Pastor Brad DeLong - Christmas Chaos

how refreshing it is to come in on a Wednesday night see brothers and sisters nearby and you don't even have to say a word you're here for the same reason you're here to give them your all to worship him and to hear the word that's what we're going to do tonight you can be seated thank you again for your faithfulness to the house of the Lord and I say that especially as we head into the holiday season all of its busyness all of its festivities and tonight I want to I want to focus in on this season in particular and I want to key in

on an often overlooked aspect of both our modern day Christmas season as well as an aspect that was very much present during the birth of Jesus Christ himself you can look at this it's kind of the kickoff of our uh Christmas topics here at APC and uh I I don't mind kicking that off I love Christmas but to introduce this topic in particular that I want to talk about tonight I need your help because I want to pull the room you know by now hopefully that anything can happen on a Wednesday night this is going to require some brief discussion uh and I hope that

all the introverts in the room are okay with that if you're not I will not call on you I'm not going around the room row by row we don't have time for that but I do need your help to introduce and launch into what we're going to be talking about tonight I want to hear from you directly what immediately comes to your mind when you consider Christmas okay get it in your mind and I'll ask you to share it what immediately comes to your mind when the word Christmas or the season of Christmas is introduced what what surfaces in your mind does anyone want to

start us off there's no wrong answers here okay now if you say something like candy corn or I you know that's just that's not right but there are no wrong answers all right so anyone anyone want to share okay sister McClure family that's perfect that's awesome family comes to mind all right anyone else this is good hey peace and good will all men I love it brother friend the birth of Jesus these are all the right answers you all studied ahead you looked ahead anyone else any brave souls in the room gifts did you say gifts okay yeah that's that's their tradition absolutely and for

those of us uh that may not be as spiritual gift and I'm just messing with the Instagram or she's she yeah Jesus is the best gift she's right on there she's right on I thought of this today I thought of family uh Christmas lights for some reason peppermint came to mind maybe because I like peppermint uh some of you are Lifesaver fans and that's okay but peppermint is the way to go now I ask you for your help to to introduce this topic because I would say that all of those were good things they were positive things no one said the Grinch and no one

said bah humbug none of that it was all good things and there are probably many in the room when I said Christmas it was just sense of immediate joy in Elation when Christmas is introduced an encounter but there are also others here tonight many across the world as well whose mind subconsciously goes in the opposite direction when the holidays are discussed and contemplate in fact there was a study done just a couple years ago they pulled around 2 000 people and that study showed that 88 percent of those individuals found Christmas to be the most stressful time of the year so while the enthusiasts are

decorating their homes for hours and they have added more lights than the power grid can sustain others are not characterizing Christmas with family and jubilant music and abundant Joy but instead it's probably more aptly characterized by something like this and a stress ball or if you're my dad he brought me a stress pickup truck never seen one of those I was on the hunt for a stress ball this week couldn't find one I think it's Christmas and everyone's buying them up I think that's what's going on Christmas can often the season can add a weight of things like stress and grief and anxiety and exhaustion

to people and families that are already tired struggling and overwhelmed if that's you tonight and if you're facing a difficult season right now if you're walking through stress and chaos and uncertainty I want to help you and I want to help all of us this evening I want to do that of course by taking a thorough look at the very first Christmas itself and all the chaos that the original characters and biblical Heroes had to endure not to be clear this is this is not to put a damper on anything tonight but it's meant to help someone walking through stress and chaos to know that

you're not alone first of all you're not alone there are others here there's others in the body of Christ that are with you in I want you to know that you have been preceded by men and women who saw God not only walked them through their season of chaos but also use that season to bring about salvation for human Andy including you and me so you've got Reason for Hope tonight even in the midst of Christmas Chaos and that hope is based squarely in the chaotic nature of that very first Christmas in the birth of Jesus Christ I've already mentioned my title and I'll revisit

it again in just a moment it's this is a lesson based on a series of Adam Shaw did quite some time ago at least the title and it's entitled Christmas Chaos if you didn't pick that up tonight we're going to focus on that original Christmas one that as You observe it closely and with the historical backdrop in mind you can see it was one of the most chaotic seasons on record especially for this young family involved truth is the original Christmas was about as wild as you could get and while it's true you and I we currently wrestle we with we got a lot of

