Make Ready Make Him Room

MAKE READY, Luke 2:25-35

MAKE

HIM

ROOM

Daniel A. Brown, Ph.D.

Make Him Room Contrary to folklore popular even among believers, the ways of God are neither random nor mysterious; though they are deep and profound and infinitely wiser than any of our ways, they can be found out by those who want to walk in them. Aside from the fact that the manner in which He does things is utterly foreign to humankind—in and of itself a major obstacle to learning them as our second nature—God’s ways come to us only by revelation. We cannot figure them out the way we managed to finally grasp long‐division (and could, in theory, “do” any problem). God’s truth, as opposed to man’s, must be revealed by the Holy Spirit. We who have the Holy Spirit still go through a learning process, but as Jesus explained to His disciples, we have been “granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:11). We learn by asking and seeking, just as Moses prayed: “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I mayknow You, so that I may find favor in Your sight…” Exodus 33:13a; and like David, “Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, forYou are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4‐5

Passages and Patters It’s why we study the Bible—not just to encounter historical plotlines and characters, but to find patterns and pathways of the Lord (see 1 Corinthians 10:11). Those ways and means in the Kingdom are often made explicit in single verses or short passages from scripture, like when Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6). That is very clear—but not always easy for people to accept. Longer stories and more macro‐views can also teach us a great deal about how God moves: for instance, the Christmas story holds many practical and instructive patterns for how God works on earth—the most obvious of which are His great love‐motivation (John 3:16); His choice‐to‐intervene by making the Word into flesh; and His use of lowly, beneath the world’s radar beginnings. The realities of people’s lives, especially Mary’s and Joseph’s, reveal other patterns that can teach us how to better align ourselves with God’s way. They had to make room for God’s work in them and through them. They also had to make ready. Mary and Joseph had already agreed to let God do through them whatever He wanted, but when the moment came, they still had to rearrange their lives around God’s intervention. And remember, they had never read the Christmas story!! Just as we have to move things out of our living room to accommodate the presence of the Christmas tree (not to mention the decorations), so, too, can we choose to make room for Jesus in a new and special way this Christmas.

The Coastlands, Aptos Foursquare Church

MAKE READY, Luke 2:25-35

MAKE

HIM

ROOM

Daniel A. Brown, Ph.D.

Prepare the Way of the Lord—Quickly! 1. Make Room a. When there’s no vacancy at the inn—go for the stable (Luke 2:6‐7). b. When the baby comes—find and grab swaddling clothes. 2. Make Ready a. What God wants to do will change everything about life‐as‐it‐was. b. The biggest change is in the way we think. Press into the Kingdom of God 1. Squeeze Into the Narrow Way a. The narrow way leads to life (Mathew 7:13‐14). b. Kingdom truths are like shoehorns. 2. Make the Choice Again and Again a. Lay hold of that for which Christ got hold of you (Philippians 3:12). b. The better your sights and the longer your barrel, the better your aim.

The Coastlands, Aptos Foursquare Church