Well, good morning, everyone. Good morning and welcome to Old Providence Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. What a wonderful thing it is to gather together here in this place that the Lord has provided this warm, bright place so that we can come together, not just as individuals, but as the family of God, as the bride of Christ and All those other terms used to describe the fact that we are not alone, but instead that we are united in Christ. And so we come now, united in Christ, to worship Him. But first, let me just point you to your bulletin for some quick announcements, like the fact that the session and the deacons are meeting this afternoon at 3 p.m. for a joint meeting. That'll be next door in Providence Hall. Also, other things are rolling again, like daily devotionals every morning at 6 a.m. Don't worry. You don't have to wake up at 6 a.m. They're available. Well. until we get censored again and they're taken down, which to that end, if you've noticed that some of the services lately have vanished, most of our disputes have been accepted and they're back online now, but we've been facing some censorship issues, but we should be in good shape. Now, let's see, other things going on. Prayer meeting and Bible study will resume 6.45 on Wednesday night. Sorry we didn't have it this past week. It was like a skating rink in our parking lot. If you're familiar with the place, you'll know that kind of this side doesn't really get a lot of sunlight, Well, that's what happens. But we're really grateful for the deacons working so hard yesterday to get our parking lot in shape so that we can meet today. Now, other things. Speaking of Wednesday night, I'd love to see you there. It is in-depth Bible study. We're going into the Scriptures heavily. In Hebrews, it's interactive, not just another sermon. So we'd love to see you at 645 Wednesday. Other things are going on, too. But, y'all, stuff is always going on, and my mind is running here and there and everywhere. Like last week, I totally and completely forgot, even though Elizabeth came to me right before and said, hey, I've got an announcement. I said, OK, I'll call on you. I didn't. So Elizabeth, please make your announcement. Good morning, everyone. I just want to give a quick announcement about tonight. We would like to welcome all Little Bears and Youth Group families to Old Providence from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. We are going to have a family day night and other dish dinner. So what we're asking is you will bring your family's favorite organ or your two of your family's favorite organs and also a dish to share with everyone. Thank you very much, Elizabeth. Now, like I said, there are other things going on, but I'm going to let you find those in your bulletins. Again, I welcome you, especially our visitors after the service. I'll be under the portico right out that away, and I'd love to meet you. Again, it's the Lord that's given us this time, y'all. Do you realize that? He's given us this time, calling us together so that we can worship Him. So, let's prepare our hearts for worship as Donna leads us in the prelude. Our call to worship this morning is not found in the book of Psalms like it normally is, but instead it's in Isaiah chapter 60. And the reason for this is over the last several weeks as we focused on Advent, certainly we've been focusing on the incarnation of our Lord, how God came near. But in this, we see an invitation for us. In fact, in Isaiah 60, we're invited to join the ranks as it were, to come and worship Jesus the Christ In Isaiah chapter 60 verse 1 it says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you. For look, darkness will cover the earth and total darkness the peoples, but the Lord will shine over you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations will come to your light and kings to shine brightness. Raise your eyes and look around. They all gather and come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters on the hips of nursing mothers. Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will tremble and rejoice, because the riches of the sea will become yours, and the wealth of the nations will come to you. Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. All of them will come from Sheba. They will carry gold. and frankincense and proclaim the praises of the Lord. My friends, this is written to a Judah that very soon hereafter will be destroyed, to a group of people that will go into exile but to a group of people that are given hope that one day, one day the Savior would come, the Messiah in all of his fullness and greatness and on that day, Oh, the ranks will show up. The world will show up to praise his name. We're reminded of what we learned from Philippians, that at that name, every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And that is what we are here to do today, to come confessing, to come worshiping, to worship Jesus the Christ. So with these things in mind, let's go to our Lord in prayer, after which we'll pray the Lord's prayer and confess the Apostles' Creed together. but let's go to him now. Our God and our Father, we praise you for this opportunity, this time that you have given to us, because you know what's best for us, because you love us. You know that you created us to be worshipful, to seek that which we ought to worship. And Father, if it's not you, if we're not guided by your Holy Spirit, if it's not your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, it will be a cheap substitute. So please work in our hearts now, guide us by your spirit, that we would worship you in spirit and in truth, that we would join the ranks of all those that come to proclaim the greatness of Jesus Christ. We pray these things in his name and we also pray now as he taught us to pray by saying, our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. And now as we say the Apostles' Creed together, let me ask you, Christian, what is it that you believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From this he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Amen indeed. And now let's continue our worship by standing, taking our green Bible song books as we sing, well, it's the 100th Psalm, but it's Bible song number 209. Let's stand together as we sing universal praise. Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice, Insert with earth his praise for help, Come ye before him and rejoice. We are His flock, ye come, love'st me, and for His sheep him by his name. Because the Lord our God is good, his mercy is forever sure. His truth at all times firmly stood, and shall from age to age be Thank you, you may be seated. And children, come on down front. Good morning, guys. How are y'all doing today? Good. Did y'all enjoy the show? Yeah. Did y'all go sledding, maybe had some hot chocolate and stuff like that to keep warm? Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry about that. Well, I've got a really great question. I've got a question for you guys. What? A picture, that's right. Specifically, it's a painting, or I believe it's a painting, a mini tabula thing. But, who paints as painting? An artist, that's right. Sorry, sometimes I get bored out of answers up here. But, one thing I wanna, ah, let's see. Sorry, I lost my words there. But, what if I told you that our God is also wonderful? 26 and 27. And then God said, let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, over the livestock, and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, the image of God who created them, male, female, who created them. So, God created humans in his own image. Having a scholar made us is great in many ways. We know how to love, how to create, even what's right and what's wrong. In some ways, it's a lot like a mirror. And he wants us to reflect his image, much like this mirror reflects this handsome image right here. So, some people may disagree with me on that, but we're going to show God's love and kindness and truth to the world, much like a mirror can display a beautiful image as well. masterpiece like yourself, like myself, like this beautiful congregation here, that it will always go along to them. Much like the Mona Lisa will always be known as a work of Leonardo da Vinci, or like our Spider-Man will always be known as a work of Stan Lee. It's all a great masterpiece. Thank you, Will. And as they are being dismissed, let's take this time now to go to our Lord in silent prayer, bringing those things before Him that we need to bring before Him. And then I will lead us in the pastoral prayer. Let's go to Him now. Eternal God and Heavenly Father, again, we come before you praising you for all of your love, your mercy, your grace, your provision, even in giving us this time that we can come together and dwell on who you are, on those things that you have done in ages past, on those things that you are doing right now. in the world around us and in our lives and on those things that you have promised you will do. And we know that you will do them because you're always good to your word. As we reflect on your magnificence, we see your love. Certainly we see your power. We see the way that you intervene in the course of human events and in our own lives. And yet father, as we behold you, As we consider your greatness and your love, we, like the psalmist, must ask that question. Who are we that you are mindful of us? The son of men that you care for us. But as we've just heard, you've created us in your image. And you have called us not, or called yourself not just our God, not just our king, not just our ruler, You have called yourself our father. And in being our father, you understand us better than we understand ourselves. You certainly know better than we do what we need, but you don't limit us to just coming to you with those things we think that we need. As a loving father, you tell us to come with those things that we want. Asking for those blessings because you love to bless. You love to give. No gift is too great for we see. Your generosity and your mercy and your ultimate gift, which is Jesus Christ our Lord. So father, in light of all of these things, would you give us grateful hearts? And in our gratitude, would you spur us on toward faithfulness? Faithfulness in how we interact with one another. Faithfulness in how we approach you. Faithfulness in how we look at the world around us. A world that oftentimes is so confusing and sometimes it's frightening and sometimes it's infuriating. As we survey things that just don't make sense to us and make us ask questions like what's happened to common sense? Father, it's so easy to write the world off instead of taking up this marvelous privilege that you've given to us, this wonderful calling to be your representatives. Yet as we look at the world around us, we know that the world needs you and we know that this calling that we have is very high and important to represent you because, Father, so many are lost. And as terrible things happen, so many look from left to right, up and down, and they don't know what's going on. Things like what's going on right now in California, these wildfires that are so devastating. Oh, it's