chaos going on during Christmas time all the shopping and the wrapping and the the lines and the traffic and the Christmas parties and the cooking and all the errands we have to accomplish but even with all that we're still out and matched by what our predecessors experience in order to illustrate that I want us to take a look at the backdrop and the background the nuances of that first Christmas the reality is we've sort of sanitized this story over the centuries and in recent times we've we've domesticated it we've made it safer we format it to where it it fits in our world view and

our perspective and I thought about this week Mariah and I we joke pretty regularly almost every week night any given week night we read this paraphrased kids Bible to Mila and that book usually leaves out some of the details of the Bible that are not as appropriate for children I'm glad that it does that or I'd be sitting there explaining what actually happened to Goliath with his own sword after David hit him with the rock the story just says he fell down and woohoo you know I don't have to get into the next part we're not ready for that but that scenario illustrates the fact

many elements of this all too important story are left out they're overlooked entirely the truth of the matter is it was crazy unless we forget the characters of this story we'll talk about them this was their real life this actually happened if you believe the Bible to be true and we do they didn't have the benefit of skipping to the next chapter to know that everything was going to be okay they didn't have the benefit of the Bible itself they didn't have the pages of scripture and the gospels that you and I cherish and study instead they lived it just like some of you are

living through your chaos in a struggle right now and before we dive into that narrative itself I'll pause to say that you and I we're not able to skip ahead and to our individual stories either I recognize that but we do know the end result we do know there's Victory we do know that we will overcome there's a future and there's a hope we know that he has plans for us and those plans are good we also know that Romans tells us all things work together for good to them that love God and to those who are called according to his purpose in those last

two words are critical for us to know even all the chaos that we're facing it will work together for his purpose it will work together for good you and I have that hope and promise based out of Romans chapter 8 a letter that was written long after these biblical Heroes face the chaos that we're going to discuss they didn't have the benefit of this we do and that chaos for our purposes started in Luke chapter 1 and verse 26 as we read this account in in segments I want us to bear in mind again these are real people with real lives and struggles and I

want us to remember that this story takes place over several years not just over two chapters in The Book of Luke we often read it Christmas morning and we Breeze through it and we forget that this was very much a long-term commitment that they were following through this was a long-term struggle and season if you've been through a season a long-term one that's lasted for years you can take heart they went through a long-term struggle their entire lives turned on in it starts from Mary in particular in Luke 1 26 it says in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to

Nazareth a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph a descendant of David virgin's name was Mary the angel went to her and said greetings you who are highly favored there's an exclamation point there I don't know if he yelled it or not I hope he didn't she was scared enough as it was I guarantee the Lord is with you she says verse 29 merely it was Mary was greatly troubled in his words wondering what kind of greeting this might be but the angel said or don't be afraid Mary you found favor with God you will conceive and

give birth to a son and you're you're to calm Jesus he'll be great he'll be called the son of the most time the Lord will give him the Throne of his father David and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever his kingdom will never end verse 34 she says how will this be she said I'm a virgin how is this going to happen I want to add some context here okay apparently Mary had no clue she would one day carry the Messiah and be a part of a prophecy long-awaited and discussed for hundreds and even thousands of years verse 29 says she was greatly troubled

from the start which probably had something to do with the fact that she was standing face to face with an Angel we'll talk about that in a moment but also you have to understand she was an unmarried young lady which Scholars estimated could have been as young as 12 years old and as old as 17 at the oldest likely around 14. if you split the difference 14 15. we often to see her depicted in pictures in this calm cool manner looks like she may be in her early 20s but more than likely she's a teenager in fact to put this in our context if she

was here tonight she wouldn't be in this room she'd be in youth service she was here on a Sunday she'd be sitting right in here with the young ladies and this young lady most likely in her mid-teens is being visited by an Angel of the Lord specifically the Archangel Gabriel as I mentioned verse 29 tells us she was greatly troubled other translation says she was confused she was Disturbed I'm reading this I'm thinking well yeah but an archangel just popped up appeared in front of her I don't know if you're not on the door I don't know if he just he was just there what

would you do sweeping ah you know I mean come on I saw this painting once talking about sweeping it was of Mary I was I was younger and I you know it was always those pictures that get in your your brain one of the first ones introduced to you this is the one of the first pictures I saw of Mary this picture she's got a broom and there's an angel in front of her and she just looks so calm peaceful foreign I doubt it the Bible doesn't say exactly what she was doing could have been sleeping I don't know but all of a sudden it

