Study Guide: "When You Follow a Star and End Up at a Stable"

Text: Matthew 2:1-12

Open:

I love Christmas and freely admit that Advent may be my favorite time of year.  I like the color and tradition, the festivity and family orientation of the holidays.  But I must admit that Christmas is not a high point in the year for many individuals.  Christmas ads tell us this is "the happiest time of the year."  But according to the National Institute of Health, it's actually when incidents of depression and attempted suicide are highest.  One survey reported that 45 percent of respondents dread this season.

To sum it all up, today's message is about expectations.  What happens when you've been following a star and it leads you to a stable?  What happens when after thinking things are going to be grand and glorious you end up in the backyard of a barn?  And there, instead of a palace and king, you find a baby held by his mother.

- How is your conduct affected by the outcome of your expectations?

- Imagine the disappointment of the wise men when they arrived in Jerusalem and learned the sacred event wasn't happening there.

- Can you imagine their surprise when the star led them to Bethlehem and a child in a stable.

Let me connect this to our lives:

- Have you ever experienced disappointment?  Was it in graduation, marriage, career, family, retirement?

The beautiful part of the Christmas story of the wise men is what they do when they arrive at the stable.  Through their response, they teach us three things.  I believe that wise individuals through the ages have done these same three things when they came to a place or situation that wasn't what they were expecting.

I. Wise Men Look For God in the Stable.

One of the things I love about the Bible is its brutal honesty when it comes to the lives of biblical characters.  Biblical writers never make the characters appear better than they were.  As you look at them, you see that many times life turned out very different from what they expected, yet many of them were able to find the good in a difficult disappointment.

- Paul in prison-- writes letters of encouragement to people who were free while he was bound by chains.

- David in a cave-- writes the 23rd Psalm.

- Job covered in boils, having lost wealth and family-- writes, "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord."

- Joseph after 30+ years of unfulfilled dreams-- finds favor with Pharaoh.

The difference between immature Christians and mature believers:

     1) Immature Christians see God only in the good times.

     2) Mature believers see God in the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Test of maturity: how do you respond in adversity & disappointment?

When things are bad:

- Immature Christian, "God, change my circumstances."

- Mature believer, "God, change my heart so that I become a better person in light of these circumstances."

*Wise men tell us: When you follow a star and end up at a stable, look for God.

II. Wise Men Offer Their Very Best to God.

Temptation when disappointed: When things don't go as we expected, we are tempted to hold back from giving our best.  If we don't receive the best, we offer less than our best in return.

What did the wise men do when they found the Christ as a child in less than humble surroundings?  Hey brought forth their very best-- gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

John Maxwell: "The difference between the average person and the above average individual  can be summed up in three words: 'and then some.'"

It takes an extraordinary person to do the "and the some" in barnyard conditions.

III. Wise Men Look at Disappointment Differently.

After seeing the Christ child and hearing from an angel, the wise men didn't return the same way they came.  Their encounter with Christ changed their course/direction.

1. We should learn from and be different as a result of our disappointments.

If you're a wise person, you'll not only look for God in a bad situation, and give your best in that bad situation, you'll allow that situation to change you-- you'll be a changed person, a better and more mature follower of Christ.

2. Two optimal results of change:

  1) The change will take you deeper in identifying with Christ.

  2) The change will expand your ability to provide compassionate ministry to others.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

J. H. Jowett: "God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters."

Close:

Disappointments need not be dead ends!

When you follow a star and end up at a stable, allow the experience to become a catalyst for a transformed life and ministry.