The Wonder Of His Joy (Stars)

Introduction

The last statement from the video today is so powerful…

“What else can you do but rejoice when you realize that the journey was always leading you to Jesus.”

Our Christmas Series this year is called “The Wonder of Christmas” and this “Wonder” is getting us to wondering about some new questions this year. As we think on the journey of those wise men we may wonder...

Isn’t worship a little different the harder the road to get there?

The type of trip that tests your faith and breaks your back?

Doesn’t the joy we had to fight for taste just a bit sweater.

When you realize the road you have been traveling intersects with the Savior who was born for you…there is a wonder of great JOY to be found there. The more difficult your journey to Christmas this year, the greater the joy can be when you come to remember that Jesus was born both Savior and Lord. That He is worthy of being pursued and worthy of all we have to offer as we come into His presence.

This is what the wise men ultimately found when they followed the star that led them to the promised Messiah. As I mentioned last week, it was a difficult journey that cost them dearly but they knew it was worth it…when they came face-to-face with the newborn King.

After miles upon miles of searching and persistence, the star in the night sky guided them to the Savior who had been laid in the manger. They likely were overcome with emotion, reverence, awe, and probably abundant joy!

Their story is told in Matthew’s gospel and I invite you to wonder about it as I read the familiar words.

Matthew 2:1–11 (ESV)

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Tonight, we are going to look closer at the wise men’s experience to get a better understanding of how we can experience an even greater sense of JOY this Christmas.

But first, let me pray...

Truth

One of the first things that we can wonder about from this story is the wisemens’...

1. Joy Of Finding Jesus

In fact the text says...“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed”

It has been estimated that the Magi traveled around 900 miles to find this new king. And we celebrate them by placing them in our nativity sets, but the truth is that by the time they found Jesus he wasn’t sleeping in a manger anymore. He wasn’t even a baby anymore.

Did you catch that in the text? It said...

Matthew 2:11 (ESV)

11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother,

That is why little James was so well suited to play Jesus in last weeks musical featuring the wisemen. Jesus would have been about his age by the time they got there.

The big idea is that they had been following that star for a very long time, years had gone by.

And how exhausting it must have been traveling for years following a star that seemed to be a moving target. And then how exhilarating... to see that star finally stop over a house.

While there is no doubt they were filled with joy because they had finally come to the end of their journey, the bigger truth is they were “over-joyed” that they had finally found the one they had traveled so far to worship.

And the wisemen were not alone, because the arrival of Jesus brought joy for all of us. We see it in those famous words the angel spoke to the shepherds:

Luke 2:10 (ESV)

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

This is why we sing songs like “Joy to the world, the Lord has come!”

Joy is a response to good news of Finding JESUS!

The arrival of Jesus brought joy for all of us…but... it isn’t just some soft sentiment that touches our heart. It is much bolder than that. Much more tangible than that. The Joy of Christmas is not seasonal and it is so much more than just a sweet story about a baby being born in humble circumstances.

The JOY that the Wise Men and Shepherds experienced and that the angelic messengers of God proclaimed is the piercing and powerful response to the news that something has happened that has fundamentally changed the reality of mankind for every person who has and will ever live.

The weight of this “good news of great joy” should shape our lives and turn them in a powerful life altering way.

Jesus shared a parable that explains how his arrival opens the door for us to experience this great joy. He said

Matthew 13:44 (ESV)

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Wonder about this with me for a moment…put yourself in the shoes of this man.

You are taking a short cut home and as you walk through this field you trip and find yourself sliding down this shaft into a room full of ancient treasure. All the dust and cobwebs make it clear that no one even knows that this treasure is here. Anyone else walking by would see this field as just a field, but you know it contains the kind of treasure that will change the trajectory of the rest of your life.

At that point...nothing else matters. Whatever else you were planning on doing that day, that week, month etc is completely set aside because something so much better has been placed within your grasp. Something that will fundamentally change everything that you ever planned or hoped for your life.

Truly finding Jesus brings that that kind of JOY!

But is that how we think about what we have been given in Christ? Do we have eyes to see it as the treasure that it is...or are we the kind who in Jesus’ parable just sees an ordinary field?

Just like those Magi so long ago, we all journey in life looking for something. We may not be following a star, but we all aim our life at something. Investing our time, energy and resources in search of something or someone to bring our life purpose, meaning and significance.

That search never really ends until we truly find Jesus. Not just a baby in a manger, but as the angels told the Sheperds

Luke 2:11 (ESV)

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Have you found Jesus? Do you know him as your Savior and your Lord? Do you know this treasure that is of such great value that you would give up everything else that you used to consider so valuable...for the joy of having this relationship with Jesus completely change the trajectory of our life.

If so, then you know what this Christmas Joy is all about. You know that nothing compares to the Joy of finding Jesus, as He is worthy of everything that we have.

Which brings us to our second theme, the wisemen also had the...

2. Joy Of Worshiping Jesus

“they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him”

When we think of Magi, we just tend to think they bow down and worship. One on one knee, one on both knees and one standing there holding whatever frankincense is.

But in the ancient Middle Eastern world, Magi were significantly powerful men. They were trusted advisors to kings, highly educated and proficient in all the spheres of knowledge: mathematical calculations, astronomy, medicine, astrology, alchemy (chemistry), dream interpretation and history as well as practitioners of magic and paranormal arts.

