Bringing Gifts of Glory
December 26, 2010
Matthew 2:1-11
2010 Hot Christmas Gifts
Christmas is past and like every year, a list was compiled of the hottest Christmas Gifts of the season. We start counting down; so here you go...
Number 10 - Nintendo Wii
Wii slips down the list from last year, but still retains a position in the top ten gifts, for the plain fact that it’s cool to have one!
Number 9 - Digital Camera
With new age, digital cameras have gone way down the price lane, as they cost you for less than a 100$. And if that isn’t reason enough to pick one, know that even the most decent of ones today possess amazing quality, up-to-date features, editing options and tons of storage.
Number 8 - New Apple iPods
YO my hommies!! These are the coolest little gadgets available right now. With Apple unveiling the latest iterations to all its models, starting with iPod shuffle; entertainment has become so much more ’Applesque’.’ The new iterations are neater, sleeker, handier and less costly. The latest shuffle cost just $50!
Number 7 - DVD Specials
It can be the long forgotten collection or a collector’s edition only, but it’s worth it. Just imagine a box set of all episodes of your favorite series even those you missed. Well, that can add glitters to anyone’s Christmas celebrations. You can also find DVD of special performances or DVDs of movies with added footage for real hardcore fans!
Number 6 - Favorite Accessories
This is especially for people who spend a lot of time with different things and are either semi-or fully obsessed with something. For example, if your friend spends way lot of time with his lappy, buy him something for his laptop and see his face light up. If he plays guitar, get him something related to that, even if it means buying that exotic pick! After all, this was something which he always wished for, isn’t it? If your teenager holds his/ her cell phone dearer, then buy him neat accessories for that and rest assured, your thought shall be rewarded with endless gratefulness.
Number 5 - Gift Certificate
A hassle free and very convenient option! Also it, in reality, becomes the most personalized option.
Number 4 - Holiday Travel Package
Ski trips to beach trips. Giving a trip was popular this year.
Number 3 - Personalized Gift Basket
You can go the traditional way and gift your acquaintance chocolate or liquor baskets. A great choice will be filling a great looking basket with the most favorite candies, chocolates, treats and even beer or liquors. However, if you are ready to tread the less known path, then go for hobby baskets. If the person likes playing baseball, give him/her a basket with memorabilia, limited edition stuff and some new gear. If he/she loves collecting something, then fill in the basket with some new collectibles.
Number 2 - Collection Of Old Memories In A Scrapbook
Again, a very touching gift! Real tears will welt up your own eyes even as you compile it and by the time you will be finished, you may not want to gift the scrapbook away. A very touchy and sensitive gift, this can be for people with whom you share a close bond of love, such as your parents, in-laws, siblings, partner, children, friends and so on.
And finally...
Number 1 - Very Personal Surprise
A truly customizable idea completely dependent on you and how you execute it. A popular trick is wrapping a gift in so many covers that by the time the receiver gets to the real gift, he imagines it’s all in vain, only to get something very precious or beyond expectations. Ideal for people who wish to present some really great surprise!
T.S. For 21st century America it is hard for us to separate Christmas form gifts.
At Norwalk Alliance Church we’ve been seeking to Unwrap the Glory of Christmas, and on this Sunday after Christmas it leads us to profound truth.
WHEN THE GLORY OF CHRISTMAS IS UNWRAPPED IT CHALLENGES US TO BRING GIFTS OF GLORY.
T.S. As a child I was fascinated with the manger scene that sat upon our upright piano in our home. When my mom wasn’t looking I played with the figures and imagined the events of surrounding Christ’s birth.
I was always fascinated with the journey of the magi (KINGS I was taught) that travel from "a far" following "a star."
My favorite Christmas Carol was "we three kings of orient are."
Sing it with me
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light
I am still fascinated by the magi that brought gifts. We don’t know a lot about them but we know some things and what we know is significant to anyone seeking to unwrap the glory of Christmas. So turn with me to
Matt 2:1-11
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and 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."
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When 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.’"
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He 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."
9 After 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. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On 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.
NIV
T.S. The magi have been seeking the true glory of Christmas. And when they found Him, they bowed down worshipped and presented him with gifts of glory.
This is not the only scene in Scripture when gifts of glory are presented before the Lord of Glory. I think the magi’s gifts are a pre-figurement of a greater scene. Turn with me to . . .
Rev 4:9-11
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."
NIV
They cast their crowns, they lay their gifts of glory before the lord of Glory.
Our Key question on the Sunday after Christmas is this, Unwrapping the Glory of Christmas, what gift of glory are you being led to present before the Lord of Glory?
Defining your gift of Glory.
I. It will be an expression of Worship
Worship
11 On 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 (treasures) of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
Unless the glory of Christmas has led to our own expression of worship, we have failed to truly unwrap it’s glory.
The response of encountering the glory of God is always worship.
Mary Worshipped
Luke 1:46-47
My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
NIV
Shepherds Worshipped
Luke 2:16-20
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
NIV
Simeon Worshipped
Luke 2:29-32
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
NIV
Anna Worshipped
Luke 2:36-38
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
NIV
Kings
Worshipped
Until you are led to worship, a personal response, you have not encountered the glory of Christmas.
