"They Had......"

(Matthew 2:1-14) Christmas serves many purposes for many people. Some celebrate it as a time of family gathering, some do so for the gift giving and receiving and still others do not recognize it at all. Ultimately, we must celebrate Christmas for one reason and one reason alone; the birth of our Redeemer, too often we remember Jesus still in the manger. We must, however, understand that he is no longer the babe in the manger but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for you and I. Even in infancy, Jesus changed the course of history and the hearts of men. Let us look at a few of these instances and begin to understand that “THEY HAD.”

1. THE WISE MEN HAD A PURPOSE (VS 1-2)

• The wise men came to worship the newborn King of the Jews

• Who were these wise men? The word’s ‘Wise Men’ are interpreted “Magi”

• This brings into its meaning; An appellation given among the Medes and Persians to a class of priests, wise men, philosophers, etc., who devoted themselves to the study of the moral and physical sciences, and particularly cultivated astrology and medicine. They alone performed the religious rites

• Their purpose was:

a. WORSHIP: As described in Psalms 72:10-11: “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.” And again in Isaiah 60:1-3: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”

• The purpose of the wise men’s traveling was simple, to pay respect to the newborn King of the Jewish people

• We, too, must come to the feet of Jesus and worship Him and His authority

• John 4:24: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

• What does it mean to worship in ‘spirit’ and ‘truth’? It is complete and unrestricted obedience to the call of God through the Holy Spirit

• The magi didn’t allow time, distance or obstacles to interfere with their divine direction leading them to the feet of the Savior of the world

• The Wise Men worshiped a Babe in the Manger

• We Worship:

a. The Redeemer of all Mankind Titus 2:14: “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

b. Lord of All Isaiah 45:23-24: “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.”

c. Our Friend Proverbs 18:24: “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

2. HEROD HAD A PROBLEM (VS 3;7-8)

• What was Herod’s problem? His problem was that his “kingdom” was threatened

• The basis of his problem was threefold:

a. Greed

b. Ungodliness

c. Ignorance

• To often, our problems arise from this same foundation

• James 4:2-3: “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

• We seek to satisfy ourselves without concern about others

• Herod had the same problem; he did want to loose what he thought was his when in fact, what he had had been given by God

• We must always remember that that which we have is given by God, is God’s already and we just take care of it for him anyway

• Herod’s objective: KILL BABY JESUS

• The driving force: SATAN

• WHY? Because Satan knew he would be defeated by the pure blood of Jesus Christ

• The devil continues today, on a rampage to destroy Christ and His ministry upon earth

• Organizations such as the ACLU, the pro-homosexual and abortion movements all are being driven by a force not of this world, a force that has already been defeated;

• We must stand united and strong for the ministry of Christ; willing to protect it at all costs