Good News Baptist Church
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  • Away In A Manger

  • Introduction

    This morning we concluded a series called Faith Like Christmas. It is titled that way because we used the faith of Mary and Joseph as examples for our own faithful-obedience.
    This evening, I’d like us to read the story of the journey of the wise men and briefly look at their example of what it means to have Christ-centered, life-defining faith as opposed to accessory faith.
    Matthew 2:1–12 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. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Beth-lehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Beth-lehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 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.
    There are things that I want to look at quickly concerning the wise men that show us examples of life-defining faith that has Christ at the center.

    Life-Defining Faith Makes Jesus the Priority

    When the wise men saw the star, they did not put “visit possible Messiah” on their to-do list. They stopped what they were doing. They shut down their lives, they put together very valuable and meaningful gifts, they risked a long journey - lasting up to two years - to see the King that had been born.
    We know their faith was life defining because it was the one that drove them to find Jesus. Everything else took a back seat to the faith that drove them to the King.

    Life-Defining Faith Is Relentless

    The wise men arrive at king Herod’s palace, and when they asked about the birth of this King whose star they had seen, Herod was troubled, as were the people of Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem knew that the birth of a king that was not Herod’s heir would bring upset and possible violence to the already delicate political climate.
    When the wise men arrived at Herod’s palace, the King they were looking for was not there, but they did not move on until they found out where. Herod asks the scribes and priests about this, and they give him the answer from Scripture - Bethlehem of Judea. The wise men leave, and as they leave Jerusalem, they see the star again and resume their following of it until it rests above the house where Jesus, Joseph, and Mary are staying.

    Life-Defining Faith Is Humble

    These wise men were royal advisors. They were used to standing in king’s courts advising them. Yet these wise men knew that this little one was like no other king in this world. This little boy named Jesus was the true King of Kings, something that Persian emperors Xerxes had styled themselves by at one point. No, this boy was worthy of them falling to the ground and worshipping humbly.
    And speaking of worship...

    Life-Defining Faith Worships Jesus

    When the wise men arrived at the house, they go in and joyfully worship Jesus. We often think that worship is songs. And though songs of praise can be worship, worship starts way before the song does. When we read that the wise men worshiped Jesus, it started years before they ever entered the house.
    Their worship was not comprised of the praise that they surely uttered with their mouths about Jesus in the presence of Mary and Joseph. Their worship did not even start when they set out on their long and dangerous journey. The worship of the wise men started when they diligently were studying God’s word and looking to the skies for the sign.
    See, these wise men that came from the east are also known as the magi, which is the Greek word for them. These magi were magicians and seers for the rulers of Persia, where Babylon set. In fact, hundreds of years before this event, the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar had invaded and defeated Judah and took many of its young men captive into Babylon.
    One of these men was named Daniel. Daniel was a man that loved God and had rock-solid faith. Because of this, God allowed him to be promoted in the Persian empire to the chief of the magi, the magicians, the wise men. Daniel was very vocal of his faith, and it is not a stretch to believe that as the chief of the magi, Daniel taught them the prophecies about the Messiah. Not only that, but Daniel himself gave a prophecy of the timeline in which the Messiah, a prince, would appear. (Daniel 9:24-27)
    No doubt, he had taught them about the Messiah and the prophecy of Balaam found all the way back in Numbers 24:17 that says that there will be a Star coming from Jacob and the Scepter will be in His hand. In other words, a king would be born. Further back in Genesis we find the prophecy about Judah, the son of Jacob, that the scepter, or the legitimate rule of government, would always be from that tribe.
    As we should well be aware, Jesus was born of Mary who was of the tribe of Judah. And given the timeline that Daniel had prophesied, the wise men would have been looking to the west, looking to the sky to see the Star of Jacob that would announce the birth of a new King of the Jews, but not just any king, the Messiah, the anointed one, the chosen one, sent By God to save mankind of their sin.
    For the wise men, worship started when they started searching the scriptures and searching the skies.

    Life-Defining Faith Gives the Very Best

    Not only did the wise men pay respect and honor to Jesus by arriving and kneeling and worshiping Him, they offered him gifts. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gifts that were costly, rare, and valuable. They did not give Jesus leftovers or second best things, they gave him the best.
    Even now, frankincense is extremely expensive to produce. Myrrh is still considered a luxury item, reaching costs that are significantly higher than gold.
    These were not just things they had laying around. They would have been protected in their vaults and treasuries.
    Life-defining faith is willing to give the very best.

    Life-Defining Faith Obeys God Unquestioningly

    Lastly, life-defining faith obeys God without question. The wise men surely had plans. They had their MapQuest sheets already printed out for the return journey, but when they were warned in a dream to change their travel route, they did not question, they did not presume to know better, they simply obeyed.

    Do You Have Life-Defining Faith?

    For our faith to be life-defining it must move from the margins to the center of our lives. It must stop being an accessory and become the main thing.
    When we have life-defining faith, our time will reflect it. Our spending will reflect it. Our treatment of others will reflect it. Our hobbies will reflect it. Our conversation and dreams and plans will reflect that we have life-defining faith.
    The question each of these begin to center on is this: Does this lift Jesus up?
    So what is the mirror for us to look into tonight? Does my calendar reflect that Jesus is the center, or am I fitting Him into my free time? If there is not game on the weekend, I’ll be at church. If I don’t oversleep, I’ll read the Bible. If there is nothing else going on, then I’ll participate in church.
    Do my conversations reflect that I have life-defining faith? Do my dreams and aspirations that I am chasing reflect my life-defining faith? Does my spending reflect it?
    Is your faith in Christ accessory faith, or is it life-defining faith?
    Pray.

      • Matthew 2:1–12KJV1900

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