God is in the Details

Families! Sheesh!

Family situations can be among the hardest we will ever deal with.

There other situations that are hard, health, finances, friendships, careers and jobs, houses. But even w/ these, family is affected and things get complicated.

How many times have you found yourself in a situ w/out a clue what to do next; or w/out a clue how it could possibly work out in time.

How am I, are we going to do this and survive?

Most all of us stood at an altar like this and repeated some form of these words, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.

No problems when things are better, richer, healthier, and we’re very much alive.

But every marriage goes thru times of worse, poorer, sickness, and death.

And when you’re in those times it may seem impossible to get out of them. You may not see any light at the end of the tunnel that isn’t attached to an oncoming train.

Then, do you remember holding your children for the first time? I do. All 3 of them. They would fit in the palms of both hands, almost afraid I’d break them if I held them too tight.

Now, I’m a dad, 3x. I can barely manage my own life. Sara and I have a pretty good thing going on. But now we are responsible for these little ppl.

How am I going to keep from messing them up! How am I going to handle the details of raising a daughter?! Then, 2 sons?

Some of that is just theoretical irrational. But in my case I didn’t have a great example in my mom and dad. The statistics were at the time, 3 out of 4 children of divorce end up divorced.

And I didn’t have a dad at home showing me how to do guy stuff, or be a dad or a husband. I had some good example around me. But I had to take seriously my experience growing up.

My mom remarried after I left for college. That was good timing. They dated for about 6 years. To bring another man into the house at the time was probably not the best thing for any of us.

My step dad was a good man. He took good care of my mom. He participated in all the college parent activities and was as active as the groom’s dad can be at my wedding.

I always appreciated him and how he cared for my mom.

If you think a nuclear family presents situations where you don’t have a clue, try blending a family.

Shared custody. Discipline. Education. Getting on the same page parenting page when the marriage page was torn up. How does that work?

One of the more famous situations like this is Tom Brady’s. You may know Tom Brady as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He used to be the QB of the New England Patriots.He is arguably the greatest QB in football history. He’s won more Super Bowls than any other QB.

He’s married to a super model, Gisele Bundgen. They have 3 kids. Those poor children and their genetics.

Anyway, before Tom met and married Gisele, he was dating Bridget Moynahan. You know her as the actress who plays Erin, the daughter in the TV show Blue Bloods. Tom Selleck. She’s a beautiful, successful actress in her own right.

They broke up, and according to media reports, they did not know Bridget was pregnant. She had a son, Tom Brady’s son, named Jack.

She eventually married a guy named Andrew Frankel. I don’t know much about him.

But can you imagine raising Tom Brady’s son. Tom and Bridget get along well. They worked out the parenting thing okay, supposedly.

But do you think Andrew Frankel plays catch w/ Tom Brady’s son? You think there’s any pressure to not mess the kid up, either way, b/c of the opportunities that will inevitably come his way?

Imagine the minefield of blending these families. The potential for jealousy and insecurities.

You think you battle insecurities wondering if you’re doing it right.

We all face situations, when we first encounter them, and wonder how in the world are we going to manage them. The details escape us.

We have no idea what to do next, much less how to get where we want to go.

When you find yourself in one of those situations, you need to remember God specializes in the details.

When you accept you situation faithfully and obediently, then surrender it to God, you trust Him to to take care of the details.

You will know what to do when you need to do it.

And the prime example of that is when Mary and Joseph found out they would be tasked w/ the responsibility to raise God’s son.

Luke told Mary’s story. Here is how she found out she would be the mother of God’s son.

Mom

Luke 1:26–38 NIV

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 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, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 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. 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. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

So much of this wouldn’t make sense if it wasn’t God’s word. No one would have made this up b/c no one would have believed it.

Nazareth in Galilee. Galileans were looked down on by the Jews in Jerusalem as inferior.

