Part 4: Not Just An Average Joe

BEHIND THE SCENES: THE CHRISTMAS STORY - PART 4

1.   IF YOUR PLAN IS DIFFERENT THAN GOD’S  PLAN, CHANGE YOUR PLAN. 

“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. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as His wife. But He did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.’”

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)

2.    GOD DOESN’T ALWAYS GIVE THE WHOLE PLAN, JUST THE NEXT STEP.

“When they had gone, an 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.’ So he got up, took the Child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my Son.’  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. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.’ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the Child’s life are dead.’ So he got up, took the Child and His mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that He would be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 2:13-23 (NIV)

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”

Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

3.    GUIDANCE FOR TOMORROW STARTS WITH OBEDIENCE TODAY.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

MY NEXT STEP TODAY IS TO: 

• Ask God to show me His plan for my life.

• Get outside my comfort zone and do something God would want me to do.

• Do this week’s YouVersion® Bible App Reading Plan: “Hearing God’s Voice First”  (4-day plan).