MESSAGES

FROM THE

WORD

THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF CHRISTMAS

Luke 2:1-20

SERIES:  SPECIAL MESSAGES

Christmas 2001 # 2

            We live in a sometimes depressing world.  As Americans we sometimes think that life is depressing because our Enron stock is worthless, the Rams win the championship after leaving LA, or because our clothes don't fit anymore.  We think of those as depressive events.  In reality, they are simply inconveniences.  World wide, though, life is very depressing.  By the year 2020, experts estimate that 25% of the children in Africa will be orphans.  20% of the America population has a STD.  Terrorism will probably increase in the next decade.  Conflict will continue in the Middle East.  Evil will continue to raise its ugly head. 

            With all of the affluence we have in our nation, it is amazing that we have any depression.  Yet, the fastest growing Christian vocation is counseling.  The number of children on medication is rising astronomically.  The number of parents on drugs is a scandal, many of them are legal.  One writer investigated this problem and entitled her book, Prozac Nation.  All of these are reasons why I will begin a series in January on the subject of encouragement. 

            While we think things are rough, never has a nation had it so good as we have it today.  95% of the homes in our nation with incomes under the poverty rate own a television and a telephone.  25% of those under the poverty rate own their own homes.  On the scale of problems in the world, the problems Americans face are pretty far down the list. 

            That was not true to the culture in which Jesus was born.  The mortality rate was nearly 50%.  The Roman army ruled with an iron fist.  All of the Caesars were homosexual.  Immorality and sin was rampant.  If you made enough money to put food on your table, you were blessed.  Half of the world's population were living in slavery.  It was a depressing time to be alive.  Into that world, God came to show His creation that He cared and could give them solutions to their depression.  I mentioned that I begin a series on Encouragement in a few weeks.  In fact, I begin today to open up God's word on encouragement, because the most encouraging story ever told is the Christmas story.  We read,    LUKE 1:1-20      As we look at this very familiar story, we are going to look at steps God takes that lead to encouragement.  I think if you look into your own heart, these steps will probably work in your life as well.

            FIRST, ENCOURAGEMENT COMES FROM UNDERSTANDING GOD CONTROLS CIRCUMSTANCES.  We looked at this last Sunday as we examined the God of Christmas.  Let me examine this from a different perspective.  Have you ever thought of why people get discouraged?  When we begin our series on encouragement in January we will examine all of the facets of this subject.  Let me give you what I believe to be the primary cause of discouragement.  I believe the primary cause of discouragement is unfulfilled expectations.  All of us have faced disappointments in our life.  Maybe your husband forgot your birthday, you expected a raise and received a pay cut, you had a ball game and dad didn't come, you had a disappointment in a family situation, had health problems or a myriad of other problems.  A normal expectation was unfulfilled.  Or, your expectations were so high that they could never be met.  The result is disappointment and discouragement.

            Let's look this it from another perspective.  What if you look at those discouraging situations as setups for God's blessings.  In baseball the goal is to get as many hits as possible so that your team can score lots of runs and win the game.  There is a strategy in baseball, though, called a sacrifice bunt.  The goal is to bunt the ball in such a way that your teammate advances to the next base and you get thrown out.  The theory is that the next batter will then get a hit so the runner will score a run.  In a sacrifice bunt situation, you go up to the plate with the purpose of making an out.  You make that sacrifice to put your team in a better place to win the game.  The Christian life is like that.  There are many times when God allows things to take place in our life that we see as setbacks, but in reality are nothing more than sacrifice bunts.  Down the road God uses those situations to bring about His will.  The key to the sacrifice bunt is to get it right.  If you go to bat angry that you don't get to hit, you could pop the ball into the air and cause a double play, or bunt the ball to the wrong place and the runner on base is thrown out.  The key is the willingness of the hitter to sacrifice himself for the well fare of the team.  Often God places us in a sacrifice bunt situation and we become resentful because we don't have our way and get to swing away.  We need to trust the coach and yield to His will.

