WEBVTT

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 Well, good morning, everyone. Merry Christmas. Great to be with you and wonderful to see some

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 festive outfits out there. I got to tell you, it is actually hot. Getting festive is kind of hot

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 and also uncomfortable. I've got suspenders on and I can understand why these babies went out

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 in the 1980s. It just makes you shorter is what they tend to do. They're wanting to stretch up

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 all the time. One of the great traditions of Christmas is the giving and receiving of gifts.

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 Who's opened Christmas gifts already this morning? Put your hand up. You know, right up so I can see it.

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 Anyone open? Okay. Keep your hand up if you got what you were hoping to get.

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 Okay. So there's a few hands that are kind of, I'm sort of not sure. It's one of those things,

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 isn't it? That good gifts are not necessarily expensive gifts. They're personal gifts. It's

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 the hope of getting something that we really, really like. So I've opened a couple of things

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 already this morning and nothing grand but personal, such as old gold, rum and raisin.

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 You know, it's a winner. And I can see a few people around there saying, this is a winner and this is

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 deeply personal. This is the one chocolate that's in my fridge that you must not touch.

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 In fact, kids, none of the chocolate is available to be touched as a general rule.

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 The other thing is I got a pair of cheap socks. Seinfeld socks. I binge watch Seinfeld. I love

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 Seinfeld. And so these socks, if you had given me a $200 gift card to Lincraft, not as valuable to me

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 at all as Seinfeld socks. Lincraft, I'm just not hoping to shop there anytime soon. It's just not

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 something. Bunnings, however, very different. The good gifts are gifts that are deeply personal,

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 that connect with you as an individual. They're not necessarily expensive. And so what we're doing

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 this morning is we're looking at that passage which Ash just read out for us in Matthew. And we're

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 going to see there, we're going to look very briefly at the three gifts that this baby Jesus receives.

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 And what it says about him, they're deeply personal gifts. And then what those gifts say about him and

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 the response that different people have because of those gifts and what they say about Jesus.

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 So come with me, open up the passage, Matthew 2. If you've got the St. Paul's app, you can crack

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 that open as well because I've got a bit of an outline to make it easy for you to follow along.

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 So Jesus received some very strange gifts as a young child from a bunch of strangers. Verse 11,

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 Jesus was presented, we are told, with gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. Now as a poor peasant girl,

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 Mary might have been totally pleased with this. These are expensive gifts. So this baby Jesus might

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 have been born in a stable, but it appears that he comes with some kind of trust fund or something.

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 These are expensive gifts. But she's baffled as well. These gifts are deeply personal. These three gifts

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 reveal three significant things about Jesus. They reveal who he is, what he came to do,

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 and how he went about doing it. That is what it cost him to do it. So gold, the first gift,

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 points to the kingship of Jesus. You see, gold was a gift that was bought to an audience with a king

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 in the ancient Near East in the first century. They tend not to do it nowadays. For instance,

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 one year, our grateful nation of Australia gave Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II,

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 the 50th edition of Who's Who in Australia as a gift with a gray scarf. So it's a little bit

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 different nowadays. We're not handing over gold to Queen Elizabeth. The Magi, when they handed over

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 this gift of gold, were in fact expecting a king. That's their expectation. They asked,

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 where is the one born who has been born king of the Jews? What alerted them to the arrival of the new

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 king is the second half of verse 2, where it says, we saw his star in the east and we have come to

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 worship him. Now these Magi are astrologers. They're magicians. They're interpreters of dreams. And in the

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 ancient world, most people believed in astrology. And so the Magi, if you like, are considered the

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 elite. These guys are the university lecturers of their day. They're the academics. They're the wise men,

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 the knowledgeable ones. When these guys saw the star, they immediately recognized something

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 significant, something very special has happened. That's because there was a particular event in

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 history that caused stars to be associated with kings and rulers of nations. And that was when

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 Julius Caesar died in 44 BC, one of the most astonishing flukes in history took place. A nova appeared in the sky

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 magi over his funeral. And from then on, from 44 BC, stars were connected with great leaders and rulers of some

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 fashion. They became the fashion in the ancient Near East. And so these Magi see the star and they put two and two

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 together. What would have encouraged them also to dust off their passports was that there was also a very

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 strong rumor around in the first century that world dominion was going to shift. Politics was going to shift

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 and Judea was going to be the center. Famous and diverse first century historians like Tacitus,

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 Josephus, Suetonius, all recorded this shift, expectation of a shift in the first century.

