MATTHEW 2 CHRISTMAS IS OVER NOW WHAT2005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Matthew 2 Christmas Is Over Now What

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005. In Matthew chapter 2, Matthew is continuing his account of the gospel story, the birth of Jesus Christ. As he is born of Mary, he's named Jesus because the angel said he shall save his people from their sins.

Well, that's in chapter 1. In chapter 2, he goes on to tell the story, like I said, we're very familiar with, of the magi or the wise men that came to visit Jesus. And so let's read that together. Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 12 says this.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea. For it is written by the prophet, But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah. For out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined the time from them,

Verse 8,

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for this time this morning that you've given us to look into your word and to understand what you want to say to us this morning. So God, I ask that you would speak to us, God, that we would have ears to hear what your spirit is saying to this church, God, that we would receive it, Lord, that we would meditate upon it, that we would think about it, God. We would ask you, Lord, to search our hearts, to know us. Lord, may you be the most important thing in our life.

Lord, may we grow in our walks with you this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Matthew chapter 2, as he tells us the story of the wise men, or the magi as we often refer to them. Now, it's very interesting because in verse 1 it says, Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of Herod the king,

I know that we have a lot of traditions as Christians, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a lot of Christmas carols that we sing and ideas in our mind and pictures of how it looked when Jesus was born. And we have, you know, the beautiful manger scene, right, that's

totally spotless and nice soft hay in the the manger for baby jesus and and mary and joseph are there of course and the shepherds come as we looked at on wednesday they come and they're praising god because the angels had appeared to them and then there on the scene appears also these three kings or the magi and and they come and they worship him and and they give him gold and frankincense and myrrh but if you look at the story biblically there's a little bit

It's a little bit off kilter a little bit. There's a little things that are skewed by the way we look at things. They say about rose colored glasses, looking through things or looking through things with having these romantic ideas almost. This beautiful manger scene.

It wasn't exactly like that. It was a place where they kept the animals. It'd be like having it in a barn right down the street here in Norco. Just, you know, hey, move over a couple of the horses and the stables and, you know, set up a little crib or a little manger for baby Jesus. And the shepherds were there that night. The angels did appear to them. We looked at that on Wednesday. But the Magi...

it talks about and declares to us here that they didn't come until later. It wasn't that same evening. It wasn't that same night. In fact, it was probably much time later that the Magi, the wise men, came to visit Jesus. It says after Jesus was born.

So there's a little manger scene mayhem going right now. I'm shifting you all up, right? There's a couple reasons, though, why we know that the Magi weren't there. In verse 11 of this same chapter, he says,

You'll notice that Joseph and Mary were not at the manger scene any longer. They weren't in the stable. They weren't out there behind the inn. But instead, they were in a house. Now, we don't know whose house or how long they had been there, but we know that some time had passed because they were not staying at the stable any longer.

Also, in verse 16, which we'll look at a little bit later, we find that Herod, when he wanted to destroy baby Jesus, when he wanted to wipe him out and slaughter him, he had every child in that region who was two years old and younger, every male child who was two years old and younger, killed based on the time that he had learned from Herod.

The wise men, it says. And so we can know that Jesus was somewhere between zero and two years old. He was probably about a year old. You know, Herod would have said, hey, just to be safe, two years old and younger, we're just going to wipe him out. So some time had passed. Now, they're there in the house. It's been a year or two. The Magi come to worship. It was after Jesus was born in the days of Herod, the king.

Now it says, continuing on in verse 1, Behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. These wise men, these Magi, who are they? We don't know a lot about them. In fact, we know very, very little. This is the only portion of scripture that refers to or that talks about these guys, these wise men who came to see Jesus.

The things that we do know, well, number one, we know that they were from the east because that's what it says. But that's about it. We don't know much else. We can assume, we can kind of come to our own conclusions. They probably were wise men like Daniel was a wise man. If you check out later on your own time, Daniel chapters 1 and 2, Daniel was taken as a captive to the nation of Babylon. And as he's there, he's trained up.

to be one of the king's servants, to be one of the king's counselors, to be one of these elite group of wise men. But Daniel being given the Holy Spirit of God and finding favor with the king there, he becomes the chief of the wise men. He becomes kind of the ruler over them, the leader of them, because his wisdom was so great, so profound. So there was wise men in those places.

