1 00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:03,410 Pastors here at the church and it's good to be with you, good 2 00:00:03,420 --> 00:00:07,040 to be together, good together and to worship. 3 00:00:07,050 --> 00:00:14,060 So welcome we have been now for this is our 4th week talking 4 00:00:14,070 --> 00:00:18,850 about Advent and it's Advent only Week 3. 5 00:00:19,190 --> 00:00:22,490 We started a week early and one of the things that we did on 6 00:00:22,500 --> 00:00:28,910 that first Sunday for us on Advent 0.5 was encourage one 7 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:33,450 another to slow down and to try to embrace some of the practices 8 00:00:33,980 --> 00:00:38,010 that the church has been following and using for 9 00:00:38,110 --> 00:00:43,390 thousands of years now to to really prepare ourselves for 10 00:00:43,460 --> 00:00:46,230 Jesus birth into the world again. 11 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:51,770 And so Advent, for those of you who who are newer to church, 12 00:00:51,780 --> 00:00:55,910 Advent is this beautiful season of preparation and anticipation 13 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:00,790 where we wait for Jesus and we prepare ourselves again to hear 14 00:01:00,940 --> 00:01:02,960 this story. And for some of us, it might be 15 00:01:02,970 --> 00:01:05,620 hearing the story for the first time. 16 00:01:05,710 --> 00:01:08,900 And for some of us, it might be hearing the story in a new way 17 00:01:08,950 --> 00:01:11,220 for the first time. Some of us, it might feel like 18 00:01:11,230 --> 00:01:13,400 the 99th time we've heard the story. 19 00:01:13,490 --> 00:01:15,300 And there's still something there for you. 20 00:01:15,310 --> 00:01:19,060 There's still an invitation to wait and to anticipate and to 21 00:01:19,070 --> 00:01:22,200 prepare and to slow down. One of the things that we gave 22 00:01:22,210 --> 00:01:26,160 out on Week 1 was this sheet of different practices that you 23 00:01:26,170 --> 00:01:29,440 could incorporate or attempt to incorporate into your life. 24 00:01:29,450 --> 00:01:32,360 And one of the things that I said was please don't try to 25 00:01:32,370 --> 00:01:35,850 incorporate all of them because that would defeat the purpose of 26 00:01:35,860 --> 00:01:37,750 slowing down. Like it's not A to do list. 27 00:01:37,820 --> 00:01:40,530 So my family, I just wanted to share a little bit of an update 28 00:01:40,540 --> 00:01:42,970 because it's it's great. My family, we did the last one. 29 00:01:42,980 --> 00:01:46,620 We picked that last one. The last practice that we wrote 30 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:51,650 on that paper was to build, to create, to make an Advent 31 00:01:51,660 --> 00:01:54,350 wreath. And then as we're doing here, 32 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,550 once a week, gather together and light the candle, pray, read 33 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,690 scripture and talk about the story of Jesus's birth. 34 00:02:01,870 --> 00:02:05,580 And so my kids helped and we bought this great little wax kit 35 00:02:05,650 --> 00:02:09,740 and rolled our own candles made of beeswax. 36 00:02:09,750 --> 00:02:11,980 You can do that. That's a thing if you're 37 00:02:11,990 --> 00:02:15,000 curious. But then so we made these 38 00:02:15,010 --> 00:02:17,840 candles and I bundled them like, you know what look really great? 39 00:02:17,850 --> 00:02:20,440 It looks so nice. I'll bundle them all up together 40 00:02:20,510 --> 00:02:23,020 and I'll tie them in nice, nice little bow and we'll put them in 41 00:02:23,030 --> 00:02:25,940 the centre of our table. And so we're like 2 weeks in 42 00:02:25,950 --> 00:02:28,590 from lighting this thing and the whole thing is like melted. 43 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:33,020 So we're like forget the four candles plus the 5th Christ 44 00:02:33,030 --> 00:02:38,060 candle inside. We're like this mess of candles 45 00:02:38,070 --> 00:02:43,160 ish that all just puddled. And so it's not perfect and it's 46 00:02:43,170 --> 00:02:46,690 not intended to be. It is a good practice to do 47 00:02:46,700 --> 00:02:50,100 together and so it's not too late to encourage you to try to 48 00:02:50,350 --> 00:02:55,700 slow yourselves down between now and Christmas, as hard as that 49 00:02:55,710 --> 00:02:58,840 might sound. There's just a beauty to 50 00:02:58,850 --> 00:03:03,200 embracing that and the messiness of it and the failures of it. 51 00:03:03,210 --> 00:03:06,740 Like me trying to think, pretend or convince myself I can make 52 00:03:06,750 --> 00:03:11,480 candles that will last. But that's that's the 53 00:03:11,490 --> 00:03:14,390 invitation. What I wanna do is pray. 54 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:19,240 And then we're gonna be shortly into Matthew chapter 2 today and 55 00:03:19,250 --> 00:03:21,730 we're continuing the story of Jesus birth. 56 00:03:21,740 --> 00:03:26,410 And today in chapter 2, we see the Magi visit Jesus. 57 00:03:26,420 --> 00:03:27,680 And so that's where we're going to begin. 58 00:03:27,690 --> 00:03:30,910 We're going to read probably about 12 verses starting there. 59 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:34,270 But let me pray and then we'll jump in together. 60 00:03:35,510 --> 00:03:37,870 You got thanks for your love and thank you for your grace. 61 00:03:38,690 --> 00:03:42,160 Thank you that you are with us and that you invite us into 62 00:03:42,170 --> 00:03:44,760 these spaces and places that you've prepared. 63 00:03:45,090 --> 00:03:49,240 And here, it's here we get to sing and lift, hide the name of 64 00:03:49,250 --> 00:03:52,260 Jesus. We're able to slow ourselves 65 00:03:52,270 --> 00:03:57,160 down and pray. We're able to take some deep 66 00:03:57,170 --> 00:04:01,560 breaths in and experience your presence and know the power of 67 00:04:01,570 --> 00:04:05,890 your spirit in this place. So yeah, I pray that in these 68 00:04:05,900 --> 00:04:09,970 next few minutes as we read from the Scripture, as we challenge 69 00:04:09,980 --> 00:04:14,250 ourselves again with Jesus, your birth, what it means for us, 70 00:04:14,260 --> 00:04:17,399 what it means for this world that you love and have redeemed 71 00:04:17,410 --> 00:04:20,630 and our redeeming winning back to you. 72 00:04:20,690 --> 00:04:24,310 Yet I pray that you would do what you need to and you would 73 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,550 speak to each one of us the words that we need to hear. 74 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,730 Yeah, whether it is for the 99th time or whether it is for the 75 00:04:29,740 --> 00:04:33,170 first time in a brand new way. Yeah, I pray you get ahold of 76 00:04:33,180 --> 00:04:35,250 each one of us. Speak to us now. 77 00:04:35,260 --> 00:04:41,650 We pray in Jesus name, Amen. So in our series, in our Advent 78 00:04:41,660 --> 00:04:44,570 series, not the .5. But beyond that in our series 79 00:04:44,580 --> 00:04:50,510 week one we looked at how at just the right moment God chose 80 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,810 to speak into a very specific story. 81 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:58,330 So week one we looked at how God spoke to Joseph and called 82 00:04:58,340 --> 00:05:02,430 Joseph said do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. 83 00:05:02,500 --> 00:05:05,150 What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 84 00:05:05,220 --> 00:05:09,830 Baby will be born year to name of Jesus and which challenged 85 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:14,500 ourselves looked at the idea that God wants to speak into our 86 00:05:14,510 --> 00:05:17,520 stories and the God wants to speak into your story like no 87 00:05:17,530 --> 00:05:20,100 matter where you find yourself, no matter what season of life 88 00:05:20,110 --> 00:05:24,620 you find yourself in, God has something to give into that 89 00:05:24,630 --> 00:05:27,420 story and to call you toward in that story. 