The Awe & Wonder of the Journey of the Wise Men

Mystery, awe, wonder.

Three men, in an ancient observatory, looked up into the night sky, filled with intrigue. Filled with desire. Filled with a longing they could not explain.

It seemed their entire lives had led up to this moment. This longing had pulled them from the time they were young, wondering, what is really going on in the world? What is the meaning of life? What is the purpose of all things?

Why does tragedy occur? Why does the night sky inspire me so much? What is this draw in my soul toward something beyond this world? Is there someone who could change this world, and change me from within?

They gazed up in awe at a new star that had risen in the night sky that night. And they knew nothing would ever be the same again.

From Matthew 2:1-2: “2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Somehow these magi, these wise men from the east knew that this bright light in the sky was leading them to Israel. Somehow they knew it signified the birth of a king.

The most likely explanation, from a biblical perspective, is that the light they saw, was a supernatural sign created by God to guide them.

This “star” rose in the skies over Israel, and these three wise men, knew, perhaps from a dream, or a vision from the Lord, to make a long journey to Israel to inquire of the location of the birth of the messiah.

How do we today fit into this saga? What does it mean for us?

I remember growing up, I was maybe 4 or 5 years old, and I stopped for one moment on a beautiful summer day, and I thought to myself, “Why am I here? Why do I exist?”

Over our lives, through the prism of hundreds and thousands of different experiences, and I think of my own experiences... riding four wheelers at the farm, digging in the sandbox as a child, watching the twin towers fall on 9/11, reading books about fantasy and adventure, exploring forests, Christmas family get togethers, bullying in school, losses of loved ones, scraped knees, and quiet moments watching sunsets, a pull begins to take us, drawing us toward a realm unseen.

It’s a desire for a country we’ve never been. It’s the hunger for something bigger than our experience in this world. And it’s something as we begin to experience God, and His Kingdom, that we begin to get small tastes of here and there, of that world beyond this world, that owns our deepest desires.

The magi may be chasing a star, but they are ultimately chasing a desire within themselves, a desire which God has placed in every human heart. The desire for eternity, as it says in Ecclesiastes 3:11, God has placed eternity in the human heart.

That is why you are here, you are drawn by a power that you can’t quite explain, to long after the mystery of the birth of Jesus. Our hearts resist it at first, but what if it really is the meaning of behind our lives?

Let us then go together tonight, chasing toward the Lord, with the wise men, as they make their journey to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.

Verses 3-4: "3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.”

The wise men ask Herod about the newborn king. And Herod is disturbed. In fact the entire city is disturbed.

The reaction from Jerusalem is not a positive one. And that’s not surprising. When Jesus was an adult, preparing to enter Jerusalem he said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you…" (Matthew 23:37)

Herod is troubled, because the birth of a king is a threat to his kingship.

This is why many, many people are not willing to let Jesus be the Lord of their life. They are the lord of their life. They are in control. They do what they want to do. And that’s power. Unfortunately, with us as the lord of our life, our lives falls apart. I know from experience.

That’s why it’s so important to raise our children in the Lord, then they never have to go through the trauma of trying to build their own little kingdom, and then watching it crumble all around them.

We make a bad god over our own lives.

But I think what happens is, the enemy lures us in with pleasure, power, good feelings, and encourages us to build a world around ourselves. We get hooked on addictions, and pleasures, and invested in self-based pursuits. And once the enemy has us there, on our own little throne, but he’s actually the one in control, we’re so deep into our own little kingdom, that when we see the offer of Jesus, we don’t want to give up what little we have, and have a king over us that’s not us.

So Herod asks the religious leaders where the messiah is to be born. Here is their response: (v. 5-6) 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

The location is of course Bethlehem. And here the religious leaders quote Micah 5:2, 4. But notice, the messiah is said to be the shepherd of the people. And what does a shepherd do?

He leads the sheep. With his shepherd staff, the sheep follow the leading of the shepherd, and the shepherd protects the sheep in times of danger, and even rescues them when they wander off.

We were all searching so hard for something beyond ourselves. Something greater. And when we found it, it at first was a bit hard to swallow. Because we wanted to be in control. We wanted to run our own lives. But we remembered where that got us, it didn’t go well. So, we gave our lives to Jesus, to let him be our shepherd, to shepherd us toward heaven, the news heavens and new Earth. And in that place, we believe we will ultimately find fulfillment of the hunger for eternity in our souls.

Next we see a secret meeting between Herod and the Magi, verses 7-8: “7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

A secret meeting in the dark of night, at least that’s how I picture it, in the king’s chamber, oddly quiet, few servants around, and Herod urges the Magi to go and search out the city of Bethlehem.

We’re seeing a powerful contrast between Herod and the Magi, Herod is scheming, rejecting the new king, trying to learn information from the Magi, but the Magi are honest seekers, hungry to know the truth about who this new king really is. We see the Jewish authorities very much resistant to the messiah, and gentile strangers from foreign lands seeking the messiah.

