INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Do you get frustrated when you plan something out only to have something mess up those plans?
• Maybe you were traveling somewhere for Christmas only to have storm come through that did not allow you to get to your destination?
• You send out gifts that do not make it on time?
• Maybe you had grand plans for decorating and your Christmas lights from last year do not light up.
• You purchase gifts for your children that say “some assemble required”. You know what that means, or even worse, “easy assembly’. Better get ready for a long night of major construction.
• The first Christmas, the birth of Jesus was all about messed up plans for many people.
• The Jews were planning for a Messiah to come who was going to be a great political leader who deliver them from the tyranny of Romans.
• Mary and Joseph, a young couple who were engaged to be married who were most likely full of hopes and dreams of having children and spending their lives together, they had no plans of raising the Messiah of mankind.
• Mary was an engaged girl who was going about her daily routine when we have the following exchange in Luke 1:26-30.
• SLIDE #2
• Luke 1:26-30(ESV) 26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed£ to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”£ 29But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
• Next we have poor Joseph. Joseph was working extra shifts at the Bethlehem Lowes to save enough money for a nice honeymoon! Mary drops a bombshell on him. She is going to have a child; he KNOWS he did not cause it.
• Joseph is not sure what to do. In Matthew 1:20-21 Joseph gets an answer an angel of the Lord give him a new plan for his life!
• SLIDE #3
• Matthew 1:20-21(ESV) 20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All of us can relate to good plans that do not work out. Maybe the baby came before we had as much saved as we wanted, maybe the job ended before we wanted it to.
Your retirement account did not do as well as you would have liked. Maybe and illness came and totally changed your plans for life.
What do you do when plans get messed up?
The Christmas story shows is what to do when plans get messed up.
Today we are going to look at three realizations to come to when plans go awry.
SERMON
SLIDE #4
When your plans get messed up you need to realize…
I. God wants to get your attention!
• You can be sure God had Mary and Joseph’s attention when their plans got messed up!
• Mary and Joseph were gearing up for a nice ordinary life together. God got their attention when their ordinary plans got messed up.
• Every messed up plan is not God’s fault. God is not the author of evil or the designer of bad plans. God does not cause people to be mistreated.
• We live in a broken world that is full of hurt, abuse, and pain. These things are as prevalent as love, compassion, and caring.
• Messed up plans, no matter what the source is a way for God to say, “Hello! I want you to focus on me.”
• Look at what Psalm 81:11-13 tells us.
• SLIDE #5
• Psalms 81:11-13(ESV) “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
• God has always tried to get our attention. Too many times we ignore God. When things are going well, it is very easy for us to ignore God, or forget our need for Him.
• We think we are the reason for our successes instead of God.
• I believe one of the biggest reasons we do not listen to God is that we are too busy; we are too consumed with life instead of God.
• C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us through our pleasure, but He shouts to us through our pain.”
• For some when the pain comes, we show ourselves to be too stubborn to turn to God in our time of need. For some, it takes pain to get us to turn to God. Remember Jonah. God had a plan for him; Jonah did not like the plan so he tried to run from God. The pain of three days in the fish got his attention.
• There are times when our path will get us in trouble so God tries to get our attention before it is too late.
• Have you ever seen an accident waiting to happen, like a child getting ready to pull a boiling pot of water off the stove, it gets your attention!
• God has Joseph and Mary’s attention! God had a plan for them, and it seems as though Joseph and Mary were willing to follow that plan!
• SLIDE #6
When your plans get messed up you need to realize…
II. God has a different plan for you.
• Doesn’t it get frustrating when your plans get messed up? It gets frustrating because more times than not, the plan we have formulated is the best plan possible, at least to us.
• We cannot conceive of a better plan. When our plans get messed up, it is easier to deal with if we know: God has a plan, and a purpose for your life.
