Why Does God Mess With My Dreams?

The Christmas season is full of hopes and dreams. Some even sing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” This song captures the idea many have of Christmas…that everything is suppose to be perfect. We have the perfect Christmas tree, the perfect lights and decorations, we are going to have the perfect meal, we are going to give and receive the perfect gifts and we are going to be surrounded with perfect people, those we love, our family.

But rarely is this how Christmas is. It may be good but rarely perfect and the higher your expectations are the greater your disappointments will be. Many of us have the same view of our God or of our faith…that once we became a Christian everything is suppose to be perfect. God is on our side. How can we lose? Right? The great evangelist Billy Graham said “Becoming a Christian is not the end of all your problems, just the beginning of facing up to them.” So living the Christian life isn’t living a life of perfection, a life without trials. The Beatle, John Lennon, once said “Life is what happens to you when you‘re busy making other plans.” Phyllis Diller said, “If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans.”

So what am I saying? Am I saying that God is not on our side, that He isn’t really interested in our plans or dreams or that He just likes to mess with us to test our faith? Have you ever shared those same thoughts as I have, where there are those moments we just want to say to God, “C’mon man!!!” and ask yourself “Why does God mess with my dreams?”

We often get this idea from scripture that God is always in control and not to say He is not but we think that the people in the Bible had it made because God or an angel would speak to them and give them the 411. Like the nativity story… think of it, we tell this story like a fairytale, how the angels appeared to Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds, the Wiseman and laid it all out to them; “And they all lived happily ever after.” But Mary did you know? The question asked in a popular Christmas and Easter song, your son would die on a cross. Mary and Joseph had a dream. A dream of a quiet life together raising a family and along came God and a baby changed everything. (Check out Faith Hill’s “A Baby Changes Everything” video on YouTube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y0_wNPSOaw)

Our thoughts are often not God’s thoughts. Our obedience to God is important to Him but does not alter His plan. A favorite segment of mine on ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning is called “C’mon Man!” where they deride certain athletes for poor performance or bad behavior or sometimes just unfortunate circumstances that occur. Using that theme, let’s get up close and personal with the people from the Bible involved in the Nativity Story. Below is an outline of a message I prepared for a Christmas devotion a few years ago. The Nativity Story is full of surprises and "C'mon man" moments.


I. Begin in Luke

a. Zechariah the priest and Elizabeth
i. Good people
ii. Obeyed God
iii. But no children – “C’Mon Man”

b. Angel appears in their old age
i. Zechariah just going about His business as priest
ii. Alarmed and afraid - “C’Mon Man”
iii. Elizabeth is going to have a child - “C’Mon Man”
iv. For unbelief, Zechariah would not be able to speak - “C’Mon Man”
v. v.20 people were waiting and wondering what was taking so long - “C’Mon Man”

c. Angel appears to Mary
i. Deeply troubled by angel’s message to have child - “C’Mon Man”
ii. Had not known a man
iii. Was engaged - “C’Mon Man”


II. Go to Matthew 1
a. Mary and Joseph engaged, made plans

b. Angel explains going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit
i. Joseph finds out, “C’Mon Man”
ii. Going to break the engagement

c. Angel visits
i. Instructs Joseph to marry
ii. Mary’s son will be Jesus (that’s hard to compete with) - “C’Mon Man”


III. Go back to Luke 2

a. A census to be taken- “C’Mon Man”
i. Must travel with a pregnant women 60-65 miles over rocky terrain in winter to go to Bethlehem from Galilee
ii. Get there and there is no room in the inn - “C’Mon Man”

b. Angels appear to shepherds
i. Terribly afraid - “C’Mon Man”
ii. Told Mary things they heard from the angels
iii. Mary pondered, thought deeply - “C’Mon Man”
IV. Matthew Chapter 2 Jesus was born

a. Wisemen from the East, studied the stars
i. Began to follow the star at birth
ii. Disappeared by the time they got to Jerusalem - “C’Mon Man”
iii. Had to stop and ask Herod for directions once in Jerusalem