so easy to point fingers and to blame and to even be tempted to gloat. Father, help us to remember what you called us to be, and that is your representatives. Give us a renewed commitment to prayer for those that are in harm's way, for those that have lost so much. And Father, that's just one example. It wasn't so long ago we were doing this for North Carolina, and we know that many are still hurting there. And we don't even hear about things around the world, tragedies that take place, but we know that they are there, and we know our calling. And that is to be your representatives, to be generous, to give, but also to be quick to proclaim the reason for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. So Father, we pray today for that hope. As you said to the apostle that these three remain faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love. We pray for hope that when life mounts up, when difficulties abound, When we wake up in the morning, I never thought we'd be looking at what we're looking at. And when we don't know which way to go, let us cling to the hope that we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hope that is not vain wishing, but hope that is based on planning, trusting that you're the sovereign one, knowing that you hear our prayers, expecting you to answer because we know that you do. Renew our hope again and again as we look to you. Father, as we face the challenges to this, like physical challenges, like losing loved ones, like life just happening, pull our eyes back to you. Let us awake every day with that desire to see Jesus Christ, seeking him. We pray this not only for ourselves, we pray it for your church universal. Those that you have united us to in Christ, let us all, since we all have the same common goal and privilege and task, let us all be about your business. And we do pray for the world around us, that they would see you in us. And in seeing you, they would turn to you in faith. And we pray all of these things in Christ's name, amen. Now let us continue our worship together by taking our hymn books and turning to number 275 and our red hymn books as we sing Amazing Grace. Please stand with me as we sing number 275. Thus praise the Lord, my God, to Thee, and praise the Lord. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already known His praise and glory. His Word, my hope, saves you. He will my shield and portion be, as long as I live. Let's go to our Lord again. Our Father, it's in light of what we just lifted up that we know that you will our shield and portion be that we now come to you, returning to you out of that abundance that you've given to us. And so we pray now that you would bless these funds for the use of your kingdom, that your kingdom would grow and grow, and we pray it all in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. We have seen the star, and have come to worship Him. We have seen the star, and have come to worship Him. Great joy, we rejoice with thee singing. Great joy, great joy. Great joy, we rejoice with thee singing. Great joy. We have heard your hymns in the grove. We rejoice with exceeding great joy. We rejoice with exceeding great joy. We rejoice with exceeding great joy. ♪ We will bring good news and be of good cheer ♪ ♪ Great joys we'll exceed, great joy, great joy, great joy ♪ ♪ Great joys we'll exceed, great joy, great joy, great joy ♪ Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Thank you very much, choir. You know, of the defining characteristics for the people of God, joy ought to be at the highest, really, of all the things that ought to describe who we are and what we have. Remember, joy is not always the same as happiness. It can manifest itself in happiness, but instead that joy is the enduring knowledge that God is sovereign and the trust and the comfort that we find from that. So thank you very much, choir, for that. Well, did it feel better today? I wonder. Some of you gave me some really odd looks last week when we were singing Christmas carols again in January. I hope it did. I could sing them every week. I've told you before, I love Christmas, all of it. By the way. 347 days to go until Christmas. Just I looked it up. So be aware right now 347 But the reason I bring this up is because if you were here last week You'll know that we focused on the story of the wise men because January the 6th this past week was Epiphany. Yes Epiphany not as in a light bulb going off where you say I've had an epiphany not not that kind of But instead, epiphany, as in that moment in time when Christ was revealed to the Gentiles. Which is very important, y'all. Most likely, you are one. A Gentile, that is. I'm one, too. Mostly, at least. My great-grandmother being Jewish, but still. As I said last week, what a wonderful thing it is, epiphany. Realize, as we learned from John 1, Jesus came unto his own, but his own wouldn't receive him. But instead of stopping there, instead of saying, oh, okay, you people won't have me. I guess I'll just go back to glory. No. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Jesus didn't just come for one ethnicity, one people group. Instead, as we know from his word, he came for the whole world. That's why God gave his one and only son. But this isn't the only reason that we began examining this story last week. We did so because of the warning that I gave you. Remember it? I've given you this warning several times. I've told you in the past, be careful with the Bible stories you think you know, all right? And I've said that because it's those stories that are most familiar to us, like the story of the wise men that everybody knows about. It's those stories that oftentimes have things in them that we miss. or that pose questions that we can't answer because we think we know the story really well. And sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. And since last week to that end, several of you have reached out and I really appreciate your encouraging words. You said things to me like I've never heard those things before. I did not know the answer to those questions. If you were here last week, you'll know we were detectives, right? And we asked the who, the what, the when, and the where, and so forth of this story in Matthew chapter two. And we're picking up with that this week. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Matthew two with me. That's where we're gonna be again. And what we found to these questions or answers to these questions is some really interesting things. For instance, we found out that the wise men were Persian astronomers, okay? They weren't magicians, they weren't sorcerers, they weren't Chinese even. Remember, orient is a term, it's a broad term used for anything in Asia. including places like Turkey, Persia, Iran, so forth, right? Which is where they came from, Persia. And we know that because we know what they're called in the Bible. They're given this name, Magi, okay? And we talked about other things last week, like how many there were. And I know, I know you might say, is this guy not hurt? Three, well, we say there's three because of the three gifts, right? Bible doesn't say there were three. I don't have any problem with that though. We talked about when they came, which wasn't really the night that Jesus was born, couldn't have been. And furthermore, here's a big one. We talked about this, or we just started to. We call them wise men, but why are they called wise men? Because that's not in the Bible. That's a term that we've invented for them. You might say, really? Well, there's some English translations that include the word wise in there. You don't really find that in the Greek. What we do find in the Greek is this. This is magos, right? It's Greek. The plural form, like I said last week, of magos is magi, right? Kind of like the plural form of malfris is malfrai, okay? That's just how it works. But that's what we get in the Bible is magos. That's the only term. So why are they called wise men? We saw the big picture answer to this question and that's what we're gonna pick up with this week. But I even asked some other questions too that we didn't get to last week. I left things kind of on a cliffhanger on purpose. I asked things like, oh, I don't know, how do Persians show up? How do they know to show up and how do they know anything about the King of the Jews? Why do they know that the star that was in the sky was the Messiah star? How did they know that there was a Messiah? How did they know where the star was going to be and what significance it was? And as we'll read in a moment, why did the wise men know this stuff? And King Herod, the appointed king of the Jews, didn't. Why was Jerusalem troubled over these things? And yet these Persian astronomers show up not troubled, they show up to worship. Lots of questions, y'all, lots of questions for this Bible story that we really think that we know. And I think there's some humdingers in there, especially given the fact that we think we know the story so well. If you don't, you will after today. But first, let's read their story again. We're in Matthew chapter two. And like last week, I'm using the New American Standard Version today because it does the best job translating the Greek. But before we read anything, let's go to the Lord in prayer because we need it. God and our Father, as we come into this time, please be with us. Guide us by your Holy Spirit as we talk about some things that are a little puzzling, as we look at questions that don't have an immediate answer in your word, and yet they're questions that revolve around the story that we think we know. So Father, we pray that you would work in our hearts and minds that this time wouldn't just be about detective work and finding some anecdotal information, but instead that we would be convicted by it. That we would not only hear the answers to these questions, but so that we would see why this is so important. And we can't do that without you. So please guide us now by your Holy Spirit. And we pray all of these things in Christ's name. Amen. Now Matthew chapter 2 beginning in verse 1, hear now the word of the Lord. It says, Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet, and you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod secretly called for the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search carefully for the child. And when you have found him, report to me so that I too may come worship him. After hearing the king, they went on their way and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the child was to be found. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And after they came into the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the Magi left for their own country by another way. Thus ends the story of the wise men. May God bless the reading of His holy, inerrant, and infallible word. Amen and amen. Alrighty, so getting back to it, I know I asked a lot of questions and hopefully we will get to all of them today because the fact of the matter is that the story of the Magi, the wise men, is so rich in what we see from the example they leave and also rich in what we can learn about God's faithfulness. So, we're going to dig in exactly where we left off with that first really big question. Why are the Magi called wise men? If the Bible doesn't call them wise men, why do we call them wise, okay? The big picture answer, which is what we kind of ended with last week, and this is the first thing on your paper if you're filling out the little paper there, right? But it's this. They're called wise men because they came to worship the Christ. That's why they're called wise men, because they came to worship the Christ. Now, as I said last week, if your response to this is, really? That's it? That's why they're called wise? Well, like I did last week, I'll do it again this week. I challenge you. Think about it. Really and truly think about it. What could possibly be more wise than to drop everything to worship the Christ? The one who brings salvation. The one who is the sacrifice for sins. The one who makes sure that you have right standing before God. The one who guarantees your admittance into heaven for all eternity. What could be more wise than that? What could be more wise than stopping to worship the agent of creation himself? Because nothing was made, we know from John 1, nothing was made that wasn't made through him. The one, as I talked about from Philippians, who has received all dominion, who is all powerful and all glorious. What possible thing could be more important than that? More wise. Well, the fact is we come up with lots of answers, don't we? Bad weather could be more important. The church might be too far away. The church might take too much time when the preacher goes on a little too long. But as we think about church maybe taking too much time and too far away and too this and too that. Remember who the wise men were? They were Persian. That means that they came from what is modern day Iran. Do you know what that means? The best route that they could have taken would have been roughly 1,200 miles to find Jesus. Or maybe it's something else than church is too hard. Maybe you got too much going on, you're too busy. These wise men left life as they knew it. Maybe it's something to do with the kids, travel balls, so forth, right? And I love this, y'all. I've never worked out the math, but it's gotta be pretty correct here, right? This was put up at a church. There's a 0.0296% chance that your child will become a professional athlete. There is a 100%, and I don't like the word chance, it's a reality. that your child will stand before Jesus. So get them to church. Y'all, I don't mean to go from preaching to meddling here, but the first example we see from the wise man is an example, or the wise man is an example on priorities. This is the next thing on your paper if you're filling it up. There is nothing more important than worshiping Jesus. Nothing, period. And certainly there's nothing wiser that you can do. Now, that's the big picture answer to why the wise men are called wise, but there's more to it than just this. And it revolves around some of those questions that I asked before, such as how they even know that there is a Messiah or who the Messiah was, the king of the Jews and so forth. We just read it, but look at it again. Right? The first two verses. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. Again, how did these Persian astronomers know that there was a coming king of the Jews who was the Messiah? How did they know that the star wasn't just some star, not just a star? They said it, that it was His star. The Messiah, how could they know? Well, are you ready for this? Because, y'all, when I first found this, I'm going to tell you, it blew my mind, really and truly. Y'all, the wise men knew. Here it is. Are you ready? The wise men knew about the star for the same reason they knew about the gifts. They knew that the star that they saw rising out of the east, the star that they were following, they knew that it was his star, the king of the Jews, for the same reason they knew to bring gold and frankincense and myrrh. We didn't even get to that question yet. I didn't even ask that question. How did these Persian astronomers know what gifts to bring? I mean, was it just random? Right? They still have baby magazines, right? I see Benson over there. Katie, I'm sure you get the baby magazine things, right? Yeah, all these top trending gifts for toddlers. Was it in Babylon Weekly baby magazine that it was frankincense, gold and myrrh, the hit gifts of the season? Obviously not. I am joking a little bit here, but seriously, the star, the frankincense, gold and myrrh, how did they know? I'll tell you how. I already said it. These wise men, these Persian astronomers knew about the star and they knew what gifts to bring because they knew passages like Isaiah 60 verse 6 that we've read already, that they will bring gold and frankincense and will bear good news of the praises of the Lord. They knew that the star that rose was not just any star. They knew it was his star. They knew it was the star that belonged to the king of the Jews because they knew numbers 2417 that says a star shall come forth from Jacob. They also knew that the star was his star because of places like Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 9 and Micah 5 and all the other place where Jesus is prophesied throughout the book of Isaiah and so many other places. But that brings us to another really important question, doesn't it? If all of these things are contained in Old Testament scripture, if that's how they knew It still doesn't make much sense, does it? These aren't Jews. They're Persians. They're astronomers. So how did they know what was in the