WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:02.330 This morning we are talking about the response 00:00:02.330 --> 00:00:06.190 of the wise men. That has been the theme of our 00:00:06.190 --> 00:00:08.490 service, as you have undoubtedly caught as we 00:00:08.490 --> 00:00:13.310 have sung and read the Scripture. The Magi or 00:00:13.310 --> 00:00:17.129 the wise men were pagan religious leaders or 00:00:17.129 --> 00:00:21.350 priests from the east of Palestine, probably 00:00:21.350 --> 00:00:25.929 Babylon, possibly Parthia, a little bit further 00:00:25.929 --> 00:00:31.320 to the east and to the north of Babylon. The 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:35.820 Magi were a cross between astrologers and scientists. 00:00:37.899 --> 00:00:41.899 They learned as much as they could in their day 00:00:41.899 --> 00:00:45.799 regarding the heavens, the placement of the stars, 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:49.299 the activity of the planets. And then they built 00:00:49.299 --> 00:00:54.039 around that a certain form of more than science, 00:00:54.039 --> 00:01:00.990 but closer to a religion. It was the beginning 00:01:00.990 --> 00:01:05.230 of what we call today astrology. So in a very 00:01:05.230 --> 00:01:08.030 real sense, these were astrologists who came 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:13.010 to Bethlehem seeking the Christ child. They were, 00:01:13.069 --> 00:01:17.170 of course, Gentiles. Tradition tells us that 00:01:17.170 --> 00:01:20.469 they were kings as well and that there were three 00:01:20.469 --> 00:01:22.810 of them, but the Scripture says neither of those 00:01:22.810 --> 00:01:27.280 things. Perhaps most of us know more about the 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.620 Christmas story from the carols that we sing 00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:32.799 than we do from what the Scripture says. The 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:36.219 carols actually embrace a lot of traditions that 00:01:36.219 --> 00:01:41.120 the Scriptures don't actually give to us. When 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:43.359 the wise men arrived in Jerusalem, they created 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:49.140 quite a stir. From that, we would... that there 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:51.659 must have been more than just three men who arrived 00:01:51.659 --> 00:01:54.519 in Jerusalem riding on camels, as we often see 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:59.680 pictured on Christmas cards. There was undoubtedly 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:05.620 a number of the kings. Three? Some have conjectured 00:02:05.620 --> 00:02:08.960 maybe 300. We don't know how many kings arrived. 00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:14.699 But in addition to these three wise men, there 00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:18.219 were also others, servants. who were helping 00:02:18.219 --> 00:02:21.800 them. And so the reason that such a commotion 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:24.620 was caused in Jerusalem upon their arrival was 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:26.919 that here were several hundred, undoubtedly, 00:02:27.219 --> 00:02:30.919 people from a faraway land and then they were 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:33.979 asking the question, where is the king of the 00:02:33.979 --> 00:02:38.180 Jews? Now to the Jews in that day there was but 00:02:38.180 --> 00:02:41.620 one king and his name was Herod and he was hated 00:02:41.620 --> 00:02:46.680 by the Jews. He was an Edomite. He was a cruel 00:02:47.259 --> 00:02:52.000 and wicked despot bordering on insanity in his 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:57.520 condition. And when these men from the east asked, 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.780 where is he who is king of the Jews, it of course 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:04.400 aroused a great deal of wonderment in the minds 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.740 of the people as to whom they were seeking. And 00:03:07.740 --> 00:03:12.099 of course it aroused great furor in Herod's response. 00:03:14.349 --> 00:03:17.310 Now, in addition to these men being magi and 00:03:17.310 --> 00:03:20.550 coming from a distant land to seek out the Christ 00:03:20.550 --> 00:03:24.590 child, beyond all of that, we know that they 00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:29.030 were the objects of the grace of God. God's Spirit 00:03:29.030 --> 00:03:34.849 had awakened within their hearts the desire to 00:03:34.849 --> 00:03:39.789 search after the King of the Jews. Indeed, any 00:03:39.789 --> 00:03:44.500 person who searches after Christ is the object 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:49.199 of God's sovereign grace. By that I mean God's 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:52.180 grace awakening the conscience of that individual 00:03:52.180 --> 00:03:57.300 to its own wretchedness and sin. God's grace 00:03:57.300 --> 00:04:01.580 making that individual aware of the stench of 00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:06.180 death and decay within himself spiritually. God's 00:04:06.180 --> 00:04:09.340 spirit opening the eyes of that person to behold 00:04:09.340 --> 00:04:13.650 the Savior whom God has provided. God's Spirit 00:04:13.650 --> 00:04:17.629 regenerating that spirit within the person to 00:04:17.629 --> 00:04:21.670 life, drawing that heart to saving faith. Any 00:04:21.670 --> 00:04:27.149 person who searches after Jesus Christ is the 00:04:27.149 --> 00:04:31.009 object of God's sovereign grace. The Bible says 00:04:31.009 --> 00:04:34.709 that there is none that seeks for God naturally. 