Galileans would only occasionally attend services in the temple in Jerusalem so they were considered 2nd class. In their defense, the journey was long and hard. It was about 100 mi up hill to Jerusalem. A rugged climb. But temple attendance was a criteria of acceptance.

Galilee provided grain and fish. There were farms and fishing businesses. Some ppl made a lot of money there. There was the attitude that if you wanted to get rich go to Galilee. If you wanted to get educated go to Jerusalem.

Galileans were considered materialistic. Immoral. Less spiritual.

Then, the Romans set up a military base nearby. And soldiers, being soldiers, liked to play when they were not on duty. Nazareth was also known for its party scene where the soldiers blew off steam.

This was not a place where you would expect God, or an angel of God, to show up and pick a resident for such and important job.

Mary would have been a teenager, 15, 16, or 17 years old. Joseph would have been in his late 20s. 10 years older.

They were extremely poor. In a place where there was money to be made they didn’t get much. The religious Jews looked down on Galileans and the wealthy looked down on the poor of Nazareth.

This young couple would have been seen as country bumpkins, rubes, simpletons. If they would have been just a little more on the ball they would have been worth more.

They were engaged. Their engagement was different than what we call engaged today. It was arranged by parents and lasted a year. Time is a great filter of the truth and opportunity to learn to love.

They would find out a lot about each other as they committed to learn to love each other.

They would have been considered married, but they didn’t live together nor were they intimate w/ each other.

Both were committed not only to ea other, but committed to doing things God’s way. No adultery.

Adultery is simply intimacy w/ anyone you’re not married to.

Even fantasizing about it, thinking about it is sin.

They were more than dating but less than married.

6 months after Gabriel showed up in the temple and told Zech he and Elizabeth were going to have a son, he had a similar message for Mary.

He greets her w/ the words, “highly favored” You found favor w/ God.

The Greek root of favored, is grace.

IOW, this is not an honor she deserved or earned. This was God bestowing on her a gift.

She was sweet, innocent, a believer in God, did her best to obey God and her parents. But what God did for her this day was far greater than anything here belief and behavior could have earned her.

Mary was like Abraham in this sense. Of all the ppl on earth, God chose Abraham to be the father of Israel. There was nothing special about Abraham. He was religious. But his father was a Pagan priest.

What God saw in Abraham’s heart was a receptivity to Him. God knew if He introduced Himself to Abraham, Abraham would believe in Him and obey him to the best of his ability. Certainly not perfectly, but faithfully.

That’s Mary. God recognized something in her heart that if he chose her for this role, she would do her best to fulfill it faithfully and obediently.

Mary hadn’t heard about Elizabeth, yet. So, in her mind, to the best of her education and recollection, God had not spoken to any human being for over 400 years.

Remember, no prophets w/ visions, no burning bushes, no talking donkeys.

Certainly, there had been no appearances of angels or the Lord Himself since Malachi wrote the last book in your OT.

400 years.

This was totally unexpected and out of the blue.

In Nazareth of all places, the region of Galilee.

Mary, your average, run of the mill teenager, from a good family, engaged to a good man. But in poverty. On no one’s radar but God’s.

And God had been on the down low for a long, long time.

Mary was terrified. Gabriel did his best to put her at ease. This message is from God and he is being gracious w/ you.

These words; conceive, give birth, a son, Jesus.

How much did she comprehend right away? Was this like the adults in Charlie Brown cartoons? Wah Wah wah wah wah?

Like very other religious Jew, she was expectantly waiting for God to send His Messiah.

Jesus. The Greek version of the Hebrew name, Joshua that means the Lord saves.

Just like Joshua led Israel into their PL, Jesus will lead all of us believers into our PL, heaven. Or, the kingdom to Jews.

He will be great.

The son of the Most High.

In Greek culture the son was equal to his father.

The name was the equivalent of the Hebrew; Elyon.

The greatest God of all. He is God. He is the greatest God.

He will be given David’s throne.

