The obvious questions

Waiting for God Knows What

Waiting Room (3 of 3) December 19 & 20, 2015

Lyle Castellaw

THE OBVIOUS QUESTIONS
1. _______________ will the waiting end?

2. When will I get _______________ I’m waiting for?

The Danger: When what you are ___________________becomes what you are _____________________.

Matthew 1:21-23 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).

Isaiah 7:1-14 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

² Now the house of David was told, ‘Aram has allied itself with Ephraim’; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

³ Then the Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field. ⁴ Say to him, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smouldering stubs of firewood – because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. ⁵ Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, ⁶ ‘Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.’ ⁷ Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:‘

“It will not take place,it will not happen,

⁸ for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

⁹ The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son. If you do not stand firm in your faith,you will not stand at all.”’

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹ ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’

¹² But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’

¹³ Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace .

While you’re waiting: Shift your focus from ____________ and ____________, to _____________: Immanuel— God is with us.

“The advent of Jesus Christ is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions. We affirm that Christ is indeed Immanuel, God with us. Rather than stumbling in the darkness between forms of religion that are each a variation of fear and control, through Christ the lights are turned on and our attention is drawn to an entirely different vision—life with God.”

--Skye Jethani