00:04:35.889 --> 00:04:38.990 So if there is a search for God, if there is 00:04:38.990 --> 00:04:43.170 a hunger for God, That is created by the work 00:04:43.170 --> 00:04:48.370 of God's Spirit in the life. Seek Him, these 00:04:48.370 --> 00:04:51.430 wise men did, and they found Him. But it was 00:04:51.430 --> 00:04:55.949 the result of a long, arduous process. And it 00:04:55.949 --> 00:05:00.370 often is, as people search after Christ. It does 00:05:00.370 --> 00:05:02.629 not often happen that they begin their search 00:05:02.629 --> 00:05:06.889 and immediately find Him. But it often is a long 00:05:06.889 --> 00:05:10.949 process. in which gradually they begin to see 00:05:10.949 --> 00:05:13.310 their need and begin to see whom God has provided 00:05:13.310 --> 00:05:18.269 to meet that need, and they come to Christ. The 00:05:18.269 --> 00:05:20.870 response of the wise men to what God showed them 00:05:20.870 --> 00:05:24.970 is a worthy example to all of us. I want you 00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:29.930 to notice first their response to the star. Briefly 00:05:29.930 --> 00:05:33.069 put, their response was this. They followed the 00:05:33.069 --> 00:05:37.939 light that they saw. The exact nature of the 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:42.180 star in the heavens is mysterious to us. Was 00:05:42.180 --> 00:05:44.879 it a conjunction of the planets, as some have 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:49.220 suggested? Was it a supernova, as others have 00:05:49.220 --> 00:05:53.600 thought, or was it a comet? Whatever it was, 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:57.079 it was supernaturally arranged as a heavenly 00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:00.660 sign to these wise men to cause them to make 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:03.959 that difficult and dangerous journey to Palestine. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.879 Actually, it has been suggested and is probably 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:11.180 most accurate that this sign that they saw in 00:06:11.180 --> 00:06:13.959 the heavens was not a star in the sense that 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:17.160 we use that word at all, but rather it was within 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.720 the atmosphere of the earth and was supernaturally 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:24.500 arranged by God. Perhaps together with direct 00:06:24.500 --> 00:06:27.019 revelation to them that they should seek after 00:06:27.019 --> 00:06:30.300 the King of the Jews whom this supernatural body 00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:34.410 symbolized to them. Notice that the wise men 00:06:34.410 --> 00:06:36.949 were not caught up with the study of the size 00:06:36.949 --> 00:06:40.629 of the star, its location, or its magnitude, 00:06:40.689 --> 00:06:45.029 but rather they attended to the message which 00:06:45.029 --> 00:06:49.230 the star delivered to them. Is it possible that 00:06:49.230 --> 00:06:52.610 these men from the east had become aware of the 00:06:52.610 --> 00:06:57.870 prophecy in Numbers 24, 17? The words recorded 00:06:57.870 --> 00:07:00.350 there by the inspiration of God's Spirit, but 00:07:00.350 --> 00:07:03.079 from the mouth of Balaam. the false prophet, 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:06.519 who on this occasion spoke truly because God 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:09.279 put the words in his mouth, that there would 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:12.620 come a star out of Jacob and a scepter would 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:16.639 rise in Israel? Is it possible that they could 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:19.180 have become aware of that prophecy and tied it 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:21.120 together with what they were seeing in the heavens? 