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 And so it would not have been much of a leap at all for these Magi to conclude the political

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 change in the air when they saw the star. Now what these stargazers saw was most likely the conjunction

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 of Jupiter and Saturn. It happened three times in the year 7 BC, which is most likely the year that

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 Christ was born. It happened on the 29th of May, the 3rd of October and the 4th of December.

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 And the Magi would have also known historically that Jupiter was regarded as a royal pattern,

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 planet, and Saturn was the symbol for Israel in the ancient Near East. And so these competent

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 astronomers would have concluded that this new age has now begun with a new king and the rule has now

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 shifted to Judea. And so they set out on this long and difficult journey to find the ruler of the world

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 and offer this king gold. But incense, that's an odd one. That's an unexpected gift. Incense in the

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 first century was used by the priests in the temple as they mediated between God and his people.

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 It symbolized relationship with God. And so the Magi were recognizing Jesus as the ultimate priest,

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 the one who would mediate between the creator God and his rebellious people.

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 Any new mother would have been totally thrown, however, by the gift of myrrh.

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 You see, myrrh was used in the ancient Near East in the first century to embalm the dead. It was a symbol of death.

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 Imagine one of the presents under the Christmas tree for your children today.

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 Wrapped up nicely in Christmas is a toy coffin.

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 A little toy coffin to play with. With a dead person you can put in it.

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 Unusual, unexpected gift.

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 Unusual, unexpected gift.

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 Unusual, unexpected gift.

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 Unusual, unexpected gift.

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 How much it cost him to do it.

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 Then we get three personal reactions.

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 What is interesting is how people respond here to the who, the what and the how in these verses.

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 One thing you notice throughout all the historical biographies of Jesus is that when Jesus turns up,

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 people are divided in their opinions of him.

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 Right from the get-go.

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 Right from the get-go.

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 And you see that even right here as a baby, right from the start of his life, people are divided in their opinions of him.

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 Two camps are forming already.

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 We have three ideas here, but two camps are forming.

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 One is full of praise and welcome.

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 The other is full of hatred, opposition and indifference.

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 First of all, we have hostile Herod.

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 Herod lies through his teeth.

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 In verse 8, he says,

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 Now, Herod, as we know, the rest of the text will tell us, has as much interest in worshipping King Jesus as I have in taking up knitting lessons.

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 Later in the chapter, we read Herod didn't fool the Magi at all.

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 They saw straight through him and they sneak off down to Egypt without telling Herod where Jesus is.

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 And he is furious.

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 Herod is furious and so furious that he orders all of the boys, two years old and under, around the surrounds in the Bethlehem LGA to be put to death.

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 What a tyrant.

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 He wants Jesus dead and he wants to make sure that he doesn't miss him at all.

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 Herod is the Roman appointed king of the Jews.

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 He doesn't like the news that another king has been born.

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 He's threatened.

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 And he's infamous for his cruelty in which he dealt with any rivals to his throne.

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 He killed one of his wives, several of his sons, anyone who was a threat to his throne.

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 His response here is hatred and fear.

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 A hatred of anything or anyone that threatened his self-centered autonomy.

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 Now we know that this account here of deception and fear and bloodshed and injustice and homelessness are all too familiar.

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 There is a great deal wrong with our world today.

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 And we know it.

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 But we, I think, walk into controversy when we ask where all this evil and wrong has come from.

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 You see, one end of the spectrum says that the big problem with the world nowadays is the rich and the powerful ones.

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 They're the ones to blame.

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 They're just all selfish and making everything, you know, ordered for themselves.

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 The rich and the powerful ones to blame.

