mess!

 

5. THEY DID NOT PLAN A STABLE

 

I can imagine Mary turning to Joseph and asking, "You didn't say stable, I'm sure you said the Hilton!"

 

No room at the inn... Who planned this trip? Will our travel insurance cover our accommodation change? Where's the restaurant, where's the pool? Does it come with wifi?

 

Now I know you've see the nativity scenes, but this was unlike any of the brochures. It wasn't clean and neat, it was a stable, maybe even a cave of some sort. Dirty, smelly, full of cow poo, possibly flees, certainly dust.

 

What a place for the Saviour of the world to make His appearance!

 

Psalms 33:11

 

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

 

6. THEY DID NOT PLAN FOR VISITORS

 

Here they are, a dirty, smelly stable surrounded by animals, and next thing you know people start arriving! Guests? Already? There's no wine or cheese platters in the fridge... There's no fridge. There's not even a bed or a room. Just straw, cows, chooks and smell.

 

So Shepherds show up, and some time later the Magi or wise men from a far away nation. I know when unexpected visitors show up at our house, we have a mad clean up, and I bet you do too. But how do you clean up a stable? They brought gifts, sure, but this whole set up doesn't make any frankenscence! I can't take it any myrrh.

 

7. THEY DID NOT PLAN TO BECOME FUGITIVES

 

Matthew 2:13

 

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

 

So there they were, new born baby, on the run from the law! Who planned this? Certainly not Mary and Joseph. Chased by the authorities, the 1st century equivalent of Tommy Lee Jones is hunting them down, it's like Breaking Bad meets 3 wise men and a baby!

 

 

8. THEY DID NOT PLAN FOR THEIR SON TO BE MESSIAH

 

Everyone wants their child to become great. We want little Kaileigh to become an awesome, amazing woman of God. But even after the visit of the Angels, with all the plans Mary had for her child, who'd have thought things would have rolled out as they did.

 

That He would be Messiah. 

 

Isaiah 9:6-7

 

For to us a child is born,

 

to us a son is given,

 

and the government will be on his shoulders.

 

And he will be called

 

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

 

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

Of the greatness of his government and peace

 

there will be no end.

 

He will reign on David's throne

 

and over his kingdom,

 

establishing and upholding it

 

with justice and righteousness

 

from that time on and forever.

 

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

 

will accomplish this.

 

That He would challenge the priests and authorities. That He would be faithful all his life. Who knew that He would die a cruel, criminal's death. Who saw God's plans, that the magnificent Creator, the Son of God should leave His throne and die for us?

 

Philippians 2:6-11

 

Who, being in very nature God,

 

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

 

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

So this Christmas, with all your plans, hopes, family time, gifts, food and maybe loneliness, pain and conflict, you need to find God and draw close to Him. This Christmas, are you seeking God's hand, or are you seeking His face. 

 

Is Jesus your Christian Santa, or is He the Lord of your life?

 

God has a plan for your life. It may not be exactly our plans, just as it wasn't Mary and Joseph's plans, it may not be what we want, but He sees the whole picture, not just our little, limited bit!

 

To illustrate, here's a poem popularised by Corrie Ten Boom

 

 My Life is but a weaving

between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

 

Oft times He weaveth sorrow

And I, in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper,

And I the under side.

 

Not til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

 

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver’s skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

 

He knows, He loves, He cares,

Nothing this truth can dim.

He gives His very best to those

Who leave the choice with Him.

 

 

He is weaving the incredible tapestry of your life. This Christmas, as you make your plans, are you willing to let God mess them up. Even if you don't understand what He us doing?

 

Today I want to pray for those facing major decisions at this time.