b. King Herod’s secret meeting
i. King Herod learns of the birth of a King- “C’Mon Man”
ii. Meets with Wismen
iii. Calls for priest to meet and tell of prophecy
iv. Instructs them to go to Bethlehem and return to him

c. Flee to Egypt
i. Angel appears to Wisemen telling them not to return the way they came
ii. Herod learns he has been deceived by the wiseman - “C’Mon Man”
iii. Herod decrees to kill new born Israelite babies
iv. Angel appears to warn Joseph and instruct them to go to Egypt – “C’Mon Man”
v. While waiting in Egypt waiting for a time to return - “C’Mon Man”

d. After Herod dies
i. Instructs Joseph go back to Israel- “C’Mon Man”
ii. Learns that Herod successor even more ruthless- “C’Mon Man”
iii. Instructed to go to Galilee - “C’Mon Man”


V. So why did God mess with their plans?

a. Mt. 1:22 Now all this happened in order to make true what the Lord had said
i. A son was to be born to a virgin and he will be called “Immanuel”
ii. God is with us

b. Mt. 2:15 Took the Child to Egypt
i. This was done to make come true what the lord had said through the prophet “I called my son out of Egypt.”

c. Mt. 2:17 Killing of the children
i. Prophet Jeremiah foretold it
ii. Sound of weeping, Rachel crying for her children

d. Mt. 2:23 A Nazarene
i. Told to go to Galilee to the town of Nazareth to be safe
ii. So what the prophets had said would come true
iii. “He will be called a Nazarene.”


VI. Take Away

a. God uses what we give him, but he is still in control
i. What we do with our lives is like one strand on a spider’s web
ii. Web may look different but it is still God’s web

b. Remember when the “C’mon man!” moments happen, God is in control

c. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

R & R in Jerusalem

Message by Duane Weaver

Presented March 20, 2005

John Chapter 12

Introduction

I would like begin by playing a word game with you. I will say a word and you see what first comes to your mind. What do you first think of when I say the word “flip-flop?” How many of you thought of this (show picture of a thong). When I was growing up, we called these thongs, but I would get some pretty strange looks if I were to go into a department store today and ask to see some thongs. Having just completed an election year, how many of you thought of a political figure? (show picture of John Kerry) Now I show you this picture, not to make any political statement other than this, political analyst would agree that what cost Senator Kerry the election was the success his opponent had in labeling him a “flip-flopper.” However, one of the newest definitions added to the dictionary does not refer to either of these, but this…(show picture of a schematic of a flip-flop). Here is what it says:

n. (n.) Also referred to as a bistable gate, a type of circuit that is interconnected with like circuits to form logic gates in digital integrated circuits, such as memory chips and microprocessors. The name “flip-flop” comes from the circuit’s nature of alternating between two states when a current is applied to the circuit (for example, 1 to 0 or 0 to 1). A flip-flop will maintain its state indefinitely until it receives an input pulse, called a trigger, which forces it to alternate its state. Once the circuit changes state it remains in that state until another trigger is received So essentially, this is a product working in conjunction with and in continuity with other components and takes on one nature and characteristic until a trigger causes it to alter it’s nature and characteristic and will stay in that state until another trigger forces it back to it’s original state.

Does this remind you of some Christians you know? They walk and talk one way in a particular setting but act and speak in an entirely different way in a different environment. Have you ever wondered how the people in Jerusalem who hailed Jesus as their Savior one day could flip-flop and cry out for His crucifixion several days later? That has always puzzled me. How could one of the disciples who heard Jesus’ words and saw his works, turn around and sell him out for thirty pieces of silver. But the greatest of all of the flip-floppers were the Jewish leaders. Most all of them had their doubts that Christ was the Messiah at first. But in John chapter 12 we learn that some had come to believe that he truly was the Messiah but yet they did not stop those who wanted Him crucified.

But wait, before we condemn them to the point where we might be accused of being anti-Semitic as was Mel Gibson, the director of The Passion of Christ, let us revisit Jerusalem. Let’s go with Jesus for a little R & R. Not for some rest and relaxation but to gain some understanding of the reception and rejection of Christ from John chapter 12.

