Actually Lucy, my trouble is Christmas. I just don't understand it. Instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down. You need involvement. You need to get involved in some real Christmas project. Hey everybody. So I'm in Matthew chapter 2. You want to turn there if you have a Bible with you on your iPhone, iPad, whatever you brought with you. I just got back from a trip doing more radio work down in the South Pacific. So you got to hear Dave Stone, my friend last week. I'm sure he was fantastic. Yes.

Great preacher, one of my favorites. I had some preachers ask me last week or two weeks ago, Pastor Jeff, what do you do at Christmas, man? We find it so hard to preach. I mean, we love Christmas, but we hate it because we have to keep coming up with new sermons and there's only a limited number of texts. And I thought, wow, I love Christmas preaching. There's so much in the text about the Christmas story and you could investigate it probably all your life and never cover anything.

In Matthew chapter 2, I want to take a look at my favorite aspect to the Christmas story, and we're talking about remember the greatest story in the universe. I mentioned a few weeks ago that my favorite Christmas was in 1983. That's because that's the first Christmas I had a job and I could give gifts. I learned it really is more blessed to give than to receive. There's a joy that comes that far exceeds the joy of giving is far exceeded or far exceeds rather the joy of receiving doesn't it now that was then 1983 but just recently about five six years ago I discovered something else that as joyous as it was on that 1983 Christmas to see the looks on the people's faces they received my gifts for the first time man the joy of buying gifts for your grandkids It pales, that pales in comparison. Man, as a grandfather, this type of joy is on a whole other level. But there's something sinister in it, isn't there, granddads, grandmoms, right? Because you want to give your grandchildren something that will spoil them so badly that it will open the eyes of your son or daughter to the true understanding of how difficult it was to parent them and raise them. I want to get my grandkids something that will make its mark.

something that their parents would never get them, something their parents probably don't want them to have, which usually means their parents either can't afford it or don't think they should have it, which places me in a difficult predicament. It's a pickle, I tell you, because I want to get the grandkids something that nobody else would get them.

Something their parents don't want them to have because then I'm a hero. I become the papa of all papas, right? Which after free food is ultimately what life is about. Now, of course, it's very risky because Robin believes that I shouldn't do something like that. She believes the kids already have too many toys, which I agree, but since when do men think about gifts? We don't think about gifts. I mean, the only people I get gifts are my golfing buddies, right?

The reason I get them gifts is because I don't have to think about it. Get a golfer a dozen Pro V1s, you're good. You're good. You don't have to think about what to get, what does it look like. In fact, most men, if I have to think about what I'm going to get you, I'm not going to get you anything because you're high maintenance. That's just the way guys are. They just won't confess it, but it's true. On the other side, grandkids come along and that changes everything. The interesting thing is on Christmas, Most of us do look around and we enjoy surveying the landscape and then finding that perfect something for someone who holds great meaning to us. But again, that just recapitulates the original Christmas story because the first gifts were bought by who? The first Christmas gifts were brought by who? The Magi or the wise men? And they came from a long distance. Their story is remarkable. You find it in Matthew chapter 2.

I'm going to take you through this story because it's Christmas time, the most wonderful time of year to tell stories. Who are these magi? Don't worry, we've covered some of this before, but this is a whole new avenue. Who are these magi and why is it that Matthew is the only gospel that records the magi or the wise men? First, just quickly, before we get into the text, there's a few things we know with certainty. Number one, we know they were men who came from a great distance bearing gifts.

I am certain they were men because their gifts are absolutely useless to the child. Go Frankincense and Myrrh. Come on, man. And I am certain that they were granddads because no price was too great.

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh, man, this is primo. This is expensive, but they don't care. Second, we know they're from the east because Matthew tells us they are. Now you can look at verse 1. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem. Now east is not very definitive. If I told you this weekend we have people visiting from the east, I mean that could mean anything east of the Sierras.

It can mean any state in the US just practically, but it could also mean London, Scotland, Portugal, Africa, Russia, anything that's east of here. But in the time of the writing, when a writer uses in the first century the east, typically it referred to the Medo-Persian Empire of Chaldea or Babylon. Now, what we don't know is their names, even though sometimes when you read stories they're given names of Caspius, Melchior, and Abednego. Do you know why?

That's pure conjecture, but the reason they're given these names is because those are extremely popular names in Babylon. If you're from Texas, there's a high probability your name is Jim Bob, Joe Bob, or Billy Bob. Right? If you're from the United Kingdom, there's a high probability your name is Noah or Oliver until 2023. Do you know now in London what the most popular boy's name is? Muhammad. Muhammad.