says an angel appears he says Don't Be Afraid don't be afraid they always seem to say that you know the angels Don't Be A Brave you know someone jumps out in front of you and you're home alone and you're by yourself and says Don't Be Afraid what are you going to hear me afraid and that's a human okay we don't know what Gabriel looked like if you look at some of the uh the depictions that they have now that represented an angel accurately depicted and they're they're terrifying they got eyeballs everywhere like just imagine okay in your living room Luke 1 29 says she's so

confused and Disturbed at his visit and his words and it also helps to understand visits like this did not happen that often and thousands of years of History to this point only a handful of people were ever visited by an Angel at least and what the Bible records we don't have very many many Angel visits in the Bible much lest the angel Gabriel and if you boil it down there are only three people that were ever recorded to receive a vision or visit from from Gabriel to this point only three people Daniel Zechariah earlier in the chapter and Mary that's a short list that's pretty

important verse 31 says he gives her a rather abrupt promise during his visit hey nice to meet you don't be afraid and behold he starts reading a scroll he doesn't go into small talk he just tells her you're going to conceive in your womb and bring forth the son call his name Jesus he's going to be great he'll be called the son of the highest and the Lord will give him the Throne of his father David he'll Reign Over The House of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end and Mary said to the angel how can this be since I don't

know a man in other words what how can this happen think of the thoughts going through him why me why my family why I'm why are you telling me what am I going to tell Joseph my family is going to kill me the Bible only records her asking one question to Gabriel in verse 34. but I have to imagine a teenage girl would have thought through some of these questions and in terms of a chaotic and stressful day this one takes the cake this was a real person with real emotions in real Teenage feelings it'd be tough for an adult to process this much less

a teenager it ought to give us some pause tonight that is overwhelming as our lives and family Dynamics and this Christmas may be this had to be one of the most overwhelming moments and calls of God possible especially for a young lady like this the promise of the Messiah God's Redemptive plan on the earth salvation of humanity it would all be conceived and born in and through her and if you're feeling some pressure right now and during this holiday season You Are Not Alone tonight we have the advantage of hindsight but can you imagine just at the base level Mary trying to tell her parents

what God is calling her to do how do you start that conversation the parents and Joseph eating your spaghetti I had a visit from an Angel Today said I was going to give birth to Messiah these are real conversations and moments she would have experienced taking all those possible emotions any number of fears and pressures into account we read verse 35 it says in the angel answered and said to her the holy spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you therefore also that Holy one who's to be born he'll be called the son of God now indeed Elizabeth your

relative has also conceived a son in her old age and this is now the sixth month for her who was called Barren for with God nothing will be impossible powerful and I want you to notice her response on the heels of this this is one of the most remarkable sentences it's got to be in the entire Bible then Mary said behold the maidservant of the Lord let it be to me according to your word and the angel Departed verse 38 different translation it says Mary responded I'm the Lord's servant May everything you have said about me come true we're not given the filler details Mary's

tone facial expression body language all that you have to imagine this was a sobering moment in her life she asked one question got a pretty short answer and then without any recorded hint of hesitation she just submitted to the plan of God and all the hardship and the chaos that it required must have contemplated in those moments or the moments right after everything from what about the Pains of childbirth to the embarrassment to the risk of broken engagement and potential deaths by stoning the angel did not tell her hey Joseph isn't going to put you away quietly and and uh you're you're not going to

be still he didn't give her any assurances he just said this is happening she said okay but at some point she had to stop and think about the way her life would change dramatically in the face of all of that in the difficult years ahead her response and the King James is so poetic so powerful she says be it unto me according to Thy Word yes it's going to require a great deal of Shame and suffering and sacrifice and struggle but if that's your will and your word I'm in and in the face of pressure and Chaos she said yes she didn't even ask for

time to think about it let me check my schedule for the next 10 months and then the next 18 years let me check with my fiance Joe or my parents none of that yes she submits to the plan the will of God and just as Paul would later write of her son Jesus she made herself of no reputation took upon the form of assurance she said I am the Lord's servant let everything you've spoken come to pass and again echoing the posture of the Messiah it was this not my will but thine be done moment for Mary some of you are having moments like this

