This morning we are talking about the response
of the wise men. That has been the theme of our
service, as you have undoubtedly caught as we
have sung and read the Scripture. The Magi or
the wise men were pagan religious leaders or
priests from the east of Palestine, probably
Babylon, possibly Parthia, a little bit further
to the east and to the north of Babylon. The
Magi were a cross between astrologers and scientists.
They learned as much as they could in their day
regarding the heavens, the placement of the stars,
the activity of the planets. And then they built
around that a certain form of more than science,
but closer to a religion. It was the beginning
of what we call today astrology. So in a very
real sense, these were astrologists who came
to Bethlehem seeking the Christ child. They were,
of course, Gentiles. Tradition tells us that
they were kings as well and that there were three
of them, but the Scripture says neither of those
things. Perhaps most of us know more about the
Christmas story from the carols that we sing
than we do from what the Scripture says. The
carols actually embrace a lot of traditions that
the Scriptures don't actually give to us. When
the wise men arrived in Jerusalem, they created
quite a stir. From that, we would... that there
must have been more than just three men who arrived
in Jerusalem riding on camels, as we often see
pictured on Christmas cards. There was undoubtedly
a number of the kings. Three? Some have conjectured
maybe 300. We don't know how many kings arrived.
But in addition to these three wise men, there
were also others, servants. who were helping
them. And so the reason that such a commotion
was caused in Jerusalem upon their arrival was
that here were several hundred, undoubtedly,
people from a faraway land and then they were
asking the question, where is the king of the
Jews? Now to the Jews in that day there was but
one king and his name was Herod and he was hated
by the Jews. He was an Edomite. He was a cruel
and wicked despot bordering on insanity in his
condition. And when these men from the east asked,
where is he who is king of the Jews, it of course
aroused a great deal of wonderment in the minds
of the people as to whom they were seeking. And
of course it aroused great furor in Herod's response.
Now, in addition to these men being magi and
coming from a distant land to seek out the Christ
child, beyond all of that, we know that they
were the objects of the grace of God. God's Spirit
had awakened within their hearts the desire to
search after the King of the Jews. Indeed, any
person who searches after Christ is the object
of God's sovereign grace. By that I mean God's
grace awakening the conscience of that individual
to its own wretchedness and sin. God's grace
making that individual aware of the stench of
death and decay within himself spiritually. God's
spirit opening the eyes of that person to behold
the Savior whom God has provided. God's Spirit
regenerating that spirit within the person to
life, drawing that heart to saving faith. Any
person who searches after Jesus Christ is the
object of God's sovereign grace. The Bible says
that there is none that seeks for God naturally.
So if there is a search for God, if there is
a hunger for God, That is created by the work
of God's Spirit in the life. Seek Him, these
wise men did, and they found Him. But it was
the result of a long, arduous process. And it
often is, as people search after Christ. It does
not often happen that they begin their search
and immediately find Him. But it often is a long
process. in which gradually they begin to see
their need and begin to see whom God has provided
to meet that need, and they come to Christ. The
response of the wise men to what God showed them
is a worthy example to all of us. I want you
to notice first their response to the star. Briefly
put, their response was this. They followed the
light that they saw. The exact nature of the
star in the heavens is mysterious to us. Was
it a conjunction of the planets, as some have
suggested? Was it a supernova, as others have
thought, or was it a comet? Whatever it was,
it was supernaturally arranged as a heavenly
sign to these wise men to cause them to make
that difficult and dangerous journey to Palestine.
Actually, it has been suggested and is probably
most accurate that this sign that they saw in
the heavens was not a star in the sense that
we use that word at all, but rather it was within
the atmosphere of the earth and was supernaturally
arranged by God. Perhaps together with direct
revelation to them that they should seek after
the King of the Jews whom this supernatural body
symbolized to them. Notice that the wise men
were not caught up with the study of the size
of the star, its location, or its magnitude,
but rather they attended to the message which
the star delivered to them. Is it possible that
these men from the east had become aware of the
prophecy in Numbers 24, 17? The words recorded
there by the inspiration of God's Spirit, but
from the mouth of Balaam. the false prophet,
who on this occasion spoke truly because God
put the words in his mouth, that there would
come a star out of Jacob and a scepter would
rise in Israel? Is it possible that they could
have become aware of that prophecy and tied it
together with what they were seeing in the heavens?