90 00:05:27,430 --> 00:05:30,860 God wants to speak to you. And Week 2, we looked at how God 91 00:05:30,870 --> 00:05:34,860 then interrupted Joseph's life in the middle of what was for 92 00:05:34,870 --> 00:05:38,820 him a messy story. And we talked about God's desire 93 00:05:38,830 --> 00:05:41,380 to continue to interrupt our own lives. 94 00:05:41,390 --> 00:05:45,160 Your life that God has something for you, desires to speak to 95 00:05:45,170 --> 00:05:48,280 you, call you into something, and then that thing is probably 96 00:05:48,290 --> 00:05:52,120 going to interrupt the ideas that you have for your own life, 97 00:05:52,130 --> 00:05:53,530 the plans that you have for your own life. 98 00:05:53,540 --> 00:05:56,460 We talked about many different kinds of interruptions, ones 99 00:05:56,470 --> 00:05:59,680 that God gives, brings into our lives, ones that He does not. 100 00:05:59,690 --> 00:06:03,330 But where is the invitation to obey and to seek after God in 101 00:06:03,340 --> 00:06:05,400 the midst of those interruptions? 102 00:06:05,450 --> 00:06:06,600 And so you can look at it this way. 103 00:06:06,610 --> 00:06:09,980 Week 1, what we said was listen. Listen. 104 00:06:09,990 --> 00:06:12,850 Our heart for you is to listen the guard as he speaks. 105 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,750 We too, we said obey. Our heart is for you to learn 106 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,310 and to trust and to begin to obey God as he interrupts your 107 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,290 life or into the interruptions of your life. 108 00:06:22,300 --> 00:06:25,630 What is it that God has for you? And one of the things that I 109 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,270 really hope each of us walked away with from both of those 110 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:31,880 weeks. Is this a sense or beginning to 111 00:06:31,890 --> 00:06:36,740 wonder at what might change in your life if you finally said 112 00:06:36,750 --> 00:06:41,480 yes to God? What would God do if you finally 113 00:06:41,490 --> 00:06:44,700 gave up on some of the things that He is calling you to 114 00:06:44,710 --> 00:06:47,360 surrender, some of the things that you've been holding on to? 115 00:06:47,450 --> 00:06:51,360 How might your story need to change so that you can continue 116 00:06:51,370 --> 00:06:56,000 to say yes to God and continue to choose to obey and to move in 117 00:06:56,070 --> 00:06:59,860 His direction? How might it actually change if 118 00:06:59,870 --> 00:07:03,850 and as you do? What is God interrupting? 119 00:07:03,860 --> 00:07:06,510 What needs to be interrupted in your life? 120 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:11,010 And what is God calling you to do with the interruption or in 121 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:16,180 the midst of the interruption? Today what I want to look at is 122 00:07:16,310 --> 00:07:21,140 what happens when God enters your story and you do begin to 123 00:07:21,150 --> 00:07:27,260 listen and obey God into the things that He's challenging you 124 00:07:27,330 --> 00:07:30,520 with right in the middle of your story. 125 00:07:30,630 --> 00:07:33,900 What would it begin to look like if you chose to obey, if you 126 00:07:33,910 --> 00:07:37,840 chose to say yes, if you chose to step in and lean into the 127 00:07:37,850 --> 00:07:42,480 things that God is offering and calling you to do? 128 00:07:42,730 --> 00:07:44,860 I don't know about you, but here's the thing about about my 129 00:07:44,870 --> 00:07:48,080 own life, about my own brain. I don't love the middle of any 130 00:07:48,090 --> 00:07:51,810 story, right? I I don't love like, it's like, 131 00:07:51,860 --> 00:07:55,510 let's get to the end. Let's figure out how it's going 132 00:07:55,520 --> 00:08:00,150 to be like, don't make me wait and sit in this unresolved kind 133 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,820 of wondering and waiting and tension of life. 134 00:08:02,830 --> 00:08:04,930 And is this, how is this gonna play out? 135 00:08:04,940 --> 00:08:06,710 Like, let's get to the end of the story. 136 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:08,800 And I don't know if you've ever done this and I've talked about 137 00:08:08,810 --> 00:08:11,910 this before, but you're reading a book and you're like, this is 138 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:14,290 too intense. I'm just going to flip to the 139 00:08:14,300 --> 00:08:16,930 end and make sure, OK, everything turns out great. 140 00:08:16,940 --> 00:08:19,970 OK, I can go back and I can exist in the tension, right? 141 00:08:20,260 --> 00:08:24,010 Or if you're watching a TV show, if you're going through like 142 00:08:24,290 --> 00:08:28,570 series and you keep jumping to the next one because you're just 143 00:08:28,580 --> 00:08:31,280 like, OK, I can't sit here. They've left me. 144 00:08:31,290 --> 00:08:34,620 Now I have to hit that like play next button, right? 145 00:08:34,630 --> 00:08:37,070 Like, are you still anyways? You just have to continue 146 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,539 watching because you also maybe you can identify with struggling 147 00:08:41,549 --> 00:08:44,840 to sit in the middle of it. I want to know what the outcome 148 00:08:44,850 --> 00:08:47,060 is. Like, I want to know what the 149 00:08:47,070 --> 00:08:50,340 goal is, What's the outcome? Let's get to that finish line. 150 00:08:50,350 --> 00:08:52,300 Let's at least know that it's there. 151 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:56,220 Can we skip skip a few steps and get there even faster? 152 00:08:56,230 --> 00:08:59,850 Hey, fantastic. But that's not the pace of life 153 00:08:59,860 --> 00:09:04,090 with Jesus, is it? That's not the pace that Jesus 154 00:09:04,100 --> 00:09:06,790 lived his life, and it's not the pace that He invites any of us 155 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:12,800 into as we live out our lives. See, I think God is calling you. 156 00:09:13,580 --> 00:09:18,890 Each of you is calling me to take a step of obedience, and 157 00:09:18,900 --> 00:09:22,010 that's gonna look different for each of you, but it's a step of 158 00:09:22,020 --> 00:09:25,190 obedience in the middle of whatever it is that you're going 159 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:27,310 through. It's not like I would like it to 160 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,560 be a big jump to the end. It's like God, I will obey if 161 00:09:31,570 --> 00:09:33,770 you can just tell me what the final step is. 162 00:09:34,340 --> 00:09:37,810 What God is calling you to do is take a step, a little step of 163 00:09:37,820 --> 00:09:42,860 obedience in the middle of wherever He has you right now, 164 00:09:44,460 --> 00:09:47,820 before you know the outcome. Because I'm convinced that when 165 00:09:47,830 --> 00:09:53,280 you begin to listen and when you begin to obey, God isn't as 166 00:09:53,290 --> 00:09:55,240 concerned. I don't think about changing 167 00:09:55,250 --> 00:09:57,990 your immediate situation or circumstance, but what is going 168 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,280 to begin to happen is that throughout all of your little 169 00:10:01,290 --> 00:10:04,320 steps of obedience and trust, God is going to begin to change 170 00:10:04,330 --> 00:10:08,200 you. You will change and we got 171 00:10:08,210 --> 00:10:09,120 changes. You. 172 00:10:09,210 --> 00:10:13,300 The direction of your entire life can and does change along 173 00:10:13,370 --> 00:10:17,220 with it, and so I want to read. This is the story of the Magi 174 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,630 after Jesus, it says, was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the 175 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:26,250 time of King Herod. Magi from the East came to 176 00:10:26,260 --> 00:10:30,350 Jerusalem and asked where is the one who has been born King of 177 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:34,170 the Jews? We saw his star when it rose, 178 00:10:34,180 --> 00:10:38,100 and we have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he 179 00:10:38,110 --> 00:10:40,760 was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 180 00:10:40,910 --> 00:10:44,220 When he had called together all the peoples, chief priests and 181 00:10:44,230 --> 00:10:46,860 teachers of the Law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be 182 00:10:46,870 --> 00:10:50,430 born in Bethlehem, in Judea. They replied, For this is what 183 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,460 it was written. But you, Bethlehem, in the land 184 00:10:53,470 --> 00:10:56,400 of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, For 185 00:10:56,410 --> 00:11:00,190 out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. 