Tells you something about London. Israel, Adam, Asher, David, Amos, Babylon, Caspius, Melchior, and Abednego. Magi comes from an Iranian word that refers to a special class of religious people found among the Persians. And they were noted for their learning. They were part of the intelligentsia of the ancient world.

They were skilled in matters of science and religion because typically in the ancient world, these two things go together. The more you know about science, the more you know about God. So science and religion were not enemies at all. They were two sides of the same coin. Even today, modern science originated from the Judeo-Christian worldview. And these Babylonians were monotheists.

That's rare in the ancient world. Now think about it for a moment. How could that be? The one God idea is unique among the Hebrews. So how is it that these three wise men, these magi coming from Babylon, suddenly believe in one God? Can you think of a time when the Hebrews and the Babylonians were together? If you read your Old Testament, you know that the Israelites were sent into exile into Babylon. And when they were sent into exile, into Babylon, guess what? There are four Hebrew boys that rose to such prominence that they became magi and wise men. Did you know that?

Who are they? Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel. In fact, Daniel chapter 2 verse 48 and 49, then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Same idea as Magi. Moreover, at Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.

So do you think these Hebrew boys had any influence over Babylonians, wise men, magi? Of course they did. They were so influential that by the time King Darius takes the throne during his reign, after having witnessed what happened to Daniel in the lion's den...

He sends, and I quote, a letter to the whole known world. He writes to all the nations and peoples of every language and all the earth and says, may you prosper greatly. I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For "For he is the living God and he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion will never end. He rescues and saves. He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." So the more we delve in to the Babylonians and the wise men and Israel's influence on them, there's little doubt that the Hebrew boys taught the Babylonians that one day a king would come that would change everything. And they would pass that information down generation to generation. Evidently, Darius announced it to the whole world because at that time, the Babylonians had influence over the known world. Now stay with me.

The Babylonian astronomers believed, and we talked about this a few Christmases ago. The Babylonians are the ones responsible in the ancient world for mapping out the stars in the constellations. Constellations. And as they mapped out these constellations, they started to notice what we call aberrations. So they believed that before a dramatic event happened on earth, that it would first be played out in the constellations, in the stars.

Now, this is not so much astrology as it is just noting patterns of time in history. A couple examples. They interpreted certain aberrations, the movement of planets and stars, as unique messengers to the world's most important events. So when Jupiter, for instance, rose in a certain fashion in a certain time, they believed that it indicated the birth of a king. Other planets and movements could represent the end of a kingdom or the beginning of an Still, other celestial aberrations can signify terrestrial disaster, sometimes including earthquake, floods, famines, even worse. Modern astronomers, today's astronomers, by looking at the movements and the configuration of the heavens today, can gaze into their powerful telescopes and can actually go back in time and calculate the various movements of the stars and the planets in past ages.

Guess what? This is amazing. They calculate that there was an unusual convergence of two planets at this particular time in history. What particular time? During the birth of Jesus. At this precise time, they tell you that Jupiter and Saturn, which communicated the appearance of a powerful, enduring king, converged.

But that's not all. Remember a few Christmases ago, and I'm trying to move fast over this material, but a few Christmases ago we took a look at the popular view that the star of Bethlehem was actually a comet that appeared in the constellation of Virgo and then dropped as if the virgin were delivering a child.

And that that could have been, in fact, the sign, the movement in the constellations that convinced the Babylonian wise men, based on what David had taught them, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that this is exactly the time to go to the Jews and discover the newborn king.

Whatever happened and however it happened, here's what we know according to the second part of verse 1 and 2. So quick summary.

The Babylonians were the stargazers of their time. They had mapped out the constellations. They had charted and documented the events of humanity, of human history, and had decided that certain alignments or risings occurred. When they did, something significant was about to happen in human history. Now, I'm not sure why it is that I've always been enamored with the wise men, with the At one and all, any length of time, you know that I like talking about them because their story's remarkable because they're not Jews. They're Babylonians and they come all the way from the east, which from Babylon to Jerusalem would have been somewhere around five month journey back then. And they bring these gifts. But as I trace the history and origin, I keep discovering things. For instance, first of all, it's not just the wise and educated intelligentsia of Rome that believed in the significance of celestial events.

