When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:17-20
Our text tells us how to celebrate Christmas. In its most literal sense, this passage describes the various responses of people to the birth of Christ. In our own culture Christmas means holly and mistletoe, parties, gifts, carols, eggnog, big meals, a decorated tree, and last-minute shopping.
These things are not objectionable in themselves, none of them (with the exception of giving gifts) has anything to do with the circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ.
The principle of celebrating the coming of Christ to the world is certainly a good idea. Some Christians frown on Christmas for various reasons and some even oppose it altogether. It is easy to decry the commercialization of Christmas. But, we who are Christians ought to enjoy this season of the year. It would be a double shame if we allowed the world to take this holiday (a word that really means “Holy Day") away from us.
Should we celebrate Christmas? By all means! How should we celebrate this great day? The first and most obvious answer is this. You should celebrate Christmas by becoming a Christian. After all, this is why Jesus came to the earth. He was born to be a Savior. And until you can call him “my Savior,” you will never fully understand what Christmas is all about.
This is where Christmas should begin for all of us. What should be added to this? Our text describes four responses of those who first heard the news that Christ had been born and tell us how to celebrate Christmas—not just in December but all year long.
1. “When they had seen him, they (shepherds) spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child” (Luke 2:17).
Shepherds generally came from the lowest elements of society. In that day, they were so little trusted that a shepherd’s testimony would not be accepted in a courtroom. Most shepherds were considered on a par with Gypsies, vagrants, and con men. Add to that the fact that shepherds were on the lowest rung of the economic ladder and had little or no formal education.
And that makes the story all the more remarkable. First they heard and saw the spectacular angelic revelation. Then when they went to Bethlehem they discovered the Savior of the world in a feeding-trough in a rough, outdoor barn, perhaps a cave carved out of the rocky hillside. The birth and the revelation didn’t seem to go together. Yet there it was—all from the hand of God.
God has been “silent” for 400 years, and now when He speaks, it is not through prophets as in OT. He now speaks through angels to lowly shepherds on a remote hillside outside a tiny Judean village.
It wasn’t a likely way to win the world. Certainly not the way we would have done it. If we had planned it, Jesus would have been born in Jerusalem, to a wealthy family, and attended by the high and mighty. That way no one would doubt that the Son of God had come to earth.
But God’s ways and ours are not the same. He chose to reveal the news to the shepherds first of all. After their initial (and understandable) fear, they responded in faith. They believed the angel, they immediately went to Bethlehem, and they found the baby Jesus. Everything was just as the angel said it would be.
And what did they do then? They told everyone they met what they had seen and heard.
Would have been as obedient? Would we have believed? Would we have gone to Bethlehem in the middle of the night? Would we have been as quick to tell the story?
Then they did what all Christians should do. They “spread the word” about Jesus. When you get down to it, that’s all evangelism is. It’s telling the good news about Jesus Christ to someone else.
What the shepherds did, we all can do. You need no authority, no permission, and no special training to tell the Good News of Christ. Simply tell what you know to be true. Talk about Jesus. Tell who he is and what he has done for you. Share your story and then invite others to come to Christ just as you did. That’s what the shepherds did. That’s what all of us are called to do. This is the first way we can all celebrate Christmas.
2. “And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them” (Luke 2:18).
“Amazed” is probably a mild word to describe the reaction of those who heard the shepherds. The story itself would sound incredible—the part about hearing an angelic choir in the middle of the night, not to mention finding the Son of God in a feeding-trough. And to think that God chose lowly shepherds as the first evangelists.
It’s important to understand that there are two kinds of amazement. The first has to do with temporary fascination over an unusual turn of events. If I had told you at the beginning of the football season that Auburn would be playing for the BCS championship, that would have provoked amazed laughter even from the most diehard fans, to say the least. But unlikely as this has been, it was not be supernatural in the literal sense. Underdog teams occasionally get on a roll and win championships. It’s unusual but not miraculous.
