WEBVTT 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:07.120 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:08.240 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:10.400 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:18.000 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.559 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.960 MetaCurch, thank you so much for joining us again. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:33.200 Uh, whether you're watching in Helotus or streaming with us online, we are so glad that you have joined us. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:38.960 We are in the Christmas season, and I'm so excited about the message that God has laid on my heart. 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:46.719 Today we're going to be talking about one of the great Christmas traditions and something that is a vital part of every nativity scene. 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:49.200 We read this story in Matthew chapter two. 00:00:49.439 --> 00:01:01.200 In verse 1, it says, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.959 For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:10.400 Now after hearing the king, they went on their way, and there it was, the star that they had seen at its rising. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:14.959 It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:18.159 And when they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:24.400 Entering the house, they saw the child, Mary, with Mary, his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:30.400 Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:35.200 This is the story, of course, that we know as the three wise men. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:39.120 And I've always wanted to do a sermon on the three wise men. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:43.599 They're kind of these obscure characters, but we really love them. 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:48.319 They really like spice up our nativity scenes because we can put them in really cool clothes. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:50.959 They're from this place that isn't really a part of Israel. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:55.200 They stand out, they have their camels, they brought the best gifts to the party. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:57.120 We love the wise men. 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:00.400 But we never really dig in. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:04.000 A lot of people don't even know a lot about the wise men. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:10.319 You might be surprised to know that this is the only place they show up in all of Scripture. 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:14.639 There are four accounts of Jesus' life in the Christian scriptures. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:17.599 We call them the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:26.080 The wise men only get these five verses in only one of the accounts of Jesus' birth. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:32.159 By page volume, these are really minor characters. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:37.120 There's a lot more that we don't know about the wise men. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.520 For some of you, I'm possibly about to blow your mind. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:49.360 Some of you may know this, but most of you have just grown up understanding that there were three wise men. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:58.719 You can go through all of the scriptures we just read again, and you'll never find a number assigned to how many wise men there were. 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:06.800 As a matter of fact, it just says in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:13.039 This is such a common mistake, probably because we all grew up singing the same song. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:16.719 We three kings of Orient are. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:19.680 It's like everyone knows there were three wise men. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:22.479 Some traditions have even given them names. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:27.919 In your nativity, right now at home, you have count them one, two, three wise men. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.199 There could have been three, there could have been three hundred. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:32.240 We don't know. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:36.719 What we do know is there were three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:45.280 That's the most likely culprit for why we automatically translated that to three wise men, but we don't know how many there were. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:46.719 I know, right? 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:47.919 Mind-blowing. 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:53.280 Now that I've blown your mind, I unfortunately also have to break your heart. 00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:19.680 Not only are these very obscure characters who only show up in five verses and all of Scripture, and not only have you grown up your entire life thinking that there was only three of them, and there might have been 3,000 of them that showed up, but the wise men that you put in your front yard in the nativity scene, right there next to Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus in the manger, the wise men were not there the night that Jesus was born. 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:23.920 The wise men actually missed Christmas. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:30.879 And it's a very minor detail, and we already have our minds made up that there was only three of them, and they were there the night that Jesus was born, so we put them in our nativity. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:38.319 But if you read what we just read, what we just read, they saw the star, they went to Herod, they found it. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:45.439 And verse 11 says, entering not the barn, not the stable, entering the house. 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:49.519 The wise men showed up months later. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:53.519 They were hundreds of miles away to the east. 00:04:53.759 --> 00:05:03.839 They first had to gather themselves and all their possessions, however, many were coming, dozens or hundreds, they all had to get together and coordinate their plans and plan their trip out there. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:09.360 They had to procure the gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh, expensive items. 