Eastern kingdoms like Babylon, like the Median, the Median Empire, also the Persian Empire. They all had these wise men that would surround them. They would often be counselors. They would be highly esteemed and respected within the court. They would be used to give counsel for war. Many of them would be skilled in the art of magic. And so you have the wise men and the magicians that are often referred to in the book of Daniel.

And there were those who would be able to interpret dreams, which we know about from Daniel, and those who would just be well-versed in wisdom and knowledge and knowing the stars and knowing the way that the world works and wisdom in general. And so these wise men were probably...

Men from that same background, from that same culture. Again, we don't know exactly, but we do know that the Magi, well, there's throughout Babylon, throughout Persia, and throughout the Median Empire, there were groups of people called Magi who filled that function and performed that function. In fact, in the...

the Medes Empire, they would not allow someone to be king unless they had gone through the Magi program. They'd become one of the Magi and become one of the wise men. They were very highly esteemed in that culture. So these wise men, they come.

Now, they come in, and we think it's three, because that's kind of what tradition says, but it doesn't really specify the number. In fact, it was probably a large caravan of people, a large group of people that were coming into Jerusalem, and they kind of stir up some trouble. We find in verse 2, they say, Now, this was a very disturbing question.

as they asked it there in the city of Jerusalem. Why was it disturbing? Well, check out verse 3. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

He was troubled. He was disturbed. He says, okay, there's these guys coming in, this big caravan, this group of people, these wise men from the east are coming in and they're asking this question, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? Why so troubling? Well, to Herod,

it would be very troubling because he was king. Now, Herod wasn't king like we might think of a king of the Jewish people, like David or Saul or many of the other kings that we know, like Solomon. He wasn't a king in that sense. He wasn't a king that was raised up from the line of David. He was a king that had been appointed by the Roman Empire.

As the Roman Empire had come in and taken over pretty much all of the known world and put everybody under subjection, they appointed kings and rulers over certain areas. And Herod was the king that Caesar had appointed over Jerusalem, over the Jewish people. He was the king that represented the Roman Empire to the Jewish people. And so, as he is king, as he is appointed by Caesar,

This news comes to him that there is a rightful king that has been born.

A king who has the right to the throne from the line of David. The Magi say, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? Herod was appointed king. He wasn't born king, but Jesus Christ was born king. And so he's troubled. This is a threat to him, a definite threat. Hey, this is a dangerous situation. I might lose my power. I might lose my control, my position, my prestige. I might lose it all if there is a rightful king.

Because Herod did not have a real right to the throne. He was appointed by Caesar. The wise men come and they ask this troubling question. Why did they ask it? Well, it continues on to tell us in verse 2, For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. He said, look, we don't know a whole lot either, but we've seen his star. We know that he's been born because his star appeared yesterday.

And we've come here to worship Him. We've come to worship Him. Now, many people ask, well, what was the star? Was it a real star? Some have speculated that maybe it was an angel that appeared to them. We don't really know, again. We know what Scripture says. And the way that we look at and interpret Scripture is just, what does it say? When you first read it, what does it sound like it's saying?

Well, it sounds like it's saying a real star, that there was a star that appeared. It wasn't something like a star. He's not trying to say something else. He said we saw his star.

And so they see this star and it could be a fulfillment of Balaam's prophecy found in Numbers chapter 24 verse 17. Balaam in Numbers 24 verse 17 said, I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob. A scepter shall rise out of Israel and batter the brow of Moab and destroy all the sons of Tumult.

Bala, back in Numbers chapter 24, as Bala had hired him to curse the nation of Israel, could not pronounce anything except for blessings upon them. And he gives forth this prophecy that a star shall come out of Jacob. And so it could be that these wise men

saw the star they knew the prophecy they knew the things that had been passed down and so they knew that the king had been born it also could be if they were from the region of babylon that they had heard or had been taught by the traditions of of what daniel had taught when he was there when he was the ruler of the magi because he left a big impression upon the babylonian empire

We don't know. But we do know that they came. And they came with the right purpose. They came, it says, to worship Him. Why did they come? Why did they travel from the East for months and months and possibly a year or two? Well, to worship Him. Jesus Christ was there. They come from God.

however far they had to come, went to great lengths because they wanted to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now, there's a great irony in this because they traveled from such a great distance to Jerusalem and they asked this question and all of Jerusalem was troubled. Why? Because they're going, what are you talking about, king? What are you talking about? We don't know of anyone being born king. Right around the corner from them was Bethlehem, just a few miles away. And yet, they had no idea.

