Follow Where God Leads Unwrapping the Gifts of Series Matthew 2:1-12

Intro: Welcome to week 3 of our Christmas series, turn to the book of Matthew with me. Today, we come to the story of the wise men and how they met . Misconceptions about the Christmas story. It’s amazing what we learn when we read the . It clears up misconceptions. Some of you here today have some misconceptions about God, about church, about – and today God is going to clear up some of those misconceptions.

Nativity Busters: 1. The wise men were not at the birth of Jesus a. I hate to bust up all of your Nativity dreams, but the wise men were not present at the birth of Jesus. Does this mean you have to remove your wise men from your Nativity set? I’ll leave that up to you, ha! b. Some scholars believe that Jesus might’ve been as old as 2 years old

2. The Bible actually never says there were three wise men a. Remember, Matthew and Luke are the only who mention the birth account of Jesus. Matthew mentions the wise men, Luke does not. b. Why do we think three? Gifts that were given, tradition, but Bible never clearly states three (Is it wrong to think three? No.)

Now that I have messed with your mind, your heart, and your Nativity sets in the front yard, let’s dive into the Word of God. We’ll read this and stop and talk along the way.

READ MATTHEW 2:1-2 • Who were these wise men or ? We’re not exactly sure…some believe they were Gentiles (non-Jews) who were of high position…astronomers • Some believe Magi may have received some copies of the OT and they were looking for a reference found in the book of Numbers something about a star • The star was what led them here…remember they’re astrologists o Illustration: I can’t ever find any star stuff o These men live for stars…and they have seen this one and have attributed it to belong to a King in Israel who has been born • These wise men come to King Herod in to find this child who has been born, “King of the Jews” o Herod is not from the line of …he is from the line of Esau…in his mind and in reality, this child is a threat to his kingdom o He’s appointed under Roman power o Ruthless dude – murdered his own wife, several sons, etc.

READ MATTHEW 2:3-6 • So he goes on this fact finding mission with the religious leaders of the day who point back to the book of Micah in the and pinpoint as the place where this Shepherd Ruler would be born o FYI – Bethlehem is about 6 miles south of Jerusalem • The next two verses are critical to understand the story we’ll discuss next week READ MATTHEW 2:7-8 • You can a glimpse into the wicked heart of Herod here…he is trying to find out when exactly Jesus was born because he has full intent on ending this threat • Sends the wise men on…tells them to bring him word if they find him so “he can worship him too”

READ MATTHEW 2:9-11 • Again, God guides their journey further by rising the star again until it rested over the place where Jesus was • When they saw the star, they were overjoyed • Apparently, Joseph, Mary and Jesus are still in Bethlehem but are not in a house • They walk in the house, they see the child, and they fall down in worship o Just FYI – this is the only appropriate response to Jesus o Remember, these are not Jews coming to worship their King o What a picture of the future worship of Jesus – every knee will bow, every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord o READ REVELATION 7:9-10 • Side note – can you imagine being Mary and Joseph? o Illustration: Did this happen to anyone when your kid was born? § Hospital § Sip and see o These strange men from a different country have shown up unannounced at your house, walked in, fall down in worship to your young child, and then open up treasures and give gifts to your child • Again, they are reminded in a strong way – OUR LIVES ARE SO DIFFERENT NOW, EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED o Last week – what gets lost in this story because of its familiarity is this that Mary and Joseph’s lives would never be the same, everything was altered • In one way, this could’ve encouraged their faith, yet another sign that this was God’s plan…this was the Son of God

READ MATTHEW 2:12 • God again leads their path by warning them not to go back to Herod for the sake of the protection of Jesus…and they take a different route home • : the most precious and costly gift. It is always represents value and wealth. • : A costly incense, creating a beautiful aroma reserved to be used only in the most special moments. Moments like a wedding or some kind of royal procession. • : Had value, but not as much as frankincense. It was similar in that it was perfume. It was looked upon as being a gift for a normal person.

There’s a transition that has taken place in this story that I believe is the transition that God wants every person to walk through…

God-Transition: Bystander to Participant • Let me illustrate from this story • The wise men noticed something was going on when they saw the star • Like I mentioned earlier, some believe these men may have connected that after reading some of the OT to a significant God moment • They could easily have said, “Well look at that…” – and not done anything else • Their spiritual eyes opened and their spiritual ears perked up • Illustration: Car wreck o Burning car, people about to die in the car o Bystanders stand there, maybe pull out their phone to video it o Participants jump into the situation, take a risk and rescue people from death • Spiritual Life o Some are bystanders, simply standing on the sidelines and not in the game of the o Some are taking risks, jumping into people’s lives to rescue them from hell

Every person in this room fits into one category as it relates to being involved in the activity of God

Bystanders • Numb to the things of God o It’s a passing recognition of the activity of God o They sit in a church service and say, “That was good, what’s for lunch?” o Rare for anything to change in your life because of something God did in you o It’s an add on…if you can picture a dartboard o Following Jesus is not the center out of which everything else flows…it is one of the outer rings • Think a lot but don’t do a lot o This could be defined as the person who walks away from church and says, “You know what, I would really like to share Jesus with that guy at the office. Or I would really like to get involved deeper at church and start serving in the student ministry.” o This is often not bad intentions…just bad follow up o Bystanders get sidetracked but lesser priorities that distract from the main priority • Paralyzed because of a lack of information o I’m not taking any step in the unknown because I don’t know how it will turn out o What if the wise men had seen the star and thought, I wonder if it relates to this prophecy in the OT about the ? o But we don’t really know so let’s not go see… o What if they wouldn’t have gone to Bethlehem because it was 6 more miles down the road…well we don’t know if Jesus will be there? o Disciples – what if the 12 disciples heard the call to follow Jesus but neglected to go because they weren’t sure how it would turn out

Participants • Sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings o Bill Hybels – “Some of life’s great moments come when we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit” o You think about the times when you have stepped out in faith in your life – the most fulfilling spiritual times came from those moments o I guarantee you these wise men spoke about this experience for the rest of their lives! • They take tangible steps o They’re disciplined towards the activity of God o I’m going to schedule an appointment with that guy at the office to share Christ o I’m going to contact one of the pastors to try to get involved in a small group or in serving o I’m going to wake up earlier to spend time with God o Whatever it may be…they attach discipline to the Spirit’s promptings o Another term for this – OBEDIENCE o Real joy is found on the other side of the Spirit’s promptings and your obedience • Follow where God leads o This is the key to the entire message, and the real challenge from the message o Will I follow where God leads? § Without sufficient information, without knowing how it will turn out, without confidence that it will go well… o Will I move from a bystander to a participant?

Conclusion: In what ways is God asking you to move from being a bystander to a participant?