Sermon Tone Analysis

The world is full of seekers.

I got a really good look at some of them up close and personal recently.

I was standing in a wide aisle in Wal-Mart around 5 AM this past Black Friday, literally at a standstill packed next to other seekers, all searching ferociously and frantically for the best deals.

They searched for TVs and Mp3 players, computers and GPS, phones and movies and blenders and toys.

Ever so often, you’d hear /Excuse me, where did you get that?

I’ve been looking all over the store for them?

Thank you! /And off they scurry to grab one before they were gone.

They search for stuff for their kids, their grandkids, their spouse or grandparents, or for themselves.

When they find what they’re looking for, they hold on to it for dear life.

I heard of one lady who guarded the trampoline in her buggy like a pit bull, daring anybody to touch her prize.

Then a thought came into my head: if all these people got all the things they are searching for, would that make Christmas happy for them and their families?

I mean, if you could make a list of everything you and your family want, and somehow you got every single item, would that guarantee a merry Christmas and happy New Year?

Maybe for awhile.

But I wonder how long after the new wears off we’d be off searching for something else.

Which posed another question: surely we seek more out of life than just more stuff?

Surely life is more than just looking for and acquiring material things?

There are enough unhappy millionaires to prove that you can be rich and still be miserable.

Things are nice, and I’m thankful for what I have, but there has to be more.

Don’t we seek more from life?

We seek to love and be loved, we seek meaning and purpose, we seek a higher goal than just running another lap of the rat race.

We can’t always pin down precisely what it is, but most of us are looking for more, aren’t we?

What are we seeking?

Where should we look?

What are we longing for that will satisfy the deepest secret longings of our hungry hearts?

The answer is not a what, but a Who.

In the Bible there is a story about some wise men who found this One Who is the key to all we are searching for.

The story of their search is found in

*Matt.

2:1-12*.

As we join them on their journey, you just might Someone you are searching for.

Let’s begin in *vs.

1-8*.

*PRAYER*

*            *These Scriptures introduce us to some seekers who teach us 3 things about our own seeking:

 

 

 

*I.

**SOME OF US ARE SERIOUS SEEKERS.

(v.

1-8)*

The teenager lost a contact lens while playing basketball in his driveway.

After looking for a few minutes, he came inside and informed his mother the lens was nowhere to be found.

Mom doesn’t say a word, but walks outside and in a few minutes returns with the lens in her hand.

“I really looked hard for that, Mom,” the young man says.

“How’d you manage to find it so fast?” “Because, she replies, “We weren’t looking for the same thing.

You were looking for a small piece of plastic.

I was looking for $150.”

[i]

Some of us are like that teenager: our seeking isn’t very serious.

Oh we may spend a little time looking thinking about answers or meaning, but we’re not very disappointed if we don’t find what we’re looking for.

We keep ourselves occupied and entertained and comfortable.

It takes something pretty drastic to get our attention and get us searching.

But some of us are like these visitors to Jerusalem—we are serious seekers.

They are the *μάγοι** *from which the English word /magic /comes from.

The Greek historian Herodotus records that they were originally part of the nation of the Medes who unsuccessfully tried to overthrow the Persian empire of the ancient world.

Their loss of political power led them to become a tribe of priests who were the royal tutors of Persian kings.

They were skilled in philosophy, medicine, and natural science, but also delved into the supernatural world, interpreting dreams and other prophecies.

They were astrologers, watching the stars, looking for clues in their movement through the heavens.

They were seekers after knowledge and wisdom, always alert to any clue of meaning or purpose, whether it was in records from the past or current events of their day.

These particular Magi were probably from Babylon, which was about 900 miles from Jerusalem.

They traveled a long way, at considerable expense to find this One Who is born King of the Jews.

The question is /why?

/

They weren’t Jews.

Why should they care about a ruler of a politically weak nation as Israel?

Perhaps they had read at least some passages in the Hebrew OT which promise a Messiah Who would usher in peace into the world.

Another reason is that both Jewish and Roman historians around this time believed a Messiah was about to show up on the scene.

But I wonder if there wasn’t have been another reason.

I wonder if perhaps these men were searching for something more.

They enjoyed a privileged position in the king’s court.

They were well provided for and well-respected for their great wisdom.

But something was still missing.

As they searched the OT Scriptures, I wonder if they thought /here’s something here worth seeking out.

Could this be what is missing from my life?

/

            It must have sounded strange to all their friends and family when they took off on their 900 mile journey, with only a star as their GPS.

It must have come as a disappointment to arrive in Jerusalem, the capitol city, and discover not a newborn king, but an evil tyrant named Herod sitting on the throne.

But it is here they will discover the next step in their journey.

They are, after all, serious seekers.

How many of us are serious seekers?

How many of us are looking for something more?

Probably not all of us.

Our culture likes to keep us numb and satisfied with fun and games, food and laughter.

We live in a noisy age, where you have to keep the TV or stereo on because we’re afraid of silence.

Stay entertained, stay busy, because if you silence all the distractions, you may notice that deep inside, you long for something more, something they can’t sell you at the store, something the government cannot provide, something that you need to seriously seek and search for.

I want to invite you to go against the flow and be like these wise men—to become a serious seeker.

Ask the hard questions, push aside all the hype and empty promises, and ask yourself /how can I find what I’m really searching for in life?

/

Phillip Swann writes: …we may call this 'something more' happiness, peace, contentment or even success.

It is the hunt for these things that drives us forward in life.

We may spend months looking forward to a holiday we have booked, or the week looking forward to a ‘good night out’…But good times don't last — we always want more.

You will never discover what that something more is until you become a serious seeker.

But if you follow in the footsteps of the Magi, you will discover that

*II.

**SERIOUS SEEKERS FIND CHRIST.

(v.

9-11)*

A telemarketer calls a home one day, and a small voice whispers, “Hello?”

“Hello!

What’s your name?”* *Still whispering, the voice says, “Jimmy.”

“How old are you, Jimmy?” “I’m four.”

“Good, is your mother home?” “Yes, but she’s busy.”

“Okay, is your father home?” “He’s busy too.”

“I see.

who else is there?”

“The police.”

“The police?

May I speak with one of them?”

“They’re busy.”