They had no idea. These wise men from the east, coming from a great distance, had to inform them, hey, the son's been born. The king has been born. Don't you know? Don't you understand? Where is he? Why don't you guys have him lifted up somewhere? Why don't you guys, aren't you guys celebrating him and his birth? They had no idea. They were all troubled because it took them by surprise. None of the scribes, the teachers of the law at that time, the Pharisees, none of them were aware. None of them

had taken part in worshiping Jesus Christ. In verse 3, it says that Herod, when he heard this, was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And then verse 4, and when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

So Herod goes, man, I'm troubled by this. This kind of bugs me. There's another king who might have a right to the throne. Ah, that's not good. So he gathers together all the Jewish leaders, all the teachers of the law, all the scribes, the Pharisees, you name it, the chief priests. They were all there. He gathers this big council together and he says, hey guys, where is this king supposed to be born? Where is the Messiah, the anointed one that you've been waiting for for 4,000 years? Where is he supposed to be born?

And so it says in verse 5 that they pulled out their scrolls and they blew the dust off them and wiped it off and cleared it up so they could study. And they told Herod, give us a couple hours, Herod, a couple days. I know we can find it somewhere in here. We'll get back to you. And that's not what it says. What does verse 5 say? It says, so they said to him.

What does that mean? It means they knew the scriptures. They knew the word. They didn't have to really think hard about it. They didn't have to like dig into it or anything. They knew. They were well versed in the scriptures. The Old Testament is all that they had at that time. And so they knew it very well. They knew exactly where the Messiah was to be born. And where was that? In Bethlehem.

And Bethlehem, right around the corner from them, they quote a portion of scripture from Micah chapter 5, verse 2. And verse 6, it reads this way. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah. For out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. They knew exactly where he would be born. But again, the irony, the Magi are there. They're coming to worship the king.

The scribes, the Pharisees, they all knew. They all knew what was going on. They all knew where the Messiah was to be born. But let me ask you, who bothered to go to Bethlehem to worship, to find out, to seek if the things were true? Yes, it was a big deal. There was probably a big caravan of people. All of Jerusalem is upset. They all knew about it. They're all curious. Why are these guys here? Well, they say the king's been born. Ah, okay.

They just left him. The scribes, the Pharisees, they knew where he'd be. They gave the information to Herod. But they took no steps beyond that. Even though he was right in their midst, right around the corner for them, right there with them. I believe there's a message for you and I as believers this morning in that. Because it's many times that we come to church, week in and week out, and he's right here in our midst.

But we fail to see Him. We fail to go and to worship Him. We fail to grasp on and to hold on to Him. We fail to see the born King of the Jews. Because why? Well, we just don't bother to go. We don't bother to apply ourselves. We don't bother to put our heart into it, whatever the case may be. But I ask you, as I asked you at the beginning, reflect, meditate. Have you grown this year? Are you closer to Jesus now than you were at the beginning of this year?

As you've been coming, as you've been spending time in the word, as you've been spending time in your devotions, are you seeing Jesus? Well, like the scribes and Pharisees, yes, you know the word. You know where it's at. You know where he's supposed to be found. But you're not making contact. You're not connecting. You're not bowing down to worship him and to give him your life.

An interesting, interesting situation here. The wise men coming from so far, yet they're the ones who get to see Jesus, who get to worship him. And the scribes and the Pharisees miss out. Well, it goes on in verse 7 and says, Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. Now we see Herod. Now, Herod was a wicked man. He was a very deceitful man. He's making his plots and his plans in his head. He's got plan A and plan B.

What's plan A? Well, we find plan A in verse 8. He says in verse 8, What is Herod's plan A? Okay.

