SERMON: THE HAND ON THE TABLE

17 January 2016

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Mark 14:12-21

Mark 14:12-21 (NIV)

12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.

14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'

15 He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve.

18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me--one who is eating with me."

19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"

20 "It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me.

21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

            -- to paraphrase from a devotional I read this week, “anyone who believes all dogs go to heaven has never had a German shorthaired pointer”¹

            -- not long after Kim and I started dating, I fell in love with German shorthaired pointers -- or maybe I should say, I fell in the love with the idea of a German shorthaired pointer

            -- to me, they were the ideal dog -- versatile dogs that you could take quail hunting in the morning or hog hunting in the evening -- tough as nails -- short hair -- docked tail -- easy care -- better retrievers even than labradors or golden retrievers

            -- these were dogs who could go anywhere and do anything -- who could stay out in the field and never get tired -- and as I was starting my career as a wildlife biologist, I had these visions of being in the field with a loyal German shorthaired pointer there at my side -- tracking big game and doing research on quail -- but little did I know the truth about this breed

            -- so Kim indulges my fads and fancies, and the very first present she ever gave me was a German shorthaired pointer puppy I called Hawk -- and I loved that dog, but it bothered me that every time I would go out with a bunch of people, Hawk would leave me and follow them -- even when I called him back, he wouldn’t come -- Kim said it was because I was trying to make him obey and do what is right, and since he was a puppy, he just wanted to rebel, but eventually he’d come around -- he didn’t -- he actually wandered off one day and never came back and I never saw him again

            -- but by that time, I was convinced this was the breed for me -- and Kim and I had made acquaintances with a nationally known breeder in Lawrenceville and when she had a litter of really nice puppies, I agreed to buy one without even asking Kim first -- and so begins the story of Angel

            -- never, never name a dog Angel -- especially a German shorthaired pointer -- if I thought my first dog had a rebellious streak, he had nothing on this hell-hound -- Angel was strong-willed, obstinate, rebellious to a fault -- she was going to do what she wanted and it didn’t matter whether you yelled “No” at the top of your voice or you ran her down and whipped her -- I tried every dog-training trick in the book, and nothing worked -- this dog refused to obey and continued on a willful path of destruction and rebellion

            -- I just want to share with you one story about Angel that just really sums up who this dog was

            -- we were taking Angel to be bred in Atlanta to a very high quality dog -- I was driving her down from Tennessee to Atlanta in the back of the Isuzu pickup with camper top I used to own -- Kim asked me to stop along the way and pick up some special dog food she had ordered and to deliver a couple bags in Atlanta and bring the rest home

            -- Angel had a problem with food -- she would eat anything and everything she could -- She once ate 40 pounds of dog food in one sitting before we found her -- so I said to Kim, “Where am I supposed to put 400 pounds of dogfood?” -- Kim said, “Just put it in the back with Angel -- it’s in a sealed bag, she won’t mess with it”

            -- now we had to lock the camper top to keep it closed -- so after I loaded the dogfood at the store, I put Angel back in the truck, and locked the camper top and dropped the keys in my pocket -- and I am telling the truth here

            -- that dog looked at me through the back glass -- and then she looked down at the dog food bags she was standing on in the back of the truck -- and then she looked at me again -- I believe that dog realized I couldn’t get to her as fast as she could get to that dog food -- and we both knew it

            -- I said, “No -- Angel, No” -- and she looked at me for one more second and then dove head first into that dog food, ripping the bag open with her teeth and her claws -- and just started gobbling food up

            -- all the while I’m yelling, “No,” and beating on the glass and trying to get the key out of my pocket so I could stop this dog from killing herself -- I finally got the back open and had to drag the dog out of the truck, with her steadily crunching dog food the whole way -- she ended up riding in the front of the truck with me all the way to Atlanta, looking mournfully through the sliding glass window at the dog food laying in the back

II.  Prone to Wander

            -- now this message is not really just about German shorthaired pointers -- but I bring all this up about Angel because I see in her who we are as Christians

            -- it reminds me of the story of Robert Robinson, the author of the hymn, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" -- there’s a stanza in that hymn that speaks of our tendency to do and to be just like a German shorthaired pointer in the back of the truck standing on dog food

            -- Robinson wrote: "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it -- prone to leave the God I love -- here's my heart, O take and seal it -- seal it for thy courts above"

            -- that’s us -- even as Christians, we are still prone to wander away from God -- prone to leave the God we love and to do what He would not want us to do -- even as He calls to us through His word and through His Spirit and says, “No, don’t do that” -- we look at Him and start tearing open the bags of sin we’re standing on and start gobbling up that which is not good for us

            -- it’s like the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15-20

Romans 7:15-20 (NIV)

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.

17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.

20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

            -- just as Robinson said in his hymn, the Apostle Paul cries out in these verses and laments, “prone to wander, Lord, I feel it -- prone to leave the God I love”

            -- like it or not, this is who we are -- just like Robert Robinson -- just like the Apostle Paul -- all of us have this tendency in our lives to wander away -- to drift from God and from His word

            -- it’s so easy to see this time of the year -- how many of you made New Year’s resolutions? -- I did -- I had gained a few pounds over Thanksgiving and Christmas and I was going to buckle down and really lose that weight and even drop down to a goal I had set -- 2016 was going to be the year that I got into shape again -- and here we are at Day 17 and I haven’t lost a pound -- in fact, I have gained 6 pounds since I started my New Year’s resolution -- left to my own devices, I give in to sin every single time

            -- but here’s the good news -- Jesus knows -- Jesus knows that we have this tendency in our lives and so He warns us about it in His word

III.  Scripture Lesson: Surely, not I (Mark 14:12-21)

            -- look back at this passage in the Book of Mark

           

            -- Mark 14:12-16

Mark 14:12-16 (NIV)

12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.

