Starting Right: Keeping First Things First

Learning from the Wise Men.

January 2^nd 2011

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Page 1789

New Years is a time of resolutions and setting direction so I wanted to connect to that today. Where are you at in your health, wealth, relationships and walk with God, where do you want to be, and how do you plan on getting there? What is the goal and direction of your life?

Last week we looked at the second coming of Jesus and the week before we looked at Jesus’ birth. In those two sermons I mentioned Jesus’ impact on the Magi (astronomers) who travelled from the east to meet with Jesus by following the star. As we begin today I want us to learn some lessons from their journey which I had picked up reading the Purpose Driven Life Devotionals last week.

If you want to be wise this year, you must do the same things the wise men did.

First, they were seekers of the truth. The wise men really, really wanted to know the truth. They weren't going to put off finding out the truth about God.

You see how they asked, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" The only way they could know this truth is that they had studied the Scriptures. That’s the only way they could know about the prediction that a Messiah, a Savior, the Christ would be born. 

You know the saying, ‘Wise men still seek Jesus today.’ Are you seeking Jesus?  Wise men and wise women still seek him. In fact, there are generally two kinds of people in life when it comes to truth: speculators and seekers. 

Speculators say, "Yeah, I want the truth," but then they don't really put out any effort to learn it. They won't search for it; instead, they make assumptions. Speculators say things like, "You know, I like to think of God as …" or, "I imagine God in my mind as …" or, "It really helps me to think of God as …."

But it doesn't even matter what they think. For instance, a speculator may think of God as a snow bunny, or Elvis, or the man on the moon – whatever – but the only thing that really matters is who God really is – what matters is the truth.

Seekers, on the other hand, take the time and the trouble to discover the truth. The Bible says if we seek Jesus with all our hearts, we will find him. If you focus on finding him, you cannot miss him. God will not let you miss him if you are that serious about seeking him.

The wise men were willing to go to any length to find the truth. You will become wise if you do the same this year.

The wise men did not stop until they met Jesus. The Bible says they finally came to the place where Jesus was.  Have you done that yet?  Have you come to the point in your life where you've met Jesus personally?  Who do you know who has not?

If you haven't, you are still on the journey. If you haven't met him face-to-face yet, don't stop seeking, keep on going.

A lot of people start off asking the important questions of life: 'Who am I? Where am I?  Where did I come from?  Where am I going? Does my life have meaning?  Is there a purpose?  What is the significance of it all?' 

These are important questions. But if you don't keep seeking the answers, pretty soon you get distracted by other things, even important things, like your career or education. But when people do that, they have trouble getting back on the journey. Many people spend the rest of their lives missing the very purpose they were created for.

Like the wise men, don't stop seeking until you meet Jesus. Where do you find Jesus?  The same place the wise men did -- in the ordinary. You find him in the problems of life, not in the spectacular.  You find him in the stuff of life, in the stalls and the stables where it's smelly and where life is being born.

One reason the wise men were wise is because they came to Jesus for the right reason. They were seekers of the truth. And they would go to any length to find Jesus, but they came to worship Jesus.

There are people today who don't love Jesus; they just use Jesus. Politicians use Jesus to get votes. Business leaders use Jesus to get a blessing on their business. Marketers use Jesus to sell a product. People use Jesus for their own selfish reasons.

We often ask, 'What can Jesus do for me,' as if he's a vending machine. We act as if God is a giant genie -- just rub the lamp and whatever your wish is his command. But God is not your genie. He is your God. He's in charge. He has the right to tell you what to do, not vice versa.

So the wise men came for the right reason.  They didn't come to get something from Jesus; they came to show gratitude, to show love, to show honor, to show respect.

They gave Jesus the best they had.  They didn't give him their leftovers. They didn't give him lip service. They didn't give him a gift card.  They thought through what to give him. The three presents that the wise men brought had very important significance –

Gold is the gift you give to Kings. In days of old, tribute was paid by bringing gold to the king.  It was the most precious metal of the time and so the wise men are presenting it as a gift to the king.

Frankincense was a kind of incense, used to worship God in the temple. So the wise men are saying this baby, Jesus, is not only king, he is also God. He is worthy of being worshipped.

Myrrh was a spice used to embalm the dead. Now that's an unusual gift for a baby: the spice put on a dead body before wrapping it in linens. So the wise men, by their gifts, acknowledged that Jesus is God Incarnate, he is king, and he is going to die. Jesus is the savior of the world and he has come to die for our sins.

Even before Jesus said his first word, it was known that, 'This is the Savior who will die for the sins of the world.'

In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 on Page 1789 Paul speaks of getting first things first by focusing on Jesus instead of ourselves. In order for us to have a good year and become the people that we want to be in our health, wealth, relationships, and walk with God we need to focus on Jesus as Paul reminds the church at Corinth in these verses.

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.

6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Be wise and seek the truth. Do not just speculate, read and study God’s word for yourself and with others. We are here for one another.

Get to know Jesus and deepen your relationship with Him. Come to worship Him. Move past the superficial, and make this relationship the priority, and it will help all of your other connections. Draw near to Him in Worship.

Give Him the best that you have. Our lives are about bringing Him glory, not about Him fulfilling our selfish wishes. He is God and we are not! Let’s worship Him as he deserves.