This guy is a threat to me. I can't allow any kings in my kingdom because he has the right to the throne. So what do I need to do? I need to get rid of him quick. So here's what I'll do, he says. I'll send these magi. They're looking for him anyways. They'll think I'm doing the right thing. They'll think I'm doing good. And so I'll send them to find the baby Jesus, to find the Christ, the Messiah. And then he says, when you find him, come back and tell me so I can go and worship him too. But really in his heart, he's desperate.

planning murder. There's murder in his heart as he wants to take out his threat, his opposition to the throne. So Herod, plan A, it'll work out perfectly. They'll go, they'll find him, they'll come and tell me and I'll be able to annihilate him. But he'd also worked out a plan B. If that doesn't pull through, in verse 7 it says that he had determined from them what time or when the star had appeared.

He said, well, how long has it been? Oh, it was about two years ago or so, King. Oh, really? Okay. And then we find in verse 16, then Herod, because they didn't go back to him, they didn't report back to him where Jesus was. So verse 16 of Matthew 2 tells us, then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry and he set forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its districts from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined that

from the wise men. Ah, plan B. If that doesn't work, what I'll do is I'll just kill all the baby boys. I don't care if they suffer. They can cry to their own moms or whatever. I'm going to kill them all because I can't have any threats. I can't have anybody here opposing my throne, opposing my authority. I need to make sure that I secure my position as king of this realm. Herod, a deceitful, wicked man,

as he wipes out a whole generation, really, of children. So, the wise men...

know nothing better. They don't suspect anything and they continue on their way. They go to Bethlehem as he directed them to find the Christ child. Verse 9 goes on to say, When they had heard the king, they departed. And behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. The star went before them. The star went before them. Now, again,

Was it a real star? Well, it looks like it appears to be. Yes, it was a real star. Now, it's not really probable. Well, would it be hard for God to do this? Not at all. It's nothing for him. He could do whatever he wants. So, of course, it could be a literal star, and probably was. I believe that it was. But here's the interesting part about it. The wise men, where did they come from? Well, they came from the east, a long ways away. The star had appeared to them, they knew, so they headed that direction.

Now, some have speculated from this because in verse 10 it says, When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. So some of us have speculated that maybe the star appeared and they started going, they started their journey and they got to Jerusalem, but the star hadn't appeared to them for a while. And then after they talked with Herod, then it appeared again and led them the rest of the way. That very well could be. But what I find interesting about this is Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 13 says,

Because in Jeremiah 29 verse 13, God speaking through the prophet Jeremiah says to his people, And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

What did he say to them? Hey, if you seek me, you will find me if you search with all of your heart. That's what the Magi were doing. They were searching. They'd left everything. They went on this journey to find the Messiah, to find the one born King of the Jews. And God promised them, if you seek me, you'll find me if you search with all of your heart. And so as the Magi

Herod was a wicked man, but the Magi, their hearts were right. They were seeking him with all their heart. And so what did God do? He proved himself faithful to his word, and the star appeared again. The star appeared and led them right to Jesus Christ. Right there to what they needed to see, to what they wanted to worship. Right there to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So what's the difference between the Magi and the scribes and Pharisees who knew where and knew the scripture? They weren't seeking with all their heart.

Yeah, they might have searched the scriptures. Jesus said, you search the scriptures because in them you think you have life to those same scribes and Pharisees. But these are they which what? Speak of me, Jesus said. They weren't looking for Jesus Christ. They weren't looking for the relationship with God. And that is the case many times with us, unfortunately. As we're here week in and week out. Yes, we're right there. He's in our midst.

But the question is, are we seeking Him? Are we searching for Him with all of our heart? Because it's then that we will find Him, that we will find Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 29, 13, You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. So God proved Himself faithful to these wise men. As they're searching for Him, God leads the way. When they saw the star, they rejoiced, it says. And it would have been...

A spectacular thing to come out and to see and to have the star lead them. And it says that they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. It's a funny combination of words. We don't usually say that. How was your Christmas? Oh, full of exceedingly great joy. It just means they were really excited, really happy. It was awesome. They were totally blessed. They were jazzed or whatever you want to say. It was awesome. They got to see God be true to his word.

So as they're led now, we find verse 11. They're led, and it says in verse 11, Here the wise men come. They finally find the house. Their journey's at an end. And they come in, and what do they see? They see Mary and Jesus.