Bible? Well, my friends, if you've been here with us for some time, you know how they know because you see approximately 600 years before Jesus was ever born, a man named Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian war machine swept in and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple right along with it, sacked all of Judah to be precise. We talked about this when we went through Ezra not too terribly long ago. Israel in the north had been destroyed approximately 750 years before Jesus was born too. And with their destruction, came the dispersing of God's true people, not just ethnic Jews, but real Jews, real believers who took God's word with them into exile, who took Isaiah and the other books of the Old Testament with them. Now, you might still be saying, okay, fine, but that was Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon that destroyed Jerusalem and took God's people captive. What does that have to do with Persia? Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon did indeed destroy Jerusalem, but Persia ended up coming through and destroying the Babylonian Empire. It was none other than Cyrus the Great, emperor of Persia, who we talked all about when we went through Ezra. They would end up financing the Jews' return back to Jerusalem. But here's the thing, even though they would go back, We would see that under Ezra and Nehemiah. They would go back, but not everything left with them when they returned to Jerusalem, you see. Even after they left Persia and Babylon, God's word stayed. And this is the next thing on your paper, but it is so important. There is always power in the word of God. always, because it is living and active, you see, so much so that those Persian astronomers, those magi, upon seeing the star, they knew what to do. And they came to worship, and they gave the gifts that they knew to bring, and thus they became the wise men. They were wise because they were watching, and they were waiting. And so when Jesus came, they didn't miss him. But what a scandal this is, because what about Jesus' own people? Herod, the chief priest, the Israelites. Were they not waiting and watching? No. The fact of the matter is, is they missed him. Why? Because you see, there's lots of reasons, but one main one is Jesus didn't fit into what they thought the Messiah was supposed to be. Now, I talked about this a little bit during Advent, but realize that Jesus, he wasn't greeted by emissaries and diplomats. It was shepherds that came. He wasn't born in some palace full of grandeur. He was born in a stable, which was more of a cave. In turn of the millennia of Bethlehem, they still use them for stables to this day. He wasn't placed on a throne. He was placed in a manger. And y'all, as much as I love my manger scene and the little wooden, that's beautiful stuff. But y'all, I don't know if you've seen this part of the world. There's not a lot of spare lumber laying around. And if you have livestock, you know what they can do. They have a name for cows. Horses that like to chew on wood, we called them stump suckers. I don't know what you call cows, but it's a thing, right? And livestock can destroy a wooden manger. So they use stone mangers. How do we know? Well, because that's one in Bethlehem and it's around 2000 years old, okay? Not a lot has changed in some ways. He was laid in a manger, born to a carpenter people so poor that they were allowed to offer turtle doves at the temple. Jesus did not fit into his people's expectations, so they rejected him. And the scandal of it all is that the Magi got it. They understood it. They saw the star, and they came to worship. And yet, what do we find out? Herod, his own people missed it. Why? You know, I don't know if you've ever considered this before. I saw this not too long ago and it was a very powerful thought. Do you know that Christianity is the only religion in the world that believes the Old Testament? You might say, oh, what about the Jews and Islam uses it? No, no. Think about what Jesus said in John chapter five. He said, if you believe Moses, you would believe me for he wrote of me. If you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? You see, Herod and his people entirely missed it. And yet, these Persians got it because they believed the word of God. Why are the wise men wise? Because they trusted in God's word. And because they trusted in God's word, they knew to bring him gold, representing his kingship. They knew to bring him frankincense, representing his role as priest forever, burning incense. They knew to bring him myrrh for his anointing both in life and death as the king of kings and the Lord of lords forever. But when he came to his own people, his own received him not. Not only did his birth not fit their expectations, when he came on the public scene, he didn't fit either. Yes, he performed signs, but he also said some things they didn't like very much. He said things like, if anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. He talked not about defeating Rome and cheapening his reign as the messiah to some political game. He talked about defeating death and hell forever. He didn't talk about just rewarding the righteous. He talked about coming to save sinners. And when you come to a group of people that don't believe that they're sinners, they don't like that sort of thing. Hence, His own people, instead of embracing Him and worshiping Him, what we see first with Herod and his advisors, what we see with Jerusalem, is that they were greatly troubled. That troubled side would not stop. And so when Jesus didn't fit into