The second kind of amazement we could call “Holy Wonder.” It’s a kind of awe that comes from seeing God at work in the world. In the deepest sense all the acts of God are grounds for holy wonder since everything he does has the stamp of the divine on it. Go all the way back to Genesis and you discover that God created the entire universe out of nothing. He spoke everything into existence. Genesis 1-2
Christmas is indeed a cause for holy wonder. How can it be that God should become a man? How can a King be born in a feeding-trough? How could the world ignore his coming? And what sort of God comes into the world like this?
You ought to be amazed at Christmastime. If you managed to go through this Christmas season without ever pausing to think about the wonder of it all, then you have missed the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.
3. “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).
The word “pondered” goes deeper than “wondering.” It means to take the events as you have laid them out in your memory and then to go beneath the surface to try to understand what it all means
Mary certainly had plenty to think about. No doubt she continued to wonder why God had chosen her, and surely she pondered what was ahead for her newborn son.
Pondering is hard work, which is why many of us never get around to it. And yet this is the perfect time of the year to do it. What better time than the end of December to ponder what God has been teaching you? To look back over the last 12 months and consider the ways and works of God in your life and in the world around you? To do find a quiet place, turn off all your “electronics” and begin with a prayer asking God to show you the things he wants you to learn.
Make a “Top Ten” that have happened in your life in 2010. Those things can be events that happened to you personally or things that happened to others that had a major impact on you. Those things can be good or bad, victories or defeats, it doesn’t matter. Make the category as broad as you like.
As you look at your list, ask God to show you what patterns are at work. What is God teaching you? What lessons seem to come up again and again? What have learned about yourself (positively and negatively) this year? Now focus on the Lord. What have you learned about God’s character this year? Ask the Lord for insight as to where he might be leading you in the year to come. Use all of this as the basis for some personal prayer requests as you enter 2011. If you do this exercise with an open heart, God will meet you and show you fresh insights that will give you insight about the past and hope for the future.
Mary pondered what God had been doing in her life. That’s a helpful practice for all of us to follow.
4. “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (Luke 2:20).
The final verse tells us that the shepherds were profoundly changed by what they had experienced. What a difference a day makes. On the day before Christ was born, they were in the fields tending their sheep. On the day after he was born, they were back in the fields once again. Only this time their hearts were filled with praise to God and the amazing things they had seen and heard. And they simply couldn’t stop talking about what they had seen and heard.
And note where they did it. The text does not say that they glorified God in the temple, though that would have been appropriate. No, it says they “returned” to where they had been. Back to the tiring and unappreciated work of caring for sheep. Having seen the Babe in the manger, it was time to go back to work.
And so they did. And so must we. Christmas eventually ends for all of us. Soon enough we will take down the tree, pack away the ornaments, and either use our gifts or take them back to the store to be exchanged. In a few days the children will go back to school and life will return to normal.
But will we be changed by Christmas? Or will it be business as usual in 2011? For the shepherds, life would never be the same. Oh yes, the work was the same but they were different. They went back with new zeal, new joy, and new love for God in their hearts.
People sometimes wish they could keep the Christmas spirit all year long. Would you like Christmas to last all year long? It can if you will do what the shepherds did. Go back to where you came from.
Back to your office. Back to your factory. Back to your job. Back to your family duties.
Go back to the humdrum of daily routine. And as you go back, glorify God and praise him. That is what the shepherds did. Christmas didn’t change their circumstances, but it changed them deeply and profoundly. And because it changed them, it changed the way they approached their daily work. Yes, they still had to deal with cranky sheep and sometimes they had to step in sheep manure, but that hardly mattered now. They had seen the Christ child.
Have you seen Jesus this year at Christmastime? If you have, then go back to what you were doing before and take the memory of Christmas with you. Glorify God and praise him as you go about your routine and you will find your days filled with joy.
How shall we celebrate Christmas now that Christmas is past? By following the inspired outline in Luke 2:17-20.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
WHEN GOD MESSES WITH YOUR PLANS
WHEN GOD MESSES WITH YOUR PLANS
Matthew 1:18-25
Let’s take a look at the marriage of Joseph and Mary:
Engagements were handled differently in those days than they are now. Marriages were pre-arranged by the parents, often when the kids were only infants. But, there had to come a point, when the couple became aware of the engagement, and began to make their plans!
