“THE GIFTS OF THE MAGI: Your gift for the King” 12-26-21

 “THE GIFTS OF THE MAGI: Your gift for the King”  12-26-21

INTRODUCTION

Giving

Carl Menninger of the Menninger institute published a report stating that generous people are happy people.  He also said that giving is a criteria for mental health!

Mike listened to a lecture on the importance of showing appreciation to the important people in his life. Mike decided to start with his wife, so after work that night, he went to the shopping mall where he bought a dozen long-stemmed roses, a box of chocolates, and a pair of earrings. He smiled with self-satisfaction as he contemplated surprising his wife and showing her how much he appreciated her.

He stood at the front door with the roses in his right hand, the brightly wrapped box of candy under his arm, an open jewelry box displaying the earrings in his left hand. With an elbow he rang the doorbell. His wife came to the door, opened it, and stared at him for a long minute. Suddenly she burst into tears. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” asked the bewildered husband.

“It’s been the worst day of my life,” she answered. “First, Johnny tried to flush his diaper down the toilet. Then Kevin melted his plastic airplane in the oven. Then the dishwasher clogged and overflowed all over the kitchen floor. Then Jessica came home from school with a note from the teacher saying that she beat up a boy in her class. And now you came home drunk!”

Giving should be a normal activity for us Christians.  As the magi came bearing gifts for the new born king, we need to bring our gifts to Jesus.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘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 shepherd my people Israel.’ ” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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, frankincense and myrrh.  

Matthew 2:1-11 NIV

Such extravagant gifts for a small child.

Four brothers left home for college and became successful doctors and lawyers. Some years later, they chatted after having dinner together. They discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother who lived far away in another city.

The first said, “I had a big house built for Mama.” The second said, “I had a hundred thousand dollar theater built in the house.” The third said, “I had my Mercedes dealer deliver an SL600 to her.” The fourth said, “You know how Mama loved reading the Bible and you know she can’t read anymore because she can’t see very well. I met this preacher who told me about a parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 preachers 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for 20 years to the church, but it was worth it. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it.” The other brothers were impressed.

Shortly afterwards, their mother sent out her thank you notes. She wrote: “Milton, the house you built is so huge I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway.”

“Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home, I have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good, though. Thanks.”

“Michael, you gave me an expensive theater with Dolby sound, it could hold 50 people but all of my friends are dead, I’ve lost my hearing and I’m nearly blind. I’ll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same.”

“Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken was delicious. Thank you.”

“. . . remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts 20:35b

I.  SEEK THE CHRIST CHILD

A.  The magi sought the newborn king.

1.  A star rose

2.  A prophesy fulfilled

B.  We must seek the Christ child.

1.  Seeking Jesus

“The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel

2.  Finding God

a.  Seeking God

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”

‭‭ 1 Chronicles‬ ‭16:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”

‭‭ Isaiah‬ ‭55:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

b.  Trusting God

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭9:10‬ ‭NIV

c.   The benefits of seeking God

“This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek me and live;”

‭‭Amos‬ ‭5:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

II.  WORSHIP THE CHRIST CHILD

A.  The Christ child would be worshipped by the angels

“And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.””

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  The Christ child should be worshipped by all of humanity

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:9-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

III.  GIVE YOUR GIFTS TO THE CHRIST CHILD

When a young woman’s mother’s office got a fax machine, the daughter suggested sending their correspondence by fax instead of using the post office. Although she told her many times that it was a faster and less expensive way to communicate, her mother continued to send her mail by weekly letters. At Christmas, however, her mother showed that she now had a full grasp of the technology. She faxed a $100 bill with the note: “Merry Christmas, Darling. You’re right—it is cheaper to fax than to mail. Love, Mom.”

A.  Giving is a natural response to the God we have found and worshipped

“But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭8:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“He is the richest man in the esteem of the world who has gotten the most. He is the richest man in the esteem of Heaven who has given the most.”

F.B. Meyer

B.  God has created us to give.‬

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭64:8‬ ‭NIV‬

When 67-year-old carpenter Russell Herman died in 1994, his will included a staggering set of bequests. Included in his plan for distribution was more than two billion dollars for the City of East St. Louis, another billion and a half for the State of Illinois, two and a half billion for the national forest system, and to top off the list, Herman left six trillion dollars to the government to help pay off the national debt. That sounds amazingly generous, but there was a small problem—Herman’s only asset when he died was a 1983 Oldsmobile. He made grand pronouncements, but there was no real generosity involved. His promises were meaningless because there was nothing to back them up.

Chicago Tribune, June 13, 1995

C.  Giving is “true and proper worship”

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:1-2‬ ‭NIV

A hog and a hen sharing the same barnyard heard about a church’s program to feed the hungry. The hog and the hen discussed how they could help. The hen said, “I’ve got it! We'll provide bacon and eggs for the church to feed the hungry.” The hog thought about the suggestion and said, “There’s one problem with your bacon and eggs solution. For you, it only requires a contribution, but from me, it will mean total commitment!” That’s the cost of true discipleship.

“With Christ, it is not how much we give, but what we do not give that is the real test.”

Oswald Chambers

1.  Time

2.  Talent

3.  Treasure

4.  Testimony‬‬

Many people believe that they would be more generous if they had more money. According to Forbes there were 946 billionaires in 2007 and they gave an average of 1.2% of their income to charitable causes. Be generous with whatever God has entrusted to you.

“The person who waits to do a great deal of good at once will never do anything.”

Samuel Johnson

A preacher asked farmer, “If you had 100 cows, would you give 50 of them to the Lord?”

“Yes.”

“If you had 1,000 chickens, would you give 500?”

“Yes.”

“If you had 2 hogs would you give one?”

“Not fair, Preacher, you know I have 2 hogs.”

This is not a hypothetical situation; it is real life we are talking about.

CONCLUSION

NO HANDS BUT YOURS

In the courtyard of a quaint little church in a French village was standing a beautiful marble statue of Jesus with his hands outstretched. One day during the war, a bomb struck close to the statue and severely damaged it. After the battle was over, the citizens of the village decided to find the pieces of their beloved statue and reconstruct it.

Patiently they gathered broken pieces and reassembled it. Even the scars on the body added to the beauty of the statue. But there was one problem. They were unable to find the hands of the statue. "A Christ without hands is no Christ at all," someone lamented. "Hands with scars, yes. But what’s a Lord without hands? We need a new statue."

Then someone else came up with another idea that appealed to the people. A brass plaque was attached at the base of the statue which read: "I HAVE NO HANDS BUT YOUR HANDS." A few years later someone saw that inscription and wrote these famous words, which we all should take seriously:

I have no hands but your hands to do my work today.

I have no feet but your feet to lead men on the way.

I have no tongue but your tongue to tell men how I died.

I have no help but your help to bring men to God’s side.

We must seek the Christ child, worship the Christ child, and give our gifts to the Christ child.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would give Him a lamb.
If I were a wise man, I would do my part.
Yet what can I give Him? I’ll give Him my heart.

Christina Rossetti

CHALLENGE

This Christmas let us endeavor to give more than we receive.  Give of yourself to the work of the Christ child.  Perform some act as the body of Christ this week.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.