Just Wait...
Christmas In Action • Sermon • Submitted
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My Spiritual gift is patience. Some of you are thinking, “you’re besetting sin is lying!”
It’s true though, I don’t like waiting.
You know what I mean...
You’re a red light. Someone’s in front of you. It turns green. They don’t move. HONK HONK HONK.
You’re on the highway. Traffic isn’t moving. You start huffing and puffing. You’re tapping your fingers. You start yelling at the guy next to you. You grab your phone and look up the contact for the state representative...
You’re in your car. Your spouse is in the house. You’re in your car. And your spouse. is in. the house. You know you shouldn’t text them because that’s just not right. But you do it anyway. But you’re subtle about it. “Hey. Just chillin’. In the car. Ready to go.” Meanwhile all the things you want to say are streaming through your brain...
Christmas season is among us! This is also known as the season of Advent.
ADVENT
It’s a season of waiting and more importantly a season of preparation.
But Let’s face it.
Let’s face it
We don’t like to wait.
For some of us, it’s nearly impossible…take this short clip from the movie “Kicking & Screaming” for instance...
VIDEO CLIP:
Phil became impatient and eventually outraged when the line at his local coffee shop wasn’t moving quickly enough.
Phil became impatient and eventually outraged when the line at his local coffee shop wasn’t moving quickly enough.
This year at The Bridge, we want to slow down and use this season of Advent, of waiting and preparing, to prepare our hearts for an encounter with Immanuel, “God with us”.
I want to begin by reading a portion of scripture that’s actually very difficult to read and often times in bible reading many people just skip right over portions of scripture like this… But I’m going to read it this morning...
An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,
Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Aram,
Aram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse,
and Jesse fathered King David. David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife,
Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa,
Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah,
Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,
Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah,
and Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor,
Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud,
Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob,
and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Christ, fourteen generations.
The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:
I wonder if any of you became impatient as I painstakingly read each line in the geneology of Christ… :-) But waiting can be like reading that genealogy.
In a season of waiting we sometimes wonder...
What’s the point?
Why this repetitiveness?
Is this ever going to end?
If I can’t pronounce it, it must not be relevant!
But here’s the thing. And this is something we learn from this genealogy.
While you wait, God works!
While you wait, God works!
Matthew begins by providing his audience with two important facts about Jesus.
He was the Son of David. (Messiah) In this genealogy we see that as generation upon generation waited, God was working to bring about the Savior who would free us all from the bondage of sin.
He was the Son of Abraham. (An Israelite) While generation upon generation waited, God was working to fulfill his promise to his friend, Abraham. God always keeps his promises!
He was the Son of Abraham. (An Israelite)
This is so important to understand! While we wait, God works.
If we don’t get this, irritability, discouragement and defeat will be our daily companions.
Jesus is the one they had been waiting for . But why the geneology?
it was proof that Jesus had a right to the throne of David
it was proof that God kept his promise to Abraham.
“Through Abraham’s seed the whole world would be blessed!”
Indeed, this was the implied message in the Angel’s words to Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph...
Waiting doesn’t always make sense, but if we can understand and trust that God is working we will experience a refreshing encounter with Jesus. This is what the Angels implied in their message to Joseph...
See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
Loo
When Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy imagine the horror!
He may have become agitated.
He may have devolved into a drunken stupour
He may have left Mary and doubted God’s faithfulness for the rest of his life.
He may have become a defeated, miserable old man...
But Joseph waited. Even as the Angels said...
You won’t see the promise yet, Joseph.
You’re going to endure some ridicule and disdain, Joseph.
People won’t understand your situation, Joseph.
Mary’s going to get some “looks”, Joseph.
Wait, Joseph. A
People are going to question your integrity and your wisdom, Joseph
BUT, His name will be Immanuel. God is with us.
So Joseph waited.
Throughout Scripture God is continuously calling us to wait… Here’s one example:
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Wait for the Lord.
Psalm
Have you ever noticed that good things nearly always come about because of a process; often times a long process?
God works in our everyday lives.
God works in our everyday lives.
There are many reasons to love the geneologies in the bible. God didn’t include them to make us bored or to laugh at us as we tried to pronounce names like “Shealtiel or Amminadab”
One of the things that’s clear here is that God cares about history. And Immanuel, God with us, takes place in actual human history.
Generation after generation of waking up, going to work, putting food on the table, making decisions, having babies, farming the land, populating cities, getting little hearts broken in childhood romances are all part of the human’s everyday experience. And God is at work.