Mary and Jesus. They see them there and it says that they open up their treasures and begin to give him of the things that they had brought. Now, this is proper worship. This is the right way to worship. So what I want you to do is get out your money. No, I'm just kidding. No, this is the proper... Because what are they saying? It says, out of their treasures. They opened up their treasures and they gave to him. The Magi, the wise men are saying, hey, what used to be important to me

What used to be of great value to me, Jesus, I want to give it to you. It's not important to me because you are more important than anything else. Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler? This young guy, very wealthy, comes to Jesus. He comes to Jesus and he says, Teacher, what must I do to inherit the kingdom of God? And Jesus kind of challenges him a little bit and says, Well, you know, you need to fulfill the commandments.

And be perfect in your ways. And he names off some of the commandments and the rich young ruler goes, Oh yeah, I've done most of those. I've done all of those really since I was a young boy. But I'm still lacking something. What else do I lack? Because I fulfill the commandments, but there's something missing. And Jesus said, Yes, you're right. There is one thing that you're missing. Go and sell all that you have. Get rid of your wealth. Give it to the poor. And then come and follow me.

And it says that the rich man walked away very sad. Why? Oh, because he was very wealthy. Yes, he had a lot of money, but the money had a hold on him. And he wouldn't let it go. He said, I can't do that. I can't get rid of my wealth. It's too important, too valuable. It's a treasure to me. It's a very dangerous situation.

Jesus said to his disciples,

which means it's impossible. And the disciples being amazed said, well, who can be saved then? Nobody can have that kind of attitude, that kind of right heart of absolute surrender to Jesus Christ. But Jesus said, hey, with man it's impossible, but with God all things are possible. God was doing a work in these wise men's hearts in their lives because what they used to treasure, what used to be so valuable to them and hold on to and clutch on to,

They gave it to Jesus Christ. They gave it in recognition of who he was in his ministry. What used to be important to them, not important anymore. Because Jesus is here. He's here and he's the most important thing. What I used to treasure, I give to Jesus. That's what the Magi would say. I give to Jesus because he is the one born King of the Jews. Well, out of their treasures, it says they presented gifts to him. Three kinds of gifts. Gold,

frankincense and myrrh. And this is where the tradition gets that there was three wise men because there was three gifts. And so it's assumed that, you know, one person each gave a gift and one was gold, one was frankincense and one was myrrh. But it doesn't say that. It could have been a multitude or it could have been a few. But these gifts are very interesting gifts because they speak not only of

their desire to surrender all and to give up what they used to value but they also speak of the calling the life the ministry of jesus christ what are the gifts well gold gold was a gift you would give to kings they were recognizing as they gave him this gift that he was a king recognizing his kingship giving him their the rule of their own hearts really to be their king

And frankincense, frankincense was an incense. It was used in worship. You would burn it during the worship of your God, and it would be symbolic of, a picture of, your prayers going up into heaven. Just like the smoke from the aroma from the incense goes up into heaven. And so it would be a picture, a reminder of worship.

In giving this, they were recognizing, they were believing that he was a priest. He was to be involved in the worship of God. Then lastly, they gave the myrrh. Now, myrrh is interesting because it was used for embalming. It was also used as an ointment or a perfume, but primarily it was used for embalming, which means if you wanted to prepare someone's body for burial, you would prepare it with this myrrh. Now, they gave it recognizing, really prophesying,

that he was going to die, that he would die for his people, that he would die for your sins and my sins. They gave it as a prophecy saying, he came not to die just like all of us will die,

And really, not really mean much, but with Jesus Christ, his death meant everything. His death means life for you and I. And so they prophesied, number one, that he was a king, not only that, but he was a priest, that also he would die or he would be a martyred prophet. Prophet, priest, and king, the threefold ministry of Jesus Christ. They opened up their treasures and they gave to him, recognizing, symbolizing,

who Jesus was, what his calling would be, and how he would affect the rest of eternity. So Jesus, for Christmas, what did he receive? He received gold, frankincense, and myrrh. What did you receive for Christmas? Does it add up, measure up, gold, frankincense, and myrrh? Probably not. They're very expensive gifts. Especially at that time, they were very costly. But I would ask you to think about this with me. Think about something.

I keep asking you to meditate. This is something to meditate upon. You can tell what is important to you by what you received for Christmas. Think about that for a second. You can tell what is important to you by what you received for Christmas. Why is that? Well, people around you love you. They want to bless you. They want to give you gifts. They want to give you something that you believe is valuable or you enjoy, you find pleasure in. So what do they give you?

