How Were the Wise Men Wise?

Pastor Melinda Song

Matthew 2:1-12, NKJV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 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.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, inthe 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.’”[a]

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And 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.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

INTRODUCTION

In Matthew chapter 2, the Christmas story has jumped ahead about two years. Matthew chapter 1 closed with the baby Jesus being born and named, but now in chapter 2 Jesus is called a “child” (2:8,10) and the family is living in a house in Bethlehem.

By comparing the birth stories of Jesus in Matthew and Luke it appears that Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Then they presented Him at the temple before heading back to Nazareth (2:39). Later on they decided to move to Bethlehem as that’s where they were living in Matthew 2.

Then came “wise men from the East.”

A. Who Were The Wise Men?

Not much is known about these wise men. We are used to singing:

"We three kings of Orient are

bearing gifts, we traverse afar..."

They weren't kings and neither were there three of them.

These men are described as "Wise men" (NRSV, KJV) or "Magi" (NIV). The word is magos, "a Persian or Babylonian wise man and priest, who was expert in astrology, interpretation of dreams, and various other occult arts."

They came from "the east”, probably from Babylon, Persia or the Arabian desert. At any rate, they were men of wisdom and learning from an exotic, far away land bringing a caravan into the capital city of the Jews, seeking a newborn king.

The Biblical record says little about who these men were. 

B. How Were The Wise Men Wise?

They were wise to seek Jesus

v. 2 “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.”

There are numerous theories on what the star was. People have speculated that it could be a  supernova, an explosion in an existing star that for several weeks or months gives out a great deal of light. However, there is no historical record of a supernova just before Jesus' birth date.

Or it could have been a comet but astronomers have calculated that Halley's comet would have been visible in 12-11 BC, which was years before Jesus' birth at around 6 BC.

There was a conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars that occurred in 7-6 BC, and mention seems to have been made of this in some ancient texts but there is no evidence that such a conjunction of planets would have been actually referred to as a "star."

We just don't know enough to say authoritatively exactly what the Star of Bethlehem was.

The Magi, although Gentile, may have linked the star to “the King of the Jews” through studying the OT and other Jewish writings. They could have been exposed to some Old Testament prophecies from some of the Jews who had settled in the east during the Babylonian exile.

They were watching and waiting for signs of the fulfilment of Number 24:17 which says, “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” So when God sent the star that pointed the way to Jesus, left their homes, their families, and at great expense travelled hundreds of miles to follow the star in search for the King of the Jews.

Even today, 2,000 years later, wise men still come to Jesus! 

Application: We each must make our own journey to find Jesus, to meet him personally, and make him a living reality in our lives.

Today we are glad to have four great examples in our midst today who are following in obedience to Jesus through water baptism. 

If you have been waiting to come to Jesus for salvation, delay no longer, just come to Him today! He waits to save those who will call on Him!

For those of us who are already Christians…

Daniel 12:3

Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament,

And those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

You can be the star lighting the way for many to come into salvation.

They were wise to worship Jesus

v. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

When they saw Jesus, they worshipped Him. Why? Because He is God and He is worthy of worship and He demands worship and we are happier when we worship Him.

The purpose that these Gentiles from a faraway land travelled perhaps hundreds of miles was to worship a baby born of peasant woman in a manger.  The point of this story is that we ought to worship Jesus as well.

Application: Christians are not simply those who believe in Jesus. Christians are those who know, love, trust and worship Jesus. Christianity and Christmas is about worship of a God who loves us so much that He came and dwelt among us.

This story teaches us what real worship involves. Real worship always involves giving.

These Magi brought Christ their best gifts, gifts fit for a king. They were willing to use their TREASURES to make the long journey to see the King. They also carried fantastic treasures of gold, incense, and myrrh to present to Christ.

The Magi used the gifts of their TALENTS too! They were men who knew the heavens. They understood that the star they were seeing was a special sign and then acted on that knowledge.

The Wise Men were wise, because they gave Jesus their gift of TIME. They took time off to make a journey of maybe months or years to Bethlehem.