186 00:11:01,290 --> 00:11:05,610 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them 187 00:11:05,620 --> 00:11:07,320 the exact time the star had appeared. 188 00:11:08,230 --> 00:11:10,980 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully 189 00:11:10,990 --> 00:11:13,860 for the Child. As soon as you find him, report 190 00:11:13,870 --> 00:11:16,510 to me, so that I too may go and worship Him. 191 00:11:17,500 --> 00:11:20,410 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the 192 00:11:20,420 --> 00:11:24,310 star they had seen when it rose, went ahead of them until it 193 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:26,480 stopped over the place where the child was. 194 00:11:27,190 --> 00:11:30,260 When this when they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 195 00:11:30,770 --> 00:11:34,280 On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, 196 00:11:34,290 --> 00:11:36,480 and they bowed down and worshipped him. 197 00:11:36,650 --> 00:11:39,300 Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of 198 00:11:39,310 --> 00:11:42,700 gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a 199 00:11:42,710 --> 00:11:46,500 dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country 200 00:11:46,570 --> 00:11:53,520 by another route. So there are many things that 201 00:11:53,530 --> 00:12:00,660 begin to happen as you choose to trust and to listen and to obey 202 00:12:00,670 --> 00:12:04,540 God in the middle of your story. And all I wanna do today is 203 00:12:04,550 --> 00:12:08,180 suggest three things. I I think we see in this story 204 00:12:08,190 --> 00:12:11,580 at least three things that begin to happen when God enters your 205 00:12:11,590 --> 00:12:15,200 story and when we begin to obey. And I'm not going to make you 206 00:12:15,210 --> 00:12:18,300 wait till the end to work out which three there are. 207 00:12:18,310 --> 00:12:20,020 I'm going to give it to, I'm going to get you right from the 208 00:12:20,030 --> 00:12:22,040 very beginning. All right, So these are the 209 00:12:22,050 --> 00:12:25,410 three things that I believe this story shows us as the Magi 210 00:12:25,490 --> 00:12:28,970 arrive and as they encounter and meet Jesus. 211 00:12:28,980 --> 00:12:31,390 Number one, you will experience change. 212 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:33,760 Something in your life is going to need to change. 213 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,270 You will experience there will be opposition. 214 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,750 So #1 you're gonna experience change #2 there will be 215 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,990 opposition. This is why I wanted to give you 216 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,650 all three at the very beginning. Because third, I do believe you 217 00:12:47,660 --> 00:12:50,450 will find joy. I didn't want to leave you 218 00:12:50,460 --> 00:12:52,670 hanging with, hey, there's gonna be change and there's gonna be 219 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:54,450 opposition and make you think and wonder. 220 00:12:54,460 --> 00:12:56,110 Like, is the third one gonna be bad too? 221 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:00,990 All right, there's there is going to be your will experience 222 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,590 change. There will be opposition along 223 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:05,850 the way, but you will. Here's the promise. 224 00:13:05,860 --> 00:13:09,670 I believe you will find joy. So after Jesus. 225 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:11,650 We worked through this story. After Jesus was born in 226 00:13:11,660 --> 00:13:14,890 Bethlehem, Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from 227 00:13:14,900 --> 00:13:19,430 the East came to Jerusalem and asked where is the one who has 228 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:23,290 been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and 229 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:29,080 have come to worship him. We don't know a lot about these 230 00:13:29,090 --> 00:13:31,500 magi. They've kind of taken on a life 231 00:13:31,510 --> 00:13:35,060 of their own over the years. They tend to be portrayed as 232 00:13:35,070 --> 00:13:37,960 kings or wise men. If you see pictures of them 233 00:13:37,970 --> 00:13:40,360 painting works of art, different things. 234 00:13:41,030 --> 00:13:45,920 Wise men who came, kings who came for starters, throughout 235 00:13:45,970 --> 00:13:48,160 Christian history, right? They've they've morphed. 236 00:13:48,170 --> 00:13:51,280 They're, they've got magi and then we have wise men and then 237 00:13:51,290 --> 00:13:55,090 we have kings. Also, probably if I were to ask 238 00:13:55,100 --> 00:13:58,090 some of you, and I'm not going to do that, but we each each 239 00:13:58,250 --> 00:14:01,460 probably pretty quickly say there were three of them, right? 240 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:10,170 Because there was a hymn written in the 1800s, We 3 Kings, 1857. 241 00:14:10,180 --> 00:14:13,070 We 3 Kings. It was written by a man named 242 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,250 John Henry Hopkins Junior. We sing the Carol, right? 243 00:14:16,260 --> 00:14:19,550 We 3 kings. And so we say they're three. 244 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,890 Probably more than three. The magi they're they're 245 00:14:22,900 --> 00:14:27,540 interesting characters. So their title, Magi We is the 246 00:14:27,550 --> 00:14:30,750 word we use to get magician magic. 247 00:14:32,110 --> 00:14:34,290 They weren't magicians in the sense of like, deception. 248 00:14:34,300 --> 00:14:37,740 They were priests, but they weren't Jewish priests. 249 00:14:38,460 --> 00:14:42,550 They were likely Persian and they weren't, like I said, they 250 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,370 weren't magicians like we think of magicians. 251 00:14:45,380 --> 00:14:49,120 They were astrologers who studied the stars in the skies 252 00:14:49,130 --> 00:14:52,800 and made determinations based on what they saw. 253 00:14:54,010 --> 00:15:01,560 So these magi who came maybe 3 probably more likely came from 254 00:15:01,650 --> 00:15:04,200 one of two places. Persia. 255 00:15:04,210 --> 00:15:09,810 Some say Persia, modern day Iran, and some say from Babylon, 256 00:15:09,900 --> 00:15:12,370 close to what would be Baghdad now in Iraq. 257 00:15:13,450 --> 00:15:16,240 And So what we see over and over in the Scriptures is that they 258 00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:20,080 come from the east, and that term usually means Babylon. 