Imagine young Joseph. The wedding date is approaching, and he is making preparations. We can see Mary. The date every young lady lives for is just about here. She is so excited as she and her parents make the wedding plans. She and Joseph have such dreams for their lives together. But then,
But then GOD MESSED WITH THEIR PLANS!
It was not ever in their goals for Mary to become pregnant before their wedding night. And certainly, the idea of becoming pregnant miraculously and giving birth to the Lord Jesus Christ was not the foremost of their thinking. Mary's reaction to the news was one of perplexity. She asks in Luke 1:34; "How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Joseph's reaction was a little different. He has a decision to make. Should he believe that Mary has been faithful to him and that she had miraculously become pregnant with the Son of God? Or should he decide to break off the engagement? Of course, you know the rest of the story. They did get married, did give birth to the Messiah, and the rest is history!
Let’s look at three things based upon this Biblical scene:
I. GOD DIDN'T ASK JOSEPH AND MARY-HE TOLD THEM!
We can not find any passage where the angel announcing God's plan, asks Mary or Joseph
if this is acceptable with them! God simply told them His plan and will for their lives!
"How many of you are doing what you planned on doing when say, you were in 7th grade?"
(Most of us aren't doing what we thought we would be doing when we graduated from High
School!) Quite often the majority of the plans we had as a young person are radically different than what has really come to pass.
Some of the plans have changed because we have changed my decisions and desires. But other plans were changed because of circumstances beyond our control: God messed with our plans! And God has never asked us when He has chosen to put those circumstances into our life!
Listen, God has a plan for your life. He made that plan before He created the world and He has no intention of asking your permission to proceed with His plan! Now, you can choose not to obey His will, But you cannot change His will for your life!
II. GOD'S PLAN FOR MARY AND JOSEPH WAS NOT AN EASY ONE.
Sometimes we think that if we are in the will of God, everything will be a bed of roses and life will be without trial or difficulty. That was not the case for Joseph and Mary.
Consider the following:
1. Why didn't God work it out so the Caesar’s tax was collected after the Baby was born? He could have done that couldn't He? Really, having a woman, who was so pregnant that she just barely got to Bethlehem before she had the baby, travel this far on a donkey! This would not have been easy. Surely God could have worked things out better than that!
2. The baby was born in a manger because there was no room in the Inn. Again, can’t you
see the young couple's frustration as, after traveling that far, Mary is exhausted and ready to deliver, AND THEY CAN NOT FIND ANY PLACE COMFORTABLE EVEN TO TAKE HER! Now, God is a sovereign God. He is able to do anything He wills. He obviously has willed that there is no room in the Inn! He isn't making it easy for them, even though they are obeying the will of God for their lives.
3. Why were they forced to flee Bethlehem to Egypt because of the threat of King Herod.
Again, we can see the hand of God at work because He warned them of the danger so they
could flee. Why didn't he just make the King's heart soften so they would have to flee at all? Especially since all the babies 2 years old and younger were killed by Herod's men after Mary and Joseph were gone. The Baby was about 2 year's old when they went to Egypt. And that would not have been an easy trip to make!
4. Then, after all of this, somewhere between when Joseph took his family back to Nazareth
and when Jesus became 30 years old, Joseph died. Jesus had to become the head of
the home, taking care of his mother and his half brothers and sisters. We make a terrible
error in our concept of Christianity when we believe that God makes life easy when we are
in is will and that the easy way is God's way. Take for instance Jesus' message about the
two roads: “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
When we choose the way that looks the easiest, we aren't necessarily choosing the way that is the will of God! Christ chose a path that led to the cross. Paul chose a path that led to imprisonment and execution. But both chose paths that were in the plan of God for them! God does not promise us an easy trip. He promises to be with us as we take it!
Need a verse? Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
III. THOUGH THINGS WERE DIFFICULT, GOD DID BLESS.
1. They wondered at the child as he grew. Look at these verses in Luke 2:52: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
Luke 2:49-51: “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
2. Ultimately, Jesus grew up to be a blessing to the whole world! Any parent is blessed
when their child grows up to be a person of influence and importance in the world. More
parents are blessed if their kid grows up to do something good for mankind. Now we know that Joseph was gone by this time, but can you imagine the blessing Mary must have
experienced when her firstborn son, Jesus Christ, rose victorious over death and the grave? Can you imagine what she must have felt like as she watched Him ascend visibly, bodily, and gradually into heaven! Can you imagine the excitement in her soul when she realized, THAT HER SON HAD OPENED THE DOOR TO HEAVEN FOR ALL WHO WOULD ACCEPT HIM AND RECEIVE HIM AS SAVIOUR?
