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 I think I've told you this before, but one of the things that we like to do with our kids every night around the dinner table is we do high, low, bet you don't know.

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 Where the kids share something about their day that went really well, that they're excited about something that didn't go according to plan and something that we may not know.

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 Well, I feel like that's how this week has gone.

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 I feel like it's been high, low, bet you don't know.

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 There's been some highs.

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 We've got to experience salvations.

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 We've got to see God working some mighty ways.

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 There's been some lows not being able to meet last week, and there has been some bet you don't knows that has taken place this week.

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 But I am so thankful for our church.

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 I'm thankful for the way that you just rally around and respond to things like this.

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 You know, so many times it's things like this that can come in and just kind of get everybody talking and frustrated about things.

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 And all of a sudden, one thing leads to another.

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 But it's just been so wonderful to see the church come together.

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 And it's been a real blessing.

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 And it's been God has provided in so many ways.

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 Just at the beginning of the week, we were getting ready to order porta potties.

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 And then we were able to find out that, hey, these bathrooms right here, right outside the bridge work.

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 And praise God for that.

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 And we are thankful for that.

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 Now, it will be a little while before we can go back into the older part of the church and conduct business as usual.

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 And I mean that in every way imaginable.

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 But we are thankful that we can be here at this time.

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 We're thankful that we can come together, that we can just laugh about this and still praise God because God is good.

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 And we are so thankful that we can come together and celebrate Christmas and celebrate the fact that we serve a risen Savior.

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 And so with so many things going on this week, I'm thankful to be here worshiping with my church family.

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 And that is an incredible blessing.

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 One of the things that I like to collect, if you go into my office, you'll see I like to collect a lot of different things.

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 But one of the things that I like to collect is nativity scenes.

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 And every time I go on a mission trip or travel to somewhere, I love to collect nativity scenes.

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 And so if you go in my office, you'll see nativity scenes from Central and South America.

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 You'll see one from Cuba.

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 You'll see some of those from Africa.

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 I even have one from Israel that someone brought back to me.

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 One that's really special is one that probably the first one I ever had that my mom would give us every year at Christmas to put on our bedside table.

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 It's in my office.

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 And so there's nativity scenes that are set up year-round in my office.

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 But at home, we have some as well that are really special that we'll put out.

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 And my girls love to play with them.

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 They love to take them and play with them and, you know, I guess reenact the story of Christmas.

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 And this past week, I had one of those really proud dad moments.

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 I looked up on our mantle, and there was the nativity set, but the wise men weren't there.

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 And then I looked further down the mantle, and there was three wise men over further down the mantle all facing the rest of the scene, the birth of Christ here.

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 But they weren't there yet.

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 And I was thinking, those girls have been listening.

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 They, you know, the wise men probably, there's no way they were there at the same time as the shepherds were.

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 It took a lot longer for them to get there.

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 Now, in full disclosure, it could have been that they were lazy, and that's where they put them back up.

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 I didn't ask because I wanted to use that story this morning.

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 And so I'll find out this afternoon if that's actually what it was or not.

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 But that's the story that we're going to be looking at today.

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 We're going to be looking at that time when the wise men were making their way onto the scene to worship Jesus.

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 You heard Jannie read this story for us earlier this morning, but I want us to follow along with this story.

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 Now, this is a familiar story.

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 This is one of those stories that we hear every single year.

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 And I think sometimes there's a danger in those familiar stories where we can hear them, and we know how the story goes,

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 and so we can just kind of tune out for the story.

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 I want to encourage you not to do that this morning.

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 I want you to listen to this story with fresh ears and be able to hopefully see what God is communicating to us through His Word.

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 And so if you have a copy of God's Word, I want to invite you to follow along as I read Matthew 2,

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 starting in verse 1 and making our way through verse 12.

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 It says this,

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 Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,

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 behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

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 Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

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 For we saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him.

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 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him.

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 And assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,

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 he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

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 And they told him,

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 And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

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 For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

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 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.

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 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,

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 Go and search diligently for the child.

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 And when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him.

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 And after listening to the king, they went on their way.

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 And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them

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 until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

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 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

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 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother,

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 and they fell down and worshipped him.

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 Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts,

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 gold and frankincense and myrrh.

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 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod,

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 they departed to their own country by another way.

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 And so in this familiar passage today,

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 a passage that I've talked through a couple of times now,

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 previous pastors have talked through,

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 I want us to consider a few observations this morning.

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 And the first thing that I want us to consider is the people that you see in this story.

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 I want you to look with me for just a moment at the people that we see in this story.

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 In verse 1, we're introduced to the wise men.