It is possible. There were, of course, Jewish
exiles throughout that region of the world from
the Babylonian captivity 500 years before this.
And, of course, some of their ancient and most
revered leaders in Babylon had been Jews. Daniel,
for example. It's possible that they put all
of that together, but whatever. It was God who
was working in them, bringing them for a purpose
to Bethlehem. to represent there at that scene
the Gentiles of the world that would be included
in the salvation being brought by this Jewish
Messiah. They were there, I say, to represent
you and me who are Gentiles, so that even from
the very earliest day when God had brought His
grace in flesh to this world, in the person of
His Son, From those early days as he was a child,
it would be known that the salvation he came
to bring was not for the Jews only, but for Gentiles
as well. Their response to the star was that
they followed the light which they saw. Is there
any application for us in what we have seen?
I believe that there is. I believe that God is
still using... stars, as it were, today, to entice
sinners to begin searching after Christ. You
say, what kind of stars are you speaking about?
Well, I'm thinking of circumstances, for example,
or problems, events that come into the life of
the individual. that so shake up that person
that he or she begins to search after the real
meaning of life, that that person is so moved
by what happens to them, by what they experience,
by what they see, that there is an initiation
in their heart of a search, perhaps not even
knowing for what or for whom they search, but
there is a search for meaning and purpose. Many
of us were brought to faith in Jesus Christ because
of, shall we say it, God's stars, which enticed
us to come to Christ. I think also that the life
of a Christian can serve as a star, as a pointer
to Jesus Christ. Isn't that what the Apostle
Paul says in Philippians, the second chapter?
when he commands of us a lifestyle that is free
from complaining and grumbling, he says that
we ought to live in a certain way so that we
might be illuminaries or lights to this perverse
and darkened generation in which we live. My
point is that you and I, by our very lives, by
the character, that God has built into us. Our
lives can become stars, which God supernaturally
places into the life of another person there
in your neighborhood or at your office or in
your school or in that dorm where you live. A
star that God uses to entice that person, to
begin drawing them to the Savior. God still uses
stars today. I think that there is a second application
that we see here, and it is this, that unregenerate
people, like these wise men, at least in the
beginning, have varying degrees of light. That
is, understanding regarding God, regarding salvation,
regarding their own need. God holds each person
responsible for the light which he or she has.
Romans chapter 1 tells us that all people throughout
the world have at least two stars, shall we say,
that could reveal God to them if they would listen,
if they would see. There is the light of creation.
For by the things that God has made, that is
the literal stars of the heavens, the creation
around us, he displays his eternal deity and
power. People can see that and respond to it
if they will. They're held responsible for that
before God. There is the light or the star of
conscience. For God has placed within the heart
of each person a conscience. That conscience
can be tampered with and adjusted. It can even
be canceled eventually, dulled and made void
because of continual overriding. But there is
a conscience, at least in the beginning of the
life, in the heart of every person. And every
person is responsible for what he understands
from that conscience. Others have additional
light. People who live in a land like ours are
exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ in a variety
of ways that increases their responsibility to
God. What I'm saying is that unregenerate people
have varying degrees of light, but God has left
no man in total darkness. And each person is
responsible to God for that light that he has
and for his response to it. Each person. The
light of the star led the wise men eventually
to Jerusalem and then sometime later to the house
in Bethlehem where Mary and the child were. Now
it is possible that there was a lapse of months
between... the manger scene where the shepherds
came and to the house where the wise men came
and worshiped the Christ child. It is also possible
that it happened very close together, for the
word child here does not have to imply one who
is beyond infancy. It is used of an infant in
the Scriptures. Furthermore, we cannot imagine
that Mary and Joseph would have been at the manger
more than that first night. 24 hours later, undoubtedly,
they had found some housing for this mother with
her new baby. And so it's possible that the very
next day that the wise men arrived in Bethlehem.
But arrived they did because they followed the
light which God had given them. Have you followed
the light which God has given you, my friend?
How much has God given you to understand? regarding
who He is, regarding the salvation that He brought
into the world, regarding what He wants of us
as believers in Jesus Christ. How much do you
know? How much light has God given you? And have
you followed the light God has given you? You
are not responsible for what you do not know,
but you are responsible and I am responsible
for what we do know, what we do know. There's
a second response I see in the part of the Magi,
their response to the Scriptures. And briefly
put, I would say that their response was that
they believed the promise they heard. They believed
the promise that they heard. Now whether Herod
actually quoted the prophet Micah to them, Or
merely identified the locality of the city is
not important. The important thing is that they
got the information they needed from the Bible,
the Old Testament as it was at that time, and
they acted upon it. They acted upon what they
heard. You see, the Scriptures gave them additional
light at this point. And in response to the Scriptures,
they believed the promise of God. There are some
lessons for us in this. The first one is that
the Bible is the answer book to life's questions.
