Wednesday, January 16, 2019

January 6 & 13 & 20, 2019 Matthew 2:1-2


January 6 & 13 & 20, 2019
Matthew 2:1-2

Well, here we are in 2019.
·         The bells have tolled.
·         The ball in New York has dropped
·         And the calendars have moved us forward to new responsibilities.
·         Before we get bogged down with our Hopes and our Fears of a brand-new year,
o   Let us take a few moments to ponder the deeper meanings of life.
§  Who Am I?
§  What Do I NEED?
§  Where Am I Going?

Are these not the essential questions of our human existence?
While we ask them for a lifetime,
·         Jesus gave answers to them for all time.
So, let us listen to Jesus and hear what He has to say about you and me.

Who Am I
Concerning the question, “Who Am I?"
Jesus answers,
·         'You are a divinely designed child of God.'

The Bible says, “God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God He created them."
·         We are spiritual beings.
·         We are God-made.
·         We were created by God and we bear a resemblance to God.

Russell Kefler put it this way:
·         You are who you are for a reason,
·         You are part of an intricate plan
·         You are a precious and perfect unique design
·         Called God's special woman or man.
·         You are who you are for a reason
·         You've been formed by the Master's rod.
·         You are who you are, beloved,
·         Because there is a God.

So, what’s the problem.
·         Why do we have such a hard time understanding who we are?
Our problem is that sin clutters our thinking,
·         Evil works on our mind.
·         We make Poor Choices which makes us slaves to a secondary-cause.
In our desire to find the image of God,
·         We try to become gods.
·         And in so doing,
o   We miss the mystery
o   And meaning of what it is to be a human being.

Like God, we have the ability to
·         Reason,
·         Think,
·         And Solve Problems,
·         But fear drives us to use Our Intellect,
o   Our Intelligence for selfish gain.

Like God,
·         We are made, And We are designed to be in relationships
o   And designed to live in pure unbounded Love.

So, what does “Unbounded Love” mean?
·         Limitless
·         Unrestrained
·         Abundant
·         Uncontrolled
·         And boundless, without any boundaries.

But the problem is. Love gets distorted into
·         Immoral sex,
·         Pornography,
·         And Power Plays between people.

Like God, we were made to be
·         Free moral agents,
·         With the Natural, Instinctive, and Distinctive ability to
o   Distinguish Right from Wrong,
o   Truth from Falsehood,
o   Temporary from the Eternal,

But choosing Immorality and Incorruption over Virtue and Truth,
·         Freedom is given away to Slavery.

Though we err and stray from God's ways
·         Much like lost sheep,
·         And we follow too many of the
o   Devices and desires of our Own Heart,
o   We are really not very happy with it
o   And fail to find satisfaction within it.

Do you disagree? Maybe just a little?
·         You pick the person
o   And of the situation
§  of someone, anyone,
§  Living within sin
§  And I will show you the destruction.

Even though, just maybe,
·         It appears that someone has it all,
·         In living within a sinful way,
·         They seem to have the tiger by the tail
o   But I will show you how empty they are,
o   How lost they are,
o   And how that sin will or has led them to their own destruction.

We can run after the glamour
·         The thrills
·         The “whatever”
·         And it may seem that we have the Tiger’s Tail
o   But in all reality, The Tail has us.

What the Boy or Girl,
·         What a Man or a Woman really wants
o   Is to have a Father and a Mother,
o   A Wife or a Husband.
o   A Life filled with Integrity
o   Doing the right things at the right time for the Right Purpose.
o   Having a Direction in Life.
o   With a Life that Leads to a Great Reward.

But Instead, we run after Life,
We use our Talents foolishly and for evil.
We Destroy instead of Creating.

Even the Best of the Sinners
·         Are not very good at it
·         Because deep within each of us,
·         Even though we are marred by sin,
·         There remains the image of God.

Jesus came to restore us to our true identity.
·         Christ is The Light shining in our darkness.
·         He is the Love which softens our hatred.
·         He came as a guide, to showing us the way to live.
·         He is Full of Grace and the Truth
o   Which helps us find our way home.
·         In Jesus we can rediscover Our Lost “Image of God" within.
·         Who am I?
·         Jesus would say, 'You are endowed and designed as a child of God.'

What Do I Need?
What do I need? What do you NEED?
Jesus says you are created with Spiritual Desires.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod,
The Kings, The Wise Men, The Magi came from the east and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?"

·         Who were these strange visitors from Iraq or Iran?
·         Why would they travel 500-1000 miles to worship a Jewish child?

·         O'er field and fountain,
·         Moor and mountain, they followed a star.
·         In the heat of the day and chill of the night, they traveled on.
·         With saddle-chaffed legs,
·         Sun-burned skin,
·         And dust-caked eyes,
·         They came seeking a Jewish Messiah.