Where do we fit in this? Well, we either seek to protect our own power like Herod, or we honestly submit to the messiah. Even after becoming a Christian, this is an ongoing question in our lives: Will we begin to take our will back? Or will we continue to seek the messiah, and return again and again to our first love, which is Jesus himself?

If you’ve found in yourself a resistance to Jesus lately, a distance growing, a desire to control your own life, lay it at the altar tonight, submit yourself afresh to the Lord, and return to your first love. For Jesus loves you.

Next, verses 9-10: “9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”

Can you imagine what this must’ve felt like? They had seen a star before, but now, they are headed to Bethlehem, and the star appears again, this time it moves ahead of them, as they follow it. I think my head would be spinning. I’d be thinking.. Is this a dream? Is this really happening?

They follow the star, which reminds me of how we follow God’s leading.

Let’s put ourselves in this moment. We see in the natural the wise men are following a star, to find the newborn messiah.

But now think about someone who doesn’t know about Jesus, but then they hear the gospel. This begins a journey similar to the wise men, of groping in the dark toward God. It’s like following a dim light in the distance, and slowly, we pursue it, not sure even what it is, but, as we get closer and closer it becomes clear, Jesus is really real.

Now think about for a Christian, someone who is reconciled to God by Jesus, we are on a journey too. We follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. See when one believes in Jesus for salvation, they receive the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity to come and live within them. And by the Spirit, we receive guidance from God, I like to call them divine nudges, and so we continue to follow the Spirit as if it were that star in the sky the wise men were following. That is our journey to heaven.

So then the “star” stops over the house where Jesus is. Can you imagine? Wow. It stops in mid air! 

For the magi, the appearance of the star causes them to be overjoyed. I know when I sense a divine leading of God, and follow it, the result is joy. God’s leading in all it’s awesomeness, really will lead us back over and over again to a person, to Jesus himself.

Next, verse 11: “11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

The magi arrive, and find Mary and the newborn Jesus, and they worship Him. Only God may be worshiped. How do we know Jesus is God in human form? He was worshiped in his life, over and over.

They gave the family gifts, gold representing Jesus’ royalty, Frankincense representing Jesus’ priesthood, and myrrh representing Jesus healing ministry, as well as his future death and resurrection.

What was the purpose of these gifts? Many have speculated that these gifts would’ve been helpful when Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt after Jesus’ birth. But we don’t really know how they were used.

Lastly, verse 12: “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”

One last supernatural experience, a dream given by God to one of the wise men concludes the miraculous events we celebrate each year over Christmas.

The wise men discover from God that they should not report back to Herod, so, they take another path back to their homelands, forever changed by their experiences on that fateful journey to Bethlehem.

In conclusion tonight, after encountering Jesus, we return to our lives, forever changed. I remember in 2012 when I received Jesus in my heart, one of those church services, I came back home and looked around that same home with new eyes.

After some new adventure with God, we still live our lives day by day, same people, same family members, similar connections, same stores we go to, but we start to see everything differently. Because we may have gone home, but Jesus came with us, we are new, and nothing will ever be the same.

I’ve read many books, had many experiences, had overwhelming experiences, went to parties, traveled different places, studied different philosophies of life, but no matter what I studied or what experience I had, I always came back the same person, but, when I gave my heart to Jesus, and named Him as savior of my life, everything changed. Why? Because God changed me. And nothing else can compare to that. It’s real.

Like the wise men that fateful night… chase after God. Seek Him diligently. Explore who Jesus really is. And when you’re ready, call out on His name, and He will change everything. And the new adventure begins. For those of us already on that adventure, continue to seek Jesus, follow His Spirit’s leading, and He will take you deeper and deeper into spiritual depths beyond your imagining.

Like the many stars in the sky, our lives shine in the darkness of this world, as a witness to the lost world that Jesus really is real.

The awe and the mystery of Christmas is the joy of knowing the God who made us. Let him light the fire of the Holy Spirit within you. And if your flame is getting dim, let him restoke that fire within you afresh.

As they say, wise men and women still seek Him. Merry Christmas!

The 7 Joys of Christmas: Mary visits Elizabeth

My wife and I visited a local church for their Christmas Journey event that walks you through different stations depicting the birth of Jesus. My wife and I were waiting in their youth center for the event to start, and we happened to speak to a woman who worked there. We talked for a while, and she was actually a special assistant to the senior pastor. Later we went into the waiting area with our group, and she came over and brought the senior pastor to meet us. And he shared his story of how he became pastor. And he told me how he attended Moody Bible Institute, graduated, and his first job at the church was as custodian. And God took him from cleaning toilets over years of faithful service, to senior pastor of the church. What an amazing story! That just spoke to my heart. My wife said to me, "That’s how God’s kingdom works!" It’s peculiar, and beautiful, how God does things.

Last week we discussed how Mary was visited by a messenger from the Lord, and given a message that would change her life forever: She would give birth to the son of God.

