"Wise Guys!!!”
- Matt. 2:1a, 12b -
" Now when Jesus was born… they departed into their own country another way”
The story: (Matt. 2: 1 – 12) Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way (route, road).
Our scripture nuggets this time around are an absolute mouthful…so here we go. (Matt. 2:1a) “Now when Jesus was born…” What have I done??? Or I should say: Holy Ghost, what have you done??? What a mouthful, what a world full, what a universe full, of thoughts go through my spirit. What volumes have been and will be written about that part of God’s word. What lives have been changed when countless numbers of humanity have realized those (5) impacting words: “Now when Jesus was born…” The event of events of all time period. The key to everything. The key to life. The Way, the Truth, and the Life…period. But the whole issue is: “How did this miraculous birth affect you”??? All would agree (for the most part) that for sure Jesus was born. So, it’s a fact a truth, Jesus was born. So, back to the issue. Did and does His birth affect you like most…It’s a fact and it’s a truth. Or like me and all the Christians on this spinning globe, was He born in you??? More than fact and truth. More than knowing about and of Him…but knowing Him. Accepting Him as your Savior and Lord. Letting Him direct and guide your very life. We have allowed Jesus through the Holy Ghost to be born in us. It’s the new birth, the “born again” or “born from above” term most of you have heard. We were born of the flesh. And because of sin, we need to be born of the Spirit. This miracle will reunite us back to God. Our relationship with Him will be restored back to its original intent and purpose. To be “In Him” and “Him In Us”. Yes, the spiritual birth!!! (John 3:6) teaches us the sovereignty of God in the new birth and affirms that the new birth is not a cooperative endeavor between God and man: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In our natural birth it is the actions of the flesh that brought about our natural birth into the world. Even here, it was not our actions, but our parents actions that brought about our natural birth. By parallel, the spiritual birth is brought about by the Holy Spirit. Again it is the actions of the Holy Spirit that brings about this spiritual birth and not our actions. The Lord said in (John 6:63), "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." Now if I in my flesh could do something to help bring about the new birth, then there would be a profit in the flesh, but the Lord affirms that there is no profit in the flesh, but that the Holy Spirit does the quickening (new birth). God makes it all happen…amen.
To give you others notes or others experiences concerning such wouldn’t do it. I must tell you by my own experience, Then allow the Spirit move you, convince you, you need to do the same. Man did He change my life!!! I was the perfect example of the affects of the non born again. I for almost (31) years lived with out Jesus being born in me. I lived in that sin nature doing sinful things. But when I let Jesus become born in me, everything changed. Realization of both sides became crystal clear. With and without Jesus. Knowing about Him verses knowing Him. Others over me, myself and I moved in front of my people priorities. I knew Gods will was definitely not the same road I was taking. His ways through His Word made sense. My love for Him, His Word, His Church was amazing. New life in Christ…Praise God forever more. He is sooooo good. When He becomes born in you, you see things through His eyes. Your talk changes. Your friends change. Your interests change. You become a “Wise Guy”.
And that is where our second scripture nugget comes in… they departed into their own country another way”. Your whole life, when you get serious with God just goes another way. (Eph. 2:1), "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins..." The word, "quicken," means to make alive." When we "were dead in trespasses and sins" we were "made alive" spiritually. Our condition prior to being born again was "dead in trespasses and sins." Verses 2 and 3 describe this condition of being "dead in trespasses and sins," "Wherein in time past (i.e., prior to being born again) ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath even as others." When we "were dead in trespasses and sins," we "walked according to the course of this world." The course of this world is abomination to God. The scriptures say that whosoever is the friend of "this world" is the enemy of God. Thus we conclude that when we were dead in trespasses and sins that we were the "enemies of God." Secondly, we followed after the "prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Jesus is the "prince of peace." Satan is the "prince of the power of the air." We, being dead in trespasses and sins walked after Satan and had the spirit of Satan working in us as he now works in the children of disobedience. Thirdly, we had our "conversation" or life style "in the lusts of our flesh..." Paul said "that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing." "The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world" (1 John 2:16). For our life style to be after fleshly lust is to live selfishly and carnally. Fourthly, we "fulfilled the desires of the flesh and of the mind." Thus we weren’t just walking after them, but we were actually doing those things. Fifthly, our nature was the same nature that the children of wrath now possess, i.e., we "were by nature the children of wrath even as others." This was our condition before we were born again. Friend, you are literally transformed as you allow the Holy Ghost to change you, to use you for the Glory of God. You want to please Him. You want to tell others of you miracle. Some listen, some don’t. Plant the seed anyhow. You lose friends, you gain friends. Favor with man, favor with God. You are now realizing purpose and destiny. Life is still hard but you now live by faith not feeling. You are getting wiser by the day as you walk with Him. Prayer is life. Reading/studying His Word is life. Impacting lives with His Love is a way of life. Making your days an adventure with the King is awesome.
