The Money Mess...The Miracle of God's Provision

                                                    

Once again the pastor's sermon could not have hit home more directly.  I had to smile as he began preaching.  I had just lamented to my husband last week that I was "worried" about our upcoming property tax bill.  I see no way we can pay it.  I keep trying to think back to last December when we were in the same position...and at the end of the month not only had the bill been paid, but we had money left over!  Oh, me of little faith...why can't I just rest in the Lord.  You'll understand why the following sermon just sort of felt like a hug from God...and a reminder that I still have a long way to go in trusting Him unconditionally.  You'd think that would be easy with a God who loves me unconditionally!

We were reminded that every miracle starts with a mess and Joseph and Mary were certainly in the midst of a financial mess.  They were literally living a hand-to-mouth existence.  Bethlehem was one of the poorest communities.  And as if that weren't bad enough...taxes were being raised.  Joseph and Mary didn't have much...and they were about to lose more of what they didn't have.

Money was a big problem then...and it's a big problem now.  During Christmas 2006, approximatley 457.4 billion dollars were spent on Christmas, an average of $715 per person.  The breakdown of spending:  $451.00 on family, $99.00 on self (?), $85 on friends, $22 on co-workers, $44 on clergy, teachers, etc. and $30.57 on cards and postage!  Christmas now is really not about the birth of the Savior...it's about money!  We qualify and quantify Chrismas value in dollars (it's a good Christmas if we have money to buy gifts...it's a sad Christmas if we don't).  Many of us feel we're in deep financial woe...but Joseph and Mary certainly qualified.  (It's interesting to note that Revelation reveals impending economic crisis.  World leaders believe that a global economy will solve our economic problems today - a significant indicator of Christ's return.)

Expenses that Joseph & Mary were looking at:  1) unexpected pregnancy   2) trip to Bethlehem   3) room in Bethlehem   4) taxes   5) upcoming trip to Egypt.  It was also pointed out that Joseph would have to give up his job in Nazareth to make the trip to Bethlehem.  So they would have no income. 

Enter the wise men!

While we usually see them pictured at the manger, the family was living in a house by the time they arrived.  They had set out on their journey about two years earlier.  We know this because of Herod's decree to kill all Hebrew children under the age of two when the wise men fail to report back to him of the baby's location.  The wisemen were not "religious" men...one was a magician, one a philospher and one an astrologer.  They were all pagans.  They stopped by Herod's place to see if his wise men (priests and scribes) knew where they could find the baby.  They DID know that the Messiah's birth would take place in Bethlehem.  They had a "head knowledge"...but it hadn't traveled to their hearts.  They knew intellectually...but their faith (or lack of it) was blind to the truth.  (I find it amazing that they weren't watching...that no one was planning...that this wasn't the headline story in the news).

These three men showed up and all of Joseph and Mary's physical (financial) needs were met by way of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  What can we take away from this part of the Christmas story!

Principals of God's Provision  

1.  God's program is equipped with God's provision.  Who's program were Joseph and Mary participating in?  They were surrendered to God in everything.  The provision by God is just a small part of the whole thing.  Too often we ask God to provide for our plans.  God wants us to follow His plans and He'll provide for it.  God's program involves creation and redemption.  We can be in a mess and God can redeem us from that mess.  Man's solutions to God's problems NEVER work.  But He is all about redeeming what's broken - emotionally, financially, physically.  God provided because Joseph and Mary were "Yes, Lord!" people.

2.  God's resources are not limited to recognized sources.  Were the wise men logical resources?  God uses unlikely sources to bring miraculous results.  We have our own ideas of who can help.  But God's ways are not our ways - they go so far beyond anything we can imagine.  He uses unlikely resources to accomplish what He wants to do.  Would Mary and Joseph have listed "three wise men from another nation following a star" on their list of support team members who could help with their expenses?   Not likely.  And Brad shared the story of the woman who entered the house where Jesus was dining and wept on his feet and dried them with her tears.  The host should have provided a servant to clean the feet of his guests when they entered the home.  The least likely person to fulfill the responsibility was a woman of ill-repute who would walk in off the street and clean them in the manner she did.  But God can use whatever He wants to accomplish whatever He wants!

3.  God's movement creates momentum.  God will do what He has to do to get us where He wants us.  Sometimes God wants us in a place where He can do something greater in us than can happen where we are.  Sometimes God moves us - sometimes He keeps us where we are.  We may not want to be where He's put us - but we need to stay put if that's what He wants.  Sometimes when we're facing tough times we just want to get out quick.  Egypt, in the Bible, is often a metaphor for "sin".  But God often used Egypt.  (Joseph's trip to Egypt saved his family).  The wise men were considered to be from Arabia or Persia.  Daniel, in the Old Testament, had been banished 800 years before to Babylon, where he organized the first group of "wise men" to study and be prepared.  God used that event hundreds of years before to prepare for Christ's birth and to meet His needs.  God is at work right now to prepare to meet your needs in the future.

Principals of Financial Blessing

1.  Ownership - it's all His.  We tend to hoard.  We are to love God and use things, but we tend to love things and use God.

2.  Stewardship - we manage it by a) working hard to be found faithful, b) conserving the Master's resources, and c) distributing it as the Master directs.

3.  Generosity - we will be given as we give (and forgiven as we forgive).  You can get what you want by helping others get what they want.

4.  Peace - commercials begin by establishing discontent.  Fooshee said, "We buy what we do not need with money we do not have to impress people we do not even like!"  Finding peace in this materialistic society is difficult and must be pursued with purpose!

We are invited to a life that is more satisfying than a life that tries to satisfy itself with spending.  We have no idea how wealthy we are because we feed daily on discontment. 

So many questions come from this sermon (this is me now - smile).  Are you Mary or Joseph with needs you cannot see being met?  Trust Him as they did and watch for the miracle in the mess.  Are you a wise man with resources to share that will allow God to use you to bless and provide for others?  Just do it...be a "Yes, Lord" person.  Are you a Herod...living in fear and destroying those who you believe long for your position?  Stop...understand that lives are at stake.  This goes for gossips, for those who destroy others with their tongues, for those who pass along a rumor because it might be truth.  Just because something is true doesn't mean it needs to be shared.  Instead, talk to the Lord about...about the source of the rumor...about the issues involved.  Lift up your fellow man and help to restore the hurt, broken and needy that surround us.  (Okay...now I've gone to preaching...sorry).

Merry Christmas to all.  I may miss next week's sermon, but will request a copy of the CD so that I can share the final message in the series that has really helped me to focus on Christ this Christmas season.  I pray you too are standing at the manger in awe!