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:25.540 It is possible. There were, of course, Jewish 00:07:25.540 --> 00:07:28.459 exiles throughout that region of the world from 00:07:28.459 --> 00:07:31.519 the Babylonian captivity 500 years before this. 00:07:32.339 --> 00:07:34.699 And, of course, some of their ancient and most 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:39.360 revered leaders in Babylon had been Jews. Daniel, 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:43.699 for example. It's possible that they put all 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:46.480 of that together, but whatever. It was God who 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:49.420 was working in them, bringing them for a purpose 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:54.490 to Bethlehem. to represent there at that scene 00:07:54.490 --> 00:07:59.170 the Gentiles of the world that would be included 00:07:59.170 --> 00:08:01.889 in the salvation being brought by this Jewish 00:08:01.889 --> 00:08:06.670 Messiah. They were there, I say, to represent 00:08:06.670 --> 00:08:10.990 you and me who are Gentiles, so that even from 00:08:10.990 --> 00:08:13.790 the very earliest day when God had brought His 00:08:13.790 --> 00:08:19.709 grace in flesh to this world, in the person of 00:08:19.709 --> 00:08:23.959 His Son, From those early days as he was a child, 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:27.339 it would be known that the salvation he came 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:31.100 to bring was not for the Jews only, but for Gentiles 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:35.700 as well. Their response to the star was that 00:08:35.700 --> 00:08:40.220 they followed the light which they saw. Is there 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:43.240 any application for us in what we have seen? 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:48.759 I believe that there is. I believe that God is 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:55.429 still using... stars, as it were, today, to entice 00:08:55.429 --> 00:09:00.429 sinners to begin searching after Christ. You 00:09:00.429 --> 00:09:03.350 say, what kind of stars are you speaking about? 00:09:03.789 --> 00:09:06.789 Well, I'm thinking of circumstances, for example, 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:14.909 or problems, events that come into the life of 00:09:14.909 --> 00:09:19.879 the individual. that so shake up that person 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:23.799 that he or she begins to search after the real 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:29.240 meaning of life, that that person is so moved 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:33.059 by what happens to them, by what they experience, 00:09:33.220 --> 00:09:36.080 by what they see, that there is an initiation 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:39.679 in their heart of a search, perhaps not even 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:42.139 knowing for what or for whom they search, but 00:09:42.139 --> 00:09:47.700 there is a search for meaning and purpose. Many 00:09:47.700 --> 00:09:50.259 of us were brought to faith in Jesus Christ because 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:55.720 of, shall we say it, God's stars, which enticed 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:59.980 us to come to Christ. I think also that the life 00:09:59.980 --> 00:10:04.419 of a Christian can serve as a star, as a pointer 00:10:04.419 --> 00:10:08.539 to Jesus Christ. Isn't that what the Apostle 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:10.879 Paul says in Philippians, the second chapter? 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.799 when he commands of us a lifestyle that is free 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:20.419 from complaining and grumbling, he says that 00:10:20.419 --> 00:10:24.059 we ought to live in a certain way so that we 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:31.539 might be illuminaries or lights to this perverse 00:10:31.539 --> 00:10:35.899 and darkened generation in which we live. My 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:39.039 point is that you and I, by our very lives, by 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:43.200 the character, that God has built into us. Our 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:48.100 lives can become stars, which God supernaturally 00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:50.480 places into the life of another person there 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:52.639 in your neighborhood or at your office or in 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:57.740 your school or in that dorm where you live. A 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:00.820 star that God uses to entice that person, to 00:11:00.820 --> 00:11:04.840 begin drawing them to the Savior. God still uses 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:10.509 stars today. I think that there is a second application 00:11:10.509 --> 00:11:14.929 that we see here, and it is this, that unregenerate 00:11:14.929 --> 00:11:19.610 people, like these wise men, at least in the 00:11:19.610 --> 00:11:26.389 beginning, have varying degrees of light. That 00:11:26.389 --> 00:11:33.190 is, understanding regarding God, regarding salvation, 00:11:33.570 --> 00:11:38.399 regarding their own need. God holds each person 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:42.659 responsible for the light which he or she has. 