1 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,680 You're very welcome to today's Triumph Church podcast. 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,440 We pray that you enjoy the message. 3 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:20,280 The The Christmas Story is an absolutely amazing story. 4 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,360 Sometimes we, we read in Matthew and Luke and some of the parts 5 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,080 of the Christmas story and we just kind of read through it and 6 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,800 don't really, don't really read it with the amazement. 7 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,040 I think that we really should because it's one of the most 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:40,120 miraculous, amazing stories that you'll ever come in contact 9 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,240 with. It's the story of, of Jesus 10 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:48,320 stepping down from heaven and being born into humanity as a 11 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:50,400 little baby. And there's nothing more 12 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,360 vulnerable than a little baby. And what's amazing it is that 13 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,920 Jesus stepped down from heaven, stepped down from from 14 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:03,720 everything that that made him divine, made him deity, and 15 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,720 stepped into the race of humanity. 16 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,680 And why did he do that? He did that for the purpose of 17 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:17,160 saving us from what would have been just really the punishment 18 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:22,320 against our sin, right? We serve an amazing, loving, 19 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:25,560 miraculous God. So this morning I I want to read 20 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,640 some of the Christmas story in Matthew chapter 2. 21 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,200 We're going to read through Matthew 2 verses one through 12 22 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,880 and this is a story of the wise men. 23 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,920 You know the wise men in in Scripture, right And in verse 24 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:44,320 one it says Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the 25 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:48,400 reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men 26 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:53,240 from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking in verse 2, 27 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,320 Where is the newborn king of the Jews? 28 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:01,000 We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him in 29 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,920 verse 3. King Herod was deeply disturbed 30 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:08,560 when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem, and he 31 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,560 called a meeting with the leading priest and teachers of 32 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,960 religious law and asked, where is the Messiah supposed to be 33 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,080 born? In verse 5, in Bethlehem in 34 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,360 Judea, they said, For this is what the prophet wrote, And you, 35 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,400 O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the 36 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,920 ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you, who 37 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:33,800 will be the shepherd for my people Israel. 38 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,720 And in verse 7 it says, then Herod called for a private 39 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:42,440 meeting with the wise men and learned from them the time when 40 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:47,560 the star first appeared. Then he told them, go to 41 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,720 Bethlehem and search carefully for the Child, and when you find 42 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:55,520 him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him 43 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,320 too. And then in verse 9, after the 44 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,880 interview, the wise men went their way, and the star they had 45 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,440 seen in the East guided them to Bethlehem. 46 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,760 And it went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the 47 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,320 Child was. And when they saw the star, they 48 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,640 were filled with joy, and they entered the house and saw the 49 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:20,680 child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped 50 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,760 him. And then they opened their 51 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:27,440 treasure chest and gave him gifts of gold and frankincense 52 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:29,560 and myrrh. Verse 12. 53 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,000 And when it was time to leave, they returned to their own 54 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,400 country by another route. For God had warned them in a 55 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:43,920 dream not to return to Herod. Isn't that an amazing part of 56 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,400 the Christmas story? And really, there's so much in 57 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,360 here. When Jesus entered the the 58 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,680 world, heaven actually announced him. 59 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,600 You know that. Do you realize that? 60 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:05,720 But not to the kings, not to the priests, not to the religious 61 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,400 elite. And make no mistake, the birth 62 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,600 of Jesus is a miraculous and amazing event. 63 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,440 In Luke chapter 2 it says that the angels filled the sky 64 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,839 singing, announcing Jesus birth to shepherds, didn't he? 65 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,120 And then here in Matthew it records that in another part of 66 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:31,640 the world, wise men from the East followed a supernatural 67 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,680 star. Isn't that amazing? 68 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:38,200 Followed a star? How do you follow a star? 69 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,160 Like, you can see a star in the sky, right? 70 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,000 And you can try to, you know, walk in its direction or travel 71 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,280 in its direction. But it says here that they 72 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:52,280 followed the star. And it actually says that it 73 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:58,440 stopped at one point, right? So this was a moving star, I 74 00:04:58,440 --> 00:04:59,960 guess. It's miraculous. 75 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:07,280 It's an amazing story, but it wasn't who you expect would seek 76 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:10,000 this newborn king like you think. 