The people around you who know you the best, what do they give you? Do they give you gifts that would lead you into a relationship with Jesus Christ? Would encourage you and help you in your walk with Jesus Christ? Or do they give you gifts that take away, that distract, that show maybe a heart that is not entirely sold out to Him? Now, I'm not saying we can't enjoy gifts and things of this world. The Bible says, hey, all things were given that we might be blessed and edified.

But we need to make sure that our hearts are in the right place. And how can you tell that? Well, I really believe that what we receive for Christmas is a demonstration. It's something physical. We can look and say, this is what the people around me think I value. This is what they believe is important to me. This is the things and the type of things that they think I enjoy. Now, it's very easy to fool ourselves.

It's very easy to deceive ourselves and to say, hey, I'm right, my heart's sold out. But when we have some type of evidence that we can look at and go, maybe I'm not as sold out as I think I am. Maybe my heart's not really as right as I think it is. Maybe I'm not really growing or shining like I'm supposed to be. Because right before us,

and in the form of presence, we have what those around us believe is important and valuable and precious to us. And what are those things? Meditate on that. Think about that the next couple of days. I'm not saying that every case, you know, that, you know, we need to examine our hearts and our lives. It's not about the gifts or anything like that. But we need to think about it. What do the people around me think is important to me? Do they know that Jesus Christ has been born King of the Jews?

Do they know that he is the most important person in my life? What do they know? What do they think about me? In 2 Corinthians 4, verse 18, the Apostle Paul tells us, hey, we don't look at the things that are seen. Why not? Well, he goes on to say that the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal. The Apostle Paul teaching us a valuable lesson. The things we see, what do we see? Well, everything around us.

What do we see when we go home? Well, we see all the stuff that we have. Or maybe you see all the stuff you don't have. Either way. The things that are seen, those are temporary, Paul says. But the things that are unseen, those will last forever. What does that mean for us? Where are you putting your value? Where are you putting your trust? What is your treasure? Is it in things that are seen?

Or things that are unseen. Because if it's in things that are seen, know this, it's going to perish. It's going to waste away. It's going to be abolished. It's going to burn. It's all going to burn. We used to, a couple of Christmases ago, I would take the youth group out and we would pass out tracts at the mall during Christmas time. And the tracts would say, did you know that everything you bought today is flammable? And people would go, really? And we'd say, yes. Look at 2 Peter chapter 3. It's all going to burn. And share the gospel with them.

It was an interesting way to catch people's attention. It's all going to burn. The things of this world, the things of this life, the things you receive for Christmas, unfortunately, they're going to burn. But what are you putting your treasure in? What are you putting value in? What is important to you? Is it the things that are seen or the things that are unseen? Turn with me to Matthew chapter 6. A few chapters over. Matthew chapter 6.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is giving the Sermon on the Mount. He's talking to his disciples and those around. And in verse 19, he says this. Almost there. There's a lot of pages turning. Okay. Matthew 6, 19. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. Why not? Because those are the things that are seen. He says, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

Verse 21, What did you receive for Christmas? What is your treasure? What are those around you? Thank you that you value and put a lot of importance upon because that's where your heart is. It's a demonstration to us, a cry out to us really to examine our lives.

to examine our hearts, to allow God to do the work that He wants to do, that we are not holding on, grasping or clutching onto the things that are seen, that are temporary, the things of this world that will perish. Jesus said, lay up for yourselves treasures, not on this earth, not on the things that are seen, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, because those are the things that are eternal. Those are the things that truly have value. Those are the things that will last forever.

Important decisions we have to make. Hard things we have to think about and ask ourselves. Questions we many times avoid asking. Is my heart really sold out for Jesus Christ? Or am I divided? Am I holding on to the things of this world? Do I have treasure here in the things that are seen? The question, where are our priorities? What do we put value in? Have we grown in 2004? Have we walked closer to Jesus Christ?

Is there a difference in our walk, in our life, in our heart? It was interesting being able to spend time with my wife's family for this Christmas holiday. We get to go to spend time with their family every so often, and they live in the area, and so it's fun. It's a great time. We have a blast, and we were truly blessed this Christmas, man. Our family is very generous. It was interesting, though, as we were talking and fellowshipping and hanging out, they're not believers.

