1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,800 As I mentioned in the beginning of service, we continue our sermon series, 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:12,880 Kingly Gifts, where we're looking at three key gifts that the Magi, the wise men, 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:19,440 came to bring baby Jesus when he was born. Last week we talked about which gift? 4 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,720 Gold. And today we're going to talk about it. And then in two weeks we're going to 5 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:29,600 hit on this again, the understanding of the gift of frankincense. One that we 6 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:35,120 still have somewhat today. We see it in certain things, perfumes and candles, 7 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:41,800 because it has everything to do with an aroma. Right? Frankincense is more of an 8 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:46,520 aroma gift, one that people can smell sometimes from far away. It can be a very 9 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:51,240 strong gift. But we're looking at these things because of, as we talked about 10 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:57,240 last week, the recognition of one major narrative around Jesus' life. And that is 11 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:04,800 that this baby Jesus is the king. Gold brought to him, a kingly gift of gold 12 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:10,280 brought when he was born. We see that picture of the shepherds worshipping. We 13 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:15,720 see the Magi coming a little later and bringing these gifts. And I know that 14 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:21,120 gifts are something that are brought when babies are born. We do our best to 15 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,400 recognize those families with our baby boards in the back. We try to shower them 16 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:30,160 with gifts that they need. Things I see are beautiful hand-woven or sewed 17 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:37,280 blankets. We see a lot of baby supplies. But I have yet to see any gold. I have 18 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,120 yet to see any frankincense. And I don't think you can find myrrh anymore. And so 19 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,720 under, so it's interesting these three gifts were very specific. They actually 20 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:52,640 have prophetic tracking back in the Old Testament. So what we're going to look at 21 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:59,920 today is frankincense, a gift of worship that invites us to consider the value of 22 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:06,440 our soul. Nef-hish is the Hebrew word for soul that we're going to look at this 23 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:12,880 understanding that our soul, our life should be a gift of frankincense to the 24 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:19,040 king. So we're going to be in the book of James this morning talking about this 25 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:23,360 fleeting gift that we call time. We're going to wrap that together so we're 26 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:30,040 going to get going. The first we're going to look at is James 4. James 4, 13 through 27 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:37,120 17. Life is a vapor, James says, where he writes this. Come now, you who say, 28 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:42,160 excuse me, today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a 29 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:47,120 year there and trade and make profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. 30 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,120 What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then 31 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:58,160 vanishes. Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or 32 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:04,480 that. As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So 33 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:11,800 whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. So one 34 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:17,920 of the things that we learn about frankincense, frankincense was used in the 35 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:23,440 tabernacle or in the temple. We see this great writing about that in Exodus 36 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:29,560 chapter 30. It was a part of the offerings given to God in the tabernacle. 37 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:35,160 So we knew that the temple, the tabernacle had the holiest of holies where God's 38 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:40,000 presence was. Only the priests were allowed to go there during certain times 39 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:46,320 of the festival year and frankincense symbolizes the prayer of God's people, 40 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:53,280 the worship of God's people, and the presence of God. So like last week, the 41 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:59,800 gold represent and recognize Jesus as King, though a baby, the King of Kings, 42 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:05,560 Lord of Lords. We see this gift of frankincense acknowledging Jesus in 43 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:11,640 another role, another attribute that he carries with to fulfill prophetic and 44 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:19,280 messianic prophecy is the recognition of him as high priest. Now that calling of 45 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:24,920 high priest is an important one because that is the one, he is the one, much like 46 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:29,280 in the Old Testament, the priest, the Levites did that. Jesus now does that for 47 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:37,440 us as he is the intercessor between us and the Lord. So not only is this 48 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:44,000 acknowledgement as baby of King but also high priest is a great honor but this is 49 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:49,920 no surprise to Jesus because of the prophetic word given over his life. We've 50 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,680 talked about this, the who, what, when, where, why, and how of Jesus' birth, over 51 00:04:53,680 --> 00:05:00,520 500 prophecies fulfilled to see this through. So the Magi's gift of frankincense 52 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:06,400 not only acknowledges Jesus as high priest but is acknowledging the fact 53 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:13,400 that he will be the one to intercede for us. As Protestants, that means something 54 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:19,040 very different than the Catholic Church. There is a tension there, there is a 55 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:23,360 difference there, we're not going to dive too much into that but one belief system 56 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:28,720 says you need to go through a human person of the papacy, the pope to 57 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,800 intercede and that is why the reformers and the Protestant Reformation broke away 58 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:39,200 from that because they said it's through Christ alone. And you read Calvin or 59 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:44,640 Luther or Zwickley and they mention and talk about the recognition of the baby 60 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:51,640 Jesus in all of this, that Jesus came to be our king and came to be our priest. 