Saturday, February 27, 2016

SERMON: OUR EPIC QUEST




10 January 2016

I.  Introduction
            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12 (NIV)
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.

            -- yesterday, when I finished the fiction book I was reading, I went to Amazon to look at the list of books I had already purchased for the Kindle to try to figure out what to read next -- if any of you have a Kindle, you know that Amazon is always putting books on sale or putting out free books, and when I see a deal, I go ahead and add them to my library -- and what has happened is I’ve got this huge back-log of books that I’ve got on Amazon that I haven’t read yet -- I originally switched to the Kindle because I was tired of tripping over piles of unread books in my house, but apparently I’ve just replaced the physical books with an equivalent digital pile
            -- anyway, as I was scouring this pile of unread books yesterday and trying to find something that piqued my interest, it occurred to me how many of these books were similar -- no matter the genre -- whether they were Christian fiction or fantasy or just popular fiction -- they all had a common theme -- they all involved a great quest or a great struggle where an unknown hero is called from obscurity to rise up and seek a hidden treasure or rescue a damsel in distress or stand up for righteousness and justice against evil
            -- I finally settled on adding a couple of classics to my Kindle -- Allan Quartermain and King Solomon’s Mine by H. Rider Haggard -- but that idea of an epic quest -- of seeking that which the heart desires most above all -- just kind of stuck with me and I thought about it all night

            -- I firmly believe this desire to seek a great treasure -- this desire for an epic quest in our lives -- is a desire given to us by God -- I think it’s part of His prevenient grace -- this stirring in our hearts, before we even really know Him -- to seek Him -- to find Him
            -- it is this stirring in our hearts that lets us know that we are not complete -- that we are missing something in our lives -- that there is more out there for us, just over the horizon -- and it is this stirring that causes us to get up and put the world to our back and set out on an epic quest to Calvary and the cross of salvation
            -- many hear this call, but few choose to follow -- many feel the stirring in their hearts to go to a distant land as Abram did, but few actually break free of the comfortable and the known to venture out into the unknown and into the wild where Jesus waits -- but for those who do, an epic quest and a grand adventure awaits

II.  Scripture Lesson: The Epic Quest of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12)
            -- this morning, I wanted us to look at a passage in the Bible about men who did hear and respond to this stirring in their hearts -- men who heard the call to travel to distant lands in search of a great treasure and who got up and left all behind to seek out the Savior of the world in the greatest quest of all time -- the quest to find the newborn King of the Jews
            -- so join me now in this familiar passage from Matthew 2 and let’s look at the story of the Magi and their epic quest

            -- verse 1

Matthew 2:1-6 (NIV)
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.'"

            -- several years ago, when I was serving as a Methodist pastor, the Valdosta District of the Methodist Church had an interruption in the force, if you will -- all of a sudden, without any warning at all, a delegation of South Korean Methodists showed up at the District Office to announce they had been sent by God from Korea to serve as missionaries to our region
            -- the District Superintendant was dumb-founded -- he didn’t know what to do with these visitors from the East -- so he called the Bishop up in Macon, and the Bishop didn’t have any idea, either -- everyone thought things were fine -- everyone was happy with the way things were going -- here we were in little old south Georgia, just going along with the flow -- doing our thing and having our normal church services and turning in our annual reports and just basically being comfortable in our religious tradition
            -- so when these visitors show up and basically announce that God has sent them to evangelize to us and shake us up, we didn’t know what to do
            -- that is exactly what is happening in these verses

            -- you see, the story of God’s interactions with man up to this point in history was basically interwoven into the story of the Jews -- from the point where God promises the Messiah to Adam and Eve and then through the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God had called the Jews to be His chosen people -- the ones from whom the Messiah would come -- the ones who were chosen to have the Holy Scriptures -- the ones who were given the Law and the religious traditions that pointed to the coming of the Messiah
            -- and for four thousand years, the Jews had been content in their religion -- they had their services in the temple -- they celebrated the great feasts and offered sacrifices to God to atone of the sins of the people -- they gathered to worship just as God had told them -- and they thought everything was going along fine -- that nothing needed to change -- that if the Messiah did come, that God would let them know
            -- but, all of a sudden, these visitors from the East showed up and said, “So where is the one who was born King of the Jews? -- God sent us a sign and we’ve come to worship Him” -- you can imagine the consternation this caused in Jerusalem -- Matthew tells us in verse 3 that King Herod and all Jerusalem were disturbed by the coming of the Magi -- who were these men who showed up claiming to know more about the Messiah than the religious Jews in Jerusalem? -- what was going on?