II. It will be a recognition of who he is.
Incense
Frankincense is harvested by making slits in the bark of the tree and letting the resin slowly bleed out and harden into white "tears"of Frankincense.
The gift of frankincense is somewhat unusual. Frankincense was a highly valued commodity and somewhat rare. The Jewish people had a common use for frankincense that was directly connected to the worship of God. In the Temple, the Jews prayed before the Altar of Incense which was always kept burning. The substance burned on that altar was frankincense. When frankincense is burned it gives off a sweet smelling white smoke. The smoke rising from the altar of incense represented the prayers of the people rising to God in heaven. The only use of frankincense for Jews was at this altar and it was reserved for the worship of God.
The Magi presenting this gift to Jesus represents the fact that He was indeed divine.
When we respond to the Lord of Glory with a gift of Glory it will always be in a way that recognizes who He is. God made flesh
III. It will be a declaration of what he has done for you.
Myrrh
Myrrh is resin from the Cammiphora tree and is harvested by cutting slits in the bark of the tree from which Myrrh resin hardens into dark red crystals.
In ancient times, Myrrh was among the most valuable substances known and, at the time of the birth of Christ, it was worth seven times its weight in gold. It can be used as an incense or it can be ground into a powder and mixed with oils to make a balm or processed into an oil. In ancient times, myrrh was used in the mummification of the Pharos in Ancient Egypt and to anoint kings. It also continues to be used today as it has for centuries as a natural dentifrice and is used in toothpaste and other oral hygiene products. The gift of myrrh seems the most odd of the gifts. Myrrh was extremely valuable and had a number of uses. The most common use was a perfume. Sometimes myrrh might be used in the homes of the wealthy to create a pleasant fragrance but was normally reserved for special instances.
But the major use of myrrh was for burials. Myrrh was placed on the cloths used to wrap bodies for burial to help prevent the smell of decay following death. The Magi presented this gift to Jesus as a representation that He would one day die.
Gifts of Glory are always given as a declaration of understanding all that it means that Jesus was not just born, but that he was destined to die so that we could be restored to a right relationship with Christ.
IV. It’s will reflect his worth.
Gold
The gift of gold was often reserved for royalty. The Magi told King Herod that they had come to see the one born King of the Jews. It is clear that they recognized Jesus as being royal but the question is why? The issue is the star of Bethlehem. The Magi had seen the star and they recognized the importance of the star in the sky as a sign of a spectacular birth. The Magi brought gold in some form, whether it was jewelry, coins, or just pieces, we are not told.
The importance of the gift was that it represented the fact that Jesus was royal.
Giving Gold is a reflection of his worth. Gold is the most precious metals, we quest for it, yearn for it, hoard it.
Giving Gold gifts is still reserved for the most special of occasions.
V. It will be a willing sacrifice
Costs
1 Chron 21:22-24
22 David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."
23 Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this."
24 But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not . . . sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."
NIV
Each gift given by the magi was weighty and costly. No token gifts. No re-gifting. No quickie thoughtless acts of obligation.
A gift of glory will cost us.
Period.
Until our encounter with the lord of Glory, the true glory of Christmas leads us to giving making sacrificial gifts of glory we cannot say we have encounter the glory of Christmas.
SUMMARY
Bringing gifts of Glory
Acts of worship that reflect who He is, what He has done and his incredible worth. Gifts of glory cannot be giving without a cost.
CHALLENGE
In your worship folder is a Christmas gift card. What will you give him in this next year?
What will reflect his worth, nature, his work?
What will you give that costs?
Gifts of Glory
IN THE WORD
Become a reader of the word this year.
Read it through in the 2011, download a reading plan, buy a devotional bible. Give to him, new time in the word, to study to grow, to learn to apply, to be transformed.
IN PRAYER
Give him a new prayer relationship, give him a weekly appointment with another follower. Meet over lunch, over coffee, over the phone, become a gift prayer.
IN RELATIONSHIP
Mentor/Be Mentored
Meet weekly or bi-weekly with another for challenge, accountability, friendship, growth, outreach purpose.
Develop a significant relationship with a neighbor a co worker, develop a new friendship for the purpose of sharing the Glory of Christmas, Jesus the Radiance of God’s Glory with another.
IN SERVICE
GET INVOLVED.
Commit to ministry. Children’s teens, women, men’ food bank, angel food. Give him your time in service. Already serving ask him to expand your influence your role in his kingdom.
GIVE -- FOR MOST OF THIS GIVING IS THE COSTLIEST GIFT WE CAN GIVE.
Don’t give, Begin.
Don’t give regularly, begin a 5th, a tithe, more.
Giving already. Sacrifice.
Give to make a difference, Give that other’s get to discover his glory.
Give.
IN SACRIFICE
Give your anger, your lust, your addiction, your unfaithfulness, your uncommitted relationship, your apathy, your critical spirit, your cursing, your lies, your dishonesty. Give up what holds you back from discovering more of the Glory of Christmas--Jesus.
