Matthew 2:1-11, I want to read to you a part that is very familiar to you, the story of the wise men. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship Him". When Herod the King heard this he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him and when they had gathered the chief priests and scribes and the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to Him, "In Bethlehem of Judea". For thus it is written by the prophet, "But you Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
Then Herod when he had secretly called the wise men determined from them what time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young child and when you have found Him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship Him also". When they heard the King they departed and behold the star which they had seen in the East went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy and when they had come into the house they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshipped Him. When they had opened their treasures they presented gifts to Him, gold, frankincense and myrrh."
Holy Spirit we thank you today for the gift of the son of God, Jesus Christ.
We pray today that he would increase in this place and that we would decrease. Father, we thank you for the gifts that have already been given today but Father we thank you for the greatest gift of all, your son Jesus. In your name, amen.
It was the day after Christmas at a church in Orlando and the pastor of the church was walking into the sanctuary. He looked at the manger scene and he noticed that the figure of baby Jesus was missing from the middle of the cradle. Immediately he turned and began to look around the church to find out where that little baby had gone. When he walked out onto the sidewalk he saw a little boy, Jimmy, walking down the street with a little red wagon and when the pastor looked into the wagon he saw that there was the little baby Jesus. The pastor said, "Jimmy, what are you doing with that in the wagon?" Jimmy said, "Well you know, last week before Christmas I prayed and I told Jesus that if he would bring me a little red wagon that I'd give him a ride in it". How many think that the simplicity of Christmas is pretty good? Amen.
Each year I'm amazed at the thoughtfulness of people. I see the effort that they put into giving gifts and I see the joy that they have in really finding the perfect gift. I know as a husband that I will never be able to outgive my wife. Each year she does better. How many know that there are some people you can never outgive? She has a way of really blessing my life.
Some people say that its not the gift that counts, it's the thought that counts but the truth is, it's one thing to think about giving and it's another thing to actually do it. It's more than the thought that counts, it's really the giving that matters as well. Both go hand in hand. Christmas is built upon giving, not just giving of gifts and everything like that but many think that Christmas is based simply on receiving. I know I've had to teach my children that it is more blessed to give than to receive and they're slowly learning that. But a gift must be given before it can actually be received.
I saw a T-shirt the other day that really made me laugh and it said, "Christmas is about giving so gimme, gimme, gimme". Someone looked at the shirt and said, "That's just not funny". How many know we can have fun at Christmas time?
John 3:16, we know it well, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son". Christmas started because of the greatest gift that was ever given. I have two sons and I can't imagine giving my sons like God gave his. I love this church, I love everyone in it and I love the body of Christ but can I be honest? If someone were to say today, "Listen, you shoot your son in the head or I'm going to bomb your church on Sunday". How many know it would be a hard thing for me to choose between my son and all of you. I love you and I hope you'd feel the same way. If you don't, there's something wrong with your parenting instinct. My son Chris is fourteen years old, just four years away from having to register for the draft. I love this nation, many men and women have laid down their life for it. I know when I was eighteen and there was talk of war, I was ready to go if the call was there. But I want to tell you that as a father it would be a hard thing although I would be proud to have a son in uniform but it would be a hard thing to send him into battle to lose his life even though I know this is a great country.
But God send his son, Jesus, so that we could receive everything that God has for us but we cannot receive the gift of God's son until he actually gave Him to us. All through the Christmas story we see how gifts are given, that's why we do it. The tradition of gift giving is based on God giving his son, Jesus, not because someone had to have the newest video game or the coolest bike or the nicest toys or to see whose kid can go home with more than the other family. Whether you have much or whether you have little, whatever you are able to give is all that matters. We don't have to keep up with anybody else.
I want to speak this real quick because it needs to be spoken. Some of you
are in the last week before Christmas and you haven't done shopping yet. Listen, I want to speak wisdom into your life. Christmas is all year round and your kids will love you whether you give them 1 gift or 10 gifts and it is not worth sending your family into deep, deep debt so that you can give them a Christmas they'll never forget and you can't forget as your paying interest on Christmas for the next 3 years. Someone say a good amen. That's just a little fatherly advice.
All through Christmas we see that gifts are given from the son of God to the innkeeper opening up what little room he had left for a family that he didn't even know, to the wise men bringing gifts that were so very valuable.
The spirit of Christmas is in the glory of giving, and wise men and wise women, believers understand the importance of giving to God and to the world. The first wise men brought some of the most precious gifts to Jesus and they're legendary today: gold, frankincense and myrrh. The truth is all of us know what gold is but few of us have any idea what frankincense and myrrh is.
