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Jesus’ visitors                     Sermon notes                     Lorna Laister           7^th January 2018

READ Ephesians 3:4-6

Jesus' visitors worshipped him.Everything changed when Jesus was born. New life was available to everyone – not just the Jews/Israelites/God’s chosen people. Jesus made the way for everyone!!

READ Luke 2:1-7 Jesus’ birth

Only a few people did get to see Jesus, as their Messiah and realised that Jesus had arrived. It was only by special messengers that anyone got the news. The shepherds. 2 more people we haven’t met yet. Simeon and Anna. And the Magi

Do we realise how blessed we are to have this truth this knowledge and this access to God directly?

READ Luke 2:8-20 The shepherds visited Jesus

READ Luke 2:22:38 Simeon and Anna. Waiting and worship

“You, in your lifetime Simeon, will see the Messiah.” He would not die until he sees the Messiah who has been promised to God’s people for over a thousand years.

We are not told exactly when during his life this promised was revealed to him by the Spirit, but can you just imagine what was going through Simeon’s mind as the years passed by. The anticipation, the excitement of being able to see God’s Christ in the flesh. No matter how long he had to wait, he was going to be willing to wait patiently. He trusted that God would fulfil His promise to Him.

Waiting is difficult. If you have just done matric you will know what waiting is like. If you are pregnant and waiting for a baby – then you know! If you cannot fall pregnant and you are waiting for God to bless you – then you will know what it is like to wait

And then Anna

Anna never left the temple.

What do you do when you’re disappointed? Anna may have been in her early teens when married. She was married only seven years. How would you respond-if you were perhaps 23 years old and the marriage and life you’d dreamed of were taken away from you? Would you hide in a corner and feel sorry for yourself? Would you lose your discipline and live a loose life, become a party girl? Would you try to find a job in the IT sector to get your mind from your failed dreams? Would you wallow in the mud of despair and self-pity? What would you do?

Anna would say to us today, “Why wallow when you can worship?” She Worshiped night and day

Alright. So, we have the shepherds visiting Jesus and then Simeon and Anna meeting their Saviour in the temple.

What about the wise men? Who were they?

Read MATTHEW 2:2-11

Now it is most probable that this visit was AFTER the purification in the Temple. We are not sure .and it doesn’t matter We do know it was not at the birth and the visit was most likely in Nazareth, at their house.

the men journeyed long and far to find the Christ child. They were intellectual people and had studied the scriptures and skies to learn of the coming Messiah. They risked a lot, trusted a lot, and sacrificed a lot for just a glimpse of Jesus.

There were special messengers whom god sent so that certain people could see and worship their Messiah, Jesus. God spoke to people Through the Spirit or by angels and showed them the way to His Son.

1. He spoke to the shepherds by sending an angel and they went and found Jesus and worshiped Him.
2. God told Simeon and Anna to wait and worship
3. God sent a star to lead the wise men to the King of kings and they worshiped Him. AND THEY WERE FOREIGHNERS!! Jesus opened the way for everyone to see him!!

Herod learned about God’s King, but he was so worried that Jesus was going to take away his kingdom that he tried to have Him killed. Jesus didn’t want Herod’s throne He wanted his heart. We never read of Herod ever bowing to worship the King of all kings.

Every one of us has been shown the King. God has allowed us to hear from His Word, His promises to send a King and how He kept His promise. Jesus came to this earth as a baby, grew up and died on the cross so we all could be saved. He is the King and one day He will come back to this earth and rule as the King of all the earth

Do you remember the magi giving Jesus gifts? If we were to ask God what gifts he wants now, today, what do you think He would say?

For unbelievers: God would want those who don’t believe in Jesus to put their faith in Him, so they can be saved.

For believers: He wants to be King of our hearts.

What does it mean to worship God with our whole heart? Maybe easier to say what it is not!

What worship is not: Complaining. Worrying. Murmuring. Gossiping. Wallowing. Fearing. Despairing. Indulging yourself. Pitying yourself. Boasting. Arrogant. Proud. Selfish. Negative.

So, what is worship? All the visitors to Jesus WORSHIPPED him!!

We do a lot of these thigs at church but this last one we need to do outside church

We Worship in Song

We Worship in Prayer

We Worship in Giving (Offering)

We Worship through the Study of God’s Word

Worship Opportunities Throughout the Week

In our story today, we will see people who wanted to have Jesus as King of their heart and those who did not.

If we take these symbols – a cross and a heart and we say that the heart is our heart and the cross is Jesus

Then where should the cross go?

What will you do with this information God has given you? Will you believe in Jesus? Will you bring your best gift to Jesus and worship and obey Him? Will you worry that Jesus will not allow you to do the things you want to do, and you will try to be your own king? It is our prayer that you will choose to believe in Jesus and allow Him to be the King of your heart.

God kept His promise to send the King of the Jews. God made a promise that has not happened yet. He promised that one day Jesus is going to return. How do we live knowing that promise? If a person who was not a believer in Christ were to ask you about Jesus coming back would you know what to say? Do you know what the Bible says so you could share with them? Is your life an example to that person that you believe Jesus is coming again? Are behaving in a way that shows you are expecting Jesus to return? If not, what changes do you need to make so that you can be ready at any moment for Jesus to come back?

Shouldn’t we be just as eager to devote our lives to worshipping Him?

READ Galatians 4:4-7
Do we overlook the incredible gift that God has given us? So, few people were able to see Jesus. But we can see him every day. All the time. Are we grateful?

Is our cross in the heart?