A Priceless Gift
Griffith Baptist Church – 12/14/08
A.M. Service
Text: Matthew 2:1-12
Key verse: Matthew 2:11 - 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.
Premise: God gave a priceless gift in His Son, Jesus Christ, and whatever we give back will pale in comparison to that. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
The Introduction
After being away on business, a man thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift. “How about some perfume?” he asked the cosmetics clerk. She showed him a bottle costing $50.00. “That’s a bit much,” he said, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.00. “That’s still quite a bit,” he complained. Growing annoyed, the clerk brought out a tiny $15.00 bottle. “You know,” he said, “What I mean is that I’d like to see something really cheap.” The clerk handed him a mirror.
We’re coming into the season of Christmas
We decorate our trees and sometimes get to smell the cookies baking in the oven
We see family that we haven’t seen for a while.
We sing Christmas songs and carols.
Above all, we give gifts.
What is gift giving all about anyway?
o Giving something special to those we love
o The element of mystery – gift in pretty wrapping
o It is a time to share
Discuss the Magi and their long journey.
o They came to worship
o They came to bring gifts
Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: . . .
Who is this gift God has given us and what can we give to God this Christmas and always?
Body
1. God’s Gift to Us
A. He gave a Star (2)
i. A light to guide
a. Zacharias said of Christ - Luke 1:79 - To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
b. Man is forever in darkness but Christ sheds light on sin and the promise of salvation
ii. A light of hope
a. A little over a month before he died, the famous atheist Jean-Paul Sartre declared that he so strongly resisted feelings of despair that he would say to himself, “I know I shall die in hope.” Then in profound sadness, he would add, “But hope needs a foundation.” Our Daily Bread, April 17, 1995
b. 1 Timothy 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
c. Hope that never dies
d. Hope that is constant
e. Hope that is certain
B. He gave a Sovereign (6)
i. To rule in our hearts
a. The heart is what produces our real character and ultimately our actions
b. For Christ to govern our lives He needs to govern our hearts first
c. Look at the heart as it pertains to salvation – Romans 10:9-10 - 9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
ii. To rule His church
a. If Christ is not the head of His church, the church will crumble
b. He has absolute control and power of His church (Eph. 5:23-32)
c. Sad to say, to many times, His church lets other things rule them.
• A complaining spirit
• Unloving, ungracious attitudes
• Selfishness
iii. To rule His coming kingdom
a. Every battle is a step in the plan of God for the ultimate victory that is Christ’s
b. He is the declared winner even before the war is over
c. It may look like He’s losing sometimes, but looks can be deceiving
d. Isaiah 25:8 – He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
e. 1 Corinthians 15:57 – But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
f. He will win the battle of the ages and no one can stop Him
g. THIS IS OUR GOD!
C. He gave a Savior (11)
i. To save us from our sins
a. Revelation 1:5 – 5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
b. This baby became the man who would be the only one who could save us
ii. To save us to Himself
a. 2 Corinthians 5:19 - 19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
b. So that we can serve Him in this life
c. So that we can worship Him
2. Our Gift to God (11)
A. Our Worship
i. It is from the heart
a. A.W. Tozer said, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all turned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship” A.W. Tozer in "The Pursuit of God."
b. True worship comes from a right relationship with God
ii. It is given out of love
a. What God has done for us cannot be calculated and have value placed in it
b. It is priceless
c. What we give back to Him is given because of what He has done for us
d. 1 John 4:19 - We love him, because he first loved us.
iii. It is more an action than a reaction
a. In Meredith Wilson’s MUSIC MAN, the professor tried to get Marion the librarian to go out with him. He asked her to meet him at the footbridge across the stream running through the park. She wanted to, but she refused. She said, "Please, some other time. Maybe tomorrow." The professor persisted, yet she continued to put off their meeting. Finally, in exasperation, he said, "Pile up enough tomorrows and you’ll find that you’ve collected nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays."
b. We should be people of action, especially in or worship
c. It should be something we want to do
d. Worship is an action we take because of the love we have for God already shed abroad in our hearts
e. If our worship is reactionary, it means we are waiting for God to do something additional for us to worship Him.
f. Isn’t the gift of His Son enough?
B. Our Treasures
i. The treasure of time
a. You know, we waste an awful lot of time - You probably heard about the guy who was trying to lose weight, but came to the office one day with two dozen donuts. His co-workers asked him why he got donuts if he’s trying to diet, and he answered, "Well, as I came to the corner where the donut shop was, I told God that if He wanted me to buy some donuts to have a parking spot open right in front of the donut shop. And on the eighth time around the block, there it was!¨
b. We make time for so many things, but how about Christ
c. Time is one of our most valuable possessions, but do we really consider how we spend our day?
d. We are told to Redeem the time, because the days are evil. (Eph. 5:16)
ii. The treasure of service
a. It seems that when duty calls some people are never at home.
b. We are saved to serve
c. Christ said, Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matt. 20:28)
d. That word “minister” means to serve.
iii. The treasure of sacrifice
a. Nothing worth doing comes without sacrifice
b. If being a child of God does not cost you something, than you aren’t much of a child of God.
c. The wise gave Christ the best they had, the gold, the frankincense and the myrrh
d. All were highly valued items
e. What do you have of value that you have sacrificed for Christ?
C. Our Selves
i. To give up our will
a. The human will is strong and stubborn
b. A surrendered life gives up its will to surrender it to God’s.
c. James 4:15 – For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
d. Are you surrendered to God’s will for your life?
ii. To give up our way
a. Another area of stubbornness is that we don’t want to change our ways.
b. The way we are is often tainted by sin
c. God is in the process of changing us:
• Our views
• Our goals
• Our philosophy
d. He wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son – Romans 8:29 - For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
e. When you get your photograph taken, you have to sit in the right way and smile in the right way, . . . (have fun and expand the illustration that the photographer wants the best snapshot he can get because it reflects on His skills. God wants our best as well because it reflects on Him)
f. God’s goal is simple, to recreate a broken vessel that bears His work - Ephesians 4:24 - And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
iii. To give up our heart
a. The heart is the last thing we surrender in salvation
b. It, unfortunately, is the last thing we often give to God as His children.
Conclusion:
What gift will you give to Christ?
Have you given your life to Christ in surrender to Him?
Christian, have you given everything to Him?
After all, He has given everything to you!