259 00:15:21,010 --> 00:15:25,400 So here's these magi, maybe 3, probably more priests from 260 00:15:25,410 --> 00:15:32,370 another nation who travel about 12 to 1600 kilometres to see 261 00:15:32,380 --> 00:15:36,470 Jesus. This is like A2 probably 3 to 4 262 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:41,110 month trip by caravan along the known trade routes at that time 263 00:15:41,750 --> 00:15:46,060 that these Magi would have had to go through in order to arrive 264 00:15:46,070 --> 00:15:50,150 and to meet Jesus. So again, like we said, we've 265 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:55,070 got some number of Magi, Persian astrologers who traveled 1200 to 266 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:59,090 1600 kilometres to find a baby who was born who wasn't even 267 00:15:59,100 --> 00:16:02,720 there. King, but aching. 268 00:16:04,050 --> 00:16:08,630 And they do it because they follow a * says we saw his star. 269 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,380 We saw his star when it rose. And we have come. 270 00:16:11,450 --> 00:16:14,440 Not only have they come to see him, says they have come to 271 00:16:14,450 --> 00:16:19,770 worship him. Was it curiosity? 272 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:25,330 Spiritual hunger. Did they expect to find Jesus or 273 00:16:25,340 --> 00:16:28,070 were they expecting to find someone else? 274 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,010 Were they there to honour the new King or just get into his 275 00:16:31,020 --> 00:16:33,510 good graces? Like, we don't know a whole lot 276 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:40,810 about who these people were. What we do know is that Matthew 277 00:16:40,860 --> 00:16:46,570 is shocking his Jewish and then Christian readers with the fact 278 00:16:46,580 --> 00:16:52,340 that they were outsiders, outsiders who had come and who 279 00:16:52,350 --> 00:16:55,980 recognized Jesus as the true king. 280 00:16:56,370 --> 00:16:59,780 And in order to do that, in order to recognize Jesus as the 281 00:16:59,790 --> 00:17:03,660 true king, they had to get up from where they were, and they 282 00:17:03,670 --> 00:17:08,750 had to travel three to four months along trade routes, 12 to 283 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:13,990 1600 kilometres to be in Jerusalem and then Bethlehem to 284 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,329 meet Jesus. And when they do, they recognize 285 00:17:18,339 --> 00:17:24,480 Him as the true King. They get up and they go. 286 00:17:24,890 --> 00:17:28,230 They respond to what God is doing in the world. 287 00:17:28,860 --> 00:17:30,690 They respond to what they were seeing. 288 00:17:30,700 --> 00:17:36,080 They respond to the thing that God had come to do, and in doing 289 00:17:36,090 --> 00:17:41,490 so, in getting up and in going, in embracing the journey to see 290 00:17:41,500 --> 00:17:46,580 Jesus, what they end up finding is the true King of the world. 291 00:17:46,590 --> 00:17:49,680 Not just the King of the Jews, not just the baby who was born, 292 00:17:49,730 --> 00:17:53,160 but one who is the King of kings. 293 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:58,400 So for these maji, there's sacrifice and there's surrender 294 00:17:58,410 --> 00:18:02,660 involved in this journey. And for us and for you, there is 295 00:18:02,670 --> 00:18:06,480 sacrifice and there is surrender involved in the journey of 296 00:18:06,490 --> 00:18:10,860 listening to what God is doing in your life and in the world 297 00:18:10,910 --> 00:18:14,600 around you. One of the first things that you 298 00:18:14,610 --> 00:18:17,780 do that you are called into and called to embrace, one of the 299 00:18:17,790 --> 00:18:21,240 first things that happens when you respond to God is change. 300 00:18:21,250 --> 00:18:25,000 Your life won't be the same. There will be something for you 301 00:18:25,010 --> 00:18:30,170 to do and it may be costly, but there is something that God is 302 00:18:30,180 --> 00:18:32,610 calling you to embrace, a journey that you are being 303 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:36,230 called to go on, a place for you to go. 304 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:42,440 You cannot follow Jesus and stay where you are. 305 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:45,770 This is why I love the words of the hymn that we sang. 306 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:50,700 Come to Bethlehem and see him whose birth the angels saying, 307 00:18:50,710 --> 00:18:52,980 come to Bethlehem. This is the journey of 308 00:18:52,990 --> 00:18:54,660 Christmas. This is the journey of Advent 309 00:18:54,670 --> 00:18:57,010 that you are invited on to come and see. 310 00:18:58,220 --> 00:19:03,470 Come and see him whose birth the angels sing, but not only come 311 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,500 and see. Come adore on bended knee, 312 00:19:06,810 --> 00:19:09,500 Christ the Lord, the newborn King. 313 00:19:09,850 --> 00:19:12,400 It's not just about coming and witnessing the thing. 314 00:19:12,830 --> 00:19:15,600 It's not just about knowing it. It's not just about even seeing 315 00:19:15,610 --> 00:19:20,690 it happen in front of you. We're reminded to come adore 316 00:19:20,700 --> 00:19:24,670 him. The magi arrive and they worship 317 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:29,210 Jesus and and that's the him. Listen, on bended knee, what do 318 00:19:29,220 --> 00:19:33,180 you bend the knee toward? Where do you? 319 00:19:33,230 --> 00:19:36,040 To whom do you do you bend the knee? 320 00:19:36,830 --> 00:19:39,680 Christ, the Lord, the newborn King. 321 00:19:40,910 --> 00:19:43,720 And so I wonder this Advent, I wonder into this Christmas 322 00:19:43,730 --> 00:19:46,600 season as we move through it, and I wonder into the new year, 323 00:19:46,670 --> 00:19:49,250 what is it that God is calling you to walk toward? 324 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,920 What is it that God is calling you to move toward, right? 325 00:19:53,930 --> 00:19:57,550 Is it to move toward forgiveness, to forgive, or to 326 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,490 ask to be forgiven? Is it to pick up the phone and 327 00:20:01,580 --> 00:20:06,950 reach out and choose to trust? Is it to walk toward healing? 328 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,690 Is it to move toward healing, to finally deal with the thing that 329 00:20:10,700 --> 00:20:13,120 you've been putting off? To finally address it, To 330 00:20:13,130 --> 00:20:17,540 finally own it, To finally admit to it, to finally wrestle it out 331 00:20:17,550 --> 00:20:21,630 and deal with the thing. Is it a move toward community, 332 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,620 like joining a group or volunteering or asking for help 333 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:30,140 rather than hiding? Is it a move toward generosity? 334 00:20:31,290 --> 00:20:38,230 Trusting God to give even when things feel tight. 335 00:20:38,930 --> 00:20:40,970 To bless somebody who can't repay you? 336 00:20:42,370 --> 00:20:44,660 What is God calling you to move toward? 337 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,330 What might that 12 to 1600 kilometre journey look like for 338 00:20:48,340 --> 00:20:52,110 you this Christmas season? And with it, what comfort might 339 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:58,650 God be calling you to leave? Because as we go, we leave 340 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,570 comfort behind, even just in the sense that we leave what we know 341 00:21:03,740 --> 00:21:06,250 behind. I'm not gonna surmise, I don't 342 00:21:06,260 --> 00:21:10,030 know what where these magi were living and what their life was 343 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,650 like when they left, but it wouldn't have been comfortable 344 00:21:12,660 --> 00:21:17,130 along the way. We know that for a long trip 345 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:22,020 would have embraced discomfort in order to be with Jesus. 