So, way back when the Babe of Bethlehem was born, he became born big time in the “Wise Guys” way back then. He changed there lives, so touched them, so “quickened” their spirits, they knew something was going on. Something was “in the air”. God was moving. They came, they worshipped, and they went back another way. You my friends around the world, some of you have never allowed the Lord to be born in you. Some of you were once “born again” but “stuff” happened and lots of time has passed and you are dead. Ask the Lord to forgive you and take you back. You know who you are. You too know what you need to be doing for Him. Don’t wait another moment. “Wise up you “Wise Guy/Girl” and go another way with the Lord Jesus. You were born for Him to be born in you.
Some “Wise Guy” Nuggets:
“Wise Guys” still seek Him…
They were looking for the coming messiah. They took literally the statement from (Numbers 24.17): “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” And so they and their descendants searched the skies for hundreds of years looking for a sign that the King of Kings had come. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced and came seeking the one who was born king of the Jews. We don’t know exactly how far they traveled, but it is likely that they came from 500 to 1000 miles away. Imagine traveling that far on the back of a camel. And for sure it was a long and difficult trip across the desert. Give these men credit. They really wanted to come and worship Jesus. They were serious seekers. Compare them with the religious chief priests and teachers of the law. They were not the least bit interested. They didn’t care about the star because they didn’t read the Word. And they wouldn’t travel (6) miles down the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to check out what was happening. They weren’t willing to make the effort to see if what they had heard was true. Are you seeking the “Star of the King’ or the stars on the silver/slimy screen…amen or ouch. The void in you desires to be filled. There are a lot of ways to fill that emptiness. But there’s only one way to fill it in a way that will satisfy and last. That void is because of sinful mankind’s separation from God. God sent Jesus to fill that void. He came to earth as a man, lived a perfect life, died for our sins and rose from the dead. He offers you forgiveness, fulfillment and peace happiness. What you have to do is first to recognize that you have sinned against him. Ask him to forgive you for your sins and be the Lord of your life. Your life will never be the same and you will be on the road to being a wise man. You need to go another way.
For many of us, we’ve made that commitment. But it’s important that we continue to seek him, to know him each day and to know his word. We for sure changed roads and direction. But we find ourselves swerving, slipping or even taking detours. The straight and narrow seems way too straight and narrow.
“Wise Guys” still serve Him…
The magi came to worship. They stopped in Jerusalem to find out exactly where Jesus could be found...SEEKERS There they met King Herod. He must have been enraged but envious by their question and statement. “Where is he who is born king of the Jews??? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.” “Born King of the Jews???” Kings are not born. Herod had to murder, commit acts of deceit and treachery in order to become king. Who in the world could be born a king??? And why would he have a star??? Because He is “The Bright And Morning Star”. And why would these men want to worship a baby??? Herod must have been beside himself. But he kept calm and tried to make a deal with the magi. ‘”Tell me where he is so that I too, can come to worship.” The magi knew through divine intervention that he was lying to them. But now they had a choice. Who would they serve??? The little baby born King of the Jews or murderous Herod??? After all, if they served Herod, he might reward them greatly. Jesus was just a baby. Maybe they could worship and serve him later is life. Maybe they could serve Herod now and Jesus later. Maybe they could have the best of both worlds, have their cake and eat it, too. But that’s not what they did. They went to worship the baby Jesus. I’m reminded of the words of the great Anglican Bishop, J. C. Ryle, who said of these men, “We read of no greater faith than this in all the Bible. It is a faith that deserves to be placed side by side with that of the penitent thief. The thief saw one dying the death of a malefactor and yet prayed to him and called him ‘Lord.’ The wise men saw a newborn babe on the lap of a poor woman, and yet they worshipped him and confessed that he was the Christ.” And then when God warned them supernaturally in a dream and they understood what he wanted them to do, they were faithful to serve him regardless of the danger of disobeying the murderous King Herod. Warned of God…should not return. The verb “warned” means to give a response to one who asks or consults. So, they received an answer from the Great God of Heaven while they slept.
Friend, are you in the battle of serving. Yourself, your job, your career. What are you spending time serving??? In service of and for our King Jesus is our duty as His child. If not you need to go another way.
“Wise Guys” still worship Him…
Are you a wise man or woman??? Are you spending time worshipping him??? I’m not just talking about your devotion and commitment to church. You can attend church and still not worship. Worship involves praising God both in speaking and in singing. Worship involves hearing the word of God taught and responding by changing our lives (going another way). And worship involves giving of our gifts to God. How are you doing in your worship??? True heart felt, heart let worship. Are you taking time to praise, to confess, to study His Word and to grow??? Are you giving generously, extravagantly to God’s work? Giving is an act of worship. Are you a giver??? Give you as a gift to the Lord. I’m sure if you would ask Jesus what He want for Christmas He would say: “YOU…ALL OF YOU”!!! If you’re not, you need to go another way.
In closing let us pray for you my friend. Father, I ask you to bless my friends right now. Lord, let this message penetrate their hearts and realize that you have a plan a destiny for their life. Challenge them by your Spirit. Give them faith to believe in who they are in YOU. It’s my and I know your desire Lord that they have been challenged to change their life. For sure they have been challenged2Bchanged. In Jesus Name...Amen
God Bless,
Mike & Carole
