WHAT DID YOU GIVE FOR CHRISTMAS? by Rev. Rick Mays
Pastor, Trinity Temple Assembly of God
Arkadelphia, AR 71923
Matthew 2:1-12
In today's society, it would be hard to imagine Christmas without presents. Children around the world woke up yesterday morning with excitement as they came into the living room and saw presents under their tree.
Gift paper flew through the air as presents were unwrapped. Squeals of joy were heard throughout the morning over presents received.
If you were to guess the number one question on the play grounds of America leading up to Christmas what would that question be...
Most likely it would be, what are you getting for Christmas?
But now that Christmas past, come next Monday when school starts, what will be the question...
Most likely, what did you get for Christmas?
However, this morning I want to preach from the title...
WHAT DID YOU GIVE FOR CHRISTMAS?
Matthew 2:1-12
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,
2 "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him."
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"
5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they said, "for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 'And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.
8 Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!"
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!
11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
Even though we may not understand the true power of giving, most people enjoy giving.
We know God is the ultimate giver ... John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...
We know Jesus said ... Acts 20:35
35 …It is more blessed to give than to receive.
You could almost say that the theme of the New Testament is giving...
God gave...
Jesus gave...
Apostles gave...
Early believers gave…
We are told in scripture to...
Give a drink of water
Give of our resources
Give our bodies
We are to be a vessel that God can pour His blessings and gifts through and not a holding tank to store them.
I hear people all the time say that want to or need to receive more from the Lord. And I guess that is a good desire. However to receive more we must be willing to give more.
Now with all that said, if I were to ask you what the Wisemen gave you would say...
Gold - Frankincense - Myrrh
And I guess on the surface you would be right. But I want you to see that their giving was much deeper than what we see.
Let me show you three things the Wisemen gave at Christmas.
1:THEY GAVE THEIR TIME...
vs. 1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,
We could debate where these men were from and we might be right or we could be wrong. All we are told is that are from eastern lands.
But what I want you to see is this...
They didn't see the stat one day
Jump on their camels the next morning
Ride over to Bethlehem
And then back home by night fall
These men sacrificed a great amount time to go and worship Jesus. They literally set their life on hold until they found the baby.
Our world has it all backwards now. Instead of Jesus being our life, we simply add Him to our already busy schedule.
And when that schedule gets cram packed, He is usually the first thing to go.
We have visitors in this weekend so we don't have time to come to God's house and worship Him.
We have ball games this weekend so we don't have time to come to God's house and worship Him.
I need to get caught up on my job so I don't have time to come to God's house and worship Him.
I've neglected the yard so I don't have time to come to God's house and worship Him.
And the funny thing is this - we are talking about a few hours out of a week, when these Wisemen took days, weeks maybe even months out of their year to go and worship Jesus.
Let's do some math...
There are 168 hours in a week.
At the most church last 5½ hours a week. That's 2½ Sunday mornings, 1½ Sunday nights and 1½ Wednesday nights.
So if you give 5½ hours a week to be in church you are giving 3.27 percent. If I took out 8 hours of sleep at night it would be 4.9 percent.
Can you just imagine a great coach standing before his team before the Championship game and telling his players. 'Alright team, today I want you to get out there and give me 5%. We might just pull out a win if you'll give 5% effort.' He wouldn't last long as a coach.
Now I know it is the day after Christmas and you've taken the time on this holiday weekend to be here and I'm very thankful for you coming today.
But before we roll over into 2011, let's purpose in our hearts to give God even more of our TIME!
I know there is more than just coming to church. But there isn't a person in this room that could keep their spiritual fire and passion if you removed church from your life permanently.
I'm not saying you'd loss out with God, although I've seen that happen more than anything else.
We need to be willing to give our time.
•Time to come worship the King
•Time to come serve His people and His church
•Time to gain strength from preaching and fellowship
•Time to hear his voice at an altar
THE WISEMEN GAVE THEIR TIME TO JOURNEY FROM WHERE THEY WERE TO WHERE THE STAR LED THEM SO THEY COULD WORSHIP JESUS.
2: THEY GAVE THEIR TREASURE...
vs. 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Not only did these guys sacrifice great amounts of time, but they sacrificed to give of their treasure.
I made the statement a few moments ago - "when our schedule gets cram packed, God is usually the first thing to go."
Let me also so when our finances get tight or in the red, many will cut out giving their treasure to God with the thought of making it up later.
Giving our time and treasure is a commitment we must make and we must discipline our lives to keep that commitment.
God doesn't need your money,
He needs your OBEDIENCE!
When we give Him our obedience, He opens windows in Heaven to pour out blessings in our life.
One thing I usually always hear in the days leading up to Christmas and even the days following is this...
...I spent too much this year...
But I've never heard anyone in all my life say...
...I gave way too much to God...
The Wisemen gave their time and their treasure. We find those two things right there is the scripture.
What we don't find is the third thing, it is assumed. I find it in the story of the shepherd, but I believe that they Wisemen gave this just as the shepherds did.
3: THEY GAVE THEIR TESTIMONY...
In other words that simply means they shared the story of Jesus with people they came in contact with.
The last verse of our text says ... vs. 12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
It says this of the shepherds ... Luke 2:17-18
17 After seeing him (Jesus), the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
18 All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished...
It is a fact that, just like the shepherd, the wisemen had to return back to their country. But their encounter with Jesus was a story they told.
There are people in our lives that tell at least one story all the time. That one story is about something special to them. It was something that impacted them profoundly.
That is why I can say with assurance that the wisemen gave their testimony. Their brief encounter with God's Son was so profound that they could not not tell the story.
When was the last time you shared the story of your encounter with Jesus?
Has there ever been a time when after someone heard your story that they were astonished?
Don't rehearse someone else's story, tell yours. When you encounter Jesus, He profoundly impacts your life. His impact is so intense that I would surmise that you can't keep from speaking about it.
As your pastor, I want you to know that we are going to deliberately place before you opportunities for you to give...
Your Time
Your Treasure
& Your Testimony
You are going to be challenged and stretched in all three of those areas this coming year. But don't wait for your pastor to open that door in the church because God is opening it everyday outside of the church.
Proverbs 3:27-28 (NLT)
27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them.
28 If you can help your neighbor now, don't say, "Come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you.
The wisemen sacrificed their TIME!
The wisemen sacrificed their TREASURE!
The wisemen boldly proclaimed their TESTIMONY!
