"Worth The Wait"

~Christmas Service Times: This is our chance to invite people to come, to hear, to see lives changed.

~Turn to Luke / Galatians 4

Luke 2:22–35 ESV

22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Title: “Worth the Wait” - Advent week 1.

INTRODUCTION OF ADVENT:

“Tradition is a GREAT servant - but a HORRIBLE LEADER”

Traditions that serve, serve a purpose. Traditions are lifeless if they lose their meaning -

But all throughout the bible - we see a people accustomed to living according to ancient sacred rhythms. and we are still called to do that today - to have the same ancient ruthyms, the same flow, Rhythms and a flow - that ultimately serve a purpose. Which is to look at, to follow and to serve JESUS CHRIST.

THIS TIME OF YEAR IS SUCH A TIME OF RYTHM FOR US

Christianity is not a formula for success, but a relationship that is alive.

When I live in relationship with my wife, we have a rhythm by which we live We walk we talk we do things. We live life but we also have a rhythmic life. We have a flow.

Christianity us like this. Christ FOLLOWERS don’t just have a calendar we have a rhythm

ADVENT: Four Sundays that can change your life. Or at least give a much deeper meaning to it anyway. (hope, peace, love, and joy.)

Advent simply MEANS ARRIVAL. and for us its a the arrival, the remembering of the arrival (advent) of our long awaited SAVIOR. Jesus Christ.

As we journey now towards Christmas we want to place in our steps the right things so each week we will take a traditional theme to drive home purpose in our hearts through our relationship with Christ.

I believe this Christmas time you’ll discover two things: two vitally important things

1.Who CHRIST IS - either for the very first time or a deeper understanding of Jesus.

2.WHO YOU ARE in Relation to CHRIST. Your life, your very existence will become more understood because of your decision to focus your attention on JESUS as we JOURNEY through advent to celebrate the birth of our LORD.

The burden is this: surrender your will to Jesus. Don’t just celebrate a holiday. Don’t just do a token gesture to God. Give him your whole life. That’s our goal. Total surrender to HIS Timing, His Purpose & His plan. Advent

There are many different themes to ADVENT and i want to start today with what is perhaps the hardest for us a people, as humans to GRASP. Its a TOUGH WORD to even bring up:

W.....WAITING

Waiting on the Lord is a theme with Advent. Its a SILENT waiting. An understanding that when God SPEAKS.. what often comes AFTER that. Is a period, a season..... maybe even SEASONS and YEARS of WAITING.

Could you imagine waiting 400o years. some of us struggle to wait 4 minutes at starbucks for our coffees!

But a simple turning of the page from Malachi to Matthew, the end of the OLD TESTAMENT promises to the opening of the beginning of Matthews Gospel - This to Gods people represents 400 Years of WAITING. Of silence. Imagine 400 years without any recorded word from God - No voice, no prophet, nothing. Imagine the agony of waiting and the struggle to keep faiuth in the promises given long before this. You can almost imagine the questions people would ask.

-What happened to Our god?

-Has God abandoned me or us?

-Was he ever really in this with us?

-Was my faith and my trust in him just a waste of my time?

But in one moment - all of that changed. when Gods timing was exactly right - the night sky over bethlehem lit up, and in a very basic setting. a lowly setting. the Son of God was born.

But They had to WAIT.

Simeon is a living breathing example of this wait: Worth the WAIT

Luke 2:25 “25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”

Maybe you are waiting on a ;promise today. Maybe you are in a season of waiting. Maybe its been promised and you are UNSURE of the timing. What you can be sure of is this - GOD HAS SPOKEN - and that changes everything about the WAITING.

THE ADVENT OF CHRIST is the CULMINATION OF MUCH Waiting

But LETS FOCUS in here for a min --why waiting?

1.GOD MAKES US WAIT

Fundamentally true about GOD we see in HUMAN HISTORY: ut especially salvation history! God has got NO ISSUES with waiting!

God makes us wait

Abraham Waited: Hebrews 6:15 “15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.”

