" Wise Worshipers "

“ Wise Worshipers “ Matthew 2:1-2,7-12

Matthew 2:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Now when Jesus was born in Beth-lehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Matthew 2:7–12 KJV 1900

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Beth-lehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

“ Wise Worshipers “

Matthew 2:1-2; 7-12

Subtitle: “ What made the wise men wise “

It is the heart of the worshiper that determines the value of the offering.

Warren W. Wiersbe

Wise Worshipers

Understand WHO they Worship

Wise Worshipers

Understand WHY they Worship

Wise Worshipers

Understand the WORTH of who they Worship

WORSHIP— is predicated on the WORTH of that one who is worshiping

Note: I understand now why there is so many lazy worshipers in church today, because the lazy worshipers haven’t been thru NOTHING

God Desire our Worship

God Deserve our Worship

God Demand our Worship

Desire our Worship

John 4:23 (KJV 1900) 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Deserve our Worship Psalm 116:12 (KJV 1900)

12 What shall I render unto the Lord For all his benefits toward me?

Demand our Worship

John 4:24 (KJV 1900) 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

our text today

Shines on a group

Of Wise Worshipers

But also

On a group

Of Individuals

That most of us

Have heard something about

But probably

Know very little about

We've heard

Of these wise men before

They make a cameo appearance

In Matthews gospel

Chapter 2

Cameo — a small character part in a play or movie

They make a cameo appearance

Within these 12 verses

But shortly after

These 12 verses

These men

Fall off

The biblical map

And we never hear

From them again in scripture

So many things

So many misnomers

Surround these men

Where they came from ??

Who they really were ??

What was their purpose ??

And their functions ??

Growing up as a child

I always thought

That there was

3 Wise Men

And probably some of you too

Thought the same thing

Where did these men

Come from

Rumor has it

That these men were

Kings or Priests

Some thought

For them to be astrologist

Or even magicians

Some thought

They were scientists

But then

The question

Still remain

Who are these men ???

Where do they come from ???

Note: But my question would be “ what made the wise men wise ? “

That’s what

The bible

Calls them

The KJV specifically

refers to them as wise men

The Bible

In the NIV

Calls them the magi

These magi’s

Or Wise man

Were descendants

Of an old ancient tribe

Called the Medes

These Medes were

A very popular

Part of the Persian culture

Matter of fact

The Medes

Played the same role

In the Persian culture

As the Levites played

In the Israelites culture

The Levites

Serve in the Priestly lineage

Or apart of the Priest

And that's what

The Medes were

These men

Were Holy men

These men

Were scholars

Most times

They served as

Advisors to Kings or Princess

Sometimes

Like Daniel or Joseph

They served as

Interpreters of dreams

But in a nutshell

These wise men

Or Magi’s

Were individuals

That was very knowledgeable

They were

Holy men Of God

They had a desire

To learn more

About God

In their pursuit

To learn more

About God

They studied

The Stars

In fact

It was their belief

These Magi’s

That the stars

Kind of govern a person’s destiny

They believe

Depending on what star

A person was born under

That star would

Shape their destiny

These Magi’s

We’re so in tune

And in touch

With the stars until

They believe that the stars

Represented

An unwavering

An unaltered pattern in the universe

They believe

That the same stars

And the same pattern

Of the universe

That was there

From the beginning of time

Was the same pattern

That was there in their time

Therefore

If there was ever

A deviation

Or an altaration

Of the stars pattern

They believe that

God was up to something

They believe

If there was a star

That was shining

Brighter than any

Other star

Or if there was

Some type of disturbance

In the atmosphere

As it related to the Stars

It was a clue

Or signal

In their minds

That maybe

God

Was up to something

God is still up to something !!!!!!

It is this characteristic

Of the Magi’s

Or the Wise Men

That I believe

That cause their

First trait

To be considered Wise Men

1st: They had the ability to recognize God’s star (v. 1-2)

Matthew 2:1–2 (KJV 1900) 1 Now when Jesus was born in Beth-lehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

These men in the East

In Persia

They looked up

And they saw a star

And they recognized

That this was God’s star

They traveled

From the East

To the West

In Bethlehem of Judea

When they get there

They ask a question

“Where is He that is born King of the Jews” we have seen His star in the East and we’ve come to worship Him?”

Looking at the grammatical structure

Of the text

It suggests

That the only individuals

That saw the star

Were the Wise Men or the Magi’s

Now look

The same star

That was seen

In Persia

Should have been

The same star

That was seen in Palestine

Example: If you see a full moon in Jeanerette that same full moon you should see in Baton Rouge, Lafayette

This Magi’s looked up

And they saw

This star because

They Focus on the star

“ Wise Worshipers “

1st: They had the ability to recognize God’s star (v. 1-2)

Sub:Points

1st They Focus on the Star

Which is significance

Because

If they were

The only ones

That recognize the star

To me it might suggest

That they were the only ones that was looking up

The star was not

Separated

Only for these men

To see

But it was only

These men

That recognized

The star

Note: These men was the ONLY ONE”S that seen the Star in the East and sometimes when you think everyone around you and connect to you should see what you see but it’s because everyone else eyes is fixed on other things but Jesus

They Focus on the star

Which suggest

That they refuse

To let anything

Drop there head

Of Focusing on the star [Explain]

[ Lift up your Head]

[ Keep your Head up]

I believe

That holding down

Your head

Might lead to

Down Syndrome

That if you start

Looking down

You’ll start walking down

And if you’re walking down

You’ll start acting down

And if you’ll acting down

You’ll start thinking down

And if you’ll thinking down

You’ll start lying down

“ Wise Worshipers “

1st They Focus on the Star

2nd: They were Familiar with the Star

Matthew 2:2 (KJV 1900) 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Verse 2 “His Star”

Not our star

Not Herod star

Not Caesar star

But His Star

The text suggested

That they recognize

That the star

That was shining brighter

Than any other star

Had to be the Star of Jesus Christ

[They knew who the star was]

[They recognize that the star was not human but divine] Uncommon and Not Common

[The church today have forgotten who the star really is]

[We are just the supporting cast—Jesus is the star]

[They were familiar with the star] “His Star”

Note: We are raising up a generation that’s not familiar with the star

Note: Our grandparents didn’t have Theology but they knew who the star was [Familiar]

They didn’t know

Hebrew or Greek

They didn’t know

Hermeneutics or Homiletics

But they knew the Star

They knew

“Precious Lord take my hand” — “I woke up this morning”— “What a friend we have in Jesus”

[Who get the Headlines in your life]

[ Use this day (Christmas) to talk about the star ]

“ Wise Worshipers “

1st They Focus on the Star

2nd: They were Familiar with the Star

3rd They Followed the Star

Matthew 2:2 (KJV 1900) 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Question: How do you know if you’re following the Right Star?

You know

How many stars

Are in the sky

And they looked up

And they picked

This one particular star out

And the text says

All the way

From Persia to Palestine

These Wise Men

Followed this star

And the question

I had was

How did they know

They were following

The right star

Matthew 2:9–11 (KJV 1900) 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Verse 9 & 11

Let’s us know

That they were

Following the right star

Because the star leads them

To the house where

Jesus Christ was

You know you have

The right star

If the star

Is leading you

Closer to Jesus Christ

A man—wrong star

A woman—wrong star

Coworker—wrong star

Member—wrong star

[Some of you are STAR STRUCK] — Fascinated or greatly impressed by famous people

“Wise Worshippers”