God's plan for our lives isn't always an easy one. But it is a plan that will lead to our being a blessing to many. Even if His plan is an early death. He is going to use that in some way ultimately to bring more people to a saving knowledge of the truth. God's plan for Fanny Crosby was that a doctor would give her the wrong medicine when she was a baby, resulting in her blindness. Rather than growing bitter, Fanny Crosby used her condition to make her more spiritually sensitive. She wrote some of the most beautiful hymns we sing.
God used the death of H.G. Spafford's four daughters to inspire him to write a great
hymn, All Is Well With My Soul. Spafford's wife and kids were one a ship to England, and he was going to join them there in a short time. However, the ship with his family on board sank. His wife was saved, but his kids all died. Back home, Spafford awaited news as to the fate of
his family, and when it finally came, it was a telegram from his wife simply saying,
"Saved, Alone." Spafford, while mourning their deaths wrote these words,
"When peace like a river attendeth my way.
when sorrow like sea billows role.
Whatever my lot thou has taught me to say,
it is well it is well with my soul!"
God didn't ask Spafford if it was ok to make that part of his plan for him. And we can be sure
Spafford didn't plan it for himself. But as difficult as God's plan was, it has resulted in something that has blessed countless numbers of suffering souls since it was written!
And, while we may not think our circumstances are nearly that tragic. Nor our influence nearly that far-reaching. The truth of it is if we will agree to follow God’s plan, no matter how difficult, eternity will record an impact for good because of it.
Matthew 1:18-25
Let’s take a look at the marriage of Joseph and Mary:
Engagements were handled differently in those days than they are now. Marriages were pre-arranged by the parents, often when the kids were only infants. But, there had to come a point, when the couple became aware of the engagement, and began to make their plans!
Imagine young Joseph. The wedding date is approaching, and he is making preparations. We can see Mary. The date every young lady lives for is just about here. She is so excited as she and her parents make the wedding plans. She and Joseph have such dreams for their lives together. But then,
But then GOD MESSED WITH THEIR PLANS!
It was not ever in their goals for Mary to become pregnant before their wedding night. And certainly, the idea of becoming pregnant miraculously and giving birth to the Lord Jesus Christ was not the foremost of their thinking. Mary's reaction to the news was one of perplexity. She asks in Luke 1:34; "How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Joseph's reaction was a little different. He has a decision to make. Should he believe that Mary has been faithful to him and that she had miraculously become pregnant with the Son of God? Or should he decide to break off the engagement? Of course, you know the rest of the story. They did get married, did give birth to the Messiah, and the rest is history!
Let’s look at three things based upon this Biblical scene:
I. GOD DIDN'T ASK JOSEPH AND MARY-HE TOLD THEM!
We can not find any passage where the angel announcing God's plan, asks Mary or Joseph
if this is acceptable with them! God simply told them His plan and will for their lives!
"How many of you are doing what you planned on doing when say, you were in 7th grade?"
(Most of us aren't doing what we thought we would be doing when we graduated from High
School!) Quite often the majority of the plans we had as a young person are radically different than what has really come to pass.
Some of the plans have changed because we have changed my decisions and desires. But other plans were changed because of circumstances beyond our control: God messed with our plans! And God has never asked us when He has chosen to put those circumstances into our life!
Listen, God has a plan for your life. He made that plan before He created the world and He has no intention of asking your permission to proceed with His plan! Now, you can choose not to obey His will, But you cannot change His will for your life!
II. GOD'S PLAN FOR MARY AND JOSEPH WAS NOT AN EASY ONE.
Sometimes we think that if we are in the will of God, everything will be a bed of roses and life will be without trial or difficulty. That was not the case for Joseph and Mary.