77 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,680 It would have been like the religious elite in Israel. 78 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:15,600 They knew the scripture, didn't they? 79 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:19,680 Right. But it was shepherds, normal 80 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:24,560 people tending their flock in the field, and it was wise men 81 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,800 who travelled a long distance seeking that little baby. 82 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:36,400 The Lord reveals Himself to everyone who seeks him in 83 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,880 Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse 13. 84 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:45,680 God gives us this promise to all of us, says if you look for me 85 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,520 wholeheartedly, you will find me. 86 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,200 And on this special Christmas Sunday, we're going to look at 87 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,920 the story of the wise men and the story of the birth of Jesus 88 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:04,520 and what these wise men did because they sacrificed a lot to 89 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:08,600 search for Jesus. They risked a lot to search for 90 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:13,080 Jesus to come and worship him. So there's several things that 91 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:14,440 we can learn from these wise men. 92 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:16,600 The first thing is that they sought him. 93 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,320 The second thing is they were willing to sacrifice. 94 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,000 And then the third thing is they honoured him. 95 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,960 But who were these wise men? You know, they're called Magi, 96 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,280 Magi from the east. And what little that we know is 97 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:38,200 found here in the 2nd chapter of Matthew. 98 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:43,400 But we can also examine the the magi in the book of Daniel. 99 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:46,960 And then there's historical accounts helping us piece 100 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:51,360 together their story too. But these wise men were much 101 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,080 more than just simple travellers. 102 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,800 And what's so interesting is that many biblical scholars 103 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,360 actually believe that they were descendants of men who would 104 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,400 have learned and studied under the prophet Daniel. 105 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,760 You remember the story of Daniel in the the lion's den, right? 106 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,240 Well, the Lord had positioned Daniel to become the head of all 107 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,280 wise men in two major ancient kingdoms. 108 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,720 You have the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar and then the 109 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:27,040 Persian Empire under King Cyrus. And these wise men were very 110 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,680 influential and had great power in the King's court and his 111 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:36,840 empire, both empires. And God had used Daniel mightily 112 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:41,240 in accurately prophesying different future events. 113 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:45,000 He also used Daniel in a number of occasions to interpret the 114 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,000 dreams of those rulers of those kings. 115 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,720 But one thing that that Daniel prophesied and what's really 116 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:57,680 interesting is, is the exact time frame, the exact timeline 117 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:03,320 for the coming Messiah. And we find that written in 118 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:08,640 Chapter 9 and verses 24 through 26 in the book of Daniel. 119 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:13,320 And so using Daniel's prophecy, the Magi had an accurate time 120 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:20,240 frame of the exact year that the Jewish king was to be born. 121 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,800 I don't know if you find that as interesting as I find it 122 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,000 interesting. I'm kind of a nerd about these 123 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,600 kind of things, but it's so cool how God actually gave the exact 124 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:36,159 time frame and you think all of Israel would be like having like 125 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:40,720 a year long festival. This is the year, right, That 126 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,360 the this long sought after Messiah that we've been talking 127 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:46,880 about, that we've been dreaming about, that we've been reading 128 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:50,600 about in Scripture. This is the year that Scripture 129 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:55,400 says that he's supposed to come and yet it was quiet. 130 00:08:56,040 --> 00:09:00,280 Isn't that interesting? I would figure there would be 131 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:04,560 massive festivals happening, but there wasn't. 132 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,920 When the time had come, the magi's heart seemed to be 133 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:13,520 stirred in anticipation. Because did you notice in verse 134 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:17,480 2 what they had said? They said to King Herod that we 135 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:24,760 saw his star as it rose. Not just we saw a star, right? 136 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:29,000 They said we saw his star as it rose. 137 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,560 They knew what this star represented. 138 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:38,000 They knew something miraculous, something supernatural was 139 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,320 happening. At the time of Jesus birth, 140 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:45,240 these Magi lived in a large dominant Eastern Kingdom known 141 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:49,560 as the Parthian Empire. And that empire was Rome's major 142 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:52,400 rival at that time. Just to the east of Rome. 143 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,720 These Magi were those who approved the the King's 144 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,360 ascending to a throne. They had a lot of power. 145 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:06,080 And so naturally when they visited Israel and they were 146 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:10,720 talking with King Herod, all of Jerusalem became nervous. 