Today we follow Mary as she makes an unexpected journey to someone she loved dearly, to seek wisdom and support. This was a journey from the hand of the living God.

We turn to Luke chapter 1, beginning in verses 39-40: “39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.”

Mary began a journey all the way from Nazareth to a city called Ein Karem. This journey would’ve been 80 to 100 miles, and it would’ve taken 4-5 days. 

That is a long journey for Mary to make. Scholars believe Mary was no more than 15-16 years old when she gave birth to Jesus, as betrothal age at the time was anywhere from 12 to 16 years old.

It’s possible she traveled with a caravan, or that she traveled with family, but we aren’t certain.

But the first thing I want you to notice today is that she was following the leading of the Lord. She didn’t understand what was happening in her life. She knew it was from God. So she sought out a trusted friend and family member to seek guidance and counsel.

I’m sure many of us have done the same thing, something happened that changed our lives, and we didn’t know how to respond, so we sought out a trusted friend to talk it over with.

So Mary arrives to her dear friend Elizabeth. They see each other, and a beautiful moment begins.

Verse 41: “41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Today’s message is all about Joy.

Here we find the first joy, the joy of expectation. The baby within Elizabeth, who we know is John the baptist, leaps for joy.

I can only imagine how that must’ve felt. But any mother in the room knows what it feels like when a baby kicks. Now imagine the baby jumping inside the womb.

Quite a feeling. I can imagine at least.

The joy here, is the joy of something that’s coming. There is a unborn baby inside Mary, there is an unborn baby inside Elizabeth, and the unborn baby John in Elizabeth recognizes that the unborn Jesus is near him, and leaps for joy inside Elizabeth.

I think it’s kind of like knowing Christmas is just around the corner. I remember when I was a kid my grandma had an advent calendar and when I was visiting she would let me pin the item for that day onto the calendar. I was so excited for Christmas, I had the joy of expectation, it’s coming, it’s almost here, and nothing can stop it from coming.

Next, we see Elizabeth’s response: (42-45)

42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

John and Jesus met as unborn babies. Let that sink in for a moment.

Elizabeth calls Mary, the mother of her Lord. She knows from the Spirit that Mary is carrying the son of God in her belly. She is honored by her visit.

How does Elizabeth know these things she says to Mary? There’s no way she could know. She is prophesying, speaking from the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I have a friend that does this very often, speaks to me from the leading of the Spirit, and I can sense it when he does. Many others as well, they'll say something, even just one line, and I'll immediately know, that is a word from the Lord for me. I think many Christians speak from the Holy Spirit from time to time without even realizing it.

Notice verse 45, Elizabeth tells Mary, "Blessed are you who believed the message of the angel." This is a confirmation. Mary dared to really believe that what God said was true, that she would give birth to messiah.

What do you need to believe God on today? What if we really trusted Him? One day perhaps we would look back and think, I was really blessed because I dared to believe.

Next, we study something that has been called over Christian history, “the magnificat”, the words of Mary celebrating Jesus coming birth. Magnificat means “to magnify” The word magnificat comes from first word in Latin from verse 46: “"Magnificat anima mea Dominum"

It says this, 46-55:
46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

She is giving God all the credit, all the glory for what’s happening in her life. She doesn’t keep any for herself. Something I like to pray is, "God I give you all the glory." We keep a little yard sign in our garage, so that whenever we pull into the garage we see a sign that says "To be God be the glory!" It's a good reminder after a day of ministry that God gets all the credit. 

God doesn’t have any love for pride. He wants us to choose humility.

She says in verse 48, all generations will call me blessed. And its true, to this day the church views Mary as so blessed to have been given the opportunity to give birth to Jesus.

This is the second joy, the joy of humility. Mary was so very humble, and the result was she is called blessed by all generations.

Those who humble themselves, will be exalted. The word of God is true. The proud will be brought low, the humble exalted. What a joy to see that God honors the most humble, and brings down the proud. 

We see Mary emphasize the fear of the Lord in verse 50, and the scattering of the proud in verse 51.

Verses 52-55 in some ways remind me of the beatitudes of Jesus. The upside down kingdom, that Jesus flips the pyramid system of this world, and instead, he brings down rulers and powerful ones, and he lifts up the humble. He fills the hungry with food, and sends the rich away empty.

It reminds me of those beautiful words of Jesus: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." -Matthew 5:3-6

This is the third joy, the joy of mercy. The system of this world is so backwards, and we suffer under the wealthy and powerful forces in control over this world, but God steps in, and says I’m going to flip all of that on it’s head, through Jesus. Why? Because God is so merciful, he won’t allow the enemy to have domination over us.

And in the last two verses 54 and 55, Mary makes it clear that all this is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise of God to Abraham, that he would bless all nations through him. The unborn baby Jesus would fulfill all of this, and Mary knew it, from the Lord. And she spoke it that day, two thousand years ago.

Verse 56 says, “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.”