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 In Matthew's account, we see an unlikely group of people coming to Jesus,

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 the wise men or the magi.

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 Now, there's a few things that we don't know about this group.

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 And a lot of times, we think we know some things about them just from the nativity sets

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 and things that we have displayed.

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 But first of all, we really don't know how many wise men there were.

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 You know, a lot of times we assume that there's three wise men because we see three gifts,

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 gold, frankincense and myrrh.

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 But if you think about it, if I told you that for my birthday this year,

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 I got money, I got toys and I got clothes,

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 that wouldn't tell you how many people were there.

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 It would just tell you there were three different types of gifts that I was given.

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 In fact, it would have been incredibly rare for only three of these men to travel together.

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 And so most likely, it was a larger group of wise men that were these magi that were traveling.

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 And then they would have people that traveled along with them and probably some families.

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 And so it was probably a good sized group that was traveling with them.

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 But another thing, another misconception that a lot of times we have is that these were kings that were coming.

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 You know, after all, we sing we three kings.

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 But that's something that the passage doesn't tell us.

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 Nowhere in scripture are we told that these were kings.

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 But we are told that they're magi,

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 which I'm sure that you can guess the words that we get in our English language today that come from this.

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 Magic and magician.

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 Now, when we say this, I don't want you to think of David Blaine or David Copperfield and that type of magician.

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 That is not who these men were.

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 But D.A. Carson, he mentions that he says,

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 the term loosely covered a wide variety of men interested in dreams, astrology, magic,

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 books about books thought to contain mysterious references to the future and the like.

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 He says, some magi honestly inquired after truth,

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 but many were rogues or charlatans.

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 And so these men seem to have an interest in astrology because they were told that the star brought them to Jesus.

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 And so the ESV that I'm reading from here and many other English translations,

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 it uses wise men to describe them.

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 However, we are never told that they were kings from this text.

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 And this idea is something that came about far later on.

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 But what I do find interesting is the direction that these men were coming to Bethlehem from.

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 They were coming and traveling from the direction of Babylon.

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 Now, many scholars, and we're not told from this passage here,

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 but I think we can easily put some things together.

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 They were this word that was used for magi here in the Septuagint.

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 It was the same word that was used in Daniel where it was talking about the magi or those that Daniel was talking with

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 and associated with in the book of Daniel.

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 And so there's no doubt in my mind that Daniel, living on mission for God in Babylon,

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 living on mission for him with where God had placed him,

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 would have told many of those that he was closely associated with about the coming king,

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 about the coming Messiah.

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 He would have shared his faith with those that he was with.

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 And so that would be something that would get passed down and further and further.

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 And so now these magi coming from that same direction see this star and they begin to travel.

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 And it would have taken a significant amount of time for them to make their way to Bethlehem.

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 And so this message would have been passed down and it would have been from a,

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 there would be a group of magi looking for the coming king.

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 Now, some of these things we don't know, but whoever they were, however many of them there were,

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 we do know that these were important men who had access to great wealth.

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 They, the gifts they brought were expensive, not to mention the long journey it would have taken them to get to Bethlehem.

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 We know that Herod, after he asked them about the timing of this and after they didn't return,

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 he said that to go and...

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 ...

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 ...

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 Pagan special.

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 Magic and divination, blatant violators of Old Testament law.

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 And these sinners, these blatant violators of the Old Testament law are coming to worship Jesus.

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 And so we should be really aware and beware of having a narrower vision of who can come to Jesus than God does.

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 We can be so prone to write people off like this.

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 We can be so prone to say, you know what, God would never work in this person's life.

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 Look at all the things that they've been involved with in their past.

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 They can never come to faith in Christ.

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 May we not have a narrower view of people who've never heard the gospel.

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 May we not have a narrower view of people who may come from a different background than we do.

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 Who maybe were raised in a different religion than we are.

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 May we never write them off as people who can't come to Jesus.

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 Because God can and does change hearts as only He can.

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 And so may we never look at people that we come in contact with and think,

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 Well, they're a lost cause.

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 Because that's not how God sees people.

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 He certainly doesn't see this.

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 The next person that we're introduced to in this passage is King Herod.

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 Now there are several Herods that are significant in Scripture.

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 And all of the Herods that are mentioned in Scripture are related to this Herod.

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 And in some way, either directly or indirectly,

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 were against Jesus and against Christianity.

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 This Herod was known to be ruthless.

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 He killed sons.

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 In fact, the emperor, he says,

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 It would be better to be one of Herod's sows than one of his sons.

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 He says it would be better to be a pig owned by Herod than one of his actual sons,

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 one of his actual children, because he was prone to killing him.

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 He even killed wife.