A Picture of the Church

The opening scene in John 12 is a dinner reception in Bethany in honor of Jesus. A compilation of the gospel accounts of this event would lead one to believe the whole town was there. It was a celebration of those who witnessed the resurrection of their friend Lazarus from the dead. This was a banquet to pay tribute to Jesus, their guest of honor.

What a picture we have here! There is Lazarus alive from the dead and in fellowship with Christ. Then we see Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. Then, thirdly, we see Martha serving, putting on a meal. That is her gift and she is exercising it. These are the three essentials in the church today: new life in Christ, worship and adoration, and service. This home at Bethany is a picture of what every church should be.

An old time Methodist evangelist and educator, Samuel Chadwick once said, “If God is at work week by week raising men from the dead, there will always be people coming to see how it is done. You cannot find an empty church that has conversion for its leading feature. Do you want to know how to fill empty chapels? Here is the answer: Get your Lazarus.” Samuel Chadwick, Methodist evangelist and educator (1860–1932) Fragrance (vv 1-11)

Unfortunately, amidst a beautiful setting as this, sin rears its ugly head. We read that Judas takes exception to the Mary’s lovely act of worship as she anoints Christ’s feet with an expensive perfume commonly used for burial, perhaps her own and wipes His feet with her hair. We are told the expense would be equivalent to a year’s wage. Perhaps now, Mary doesn’t concern herself with death since she witnessed the resurrection of her brother and now sits at the feet of her Savior. Each time we meet Mary, she is at the feet of Jesus. Here she is wiping His feet with her hair. Since a woman’s hair is her glory, she was laying her glory, as it were, at His feet. Needless to say, Mary herself would have carried the fragrance of the perfume for some time after this. Thus when Christ is worshiped, the worshipers themselves carry away something of the fragrance of that moment. No house is so filled with pleasant aroma as the house where Jesus is given His rightful place. (Insert antidote of North Dakota candlemaker who has captured the fragrance of Christ from the spices mentioned in Ps. 45:8, myrrh, ales, and cassia)

My question to you is, “Are the places where you go filled with Christ’s fragrance because of you? Read 2 Cor. 2:15-16 15

For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

Perhaps you have followed the story of the incredible events that took place just a week ago when a man, named Brian Nichols, overpowered a guard on the way to the court room. He took the guard’s pistol and entered the judge’s chamber killing him and two other before escaping the court house. Later in an attempt to hijack a truck, he killed a federal agent. The largest man-hunt in Atlanta history ensued, as they desperately tried to bring this extremely dangerous fugitive back into custody. Remarkably, after holding Ashley Smith hostage for seven hours, he released her unharmed, she calls the police, they surround the grounds and he turns himself in without incident.

Peggy Noonon, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, tells the amazing story of how Ashley Smith stopped Brian Nichol’s killing spree. She begins her column with two short sentences; “Something happened. Something changed,” and she includes these two photos of Nichols; the mug shot you probably have seen frequently on your television screen and this photo, immediately after he gave himself over to police. Can you see a difference? How would you describe it? He had been in the presence of Christ’s fragrance for seven hours.

From a transcript of Smith’s testimony, we learn that after she had earned Nichol’s trust, he allowed her to read to him from the Purpose Driven Life and she shared her testimony and they read from the Bible. Here is a short excerpt from that transcript: But after I started to read to him, he saw--I guess he saw my faith and what I really believed in. And I told him I was a child of God and that I wanted to do God's will. I guess he began to want that to. That's what I think. Now I don’t know much about Ashley Smith; whether she is a role-model Christian or not and I really have not heard much of the impact she had on Brian Nichols after he turned himself in, but I do know this…it is our testimony that is the fragrance of life to those who are being saved and the smell of death to those who are perishing. She talked to him about a purpose for living and the option he had to choose death. He chose to live.

Festival (vv 12-19)

Jesus took advantage of the large Passover crowd to present Himself as King as prophesized in Zech. 9:9. He was forcing the Jewish leaders to act, for it was the Father’s will that Jesus die on Passover. We read accounts earlier in the the gospel of John where the Pharisees tried to lay their hands on Christ but he eluded them (10:39) for the time had not come.

