Does everything happen for a reason?

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I want to start by stating something I know to be true about each of you

Everyone desires to find meaning and purpose

No matter how young you are or old you’ll get

Even with the most random events in life

We say:

“Everything happens for a reason.”

“I don’t believe in coincidence.”

“You just haven’t met the right person yet.”

“I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

We Christians call these random events “a God thing”

When something goes wrong we so badly try to find purpose in the pain

We want suffering to connect to something purposeful. We naturally assume there is a purpose.

suffering to connect to something purposeful. We naturally assume there is a

When parents divorce, get in a fight, bff/gf/bf break up

purpose.

We want to find purpose!!

We’re left asking 1 question: Does everything happen for a reason?

Introduction

This is tonight’s question—what do you think?

Asking for a Friend Part 4 (1 more to go)

Tonight and next week are Christmas related

Tonight’s question: Does everything happen for a reason?

But how does this question relate to Christmas?

The Christmas story is a reminder that the desire within us to connect the dots is not to be ignored

The Christmas story is a reminder that the thing in us that wants the dots to connect

The world isn’t as random as we might think

is not to be ignored. The world isn’t as random as we might think. There really is a

Life is connected

story. Life is connected. There’s a divine story.

There is a story that God is writing

From time to time, it’s as if God drops directly into people’s lives in unmistakable

I want to read you some of my favorite verses

ways to give the flywheel a push. To remind. To reorient. To connect dots. To give us our bearings.

We’re in the Gospel of Luke

As you know—NT starts off with 4 gospels (Jesus stories)

Who can name them?

Luke wrote out Jesus’ story and was giving it to someone he knew as we will see in these verses

Teaching

(TNIV), “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

Luke was a real person who wrote down what eyewitnesses told him about—he did his own investigating

He gave this story to a real man named Theophilus

Luke tells us all of this to say, “You can be certain this is how things happened”

This is a lot different than “Once upon a time”

I want you to know that what I’m about to read to you really took place

Every person in this seemingly random story was real

Let’s meet some of these real people involved in the events of Jesus’ birth

(TNIV), “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy . . .”

Elizabeth is the first person we meet in this story—Elizabeth and Mary are related—cousins

[Elizabeth was Mary’s relative. We don’t know the exact relation. KJV translated the word “cousin.”]

“. . . God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.”

. . . God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.

At this point in history—arranged marriages were how families joined together

Mary was engaged to Joseph—not married yet—Mary was not pregnant

[Just another arranged marriage like before.]

The virgin’s name was Mary. [Think of all that hung in the balance of this choice. A new religion. Cathedrals. Crusades. Martyrs. Hospitals. Christian music. Bumper Stickers. Us!]

The virgin’s name was Mary.

Mary was engaged to Joseph—not married yet

We don’t know anything about Mary before the angel Gabriel interrupted her life.

[We don’t know anything about Mary before the angel Gabriel interrupted her life. All we know is that she was planning to marry Joseph the carpenter and lead a normal life, like her mother and father before her.]

[We don’t know anything about Mary before the angel Gabriel interrupted her life. All we know is that she was planning to marry Joseph the carpenter and lead a normal life, like her mother and father before her.]

All we know is that she was planning to marry Joseph the carpenter and lead a normal life, like her mother and father before her.

[She would probably live and die in the same Galilean community she grew up in. She would be another of the nameless, faceless millions of people who come and go and leave no mark, no memorial, no trace of having even been alive. She’d be left wondering if life has a purpose or if it’s just random . . .]

She would probably live and die in the same Galilean community she grew up in.

She would be another of the nameless, faceless millions of people who come and go and leave no mark, no memorial, no trace of having even been alive.

She’d be left wondering if life has a purpose or if it’s just random (this is some of us today)

[But the time had come for another chapter in the story of God, and the story of our redemption, to be written.]

But the time had come for another chapter in God’s story to be written

28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. [She didn’t know if it was good or bad news.]

28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

She didn’t know if it was good or bad news

30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. [You’ve been singled out for a purpose.]