in this season and you you're kind of throwing your hands up I don't know what else to do Lord I I'm facing struggle I'm facing chaos but even in the midst of it not my will but thine be done it may even be that some of you have prayed that prayer recently and you're standing in Good Company If I Could paraphrase her response it would essentially read I'm your servant so whatever you've planned for me I'll submit to it whatever's good for your purpose Lord I'll consent to it even if it involves pain and heartache and chaos and watching the child that I delivered and

raised die on the cross be it unto me according to Thy Word no one could argue well she had no idea what the future was going to hold when she said yes and you'd probably be somewhat correct but at the very least on the table for her when she made that decision was potential execution and acts communication at the leaf but even still married just signs on to the plan and the will of God and in the process she encourages someone that's here tonight who may be right in the middle of God's perfect will but you're still facing immense pressure and Chaos her life and

her story are a reminder that his will often leads us straight into the teeth of struggle and storms and not necessarily away from it or around it and we hope that God will lead us out of those circumstances as soon as possible that he'll Deliver us like he did in the middle of that storm with his disciples but I I stopped to remind us that what God can do in the middle of that chaos may be more important than him leading you out of it right now what God can do right in the middle of that mess probably more important than him delivering you in

an instant this story teaches us among other things that the will and the call of God often takes us into places in in the Realms that are uncomfortable and even chaotic as our title suggests and when you look deeper into the original Christmas Story you notice this is exactly what happened with Mary and Joseph their story reveals what appears to be just wave after wave of utter chaos that hits home for some families in the room tonight even during the most wonderful time of the year because some of us have learned the hard way that life takes no pauses for Christmas just like chaos didn't

pause for Jesus birth and Mary and Joseph it stands to reason this struck me if Jesus didn't pause the chaos and account of his own birth and his own Earthly parents he may not do that for us every time either if he let his own family go through it for his good and his purpose he's probably going to let us go through it too for his good and his purpose instead of delivering us just like he did in that day he may use it for his own purpose and his plan to be clear I don't believe that God is the originator of of all that

chaos that we face but he most certainly will use that chaos and this story helps us tonight on many levels especially as we walk through chaos and disorder and in particular it reminds us that the will of God is seldom if ever attainable without sacrifice and suffering an inevitable hurdles and we can tend to gloss over those elements in this Christmas Story we we read it in our own view of the supposed seamlessness of that first Christmas but then you read it closely and you realize this was anything but seamless it involved a whole lot of struggle and chaos take a look at Joseph he's

a man who faced immense pressure on more than one occasion think about how these two verses in Matthew 1 and there are implications rocked his world turned it upside down Matthew 1 18 19. this is two verses but it's it's similar I thought of it similar to that phone call that you get in the middle of your day that speaks of some kind of tragedy and it's just a two second phone call or five minute phone call and it changes everything these two verses change everything for him it says this is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about his mother Mary was pledged

to be married to Joseph but before they came together she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit they found out she's pregnant because Joseph were said her husband was faithful to the law a man faithful to the law as he should have been and yet did not want to expose her to Public Disgrace he had in mind to divorce her quietly this implies there would have been Public Disgrace just to think he knew if I talk about this there will be Public Disgrace and perhaps more than that as a kid even as a young person I I would just imagine Joseph was okay

with everything got a dream jumps right on board no questions asked but you stop for a moment and imagine this sequence the conversations that happen it had to have happened it implies that they did it it talks about how they found out conversations that must have happened in the background they're engaged he hears this story probably outlandish to many people from her or her family that she's pregnant by the Holy Spirit and apparently he doesn't fully believe it or he doesn't want to be a part of it so even after hearing and finding out he plans to divorce her or he plans to put her

away quietly talk about chaos in the family if your family is struggling right now you can take heart even Jesus's family had struggles they had strained relationships their marriage did not start under ideal circumstances not at all the pressure on their relationship would have been immense especially considering under the law of Moses which it says Joseph was faithful to that law he could have had her killed right then or just shamed her publicly thankfully he didn't but he absolutely still had reservations we know that because he left that conversation or however he found out intending to break off the engagement maybe he didn't believe her

maybe he just didn't want to carry the load who knows what we do know is it took a visit from an angel in his dreams again something unusual especially in that time period for him to agree to the call of God that was on his life as well Matthew 1 and 20 it says but after he had considered this after he considered breaking off the engagement an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream said Joseph son of David don't be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit don't be afraid afraid

fearful she'll give birth to a son you're to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins and this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said to the prophet the Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they'll call him Emmanuel which means god with us now I'll often overlook this dream I take for granted the fact that Joseph actually believed that it was real must have been a compelling dream you all have those dreams before you wake up it resonates with you thinking about it it shows the great deal of trust the Lord placed in

