THE CALL OF CHRISTMAS
Matthew 2:1-12
INTRO: “Telephones have changed our lives forever.
* In the small town we lived in the volunteer fire department’s telephone was answered by the policeman who was on duty who would in turn sound the fire whistle to rally the volunteers to duty. One Saturday morning my father, the town Chief of Police, had just come on duty when the fire department phone rang. He picked up the phone and said "Fire Department." A voice on the other end of the line frantically said, "Send the fire truck!" Then the caller immediately slammed the phone down. My dad stood stunned, not knowing what to do. In a few minutes the phone rang again. Quickly he picked it up and said again, "Fire Department!" Again the voice cried, "Send the fire truck!" Again the caller immediately hung up. Realizing that someone’s house was possibly at stake, he rushed outside and scanned the sky to see if he could see smoke and therefore send the fire trucks in that direction. While outside he also devised a plan as to how to keep the caller from hanging up so quickly if she called back. Sure enough the phone rang again and he went running inside. Picking up the phone he said, "Where’s the fire?" And the lady on the other end screamed, "In the kitchen," and slammed the phone down again."
* There are many different types of calls & calls can be serious or funny. Several years ago, we were at a Christmas show at the MS Gulf Coast Coliseum and heard this announcement, “Jimmy Smith, If You WANT to leave with those you came with, meet your party at..” That was a call someone didn’t want to miss.
* There are other types of calls. Military draft is a type of call, 911 is a type of call, and a call to restore phone or electrical service is a call. The list goes on and on.
* The greatest call of all is the call from God. Abraham, Moses, and Paul experienced firsthand, life changing, & highly personally calls from Jehovah. For many years, I marveled at a friend of mine, Jimmy Knight, who gave the testimony of hearing God’s audible voice calling him to ministry. Today, I am reminded of God’s call to me. He talks, calls, and compels. This is what we see in the Wise Men in Matt 2.
* What caused these guys to come from the East? Certainly it was the Old Testament prophecies, but how about a sense of A Call? I suggest that the call of Christmas was a compelling call to them.
* What can this call of Christmas teach us?
1) TO BE DETERMINED – If determination is focused correctly, it is a good thing. These men had studied the ancient prophecies, were looking God’s promised, & then adjusted their schedule.
* Here’s the clincher; finding God’s promised one was important enough to change their lives, their schedules, and their living conditions (probably for a year & a half) to follow God’s leading, (the “star”). They were determined to find God’s promise, God’s greatest gift, and God’s Best and knew they had to respond to HIS WORD. This was not a quick or easy journey and quite honestly, it was inconvenient; but they were determined. They went as far as they could see and know; but they didn’t “stop” there. The asked the right questions, trusted God’s word, and sought His leadership. Is it NOT true that when it comes to God and Spiritual matters, we want to go as far as we can see, and then “stop”? Our response is “Well, we don’t want to “test” the God, you remember what Jesus said in His temptation?”
* We are determined to do many things. What is it that you are “determined” to do? For some, it is to money, be success, have power, or gain status. But the call of Christmas is to find God’s gift for you. Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him, and seek first His Kingdom. What do you seek with your life?
* Just give thought to the journey of the Wise men. They came ‘from the East, into Jerusalem, asked questions to gain information, and then continued to Bethlehem. They didn’t stop their journey until they found Jesus. They were determined enough to “stick with it.” not be side-tracked by circumstances/
* The call of Christmas is for every one of us. God sent His Child to give us life, new life, abundant life, and eternal life. This life is focused not on the physical, but on the spiritual. Following God & His leading is not a “lay-back” activity. Had the Wise Men been laid back and cool about it, they would have never seen Jesus.
* In this hard, cold, secularized, and humanistic society, are you seeking HIM or going with the flow? Where is your determination?
2) TO BE DELIGHTED – To be delighted means being delighted over the ‘right’ things. In context, the Wise men were determined to find the Christ child so they went through Jerusalem asking questions, and continued their journey. Verse 10 has been read, quoted, & even sung. (Read Verse 10).
a) In God’s guiding – Nothing is more personally satisfying than to know that God is directing one’s path & guiding one’s steps. When they saw the star, they knew it was God’s map to Jesus.