The more we study antiquity, the more we realize that rulers from all across the world, from Europe to the near and far east, demanded to be kept abreast of any and all astronomical phenomenon because they too believed, the known world believed, that before any dramatic event occurred on the earth, it first was expressed or signified in the heavens. Second, do you know that we now have records of the ancient world that tell us there was a teaching across the known world, not just among the Jews, that there someday, this is phenomenal, this is just something I've discovered in the last six to eight months, that there would become a king who would be born again who would come out of Judea that would be different than any other king ever born. Not just among the Jews and Babylonians, but in the known world. A historian named Slotonius, and Tacitus especially, writes about all the historians and how there was always talk about the king that would come one day out of Judea. So it's not just a Jewish Messiah thing. The pagan world of scholars also spoke of a king that was to come from Judea that would be unique to all other kings ever born.

So, when the Magi get into Jerusalem, they say, where is he who was born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. Now notice, they do not say, has a king been born recently in Jerusalem? Oh, they knew a king had been born. They travel a great distance, at great expense, with great certainty. They come to Jerusalem not knowing exactly where the birth of the king is, but they know a king has been born and that he belongs to the Jews.

Now, here's the part of the story that always ruins my nativity scene. When the Magi do get there to their destination, they go to the house, not the manger. They go to where Mary, Joseph and the baby are staying. Again, this totally messes with my nativity scene because I like the wise men. They look cool to me. I like to dress like that. I really would. Cool clothes.

They don't come with the shepherds. They did not come to the cave or the manger. They came to the house. They were late, which once again proves they were men. Because had they been women, they would have stopped and asked for directions and arrived on time. And again, they would have brought more useful gifts like diapers or milk or bottles, gold, frankincense, or myrrh, or something else. I love the detective series, Hercule Perrault, the famous detective in Agatha Christie novels.

He has discerned, using his king sense of detective skills, that 40 days after the birth of Jesus, Jesus is presented for purification in the temple with Joseph and Mary. On that occasion, they gave what is customarily required, the offering. Only they give turtle doves. Turtle doves, as an offering, are only allowed in cases of extreme poverty. You're supposed to give a sacrificial lamb.

Now, it might be that they didn't give the sacrificial lamb because they were raising the ultimate sacrificial lamb. But one thing is true, they lived in poverty. Hercule Perrault says, we know that the Magi arrived after the 40 days because it would have been a violation of the law and unthinkable to Joseph and Mary to come with two turtle doves if they were sitting on a treasure chest of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Therefore, he says, they had to have come to visit in the house, and that's what we find in the text. So chances are high that the wise men do not arrive until after the dedication ceremony, which would have happened 40 days after the birth of Christ in the manger. Now, When they arrive in the text, they go to Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem, because Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. And they don't know exactly, they just know Jerusalem. They knew they were looking for the king of the Jews, and if you're looking for the king of the Jews, you go to the city of the Jews. You go to the center of Judaism, Jerusalem. So although they saw the rising of the star, which we'll talk about what that means in a moment, They didn't need the star to guide them all the way to Bethlehem. I mean, step by step to Jerusalem. They knew the prophecy. They knew to head toward Jerusalem. They knew that's where the king would be found. And then they go to the temple regions and they start asking the question, where is he? Where is the king who has been born? And of course, most of them are going to say, what king? Herod? He's not our king. He's a traitor that collaborates with the Romans.

Most scholars believe that King Herod wasn't even Jewish. He was a puppet king empowered by the hated Romans. And he had distinguished himself, if you know anything about history, as a magnificent builder. I mean, he had huge projects. He also developed these clever, crafty administrations. But man, he was cruel. He was a bloodthirsty ruler. He murdered his own sons and his wife because he was afraid they would usurp his authority and he didn't want to lose his throne.

Nobody in Jerusalem would have ever identified King Herod as the king of the Jews. So when the Magi arrived, they asked the question, where's the king? And the court reporters heard this and funneled that information back to King Herod. King, we have a problem. Foreign dignitaries are here and they're looking throughout Jerusalem and asking everybody about the birth of the king and they're talking to everyone. The text says when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled.

The Greek means he was beside himself. He's terrified. I mean, he had ruled for over four decades and had bathed Jerusalem in the blood of its people. He was bloodthirsty, cruel, and he was willing to do anything to keep his power. And when you rule like King Herod rules, you're always looking over your shoulder thinking, what son of a murdered father wants revenge?