And we know this not just from history, but the Bible contains many stories of wise men like this, particularly in the book of Daniel. For Daniel himself and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego became magi, or wise men.

And from their stories we know that these men did not take worship lightly. Daniel faced execution by hungry lions den and the three friends in the fiery furnace all because they would not worship in the way prescribed to them…and here we have magi that traveled hundreds of miles to bow down and worship Jesus as King.

Worship is Weighty

The point being that bowing down in worship was not something that this particular group of men took lightly. They were powerful, influential and highly educated men and they understood that worship was a weighty matter.

We could learn a thing or two from these wisemen when it comes to worship. If we are not careful, we can become a bit casual in our approach to Jesus, especially at Christmas time when all the focus seems to be on little “baby Jesus” ....ahhh, isn’t he cute.

And while Christmas is a wonderful time to celebrate the fact that God came near and calls us friends, we also need to remember that Jesus was born “Christ and Lord” and his name Emmanuel “God with us” means that He is worthy of reverent and weighty worship.

Let me invite you right now to look up at the Nativity scene here or if it is too far to see, just close your eyes and picture the scene in your mind. Now consider the words of Psalm 145 as you apply them to the one born unto you as Christ the Lord...

Psalm 145:3–7 (ESV)

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

This God who we gather to celebrate at Christmas, this God who is worthy of worship truly is an awesome God. An “awe-inspiring” being…who chose to take on human flesh in order to save us. How can we express anything but joy in that.

Worship is Catchy

Did you catch that line: “One generation commends your works to another.”

One of the beautiful traditions of Christmas is how we gather together the generations and so I wanted to take a moment to remind us all that the priority that put on Jesus in these gatherings will say something to our children about what is most important about this holiday.

Taking time to be here tonight is wonderful, but how does the treasure of the gift of Jesus bring joy into your other Christmas gatherings and traditions?

A helpful question to ask might be: How can we work all our Christmas traditions…even the ones involving Santa, the presents and cookies… How could they all be experienced in the Joy of the gift of Jesus…instead of overshadowing it?

And we don’t do this to simply to pass on our traditions to our kids, we do this because Jesus is worthy of our worship and the Joy found in the gift of Jesus, will carry our children much further than any other disconnected Christmas memories.

Which leads us to our final theme for tonight.

3. Joy Of Giving To Jesus

“they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts”

I love giving and receiving gifts. It is one of my love languages and so to connect the Joy of Christmas to the Joy found in giving gifts seems very natural to me.

Of course the gifts of the wise men are a little confusing to us today. Certainly gold still makes sense, but a gift of frankincense or myrrh ...makes us wonder if one of these guys has a wife who started up a home business in essential oils.

But truth be told, there was in fact a lot of thought put into these particular gifts. For one thing, these would have been standard gifts to honor a king or even a deity in the ancient pagan world.

Gold was then, as it is now a precious and expensive metal,

Frankincense was a rare perfume or incense, and

Myrrh an oil used for, among other things, anointing.

But along with the honor and status implied by the value of the gifts of the magi, many scholars think that these three were chosen for their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself.

Gold representing his kingship,

Frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and

Myrrh a prefiguring of his death and embalming.

No matter how you look at it, these Magi brought these gifts a long way…and they took great Joy in presenting them to Jesus.

And I think that this is one of the best ways of applying the Joy of a Christian Christmas to the tradition of gift giving. We give in direct reflection of all that we have been given in Christ.

We give generously, like a person who found such a great treasure that nothing else matters.

We give humbly, remembering that every good and perfect gift comes from God above.

We give thoughtfully, enjoying how the gift reflects our love for the one we have given it to.

Gospel Application

Driving home this past week I noticed that across the dark sky in front of me there was only one small light to be seen. And I thought it was extra special because at that very moment a Christmas song came on about the wisemen following the star. It made me pause and wonder about those men and their journey.

But as I kept driving I started to notice that the “star” that I was driving toward was not a star at all…it was the light on top of a cell phone tower.

And after recovering from my let down…it occured to me that many of us may be settling for a star like that this Christmas. A light coming from a man-made structure instead of the Joy that comes from our God-given gift.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a joy that is not found in our the perfect ordering of our life circumstances. We have all experienced enough brokenness to know that that kind of joy is temporary at best.

Our joy is found in the perfect sacrifice and salvation of Jesus. His entry into our world is worthy of Joy, but even more how He left. And on the night before he went to the cross to make all things right between God and us, Jesus taught his disciples about how to continue to live in the Joy they had with him…even after he was gone. He said:

John 15:11 (ESV)

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The Bible teaches that it was “for the joy set before him” that Jesus endured the cross. (Heb 12:2)

The Joy of the wise men and shepherds would have been incomplete without the cross. It is our faith in the complete life of Jesus: His birth, life, death and resurrection that makes our Joy so full.

So let’s put Jesus in his rightful place this Christmas, honoring him as the unmatched treasure that He is and celebrating the “good news of great Joy” of his presence in our lives.

I am going to invite Trevor up for …and would you pray with me that all our Christmas experiences will lead us to the Joy of Jesus.