147 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,720 This was a a major rival. And here you have these wise men 148 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:20,920 asking the question, where is the king of the Jews being born? 149 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:24,600 These are people that that were the ones that that would crown 150 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:28,120 kings approve of them. So this wasn't something that 151 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:32,520 Herod didn't take notice of. This was a big event, you know, 152 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,160 and of course, in, in we have like in all the, the major 153 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:39,200 scenes and, and a lot of the films, the cartoons and things, 154 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:43,560 you have, you know, three wise men, you know, that are pictured 155 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:47,000 in that right. But the Bible doesn't specify 156 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,440 really the number. And it probably wasn't these 157 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:53,800 three wise men just travelling on their own. 158 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:57,280 It was it was like a A2 year long journey from where they 159 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,920 were across deserts, across like it. 160 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,760 Back in those days you didn't travel just by yourself, you'd 161 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,400 be setting yourself up to be robbed, right? 162 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:11,880 It was dangerous to travel by yourself. 163 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,920 So they probably travelled in a large caravan and they, we don't 164 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:20,080 actually know like how many it was that came to find Jesus. 165 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:23,920 It could be 3 perhaps, but likely not. 166 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,080 It was probably a large caravan, right? 167 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:34,440 But they were coming asking where the newborn king of the of 168 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:37,600 the Jews was. Well, let's look at three things 169 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,120 that we can take away from this Christmas story. 170 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:44,040 And the first is that these wise men sought Jesus. 171 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:48,720 And ironically, like I said, all of Israel had the Scripture. 172 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,360 They had the prophecies of the coming Messiah, the same 173 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,400 prophecies that that these Magi would have had, the same 174 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:58,000 scriptures that these Magi would have had. 175 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:02,400 But but these men outside of the covenant that God made with 176 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,360 Israel, they recognized something. 177 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:15,520 But the Israelites didn't. No priest, no religious leader, 178 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:22,720 no Sadducee, no Pharisee. Only the wise men came in search 179 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,760 of Jesus. For all the talk and 180 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:32,440 anticipation of the promise Deliverer, the coming Messiah, 181 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:37,400 you would have thought that more than shepherds, more than these 182 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:41,960 wise men would have come in search for someone who was so 183 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:46,560 important in Jewish culture. And yet it was quiet. 184 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,640 These Magi, their their ancestors had lived through 185 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,960 Israel's exile and they would have known about the prophecies 186 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:59,080 taught by Daniel who once served over their order. 187 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,960 They would have had exposure and access to Jewish scripture, the 188 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,920 writings from Daniel. And so when this brilliant, 189 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:13,840 unusual star appeared, they recognized it not just as a 190 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:21,720 star, they recognized it as his star in Numbers chapter 24 and 191 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:28,080 verse 17 as a prophecy that says this says I see him, but not 192 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,880 now. I behold him, but not near. 193 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:37,760 A star shall come out of Jacob. A scepter shall rise out of 194 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,120 Israel. They followed this revelation 195 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,440 from this prophecy and interpreted it accurately. 196 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:52,480 And they travelled all the way from the east to Jerusalem, a 197 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:56,680 really long journey that would take almost two years to make. 198 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:01,520 You know, back then they may have traveled, I don't know, 199 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:07,960 like 2550 kilometers in a day. Like, it took a long time to 200 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:12,720 travel the thousands of kilometers from where they were 201 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,960 to Jerusalem. It was a big deal. 202 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:20,320 Herod, hearing that they were looking for the newborn king, 203 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:23,880 interviewed these wise men. And after immediately he 204 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:28,480 summoned the chief priests and scribes demanding where to know 205 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:34,040 this young king was born. And he wasn't really wanting to 206 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,320 know to honor him. His intentions weren't pure. 207 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:39,640 They weren't right like the wise men's. 208 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,320 His intentions were, you know, back in those days, if if there 209 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,400 was a king that was born another family or something like a lot 210 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:53,800 of times they would put to death the members, not just of someone 211 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,840 that they were going to be ruling over, you know, who would 212 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,960 try to take power from them, but they would put their whole 213 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:05,200 family to death as well. So King Herod was probably 214 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,680 greatly terrified. Here you have these magi, these 215 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,800 these wise men who are the anointers of, of king in the 216 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,880 Persian Empire there, right? And they're coming asking about 217 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,880 this Jewish king. So they're probably, he's 218 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:23,800 probably freaking out a little bit wondering what in the world 219 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,160 is going on. So he interviews these wise men 220 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:32,520 trying to find out what's going on for his own preservation, not 221 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:36,200 to actually honor. And when he would talked with 222 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:41,560 those Jewish priests afterwards, they quoted Micah chapter 5 and 223 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:46,080 verse 2 without hesitation, which reads But you Bethlehem, 224 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,320 Bethlehem, Ephratha, just another name for Bethlehem. 