The last thing Herod definitely wanted was the real Messiah. Verse 3, when King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. Of course, he was disturbed. They know Herod. When Herod gets wind of any opposition, he begins to kill people. They were afraid they had a right to be. Then the text tells us that Herod gathers all the scribes and the chief priests together to ask them, where is it that the king is supposed to be born? Now, He's a Jewish king and he doesn't know where the Messiah is supposed to be born. Any average Jew would tell you, in Bethlehem of Judea for it is written by the prophets. So Herod discovers, okay, it's in Bethlehem, six miles south of Jerusalem. That's the place where the baby's to be born, verse seven. Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. Now, in other words, he's asking the Magi questions like this. When did you first see the sign in the heavens?

How long did you wait before you started the five-month journey to Bethlehem from Babylon or to Jerusalem rather? How long were you in Jerusalem before you gained an audience with me? So what Herod is doing, he's trying to discover exactly how old the baby would be by now. He didn't want to kill every baby boy, but he did want to kill everyone within a certain age group with a little bit of cushion within a certain timeframe to make sure he murdered the coming king.

Verse 8, look how devious he is. 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. Herod had a strange way of worshiping the Messiah because if you look down in Matthew 2 verse 16, we're told that a decree goes out from King Herod that every male child under two years old would be executed. He masterminded one of the most cruel, vicious, evil slaughters of young children because he was afraid. What was he afraid of?

Losing his power. He was afraid of losing his identity. Aren't you glad that modern man has left behind such archaic practices? Did you see this week in the news about Syria Bashar al-Assad was finally overthrown man He was he used chemical weapons against his own people He displaced half of the 23 million population from their homes and created what was really one of the worst modern-day humanitarian crisis But it's the reality of life, isn't it? Great kings, great leaders, great politicians are as rare as a Raiders victory. And that's just the way it is. All right, back to the story. Matthew chapter 2 verse 9. 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. You see what's happening? The wise men saw the star rise in the east.

It signified the birth. Whether it was a comet, whether it was something that happened in the constellation of Virgo, whatever happened, it signified the birth of the king that they had heard was coming because of their relationship passed down generation after generation from Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Once again, the star didn't need to lead them to Jerusalem. They can get to Jerusalem on their own. They know where the king is going to be born in proximity. They, like any other tourist, probably looking at a map and asking for directions when they absolutely have to. It finally leads them to Bethlehem. The question is, how are they going to find this specific house? I believe this is where the great miracle occurs.

The Bible tells us a bright star appears over the house. God did something that we don't know what exactly happened, but it was miraculous and it told the wise men exactly, exactly. But wait a minute. This would have to be the house after the manger. Remember we said the wise men didn't arrive to the manger. They arrived to the house. So the Bethlehem star, whatever it was, had to make a second comeback.

Some miraculous event happened, and on coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, we're told, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. And the language is precise here. It's not the typical, it's not the same gesture used to kneel before a king. It's much more than that. They worshipped him. They bowed their heads. They kissed the ground. They admitted their smallness and his greatness, and we're talking about a little baby here. Then they opened their treasure chest that they had carried a long way.

They didn't fly American Airlines because they didn't want to lose their luggage. They traveled economy class on the back of a few donkeys and held on to their goods. And they presented the first Christmas gifts to the Christ child. Now, I've always wondered what these gifts were. Well, we're told then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Now, the church father origin, so we're going back a long, long, long time ago. You have to do a lot of reading, a lot of tracing. But he tells us that the gifts were very specific. Gold, because it's what you give a king. Gold was almost the exclusive province of royalty. Only the king held a gold scepter. What do you get the guy who has everything? Gold. Vassal kings would give gold to the upper kings. And there's a vast tradition in the East that the appropriate gift for any king, especially the great kings, was gold. And here at this house lay the king of all kings, right?

Second, frankincense because he was God. Now, what is frankincense? When I was a little boy, you know, come on, it was too close to Frankenstein, so we had all kinds of jokes about frankincense and Frankenstein. But frankincense is basically this. It is pure incense. We know what incense is, right? Well, frankincense is pure incense. It's the highest, most expensive incense.

It's something you carry around in a chest that might be handy someday, but you never use it except for the most special of occasions. Now, in the ancient world, incense, especially frankincense, was used primarily in an act of worship as your prayers and burnt offerings going up before God, going up before his throne. So gold represents a king. Frankincense represents God. Here lay God in the flesh, right? And then we have myrrh because he was a man.