346 00:21:23,110 --> 00:21:25,820 And So what is it that you are too or that God is causing you 347 00:21:25,830 --> 00:21:30,480 or calling you to leave behind as a control, trusting God with 348 00:21:30,490 --> 00:21:33,100 something that you have tried to manage on your own? 349 00:21:33,110 --> 00:21:36,710 Is it self protection? The masks that we put on or the 350 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,930 guard, the Shields, the defences that we put up because we just. 351 00:21:40,050 --> 00:21:42,600 I've trusted once too many times and been hurt once too many 352 00:21:42,610 --> 00:21:47,350 times. Trusting that opening up to God 353 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:51,650 and even to others is for your health and wholeness and 354 00:21:51,660 --> 00:21:54,170 healing. Is that to leave behind the 355 00:21:54,180 --> 00:21:58,610 comfort that is convenient or even self-image, what you think 356 00:21:58,620 --> 00:22:01,230 of yourself and what you want others to think of you? 357 00:22:02,070 --> 00:22:04,540 Is it leaving behind even the comfort of being stuck, or 358 00:22:04,550 --> 00:22:08,390 staying stuck because so often we don't want to move toward 359 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,700 healing? Because dysfunction is familiar, 360 00:22:11,730 --> 00:22:15,790 and at least it's predictable and it doesn't ask anything of 361 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:16,430 me. I know it. 362 00:22:18,330 --> 00:22:21,800 What is God calling you to leave behind as you go? 363 00:22:22,170 --> 00:22:26,130 Here's what we see in the Magi Believing in something doesn't 364 00:22:26,140 --> 00:22:27,970 mean thinking differently about the thing. 365 00:22:29,620 --> 00:22:33,690 It means moving toward it, and it means allowing it to change 366 00:22:33,700 --> 00:22:36,800 you and actually changed the way you live. 367 00:22:36,810 --> 00:22:40,260 And our obedience to Jesus isn't just believing something to be 368 00:22:40,270 --> 00:22:43,220 true, it means moving toward Him. 369 00:22:44,150 --> 00:22:46,920 And whenever you move toward Jesus, he's gonna lead you out 370 00:22:46,930 --> 00:22:49,920 of something that is comfortable for the sake of something that 371 00:22:49,930 --> 00:22:54,850 is better with the magic I find is so much more than they could 372 00:22:54,860 --> 00:22:58,050 have imagined or expected because they don't just find 373 00:22:58,060 --> 00:23:01,790 king of the Jews, they find king of the world and they find the 374 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,730 true King of kings and Lord of Lords. 375 00:23:05,260 --> 00:23:07,910 Frederick Beecher, he says this. He's got a great line about 376 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:09,890 faith. He said faith is stepping out 377 00:23:09,980 --> 00:23:13,790 into the unknown, with nothing to guide us but a hand just 378 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:18,180 beyond our grasp. God is calling you toward 379 00:23:18,190 --> 00:23:21,750 something. There needs to be change in your 380 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,960 life. There will be change number one. 381 00:23:24,970 --> 00:23:27,680 Number two, there will be opposition. 382 00:23:27,790 --> 00:23:30,440 When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed. 383 00:23:30,710 --> 00:23:33,730 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them 384 00:23:33,740 --> 00:23:35,220 the exact time the star had appeared. 385 00:23:35,230 --> 00:23:38,020 He sent them to Bethlehem and said go and search carefully for 386 00:23:38,030 --> 00:23:41,800 the child. As soon as you find him, report 387 00:23:41,870 --> 00:23:44,360 to me so that I too may go and worship him. 388 00:23:44,370 --> 00:23:46,630 Spoiler alert, that's not what he wants to do. 389 00:23:50,030 --> 00:23:52,080 When the magi arrive in Jerusalem, they don't 390 00:23:52,090 --> 00:23:54,480 immediately find Jesus. Jesus is in Bethlehem, but they 391 00:23:54,490 --> 00:23:59,350 arrive in in Jerusalem and instead they find a ruthless and 392 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:03,450 insecure leader. They find King Herod, who's 393 00:24:03,460 --> 00:24:06,510 paranoid that someone would be challenging his kingship. 394 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:10,980 In fact, Herod was so insecure in who he was and so paranoid 395 00:24:10,990 --> 00:24:14,030 that somebody would overthrow him and take over his position 396 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,810 as king. He had two of his sons executed 397 00:24:16,820 --> 00:24:18,990 because he thought they were plotting against him. 398 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:20,890 Again, spoiler alert, They weren't. 399 00:24:20,900 --> 00:24:25,380 At least as far as we know. But that's how he lived his 400 00:24:25,390 --> 00:24:29,480 life. Fearful, paranoid that somebody 401 00:24:29,490 --> 00:24:35,410 would find out, would overthrow. He would lose who he is here. 402 00:24:35,420 --> 00:24:39,150 It is disturbed because the coming of another king, even the 403 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:43,490 coming of a Messiah, would mean the end of his kingship, the end 404 00:24:43,500 --> 00:24:47,120 of his time as king. And I think in so many ways, 405 00:24:47,130 --> 00:24:51,020 Herod represents the worst of human inclination toward change, 406 00:24:51,030 --> 00:24:54,080 and more broadly, toward what God is doing in the world. 407 00:24:55,750 --> 00:25:01,400 Because Herod represents all of fear and control and 408 00:25:01,410 --> 00:25:06,180 manipulation and threat that you and I can also experience. 409 00:25:06,190 --> 00:25:08,480 When we feel like somebody's after us or when we're a little 410 00:25:08,490 --> 00:25:10,920 bit concerned with somebody's after us, they might not be 411 00:25:11,010 --> 00:25:13,240 right. When we feel threatened, what 412 00:25:13,250 --> 00:25:15,980 are the things that we default to become afraid? 413 00:25:15,990 --> 00:25:17,690 We can try to control, we can try to manipulate. 414 00:25:17,700 --> 00:25:20,140 We can try to figure everything out so that it works out just 415 00:25:20,150 --> 00:25:23,280 the way we want. I think, you know, recognize 416 00:25:23,290 --> 00:25:24,960 some of these patterns in yourself. 417 00:25:26,410 --> 00:25:30,100 Harold sees this baby's birth as a threat and he's terrified of 418 00:25:30,110 --> 00:25:33,560 what it might mean for him. And so he does what so many of 419 00:25:33,570 --> 00:25:37,040 us try to do when we are also fearful and insecure. 420 00:25:37,110 --> 00:25:40,080 He tries to control and manipulate the magi. 421 00:25:40,290 --> 00:25:42,500 And so he says go and search for him. 422 00:25:42,510 --> 00:25:45,780 Like, go and find him for me, Go search so they're sent. 423 00:25:45,830 --> 00:25:49,920 Go and search carefully for the child and then report back to me 424 00:25:49,930 --> 00:25:55,160 so that I can also worship him. When God gets ahold of your life 425 00:25:56,540 --> 00:25:58,910 and when you begin to do the things that God is calling you 426 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,040 to do. When your life actually does 427 00:26:02,050 --> 00:26:08,460 begin to change, you will also face opposition and criticism 428 00:26:09,270 --> 00:26:11,670 for doing the things that God is calling you to do. 429 00:26:13,270 --> 00:26:16,750 Why? Because it exposes people's 430 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,860 insecurity. Because it threatens comfort. 431 00:26:22,070 --> 00:26:25,260 Because they can't control your obedience or maybe don't 432 00:26:25,270 --> 00:26:31,060 understand it, people can become fearful of what it might mean 433 00:26:31,070 --> 00:26:35,670 for their life. If these things are true, how 434 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,290 might it now be demanding of me that I change? 