When the angel visited Mary, Mary was told that Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy with John the baptist. So it makes sense that Mary would stay with Elizabeth and Zechariah for three months. Scholars believe Mary stayed until John was born, then returned to her home town of Nazareth.

Do you see how it all fits together? Elizabeth and Zechariah got pregnant, 6 months later, Mary becomes pregnant by the Holy Spirit with Jesus. Mary travels to visit Elizabeth, and there is great joy and celebration at what God is doing through these two extraordinary women. Mary stays with Elizabeth until John is born, then returns to Nazareth.

Next, we see John’s birth…

Verses 57-58: “57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.”

This is the fourth joy we discuss today, the joy of fulfillment. There was barrenness as Elizabeth cried out to the Lord for a son. Then there was hope when the angel visited Zechariah. Then there was expectation as her baby leapt in her womb, now came the fulfillment.

What a joy it is when God fulfills a word he gave to us, when God answers a prayer, when God does the impossible, and we walk into the new blessing.

Next, 59-61: “59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

There is a dispute about the label they will place on his identity. They want to name him after his dad Zechariah, but this child belongs to God. His name is John.

What does the name John mean? It means Yahweh is gracious.

Next: “62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”

Zechariah can’t speak. Remember in our prior message, Zechariah didn’t believe the Lord’s message and the angel told him, you won’t be able to speak until he’s born. So he’s having to write stuff on a tablet.

But Zechariah declares his son’s identity via tablet. “His Name is John!”

There is power in believing the truth. There is power in stating it plainly. Remember that in your own life, speaking the truth plainly is powerful. Use tact, use wisdom, but, when God says speak, speak boldly. Also remember, there's power in writing it too. That's why journaling can be so healing for past traumas. 

Next, 64-66: “64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.”

This is the fifth joy, the joy of wonder. All these strange events filled the people of the hill country everywhere with wonder. What could this mean?

Zechariah began speaking and praising God, after having been silent for 9 months. The rumor mill was working over time. What would this baby become?

Again, it was clear to everyone that God was behind what was happening here. And they were so excited, so awe struck at what God might be doing.

The snow falling has produced a lot of wonder for Chelsey and I this Christmas. It’s filled us with joy. We often complain about snow, but it’s beauty is unmistakable. It reminds me of how God covered over the ugliness of our sins, with the gift of Jesus’ blood.

Do you have wonder in your life? Do you look at what God is doing with joy? Cultivate moments of wonder in your life. We all need to slow down, look a little deeper look at all God does, and let it awe us.

It says in verse 67, “His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied…”

God would be speaking through Zechariah, just like he spoke through Mary earlier.

We study now a second declaration, similar to the magnificat of Mary, this one has traditionally been called the “benedictus” because in Latin Zechariah’s first words translate as "Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel.” Benedictus means “blessed.” We today call it Zechariah’s song.

It says this, verse 68-75
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

Again, like Mary, we see a prophetic statement, talking about the future.

He doesn’t even know who Jesus is, he’s not born yet, yet he declares, “He has come to his people and redeemed them, raising up a horn of salvation.”

This is the sixth joy, the joy of redemption, that God comes and takes people who were guilty, sinful, and justly deserving of punishment, and he cleaned us up and makes us his holy spotless royal family. He took us from filth and rags outside the castle, and brought us in, cleaned us up, gave us fresh garments, and named us as heirs of his kingdom. What great joy!

Notice in verse 74 and 75, this act of redemption actually enables us to serve Him. This was the whole problem back then, the people knew the law and tried to follow it, but they always fell short. They needed God to come and change them from within, thus enabling them to serve God from the heart.

And to serve Him without fear. Yet not in sinfulness, but to serve Him in holiness and righteousness. God’s power would enable God’s people to live transformed lives, in holiness and righteousness, because of the heart change Jesus would bring.

And Zechariah perceived all this from the Holy Spirit, before Jesus was even born. Next...

Verses 76-79:
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Verse 76 refers to John, indicating that he will prepare the way for the Lord Jesus. John would teach people about the power of repentance from sins. He would then point them toward Jesus who could actually forgive their sins.

But then we get to the prophecy about the sun, S-U-N, “the rising sun will come to us from heaven, to shine on those living in darkness.”

The sun in our solar system is an amazing metaphor for Jesus. We so easily forget how much we need Jesus each day. For most of my life I didn’t even consider Jesus at all. It’s kind of like that with the sun in the sky. We need it every day, it provides the light by which we can see anything, without it we would all freeze in a matter of seconds, but how often do we think about the sun?

We need Jesus every day. He is even more necessary than the sun in our solar system, Jesus literally holds reality itself together, without Jesus we would have nothing.

Jesus would shine on those living in darkness, those living in the shadow of death, so he did for me, and all of us, he shined on us, and we woke up, in the darkness, yet we perceived off in the distance this faint light, and we began moving toward it, slowly we crawled, desperate and afraid, and we wondered if the light was even real, but we kept trudging toward it, and it got brighter and brighter. Soon that light surrounded us, and we invited it in, and it began to fill us, and once it lit up inside of us, we were able to escaped from the darkness, and as it says here...