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:16.000 They had to make sure that they had all the provisions that they need, and then they had to get there in a time where there were no highways and there were no vehicles. 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:19.120 They either got there on camels, and I know you've got camels in your nativity. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:20.720 I'm already breaking your heart here. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:23.199 They were definitely riding horses, not camels. 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:24.800 It doesn't look as cool. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:28.240 It's like we know nothing about this story. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:33.439 Everything that we thought our whole life has apparently been fabricated. 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:35.680 Now, this is some very heavy information. 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:37.839 You've got to handle it responsibly, all right? 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:43.199 You can't be going to your neighbor next door with a nativity scene in their yard yelling at them that they're a liar, okay? 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:44.639 It really is gonna be okay. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:52.160 And I think by the end of our message, I'm gonna prove that maybe they've even earned a spot in your nativity scene. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:53.759 It is odd though. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:06:04.480 We have one of the most minor stories, the least amount of ink covering this of any part of the Christmas story, that like nobody knows any of the facts about. 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:14.000 It doesn't seem to add anything or take anything away from what is already the biggest miracle of the creator coming down to his creation. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:19.360 And so the question is, why do the wise men matter? 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:26.560 And I hope that I can answer that today in my message that I'm calling Hope on the Horizon. 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:28.160 Would you pray with me? 00:06:29.279 --> 00:07:01.360 Father, we love you, we thank you for this time of year, and and we come together to recognize and to give thanks for the fact that you are not just a distant God who is above and beyond it all, but you are a God who is close to us, a God who came down, who walked this very earth, who showed your love in a way that we could understand it unmistakably. 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:17.759 And God, in this odd piece of the Christmas story that we so often get wrong and that maybe we've never truly stopped to consider the facts of, I pray that it speaks to us today, right where we are, and I pray it all in Jesus' name. 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:18.720 Amen. 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:32.639 I wish I had time to share all that I've learned about the wise men and how I dug in, and really my mind was just blown over and over again of all the things that I had never realized or just maybe slowed down to take the time to understand. 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:45.759 What I've tried to do today is to convince it to the parts of who they were and what they have to teach us that directly apply to where we're at in Christmas 2020. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:50.720 And where we are at in Christmas 2020 is no secret. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:53.120 We are suffering. 00:07:53.839 --> 00:08:03.360 And this is this is like the part of the message where I normally go through like a big list of all the ways you might be suffering and try to convince you that this message has something to do with you. 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:11.519 But it's like the suffering we're going through right now is so obvious, all you have to do is say 2020. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:13.600 We all know what it means. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:20.800 We all know how we've been pinned down, almost taken hostage by this invisible enemy. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:32.799 We're seeing what's happening right now, even as we're spiking, and thousands are hospitalized and hundreds are dying, and businesses are closing down, which means people are losing jobs. 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:39.759 And now we're coming up on the holidays, and some of you are making your plans, and even more of you are changing your plans. 00:08:40.399 --> 00:09:09.279 Not sure if it's the wisest thing to get family together, and some of you are coming to the reality this will be the first Christmas that you haven't gotten to go see your parents or grandparents, and some parents and grandparents are realizing this is the first Christmas they're not gonna see children or grandchildren, and in a time where we're so lonely and we're so disconnected, we're under so much pressure, our relationships are splintering, our financial future is so unsure. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:14.320 It's like the very thing we need, which is to gather with family and relive traditions. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:18.399 It's the very thing that we're not sure we can do. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:22.559 We are suffering. 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:29.679 Now it seems like even for us in this season, there may be some hope right on the horizon. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:37.279 Texas, right here where we are, is supposed to get over a million doses of vaccine in the next week or so. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:43.440 And of course, everyone has their ideas and opinions about the vaccine and if they're gonna take it or not. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:55.279 But it's a piece of hope that we can hold on to that could maybe change some things, but even when we turn the corner on this, it won't make all the suffering we have been through disappear. 00:09:55.600 --> 00:10:00.720 We are suffering, and maybe you're wondering what that has to do with Christmas. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:08.399 When Jesus came, when Jesus was born, he was born through his people, Israel. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:12.960 And when he came, Israel was suffering. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:18.799 They were suffering mentally and emotionally, socially, financially, relationally. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:21.759 They were suffering in every way that you can imagine. 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:33.600 They were under Roman occupation, which means they had no future, they had no legacy, they knew that at any moment the might of the Roman Empire could come in and could crush them. 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:39.759 They were living under the watch of an enemy. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:48.080 And it was affecting them in all of these different ways, and it was also affecting them spiritually. 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:52.480 You know, last week Pastor Noel taught us out of John chapter 1. 00:10:52.720 --> 00:11:04.799 John is one of these gospel accounts of Jesus' life, and I love the way the Christmas story is told because Noel pointed out John 1 isn't told from earth's perspective, it's told from heaven's perspective. 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:08.960 And we're gonna go just a few verses after where Noel left off. 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:11.039 In John chapter 1, verse 10. 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:21.120 It says that Jesus was in the world, and the world was created through him, the creator in his creation, and yet the world did not recognize him. 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:24.799 In verse 11, he came to his own. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:34.639 He was born through Israel as an Israelite, he came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:49.679 Now, here at Metachurch, we know that we always have a large percentage of our people who are new to this idea of faith and Christianity and new to the idea of scripture, and a really important story to understand is the story of Israel. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:58.720 Kind of the summary is that at one point God decided to take a nation to himself for a specific purpose and a specific time. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:01.279 This would be his chosen people. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:18.159 He started with a man named Abraham, and he promised that he would make Abraham seed into a great nation, and that through that nation, here was the promise, through that nation, that one day hope would be brought to all of the nations. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:24.799 Through Abraham, someday a savior would come, the Messiah. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:31.279 And the Messiah would open the door for all people everywhere to be in relationship with God. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:35.039 There is no greater purpose. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:58.320 And so, for thousands of years, here's what John chapter 1 is saying: century after century, generation after generation, from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Joseph to Moses to Joshua to King David to King Solomon to Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, from captivity to promised land. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:08.000 The entire story of the Israelite people led to this one phenomenal moment where the Savior of the world was born into creation. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:13.200 Their entire lives had waited for this moment. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:21.279 They'd been looking for it, searching for it, knowing that when the Savior would come, it meant hope was on the horizon. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.799 And Jesus came. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:42.000 All this time and all this effort, all that God had brought them through, it all finally culminated at Christmas. 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:44.960 And Israel missed it. 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:51.600 And we learn a really important truth in John 1.11. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:56.000 We learn that suffering shifts our sight. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.159 Suffering shifts our sight. 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.840 And you're eating good food and drinking good wine. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:38.000 And when life is good, it's easy to look up, to see all the possibilities that life has to offer, to see all that might be coming your way, to think and plan for a future, to make intentional strategies for your life. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:44.639 But when suffering comes, suffering shifts our sight. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:47.360 We're not looking for a future. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:49.759 We're not looking for a purpose. 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:54.720 We are just looking to protect ourselves. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:57.120 Israel was suffering. 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:03.440 They were under a very real and very obvious enemy, the ever-expanding Roman Empire. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.559 And we are suffering. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:12.480 We have been taken captive by an invisible virus. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:16.159 It's changed every aspect of our life. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:21.519 And we still today don't know exactly what the future holds. 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:32.559 You see, the promise to Abraham, thousands of years earlier, was that one day the Messiah would come, the Savior would come and bless all of the other nations. 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.759 And now suffering has shifted Israel's sight. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:39.519 They're not looking for a Messiah to come and bless other nations. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:44.159 They're looking for a Messiah to come and defeat the other nations. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:48.240 They are selfishly self-protecting. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:52.159 There's no way they would have been looking for a king in a manger. 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:54.399 They were looking for a king on a throne. 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:56.879 They weren't interested in a suffering servant. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:15:59.600 They wanted a vengeful commander. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:04.159 Suffering had shifted their sight. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:09.600 Jesus came with all of their hopes and dreams fulfilled. 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:11.360 And they missed it. 