WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.319 I will say greetings from Southside Life Station, 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:06.639 Northwest Ohio Baptist Association, New Heights 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:10.259 Fellowship, which is my church plant, and Fog 00:00:10.259 --> 00:00:12.240 and Moon Books, which is a little publishing 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:13.880 company that our church planting arm started 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.440 up. And so I wear many hats, but the most important 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:19.079 one, I think, at least the one that's most important 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:22.300 to me, is... a preacher of the word. I've been 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:24.460 called to do that. So we'll go to the word first 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:26.899 and then time permitting at the end, I will share 00:00:26.899 --> 00:00:28.820 with you. There's been some amazing things happening. 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:30.839 God has been moving and I'll share a little bit 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:32.700 of that with you at the end. That's okay. All 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:35.200 right. So I'm going to talk to you briefly about 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:37.740 a struggle that we have in our day, but it's 00:00:37.740 --> 00:00:39.579 not new. And the reason we struggle with it so 00:00:39.579 --> 00:00:41.539 much is because it's not new. It's been lasting 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:43.640 for a really long time, thousands of years. And 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:46.600 that is essentially teachings of the antichrist 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:49.859 creeping into the church. Creeping into our lives, 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:52.600 creeping into what are supposed to be moments 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:56.840 of God's glory, and they're a surprising intrusion, 00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:58.960 and people sort of accept them like they're there. 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:00.960 I noticed that we all have a manger scene set 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.079 up in your sanctuary, but a lot of churches do. 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:05.620 And in the manger, you find some characters. 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:08.519 I should say, in the stable, you find some characters, 00:01:08.659 --> 00:01:10.560 right? Did you know, by the way, that the stable 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:12.560 is where the baby was born, the manger was where 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:14.540 the baby was laid, right? We don't confuse that 00:01:14.540 --> 00:01:16.840 a lot of times. Even we have a psalmist as he 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:18.909 was born in the manger, right? I don't think 00:01:18.909 --> 00:01:20.549 Mary would have fit in a manger. And if she did, 00:01:20.590 --> 00:01:21.769 I don't think she would have wanted to be in 00:01:21.769 --> 00:01:24.510 a manger at that moment in time. But if it was 00:01:24.510 --> 00:01:26.250 a really big manger and she was in it, I don't 00:01:26.250 --> 00:01:28.569 know. I wasn't there. But it's sort of a strange 00:01:28.569 --> 00:01:31.950 lyric, okay? And then there are some characters 00:01:31.950 --> 00:01:34.810 in the manger scene, right? So you got Joseph, 00:01:35.069 --> 00:01:37.950 Mary, hopefully the baby Jesus, which is sort 00:01:37.950 --> 00:01:39.879 of the important part, right? And then there 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:41.599 might be a shepherd, there might be some sheep, 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:44.079 some animals, you know, there's a stable, and 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.599 that would help them stay warm, it's a cold night 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:48.400 most likely. Who else would be in that major 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:50.560 scene? The wise men are the three kings, right? 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:53.319 We three kings of Orient are, right? Traveling 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:55.239 from afar and all that jazz. And they wind up 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:58.299 in the stable. But were they in the stable? No. 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:00.939 No, they weren't in the stable. So why has Christianity 00:02:00.939 --> 00:02:05.260 adopted the teaching? And by that I mean the 00:02:05.260 --> 00:02:08.189 main... I'm not talking about just Christianity, 00:02:08.389 --> 00:02:11.090 like maybe people who say they're Christian but 00:02:11.090 --> 00:02:14.270 don't ever go to church. In the pews last Sunday 00:02:14.270 --> 00:02:16.509 were a ton of people who were in the chairs, 00:02:16.729 --> 00:02:18.569 whatever their building is like, a ton of people 00:02:18.569 --> 00:02:20.569 who would have readily accepted that the wise 00:02:20.569 --> 00:02:22.490 men were in the stables. Why is that? I want 00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:23.949 to ask this question today as we look at the 00:02:23.949 --> 00:02:25.449 scripture. I want to ask you, do you think, and 00:02:25.449 --> 00:02:27.430 we're going to look at the evidences. I'm not 00:02:27.430 --> 00:02:28.689 going to answer the question for you without 00:02:28.689 --> 00:02:31.330 looking at the evidences. Is it possible that 00:02:31.330 --> 00:02:34.500 the wise men... were actually Antichrist? No, 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:36.919 no, that can't be. It's all part of our tradition. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:38.479 It's all part of our Christian background. They 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:41.860 came from afar. They saw a star. They traveled. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:43.599 They did amazing. Don't get me wrong. They're 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:46.439 a great feature of the story. But is it possible 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:49.699 that they were actually Antichrist? The Antichrist 00:02:49.699 --> 00:02:52.240 is that which doesn't belong. He's inserted by 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.780 the enemy. He does not accept the truths that 00:02:54.780 --> 00:02:57.060 apply from the fact that Jesus Christ has come 00:02:57.060 --> 00:02:58.639 in the flesh. The first passage of scripture 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:01.129 I want to read to you today. is in the book of 00:03:01.129 --> 00:03:03.770 1 John. It's not an altogether unfamiliar passage 00:03:03.770 --> 00:03:07.189 of Scripture. It comes in 1 John 4. I'm actually 00:03:07.189 --> 00:03:10.469 going to read verses 1 -3. 1 John 4, verses 1 00:03:10.469 --> 00:03:13.069 -3. But in case you hadn't guessed, we're going 00:03:13.069 --> 00:03:15.729 to wind up in Matthew 2, which is the story of 00:03:15.729 --> 00:03:19.289 the Magi coming to visit the baby Jesus. So those 00:03:19.289 --> 00:03:21.770 are the two primary texts that we'll use. 1 John 00:03:21.770 --> 00:03:25.150 4, beginning of verse 1. And then Matthew 2, 00:03:25.409 --> 00:03:28.860 beginning of verse 1. 1 John 4. Beginning in 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:32.680 verse 1 says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit. 00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:35.780 So right away we see John is writing to Christians. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.599 This is for us as believers in the Lord, followers 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:41.740 of Jesus Christ. So not everything that you experience 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:45.699 is going to be God -honoring. And I think the 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:47.620 idea here is to recognize that some things are 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:49.580 going to come in that appear to be God -honoring, 00:03:49.620 --> 00:03:52.240 but they really aren't. Otherwise, why would 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:56.520 we be cautioned so strongly? So do not. believe 00:03:56.520 --> 00:03:59.479 every spirit. He says, but test the spirits to 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:01.860 see whether they are from God. Because many false 00:04:01.860 --> 00:04:04.360 prophets have gone out into the world. That phrase 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:07.159 doesn't mean to us what it meant in the day that 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:08.819 John wrote it. Because we don't think we have 00:04:08.819 --> 00:04:11.780 many prophets. And the office of prophet, the 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:14.080 way it was then, has pretty much ceased to exist. 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:16.480 It doesn't need to exist. A prophet is a person 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:18.720 who speaks for God. So if you're here today and 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:20.339 you're a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, in 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:22.220 some sense, you are a prophet. At the time you 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:23.920 made prophecy, you probably did this to yourself. 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:25.199 You say, well, you know, I'm going to have a 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:27.040 rough day. And lo and behold, you have a rough 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:29.300 day all day, right? So you prophecy to yourself. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:32.579 You didn't mean to. Maybe I never should have 00:04:32.579 --> 00:04:34.639 said that. Or you might say, yeah, I knew it, 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:38.019 right? Either way, we speak for God. We become 00:04:38.019 --> 00:04:40.160 prophets of God. But these are false prophets. 00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:42.720 So a false prophet is going to be somebody that 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:45.560 claims to speak for God or seems to show up and 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:47.649 deliver the message of God. Somebody might even 00:04:47.649 --> 00:04:50.250 assess that, but in reality, they're not, okay? 00:04:50.449 --> 00:04:52.470 And so he says there are many of them that have 00:04:52.470 --> 00:04:55.069 gone out into the world. By this you know the 00:04:55.069 --> 00:04:57.310 Spirit of God. This is how you know whether it's 00:04:57.310 --> 00:05:00.529 God doing it or whether the motivations are evil 00:05:00.529 --> 00:05:02.550 or negative, right? By this you know the Spirit 00:05:02.550 --> 00:05:05.589 of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus 00:05:05.589 --> 00:05:08.610 Christ has come in the flesh is from God. Now, 00:05:08.629 --> 00:05:11.610 we're warned elsewhere, and I'm going to say 00:05:11.610 --> 00:05:13.209 to you that it's really not a good idea to be 00:05:13.209 --> 00:05:15.550 engaging in conversation with evil spirits, okay? 