“He guided our feet into the pathway of peace.”

And that is the 7th joy today, the joy of the pathway of peace. What could be more wonderful that this joy? The joy of having escaped the dark world of sin and selfishness, and now we joyously walk this new way. The way of Jesus, by the Spirit’s power.

And all these events we discuss were absolutely essential, they paved the way for this path we now walk in. Without these events, we would be lost.

The last verse says, “And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.”

John grew strong in the Spirit, and lived in the wilderness, waiting for the moment to begin to prepare the way for the messiah.

All this sets the stage for Jesus birth. Spirit led events all conspiring, by God’s leading, to open the door to the pathway of peace. The stage is set, the pieces are in place, and this all leads us into next week, when we discuss the birth of the one and only messiah. Praise the Lord!

Let’s review our main points, and as we do, remember, to find these joys in your life, because Jesus came to give us joy.

Review of Main Points:
1. The Joy of Expectation - something in the future that’s coming soon

2. The Joy of Humility - watching God exalt the humble

3. The Joy of Mercy - watching God show us unexpected grace and favor

4. The Joy of Fulfillment - when the promise is fulfilled and it comes into the real world

5. The Joy of Wonder - when we’re enraptured by the mystery of what God is doing and consider what it could mean

6. The Joy of Redemption - when God takes us from sinners to family

7. The Joy of the Pathway of Peace - joyously walking the road Jesus made for us to follow by His Spirit in righteousness

How We Avoided the Christmas Hangover: Setting a Tradition that Honors Christ

My wife and I were approaching our first Christmas together. We were both so excited. We were coming off a crazy time in our lives. We'd just got married and moved to Chicago. We were working for The Salvation Army in separate areas, raising money and meeting needs. 

It was December 24th midday, and we were both tired after a kettle season that started in mid-November.

We met up at our downtown Chicago on-campus apartment at The Salvation Army seminary, exhausted but hopeful. 

We wanted to avoid something we'd felt many times previously on Christmas. We wanted to avoid the Christmas hangover. It's a feeling we'd experienced many times. It was the sense that we missed the heart of what Christmas is really about. 

Among all the unwrapped presents and delicious meals we would sit on Christmas and think to ourselves... we missed what really matters. We would feel engorged, pleasure-filled but ultimately empty hearted.

So we decided for our first Christmas together that something had to change. 

Here is what we did, and the effect was absolutely electric: 

We gathered in our apartment in downtown Chicago, a place we didn't want to be, yet providence had led us there. In the little apartment our Christmas tree was glowing, the ornaments and decorations were beautifully displayed, candles were burning, lights glowing, the environment was set.

We had several activities planned for ourselves. On Christmas Eve in the morning we woke up together and the first thing we did was we prayed together and thanked God for His goodness. The snow was falling as we parted ways that morning, it was beautiful. The city was oddly quiet. Chicago is never quiet, but it seemed so quiet that day.

Immediately after we parted ways, my wife headed to Midway, I headed to Gary, and later that day we came together again around 3pm after work.

First, we sat down on the floor in our living room, wrapped ourselves in throw blankets, and we lit candles and incense. We pulled out our phones and one of us would suggest a hymn, we'd pull up the lyrics on our phones, and then we'd sing it together, worshipping God. Many were Christmas songs, but not all. We took turns, my wife picked one, then I picked one, back and forth we went.

It's very easy in a group setting, or with your loved one to do a hymn sing together. Simply take out your phones, and use google to search for the lyrics of a particular song. A great resource for this is GCCSATX. You can find almost any hymn lyrics on the website, along with piano accompaniment for most of the songs. 

Some of the songs we sang included:

Silent Night

Joy to the World

O Come All Ye Faithful

We Three Kings

Hark the Herald Angel Sing

Angels We have heard on High

The next thing we did was make Christmas cookies together. My grandma had a wonderful recipe for ginger bread cookies. We found a nativity ginger bread cookie cutter set at Hobby Lobby in town and used that. 

After that we went through the nativity story, reading the account from the book of Matthew and Luke, with both our Bibles open, talking about the meaning and purpose behind what God did. 

Scriptures we read: Matthew 1:18-25, Matthew 2:1-23, Luke 1:26-56, Luke 2:1-40, John 1:1-5, John 1:10-18

This was very powerful, as we read each scripture the historical nativity spoke into our current moment. We reflected on what those involved must've been feeling and thinking. We asked questions. We were inspired. We were touched. We were confused at times, amazed in others. Scripture is so powerful, and the verbal reading of the word shifted the environment around us. 

After that, we shared favorite memories growing up from Christmas and the Christmas traditions of both of our families. We talked deep about the meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, and how Christmas affected us growing up, as well as how we see it now in light of our personal faith journeys. 

