Following Your Star

Sermon Series: Life and Ministry of Jesus

Slogan: Resurrection Power seen in 2019!

Today the Christian world observes the feast of the Epiphany or Three Kings. What is the significance of the feast? How do we Christians observe it? I think the practical importance of this feast is that it is a reminder for all of us that today, we should start taking down our Christmas decorations. We are blessed with a streak of nice weather coming our way, so for those of you with outdoor Christmas decors (like in the Navarro household), this is your opportunity. I remember a year when we did not get nice weather until March...

Matthew 2:1–12 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. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Who were the Wise Men?

The word use by Matthew for wise men is magi.

One thing about these wise men or magi, they were most likely pagans in their practice...

Not Kings — we know

There were not just three of them

Magi is related to wise men from Persia — link with Daniel.

Astrologers, they study the stars, they were the forerunners of people today who believe in the horoscope.

I believe that God placed them in the story of the life of Jesus for a reason, there can be a life lesson for everyone of us to learn from

Note that God did two marvelous things in the story of the magi:

I believe that God placed them in the story of the life of Jesus for a reason, there can be a life lesson for everyone of us to learn from

clues here on why the wise men did not visit Jesus right after his birth..

Their story was not only an incident that Matthew under the guidance of the Holy Spirit included in his gospel account...

There was a direct divine revelation to them by God:

God’s Direct Revelation to the Magi:

Through a star that appeared and literally guided them to the house where the young Jesus was.

Through a warning in a dream not to return to Herod.

God has his reasons why the magi came and later departed. Tradition and some apocryphal (meaning writings outside the canon of scripture) writings suggest that they may have helped in the spread of Christianity to the east.

I believe the coming of the magi offers a lesson to all of us. The lesson and also the big idea of my message is that

JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE TRUE STAR THAT WISE MEN PURSUE.

The magi were astrologers, they studied the stars, to understand the seasons and also to understand life, but God supernaturally brought out a star unlike any other that became their guide that led them to the ONLY ONE WHO BRINGS TRUE MEANING IN LIFE.

What star are we pursuing?

Last week I talked about where we derive our significance.

Today the question is what is our life’s pursuit?

Betterment of life:

success in your career

nice home for your family

good future for your kids, good education

a hefty investment, bank account

These are not bad, there is nothing written in scripture that tells us to abandon all these things for Jesus. Actually, that is the lesson we get from the fact that at the end of this story, the magi did not stay with Jesus but departed to their own country, they went back to their lives.

But if we are given a necessary choice, will we abandon everything for Jesus and His Kingdom?

Some people are in survival mode:

They have been stripped of all the higher aspirations of life and left with just hope to survive one day at a time.

Yesterday, I came across the story of a woman who has stage 4 cancer. Her husband started a gofundme campaign, it is not to raise funds to cure his wife, because of the terminal nature of the disease He is hoping for a miracle. But because of the cost of daily chemo therapy which they cannot afford, his wish is just for donors to help him “be with his wife for one more day”.

He is left with this hope, and the rest is in God’s hands.

There are Christians around the world who face persecution because of their faith, the last century saw more Christians dying as martyrs than any other centuries combined. I remember the story of a pastor in India who was beaten up by muslim extremists, the place where they gathered for worship was burned down.

We do not have to be stripped down of everything down to the bare minimum necessity, surviving just one day at a time, but in our hearts, are we willing and ready to give everything up for Jesus Christ?

What is your life pursuit?

Who rules in your heart?

This story from the Bible found in Matthew can well be entitled,

“The Tale of Two Kings”.

The Illegitimate King who sat on the throne - Herod

The One True King - Jesus

Herod was illegitimate as king in every sense of the word.

First of all, he was not a rightful heir to the throne of Israel, he was not even an Israelite, He was an Edomite, he descended from Esau not Israel.. the only reason he sat on the throne was because the Romans installed him as a figurehead king of the Jews.

Anything that sits on the throne of our heart apart from Jesus is illegitimate.

We are created and designed to live under the rulership of Jesus.

Look at the book of Revelation, the destiny of mankind is to worship Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Apostle Paul in says, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

King Jesus is our destiny!

We don’t have to wait for the world to end to allow Jesus to enthrone our hearts.

You know why we worship? This is our future in heaven!

Our worship on earth is just a rehearsal of our eternal life.

That is boring! It is only boring if Jesus has not been enthroned on the your hearts yet.

If Jesus is King, worship will just flow naturally… you deserve the highest praise..

In the Book of Revelation, the song of the multitudes..

Matthew

Revelation 7:9–10 ESV

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Herod is the type of Satan, the usurper to the throne..

First he is a thief!

He stole the throne, what he really does in stealing the throne of our hearts is to steal your joy, your peace and your hope. This is why a lot of people even Christians do not enjoy the victorious Christian life.

Do you know that..

The Defeated Christian is An Oxymoron.

As Christians we are meant to live a life full of love, joy and peace on a consistent basis!

To put it in more serious and ominous terms:

If Jesus is not seated on the throne of your heart, Satan has successfully stolen your whole life away!

Secondly he deceives:

Matthew 2:8 ESV

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.”

One of Satan’s job descriptions is to lie to you and lead you away from your true destiny, to prevent the rule of Jesus in your life.

He replaces your life’s pursuit with worldly stuff, filling it with false wealth..

Mineral Pyrite.

Image of Pyrite here..

Mineral with a metallic luster that resembles gold.

“Fool’s gold”

Beware of false gold that appear to be valuable but has no significant value. Worst it leads you away from what is truly valuable.

Last thing that Satan does is to destroy.

In the latter part of Matthew’s account, when Herod found out that he was tricked by the wise men, he sent out to kill ..

Satan is serious about totally destroying you. He is taking no prisoners so to speak.. he is out there as the ruthless illegitimate ruler.

Proverbs 16:25 ESV

25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

But fear not and take heart — Satan is a defeated foe!

But fear not and take heart — Satan is a defeated foe!

Ephesians 4:8 ESV

8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

Jesus Christ has already prevailed, He won the victory on the cross, then He rose again from the dead and He ascended to heaven and stands at the right hand of the Father!

There is no longer any reason for us to live in defeat, you can be part of a victorious army that overcomes not only in the personal daily battles day after day but also be among the saints of God who will advance God’s Kingdom on earth until King Jesus comes again to take us home to His heavenly Kingdom!

Jesus is Your King, Prophet and Priest!

Wise men made the right choice, they knew the truth and they pursued it..

Gifts - King

Frankincense - Priest

Myrrh - Talks about Jesus’ death, which is the fulfillment of all prophecy

Kings will bow..

The bright morning star..

Allow Jesus be enthroned in your heart..

Daily devotion, Bible, connection with God..

“dear sister”

Wise men still worship Jesus, be among the wise today.

Wise men still worship Jesus, be among the wise today.

Today’s confession:

I declare YOU JESUS Jesus as MY One TRUE KING!

My final destiny!

I give all MY LIFE TO YOU JESUS!

RULE ON THE THRONE OF MY HEART!

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD

I WILL MARCH IN VICTORY

I RENOUNCE THE WORK AND RULE OF SATAN

AND PRONOUNCE HIM DEAD AND DEFEATED IN MY LIFE

IN YOUR NAME!

I CLAIM THE VICTORY

AND RESURRECTION POWER IN 2019

IN YOUR MIGHTY NAME!

AMEN!