These gifts represent a great sacrifice. The Magi gave the best they had. They came to the Messiah prepared to give. If we want to experience Jesus, then we must worship him and make sacrifices to put him first in our lives. We must be willing to sacrifice our time, our talents, and our treasure for Christ.

They were wise to obey God

v. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Lord commanded to return to their country by another route – it may have been an unfamiliar route, or less convenient, or more costly, or more dangerous one. They are sensitive to God’s leading and they are more than willing to submit to His plans and respond with obedience when He speaks.

Application: Sometimes what God calls us to do is unfamiliar and inconvenient and uncomfortable, sometimes it’s risky or costly or dangerous but if we want to really experience Christ we must submit to his Lordship.

CONCLUSION

The wisdom of Christmas is this:

1. The wise seek Jesus

2. The wise worship Jesus

3. The wise obey God

As God called the wise men to Christ by a star in the sky, He continues to call people to Himself through His servants and the word of God.

We are led to the same Christ as were the Magi, not for the gifts that we would bring to Him, but for the gifts that He would give to us, the gifts of forgiveness and life and salvation that are greater than all of the gold, frankincense and myrrh in the world.

Christianity and Christmas is about worship. The Savior has come. He has called us out of the darkness of sin. He has delivered us from the darkness of death. He has given us his Son. Wise is the man who worships the Christ the Lord in humble faith!

On this Christmas Day, let us worship Jesus because of Who He is. 

Better is One Day in your Court

Pastor Bryan Ranjan

Senior Pastor of Putera Aman Assembly

God is a good God. I came many years ago under Pastor Geoffrey's time. I'm from the state of Selangor and raised in Selayang. It's a Chinese area even though I'm an Indian. I knew God led me there and God has been good.

Ps Ronald and Ps Jasmine are my spiritual parents. When I had my girlfriend Pastor Ronald was the first person I showed her photo to. He also dedicated my three kids.

This morning I want to do a little stress test to see if you need a holiday.

I'm going to be showing you a slide. I don't know how exactly this works, but it is amazingly accurate. The picture I will show you are 2 identical dolphins and was used in a recent case study on stress levels at St. Mary Hospital, London.

Look at the two dolphins jumping out of the water and the study shows that although both dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences in the dolphins. The more differences the person finds, the more stress the person is experiencing.

If you see a difference, you need a holiday.

(Slide of a dolphin and cow jumping out of the water.)

Psalms 84:1-11 (NIV)

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

My forte has always been worship and this passage is on temple worship. We can meet God anywhere and anytime but going into the temple allows us to step inside and worship the living God.

It is a Psalm not written by David and it talks about the significance of stepping into the house of God. There are now online sermons and people may say you don't need to go to church.

There is something about being in God's house. He has made known the reason why we go into the house of God.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Verse one the Psalmist made it known that God dwells in his house. That is the only reason needed for us to be in his house.

The Psalmist is consumed by the intense desire to worship God in the temple.

Even the creatures made their home near to God's altar.

Everybody needs their own home. Everybody had their own activities or their own passion. That is where you'd put your time in. The Psalmist is saying his passion is to be in the house of God. He yearns to be in the presence of God.

The creatures has found the temple their home. What about us? People are a bit restless. Moving from one church to another, especially in KL. But the Psalmist is saying these birds found their home. We need to find a home to belong to. Where we can place ourselves close to God's house. 

It allows the people to come in to encounter God. To worship God in God's house.

My friends in Australia said the Catholics used to have a one hour service while the Pentecostal churches have two hour services. But now it's the other way around. The Catholic Churches are having two hour services while the charismatic and Pentecostal churches has one hour services.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

If you are found in the house of God you are blessed. Period.

Then the next verse it shifted gear. The harsh journey to Jerusalem. Along the way some will give up. Some may even die. But then as they pass through the Valley of Baka, means the valley of tears. Physically this journey was draining. This is where they get refreshed and rejuvenated and revived. Because of this pool of water.

And they will go from strength to strength before they go into Zion. We are on a pilgrimage. We are on a journey. Carrying our cross is about suffering. It is not easy. We go through one challenge after another challenge. Life is not easy at times. We are going through this spiritual walk.