Next, we opened presents together. Often the opening of gifts is the center piece of any Christmas gathering, but we knew something was wrong about that. The center piece should be Jesus, and the presents should be secondary. We realized at the time, that by making the gifts secondary, and Jesus and his birth central, we had touched on something essential. 

The presence of God I felt was holy, and moving. As we honored the Lord with our Christmas eve, and Christmas day, the Lord's presence was tangibly perceivable. 

At night we watched a Christmas movie, it's a movie that we've developed as a tradition in our relationship. We watch it every year during Christmas since we first began dating. It's a movie called "The Nativity." It portrays the events of the birth of Jesus in a thoroughly biblical, meaningful and powerful way.

After the movie, my wife and I once again got together and had a time of prayer, thanking God for his amazing gift. We burned candles, and played Christian Christmas music. We enjoyed more deep conversation together, reflecting on everything that had happened recently, and where God was leading us. 

At the end of the day, we took the body and blood of Jesus together in our small apartment, using grape juice from the store, and communion wafers I had ordered online (Amazon). 

After that we watched "It's a Wonderful Life" one of our favorite Christmas movies. Then we went to bed. 

Every Christmas I've experienced in my life I've always sat back a day later and felt like I'd engorged myself on food, consumerism, and selfishness. I had missed the real heart of Christmas. I had ruthlessly fed my pleasures and tagged Jesus on the side of it all. 

That Christmas eve, and Christmas day the next day were sacred and special. They felt different. They were different. I felt no hang over. I felt enriched. I felt we'd taken steps that had yielded real results.

This was the first Christmas where I sat back after everything and realized, I had really found the heart of Christmas, because we had made it about Jesus. 

If you're sick of the Christmas emotional hang over, try setting a new pattern this Christmas. Make Jesus the center of your Christmas celebrations and watch God bless you as a result. 

Say goodbye to the Christmas hangover and replace it with the joy of knowing you honored the Master who loves you! 

Here is a Sample Outline to Help Plan your Gathering: 

 

Christmas Eve - Dec 24th 

Enjoy a Family Dinner together - share favorite memories from past Christmas celebrations

After dinner turned off all the lights except for Christmas lights (Burn candles)

Sing Christmas Hymns together - by suggestion - Pray before starting

Go through Christmas Scriptures together (Events just Prior to Birth of Jesus: Angel visits Mary, Mary & Elizabeth, Angel visits Joseph)

Scriptures: Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:39-56, Matthew 1:18-25

Time of Prayer - pray for family, friends, loved ones

Watch Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life"

Christmas Day - Dec 25th 

Sleep in

Enjoy a Christmas Breakfast with family

Bake gingerbread cookies together

Go through the Christmas Scriptures together (Birth of Jesus, Shepherds visit, Magi Visit Jesus)

Scriptures: Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Matthew 2:1-12

Time of Prayer - pray for those hurting on Christmas, elderly, lonely, lost and addicted, pray for gospel to go out to hurting people this Christmas

Open Gifts together (Christmas music playing in background)

Enjoy Christmas Cookies & Gifts that were opened

Time of Prayer - Thank God for everything he's given this year

Take the Body and Blood of Christ together as a family 

Watch the movie "The Nativity"

Discuss and reflect with family on how the movie spoke to them

When Light Breaks Into Darkness: Zechariah and Elizabeth learn of the Birth of John

To begin today, we must go back 700 years before Jesus was even born, to a prophecy written by the prophet Isaiah, to a nation struggling and divided in a time of great darkness.

From Isaiah 9:1-5 "Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

2 The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder. 
4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
5 The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.”

We see a time of great sorrow for the nation of Israel. We go back to the year 734 BC. That’s 2,750 years ago. It was the iron age of humanity. Israel was becoming more and more broken, more and more full of false religions and sin. Their leaders were corrupt, and wicked.

It was a time of darkness, and soon the nation would be conquered by Assyria in the north, and Babylon in the south. They would be taken into captivity for their many sins. But, the prophet Isaiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, shared a prophecy that though the nation would suffer greatly, there was a new hope coming in the distant future.

What is a prophecy? A prophecy, is a word from God about the future given to humanity.

This scripture in Isaiah predicts the coming of a messiah hundreds of years before it would happen.

And it says this, “6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
will never end."
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!”

A new movement, created by God, would center around this messiah who would be born.

There is great power in a move of God. And we see the great move of God being prophesied here. A child is born, a son is given, and he will be the Prince of Peace. A movement often starts very humbly, very simply, and this one starts with two babies being born.

In the darkness of the lostness of Israel, a light would come. But really, there would be two lights. One greater, one lesser. We speak of the lesser today.

Fast forward 728 years forward, to 6 BC, and we come to our primary scripture for today, in Luke 1, starting in verse 5.

Luke 1:5-7: 5 “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.”

We’ve fast forwarded through a lot of events. Israel had split into two nations, as Isaiah prophesied, the northern kingdom was conquered and taken into captivity by Assyria, and the southern kingdom was conquered and taken into captivity by Babylon. But they had returned from captivity, and rebuilt their nation. And for hundreds of years they prospered. They rebuilt the temple, and the walls of the city of Jerusalem. 