14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'

15 He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

            -- in this passage, we read Mark's account of the Last Supper -- Jesus and His disciples were getting ready to celebrate the Passover meal -- and since they were just visitors to Jerusalem, His disciples didn't know where they would be holding the meal

            -- so Jesus told them to go into the city and they would find a man carrying jars of water -- they were to follow him home and say to the owner of the house, `The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."

            -- so the disciples went on their way and found everything just as Jesus said -- they got the upper room in that house ready and now the 13 of them were relaxing around the table, sharing together the Passover Seder -- the traditional Jewish meal held each Passover

            -- but rather than being a time of joyous celebration, you get the sense that there was a pall over that evening -- a foreshadowing of the events to come

            -- verse 17-21

17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve.

18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me--one who is eating with me."

19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"

20 "It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me.

21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

            -- now, we all know the end of the story -- we all know that it was Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus into the hands of the high priest for 30 pieces of silver -- that it was Judas Jesus was primarily talking about -- but I think He’s saying more here than just calling Judas out -- I think there is a message for us, if we will but listen

            -- when Jesus tells His chosen disciples in verse 18 that one of them will betray Him, look at their response -- verse 19

19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"

            -- "surely not I?"

            -- Jesus was pointing out to them something that every single one of the disciples knew deep down in their heart -- every single one of those disciples -- Peter, James, John -- all of them -- asked Jesus that same question, “surely not I?”

            -- because every single one of them knew the truth that each of us knows in our own hearts -- the same truth that Robert Robinson knew in his heart when he penned those words, "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it -- prone to leave the God I love" and when the Apostle Paul wrote, “I do not understand why I do what I do”

            -- regardless of your relationship with Christ -- regardless of your position in the church -- regardless of whether you are a pastor or Sunday School teacher or worship leader or lay leader -- regardless of whether you are a Methodist or a Baptist or an Episcopalian -- we are all just one step away from being Judas -- just one step away from betraying our God

            -- left to our own devices, the normal tendency is for us to wander -- our flesh betrays us -- and so we give into temptation and disobey God and sin against Him -- and the whole point of this message is to make sure you know that

            -- it’s who we are -- it’s what we do -- but, like they say in Alcoholics Anonymous -- admitting you have a problem is the first step to getting better

            -- if we admit it -- if we remember that we are prone to wander -- that we default to disobedience and sin in our lives -- that will help us make better choices in the long run because we will be prepared when confronted with the daily temptations that afflict us all

            -- so how do we stop when we find ourselves drifting away from God -- when we see our resolve giving way?

            -- first, we have to make a choice to follow God and His commands -- John tells us that he wrote his epistle of 1 John so that we might not sin -- sin is a choice, but so is obedience -- in 1 John 2:6, “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did”

            -- so the first step in stopping the slide and the drift away from God is making a firm resolution and commitment to choose to obey rather than disobey

            -- secondly, we need to soften our hearts and to be open to the changes God wants to make in our lives -- we need to let Him mold us and shape us into the men and women He is calling us to be -- to not resist Him, but to work with Him -- Isaiah 64:8 says “We are the clay, You are the Potter; we are the work of Your hand” -- we need to trust God and let Him change us from the inside out

            -- third, we need to take action -- we can’t be passive Christians -- if we remain passive, then our natural bent will take over and we will start to drift away from God -- Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:13-14 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”

            -- since we are aware of our tendency to wander away from God, we need to prepare ourselves against it -- we need to be self-controlled and disciplined in our spiritual lives -- this means clinging to God -- staying in His word -- staying around His people -- talking to God in prayer -- worshiping God with our hearts and our voices -- serving Him with our ends -- the more we stick to God, the less likely we are to wander away

            -- finally, we need to trust God’s grace is greater than our tendency to wander away just as His grace is greater than our sin -- Jude 24 says: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy”

            -- did you hear what God said in that verse? -- God is able to keep us from falling -- God is able to keep us from wandering away -- from drifting into temptation and sin -- God is able...if we let Him -- if we trust Him and His grace to keep us close

            -- God’s grace is sufficient for us and can overcome our flesh and our hearts and our tendency to wander away   -- God wants us to rely on His power to do it through us -- we fail and wander away when we rely on ourselves rather than God

            -- Dave Guzik wrote, "more Christians are defeated on account of self-reliance than on account of Satanic attack" -- and the cartoon character Pogo said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us"

            -- new year’s resolutions fail because they are made in the power of man -- Christians fail because they try to live life in their own strength and their own power -- if we are to live differently and choose a different path, we must choose to live in the power of Christ -- Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”

            -- a maturing faith moves us from self-reliance to God-reliance in all aspects of our spiritual and daily lives -- it is when we begin to rely on God and His grace that we overcome our tendency to turn away from Him in our lives

IV.  Closing

            -- so as I close, let me leave you with this thought -- don’t be like a German shorthaired pointer -- don’t go through life obstinate and continue to resist God and what He wants to do in us and through us

            -- recognize that you are prone to wander -- prone to leave the God you love -- set your mind and your heart against this tendency

            -- take action and stay close to God through His word and His people and through prayer and worship -- resolve to live for Him through His grace and power in this new year and trust Him to see you through

            -- we can overcome our sinful natures through the power of Christ in us -- but we must choose to do so daily

            -- let us pray

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1 Sermon built on devotional, “The Prodigal Beagle,” by Steve Scott, “Faith Afield: A Sportsman’s Devotional”

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?

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.