The angels brought glory to God through their words. The shepherds brought glory to God through their humility and their diligence. The wise men brought glory to God through their giving. What could we give to God at Christmas that would make all the difference in the world? The truth is, today we gave a little bit, we showed some great things into the life of "Real Life" and I bet there are many people in here who are giving to many others that are in need. Already this year, I've been so proud, people have come to me beforehand and said, "Pastor, I want to give you some money, I know there are going to be people who need help at Christmas time and we want to make sure that they get it". Those are great gifts but what could we give to God this Christmas that would make a difference. I believe that one of the greatest things we could ever do besides sitting down and reading a story to our family on the actual day of Christmas and remembering what Christ did, with the understanding that we really can bring something to God that makes a difference to Him. How many know you can't outgive God but you can give to God?
The first gift that the wise men brought was the gift of gold. It's interesting that when you come to church and the pastor begins to talk about gold, you think he's about ready to take an offering, it's what goes through people's minds. The truth is this, gold is more than money. Gold in the Bible, when God speaks of it, more than it being something that is spent, it deals with the heart, it deals with treasure. In Luke 12:34 it says, "For where your treasure is there your heart will be also".
The gold was a gift for a king but the gold was also an act of worship that ascribed the greatest value that man could possibly understand to give to the Lord. Let me ask you this, I'm not asking where your money is today, I'm asking where is your heart? Who has your heart this Christmas? Where's your passion? In all that we're going through as Christians, who has what is most precious to you? You see, the greatest thing we could ever bring to Jesus on Christmas is our everything. We give him our life.
The heart is the very thing that keeps us going through which the very blood is pumped to give us life to our body. How many know Jesus gave his very life for us?
The truth is, the more pure the gold, the more valuable the gold is. The purity of gold means that the impurities have been removed from it. One of the greatest gifts that we give to the Lord that brings glory to God is a pure and precious heart. Can I encourage you this morning? As you celebrate Christmas, allow your life to be holy before the Lord. The greatest sacrifice, the greatest gift we could ever give to Jesus is a pure heart. There's nothing like a gift that is given without strings attached. You know, that little boy told Jesus, "If you'll get me a wagon I'll take you for a ride in it". How many know that Jesus has already given us our everything with no strings attached?
To God, our genuine faith is more precious than gold. 1st Peter 1:6-7 says, "In this you greatly rejoice, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ". A key component of pure gold is its transparency. It's interesting because in heaven the streets are paved with gold. How many know all those things we've spent our life paying a lot for, when we get to heaven Jesus is using it for pavement. Gold is the asphalt of heaven. The Bible says the streets are paved with pure gold. Revelations 21:21 says, "The street of the city was pure gold like transparent glass". I want you to think about this for a minute, that a transparent vessel brings no glory to itself but it glorifies what it contains.
One of the things that I love about those who grow close to the Lord is that there is something so very transparent about them. People who have fallen in love with Jesus, there's nothing hidden inside of them. Those who are wanting to be pure and holy before the Lord, those who bring their everything to Jesus when they walk and they talk with people, when you see them there's not something false about them. As a matter of fact, you can tell when you look at them that they have given their all so that when people see them all they see is the life of Jesus. How many know today that you and I contain in our life the most precious gift anyone could ever have, it's the life of Jesus.
Can I ask you something this Christmas? How transparent are you? When people see you at a party? Do they see the life of the Lord? When you're in the mall and you've been rushed after work and you've got to go home and have dinner and get the kids ready and your tired, do people see Jesus in you? Does God receive the glory? Is there something that is so precious inside of you that people can clearly see the Lord? One of the greatest ways that we can bring glory to God is through a transparent life that is lived so that it reveals Christ in us. The Bible says, "Christ in us is the hope of glory".
The 2nd gift that the wise men brought was frankincense. Frankincense is a fragrant oil, it's used in incense and even in anointing oil. It was used by the priests in their ministry to the Lord. Both were used so that whatever they did for God would bring him glory and so that everyone around them would know that they were involved in a ministry that was bringing glory to Jesus and not to themselves. There's something very unique about incense. How many have come out of a Catholic background? How many have ever been in a Catholic church when they were giving that incense? Incense is amazing because there's nothing like it. There's a smell that is sweet and is nice but there's also a very distinct smell that you wouldn't spray on yourself then go out in public and draw attention to yourself. Incense is a distinct smell that is used fragrantly and is identified in ministry, the priestly duties. How many understand the Bible says we are all Kings and Priests? Everyone of us have a ministry.