Joseph as well into Joseph's credit facing potential public humiliation for the rest of his life raising a child that was technically not his own and who would eventually be crucified in his 30s think about all these Dynamics Joseph's having a process and all it took was one dream to convince him and to cause him to commit to a plan that would turn his life on in for its duration and helps us to recognize this plan of God was not just for Mary it was for Joseph too and it certainly threw a bit of chaos into his life plants anyone here that's ever had a kid

knows that a child brings chaos a whole lot of fun chaos imagine a child under these circumstances it was God's Mission God's Mission has a way of taking us through some crazy Seasons from time to time and that mission the subsequent chaos that didn't stop just at the birth of Jesus for Joseph but instead one chapter later we'll find out that they're forced to flee what was essentially promised and prophesied Chaos about the Messiah Matthew 2 and 13 and when they had gone the Magi had gone and Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream get up he said take the child and

his mother and escape to Egypt stay there until I tell you for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him what imagine that dream that's that's more than a pizza dream that's that's incredible that's chaos he says he got up he didn't delay took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt that wasn't Crossing into Illinois going to Egypt where they stayed until the death of Herod and so was fulfilled what the Lord had said to the prophet out of Egypt I called my son thank you Lord for prophesying that so now we have to go fulfill it

don't what Herod realized that he'd been outwitted by the Magi he's Furious again this is the king the region over that area and he he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem in its vicinity who were two years old and under in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi then what was said through the Prophet Jeremiah Was fulfilled the voice is heard in Rama weeping in great morning Rachel weeping for her children refusing to be comforted because they are no more imagine living out these prophecies and you're the guy and you're the young lady you're the teenager whose husband's saying

Mary get up we got to go get what little we have and we're going to Egypt imagine going to Egypt with a toddler in tow some of you taking road trips with a toddler you know and they lived it they walked through this I imagine Joseph waking up from his dream in a cold sweat he said Mary we got to go now and she's what is going on Joseph sleeping you know wake up a toddler in the middle of the night we got to go King's coming to kill us come to take our son this is the chaos that Jesus Jesus and his family faced

from external forces this is their life story this was their struggle they were forced to leave their home and have their baby elsewhere in Bethlehem they were compelled to flee the region into a different country which was not easy in the slightest they were hunted by an evil and determined King in region and all the while I'm thinking if Jesus family was not exempt from chaos if his family wasn't spared from struggling if his parents were not sheltered from storms and darkness none of us are for that matter we're all in good company tonight especially considering what came out of their chaos and their struggle

so if your family's struggling right now you can stand right next to Jesus's family and stand in line they struggle strain on their relationship you don't think those moments strained a relationship foreign Jesus and his family faced unrelenting chaos and that chaos stemmed from external forces and the onslaught of life itself it wasn't Jesus's fault it wasn't Mary and Joseph's fault it was something external and outside their control it was the effect that sin and evil had on the world around them sometimes life just brings chaos and it's not your fault I need someone to hear that there are things that we get ourselves into

and there's consequences but some of you are going through a season right now and it's not your fault then you have blamed yourself or you blame someone on whom the blame does not lie it's an external Force it's evil it's life brings some chaos they're running for their lives and sometimes I read this and I'm wondering if I'm reading the same story we hear every Christmas and every December this was the setting of The Coming of the Messiah this was where the call and the will of God brought Mary and Joseph they were right in the middle of the will of God walk into Egypt

in the middle of the night some of you have been on a track recently and you probably had conversations and moments amongst your family or maybe with God and you've looked around you're thinking how did I get here where in the world am I could it be that you are right in the middle of the will of God fill the Holy Ghost speak unto someone because you're questioning what did I do wrong and what in the world did I do to deserve this God well maybe you were faithful maybe you were trustworthy maybe God could trust you with a call maybe he could trust you