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:17.120 In 2020, Christmas is going to be incredibly difficult for many people. 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:35.519 And it hit me as I was studying these wise men that for many of us, this is the first time in our lifetimes that we truly have the capacity to understand the culture of Israel when Jesus was born. 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.320 We are suffering. 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:42.080 And because we're suffering, it means that we're in danger. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:46.240 We are in danger of shifting our sight. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:17:04.640 And instead of looking and being aware of what God might be doing in this time, instead of being aware that we have a God who works even in the darkest moments, that we have a God who has promised that He can work all things out for the good of those who love Him. 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:14.160 We can look down, we can look in, we can selfishly self-protect and miss what God is doing. 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:20.160 We're hurting emotionally, physically, socially, relationally, financially. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:24.400 Israel allowed that to affect them spiritually. 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:31.359 And part of why I'm here today is to remind you that as long as there is God, there is hope. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:38.880 And you might be living through hell this Christmas season, but you still have the promise of heaven and your eternity. 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:47.680 How can we navigate Christmas 2020 and not allow suffering to shift our sight? 00:17:48.720 --> 00:18:03.440 It's incredible to think that after all the wait and all the anticipation, that Israel did not crowd into the corridors of the stable, they did not bow down at the manger and worship God and human flesh, they did not bring their best gifts. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:07.920 Israel missed it, but the wise men did not. 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:14.000 These pagan foreigners, they saw it. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:24.559 They've earned a spot in your front yard because the wise men were able to take notice when hope was on the horizon. 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:36.720 I want to dig in a little bit to their story to understand what we can glean from them and learn from them so that in this time of suffering, we don't allow it to shift our sight. 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:50.720 In Matthew chapter 2, verse 1, it says, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, wise men, not the three wise men, an unspecified number of wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:54.480 And so who were these guys and where exactly were they from? 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:59.680 The text gives us a few hints, and geography and history fill in more of the picture. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:03.599 These three kings of Orient were from the east. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:11.119 Israel's significant eastern neighbor was Babylon, and they had a very interesting history with each other. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:17.599 Hundreds and hundreds of years earlier, Babylon had been the dominant empire that now Rome had grown into. 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:25.920 Back then, five, six hundred years earlier, Babylon had invaded Israel, had defeated them and taken them captive. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:43.119 Now, some of Israel got to stay home, but the best and the brightest, all of the best young men and women that Israel had to offer were taken as captive and were brought into Babylon to serve the king. 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:51.440 And that helps explain how in verse 2 they have such a clear idea of who it is that they're looking for. 00:19:51.599 --> 00:20:00.880 In verse 2, after they arrived from the east in Jerusalem, they were saying, Where is he who has been born, the king of the Jews? 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:10.240 Now, what do these Babylonian, foreign, pagan wise men know about Israel's promised Messiah? 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.359 How would they even know who the star was pointing to? 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:21.920 And by the way, there had been 600 years of kings in Israel that they never bothered to go visit. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:32.720 There was something significant about this one, there was something special about this one, and somehow they were clued in to be watching and anticipating for this moment. 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:38.000 Now, part of our answer is actually found in Israel's history. 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:46.319 Many captives were taken to Babylon, but one of them stood out among the rest, a young man named Daniel. 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:51.119 And if you're familiar with Bible stories, you've probably heard of Daniel. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:57.839 Maybe you heard about when he first got to Babylon and they were put under strict dietary orders from the king. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:01.440 And Daniel said, I'm not having anything to do with that. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:05.119 He rejected the dietary model of the Babylonians. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:13.279 And after a time, by following God's and the Jewish law, customary diets, he was stronger and wiser than the rest. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:26.799 If you're not familiar with that story, you might note Daniel as the man who refused to quit praying, not in secret, but right out of his window, praying to the one true God, the God of Israel. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:31.279 It was made illegal, and so Daniel was thrown into the lion's den. 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:36.400 He spent the night there, and an angel of the Lord shut the mouths of the lions. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:39.839 Over and over again, Daniel proved his worth. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:41.920 He was a great prophet. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:49.839 He gave these incredible prophecies of what was to come, of a Messiah who was coming, who would be rejected and cut off. 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:58.160 His prophecies are so incredible because many of them have time frames, timelines, specific dates and events. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.759 His prophecies are so incredible. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.279 Because many of them have already come true. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:12.480 Daniel's rise to fame in Babylon came when the king named Nebuchadnezzar was having these crazy, lucid dreams, and nobody could interpret them. 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.400 Nobody but Daniel. 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:19.440 Daniel's interpretations were proved correct, and because of this, he was highly promoted. 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:24.720 In the Jewish scriptures, the book of Daniel, chapter 2, we read that the king promoted Daniel. 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.480 He gave him many generous gifts. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:40.240 He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon, and chief governor over all of the wise men, the wise men of Babylon. 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:44.400 Daniel was known as the greatest man in the kingdom. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:53.359 And we can read ancient Babylonian texts and see that Daniel's influence down through the centuries was significant. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.240 They took the words that he said seriously. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:03.119 His words were written as scripture and most likely kept in Babylonian libraries. 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:15.279 The current generation of wise men when Jesus was born were within a generation of when Daniel had prophesied that the Messiah would come. 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:24.960 Daniel said this is the divine king, the one who's more than man, the one who would change the world forever. 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:31.279 Israel may not have been paying attention, but the wise men of Babylon were. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:38.160 If we go back to the story in Matthew chapter 2, they said, Where is he who's been born, the king of the Jews? 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:44.160 They're anticipating, they're ready, they're watching, they're in the lineage of the great Israelite Daniel. 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:51.279 They said, For we saw his star at its rising, and we have come to worship him. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:54.400 Now, we're gonna dig in a little bit. 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:58.480 We're not gonna get too crazy, but we are gonna get a little bit crazy. 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:01.279 What do we mean by his star? 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:04.000 What was it that they were looking for? 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:20.240 What happened that night in the heavens that was so significant that these wise men gathered themselves, gathered their gifts, made the months-long journey, fell at this baby's feet, and worshipped him as a divine king. 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:25.119 What could have happened in the stars that was that significant? 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:32.079 Now we know from history that these wise men were astronomers, very competent ones at that. 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:55.920 By the first century in the Mesopotamian region where Babylon is, all the way over into China, there were astronomers who were so skilled, who were so aware of the stars and their rotation, of the constellations, that they would track them not just at night when they were visible, but they would even track them during the day when the stars were hidden by the sunlight. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:58.160 Very competent astronomers. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:02.160 Now, Matthew 2 just tells us they saw his star. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:09.279 But we all know from our own experience that when you look into the night sky, you don't just see one star. 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:16.559 And if you're an astronomer and know exactly what you're looking for, you will see many things happening at once. 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:21.599 The story of the wise man is only told in five verses in Matthew's gospel. 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:32.720 But I learned during my study that there's another place where scholars believe the night sky on Christmas is described. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:36.960 This isn't in the Old Testament prophecy telling you what will come. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:44.000 It's actually at the very end of our Bibles in Revelation telling you what did happen. 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:49.599 And here is Revelation chapter 12's description of the night sky on Christmas. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:26:03.839 Revelation 12, 1 says, a great sign appeared in heaven or in the heavens, a woman clothed with the sun, clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:10.640 And she was pregnant, and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:20.559 And the verses go on to describe the child that she gave birth to with clear prophetic words, the great king of all nations ruling with a rod of iron. 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:25.440 This is the story of the sky on Christmas. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:34.799 Now, the wise men, part of their job was as astronomers, they would look to the horizon and they would see the stars, they would document it clearly. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:38.480 Now, they were astronomers, not astrologers. 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:54.720 And this can be confusing because both astronomers and astrologers pay close attention to the constellation, these stars that come together and form patterns that we can decipher to help us as an easy way to see what is happening out in the sky. 00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:57.200 They were astronomers, not astrologers. 00:26:57.279 --> 00:27:06.640 And I don't know where this links back to, but in Christianity, all the way back in the Jewish law, astrology is strictly forbidden. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:09.759 The same was true for the Babylonian wise men. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:14.000 All of the ancient texts we have say they were astronomers, not astrologers. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:21.119 That means we don't give power or deity or the power of fate to the stars themselves. 