“May I help you?” Sometimes those are the most welcomed words I could hear, in the right situation. Sometimes, I really want to hear them…
It’s usually in a grocery store the size of the moon, and I’m wandering around looking for something that I’ve never had to find before. Or, I’m in Crimson Ridge, not really sure why I’m even in there in the first place. Or, I’m visiting a hospital, and I’ve managed to go back down on different elevators, to the wrong floor, and at the end of the hallway where I’m headed a sign says something like “Hospital Personnel Only.” Nope. Can’t go there!
So, on a good day, if I wander around with a confused look on my face long enough, someone in the know might say to me, “Do you need help finding something?”
Yes! Yes, I do! What tipped you off, the desperate expression on my face, or the fact that I just passed by here for the 4th time now? Yes. I need help. I need someone who knows something to point me the right direction, or, better yet, to walk with me to where I need to go.
Then, when I’m out and about, and I pause long enough to look at peoples’ faces, or actually to strike up conversations with them, I see there are a lot of people who are in that very spot in life. Lots of them are looking for something they haven’t found yet, and, many of them aren’t even sure what it is they’re looking for. Some aren’t sure why they’re here at all. Some have a destination in mind, but along the way they taken a wrong turn or two, and now they find themselves hopelessly lost in places where they didn’t mean to go.
We’ve all been there in one sense or another. It’s just that there’s a difference between being unable to find the reconstituted lime juice in Woodman’s and unable to find what you ought to do about your marriage that’s coming apart or how to raise your strong-willed child who’s about to become a teenager or how to deal with your reoccurrence of cancer.
And then you wandered into CCC on the Sunday before Christmas. Maybe that’s not the norm for you, but you did it, and there were people there who seemed like they really care. There was singing and worship together, different than anything you see anywhere else. Then this guy got up, talked about life lived for Jesus, and all of this together gave you a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe there is something here that can help point you the right direction.
You’re not the first. No, you’re not alone. In fact, you’ve probably been staring other people in the face who are in the very same place you are. They may not appear to be hopelessly and aimlessly wandering, but they could use some pointing in the right direction.
What if someone could point you to the thing you are looking for most in life? What if you suddenly were given some indicator…
That’s the backstory to the guys usually referred to as “The wise men.” There’s a title used for them, so, I’m going to toss it to you this morning and suggest you learn it and impress or bother your friends with it. It’s “Magi.” Without further ado, let’s read everything the Bible has to say about them, in 12 verses.
Matthew 2:1-12
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 when it rose 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 Messiah 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 shepherd 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 search carefully 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 when it rose 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, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Don’t worry about how many there were. No one here today is sure. Don’t worry about their names. If we needed to know them, Matthew would have included them. Today I want you to look with me at another part of the Christmas story where light has a key role. And I want to draw some parallels between us and these Magi. This time, in v.10 - When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
Last week, in Lk 2:9, we read where the shepherds saw the angel and “they feared a great fear.” Today, these Magi saw the star reappear, and “they rejoiced a great joy…exceedingly.”
Now, I like to see the stars. They’re amazing! They remind me of God’s power -
Psalm 33:6-9
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth…For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Pretty impressive, when you consider that we can’t even count how many trillions and trillions of stars there are. Then in Ps 147 it says that God determines the number of the stars, and that He gives them all their names!
Psalm 147:4
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
That all impresses me…much! But I don’t see the stars at night and just burst out rejoicing!
These Magi had a reason. This star was a particular star. It was a guide. It pointed them to what they were trying to find! For some reason, they had left behind their lives as they knew them, made preparations, and made a long journey west to find Who they said was “born the king of the Jews.” But once they arrived at the capital city of the Jews, no one seemed aware of this birth. So, when the star appeared again, to guide them, they “rejoiced a great joy… exceedingly.”
I notice this, too: Their lives didn’t have to be in absolute shambles for this to be important to them. They were already on a journey, generally headed the right direction.
I always have pictured them as a generally purposeful and happy group - because they were serious about this search. The fact that they were searching in the first place was very much in their favor. But the fact that they needed help is very evident. No star, no mission accomplished. Imagine if the Christmas story read, instead, “And so, they left Jerusalem, went to Bethlehem, hung out there for a few weeks but never did find what they were looking for. Then, they hawked their treasures to pay for camel feed and headed back home ashamed, older, and wiser.”
Several things helped to point them in the general direction they needed to go:
Something told them that the star was about “The King of the Jews” in the 1st place - but that’s so vague, we aren’t even sure what it was, when it appeared, or how long they had been looking.
