'tis The Season To Be Extravagant Series

Intro:

Theme: There is no gift that you could bring that would be too great for your Jesus!

Extravagant - "going beyond the bounds of reason; excessive"

Who are these Wise Men?

They are worshippers.

...They understood that He was worth the effort (2:1)

These men travelled from the east from Babaylon or Persia. Up to 600 miles away!

-couldn’t just jump into a car.

-hot, rough, months on the road.

Ill: We drove to Glorieta in our blue Ford car. 1200 miles in the Summertime.

This took real effort to meet Jesus.

Worshippers will put forth the effort to meet Jesus!They are worshippers.

...They understood that He was worth the search. (v8)

"Go search diligently for the young child..."

He was not easy to find. He had to be found.

Who are these Wise Men?

They are worshippers.

-They understood that He was worth the search.

-the saddest thing to see is a Church goer who knows about Christ as Lord and Savior but never really embraces Him with all of their being. They enjoy singing the songs but not getting too involved. They enjoy hearing the message but not taking it to heart. They enjoy the things of God but not really God.

They do not value Him. Search for Him with all of their heart. They can sort of have the "take Him or leave Him" approach to Christianity.

Do you want to experience the presence and power of the Lord than you must search for Him, to know Him and the power of His resurrection?

Do you want to experience the joy of the Christian experience than you must be willing to abandon all hope in this world and accept the next?

Do you want the experience the love of God that is so real it will make even the worst of life experiences be forgotten and give your life real meaning and purpose than you must give yourself freely to Him and His will?

It takes a very small person to effect real change if they are sold out in a relationship with Christ.

ILL: "Changed Lives" - Tim Kimmel

In 1921 Lewis Lawes became the warden at Sing Sing Prison. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired 20 years later, that prison had become a place where a man was treated with dignity on every level. Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, here’s what he said: "I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls."

Catherine Lawes was a young mother of three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn’t stop Catherine! When the first prison basketball game was held, she went... walking into the gym with her three beautiful children and she sat in the stands with the inmates.

Her attitude was: "My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don’t have to worry!"

She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records. She discovered one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. Holding his hand in hers she said, "Do you read Braille?"

"What’s Braille?" he asked. Then she taught him how to read. Years later he would weep in love for here.

Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language. Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921 to 1937.

Then, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning Lewis Lawes didn’t come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong.

The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men, "All right, men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight!" Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in. Every one!

They are worshippers.

...They understood that He was worth worshipping. (v11)