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:17.980 You don't necessarily want to go up to an evil 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:21.100 spirit, if you could, and identify it and then 00:05:21.100 --> 00:05:22.579 go, okay, so I just got to ask you a question 00:05:22.579 --> 00:05:24.560 real quick. So this is not that kind of a test, 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:27.699 right? So this is by observance. We can tell 00:05:27.699 --> 00:05:30.779 by observance that some things, and even I'll 00:05:30.779 --> 00:05:33.959 extend it to some people, do not honor the fact, 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:36.620 they do not live according to the fact that Jesus 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:38.920 Christ came in the flesh, that he was God in 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:42.180 the flesh, lived as an actual man, that God took 00:05:42.180 --> 00:05:45.860 on flesh in the form of Jesus. And that... implies 00:05:45.860 --> 00:05:48.160 a lot, right? For God so loved the world, he 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:49.939 gave his only begotten son. So at least it implies 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:53.319 that God loves us amazingly, much further than 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:54.740 we can understand. Because it would be hard for 00:05:54.740 --> 00:05:56.680 us to sacrifice like that. It would be hard for 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:58.720 us to make those kinds of decisions. So then 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:01.939 we can see that God really loved us. And that's 00:06:01.939 --> 00:06:05.079 sort of the beginning of it. Jesus was the embodiment 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:07.560 of God's love. And so to live in some way that 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:09.939 is contradictory to that, to not recognize that 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:12.060 Jesus was the embodiment of God's love, would 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:15.269 be to live as the Antichrist lives. That's what 00:06:15.269 --> 00:06:18.250 John is trying to explain. So he says, By this 00:06:18.250 --> 00:06:20.009 you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that 00:06:20.009 --> 00:06:21.910 confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh 00:06:21.910 --> 00:06:24.389 is from God. And every spirit that does not confess 00:06:24.389 --> 00:06:26.810 Jesus is not from God. So it's pretty simple. 00:06:27.329 --> 00:06:29.149 You're either on his side or you're not. You 00:06:29.149 --> 00:06:31.550 recognize who he is or you don't. But he's tying 00:06:31.550 --> 00:06:34.449 it to the Incarnation. To the fact that Jesus 00:06:34.449 --> 00:06:37.470 came in the flesh. Of which you have heard, this 00:06:37.470 --> 00:06:39.310 is the Spirit of the Antichrist, of which you 00:06:39.310 --> 00:06:43.100 have heard that it is coming. And now it is already 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:45.620 in the world. So first of all, I want to say 00:06:45.620 --> 00:06:48.420 to you that every time you think that you're 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:50.379 in the clear on this problem, you're actually 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:52.639 not. The disciples, the believers that John was 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.000 speaking to, they thought, oh, you know, the 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.600 Antichrist. There's someone going to come who's 00:06:57.600 --> 00:06:58.939 going to teach against God. And we just have 00:06:58.939 --> 00:07:01.279 to be careful. When he comes, he'll be obvious 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:02.959 enough because he'll be teaching against the 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:04.300 teachings. We'll just believe the teachings. 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:06.339 He'll stand up against them. We'll know he's 00:07:06.339 --> 00:07:07.899 speaking against what we know to be true and 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:10.100 everything will be fine. But two phrases in here 00:07:10.100 --> 00:07:12.779 cue in. to us to realize that that's not what 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:14.980 he's talking about. The first one is, he says, 00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:18.879 test the spirits. If it was obvious, if it was 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:20.920 blatant, we wouldn't have to worry about it, 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:22.519 right? You don't have to test. If somebody puts 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:24.579 down in front of you the single food on this 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:26.420 planet that you hate the most, the thing that 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:28.199 you would never eat, whatever that is, I don't 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:29.699 know, and they put it down in front of you, you're 00:07:29.699 --> 00:07:31.439 not going to eat it because you hate it. You 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:33.040 despise that food. You just don't like it. Like, 00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:34.480 I've never eaten that. I've always hated it. 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:36.160 Never had a good taste for it. Every time I taste 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:37.879 it, I have these bad tastes in my mouth. It makes 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:40.139 my stomach upset or get sick or in the bathroom 00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:41.779 all day or whatever. I'm not going to do it. 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:43.180 I'm not going to have that. I won't eat that 00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:45.259 just because I hate it, right? That's not what 00:07:45.259 --> 00:07:47.660 he's talking about. This is, they put in front 00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:50.680 of you two identical bowls of soup or two identical 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:53.620 bowls of food, and they look exactly alike from 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:56.339 the surface. The smells are there, and for all 00:07:56.339 --> 00:07:59.180 you can tell, these soups both are your favorite 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:01.759 kind of soup. But one of them, when you eat it, 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:03.339 is going to tear you up and put you in the bathroom 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:04.759 all day, and the other one, you're going to go, 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:06.019 oh, that was really good, and I'm going to be 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:07.160 fine. I'm going to have some more of that later. 00:08:07.569 --> 00:08:09.649 That's what he's talking about. And so, because 00:08:09.649 --> 00:08:12.889 you know that these two suits are what they are, 00:08:12.949 --> 00:08:15.029 one is real and one is fake, if you will, use 00:08:15.029 --> 00:08:17.449 it that way, he says, test them. Be careful. 00:08:17.550 --> 00:08:20.870 Take some steps, right? And by the way, if people 00:08:20.870 --> 00:08:23.230 put two suits down in front of me like that and 00:08:23.230 --> 00:08:24.250 said, one of these is going to make you sick, 00:08:24.250 --> 00:08:25.670 one is, what are you going to do? You don't need 00:08:25.670 --> 00:08:27.490 either one, right? We don't have that option, 00:08:27.610 --> 00:08:29.500 do we? Because one of them is Antichrist and 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:31.480 one of them is Christ. So if you want the Christ, 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:33.419 you've got to find a way to get to the point 00:08:33.419 --> 00:08:34.840 of figuring out which one is which. And that's 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:36.080 what John is saying. We've got to find a way 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:37.860 to get to the point of figuring out which one 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:40.019 is which. You can't just say no to both. You 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:42.759 have to say no to Jesus. There is no line in 00:08:42.759 --> 00:08:45.019 the middle. The fence in the middle between God 00:08:45.019 --> 00:08:47.220 and Satan is owned by Satan. It's on his property. 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:49.220 So if you're on the line in the middle, you're 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:51.379 on his property. You belong to him. So we have 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:52.980 to choose. We have to test. That's the first 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:55.179 thing he said. And the second thing he says is 00:08:55.179 --> 00:08:57.809 that This is what you have heard that is coming, 00:08:57.929 --> 00:09:00.029 and now it is already in the world. Meaning, 00:09:00.090 --> 00:09:02.570 they were looking already for it, and he's saying, 00:09:02.669 --> 00:09:04.370 but it's already here. So you've been looking 00:09:04.370 --> 00:09:05.529 for it, you've been waiting for it, expecting 00:09:05.529 --> 00:09:08.470 it, and it's already here. Meaning, it's seductive, 00:09:08.470 --> 00:09:11.049 it's subterfuge, it's tricky, it sneaks in. It 00:09:11.049 --> 00:09:15.909 doesn't jump up with a sign or a shout. So, based 00:09:15.909 --> 00:09:18.250 on this then, let us look at Matthew chapter 00:09:18.250 --> 00:09:21.169 2, the visit of the Magi. From that perspective. 00:09:21.289 --> 00:09:23.710 So the perspective of looking for the Antichrist. 00:09:24.009 --> 00:09:25.629 While you're flipping there, I will say this 00:09:25.629 --> 00:09:28.070 to you. Remember that when we talk about spirits, 00:09:28.289 --> 00:09:31.070 it's hard to use human language to explain that 00:09:31.070 --> 00:09:33.009 which is going on in the spiritual realm. But 00:09:33.009 --> 00:09:34.789 we're really talking about spirits. And we know 00:09:34.789 --> 00:09:38.470 the Magi were not spirits. So we're really looking 00:09:38.470 --> 00:09:41.909 at the spirit with which they acted. Does that 00:09:41.909 --> 00:09:43.870 make sense? The spirit with which they did the 00:09:43.870 --> 00:09:45.710 things that they were doing. So we're looking 00:09:45.710 --> 00:09:48.090 at their motivations. I always think that's dangerous. 