their expectations, they missed him. Now, here's your so what? All of this stuff, the questions, how did they know that? Why does any of this matter? Because here's the thing, y'all. This is the last thing on your paper this morning. The reality is, is that they didn't see Jesus for who he was. They missed him because he didn't fit into their expectations. Let me tell you, don't miss the Lord because he doesn't fit into yours either. Don't miss the Lord because he doesn't fit into your expectations. The reality is this Jesus is working in your life. Whether you see it or not. Whether it feels like it or not. And sometimes it does. Sometimes we get to go through these mountaintop experiences where things just seem to click and we go through these times of ease and comfort and it is as if The Lord is right there with you. And sometimes life is tricky. I talked about it in my devotional this past week. Perhaps you saw it. I learned a lot of things when I moved to Virginia, and one of which was watching people bale hay. And every time I see it next, you know, between me and Martin, I think a lot about it because, you know, you see that the grass has been growing and everything looks great. Everything looks fine. Somebody comes and cuts it down and that green grass starts to change colors. And then, to add insult to injury, somebody comes by with a rake and drags it all into pieces and tosses it here and there and piles it all up and then they bring another machine and it goes in one end and it gets mashed together and tied up and spit out the other side looking entirely different than it ever did before. Life can be a lot like making hay, can it? When life is like that, it's hard to feel the Lord's presence sometimes. When life is like that, it is easy to conclude that the Lord hasn't held up His end of the bargain. But the reality is, He is always faithful. Whether you understand it or not, Whether you get what he's doing or not, he is always, always faithful. The problem comes from our expectations. And my friends do not miss the Lord because he doesn't fit into your expectations. Because it's so easy to be like Herod and those priests. And you may miss him too. Instead, be a wise man, be a wise woman, be wise. do what the wise men did. The answer to all of these questions as to how they knew this and how they could do that, it all comes down to God's word and trusting in the Lord. If you will trust in God's word, if you will trust the Lord turning to Christ obediently, if you'll worship him well then like those wise men of old, you won't miss him. You'll see what he's doing. That's why they're so important. That's why this story is more than just that. It is so rich in pointing to who we are called to be. It's why they're wise. They came seeking His star. I've got to ask you, what are you seeking? As you face a new year, as you process life, will you keep your eyes on Christ and seek to worship Him first? In this, there is wisdom, yes, but there is also reward and hope and abundance of life. And if you know Him, then take this opportunity to step back and stand in that newness of life and that freedom that He's purchased for you. It's for freedom that you've been set free. Live by the Word. Don't deny it. Don't run ahead of it. As I've often said, what's worse, adding to God's Word or taking away from it? The answer is yes. Trust in the Word of God. Never discount the importance of trusting in the Word, for in it there is always power. and never forget the importance of worshiping Christ. And if you are here today and you do not know him, then receive the free offer of the gospel. Turn to him today. Repent of your sins and believe on the name of Jesus and he will save you. If you have questions about this, come and get me under the portico and we will talk. Remember that Jesus isn't limited to people groups of political parties or male or female or Jew or Gentile. He's not just the Lord of certain people. He's the Lord of all. Seek Him as those wise men. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You so much for the power of Your Word. We thank You that You work in all situations, even those we don't understand. As we think about how these Persian astronomers even gained access to Your Word, it came about as a result of so much toil and loss and heartache and wondering and wondering, and yet, Your purpose has prevailed. And Father, there are times when we don't see Your purposes. Oftentimes, then it hurts. But let us trust in You. Let us turn to Your Word, not running ahead of it, creating sin where there is none, not running behind it, omitting sin where it ought to be. Let us trust in You. And if there are any here that do not know You, then Father, get hold of them now and draw them to Yourself. and I pray it all in Christ's name, amen. Last we've just seen is we talk about missing the Lord and seeing his hand at work and the fact that he's so faithful. We're gonna close by singing my favorite hymn of all time. I get to pick, so I picked this one. It's actually the insert in your bulletin. There's a different title at the top, but it's Like a River Glorious. Again, love this hymn. Pay attention to the lyrics, to the words as we sing them together. Please stand with me and let's sing from that. Perfect peace of mind. God rest ye merry, merry gentlemen. Hearts are fully blest, blindly etching promise, earth in peace and rest. Receive the benediction. May the love and the peace and the joy and the mercy and that perfect rest of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit be upon you both now and forevermore. Amen.