with a storm and a trial and maybe he will use it to bring about some incredible miracle that will affect you and others this is a case in point what happened in the middle of their chaos Jesus happened Jesus right smack damn in the middle one of the most chaotic scenes in the Bible this is when Jesus comes on the scene how many have you ever had it's a moment of chaos you felt overwhelmed and all of a sudden Jesus came yeah so if you're in the middle of chaos right now you're in the middle of a season struggling trial you need to start looking

for Jesus it's more than likely he's already there or he's coming or he's never left you and he's been there all the while this is when Jesus came so we walk through the story of Jesus together and as some of you walk through your own chaos and your own story this December probably have a shared sense of hopelessness that Mary and Joseph they had felt that again I just keep imagining them in the middle of the night walking to Egypt thinking what is going on and we all start looking for Silver Linings I'm thankful to tell you that there is a silver line in this

story and in yours There's Hope Bishop preached it several weeks ago There's Hope because we all know that out of this chaos this twisted and hopeless situation out of this story of overturned lives in the onslaught of Evil Jesus Christ was born middle of all this mess and disorder there came a savior and out of a narrative in a setting so warped and so unbelievable the solution to sin and Chaos itself arrived on the scene so yes it's chaotic and maybe it it ruins our cozy view of the Christmas story aren't you thankful it reminds us that God can take that level of chaos and

that level of disorder and that level of turmoil and bring the very best that heaven could offer Jesus himself manifested in the flesh right in the middle of that mess in doing so it gives us hope no matter what the chaos life would bring the call would bring or evil would bring God can work with that chaos and he can bring a solution right out of the middle of it speaks to us tonight that Story shows us God used the chaos of the call that first Christmas to deliver salvation to the entire world you and I included it also reminds us that just because we're

facing a storm and a trial and a season of struggle that does not mean as I said that we're adrift from the will and the plan of God doesn't mean we're disconnected from him or his purpose for our lives in fact as I said it may indicate that we're standing right in the middle of it to illustrate this with Adam Shaw the original author of the series I I mentioned he makes the point he said if you're wanting a safe predictable boring life said stay far away from Jesus said but if you're seeking significance if you want to matter for something know that your world

will be turned upside down more than once and you'll have to learn how to serve Jesus without having all the answers all the time but out of his chaos comes a perfect solution for a lost world in other words you're not lost in the middle of your chaos instead God can use it and he can redeem it for his purpose as well Paul says it this way in Romans 8 and 18 He said I consider that our present sufferings they're not worthy be compared with the glory that's going to be revealed in US therefore we don't lose heart second Corinthians 4 says though outwardly we're

wasting away yet inwardly we're being renewed day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us in eternal glory that far outweighs them all so we fix our eyes not on what is seen But on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal there's some things you are not seeing right now but they're there God is working in the middle of your chaos and I want to mention this as well the Bible doesn't record Joseph ever hearing the voice of God before this season and it doesn't say it after time that Joseph hears the voice

of God and the Lord visits him most closely is in this season and somebody I just felt to tell someone you need to start tuning in if you're walking through chaos and suffering you may never hear the voice of God clearer than when you're walking through chaos I know that doesn't quite make sense because there's a lot of distractions but sometimes God will use chaos to get your attention Joseph probably was just doing his thing learning how to be a carpenter and all of a sudden here comes the news hey Mary's pregnant that's going to get your attention and God chose that time to speak

to him and you may never be closer to God than when you're walking through chaos he can use it he is using it and he will redeem the time that you have spent in the middle of that chaos so maybe your family situation is chaotic right now maybe your plans have not panned out the way that you thought maybe your life is hectic and you don't see God in the middle of it and you don't see him anywhere for that matter if that's the case I encourage you to take a lesson from Luke chapter 1.