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 He would dress up as a commoner, go out into the streets,

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 and ask people what they thought about King Herod.

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 And then if they thought negatively of him or spoke negatively about him,

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 he would go back and have people go and take care of that situation.

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 And so this person, this king, was ruthless.

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 And so he was actively opposed to Jesus and all of this idea about this coming king.

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 After all, in his mind, if this really is the king of the Jews,

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 then he would be out of a job.

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 This response to Jesus comes because he feels threatened by Jesus.

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 Jesus poses a threat to his way of life.

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 And this is something that I think we all have in common with Herod.

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 Jesus poses a threat to our way of life.

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 Jesus poses a threat to how we live our lives.

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 We are told over and over again in Scripture

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 that following Jesus is not a tack on.

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 It's not something that we just sprinkle onto our life

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 to give it a little bit of flavor here and there.

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 No, it changes everything.

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 It is a complete change of your life.

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 In fact, it is impossible to enter a life-changing relationship

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 with Jesus and your life not change.

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 It's impossible.

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 This is something that we all have in common with Herod here,

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 that Jesus is a threat to our way of life.

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 Douglas O'Donnell, he makes this accurate and profound statement.

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 He says this,

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 Jesus is a real threat to anyone and everyone who thinks seriously about him.

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 If Jesus is king, it means that you're not.

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 It means your dethronement.

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 It means your submission.

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 It means that you can't lead your life any longer.

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 If Jesus is who he says he is,

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 either you love him or you hate him.

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 But there's another group that I want to briefly mention this morning as well.

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 And that's the chief priests and scribes.

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 A lot of times they get left out of this story

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 because it's just a brief mention of them in there.

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 But I think one of the most shocking parts of this story

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 is the group of people who responded to the coming Messiah

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 by doing absolutely nothing.

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 In this passage, we see the chief priests and scribes answer Herod.

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 And the passage says,

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 And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people,

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 he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

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 And they told him,

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 In Bethlehem of Judea.

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 For as it is written by the prophet,

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 And you, O Bethlehem,

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 in the land of Judah,

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 are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

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 For from you shall come a ruler

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 who will shepherd my people Israel.

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 The chief priests and the scribes

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 could ace a test about the coming Messiah.

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 No one knew the scriptures better than them.

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 They were meticulous about copying down the scriptures.

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 No one understood and knew the scriptures

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 better than the chief priests and the scribes.

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 And so they know all of the stories about the coming Messiah.

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 They didn't have to go and look it up

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 when Harry comes and say,

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 Hey, where's this baby to be born?

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 They would have known it immediately.

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 Oh, Bethlehem.

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 It's written.

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 It's foretold.

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 It's in scripture.

00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:34.340
 It's there.

00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:36.360
 They would have known the answer immediately.

00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:41.159
 And yet, they do nothing with this.

00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:43.779
 These were the experts.

00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:45.899
 They had all the answers to the questions.

00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:49.559
 And may we not get caught up in knowledge

00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:53.679
 so much so that we miss what the knowledge is pointing us to.

00:16:54.539 --> 00:16:56.659
 May we never miss the forest for the trees

00:16:56.659 --> 00:16:58.659
 that are right in front of our face.

00:16:59.079 --> 00:17:01.480
 And so what we see here is three distinct people

00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:03.459
 or groups of people,

00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:06.299
 all of which are responding differently

00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:09.339
 to the same information about Jesus.

00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:12.539
 And the question that we must ask ourselves is,

00:17:12.539 --> 00:17:15.559
 how are we going to respond to Jesus?

00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:19.519
 How are we going to respond to this information?

00:17:19.700 --> 00:17:23.079
 In this passage, we are given several examples

00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:26.819
 of how people responded to Jesus at the time of his birth.

00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:29.940
 And I don't think that it's too far of a stretch

00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:32.779
 to say that we today respond very similarly

00:17:32.779 --> 00:17:35.859
 to this same information.

00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:39.500
 That how they responded 2,000 years ago

00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:43.219
 is very similar to the way people respond today.

00:17:43.719 --> 00:17:46.299
 And so what I want us to spend the remainder time on

00:17:46.299 --> 00:17:47.759
 is answering this question.

00:17:48.299 --> 00:17:52.279
 How do these individuals respond to the birth of Christ?

00:17:53.139 --> 00:17:54.219
 And we just mentioned it,

00:17:54.259 --> 00:17:55.679
 but the chief priests and the scribes,

00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:59.439
 they respond by doing absolutely nothing.

00:17:59.979 --> 00:18:01.859
 And this is confusing to me.

00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:03.719
 This is one of the most confusing parts of the story.