30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.

[God is showing up in human history!]

You’ve been singled out for a purpose. God is showing up in human history!

31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

[Kingdom? They hadn’t had an independent Jewish kingdom in over 500 years. But she wasn’t concerned with that. She had another issue to contend with.]

His Kingdom? Mary’s giving birth to a King?

The Israelites have been controlled by other nations (roman empire) for 500 years—how is this King going to come in and change all that

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?

But she wasn’t concerned with that—she had a bigger issue

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?

2 © 2011 North Point Ministries, Inc. Random Christmas

Joseph and Mary were not married yet—how is she suppose to have a baby?

35 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.

📷

I.

[Sure enough. That is what we call him.]

35 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. [Sure enough. That is what we call him.]

36 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. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

36 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. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” [Lit: “This word from God is not impossible.”]

[Lit: “This word from God is not impossible.”]

[How strange. It had been over 400 years since God had “done” anything this overt. 400 years of randomness. Babylonians. Persians. Alexander the Great. The Roman Republic, now Empire. Now this. The birth of a King. God, where have you been? We were beginning to wonder.]

This is really weird—random that God would show up like this

For the most part—our days seem to be made up of mostly random events

Between OT and NT—400 years—OT ends with prophets (God speaking to us through other humans)—400 years of silence

I’m sure within these 400 years people are asking “God where are you?”

Things happen outside your control—you don’t have a choice they just happen

Application

You may be asking that same question—you’re life is going well—something unexpected happens

Mary doesn’t hear from the angel again—things get back to random but they start going really bad

Mary doesn’t hear from the angel again. Things get back to random. Only worse . . .

Next thing she knows, she’s pregnant and riding a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem (about 80 miles, which is a very long journey by foot). She’s wondering where the angel is now. Everybody’s staring ‘cause she’s showing. And she can’t tell ‘em her story. “Miss Favored of God” gets there, and the journey had been so long that

Next thing she knows, she’s pregnant and riding a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem (about 80 miles, which is a very long journey by foot)

Everybody’s staring ‘cause she’s showing. And she can’t tell ‘em her story

“Miss Favored of God” gets to Bethlehem and the journey had been so long no rooms in the hotel

there were no rooms. She and Joseph had to stay in a stable.

She and Joseph had to stay in barn with animals

Then they hear that Herod wants to kill their child. They get back on the

Then they hear that Herod wants to kill their child—Herod is a king and he hears “a king is born”

donkey and head to Egypt, which was 200 miles further away from home.

They get back on the donkey and head to Egypt, which was 200 miles further away from home

He slaughtered every boy two years and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding vicinity.

Harod slaughters every boy two years and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding vicinity

We also know that things would get even worse for Mary—Mary didn’t know but we do

We know Mary would listen as her God-given son was beaten within an inch of his life. Mocked. Crucified.

In that moment, it was just another senseless Roman execution—we know that Jesus lived again and defeated death

We know the end of that story. She did not. In that moment, it was just another senseless Roman execution—we know that Jesus lived again and defeated death

From everyone’s perspective, it was another random act of violence.

From everyone’s perspective, it was another random act of violence.

Because of the benefit of time—we know there was nothing random about all of it

We know because of where we stand in history that Mary’s pain was our gain

B/c of Jesus’ death and resurrection we can now have faith

Faith is trusting God with the random and believing it is part of His plan

Parents divorce—car accident—found someone you really like

With both the random good/bad—trust God that he has you and it is apart of the story he is writing

Conclusion

Before Mary knew about any of the events that were described earlier—this is how she responded

(TNIV), “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

(TNIV) “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

We were created to look for purpose.

Sometimes we find it. Sometimes we don’t.

Sometimes we find it immediately. Sometimes we find it eventually.

This season we are reminded that life is not as random as it seems.

taking place. A divine story.

God is writing your story

In both the good and the bad—trust him

And if we choose to—we can say to God the same thing Mary says here

We can say—I trust you, I’m here to serve you, what do you want to do?