A Journey Of Faith

A Journey of Faith

By

Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.

OPENING:- Today as we are approaching and will be celebrating Christmas on this week I felt God taking me in a different direction. I am not going to deal with the traditional Christmas message. Tradition has a major effect on how we perceive scripture and the things of God and it is because of tradition, that it is imperative that we need to be cognizant and continually ask God for wisdom and understanding. The Bible says Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding”.

Journey:- Traveling from one place to another

Faith:- The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

PRAYER:-

SCRIPTURE:- Matthew 2:1-12 “ Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.…”

Today I want to look at the Wise men, their Journey of Faith, and how their Journey of Faith should exemplify what all people of faith who call themselves Christians should exemplify and that is a willingness to go. This journey of the wise men has several very important factors that we must apply to our walk with God.

A.) They saw

B.) They came

C.) Their journey was a journey of sacrifice.

D.) Their journey was a journey of faith.

E.) Their journey was a journey of worship.

F.) They obeyed

G.) Their journey was a journey of obedience

First let me establish who the wise men were! Verse 1 says “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem”. They were wise men from the east, nothing else is said about their origin here. Contrary to popular Christmas tradition, the Bible does not use the terms three wise men or three kings to describe the travelers who went to see Jesus after his birth. Matthew used the Greek word magoi to describe them. The word magoi is the same Greek word from which we get the word magician. The wise (magoi) men were most-likely astrologers from Babylon or Persia, some 500 miles away from Bethlehem. A similar group of people is mentioned in the book of Daniel. They are the group of advisers to the kings of Babylon and Persia. The king calls upon them to solve difficult mysteries, riddles, or dreams. Daniel himself belonged to this group. And he was admitted only after he studied for three years in their university. Somehow, the wise men had met the prophesies of Daniel or another Old Testament prophet and were waiting for the coming King, the Savior of the world. In the Chinese Bible the word used for “magi” or “wise men” is PHDs. This reflects the idea that they were the highly educated of society. The Bible does not reveal the names of the wise men and that is significant because, when the Bible mentions a person by name there is something about that person that God wants us to understand. When it just says certain man or woman or in this case “Wise men” there is something about their actions and behavior that God wants us to understand.