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:50.629 Somebody says something. Maybe they comment on 00:09:50.629 --> 00:09:52.950 your ties. You have a nice tie, right? But you 00:09:52.950 --> 00:09:54.909 question their motivations. So you're thinking, 00:09:55.009 --> 00:09:56.450 well, no, he's just trying to get me to give 00:09:56.450 --> 00:09:57.990 him some money or something like that. That's 00:09:57.990 --> 00:09:59.889 very dangerous to do that, to think like that, 00:09:59.970 --> 00:10:02.129 to look at their motivations. At the same time, 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:04.289 we are called upon by that very passage of Scripture 00:10:04.289 --> 00:10:07.129 we just looked at to examine motivations. So 00:10:07.129 --> 00:10:09.409 we'll look at the magi. This won't take as long 00:10:09.409 --> 00:10:12.049 as maybe breaking down the whole passage would 00:10:12.049 --> 00:10:13.809 normally take, but we're looking at it from one 00:10:13.809 --> 00:10:16.850 perspective. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem 00:10:16.850 --> 00:10:22.879 of Judea in the days of Herod the king, So real 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:24.679 quick, just to make sure we understand what just 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:26.940 happened. So Jesus is born. It's after Jesus 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:30.240 is born in Bethlehem of Judea, which is near 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.299 Jerusalem, pretty close, kind of due south, in 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:35.480 the days of Herod the king. Herod was the guy 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:37.240 who was freaked out by anybody who might take 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:38.700 his throne. He even killed some of his family 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:42.059 members. Magi, which just basically means wise 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:44.899 men. Before you jump, well, they're magi. They're 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:47.080 into magic. They're obviously evil antichrist, 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:50.919 right? Remember that Daniel, when he was a wise 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:54.759 man, was called a magi. So it's just people who 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:56.960 are wise, people who are learned, who are studied, 00:10:57.080 --> 00:10:58.700 who would be called on for wisdom, that kind 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:01.039 of thing. So it's not really a term like we can 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:03.519 right away write them off. So they come from 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:07.299 the east. They arrive in Jerusalem, saving. So 00:11:07.299 --> 00:11:09.080 they come to the capital of Judea. They come 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:12.080 to the capital of Israel, basically, to Jerusalem, 00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:14.039 where the king, where Herod is. And they say, 00:11:14.179 --> 00:11:17.990 where is he? who was born king of the Jews. For 00:11:17.990 --> 00:11:20.730 we saw his star in the east, and have come to 00:11:20.730 --> 00:11:22.610 worship him. So we were over there, and we saw 00:11:22.610 --> 00:11:27.250 the star rise, or appear in the sky, and we came 00:11:27.250 --> 00:11:28.970 over here because we want to worship this king 00:11:28.970 --> 00:11:31.649 of the Jews. When Herod the king heard this, 00:11:31.690 --> 00:11:35.070 he was troubled in all Jerusalem with him. Gathering 00:11:35.070 --> 00:11:36.909 together all the chief priests and the scribes 00:11:36.909 --> 00:11:38.309 of the people, in other words, his own version 00:11:38.309 --> 00:11:40.990 of magi, he inquired of them where the Messiah 00:11:40.990 --> 00:11:43.940 was to be born. Can we stop one second and say, 00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:45.980 does anybody here have a problem with accepting 00:11:45.980 --> 00:11:50.139 that Herod was Antichrist? We're okay with that. 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:51.779 Did you realize he later says he's going to worship 00:11:51.779 --> 00:11:54.879 Jesus, but he's lying? He sends his men out after 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:56.879 the story to kill every baby that was up to two 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:58.240 years. I mean, we understand that he was following 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:00.620 Antichrist, right? But we're looking at the Magi. 00:12:00.620 --> 00:12:02.259 We're asking that question on the Magi. Were 00:12:02.259 --> 00:12:05.919 they Antichrist? So Herod... And the people, 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:07.679 they're troubled because they don't know what 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:08.940 Herod's going to do. They don't know what this 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:10.580 means. They don't know why they didn't figure 00:12:10.580 --> 00:12:13.379 it out too. They don't know, you know, is this 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:15.779 a new day? Something strange is happening. They 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:17.960 said to him, in Bethlehem of Judah, for this 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:20.519 is what has been written by the prophet. And 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:22.700 you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means 00:12:22.700 --> 00:12:24.360 least among the leaders of Judah. For out of 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:27.240 you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:29.139 my people Israel. So that's a prophecy. It goes 00:12:29.139 --> 00:12:32.840 back to Micah 5 .2, which is hundreds of years 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:36.379 ago by now. But they read these scriptures. They 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:38.240 study these scriptures. They memorize these scriptures. 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:39.980 They look for the Messiah every day. They set 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:42.740 an empty plate in case he comes to dinner. The 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:44.419 men get out of bed and pray, thank God I wasn't 00:12:44.419 --> 00:12:45.940 born a woman. And the women get out of bed and 00:12:45.940 --> 00:12:47.720 pray, I hope I am the mother of the Messiah. 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:51.440 Every day, right? And so they've been looking 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:53.840 for the Messiah every day. And now they're wondering, 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:55.600 okay, did we miss something? And now they're 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:58.299 saying, and they know that this is potentially 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:02.539 the anointed one, the new ruler of Israel, sent 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:05.149 by God. They may or may not believe he could 00:13:05.149 --> 00:13:06.909 be the son of God. They may or may not believe 00:13:06.909 --> 00:13:08.929 he would be a suffering Messiah. The texts are 00:13:08.929 --> 00:13:10.950 there, but they always kind of struggled with 00:13:10.950 --> 00:13:14.450 those concepts. Okay? Verse 7. Then Herod secretly 00:13:14.450 --> 00:13:16.669 called the Magi and determined from them the 00:13:16.669 --> 00:13:18.210 exact time the star appeared. So he says, hey, 00:13:18.230 --> 00:13:20.230 come over here in my private chamber. Tell me, 00:13:20.250 --> 00:13:22.429 exactly when did you see that star? And he sent 00:13:22.429 --> 00:13:24.809 them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully 00:13:24.809 --> 00:13:26.490 for the child, and when you have found him, report 00:13:26.490 --> 00:13:29.190 to me, so that I too may come and worship him. 00:13:29.470 --> 00:13:32.129 So we're going to worship this Jesus. But you 00:13:32.129 --> 00:13:34.149 know Herod's lying, right? It's not really about 00:13:34.149 --> 00:13:35.710 that. And even if he would worship him for a 00:13:35.710 --> 00:13:37.110 minute, he's going to be planning on doing something 00:13:37.110 --> 00:13:39.870 to him later that isn't nearly as pleasant. And 00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:43.470 so he's entreating them to be his allies in this 00:13:43.470 --> 00:13:47.090 subterfuge. After hearing the king, so they listened 00:13:47.090 --> 00:13:49.549 to him, they heard him, but they're not acting 00:13:49.549 --> 00:13:52.250 on his behalf necessarily. They went their way, 00:13:52.330 --> 00:13:54.470 and the star which they had seen in the east 00:13:54.470 --> 00:13:57.210 went on before them until it came and stood over 00:13:57.210 --> 00:14:01.299 the place where the child was. Astrologers and 00:14:01.299 --> 00:14:02.740 scientists and whatever struggle with this verse, 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:05.480 but there's a pretty good new theory about how 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:07.659 that's all possible. But that's not what I'm 00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:09.580 talking about. What's really important to note 00:14:09.580 --> 00:14:13.019 is, how did they get to Bethlehem? They followed 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:16.340 the star. So why did they go to Jerusalem? Because 00:14:16.340 --> 00:14:18.240 that's where they expected to find a king. And 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:20.019 there's a lot of people there. So they went as 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:21.879 far as getting close to Jerusalem, and they stopped 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:24.159 following the star. They stopped following the 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:27.259 leading that God was giving them, and went to 00:14:27.259 --> 00:14:28.220 the kingdom of Jerusalem. Why did they go to 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:31.309 the king? That's an interesting thought. If he's 00:14:31.309 --> 00:14:32.929 the son of God, if it's God that's providing 00:14:32.929 --> 00:14:34.929 the motivation, if it's God that's leading them 00:14:34.929 --> 00:14:38.269 to come to Bethlehem, why are they in Jerusalem? 00:14:39.789 --> 00:14:43.789 And it says, when they saw the star, they rejoiced 00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:46.330 exceedingly with great joy. They're so glad that 00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:48.190 they're being led directly to where the child 00:14:48.190 --> 00:14:50.629 will be born. Now, they've come over 900 miles 00:14:50.629 --> 00:14:52.110 at least, and some people think maybe as many 00:14:52.110 --> 00:14:55.149 as 9 ,000, but it's a long, stinking way. And 00:14:55.149 --> 00:14:57.529 the star led them all that way. And now the star 00:14:57.529 --> 00:14:59.190 leads them exactly to where the baby is born. 00:14:59.269 --> 00:15:00.730 And they're a little surprised by that. After 00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:02.250 they went to Jerusalem, they didn't find the 00:15:02.250 --> 00:15:05.470 baby there. 