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:48.320 Romans chapter 1 tells us that all people throughout 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:53.620 the world have at least two stars, shall we say, 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:57.480 that could reveal God to them if they would listen, 00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:01.440 if they would see. There is the light of creation. 00:12:04.009 --> 00:12:08.389 For by the things that God has made, that is 00:12:08.389 --> 00:12:11.289 the literal stars of the heavens, the creation 00:12:11.289 --> 00:12:15.809 around us, he displays his eternal deity and 00:12:15.809 --> 00:12:20.009 power. People can see that and respond to it 00:12:20.009 --> 00:12:24.049 if they will. They're held responsible for that 00:12:24.049 --> 00:12:28.029 before God. There is the light or the star of 00:12:28.029 --> 00:12:32.200 conscience. For God has placed within the heart 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:35.340 of each person a conscience. That conscience 00:12:35.340 --> 00:12:39.039 can be tampered with and adjusted. It can even 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:43.360 be canceled eventually, dulled and made void 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:47.919 because of continual overriding. But there is 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:50.399 a conscience, at least in the beginning of the 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:52.799 life, in the heart of every person. And every 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:56.100 person is responsible for what he understands 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:59.559 from that conscience. Others have additional 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:05.059 light. People who live in a land like ours are 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:08.159 exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ in a variety 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:12.360 of ways that increases their responsibility to 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:16.639 God. What I'm saying is that unregenerate people 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:21.120 have varying degrees of light, but God has left 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:26.820 no man in total darkness. And each person is 00:13:26.820 --> 00:13:29.659 responsible to God for that light that he has 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:35.679 and for his response to it. Each person. The 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:39.720 light of the star led the wise men eventually 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:44.659 to Jerusalem and then sometime later to the house 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:50.059 in Bethlehem where Mary and the child were. Now 00:13:50.059 --> 00:13:53.639 it is possible that there was a lapse of months 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:58.080 between... the manger scene where the shepherds 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:02.299 came and to the house where the wise men came 00:14:02.299 --> 00:14:06.419 and worshiped the Christ child. It is also possible 00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:08.779 that it happened very close together, for the 00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:11.960 word child here does not have to imply one who 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:14.960 is beyond infancy. It is used of an infant in 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:18.220 the Scriptures. Furthermore, we cannot imagine 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:21.159 that Mary and Joseph would have been at the manger 00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:25.799 more than that first night. 24 hours later, undoubtedly, 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:28.559 they had found some housing for this mother with 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:31.740 her new baby. And so it's possible that the very 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:35.940 next day that the wise men arrived in Bethlehem. 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:39.080 But arrived they did because they followed the 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:42.779 light which God had given them. Have you followed 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:44.919 the light which God has given you, my friend? 