Each individual mentioned represents a real life with real quirks, real problems, and a real need for a Savior. Not so different from you and me.
God works in unexpected and sometimes unwanted ways.
God works in unexpected and sometimes unwanted ways.
For many generations, Israel had everything going for it.
Massive armies
Lots of wealth
Recognition & Respect from surrounding nations
The names from Abraham to Jesse belong to the time when GOd was setting the stage for King David’s dynasty.
From David to Josiah, Israel and later Judah enjoyed unprecedented success and prosperity.
BUt then from JEconiah forward, the royal line was no longer functioning. Israel was no longer a soveriegn nation. It had been stripped and brought under the control of the gentiles.
No one would have wanted God to work this way…but he was.
No one would have expected God to work this way…but that’s what he was doing.
THings had taken a turn. Hope was waning. But while some still waited, God was working.
There are also some other peculiarities...
Tamar was a Caananite who posed as a prostitute...
Rahab was a prostitute...
Ruth was from Moab, a non-ISraelite nation that worshipped idols...
All of these women descended from Ham one of NOah’s sons.
Their mention reminds us that Jesus’ background is mixed racially, including both Jews and Gentiles, blacks & whites and everything in between!
EVERYONE can find cultural, historical, and racial identity in Jesus!
No one expected God to work this way. Many people didn’t want and still don’t want God to work this way.
“Well, aren’t some people better than others?” Isn’t one race superior to another? NOPE.
We are all ONE in Christ. We all find our VALUE in Christ! Aren’t you glad that genealogy is in the Bible?
God works in our shortcomings.
God works in our shortcomings.
Abraham came from a family who didn’t believe GOd existed.
Isaac couldn’t keep his family together.
Jacob was a liar and a thief.
Rahab was a prositute.
David was an adulterer and a murderer
Solomon was addicted to women and wealth
Jeconiah destroyed the family legacy and lost the Kingdom
Judah knocked up his daughter-in-law
God works for our benefit and His glory!
God works for our benefit and His glory!
ONe important lesson from the genealogies in the bible are that GOd cares about families. God chose Abraham to be the father of a great family that would be a blessing to every nation. This blessing came in Abraham’s greatest descendent, Jesus Christ who came to redeem sinful humanity and allow us access into God’s family, a spiritual family!
But the geneologies of Jesus show us that not only does God care about families, but he wants you & me in His family!
42 generations.
Cultural & Social Barriers
Sin
Ordinary, average lives
Immanuel. God is with us. Jesus. He is our hope. He is our guarantee of grace. WHile they waited, God was working out his perfect plan to bring Jesus into the world to rescue us all and give us a new family.
Waiting provides opportunities to harness the emotions of the heart and focus them on Jesus.
He is with us...
in the ordinary...
in the mistakes...
in the failures...
in the droughts...
in the mundane...
But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
Get comfortable with waiting and trust that God is working in your life today and everyday.
Get comfortable with waiting and trust that God is working in your life today and everyday.
Waiting provides opportunities to harness the emotions of the heart and focus them on Jesus.
He is with us...
in the ordinary...
in the mistakes...
in the failures...
in the droughts...
in the mundane...
Waiting provides opportunities to harness the emotions of the heart and focus them on Jesus.
Waiting provides opportunities to harness the emotions of the heart and focus them on Jesus.
Like all of those families mentioned in , GOd knows your family by name too.
Even when it feels lonely, GOd is working on your behalf!
Not perfect? God has used imperfect people for centuries and will continue to do so.
Have you ever noticed that good things nearly always come about because of a process; often times a long process?
God is very comfortable working slowly.
We often want God to work now.
We often want that promotion now.
We often want healing now.
We want financial security now.
Sometimes we think, “I wish my life would change just like that...” *snap fingers*
But have you really thought about split-second decisions? Have you thought about those times in your life when things happened in the blink of an eye? In an abrupt moment?
In a split second, someone can glance at their phone while driving and cause a fatal car accident. In a split-second, a tubing adventure down a river can turn into a living nightmare. In a split-second, a word thoughtlessly thrown about can break a relationship. In a split-second, a prayerless decision can cost valuable time, money and other consequences.
Not all split-second decisions are bad. But there is a striking contrast between the majority of things that happen NOW and things that happen over time.
God is comfortable moving slowly. He knows that we can form an opinion instantly, but truth takes time to grab our hearts and become rooted and immovable.