Joseph waited in a prison: Genesis 50:20 “20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about (Wait) that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Moses, Caleb & Joshua had to wait for 40 Years because of the peoples unbelief: Numbers 14:34 “34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear (Wait) your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’”

Job suffered through his waiting but remained faithful (Job 2:9 “9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.””

David waited to be king from the point samuel anointed his a boy until God rejected King Saul. Psalm 40:1 “1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”

Jesus - Even he himself the son of God - Waited until a certain age to go and be baptised by John and begin his ministry.

Luke 3:21–23 “21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,”

He knew that there was time that needed to pass. and God would do what he said he would do.

Write this down: GOD IS UNHURRIED IN BRINGING TO PASS HIS PURPOSES IN THE WORLD

he is UNHURRIED IN BRINGING ABOUT HIS PURPOSE BOTH FOR US and for the WORLD>

Lets come back to our text - How long did SIMEON have to wait - Presumable much of his adult life!

I mean 400 Years of nothing. No revelation. No Voice. Just a PROMISE.

God will wait. and WHen the time is right. He moves:

Galatians 4 (ESV)

1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

I hated to wait for anything as a Kid. Im sure you werent like that but i was.

I remember my seventh grade principal Mr Pawlak. He had a projection in his voice that was impressive. and you knew when he was not happy. He would call you from the end of the long hallway at school and he had this frighteming stare. But i always liked him. He was my rugby coach that year and my principal as well. I cant rememver what it was i was pushing and trying to get to happen. But i remember him saying to me “in good time” / And thats the way God works. His GOOD TIME> in the FULLNESS of Time.

2.WHILE WE WAIT - HE WORKS

this is the purpose in the waiting. For Simeon. he was a man on a mission in the waiting.

I could imagine his trip to temple for worship. His encounters with new people. His walking through each and every crowd. When you think about it. IT WOULDVE CHANGED THE WAY HE LIVED.

One word from God. Can CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

We think nothings happening.

But thats the very opposite: Jesus said it explicitly - Thats God is working on our BEHALF

John 5:17 (NLT)

17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”

You haven’t been forgotten - He is a GOD who remembers his covenent commitment

You haven’t been abandoned - You have been brought near

You haven’t been missed in the generations - You are now, through JESUS Christ, apart of the Generations

**a big fear in people is abandonment. A sense of LOSS of your PLACE in the world. But you have a place in HEAVEN. a name thats written the lambs book of Life. Counted where it matters

This is why the WAITING is worth it ?- THERE IS PURPOSE IN ALL OF ITThis is what He wants to SHOW you… this is what he wants to SHOW the WORLD!

Whatever your waiting on - Take courage today - He’s working wile we WAIT / Its worth the WAIT

Three quick ways He WORKS

He works to us

He works his was towards us!

sometimes it takes a minute.... but God gets to us. Doesn’t he? confronts us. he gets in front of us, gets our attention - and HE SPEAKS TO US. Whenever God appeared in someones life he was there to relay a message, a word, a promise. He still does the same thing today.

The pathway here is surrender. Its stillness. Its a blessed receptivity - LET GOD GET TO YOU!

He works in us

His working in us. He changes YOU. for the better. He makes you wait and in the waiting you become something - what is that something. for us (new testament) we become more like Jesus. We begin to CONFORM in the waiting. We begin to walk talk breathe differently and BECOME.

This is why STEWARDSHIP is so vital to GOD> its not that HE DOESNT WANT YOU TO HAVE SOMETHING NICE> He just wants you to appreciate it differently when it comes into your life. Our Culture doesn’t understand this.

The pathway here is to allow him to work IN YOU. Not just get to you - but in the waiting - What is HE TEACHING you right now? what are you learning from the FATHER now?

He works through us

The purpose in the waiting. That the message of HOPE, would illuminate and shine brightly through your VERY LIFE. And that you wouldnt just be a spectator but you would be a participant in the divine nature & part of the GREAT Commission.

2 Peter 1:4 “4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

3.HE IS CLOSE IN THE WAITING

Advent - The coming of Christ. is the revelation of GOD COMING CLOSE