Waiting for the Suddenly

Intro:

Using Louie Giglio’s “Waiting Here for You, An Advent Journey of Hope” as our guide this advent season

Waiting for the Suddenly

Luke 2:8–14 NIV

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

God works while we wait

for the shepherds it happened suddenly but God is working while we wait, there is nothing “sudden” to him

Old Testament prophecy-slide

1.

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Matthew 1:18–25 NIV

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.

2.

Micah 5:2 NIV

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Matthew 2:1–6 NIV

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

3.

Jeremiah 31:15 NIV

This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Matthew 2:16–18 NIV

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.”

4.

Hosea 11:1 NIV

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Matthew 2:13–15 NIV

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.”

What are you Waiting for?-slide

we are talking generational waiting

we are talking 700+ years from Isaiahs prophecy

Moving past the negative of “waiting”

page 23 of the devotional

“waiting is wasting”

but waiting is never wasted when we are waiting on God- we know that God’s timing is perfect, its complete

Galatians 4:4 NIV

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Romans 5:6 NIV

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

there was a set time for Jesus’ arrival, a set time for his death, one that only God knew, and it was at just the right time

here on earth from our perspective the “fullness” of God’s timing often looks like a “suddenly”

We have been waiting...

John 14:1–4 NIV

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

when is he coming back?

Matthew 24:36 NIV

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

what is Jesus’ return going to look like? To us here on earth “suddenly”

The positives of waiting

2 Peter 3:8–10 NIV

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

the waiting may be the grace of God

Conclusion:

What are you waiting for?-slide

Could it be that God is waiting on me

To come to him

To give your life to him

To seek his face and not just his hand

To move

I can wait in Hope

As Piper goes on to say, “… biblical hope is not just a desire for something good in the future, but rather, biblical hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.”

Paul David Tripp shares, in the August 1 passage from his book New Morning Mercies, how hope in God is a hope that is assured.

“When you hope in the Lord, you not only hope in the One who created and controls the universe, but also in the One who is glorious in grace and abounding in love. Now, that’s hope that is well placed and will never disappoint.”

Our hope is not just wishful thinking it has a foundation, a destination

Am I ready for the Suddenly

There is a suddenly coming-

in your situation, in what you have been waiting for- the Christmas story is full of suddenly moments, Mary and Joseph had angels appear to them, the shepherds, the wisemen, Anna and Simeon in the temple recognized the messiah they had been waiting for

most importantly in the return of Jesus-are you ready