Then God brings you to the valley of Baka. Water revives us. This is what the Psalmist is trying to tell us. When we come to the house of God, this is our Valley of Baka. It is not ritual or tradition. God's presence is here and he sees your challenges and burdens.

These Israelites were on their journey to Zion. Our journey is to the New Jerusalem. Some people are making their pilgrimage to Jerusalem but ours is the New Jerusalem.

The house of God is where you get refreshed week after week.

We have a Myanmar service that meets at midnight to two in the morning. Because most of them work at restaurants and they come after work. After working you normally need their rest. But it is where they get their strength. We sometimes say the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, but here they get their strength.

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

This is the last part of Psalms 84. He is talking about divine protection, favour and shield. Verses 11 and 12 says those who walk blameless gets divine protection.

I experienced this once. I was sending my son to kindergarten and was on my way to work. As I was driving I saw what was like a landslide. And I stopped and saw a crane crashed down in front of me and when I got out of my car the people told me I was fortunate. So I made a police report. It came out in the papers.

A few days after that I spoke to a Baptist pastor and he asked me if it was me. He asked if I'm okay. And I said I was reading Psalms 91 that morning and was very alert. He said what! Because that morning he was reading Psalms 91 and he wanted to call me. God's divine protection.

I want to end with verse 10.

10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Spurgeon puts it together for us.

"One Day" - Days in God's courts. Days of hearing, of repenting, of believing, of adoration, of communion, of revival.

"in your courts" - To feel his love, to rejoice in the person of the anointed Saviour, to survey the promises and feel the power of the Holy Ghost in applying precious truth to the soul, is a joy which the world cannot understand.

"Door Keeper" - Depicts Humility and the zealousness to serve in the House of the Lord. The lowest station in connection with the Lord's house is better than the highest position among the godless.

• Charles Spurgeon

Young people what are you doing this morning. The elderly what are you doing today. You are making your memories and make them good.

I remember I went to the Doulos ship and I was all fired up. A white man made a call if anyone would want to join this mission.  And I put up my hands but this man behind me tap me and said brother, you are taking your SPM exam.

I loved going to the house of God. What was I doing? I was making memories. We will declare this morning what the Psalmist declared. Better is one day in the he courts of God and a thousand elsewhere.

The Power of Praise

 

Rev Ronald Ooi 

Let's welcome Joshua and company to TOP. They are with the House of Prayer. 

I was one of those young people in the seventies where I was gripped by the love of God. It was early in the morning when I encountered God and was praying in the Holy Spirit for four hours. I pray the young today will have an encounter with God not because their parents are Christian but they personally have an encounter with God. I was in KL at the House of Prayer and I saw how these young people were praying for you and I. 

In 2 Chronicles 20 we see an impending war. The world today is in a very vulnerable position and that the Third World War may happen anytime with all the nuclear warheads that are there. We call it the end times. But the prophesy is that in the last days there will be an outpouring of God's Spirit. We are seeing that happening and we also see the increase of violence and natural calamities. All have been prophesied in the Bible. 

But we have a God who is with his people even through the difficult times we are in. 

The Power of Praise. I want to talk about that. King Jehoshaphat called for a time of prayer and fasting. 

2 Chronicles 20:3-4

3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

The people were positioning themselves to seek God and to hear from God. Jehoshaphat did a very wise thing and we can follow him. 

We have not gone through a World War except the World War 2 and it was a traumatic experience for those who went through it. We may not have gone through this battle but we go through different battles ourselves. Some financial where we have to feed our family in spite of challenges. There are relationship issues. Lost of loved ones. Career and sickness, battles that we go through and some people don't even know what we go through. 

Men, women and children came to seek the Lord. And this was his prayer. 

2 Chronicles 20:12

O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Have you been I'm a situation where you just don't know what to do? He said but our eyes are on you. When you face a problem, fix your eyes on God. God is bigger than your problems. You get scared and disappointed when you don't fix your eyes on him. 

He is always there even if it seems he is not. God is present. Jehoshaphat said we have no power but our eyes are upon you. He had a serious dependence upon God. 