They knew enough to show up in Jerusalem and ask, but people there didn’t know, until they referred back to Micah 5, and then the best they could do was say, “Bethlehem.” The Magi couldn’t grab the local Yellow Pages and look under “newly born King of the Jews” or look at the local Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page. Remember, Herod wanted, really badly, to find the baby, but the best he could do was, “Go look for Him, and when you find Him, let me know…”
They headed to Bethlehem. It wasn’t that big of a town - around 300-1,000 (smaller than Stillman Valley). Maybe, after time, they’d get lucky and find Him…maybe, but it was a long shot.
No wonder, when, after setting out to find the King, they were so happy to see the star again. It was the light that pointed the way for them.
We sometimes call them Wise Men. OK, let’s learn from these guys…
They were searching, with the information they had. Like a lot of people in life, they knew there was something greater than themselves. There is more to life than just being born, learning and earning what you can, getting old, then dying and leaving it all behind. And, there are some things that generally point us to that Something Greater. All around us is such obvious design that it takes a lot of faith to believe it just all happened by chance. There must be a Designer, but, what’s His name? Where is He? What is He like? What does He want? How can I be in good standing with Him?
Many people know enough to consider what’s called “religion.” That’s how they’re trying to find their way to this God. Religion, is where people do enough to get to God. It’s man’s attempt to find God, to appease God, to please God, to obligate God, in some way, so that He’ll return favors to us, especially the favor of beating death, which is our biggest enemy. The problem is that no one is ever sure he has made it…because he hasn’t. The Magi weren’t sure about their search until they found the King.
So, you who are relying on religion, when are you sure you’ve done enough? When have you become good enough? When has your good outweighed your bad? When does God owe you eternal life? In a lot of ways, you’re like a Magi, looking but not able to find that most important thing. It’s good - really good - that you’re searching. But until you’re sure that you’re right with God, you’re going to need to find the way to what you’re looking for.
The story of Christmas is filled with lights all along the way. And it’s just the beginning. More will follow. But, for today, we just want to point out that the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem about 2,021 years ago, marks the arrival of what the Bible describes as “The light of life.” Jesus Himself used this way of speaking about Himself.
John 8:12
…“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 9:5
“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
John 12:46
“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
Just like a light helped guide the Magi to what they were searching for, we want you to know today that Jesus Christ is the Light to point you to what really matters in life. The story of His arrival is so much more than just a fun childhood story or an excuse to create a season for celebration. It’s the story of how we can go from wandering hopelessly, to life with meaning and direction; life that will never end.
There have been some other people who made big claims over the centuries. But no one has ever claimed to be the Light of the World, and then backed that claim by predicting His own death and resurrection from death. That’s what makes Christmas a Big Deal!
Listen to what Jesus said, just hours before He died on a cross:
John 14:1-6 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I want to leave off this morning with 3 very important claims of Jesus that have the potential to completely change your life, forever. You need to decide if you believe these or not:
1. Jesus claimed that we can know the way to Heaven.
First of all, IT’S REAL! Heaven is real! “My Father’s House,” “many rooms,” “a place,” “that you also may be where I am.” Life forever in Heaven is our great hope! It’s what God has created us to do. Believing that isn’t some crutch that gets us through life. It’s what life is all about!
If it’s real, and it is, then these few years we spend here on earth are a spec of dust on the line that is eternity in Heaven with God. And if it’s real, then we would want to know with certainty that we have a place there. Jesus said that most people will choose another road. That’s the saddest news history will ever have.
But the upside of it is that you and I can be sure that we have a place in Heaven! You can know the way! You can be sure that where you’re headed will end up where you hoped.
If you could be absolutely sure that after this life you would live forever with God in a place that makes this life seem like nothing at all, how would it affect the way you live right now?
How much would it take away from the fear of when, not If but when, you die?
How much would it change your attachment to physical things that you’re not going to keep once you die?
How much would it help you to have right priorities, and to let little things that won’t last stop worrying you?
How much would you be freed to be generous and caring about others beyond yourself?
How much would you stop the frustrating pursuit of self-powered religion as a way to try to be good enough and never being sure?
We can KNOW the way to Heaven. What is it? …
2. Jesus claimed to BE the way, not just to show the way.
If a way to Heaven actually exists, then maybe there’s a chance that you could get on that road, and be headed for Heaven - even apart from Jesus. If Jesus is just shining a light on the road so that you can find it, then maybe there would be a lot of different lights that can point you to the road to Heaven. But what if Jesus Himself was the road? What if Jesus didn’t just know the way, but actually was the way?