• When God allowed the Jews to be taken into captivity in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians, the people were confused. They had some of the false prophets of the land try to tell them they were only going to be there for a short time. Jeremiah sends a letter to those who had been taken off to Babylon. In verse 11 of chapter 29 he says,
• SLIDE #7
• Jeremiah 29:11(ESV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
• I have dealt with people throughout the years who think that if they give their lives to Jesus, they will no longer have any fun or their lives will be boring.
• This is so far off reality, God’s plans are good. His plans are not the same as ours, but they are good.
• God messed up my plans when I started praying about whether or not to pursue the corporate ladder or preach. When I lost my management position, it threw me for a loop. I then realized that God had a plan for my life that was different than what I had.
• I want to share three observations about God’s plan for you.
• SLIDE #8
• God’s plan is always bigger than our plan.
• Our perspective is so limited; God sees the whole picture at once.
• I wanted to make a lot of money in the factory and reach some people for Jesus. God said, “I have a bigger plan for you.”
• Joseph and Mary probably wanted to get married, have children, have a nice home, and go to visit the family for holiday dinners. Did God ever change their lives with a bigger plan!
• Can you imagine raising the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD! Talk about not wanting to make a mistake raising your child!
• In Matthew 1:21, the angel told Joseph that this new son was going to save the world from their sins!
• Can you see the conversation at the restaurant? John, what do you want to see you son doing in the future? Being a boat maker. Joseph, what about you? Being the savior of the world.
• The Jews expected a Messiah who would give them political freedom. Did God come through with a bigger plan!
• God used Mary and Joseph to bless the whole world! God’s plan to use you can also make a difference in the world!
• SLIDE #9
• God’s plan is usually harder than our plan.
• God’s plan for Joseph and Mary made their life a bit harder than it would have been otherwise. She was an unwed mother.
• Mary was going to have to travel several miles on the back of a donkey to go to Bethlehem, she was going to have to give birth in a stable, later they would have to flee to Egypt for their lives.
• Do you wonder if Mary wondered why God allowed the tough times happen to His son?
• I know when God called me to ministry, His plan was much more difficult than the plan I had for life.
• Paul’s life was much more difficult and complicated when he followed God’s plan for his life.
• Difficulties in life can build character. We all have a tendency to take the easy road.
• God rarely gives us a pass on the difficulties in life; do not let them keep you from believing in His plan!
• SLIDE #10
• God’s plan is always more rewarding than our plan.
• God’s plans reap rewards now and in the future, the retirement plan God offers is out of this world!
• God’s plan for Joseph and Mary’s son was going to much more rewarding that they could have ever dreamed!
• God’s plans bring significance and satisfaction in life.
• I know God’s plan for me has been much more rewarding that anything I have ever done.
• Before we are willing to follow God, we must believe His plan is better even though it is not easy.
• SLIDE #11
When your plans get messed up you need to realize…
III. God wants you to trust Him.
• God’s plan tested the faith of Mary and Joseph.
• Mary could have responded in so many ways, this wonderful thing that happened to her by the hand of God was going to cause her a lot of issues. She could have been selfish; she could have focused on everything that could have gone wrong. What did she do?
• SLIDE #12
• Luke 1:38(ESV) 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.
• Mary put her full trust in God!
• Circumstances that do not make sense give us the opportunity to express our trust in God’s plan.
• The main thing God wants from us is trust!
• SLIDE #13
• Hebrews 11:6(ESV) 6And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
• Problems are a part of life, but they can be overcome! When your plans fall through, trust in the wisdom and love of God!
• Ultimately Joseph and Mary trusted God and because of that trust God did some great things through their humble servant attitudes!
CONCLUSION
• The past year may have been full of changed plans. Let us commit ourselves to following Jesus from this point on.
• You may be discouraged because what you have been searching for in life is not what you thought it would be. You will find happiness, joy, fulfillment, peace, and love from Jesus.
• Today is the day for you to find what you have been looking for. Do not look at changed plans as a curse, but an opportunity to see what God can do with you!