11. After coming into the house, 00:15:05.529 --> 00:15:07.750 they saw the child with Mary, his mother. Notice 00:15:07.750 --> 00:15:10.629 the house. Because it would be at least eight 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:12.450 months after the birth of Jesus. And they didn't 00:15:12.450 --> 00:15:15.809 stay in the stable for eight months. So they 00:15:15.809 --> 00:15:18.429 come into the house, saw the child with Mary, 00:15:18.529 --> 00:15:20.809 his mother, and they fell to the ground and worshipped 00:15:20.809 --> 00:15:22.690 him. So this is kind of proper worship. They 00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:25.730 subjugate themselves before the one that they 00:15:25.730 --> 00:15:27.769 call the king of the Jews. Then opening their 00:15:27.769 --> 00:15:30.450 treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold, 00:15:30.669 --> 00:15:32.830 frankincense, and myrrh. And the three gifts 00:15:32.830 --> 00:15:35.110 are really kind of important as we look at, and 00:15:35.110 --> 00:15:38.149 we'll get into it in a second, but what their 00:15:38.149 --> 00:15:41.070 motivations were. And having been warned by God 00:15:41.070 --> 00:15:44.090 in a dream not to return to Herod. So now God 00:15:44.090 --> 00:15:48.250 is directing them. So can God direct the Antichrist? 00:15:48.529 --> 00:15:51.710 Can God direct them as they are following these 00:15:51.710 --> 00:15:54.950 wrong spirits? Can they still get some direction 00:15:54.950 --> 00:15:59.500 from God? some ability from God. I remember in 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:01.539 Matthew 7, it talks about people who go to heaven 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:02.940 and people who don't. There are those there who 00:16:02.940 --> 00:16:06.460 say, well, we prophesied in your name. We healed 00:16:06.460 --> 00:16:09.120 in your name. And God says, no, he didn't. No, 00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:10.720 he doesn't say that, does he? He doesn't respond 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:13.220 to them at all. He said, but, and he goes on 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:15.980 to say that they missed the main thing, which 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:17.620 was being merciful and kind to those who were 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:19.360 in suffering. And he gives a list, but you ignored 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:21.779 me. And they said, when did we see you like that 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:23.360 and we ignored you? And I'm paraphrasing all 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:25.940 of this, of course. And they say, he says, well, 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:28.159 inasmuch as you did it unto the least of these, 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:30.679 which is referring to Christians primarily, right? 00:16:30.779 --> 00:16:33.179 The brethren who are suffering or in need. But 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:34.620 inasmuch as you did it unto the least of these, 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.919 you did it unto me. But you didn't, and therefore 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:40.179 you missed it. And therefore, basically what 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:42.419 he's saying, you get to go to hell. But these 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:44.200 people over here who took care of me and mine 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:47.840 in my day, go to heaven, right? And so... Could 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:50.279 they prophesy on behalf of God? Could they do 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:52.779 something amazing on behalf of God and yet not 00:16:52.779 --> 00:16:55.980 truly be saved to be Antichrist? Sure they could. 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:58.179 Absolutely they could. Okay, almost done with 00:16:58.179 --> 00:16:59.980 the text. I'm just going to clarify a couple 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:02.019 things and we'll be out. After coming into the 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:04.180 house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, 00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:06.259 and they fell to the ground and worshipped him. 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:08.140 Then opening their treasures, they presented 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:10.980 him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And you know 00:17:10.980 --> 00:17:12.420 that list, and I hope you'll remember it in a 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:19.069 second. So there are a few things that you need 00:17:19.069 --> 00:17:21.170 to see in here that are kind of hugely important 00:17:21.170 --> 00:17:24.589 and some things that happened. I just want you 00:17:24.589 --> 00:17:25.849 to make sure they're there. First of all, you 00:17:25.849 --> 00:17:27.869 notice that people, the Magi did, and people 00:17:27.869 --> 00:17:30.349 can go looking in the wrong places, distracted 00:17:30.349 --> 00:17:34.369 by worldly models of power. They went to Jerusalem 00:17:34.369 --> 00:17:35.549 because that's where the king is. They went to 00:17:35.549 --> 00:17:36.750 Jerusalem because it's high on the mountain. 00:17:36.829 --> 00:17:38.089 They went to Jerusalem because a lot of people 00:17:38.089 --> 00:17:39.630 live there. They went to Jerusalem because a 00:17:39.630 --> 00:17:42.069 lot of money was there. Taxes are there. Armies 00:17:42.069 --> 00:17:43.710 are there. They went there because, as far as 00:17:43.710 --> 00:17:45.170 the world's concerned, that's where you would 00:17:45.170 --> 00:17:47.670 expect to find a king born. They left following 00:17:47.670 --> 00:17:50.349 the star that God gave them and went to Jerusalem 00:17:50.349 --> 00:17:52.890 because they were distracted by worldly models 00:17:52.890 --> 00:17:56.230 of power. Subtly done. Because in worldly models 00:17:56.230 --> 00:17:57.990 of power, when people do well, when churches 00:17:57.990 --> 00:18:00.930 are huge, money is much, and so on, health is 00:18:00.930 --> 00:18:02.789 great, don't you think, those people must be 00:18:02.789 --> 00:18:04.950 blessed. He's never been sick a day in the life. 00:18:05.069 --> 00:18:08.109 Man, God really must be blessing him. Or he's 00:18:08.109 --> 00:18:09.809 got plenty of money to pay all his bills. He 00:18:09.809 --> 00:18:11.769 must be doing something right. He must really 00:18:11.769 --> 00:18:13.930 be honoring God with his life. Those are worldly 00:18:13.930 --> 00:18:15.789 models of power, and they were distracted by 00:18:15.789 --> 00:18:17.589 worldly models of power as they were going to 00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:20.450 worship King Jesus. People can think of God in 00:18:20.450 --> 00:18:23.109 human terms. They gave gifts that would be appropriate 00:18:23.109 --> 00:18:26.470 for a human king. Let's be clear, including worship. 00:18:27.950 --> 00:18:31.130 You're familiar with our mode of prayer that 00:18:31.130 --> 00:18:33.529 we kind of use when we picture prayer, which 00:18:33.529 --> 00:18:35.809 is people get down on their knees and they look 00:18:35.809 --> 00:18:37.440 up to our God. And I've been talking about how 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:39.940 that's kind of died out for the service of people 00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:42.519 who do that as much anymore. It's a shame. Do 00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:44.240 you know where that model of prayer comes from? 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:46.920 Back in the day when few kings were on the throne, 00:18:47.390 --> 00:18:49.309 And someone would come and they would fully commit 00:18:49.309 --> 00:18:51.769 themselves to serve that king. They would get 00:18:51.769 --> 00:18:53.609 down on their knees, they would clasp their hands 00:18:53.609 --> 00:18:55.269 together, and they would lift their face up like 00:18:55.269 --> 00:18:57.569 this. And the king would come, and he would put 00:18:57.569 --> 00:19:00.410 his hands on their hands, clasped together. So 00:19:00.410 --> 00:19:02.289 he would put his hands, clasp their hands. It 00:19:02.289 --> 00:19:04.690 would be symbolic. I submit my hands, and really 00:19:04.690 --> 00:19:06.990 that means my whole being, into your service. 00:19:07.170 --> 00:19:10.329 So it's subjugation before the king. I am giving 00:19:10.329 --> 00:19:13.859 myself into your service, my king. So that model 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:15.980 of worship, which they did in front of Jesus, 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:18.400 is what you might do in front of any human king 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:20.180 that you're fully committing yourself to. So 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:22.019 they give Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh, 00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:24.019 all of which are very valuable human things. 00:19:24.180 --> 00:19:26.559 Now they have some symbolism, but they're very 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:28.720 valuable human things, and also they worship 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:30.900 him like you might a human king. So we don't 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:32.839 have a picture, even though we get a picture 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:35.319 of good worship in that moment, we don't have 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:37.759 a picture of them worshiping God, or God in the 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:39.980 flesh, or recognizing that he is God in the flesh, 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:42.309 or that this is the incarnation embodied. Remember 00:19:42.309 --> 00:19:44.750 what John said? If they recognize that he is 00:19:44.750 --> 00:19:47.130 the incarnation of body, then they are not the 00:19:47.130 --> 00:19:48.930 Antichrist. Well, as of yet, I haven't seen any 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:50.750 evidence of that. Even though we like the model 00:19:50.750 --> 00:19:51.789 of everything that's happened, I haven't seen 00:19:51.789 --> 00:19:54.390 the evidence yet. It goes on to, we see a couple 00:19:54.390 --> 00:19:56.930 other things, that people can fail to prioritize 00:19:56.930 --> 00:19:59.630 or set right their course of action in the face 00:19:59.630 --> 00:20:02.329 of pressures of their human circumstances. So 00:20:02.329 --> 00:20:05.250 in other words, they came 900 miles to the region 00:20:05.250 --> 00:20:07.799 of Jerusalem. But then rather than staying focused 00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:10.619 and following the star to the baby Jesus, they 00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:12.920 drifted into Jerusalem. Maybe they need to buy 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:14.460 supplies. They've been out on the road for a 00:20:14.460 --> 00:20:15.859 long time. And they just thought they would ask 00:20:15.859 --> 00:20:17.619 while they were there. They just thought they 00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:18.819 would go to the king because surely he would 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:20.700 know. The wise men of the Jews, surely they would 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:23.119 know. But they didn't need to do any of that 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:25.779 because they had the star. So they walked away 00:20:25.779 --> 00:20:29.160 from the leading of God to ask people who weren't 00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:31.049 following God at all. about how to follow God. 00:20:31.230 --> 00:20:33.130 Whether they were following the Antichrist or 00:20:33.130 --> 00:20:35.150 are the Antichrist or not, it's not looking good 00:20:35.150 --> 00:20:38.710 for their choices. People can leave the job of 00:20:38.710 --> 00:20:42.750 telling others to those who already have less 00:20:42.750 --> 00:20:45.109 to lose. How quick the wealthy are to dismiss 00:20:45.109 --> 00:20:47.890 the gospel. How quick the healthy are to dismiss 00:20:47.890 --> 00:20:50.029 the gospel. Jesus said, I come to preach the 00:20:50.029 --> 00:20:52.269 good news to the poor. You know why? Because 00:20:52.269 --> 00:20:55.119 the poor will listen when they're told. The truth. 