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 And that particular view of the world, which is generally a liberal progressive view of the world, means that the poor and the minorities in this world are the heroes of the world.

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 The other end of the spectrum, which is more your conservative perspective, insists that it's the immoral and the irresponsible people in the world.

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 They're the main problem.

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 They're the problem with the world.

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 You know, if you're poor, you just need to get a job.

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 That's your problem.

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 You need to work harder.

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 That's your problem.

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 This view of the world tends to make hardworking, decent, middle class people the heroes of the world.

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 Now, at the first glance of this story, it seems here to side with the first view, the liberal progressive view.

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 Herod is an unjust ruler, abusing his power, slaughtering the innocent.

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 However, the full teaching of the Bible is that the source of evil in this world is every single human heart, liberal or conservative.

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 Every single human heart.

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 Herod's reaction to Jesus is, in a sense, a picture of us all.

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 If you want to be king and fundamental value of Western civilization is individual autonomy.

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 We want to rule our own lives.

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 When someone else comes along and says, in fact, no, I'm the king, then one of us has to give way.

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 Someone has to give way.

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 Only one person can sit on the absolute throne.

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 And Jesus comes into this world and he claims to be that king who has the right to sit on the throne, to be the ultimate ruler of all things.

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 He calls for our allegiance so supreme that it makes all other commitments look weak in comparison.

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 It is a claim to absolute authority, a summons to unconditional loyalty, and it inevitably triggers deep, deep resistance within every human heart.

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 Who has the right to rule my life?

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 That's the most disturbing question possible for the autonomous human heart.

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 We want to remain on the throne of our lives.

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 Some of us, potentially gathered here today, listening online, some of us use religion to stay on the throne of our lives.

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 Trying to put God in a position where he owes us something.

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 Because we're so righteous and we're doing these good things for him.

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 Some of us flee from religion.

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 Become atheists, we loudly claim that there is no God.

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 Either way, we're expressing our natural hostility to the rule of the true king.

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 Religious or not.

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 Herod could not get rid of Jesus.

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 Even with an army at his disposal.

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 In fact, one of the great ironies of this text is right at the end.

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 Herod is dead and Jesus lives.

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 Next, we have the passive priests.

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 We've got hostile Herod, we've got the passive priests.

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 Their reaction is not as hostile as Herod, but it's just as negative.

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 You see, these are the ones who simply do nothing about Jesus.

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 The Magi turn up.

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 Verse 4.

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 Herod gathers together all the chief priests, the scribes of the people, inquiring them where the Messiah was to be born.

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 And they told him.

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 They told the Magi.

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 Down to Bethlehem.

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 All the prophecies say Bethlehem.

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 Ah, fantastic.

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 And then they go back to doing whatever it is that you do.

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 Their sheer silence and inactivity of the religious leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what has just happened.

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 They didn't lift a sandal.

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 Why not go with the Magi?

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 Why not just go with them and check it out just in case?

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 Why not go with them and check it out just in case they did nothing.

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 Their knowledge of Jesus was no substitute for their obedience.

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 Finally, the final reaction we see is the only positive one and that's the malleable Magi.

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 That's the only word I could come up with that sort of went with an M.

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 Malleable Magi.

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 And their response is remarkable.

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 In the rest of the Bible, these guys are always viewed negatively.

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 Only Matthew puts these guys in a positive light.

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 Impressed by what they saw in the sky at night, they journeyed west to Judea.

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 Massive journey.

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 Massive journey.

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 To find out what it all meant.

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 It's astonishing that men with so little to go on should venture so far, endure such hardships in travel,

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 face such uncertainty of finding the one to whom the star pointed.

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 And what's more, they gave him these costly gifts and the worship and honor of their lives.

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 Where the religious leaders expended no time, no energy, no expense or inconvenience at all.

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 Where Herod expanded a great deal of time and energy and expense and inconvenience in order to try and find Jesus and kill him.

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 The Magi expended a great deal of time, no money, no expense or money.

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 As the king over their lives.

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 The Magi are the worshipers.

