Advent 2024 - Part 3- An all suffencient Savior for an all insuffencient people.

GOOD MORNING LOVED ONES

If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

INVITATION - DEEP DIVE

Thursday morning - Jan 9th - App or Website

LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND

Open it to Matthew chapter 2 today as we continue walking together through the season of Advent, a season to prepare together our hearts and minds - getting them ready to celebrate ONE of the two most important events in all of Human history -

The arrival of GOD in the flesh -

God - Who dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ.

NOW If you don’t have a bible or simply would like a new one!……..

PRAYER OVER SERIES

Is and will be that as we walk through the Scriptures and messages of Advent that one of two things would happen to us.

ONE - if we are a Jesus follower -

That the Gospel would be renewed in our hearts and minds -

That the need, the severity, the eternity issues of the gospel -

The calling of God, the importance and significance of the Gospel would be renewed in our hearts, minds and in our life and as a result..

we would more and more live for Him.

TWO - if you are here or watching on live stream and you would not necessarily consider yourself a follower of Jesus.

My prayer for you this season is that your heart and mind will hear from the scriptures - and by the Spirit of God, moving in your being - you will be enlightened and illuminated that there is a God - He created you and loves you -

Gods love would compel you,

Gods love would persuade you to turn your life over to His Son Jesus, Surrender to Jesus

receive Him as Lord, with all your sins forgiven, Filled with his love and forgiveness - Becoming His Child by the adoption of His Spirit, saved from His wrath,

PRAYER OVER MESSAGE

Is that we would embrace change -

That there are things in this world and in this life that happen to us and around us -

most of those represent Change

and My hope is that we will begin to recognize that although we are so totally insufficient to really change too much -

The Child in the manger, that we celebrate this season - is an all sufficient savior who changes Everything.

ENGAGEMENT –

There is a saying that I think that we have all heard in our life -

There are only 2 things in this life which are a certainty -

Two things and two things only that you can for sure count on.

And those two things are Death and Taxes.

I’m going to disagree that those are not the only two things that are certain in this life.

I might suggest that there is a third thing that we can count on, being a certainty in this life.

A certainty as certain as death and as certain as Taxes -

The third thing that we can absolutely count on is change.

What is interesting about most of us -

We hate - I mean we have a passionate hatred for death - I’m pretty sure that most if not all of us - Hate death - Not only our own but certainly the death of our loved ones.

The other thing I am pretty sure on is all of us Hate Taxes -

Now I may be wrong - There may be someone here this morning who loves paying taxes -

Anyone?

and Just like we hate death and just like we hate taxes -

The interesting thing is we also pretty much hate change.

And the reason that we hate it, I think, is becasue change is something that usually happens to us.

When Change happens to us - I think it reminds us of just our inadequate and to control anything we really are.

It make us feel powerless-

But often and maybe more often than not change is good.

But we just don’t know how good it may be until we get to the other side.

TENSION

Here is what is interesting - I think it is actually the older we get the more and more we don’t like change.

When we get older and become adults - we have a plan - We have a life that we have decided on -

We have goals and dreams and hopes and wishes that we want -

A life that we have designed - A purpose that we have defined -

and as we grow from children to adults we are told and taught and directed to be determined to have a plan - have a purpose !

And when we experience change - change that is thrust upon us - in large ways and small represents a threat to our design and our defined purpose.

And it creates in us a resistance to the Gospel -

A resistance to hearing God -

A resistance to allowing the Spirit to change us

A resistance to allowing God to direct our steps -

and the reality of why is becasue - deep down we want to be like God -

And it happens as we grow from being a child to being an adult -

Loved ones - Ever wondered why the Bible called us “Children of God” Ever wondered why Jesus said “Those who come to me must come with the faith of a child?

Loved ones I want you to hear the text this morning - We are never called the adults of God - If we are saved by grace through faith - Adopted by His spirit through the regeneration of His Power - We are only and will be forever called His Children not His adults -

I think the reason why is that Adults are stubborn, hard headed, Set in their ways - Have their own plans and their own purpose and their own designed life.

God says - Those are not the plans I have for you -

Come to me like little children -

NOW - Here is what is fascinating -

embedded in the Story of Christmas - the historical narrative of Jesus arrival into this world - The Advent of Jesus

Is the emerging contrast of a child like faith and an the stubbornness of adulting - resistant to change.