This is a gift that to me proves that not only did Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego understand what was going to happen one day, but so did these three wise men. Now we don't know that there were three. We assume there were three because there were three gifts. Myrrh is one of the great possessions of nobility, not of gods, not of kings, but of mortal men. It was a kind of perfume. Its principal use was a pleasant scent, but its primary use was was as a sedative to dull pain. And this is what Jesus would have been given on the cross, myrrh. It's used also to anoint as a matter of love, esteem, and dignity the bodies of the departed loved ones. The kind of thing that the women most probably used when they anointed Jesus' broken body in preparation for the tomb. Because it was the tomb of a king, of a God, and of a perfect man. So these were the perfect gifts for Jesus. The absolute God gift.

Gold, rather, for a king. Incense for a god. Myrrh or perfume for a dying man. Now, why is it that Matthew's the only gospel writer who records the presence of the Magi? And the answer is because he writes specifically for the Jews so that they might understand Jesus' identity as Messiah. And while you and I may struggle, every Jew would have understood the significance of these gifts.

I'm amazed. Let me just pause here before I get to the application. I'm amazed at how many times in the Bible ... Remember I've said the more you study the Bible, the more you see how it's not disjointed at all. It just comes together in this huge picture of what God is trying to do in his redemption of the world.

How many times does God communicate to us the identity of a Savior, of Messiah, starting from Genesis all the way through the end of the Bible in Revelation? You think about Abraham. He takes Isaac to Mount Moriah wondering what God is going to do, only to hear God say to Abraham, stop, there's no need for you to sacrifice your son. I am going to provide the lamb.

Do you know how many times we see Jesus in the Old Testament? It would take me a solid hour to give you every indication. Let me give you just a few that you'll be familiar with. Joseph suffered unjustly, but through his suffering, he's exalted to a high place whereby he could redeem and save his people. Does that remind you of anybody?

Moses willingly leaves the palace and becomes a pauper that he may become a redeemer and lead his people to the promised land. Does that sound familiar? Samson, strong and mighty, was made weak that he may accomplish more in his death than he ever could his life. David stood in the place of his people. One man who became the champion, defeating Goliath, defeating evil, and giving over the spoils of victory to the sons and daughters of God.

It's amazing. All through the Old Testament, God shows again and again his intentions of his wonderful gift, this indescribable gift that is too wonderful to imagine. You and I comprehend it. Yes, we do. But its depths are far too wonderful to understand. Did you know that? You think you have an understanding. I think I have an understanding of the good news of the gospel. But in reality, its depth, no one can plumb completely and fully. But I'm going to try to do a little bit of that right now.

So, take a deep breath, take a deep breath and think about what we've talked about. How many of you know the name, and I think we've discussed this before, Yuri Gagarin? Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space. He was a Russian cosmonaut. When he went up to space, he came back and he said, and I quote, "I went up in space and I did not find God." And the Soviet propaganda machine used that line to once again strike home the point, science is superior to religion.

We went up into space and we didn't see God. Therefore, there's no God. C.S. Lewis was alive at the time and he wrote an essay in response called The Seeing Eye. Now, I want to read this quote to you very carefully. Here it is. It'll be on the screen.

He says, "If there is a God who created us, we could not discover him by going up into the air. God would not relate to human beings the way a man on the second floor relates to a man on the first floor. He would relate to us the way Shakespeare relates to Hamlet. Shakespeare is the creator of Hamlet's world and of Hamlet himself. Hamlet can know about Shakespeare only if the author reveals information about himself in the play." So too, the only way to know about God is if God has revealed himself, if he indeed writes himself into the drama of history. Oh, do you see what he said? God is not going to relate to us as if we're down here on this floor and he's on the second floor. Yo, God, if we're going to know anything about God at all, he's going to have to write himself into our story. He's going to have to reveal himself. Think about Hamlet wouldn't know Shakespeare unless Shakespeare appears in the play. This is our play. It is our reality and God writes himself into it.

That's what Emmanuel, God with us. This is what Christmas is about, folks. He writes himself into the drama of history so that you and I could know his thoughts, his words, his actions, our future, our hope, our eternal security. Not in full. We will never possess infinite understanding, but God chooses to give us understanding that is sufficient.

sufficient for you and me to know the repercussions of the greatest story in the universe. And you know what the answer is? You know what the message is? That it's going to be okay. It's that simple. That you're going to be okay. That I'm going to be okay. That we're going to be okay. Through all the pain and the suffering and the sorrow, and through all the challenges of life, through all the disappointments and tragedies, it's going to be okay. It's going to be all right. Because Emmanuel, God with us, has revealed that to us. I don't know if you know, stay with me now, the name Dorothy Sayers. Dorothy Sayers was one of the first women to go to Oxford. She was a writer of detective fiction. She wrote a series of novels called Lord Peter Whimsey Stories. And it was all about this Lord Peter who was an aristocratic detective, single and alone, making a mess of his life.