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 Those who joyfully ascribe dignity, authority, honor to King Jesus and whose lives are ultimately satisfied in him.

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 it's a call that

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 Jesus continues

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 to cry out to the nations

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 to the people of all the world throughout the histories

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 for the last 2,000 years

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 to throw your crowns at his feet

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 as the gracious loving king

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 who gave his life for us

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 when Queen Victoria ruled as the British monarch

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 in the 1800s

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 she controlled one third of the planet

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 massive

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 she said one day

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 that she couldn't wait to meet Jesus

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 and she was asked why

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 she said so that I too can cast my crown at his feet

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 she recognised that even as one of the most powerful people in the world

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 she too had a ruler

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 one who deserved her everything

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 even her crown

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 which brings me to what is your personal reaction

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 indifference

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 hostility

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 or worship

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 two camps really

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 positive camp and negative camp

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 there's really no middle road

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 I want to speak to two broad groups here

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 that are potentially gathered here

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 and online

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 firstly to those who are Christians

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 those who accept Jesus

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 on his terms

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 of what he says he is

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 and what he proved to say

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 that he is

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 that he is your Christian

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 you engage

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 you believe in Christmas

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 and Christianity

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 it's important to know

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 that as a Christian

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 that every Christian

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 still has a heart

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 with residual

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 anger

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 and hostility

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 towards God

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 very important for you to recognise that

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 and it will always be there to the end

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 that is why it's so hard for you to pray

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 to give

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 to obey

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 to grow

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 to love Jesus

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 so hard to love

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 there is still a little bit of Herod in each of us

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 there is still something in us

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 that wants to fight with God

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 day in and day out

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 we can't just glide

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 through the Christian life

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 we have got to be

00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:24.079
 far more intentional

00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:25.480
 about our Christian growth

00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:26.240
 and prayer

00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.099
 about accountability to other people

00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:29.639
 to overcome our bad habits

00:22:29.639 --> 00:22:31.059
 that is the reality

00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:33.899
 if you think that you can glide

00:22:33.899 --> 00:22:35.199
 through the Christian life

00:22:35.199 --> 00:22:36.779
 by yourself

00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:40.019
 you are deeply confused about it

00:22:40.019 --> 00:22:45.500
 if however you're here today

00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:47.519
 and your responses

00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:48.539
 may be indifference

00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:50.240
 and hostility

00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:52.160
 I'd like to give you some

00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:54.700
 respectful advice

00:22:54.700 --> 00:22:56.180
 if I may

00:22:56.180 --> 00:22:58.000
 let's call it respectful advice

00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:00.559
 for those unsure about Christmas

00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:01.180
 and Christianity

00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:03.079
 or perhaps even the existence of God

00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:04.619
 let's just take it a step further there

00:23:04.619 --> 00:23:06.039
 remember

00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:07.699
 I think this is really important

00:23:07.699 --> 00:23:08.559
 for you to understand

00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:11.000
 remember that your view

00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:13.179
 your view

00:23:13.179 --> 00:23:16.399
 is not an objective view

00:23:16.399 --> 00:23:20.619
 it's not an objective view

00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:24.139
 it's not an objective view

00:23:24.139 --> 00:23:24.779
 of Jesus

00:23:24.779 --> 00:23:25.379
 of God

00:23:25.379 --> 00:23:25.939
 of Christmas

00:23:25.939 --> 00:23:26.759
 and Christianity

00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:30.039
 the philosopher Thomas Nagel

00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:31.379
 who himself is an atheist

00:23:31.379 --> 00:23:32.399
 was very candid

00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:35.460
 very candid

00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:37.180
 he wrote this

00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:41.100
 I am talking

00:23:41.100 --> 00:23:43.019
 about the fear

00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:44.580
 of religion itself

00:23:44.580 --> 00:23:47.780
 I am speaking from experience

00:23:47.780 --> 00:23:50.519
 being strongly subject

00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:51.720
 to this fear myself

00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:54.400
 I'm an atheist

00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:57.540
 and I want atheism