00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:07.759
 The very people who knew the most about the coming Messiah

00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:11.480
 respond by doing absolutely nothing.

00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:13.799
 Now, I don't know if it was out of fear of Herod

00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:15.880
 or whatever the case may have been,

00:18:16.120 --> 00:18:17.480
 but for some reason,

00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:19.880
 they knew all of the answers

00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:21.720
 and they knew that something significant

00:18:22.299 --> 00:18:23.960
 was happening in Bethlehem

00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:26.559
 where this was to take place,

00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:29.240
 and yet they do nothing with it.

00:18:29.860 --> 00:18:31.259
 John Piper notes, he says,

00:18:31.259 --> 00:18:34.859
 the sheer silence and inactivity of the leaders

00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:38.559
 is overwhelming in view of the magnitude

00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:39.759
 of what is happening.

00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:42.079
 Think with me for just a moment

00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:44.180
 about the significance of what is happening.

00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:46.119
 The chief priests and the scribes

00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:49.879
 spent their life copying and studying the Old Testament.

00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:52.940
 They knew what the Scripture said about the Messiah.

00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:56.119
 They knew that he was supposed to be born in Bethlehem,

00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:58.659
 but yet they did nothing with it.

00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:02.179
 One commentator, he described the situation.

00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:03.559
 He said it this way.

00:19:03.659 --> 00:19:03.799
 He says,

00:19:03.919 --> 00:19:07.039
 These religious experts pushed their buzzer,

00:19:07.159 --> 00:19:08.039
 won their prize,

00:19:08.139 --> 00:19:11.259
 and went back to bury their heads in the Word of God.

00:19:11.619 --> 00:19:12.719
 And as Paul put it,

00:19:12.719 --> 00:19:14.500
 they were always learning

00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:18.719
 and never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth.

00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:21.819
 Now, while we can easily look at this passage

00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:25.140
 and say of the chief priests and the scribes,

00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:28.319
 how can you respond by doing nothing?

00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:30.480
 We can look at this and say,

00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:34.420
 how could you possibly respond by doing nothing?

00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:35.740
 But before we do that,

00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:37.600
 may we first look at our own lives.

00:19:38.360 --> 00:19:41.019
 How are we responding to this news?

00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:43.839
 How are we responding to the gospel?

00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:47.000
 But because claiming a relationship with Jesus

00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:50.140
 while not letting Jesus be Lord of our lives

00:19:50.140 --> 00:19:53.420
 looks a lot like having this information

00:19:53.420 --> 00:19:55.660
 and doing nothing with it.

00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:58.359
 May we take this information

00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:01.279
 and may we not be like these chief priests and scribes

00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.119
 and do nothing with it.

00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:06.039
 The next person we see in this passage is King Herod.

00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:07.940
 What does King Herod do with this?

00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:12.619
 He responds by being actively opposed to Jesus.

00:20:13.180 --> 00:20:13.579
 It says,

00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:15.599
 When Herod the king heard this,

00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:19.219
 he was troubled and all of Jerusalem with him.

00:20:19.959 --> 00:20:22.819
 Herod's response was about as far from doing nothing

00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:24.719
 as you could possibly be.

00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:26.099
 As we mentioned,

00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:29.759
 if Jesus is who the wise men claim him to be,

00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:33.459
 then this is going to turn Herod's world upside down.

00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:34.799
 And this to me,

00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:37.099
 while more harmful in practice,

00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:38.740
 makes more sense.

00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:39.879
 It's not as surprising

00:20:39.879 --> 00:20:43.079
 as the indifference of the chief priests and scribes.

00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:49.379
 Because a person attacks what they see as a threat to their way of life.

00:20:49.899 --> 00:20:54.699
 They will attack what they see as a threat to their thinking,

00:20:54.939 --> 00:20:56.179
 to their way of living.

00:20:56.659 --> 00:20:58.839
 And Jesus is such a threat.

00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:02.299
 If Herod didn't think that Jesus was actually born,

00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:05.859
 if He didn't think that Jesus might indeed be a king,

00:21:06.299 --> 00:21:07.220
 the king,

00:21:07.740 --> 00:21:09.859
 if He didn't think that this new king,

00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:11.379
 though now just a child,

00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.519
 could in fact dethrone Him,

00:21:13.639 --> 00:21:14.819
 rule over Him,

00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:16.599
 take allegiance from Him,

00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:20.099
 He would not have done the things that He did.

00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:24.500
 And so as we seek to share the gospel

00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:26.759
 with a lost and dying world,

00:21:26.879 --> 00:21:28.259
 may we not be surprised

00:21:28.259 --> 00:21:32.240
 when we see people respond negatively to what we're saying.