In the middle of the series of books, suddenly a tall, not particularly attractive woman appears in the stories. And her name is Harriet Vane. Now in the book, interestingly enough, Harriet Vane is one of the first women to go to Oxford. She's a writer of detective fiction and she and Peter fall in love and get married in the book. In a real way, she saves him from himself. She rescues him.

And those who followed Dorothy Sayers started to wonder what's happening here. And they began to speculate that Sayers looked into the world she created in these novels. She saw the character that she had made. She saw his loneliness, his pain, his miserable life, fell in love with him and wrote herself into the story to save him. Indeed, that's exactly what God has done.

He looked into the world that he has made. He saw us destroying ourselves by illusions that do not reflect reality. He saw us turning from him in masses toward the things that could never save us. It filled his heart with pain and love. And he saw us moving further and further away from him, becoming more and more lost and lonely.

He wrote himself into the story. He wrote himself into our story to save us from ourselves, to restore, to redeem, and to reveal, and to let you know it's going to be okay. You're going to be okay. By the way, a part of the story that I learned recently, after Gagarin returned from space, he attended a reception at the Kremlin. There was a humorous interaction between him and the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev.

And Khrushchev asked Gagarin in a moment of privacy heard by a journalist, so it wasn't that private, did you see God up there? And Gagarin replied, yes, I did. And Khrushchev said, I knew it, but don't tell anybody. Now, who knows the validity of the story, but do you see the story of the wise men? Please follow me here. It's good information, but please follow me in the application, okay? And here's the first part. Doesn't the wisdom of the world always fade? Let's be honest.

What the elite describes as brilliant today is often mocked and ridiculed tomorrow. When the text says that there are wise men, it means that they're the most educated, so they're not coming from Alabama Community College. These are Harvard, Oxford, Yale grads. They are learned. They're professors. They're the intelligentsia. In that day, the elites believed that the manner in which you dealt with the world was through astrology, interpretation of dreams, or magical arts.

You and I look at that, the elites today would say, well, that's preposterous. They'll laugh at that. They'd say, that's archaic, that's barbaric, it's a silly superstition. We know better now. But that's not even the point. The point that really amazes me is that God chooses to communicate to people in any way necessary to get the truth or the message of the gospel. Just think for a moment, what are the wise men from, where are they from 100 years ago? Where are the elites from even 50 years ago?

If you were to read some of the things that were written by the elites just a few decades ago, you would laugh yourself silly. Some of the things that were spoken within the last 50 years by the intelligentsia, okay? Number one, in the future, there will be no C, X, or Q in our alphabet. Rats and mice will be completely gone. The sun is actually really cold. Just in the last 30, 40 years, folks, classic scientists told us that our body is made up of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

Bacteria can't live in your stomach because it's too acidic and smoking is good for your health. The educated elite say lots of things, but the reality is that the shocking amount of elite opinion becomes laughable only within one generation. That's why C.S. Lewis said, "All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." In the 1960s, we were told that Christianity was a white Western religion and the more modern our world became, Christianity would fade.

And here we are today in places like China, South Korea, not to mention industrial Africa, Latin America, Christianity is growing so fast that it's actually difficult to accurately measure it. The average Christian today is not a white Westerner and the more modern China gets, the more Christians it becomes. Over 110 million now, 110 million. The elite who wrote in the 50s and 60s would be absolutely flabbergasted at all of this. How can this be?

If the world exists for another 100 years, will people look back to our time and say, man, that generation, they had it all real. No, they'll laugh at us. And much of what we say and we say we believe, they will laugh at us. So I say that to tell you this. If somebody comes up to you today and says, oh, you Christian, you are out of date. You have to change and keep up with the times. You're regressing. Can you remember something for me? Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 5, Matthew 24. Amen.

