The Joy of What We're Waiting For

INTRODUCTION:

*Open your Bibles to Psalm 98:

As you find your place this morning, let me ask you this question:

This Advent, as we wait on Jesus, what are you waiting for?

A lot of people are waiting this season, what are you waiting for?

Are you waiting shiny packages and tinsely new toys?

Are you waiting for fireside fun and twinkling lights?

Are you waiting for Christmas Carols and hot cocoa and craft fares?

Is your wait about visits from family or holiday escapes?

Maybe you’re waiting for the Christmas eve service?

Holding your candle, singing silent night?

Are you longing for the singing of angels and the fun of the church’s pageant

Are you wanting to feel the warm, happy feelings of special gathering and celebration?

Maybe your longing for the gifts that Christ of Christmas brings

Are you waiting for His peace, His mercy, His kindness?

Are you waiting on His healing?His victory? His salvation?

What are you waiting for this Christmas? None of these things are wrong to wait for

It isn’t wrong to hope for nice gifts or to be excited about them

It is good to give, and to do so generously

Fireside fun, twinkling lights, special services & events, visiting family, these are the things that make this season feel special

The gifts and blessings of Jesus should be desired by each and everyone of His children, and Christmas reminds us of them

But as we wait for Christmas, may I remind you today that we are waiting on something far greater

INVITE THE CHURCH TO STAND:

Psalm 98:1–9 NASB95

O sing to the Lord a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, With the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord. Let the sea roar and all it contains, The world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with equity.

Pray, Invite the church to be seated

*Listening Guides Out

What are you waiting for this Christmas season?

Above all else, should it not be that we are waiting for the joy of Jesus?

We’re not going to stay in this psalm today, but I wanted to start with it, because as we read from the 98th Psalm, what I see in this Psalm is joy in the Lord

He is our for the things that He has done

He is our joy because of who He is

He is our joy in the waiting because He is our King

This Christmas, let your joy in the waiting be Jesus

Pull out the stops in your singing and worship of Him

Magnify His name in your prayers!

Marvel in His Holy and perfect character!

Get lost in the wonder of loving Jesus

When I was a child, I remember waiting on family to arrive at my grandparents’ house

I was excited about every single person that came into the house

For some, it was because they brought me great presents

For some, it was because of the particular dish they were bringing or going to make

For some, it was because being in their presence was an absolute and shear delight

Is the presence of Jesus your shear delight this morning?

Is Jesus your delight that you wait for, or are you really waiting on something else.

There are three things that can ensure that your joy is in the Lord this Christmas, and they come out of Matthew 2

I’m not going to read the text word-for-word, but you can follow along in Matthew 2

At the time that Jesus was born, a star appeared in the sky

It was the brightest star in the sky

Everyone should have noticed, if they were paying attention

We talked last year of just how crazy-full of amazing sites the sky was at the time of Christ’s birth

BUT, Almost no one did notice-ALMOST no one...

But 1200 miles away, in the east, likely in what remained of Babylon, there was a group of maji

These maji were scholars. They were astrologers, and were very wealthy

We don’t know how many of them there were, probably more than three people were on that trip

It probably took a while to prepare for the journey

The journey took somewhere between 3 months and a year to make

These maji saw the star, and they knew that a King had been born in Israel

When they arrived, they went to the palace to see the king, because that’s where a king lives

But no one at the palace knew of His birth-Herod, the king, was greatly troubled by the news

He called his scholars together to ask where the Messiah was to be born

They told him: In Bethlehem of Judea, for the prophet wrote:

Matthew 2:6 NASB95

‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Herod called the maji together secretly to find out exactly when the star appeared

He sent the maji to Bethlehem, and as they went, they followed the star all the way to Jesus

When they arrived, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy

Matthew 2:11–12 NASB95

After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

I simply love this story from God’s Word

I love hearing about the maji and their journey to visit the King of Kings

There truly are many things that you and I can learn from these men and their journey

Today, though, we are going to focus in on three ways the maji show us to make Christ our joy this Christmas

Matthew 2:2 NASB95

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

The first key in the joy of this season is this:

The joy of Jesus is in myworship for His wonder

When the maji showed up, Jesus was not a dominant warlord over countries and armies-He was the King of Kings dressed in helplessness

They were not intimidated by his earthly power

They did not travel across the known world to see His vast wealth

This King was born in a manger, not in a palace

The magi came to see Jesus to worship Him for the wonder of who He is

This infant of human flesh was enough to bend knees and bow heads for the splendor of His presence