            Let's see how this affects our story.  You will remember that Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth and were required to travel to Bethlehem to pay for this new tax just ordered by Caesar Augustus.  I have to believe there must have been some serious discussions in the Joseph household before they left for Bethlehem.  Maybe Mary wanted to stay behind and let Joseph go alone.  Maybe Joseph felt that God's will was for Mary to go with him and couldn't express himself very well.  We are given none of the behind-the-scenes discussion, but human nature hasn't changed.  What would you do if your husband asked you to go for a 75 mile walk when you were nine months pregnant?  Would you have a discussion to set him straight? 

            I have to believe that somewhere along the way Joseph and Mary were given Micah 5:2 on which to meditate.  Knowing that God's will required they be in Bethlehem for the birth of their baby would have brought a great deal of encouragement to them, rather than discouragement.

            Have you learned that God is in control of your circumstances, or are you still fighting against that truth?  The way you can tell is in how you behave.  If a circumstance arises that you either don't like or don't believe God has allowed, there are certain steps you can take.  You can pray, seek godly counsel, have legal remedies and use your own resources to solve the problem.  After all that is done, if the situation remains, maybe God wants that circumstance in your life and He has a purpose for it.  Maybe He wants to teach you love or patience.  Maybe it is an act of correction.  Maybe He wants you to minister to someone in the middle of that circumstance.  It was Elizabeth Elliot who stated, "In acceptance there is peace."  Have you learned to trust God with your circumstances and let Him teach you His ways?

            SECOND, ENCOURAGEMENT COMES FROM SEEING GOD'S WILL REVEALED.  One of the most difficult times of life is when we are left in the dark about some situation.  This is also true in the Christian experience.  When situations occur and we do not have a sense of what God is seeking to communicate, we often become defeated or discouraged.  There is a wonderful little phrase said by one of the shepherds after the angel makes known the birth of our Lord.  Verse 15 tells us the shepherd said, "LET US GO STRAIGHT TO BETHLEHEM THEN, AND SEE THIS THING THAT HAS HAPPENED WHICH THE LORD HAS MADE KNOWN TO US."  There is a time to walk by faith.  We study the scriptures, pray, seek counsel, and then act on faith.  Sometimes, though, we miss God's word.  However, when God's will is clearly revealed, we are much more encouraged to move forward.  What attitude do you think the shepherds had as they approached the manger?  Do you think they were a little excited?  Or, do you think they were depressed?  I have to believe that knowing God's will had been revealed, must have excited them just a little bit. 

            This took place in the life of Paul.  You will remember that Paul had some sort of illness from which he sought deliverance.  After pleading with God, he had God's will revealed to Him.  God said, "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT IN YOUR WEAKNESS."  In other words, his illness was a part of God's will.  What was Paul's reaction to that revelation?  He moved forward and prayed for God's grace to cover his need and God did.

            We are in the midst of seeking God's will over the facility we are using.  We have prayed and asked God for the money to purchase the property.  We have also prayed that we might be a blessing to Nuevo Pacto, who has allowed us to share the facility at a reasonable rate.  God has not provided the money to purchase the facility yet, but neither has He allowed any other ministry to make an offer.  At the moment, we are in a holding pattern.  I have to be honest, holding patterns are not my joy in life.  But, I do want to be in the center of God's will and that is where we are right now.  We want to be very sensitive to God's leading, but we don't want to sit on our hands during this time.  God spoke to us very clearly to move to these facilities seven years ago and until that changes, our task is to use the resources God has given us to minister to the needs of people.  You need to be praying fervently for God to provide for our ministry at this location.  If God leads a different direction, we will follow.  Until that time, we need to be about the business of ministry.  Don't wait, get involved now. 

