Christmas means different things to different people. For some its shopping, parties, celebrations, gifts wrapped under the tree. To others its Santa and his elf’s, stockings hung by the fireplace and the hope of snow. There are those who know and observe the reason for the season, Jesus Christ, his birth, and they treasure nativity scenes, advent and the traditional reasons for December 25. There are the sport junkies, food-aholics, and dare I not miss those chocolate lovers. There is also the Christmas Scrooge. And not to be missed, are those who need a miracle this Christmas. Did I cover everyone here.
The need for a miracle today is no different than the need they had in the day of Mary and Joseph. There were people in need, and people who needed nothing and on that day, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus it was just as evident as it is now.
Why is it some receive a miracle and some do not? I don’t pretend to know the mind and wisdom of God. There are some lessons we can learn, ancient lessons for a modern day. I have learned this in life, there are some who miss the miracle, for miracles abound all around us, and there are some who gain their miracle. I wonder, in which camp are you? Lets talk about those who miss the miracle and see what we might be able to learn. There are those who are:
Misguided.
The first chapter of John speaks of Jesus coming. Verse 11 He came to His own, and those who were his own did not receive Him. When Philip found Nathanael he said to him in verse 45, We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said, Come and see.
Why do people miss their miracle, because they have been misguided about what God can do, and for many there are like the man who thought he was dead. His wife and friends send him to a psychiatrist for help. The psychiatrist, realizing the man was misguided decided if the man could grasp a simple fact, dead men do not bleed, he would understand he was alive. So he had him read medical texts, had him observe autopsies and other tasks to show dead men do not bleed. After weeks of effort, the patient finally told the psychiatrist he had convinced him, dead men do not bleed. At which the psychiatrist took out a need and stuck him in the arm and the blood flowed. The man looked down with a contorted, ashen face and cried out “Good Lord! Dead men bleed after all!”
Some people look a miracle in the face and dismiss it. The wise men were following the Bethlehem star, stopping in to see King Herod to inquire about the birth of the King of the Jews Matthew 2 accounts. Herod gathers together the chief priests and scribes, basically the religious leaders of the day to mind out what they knew of this. In verses 5 and 6 they tell Herod, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’
Even though they knew the truth in words, they never understood the truth in their hearts, they were misguided in their faith and as a result missed their Christmas miracle.
Is it any different today? Another reason people miss their miracle is they are…
Idle
When Philip told Nathaniel he said, “Come and See.” The wise men were following a star, the shepherds left what they were doing to come and see what was happening in the manager of Bethlehem. Faith is an active word, not an idle activity. Pamela Reeve said Faith is engaging in the deepest joy of heaven, knowing His unfathomable love for me as I walk through the thorny desolate now. It is engaging, it is walking, it is holding on, it is believing.
We know the story of Christmas, Luke 2:1 Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabitants of the land. So Joseph returns to the city of his family, Bethlehem, the city of David, and when they arrive the hotel is packed, the no vacancy light is flashing and they find quarters in the stable out back. We know there was a star in the sky the shepherds and wise men saw it. We know there was an overflow of people in Bethlehem, the no room in the inn told us. So it seems, people with idle time, missed the miracle of Christmas with all the signs around them, sound familiar today? We find people are also:
Self-Absorbed
It wasn’t that the inn-keeper was idle, he was just self-absorbed in his own world. It’s like the retail merchants at Christmas time. Things haven’t changed. You have to make your money while the making is good, while the customers are buying, and you are so exhausted by the end of the day you have no time to think, just sleep and get up to begin again. Hopefully this is not your prayer:
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray my Cuisinart to keep
I pray my stocks are on the rise
And that my analyst is wise
That all the wine I sip is white
And that my hot tub’s watertight,
That racquetball won’t get too tough
That all my sushi’s fresh enough
I pray my cordless phone still works
That my career won’t lose its perks
My microwave won’t radiate
My condo won’t depreciate
I pray my health club doesn’t close
And that my money market grows
If I go broke before I wake
I pray my Volvo they won’t take.
What do you think, like the innkeeper, someone who is a bit self-absorbed. People miss their miracle because they are misguided, because they might be idle, or self-absorbed with themselves and their interests and also because they are
Self-Important
I go back to the wise men coming to King Herod. Herod hears the truth from the religious community, and unlike them, he believes what they are telling him. So much so Matthew 2:16 gives us this chilling account of someone who is self important (Herod) sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi.
James Dobson said, Whenever I’m tempted to be self-important and authoritative, I’m reminded of what the mother whale said to her baby: “When you get to the top and start to ‘blow’, that’s when you get harpooned!
