TITLE: How Christmas Teaches us to Wait Well

TEXT: Luke 2:21–38THEME: To wait well, our hearts must be filled with hope that is focused on Jesus.

The "marshmallow test"

"I've got to go run an errand. I'm going to leave a marshmallow here on the table in front of you. If you don't eat the marshmallow while I'm gone, when I get back you get two. But if you eat the marshmallow, it's the only one you're going to get."

Thomas Paine

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”

The 1970 Stanford

They found that those who were able to wait as 4-year-olds – grew up to be more socially competent,

The 1970 Stanford

They found that those who were able to wait as 4-year-olds – grew up to be more socially competent, – better able to cope with stress,

The 1970 Stanford

They found that those who were able to wait as 4-year-olds – grew up to be more socially competent, – better able to cope with stress, – less likely to give up under pressure than those

who could not wait.

The 1970 Stanford

They found that the marshmallow grabbers were:• more stubborn and indecisive,

The 1970 Stanford

They found that the marshmallow grabbers were:• more stubborn and indecisive, • more easily upset by frustration,

The 1970 Stanford

They found that the marshmallow grabbers were:• more stubborn and indecisive, • more easily upset by frustration,• more resentful about not getting enough.

The 1970 Stanford

They found that the marshmallow grabbers were:• more stubborn and indecisive, • more easily upset by frustration,• more resentful about not getting enough. • Their poor impulse control was much more

likely to lead to delinquency, substance abuse, and divorce.

Our inability to control our impulses, our refusal to wait and

trust, lies close to the core of human sinfulness.

Emotional Intelligence, by psychologist Daniel Goleman

The ability to wait well, to delay gratification, is "the master aptitude that leads to personal maturity and effective living."

How does God teach us how to wait well?

I. He teaches us to wait by testing us.

I. He teaches us to wait by testing us.

A. Abraham and Sarah.

I. He teaches us to wait by testing us.

A. Abraham and Sarah.B. Israel in Egypt.

I. He teaches us to wait by testing us.

A. Abraham and Sarah.B. Israel in Egypt.C. Israel wandering in the desert.

How does God teach us how to wait well?

II He teaches us to wait by giving us the hope of Christ.

Luke 2:21-24

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. 22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

Luke 2:21-24

23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

II He teaches us to wait by giving us the hope of Christ.

A. Simeon held the hope of humanity in his hands.

Luke 2:25-28

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah

Luke 2:25-28

27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

Luke 2:29

(29)“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

The “nunc dimittis”.

Latin for “Now dismiss your servant.”• It's a famous phrase in the history of the

church.

The “nunc dimittis”.

Latin for “Now dismiss your servant.”• It's a famous phrase in the history of the

church. • It means Simeon's time of waiting was done.

He completed his task.

The “nunc dimittis”.

Latin for “Now dismiss your servant.”• It's a famous phrase in the history of the

church. • It means Simeon's time of waiting was done.

He completed his task. • He finally got the marshmallow he was

waiting for. The Messiah had come.

II He teaches us to wait by giving us the hope of Christ.

A. Simeon held the hope of humanity in his hands.B. Romans 8:2

Romans 8:2:

"Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

II He teaches us to wait by giving us the hope of Christ.

A. Simeon held the hope of humanity in his hands.B. Romans 8:2C. Jesus is the hope of salvation for everyone who believes.

Luke 2:34-35

“Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

How does God teach us how to wait well?

III. He teaches us to wait by promising our ultimate salvation.

III. He teaches us to wait by promising our ultimate salvation.

A. Waiting is not passive but requires a daily decision of trust.

III. He teaches us to wait by promising our ultimate salvation.

A. Waiting is not passive but requires a daily decision of trust.B. Simeon's prophecy shows that Jesus will be revealed to the hearts of everyone.

III. He teaches us to wait by promising our ultimate salvation.

A. Waiting is not passive but requires a daily decision of trustB. Simeon's prophecy shows that Jesus will be revealed to the hearts of everyone.C. Our hearts must be filled with the hope of Jesus.

APPLICATION

1. God wants you to learn how to wait. So he promises you a marshmallow if you wait on Him.

APPLICATION

1. God wants you to learn how to wait. So he promises you a marshmallow if you wait on Him.2. What is your marshmallow? Christmas reveals what all of us should be waiting for. The ultimate deliverance that comes from Jesus Christ is the marshmallow through which Jesus testing us.

APPLICATION

1. God wants you to learn how to wait. So he promises you a marshmallow if you wait on Him.2. What is your marshmallow? Christmas reveals what all of us should be waiting for. The ultimate deliverance that comes from Jesus Christ is the marshmallow through which Jesus testing us.3. God will deliver on His promises- so wait patiently.

Marshall Shelley

“Many times now heaven seems so much more substantial than earth. My wife Susan sometimes says, "I have one foot in heaven and one foot on earth." We've already sent part of ourselves on ahead, and we can understand better what Jesus meant when he said, "Where your treasure is there your hearts will be also."

How is your heart this Christmas?

How is your heart this Christmas?

To wait well in a world where we don't always get what we want and where we hurt, we need hearts filled with the hope of Jesus.