Can I ask you something? When you're going about your Christmas Day and you're going about bringing glory to God, how do you smell?
It's the sweet aroma of praise that God receives as we live a life that brings glory to Him. It's a sweetness that brings a refreshing not only to God but to everyone we're around, a sweetness because we are doing the work of Jesus even when we're going about the very things of everyday life. That certain fragrance, that when people are around us, they know that you love Jesus and you become something to them that becomes an encouragement and a help that directs their attention to the most high God.
Remember that the reason that Jesus came was to draw people to the Lord? One of the greatest gifts we could ever bring Jesus at Christmas was to draw people to God the Father.
In 2nd Corinthians 2:15-16 it says, "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those perishing. To one we are the aroma of death leading to death and to the other the aroma of life leading to life". Let me ask you, how do you smell this morning? Is your ministry to the Lord a sweet sacrifice of incense? There are a lot of people who say they are a Christian and you can see that they're religious but there is another kind of a person when you're around them there is that sweet sense that you get and you want to be in that presence.
On Christmas Eve we're going to be in this place and lighting those candles representing the light of the world, Jesus Christ. One of my favorite things is when my wife has the house filled with those scented candles and I love the smell of Christmas around the house. Are you a fragrance to the Lord?
Ephesians 5:2 says, "Walk in love as Christ also loved us and has given himself for us, an offering, a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma".
The Bible says that we are salt and light to the world. He equates his people and how we relate Jesus to the world through our senses. Remember light brings sight in the darkness, salt brings taste to things that are bland. One of the greatest things we can do as Christians when we're going through the season where many people are not looking forward to the Christmas season, when we come into their life we become salt that brings the life of Jesus and when they taste it, that life of God becomes so real to them and instead of being bland it becomes something that they want.
Listen, how many know Jesus said that He is living water and that all who come to Him will drink? Since we are salt to the world, if you are salty and I'm not talking about like a sailor, I'm talking about being salty for Jesus, like when you come to them and bring the life of the Lord they're going to want to drink of Jesus this Christmas season. How many know that's a great gift to bring to the Lord? We have the greatest time in history today to bring glory to Jesus by bringing souls to the Lord.
I want to say it again, frankincense deals with the ministry of the believer and the spirit of Christmas is found in the glory of giving. I want to encourage you, find a need and fill it. Many of you did even as you sowed into the ranch but all around you it's not always about the money. Find a need and fill it. That person that you see when you're going through the mall that's hurting and their arms are full, stop your shopping and help them out to the car or open the door for them. That sales clerk that is struggling to make the shelf a little bit cleaner and he knows he's fighting a losing battle and things are falling around him, pick something up and tell him, "God bless you today". Do something, find a need and fill it. Find a hurt and heal it and make a difference.
One of the things that I remember at the ranch that for me became one of the greatest mantras of my life, they say at the ranch, "If you have it and someone needs it, give it away". If you've got something that the world needs, give it. How many know you can never outgive God? The world's desire today is "If you've got it, hoard it because you never know when you might need it". But the truth is God probably gave you what you have right now so you can give it away when you see someone in need. Then when you actually need it, someone will either bring it to you or God will make sure you've got it. He's a faithful Lord. I pray that that will be the heartbeat of Harvest Community Church, "Give it away". I pray as a church, I know we're getting ready to go into a bigger building because we're going to need more room, but in the process my prayer is that we won't always be building a bigger bank account to get a building. When people need help give it away. How many know we'll have a building and we'll have more than we know what to do with? Listen, give it away.
Frankincense deals with the ministry of the believer. If we give the life of Jesus to others they'll recognize the glory of the risen savior. When you don't give and you hoard, life becomes unbalanced. Did you know that Christians were never supposed to sit on all the blessings that God gave? When I first started working, I used to keep my wallet in my back pocket. Are there any men that carry their wallet in their back pocket? Of all you men, how many have back pain? When I was in school, It started out with my drivers license then I added the Library card and you keep adding stuff to it and as you're working you're putting money in there. I put my check in the bank but I would also keep some money on me and I would always keep my wallet in my back pocket. Finally when I was in my 20's my back started hurting bad. I went to the doctor and at first I thought it was because I played football and because my feet hurt. He looked at me and said something really simple? He said, "Do you keep your wallet in your back pocket? I said "Yes". He said, "Stop it, for now on carry your wallet in your front pocket because what you're doing by sitting on it all the time is you're throwing your back and your body out of balance".
