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Written by Eugene Harder
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Sunday, 26 December 2004 10:43 |
Former Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda is remembered for a phrase taken from a popular cliché. "There are three kinds of baseball players: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened." In this message you will discover that people respond to Jesus in those same ways.
Luke 2:15-20 
Can you imagine being awakened by the brilliant light and awesome music that greeted the shepherds 2000 years ago? There is no surround sound system capable of reproducing the magnificence of the music they heard that night. The reverberation off the hillsides was indescribable. They knew that it was real because all their buddies heard it.
After visiting the manger the shepherds go hooping and hollering through town telling their buddies about Messiah. People look out their windows to see who the drunks are. “Shut Up and let us sleep” they shout. The shepherds call back, "Guess what, our Messiah was born tonight, just down the road in the manger behind Sam's Inn.
Then again you may have been the Inn Keeper. Your guests are all angry because of the commotion those joyful shepherds caused. You are too busy to stop and contemplate whether or not something momentous has happened.
This message reinforces the truth that our response to the baby in the manger determines the purpose, direction and destiny of our lives. (Read Luke 2:15-20 )
The first group of people at the manger are those who see something happen and wonder what happened. They are not clued in but they are ready to admit that something wonderful has occurred.
That's the position the shepherds were in when the angels awoke them out on the hill side. They knew within their hearts something momentous happened.
Why did the angels appear to the shepherds and not the religious leaders? The difference between the shepherds and religious people is like the difference between catching or missing the bus.
One person asks, "Is this bus going to Kamloops?" The driver replies, "yes it is, if you want to go to Kamloops, then jump on board." They pay the fare and get on board.
Other people say, "Prove to me that this bus is going to Kamloops." Are you sure this bus can make it up the hills? How do you know it won't run out of fuel and we'll freeze? Give me 100 reasons why I should trust this bus and then I'll consider getting on board.”
The bus driver finally says, "Listen fellow, this bus is leaving for Kamloops in 15 seconds. If you want to go to Kamloops, get on board."
The shepherds said, "Yes, we have a thousand questions about all the singing we heard and the lights we saw. While it may not seem reasonable, never-the-less we're getting on the camel train to Bethlehem." We are not going to miss out on what God is doing.
That is the attitude that I’m taking relative to the Purpose Driven Life emphasis. Pastors and churches that I hold in high esteem report personal and corporate blessing from their 40 day quest.
How can we go wrong encouraging Christians to be more purposeful in their pursuit of Jesus? Like the shepherds, we’ve seen the light, heard the singing and we’re getting on the camel train to Bethlehem to worship our Saviour. Its true, your response to the baby in the manger determines your life purpose, direction and destiny.
The second group of people are those who sit and watch things happen. These people do not initiate, they are spectators who say, "Wow, it looks like something is happening.
These people observe but are too consumed with their own problems to ever see anything of significance happening. The Inn keeper represents this group of people.
To him Mary was just another pregnant woman, Jesus just another baby boy. He had an Inn full of guests to care for and there was no time for this contemplative, religious stuff. Today people observe the true followers of Jesus and say, "It's just another religion."
They see someone healed or their lives transformed by the power of God and they say, "Just another psychosomatic cure." Because they don't have happiness, hope and a dream they can't believe or admit that someone else might enjoy those blessings.
These people need to realize that their response to the baby in the manger dictates their life purpose, direction and ultimate destiny.
The third kind of people are those who try to undermine what is happening. These people are represented by King Herod who perceived that Jesus was a threat to his power and so he killed all the boys two years of age and under. Matthew 2:16 “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. (NIV)
There are super religious people who can't stand seeing God bless other miniseries. Like Saul of Tarsus, they ignorantly tear down what God is building.
When our church began Alpha, a few people gave me articles that put Mr. Nicky Gumbel on the level of the Antichrist. That was to be expected because he is circling the globe lifting high the name of Jesus. Anytime Jesus is being exalted the ugly head of Herod rises up and seeks to silence the herald of the most high.
45 years ago I was highly critical of Billy Graham. I was like a spiritual no-see-um trying to bite an elephant. Praise God, somebody brought me to my senses and I repented for allowing Satan to use me to raise up the ugly head of Herod. If your response to the baby in the manger is a judgmental attitude, then beware because your life purpose, direction and destiny may be headed up a dead end street.
The Fourth group of people we focus on are those who are not surprised when God’s ways challenge how they think and live. The wise men said, “We've studied the heavens for years and that unusual star says that an unusual event is happening.” They seized the initiative, took a risk and met Jesus. Matt 2:9-12 “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (NIV)
Little did they know that the baby they worshipped was God. The wise men were open to God who opened their eyes to see more than a baby.
I love being with people who are not surprised when God moves in wonderful ways. They see God in unexpected places blessing unexpected people in unexpected ways for God’s glory.
This Christmas we can grasp hold of the promises of God and begin to enjoy the good things God has for us. Now do you understand what I mean when I say, “Our response to the baby in the manger determines our purpose, direction and destiny.
CONCLUSION
In 2005, which group will you be standing with? Praise God, many of you will be like the wise men and take the initiative and follow the star to see what God is doing.
Unfortunately, a few of you may be like the inn keeper who was too busy taking care of business to investigate how God was moving. Praise God most of you are standing with the shepherds. Your eyes, ears and hearts tell you that God has come to your church and you are ready to move with Him.
Thanks be to God, I don’t know of anyone in our congregation with the spirit of King Herod. On the contrary, you are eager to move forward with God. It did my heart good to see so many of you wanting a copy of The Purpose Driven Life. You are ready for new leadership to take you to the next level.
Your positive response to the baby in the manger tells me that you are discovering God’s purposes, your direction is Godward and your destiny is Heaven. |
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Faith