435 00:26:40,180 --> 00:26:43,570 And, and so maybe at times we try, people try to see the 436 00:26:43,580 --> 00:26:46,170 change through their own lens or understand it through their own 437 00:26:46,180 --> 00:26:49,210 worldview or make sense of it. But more commonly, what happens 438 00:26:49,220 --> 00:26:52,690 people try to dismiss it or contain it or limit it or 439 00:26:52,700 --> 00:26:56,250 explain it away or control it and use it like OK great, how 440 00:26:56,260 --> 00:26:59,400 can I benefit from this scenario and situation here? 441 00:26:59,410 --> 00:27:02,650 Tries to manipulate and use the magi for his own selfish 442 00:27:02,700 --> 00:27:03,620 reasons. Why? 443 00:27:04,490 --> 00:27:08,130 Because Jesus's Kingdom will always challenge and clash with 444 00:27:08,140 --> 00:27:13,520 the kingdoms of the world. Jesus's Kingdom will always 445 00:27:13,530 --> 00:27:18,480 challenge the kingdoms that are ruled by kings and would be 446 00:27:18,490 --> 00:27:23,110 wannabe kings. And Jesus's Kingdom also 447 00:27:23,120 --> 00:27:27,390 challenges the kingdoms that we've created in our own hearts 448 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,990 and in our own minds and in our own lives. 449 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:33,220 Because again, you may Here's the thing. 450 00:27:33,230 --> 00:27:38,790 You may experience opposition out there, and you may 451 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:40,970 experience opposition to what God is doing in here. 452 00:27:43,150 --> 00:27:45,960 Your own heart and your own mind might push against what God 453 00:27:45,970 --> 00:27:48,160 wants to do in your life. You might experience opposition 454 00:27:48,170 --> 00:27:52,510 that is entirely internal. Sometimes the herd we face isn't 455 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:57,590 out there, but the herd we face is in here because God's Kingdom 456 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,070 pushes against the kingdoms of darkness and even the little 457 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:04,740 kingdoms of darkness that exist in you and in me. 458 00:28:06,020 --> 00:28:09,170 And those kingdoms don't go quietly into the night. 459 00:28:10,210 --> 00:28:13,660 They don't wanna be defeated. They don't wanna be overthrown. 460 00:28:14,050 --> 00:28:17,680 Hard shows us that the greatest threat to obedience isn't always 461 00:28:17,690 --> 00:28:20,220 outside of us. Sometimes it's part of us that 462 00:28:20,230 --> 00:28:26,370 refuses to let Jesus be King, and so internally we face 463 00:28:26,380 --> 00:28:30,050 opposition of not wanting to let go of control and be like, I 464 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,850 finally thought I understood. Now you're telling me to let go. 465 00:28:34,970 --> 00:28:39,340 Because we also fear what is unknown, and because we want 466 00:28:39,350 --> 00:28:45,510 comfort given by old things, we struggle with insecurity. 467 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:48,060 Who will we become if we do the thing, God, that you're calling 468 00:28:48,070 --> 00:28:49,650 me to do? How will others see me? 469 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:55,080 We sit in the shame of past wounds that we can't get out of 470 00:28:55,450 --> 00:28:59,080 looping feedbacks in our brain and in our mind and heart. 471 00:29:00,250 --> 00:29:02,830 And to you right says this about the Kingdom of God. 472 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:06,100 He says when God kingdoms or when God's Kingdom comes into 473 00:29:06,110 --> 00:29:09,680 the world, the kingdoms that have set themselves against him 474 00:29:09,690 --> 00:29:15,870 do not submit quietly. Following Jesus will mean 475 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:20,560 opposition as his Kingdom pushes against the kingdoms of 476 00:29:20,570 --> 00:29:23,290 darkness. And as his Kingdom wins, there 477 00:29:23,300 --> 00:29:28,550 will be opposition. John 14 says in Jesus there was 478 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,280 life, in Him was life, and that life was the light of all 479 00:29:31,290 --> 00:29:33,260 mankind. He says the light shines in the 480 00:29:33,270 --> 00:29:40,520 darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it, and cannot and 481 00:29:40,530 --> 00:29:44,890 will not and does not. But God's Kingdom does push 482 00:29:44,900 --> 00:29:50,250 against even inside of you these little kingdoms that don't want 483 00:29:50,260 --> 00:29:53,830 to submit quietly. There will be opposition. 484 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:56,750 So number one, there will be change #2 there will be 485 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:04,710 opposition #3 there will be joy. The magi still do the thing that 486 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:09,140 they came to do. They find Jesus and they worship 487 00:30:09,150 --> 00:30:11,950 him. So when they saw the star, they 488 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:16,420 were overjoyed. All right, the Magi were 489 00:30:16,430 --> 00:30:18,380 overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw 490 00:30:18,390 --> 00:30:21,920 the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and 491 00:30:21,930 --> 00:30:25,490 worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures 492 00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:30,900 and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and Mer. 493 00:30:31,820 --> 00:30:36,300 On the other side of change and on the other side of opposition, 494 00:30:36,370 --> 00:30:41,760 internally or externally, is joy, because there is joy to be 495 00:30:41,770 --> 00:30:45,150 found in Jesus and in Jesus presence. 496 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:50,100 There is joy to be found in finding Jesus, in walking toward 497 00:30:50,170 --> 00:30:55,560 him along the way that he leads on the other side of change, on 498 00:30:55,570 --> 00:30:57,460 the other side of opposition. Joy. 499 00:30:57,770 --> 00:31:01,940 And the magi experience joy. They experience joy of presence, 500 00:31:01,950 --> 00:31:06,970 the joy in Jesus presence. They're overjoyed, says when 501 00:31:06,980 --> 00:31:11,040 they saw the star, they're overjoyed because they found who 502 00:31:11,050 --> 00:31:13,900 they were looking for. This is the implication. 503 00:31:14,850 --> 00:31:20,180 They found Jesus Henry now, and though he says this for each of 504 00:31:20,190 --> 00:31:24,200 us who wants to experience joy in our life, joy does not simply 505 00:31:24,210 --> 00:31:29,550 happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep 506 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:35,010 choosing it every day. This is what the Magi choose 507 00:31:35,020 --> 00:31:40,140 when they choose to go, and when they choose to be the ones who 508 00:31:40,150 --> 00:31:44,070 find Jesus. They experience the joy of 509 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:47,750 Jesus's presence, the joy of knowing Him. 510 00:31:48,470 --> 00:31:52,980 What I want to give you is two ways to choose joy that we see 511 00:31:53,050 --> 00:31:55,780 in the magis life. Two things. 512 00:31:56,420 --> 00:32:01,660 Joy is and will always be the outcome of worship. 513 00:32:02,330 --> 00:32:08,980 This is #1 Joy is in so many ways the natural result of 514 00:32:08,990 --> 00:32:11,490 worship. Because worship centres your 515 00:32:11,500 --> 00:32:18,070 life around Jesus, worship orients and points your life. 516 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,590 It directs your attention and your affection around the only 517 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:28,200 one who can satisfy you truly. And so as you lean into worship 518 00:32:28,940 --> 00:32:33,830 and as you honour and lift high the name of Jesus and the person 519 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:35,650 of Jesus, you will experience joy. 520 00:32:35,660 --> 00:32:41,550 Joy will be an outcome of worship because worship centres 521 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:43,860 you around the presence of Jesus. 