Listen, there are two things that keep us out of balance and keep us from hoarding the blessings of God to ourselves and that is greed and fear. If you live your life by greed and fear your life will get out of balance. But if you will learn to give, whatever it is, love, time, help, caring, your life will be so in balance you'll never find yourself in pain ever again. You just need to give it away.
The last thing that they brought to Jesus was myrrh. Myrrh is an interesting gift because myrrh is a key ingredient in enbalming fluid, especially back in those days. Myrrh was used in some of the incense but for the most part, myrrh was used to help those that had died. How many know that one of the greatest gifts we could ever give to Jesus is to die to ourselves and to live for him? Jesus was born to die, that's why he came.
From the moment that he came into this world, from the moment that he was concieved by the Holy Spirit in Mary, there was a plan that was set in place, that his life would be lived as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Jesus was born to die. Some people today have this cynical view that we were born to die too, that we start dying the moment that we're born. The truth is we start living the moment that we're born. Someone say a good amen. The truth is the moment that you give your life to Jesus and you die to yourself is the moment that you really begin to live, not only in the Spirit but in every way. Dying to yourself releases that death that is inside each and every one of us. It allows that to be buried with Christ and it is now no longer I that live but Christ that lives within me. Jesus at his very birth was given that embalming fluid and I know I preached about this a couple weeks ago but God has so spoken to my heart. He wanted me to say it again in this place today, the greatest way and the greatest gift we can ever bring to Jesus at this time of the year is to die to ourself.
Have you ever noticed how Christmas time has been changed in this world to make it about me, what I want, what I need, what I desire? Christmas is about Jesus and the place that should be able to get that right is the church. I'm not saying you should get some kind of wierd religious spirit now and not give gifts to your kids at Christmas or to not exchange them with your husband or your wife, I think those are all wonderful things. Christmas day is a beautiful time.
Jesus came and how many know Jesus is coming again? The greatest gift I could ever give him because the wise men understood it is that gift of Myrrh. I want to close with this idea, not only dying to ourself but how many know that one of the finest ways that we can bring glory to God is in the gift of for-giving, forgiveness. The reason why Jesus came to earth is so you and I can be forgiven of our sins. I wonder if there's anyone in this room who over the last month has been wronged by somebody? If you haven't you're doing quite well. Forgiveness is a great thing. I want to encourage you, this morning we heard about family, we heard about how many of the kids that we've had the privilege of blessing time and time again don't have the ideal family that they've always wanted. Can I ask you this? How many of you have the ideal family that you've always wanted? Sometimes the reason why Christmas is so stressful is because of family relationships. Some of them are good to see come and some of them it's really good to see go. Some of them we'd rather never see them come and just wish them a Merry Christmas over the phone. How many know what I'm talking about?
I believe that one of the things the Lord wanted me to speak here today into the life of this church is that God wants to bring healing into some families this Christmas. Some of you have kids that are far from the Lord. Some of you have brothers and sisters you haven't spoken to in a long time because they hurt you. Some of you have a mother or father that didn't do something right or they actually hurt you and you have a reason not to talk to them but listen, one of the greatest gifts you could ever give to Jesus at Christmas is the same gift that he gave to each and every one of us and that's the gift of forgiveness. Forgiveness brings glory to God because we extend the same gift he gave to us. Colossians 3:13 says, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you".
Some of the most healing times I have ever seen in church have happened at Christmas time. Some times at Christmas time we put up with the stress and the disappointments and the frustrations and we put on that great face but underneath there's just something that's still stirring. How many know what I'm talking about today? The thing that I love that brings glory to God is that when God is able to accomplish in our lives and in our homes the very thing that he came to us for. All of a sudden what was a heavy somber difficult day becomes a really great time of joy. The stories begin to flow and the hearts begin to mend and healing begins to take place and relationships begin to get restored and it's a marvelous thing. That's what the son of God did for us, his very purpose was to bring family, God's creation back to Him and to restore that wholeness through forgiveness that only Jesus could bring. I want to tell you, when we allow that to take place in our homes, that becomes the glory of Christmas giving. I pray today that our life would reflect the spirit of Christmas in all of these ways, by receiving God's gift, by giving him glory.
Luke 2:14 says, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men". That's the purpose behind the gift.