We are going to come to the Good Friday and Easter event. We are entering the 21 day of prayer and fasting. I had my reservation when Allan said he is coming. He speaks to thousands in India. He is called the Jesus of India but he is a simple man. He is an evangelist, one of the five fold ministry. Once, he raised a person from the dead. He is bared from certain countries because they cannot handle the crowd. 

We are dependent on God because there are obstacles to the work of God. The time has come not just the Intercessors praying but all of us going for a time of prayer and fasting. It can be a vegetarian diet. See the instructions in the booklet. TOP will see a change. When you pray for victory there will be a battle. It can be a scary time. The challenges will come but when I look back in all my years as a preacher, I asked why is there so much trouble in my life and I realised it is a training ground where we get down on our knees to develop our muscles to become like God. And God will use you as an instrument to do exploits for God. 

We have become a very inpatient society. We want everything fast. We want fast food, fast cars. Fast money, fast entertainment. We want everything fast except to fast. 

Penang traffic is getting too fast. It used to be slow. We are losing this spiritual discipline to wait patiently in the Lord. Slowly wait before God. Pray for one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours. Don't be afraid. It's training. It's such a joy to wait on the Lord. It's such a joy when God's people come together to seek God. 

We pray that God will slow us down because we live too fast. With all of eternity before us, let us learn to wait on God. The Psalmist reminds us to wait on God if we want strength to go on. 

George Mueller started an orphanage at Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He prayed for everything he needs in. And that is what I have learnt. Before I open my mouth to ask anyone for anything, I learnt to ask God first. 

“I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk, when I lie down, and when I rise. 
And the answers are always coming. Tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. 
When once I am persuaded that a thing is right, I go on praying for it. - George Muller

It is the same with my life all these years. There was one time when my children was so sick in Penang. We had to send him to the hospital one week after my daughter and I asked God what did I do wrong? As I look back now, it was a training ground and when they came out of hospital, all the bills were paid for. 

If you fast and don't pray, it's starvation. If you fast and sleep, it's hibernation. If you fast and pray, it's intercession. 

2 Chronicles 20:15

And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

When you spend enough time with God you have to wait and wait and wait to get a prophetic word. Why only David get to bring down Goliath? You may say he's the lucky one. No. He's the ready one. You have to be ready. When you are ready, God give his word like he gave to the army. My battles become God's battles. My bill become God's bill. Your children becomes his children. God will fight your battles. And you will receive because his word will be released. When it comes, it is heavens word and not man's word. The battle is not ours. It belongs to God.

We need to be the ready ones. Not the lucky ones. And we will see the breakthrough we are waiting for. 

They then moved forward and praise God. They worshipped. 

2 Chronicles 20:18-19

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

There is Worship. There was Praise. And there was Thanksgiving. They did all of that. 

Worship in Hebrew is "shachah". Worship is to bow, to kneel to crouch before the Lord. The emphasis is to come before God. 

It's like your puppy. When you come home, it's not the wife that greets you. It's your puppy and it comes to lick you. That's the image. 

Praise is boasting. Boasting of who God is and we give him the credit of what he has done. It's like polishing silver. Then you lift it up for everybody to see. To show your trophy. You lift him up and not shy about showing who God is and what he's done for you. You praise him not just in good times but also in bad times. In the valley you can still praise God. In whatever circumstances of life you praise him. 

Thanksgiving is to communicate surrender. Coming to him with empty hands and surrender to him. You couldn't have done it yourself. 

And blessings is to kneel down and saluting God for who he is in his authority. And you speak well of him. Like an eulogy given when someone died. Eulogia in the New Testament is to speak well of him while he is alive. 

And look at what happened when they praised God, something happened in the heavenlies. Something happened where God's power was released and the enemies killed each other. And they came in and plundered the enemies. There is a spiritual dynamics there that our minds cannot comprehend. God gives victory to his people when they praise him. 

You may not have an answer today but praise God and see the results that will come ahead. 

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you today for accepting me as your child.
I surrender to you all the challenges that I am facing in life.
I understand from your word today, that you will fight the battles for your people.

The Battle is the Lord’s!