            -- let’s answer that -- the Bible tells us these men were Magi from the east -- traditionally, we call them “wise men,” but they were really more than that -- as best we can tell, the Magi were probably priests in the religion of the Persians at that time -- they would have been learned men, knowledgeable in astronomy and astrology -- they would have been men who looked to the heavens for spiritual guidance -- who searched the stars for divine portents and who trusted in a pantheon of gods, seeing their gods as being present in the stars and in the natural occurrences and in the earth around them
            -- more than likely, they would have been familiar with the prophecies of the Jewish people in regards to the coming of the Messiah -- remember that the Magi came from the Persian region -- the same area where the Jews were exiled in captivity for 70 years -- so they probably absorbed some of the teachings of the Jews into their religion during that time

            -- and so, when they noticed a strange star to their west over the land of the Jews, they immediately made the connection to the Jewish prophecy of the Messiah -- they saw what the Jews missed -- they realized this star portended the birth of a new and mighty king -- the king of the Jews
            -- this star was God’s call to the Magi to start their epic quest -- not so much just a physical quest to travel the 1200 miles from Persia to Jerusalem -- but the quest for the truth -- the search for the true God who had come to the save the world from its sins
            -- the Magi don’t know the true purpose of their quest at this point -- all they know is a sign has appeared and a king has been born and it is a momentous occurrence, so they loaded up their camels and headed west as the star directed
            -- and that’s important to remember, because when God calls us to seek Him on our epic quest, He rarely tells us the whole plan -- think about Abram -- all he had to go on was God’s call to leave his home and go to the land that God would show him -- it wasn’t until much later, after Abram responded in faith to the call to seek the Promised Land, that God made His covenant with Abraham
            -- epic quests begin with a single step -- epic quests begin when you hear the call and take that first step towards God
            -- it was the same way with the Magi -- God called the Magi to seek out the newborn king of the Jews by sending them a star -- and so they stepped out in faith on a long and harrowing journey, not really sure of who or what they would find, but trusting in the One who sent them

            -- it’s interesting to note that it was the Magi who saw the star and not the Jews -- that same star the Magi noticed in the east was right there in the skies over Jerusalem, but nobody noticed -- not the king -- not the priests -- not the people -- no one
            -- epic quests can only begin when we hear and see the call of God -- when we notice the star leading us on -- are you looking for God’s star in this new year? -- are you listening for His call to come and follow Him where He leads? -- God is constantly calling us to join Him on epic quests -- to join Him where He is working -- but we can only do so if we are looking and listening and expecting His call
            -- and when that call comes, we must do as the Magi and respond in faith and take that first step into the unknown to seek that which God promises

            -- skip down to verse 9

Matthew 2:9-12 (NIV)
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.

            -- after Herod meets secretly with the Magi to try to fool them into revealing the location of the newborn, they realize the people of Israel are clueless -- and so the Magi continue their quest on their own -- they follow the star to Bethlehem and find the house where Mary and Joseph and Jesus were staying
            -- it appears that their quest has come to an end, but it is at this moment that the true purpose of their quest comes to light
            -- in the church we celebrate the coming of the Magi on January 6th, a day we call Epiphany -- that name was not chosen at random -- an epiphany is typically defined as a manifestation or revealing or a divine or supernatural being -- so our Epiphany on January 6th is the day we celebrate the revealing of Jesus as the newborn King of the Jews -- as the Messiah
            -- but the word epiphany has another definition which is applicable here -- an epiphany is defined in the dictionary as a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something -- or, to put it another way, a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way

            -- what we are witnessing in this passage is the epiphany of the Magi -- the moment that God revealed the true purpose of their quest -- the moment He revealed the truth about who Jesus was to these men
            -- as they entered into that little house and witnessed the baby Jesus, in that one moment Matthew tells us the Magi became overjoyed -- they have been transformed from men who simply followed a star seeking a human king to believers worshiping the one true God
            -- their lives have been fundamentally changed -- they are no longer the men they were when they began their quest -- they have been changed forever by the presence of God in Christ
            -- in verse 12, we read that the Magi left for their own country by another road or another route -- obviously, Matthew is talking about the physical route that the Magi took back to their land -- but this statement is also true in a spiritual sense as well
            -- when the Magi came seeking the newborn King of the Jews, they came as pagans -- as Gentiles -- unaware of the One God of Israel -- unaware of the role of the Messiah in redeeming the whole world -- unaware of the promise of a King who would save the world from its sins
      -- they started their epic quest on one road by simply following a star and searching for the king of the Jews -- but when they left, Matthew tells us they left by another road -- the road of faith in the Christ who had been sent to save them
      -- in John 14:6, Jesus told the disciples that He was the Way and the Truth and the Life -- He described Himself as the narrow way and the only gate -- this was the path that the Magi took when they returned to their country -- this epiphany was the culmination of their quest and the first revelation to the world that the Messiah had finally come

III.  Closing
      -- as I close, let me leave you with a couple of principles that we need to remember about epic quests with God