Did they know the Torah as being The Truth?

Could they recite and Live Out the Ten Commandments?

Even IF they had the Tora, this prophecy was a Jewish prophecy. Genesis 49:10
·         “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants (from between his feet), until the coming of the one to whom it belongs (until tribute is brought to him and the peoples obey; traditionally condensed, until Shiloh comes.) the one whom all nations will honor.” NLT
·         They knew of Daniel and of his following his God.
·         They were called WISE Men, so I believe it is safe to say that they were researchers.
·         And, Yes, they were curious.
·         But how far will Curiosity take you?
·         A Mile?
·         Maybe Two?
·         On the outside, possibly Five Miles

But these men traveled 500 to 1000 miles.
·         They are just tired, old, sinners.
·         They were hungry for their dinners.
·         And they had a longing
o   Somewhere in the depths of their heart to find the meaning of life.
So, What is it that You do NEED?

Now I am Not asking you of what You Want
·         Or You are wish for,
·         Or what you fantasize about,
·         Or what you want to add to your bucket - shopping list;
·         NO! That's not the real question.

The real question is what do you long for?
What do you NEED for Survival?
·         What is your deepest heart's desire?

The answer to that question is:
·         My and Your deepest desire is to
o   Know God and to enjoy Him forever.

The philosopher, Pascal, once said: “At the core of our human identity there is a God-shaped vacuum."

W.E. Sangster said: “Right at the core of our being, there is a hunger for something hard to define, and almost embarrassing to confess, but which still remains when this world has given us its finest things and every tangible fear has been driven away."

It is Plain and Simple,
We NEED God!

I know at times, we all have moments when it is hard to express that.

Sometimes we are much Like Children who come home from school and just standing in front of the refrigerator, with the door wide open, Needing, Wanting Something, but not sure of what they Need.

So, we find ourselves, trying to satisfy this inner hunger.

And Oh, we are very Good at this.
·         We try things and go places,
·         We get a good job
·         And we earn promotions.
·         We move to new-bigger house.
·         We buy new cars and Toys
·         And we just get very busy with life.
·         Soon we divorce and then remarry.
·         We take up a hobby or two,
·         We try to do good deeds,
·         All the while – we are still searching,
o   We are still chasing
o   Our Wants and Our Desires
o   Instead of Looking at what we Need,
o   We Need to solve this thirst for God
o   We Need Him to fill our cup and make us whole.

Ex-Beatle, George Harrison, in an interview shortly before his death said, “Everything else in life can wait, but the search for God cannot wait."

Larry King said, “I have a lot of respect for true people of faith, I have always searched. I envy people who have it. I just can't make the leap."

You know, it was not a quick or easy trip for the Magi to find the Christ Child.
·         And Maybe
o   Maybe it never is easy
o   And Maybe it is never meant to be easy
§  But the thing is,
·         NEVER Settle, for anything less.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be satisfied."

Don't settle for anything less this year
·         Than having an authentic,
·         Living,
·         Vital, Energetic, Dynamic,
·         True Relationship with God.
·         You will have no regrets when you do.

Where Am I Going?
Where am I going? Jesus said, “You have an Eternal Destiny."

What does that mean to you?
Eternal Destiny?

We know that “Eternal” means:
·         Everlasting
·         Un-dying
·         Un-ending
·         Endless

And Destiny means:
·         Purpose
·         Vocation
·         Intention
·         Call or Calling

So, when we put that together we have:
Everlasting, Un-dying, Un-ending, an Endless – Purpose, Vocation, Intention, Call or Calling.

To me,
·         That sounds more like something Here,
·         Right Now,
·         Here, where we are
o   Type of thing
o   Rather than
§  Something that is for later, such as when we die.

I know that Christ says “I am going to prepare a place for you. That where I am there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going."

And we can surly rest in the comfort of His Care.
However, He is First and Foremost Calling us to an Un-Ending Purpose or Vocation with Intention to share Him with others.

See, What We Need comes in two parts.
First you have a Personal Need, Have God within You.
Second is a Responsibility,
Once you Have God, You NEED to Pass Him over to Others.

Our Need to Have God is only Achieved IF we Share Him with Others.

And this Task, This Occupation, This Purpose, This Calling NEVER ENDS until we see Our Lord’s Face.

Once we have done this, THEN “I (have) a place for you. That where I am, there you may be also.
It Is Only Then, When This Becomes Truth.


·         You are who you are for a reason,
·         You are part of an intricate plan
·         You are a precious and perfect unique design
·         Called God's special woman or man.
·         You are who you are for a reason
·         You've been formed by the Master's rod.
·         You are who you are, beloved,
·         Because there is a God.

Amen