BACKGROUND

A small amount of Background of Matthew the one whom God used through the Spirit to record for us this historical narrative -

Matthew was a tax collector - A Jewish Tax collector - A Jewish person who went to work of the Occupying Roman Empire to collect taxes against His own people.

What tax collectors would do is collect extra tax - more tax than what was actually due and their would line their pockets with the profits.

Needless to say - Tax collectors were considered traitors to their own people and enemies of God people and exploiters of the people.

And this traitor of Gods people this exploiter this tax collector was called by Jesus directly - Follow Me

UNPACKING

Lets unpack this important part off history to see and hear what is happening as Jesus has been born.

VSS 1

Matthew 2:1 ESV

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

Immediately 3 characters are introduced into this Story .

Jesus - the central character of the story - the central character of all stories -

I love the way S.M. Lockridge puts it.

Jesus is the center piece of civilization -

The Loftiest Idea in Literature -

The highest personality in philosophy -

The supreme problem in higher criticism -

The fundamental doctrine of true theology

The carnal necessity of true religion.

SO Jesus - is in this passage.

A guy named Harod -

Harod was the then King of the Jews - A religious leader that the Roman empire allowed to remain in place as a symbolic leader of God’s people.

Here is the deal though and we must understand this Harod and those like him were granted a position of power and control by the Roman government - Were allowed to have a certain amount of power and control.

They were symbols of religious leadership over what was and would have been considered a theocracy of the people of Israel.

But we need never to make the mistake the Romans were in charge.

and Lastly we have these “wise men” who had Traveled to the west, becasue they were from the east.

There were not Kings - These were “Wise Men” some of your versions say “Magi”

Tradition holds that these were more than likely Mystics - Spiritualists -

Men who would have more than likely - been into Astrology - Looking at the night sky to interpret the signs -

A people who practiced a very false old demonic religion called Zoroastrianism -

Zoroastrianism has its roots in ancient Persia - ancient Babylon - What is modern day Iran and Iraq.

These guys walked some 1400 miles to get to Jerusalem - a three month trip.

We don’t know how man of them - The song says “three” but we really don’t know. There could have been a whole lot of them.

Here is what we do know -

When they arrived in Jerusalem they made quite a stir!

Matthew 2:2 ESV

2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

So they arrive in Jerusalem and they begin asking everyone in the city - Where is He who is born King of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and we have come to Worship Him.

A couple of questions that immediately should come to our minds?

How did these strangers who were not the people of God they were not Hebrew - How did these guys know about the fact that there was a king that would be born and there would be a star that they should be looking for?

How did they know this?

Well some 700 years before Jesus arrived - God people were taken into exile into captivity and the people who did that were the Babylonians and the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians.

You see, one of the things that God had done in the discipline of His people becasue of their idolatry some 700 years before was to get His words into the hands of his enemy and the enemy of His people so they would know Him and what He is planning on doing so they could know Him through faith in Jesus as well.

So these “Wise men” are from that area, being guys who were into all kinds of spiritual stuff - they would have had copies of parts or all of the prophesies of the old testament and they would have recognized this as a great possibility that the king of the Jews was born when they saw the star.

So they make the trip - Get to Jerusalem - and stir up the city asking “Where is the new born king?

We also have to ask - What Kind of King did these guys think that Jesus was?

I think it is very reasonable to assume that these guys thought that Jesus would be a king of political power - A great and might political and governmental power - A great earthly king.

So they have come to to worship an earthy king -

This stir gets to Harod and - He become troubled -

All of the City is stirred up by these guys who were asking questions.

and watch what happens -

Matthew 2:3–6 ESV

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

He gets all the “chief priests and Scribes” and asks the same question.

and Harod uses a different term to describe Jesus - The Christ!

The Anointed of God - that is what Christ means -

You see Harod knew just enough of His bible to be dangerous -

He knew that the promised king - would be anointed of God.

But again Harod was thinking Political and military leader.

Here is why Harod was troubled -

This meant change for Harod - This means his political career and His position and His access to control and power were under threat. Change was coming and that disturbed the plans that Harod had for His life.

In fact this is why the whole city was in an uproar - becasue it would mean change for everyone is coming.

And so what happens?