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:53.090 How much has God given you to understand? regarding 00:14:53.090 --> 00:14:57.070 who He is, regarding the salvation that He brought 00:14:57.070 --> 00:15:00.990 into the world, regarding what He wants of us 00:15:00.990 --> 00:15:04.190 as believers in Jesus Christ. How much do you 00:15:04.190 --> 00:15:07.669 know? How much light has God given you? And have 00:15:07.669 --> 00:15:10.970 you followed the light God has given you? You 00:15:10.970 --> 00:15:13.169 are not responsible for what you do not know, 00:15:13.309 --> 00:15:17.129 but you are responsible and I am responsible 00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:25.009 for what we do know, what we do know. There's 00:15:25.009 --> 00:15:28.090 a second response I see in the part of the Magi, 00:15:28.090 --> 00:15:31.509 their response to the Scriptures. And briefly 00:15:31.509 --> 00:15:33.950 put, I would say that their response was that 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:37.990 they believed the promise they heard. They believed 00:15:37.990 --> 00:15:41.870 the promise that they heard. Now whether Herod 00:15:41.870 --> 00:15:46.480 actually quoted the prophet Micah to them, Or 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.460 merely identified the locality of the city is 00:15:49.460 --> 00:15:51.759 not important. The important thing is that they 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:54.000 got the information they needed from the Bible, 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:56.799 the Old Testament as it was at that time, and 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:00.600 they acted upon it. They acted upon what they 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:04.440 heard. You see, the Scriptures gave them additional 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:08.539 light at this point. And in response to the Scriptures, 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:13.039 they believed the promise of God. There are some 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:17.220 lessons for us in this. The first one is that 00:16:17.220 --> 00:16:22.919 the Bible is the answer book to life's questions. 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:28.779 Now, I do not mean that in a superficial sense. 00:16:30.259 --> 00:16:35.759 The Bible has no quick magic formulas for some 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:46.580 of our difficult circumstances. wrote in the 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:52.039 crucible of real life experiences. And because 00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:56.659 of that, the Bible touches life at its most sensitive 00:16:56.659 --> 00:17:01.440 points. And I say to you that the Word of God 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:04.240 is the answer book to the questions of life. 00:17:05.740 --> 00:17:09.259 Because it is the Word of God, it is our final 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:14.180 authority. There is nowhere to appeal. what God 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:18.440 has revealed to us in this Word. This is it. 00:17:19.819 --> 00:17:22.819 And you and I do well to search the pages of 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:26.000 Scripture that we might understand what God has 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:29.640 said and respond to it in belief and obedience. 00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:34.819 Now, with regard to salvation, the hearing of 00:17:34.819 --> 00:17:38.819 the Word of God is essential, is it not? It is 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:41.380 the hearing of the Word regarding Jesus Christ, 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:44.000 what the Scripture says about Him, that causes 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:49.099 faith in the person. The hearing of the Scriptures 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:53.579 is essential for the searching sinner. It may 00:17:53.579 --> 00:17:56.000 be that he sees the life of a Christian and that 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.900 draws him to the Savior. It may be that there 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:01.299 are circumstances in his life that cause him 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:03.700 to cry out and to reach out and to probe and 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:07.269 to grasp. But that person cannot be saved apart 00:18:07.269 --> 00:18:10.869 from what the Word of God teaches. The Scripture 00:18:10.869 --> 00:18:14.750 is essential to the salvation of people. And 00:18:14.750 --> 00:18:17.430 that is why, folks, we invest heavily as we do 00:18:17.430 --> 00:18:20.930 in missions and in evangelism and outreach. That's 00:18:20.930 --> 00:18:23.849 why we emphasize using the Scriptures and witnessing 00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:28.490 to people because hearing the Word of God is 00:18:28.490 --> 00:18:32.420 necessary that one may respond in faith. and 00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:37.160 believe the promises of God and be saved. And 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:39.380 then beyond salvation, the Scripture is also 00:18:39.380 --> 00:18:42.019 the guidebook for believers to direct our lives 00:18:42.019 --> 00:18:47.539 in the will of God. So many times we seek to 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:50.700 know what God's will for us is, when in fact 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:54.000 God has already told us in His Word what His 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:57.900 will is. He has given to us commands and principles 00:18:57.900 --> 00:19:03.420 to apply. which will show us what to do. And 00:19:03.420 --> 00:19:06.960 so the Bible is God's answer book to us, to life's 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:10.579 questions. But the fact is that the Scriptures 00:19:10.579 --> 00:19:17.099 will only help us when we act upon what we learn. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:21.039 It is not sufficient that we be hearers of the 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:24.920 Word of God only. We must be doers, as James 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:29.160 commands us. In fact, he tells us if we hear 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:33.059 the Word of God and do not act upon it, then 00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:36.319 we actually are deceiving ourselves. We are deluding 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:40.400 ourselves. And we're not gaining ground spiritually 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:46.220 at all. We're losing ground. Therefore, our response 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:50.680 needs to be what that was of the wise men. Their 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:53.000 response to the Scriptures was that they believed 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:56.319 the promises that they heard. They acted upon 00:19:56.319 --> 00:20:01.720 it. and went to Bethlehem. Is it not tragic that 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:05.240 there are some who spend their lives studying 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:10.140 the Bible and yet never spiritually benefit from 00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:13.079 it? You say, how can that be that there are people 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:18.759 like that? All I can tell you is that there are 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:24.170 people who are like that. One example would be 00:20:24.170 --> 00:20:26.529 those seminary professors who have studied the 00:20:26.529 --> 00:20:32.789 Bible in its original languages for decades and 00:20:32.789 --> 00:20:36.289 yet reject the very message that the Bible teaches. 00:20:38.289 --> 00:20:41.529 And it's possible for us on a lesser scale, to 00:20:41.529 --> 00:20:45.049 a lesser degree perhaps, to likewise study the 00:20:45.049 --> 00:20:47.269 Bible and to understand what it tells us and 00:20:47.269 --> 00:20:49.970 at the same time refute it and fail to believe 00:20:49.970 --> 00:20:54.170 it. fail to obey it, to heed it. And when we 00:20:54.170 --> 00:20:56.509 do, in the end, we experience grief and ruin 00:20:56.509 --> 00:21:01.529 because we cannot disobey, disbelieve what the 00:21:01.529 --> 00:21:05.990 Word of God says without paying a price. And 00:21:05.990 --> 00:21:08.250 so our response needs to be what the response 00:21:08.250 --> 00:21:11.890 of the wise men was. That is, when we understand 00:21:11.890 --> 00:21:14.089 what God has said in His Word to follow through 00:21:14.089 --> 00:21:20.029 and do it. A third response of the wise men was 00:21:20.029 --> 00:21:25.150 to the Savior himself. They came to that house. 00:21:25.589 --> 00:21:31.569 They saw Mary, the babe, the child. They fell 00:21:31.569 --> 00:21:35.490 down and worshiped him. Simply put, the response 00:21:35.490 --> 00:21:38.509 to the Savior was that they presented the gifts 00:21:38.509 --> 00:21:44.769 they brought. Over those hundreds of miles of 00:21:44.769 --> 00:21:50.650 dangerous, dry desert, these men had kept treasures, 00:21:50.789 --> 00:21:57.930 gold, frankincense, myrrh. The purpose was that 00:21:57.930 --> 00:22:00.390 they might, at the time that they found the king, 00:22:00.569 --> 00:22:05.210 present to him gifts worthy of a king. These 00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:08.650 gifts were expressions of their adoration, their 00:22:08.650 --> 00:22:12.799 reverence for him. These gifts were tangible. 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:17.900 They were substantive. It was not mere words 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:20.859 that they brought, but they brought something 00:22:20.859 --> 00:22:24.640 that was costly to them because they felt that 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:29.519 this one was worthy of that worship. I notice 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:34.240 in verse 11 that it says they fell down and worshipped 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:39.019 him. Do you see that? It doesn't say that they 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:45.440 worshipped them. Mary and the babe. They had 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:48.859 it right. Someone asked J. Vernon McGee why they 00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:51.799 didn't worship them, and he said that's because 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:57.180 they were wise men. They worshiped him, the Lord 00:22:57.180 --> 00:23:02.400 Jesus Christ. They did homage toward him. They 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:07.250 fell on their faces, and they brought gold. gold 00:23:07.250 --> 00:23:09.970 which symbolizes royalty. They understood this 00:23:09.970 --> 00:23:14.769 was the king of the Jews. They brought to him 00:23:14.769 --> 00:23:21.210 frankincense, a costly perfume of that day, made 00:23:21.210 --> 00:23:24.470 of incense which was used in worship of God, 00:23:24.710 --> 00:23:27.450 not only in the Jewish temple but in the pagan 00:23:27.450 --> 00:23:30.470 temples as well. Incense was a part of the worship 00:23:30.470 --> 00:23:33.670 of deity. And so as they brought the frankincense, 00:23:33.670 --> 00:23:35.609 whether they fully understood what they were 00:23:35.609 --> 00:23:38.829 doing or not, They brought symbolically a gift 00:23:38.829 --> 00:23:46.170 worthy of deity, of God. And then they brought 00:23:46.170 --> 00:23:49.289 a gift of myrrh. Literally the word is smyrna. 