But as they're there, they were talking over dinner and of course over dinner, right? You got to have dinner. Man, Christmas dinner was good this year too. I don't know what it was about it. But anyways, but we're talking over dinner and there we are and they're talking about my wife. And they're saying, of course, they're giving me credit, right? Because I'm such a stud. They're giving me credit and they're saying, hey,

Ever since, you know, she's been with you, man, we've just seen such a difference. You know, you're doing such a great job and you did a wonderful thing in marrying her because, man, she's really changed. And I smile and I say, I know, I know, I'm great, I know, I know. Do you know what they're really seeing? Because you know it's not me. Do you know what they're seeing? Turn back to chapter 2 and look at verse 2. What are they seeing?

The Magi come, the wise men come. Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? Why? We have seen his star in the east. You know what they're seeing? They're not seeing Jerry and her. They're seeing his star in the east. They're recognizing. They're learning. They're understanding. Hey, there's something different. There's a shining light that's coming from her. We don't understand it. She's not who she used to be. Why not? Well, there's a shining star in the east.

They attribute it to me, but it's not. It's not. It's all about the work that God is doing in her life. And I believe that there has been a change in her. God is doing a great work, but it's all about Him. It's His star shining in the east. Now the question for you and I, the challenge to us, our family, our friends, our relatives, do they see His star shining in the east?

Do they see a difference? Do they see a change? Do they see God at work? Yes, maybe they don't recognize what's really going on. They might attribute it to other things, but they know something's going on. Something's different. There's a change that's taking place. I don't understand. There's a light that's coming from you that was never there before. It's because His star is shining in the east.

Matthew 5, verse 16 says, We are called, we are called, ladies and gentlemen, we are called, asked by Jesus Christ, not to just get through this life,

but to make a difference in this life. We're called to shine the light, to let our light shine. We're called to stay close to him that he will work through us and shine through us. Are you closer to Jesus Christ right now than you were at the beginning of this year? Have you grown? The question is, what are your priorities? What's important to you? What do you treasure? What is of value to you?

We should stand out and be different. Jesus gave the demonstration of light and darkness. That's how we should stand out. We are light. The world is darkness. How much difference is there between light and darkness? There's a whole lot. In fact, they're opposites. They cancel out each other. We're to stand out, to be different, to be radically different, to be changed. Why? Because His star is shining in the east, in our lives and in our hearts.

They need to see him through us. Not only that, but we find in verse 7 that Herod was able to talk to them and determine a particular time that the star appeared. And that's what it's like when someone encounters Jesus Christ. That's what it's like. That you can go back and say, you know, it's been ever since they went to that harvest crusade. Ever since they...

Did this or did that. Ever since this time or that time, there's a radical change. There's a difference. Because that is the life of a believer. That's what we see in the book of Acts. That's what we see throughout the epistles. Lives being radically changed and different. Not lives being believing something and going to church, but other than that, their lives stay the same. No, no. We see lives radically changed. We see lives demonstrating the power of God, the Holy Spirit, at work in them.

we should stand out and be different. They should be able to see His star shining in the east. But the question is, where are your priorities? Where are my priorities? What do I treasure? Because when I treasure Him and I draw close to Him and I allow Him to be my love and my passion and my Savior, when I allow Him not just to be born the baby Jesus, but to be King and to reign in my life,

there will be a difference. There will be a radical change in my heart. There will be those around me who say, there's something different. Something's going on. There's a brightness, a light that I haven't seen before. Jesus has called us to be a witness. He's called us to be a witness. So let's do it. Like the Magi, they went to great lengths to worship God. Great lengths. Let's go to great lengths. Do whatever it takes.

to give our lives, to give of our treasure, to give ourselves to Him in worship of God. Let's do whatever it takes. I used to have a bumper sticker. I was a young kid. I don't know why I liked it so much, but the bumper sticker said, Are you making a living or making a difference? Are you making a living or making a difference? The question is, are you just getting by and providing for your family and getting the things of this world? Are you making a living or are you making a difference?