00:21:32.819 --> 00:21:34.199
 May we not be surprised

00:21:34.199 --> 00:21:37.319
 when we see people who are actively opposed

00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:40.099
 to what we're saying.

00:21:40.099 --> 00:21:56.059
 May we not be surprised

00:21:56.059 --> 00:21:57.099
 when people respond negatively.

00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:03.219
 But Jesus will be Lord of their lives.

00:22:03.719 --> 00:22:06.399
 And so as we seek to share this gospel message,

00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:08.080
 may we not be surprised

00:22:08.080 --> 00:22:11.519
 when people respond against this message.

00:22:12.259 --> 00:22:14.440
 But the final group we see in this passage,

00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:16.220
 the wise men.

00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:18.740
 And the wise men respond

00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:20.920
 by worshiping the true king.

00:22:21.540 --> 00:22:23.360
 The wise men respond

00:22:23.360 --> 00:22:25.360
 by worshiping the true king.

00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:25.720
 It says,

00:22:26.060 --> 00:22:27.240
 after listening to the king,

00:22:27.460 --> 00:22:28.820
 they went on their way.

00:22:29.280 --> 00:22:29.880
 And behold,

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:31.480
 the star that they had seen

00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:32.920
 when it rose before them

00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:34.920
 went before them

00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:35.940
 until it came to rest

00:22:35.940 --> 00:22:36.799
 over the place

00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:38.059
 where the child was.

00:22:38.320 --> 00:22:39.880
 And when they saw the star,

00:22:39.980 --> 00:22:42.059
 they rejoiced exceedingly

00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:43.480
 with great joy.

00:22:44.019 --> 00:22:45.299
 And going into the house,

00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:46.360
 they saw the child

00:22:46.360 --> 00:22:47.400
 with Mary his mother

00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:49.100
 and they fell down

00:22:49.100 --> 00:22:50.480
 and worshipped him.

00:22:51.059 --> 00:22:52.840
 Then opening their treasures,

00:22:53.140 --> 00:22:54.160
 they offered him gifts

00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:56.820
 of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

00:22:57.740 --> 00:22:59.059
 What I find interesting

00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:00.660
 and surprising in this story

00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:02.559
 is who worships Jesus.

00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:05.440
 Herod, the earthly king of the Jews,

00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:06.960
 doesn't worship Jesus.

00:23:07.600 --> 00:23:09.160
 The chief priests and scribes

00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:12.160
 who would recognize the Messiah,

00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:13.460
 given their knowledge,

00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:14.420
 they don't worship.

00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:17.420
 It seems that all of Jerusalem

00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:19.200
 knew that something was going on

00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:19.799
 because it says

00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:20.960
 that all of Jerusalem

00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:22.620
 was troubled with him.

00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:24.539
 They knew something was going on.

00:23:24.580 --> 00:23:25.820
 Yet we don't see people

00:23:25.820 --> 00:23:27.380
 traveling from Jerusalem

00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:28.880
 to come down and worship.

00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:31.400
 The ones we see worshiping

00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:32.020
 in this story

00:23:32.020 --> 00:23:33.460
 are not Jewish at all

00:23:33.460 --> 00:23:35.560
 and have come from far off

00:23:35.560 --> 00:23:37.960
 to worship King Jesus.

00:23:39.080 --> 00:23:40.720
 J.C. Ryle, he said,

00:23:41.040 --> 00:23:43.400
 we read of no greater faith

00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:45.880
 than this in the whole volume

00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:46.600
 of the Bible.

00:23:47.400 --> 00:23:49.100
 Now that could be an overstatement,

00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:50.400
 but it does speak

00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:51.420
 to the significance

00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:53.700
 of what is taking place

00:23:53.700 --> 00:23:54.780
 in this story.

00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:56.480
 These men

00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:59.019
 were willing to give everything

00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:00.460
 in their worship of Jesus.

00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:02.960
 They bow down and worship,

00:24:03.099 --> 00:24:04.160
 recognizing Jesus

00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:06.059
 is a far greater treasure

00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:07.579
 than anything else

00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:08.740
 in this world.

00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:10.839
 These wise men

00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:12.299
 also worshiped by giving gifts.

00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:14.639
 There has been much made

00:24:14.639 --> 00:24:16.039
 about the types of gifts

00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:17.799
 that were given

00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:18.759
 and the significance

00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:20.680
 in relation to who Jesus is.