I believe victory is mine as I praise your holy name. 

No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

I praise you today from the depths of my heart.

In Jesus Mighty Name!

Bro David Ng being interviewed by Ps Ronald about his experiences as an ex-Thomas Cup badminton player representing Malaysia.

Ps Joshua from House of Prayer leading us in a time of praise and worship at the close of the service.

Ps Ronald praying for all the ushers, and encouraging them on the importance of their ministry.

Wise Men and Women Worship Christ in Wise Ways

Pastor Jerry Eng (Klang Baptist Church)

Matthew 2:1-13

The Visit of the Magi
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea” they replied “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “ ‘But you Bethlehem in the land of Judah
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel. ’ ’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him report to me so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king they went on their way and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up” he said “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

I want to look at Chapter 2 where the wise men came to seek Jesus and to worship him.

Many years ago, our church had a renovation and my family and I stayed at a house opposite the church. I saw a lorry parked at the front of the church and to my horror I saw two men collect sacks of pebbles. I saw two bags already loaded in the lorry. When I asked them what are they were doing, they quickly said they had permission from my supervisor to collect these pebbles. Then they quickly packed to leave and even said that they are collecting the pebbles to path their temples.

I am wondering what God will allow them to steal to build their temple?

Where did these wise men came from? The bible tells us they were from far away guided only by a star. You must remember they have no four wheel drive at that time. No GPS either. They were on camels and if you know camels, they are very stubborn animals. They travelled in the dessert. There were sand storms and the nights were cold and days were hot. No perhentian like our highways. No rest stops to quench their thirst or to get a coke. And they were bringing gifts and were at risk of being robbed in the dessert.

But they braved it all to come to worship the Lord. (I salute the teachers here in this church and I pray the Lord bless you as you take on the challenges of being a teacher.)

In Bethlehem, it was mentioned four times as the "House of bread". If you go to the house of bread, what do you find? You find bread and this was the way God had intended it as Jesus is the Bread of Life.

They discovered that Bethlehem was not just a place, but that it was prophesied that Bethlehem is THE place, but it is unfortunate that the people who are in Bethlehem were not the ones that worshipped him. The religious people did not bother at all even though they knew the prophesy well.

Jesus said He will come to give abundant life but we Chinese especially equate abundance with prosperity, with the symbol of a "S" and two strokes. That is not what Jesus meant. Abundance is more than money, it is a life of holiness that God enable us to live. And with it comes challenges, so do not think it's just a bed of roses once you give your life to Jesus.

Seek out Jesus to worship Him.

True worship seeks out our motives and agenda. The wise men came and consulted King Herod. No wonder King Herod was disturbed. He was considered the King at Bethlehem. King Herod had ten wives and he was willing to kill one of his wife and his mother (mother-in-law) just to be sure he is King. So with these men coming looking for a king he was rightly disturbed. Did the wise men know about his character? We are not sure but they did not bear gifts to King Herod. Only to King Jesus.

We are all guilty of things, where we failed to seek Him. We come home and skip our devotion with our family because it was a long day and is tired. We skip once, then another and another. Or prayer meeting. We promise to come but excuses like traffic jam, being tired or having to work late crops up. Our intentions are good but we still don't do it. Or using the company phone to call your cell members, or to photostat cell notes using the office copier. Let's check ourselves.

The star went ahead of them. And they were filled with joy knowing that God had set the star to lead them. It is a real joy, bubbling in their hearts, literally. They were rejoicing with a great joy, a joy with hilarity and that's worship. A mark of celebration and joy. But is it just like what we did on Sunday morning only? The act of worship is 24 hours. What we do at anytime, anywhere is an act of worship. If worship is boring it is because it is self centred. Don't get me wrong there is a place to pray for our own needs but if you look at the Lord's prayer "hallowed be your name" it is God centred first. Let us learn that. That was how the wise men worshipped God.

Worship ought to be reverential. 

When the wise men reached the tent, they fall down to worship Him. We can only worship God and exalt Him when we are down there and He is up there. We will do well to examine our heart's attitude with deep respect, honour and reverential. 

True worship is sacrificial. 

