How the men were wise

Disappointment is the gap between expectations and reality.  

How can we turn disappointments into divine appointments?  

Matthew 2:1-11

Easy-to-Read Version

2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 

2 They asked people, “Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard about this, it upset him as well as everyone else in Jerusalem. 

4 Herod called a meeting of all the leading Jewish priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah would be born. 

5 They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea, just as the prophet wrote:

6 ‘Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    you are important among the rulers of Judah.
Yes, a ruler will come from you,
    and that ruler will lead Israel, my people.’”

7 Then Herod had a private meeting with the wise men from the east. He learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. 

8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too.”

9 After the wise men heard the king, they left. They saw the same star they had seen in the east, and they followed it. The star went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 

10 They were very happy and excited to see the star.

11 The wise men came to the house where the child was with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened the boxes of gifts they had brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

1.  The wise men who sought the baby Jesus found Him in a stable and not in a palace.  

We must not look at our circumstances, but the God of our circumstances. 

The scholars looked at the Scriptures, but not the savior written about in the Scriptures.  We must avoid this.  

Nothing is more limiting than requiring God to fit within our expectations.  

2.  Wise men offer their best to God.  

When we find a stable experience instead of a palace experience, we must not withhold our best.

Our real problem is not our problem.  Our problem is that we're looking at our situation and not our God.  

3.  Real wise men change their direction when God leads.