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:29.279 However, they did believe that God could speak through his creation. 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:35.680 Revelation 12 paints the story of the woman in the stars. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:41.519 All the way back in the first century and beyond, they were very familiar with the constellations. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:50.000 We know there's one woman constellation, the woman of the stars, who is known as Virgo, meaning the virgin. 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:55.039 Revelation says the woman was clothed with the sun and had the moon at her feet. 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:57.200 This happens very rarely. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:04.799 But when it does happen, Virgo is situated on the elliptical, which is the path that the earth actually spins. 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:06.319 It's a rare occurrence. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:17.359 But when it happens, not only is the sun right at mid-body of Virgo, but at the same time, the moon will sit directly on her feet. 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:26.880 Now, Revelation 12 says, not only is she clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, but she has a crown of 12 stars. 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:46.559 If we zoom out the picture even further and see what was on the horizon that Christmas night, we see that directly above Virgo is Leo, the lion, the royal constellation, and his feet form a crown of 12 stars on the head of Virgo. 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:48.480 And there's more. 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:56.000 Because Matthew 2 tells us about the star, and Revelation 12 tells us about the stars. 00:28:56.880 --> 00:29:11.599 And it's so interesting because as I was preparing this, I learned that almost the consensus of historians and theologians believe that the Christmas star has to do with Jupiter. 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:12.720 And you're very smart. 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:14.960 You know that Jupiter is a planet, not a star. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:17.680 But in the ancient world, they were indecipherable. 00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:20.079 Everything up there was a star. 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:26.160 And from time to time, Jupiter would become protracted with another planet or another star. 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:29.599 It would create this overwhelming, blinding light. 00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:42.400 And after I had written this sermon, I heard the news that this Christmas, for the first time in 800 years, Jupiter will come in line with Saturn. 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:47.519 For the first time in 800 years, we are expected to get a Christmas star. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:50.640 It's almost like God says, I see you. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:52.079 I've seen 2020. 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:53.519 I'm very aware. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:57.200 Hope is still on the horizon. 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:02.400 There are these incredible pieces of software that you can look at. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:18.400 And because uh astronomy happens in a consistent way throughout time, you can take this software and you can go back to any date in history and you can see what stars would have been on the horizon. 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:51.279 It turns out that the rare occurrence of Virgo on the elliptical with the sun clothing her and the moon at her feet, with Leo above her, it happened right in the time frame historically when Jesus came to earth, and not only that, but for the short time that it happened, Jupiter, known as the King Star, ascended directly into the midst of the constellations, protracted with Regulus, the royal star, the brightest star in the sky. 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:54.480 Now we're not gonna dig much further than that. 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:57.759 People go way far down this rabbit hole. 00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:08.079 There are many Christian astronomers who are convinced that they can tell you the exact day that Jesus was born based on Revelation 12 and Matthew 2. 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:11.519 Maybe they can, maybe they can't. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:28.000 But what we know is there were pagan foreigners who packed up their things, took a daunting journey, found a baby boy, fell at his feet and worshiped him. 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:31.920 What did they see that was so significant? 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:38.400 One night, as the wise men surveyed the stars like every night, something phenomenal happened on the horizon. 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:46.559 They looked and they saw the virgin constellation with the sun, the light of the world, burning inside of her. 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:50.160 A virgin with a sun inside of her. 00:31:50.319 --> 00:32:00.319 Strange indeed, not only that, but as they surveyed the sky, Leo, the royal constellation, was forming a crown of twelve stars. 00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:03.680 Twelve is a big number for Israel. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:09.200 All the way back to when the twelve tribes were first instituted. 00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:18.079 If that wasn't enough, right as all of that happened, Jupiter, the king star, rises directly into the middle. 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:25.279 It comes together with Regulus, the royal star, creating an overwhelming light. 00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:30.319 It was enough for them to be convinced. 00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:33.599 Something had happened. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:38.240 Something they'd been anticipating since the days of Daniel. 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:43.519 Maybe, just maybe, the king of the Jews is among us. 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:51.519 In verse 9, after hearing out King Herod, they went on their way, and there it was, the star that they had seen at its rising. 00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:56.079 It led them until it came, and it stopped above the place where the child was. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:59.839 And when they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:14.880 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshipped him, and they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:24.160 Jesus came to his own people, and his own people did not receive him. 00:33:25.119 --> 00:33:27.759 But John isn't done telling his story. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:39.519 The next verse says, But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God to those who believe in his name. 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:44.960 Israel missed it, but the wise men did not. 00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:50.319 They showed up, they worshiped, they believed. 00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:54.000 We are suffering. 00:33:55.359 --> 00:34:11.519 Even for those who have made the best of 2020, you've kept your job, maybe your business has even grown, maybe you're invested in the stock market, which somehow keeps hitting these new and new highs in the midst of all the other turmoil. 00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:21.119 Maybe you fell in love during the pandemic, maybe you got married, maybe you got more time with the kids, maybe it all worked out. 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:24.880 But suffering is scalable. 00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:35.679 Everybody suffers, which means we are all in danger of suffering shifting our side. 00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:40.239 Christmas is when we celebrate the coming of Jesus. 00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:46.239 When Jesus came, he was called Emmanuel, God with us. 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:52.000 And we know that Jesus lived and he died and he rose again and he ascended back. 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:53.280 God with us. 00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:55.280 Went back to be with God. 00:34:55.440 --> 00:35:03.679 And yet he sent behind a helper, the Holy Spirit, who lives in the life of every believer. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:07.519 Emmanuel, God with us. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:22.960 But we are suffering, which puts us in danger of missing the hope that is on the horizon of your life. 00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:30.559 And I want to quickly share three lessons that I'm seeking to apply to my own life from the story of the wise men. 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:42.000 They did three things that if we can be intentional about this Christmas, it will put us in position to not miss what God is wanting to do in our lives. 00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:44.480 Number one, they anticipated. 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:50.079 They believed something was coming and they were watching for it. 00:35:51.840 --> 00:35:58.800 The greatest deduction that we can make is that somehow in the lineage of Daniel, they were they were prepared. 00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:06.559 They were obviously expectant for something to happen because when they saw it, they loaded up and they went. 00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:08.480 They anticipated. 00:36:15.280 --> 00:36:25.679 And this is an odd fact, but did you know that the sun rises every single day? 00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:28.480 Now, we're very advanced in 2020. 00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:36.639 We know the sun doesn't actually rise, the sun isn't moving, we're rotating around it, but from our perspective, the sun rises every day. 00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:39.280 Crests over the horizon. 00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:55.280 It's so funny because from time to time, normally when I slow down a little bit, like if I go on a vacation and I'm able to release myself from some of the pressures and stresses of everyday life, when I'm on vacation, it's like I see the sun every morning. 00:36:56.079 --> 00:37:01.760 Even in the midst of hurry and worry, from time to time the sunrise will catch my eye. 00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:15.199 And as it paints all across the horizon and throws its different colors and shadows and wakes up a brand new day, I will say these crazy things like, wow, that is so amazing. 00:37:15.519 --> 00:37:17.519 That is so beautiful. 00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:22.960 Man, only the ultimate artist, you know, could put together something like that. 00:37:23.280 --> 00:37:26.800 It's like maybe once a month I will see that and say that. 00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:34.639 And yet, the sun rises every single freaking morning of my entire life. 00:37:34.800 --> 00:37:41.920 By the time you get to 30 years old, you have seen over 10,000 sunrises. 00:37:43.679 --> 00:37:49.280 And how many times have we anticipated and expected it? 00:37:49.519 --> 00:37:54.320 How many times have we really seen it and appreciated it? 00:37:56.079 --> 00:38:02.960 10,000 sunrises and a handful of times where I've acknowledged its beauty. 00:38:03.679 --> 00:38:15.519 The sun rises every single day, and as surely as the sun rises every day, God is working every single day. 00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:18.800 God does not take any days off ever. 00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:27.039 God is intimately involved in what is going on in your life and in your world every single day. 00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:40.239 And just like we so often miss the sunrise, suffering so often shifts our sight, and we miss, we miss what God is doing. 00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:43.840 And I wonder, I wonder what it would look like. 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:57.679 I wonder how it would change things in your life for you to wake up every day of this Christmas season, no matter what you're going through, to start where the wise men started, to start with anticipation. 00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:06.719 Maybe today the most significant thing is going to happen that has ever happened in your life, and maybe it will be very minor. 00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:11.360 But if God is working, you want to be a part of it. 00:39:11.519 --> 00:39:22.639 I believe that God is waiting and wanting a movement of individuals who wake up with a sense of expectancy that the sun is rising and God is working. 00:39:22.960 --> 00:39:34.960 He's working in the darkness, he's working in your suffering, he's working in your layoff, he's working in your divorce, he is working in your parenting problems, he is working, anticipated. 