* When they saw the “star” they were overjoyed, overwhelmed, and even overcome. The Greek literally means they were “hardly able to contain themselves.” Watch how the emotion builds; they were “Overjoyed beyond measure.” The Greek language contains words like mega (great), exceeding (over the top or beyond measure). Candidly, they were so impacted by the leadership of God that their praise was ‘beyond’ what could be stated in a linguistic translation.
* Have you ever felt so led by God that you could hardly contain yourself? When I realized God’s call to preach and/or God’s call to a church, then I understand this overwhelmed feeling.
* Today, God’s leading some to faith, some to membership, some to service, and some to repentance, confession, & recommitment of life to Him. If that’s you, are you excited about it or are you fighting it? The secret is this; the wise men didn’t care where leading was as long as God was leading.
* Are you excited or less than excited to have God’s leading in your life? He may be calling you to “give,” to “go,” to “get involved,” to ‘change your priorities’, to ‘turn loose.’ Do these things frighten you a little? Are you less than delighted or excited?
b) In God’s Gift – If we are not excited about God’s guidance for us, then we will never be excited about God’s gift to us. We will only discover God’s gift when we follow God’s guidance.
* They found God’s Special present for them and that present was Jesus. They “delighted” in the Christ child and bow their hearts, lives, and knees in worship. The offered Him gifts which were indicative of a King. They found pleasure in Jesus.
* Just to be honest, for years as a church member & even a minister, I did not find pleasure in Jesus. Didn’t want to learn of Him, take up His cross, talk about Him, or even give Him one more moment than I had to. In those days I was my ‘own person.’ Here is the scriptures that describe it, “When I was a child, I acted like a child, I had to be in control (like a child), and was hard-headed about childish things.” By the way, there is a time to be hard-headed, but it not about childish things (it’s about eternal things).
* When my focus became God’s gift—that is, His Son, eternal life through His Son, & everyday leadership by His Son, things changed. Today I love just talking about the Lord. By the way, whoever or whatever we take delight in, we talk about.
3) TO BE DEVOTED – (Read verse 11) Can you imagine the mood when these wise men from the East walked in on Joseph’s family? Here was the one for whom they had spent almost 2 years searching. At last, they had found Him. Their devotion was set before they found Jesus, but their devotion was displayed by their actions.
a) They Bowed Down & Worshipped Him – It is sad to say, but in the USA we have a skewed view of worship. We cannot imagine worship without music. The common thought is that music is worship (I thought this for many years). True worship does not require a note of music to be played or sung. So, what does this really mean? There are a couple of visuals which help. The first to touch one’s forehead to ground in reverence. Some would say, “I can’t do that!” My response is, “Don’t tell the preacher or others, but rather, talk to God about it.” Now, answer this question, “Would you if you could?” Don’t be deceived, God is not mocked. He knows the truth. Next the Greek word paints a literal picture of kissing a hand, kind of like a dog licking of His master’s hand. THIS WAS and is a recognition of deity. The call of Christmas calls us.
b) They brought their Gifts – We already stated these are gifts befitting a King, but we could take it further to say that these gifts were already preparing Him for His death. “Myrrh” is used in the process of readying for the grave. But don’t miss the huge truth;
* These gifts were not their “hand-me-downs,” nor were they family “leftovers,” but were their best. After Katrina, many gave much so that those without could have something. But I was amazed at the number of people who took this opportunity to clean out their attic. When we give to the Lord, we shouldn’t give our left overs, but our best. Their gifts were not just “GIVEN”, but Opened. What a picture! I wonder how many times we offer the gift of our live, love, talents, and more, and then don’t allow God to open the gift. The call is for us to open ourselves to Him. The text says ‘presents & treasures,’ which means what they valued highly.
* The call is for us TO GIVE ALL & to respond to Him. God has come, is calling, and wants to claim you as one of HIS OWN!
* Max Lucado wrote—“God will come to you, every step of the way, but that last step…That one step is YOURS”. In the Child of Christmas, that is, Jesus, God has stepped toward you. The question is, “will you step toward HIM?” This is HIS call to YOU, COME!
