THE POINT: When God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
ME
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE CHRISTMAS… I love the Christmas season, I love the sights, the sounds, the smells associated with Christmas…
I hate winter and I hate snow…except during the Christmas season….
Christmas, for me is filled with great memories, great traditions and genuine spiritual significance.
But sometimes Christmas – the REAL Christmas – gets lost in everything that surrounds the holiday. So this year, we’re going to look at “Christmas Unwrapped”
Christmas Unwrapped…what is this all about, what does it mean?
Have you ever had something that was wrapped up…and in the wrapping you assumed it was one thing, but after it was unwrapped you saw it for what it really was…
(Maybe someone reused the DVD box… and you got an encyclopeda…)
…sometimes it was a disappointment (Jelly of the month club)
…sometimes it was SO MUCH BETTER than you could have imagined (need illustration)
ACTUALLY UNWRAP A GIFT THAT APPEARS TO BE ONE THING BUT IN REALITY IS SOMETHING ELSE…
Often we “wrap Christmas up” and decorate it with our memories and our expectations
• Carols
• Lights & Trees
• Shiny presents wrapped up neatly
• Stockings hung by the chimney
• Snow & Main Street
• Memories of our childhood (A Christmas Story)
• The crèche, with sheep & cows, shepherds, wise men, a drummer boy and a diaper clad angel hanging out over the whole scene
For some of us Christmas is so beautifully wrapped up in our memories and expectations that we never open it. We don’t want to disturb the beauty of the wrapping and so we miss the true gift that is found underneath all of the wrapping that we have placed around Christmas.
For others of us Christmas ISN’T wrapped beautifully. Perhaps Christmas carries painful memories. Christmas has pain associated with it. Perhaps the trappings of Christmas have been a bother to you but you too have wrapped up Christmas with your own expectations. And the wrapping you have placed on Christmas is so painful, so distasteful, so ugly that you never truly unwrap Christmas either.
Whichever the case, we wrap up Christmas and, unfortunately, the reality of Christmas is often lost in all of the wrapping, the decorations, the business, the disappointment, the expectations…
…so this year I want us to take some time to look at Christmas UNWRAPPED. Let’s look at what really took place. The human drama, the plan of God as it unfolds, the amazing story of GOD BECOMING A MAN and the faith of ordinary people that was required to see God’s plan realized…
Open you Bibles to Luke 1:26. If you don’t have a Bible with you this morning, raise your hands and our ushers will make sure you get one so you can follow along.
[Ushers hand out Bibles to those who need them]
WE
Now, WE are familiar with the whole story…we know how it starts and how it ends… but for those living it…this was new, this was startling… this was UNEXPECTED… They probably knew the OT prophecies, they knew the stories of God’s plan for redemption, but they didn’t expect to find themselves as central characters in that story.
For Mary and Joseph… this whole thing was rather UNEXPECTED!
And let’s be honest, most of us don’t do well with the unexpected. Like I said, I love the Christmas holidays, but I like them because of the consistency. The same carols sung every year… Bing Crosby crooning from the stereo… The same tree put up in the same spot with the same decorations year after year… It’s all predictable. It’s EXPECTED. And because it is expected and predictable it is comfortable…
How do you do with the UNEXPECTED?
Some of you do great… others, not so well… and still others would say that it depends on what the unexpected was…
… unexpected income – GREAT!
…unexpected cancer – NOT GREAT!
…unexpected child – DEPENDS!
Watch this clip as we dive into the UNEXPECTED…
[Video Clip]
Ladies, imagine Mary were a teen girl today who received this news. Imagine you were her mother… how do you deal with that. Imagine YOU were that teen girl… How would you handle this UNEXPECTED news?
Guys, What if you were her dad or her fiancé? How would YOU handle this UNEXPECTED situation?
We’ve heard it said that “God works in mysterious ways.” We could also say that “God works in UNEXPECTED ways.” So let me ask a question, “If we don’t handle the unexpected so well; If we try to limit the unexpected, do we limit God in our lives?”