Are you drawing people to Jesus Christ? Because the things that are seen, those are temporary. But the things that are unseen, those are eternal. The things that are unseen, that's what the people around us need to know and understand. That's what they need to hear. That's what they need to trust in. We need to start a revolution. There's an insert inside your calendar. It's been in there for a couple weeks now.

on starting a revolution. Have you made your 2005 revolution yet? Not resolution, revolution. We need to start it within our own hearts, within our own families, that yes, like Joshua said, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We will serve the Lord. We're going to make Him the priority, the purpose of our lives, of our being, of everything we do. He is going to be a part, and we're not going to be involved in things that have no part in Jesus Christ.

We will stand for Him. We will make a difference. Then what will happen? The world around us. There's a light shining in the east. I don't understand it. But there's this light. It's coming. I need to find out what it is. I need to understand what's going on. There's a difference. Ever since such and such a time, there's a difference. There's a difference. And people want to know what that difference is. People want the light. They just don't know it. Turn with me to 2 Peter. 2 Peter 3.

2 Peter 3, verses 10-13, it says this, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with a fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?

Peter here, as he's talking in his letter,

He says, look, understand this. The day of the Lord is coming. And when that day comes, everything you see, the things that are temporary, they're going to be burned up. Everything's flammable. Therefore, since that's the case, since everything's going to be burned up, what kind of persons ought you to be, he says? How should you live? Well, in holiness and godliness. Holiness being set apart as light from darkness. Godliness walking with him.

Walking with him. What are we called to do? We're called to be different. We're called to not hold on to, not clutch on to, not sink down our roots into this earth, into this life, into this world. But instead, put our hope, our trust, our values, everything that we are in him, in Jesus Christ. We're called to go to great lengths. Whatever it costs us, Lord, I want to worship you.

If it costs me my job, if it costs me my family, if it costs me whatever, I want to worship you. I want to worship you. Jesus Christ needs to be the most important thing. That we open up our treasures and we say, here you are, Lord. What used to be of value to me, what I used to hold on to, what used to be dear to me, it's not so dear anymore because you're here. And you're the most important thing in my life. What did you get for Christmas? What did you get? What do the people around you think is important to you? What do they see?

is important to you. What do they see has value in your eyes, in your heart? Is it the things of God or is it the things of this world? We need to ask ourselves, guys. That's why I said meditate on these things. Spend time and ask God to show you your own heart these next couple days as you prepare to enter into 2005. What kind of life do you want to live? Do you want to grow with Jesus Christ? Do you want to walk with Him?

You want to continue on the way that you are? Do you want to walk away? What do you want to do? I pray that your heart, that your desire is to grow, to walk with him. How do we grow? Spending each day with Jesus. Developing that relationship. You know, Jesus does not ask very much of us. He gave everything for us. He came and he was crucified. He gave his life for us. What does he ask from us?

a relationship. He asked for us to spend time with Him each and every day. He asked for us to give back to Him the life that He redeemed, the life that He saved. He asked for us to take up our cross, to deny ourselves, and to walk with Him. That's all that He wants. That's all He desires. He says, walk with Me. Walk with Me. Put your own stuff aside. It's not good for you anyways. It's going to hurt you. It's seen. It's temporary. It's not going to last. Put that stuff away and follow Me.

Put your hope and trust in something that will last forever. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask, Lord, now that you would examine our hearts. God, we want to know. We want to know you, Lord. Lord, I pray that you would help us to be like the Magi, God. That we would go to great lengths, Lord, whatever it takes. We want to worship you. We don't want anything to come into and between us and our relationship with you, Jesus. Lord, this morning we say, as for me and my house, we will serve you, Lord.

We will draw close to you. You will be our priority. You will be our treasure. God, forgive us for those times where we trust in other things, where we sink down our roots and put value upon things that will not last. God, may our hearts be revealed to us as we seek you. Lord, as we meditate on these things, Lord, help us to surrender the things that you reveal to us and that you show us. God, help us to give them back to you, to open up our treasures and present them to you, Jesus, that you would do with us.

whatever you wish. God, with all of our treasures, use them for your glory. With all of the things that we hold on to, Lord, we give them to you, that you would draw people to your name, that others would know that you have been born King of the Jews. You are the Christ, the Messiah, Lord. We love you. We thank you for the opportunity to walk with you, and we ask that you would help us in that endeavor. Fill us with your Spirit, God, and lead us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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