00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:21.480
 For example,

00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:22.860
 gold representing him

00:24:22.860 --> 00:24:23.480
 as a king,

00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:25.180
 frankincense his divinity,

00:24:25.380 --> 00:24:25.640
 myrrh,

00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:27.080
 the passion and the burial,

00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:28.660
 and that may or may not

00:24:28.660 --> 00:24:29.220
 be the case,

00:24:29.299 --> 00:24:30.200
 but we do know

00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:32.279
 that these were expensive gifts

00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:33.620
 but not uncommon gifts.

00:24:34.580 --> 00:24:36.100
 By giving these gifts,

00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:37.960
 they were boldly declaring

00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:40.380
 that I value Jesus

00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:42.000
 more than anything else

00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:42.640
 in this world.

00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:44.940
 By giving Jesus these gifts,

00:24:45.060 --> 00:24:46.840
 what they're claiming,

00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:48.960
 what they're boldly proclaiming

00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:50.259
 with their actions

00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:51.480
 is that Jesus

00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:52.740
 is a far greater treasure

00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:53.859
 than earthly treasures.

00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.660
 I love how one commentator

00:24:56.660 --> 00:24:57.180
 put it.

00:24:57.220 --> 00:24:57.539
 He says,

00:24:57.640 --> 00:24:59.259
 the joy that I pursue

00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:01.059
 is not the hope

00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:02.039
 of getting rich

00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:03.660
 with things from you.

00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:05.559
 I have not come to you

00:25:05.559 --> 00:25:07.379
 for your things

00:25:07.379 --> 00:25:08.579
 but for yourself.

00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:11.000
 And this desire

00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.559
 I now intensify

00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:13.759
 and demonstrate

00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:15.400
 by giving up things

00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:18.180
 in the hope of enjoying you more.

00:25:18.180 --> 00:25:19.700
 Not the things,

00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:21.460
 by giving to you

00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:22.700
 what you do not need

00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:24.480
 and what I might enjoy,

00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:25.720
 I am saying

00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:26.900
 more earnestly

00:25:26.900 --> 00:25:28.319
 and more authentically

00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:30.720
 that you are my treasure

00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:32.480
 and not these things.

00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:34.200
 And so the question

00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:35.539
 that we must ask ourselves

00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:36.860
 this morning is this.

00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:38.980
 How are we going

00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:40.360
 to respond to Jesus?

00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:42.519
 How are we going

00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:43.679
 to respond to Jesus?

00:25:44.299 --> 00:25:45.539
 By doing nothing?

00:25:46.659 --> 00:25:47.139
 You may think,

00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:47.539
 well Brett,

00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:49.199
 you're talking to a church here.

00:25:49.899 --> 00:25:50.299
 Yes,

00:25:50.619 --> 00:25:51.679
 and there are many

00:25:51.679 --> 00:25:52.319
 in churches

00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:54.819
 all over the country today

00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:57.219
 who can ace a test

00:25:57.219 --> 00:25:58.259
 about the true meaning

00:25:58.259 --> 00:25:59.259
 of Christmas,

00:25:59.579 --> 00:26:00.459
 who can tell you

00:26:00.459 --> 00:26:01.799
 all kinds of facts

00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:03.479
 about who Jesus is

00:26:03.479 --> 00:26:04.500
 and can answer

00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:05.579
 all the questions

00:26:05.579 --> 00:26:07.119
 correctly on a test

00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:09.139
 and yet they do nothing

00:26:09.139 --> 00:26:10.399
 with that information.

00:26:11.399 --> 00:26:12.559
 May we not fall

00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:13.500
 into that category.

00:26:14.399 --> 00:26:15.559
 May we not just have

00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:16.539
 this knowledge

00:26:16.539 --> 00:26:17.179
 in our minds

00:26:17.179 --> 00:26:18.139
 but may it sink

00:26:18.139 --> 00:26:18.879
 into our hearts

00:26:18.879 --> 00:26:20.079
 and affect everything

00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:21.399
 that we say and do.

00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:23.019
 Or are we going

00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:23.699
 to respond

00:26:23.699 --> 00:26:24.719
 by being actively

00:26:24.719 --> 00:26:26.019
 opposed to Jesus?

00:26:27.059 --> 00:26:27.719
 And I don't mean

00:26:27.719 --> 00:26:28.439
 by the ordering

00:26:28.439 --> 00:26:29.339
 and the killing

00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:30.059
 of babies

00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:30.799
 but are we going

00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:31.480
 to value

00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:32.899
 our sin,

00:26:33.179 --> 00:26:34.419
 our way of life,

00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:35.579
 our preferences

00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:36.720
 more than we value

00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:38.119
 what God is calling us

00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:38.659
 to do?