The baby-born King of the Universe could do nothing for them, and yet He came

He didn’t sit in a palace of gold-But His star ushered them into His presence

These wise men who saw Christ for who He is-God made flesh

They were content to travel through dust and scorching sun, mountains and desert to sit at the feet of this infant King

To be in the presence of one so great His birth changed the heavens

The God of Ages, wrapped in the frailty of our mortal flesh

This Christmas, let the wonder you wait for be the wonder of His presence

Let your worship of Jesus not be about the things He can do for you, but for who He is

Jesus, the eternal God of Heaven

Jesus, the firstborn of all creation, through whom all things were made

Jesus, who formed the stars and planets, whose birth changed their motion

Jesus, whose robe fills the temple and the earth and all of creation with the glory of God

Jesus, who shines like bronze, who will is coming again to make every knee bow and every tongue confess

Isn’t He wonderful! Isn’t He excellent! Let your joy this Christmas be the worship of His wonder.

Secondly…(2:11a ONLY)

Matthew 2:11 NASB95

After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The second key in the joy of this season is this:

The joy of Jesus is in my love of His Lordship

These men, who stood in the presence of kings, arrive at the home of a carpenter

Can you imagine the site! It was no small caravan that arrived in Bethlehem that night!

It was the kind of event that all the neighbors would be talking about.

Travelers arrive from a far-off land to enter the home of a perceived nobody

The Extravagant wealth they brought with them most certainly stood out in the presence of common men

How do we know that they were wealthy?

Travel was expensive

no way to eat, you must buy it

no place to sleep, you must buy it

Things haven’t changed! It’s just cheaper and more convenient today

These maji, these wisemen were kings in their own right

And yet, where do we find them? Bowing down at the feet of Jesus

It says that they fell to the ground, taking the position of ultimate humility

In the middle east, there is nothing that is considered lower than the ground

To lay prostrate on the ground is to put yourself in the lowest place to exalt the place of another

That these wisemen would fall to the ground is a demonstration of their humility before the God-man who is the exalted King of Heaven

I know you love Jesus, your Savior

We relish in loving Jesus for the salvation He brings us

We love Him as the Savior that frees us from sin

This Christmas, let your joy come from your love of His Lordship

Learn to love His authority and leadership in your life

Bow down in deep worship of your Sovereign King

Come with the maji, and lay yourself low. Give Him your decisions, your doubts, and your fears

Relish the greatness of the one born in humility

Surrender yourself completely to His call and command

Come to the manger and let go of control

The maji traveled 1200 miles to be with Jesus

And in your surrender to Him, He will take you much further!

Let your prayers be not what He can do for you, but what you can do for Him!

This Christmas, let your joy come from your love of His Lordship

Finally…(2:11b ONLY)

Matthew 2:11b NASB95

After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The third key to the joy of this season is this:

The joy of Jesus is in the treasure I make Him

The gifts of the maji were not the tiny boxes of your nativity figures.

If you travel 1200 miles to worship the King, you bring Him a gift worth giving

Most scholars believe that the gold Christ received here funded much of His earthly ministry

The Myrrh given to Him was the incense used to bless and honor a king or diety

Frankincense was the perfume of embalming in the ancient world

Yes, these gifts foreshadowed the life of Jesus. His ministry, Kingship, and sacrificial death are all seen in the gifts of Christmas maji

BUT, there is also something more I would mention this morning....

These gifts were costly

They were expensive in their own right

It would be hard to record a more extravagant gift registry in the ancient world than that given to Jesus

They were costly to deliver

The animals, people, provisions, dangers, and difficulty the journey took

And yet, as they arrive at the feet of Jesus, they laid down their gifts freely and joyfully

The maji were the ones that came bearing extravagant gifts, and yet they received much more than they gave

Their joy was not in the treasure they possessed, but in the treasure of heaven before them

They came, not to receive blessing from Him, but to bless His Name!-Their joy was His presence

This Christmas, let your joy be that Jesus becomes your greatest treasure

I wonder, this Christmas, what are you waiting for?

Are you waiting on a particular gift?

Are you waiting on a feeling? A moment? a gathering?

Are you waiting on fleeting riches and things that shine,

Are you waiting on the blessings that are promised?

OR, are you waiting on Jesus?

This morning, won’t you find that...

He is the greatest wonder you could ever pursue!

He is the Lord and commander that demands your deepest devotions of worship

He is greater than anything else that you could possess

He is worth letting go of even what you think is most valuable

This Christmas, wait on the wonder, the beauty, and the treasure of Christmas-and let it be that the joy from these things comes as the joy of Jesus

PRAY