It would suddenly get more personal, wouldn’t it? Jesus would be more than just someone Who knows something I need to know. He’d become Someone I’m relying on to get me to Heaven, just as surely as I rely on an airplane to fly me to Europe, not just a travel brochure that tells me what airline to use. Suddenly, knowing Jesus, and not just knowing about Jesus, would become very important. Suddenly, relying on Jesus, and not just myself, would become the obvious way to Heaven.
Ill - You awake in your hotel room to the sound of smoke alarms. You have an inside room with no window. The door is hot, and smoke is seeping in around the base of it. There’s no getting out. Smoke begins to collect in the room. You’re coughing, down on the floor, now unable even to get up and move around at all. Suddenly, the door bursts open, shattering the frame. It’s a fireman, in full gear, wearing a breathing mask. He looks at you on the floor and says, “You have to get out of here! Go down the hall, to the stairwell, and down 4 flights of stairs. There’s some pretty bad flames along the way, and the smoke is intense. Also, the lights are out.” Would you thank him and begin an attempt to crawl to the stairs? Or would it make more sense for the fireman to say, “There’s no way you’re going to get out of here on your own. I’m going to carry you out. Here, put on this oxygen mask, and hang on!”
We need more than directions from someone. We need Someone Who is The Way.
If Jesus had said, “Hey, listen to Me! I know the way to Heaven!” then I’d be very interested in how He said to get there. But what He said was, “I am the way to Heaven!” That makes me very interested in the One Who said that! I want to know Him, not just what He has to say, not just His ways. I want to know HIM.
Philippians 3:10-11
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Jesus claimed to BE the way. Do you believe it?
3. Jesus claimed to be the ONLY way, not just a way.
This third claim really bothers a lot of tolerant, non-judgmental, broad-minded people. In fact, a lot of tolerant, non-judgmental, broad-minded people, become very intolerant, judgmental, and narrow-minded towards Christians who dare to suggest that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. It sounds so exclusive, so arrogant, doesn’t it?
Ill - May 8, 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox dead. While it had been a life-threatening disease for centuries, a vaccination that prevented it was developed as early as 1796 by Edward Jenner. Once that vaccination was finally perfected and distributed around the world, smallpox is no longer the threat it once was. Before that, it took the life of 1 out of every 3 people who was infected by it.
That vaccination, which started by using a cowpox virus from a cow, is the only cure for smallpox. Now, suppose that smallpox had a bizarre outbreak from some 3rd-world country and was a threat once again. The obvious answer to the problem would be to make the only cure for preventing it available. But what if we, in our enlightened, post-modern world, had determined to try other things - essential oils, meat-free diets, crystals, incantations, Himalayan salt lamps, and beet juice - and we relied on those as possible “other cures” for smallpox, but the WHO started saying, “No! There’s only one cure for smallpox! These others don’t work! Only one cure has proven to work, and it’s very simple, it has worked every time, and it’s available to everyone!” Would you say to the WHO, “You’re being so intolerant, so judgmental, so narrow-minded!” or would you say instead, “I’m so thankful there’s a sure way to keep it from happening! I think I’ll take the vaccination and assure that this doesn’t kill me!”?
When Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father except through Me,” He was either telling the truth and offering us deliverance from our worst enemy, or He was wrong and was an arrogant, deceitful huckster Who deserves to be written off - no, not just written off, but hated and warned against. You can’t say someone would make claims like that and still be a decent kind of man; not if he was lying and misleading the masses!
We just happen to believe, with good reason, that Jesus’ claims are legitimate. And by accepting their truthfulness, we also accept the fact that Jesus excludes no one. He didn’t say, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and only a select few are going to be picked to go to Heaven. Too bad you’re not one of them!”
Jesus said things like, “whoever…everyone…anyone.”
Conclusion:
So, now we come down to the end here, and what really matters - will you be opening your Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Or, maybe what really matters is if you’ve found your way this year. Have you found what you’re looking for? Did you know you can be sure you’ll have life forever? That’s what really matters about the Christmas story. And you can, like the Magi, have a reason this very day to rejoice a great joy!
Jesus was born to become for you and me The Way to the Father. That’s something to celebrate this morning and this week. And if you haven’t started your journey with Him yet, that’s something even greater to do…today.
