Follow The Light!
CCCAG December 24th, 2017
Scripture- Numbers 24:17 & Matthew 2
How many people here dread the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve?
Before I moved up here, I used to be one of them. The quintessential scrooge that would be the one to say “Ba Humbug”. It got busier at work with crabbier patients. There are always extra things going on at church that required more time. Numerous Christmas parties to attend, most of which involved my coworkers being drunk and silly.
And let’s not even talk about trying to shop ANYwhere- in the cities Christmas shopping is a contact sport…sometimes to the death if you go to one of the big shopping days like Black Friday.
I was just glad when it was all over.
However, after moving up here, I have learned to love this time of year. More times of fellowship, people are friendlier. I like the build up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Celebrating the holiday with people in Coulee Country is something I look forward to.
The other day, we drove down to La Crosse for the Rotary lights. We went last year as well, and I thought I knew the exact route to take so I didn’t bother glancing at a map to check for the exact street to turn on to find the entrance. That caused a few wrong turns, and about 10 min of backtracking to get to the entrance of the park. I kept looking through the buildings trying to see where all the light was coming from so I could find my way there.
Part of the Christmas story involves some people following the light to get to where they needed to go.
About 400 years before the birth of Jesus, The Old Testament prophet Daniel became famous in the Babylonian Empire. This vast empire was located in what is today Iraq and Iran when it switched to the Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel was considered to be the wisest of the wise men during his time, and most likely had a hand in training all of the wise men who came after him.
They were also trained in the sciences, health, military strategty, and astronomy.
Another part of that training would have been to read the wisdom of all of the cultures that the empire had asbord through conquest over the years, and in particular to our subject this morning this would have included what we call the Old Testament. Of particular interest to them would have been to evaluate any threat to the empire, so the scriptures concerning the great king who would be born one day in Israel would have stood out to them. Through these studies, under the tutelage of Daniel, they learned the birth of this great King would be announced by the appearance of some type of astronomical phenomena, which the bible refers to as the STAR. That star would provide the light and direction needed for them to find this King and pay him homage.
We are going to look at two scriptures this morning- the first is the prophecy given by a pagan prophet named Balaam who was called by a pagan king to curse Israel as it was coming toward the promised land after the Exodus from Egypt. God had other plans and he came under the influence of the Holy Spirit and then spoke of a future king coming out of Israel- before they even became a nation.
This is called the Star Prophecy, and is found in
Scripture Text Numbers 24:17
“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
That was the prophecy, taught to them by Daniel, that drove the wise men to travel for almost 2 years to find the child Jesus in Bethlehem.
Balaam, who was not even a believer, saw as through a mirror darkly the glory of the Advent, but the wise men were about to see it face to face.
And that is where we pick up the story in Matthew.
Matt 2:1-12
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,z during the time of King Herod,a Magia from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?b We saw his starc when it rose and have come to worship him.”
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. 5 “In Bethlehemd 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.’b”e
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.”
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. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.f Then they opened their treasures and presented him with giftsg of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warnedh in a dreami not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Prayer
Big idea- The Star prophecy in Numbers that lead the wise men has several things it can teach us about our pursuit of Jesus today.
As I prayed and mediated on this message, thinking about the different ways of presenting what the Holy Spirit wants to remind us about in this time and place. It occurred to me that we in the church of the 21st century are in the same place as the wise men- waiting.
Like the wise men who were scanning the skies watching and waiting for a sign that indicates the coming of a king, we are also watching and waiting for the coming of a king.
Although this season is usually focused about how Jesus entered the world, we also need to consider how He left it, and most importantly, how he will come again.
But instead of looking to the skies for an astronomical answer, we can look at Jesus’ own words regarding his return.
Jesus spoke at length about this prior to going to the cross.
A ancient King leaving instructions to servants before a long journey.
I was lead to the words of Jesus in Matthew 25. Matthew 25 gives us the exact instructions that we are to focus on as we prepare for His return to this earth.
Because Jesus isn’t coming back the way He came the first time
He will not be a babe in the manager.
He is not coming back in secret.
He is not coming back as a servant
He is not coming back to be shamed or beaten.
He is coming back as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
But before that dreadful day of the LORD, HE will come back for those who are calling HIM Lord and King. The bible says that the LORD will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are left will be caught up (raptured) to meet Jesus in the air, where he will bring us to live with HIM always.
What a day that will be! Maranantha LORD!
But before that happens, our king left us with some instructions for us to do before he returns, and those instructions are found in the whole of Matthew 25. We are going to focus on the first parable to see what is expected of us when our king arrives.
Jesus 1st expectation for us to be
I. Be Watchful
Sometimes it seems like pastors have been preaching this all of our lives. Depending how old you are, Our parents or grandparents .heard this same message all of their lives. My grandparents were convinced that World War 2 was the end of the world, that Hitler was the antichrist, and that Jesus was coming back and establishing HIS kingdom on earth.
It’s about about 1980 years since Jesus spoke the parable of the 10 virgins. However it’s truth is all the more important in a day when people are focused on everything other than God and HIS Kingdom.