00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:40.239 Because they anticipated number two, they looked up. 00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:45.519 The horizon is really a phenomenal thing. 00:39:45.840 --> 00:39:55.679 It's interesting because it's a straight line and yet it's it's obviously curved, it goes on forever, but you can't take in all of it at once. 00:39:57.199 --> 00:40:04.159 I have those moments as well, like anytime we go to the beach, and you know, I hate the beach, I hate the sand, I hate all of the my kids like the beach, so I go every year. 00:40:04.239 --> 00:40:13.280 I don't like the beach, but I do like looking out at the beach, seeing the horizon, realizing how big it is and how small I am. 00:40:13.440 --> 00:40:16.639 There's something powerful about looking up. 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:29.519 You see, if you begin to anticipate how God's gonna work in your life, it's going to correct your misplaced sight on yourself and your self-protection that suffering brings. 00:40:29.679 --> 00:40:48.800 This is very powerful because it means everything can be falling apart in your life, and you have the power to look up above it to what God is doing, how He's calling you to act, how He's calling you to move, and maybe you go into work every single day, just praying to God, this isn't the day that you get let go. 00:40:49.039 --> 00:40:50.800 Layoffs are happening. 00:40:51.599 --> 00:40:55.679 We're almost a year into a pandemic, businesses are shutting down. 00:40:56.079 --> 00:40:59.440 Maybe you walk into work every day self-protecting. 00:41:00.719 --> 00:41:02.000 You can't control it. 00:41:02.159 --> 00:41:04.639 You can't control whether or not you're gonna get laid off. 00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:06.880 It's just the hard facts of where we're at. 00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:11.760 You can't control whether you are anticipating how God wants to use you in your workplace. 00:41:11.920 --> 00:41:19.599 You can control if you are looking up above the suffering to how God is wanting to move in your life. 00:41:20.159 --> 00:41:22.079 If you feel that way, so do your coworkers. 00:41:22.159 --> 00:41:23.760 What if you brought them joy? 00:41:24.400 --> 00:41:27.679 What if you stabilized your work environment with peace? 00:41:27.840 --> 00:41:43.760 What if you intentionally built the equity to where you could invite hurting, lost coworkers to come to a gathering with you here at MetaCurch, to stream with you online, to begin doing things that are healthy and broaden their perspective. 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:46.880 Your relationships are suffering, look up. 00:41:48.079 --> 00:41:52.239 God wants to be the foundation of the relationships that we have. 00:41:52.960 --> 00:41:57.360 Having trouble parenting, look up, God is a better parent than you. 00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:02.480 If you've lost loved ones this year, look up. 00:42:04.079 --> 00:42:08.880 See how you can live today to honor their legacy. 00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:13.679 They anticipated, they looked up. 00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:20.559 And when they saw what they saw, whatever moved them to action, they moved. 00:42:21.519 --> 00:42:25.760 At MetaCurch, we don't just meet together, we move together. 00:42:26.320 --> 00:42:32.159 We find ways to apply what God is doing into our lives. 00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:45.119 We move ourselves from being selfish actors in our own dramas to being key roles in the story that God is telling, God is inviting you. 00:42:45.840 --> 00:42:52.960 The same story that went from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Moses to David to Jesus. 00:42:53.599 --> 00:42:56.639 That same story is moving forward today. 00:42:56.880 --> 00:42:59.119 It is his story. 00:43:01.039 --> 00:43:09.199 And the fact that we get to play a role in it, no matter what our life looks like, we get a role in it even in the suffering. 00:43:10.880 --> 00:43:12.320 It's Christmas. 00:43:14.480 --> 00:43:25.840 The time we celebrate Jesus coming, making all things new, healing things that are broken, finding things that are lost. 00:43:27.599 --> 00:43:33.840 But on the first Christmas, Jesus came, and his own people miss it. 00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:51.679 In 2020, we're in great danger of shifting our side away from what Jesus is wanting to do in your life, in your home, in your family, in your friends, in your neighborhood, in our city, and in our world. 00:43:53.599 --> 00:43:57.280 We're in danger of selfishly self protecting. 00:43:58.000 --> 00:43:59.519 But this can be the Christmas. 00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:16.320 That right in the midst of one of the hardest times of our lives, we begin to wake up, anticipating and expecting that God is going to move, that we're going to see him and feel his presence in our life, that will cause us to look up. 00:44:16.480 --> 00:44:22.960 Sometimes we look up by closing our eyes and connecting with our heavenly Father who transcends it all. 00:44:23.119 --> 00:44:28.559 Sometimes we look up by looking in to his word and allowing him to speak to us. 00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:40.400 Sometimes we look up by simply reorienting our thoughts away from our selfish desires and seeking how God is wanting to use us in this season. 00:44:40.639 --> 00:44:52.000 If we anticipate, if we look up, we will find opportunities to make not just a difference now, but differences that last eternally. 00:44:54.400 --> 00:44:58.159 If we look up and see God, we'll have a chance to move. 00:44:58.800 --> 00:45:11.599 And instead of this being the Christmas where we lost it all, it can be the Christmas where we gained the power to rise above what's going on in the world around us. 00:45:11.920 --> 00:45:13.039 Would you pray with me? 00:45:14.320 --> 00:45:28.400 Father, we love you and we thank you that your word is so good, it is so rich and powerful that even in such a minor story of minor characters, we can learn a powerful truth. 00:45:30.719 --> 00:45:43.440 And I am as guilty as anyone of just waking up in the busyness and pressure and stress and suffering of life, and just taking whatever steps I need to to get from morning to night. 00:45:43.519 --> 00:45:49.599 But God, I pray that this would be the season that we wake up with anticipation. 00:45:51.519 --> 00:45:55.760 God, it doesn't mean you're gonna snap your fingers and remove the virus. 00:45:56.000 --> 00:46:00.639 It doesn't mean we're gonna get all of the things that we are dreaming about and hoping for. 00:46:00.800 --> 00:46:05.119 It's bigger, it's grander, it's eternal. 00:46:06.000 --> 00:46:11.920 We believe as the sun rises every day, you are working in our lives every day. 00:46:12.239 --> 00:46:14.239