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:57.019 Now, they don't always listen and accept Jesus. 00:20:57.140 --> 00:20:58.680 I'm not saying they're always going to get saved. 00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:01.079 It's not quite that easy. But those who are doing 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:03.819 pretty well have a tendency to walk away from 00:21:03.819 --> 00:21:06.420 the most important teachings of God because they're 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:08.839 busy, maybe, because they have other things that 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:11.019 are more important. Notice that the wise men, 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:14.920 after they met the baby Jesus, they don't go 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:17.759 telling everyone that he's the baby Jesus. Remember, 00:21:17.900 --> 00:21:19.599 the shepherds, they're actually pictured in the 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:21.339 stables and rightly so because of the night. 00:21:21.769 --> 00:21:24.069 that Jesus was born. They were out in the fields. 00:21:24.130 --> 00:21:25.589 They heard the angels declaring. They said, well, 00:21:25.609 --> 00:21:26.950 let's go see this thing. And they went and saw 00:21:26.950 --> 00:21:28.750 Jesus. And what did they do immediately upon 00:21:28.750 --> 00:21:31.109 seeing Jesus? They told Mary and Joseph and everyone 00:21:31.109 --> 00:21:32.710 that was there, anyone that was there, everything 00:21:32.710 --> 00:21:34.329 that they had heard in the fields. But then they 00:21:34.329 --> 00:21:36.309 left the stables and they went and told everyone 00:21:36.309 --> 00:21:39.369 in the region about the birth of Jesus. And the 00:21:39.369 --> 00:21:41.609 Magi, they're comfortable with that. This is 00:21:41.609 --> 00:21:44.710 a group of worshipers that's comfortable leading 00:21:44.710 --> 00:21:47.369 the job of telling everybody about Jesus up to 00:21:47.369 --> 00:21:50.569 other people who have less to lose. They're kings. 00:21:51.470 --> 00:21:52.670 I've got work to do. I've got to get back to 00:21:52.670 --> 00:21:55.509 taking care of my stuff. I did my part. I came 00:21:55.509 --> 00:21:58.150 here. I worshipped. I gave. I did my part. Now 00:21:58.150 --> 00:22:00.910 I've got to get back to the things that God gave 00:22:00.910 --> 00:22:03.170 me. The place that God put me. You know? I've 00:22:03.170 --> 00:22:05.569 got to get back to my spread. Back to managing 00:22:05.569 --> 00:22:07.809 my slaves. My wife is waiting for me. I've traveled 00:22:07.809 --> 00:22:09.210 over 9 ,000 miles. I've been gone for months. 00:22:09.490 --> 00:22:12.029 I've got to go back. I can't be busy telling 00:22:12.029 --> 00:22:15.130 Jews, who by all rights should know anyway. I 00:22:15.130 --> 00:22:17.569 mean, shouldn't everybody know anyway that Jesus 00:22:17.569 --> 00:22:20.329 has come? I mean, the star. They missed the star 00:22:20.329 --> 00:22:23.069 for crying out loud. If they can miss that, then 00:22:23.069 --> 00:22:25.190 what's good is going to do vital. And so they 00:22:25.190 --> 00:22:27.950 leave the telling about Jesus to others who have 00:22:27.950 --> 00:22:30.410 less to lose. The fact remains, we cannot judge. 00:22:30.630 --> 00:22:33.230 We can't decide whether the wise men were Antichrist 00:22:33.230 --> 00:22:35.109 or whether their motivations were specifically 00:22:35.109 --> 00:22:38.829 Antichrist. But we are to test the spirit by 00:22:38.829 --> 00:22:40.890 which they did these things. We can learn from 00:22:40.890 --> 00:22:43.650 their ways because we know some things that we 00:22:43.650 --> 00:22:46.109 should do. Because we recognize he was Jesus 00:22:46.109 --> 00:22:48.569 in the flesh. So in other words, we can see the 00:22:48.569 --> 00:22:50.150 good things about what they were doing. We can 00:22:50.150 --> 00:22:52.730 see the evidences. For example, we should learn 00:22:52.730 --> 00:22:54.710 to extend ourselves. They extended themselves. 00:22:55.049 --> 00:22:58.029 They traveled really far to just worship Jesus 00:22:58.029 --> 00:23:01.130 for a few minutes. When I was back years ago, 00:23:01.150 --> 00:23:04.150 I was living in Northwood, and God called us 00:23:04.150 --> 00:23:05.950 to Lansing, Michigan. And we thought, well, we 00:23:05.950 --> 00:23:07.609 just saw Lansing. We're going to have to find 00:23:07.609 --> 00:23:09.970 us a new church up there. And we were very involved 00:23:09.970 --> 00:23:12.730 in our church. We began to kind of look and follow 00:23:12.730 --> 00:23:15.869 God's lead. And God did not free us up. In fact, 00:23:15.990 --> 00:23:17.769 he specifically told me one point in time that 00:23:17.769 --> 00:23:20.509 we would stay at Elgin. So for 17 months, we 00:23:20.509 --> 00:23:23.210 drove 126 miles each way, starting out four days 00:23:23.210 --> 00:23:25.269 a week, then three, then two, then one. Then 00:23:25.269 --> 00:23:27.849 finally God said, when we didn't know it, but 00:23:27.849 --> 00:23:29.769 Sherry was pregnant with our son, God said, okay, 00:23:29.890 --> 00:23:32.529 you can find a church home nearby. You know, 00:23:32.529 --> 00:23:34.730 if you live 10 miles from this building and you 00:23:34.730 --> 00:23:36.109 got up one morning and your car didn't start, 00:23:36.210 --> 00:23:39.079 you know what you should do? Walk. Call somebody, 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:41.940 get an Uber, a cab. You know what you would do, 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:43.839 or some people would do? I don't know if you 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.920 can judge. You'd say, well, I guess I'm a 10 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:49.480 -counter guy. They went over 900 miles, at least, 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:51.579 maybe 9 ,000. Some say it depends on exactly 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:53.880 where they came from. As a relatively small group, 00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:55.420 though, we don't know it was three. You read 00:23:55.420 --> 00:23:56.799 the text. I read the text. It doesn't say three, 00:23:56.819 --> 00:23:58.900 right? It's three gifts, so we assume three kings. 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:01.000 It could be that all the kings that came gave 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:02.759 the same three gifts. We don't actually know. 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:05.059 Of course, seven of them gave gold, and three 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:07.619 gave frankincense, and two gave myrrh. We don't 00:24:07.619 --> 00:24:10.019 know. That's not recorded. We just assume three 00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:12.779 kings because there were three gifts. But it's 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:15.539 not in the text. Why? Because the Antichrist 00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:17.880 is subtle. He creeps in with teachings that we 00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:19.799 absorb and we make them part of who we are and 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:22.799 what we believe. And our job is to test. So we 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:24.500 test the spirits by which they do these things. 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:28.019 And we ought to extend ourselves, go that much 00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:30.380 further, push that much harder, go way beyond 00:24:30.380 --> 00:24:32.359 what we think we're capable of, as they did. 00:24:32.579 --> 00:24:35.690 We ought to subjugate ourselves. They did. They 00:24:35.690 --> 00:24:37.869 worshipped him on their knees. They were kings 00:24:37.869 --> 00:24:40.569 or wise men at least. And they got down on their 00:24:40.569 --> 00:24:43.710 knees, subjugated themselves to a baby. They 00:24:43.710 --> 00:24:45.869 didn't wait until he was grown up or had armies. 00:24:46.170 --> 00:24:48.049 They didn't wait until he was collecting texts. 00:24:48.150 --> 00:24:49.309 They got down on their knees and subjugated. 00:24:49.309 --> 00:24:50.890 We have a hard time getting down on our knees 00:24:50.890 --> 00:24:53.569 and subjugating ourselves to God who saved our 00:24:53.569 --> 00:24:56.210 souls, taught us everything we need to know about 00:24:56.210 --> 00:24:58.670 living life, who became incarnate flesh and faced 00:24:58.670 --> 00:25:00.430 sin and overcame death so that we could live. 