Thru Mary, Jesus is the genetic heir to David’s throne. Thru Joseph He is the legal heir. But remember, Jesus won’t have Joseph’s DNA.

He will reign over Jacob’s descendants.

His reign over the Kingdom will never end.

Key words used; Throne, kingdom, house of Jacob. The same terms God used when making his promise to David that a descendant would sit on his throne forever.

An obvious question. How?

She knew the birds and the bees. She, personally, as well as Joseph were committed to no intimacy before marriage. It hadn’t happened. So, How will this happen?

When Zechariah questioned Gabriel about he and Elizabeth having a son, he questioned b/c he didn’t believe it. So God disciplined him by muting him.

Mary’s question was simply a biological question. She believed God could, and would. This just didn’t jive w/ the story her mother told her about how it was supposed to happen.

The HS will come over you and God will miraculously be you son’s Father.

And since it will be a supernatural conception, Jesus will be protected and prevented from the corruption of sin.

Among the father’s contribution to conception is the blood. There is no blood in the egg. Blood is life.

Every natural conception passes on the flawed and impure blood from father to the children.

Jesus got His Father’s blood which is pure.

The virgin birth and supernatural conception maintained Jesus’s qualification to be our Savior. If He was sinful Himself, the only sin He could account for was his own. But b/c he is sinless, He could account for everyone else’s on the cross.

All these great things Gabriel said about her and her soon to be born son, maybe a little confirmation would be helpful.

She didn’t ask for a sign. But Gabriel offered one. Elizabeth, your relative is 6 months pregnant. She was never able to conceive herself. Then, she became too old. But, God performed a miracle for her, similar to the miracle he is performing for you.

Count on God’s word to be true and God to be true to His word.

She didn’t ask for this. But she willingly submitted to God. She did not rebel nor question God’s call on her life.

How? Not just conception, but how is she going to raise God’s son. How will she be rec’d by Joseph, her parents, her synagogue, her community?

Mary trusted God for the details. B/C God specialized in the details.

Imagine that conversation w/ her parents. Mom, dad, I’m pregnant.

Their first assumption; Joseph.

Their second assumption; those partying soldier.

Was she raped or did she consent?

Then, imagine the convo w/ Joseph. He knows he didn’t do it. He is facing a dilemma. More about him in a minute.

In the meantime, they go and visit Elizabeth and Zechariah.

Confirmation

Luke 1:39–45 NIV

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

You know Mary and Elizabeth felt a kinship. How many women have been visited by an angel, or the Lord Himself, and told they would miraculously have a special son? 3

Besides, Sarah, only these 2.

When ppl share go thru experiences like this together they share a special kinship bond.

You may remember in ‘09 when Sully, the pilot, landed the US Airways plane on the Hudson River when shortly after takeoff they encountered a flock of birds that knocked out his engines. All 150 ppl aboard survived. The movie, Miracle on the Hudson, was done about their experience.

I met a man a few years ago whose wife was on that plane. They get together for reunions as they all deal w/ similar issues as a result. This woman cannot fly on a plane w/ being sedated from then on.

They share a bond that no one else can relate to. That’s Mary and Elizabeth.

Remember from last week, Gabriel told Zechariah that his son would be filled w/ the HS before he was born. Prior to Pentecost, the HS filled ppl for a task. It could be for a short time. It could be for their lifetime. But before John, it was never before their birth.

So when Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, John leapt in her womb.

More confirmation for both moms that the Word of God would play just the way the angel said it would.

And trust God for the details.

Notice, too, Elizabeth was given a prophecy by the HS that filled her and she called Mary the mother of her Lord.

Luke wrote to Gentiles. That title, “Lord”, would have communicated to Greeks that Jesus is God.

If he would have used the title, “Christ”, or Messiah, it would not have been nearly as significant to them.

But that’s a term Matthew would have used. He wrote to the Jews. And he told Josephs story. Just as Luke told Mary’s.