225 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:54,160 And though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out 226 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,600 of you shall come forth to me the one to be the ruler in 227 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:02,640 Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting. 228 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:08,560 And although these priests knew that prophecy, they didn't move. 229 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:14,800 Herod heard this prophecy, but he didn't move either. 230 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:21,000 Only the wise men took this revelation seriously enough and 231 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:25,240 decided to follow it. Matthew records this in 92 232 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,920 Matthew 92. After this interview, the wise 233 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,800 men went their way and the star they had seen in the East guided 234 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,800 them to Bethlehem. And it went ahead of them and 235 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,720 stopped over the place where the child was. 236 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:43,640 And again, like, this is a miraculous thing here. 237 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:48,680 Like this is a moving star. Have you ever seen a comet in 238 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:50,960 the sky? Like it's really cool. 239 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:52,840 Well, this is different than that. 240 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:58,320 This is actually a star that's supernaturally moving, leading 241 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,640 them directly A2 year journey across deserts, across to all 242 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:08,400 sorts of terrain that they followed to where this newborn 243 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,520 king was to be born. It's amazing, isn't it? 244 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,480 They didn't have GPS, they didn't have a map. 245 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:20,359 God gave them a * like how many of us would follow a star, 246 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:23,839 right? Like it's a two year journey, 247 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:27,800 The preparations that our family have to make in order to just go 248 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:32,000 on holiday for a week, right? Like that's a lot, you're 249 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,000 travelling with a, a big group of people, you know, we're just 250 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:39,160 a, a family of five, but it takes a lot of preparation for 251 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:40,800 that. But then you have, you know, a 252 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:43,280 big caravan. What kind of preparations, what 253 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:47,840 kind of money, what kind of time would go into preparing for this 254 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:50,640 journey? And these wise men were sold, 255 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,560 right? They see the star and they 256 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:58,280 recognize what it is. And so they start this process 257 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,320 and they're invested in it. A two year journey. 258 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:07,720 Such a cool story. The story tells that this 259 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,800 revelation isn't just information, but really 260 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:18,600 revelation is an invitation. How have we responded to the 261 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:24,000 revelation that we have of Jesus in our lives? 262 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:29,960 Do we take it for granted? Are we willing to to seek after 263 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:38,960 Jesus like these wise men did, sacrificing a lot to follow so 264 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,800 that they could worship Him, so that they could honor him? 265 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,600 The second thing that we can learn from the wise men is that 266 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:50,400 they were willing to sacrifice. The journey from the east, like 267 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,040 I said, to Israel, was a long and dangerous journey. 268 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:59,120 And they travelled far, thousands of kilometers. 269 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,320 This wasn't just a weekend trip, right, where they're just 270 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,520 packing an overnight bag. They're loading up animals, 271 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,160 livestock with food and everything else they need with 272 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:13,480 water for crossing the desert. This is a big, massive endeavor. 273 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,600 And this is another thing when, when, when, when Jerusalem saw 274 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:22,320 this big caravan coming. Who are these people, right? 275 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,960 And word spread around really quickly and they find found out 276 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,200 exactly who they were. But these were the wise men. 277 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:36,040 These were Magi from the East. This is a big deal to us. 278 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:39,480 We just read this story and we don't think of it as much. 279 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,640 You know, there's simple songs about 3 wise men, right? 280 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,400 But there's so much more to the story. 281 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,680 These wise men didn't come to investigate. 282 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:54,920 They didn't come to be impressed, but they actually 283 00:19:54,920 --> 00:20:00,440 came to honor a king. Matthew notes that the the wise 284 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:05,160 men's response when the stars stopped in Matthew chapter 2 and 285 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,440 verse 9 and 10, it says and the star they had seen in the East 286 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,960 guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and 287 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:15,000 stopped over the place where the child was and that amazing. 288 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:21,120 But then it says when they saw the star, they were filled with 289 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:24,240 joy. Why is that? 290 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:28,000 It's because they had reached. The destination. 291 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:33,400 Imagine travelling on a journey like that for over 2 years, 292 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:39,600 thousands of kilometers and finally the star stops and it 293 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:43,240 rests over this house. And they were filled with joy 294 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:47,800 because they had arrived at the place knowing exactly what it 295 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:51,240 was that they were going to see and what they were going to 296 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,440 experience because they were following Scripture. 