00:23:57.539 --> 00:23:58.440
 to be true

00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:01.480
 and I'm made uneasy

00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:02.200
 by the fact

00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:03.220
 that some of the most

00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:04.079
 intelligent

00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:05.859
 and well informed

00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:07.059
 people I know

00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:08.240
 are in fact

00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.159
 religious believers

00:24:09.159 --> 00:24:12.159
 it isn't just

00:24:12.159 --> 00:24:13.339
 that I don't believe

00:24:13.339 --> 00:24:14.099
 in God

00:24:14.099 --> 00:24:15.460
 and naturally

00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:16.680
 I hope that my belief

00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:17.420
 is right

00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:19.960
 I actually hope

00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:21.039
 there is no God

00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:23.759
 I don't want

00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:24.759
 there to be a God

00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:26.879
 I don't want

00:24:26.879 --> 00:24:27.500
 the universe

00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:28.599
 to be like that

00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:31.619
 my guess is

00:24:31.619 --> 00:24:33.420
 this cosmic

00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:34.220
 authority

00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:35.819
 over our lives

00:24:35.819 --> 00:24:37.460
 is a problem

00:24:37.460 --> 00:24:39.240
 and it's not

00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:40.079
 a rare problem

00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:43.519
 that is

00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.420
 his point is

00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:46.220
 that

00:24:46.220 --> 00:24:47.680
 whatever you are

00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:48.519
 on the spectrum

00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:49.420
 here today

00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:51.180
 you're not

00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:51.819
 neutral

00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:54.939
 you might think

00:24:54.939 --> 00:24:55.519
 well there's another

00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:56.019
 alternative

00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:56.480
 Jesus

00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:58.519
 sorry Steve

00:24:58.519 --> 00:25:00.679
 don't make the

00:25:00.679 --> 00:25:01.339
 connection there

00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:02.159
 there's another

00:25:02.159 --> 00:25:03.359
 alternative Steve

00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:05.200
 I'm just neutral

00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:06.399
 there's no such

00:25:06.399 --> 00:25:07.439
 thing as neutrality

00:25:07.439 --> 00:25:09.439
 there's no such

00:25:09.439 --> 00:25:10.339
 thing as neutrality

00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:11.460
 about whether

00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:12.539
 Christmas is true