When even I think I know better than God, whenever I think I can handle it all because I am superior, I am reminded like Dr. Dobson of the whale, I am reminded of Herod who killed so many to stay on top, but he stayed only a short time, I am reminded of the self-importance Lucifer, the chief musician of heaven who thought he was responsible for God’s praise in heaven so decided to have the angels praise him and he was cast to earth along with a third of the angels who agreed with him, got a name change to satan, the devil, the old dragon and a new address, hell, a place of destruction.
The miracle of God came to earth for all mankind not in the form of a fully grown king, but in the innocence of a baby. And because God’s ways are different than ours, far too many people missed their miracle at Christmas. How can we avoid the pitfalls and gain the miracle…I have four concluding thoughts…By being:
God-focused
We talked a couple of weeks ago about Joseph, how he was going to put Mary away after he found out she was pregnant and not with his child even though they were engaged. Before he acted, he slept on it and God changed his focus by sending an angel to redirect his path. And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her to be his wife. (Matthew 1:24)
People who experience miracles are focused. When you are unfocused in your intend, who knows where you might end up. Charles Conn wrote of lost focus. He penned, “Objectives can be easily lost. They slowly erode rather than suddenly explode, have you noticed? To illustrate how this can happen, consider this actual experience one made had in the Deep South. When I lived in Atlanta several years ago, he wrote, I noticed in the Yellow Pages, in the listing of restaurants, an entry for a place called Church of God Grill. The peculiar name aroused my curiosity and I dialed the number. A man answered with a cheery, “Hello! Church of God Grill!” I asked how his restaurant had been given such an unusual name, and he told me: “Well, we had a little mission down here, and we started selling chicken dinners after church on Sunday to help pay the bills. Well, people liked the chicken, and we did such a good business, that eventually we cut back on the church service. After a while we just closed down the church altogether and kept on serving the chicken dinners. We kept the name that we started with, and that’s Church of God Grill.”
When we focus on our need rather than being God-focused, looking to the need provider, we might well find ourselves out of focus. Joseph discovered the miracle and attached a name to it, the miracle of Christmas is called Jesus he said. We also discover the miracle by being
Adjustable
Joseph found out about adjustability. Verse 20 the angel of the Lord said Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
I like the words of Charles Allen in his poem Keeping On, it talks about being adjustable
I’ve dreamed many dreams that never came true
I’ve seen them vanish at dawn
But I’ve realized enough of my dreams, thank God,
To make me want to dream on.
I’ve prayed many prayers when no answer came,
I’ve waited patient and long;
But answers have come to enough of my prayers
To make me keep praying on.
I’ve trusted many a friend who failed
And left me to weep alone
But I’ve found enough of my friends true-blue
To make me keep trusting on.
I’ve sown many seeds that fell by the way
For the birds to feed upon;
But I’ve held enough golden sheaves in my hand,
To make me keep sowing on.
I’ve drained the cup of disappointment and pain
I’ve gone many days without song
But I’ve sipped enough nectar from the rose of life
To make me want to live on.
Two more things, I running out of time, people who gain their miracle understand
Innocence
Another word for innocence is humble, such as the wise men. Exalted in their own right, they humbled themselves to seek the Savior. Matthew 2:2 Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.
There is a fresh innocence in people who humble themselves. There are things about the life of New York’s former mayor, but I would not hesitate to vote for him in a national election because of how I saw him selflessly humble himself in the aftermath of the New York Trade Center tragedy. Out among the people, touching their lives, a fresh image for the usual tarnish of politicians. And in the limited media coverage, you saw him bringing hope, birthing a miracle in the midst of the tragedy, miracles because here was someone not into it for himself, in fact they offered to propose legislation to extend his term in the wake of the terrorist attack, but he declined and continues to rebuild the hope of the people. He has understood there is a bigger picture than his personal aspirations, he has understood the innocence of humility. Your miracle is found in the innocence of humility and finally, if you are looking for your miracle this Christmas you have to take…
Notice
I haven’t forgotten about the shepherds. Luke 2:8 tells of the shepherds out tending their sheep, out doing what shepherds have been doing for generations before them, keeping watch over the flock at night to keep predators away when vs.9 says And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. That will make you take notice, just as the angel came to Mary and Joseph, just as the star shone in the sky, God sends events for us to take notice of. The shepherds, over their fright, heard the message of the angel and went and worshiped Jesus.
Have you taken notice of God working your miracle? It will be bigger, it will be better than your plans, and He it right now. (invitation TO Accept Christ…Prayers…Altar…Close)