00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:39.639
 Are we going

00:26:39.639 --> 00:26:40.419
 to be actively

00:26:40.419 --> 00:26:41.419
 opposed to following

00:26:41.419 --> 00:26:42.179
 Jesus because

00:26:42.179 --> 00:26:43.480
 we value

00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:45.000
 our lives

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:45.960
 and how things

00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:46.839
 affect us

00:26:46.839 --> 00:26:47.980
 more than we value

00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:49.279
 who Jesus is

00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:50.119
 and what He came

00:26:50.119 --> 00:26:50.639
 to do?

00:26:51.779 --> 00:26:52.419
 Finally,

00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:53.859
 and hopefully,

00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:54.839
 we're going

00:26:54.839 --> 00:26:56.200
 to respond to Jesus

00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:57.059
 by worshiping

00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:58.779
 the King of Kings

00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:00.259
 and the Lord of Lords.

00:27:00.879 --> 00:27:01.599
 By saying,

00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:02.019
 God,

00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:03.299
 I value You

00:27:03.299 --> 00:27:04.240
 more than anything

00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:05.220
 else in this world.

00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:07.139
 This can be difficult

00:27:07.139 --> 00:27:07.819
 at times

00:27:07.819 --> 00:27:09.399
 but this is what

00:27:09.399 --> 00:27:10.599
 produces joy

00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:11.559
 in our lives

00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:13.339
 like nothing else can.

00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:14.980
 This is what

00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:16.799
 gives our lives

00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:17.599
 meaning.

00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:19.599
 And so the question

00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:20.339
 that we must ask

00:27:20.339 --> 00:27:21.039
 is how are you

00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:22.160
 responding to Jesus

00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:22.639
 today?

00:27:23.259 --> 00:27:24.160
 For some of you

00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:24.960
 it may be that you've

00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:25.779
 never done anything

00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:26.779
 with this information.

00:27:27.259 --> 00:27:28.500
 You've had this information

00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:29.660
 for a very long time

00:27:29.660 --> 00:27:30.259
 but you've never

00:27:30.259 --> 00:27:31.279
 done anything with it.

00:27:31.779 --> 00:27:32.700
 You've come to church,

00:27:32.819 --> 00:27:33.619
 you've done all of these

00:27:33.619 --> 00:27:34.420
 things and you know

00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:35.339
 all the right answers

00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:36.339
 but you've never

00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:37.119
 given your life

00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:37.599
 to Jesus.

00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:39.799
 You know all the

00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:40.740
 right things to say

00:27:40.740 --> 00:27:41.319
 and all the right

00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:42.099
 things to do

00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:43.400
 but you've never

00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:44.519
 gone all in with it.

00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:45.359
 You've never said

00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:46.579
 I'm going to follow

00:27:46.579 --> 00:27:47.759
 You with my life

00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:49.079
 and so maybe today

00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:50.319
 the way that you

00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:51.380
 respond to this

00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:52.680
 wonderful Christmas

00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:54.039
 message is by

00:27:54.039 --> 00:27:54.960
 giving your life

00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:55.599
 to Him and saying

00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:55.839
 God,

00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:57.160
 here's my life.

00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:58.500
 It's yours.

00:27:58.680 --> 00:27:59.560
 Take it and use it.

00:27:59.820 --> 00:28:00.720
 I'm going to stop

00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:02.460
 just having this knowledge

00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:04.040
 and do something with it.

00:28:04.140 --> 00:28:04.960
 I'm going to give

00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:06.259
 my life to you.

00:28:07.100 --> 00:28:08.240
 Maybe for some of us

00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:08.840
 it means that we're

00:28:08.840 --> 00:28:09.779
 going to stop being

00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:11.500
 actively opposed to it.

00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:12.400
 Where we've given

00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:13.380
 part of our lives

00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:13.779
 to Jesus,

00:28:13.900 --> 00:28:14.600
 we can put on a

00:28:14.600 --> 00:28:16.040
 good show in front

00:28:16.040 --> 00:28:16.740
 of other people

00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:17.720
 especially on Sunday

00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:18.220
 mornings

00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:19.779
 but yet we've

00:28:19.779 --> 00:28:20.800
 continued to be

00:28:20.800 --> 00:28:21.880
 actively opposed

00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:22.400
 to Jesus

00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:24.080
 by living our lives

00:28:24.080 --> 00:28:24.980
 however we wanted

00:28:24.980 --> 00:28:25.779
 to live them.

00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:27.120
 May we stop that

00:28:27.120 --> 00:28:27.480
 today.

00:28:28.660 --> 00:28:29.799
 Or are we going

00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:30.819
 to be like the

00:28:30.819 --> 00:28:31.599
 wise men

00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:32.839
 in this story

00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:35.120
 and fall down

00:28:35.120 --> 00:28:35.539
 and say

00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:36.420
 Jesus,

00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:37.200
 you're king.