00:25:12.539 --> 00:25:14.759
 if the son of God

00:25:14.759 --> 00:25:16.079
 was really born

00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:16.939
 in a manger

00:25:16.939 --> 00:25:19.700
 then you

00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:20.399
 and I

00:25:20.399 --> 00:25:21.079
 have lost

00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:22.339
 all rights

00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:22.960
 to oversee

00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:23.799
 our lives

00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:28.759
 you cannot

00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:29.720
 be objective

00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:30.699
 about a claim

00:25:30.699 --> 00:25:31.319
 like that

00:25:31.319 --> 00:25:33.659
 and so

00:25:33.659 --> 00:25:34.299
 keep that in

00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:34.619
 mind

00:25:34.619 --> 00:25:35.279
 if you don't

00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:35.980
 believe in

00:25:35.980 --> 00:25:36.480
 Christianity

00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:38.859
 and therefore

00:25:38.859 --> 00:25:39.699
 at the very

00:25:39.699 --> 00:25:40.379
 least

00:25:40.379 --> 00:25:43.240
 question

00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:44.259
 your doubts

00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:45.859
 for your own

00:25:45.859 --> 00:25:46.259
 sake

00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:47.259
 question

00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:48.179
 your doubts

00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:49.960
 now

00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:50.900
 I figure

00:25:50.900 --> 00:25:51.360
 you've got

00:25:51.360 --> 00:25:52.100
 several things

00:25:52.100 --> 00:25:52.500
 on your

00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:52.860
 plate

00:25:52.860 --> 00:25:53.519
 in the next

00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:54.759
 today

00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:55.600
 and in the

00:25:55.600 --> 00:25:55.960
 next few

00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:56.259
 days

00:25:56.259 --> 00:25:56.660
 one of them

00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:56.940
 for me

00:25:56.940 --> 00:25:57.539
 is sleep

00:25:57.539 --> 00:26:00.400
 but can I

00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:01.100
 encourage you

00:26:01.100 --> 00:26:01.600
 that real

00:26:01.600 --> 00:26:02.120
 soon

00:26:02.120 --> 00:26:03.279
 that you

00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:03.720
 might want

00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:04.060
 to look

00:26:04.060 --> 00:26:04.480
 at this

00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.000
 issue

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:06.779
 of who

00:26:06.779 --> 00:26:07.259
 Jesus

00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:07.900
 is

00:26:07.900 --> 00:26:09.299
 what he

00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:09.860
 came to

00:26:09.860 --> 00:26:10.100
 do

00:26:10.100 --> 00:26:10.480
 what it

00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:10.960
 cost him

00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:11.279
 to do

00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:11.480
 it

00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:12.440
 the

00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:12.980
 magi

00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:13.380
 were the

00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:13.880
 knowledgeable

00:26:13.880 --> 00:26:14.900
 men

00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:15.339
 of the

00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:15.720
 east

00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:16.160
 they were

00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:16.339
 the

00:26:16.339 --> 00:26:16.819
 academic

00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:17.460
 elite

00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:18.019
 but their

00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:18.620
 knowledge

00:26:18.620 --> 00:26:19.099
 about

00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:19.440
 these

00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:19.920
 events

00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:20.720
 around

00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.259
 Christmas

00:26:21.259 --> 00:26:22.079
 only took

00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:22.579
 them so

00:26:22.579 --> 00:26:22.980
 far

00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.519
 their

00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:26.220
 observation

00:26:26.220 --> 00:26:26.680
 of the

00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:27.039
 star

00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:27.559
 took them

00:26:27.559 --> 00:26:28.299
 to Jerusalem

00:26:28.299 --> 00:26:30.240
 to the

00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:30.640
 palace

00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:31.120
 because that's

00:26:31.120 --> 00:26:31.420
 where they

00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:31.920
 assumed

00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:32.259
 that he

00:26:32.259 --> 00:26:32.819
 would be

00:26:32.819 --> 00:26:35.079
 and they

00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:35.460
 got that

00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:36.059
 bit wrong

00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:38.200
 in the

00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:38.579
 end

00:26:38.579 --> 00:26:39.139
 they had

00:26:39.139 --> 00:26:39.960
 to consult

00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:40.819
 the

00:26:40.819 --> 00:26:41.159
 Bible

00:26:41.159 --> 00:26:43.019
 God's

00:26:43.019 --> 00:26:43.339
 word

00:26:43.339 --> 00:26:43.940
 in order

00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:44.440
 to find

00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:44.819
 Jesus

00:26:44.819 --> 00:26:45.740
 and in

00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:46.079
 finding

00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:46.559
 Jesus

00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:47.299
 they found

00:26:47.299 --> 00:26:47.859
 what they

00:26:47.859 --> 00:26:48.159
 had been

00:26:48.159 --> 00:26:48.919
 looking for

00:26:48.919 --> 00:26:50.079
 all of

00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:50.399
 their

00:26:50.399 --> 00:26:51.079
 life

00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:51.859
 he is

00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:52.119
 the

00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:52.579