Why does Christianity remain the same throughout generations? And it is because its message never changes. Emmanuel, God with us. It's going to be okay. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The classic core beliefs of our faith have not changed in 2,000 plus years. And it drives the educated elite to insanity.

that you and I believe in God the Father, that we believe in Christ the Son, that we believe in the Holy Spirit, our God is three in one, that we believe in the resurrection, that we will rise again, for we believe in the name of Jesus. Voltaire, a French philosopher, said this, and I quote, "'To pray to God is to flatter oneself, that he can alter nature with words.'" Then he went on to say that Christianity will be dead and the Bible will be eradicated within the next generation. You know the rest of that story, right? He died and his house was turned into a printing press where they printed the Bible. 1 Corinthians 1.20, where's the wise, where's the scribe, where's the disputer of this age? The wisdom of the world in large part always fades. Then finally, stay with me now.

The wisdom of the world, especially you men, I'm after you again. The wisdom of the world can only take you so far, but it cannot take you home. The wise men can only go so far with their understanding of the stars alignment and the astronomical variations. They can know that a king has been born and that they need to know where to find him and they can get to proximity within proximity to God and They're going to need a miracle and a revelation to find out where he's born. They need God the Father to light the way to the specific house and the specific location where they might discover him and worship him. Please hear me. Guys, men, please listen. I've got a renewed heart and passion for you. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and because I've had the same frustrations in life that you've had. Maybe it's because I know too that the death cloud hangs over me just as it does you. Can I tell you something though?

Too many of you are in proximity, but you've never made it into the house. God has sent so much light into your life to help you find your way home. Some of you were raised by parents who, although they were imperfect, they tried desperately to shed light on the one who is to try to get you there and never let you down. Some of you have been blessed over and over again by the goodness of God, and sometimes you wonder why you're so worthy of all those blessings. Others of you have been given the gift of a difficult life that was meant to show you the reality of that this world is not big enough, good enough, sufficient enough to fill the void in your heart and give you what you're truly looking for. Others of you have been blessed by constant roadblocks, making life's journey so difficult that you've even thought about giving up, when in reality, God is desperately trying to show you that the road you are traveling will never lead you to life. The thing about God is that he knows everything about you, and he knows that the wise men love the stars.

and looked to them for signs. So he sent them one in the constellations. Can I tell you something, guys? He knows how you're wired, and he knows what he has to do to get your attention. So that when the God of the universe calls your name, he knows what needs to happen to you and in you, that you may leave the emptiness of Babylon, find your way to Jesus, kneel down in worship, and give ultimate worth to him.

God wants so badly to be in your story. In fact, he's been in your story all along and he always will be. And the hound of heaven will never stop pursuing you. Can you understand that, that God wants to be in your story? And the fact of the matter is he always has been. But like the wise men, you've got to start interpreting the events of your life differently. You've got to start seeing them as the most important discovery of your life. God's roadmap is His path to lead you away from yourself into a relationship with him. So these events he's been orchestrating all of your life that you think he's abandoned you, he's never been more involved. Think about the wise men leaving Babylon and traveling five months to Jerusalem. Think about the hardship of travel, the thieves, the pain, the hunger.

The great danger, the expense. Herod now wants to try to kill them. There's always a cost to seeking and discovering Jesus. But once a man discovers this treasure, the Bible says that he goes and sells everything he has to take hold of it, to possess it. Because the value of this treasure far exceeds any other thing he's ever pursued. Far too many of you men, you got in proximity, but you've never walked into the house.

And second and finally, God wants to be your story. Now stay with me. It's almost over, but I need you to lean in here. God not only wants to be in your, he wants to be your story. So while I was in doing radio work in New Zealand, a friend of mine showed me something. It's Seinfeld and Kramer. It's a fantastic dialogue. It goes like this. Jerry comes into the house and he says to Kramer, George and I had a very interesting conversation today.

Kramer says, oh yeah, what about? We were talking about our lives and we both kind of realized that we're kids, not men. And Kramer says, so then you asked yourself, didn't you? Isn't there something more to life? Jerry says, yes, we did. And Kramer says, well, let me clue you in on a little something, Jerry. There isn't. And Jerry says, there isn't? Kramer, absolutely not. I mean, what are you thinking about, Jerry? Marriage, children, family? Jerry says, well, he says, they're prisons, Jerry. Prisons, man-made prisons. You're doing time. You're doing time.

You get up in the morning, she's there. You go to sleep at night, she's there. It's like you got to ask permission to use the bathroom. Is it all right if I use the bathroom? You can see Kramer doing that. Seinfeld goes, really? Kramer, yeah. And you can forget about watching TV while you're eating. I can? Yeah. You know why? It's dinnertime. And you know what dinnertime does?