      -- first, never forget that God is always at work around us -- God's work did not end when the Bible was written -- it did not end when the apostles all passed away -- it did not end when the Magi finally found Jesus -- God continues to work in the world today through the presence of His Holy Spirit in the church
      -- one of the signs of a maturing Christian -- of someone who is starting to grow in their faith -- is that they start to notice things -- they begin to see and hear the call of God -- they look at the world and they see the fingerprints of God all around them -- the signs of His presence and His work in the people they come into contact with
      -- and when they see these signs of God -- when they see God at work -- they recognize that these are epiphanies -- revelations and insights from God to them and invitations to join Him in His work to make Jesus known to others

      -- secondly, never forget that God still speaks to us today -- God still reveals Himself and His ways and His purposes through the Bible, through prayer, through circumstances and through the church -- we don’t want to be like the people in Jerusalem in this passage, who missed the Messiah because they weren’t looking for the star that was right above them -- who missed the Messiah because they weren’t listening for God’s revelation in their lives
      -- 2 Tim 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." -- God continues to reveal Himself and His ways through the Scriptures and through His people
      -- God wants us to know Him and to hear Him and to join Him in His work -- and, as 2016 begins in earnest, we need to actively look for God -- we need to actively listen for God -- we need to see where He is working and join Him -- we need to hear His voice and obey Him by taking that first step of faith on our epic quest

      -- we should be like the wise men in this passage -- we should be actively searching for Jesus -- listening for His voice -- looking for His presence -- so that we can learn new truths about Him and be filled with a desire to go forth and share the message of Christ with others
      -- not only with our words, as we witness to them who Jesus is and what He has done for us -- but also with our hands, as we share the love of Christ with others in tangible ways through our service and love to them
      -- when the Magi left home, they didn’t know exactly what they were seeking -- they didn’t know what God was going to do to them or how He wanted to use them -- but when they finally saw Jesus face-to-face, they knew -- they had their epiphany -- and they were never the same

      -- my prayer is that each of you embark on an epic quest this year -- and that 2016 will mark the time when your life and the lives of those around you are forever changed through the experience of this new journey with Christ
      -- seek Jesus as the wise men did -- search for Him with your whole heart -- and let Him change you in this new year -- let Him use you as He did the wise men -- step out on your epic quest, and do great things for Him

      -- let us pray

A FORM OF GODLINESS...

"For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail." -- Acts 5:38

In speaking of the acts of the apostles following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, Gamaliel, one of the leaders in the Sanhedrin, spoke the words above in the great council of the Jews. He was cautioning the Jews to not be heavy handed with the apostles, for fear that the people might revolt. Besides, he says, if what they are doing is of human origin, it will fail and we won't have to worry about it. He goes on in verse 39 to say, "But, if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men."

Reading this passage this morning from the Book of Acts made me pause and consider the things we do in the church. Are our purposes and activities -- are the things we do in church today -- truly from God or are their purposes and activity of human origin? Are we wasting our time and God's resources on human plans and activities that are doomed to failure?

Years ago, Nancy Leigh DeMoss asked the question in a broadcast that has haunted me ever since: "If the Holy Spirit were removed from the American churches today, would we even notice?" In other words, without the presence of God, would we just continue on with our purposes and activities with business as usual -- still having the same programs and committee meetings and gatherings? This was certainly the case with the Jewish "church" in the apostolic age, where God's presence had been removed from them but they continued on with the same practices and meetings, just in their own power.

We need to stop from time to time to consider the things we do, both as a church and as individual Christians. Are we moving forward to do the things of God as He has directed and in His power, or are we merely pressing onward with a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof (2 Tim 3:5)? Instead of living our lives as God directs, are we continuing in vain to accomplish our own plans, purposes, and activities without His support or strength?

Saturday, February 20, 2016

What is your answer?

"The answer is 'Yes.' Now what's the question?"

Craig Groeschel told the story of a man greeting his pastor at the back door of the church after the service for three consecutive weeks with this sentence. Instead of the usual, "Good sermon," this man would reply, with emotion in his voice, "The answer is 'Yes.' Now what's the question?"

After the third week, the pastor was curious and asked to meet with the man for coffee. The next day they met, and the man explained his response at the door. "I have been saved. I have found grace through Jesus. My life is different. I am different. And from now on, the answer to anything Jesus wants me to do is 'Yes.' So, pastor, what's the question? What do you need? A friend at 2 am? Yes. The grass at the church mowed? Yes. For me to carry food to someone who is hungry? Yes. The answer is 'Yes.' Now what's the question?"

Are we willing to say the same to Jesus with our lives? Are we willing to stand up and tell Jesus, "The answer is 'Yes.' Now what's the question?"

Something to think about this week as we prepare to gather for worship on Sunday and to serve our God and Savior.