The Long-Awaited King Has Come

Oct 11, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Four Hundred Years of Silence Breaks at Midnight

The weight of waiting presses hardest just before dawn. For centuries, God’s people clung to promises whispered to Adam, Abraham, and Malachi, their hope thinning like candlewicks in the dark. Four hundred years without a prophet’s voice, four hundred years of wondering if God still cared. Yet the ache of anticipation became the proving ground for faith. When God finally spoke, He didn’t send another message—He became the message. [34:25]

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3, ESV)

Reflection: Where has prolonged waiting made you question God’s faithfulness? How might His silence be preparing you for a revelation greater than your expectations?

Day 2: The Eternal Word Who Set Time’s Clock Ticking

Before mountains rose or oceans roared, the Word pulsed with creative power. Jesus didn’t begin in Bethlehem’s manger—He authored the moment Mary swaddled Him. Eternity stepped into time, the Maker becoming part of His masterpiece. This truth anchors us: the God who carved galaxies from nothing holds your fragile story in hands that never shake. [38:35]

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. (John 1:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: What chaos in your life needs the reminder that its Author holds ultimate authority? How does Jesus’ eternal nature change how you view today’s troubles?

Day 3: Three-in-One God Who Never Lonely Dined

Unlike solitary idols, the Trinity feasts in perfect community—Father, Son, and Spirit sharing endless delight. God didn’t create humans because He lacked companionship, but to invite us into divine fellowship. The God who needs nothing wants you. This changes everything: you’re not heaven’s charity case, but its cherished guest. [44:48]

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you struggle to believe God desires you, not just what you can do? How might living as a wanted child change your relationships today?

Day 4: When God Wrapped Himself in Chili Con Carne Flesh

The Word didn’t send a memo—He became meaty, sweaty, touchable. Incarnation means God traded celestial throne rooms for leaky stables, glory for grittiness. He didn’t just announce salvation; He sweated it, bled it, wept it. When you feel distant from God, remember: He crossed every chasm to sit in your dirt. [47:44]

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you tempted to see God as detached from daily struggles? How does Jesus’ physical humanity comfort you in your own embodied challenges?

Day 5: Surrendering White-Knuckled Grip on Broken Kingdoms

We clutch control like toddlers gripping shattered toys. Jesus asks for open hands—not to take, but to replace rubble with resurrection. Surrender isn’t defeat; it’s trading your wreckage for His wholeness. The God who spoke galaxies into being waits to rebuild your life, but only where you yield the blueprint. [01:09:28]

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: What broken kingdom are you still trying to rule? What would it look like today to let Christ’s Lordship renovate one corner of that territory?

Sermon Summary

John begins where Genesis begins: “In the beginning.” John identifies Jesus as the Word who was already there before creation, with God and as God. Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. Jesus has always been, always will be, and nothing anyone faces catches him by surprise.

John’s opening words also put the Trinity right in front of the church. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have existed forever in perfect relationship, perfect community, and perfect harmony. God has never been lonely, needy, or lacking anything. God needs nothing from broken people, yet God still wants them near.

Jesus also stands as the active Creator of all things. John says that through him all things were made, and without him nothing was made that has been made. Bethlehem was not Jesus’ first interaction with the world, but Bethlehem was a completely different kind of arrival. The Word became flesh. Jesus put on flesh, stepped into time and space, and became one of us.

The Word reveals the heart of God. Words show what is inside a person because “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Jesus, then, is God’s heart on display in human form. Jesus makes the Father known, which means no one can truly know God apart from him. Jesus is not merely a good teacher who said a few helpful things. Jesus claimed to be God, to forgive sin, to give life, and to be the only way to the Father.

John’s picture of Jesus “dwelling” among people reaches back to the tabernacle. The tabernacle showed that God wanted to live in the center of his people, though a veil still kept sinful people from seeing his glory fully. Jesus fulfills what the tabernacle pointed toward. In Jesus, God comes close, the glory of God is made known, and sinners are invited home.

Jesus comes as light into darkness and life into death. God’s people waited through generations, promises, and four hundred years of silence, but Jesus exceeds every hope. Jesus enters the chaos of sin as a rescue mission, runs toward the Goliath of human rebellion, steps into humanity’s death sentence, and brings a way back to the Father. The only fitting response to the God-man is not casual admiration but full surrender. Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord, and his resurrection makes the answer clear.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus came before all things John does not allow Jesus to be reduced to a baby in Bethlehem or a figure from history. Jesus stands before creation itself as the eternal Word. His eternity means that no fear, loss, confusion, or future circumstance lies outside his knowledge and authority. [38:35]
2. Jesus reveals God’s very heart Jesus is called the Word because he makes God known in a way creation alone never can. People may see God’s power and creativity in the world, but Jesus shows God’s character, love, holiness, and saving purpose. A relationship with the Father cannot be separated from the Son. [52:38]
3. God wants to dwell near sinners The tabernacle pointed to God’s desire to be in the midst of his people, but Jesus brings that nearness in flesh and blood. God does not draw close because he needs something from people. God draws close because he genuinely wants broken people restored to himself. [57:54]
4. Jesus brings life into darkness Jesus enters a world bent by sin, chaos, and death as God’s rescue mission. The Creator comes to restore what rebellion shattered and to bring people home again. His light is not fragile, because darkness has not overcome it. [61:25]
5. Jesus demands full surrender Jesus cannot be approached as merely a good teacher or casually admired from a distance. His claims require a response because he is Lord in the flesh. Faith receives his salvation, and discipleship releases every guarded part of life into his hands.

