MESSAGES

FROM THE

WORD

DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

Luke 2:1-20

SERIES:  Christmas

December 24, 2000

            I love the Christmas season.  Especially the gathering of families and giving of gifts.  When I was a child, our parents had a Christmas tradition.  Before we went to the Christmas Eve service, we would open one present from under the tree.  With few exceptions, we could choose any present we wanted.  I don't know how, but every year the present I selected turned out to be socks or under clothes.  When our children were younger they had a tradition.  Together they would sneak out to where the gifts were and our oldest daughter would somehow open a few gifts and then wrap them so well that we didn't know what they had done. 

            I don't know when the first Christmas was where people gave gifts to each other, but it goes back at least one thousand years.  The practice is patterned after the gifts of the wise men as they came to the Christ child and offered Him gifts.  Certainly in our society, the gift giving has gone way overboard.  The average American will spend almost $1000 this year on gifts and travel.  During the month of December, Americans spend more than one billion dollars on wrapping paper.  It is important for the people of God to have a Biblical perspective on Christmas.  What would a Biblical perspective be?

1)                  Understand the priority of Christ during this season

2)                  Practice contentment

3)                  Remember that things will never bring satisfaction

4)                  Keep in mind the less fortunate

With that in mind, I want to look at Christmas from a different viewpoint.  We often see Christmas through the eyes of Mary or Joseph, through the Wise men, shepherds or residents of Bethlehem, or through the opponents of the Christ child.  We often talk about the gifts brought by the Wise Men, or the gifts that we might bring to the child.  This morning, I want to look at the little things of Christmas.  One of the most popular books in our nation is called, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.  This morning, I want to look at the "SMALL STUFF" of Christmas.

As you know, President-elect George Bush is now putting together his cabinet.  As you listen to various political points of view, you hear comments on how many Democrats, blacks, Hispanics, women,                                                                                                                                                                                           etc. will be in the Bush inner circle.  The normal response is usually a form of, "we are only interested in finding the best and most qualified people around".  Every administration says the same thing.  Only the best and most qualified need apply.  I am for hiring the best qualified individuals to run our government.  I am thankful, though, that God has a different view.  When God decides to do a great work, He does not go out and find the individual with the fanciest resume.  Throughout history, God has used the insignificant individuals of the world to accomplish His will.  Paul wrote,              1 COR. 1:26-29             In fact, God rarely has used the "best qualified" to accomplish His will.  I believe that is a reason to give you hope.  If God rarely uses the best qualified, then maybe there might be room in His plan for you and me.

This morning I want to look at the little things in the Christmas story.  Those events and people which you have known about all of your life, may be looked at in a way that you have never looked at before.  As we prepare for this message, lets read the Christmas story.  We want to look at the small things of Christmas this morning.  We want to look at the small problems, the small places and the small people associated with this most holy night.

FIRST, WE SEE THE SMALL PROBLEMS.  If there is one axiom that our society claims as a mantra it is this, it is illegal to have problems in your life.  If a problem or a trial raises its ugly head, our society's first thought is to find someone to blame, or someone to sue.  How different God sees things.  We read,      JAMES 1:2; HEBREWS 2:10; 1 PETER 4:12,13     Did you notice that in each of these verses, trials and problems are not outside of God's will, but at the very center of His will.  We read,                   LUKE 2:1-5    As you examine this passage, several problems seem to rise up.

First, there was the problem of the census.  This not only involved being counted, it meant being taxed.  Taxation is a controversial issue even today.  You will remember that our nation began because of the issue of taxation without representation.  What would they have thought had they seen what taxation with representation produced.  2000 years ago, citizens had no say.  When the king wanted more money he simply levied a tax.  Aren't you glad that the king didn't say, "TAXES ARE TO HIGH, STAY HOME AND SPEND YOUR TAX REBATE ON YOURSELF".  As much as we see taxes as a problem, it was the problem of taxes that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem where the Messiah was to be born.

Second, there was the problem of traveling to Bethlehem.  In those days, you didn't jump on a train or a plane, you had to walk.  That meant your business was neglected for a period of time.  Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we traveled to Yuma, AZ.  It normally requires three hours to get to Palm Springs, which is the half way point of our trip.  It took nearly six hours.  The same was true on the way home.  We love getting to our destination, but sometimes the travel is so terrible.  It is likely that the young couple traveled in a caravan, but that doesn't make the trip any less rigorous. 