But, soon a new enemy would appear on the world stage, the Roman empire. In BC 63, the Roman General Pompey besieged and conquered Israel, placing them under the authority of the Roman empire.

In 37 BC, Herod was appointed king over Judea, by Mark Antony, though Antony was later defeated by Augustus Caesar who ruled over the Roman empire from 27 BC to 14 AD.

I want you all to notice something, Herod, Antony, Augustus, Pompey, Jerusalem, Rome, we see the events of the Bible are firmly placed within recorded history, not myth, not legend, but recorded and verifiable historically documented events.

Our faith is not myth or Greek gods and goddesses or alternative realities, but based in fact and documentation and records.

But notice we see our two main leaders, Zechariah and Elizabeth, two godly people, they were both blameless in their walk with God.

Also notice it says, they were careful to obey all the Lord’s commands. That stuck out to me, these were people who were careful to obey God’s instructions. And I wondered to myself, could the same be said of me? Could the same be said of each of us?

Are we carefully looking into the word of God each day, saying, how do I obey this word from the Lord? Or do we take it as something suggestive, but not really binding?

Zechariah and Elizabeth took God’s word seriously. I hope the same could be said of us, that we really do look into it, and say, "This is how I’m going to live my life" carefully studying and obeying it.

Also notice in our first portion today, that we see there is a problem, Zechariah and Elizabeth are both very old, and yet they have no children.

Next, verses 8-10: “8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.”

This was a great honor for Zechariah to be chosen to go into the temple and burn incense before the presence of the Lord. He was chosen by chance, but we know with God there are no accidents. Zechariah was meant to be chosen that day. So he went into the temple, burning the incense before God. Like the incense, Zechariah’s life and obedience was a fragrant offering before the Lord. At the same time, everyone outside prayed.

Second point today, watch for God lining things up in your life, for your favor. There are no accidents. He does things for a purpose. Sometimes we may avoid and dodge His purposes, but we can always repent, and turn back into the flow of His will.

Next, 11-15, “While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.”

We talk about history, manuscripts, archaeology, but here we see the inevitable entry of the supernatural into the moment. God shows up.

When you talk about a supernatural experience, these are rare. I’m sure this was new for Zechariah or Elizabeth, to have a supernatural encounter like this. They are rare, but they do happen.

Just thinking about this church, numerous people here have had supernatural experiences. There are approximately 2.6 billion Christians in the world today. Something like 600-900 million of them will be in church on any given Sunday. I wonder how many have had some form of a supernatural encounter. They are rare, but they do happen.

I think of Jan, Joe, Eileen, Jennifer, Wayne, my friend Jenny, Chelsey, Scott, my uncle Art, my Mom Karen, they’ve all shared with me supernatural experiences where they heard the voice of God, or saw vision, or God did something that changed their life, protected them, showed them a dream.

Third point today, dare to believe in the supernatural. Expect that God may give you just such an experience at some point in your life.

In Zechariah’s experience, he sees an angel appear before him, and his first response is terror.

Angel’s response: Don’t be afraid.

Notice, the angel cites the fact that Zechariah has been praying. The angel confirms, God has heard your prayer, clearly the prayer was his desire to have a child. And the angel confirms, your wife will become pregnant, and you are to name the child John.

Why does this supernatural event take place?

Several reasons for any supernatural event, one, it’s to communicate a message. In particular, it’s often to communicate something that will happen in the future. And in particular, it’s to get someone, like Zechariah ready for what’s coming.

This son would bring Zechariah great joy and gladness. It’s a reason for excitement and rejoicing. We will see that over and over in this series, that the nativity is a reason for celebration and joy. It’s a gift and a treasure for all of us, every day.

One last thing to notice here, the word says John will be, "Great in the eyes of the Lord."

Fourth point today, what we view as great is often very different from what God views as great. We as humans look at how popular someone is, how much money they have, how well respected they are, how often they appear on television, how eloquently they speak. But God looks at the heart.

I had to figure this out, that being great isn’t what I thought it was at all. I thought it meant clicks online, and videos, and subscribers, and money, and influence. But God doesn’t view greatness that way. John the baptizer was great beyond imagining, and he lived in the wilderness, and ate bugs and honey, and had wild hair, and preached a message of radical repentance, and baptized people in the Jordan river. That is God’s idea of greatness. And that’s the only definition that really matters.

If you want to be great, follow God’s design, not man’s pyramid chase for popularity and power.

Next, the angel continues his message, “15b He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

John would turn many to the Lord in Israel. Another translation says he would, "persuade many to turn to God."

We also learn that John would have the spirit and power of Elijah, the great prophet of the Old Testament.

John would come before Jesus, to prepare the way for him. John’s role was to prepare the people for the arrival of the true messiah.

There’s a fascinating line here, it says he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children.