The High Priests and the Scribes - The guys who knew their bibles - Answered Harrods question. Quoting to him the prophecies of God spoken through the prophets.

and they point to Bethlehem.

So watch what Harod does in the midst of his discomfort about Change - He sets out a plan to stay in control - in His resistance to the Gospel

He sets out a plan to maintain His kingship His power over His own life and His control as much as He can.

And what he does, he does by deceiving these visitors

He hopes that they will help him by doing the work for Him by seeking out this anointed of God - this one who is born King.

Matthew 2:7–8 ESV

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

So they go - Apparently in agreement with Harod -

Their plan was to find Jesus and then head back to Harod and let him know where Jesus was and then head home.

That was the plan.

so they head out.

They followed the star until it pointed to where Jesus was - That is what it meant when the text in VSS 9 “it came to rest over the place where the child was”

VSS 10 - when these wise men saw where it pointed to they “rejoiced exceedingly with great Joy”

WHY?

Why did they “rejoice exceedingly with great Joy” ?

Well the reality is they have been through a big journey to find Jesus -

90 days -

1400 miles

They get there and they cause disruption -

The Leadership has weird secret meeting with them and they agree to help.

Listen loved ones - Harod was a Jewish leader - He has scribes and priests at His fingertips - Jerusalem and Bethlehem are about 8 miles apart at this point in history -

Harod wouldn't walk across the street to find Jesus becasue of His position - He was above all that -

and these guys traveled 1400 miles to get to Jesus.

SO they get to Jesus house - They Go in and they see Jesus.

Here is what is so very interesting to think about in this story - Were they expecting this? Where they expecting a normal house for a child born king?

Or were they expecting something much more extravagant?

I think its very possible they were expecting extravagant and what they found was normal in this world but extravagantly supernatural in the spiritual.

They found a Child - with His Mom

and watch what happens -

Three things -

1 - they fell down -

in the New Testament of your Bibles - multiple time - when people experience spiritual transformation directly from Jesus - They fall down.

These guys fell down -

2- The Second thing that happened is the worshiped -

Here is what is interesting - A quick word study of “Worshiped or Worship in the new testament what we sill soon find is Idea of Submission - The Idea of Confessing the person and Character of Who is being Worshiped - Speaking out loud praises and accolades of the One who is being worshiped. Submitting our minds and hearts and ultimately our lives to the one who is worshiped.

These guys experienced that- They searched for this one born King of the Jews and what they found they did not expect - And this supernatural spiritual experience caused them to Humble themselves -

Falling down -

and Worshiped - Spoke accolades and confessing him as King with their mouths

and then watch what the text says -

The Text says - After they humbled themselves - After they opened their mouth and confessed Him as King -

The Text says - WATCH

“THEN”

after taking a posture of humility - bowing to the position and authority of this child Born King -

After speaking words of praise for who He was and who he is and who He was going to be -

THEN the text says - They opened their treasures and they offered him gifts.

Here is what is interesting to ask: and I think we assume too much.

Did these wise men - 90+ days before - When they began their journey - Plan on giving Jesus these gifts?

And I think it is a very real possibility that they did not plan on this -

They were in no way coming to see what they saw -

I think it is very reasonable to think and it is implied in the tone of this very real historical story that these guys came to see a military political leader, to worship Him and to ascertain what kind of leader this would be an they NEVER expected to be changed by Jesus.

But you see loved ones - They Met Jesus and when people meet Jesus things change - Because Jesus changes everything -

When you meet Jesus - When you meet him - You change - Because He changes you.

and this is what happened to these who traveled so far to see the one who was born King - Everything Changed including their tomorrows.

Watch their tomorrow Change immediately!

VSS 12 They are warned in a dream - not to go to Harod - they are saved by this dream-

THE GOSPEL CONNECTION

Maybe you know the rest of the story or maybe not.

Jesus through the dream, saved these Guys - Reality is they probably would have been killed along with Jesus If they had returned to Harod -

God saved them through A dream as they confessed Jesus as King.

God who sent Himself in the flesh - Saved these guys who came seeking A political king and found the spiritual one.

Everything changed for them and culminated in a dream -

Because Jesus Changes Everything!

Dreams happen - in the Bible God works through dreams - Matthew records for us 5 different dreams just in the first two chapters alone.