522 00:32:44,350 --> 00:32:47,300 And joy numbers us #1 joy is the outcome of worship. 523 00:32:47,310 --> 00:32:53,000 Joy is more than an emotion. This is number 2. 524 00:32:53,210 --> 00:32:56,600 It says they give gifts. They opened their treasures and 525 00:32:56,610 --> 00:32:59,860 presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and murr. 526 00:33:00,930 --> 00:33:03,630 Now, these gifts, they're not just any gifts. 527 00:33:04,460 --> 00:33:06,630 These gifts aren't just OK, well, what do we have in our 528 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:07,930 pockets? Like, what could we pick up 529 00:33:07,940 --> 00:33:10,190 along the way? It's not like OHS we forgot 530 00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:13,240 something and we gotta hit up like a store on our way through 531 00:33:13,250 --> 00:33:17,030 Jerusalem and into Bethlehem and find something to buy this 532 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:21,280 little baby. These gifts were gifts that were 533 00:33:21,290 --> 00:33:25,830 reserved for a king. And with it, with these gifts 534 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:29,320 that they choose to bring and offer Jesus, the Magi are 535 00:33:29,330 --> 00:33:33,690 declaring Jesus to be king. It's not just like, hey, we 536 00:33:33,700 --> 00:33:35,040 think that you would like these things. 537 00:33:35,050 --> 00:33:38,000 Like what kid is like gold, frankincense and murr. 538 00:33:38,290 --> 00:33:39,820 Yeah. OK, game on. 539 00:33:40,170 --> 00:33:42,340 I don't know a kid who would love any of those things. 540 00:33:42,510 --> 00:33:45,630 Seriously. Like if I trust me the gold is 541 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:47,470 gonna it's a long play, it'll be OK. 542 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:49,510 They gold, frankincense and myrrh. 543 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:53,110 This is these are the magis declarations over Jesus that he 544 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:58,330 is the king of kings. One of the primary jobs that a 545 00:33:58,340 --> 00:34:06,110 magi had in their religion and system was to declare the King 546 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:10,690 of Persia as King of Kings. In fact, one of the other names 547 00:34:10,699 --> 00:34:14,400 for the King of Persia was King of Kings, Lord of Lords. 548 00:34:15,330 --> 00:34:18,920 And So what these magi are doing is stepping away. 549 00:34:18,929 --> 00:34:22,840 They're walking away from that declaration and that form of 550 00:34:22,850 --> 00:34:29,380 obedience to that other king and declaring Jesus to be the true 551 00:34:29,389 --> 00:34:34,730 King of kings and Lord of Lords over and above their king would 552 00:34:34,739 --> 00:34:41,610 be King of Kings, Lord of Lords. And so I think what they find is 553 00:34:42,650 --> 00:34:49,710 that joy, their state overjoyed, is because of the presence of 554 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:53,159 Jesus. It is because they worship 555 00:34:53,210 --> 00:34:58,660 Jesus, and it is because they choose to offer and give and 556 00:34:58,670 --> 00:35:06,050 submit and arrive at Jesus with their gifts to declare him King 557 00:35:06,060 --> 00:35:11,780 of Kings and Lord of Lords. And there is joy for you to be 558 00:35:11,790 --> 00:35:15,910 experienced in the presence of Jesus as you worship him and 559 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:20,830 declare him to be King of kings and Lord of Lords. 560 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,920 John 15 Jesus says this. He says as the Father has loved 561 00:35:25,930 --> 00:35:29,660 me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. 562 00:35:30,490 --> 00:35:33,900 So if you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as 563 00:35:33,910 --> 00:35:36,300 I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. 564 00:35:36,350 --> 00:35:40,270 I've told you this so that my joy may be in you. 565 00:35:40,500 --> 00:35:45,020 Jesus does long to give you his joy and for you to experience 566 00:35:45,030 --> 00:35:47,980 it. And he says, and that your joy 567 00:35:47,990 --> 00:35:53,330 might be complete, it might be full, it might lead to 568 00:35:53,340 --> 00:35:56,110 flourishing of life, the fullness of it. 569 00:35:58,260 --> 00:36:01,640 You listen. Learn to listen to God as He 570 00:36:01,650 --> 00:36:04,910 speaks to you and obey as you move toward Jesus. 571 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:08,100 You are going to experience change, and change will always 572 00:36:08,110 --> 00:36:12,150 be hard, and there will always be opposition, and sometimes the 573 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,770 greatest opposition will be inside your own heart and your 574 00:36:14,780 --> 00:36:16,450 own mind. But on the other side of those 575 00:36:16,460 --> 00:36:19,140 things, and as Jesus leads you through them, what you will find 576 00:36:19,150 --> 00:36:20,940 is just more of Jesus's presence. 577 00:36:22,630 --> 00:36:26,360 And with it, along with it, you will find the joy that only 578 00:36:26,370 --> 00:36:29,980 Jesus can give. And it is a joy that you have to 579 00:36:29,990 --> 00:36:33,320 choose over and over again. It is a joy that's found on the 580 00:36:33,330 --> 00:36:36,420 road as you follow, as you live your life out. 581 00:36:36,610 --> 00:36:38,940 It is joyless we found in worshipping Jesus. 582 00:36:39,210 --> 00:36:42,520 It's joy to be found in bringing gifts that we have and place 583 00:36:42,530 --> 00:36:47,890 them at His feet. And it's a joy that God honors, 584 00:36:48,770 --> 00:36:52,800 and it's a joy that God provides for you so that it may be 585 00:36:52,870 --> 00:36:54,440 complete. I love the way that this story 586 00:36:54,450 --> 00:36:57,500 ends. That's not it, That's a quote. 587 00:36:58,430 --> 00:37:04,960 Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they, 588 00:37:04,970 --> 00:37:10,070 the Magi, returned to their country by another route. 589 00:37:11,090 --> 00:37:13,510 There are so many things that I don't have time to get into 590 00:37:14,050 --> 00:37:16,420 about this passage. This one verse. 591 00:37:16,430 --> 00:37:19,900 I love that they go home alright. 592 00:37:19,910 --> 00:37:23,120 It's like Jesus doesn't say, OK, you're here, game on, time to 593 00:37:23,130 --> 00:37:25,480 stay and stick around and have a big old party. 594 00:37:25,490 --> 00:37:28,450 And just like you stay here and keep bringing me these gifts of 595 00:37:28,460 --> 00:37:32,950 like gold, frankincense and Mer, the magi are sent home and 596 00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:34,750 they're sent home to another country. 597 00:37:34,870 --> 00:37:36,800 And T right. And his commentary says he said, 598 00:37:36,810 --> 00:37:39,900 listen, don't miss the fact that what Matthew is doing here is 599 00:37:39,910 --> 00:37:43,620 declaring from the very beginning, Jesus's birth is not 600 00:37:43,630 --> 00:37:47,880 just for the people of Israel. Jesus's birth was for all 601 00:37:47,890 --> 00:37:49,740 people. And we begin to see it declared 602 00:37:49,750 --> 00:37:53,880 even here at the very beginning of Matthew's Gospel. 603 00:37:54,190 --> 00:37:57,280 But having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, 604 00:37:57,290 --> 00:37:59,530 they returned to their country by another route. 605 00:37:59,540 --> 00:38:01,840 That's what I want us to land on for today. 