INTRO.- Knock Knock
Who’s there ?
Avery
Avery who ?
Avery merry Christmas to you!
ILL.- A man said: In a small southern town there was a "Nativity Scene" that showed great skill and talent had gone into creating it. One small feature bothered me.
The three wise men were wearing fireman’s helmets. Totally unable to come up with a reason or explanation, I left. At a "Quik Stop" on the edge of town, I asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. She got upset, yelling at me, "You stupid Yankees never do read the Bible!" I assured her that I did, but simply couldn’t recall anything about firemen in the Bible.
She jerked her Bible from behind the counter and thumbed through some pages, and finally jabbed her finger at a passage. Sticking it in my face she said "See, it says right here, ’The three wise man came from afar.’"
The three wise men came from afar (the east), but to do what? They came to worship Christ. And it’s been said that wise men still worship Jesus.
It should be obvious to the whole world that it’s time to worship the Christ! But sadly, not everyone believes in Christ or acknowledges Christ as the Savior of the world.
ILL.- Recently, we heard about what happened in the capital in Washington state. OLYMPIA, Wash. -- An atheist group unveiled an anti-religion placard/sign in the state Capitol, joining a Christian Nativity scene and "holiday tree" on display during December.
The atheists’ sign was installed by Washington members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national group based in Madison, Wis. The placard reads: "At this season of the WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
The foundation’s co-president, Dan Barker, said it was important for atheists to offer their viewpoint. He said, "Our members want equal time." Oh come on now! Get with the program! TIS THE SEASON TO WORSHIP CHRIST! Worship Him now or worship Him later!
ILL.- Elaine and I recently saw the movie, "Four Christmases." It was a comedy but also had some mockery to it. There was one scene where actor Vince Vaughn played the part of Joseph in a church play and Reese Witherspoon played the part of Mary. It was funny and yet it wasn’t funny, because Vaughn, in his idiocy, over-played his part to the point where he got all the glory. All attention was given to him in that church play instead of pointing to the Christ child.
And that’s the way it is in our world. People want to steal the glory of Christ for themselves. They are not the least bit interested in worshiping Him. BUT WE KNOW BETTER AND HOPEFULLY, WE DO BETTER! Wise men and women still worship Christ.
PROP.- Tis the Season to worship Christ and in different ways.
1- Worship Christ secretly
2- Worship Christ sincerely
3- Worship Christ separately
I. TIS THE SEASON TO WORSHIP CHRIST SECRETLY
ILL.- The teacher of the third-grade Sunday School class was planning to take her students on a "field trip" to the church service, so they could get an idea of what morning worship looked like.
Before they left their classroom, she thought it would be a good idea to caution them against being noisey in those surroundings. Attempting to engage their attention, she asked, "And why do we need to be quiet in church?" One bright little boy replied, "Because people are sleeping in there."
Would anyone ever go to sleep in a worship service? Or how about during a prayer meeting or private prayer time? Did you ever fall asleep while praying? Who hasn’t?
I believe it’s the season to worship Christ secretly. Does that make sense? Secretly? Here is the idea.
Matthew 6:5-6 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
I believe that every person who believes in Christ should have a private or secret prayer time of worship time. It may be in your house but it may be elsewhere, but I think it’s a must for every Christian.
If those wise men from the East came to worship the Christ then what about us? How should we worship? We worship in two basic ways: one; by allowing the Lord to speak to us through His Word. And two; by us speaking words of praise to Him in prayer. And I think it must start privately or secretly.
Jesus said that the hypocrites of old loved to be seen praying in public. Personally, that’s the last place I want to pray! I prefer private prayer and praise so I can pour out my heart to God without any possible criticism or critique. We don’t pray to be heard by others.
And I’ve heard it said that those who pray long in private will pray short prayers in public. And the reverse may be true.
I’ve also heard it said that the secret of power is the power of secret prayer. In praying, we praise the Lord and He blesses us with power for living each day. There is power in prayer and power in praise!
ILL.- Charles Simeon devoted the hours from four till eight in the morning to God. John Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer. He began at four in the morning. Of him, one who knew him well wrote: "He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else."
Martin Luther said: "If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer." He had a motto: "He that has prayed well has studied well."
ILL.- E. M. Bounds said, "THE men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, he will be in the last place the remainder of the day." Powerful.
It appears that we must first worship Christ privately, secretly in order to worship Him properly in public. Many people worship Him in public but only those who have been with Him in secret value public worship the most and would not want to miss it.
The more you worship Him privately, the more you’ll want to worship any time, Christmas or otherwise.
II. TIS THE SEASON TO WORSHIP CHRIST SINCERELY
Matthew 6:7-8 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
And when you pray/worship don’t babble. To me, this says that when we worship and/or pray we must be sincere, not wordy. No one impresses God with many words. God hears our words but he also sees the heart.
I’ve heard more wordy prayers from preachers than anybody else. Most of us feel like we’re being preached to in those prayers. Sincere prayers are needed. Sincerity in life is needed.