00:23:51.890 --> 00:23:57.630 Myrrh was a part of the burial spices used in 00:23:57.630 --> 00:24:01.490 that day. A strange gift, would you not agree, 00:24:01.710 --> 00:24:09.220 to bring to a baby? It was a costly item, but 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:11.920 it is one further that symbolized the suffering 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:16.059 and the death that would accompany the life of 00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:19.460 this child. The myrrh, I believe, speaks of his 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:25.180 humanity. For he and his humanity was to suffer 00:24:25.180 --> 00:24:31.940 and to die for the sins of men. You and I are 00:24:31.940 --> 00:24:34.559 encouraged in the Word of God likewise to bring 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:41.140 gifts to the Lord as we worship Him. Now please 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:44.480 understand that for salvation, you and I bring 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:49.500 nothing. We can bring nothing. As Augustus Toplady 00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:53.279 wrote in the hymn, Rock of Ages, Nothing in my 00:24:53.279 --> 00:25:01.349 hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Come 00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:06.190 to thee for dress. Helpless, look to thee for 00:25:06.190 --> 00:25:11.970 grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly. Wash me, 00:25:12.009 --> 00:25:16.849 Savior, or I die. How well he has captured the 00:25:16.849 --> 00:25:19.470 truth that we can bring nothing for salvation, 00:25:19.690 --> 00:25:24.009 but, beloved, because of salvation, we must bring 00:25:24.009 --> 00:25:29.480 everything. Not merely something, but we must 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:33.980 bring everything. We must be like the Macedonians 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:36.259 of whom it was said they first gave themselves 00:25:36.259 --> 00:25:42.140 to the Lord and then they gave their gifts. All 00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:47.799 that you and I have been given is from Him. And 00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:50.819 in recognition of who He is as royalty and deity 00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:56.009 and humanity, our Savior and our Lord. We bring 00:25:56.009 --> 00:26:00.410 to Him all that we have, all that we are, all 00:26:00.410 --> 00:26:06.029 that we can be. Because of salvation, we must 00:26:06.029 --> 00:26:12.569 bring to Him everything. You say, why then do 00:26:12.569 --> 00:26:16.410 we give? Why do we bring our offerings, our gold 00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:21.069 to the Lord? Why do we do that? Is it because 00:26:21.069 --> 00:26:28.519 God has need of it? No. If God wanted it, if 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:31.559 God had need of it, he could arrange to get it. 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:36.759 Don't worry about that. It's not that God has 00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:41.680 a need, it's that we have a need. That's why 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:45.859 we bring our gifts. We bring our gifts to the 00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:50.480 Lord in worship of him in order to satisfy a 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:56.559 need we have. to free our hearts from their naturally 00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:03.579 inclined covetousness and selfishness. Our willingness 00:27:03.579 --> 00:27:07.079 to present a tangible and sacrificial offering 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:10.779 to the Lord is a barometer, ladies and gentlemen, 00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:17.640 of our worship. Nothing less. Our obedience in 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:20.140 bringing to the Lord a gift that is worthy of 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:27.190 Him is proof, of our worship. Words are cheap, 00:27:27.349 --> 00:27:35.690 not unimportant, but they can be cheap. We bring 00:27:35.690 --> 00:27:40.369 our gifts to the Lord. But you say there are 00:27:40.369 --> 00:27:44.269 some who can't give anything. That is not true. 00:27:45.250 --> 00:27:49.789 There is none who can