Jacob had two dreams - He would get a new Identity in Christ that would rename Him Isreal - and before that He saw a ladder - at the top was God - God assured Jacob that the covenant He had with His forefathers was still promised to Him and when things Got difficult and it seemed that God was not coming through - God Spoke to him in a dream - changed the direction of His life - the gospel was renewed and He became the father of the 12 tribes that would bring Jesus into the world.

Israel’s 5th son Joseph had a dream as a young boy that his 11 brothers would bow down to him. After his life got real difficult which included betrayal, prison and slavery - Joseph’s faith never failed and and everything changed - he became a ruler of a nation - Saving his family, his 11 brothers - Including Judah through whom Jesus would come.

Gideon had a dream when he was filed with doubt and fear at the size and power of His enemy and the enemy of God’s people - After God spoke to him in His dream, everything changed - his faith was renewed, his doubts were dashed - his fears removed and God provided the victory - Defeated the enemy of God and Gods people - and The Plan of Jesus continued -

Solomon had a dream because the task in front of Him was too big.

God asked Him what he needed. Instead of asking for himself He asked for something that help him lead God’s people - Wisdom! Everything Changed Wisdom was provided and God's people were blessed and flourished - The Eternal plan was provided for -

Daniel Had a dream - A pretty scary dream - and in that Dream - He saw Jesus - Coming on the clouds - Establishing His kingdom that will have no end! and everything changed - His faith was renewed - The Gospel took root and Daniel was faithful to speak God’s word -

Peter had a dream- A dream that unsettled Him. A dream that offended His sensibilities - A dream about those he considered unworthy of God’s love - Then Everything Changed - He went to Cornelius and His whole house came to jesus - Peter was changed, Cornelius was changed - and So was his whole net work of people.

Joseph, Jesus’ earthly dad - Filled with shame and fear had a dream about the ONE who was conceived in the body of his fiance - and EVERYTHING CHANGED - His fears were vanquished and his shame was removed and His purposes were realized - and Jesus was born.

The Magi came with loud curiosity about one who was prophesied to be king - Unsure - uncertain but searching and asking - They did not expect to find Herod - They did not expect secret meetings - They did not expect the ruckus. but when they found Jesus - Everything Changed -

They were fill with great joy -

They were filled with worship

they were filled with generosity -

they were guided to safety through a dream.

Everything Changed for them

INVITATION

This morning you may be here or watching on Live stream - and in this Christmas season -

Maybe you, Just like Jacob - Things are difficult and your not sure if God will come through and you wonder if this promise of eternal life, to know Him and enjoy Him for ever is really true for you. and you know that Change is needed and necessary becasue you know God is calling you to Jesus.

Or maybe like Joseph of Old - and your life is marked by extreme difficulty - betrayal, prison and slavery to sin or addiction. And your really not sure that God can use you for anything - much less to advance the gospel so God can save someone else. And the Big dreams that you had a a youth see so far away and unreasonable. But you have this feeling that Things can be different and you know for that to happen God will have to change things.

Or maybe your like Gideon and the enemy seems to big and the victory seems like it can never be had and like defeat is around every corner. And you need change - Your faith renewed - Your doubts dashed and your fears vanquished and for God to provide the victory. But for that to happen things will have to change.

Or Maybe like Solomon, you have a big dream but the task of that dream is so big and you are so inadequate. And in order for the dream of God to come true you need something that you never through you would ask for. And Change must occur!

Or maybe Your like Daniel - You live in fear - Scared of what you see around you. And the Gospel, the Good news, that Jesus is victorious and His kingdom has come and will have no end needs to be renewed in your heart - and in order for renewal to come Change must take place.

OR maybe your like Peter and your sensibilities are often and frequently offended and the Idea of going to “them” is just too offensive for you. But you know on the other side of that offence is the Glory of God, Abundance and things to experience that are so far out of your comfort zone that to experience them means change.

Loved ones come to the child in the manger this morning - Come to the Child Born King - Come to Jesus and surrender everything to him - Let him change wheat ever needs to change in you so that you can know Him and enjoy Him forever - Receiving the abundant life that He came to give - not only in this life but the eternal life to come. Come to Jesus the Child in the manger this season and let Him change you because Jesus Changes Everything.

PRAYER TEAM