 wisdom

00:26:52.579 --> 00:26:53.639
 that they

00:26:53.639 --> 00:26:54.059
 had been

00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:54.759
 searching

00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:55.179
 for

00:26:55.179 --> 00:26:56.000
 all of

00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:56.200
 their

00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:56.679
 life

00:26:56.679 --> 00:26:57.279
 now I

00:26:57.279 --> 00:26:57.500
 want to

00:26:57.500 --> 00:26:58.240
 say this

00:26:58.240 --> 00:26:58.779
 without

00:26:58.779 --> 00:26:59.480
 explaining

00:26:59.480 --> 00:26:59.799
 it

00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:01.379
 so let

00:27:01.379 --> 00:27:01.619
 me just

00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:02.279
 do that

00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:04.159
 Jesus

00:27:04.159 --> 00:27:05.399
 is the

00:27:05.399 --> 00:27:06.000
 answer

00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:06.779
 to

00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:07.680
 everything

00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:08.559
 that you

00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:09.099
 are searching

00:27:09.099 --> 00:27:10.079
 for in

00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:10.859
 life

00:27:10.859 --> 00:27:12.380
 he is

00:27:12.380 --> 00:27:13.019
 the goal

00:27:13.019 --> 00:27:13.640
 he is

00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:14.420
 the destination

00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:15.400
 and can I

00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:16.079
 encourage you

00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:16.559
 at least

00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:17.180
 to be like

00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:17.839
 these wise

00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:18.180
 men

00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:19.160
 and search

00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:19.740
 for Jesus

00:27:19.740 --> 00:27:20.660
 go to

00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:21.380
 the source

00:27:21.380 --> 00:27:22.460
 the evidence

00:27:22.460 --> 00:27:23.779
 is overwhelming

00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:24.859
 and it is

00:27:24.859 --> 00:27:25.440
 compelling

00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:27.980
 read one of

00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:28.539
 the biographies

00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:29.160
 of Jesus

00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:30.420
 consider Jesus

00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:30.960
 and ponder

00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:31.900
 who is

00:27:31.900 --> 00:27:32.480
 Jesus

00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:33.299
 what did

00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:33.660
 he come

00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:34.160
 to do

00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:34.880
 what did

00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:35.400
 it cost

00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:35.620
 him

00:27:35.620 --> 00:27:36.140
 in order

00:27:36.140 --> 00:27:36.540
 to do

00:27:36.540 --> 00:27:36.660
 it

00:27:36.660 --> 00:27:36.960
 and what

00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:37.200
 does it

00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:37.400
 mean

00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:37.759
 for me

00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:38.140
 now

00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:40.720
 what does

00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:41.060
 it mean

00:27:41.060 --> 00:27:41.460
 to bow

00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:41.759
 down

00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:42.220
 and worship

00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:42.560
 him

00:27:42.560 --> 00:27:42.860
 over

00:27:42.860 --> 00:27:43.200
 2000

00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:43.820
 years

00:27:43.820 --> 00:27:44.180
 later

00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:46.019
 now I

00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:46.180
 want to

00:27:46.180 --> 00:27:46.600
 encourage you

00:27:46.600 --> 00:27:47.140
 this morning

00:27:47.140 --> 00:27:48.220
 because it's

00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:48.560
 Christmas

00:27:48.560 --> 00:27:49.300
 and because

00:27:49.300 --> 00:27:50.160
 we're a

00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:50.920
 Christian church

00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:51.440
 and we want

00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:51.880
 to just

00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:52.519
 delight to

00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:52.960
 give you

00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:53.660
 out there

00:27:53.660 --> 00:27:53.880
 in the

00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:54.220
 H and

00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:54.900
 behind us

00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:55.920
 is a

00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:56.280
 bunch of

00:27:56.280 --> 00:27:56.700
 resources

00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:57.160
 on a

00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:57.480
 table

00:27:57.480 --> 00:27:57.860
 they are

00:27:57.860 --> 00:27:58.360
 all

00:27:58.360 --> 00:27:59.019
 free

00:27:59.019 --> 00:28:00.400
 take

00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:00.680
 them

00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:01.460
 take

00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:01.740
 them

00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:02.619
 this

00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:03.039
 Christmas

00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:03.619
 as a

00:28:03.619 --> 00:28:03.799
 gift

00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:04.019
 from

00:28:04.019 --> 00:28:04.460
 us

00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:06.779
 and

00:28:06.779 --> 00:28:07.379
 search

00:28:07.379 --> 00:28:08.440
 for

00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:08.920
 Jesus

00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:10.039
 have a

00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:10.259
 great

00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:10.559
 day

00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:11.039
 and

00:28:27.419 --> 00:28:27.659
 half

00:28:27.659 --> 00:28:28.279
 down

00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:30.440
 in