Let’s look at the beginning of Mary’s story… a story of the UNEXPECTED. As we do, I want you to walk away from this story today with one thought…
When God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
GOD
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He 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, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
(Notice how Mary’s question is aimed at the most immediate impossibility… She doesn’t even consider the claim that the child will be the Messiah, or that he will reign FOREVER or that he will sit on the throne of David. Her question is more immediate…
“How can I have a child since I’ve never been with a man?”
I think we can all learn a lesson here. When faced with the unexpected we tend to look WAY DOWN THE ROAD and think this is impossible rather than focus on what God is doing RIGHT NOW. Mary’s focus was on what GOD was doing IN HER RIGHT NOW)
Let me also say that in Mary’s response we learn that it’s OK to ask God questions. “God, how is this possible?” When faced with the unexpected we may have questions for God, but that’s not a problem. What IS important is how we respond when God answers those questions…
35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon 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. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."
38"I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)
Mary was called by God to do something UNEXPECTED… Mary was called by God INTO something UNEXPECTED… in fact everything about Mary’s encounter with the angel and the call of God upon her life was unexpected.
Detail the UNEXPECTED nature of Mary’s encounter
• The visit itself was UNEXPECTED
Sometimes the unexpected causes fear… “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.”
Angels don’t normally show up to deliver messages from God… I’ve never experienced anything like this, and MOST people haven’t either.
Usually God speaks to us through more “expected” channels
Scripture
Prayer (giving us impressions as to what he desires)
People
Preaching
• The “Request” was UNEXPECTED
Okay, it wasn’t really a request, it was more of a “Hey, Mary, get ready because THIS is going to happen.” You are going to have a child, even though you are a virgin. You’re going to start a family even though your fiancé hasn’t even touched you. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
I honestly can’t even imagine what Mary must have thought… To be a righteous young woman, one who was choosing to honor her fiancé and her God with her body and then to be told that she would have a child. I can’t think of anything more unexpected… except perhaps the prediction made about the child…
• The prediction was UNEXPECTED
Not only would Mary have a child out of wedlock… but that child was going to be THE MESSIAH… THE ANOINTED ONE OF ISRAEL… HE WAS GOING TO BE GOD INCARNATE…
32He 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, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
Now I know that every mother wants and expects great things for their children… but even the most ambitious of parents would find this to be UNEXPECTED.
God interrupted Mary’s life in a very UNEXPECTED way… and Mary was left to respond to the unexpected…
When God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
Consider Mary’s Response to the Unexpected
Initially she was “Troubled & Somewhat Confused…” “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.”
-I’ve been a pastor long enough to know that, when the phone rings at 3:00am it’s not usually good news… Those UNEXPECTED GREETINGS are generally painful in nature.
I’ve never had a 3:00am call to say “PASTOR, I GOT THE PROMOTION WE WERE PRAYING FOR”
I’ve never had a 3:00am call to say “PASTOR, SHE SAID ‘YES!’”
I’ve never had a 3:00am call to say “PASTOR, IT’S A HEALTHY 7LB GIRL”
When the phone rings at 3:00am it’s usually “PASTOR, DADDY DIED, CAN YOU COME TO THE HOUSE AND SIT WITH MOMMA WHILE THE FUNERAL HOME COMES AND TAKES HIM?”
Or
“PASTOR, THERE’S BEEN AN ACCIDENT CAN YOU COME TO THE ER?”
Or
“PASTOR COLAW, WE’VE HAD A 14 YEAR COMMIT SUICIDE, CAN YOU COME DOWN AND TAKE THE PARENTS IN TO IDENTIFY THE BODY?”
Usually those unexpected calls in the night bring BAD news. And when the phone rings at 3:00am I usually get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I get a bit stressed.
I can only guess that Mary must have felt much that way when the angel appeared and said, “I have a message for you.”
She must have wondered…
“Is this going to be good news or bad news?”
“Have I done something wrong?”
“What could God possibly want from me?”
Mary’s initial response when God called her to the unexpected was one of fear and maybe even some doubt.
Faith vs. Doubt… She had faith, she was faithful and righteous, but she MUST have had doubts… she even expressed them “How can this be?” But her faith overcame her doubts.
