Wise Men Still Seek Him Today
Seeking Christ In The Three Gifts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.
The Wise Men Sought The King - Vs. 1-3
The Wise Men Sought The King - Vs. 1-3
The significance of the Magi coming is that they were Gentiles.
The promise to Abraham was for all nations to be blessed
And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the Lord, And My God is My strength), He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
this last verse is why some believe that the Magi who came were Kings.
It’s also what gave rise to the speculation that each King represented a specific and different people group.
And being that there were three different gifts mentioned, people surmised that there were only three kings.
Hence the three people groups: Asian, African, European
Regardless, they were Gentiles and thus represented salvation coming to the Gentiles.
They were actively seeking for the Christ child.
The Magi knew enough from their study of literature, history, religion, and the stars that something special was happening this night.
It’s possible that this sect of the Magi were understudies of Daniel.
Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.
If that’s true, it would make sense that Daniel would have taught them about Israel’s God and the prophecies of a Messiah. Daniel would have had access to Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s prophecies in particular.
Their study would have given them the facts that a King who was to be the Messiah, or Savior of the world was born, and this King was in fact deity.
Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
Herod…the king (vs.1)…the king (vs. 3)
He was troubled / agitated
All Jerusalem with him.
Jesus – King of the Jews (vs. 2)
Isn’t Herod the king of the Jews?
What or Who Is King of Your Life?
We saw His star and have come to worship Him.
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
We were all created to worship something.
modes of greeting
equals kiss on lips
slight difference of rank - kiss on cheek
when one was much inferior - fell upon knees and touched his forehead to the ground or prostrated himself throwing kisses at the same time toward the superior.
proskuneo
acknowledging that the one to whom you give reverence to is far superior.
Jesus is worthy of worship.
Kneeling in prayer.
Sitting at His feet.
Challenges
Do you worship Jesus on a daily basis?
How do you show that you worship and put your focus on Jesus?
When does Jesus get your undivided attention?
One thing we have done to help keep our focus right is to make Happy Birthday Jesus cards each year.
In the card we make a note of a gift we want to give Jesus for His birthday.
The Foolish Feign Worship - vs. 4-8
The Foolish Feign Worship - vs. 4-8
Herod sought the King as well.
Gathered the chief priests and scribes
Inquired where the Messiah was to be born.
He knew exactly what the Magi were asking.
There had long been a Messianic expectation lingering in the psyche of the people.
every Passover security was beefed up partly because the Messiah was expected to ride in during Passover.
Herod even said he wanted to worship Him.
You can acknowledge that others may indeed deserve worship, but not submit yourself to that person.
You may even steal that worship from them.
true worship is more than just physical lip service
it’s an attitude of respect, reverence, and homage
it’s a heart condition
The Wise Men Brought Gifts Of Worship - vs. 9-12
The Wise Men Brought Gifts Of Worship - vs. 9-12
When the Christ child was found, they fell down and worshipped Him with three gifts.
I believe the 3 gifts were representative of the three areas of our lives we are to love God with.
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Gold – Royalty - heart - love and loyalty
Seeking Jesus as The King - Isaiah 9.6-7
Frankincense – Deity/Atonement - soul - worship and obedience
Seeking Jesus as The High Priest – Hebrews 6:20; 7:17
Myrrh – Suffering/Healing - might - suffering and sacrifice
Seeking Jesus as The Suffering Servant – Isaiah 53
The message in the three gifts.
A King who was human and divine would suffer and die and whose sacrifice and death would bring atonement for our sins and healing to our souls.
We’ll only look in depth at Gold today.
We’ll look at Frankincense and Myrrh over the next 2 weeks.
Gold – Jesus Is The King – Isaiah 9:6-7
Gold – Jesus Is The King – Isaiah 9:6-7
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Royalty; Kingly reign
Bringing gifts was particularly important in the ancient East when approaching a superior.
These gifts were not just any ordinary gifts, but were very expensive gifts, but typical of what one would bring to a king.
But, the gold didn’t make him a king. He was already king.
He didn’t “need” the gold, he created the gold.
The gold gift was a recognition, an intensifier, of what the Christ child already was.
The Magi knew He was a king.
The gift of gold ties into - Heart, Loyalty and Love
Heart – desires
We tend to desire that which is worth much in this life.
Gold.
Man who was buried with his gold. Upon coming to the pearly gates, Gabriel asks Michael…why is this guy bringing pavement to Heaven?
Interesting - what we value greatly in this life is pavement in Heaven.
Like the Magi came seeking the King, so we too should seek His Kingship in our lives. His Kingship in our lives should be what we desire.
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy kingdom come
Numerically
Spiritual Maturity
Give us this day our daily bread
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
Just like the gold was an intensifier of what Jesus already was, so we are to intensify our worship of Him.
Even though these were expensive treasures, Jesus is worth more than all three put together and should be treasured above all else.
Is Jesus your treasure? Do you put Him in a place in your life that is at the most important place?
one way is to rejoice with exceeding great joy.
declarations of great joy. Praise reports.
another way is through prayer and songs of praise
a third way is to listen to God and obey. vs 12 - Frankincense
Our Proper Hearts Attitude Leads To Loyalty And Love
Loyalty: God’s fame or ours?
popularity, fame, fortune, etc.
are we trying to make Him famous, or ourselves?
are we striving to become like God or are we trying to remake God into our image?
Are we building God’s kingdom or ours?
Love: That which brings me pleasure
God is most glorified when we are satisfied in Him.
describes the longings of a person’s heart or cravings
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
That we might love Him more dearly.
Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever. For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
Just like the wise men sought him then, let’s be wise and seek for Jesus now.
Let’s not feign our worship, but let’s pour out our whole heart to the Lord this year.
Let’s recommit to pursue and promote His Kingdom.
Let’s recommit to be loyal and love Jesus more.
As we head into this new year, let’s commit to the words of this song:
Day by day
Day by day
O dear Lord three things I pray
To see Thee more clearly
Love Thee more dearly
Follow Thee more nearly
Day by day
Wise men do still seek Him today. Let’s be wise.
Closing Song: Manger Throne, You’re Worthy Of My Praise.