You're talking about your day. How was your day today? Did you have a good day today or a bad day today? What kind of day was it? Well, I don't know. How was your day? What kind of day did you have? It's a sad, Jerry. It's a sad state of affairs. Seinfeld says, well, I'm glad we had this talk. Kramer says, oh, you have no idea. Now I watched that and laughed so hard. And I sent it to some people before I realized I probably shouldn't. One of which was my wife.

Then I started thinking after the fact why that was so funny. I'll tell you why it's funny to a guy. Because men want the benefits without the investment. That's how we're wired. Marriage can never be one-sided. It's about mutual care, mutual interest, mutual understanding. Without that, it will not last. But it's not how we men are wired. Come on, guys. Let's be honest. We have a great interest in one thing. It's okay. God said be fruitful and multiply. We're trying our best.

But can I tell you something? I think marriage is something God gave us to help us understand what he's after. For most of us men, it's just one-sided. I'll take eternal life to go, please. But God wants your heart. I mean, he wants your heart. He wants a relationship. He wants discussion. Knowledge about God, men, is not enough. You might be in the streets in proximity, but you've never walked into the house because when you walk into the house ...

You commune with God. You worship God. There is tenderness. There is love. There is talk. You turn off the noise. You put down the phone. You turn off the television. You sit in solitude with him in humble praise and worship, listening to his word and his voice. This is what God desires. But why? Oh, this is the beauty of it. Why? Because he knows that investment gives you the ultimate benefit of Because, third, he wants to take you into the real story. He's the hound of heaven. He won't let you go. When you stray, he'll make your life miserable because he loves you that much. While I was in New Zealand, oh, one of my best friends passed away.

Some of you may remember, if you were here in my early days, his name's Colin Spear. Colin came and played on his guitar at the Felix Event Center, one of our large Easter services, and he played the old hymns. I remember when he played How Great Thou Art, there was a standing ovation. Suddenly, something happened with Colin's heart. Went into the hospital, thought he was going to be okay. He died in just a few days. It just so happened that I was going to be there for the funeral, and I was grateful for that. But I sat there thinking how I could encourage his wife.

So his wife, Lynn, not only lost her husband last week or a couple weeks ago, she lost a son three years ago to cancer. She's lost a son and she's lost a husband in a matter of three years. And the only thing I could think about to say to her was to tell her the story or at least the end of the Chronicles of Narnia. Do you remember what happens, what C.S. Lewis does? He says, for you and me, when we lose somebody, it's our loss, it is, but it's their gain and Because, from your and my perspective, it seems to be the end of the story. But for them, and I quote, "It's only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures had only been the cover of the title page. Now at last they were beginning chapter one of the great story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, and which every chapter is better than the one before." Proximity won't do it, guys. That's why you're still miserable.

You've got to make the investment in relationship and go into the door and meet Jesus and bow down and worship him and give your life to him and invest in that relationship and prayer and worship. Because not only has God been in your story from day one, even though sometimes you think he's abandoned you, I'm telling you, he's right there. I look at all the difficult times of my life and at the time I think, why have you abandoned me? Now I look back and you're not abandoning me. You're trying to keep me from ruining myself.

But he also not only wants to be in my story, he wants to be my story. He wants my primary passion and my story to be him so that in the end he can take me to the real story. And that's why I end this sermon with the old cliche, wise men still seek him. Father, I thank you for the story of the Magi, for all the study and the learning that's happened as I continue to investigate the origin of these stories.

Wise men, magi from Babylon that come to meet the Christ child and how you orchestrated events in their lives. They weren't even part of the kingdom of Israel, but even on the outside, it shows that you've always been a missionary God, hoping that those far from you would come near and willing to communicate with them in a language they can understand that all who seek God will find him. And I pray that we would never forget on this Christmas season, wise men still seek him.

In Christ's name, everybody said, amen. We hope you enjoyed today's message. If you want to know more about what it's like to be a Christ follower, I want to encourage you to go to oneandall.church.com to get more information, as well as to reach out to us to walk alongside you in this step.

I also want to encourage you to download our One and All app as we have so many resources there for you, like our daily devotionals, our conversations, podcasts, as well as the sermons, and to know what is happening here at our church so you can get plugged in. We hope you have a great rest of your week, and we'll end as we always do with one hope, one life in Christ.