61 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,200 Also many other things, we'll get to that this sermon series and the next sermon 62 00:05:55,200 --> 00:06:03,360 series, that Jesus holds many hats in our life. But as James says, life is a 63 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:09,600 mere vapor. It comes and goes. None of us know the time span that we will have here 64 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:14,840 on this earth. So really it is an acknowledgement that we all have time. 65 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:21,400 How do we know we're here? And we need to make best use of the time. And notice the 66 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:28,360 flip here, that it isn't we are dictating our calendar but if the Lord wills it, 67 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:35,280 then we will be, we will go, we will do these things. But I wonder how we really 68 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:42,120 feel about that term or the kind of half sentence of if the Lord wills it because 69 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:51,240 that inherently comes with a word we don't like, submission. If the Lord wills 70 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,880 it. Now some of you may have said in your marriages, if my wife wills it. 71 00:06:55,880 --> 00:07:00,640 Rarely do I hear if my husband wills it. I don't know why but it always gets, the 72 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:06,040 wife usually gets that place. Another rhyme for another time. But understand 73 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:11,360 that there is a life of submission built into that saying because the life of a 74 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:18,920 believer is ultimately a life of submission. James calls for submission to 75 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:25,720 God's providence. In Calvin's Institutes he actually emphasizes that recognizing 76 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:34,800 God's will in all things is central to true faith. Lord's Day 7. That this true 77 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:41,400 faith is an acknowledgement of Lord's Day 1 that I am not my own. So if I am not my 78 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:48,280 own, my time is not my own. As we learned last week, my stuff is not my own. And 79 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:54,920 how I utilize the time tells the world who I am. Now if we're really going to 80 00:07:54,920 --> 00:08:01,600 engage that, that's convicting. If people see how you use your time, that tells a 81 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:08,240 lot of people about who you are, maybe even what you believe. So James goes on 82 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:15,640 in chapter 5 to warn us about misuse of time in chapter 5, the first 6 verses. 83 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:20,560 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your 84 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:25,480 riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are 85 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:30,240 corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your 86 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:35,640 flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the 87 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:43,840 wages of your laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are 88 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:48,800 crying out against you. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of 89 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:54,200 the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. 90 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:58,160 You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and 91 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:05,920 murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. So James 5 now warns us 92 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:11,400 of not only last week the misuse of stuff, but our misuse of time. Hoarding wealth, 93 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:17,200 oppressing others, reflects a misuse of God-given resources and time. Let me say 94 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:23,520 that again. Hoarding wealth and oppressing others reflect a misuse of a 95 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:32,960 God-given time and resources. This aligns with our understanding and principle of 96 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:38,760 stewardship. Understand that stewardship, all that we have, including our time, 97 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:45,720 belongs to God. So there's the tie-in to frankincense this morning. That 98 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:54,680 frankincense, symbolizing our worship, is the best use of our time. Do that again. 99 00:09:54,680 --> 00:10:01,960 The best use of our time always, hands down, is worshiping the Lord. Well, 100 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:06,040 Pastor, how am I supposed to use my time to work, to make money, to do all of these 101 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,840 things? And that's all well and good. Being good stewards of that time, when 102 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:15,560 that becomes the only thing, when work or whatever is consuming your time starts to 103 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:21,400 consume past your time for worship, the question then is, Beg, what are you 104 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,960 worshiping? Because if you're not taking time to worship the Lord, you are 105 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:32,880 worshiping whatever your time represents. Half of us just got convicted. Because I 106 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:36,440 could ask all of you to pull out your phones and look at your calendar and go, 107 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:41,200 Have you scheduled your worship? Have you scheduled your time with the Lord? Now, 108 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,040 you could easily come back to me and say, Okay, Pastor, have you? Show us your 109 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:48,120 phone. I don't put that in there. Maybe that's a conviction to me that we should 110 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:53,160 start. I don't necessarily put in Sunday worship on the calendar, because almost 111 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:59,440 20 years into this is where I'm going to be. But understand that where our time is 112 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:06,200 being spent can easily be seen as what we covet most, what we worship the 113 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:13,200 greatest. So, Frankincense symbolizing worship reminds us that our time and our 114 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:18,440 resources should not be used for ourselves. Now, that doesn't mean you 115 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:23,160 can't buy clothes or gifts or take vacations or do any of those things. But 116 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:32,560 being good stewards of our finances and our time can be worship and glory to God. 117 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:37,880 What about when the lean times come? What about that time where I go, 118 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:43,800 Look at the bank account. Maybe we can't tithe this month. There needs to be 119 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,960 patience, right? There needs to be grace. Starting with verse 7 of chapter 5, 120 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:52,160 patience in God's timing. Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of 121 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:56,680 the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being 122 00:11:56,680 --> 00:12:02,440 patient about it until it receives the early and late rains. You also be patient. 123 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,600 Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble 124 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:12,120 against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge is 125 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:17,480 standing at the door. As the example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the 126 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:21,520 prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed 127 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:27,320 who remain steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have 128 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:33,640 seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. James 129 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:39,880 uses the farmer as the symbol and example of patience and the metaphor for 130 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:45,600 trusting God. Because as much as farmers, I'm sure, would love to be able to snap 131 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:49,400 their finger and have their crops grow, it doesn't work that way. As best as I 132 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:56,400 understand, that there is patience, that God has that time for us to learn about 133 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:01,000 ourselves. So in those lean times, in those times where we feel we're not 134 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:07,400 being effective for anything, lean into the Lord. Be patient in that season. 