give nothing. We can all 00:27:49.789 --> 00:27:54.930 give something. to the Lord. But you say, well, 00:27:54.990 --> 00:27:58.970 I'll give him myself. Good. As you give him yourself, 00:27:59.109 --> 00:28:02.890 give him your tangible gifts as well. Not because 00:28:02.890 --> 00:28:06.250 he has need. He doesn't. But because you have 00:28:06.250 --> 00:28:13.390 need to give. To prove your worship to him. These 00:28:13.390 --> 00:28:16.750 wise men were given understanding of the one 00:28:16.750 --> 00:28:20.009 whom they sought. And because they understood 00:28:20.009 --> 00:28:25.289 who he was, they prepared generous gifts worthy 00:28:25.289 --> 00:28:31.910 of a king. Let me summarize. How then can we 00:28:31.910 --> 00:28:35.529 follow the example of the wise men? Three ways. 00:28:36.569 --> 00:28:39.750 In the first place, by observing the providential 00:28:39.750 --> 00:28:44.829 works of God in our lives and following his leading 00:28:44.829 --> 00:28:51.279 as best as we understand it. by searching the 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:55.339 Scriptures to see the promises, principles, warnings, 00:28:55.660 --> 00:29:01.039 commands, which God has written, and then acting 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:09.359 upon them, and by bowing in surrender, in worship 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:15.519 before the Savior, and giving our best, ourselves, 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:21.819 to Him. What is the response that God is calling 00:29:21.819 --> 00:29:28.480 for in your heart today? It may be that like 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:32.859 the wise men, you have gone through some unexplainable 00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:38.839 circumstances. As it were, God has sent some 00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:43.480 supernatural arrangements, some stars into your 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:47.180 life, and you sense that God is leading you. 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:51.650 He is causing you to search. You're not quite 00:29:51.650 --> 00:29:55.589 sure yet where you're headed. Let me give you 00:29:55.589 --> 00:30:00.529 a hint. If God is thus working in your life, 00:30:00.589 --> 00:30:04.130 it is that he might take you to the end of your 00:30:04.130 --> 00:30:08.710 search. And the end of your search is Jesus Christ. 00:30:11.250 --> 00:30:15.410 If you're searching for him today, he will be 00:30:15.410 --> 00:30:20.839 found. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. 00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:26.599 Call upon him while he is near. God never turns 00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:32.079 anyone away. And in your brokenness, in your 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:35.940 sense of desperation, in your hour of need, God 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:39.839 is as close to you as he has ever been, waiting 00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:45.200 for you to respond in openness, in faith, to 00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:50.930 receive him. Will you do that today? Let's bow 00:30:50.930 --> 00:30:59.390 together. All of us will respond in some way 00:30:59.390 --> 00:31:06.369 to what God says to us this morning. In just 00:31:06.369 --> 00:31:08.130 a few moments, we're going to sing a closing 00:31:08.130 --> 00:31:13.190 hymn. As we sing just a verse or two of it, I 00:31:13.190 --> 00:31:15.750 want to invite you to respond publicly and openly. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:20.240 If today there is a drawing within your heart, 00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:24.259 if you sense a need, if you are searching, I 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:28.519 want to invite you to come. We have those who 00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:31.519 are prepared to pray with you, to help you. Will 00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:37.200 you give them that opportunity? It may be that 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:42.400 you're searching for a church home, and in coming 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:44.460 you would say, I believe God has called me to 00:31:44.460 --> 00:31:49.180 be a part of this church. It may be that you're 00:31:49.180 --> 00:31:51.960 a Christian who's hurting and you're searching 00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:54.319 for someone who will care and pray with you, 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:58.460 put an arm of compassion around you. There's 00:31:58.460 --> 00:32:02.119 someone who will help you. If you're on a search 00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:04.599 today, will you come as we sing in just a moment? 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:09.140 Father, I pray that each of us will respond as 00:32:09.140 --> 00:32:11.519 fully and as deeply as your spirit would give 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:17.140 us the ability to do today. In Jesus' name, amen.