But now “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” 12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna![c]” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[d] “Blessed is the King of Israel!” 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.”

Who were they that paid Him respect? The commentator Matthew Henry suggests three sorts: 1. Those who came up to feast; not the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but the country people that came from remote parts to worship at the feast; the nearer the temple of the Lord, the further from the Lord of the temple the people were. 2. Perhaps they had been Christ’s hearers in the country, and great admirers of him there, and therefore came to give their respect to him at Jerusalem, where they knew he had many enemies. 3. Perhaps they were those more devout Jews that came up to the feast some time before, to purify themselves, that were more inclined to religion than their neighbors, and these were they that were so came to honor Christ. 4. They were not the rulers, nor the great men, that went out to meet Christ, but the commonalty; some would have called them a mob, a rabble: but Christ has chosen the weak and foolish things (1 Co. 1:27), and is honoured more by the multitude than by the magnificence of his followers; for he values men by their souls, not their names and titles of honour.

So we do not know for sure as to whether these were the same to call for Christ’s crucifixion but we have to ask, “Where were they when Pilate asked what he should do with Christ?”. Why didn’t they speak up? It is easier to shout in a parade than to stand at a cross. It is easier to sing praises to Him than it is to bear scorn.

Fruitfulness (vv 20-36)

Jesus looked upon His death as an opportunity to glorify God ( 23, 28)., Some Greeks were among those who were going up to worship and since they did not have access to the inner courts being gentiles they inquired of Phillip to ask Jesus if they may see him. It is interesting to note that they Greeks were there to worship but they were not fully committed to the Jewish law (circumcision, in particular). They most likely were “God-fearers,” who were attracted to the Jewish faith by its monotheism and morality. They worshipped in their synagogues but did not become proselytes. They would only go so far in their faith. They had their limits. They had their understanding of the Scriptures (that Christ would remain forever) and did not want to depart from it, therefore, Jesus could not be the Messiah. Jesus answers them with an illustration of a seed that must die to produce fruit. He is not exclusively speaking of needing to become a martyr but of dying to self. He saw Himself as a seed that would die and produce fruit and as a conqueror who would defeat Satan (v. 31) ). The Cross would open the way of salvation for both Jews and Gentiles. So Jesus looked upon His death as an opportunity to glorify God. Do you take that attitude when you face a time of trial?

Faithlessness (vv 37-50)

In His words and works, Jesus showed Israel the light, but they chose to walk in darkness. In verse 42 we see that even many of the rulers believed in Him , but because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. Just as it was prophesized by Isaiah and John reminds of us of that in verses 37-40. Jesus made it clear in vv. 44-50. He was God and He came to shed light upon the world. He did not come to judge for that time is reserved for another day, but He gives this warning in verse 48. He who rejects me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. There is no room for confusion; there is no room to flip-flop. Be careful what you do with His words because you will hear them again when you see the Savior (v. 48).

Conclusion: Lessons We Can Learn From A Mule

This animal can teach us a lot, because she is the creature who carries Christ into the world. And that’s what it’s all about. Carrying Christ into the world. The donkey was a Christ-bearer, or a Christopher (derived from the Greek Christos combined with pherein “to bear, to carry”). Will you be a flip-flopper or a Christopher?

Today is an opportunity to take the name Christopher (Christophera, feminine) as our own. By doing so, we commit to bearing Christ to the world. Being Christopher means:

• Serving Christ. Being a faithful servant can be a burden.

• Serving Christ humbly without caring who gets the glory.

• Following Christ’s direction; being willing to go where he wants to go, not where we want to go.

• Not getting spooked by the crowds, the noise, the attention.

• Taking Christ into enemy territory.

• Never asking Christ to “get off our backs.”

• Being willing to shed the “hero” image people wanted to pin on Jesus.

• Being obedient to the will of the One who holds the reins. As we carry Christ into the world, we are challenged to do a particular kind of work, and to show a distinctively Christian lifestyle.

There is no room for flip-flops