Jesus had the royal and legal right to David’s throne thru Joseph.

Who is the first step-dad mentioned in the bible? Joseph. He took on the role of raising another’s son as his own.

He almost didn’t do it. God had to speak to him privately to get him to fulfill his role as Jesus’s step-dad.

Step-Dad

Matthew 1:18–25 NIV

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

What would have been swirling in Joseph’s mind when he first heard his fiance was pregnant and he wasn’t the father?

When Zechariah heard from Gabriel he would have a son, he celebrated, albeit silently.

When Joseph first heard from Mary, he was devastated.

It was inconceivable to marry a woman who committed adultery and was carrying another’s child.

If that was his assumption, he was only half right. She was carrying another’s child. But she had not committed adultery.

He had 3 options. The first two were the most obvious.

Publicly accuse her, shame her. As a result, she’d be stoned to death. Her death would break the marriage contract and he’d be free to marry another.

Divorce her quietly. Show her mercy. This would still be devastating to her. A woman could not support a child as a single parent. Women couldn’t own property or hold a job, except one. She would have to move in w/ her father or a brother, if they’d have her but she shamed the family if she was divorced like this. All that would be left for her would be to beg or become a prostitute. Her only career option.

As Joseph wrestled w/ these options, an angel appeared to him in a dream, explained the situation the circumstances of Mary’s pregnancy, and presented him w/ a 3rd option.

Marry her. Blend the family. Raise Jesus as your own son. How intimidating would that be?! You think he had any insecurities? A poor carpenter. Couldn’t afford an animal to sacrifice as Jesus’s circumcision and had to present the cheap option, birds.

Then there’s the humiliation he would face.

His fiance is pregnant. It appears this man has no self-control. But in reality he had great self-control. They were not intimate after their wedding until after Jesus was born.

Or, maybe viewed as a man w/ no self-respect taking a wife who was pregnant w/ another man’s baby. Any self-respecting man would have put away and picked another.

But he had tremendous respect for who God made him to be and called him to be.

How would this work out? He didn’t know. But he trusted God for the details.

His name will be Jesus. The Lord Saves. They will call him Immanuel; God w/ us.

He will be fully human, the son of Mary. He will be fully God, the son of God.

Joseph took it by faith. He asked no questions. He did what God asked him to do thru the angel in the dream, to raise God’s son as his own.

God specializes in the details. When God meets us in our mess, whether it’s of our doing, someone else’s, or even God’s doing, we can take on all the responsibility b/c we can trust God for the details.

Imagine being chosen by God to be the parents of His son.

Applications

Least likely

Do you feel like the least likely, in the least place, in the least situation to chosen by God for something big.

Then you’re probably the perfect person to do it.

You know you need to depend on him to be successful.

Don’t count yourself out when God counts you in.

Humility

There’s a difference between being humble and being humiliated. God will never humiliate you. He will humble you.

He may ask you to do something that requires humility and makes others think you’ve been humiliated.

Maybe you need to give up a little of your public persona and reputation be do what you know you need to do for God.

Details

When you’re in a situation you know God wants you to be in. Or, if you got yourself in a situation that God wants you out of; trust Him for the details.

Just listen for the next step. Don’t try to figure out how you’ll get all the way thru this. Just take the next step and trust God.

His word will come true and He will always remain true to his word. Trust him for all the details.

We all face situations, when we first encounter them, and wonder how in the world are we going to manage them. The details escape us.

We have no idea what to do next, much less how to get where we want to go.

When you find yourself in one of those situations, you need to remember God specializes in the details.

When you accept you situation faithfully and obediently, then surrender it to God, you trust Him to to take care of the details.

You will know what to do when you need to do it.

Imagine being chosen by God to be the parents of His son. Whatever situ you find yourself in, the intimidation factor, insecurities, and fears are probably nothing like what Mary and Joseph felt.

They made it thru okay. You will too.