Wonder, Direction, and Hope
When was the last time you lost yourself in WONDER, you knew where to turn for DIRECTION, and you had a real sense of lasting HOPE?
Every summer my kids always spend a week with my parents. They’ve been doing this for years. They call it Nana Camp. My mom basically puts on her own little VBS for the grandkids. There’s activities each day, they enjoy arts and crafts, their favorite foods, and a Bible story that ties it all together. My kids love it.
One year the theme had something to do with the stars. My dad had a telescope they could use to look up into the night sky and see the moon and the stars. He showed them the different constellations and taught them the names of each one.
And as my children looked up into the night sky at the stars, they were filled with wonder.
Not only that, but they learned that people have looked to the stars for centuries to guide them and give them direction.
And as they looked to the stars and learned about the One who created them, who spoke each one into existence, they were filled with Hope.
When was the last time you lost yourself in WONDER, you knew where to turn for DIRECTION, and you had a real sense of lasting HOPE?
A New Star
People have been looking to the stars and at the stars for centuries. And it was a star that created a new sense of WONDER, pointed people in a new DIRECTION, and gave those who saw it a new HOPE some 2000 years ago.
In Matthew 2, here’s how Matthew tells the story…
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
These men from the East had seen a star unlike any other star they had ever seen before. A star so bright that these men from hundreds of miles away saw it and were drawn to it!
A star so beautiful they were compelled to follow it.
So they pushed pause on their lives, they cancelled their upcoming appointments, they made their travel arrangements and set out to follow the star because they believed this star might be more than just a star. They believed this star was a sign.
They entered the city of Jerusalem because the star was above the city of Jerusalem. And they believed this star was a signal that an ancient prophecy had been fulfilled. So they began asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?”
You can imagine how the one who is currently reigning as king might respond to the news that another king has been born, one that bears his title, “King of the Jews!”
A New Hope? Or a New Threat?
Matthew says…
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
Where the Magi saw hope and promise, Herod saw a threat. A threat that had to be eliminated.
This is what people do. People addicted to power are often fueled by insecurity and will do almost anything to eliminate any threat because they are insecure and afraid of loss.
Herod the Great was not so great. He was really Herod the Afraid. Herod the Insecure. And the truth was, Herod didn’t know what these travelers from the East were really talking about. These foreigners from the east knew the Jewish scriptures better than he did! So Herod had to call for help.
4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.
Unnoticed
It makes you wonder… how long had the star been above Jerusalem? If you fast forward to the end of the story, v16, you find out that Herod wants every Jewish boy the age 2 years and younger killed so that he’s the only “King of the Jews” alive.
Could it have been possible the star had been above the city for 2 years and no one but the Magi noticed?
It makes you wonder… how long had God been trying to get someone’s attention. Something has happened here that has changed everything! When will people see? When will people notice?
It makes you wonder… how long has God been trying to get your attention? My attention? Has God put a star in the sky for you, a sign, a signal, something that points to his great love for you, something that has gone unnoticed?
On the Move
8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
This, of course, is a complete lie. Herod has no intention of worshiping the child. He has every intention of killing the child to protect his own name, his own kingdom.
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem.
Pause! Did you hear that? The star MOVED!
As far as we know, this is the only time the star moved since it first appeared over Jerusalem. The star, the light in the night, led them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, about 5 miles away!
It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Wonder, Direction, Hope, and Worship
Some 2000 years ago there was a new star in the sky. For most of the world, it went unnoticed. But these men saw the star, they were drawn to the star. They left their lives, left their homes, left everything behind to go to the place where the star was. And then, the star led them to Bethlehem. And not just to Bethlehem, it led them to the exact place where the child was!
You understand this, right? Stars don’t typically do this! But this star did. This star, this light, led these men to The Star, to The Light of the World!
And when they found the child, when they arrived at the place where the star led them, they bowed down and worshiped.
Something happened that changed everything and they were filled with WONDER, they had found DIRECTION, and they had a sense of real and lasting HOPE.
Why?
Because they had found Jesus.
What about you?
Where do you look for wonder? Where do you turn for direction? Where do you find hope?
When was the last time we were filled with WONDER?
Can you remember the last time you lost yourself in worship? The last time you were completely overcome and completely undone in the presence of a God who loves you so much He gave His One and ONLY Son for you.
When was the last time you trusted God for DIRECTION?
Can you remember the last time you prayed, “God, show me which way to go and I’ll go. Lord move, or move me.” And when it became apparent what God wanted you to do, even when it wasn’t necessarily what you wanted to do… you trusted God’s direction for your life. When was the last time you paused your plans for God’s plans. You cancelled your appointments and followed the STAR God gave you to follow for direction?
When was the last time you looked to God for Hope?
Not your last resort. Not the Hail Mary prayer after you exhausted every other option. When was the last time you told God with a sincere and full heart… All my hope is in you. My only hope is in you. Not in the people of this world. Not in the things of this world. Not in the money in my bank account or the possessions I’ve acquired. You. You and You only are my hope.
Is that a star?
Sometimes when I’m out with the kids at night, one of my kids will look up into the night sky and ask… “Dad – what’s that star?” “That’s not a star, that’s a plane.”
“What about that one?” “Also a plane.”
If you’re looking for stars in the city, they’re hard to find because of the city lights and because there are so many planes in the sky. There’s too much ambient man made light around us and too many man made lights in the sky above us to really see the stars, the God made, Yahweh spoke and created, been there for thousands and thousands of years kind of stars!
If you really want to see those stars, those God made, Yahweh spoke and created kind of stars… you have to get out into the country, out away from the city lights, out and away from the airport… and when you do it’s breath taking, awe inspiring, amazing.
The Bright Morning Star
It’s interesting… in Revelation 22.16 Jesus said,
“I, Jesus… I Am the bright Morning Star.”
If you want to see THE STAR, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD… you might have to get away, be quiet, be still, and look up to be filled with WONDER, find DIRECTION, and discover HOPE. Because…
Only Jesus, the bright Morning Star, can fill you with wonder, give you direction, and bring you hope.
Want more from this Series… Click here.
To hear this message click to watch or to listen.
