Please read the following texts:

First from the 31^st chapter of the book of Jeremiah beginning at the 7^th verse.

Thus says the LORD:

Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

    and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

    "Save, O LORD, your people,

    the remnant of Israel."

See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,

    and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

among them the blind and the lame, those with child and

    those in labor, together;

    a great company, they shall return here.

With weeping they shall come,

    and with consolations I will lead them back,

I will let them walk by brooks of water,

    in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;

for I have become a father to Israel,

    and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,

    and declare it in the coastlands far away;

say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him,

    and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."

For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,

    and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.

They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

    and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,

over the grain, the wine, and the oil,

    and over the young of the flock and the herd;

their life shall become like a watered garden,

    and they shall never languish again.

Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

    and the young men and the old shall be merry.

I will turn their mourning into joy,

    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

I will give the priests their fill of fatness,

    and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,

says the LORD.

Then from the 1^st chapter of the letter to the Ephesians beginning at the 3^rd verse.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.

And finally from Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 2:

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

    who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

A popular sermon title for the reading we heard from Matthew chapter 2 is “Wise men still seek Him.”

Today we heard proclaimed the events of kings that traveled from the east to see a new baby king.

Why would they come?

They would come because this king is special; we heard is foretold in the Old Testament

• Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

    and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;.

For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,

and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.

They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,

over the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and over the young of the flock and the herd;

their life shall become like a watered garden,

and they shall never languish again.

Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

I will turn their mourning into joy,

I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

I will give the priests their fill of fatness,

and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,

says the LORD.

Can you sense the enthusiasm in this reading – people can’t wait for this great king to come!

We know that people who have met this king Jesus in fact have this experience:

• Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ

And our opening prayer:

• O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature

Do you get a sense of the fulfillment these people have?

I really desire this same sense of fulfillment and the Wise Men traveling to find the baby Jesus provide us with some life lessons to follow.

Four in particular:

1. They’re focused on finding the Messiah

2. They gather in a group – they don’t go it alone

3. As they seek Him they’re ready to deal with danger

4. And their goal is not to receive something from Him, but rather to offer gifts to Him – they have a goal to give.

So they’re: focused on finding, gathered in a group, the are ready to deal with danger, and their goal is to give – let’s look at each.

It says that they “observed His star” – these men were looking for signs of the coming Messiah.  They in fact know that this Messiah, who isn’t from their culture, they know that this Messiah will be for all people – and so they are “focused on finding” Him.

• Two life lessons – be focused and use the Scriptures

• Be focused on Jesus – start each day thinking of Him.

• And then spend time learning God’s Word.

• I still don’t know the Bible as well as I need to – how about you – we need to be focused on Him through the Scriptures.

Let’s look at the second point: they’re gathered in a group!

• Being a follower of Jesus isn’t a “lone ranger” proposition.

• We’re so individualistic in our western culture that our culture’s tendency works against us here.

• Jesus over and over again gives His disciples instructions – you know all those “one another command”, like “love one another” (n 13) and “bear with one another” (Col 3)?

• All those commands are specific to followers of Jesus.

• Jesus knows that we aren’t to go it alone, (He sent them out 2 by 2) BUT He knows that we can get on each others nerves.

• We have small groups at St. John’s that are designed to build our relationship with God and with each other – they are designed to give us ways to “gather in a group” – to not go it alone.

• But it’s challenging to be in a group isn’t it?

• Ever get annoyed with someone in a group?

• Jesus knew that – “love one another” – “bear with one another”.

• I imagine the 3 Wise Men might have gotten on each others nerves as they crossed a dessert.

• I get annoyed on long car rides!

So the second point is that we need to be “gathered in a group” – it’s not a “lone ranger” operation

• And we need to bear with each other because if you go as a lone ranger you’re not going to get deep enough to experience the joy.

Third point – be ready to “deal with danger’.  These 3 “out of town-ers” have a meeting with Herod.  Now all the people “in town” know, you really don’t want a meeting with Herod, he’s not a nice king, he’s mean and he may just have you killed!

What do these Wise Men do?

• They listen to God

• It says they were warned in a dream

• Imagine for a moment the morning after the dream – they wakeup, wonder if it was just all the excitement, they could have easily shrugged it off.

• But they don’t – they listen to and pay attention to God

• They in fact expect danger.

• Do you – do you expect it; are we ready to deal with danger?

• Do you expect that as you focus on finding Jesus, that as you gather in a group, do you expect to have to deal with danger?

• Surveys say that 3 out of 4 Christians don’t believe in Satan – nor do they believe in spiritual forces that are seeking to “distract them” and keep them from God.

• 3 out of 4 – I’ve got to think that some here today don’t, but I need you to hear me:

• First we can all observe there is evil in the world right? 

• Where does this come from?  The Scriptures tell us, if comes from Satan.

• Next it says in this letter to the Ephesians (chapter 6) that we battle not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities in the heavenly realm.

• I’m not looking for us to see a devil under every rock.

• But I trying to get us all to appreciate that as we seek to get closer to God, to experience what we heard in the Old and New Testament

•  That is what started this sermon – what can we learn from the Wise Men so that we can experience this wonderful joy.

• That as we get closer to God we are going to have to deal with spiritual danger.

• Maybe it’s only in the form of a distraction, or maybe it’s in the form of getting annoyed with people in a group, maybe it’s more

• But if we expect it,

• You see I don’t want 3 out of 4 people in St. John’s to deny Satan’s existence – nor do I want us to be obsessed with it.

• But my desire is that we’re ready to deal with the danger through God’s help.

So, so far we’ve looked at:

• First, being focused on finding Jesus,

• Next, gathering ourselves in a group,

• Expecting that we will have to deal with danger,

Which brings us to the last point: the goal to give – giving to God.

• Let me try to use an analogy – maybe for some it will be a real example

• Imagine you are on a trip, trying to get to someplace wonderful, to meet someone special.

• And you arrive, you get there, and you find yourself in a room, a beautiful room with someone so special you overcome.

• One of your first thoughts is, “I didn’t bring anything – I’m in this wonderful place with this wonderful person and I should have brought a gift to show I’m thankful.”

• We know this don’t we?  Some of us had mothers who trained us to always bring something if you’re invited over some ones house.

The Wise Men, who set out focused to find Jesus, who knew enough to gather in a group and not go it alone, who dealt with danger, had a goal of giving gifts to this king.

They brought of gold, frankincense, and myrrh

And in doing so they “were overwhelmed with joy”!

My b/s the Wise Men can teach us some lessons – lessons that are just as applicable today as they were back then.

My prayer is that we too “Will Still Seek Him” and that we will apply their lessons in our lives.

Let’s pray.