## [66:00]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[23:31] - The Story Series Enters the New Testament
[26:11] - Why Waiting Is So Hard
[30:51] - God’s People Wait for the Promise
[32:54] - Four Hundred Years of Silence
[35:20] - John’s Big Question About Jesus
[38:05] - Jesus Before Us: The Eternal Word
[40:38] - Jesus and the Trinity
[45:45] - Jesus the Creator of All Things
[46:57] - The Word Became Flesh
[52:38] - Jesus Makes God Known
[55:35] - Jesus Tabernacles Among Us
[61:25] - Jesus Came to Bring Life
[66:00] - The Only Response: Full Surrender
[68:13] - Who Do You See When You See Jesus?

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 1:1-14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [35:31]

Matthew 12:34
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” [49:48]

John 1:18
“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” [53:10]

Observation questions

In John 1:1–3, what does John say about where the Word was “in the beginning,” and what role does the Word have in creation? [38:35]
What changes in John 1:14 when “the Word became flesh,” and what does John say people were able to see in him? [46:57]
According to John 1:18, what unique role does the Son have in making the Father known? [53:10]
John connects Jesus “dwelling” among us with the Old Testament tabernacle. What did the tabernacle communicate about where God wanted to be in relation to his people? [57:10]

Interpretation questions

Why does John begin Jesus’ story before Bethlehem and even before creation? How does Jesus’ eternity shape the way believers understand his authority over present fears and an uncertain future? [39:04]
What does it mean that Jesus is the Word—the clearest expression of God’s heart and character? Why is observing creation not enough for someone to fully know God? [52:38]
If God is complete and needs nothing, what does Jesus coming in the flesh reveal about God’s desire for sinful and broken people? [58:21]
John says Jesus is light shining in darkness that darkness has not overcome. What kinds of darkness does Jesus enter to bring life, and what hope does this give to someone facing sin, loss, or chaos? [01:02:10]

Application questions

Jesus existed before all things and is not surprised by anything that happens. What fear, uncertainty, or situation in your life do you need to place under his eternal knowledge and authority this week? [39:04]
Jesus makes the Father known. When you picture God, what beliefs or assumptions about him need to be corrected by looking more closely at Jesus’ words, actions, grace, and truth? [53:34]
God came near in Jesus not because he needed us, but because he wants us near. Is it easier for you to believe that God tolerates you or that he genuinely wants a relationship with you? Why? [58:40]
Jesus came into the darkness of sin as a rescue mission. Where do you most need his life and light right now—perhaps in a relationship, a habit, a burden, or an area of discouragement? [01:03:28]
Jesus cannot simply be treated as a good teacher or admired from a distance; he is Lord. Is there a part of your life that you have kept guarded from his leadership—your choices, relationships, money, plans, or private thought life? What would surrender look like in a concrete next step? [01:09:28]
Jesus came to bring others home as well. Who is one person in your life who needs hope in Christ, and what is one natural way you could show them Jesus’ love or speak about what he has done? [01:09:04]

Sermon Clips

33s

#JesusOurSavior

“Jesus knew that we needed a savior, and he stepped down from his throne and stepped into time and into space, and he became a human being, and he came close. He didn't have to. He needs nothing, but he stepped out of glory into the chaos of our darkness and our sin to bring us new life and to bring us home again. To restore us to the father and to keep the promise he had made to his people.”

36s

#JesusTheWord

“Think about it this way. Just as God's words entered the scene in the beginning at creation, to create all things speaking life and order into the darkness and the chaos, John says, Jesus as the word entered the world to create a way back to God again, offering life and order in a world of darkness and chaos. That's good news, isn't it?”

39s

#GodsLove

“Jesus, the word of God was exactly what God had to say to the world. You know what that was? I love you. I love you and I'm unwilling that any should perish. I want all to come to repentance through what Jesus is about to do. I love you and I'm unwilling to let you continue to run away and run into the arms of sin and destroy yourselves. I've come by way of Jesus Christ so that you might be saved and come back into a right relationship.”

48s

#RescueMission

“Why is it that he came? Why go through what Jesus would go through in his humanity? It's very simple. He came to bring us new life again. That's what he did. He came to bring us back into a right relationship with God so that he could become our heavenly father. He became a man in... God became a man in Jesus Christ because he wanted to save us. It was a rescue mission. When he heard our crisis, our fall, our willful fall into sin in the garden, He didn't ignore it or remain distant even though we made the mess that we were in. No, he he came close to us so that he could bring us life again.”

38s

#HeartOfGod

“Because we didn't speak with one another. We didn't exchange words with them, therefore, we didn't really know them. You see, your your words, they tell you a lot about who you are. What we say is who we are. And so when John calls Jesus the word, listen closely. He means Jesus is the very heart of God on display for us in human form. That Jesus is the very heart of God on display for us in human form. And he became one of us so that he could show us who God is.”

36s

#JesusIsLord

“You can't look at a Jesus like who we've been talking about today and just walk away casually. You gotta consider him. Because if he is not a lunatic and he wasn't crazy, and if he is not a liar, and he wasn't a liar because he did rise on the third day just as he had promised, and as the prophecies had foretold many, many years earlier, the only logical conclusion is that he was the the Lord. He was God in the flesh.”

37s

#KingJesus

“And then, may we as a church go out and tell everyone we see that the long awaited king, the savior, king Jesus has come. We no longer wait in anticipation. He's come, he died on a cross in their place, in our place, and he rose again on the third day in victory. May we do everything in our power to tell everyone around us that that long awaited king has come, and that he's come to save them.”

46s

#GodInTheFlesh

“God knows all of our failures. He knows all of our our fears. Jesus understands them too. And he wants us anyway. He wants us close. He wants us to come home. And John says, that's why this Jesus, he was no ordinary man. He was he was the God man. He was God in human flesh. He was there in the beginning, so he's a turtle. He he's God in the flesh, and he's the one who created us and the one who came to save us from our sin and bring us life.”

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