297 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:01,880 They entered the house where Joseph, Mary and that young 298 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:06,960 child were staying. No palace like you'd expect from 299 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:12,240 a newborn king. No throne, no royal fanfare. 300 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,200 Just a humble home with a humble family. 301 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:22,240 But the moment that they saw him, everything in their hearts 302 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:29,560 recognized who he truly was. Not just a baby being born, but 303 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:34,640 the King of Kings and the climax of the story isn't the star as 304 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,680 amazing and fascinating as that is? 305 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,760 If you were astronomer like, that would be a very interesting 306 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:45,200 thing to study, wouldn't it? It's not even the journey, as 307 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,720 amazing and difficult as that would be. 308 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:51,160 And it's not even the gifts that they brought. 309 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,000 It's the third thing that we can learn from these wise men, that 310 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:01,960 they honored Jesus. What they brought, the most 311 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:06,280 amazing gift, I think that they brought the King of kings, the 312 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,200 Lord of Lords, Emmanuel, which means God with us. 313 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:13,640 They brought honor. They came to honor Him, to 314 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,520 worship him. In Matthew 211, it says they 315 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,480 entered the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, and 316 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:21,240 they bowed down and worshipped him. 317 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:25,280 And then they opened their treasure chests and they gave 318 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:30,920 him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, like treasure chest. 319 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,440 What do you picture of when you see like treasure chest? 320 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,720 You know, I kind of picture like the, the pirates treasure, you 321 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,920 know, like this, this big, this big chest full of gold to blooms 322 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,480 and whatever, whatever else, you know, like they didn't just like 323 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:48,040 pull out their wallet and, you know, count out a couple quid. 324 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,560 You know, here's a here's a fiver, right? 325 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,680 No, they have these treasure chest, right? 326 00:22:56,280 --> 00:23:02,840 And they're probably heavy. One full of gold, one full of 327 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:08,840 frankincense, one full of myrrh. These weren't only symbolic 328 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,400 items. These were actually treasures 329 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,280 from the East. These things were all worth a 330 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:23,840 lot of money. But it wasn't just that that 331 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:29,720 they were bringing him gold is something usually only royalty 332 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,840 would have. You wouldn't have a common 333 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:37,560 person walk around and, and pull a, a gold coin out of their 334 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:39,920 pocket. You know, that thing, that kind 335 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:43,280 of stuff. Kings would have Gold was a 336 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,440 symbol of, of like royalty. You go into, you know, a palace 337 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,640 and there's gold all around. You go into a normal person's 338 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,200 home and there's a dirt floor, right? 339 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:58,600 There's no gold anywhere, but they bring gold fit for royalty. 340 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:03,120 Frankincense was used for worship back then in temples and 341 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:05,920 different places. They would burn frankincense to 342 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:09,400 worship their gods or whatever. Do you see what these men, these 343 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,640 wise men, were bringing? Gold fit for royalty, 344 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:18,240 frankincense for worship, and then myrrh was used for 345 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,680 anointing. These are kingmakers, aren't 346 00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:26,360 they? These were intentional gifts. 347 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:29,400 They knew whom they were bringing these gifts to, and 348 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:34,960 these were gifts of honor. God had supernaturally LED them 349 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:40,320 to Jesus, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. 350 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:45,080 And these gifts that they brought declared what heaven had 351 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:49,600 already declared, that this child is king. 352 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:56,440 These kingmakers then bowed before the King of kings, and 353 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,360 these are men who were accustomed to standing before 354 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:04,520 earthly rulers. They worked and operated and 355 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:10,200 advised kings right there used to being in the presence of 356 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,360 those kind of individuals. But here they walk into this 357 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:19,160 humble home, right? And before this, this child, 358 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:26,400 this small child, and they prostate themselves before him, 359 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:31,840 bowing and worshipping him. Like I said, back then, floors 360 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:34,600 were made of dirt a lot of times. 361 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:37,560 So they're getting down like what kind of clothes these are. 362 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,920 These are men who were bringing gold, a chest of gold, right? 363 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,600 A chest of frankincense, a chest of myrrh. 364 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,560 They probably had really nice clothes. 365 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:52,200 And yet they're just prostrating themselves on this dirty floor, 366 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:56,920 not giving a care, humbling themselves before this little 367 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,920 child. Isn't that amazing? 