135 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:12,640 Advent points us to Christ's first and second coming, teaching us to live 136 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:18,880 faithfully in the already but not yet of the kingdom of God. That the kingdom of 137 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:23,720 God is clearly here at work. How do I know? We're all here today. That we 138 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:28,120 represent as the body of Christ, the kingdom of God here at 214 Ridge Road 139 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:32,400 this morning, just like many churches, both this way and that way on Ridge Road 140 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:38,480 in the Chicagoland area in northwest Indiana. But understand that there is 141 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:44,880 still something to come. That even us, the most impatient, need to be patient 142 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:52,920 for the coming of Christ's second coming. That we need to be looking towards that. 143 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,040 And for us that went through and waited through the 13 weeks of Revelation, 144 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:01,720 we know why. We know what is coming. It says it in the book. If you don't know, 145 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:09,080 take this afternoon and read the book of Revelation, that last book of the Bible. 146 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:14,680 Because understand how we put in our time, what we are stewards of today plays 147 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:20,240 into that tomorrow. Though we don't know what tomorrow will bring, we know who 148 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:26,320 knows. And for those times when it's hard, as we round third on this today, 149 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:34,400 understand time can best be redeemed through prayer. How is your prayer life 150 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:41,320 this morning? When is the last time you just spent time in prayer? Specific prayer, 151 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:47,280 just you and God. I get a lot of people say, well I pray on my entire commute, 152 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:51,920 on my commute to work and from work, however long it is. And that's awesome. 153 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:56,240 And that's great if you do that. But that can't be the only time we connect with 154 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:00,080 the Lord. Because how does that look when you are in the midst of prayer and 155 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:07,840 someone cuts you off? Does that prayer change? Does the prayer of grace and 156 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:15,440 mercy watch over to my kid to, oh smite or smite him? How our prayer life can 157 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,520 change like that given our circumstances. I want to challenge all of us, myself 158 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:27,880 included, to find this week, every day, 20 minutes, where we have just time with 159 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:34,200 the Lord. One of the best ways in my mind to do that is to go for a walk. 160 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:40,640 Because I know that if I try to do that in my home, our home is a very busy place. 161 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:46,200 And I know that that prayer with God will be interrupted most likely by our dogs. 162 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:51,120 And that prayer may change and those dogs' life might be in peril. But 163 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:56,760 understand that we need to be intentional about using that time wisely. 164 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:04,280 Because our time through prayer is time well spent with God as verse 13 tells us. 165 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:09,400 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing 166 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:14,280 praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let 167 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:18,240 them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the 168 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:24,200 prayer of the faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. 169 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:28,760 And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to 170 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:33,080 one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a 171 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:38,080 righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with the 172 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:42,640 nature like ours and he prayed fervently that it might not rain. And for three 173 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,840 years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again and heaven 174 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:53,480 gave rain and the earth bore its fruit. James emphasizes prayer as a central way 175 00:16:53,480 --> 00:17:00,400 to redeem time and seek God's will. It's an interesting verse, isn't it? The prayer 176 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:07,880 of a righteous person has great power as it is working. So does the gift of 177 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:12,280 frankincense. Frankincense was burned as a fragrant offering in worship, 178 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:18,560 symbolizing the prayers of the priests, prayers of the saints. We see that at 179 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,680 work in our lives, not that we ever pray to saints, but we understand that those 180 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:27,200 that have gone before us with relationship with God prayed. Therefore, we 181 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:34,720 pray, we see in scripture when we pray and cry out to God, things happen. So our 182 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:41,200 takeaways for today. Last week we talked about offering of our treasures. Today we 183 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,920 talk about offering of our time. Our practical application, our understanding 184 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:51,400 of where time is going and what time means. We need to recognize the brevity 185 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:57,160 of life. Take this week and evaluate your time. Are your priorities aligned 186 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:02,880 with God's kingdom? Psalm 90 says, teach us to number our days that we may gain a 187 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:09,480 heart of wisdom. Two, that we should live reliant on God's will. Practice submitting 188 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:17,120 your plans to God in prayer, reminding us always of God's sovereignty and that 189 00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:24,440 shapes every decision we make. Third, use time for worship and service. Dedicate 190 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:29,200 daily moments to prayer and scripture. Volunteer your time in ministries or 191 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:36,400 community outreach. And fourth, cultivate patience in prayer. Embrace patience in 192 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:42,720 trials, knowing that God's timing is perfect. Make prayer central to our daily 193 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:49,080 rhythm of life, offering it as a fragrant offering to God. So where's the gospel 194 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:54,440 focus for us today? That Christ, our eternal priest, redeemed us to live for 195 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:59,320 his glory. And through his life, his death, and his resurrection, Jesus 196 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:05,640 redeemed not just our souls but our time, calling us to worship in spirit and in 197 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:11,440 truth. So my final challenge is I land the plane this morning. This Advent, how 198 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:19,880 can you offer your time as a gift to God? And like frankincense, offer to Jesus. 199 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:42,320 Let your time and prayers rise as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Let's pray.