Now, I do not mean that in a superficial sense.
The Bible has no quick magic formulas for some
of our difficult circumstances. wrote in the
crucible of real life experiences. And because
of that, the Bible touches life at its most sensitive
points. And I say to you that the Word of God
is the answer book to the questions of life.
Because it is the Word of God, it is our final
authority. There is nowhere to appeal. what God
has revealed to us in this Word. This is it.
And you and I do well to search the pages of
Scripture that we might understand what God has
said and respond to it in belief and obedience.
Now, with regard to salvation, the hearing of
the Word of God is essential, is it not? It is
the hearing of the Word regarding Jesus Christ,
what the Scripture says about Him, that causes
faith in the person. The hearing of the Scriptures
is essential for the searching sinner. It may
be that he sees the life of a Christian and that
draws him to the Savior. It may be that there
are circumstances in his life that cause him
to cry out and to reach out and to probe and
to grasp. But that person cannot be saved apart
from what the Word of God teaches. The Scripture
is essential to the salvation of people. And
that is why, folks, we invest heavily as we do
in missions and in evangelism and outreach. That's
why we emphasize using the Scriptures and witnessing
to people because hearing the Word of God is
necessary that one may respond in faith. and
believe the promises of God and be saved. And
then beyond salvation, the Scripture is also
the guidebook for believers to direct our lives
in the will of God. So many times we seek to
know what God's will for us is, when in fact
God has already told us in His Word what His
will is. He has given to us commands and principles
to apply. which will show us what to do. And
so the Bible is God's answer book to us, to life's
questions. But the fact is that the Scriptures
will only help us when we act upon what we learn.
It is not sufficient that we be hearers of the
Word of God only. We must be doers, as James
commands us. In fact, he tells us if we hear
the Word of God and do not act upon it, then
we actually are deceiving ourselves. We are deluding
ourselves. And we're not gaining ground spiritually
at all. We're losing ground. Therefore, our response
needs to be what that was of the wise men. Their
response to the Scriptures was that they believed
the promises that they heard. They acted upon
it. and went to Bethlehem. Is it not tragic that
there are some who spend their lives studying
the Bible and yet never spiritually benefit from
it? You say, how can that be that there are people
like that? All I can tell you is that there are
people who are like that. One example would be
those seminary professors who have studied the
Bible in its original languages for decades and
yet reject the very message that the Bible teaches.
And it's possible for us on a lesser scale, to
a lesser degree perhaps, to likewise study the
Bible and to understand what it tells us and
at the same time refute it and fail to believe
it. fail to obey it, to heed it. And when we
do, in the end, we experience grief and ruin
because we cannot disobey, disbelieve what the
Word of God says without paying a price. And
so our response needs to be what the response
of the wise men was. That is, when we understand
what God has said in His Word to follow through
and do it. A third response of the wise men was
to the Savior himself. They came to that house.
They saw Mary, the babe, the child. They fell
down and worshiped him. Simply put, the response
to the Savior was that they presented the gifts
they brought. Over those hundreds of miles of
dangerous, dry desert, these men had kept treasures,
gold, frankincense, myrrh. The purpose was that
they might, at the time that they found the king,
present to him gifts worthy of a king. These
gifts were expressions of their adoration, their
reverence for him. These gifts were tangible.
They were substantive. It was not mere words
that they brought, but they brought something
that was costly to them because they felt that
this one was worthy of that worship. I notice
in verse 11 that it says they fell down and worshipped
him. Do you see that? It doesn't say that they
worshipped them. Mary and the babe. They had
it right. Someone asked J. Vernon McGee why they
didn't worship them, and he said that's because
they were wise men. They worshiped him, the Lord
Jesus Christ. They did homage toward him. They
fell on their faces, and they brought gold. gold
which symbolizes royalty. They understood this
was the king of the Jews. They brought to him
frankincense, a costly perfume of that day, made
of incense which was used in worship of God,
not only in the Jewish temple but in the pagan
temples as well. Incense was a part of the worship
of deity. And so as they brought the frankincense,
whether they fully understood what they were
doing or not, They brought symbolically a gift
worthy of deity, of God. And then they brought
a gift of myrrh. Literally the word is smyrna.
