When God Changes Your Plans

When God Changes Your Plans

Last week we started a series that, God willing, will take us right up to Christmas.  One question posed last week was, what exactly are we celebrating at this time of year?  Is it family, decorated trees and holiday cheer?  (Whatever that might mean?). We said last time that In church Christmas takes on an altogether different meaning.  Here we celebrate Jesus; whom the angel said would be called Emmanuel - or God is with us.  And again, I ask you what exactly does THAT look like?  What does it mean to have God draw near to you?  Or add to that, to have God WITH you?  What is that all about?

Last time, we looked at the backstory to the Christmas story and discovered that God had been silent towards Israel for 400 years.  We saw that when God draws near to us, it’s because God has remembered His people and His promises.  And whenever God has made a promise; He intends to keep it.  And so, last week we were reminded of some things to keep in mind as we pray.

This week we will discover another aspect of Emmanuel - or God with us.  When God draws near, not only is it because He has heard the prayers of His people and remembered them, He draws near to speak to them; to redirect them and change their lives to match His plan for them.  Remember, God has a plan for all of His children.  Plotted out from ages past and for your good.  

This week we will see how this works out in the Christmas story of Jesus’ parents.  Mary and Joseph hear the voice of God’s messenger and their lives are forever changed.  Within that story we must ask ourselves two things; Am I listening for God’s call on my life?  And what sort of change does God intend for me?

Since we’re looking at the Christmas story from both Mary and Joseph’s perspective, we need to open to both Luke, chapter one and Matthew, chapter one.  Let us begin with Luke.

1. Body
1. God is God  (Luke 1:26ff)
1. One day Mary had a visitor with unexpected news.
2. In one day the entire trajectory of her life was changed - from blushing bride to expectant mother.
3. God has the authority to rule. There are no limits to God’s rule. Nothing is outside his control: not your life circumstances, your relationships, your family, or your job. 
4. Abraham Kuyper says, ““There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” Everything belongs to him because he made everything. If he made everything, then he gets to decide how everything works. If he changes your plans, it’s because he knows things you do not know.
5. As Job declared when answering the Lord. “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2)
6. You and I are not God, no matter how much we want to be. We don’t have ultimate knowledge or control. Apart from Jesus, we’re good. We can’t be good enough on our own. This leads us to not always pursue what’s best for us. 
7. If our hearts apart from Christ are turned towards evil and we don’t know everything, we can’t possibly always pursue what is good for us, even if we think it is. 
8. Simply, we need to trust God with all of our lives because he’s God and we are not.  
9. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
10. And so, Mary’s answer was, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”  (Luke 1:38)
2. God is Good  (Matt. 1:18ff)
1. Next was Joseph’s turn to receive a visitor with unexpected news.
2. That night Joseph’s plans were changed - from divorce court to adoption.
3. A Knowing that God is in control, that he is sovereign, that he knows things we do not know is important. Maybe you realize this, but you have to also believe that what he says and does is good. 
4. When God created, he made everything good. If what he says and does is good, it’s because he is good. We can trust him not only because he knows and made everything but because he is good. Imagine how beautiful that is, the person who knows everything is also good. 
5. C.S. Lewis wrote this about Aslan, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” When he changes your plans, it’s because he is good.  
6. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8)
7. And so, Joseph’s response was when he was aroused from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,… And he called His name Jesus.  (Matthew 1:24-25)
3. God Is For Your Good  (Matthew 2:13)
1. Joseph received another message in the night.
2. Another dream, another change of plans.  From home going plans to exile.
3. Because God is good, everything he does is good. If everything he does is good, then everything he does is for your good. 
4. When he changes your plans, it’s because he knows what you do not know and it’s good for you. God loves you. He doesn’t have ulterior motives or a hidden agenda. He is making us more and more like Jesus, his perfect Son. 
5. What could be better for you? Everything he does is preparing you for eternity with him. Everything he does is bringing glory to him, which is always good for you. 
6. It might not always feel good, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. Your feelings are not truth. God’s word is.  
7. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
8. And so it is written about Joseph that When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, (Matt. 2:14)
2. Conclusion
1. What does it look like when Emmanuel happens?  When God draws near?
2. It looks like God’s messenger forever changing the lives of a young girl and her husband.
3. What about you?  Do you believe that God called you to a changed life? 
   Yes?  No?
4. Just listen to these verses:  
1. Ezekiel 36:26 ESV — And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
2. Romans 12:2 ESV — Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…
3. 1 Corinthians  6:11 ESV -- And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
4. 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV — And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…
5. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV — Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
6. Ephesians 4:22-24 ESV — … put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
7. Philippians 1:6 ESV — And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
5. Like He did to every other disciple, when Jesus found you He spoke to your heart saying, “Follow me.”  I doubt that you and He were going in the same direction at that time.
6. So I ask you one more time; Are you listening for God’s call on your life?  And what sort of changes does God intend for you?