            THIRD, ENCOURAGEMENT COMES WHEN WE REALIZE GOD HAS ALREADY SOLVED OUR MOST DIFFICULT PROBLEM.  Let's be honest with each other.  Isn't the biggest worry most of us have how things are going to turn out?  If your boss comes to you and tells you that half of the workers in your department are going to be laid off but that your job is secure, do you worry when the lay-off is announced?  You don't, because you know how the situation ends.  It is the uncertainty that causes worry.  If you sell all your stock at $50 per share and then it drops to $10 a share do you worry?  You don't have to, because you are already covered. 

            George Brett is one of the greatest hitters ever to play major league baseball.  Several years ago, Brett came to bat against the New York Yankees with two runners on base and his team down by one run.  The Yankee manager was Billy Martin, who had a reputation as being one of the most intense people in baseball.  Martin didn't even get upset when George Brett hit a fastball out of the park to put his team ahead.  He simply walked up to the plate and asked the umpire to check Brett's bat.  Martin had learned that Brett had used pine tar on his bat that was spread too high up the bat.  This allowed the batter to grip the bat, but it was also illegal.  The umpire ruled the bat illegal, called Brett out and the Yankees won.  The reason Martin did not get upset was because he had inside information that allowed him to win the game, regardless of what the opposing team did. 

            Are you aware that God knows what is taking place in your life and can solve the difficult situations in which you find yourself?  When the angels spoke to the shepherds, they let them know that God had solved the world's greatest problem.  The angel said, "UNTO YOU IS BORN…A SAVIOR."  That is the biggest problem all of us face.  We worry about paying our bills, our kid's education, the war against terrorism and dozens of other problems.  However, the biggest issue we all face is what happens when we die?  God solved that problem by sending His son into the world to pay the penalty for our sin.  A Savior has been born.  God solved the biggest problem we will ever face. If He can solve the greatest problem we experience, don't you think he can handle the little ones you are facing today?

Notice, also, the consequences of a Savior being born.  When God solves the problem of sin, the result is peace on Earth.  This is one of the great gifts God gives to His people.  It is not a consequence of having no problems.  John wrote,                JOHN 16:33                  Peace is a consequence of understanding that God has solved the difficult issues of life. 

During the Civil War, Henry Wardsworth Longfellow was a professor at Harvard.  He was greatly conflicted during that conflict, because there were two things he hated; war and slavery.  One was necessary to solve the other.  So adamant an Abolitionist was Longfellow, that the only elections in which he voted were those affecting the slavery issue.  In March 1863, much to his chagrin, Longfellow's son Charlie enlisted in the Union army.  As his father feared, Charlie first came down with an illness, then was wounded.  Charlie lived through surgery and returned to Massachusetts.  As Christmas came that year, Longfellow could only think of the terrible loss of life.  He sat down at his desk and wrote;

                        Then from each black accursed mouth

                        The cannon thundered in the South

                        It was as if an earthquake rent

                        The hearth stones of a continent

            However, as he awoke on Christmas morning and heard the bells of the churches ringing in Cambridge, he sat down again at his desk and his heart wrote a different tune.

                        I heard the bells on Christmas day their old familiar carols play

                        And wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on Earth good will to men

                        And in despair I bowed my head "there is no peace on earth" I said

                        For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on Earth good will to men

Yet pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep

                        The wrong shall fail the right prevail with peace on Earth good will to men

                        Then ringing, singing on the way the world revolved from night to day

                        A voice, a chime, a chant sublime of peace on Earth good will to men.

            I do not know what Longfellow's relationship with the Lord was.  I do know this, though.  As the war was reaching its zenith, he became very anxious and depressed.  It wasn't until he heard the church bells and remembered, as Ben Franklin stated to the Continental Congress, "GOD OVERSEES THE AFFAIRS OF MEN."  Once that reminder sunk in, peace on Earth could become a reality.

            During this Christmas season, my prayer for you is that you experience "peace on Earth good will to men."  If that is not the situation in which you find yourself, I would be willing to bet that one of three truths is missing from your life.

1.                  You have forgotten that God is in control of your circumstances.

2.                  You have forgotten that God wants to reveal His will to you.

3.                  You have forgotten that the result of trusting Christ is not just salvation, but His peace.