Myrrh was a part of the burial spices used in
that day. A strange gift, would you not agree,
to bring to a baby? It was a costly item, but
it is one further that symbolized the suffering
and the death that would accompany the life of
this child. The myrrh, I believe, speaks of his
humanity. For he and his humanity was to suffer
and to die for the sins of men. You and I are
encouraged in the Word of God likewise to bring
gifts to the Lord as we worship Him. Now please
understand that for salvation, you and I bring
nothing. We can bring nothing. As Augustus Toplady
wrote in the hymn, Rock of Ages, Nothing in my
hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Come
to thee for dress. Helpless, look to thee for
grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly. Wash me,
Savior, or I die. How well he has captured the
truth that we can bring nothing for salvation,
but, beloved, because of salvation, we must bring
everything. Not merely something, but we must
bring everything. We must be like the Macedonians
of whom it was said they first gave themselves
to the Lord and then they gave their gifts. All
that you and I have been given is from Him. And
in recognition of who He is as royalty and deity
and humanity, our Savior and our Lord. We bring
to Him all that we have, all that we are, all
that we can be. Because of salvation, we must
bring to Him everything. You say, why then do
we give? Why do we bring our offerings, our gold
to the Lord? Why do we do that? Is it because
God has need of it? No. If God wanted it, if
God had need of it, he could arrange to get it.
Don't worry about that. It's not that God has
a need, it's that we have a need. That's why
we bring our gifts. We bring our gifts to the
Lord in worship of him in order to satisfy a
need we have. to free our hearts from their naturally
inclined covetousness and selfishness. Our willingness
to present a tangible and sacrificial offering
to the Lord is a barometer, ladies and gentlemen,
of our worship. Nothing less. Our obedience in
bringing to the Lord a gift that is worthy of
Him is proof, of our worship. Words are cheap,
not unimportant, but they can be cheap. We bring
our gifts to the Lord. But you say there are
some who can't give anything. That is not true.
There is none who can give nothing. We can all
give something. to the Lord. But you say, well,
I'll give him myself. Good. As you give him yourself,
give him your tangible gifts as well. Not because
he has need. He doesn't. But because you have
need to give. To prove your worship to him. These
wise men were given understanding of the one
whom they sought. And because they understood
who he was, they prepared generous gifts worthy
of a king. Let me summarize. How then can we
follow the example of the wise men? Three ways.
In the first place, by observing the providential
works of God in our lives and following his leading
as best as we understand it. by searching the
Scriptures to see the promises, principles, warnings,
commands, which God has written, and then acting
upon them, and by bowing in surrender, in worship
before the Savior, and giving our best, ourselves,
to Him. What is the response that God is calling
for in your heart today? It may be that like
the wise men, you have gone through some unexplainable
circumstances. As it were, God has sent some
supernatural arrangements, some stars into your
life, and you sense that God is leading you.
He is causing you to search. You're not quite
sure yet where you're headed. Let me give you
a hint. If God is thus working in your life,
it is that he might take you to the end of your
search. And the end of your search is Jesus Christ.
If you're searching for him today, he will be
found. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found.
Call upon him while he is near. God never turns
anyone away. And in your brokenness, in your
sense of desperation, in your hour of need, God
is as close to you as he has ever been, waiting
for you to respond in openness, in faith, to
receive him. Will you do that today? Let's bow
together. All of us will respond in some way
to what God says to us this morning. In just
a few moments, we're going to sing a closing
hymn. As we sing just a verse or two of it, I
want to invite you to respond publicly and openly.
If today there is a drawing within your heart,
if you sense a need, if you are searching, I
want to invite you to come. We have those who
are prepared to pray with you, to help you. Will
you give them that opportunity? It may be that
you're searching for a church home, and in coming
you would say, I believe God has called me to
be a part of this church. It may be that you're
a Christian who's hurting and you're searching
for someone who will care and pray with you,
put an arm of compassion around you. There's
someone who will help you. If you're on a search
today, will you come as we sing in just a moment?
Father, I pray that each of us will respond as
fully and as deeply as your spirit would give
us the ability to do today. In Jesus' name, amen.