Consider the following:
1. Why didn't God work it out so the Caesar’s tax was collected after the Baby was born? He could have done that couldn't He? Really, having a woman, who was so pregnant that she just barely got to Bethlehem before she had the baby, travel this far on a donkey! This would not have been easy. Surely God could have worked things out better than that!
2. The baby was born in a manger because there was no room in the Inn. Again, can’t you
see the young couple's frustration as, after traveling that far, Mary is exhausted and ready to deliver, AND THEY CAN NOT FIND ANY PLACE COMFORTABLE EVEN TO TAKE HER! Now, God is a sovereign God. He is able to do anything He wills. He obviously has willed that there is no room in the Inn! He isn't making it easy for them, even though they are obeying the will of God for their lives.
3. Why were they forced to flee Bethlehem to Egypt because of the threat of King Herod.
Again, we can see the hand of God at work because He warned them of the danger so they
could flee. Why didn't he just make the King's heart soften so they would have to flee at all? Especially since all the babies 2 years old and younger were killed by Herod's men after Mary and Joseph were gone. The Baby was about 2 year's old when they went to Egypt. And that would not have been an easy trip to make!
4. Then, after all of this, somewhere between when Joseph took his family back to Nazareth
and when Jesus became 30 years old, Joseph died. Jesus had to become the head of
the home, taking care of his mother and his half brothers and sisters. We make a terrible
error in our concept of Christianity when we believe that God makes life easy when we are
in is will and that the easy way is God's way. Take for instance Jesus' message about the
two roads: “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
When we choose the way that looks the easiest, we aren't necessarily choosing the way that is the will of God! Christ chose a path that led to the cross. Paul chose a path that led to imprisonment and execution. But both chose paths that were in the plan of God for them! God does not promise us an easy trip. He promises to be with us as we take it!
Need a verse? Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
III. THOUGH THINGS WERE DIFFICULT, GOD DID BLESS.
1. They wondered at the child as he grew. Look at these verses in Luke 2:52: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
Luke 2:49-51: “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
2. Ultimately, Jesus grew up to be a blessing to the whole world! Any parent is blessed
when their child grows up to be a person of influence and importance in the world. More
parents are blessed if their kid grows up to do something good for mankind. Now we know that Joseph was gone by this time, but can you imagine the blessing Mary must have
experienced when her firstborn son, Jesus Christ, rose victorious over death and the grave? Can you imagine what she must have felt like as she watched Him ascend visibly, bodily, and gradually into heaven! Can you imagine the excitement in her soul when she realized, THAT HER SON HAD OPENED THE DOOR TO HEAVEN FOR ALL WHO WOULD ACCEPT HIM AND RECEIVE HIM AS SAVIOUR?
God's plan for our lives isn't always an easy one. But it is a plan that will lead to our being a blessing to many. Even if His plan is an early death. He is going to use that in some way ultimately to bring more people to a saving knowledge of the truth. God's plan for Fanny Crosby was that a doctor would give her the wrong medicine when she was a baby, resulting in her blindness. Rather than growing bitter, Fanny Crosby used her condition to make her more spiritually sensitive. She wrote some of the most beautiful hymns we sing.
God used the death of H.G. Spafford's four daughters to inspire him to write a great
hymn, All Is Well With My Soul. Spafford's wife and kids were one a ship to England, and he was going to join them there in a short time. However, the ship with his family on board sank. His wife was saved, but his kids all died. Back home, Spafford awaited news as to the fate of
his family, and when it finally came, it was a telegram from his wife simply saying,
"Saved, Alone." Spafford, while mourning their deaths wrote these words,
"When peace like a river attendeth my way.
when sorrow like sea billows role.
Whatever my lot thou has taught me to say,
it is well it is well with my soul!"
God didn't ask Spafford if it was ok to make that part of his plan for him. And we can be sure
Spafford didn't plan it for himself. But as difficult as God's plan was, it has resulted in something that has blessed countless numbers of suffering souls since it was written!
And, while we may not think our circumstances are nearly that tragic. Nor our influence nearly that far-reaching. The truth of it is if we will agree to follow God’s plan, no matter how difficult, eternity will record an impact for good because of it.
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