Jesus's family and recognize God is not put off by your mess and your chaos it's likely that he's using it you don't have to be ashamed of it either truth is God does some of his best work in the middle of disorder and mess he specializes in it he did in the beginning the middle of chaos he moved on the face of the waters he made something beautiful out of it and tonight as I come to a close I thought of this most recently when The Parkers were here with us last Wednesday they're obviously missionaries to Malta in the same island where Paul was Shipwrecked

in Acts 27. Mary and Joseph weren't the only ones who go through chaos in the Bible it's a pretty Common Thread that people struggle through Ezra Paul this had to be one of the strangest ways for God to get his mission across on this island of Malta think about this sequence he went to Paul's arrested and sent to Rome they encounter a storm on the way they talked about killing every prisoner on board including him they were on the ground they're forced to jump in and swim to Land once he's there they're probably battling hypothermia no doubt they build a fire Paul's probably thinking I

made it I'm good I got a fire and here comes a snake I was reading through this and I thought you know when Paulie probably was just like eh you know but if it were me I'd probably I probably would have shook that snake off in frustration like really like I made it and here comes a snake come on what else that's a question again it's some here someone watched online has been asking what else what else Paul didn't see the people needing the gospel from that ship probably fearing for his life clinging to that board getting the shore he doesn't know there's a group

starving people who need the gospel right in front of them you have no idea who needs your testimony and who needs you to make it through this season so you can share it with him he didn't know that 2000 years later brother and sister Parker show up and then start an Apostolic Church there preaching the same truth that he brought to that Island in a shipwreck and he helped pave the way for it God's doing something eternal in your life and your family I'm here to remind you and encourage you tonight your chaos is not without purpose but just like Jesus being born in the

world something is happening and God is working the miraculous right in the middle of it I want you to stand with me right now I told Bishops some others I had it totally different direction less than all that plan but I knew that the Lord had circled me back to this I know some of the circumstances things that are represented in the room tonight I've had families on my mind all day and all week I don't know the others though they're here I want us to pray right now for some individuals and families that are right in the middle of it and they're not walking

to Egypt right now literally but they might as well be no man's land wondering how did I get here God has seen them I believe he's come to encourage and help and strengthen them as they make their journey to where he's called them to go in particular if your family or if you feel like you need strength and you're dishonest enough to say yeah I'll take the prayer wonder if you lift your hand right now and we're going to have brothers and sisters rally behind you and gather near you and we're going to pray if you see someone with their hand out would you just

go right now the Holy Ghost is here to help and strengthen someone and we're going to be a part of it I wonder if you'd go and pray and Believe In The Name of Jesus oh God we know that your word has helped us Lord and we know from this story and we know from that Christmas narrative that we're not alone and our chaos is not purposeless Lord and what we're going through our struggle is not in Maine our trial is not a man all this pain that we've had to walk through and all this turmoil Lord I has not been lost on you and

you're not put off by it but I pray it helps someone right now who is struggling and they're having a hard time seeing you and they're having a hard time seeing you at work Lord I pray that you'd come alongside him as surely as those brothers and sisters have come alongside them and you'd uplift him and you'd lift their hands Lord and you'd lift their eyes to see if there's a bigger picture and there's a plan oh God you're helping someone tonight Who's lost some Faith Lord his loss and strength who's tired is struggling you're going to help us go ahead and pray on in

the name of Jesus I pray you give strength where it's needed you give strength in the middle of weakness tonight Lord we know that your strength is made perfect in our weakness so God oh so we express that weakness we we give it to you Jesus and we know that you're meeting us right in the middle of our mess Lord you're helping us tonight you're strengthening us tonight Lord oh Jesus give strength o God to families give strength to individuals help them as they walk through this season anyone battling grief Lord anyone battling Brokenness oh God anyone battling depression we know that you're able to

help them and carry them if need be prayed in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus chosen in any time period any family any setting circumstance Jesus chose this story this season to introduce himself to the world and to come and to save Humanity so you're not out of the will of God could be that he chose it for you and I know that's tough to Grapple with why would a good God let me go through this that God loves you he knows what's best for you and when needed he's going to carry you and help you just

like he did for his own family I feel his presence here in such a powerful way helping strengthening families and individuals I wonder if you just lift your hands and thank him right now for his help and his word oh God thank you Lord for visiting with us on this Wednesday night oh Jesus I thank you and you have seen every Last Tear and every last family and struggling oh Lord you came on this Wednesday to prove your word oh God and approve to these individuals that they're not alone that you're with them you're going to help them you're going to strengthen them in this

church family is going to come alongside them and strengthen them as well thank you for your help thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus you get to that point you're overwhelmed and needing help please reach out talk to someone know that this season can be it can be the most wonderful time of the year and for others depending on the season you're in it can be the hardest and that is okay come talk to us and obviously process it through prayer and God will help and strengthen you