ILL.- Golf pro Lee Trevino met a fan in a coffee shop. The woman asked him to sign a napkin, but Trevino refused, saying he knew she wouldn’t keep it. “So she pulled out a $5 bill,” Trevino recalled. He said, “I wrote a nice little note in the margin and signed it. Thanking me profusely, she said, ‘I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life.’ ”
But later, he said, "Paying my tab with a twenty, I got that five back in change.”
That lady talked like she was sincere, but her actions betrayed her. And our actions sometimes betray us or perhaps portray us as not what we say we are.
ILL.- If I said, for example, that I was a St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan, what would you say? OH YEAH! PROVE IT. My TV viewing might not back up my words. Now if you said to my cousin and her husband, Charles and Colleen Vanlandingham, "are you Cardinal fans?" There would be no question about it. Why? Because every spring they make a trip to Florida to watch the Cardinals in spring training. Charles is a die hard Cardinal fan, which he doesn’t hide.
WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT OUR FAITH? Is our devotion and sincerity evident to others?
ILL.- When David Hume, the infidel, was criticized for going to listen to John Brown, the godly Scotch minister, he replied: “I don’t believe all that he says, but he does, and once a week I like to hear a man who believes what he says. That man preaches as though he thought the Lord Jesus Christ was at his elbow!” THAT’S SINCERITY!
Do we live the Christian life in such a way as to be believable? What is there about our faith that is sincere and believable? Our prayer life? Church attendance? Giving? Christian service? Is there any evidence of sincere Christian faith and worship?
ILL.- There was once a godless seaman who was in a boat fishing with his godless companions when a storm came up which threatened to sink the ship. His companions begged him to offer a prayer; but he hesitated, saying it was years since he had prayed or even gone to church.
Finally, upon their insistence, he offered this prayer: “O Lord, I have not asked You for anything for fifteen years, and if You deliver us out of this storm and bring us safe to land again, I promise that I will not bother You again for another fifteen years.”
That’s not sincerity. Many people only call on God in times of difficulty and then when the difficulty has passed, they tend to forget God. As it’s been said: Danger past. God forgotten. Danger present. God remembered.
Our faith must be sincere and genuine if God is to be honored and glorified. Tis the season to worship Christ sincerely.
III. TIS THE SEASON TO WORSHP CHRIST SEPARATELY
Matthew 4:1-11 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
"’He will command his angels concerning you,and they will lift you up in their hands,so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’
7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: ’Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’" 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’"
The Lord alone is God. He is to be worshiped separately,set apart from everything else in this life.
ILL.- Many years ago, Thomas K. Beecher once substituted for his famous brother, Henry Ward Beecher, at the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York. Many curiosity seekers had come to hear the renowned Henry Ward Beecher speak. But when Thomas Beecher appeared in the pulpit instead, some people got up and started for the doors.
Sensing that they were disappointed because he was substituting for his brother, Thomas raised his hand for silence and announced, “All those who came here this morning to worship Henry Ward Beecher may leave the church; all who came to worship God may remain.” We are to worship the Lord only!
ILL.- A little over a year ago I called an old friend named Dan DeWelt who was living in Joplin, MO, and asked if we could meet for lunch. Dan is oldest son of Don DeWelt, who taught at Ozark Christian College. And Dan baptized me into Christ about 44 years ago. Dan went into the armed services during the Vietnam era and suffered a complete nervous breakdown. He’s been in and out mental hospitals over the years, but now seems to be doing fairly well.
When I met with Dan I didn’t know what to expect because I knew that he no longer went to church.
When we met for lunch, I asked him if I could offer a prayer of thanks, which he consented. During our conversation he told me that he still believed in God. However, he said nothing about believing in Christ. He thinks there are many approaches to God, not just Christ. He said, "I believe that God is everywhere. He is in this table, etc." In order words, Dan now believes that God is in everything: that tree, that bird, etc. That God inhabits these.
His belief is called Pantheism, which means that God is everything and everything is God. We, however, believe that God created everything in this world but we don’t believe that God is IN everything. That would be worshiping the creature rather than the creator. And this is a problem that many people have today. THEY WORSHIP WHAT HAS BEEN CREATED RATHER THAN THE CREATOR.
This is why people are so devoted to material things, sports, hobbies, play and pleasure, etc. They worship these things rather than God who is the creator and has blessed us with every good and perfect gift.
ILL.- Someone wrote: WHAT IS YOUR GOD? "Whatever you love most, serve most, seek out most, give to the most, worship the most, and care about the most is your god. Your “god” can be your career, your bank account, the way you look, a particular position or degree, influence, power, or physical pleasure.
Your “god” is whatever you allow to control you, to be the ultimate guide to decision making, the place of your supreme loyalty, and the source of your self-worth."
But I say, tis the season to worship the Lord God only!
CONCLUSION----------------------
ILL.- A family celebrated Christmas every year with a birthday party for Jesus. An extra chair of honor at the table became the family’s reminder of Jesus’ presence. A cake with candles, along with the singing of "Happy Birthday" expressed the family’s joy in Jesus’ presence.
One year on Christmas afternoon a visitor to the home asked the five-year-old girl, "Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?" After a moment’s hesitation, she answered, "No, but then it’s not my birthday!"
Tis the season to worship Christ and Him only!
