The JOY of Worship
A visitor in a small Southern town comes across a beautiful Nativity scene. It was obvious that great skill and talent had gone into creating it. One small feature bothers the man - the three wise men are wearing firefighters helmets. Unable to come up with a reason or an explanation, the visitor gets in his car and heads out of town. At a Quik Stop on the edge of town, he stops and asks the lady behind
the counter about the helmets. She flies into a rage and yells at the visitor, "You darn Yankees never do read the Bible!" The man assures her that he does, but simply can’t recall anything in the Bible. She jerks her Bible from behind the counter and ruffles through the pages, and finally jabs her finger at a passage. Sticking it in his face she says, "See, it says right here, ’The three wise men came from afar.’"
Matthew 2:1-8 NIV
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.”
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
There were three types of people who were in this incident. Lets look at them.
I. I’d like to talk about the crafty, or sneaky if you will.
That would be King Herod of course. There are some times when we find ourselves in the Right Place but with the Wrong People. There are some places that are all right but the people are all wrong. Herod was a madman, lunatic, psychopath. Herod was wicked, troubled, and mentally sick man. If I were a psychiatrist, I would diagnose Herod as chronic paranoid schizophrenic. He believed that people were out to get him, take his throne, seize his position or his power. Herod had his treasures stored in the earth rather than storing his treasures in heaven. The wise men were in the Right Place but with the Wrong People. When Herod heard that the wise men were looking for some future king the text says he was troubled and all of Jerusalem with him. Why he wanted to stop anyone from getting what he had, power, from Rome. Herod would go to any lengths to get what he wanted, even kill someone.
You know the sad thing there are still people like that today, They like there power or place of position, they covet it, nothing matters to them, like Herod. Enough of the crafty or sneaky. That is to much of a downer for this time of year. Lets move on.
II. The Informed but indifferent.
They called the chief priest of the people and teachers of the law to find out where this king was going to be born. Vs 4
Strange that they knew where, but seemed not to know it had happened, they had the information but were indifferent about it. They were being busy doing their thing and not following the times. They where God’s people, who where to be waiting for the savior, messiah, The Lord to be born, and they were found to busy to notice what was happening. To busy doing church work to do God’s work I guess. It’s sad that the ones who had the most to gain where the last to know. Even sadder was they did not seem to care. NO ONE OFFERED TO GO SEE THE NEW KING. They and Herod sent the wise men to find him and report back. Too busy to find the Lord themselves. They were in darkness even though they thought they had the light of God’s word.
John 1:5
5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Enough already!! We are supposed to be talking about JOY!!
Lets talk about the third type of people who were there.
III. The Searchers or seekers.
The wise men knew that something great was going on and wanted to be a part of it. They were looking for something, the King of the Jews. Strange they were gentiles. They had to bring the message to the ones who should have known. They knew something was missing, they wanted to find and be a part of what was going on.
You know this very day there are churches all over this country and the world filled with seekers. Those who are seeking the light that will lead them into a new dawning, a brightness, a new direction and a new hope in there lives. They are seeking a savior, the new KING.
John 8:12
12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Today is a day the church should rejoice that the world is celebrating the birth of OUR savior, Jesus. Yes we know the 25th of December is not Jesus’ birth day but does it matter when we celebrate it?
Matthew 2:9-12
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Did you see the JOY part? Vs 10. When they found Jesus, He was any where up to 18 months old. They did not care if they missed His birth day or not. All they knew is they wanted to worship Him for who he was. Nothing was going to stop them, people, the world that did not understand or care, they knew. And guess what they were rewarded for the work of seeking for the truth. They had faith even if they did not fully understand the full impact of this Kings birth. They will always be remembered for that act of faith and expectation in there lives.
Hebrews 11:1 NIV
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
They are remembered in scripture and commended for it.
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 (The Message)
6It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Beloved there is no greater JOY then we find our savior and Lord and worship Him for who he is. Let us encourage every one who is looking by truly enjoying this time of year with all it’s meaning, Jesus was born, God has kept His promise.