John’s ministry would bring restoration to the most important unit in society, the family unit. Selfish, selfish interested fathers would be brought in the heart, to love their sons and daughters. John’s ministry brought humility, and real heart love. That’s the key to all this, is a change of heart, not just being forced to follow rules, but a deep-cutting message that got into the peoples hearts, and convicted them, and brought humility, a humbling that led to an honest devotion to God.

Point number five today, God wants our hearts. He doesn’t want outward obedience and inward distance. He wants us to search our hearts and humble ourselves, and fall in love with Him.

Second statement there says, John would, "help disobedient minds accept godly wisdom" one translation says.

The key word there is "accept." That is the great difficulty for our entire world, billions of people with different ideas, different philosophies, different concepts of what life is really about, and the power of God’s word, and God’s people, is to cut through all those ideologies and systems and concepts and philosophies, from post-modernism to unitarian universalism, John would be one who would have unique wisdom, marked with an anointing of the Holy Spirit, that could convince people to turn to, accept, receive, and live in God’s wisdom.

And when we say God’s wisdom, it’s simply the truth of what the world really is. Not the deceptions, not the half-baked philosophies out there, but the actual, base truth of what is really going on in this universe.

Point number six, we have the ability as Christians, with the help of God’s word and the Holy Spirit to communicate with people in such a way, that they will be able to see through the lies, and accept Godly wisdom. And it will radically transform their lives. And ultimately, that leads to a person, to Jesus himself, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

And frankly, God's word has that same power in our own thinking processes, to convince ourselves of some area where we’re struggling with a lie or deception, to instead embrace God’s truth. And it will change our lives too.

Let’s see how Zechariah responds to the angel.

Verses 18-20: 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Zechariah flat out doesn’t believe the words of the Lord here. Ironic that God is going to give Zechariah’s son John such wisdom to turn hearts, but Zechariah’s own heart needs to be turned. I guess it kind of proves why John is needed, even his own dad needs him to be born.

I love the messenger’s response: I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God.

Gabriel’s words make it clear, this message came from your God. And it was good news! But I get it, Zechariah is very old, he’s thinking, how could me and my wife ever have a baby!

In any case, Zechariah is given a rebuke for this. He is told you will not speak until John is born.

Next, verses 21-22: “21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.”

The supernatural event ends, and Zechariah is profoundly affected. Just like us, an encounter with God will change our lives. But, we do have a choice. We can run with it, and chase it. Or we can ignore and minimize it.

For Zechariah, he really embraces what God said. All the people around him are affected as well. They gather around and they can tell, he’s seen a vision from God. Our supernatural encounter often becomes part of our testimony.

If you’ve never had a supernatural experience with God, don’t take that as a bad thing either. The only experience we really need is with Jesus Christ, to call upon Him, and receive His salvation. Anything else is extra.

Lastly, verses 23-25: “23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.

24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

It really happened. The word of the angel came true. It went from something spoken, to something fulfilled. It really happened. It confirmed everything God had said.

What was Elizabeth's response? She went into seclusion for five months, I’m sure in deep prayer and communion with God.

God had finally taken Elizabeth’s disgrace away. In those ancient times, it was the big thing for a woman as far as her status in society, to bear children. The fact that Elizabeth couldn’t I'm sure meant she was treated poorly, treated like she didn’t matter. But, God reversed all that and she became pregnant.

Disgrace, shame and guilt had turned to favor, honor, and joy. But Elizabeth took it very seriously, she went into seclusion, to seek God’s will and pray.

Seventh point today, this is what God did for Israel, and what God does for us. The people had been disgraced, but now, through Jesus, they would receive hope and victory. That’s what Jesus did for us too.

It’s just like the prophecy of Isaiah 9, the people in darkness would see a great light. The disgrace would be replaced with hope.

This Christmas season, remember the events of the birth of John, and ultimately that birth of Jesus. I remember for many years looking at the nativity scenes, and the Christmas lights, and the trees, and the ornaments, and wondering, what’s it really about? Why does Jesus matter so much?

And it’s like you just can’t grasp it, until you’ve encountered Jesus yourself. That’s the most important supernatural encounter, when we really turn to Jesus, and say Lord Jesus, I need you, come and be my savior. And suddenly, it all makes sense.

Christmas occurs in a time of snow and winter and darkness, just like Isaiah’s prophecy, a time of darkness and suffering for Israel, but in the darkness, a light would suddenly burst forth, and that light was Jesus, and for those who embraced Jesus, and accepted Him, that light would burst forth within them. A supernatural change, a new birth, a transformation, in which we suddenly understand what Christmas is really about. It’s about Jesus.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of the birth of John. We thank you that he prepared the way for Jesus. This Christmas help us to see past all the flashy lights and gifts and parties to the truth about what Christmas is really about, it's about you Lord Jesus, and we worship you, be at the center of our Christmas preparations, be at the center of our celebrations, help us to change our traditions to refocus them on you Lord Jesus! Be glorified in everything we do this Christmas, in Jesus name, amen.