As we journey into the New Testament and once again look at God’s Love, we will begin looking at Jesus and His life. God’s Love has been expressed throughout the Bible with the opportunity of sacrificing and atoning for man’s sin. Jesus, the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, is the perfect example of God’s Love.
1. WISE MEN SEEK JESUS (Vs 1-2)
• Who were these ‘wise men’?
• L
• WISE MEN WORSHIP JESUS (Vs2)
a. John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
b. I Peter 2:11 “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
• Wise men worship in a truthful and honest manner
• Worship is a personal, intimate relationship with God and we must worship in a manner that is pleasing unto him, not unto the world
(Form and Fashion)
• “Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then lord chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, "Neil!" Not daring to question or disobey the "command," the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees!”
• We must seek God in Every aspect of our life:
1. Spiritually
2. Financially
3. In our Marriage’s
4. In our Families
• Lamentations 3:25 “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”
• Our ‘Division of Labor’
1. We wait for him: He is good to us
2. We seek him: He is good to us
• Seeking God is vital to our relationship with God, his guidance is always best and his WORD should always be referred to
2. WICKED MEN SCHEME AGAINST JESUS
(VS 3-8)
• Scheme: “A secret or devious plan; a plot.”
• Herod was troubled when he heard about the birth of Jesus, why?
a. Because the ‘KING OF THE JEWS’ had been born
b. He was fearful of losing his throne
• Herod commanded the wise men to go and retrieve Jesus and bring him to the palace so that he may be able to worship him as well (This was a ploy to destroy Jesus)
• Ultimately, Satan is behind all attempts to destroy Christ and His followers, because he fully understands that it is Jesus that stands in his way of ruling
• Luke 4:8 “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
• Satan offered Jesus the ‘world’ in an effort to get Him to sin, this was a scheme to thwart God’s promise of Salvation through his Son
• Satan is still working today with the same fervor that he did then, maybe even more
• He is doing this through:
a. Social issues such as ABORTION, HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA’S, HATE CRIME LEGISLATION’S WHICH MAKE THE BIBLE A FORM OF HATE SPEECH
• Satan has launched an all out attack on Christianity for two reasons:
a. He knows it is the one true and saving belief
b. He knows his time of deceit is drawing short
• A scheme is also known as a temptation to do evil, something that is clothed with untruth and basically an attempt to trick one into doing something not right
• A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:
1. Materialism.
2. Pride.
3. Self-centeredness.
4. Laziness.
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness.
5. (Tie) Sexual lust.
7. Envy.
8. Gluttony.
9. Lying.
Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent). Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).
3. WISE MEN FIND JESUS
• Even when the course to get there is difficult
• No matter of what our past contains
• “When the devil reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future!”
• II Timothy 3:15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
• John 14:6 “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
• Wisdom is not the wisdom of this world, it is the wisdom of God which contains the ability to save us from our sin
• “An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom."Done!" says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, "Say something." The dean looks at them and says, "I should have taken the money."
• Worldly wisdom usually equates to worldly ignorance!
• We must find Jesus even in the worst of situations:
• Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego
• Joseph in the Pit
• The Thief beside Jesus on the day of crucifixion
• Wise men understand the totality of eternity as compared to this world
• James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
• Life is short, and we must, therefore, find Jesus and stay with Him
• Luke 12:31-32 “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.” “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
4. WICKED MEN FIGHT JESUS (VS 13-18)
• Matthew 9:10-11 “And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.” “And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?”
• The wicked questioned Jesus even unto death
• Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
• We must either serve God or serve the god of this world (Satan)
• We must be mindful of the things above, not the things of this world
• Throughout history there have been many wicked people used by Satan as devices to Fight Christ and His cause
• Herod and the ‘slaughter of innocents’ in an attempt to destroy Jesus Christ in his infancy
• The Muslim prophet, Muhammad, and the false god Allah
• Hitler and his extermination of over 6 million Innocent Jewish people
• Charles Darwin and his ludicrous ‘theory of evolution’
• Madalyn Murray O’hare and her successful attempt to take Bible reading out of the public school system of our country
• The wicked of the world have continuously launched their battles and attempts to destroy the very foundation of Christianity, although many of these attempts have been secularly and temporarily successful, it is Christ who will ultimately win this battle and forever proclaim ‘GOD’S LOVE’
• “Walking through a park, I passed a massive oak tree. A vine had grown up along its trunk. The vine started small--nothing to bother about. But over the years the vine had gotten taller and taller. By the time I passed, the entire lower half of the tree was covered by the vine’s creepers. The mass of tiny feelers was so thick that the tree looked as though it had innumerable birds’ nests in it. Now the tree was in danger. This huge, solid oak was quite literally being taken over; the life was being squeezed from it. But the gardeners in that park had seen the danger. They had taken a saw and severed the trunk of the vine--one neat cut across the middle. The tangled mass of the vine’s branches still clung to the oak, but the vine was now dead. That would gradually become plain as weeks passed and the creepers began to die and fall away from the tree. How easy it is for sin, which begins so small and seemingly insignificant, to grow until it has a strangling grip on our lives. And yet, Christ’s death has cut the power of sin. Yes, the "creepers" of sin still cling and have some effect. But sin’s power is severed by Christ, and gradually, sin’s grip dries up and falls away.”
• GOD’S LOVE IS THIS:
Revelation 3:21
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