00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:38.299
 I'm not.

00:28:38.860 --> 00:28:40.259
 I'm worshiping you

00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:41.380
 with my life.

00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:42.680
 I'm giving everything

00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:42.920
 to you.

00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:44.180
 I value you

00:28:44.180 --> 00:28:45.180
 more than any

00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:46.079
 earthly treasures.

00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:47.660
 I value you.

00:28:48.299 --> 00:28:49.099
 And so that's

00:28:49.099 --> 00:28:49.920
 what I want

00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:50.599
 today

00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:51.400
 is to say

00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:51.660
 God,

00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:52.559
 here's my life.

00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:54.099
 Take it and use it

00:28:54.099 --> 00:28:54.899
 for your honor

00:28:54.899 --> 00:28:56.179
 and for your glory.

00:28:56.779 --> 00:28:57.619
 Let's pray.

00:28:57.819 --> 00:28:58.779
 Father, we thank you

00:28:58.779 --> 00:28:59.539
 so very much

00:28:59.539 --> 00:29:01.179
 for this

00:29:01.179 --> 00:29:03.059
 very familiar story.

00:29:03.259 --> 00:29:04.500
 A story we love

00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:04.960
 to read

00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:06.119
 especially this time

00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:06.659
 of year.

00:29:07.220 --> 00:29:07.559
 And Lord,

00:29:07.639 --> 00:29:09.039
 may we see it

00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:09.700
 in it

00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:10.259
 what it is

00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:10.819
 that you're calling

00:29:10.819 --> 00:29:11.759
 us to see today.

00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:13.000
 May we see

00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:13.899
 the different ways

00:29:13.899 --> 00:29:15.200
 that people respond

00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:16.440
 to the birth

00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:17.039
 of Jesus.

00:29:17.859 --> 00:29:18.299
 And Lord,

00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:18.940
 may we see

00:29:18.940 --> 00:29:20.119
 that oftentimes

00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:21.059
 that's how people

00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:22.440
 still respond today.

00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:23.940
 And so Lord,

00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:24.659
 as a church,

00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:25.399
 as a group

00:29:25.399 --> 00:29:26.159
 of individuals

00:29:26.159 --> 00:29:27.240
 who are following you,

00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:28.500
 may we give

00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:29.940
 our lives to you.

00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:31.359
 May we not just

00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:32.599
 hear this message.

00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:33.539
 May we not just

00:29:33.539 --> 00:29:34.599
 have the knowledge

00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:35.839
 and do nothing

00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:36.399
 with it.

00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:37.859
 May we not have

00:29:37.859 --> 00:29:38.440
 the knowledge

00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:39.720
 and be actively

00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:40.500
 opposed to it.

00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:41.299
 But may we have

00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:41.980
 this knowledge,

00:29:42.200 --> 00:29:42.399
 Lord,

00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:43.700
 and say you're

00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:45.019
 worthy of our worship.

00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:46.559
 That you're worthy

00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:47.440
 of everything.

00:29:48.339 --> 00:29:49.059
 And so Lord,

00:29:49.139 --> 00:29:50.059
 help us to experience

00:29:50.059 --> 00:29:52.200
 that wonderful gift

00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:53.419
 of joy today

00:29:53.419 --> 00:29:54.980
 by giving our lives

00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:55.440
 to you.

00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:57.179
 Not just parts of it,

00:29:57.419 --> 00:29:58.440
 but all of it.

00:29:59.039 --> 00:29:59.519
 And so God,

00:29:59.579 --> 00:30:00.179
 we thank you

00:30:00.179 --> 00:30:00.859
 for everything

00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:02.399
 and most of all

00:30:02.399 --> 00:30:02.940
 for Jesus.

00:30:03.679 --> 00:30:04.579
 And it's in his name

00:30:04.579 --> 00:30:05.079
 we pray.

00:30:05.419 --> 00:30:05.839
 Amen.

00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:07.299
 I want to encourage

00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:07.879
 you to stand.

00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:08.440
 We're going to sing

00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:09.639
 a song of invitation

00:30:09.639 --> 00:30:10.240
 this morning.

00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:11.659
 And if God is speaking

00:30:11.659 --> 00:30:12.079
 to you,

00:30:12.139 --> 00:30:12.799
 won't you respond

00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:13.839
 as we stand together

00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:14.720
 and sing?

00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:14.879
 Amen.

00:30:14.879 --> 00:30:14.879


00:30:14.879 --> 00:30:15.019
 Amen.

00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:15.019


00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:15.019


00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:15.019


00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:15.019


00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:15.019


00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:15.019