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:03.339 Absolutely we should subjugate ourselves. So 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:05.799 we know that they did that and we like that they 00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:08.140 did that. We should give gifts worthy of his 00:25:08.140 --> 00:25:10.079 nature. Now I mentioned before they gave gold. 00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:12.839 And theologians like to say they gave gold because 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:15.240 Jesus was royalty. Gold is the gift you give 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:17.920 to a king. A human king, but a king. Frankincense, 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:21.180 on the other hand, represents holy nature. So 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:23.339 it could be that they gave this because he was 00:25:23.339 --> 00:25:25.880 a holy baby. Clearly they'd seen the miraculous 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:28.539 star. Maybe they even recognized that he was 00:25:28.539 --> 00:25:30.960 the son of God. That's possible. and then myrrh 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:33.960 to signify his mortality so that he could remember 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:35.839 and everyone present would remember that he was 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:38.759 human. Well, if they specifically chose gold, 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:41.119 frankincense, and myrrh, that specifically chose 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:43.480 those gifts to honor the fact that he was God 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:45.720 taking on flesh, well then, that couldn't be 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:47.420 the Antichrist. That would be the Christ. That 00:25:47.420 --> 00:25:49.240 would be a recognition. That would be a recognition 00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:51.319 like John was talking about, that they were doing 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:53.319 it. And people want to believe that, but there's 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:55.180 so much about what they did that's questionable. 00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:57.299 I'm telling you right now, I wouldn't call one 00:25:57.299 --> 00:25:59.200 of these magi, no matter how much you might love 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:00.559 them, no matter how much they might bring to 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:01.920 the table, no matter how much wisdom they might 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:03.579 teach, I wouldn't call one of them as my pastor. 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:06.400 Because while they are bringing gifts that seem 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.779 on the surface to be worthy of an incarnate God, 00:26:08.940 --> 00:26:10.599 they are doing a lot of things that seem to ignore 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:13.819 the fact that he was God in the flesh. So, lastly, 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:16.619 you notice they listen to what God says. They 00:26:16.619 --> 00:26:19.960 honor God by going home another way. Well, that's 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:22.220 something we should do. Moreover, in all of this, 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:25.819 we now see... have seen Jesus walk. We have seen 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:28.700 Jesus walk. We have seen his days. And John would 00:26:28.700 --> 00:26:30.559 write elsewhere in chapter 2, he would say that 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:32.940 those who say they abide in Jesus, those who 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:35.259 are living their lives in Christ, ought also 00:26:35.259 --> 00:26:38.019 to walk as Jesus walked or as he walked. So were 00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:40.339 the wise men Antichrist? Well, we can't really 00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:44.200 say they were. Were they motivated by evil spirits, 00:26:44.460 --> 00:26:46.660 motivated by the spirit of the Antichrist to 00:26:46.660 --> 00:26:48.559 do what they did? We can't really say that for 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:50.769 sure either. We can say for certain that they 00:26:50.769 --> 00:26:53.230 made a lot of questionable decisions. And I guess 00:26:53.230 --> 00:26:54.829 that might be what you'd come up with the sum 00:26:54.829 --> 00:26:57.089 of any man's life. Some things good, some things 00:26:57.089 --> 00:26:59.049 bad. Which is part of why we're not called to 00:26:59.049 --> 00:27:01.130 follow people. We're called to follow Jesus. 00:27:01.470 --> 00:27:02.990 Because people get some things right and they 00:27:02.990 --> 00:27:05.210 get some things wrong. But if you would assimilate 00:27:05.210 --> 00:27:06.789 into your life certain things that they have 00:27:06.789 --> 00:27:09.349 done, you would be wrong. But if you would assimilate 00:27:09.349 --> 00:27:11.269 into your life certain other things that they 00:27:11.269 --> 00:27:13.410 have done, then you would be right. So I guess 00:27:13.410 --> 00:27:16.529 you are left with the job of determining, testing, 00:27:16.750 --> 00:27:20.269 approving. which spirits to listen to, which 00:27:20.269 --> 00:27:22.109 spirits are right. Oh, well, it's a good thing 00:27:22.109 --> 00:27:25.470 we can do that. We stopped in verse 3 of 1 John. 00:27:25.569 --> 00:27:28.990 Verse 4 says, You are from God, little children, 00:27:29.130 --> 00:27:31.789 and have overcome them, because greater is he 00:27:31.789 --> 00:27:35.190 who is the them, was not the magi. It's the spirits. 00:27:35.490 --> 00:27:37.710 We have overcome the spirits. We have overcome 00:27:37.710 --> 00:27:40.109 the spirits that are anti -Christ. That's what 00:27:40.109 --> 00:27:42.869 it says. Little children, you have overcome them, 00:27:42.990 --> 00:27:46.519 because greater is he who is in you, than he 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:49.359 who is in the world. Figure out what it means 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:52.380 to us that God sent his son in the flesh to live 00:27:52.380 --> 00:27:55.240 a life subject to sin and temptation as we are, 00:27:55.380 --> 00:27:57.819 but not to yield to that sin or temptation and 00:27:57.819 --> 00:28:00.859 ultimately to die a sinner's death only to prove 00:28:00.859 --> 00:28:03.940 that sin and death have no power for those who 00:28:03.940 --> 00:28:06.309 are found in the grace of God. That's our task. 00:28:06.430 --> 00:28:08.950 Nothing less than that. You have to ask yourself, 00:28:09.150 --> 00:28:11.049 I can't do it for you. Your psychologist cannot 00:28:11.049 --> 00:28:12.490 do it for you. Your analyst cannot do it for 00:28:12.490 --> 00:28:14.509 you. Your pastor cannot do it for you. Your parents 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:16.630 cannot do it for you. Your children cannot do 00:28:16.630 --> 00:28:19.490 it for you. Your job cannot do it for you. Your 00:28:19.490 --> 00:28:22.789 Bible cannot do it for you. You have to figure 00:28:22.789 --> 00:28:27.509 out what it looks like in your life to live every 00:28:27.509 --> 00:28:30.089 moment of every day, every teaching, everything 00:28:30.089 --> 00:28:32.690 that comes out of your mouth. honoring the fact 00:28:32.690 --> 00:28:34.789 that the God of heaven took on flesh, became 00:28:34.789 --> 00:28:38.230 a babe, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, 00:28:38.450 --> 00:28:42.170 a sinner's death, came back to life, proving 00:28:42.170 --> 00:28:44.210 that there was resurrection for those who trust 00:28:44.210 --> 00:28:47.529 in the grace of God through Jesus, his son. You 00:28:47.529 --> 00:28:49.470 have to figure out personally what that looks 00:28:49.470 --> 00:28:51.190 like. Now, is it a journey? Sure it is. Is it 00:28:51.190 --> 00:28:53.829 a long journey? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. 00:28:54.349 --> 00:28:56.710 When someone examines your life, will they say, 00:28:56.750 --> 00:28:58.589 well, he or she did some things I don't necessarily 00:28:58.589 --> 00:29:01.299 agree with. I can't follow them. Well, I hope 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:03.779 so. I doubt it. Some folks will examine your 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:05.420 life and go, yeah, he or she was pretty smart. 00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:06.920 I'm going to do what they did. I'm going to follow 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:08.700 their path. They seem to have it all together. 00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:11.240 They're good. They live to be older, stronger, 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:13.500 wiser. I want to do that. And some will say, 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:15.519 I don't want to follow their path because they 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:18.039 did that and I don't like that. Modern teaching 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:21.440 says that was a huge mistake. I want to be wealthier. 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:23.500 I want to be strong. I want to wear name brand 00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:25.460 clothes. And they didn't do that or whatever. 00:29:25.779 --> 00:29:28.559 And so some will go one way and some will go 00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:31.119 the other. And guess what? Both of those two 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:32.759 groups, the one that follows you and the one 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:36.420 that doesn't follow you, are both wrong. Because 00:29:36.420 --> 00:29:38.940 when you get it right and you follow Christ, 00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:40.500 they should follow you. They should go and say, 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:41.779 well, you're going because you're following Christ. 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:43.700 And they came after you, so that means they're 00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:46.000 following you. Not following you as in a sense 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:47.819 of like you're their master or their leader, 00:29:47.940 --> 00:29:49.680 but you're following Jesus and you're ahead of 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:52.339 them in the story. And so they should be following 00:29:52.339 --> 00:29:55.759 you. But when you're not following Christ, they 00:29:55.759 --> 00:29:57.819 should not be following you. It's about Jesus. 00:29:57.960 --> 00:30:01.109 It's not about us. Okay. So our conclusion then, 00:30:01.190 --> 00:30:03.230 we're going to use one last text and it's going 00:30:03.230 --> 00:30:05.809 to do it for us in a sense, but I'll explain 00:30:05.809 --> 00:30:08.390 it as we go. It's 1 Corinthians chapter 15, beginning 00:30:08.390 --> 00:30:11.190 in verse 50. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, beginning 00:30:11.190 --> 00:30:14.789 in verse 50. And it says this, 1 Corinthians 00:30:14.789 --> 00:30:18.890 15, 50. Now I say this, brethren, that flesh 00:30:18.890 --> 00:30:21.029 and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 00:30:21.069 --> 00:30:22.769 The kingdom of God is where God is completely 00:30:22.769 --> 00:30:24.990 in charge of everything. It's in heaven for sure. 00:30:25.109 --> 00:30:27.549 And it's on earth to some degree now, but not 00:30:27.549 --> 00:30:30.849 in fullness, right? There is an enemy and he 00:30:30.849 --> 00:30:33.069 buys for every bit of territory. There is a war 00:30:33.069 --> 00:30:36.670 still going on. Now I say this, brethren, the 00:30:36.670 --> 00:30:38.690 flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 00:30:38.690 --> 00:30:41.029 God, nor does the perishable, that which dies, 00:30:41.130 --> 00:30:42.829 inherit the imperishable, that which doesn't 00:30:42.829 --> 00:30:45.250 die. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not 00:30:45.250 --> 00:30:48.450 all sleep, but we will all be changed. Not everybody's 00:30:48.450 --> 00:30:50.349 going to sleep, but everybody's going to be changed. 00:30:50.609 --> 00:30:52.349 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the 00:30:52.349 --> 00:30:54.150 last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the 00:30:54.150 --> 00:30:56.680 dead will be raised imperishable. and we will 00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:58.559 be changed. Those of us who are still alive is 00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:00.519 what he means. Whoever is still alive when the 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:02.740 trump sounds will be changed. Whoever is dead 00:31:02.740 --> 00:31:05.779 will be raised. For this perishable must put 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:08.660 on the imperishable, and the mortal must put 00:31:08.660 --> 00:31:11.940 on immortality. So your body, which is dying, 00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:13.500 you wouldn't want to go to heaven in this body 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:15.380 and live forever, would you? Anybody real satisfied 00:31:15.380 --> 00:31:17.720 with how much pain, disease, and illness you 00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:19.640 have? Anybody happy about that? Another million 00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:21.119 years doing it just like this would be great, 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:23.579 right? No, I don't want to do that. I broke my 00:31:23.579 --> 00:31:25.700 toe back in August, or damaged it anyway, and 00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:27.519 it still hurts me almost every single day. I 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:29.279 don't want to live like that for eternity, and 00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:31.240 thankfully I don't have to. This imperishable 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:34.779 will put on imperishable. I'll get a new toe. 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:39.319 But when this perishable, verse 54, will have 00:31:39.319 --> 00:31:41.799 put on the imperishable, and this mortal will 00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:44.490 have put on immortality, Then we'll come about 00:31:44.490 --> 00:31:46.190 the saying that is written, death is swallowed 00:31:46.190 --> 00:31:48.190 up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting? 00:31:48.369 --> 00:31:50.809 Oh, death, where is your sting? I'm sorry. Oh, 00:31:50.849 --> 00:31:52.170 death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where 00:31:52.170 --> 00:31:54.210 is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and 00:31:54.210 --> 00:31:56.390 the power of sin is the law. People get wrapped 00:31:56.390 --> 00:31:58.450 up in that verse, don't. It just means that if 00:31:58.450 --> 00:32:00.730 we lived a sinless life and died, it wouldn't 00:32:00.730 --> 00:32:02.089 be so bad. You'd go straight to heaven, right? 00:32:02.349 --> 00:32:03.769 That's not going to happen. When you die, you're 00:32:03.769 --> 00:32:05.210 going to go to hell if you don't know Jesus. 00:32:05.430 --> 00:32:07.690 And so that's the sting of death. We have sin. 00:32:07.829 --> 00:32:09.529 Because we have sin, we separate from God in 00:32:09.529 --> 00:32:11.880 eternity without the grace of God. through Jesus 00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:13.839 Christ. So the sting of death is sin. And the 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:16.019 power of sin is the law. It's because we know 00:32:16.019 --> 00:32:18.319 what's wrong internally, fundamentally know what's 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:21.880 wrong, do what's wrong. That's why sin equals 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:23.920 death. And before you say, well, some people 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:25.400 don't know the law. They don't know the Bible. 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:28.140 And Paul writes in Romans that those who know 00:32:28.140 --> 00:32:30.200 what's wrong and do it, the Gentiles don't know 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:31.680 the law, but they know what's wrong. They become 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:34.160 a law unto themselves. So their conscience, the 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:35.660 part of them that helps them to understand, for 00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:38.059 example, that lying or incest or rape or murder 00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:40.470 is wrong. They then go and do the things that 00:32:40.470 --> 00:32:43.410 they know is wrong and then go to hell for it. 00:32:43.529 --> 00:32:46.809 So then it says, verse 57, But thanks be to God 00:32:46.809 --> 00:32:48.910 who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus 00:32:48.910 --> 00:32:51.130 Christ. And in that, I want to say to you, he's 00:32:51.130 --> 00:32:55.130 saying that God sent Jesus Christ into the incarnation 00:32:55.130 --> 00:32:57.910 to put on the perishable, the body that would 00:32:57.910 --> 00:33:00.670 die, and eventually to reclaim his imperishable 00:33:00.670 --> 00:33:04.309 body that will never die, to show us the way 00:33:04.309 --> 00:33:07.160 from the perishable to the imperishable. Follow? 00:33:07.339 --> 00:33:10.920 And then 58 says, and this is a summary of what 00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:13.319 we ought to do, that which is not antichrist. 00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:15.559 I can be more specific, but basically this is 00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:18.019 a summary. It says, therefore, because all of 00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:20.700 that is true, my beloved brethren, be steadfast. 00:33:21.140 --> 00:33:26.799 Stand firm. Don't quit. Be solid. In the midst 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:28.920 of your physical struggling, and this will only 00:33:28.920 --> 00:33:31.380 last for your lifetime, your mind is weak, your 00:33:31.380 --> 00:33:35.420 body is weak. Don't quit. Be firm. He says, be 00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:37.880 immovable. As we're moving forward in Jesus, 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:40.539 we will not move off course. We will not accept 00:33:40.539 --> 00:33:43.420 the world's methods. We will not go after the 00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:45.980 other things that look like Jesus but aren't. 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:49.079 Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:51.400 the work of the Lord. To always abound means 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:53.119 to have much of the work of the Lord. You're 00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:56.039 doing a lot for Jesus and to do more and more 00:33:56.039 --> 00:33:57.920 and more. Every time somebody checks, there's 00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:00.299 more. Every time somebody checked my life, there's 00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:02.599 a little bit more that I'm doing for Jesus. So 00:34:02.599 --> 00:34:05.140 you think I'm doing a lot. Four days a week you 00:34:05.140 --> 00:34:06.779 work for Jesus. Five. You know, there are people 00:34:06.779 --> 00:34:08.679 out there that work seven days a week. That's 00:34:08.679 --> 00:34:11.760 sun up to sun down. And every day they are working 00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:15.239 for Jesus all day long. We can do more. And we 00:34:15.239 --> 00:34:17.300 should do more. And that's what he says. So be 00:34:17.300 --> 00:34:20.159 steadfast, immovable, abounding in the work of 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:22.840 the Lord. He says, knowing that your toil is 00:34:22.840 --> 00:34:25.900 not in vain in the Lord. If you could figure 00:34:25.900 --> 00:34:29.280 out all the ramifications of his coming. This 00:34:29.280 --> 00:34:30.800 would be the choice that you would logically 00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:33.579 make. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding 00:34:33.579 --> 00:34:35.320 in the word of the Lord, knowing that your toil 00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:37.900 is not in vain. This is all because Jesus came 00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:41.699 and put on flesh that we may eventually put off 00:34:41.699 --> 00:34:45.019 flesh. He took on death so that we may have ultimate 00:34:45.019 --> 00:34:49.010 victory over death. Because of that... We must 00:34:49.010 --> 00:34:52.230 not go looking in the wrong places. We must not 00:34:52.230 --> 00:34:55.429 think of God in human terms. We must not fail 00:34:55.429 --> 00:34:57.889 to prioritize our lives in the face of pressures 00:34:57.889 --> 00:35:00.309 of our human circumstances, no matter how far 00:35:00.309 --> 00:35:02.989 we've already come. We must not leave the job 00:35:02.989 --> 00:35:07.030 of telling about Jesus to others. We must extend 00:35:07.030 --> 00:35:10.309 ourselves, subjugate ourselves, give gifts worthy 00:35:10.309 --> 00:35:13.809 of his divine nature, not just gifts that would 00:35:13.809 --> 00:35:16.179 be good to a king. but gifts that would be good 00:35:16.179 --> 00:35:19.159 to the king of the universe. We must honor God 00:35:19.159 --> 00:35:21.519 by doing what God tells us to do. Whatever else 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:24.659 he leads you to do, do that. Remember, we say... 00:35:25.019 --> 00:35:28.179 We abide in Christ. We ought to walk as you walked. 00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:30.139 Now, that included helping people everywhere 00:35:30.139 --> 00:35:32.059 he went, teaching the truth of God everywhere 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:34.559 he went. And he said, I only do what I see my 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:36.780 Father doing. That's the very standard for our 00:35:36.780 --> 00:35:40.159 lives. And, John says, we are able. We can do 00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:42.780 that. I won't judge the Magi. I won't judge you. 00:35:42.900 --> 00:35:45.400 Truth is, you can't even judge me. But I'll strive 00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:49.000 forward, as Paul said, working always, seeking 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:52.900 always, growing always. as we say around my church, 00:35:53.019 --> 00:35:55.460 reaching new heights in Jesus every day. And 00:35:55.460 --> 00:35:57.420 one day, Trump will sound. Maybe it'll sound 00:35:57.420 --> 00:35:59.039 before your heart stops beating. If it does, 00:35:59.059 --> 00:36:01.380 you'll never experience that physical sensation 00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:03.539 of death. But if you do experience a physical 00:36:03.539 --> 00:36:05.780 sensation of death, and you've lived like that 00:36:05.780 --> 00:36:07.320 for Jesus, then you'll go straight to heaven 00:36:07.320 --> 00:36:09.360 with God. Transform. Putting off this perishable, 00:36:09.460 --> 00:36:11.360 just as he did. And you can get an inkling of 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:13.019 what that'll be like when you look at how he 00:36:13.019 --> 00:36:15.409 was like after Jesus. Praise God. What a gift 00:36:15.409 --> 00:36:17.610 we've been given. We examined our lives like 00:36:17.610 --> 00:36:19.510 we just examined the lives of the Magi in that 00:36:19.510 --> 00:36:22.469 small window. What we find is we've swallowed 00:36:22.469 --> 00:36:25.090 some things. We've accepted some things. When 00:36:25.090 --> 00:36:27.389 in reality, we should have dismissed them. Denied 00:36:27.389 --> 00:36:28.730 them. Because you've got to get out of bed every 00:36:28.730 --> 00:36:30.809 morning. And lived for Jesus. Abounding in the 00:36:30.809 --> 00:36:32.730 word of the Lord. Standing firm. Continuing. 