Transforming Truth: Our plans are not always God's plans, but Jesus' plans are always bigger and better.
Who in here is a planner?
We all have plans and dreams of what we want and expect our life to look like in regard to: your career, your spouse, the number of kids you'll have, your achievements, financial portfolio, etc.
Mary and Joseph more than likely had plans of their own to be like all of their young Jewish friends. Growing up in the lackluster town of Nazareth scholars estimate to have had a population at the time between 300-1000 people, the young Joseph would aspire to start his carpentry business. Mary, a girl between twelve and thirteen years old, would be looking to have a nice, respectable Jewish man between twelve and eighteen years old who would provide well for a home and allow them to be a part of the normal happenings of the culture. It is not much different today as people aspire to establish a career, 401K, go on select vacations each year, have a nice donkey or car, beautiful home and settle down like the rest of the American landscape. Yet things still seem to go awry.
The good news is that God always has bigger, unexpected plans!
What We Know About Jesus
There is no plan B with God. God's promise has always been and will always be to send Jesus to be the answer for this broken world.
Luke 1:26-33 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
What we know about Jesus is:
1) His entire life would be great and a sign from God.
All the world and history looks to Jesus as a signpost of what is good, true and right. God expects that you acknowledge the signs and serve Him with your life.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
2) Jesus would be born of a virgin; thus, 100% human as well as 100% God.
He would literally be God incarnate, meaning He came in the flesh and would be named Immanuel, meaning "God with us." God would not remain distant amidst the hurt and pain of the world's fallen state, but would get His hands dirty and come near to rescue.
Jeremiah 23:5-6 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
Jesus is the "righteous Branch" (a Messianic reference) who would rescue the people from the powerful consequences of their rebellion and be their "Righteous Savior" from the penalty of their sins. You may not think that you need a Savior, but you will when the day of judgement comes.
“Knowledge of God without knowledge of man's wretchedness leads to pride. Knowledge of man's wretchedness without knowledge of God leads to despair. Knowledge of Jesus Christ is the middle course, because by it we discover both God and our wretched state.”
― Blaise Pascal
3) He will be the one to assume King David's throne with a kingdom that never ends.
This meant that Jesus would somehow live and rule forever. This is exactly what He does today after offering Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins on the cross and rising from the dead.
How we fit into that clear plan today beyond our personal salvation is often a surprise.
What We Didn't Realize God Was Doing
God's plans will unite you with specific people to fulfill His promises.
Luke 1:34-38 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
The relational joining of the Lord often takes place when you are not even looking for it. You, like Mary and Elizabeth, get joined to other Christians in the purposes of God when the Holy Spirit is birthing something in you.
Mary had no idea what had been gestating in her relative Elizabeth for the past six months. The beautiful thing is that God places one piece of the puzzle in your spiritual womb (like Elizabeth) which will only find its fulfillment when joined to what God has birthed in your brother or sister's womb (like Mary).
Lessons from the Immaculate Conception:
What God does in your life will be:
1) Stretching
The call of God will pull you beyond your personal ambitions, life goals and dreams.
2) Require Interdependence
Mary and Elizabeth each had vital roles in fulfilling biblical prophecy. The relationships that God places you in play an indispensable part in the redemptive plans of God for our times.
3) Take Faith
Mary's pregnancy had to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and carried out through confidence in God's Word.
"I'm willing to do whatever you say, God, whatever is going to glorify you," is the attitude that Mary had. It is the posture that God is looking for from you.
Surprising Complements
Who you walk with is just as important as what you are pursuing.
Luke 1:39-45 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
These are the types of intentional conversations we need to have, asking those in the church, "What has God called you to do for His Kingdom and how can we accomplish it together?" As with Elizabeth, a great deal of the joy that God has for you will only be found as you respond to God's purposes with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
The call of God will force you to depend on relationship with the people of God. Mary, a teenager, may not have been expecting to hang out with her elderly relative Elizabeth, but she's exactly who she needed during the pregnancy.
No one but the people of God will fully understand, hold you accountable to or encourage the things that God wants to do because ultimately they are all centered around the person of Jesus Christ.
It will take encouragement from other Jesus loving, kingdom-oriented believers.
Abilities wither under faultfinding, blossom under encouragement.
- Donald A Laird
It is only when we come together with these Holy Spirit inspired ambitions that the fulfillment of God's promises take place. This is to happen in and through Christ's church and is the power He releases in fellowship, biblically defined as a shared life.
Browsing vs. Belonging
Part of our culture's economic engine is run off of the rewards program for loyalty to particular businesses.
Cash Back Featuring Samuel L. Jackson- Capital One Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWfpEjc7XVw
Instead of asking, "what's in your wallet?", we need to ask, "Who's in your life?"
1) When you belong to a church family, you are able to make plans with other believers for your growth, safety and success. When you are simply browsing, you often stand alone.
2) When you are grounded in a church community, people can walk with you through the highs and lows of life. When you are simply passing through, you lack the friendship that God has for you to follow-up your victories and defeats.
Don't try to go it alone. Again, there is great joy in the relationships God forms as His people pursue Jesus and His promises together.
How can you come together to exalt the person and gospel work of Jesus Christ this holiday season and new year?
Second City Church- An Unexpected Journey Sermon Series 2014