368 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:08,560 These wise men sought and found Jesus. 369 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:17,360 We've all sought Jesus as well. We've all found Jesus, haven't 370 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:21,280 we? But are we willing to humble 371 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:25,600 ourselves and prostate ourselves on the ground and worship Him 372 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:31,680 and bow before Him? It's amazing what He's done. 373 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,320 So I'm going to close with the reading of this last scripture 374 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,320 here in Matthew chapter 2 and verse 12. 375 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,520 It says when it was time to leave, they returned to their 376 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:48,680 own country by another route for God had warned them in a dream 377 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:53,720 not to return to Herod. Listen, my hope this Christmas 378 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,400 is that none of us would approach these coming 379 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:03,640 celebrations that we may be having the same way that those 380 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:07,680 who aren't seeking the King of kings are celebrating. 381 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,080 It's wonderful to have all these celebrations. 382 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:16,240 You know, I, I went to, we went to choice here in Klain and I'm 383 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,680 looking at the Christmas decorations that they had there, 384 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,680 you know, and the only thing that I saw that had any 385 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:30,600 reference of this amazing story at all was a little greeting 386 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:35,720 card on an end cap. Everything else had nothing to 387 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:40,600 do with the King of Kings, with the Lord of Lords. 388 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,120 This world is seeking something different with the celebration 389 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,440 than we are. And I just wanted to kind of 390 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:54,160 bring the story a little bit to light to you because what what 391 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,880 we're celebrating is different. We're celebrating the King of 392 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:05,720 kings who came and sacrificed everything, sacrificed all for 393 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:09,360 each and every one of us. And so that I hope that that our 394 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:12,520 perspective will be a little different than those who aren't 395 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,720 seeking Jesus. Let us be the ones who are 396 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,080 seeking him this Christmas season. 397 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:24,800 Seek him like the the wise men who came to honor him and 398 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,160 worship him. So it is whatever it is that 399 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,200 you're doing this holiday season. 400 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:34,640 And we have this upcoming youth Christmas party for the Youth of 401 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:36,560 Triumph Church. Part of that is going to be 402 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,080 worshipping and honoring the King of Kings, right? 403 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:44,520 We're doing carols in the barn next Sunday, singing Christmas 404 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,360 carols. That's, that's us coming 405 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,000 together as a, as a church and it's going to be a fun event. 406 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:54,000 But that's worshipping and honoring Jesus Christ, the Lord 407 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,840 of Lords, right? So that I, I hope that that our 408 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:00,880 whole perspective will just be different this year and that 409 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,400 we'll be able to share that with other people. 410 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,040 Listen, just like those wise men when that star stopped and they 411 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:11,000 were full of joy, like this should be a season that we're 412 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:12,680 full of joy. I know it's busy. 413 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,320 I know there's a lot going on, you know, but it's not about the 414 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:20,320 presents, right? It's not about the parties. 415 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,560 It's not about the celebrations. It's not about any of those 416 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:25,120 things. All those, those things are 417 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,600 great and those things are fun. I like to receive a present just 418 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:32,040 as much as anyone, right? But it's about Jesus, the 419 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,400 greatest gift. And so if whether you have a 420 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,600 little or whether you have a lot, all right, it's not about 421 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,280 those things, it's about what Christ has done for you. 422 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:48,160 And we can stand in that joy knowing that we're seeking him, 423 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,400 seeking to honor him, and seeking to worship him. 424 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,640 Amen. Let's close our eyes and let's, 425 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,760 let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we're so 426 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,320 thankful. We're so thankful in this season 427 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,240 that you came down from heaven to humble yourself and become a 428 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,360 man so that you could sacrifice yourself. 429 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:17,880 A righteous and holy sacrifice taking our place so that we 430 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:23,560 could be made right, be free from these sins that have dogged 431 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,800 us, our lives. Lord, You've covered us with 432 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:31,240 your shed blood and made us righteous through what Jesus did 433 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:35,840 upon the cross, Lord, and we just thank you for that and we 434 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,560 just celebrate you. It's Christmas season, we honor 435 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:44,000 you and we worship you Lord, and I thank you that we can be 436 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:50,200 filled with joy in this season. In Jesus name, Amen. 437 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:59,680 Thank you for listening to the Triumph Church podcast this 438 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,200 week. If it was a blessing to you, 439 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:07,120 share it with someone you know. For more information on Triumph 440 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:13,080 Church, you can visit us at www.triumphchurch.ie.