Unexpected

Intro

Over the past few weeks we have discussed the birth of Jesus. We discussed how the birth inspired to us. We talked about the hope that the birth of Jesus brings. Why do you think God is concerned about inspiring us and giving us hope. I would tell you because He wants our faith to increase. The birth of Jesus was a set up for us. God could have done whatever He wanted to bring salvation to man, but He chose to send Jesus as a man to bring salvation to us. At the end of Paul sums up the greatest gifts. Paul says:

1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

You see hope and faith are gifts. So why is God concerned about inspiring us and giving us hope, because faith is the substance of things hoped for. He inspires us so that we will begin to hope, and when we hope the door swings wide for faith.

Last two weeks summed up: the birth inspired us because Jesus dwelled among us and we could have confidence that He understood us and wanted a relationship with us. The birth gave us hope to change our perspective, so we could have confidence in the promises of God.

Think about these questions as we progress through the message: What do you expect from the birth of Jesus? What do you think God desires from us since He sent His only Son to be born here on earth? I know those are tough questions, allow God to answer those questions, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you today.

You see the religious leaders had expectations of the coming Messiah and we’ve talked about that, that they expected a militant king to come relieve them from oppression. Their expectation is interesting since the last of the military leaders ended with Joshua. After Joshua God used people that were viewed as weak. Even King David when Samuel came to anoint him was viewed by his own family as weak.

This morning, this Christmas, I want to challenge your thinking. I would like you to open yourself up to God and allow Him to lead you, speak to you, and do in you the unexpected.

Luke 2:1–21 NIV

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Luke’s brief account of Jesus’ birth emphasizes three things. He described the political situation to explain why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This set Jesus’ birth in a context of world history and anticipated His significance. Second, Luke connected Bethlehem with David to show that Jesus qualified as the Messiah. Finally, he presented Jesus’ humble beginnings, and so introduced the Unexpected.

Imagine being there during this time. Upon hearing the news that the Messiah was born you hear that he was laid in a manager. You hear He was sleeping where the animals stayed. These things would have been unexpected. When Jesus was born the world recieved an Unexpected gift. Today it is my hope and my prayer that you and I would receive the Unexpected gift God has for each of us.

The classic film A Charlie Brown Christmas portrays all the stress and chaos many of us are familiar with during the Christmas season. One of the first things said in the short movie is a frustrated and sad Charlie Brown explaining, “I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess.” Over and over again, Charlie Brown seems to mess up the grand plans everyone else has made. The kids are vocally disappointed that he’s directing their Christmas play, and he confirms their expectations all along the way. His final mistake is choosing a tiny Christmas tree that can barely hold up a single ornament. In other words, nothing goes as the other children think it should go. It’s just like the real Christmas story: expectations are upended, the object of celebration ends up being small and unassuming, and the director of the play makes choices that confuse everyone else. Jesus’ birth happened in an unexpected way. So much so that what would proceed would be completely unexpected. The disciples later on would be so unexpecting that Peter would rebuke Jesus because Jesus spoke about being crucified.

Why do you think that the unexpected causes confusion. Why do you think that the unexpected causes stress, anger, and chaos. I would tell you that we desire security. We desire to have the answers, to know how to fix something, and to know how things are going to turn out in advance, we want security. We are people that calculate and predict. You may say Pastor Ryan we are supposed to calculate and predict. That’s why we budget, that’s why we plan. You are right. The problem lies when our security rests within ourselves. The problem lies when we plan a vacation and one of the kids becomes sick the day before, or a hurricane is starting to come up the coast. The unexpected causes stress, anger, and even chaos.

Charles Schultz was a Christian which is the belief among most. Some would say he was a mastermind. Charles Schultz was the creator of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts. I want us to take a look at this clip.

Linus tells us what Christmas is all about. Here’s the back story on Linus. Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Snoopy throughout the story of the Peanuts are always trying to get Linus to give up his blue security blanket. Did you notice as Linus was telling us what Christmas is all about, that he let go of the security blanket. He let go of the security blanket in verse 10 precisely when he said Fear Not.

Remember the questions I asked you to think about during the message: What do you expect from the birth of Jesus? What do you think God desires from us since He sent His only Son to be born here on earth?

The birth of Jesus had to happen to provide for our eternal security. You should expect security from the birth of Jesus. God desires we would accept the unexpected gift He gave us, Jesus.

As we close today, my final question for each of us is: What security blanket do you carry around? I would challenge you to let it go, and accept Jesus as your Savior and accept Jesus as your Lord. If there are some things you are holding on to and need to let go of, the altars are open come lay those things at the feet of Jesus.

As we leave today and celebrate with our families over the coming week lets proclaim the unexpected gift: and that gift is Jesus.