00:36:33.090 --> 00:36:35.699 Someone hates you, still be who you are. Someone 00:36:35.699 --> 00:36:37.739 badmouths you, still be who you are in Christ. 00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:39.119 Most of us don't even have to deal with this. 00:36:39.179 --> 00:36:41.099 Why? Because we're not abounding in the word 00:36:41.099 --> 00:36:42.840 of the Lord enough to offend enough people for 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:45.179 people to hate us. Go to your neighbors. Knock 00:36:45.179 --> 00:36:46.900 on their doors three to four times a month and 00:36:46.900 --> 00:36:48.320 ask them what their prayer request is. Why do 00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:50.000 you keep knocking on my door? I'm just trying 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:52.119 to pray for you. That's the love of God embodied 00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:54.679 in me as it was in Jesus. Jesus loved people 00:36:54.679 --> 00:36:56.179 and he forgave people and they hated that he 00:36:56.179 --> 00:36:57.900 forgave. Even when he was on the cross and said, 00:36:58.019 --> 00:36:59.659 forgive them for they know not what they do. 00:36:59.820 --> 00:37:02.340 They despised him. They mocked him for it. They 00:37:02.340 --> 00:37:04.300 mocked him for forgetting their sins. They said, 00:37:04.300 --> 00:37:06.539 you forgive others. You saved others, now save 00:37:06.539 --> 00:37:08.699 yourself. God helps. It's time we looked at our 00:37:08.699 --> 00:37:11.239 church, looked at ourselves, and determined what 00:37:11.239 --> 00:37:13.179 it would look like if we really lived for Jesus 00:37:13.179 --> 00:37:15.219 every day. And we will annoy, and I get that. 00:37:15.400 --> 00:37:17.280 We will bother people, and I get that. Someone 00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:19.219 might even get mad, and they might key our car 00:37:19.219 --> 00:37:22.340 or egg our house. You say, no. How would anyone 00:37:22.340 --> 00:37:25.500 do that for living for Jesus? Because some people... 00:37:25.670 --> 00:37:28.210 are following anti -Christ's teachings. And if 00:37:28.210 --> 00:37:30.289 we truly follow Christ's teachings, we will come 00:37:30.289 --> 00:37:32.030 into opposition with them. And some of them will 00:37:32.030 --> 00:37:34.349 come over to our side because the gospel is truly 00:37:34.349 --> 00:37:36.650 good news. Some of them will stand firm in their 00:37:36.650 --> 00:37:38.590 side and go to hell, not because God hates them 00:37:38.590 --> 00:37:40.469 or wants to be separated from them for eternity. 00:37:41.099 --> 00:37:42.800 but because he did everything he possibly could 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:45.460 to save them, and they outright refuse. The problem 00:37:45.460 --> 00:37:47.619 is not them. The problem is the people who claim 00:37:47.619 --> 00:37:49.519 the name of Christianity. They claim the name 00:37:49.519 --> 00:37:51.920 of Jesus, and they don't walk as he walked, because 00:37:51.920 --> 00:37:53.760 they've swallowed the teachings of the Antichrist. 00:37:53.860 --> 00:37:55.460 They've gone looking in wrong places. They've 00:37:55.460 --> 00:37:58.320 accepted wrong things. It's time again for a 00:37:58.320 --> 00:38:01.099 renewal, a revival, a strength in Christianity. 00:38:01.320 --> 00:38:03.719 And people will say, I follow the incarnate, 00:38:03.719 --> 00:38:07.420 immortal King of all men. Would you pray with 00:38:07.420 --> 00:38:09.619 me? Father in heaven, you're an awesome and powerful 00:38:09.619 --> 00:38:13.219 God. The fact is, I don't understand. In my limited 00:38:13.219 --> 00:38:16.219 thinking, I cannot understand the depth of the 00:38:16.219 --> 00:38:21.139 love that you have for us and that Jesus has 00:38:21.139 --> 00:38:23.840 for us and that he would come and leave heaven, 00:38:24.019 --> 00:38:30.760 leave rulership, that he would leave the honoring 00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:37.650 of angels every day. To lay cold wrapped in old 00:38:37.650 --> 00:38:41.210 clothing in an animal trough to be honored by 00:38:41.210 --> 00:38:44.090 shepherds. And not all the world's shepherds 00:38:44.090 --> 00:38:45.949 or all the world's people as it should be, but 00:38:45.949 --> 00:38:47.889 just the shepherds in the region around Bethlehem. 00:38:47.929 --> 00:38:49.630 How that must have paled in comparison to what 00:38:49.630 --> 00:38:52.269 he was used to. Think about how a baby born shivers 00:38:52.269 --> 00:38:54.670 because they are wrenched free from the warmth 00:38:54.670 --> 00:38:56.989 of their mother. And he went through that and 00:38:56.989 --> 00:38:59.090 experienced that. But he wasn't just wrenched 00:38:59.090 --> 00:39:01.090 free from the warmth and protection of Mary. 00:39:01.579 --> 00:39:03.980 He was wrenched free from the warmth and protection 00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:05.960 of heaven. We talk about how the crucifixion 00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:08.340 is an amazing sacrifice, but it is an amazing 00:39:08.340 --> 00:39:11.199 sacrifice that began when the Holy Spirit settled 00:39:11.199 --> 00:39:13.820 on Mary and Jesus was conceived. Lord, help us 00:39:13.820 --> 00:39:17.579 to somehow embody, serve, to grow, to give, to 00:39:17.579 --> 00:39:21.139 be people, one and all, individually and corporately, 00:39:21.239 --> 00:39:25.030 honoring the fact. that Jesus came as a man. 00:39:25.150 --> 00:39:26.909 And it'll take learning on our part. We get that, 00:39:26.989 --> 00:39:29.050 so please help us learn. And it'll take application 00:39:29.050 --> 00:39:30.670 and putting into practice what we learn on our 00:39:30.670 --> 00:39:32.809 part, so please help us be firm. Please help 00:39:32.809 --> 00:39:36.650 us be moving forward unswayed. We commit ourselves 00:39:36.650 --> 00:39:41.750 to you, to a renewal that only you could offer, 00:39:41.929 --> 00:39:47.050 to a journey which only you could lead, to a 00:39:47.050 --> 00:39:49.429 king which only you could be. And we praise you 00:39:49.429 --> 00:39:51.880 for all in Jesus' precious name. Amen. I have 00:39:51.880 --> 00:39:53.659 a song of invitation at this time. If you're 00:39:53.659 --> 00:39:56.239 here today, and it doesn't matter if you've been 00:39:56.239 --> 00:39:58.920 a Christian, you'd say your whole life, or you 00:39:58.920 --> 00:40:00.699 accepted Christ and were born again at the age 00:40:00.699 --> 00:40:04.119 of 10 or 20 or 40. But I'm asking you today, 00:40:04.260 --> 00:40:06.840 have you swallowed hook, line, and sinker, maybe 00:40:06.840 --> 00:40:09.460 without realizing it, the teachings of the Antichrist 00:40:09.460 --> 00:40:11.960 in your Christian year? Have you gathered together 00:40:11.960 --> 00:40:15.679 that worldly thinking that health and wealth 00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:19.159 and... success and jobs and relationships, that 00:40:19.159 --> 00:40:22.340 that must be because that person is holy or right 00:40:22.340 --> 00:40:24.320 or by God? Have you looked at those who are not 00:40:24.320 --> 00:40:26.280 living in Christ and saw how they live and struggle 00:40:26.280 --> 00:40:28.420 and said, well, that's just because they won't 00:40:28.420 --> 00:40:30.300 accept Jesus. Have you done that? Is that your 00:40:30.300 --> 00:40:31.880 judgmental nature coming out? Because that's 00:40:31.880 --> 00:40:33.519 a teaching of the Antichrist too. You don't have 00:40:33.519 --> 00:40:35.960 to worry about where other people stand. Just 00:40:35.960 --> 00:40:39.050 deliver the gospel. I sat at a table of pastors, 00:40:39.130 --> 00:40:42.090 11 pastors at one time, and shared the gospel 00:40:42.090 --> 00:40:44.210 and told them the basics of what it took to be 00:40:44.210 --> 00:40:45.869 saved. They looked at me like I was a freak. 00:40:46.030 --> 00:40:49.070 What are you doing? We're all saved. And I said, 00:40:49.090 --> 00:40:51.079 y 'all. Every one of you can say that because 00:40:51.079 --> 00:40:52.940 the Spirit of God testifies to you and you know 00:40:52.940 --> 00:40:55.000 you're saved. But you don't know that the guy 00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:56.780 across the table from you is saved. You don't 00:40:56.780 --> 00:40:58.639 know that. Let us be proclaimers of the gospel. 00:40:58.780 --> 00:41:00.840 Have you given up proclaiming the gospel at this 00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:02.500 late hour when we're so close to Jesus coming 00:41:02.500 --> 00:41:04.380 to death? Or will you be found faithful on the 00:41:04.380 --> 00:41:06.360 earth? I'm asking you today. If you have accepted 00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:08.320 the teaching of the Antichrist into your Christianity, 00:41:08.460 --> 00:41:10.800 will you repent today and begin to test and prove 00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:14.280 the spirits and say, I will live for the incarnate 00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:17.960 and the immortal Jesus who is my God. God's love. 00:41:18.230 --> 00:41:19.849 You make that commitment today. You say, no matter 00:41:19.849 --> 00:41:21.090 what, I never thought I'd realize I've never 00:41:21.090 --> 00:41:23.510 really accepted Jesus this way in my life as 00:41:23.510 --> 00:41:25.309 true Lord and Savior all day. If you do that 00:41:25.309 --> 00:41:26.849 right now, then as we sing this song, you're 00:41:26.849 --> 00:41:28.250 going to respond. And you don't even have to 00:41:28.250 --> 00:41:29.889 come forward if you don't want to make the decision 00:41:29.889 --> 00:41:32.349 in your heart today. But then don't fail to proclaim 00:41:32.349 --> 00:41:34.329 it boldly. Don't fail to tell anyone who will 00:41:34.329 --> 00:41:35.829 listen that's what they did. They went back home 00:41:35.829 --> 00:41:37.489 to take care of their stuff. And when we read 00:41:37.489 --> 00:41:39.429 that story, we called that the motivation of 00:41:39.429 --> 00:41:41.170 the Antichrist. We saw that that was right. If 00:41:41.170 --> 00:41:42.690 you're living for Jesus for the first time today, 00:41:42.750 --> 00:41:44.210 you tell us that if you're living for Jesus, 00:41:44.250 --> 00:41:47.269 renew today. By us, I mean all of us.