She knew how to respond. She knew that when God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
And Mary chose to trust and obey…
That doesn’t mean there is no fear. Mary surrendered, but she was probably still somewhat fearful… after all there was a lot at stake here.
But in spite of fear and in spite of doubt she says…
38"I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."
I can’t say it any better or any clearer than that. “I AM THE LORD’S SERVANT, MAY IT BE TO ME AS YOU HAVE SAID.”
Mary’s response is one of complete surrender and complete obedience. She must know that this road will involve pain. It will involve misunderstanding. Potentially it will involve the loss of everything she holds dear…
Her home
Her fiancé
Her very life…
…but she trusts in God enough to surrender and obey IN SPITE OF HER FEARS AND DOUBTS. She gets it. She knows that When God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
What an incredible response for a teenage girl – in ANY culture. To surrender so fully to the will of God that she’s willing to risk everything to obey her GOD!
So let me ask… how about you? Do you have that kind of trust in God? Are you willing to obey him regardless of the risks and dangers…?
And I’m serious when I say that obedience to him may – it often WILL – involve danger for us.
You see, obedience isn’t a ticket to safety and comfort; quite the opposite. Jesus said that,
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24 (NIV)
We must be willing to sacrifice, we must be willing to endure danger and pain and suffering in this world if we are going to follow Jesus… but, in faith, we do so with the knowledge that He has overcome the world and that in eternity we will rest FOREVER in peace and safety in His presence.
It’s a matter of faith. It’s a matter of believing that the momentary trouble and difficulty we will experience now – especially when God calls us to something Unexpected – will be worth the reward we will experience in eternity. It’s a matter of loving our savior enough to TRUST him and OBEY him… PERIOD.
When God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
So the question is… how will YOU respond?
How will you respond… because it’s not a matter of IF God will call you to the unexpected, it’s a matter of WHEN HE DOES call… How will you respond?
-God, I can’t do that – it’s not a part of my plan.
-God, I can’t do that – it will risk alienating me from my family.
-God, I can’t do that – it’s too costly.
-God, I can’t do that – it’s just too UNEXPECTED!
Or, when he interrupts your life with the unexpected, when he calls you to be a part of his plan – a part of his story, even though it’s hard, even though it’s unexpected will you say with Mary, “I AM THE LORD’S SERVANT, MAY IT BE TO ME AS YOU HAVE SAID.”
When God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
SO WHAT?
Let’s unpack this so we can take it home… so we can live it out this week.
YOU
Has God ever surprised you?
Maybe a call into a life situation you didn’t expect
• ANOTHER child
• Parenthood when you had given up on it
• Not having kids when children were expected
• A move
• A new career
• A financial change (more money or less money)
• A sickness
• Suffering
Maybe with a call into a ministry
• Kids for Christ
• Habitat
• Missions
• PASTORAL ministry
• Being a part of a church plant
Or maybe God has surprised you with something more profound… Maybe he has surprised you by calling you into a relationship with him… (In fact he has, but perhaps some of you haven’t recognized it yet.)
Maybe He surprised you with his GRACE
• The fact that he loves you REGARDLESS… -unexpected
• The fact that he sent his Son to die in your place… -unexpected
• The fact that he offers you forgiveness… -unexpected
• The fact that he calls you to a NEW LIFE… -unexpected
It’s not unusual for God to do the unusual… It’s not unusual for God to bypass our expectations and present us with the UNEXPECTED. It’s not unusual for God to call us – unexpectedly – into his story, the story of redemption, the story of grace.
The question is, “What will you do with it?”
When God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
Will you find a reason to avoid God’s unexpected call to you? Or will you respond like Mary, "I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said."
WE
So often we want to avoid God’s surprises. So often we want to call the shots, we want to write the story, we want to dictate to God what he should do.
But it doesn’t work that way. Instead, He calls us into his story – and sometimes in the most unexpected ways. And when we ignore that call, when we choose not to be a part of the story we miss out on so much…
How are we going to respond to God’s call… When God calls us to the unexpected we can respond with fear and doubt or we can trust and obey.
[Close with communion]
Let’s Pray.