The wise men instantaneously opened their chest to offer their gifts without hesitation. All their actions were one smooth flow of sequence with no hesitation. They brought Gold for the King, Frankincense for Christ as God and Myrrh as an incense to the suffering redeemer. They were well prepared. Good preparation honours God.

How did we prepare for worship this morning? How many of you watched football last night? What time did it ended? How you wish you can sleep late right? Or families with many children and they came late as the children were not able to get ready in time. Why? Because they didn't sleep well. Why? Because you took them out late last night. We need to prepare for worship, one hour before going to church they should be awake. Or we adults? Aiyoh, pastor's preaching again. Or we complain about a speaker pastor invited. Boring. Remember it is all about God.

True worship is obedience. 

They departed from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in response to God leading. They followed the star God set. They didn't question.

How then do we worship?

Christianity is not about just doing. It is not just based on a set of instructions. We do because He first did it. We love because He first love us.

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.

We are to give ourselves. When we do that we have no problem about our time, talent and our money. The last one is very sensitive. I won't talk about that. I'll let your pastor do that.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Please note the rich again is not just about money okay? When we give ourselves to the Lord the rest will follow.

Talents are something we Asians don't handle very well. We tend to compare. When a son scores 98 we ask why not 100? Or we ask how much your friends got? Why do we need to do that? We must be careful. God give talents to individuals for His purpose.

True worship disturbs us. It is said "we comfort the afflicted to afflict us". We will not offer an offering to the Lord that cost us nothing. We don't have to steal pebbles. This is not our God. We bring what is in our heart.

Wise men and women
Wise boys and girls
Worship Christ the King
In Wise Ways

Here are the Notes from the Powerpoint Presentation 

for those of you who missed it taking notes.

1.0 Introduction

Wrong worship means idolatry. 

It insults God

2.0 Wise People Worship Wisely 

One Big Movement with 

Part I

- Wise people seek Christ to worship, vv1-2

Part 2

- True worship disturbs us, vv3-8

Part 3

- True worship factors, vv9-12

Part 1

-  Wise people seek Christ to worship, vv1-2

a. Nothing stops wise people from worshipping Christ, vv1-2b

No barrier too rough

No condition too tough

to stop us from worshipping Christ.

b. Where is the new born King, v2

- Bethlehem, 4x in 12 verses (1, 5, 6, 8)

“House of Bread”

- Where will you find the Bread of Life but in the House of Bread!

Part 2

-  True worship disturbs us, vv3-8

a. Check out who this Jesus is, vv3-5

- He came to fulfill God’s promise

- A ruler and shepherd, v6

b. True worship questions our motives, vv7-8

- Herod’s background!

- To kill Jesus, v13 (child) and v16 (children)

- We have our excuses too!

Part 3

-  True worship factors, vv9-12

a. It is joyful, vv9-10

b. It is reverential, v11

c. It is sacrificial, v11

d. It is obedient, v12

How then do we worship? 

Romans 12:1

- Give ourselves

- Our time, talents, treasure!

3.0 Summation and Conclusion

Matthew 1:1-12 shows one big movement of worship that consists of three parts

Part 1 – Wise people seek Christ to worship, vv1-2

a. Nothing stops wise people from worshipping Christ, vv1-2

b. Where is the new born King, v2?

Part 2 – True worship disturbs us, vv3-8

a. Check out who this Jesus is, vv3-6

b. True worship questions our motives, vv7-8

Part 3 – True worship factors, vv9-12

a. It is joyful, vv9-10

b. It is reverential, v11, 

c. It is sacrificial v11, 

d. It is obedient, v12

V2 

"Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star and have come to worship him!”

One question in 12 verses, 

The rest is the act of worship!

David: 

“I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that would cost me nothing!”

When I survey the wondrous cross, 

On which the Prince of glory died.

My richest gain I count but loss, 

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord, that I should boast, 

Save in the death of Christ my God

All the vain things that charm me most, 

I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hand, his feet, 

Sorrow and love flow mingled down

Did ever such love and sorrow meet,  

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, 

that were an offering far too small

Love so amazing so divine.

Demands my soul, my life, my all.