Matthew 25-
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be liked ten virgins who took their lampse and went out to meet the bridegroom.f 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.g 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.h
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’i
9 “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.j And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’k
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.l
You do not know the day or the hour. For the last several years, various people have tried to tell us that the rapture will happen on this day. A few years ago a man made national news when he predicted the exact day of the rapture. That day passed. He then said it messed up the math a little, and predicted it for the next week. That day too passed, and we haven’t heard from him since.
Jesus said that during HIS time on earth, even HE didn’t know the time or date. It is a secret held only inside the triune God.
Why is it a secret you ask? Because God wants us to live by faith, and not by sight, nor by a date on the calendar. He wants a people that are totally sold out to the mission of His Kingdom here on earth.
So be watchful, for you do not know the day nor the hour of HIS return. It could happen before the end of this message. It could happen tonight, or before we open a single present.
Or, your grandchildren might be listening to a similar message and suddenly a trumpet blast will usher them into our LORD’s arms.
We just don’t know. Therefore the second lesson from this parable needs to be considered, and that is-
II. Be Ready
In the parable it speaks of 5 wise virgins, and 5 foolish virgins. The parable shows that the wise virgins were the only ones allowed into the wedding feast, which is foreshadowing for us the wedding supper of the Lamb that all believers will participate in immediately after the rapture.
What made the wise virgins ready?
The kept their oil ready, and their lamps trimmed. The oil is an allusion to being filled with the HOLY Spirit- being in a passionate relationship with God and pursuing HIS plan and His Kingdom agenda. A trimmed lamp is an example of having their lives ordered according to God’s Word, so that the things of this world had no appeal to them.
The wise virgins cry out to us today to do the third lesson- (#3)
III. Be Persistent
You notice that the virgins were not lackadaisical about looking for their bridegroom. They stayed watchful, they stayed ready, and now they needed to be persistent.
PT Test- person working out the night before.
When I was in basic training the 2nd time, we had a guy that had been in years before, and right before he turned 36 decided to get back into the Army before the time ran out. One of the huge hurdles most people worry about getting over in basic training is the final physical fitness test. If you were 18-20 years old, You have to run 2 miles in 16 minutes, do 42 pushups, and 52 situps. Most people by the end of basic training have no problem with it, but the
DI puts the fear of God in you about failing it and having to repeat basic training all over again.
I was the platoon leader during that time, and the night before the last PT test we were ordered to not do any exercise so there was no chance for an injury that would cause us to fail. I was walking by the weight room and saw this older guy just going at the weights…getting to complete muscle failure. I told him to stop it- we have a PT test in the morning and our orders were clear about exercise tonight. He just grinned at me and kept going. I shrugged and let him be- if he fails it’s on him.
The next day, he aced the PT test not only for his age which was considerably less then what the 18 years olds needed to do, but he also aced it for that age group. He came up to me after the test and winked and said, “I was a physical fitness trainer the last time I was in as well as one in civilian life. I know exactly what it takes to be ready to perform at maximum efficiency”
My friends, too many of us are playing it safe in our relationship with God. We are coasting, hoping that the end is close enough where all the momentum we have earned over the years will get us across the finish line.
The problem is, that doesn’t work in our spiritual lives. It’s like we have rubber bands tied to us, with roller skates on your feet. The moment we stop and quite trying, the pull of this world takes control and we lose all of that spiritual growth and progress that we have gained.
We need to be persistent in our walk with God, because there is no other option. It’s a matter of life or death, because trying to coast means you start sliding backwards.
And that brings us to our last point this morning- you need to make a decision to continue with Christ.
IV. Be Decisive
The 5 wise virgins have their lamps trimmed, their oil ready. The are looking toward the horizon for the bridegrooms returns.
Then the shout goes up- the midnight cry- the bridegroom is coming.
What if they had just rolled over and gone back to sleep.
They didn’t- they acted immediately to rush out to meet the bridegroom.
During this time of year, we spend a lot of time talking about how everyone got ready for Jesus’ first coming.
Mary believed, Joseph prepared, the Shepherd heard the good news and knelt at a manger. The wise men followed a light for 2 years to find the newborn king. But just like his first coming, His second coming will require some effort on our parts to find our King.
My friends, on God’s prophetic clock it is 1159 and 59.9 seconds. The midnight cry is about to ring out in the heavens. I believe as much today as I did when I first came to saving faith in Jesus that the trumpet is at the lips of the archangel, and Jesus is poised to ride the clouds to come and get us.
The question is- are you ready.
Are you living for God, or are you trapped by this world?
Have you started coasting in your walk with God?
If that is you, Jesus had some final words for us this morning-
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.w 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repentx and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstandy from its place.
My friends, Jesus is calling you this morning to follow the light. Let it wash over you, and guide you back to Bethlehem’s manger in worship.
If you do that, you will be ready for that midnight cry, and will run straight into HIS arms, and the reward HE has waiting for you.
Salvation call (optional)
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