606 00:38:01,930 --> 00:38:04,380 You cannot experience the presence of Jesus and go back 607 00:38:04,390 --> 00:38:09,010 the same way you came. You can't experience it, the 608 00:38:09,020 --> 00:38:11,880 presence of Jesus, and then just keep living life as though 609 00:38:11,890 --> 00:38:15,800 nothing has changed. And yes, there's provision here. 610 00:38:15,810 --> 00:38:18,850 The magi don't go back to Herod and they don't tell Herod where 611 00:38:18,860 --> 00:38:20,380 they found Jesus. And there's a whole lot 612 00:38:20,390 --> 00:38:23,060 happening here. But they go back by another 613 00:38:23,070 --> 00:38:26,630 route because they had met Jesus and because their lives have 614 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:30,080 been changed by Jesus. And so I wonder, this is all it 615 00:38:30,090 --> 00:38:33,750 is. I wonder what different route 616 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:41,820 might God be inviting you onto this season and into the next 617 00:38:41,830 --> 00:38:45,550 new year and for the remainder of your life? 618 00:38:46,980 --> 00:38:50,290 Let me pray. God thinks that you love us and 619 00:38:50,300 --> 00:38:51,990 you do have something for each of us. 620 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:55,370 And yet again, whether this is a story that we've heard hundreds 621 00:38:55,380 --> 00:38:57,730 or thousands of times, whether this is a story that we're 622 00:38:57,740 --> 00:39:00,370 hearing in a new way, whether this is a story we're hearing 623 00:39:00,380 --> 00:39:03,070 for the first time, there is an invitation to each one of us. 624 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,030 And so God, for some it is an invitation for the very first 625 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:10,440 time to surrender and to confess sins. 626 00:39:10,450 --> 00:39:18,600 And our need for you, Jesus, Redeemer, One who wins back once 627 00:39:18,610 --> 00:39:23,550 he breaks down darkness, One who wins over sin and death and 628 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:26,160 brings and breathes new life into into us. 629 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:31,390 Yeah, whether it's for those of us who need to hear a a new step 630 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:35,470 of obedience, like maybe we've been living in a pattern for far 631 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:37,880 too long and we know God, you're calling us out of it. 632 00:39:41,470 --> 00:39:45,920 Whether it's to hear the story and to be the support for 633 00:39:45,930 --> 00:39:51,440 someone along the road. Whether it's to choose finally 634 00:39:51,450 --> 00:39:55,360 to go back by another route, to lay some stuff down Jesus at 635 00:39:55,370 --> 00:39:58,960 your feet, and to pick up life inside your Kingdom at I pray. 636 00:40:00,070 --> 00:40:03,400 Would you speak to each one of us today and as we continue to 637 00:40:03,470 --> 00:40:08,120 lift high Jesus your name as we continue to sing and pray and 638 00:40:08,130 --> 00:40:12,150 then as we go from this place. May we also go as people who are 639 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:16,950 changed because we met you and because we encountered Jesus 640 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:18,520 your presence. Thanks. 641 00:40:18,530 --> 00:40:19,820 Let us not contained in this building. 642 00:40:19,830 --> 00:40:21,760 It doesn't it's not just like oh, you gotta get to the special 643 00:40:21,770 --> 00:40:24,940 place to meet you thinks that your presence goes with us 644 00:40:25,430 --> 00:40:27,600 explodes into the world. Yeah. 645 00:40:27,610 --> 00:40:29,390 We're so grateful that you love us. 646 00:40:29,590 --> 00:40:32,210 Help us to love you in Jesus name, Amen. 647 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:41,910 You stand. With us as we sing. 648 00:40:55,870 --> 00:41:01,810 God, I look to you. I won't be overwhelmed. 649 00:41:03,380 --> 00:41:10,510 Give me the vision to see things like you do. 650 00:41:11,110 --> 00:41:16,950 God, I look to you, you're wearing my hell comes from. 651 00:41:18,620 --> 00:41:25,560 Give me wisdom. You know just what to do. 652 00:41:25,970 --> 00:41:34,620 I will. My strength I will. 653 00:41:36,620 --> 00:41:50,160 Lord this shit. No, my wrong forever, all my 654 00:41:50,230 --> 00:42:03,320 days I will love you. God, I look to you. 655 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:14,190 I won't be overwhelmed. Give me vision to see things 656 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:20,840 like you. Do what I look to you, You wear 657 00:42:20,850 --> 00:42:26,460 my hell comes from. Give me wisdom. 658 00:42:28,620 --> 00:42:37,520 You know just what to do. I will love you, Strange. 659 00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:57,750 I will love you Lord, and now will my forever all my days I 660 00:42:57,790 --> 00:43:18,910 will love you God. Yeah, how they are. 661 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:30,390 God, how dare you? God reigns forever. 662 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:34,460 All my days. How dare you? 663 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:50,250 Yeah, and I will love you. Goodbye Stray, I will love you. 664 00:43:50,590 --> 00:44:02,150 Ah, she I will love you goodbye forever. 665 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:17,020 All my days I will love you God. Yeah. 666 00:44:22,380 --> 00:44:30,650 They. How are you? 667 00:44:36,540 --> 00:44:46,100 Every day. How they? 668 00:44:53,090 --> 00:45:08,860 How? Forever. 669 00:45:08,870 --> 00:45:22,770 All night days. And then please be seated and 670 00:45:22,780 --> 00:45:24,170 join me for the prayers of the people. 671 00:45:30,630 --> 00:45:34,060 Gracious God, we thank you for this time of Advent. 672 00:45:34,430 --> 00:45:38,540 Thank you for this time we are able to slow down, to wander, to 673 00:45:38,550 --> 00:45:41,640 share in the joy of the season together as a church community. 674 00:45:42,550 --> 00:45:47,020 We praise you, God, for your name, Emmanuel, that you are God 675 00:45:47,030 --> 00:45:51,930 who is with us as we think on this mystery and wonder. 676 00:45:51,980 --> 00:45:55,170 We praise you that you so loved your wayward people. 677 00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:58,790 You were not content to simply dwell in our mist in the temple, 678 00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:02,510 but you actually took on skin and blood and became one of us 679 00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:06,330 to be with us, to know our grief, our temptation, and our 680 00:46:06,340 --> 00:46:09,610 need. Lord, in the season with the 681 00:46:09,620 --> 00:46:13,030 holidays, we pray for those in our church who experience 682 00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:17,990 renewed reminders of grief, of loss, of a loved 1, of hardship. 683 00:46:18,700 --> 00:46:20,970 And we pray that they would know you. 684 00:46:21,020 --> 00:46:24,170 Who is with them? Would you draw them close? 685 00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:26,140 Would they know your tender care? 686 00:46:26,880 --> 00:46:30,350 Would You equip us as Your body to bear each other's burdens and 687 00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:34,410 to love each other in Word, and indeed giving to each other as 688 00:46:34,420 --> 00:46:38,350 you have given to us? And Lord, when we are tempted to 689 00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:42,000 look outside at the headlines raging, and we are left just 690 00:46:42,010 --> 00:46:46,130 waiting in a mystery with weary questions, would you help us not 691 00:46:46,140 --> 00:46:50,510 to miss You, Your Holy Spirit drawing us near, would you help 692 00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:50,790 us to?