Third, there was the problem of a pregnant wife.  Even today, airlines do not allow women who are nine months pregnant to travel by air.   They understand that travel and being pregnant don't always mix.  Because of the edict, Mary traveled with Joseph, but it was terribly inconvenient.  Have problems happened to you where you have gone to the Lord to inform Him that now was not a good time to deal with this particular problem?  Our view is that problems are never a part of God's plan.  The fact is, problems are almost always a part of God's plan.  Problems reveal and develop character.  Trials give us opportunities to be ministered to by others.  Struggles force us to draw near to God and drive us into His word.  Problems often are the means by which God uses to move us from where we are to where He wants us.  If you are going through the fires now, rather than fight against them, why not go to the Lord and let Him know that He has your attention and you are ready to listen. 

SECOND, WE SEE THE SMALL PLACES.  One of the most interesting of all of the Messianic

prophesies is the location of the Messiah's birth.  If you wanted to impress people, the Messiah would have been born in Jerusalem, Rome, Alexandria or one of several other mega-cities.  However, God loves little places.  We read,       MICAH 5:2     Talk about insignificant, even God says it is "too little".  When God wanted the Messiah to come into the world, He didn't choose the capitol city.  He chose a city that was insignificant by every standard.  That is just like God.  An example of this is the recent court cases in Florida and Washington D.C.  As each of the trials was taking place, the news would place biographical information on the various judges.  Almost without exception, the judge attended law school at one of the elite universities in our nation.  Harvard, Yale and Stanford were the most represented.  None of the justices was a graduate of a trade school.  In law, where you come from is critical to your future.  Graduates of prestigious law schools clerk for Supreme Court justices, are recruited by important law firms and are asked to write important articles for law journals.  With God, where you come from doesn't matter.

THIRD, WE SEE THE SMALL PEOPLE.  If God came to you with orders to change the world, how would you go about fulfilling that task?  Many would approach the president, Bill Gates, or Colin Powell.  Others would recruit Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Garth Brooks, Dan Rather, or Julia Roberts.  Get the rich and famous on your side and the masses will follow.  God's plan was far different.  God went to an out of the way town to find an insignificant couple to do His work.  This is totally consistant with His plans.  Throughout history, God chose nobodies to accomplish His will.

When He chose Gideon, He choose a man from an insignificant town and family.  We are told         JUDGES 6:13-16                   The Christmas story is no different.  It was as if God was announcing that the King would be born "on the other side of the tracks".  He was from the hicks.  God is not interested in who you are or where you are from.  He is interested in whether you want to be used by Him. 

Pedigree is really important in our culture, but it is insignificant with God.  Paul found this out after His conversion.  We read,                  PHIL. 3:4-6                Paul realized that God was not impressed by his resume.  It was only after Paul realized that God was looking for faithful people that He could be useful.  Look at the Christmas story and only one participant had an impressive resume; the wise men.  We read,               LUKE 2:6-38              As you read through Luke's gospel, who shows up?

Joseph is the first one to make an entrance.  He is so poor, that when his son is born, he has to offer the smallest sacrifice allowed under the law, two turtle doves.

Mary is next on the scene.  While she is venerated in the church today, I doubt that she had multitudes of suitors after her back then.  One reason I believe that is because her father chose Joseph as her husband.  If there had been a man from the upper crust wooing her, he would have been selected by the father.

Then we have those paragons of the upper class, the shepherds.  Talk about down and outers, these were the guys.  Shepherding was honorable work, but it was a low paying and dirty vocation.  No one prayed for the chance to be a shepherd.  Yet, these are the guys God chooses to make His announcement that the Messiah had come into the world.  Do you ever conclude that you are a nobody in the world?  Then you are in a good place to be used by God.

Then we read of Simeon and Anna.  These two individuals basically devoted their lives to preparing for the coming Messiah.  I'm sure that the priests at the Temple got a kick out of these two as they came to the Temple every day waiting for God's sign that the Christ had been born.  Many probably concluded that these two had wasted their lives, because all they did was pray, worship God, and wait.  Yet, even today we name our children Anna.  Do you ever think that maybe she got tired of getting up everyday and

dragging herself down to the Temple?  Do you ever think that there were days when maybe they thought serving God was a waste of time?  Are there times in your life when you feel uncomfortable serving God because it makes you look a little silly?  Yet God used them, not because they were intelligent, rich or famous, but because they were available.

This has been the plan of God from the beginning.  You will remember that great passage in Hebrews 11 which discusses those whom god used and repeatedly states, "BY FAITH…"  It is not wealth, brains or talent that God is seeking.  This is why Jeremiah said,           JEREMIAH 29:13                 This is the heart of Christmas.  Several years ago I preached a Christmas message entitled, "Those who missed Christmas".  It included Herod, the citizens of Bethlehem and others.  Do you know how you miss Christmas?  You seek other things and not God.  Those who welcomed Christmas were the people who searched for God with all their heart.  I hope that is your quest this morning, to seek God with all your heart.  Enjoy the season, but seek after God.

This message is from the teaching ministry of Glen Jackson, pastor of Faith Christian Church in Simi Valley, CA.