THE WISE MEN

Matthew 2:1-2 ¶ Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Today I want us to look at the wise men who came to seek Christ shortly after his birth.

We don't know for sure who these men were. We don't for sure where these men came from. And we don't even know for sure what religion they were of. But one thing is certain, they were wise, and we can learn much from their example.

First, the Wise Men followed a star sent by God. The star was their compelling vision. We too need a vision, a vision of God and God's purpose for our lives.

As you know we take part in the prison ministry at the local jail, and the majority of prisoners there are there on account of drugs. The Government is spending a lot of money in trying to stop the drug dealers, but as long as there is a demand for drugs then there are going to be drug dealers.

As long as there are people wanting to abuse drugs, there will be dealers finding a way to sell it to them. I am convinced that the main reason people turn to drugs is that they lack a real sense of purpose in their lives.

Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

These are people without a vision, drugging themselves into a stupor to forget the meaninglessness of their lives. They need a star to give them purpose.

The Wise Men saw a bright and shining star. Somehow they discovered it's meaning, and then they set out on their grand journey to follow that star.

The problem with many of us is that we have never found our guiding star.

My friends Jesus Christ is the "Bright and Morning Star", until you find Him you will wonder aimless, and your life will seem to be without purpose.

What is it that God wants you to do with your life? You are here for a purpose. Quite often I hear people who have recovered from a serious heart attack or other health problem say, "God must have a purpose for leaving he here." Well, God has a purpose for leaving everyone of us here. I believe God calls all of us and gives us gifts to achieve his purposes with our lives.

Abraham had a guiding star. Hebrews 11:8 says, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.."

Abraham is called a great man of faith because he set out on God's journey. He didn't know where God was leading, but he knew that God was leading him.

Or Maybe you have found the Star and even know somewhat about the purpose of your life.

But you don't have the zeal or power to achieve it.

The Wise Men had no easy hike traveling across the wilderness for all those miles. It must have taken much determination to make such a journey. But they had caught a vision, and they kept on going until they found it. My friends we must make the commitment to follow our Star, our Lord, our Savior onto the end of the journey.

Do you have a vision? If so what kind of vision has God given you? And are you determined to fulfill the will of God in your life?

The second thing we can learn from the Wise Men is that they sought the Messiah.

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

This story reminds us that Jesus is someone to be sought. He neither invades our lives nor overtakes us. He is not coercive. Instead, he puts a star before us to entice us to follow him. Like the Wise Men, we need to seek Jesus.

These wisemen must have concluded that their trip was absolutely essential. And they were highly committed to the task. And they let nothing discourage them from seeking Jesus Christ.

In this coming year, I challenge you to seek Jesus. There is an old song that says: "Wise men seek Jesus".

If we really want to see God, we should remember the advice of Jesus. Do you remember from the Beatitudes who it is that Jesus says will see God? "The pure in heart shall see God."

Our seeking of a closer walk with Jesus Christ must involve US letting God purify our hearts. Don't deceive yourself into thinking that you are seeking God while you refuse to yield your sin over to him.

THIRDLY, THE WISE MEN GAVE JESUS GIFTS.

Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Here is an example that wise men still follow today. They give gifts to Jesus Christ. What are you to offer to the One who has everything? Not diamonds or rubies, but something more valuable.

The wise-men gave three gifts, and we are to give God three gifts:

Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength.

Christ wants you to give yourself to him. He wants you to offer your body as a living sacrifice.

Listen to me: God wants your HEART. That is he wants you to place him on the throne of your heart. He wants you to love him supremely.

God wants your SOUL or your LIFE. He wants to be the focus of your life. He wants you to live for him.

And GOD wants your STRENGTH. He wants you to use your power, your means, your energy, your abilities, and whatever else, to serve him. How am I going to serve GOD? By serving others in the name of Jesus.

We can sit here and say: "I love GOD with all my heart, soul and strength", but words don't mean much. Observe your own life, judge your own life, where and how is your life and strength being used?

FOURTHLY, the Wise Men walked a different path after they met Jesus

Matthew 2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

The wise-men recognized the evil intent of Herod and decided not to go back by Jerusalem. After worshipping at the feet of the Christ child, they couldn't walk in the same path they use to.

When we come to Christ, we are to be changed men. Christ makes a new life out of an old one.

And the truth is that no one who ever really meets Christ, returns home the same way. When we have encountered God in Christ, our life changes.

Someone wrote, "When you meet ugliness, you can be sure those you confront are not returning from a visit with the Messiah. They are still traveling in the wrong direction, right back to the palace of Herod and right into the midst of deviltry."

Have you ever seen people return from Church or from prayer with a bad attitude? They are angry or grumpy or mean or vile?

Why is this so? It can be for one reason, they didn't really meet with the Messiah.

Repentance means a change of direction. Imagine you are driving in the dark, and you are worried about the route you are to take. But you finally discover the right highway number - #82. Relaxed that you are finally on the right road, you speed along. However, you do not find the expected towns at the right time. Apprehension mounts, until finally your worst fears are confirmed when you find a sign that indicates you are approaching a town in the opposite direction. You are on exactly the right road but were going in exactly the wrong direction.

What do you do? Do you say to yourself, "Well, maybe if I just keep going I will get to the right place?" No, we know there is nothing to do but turn around and head back the other way.

This is a perfect picture of what repentance means - a turning around of life from going in the wrong direction to going in the right direction. Today is the right time to turn around and go with God.

Let us remember these lessons from the Wise Men: Follow your compelling vision from God. Seek Jesus. Bring him your best gifts. Change the direction of your life.