Wise Worship

The gospel of Matthew will be
in chapter 2 this morning You think of the word worship
What does that do in your minds For most people just the mention
of that word elicits all kinds of different thoughts. Some people
think of worship as singing, and that certainly is part of
it. Lifting hands, sacred dance, expository preaching, right? And so we get to the point where
we get so fixed on our own idea of what worship is and is not
that we become bewildered even as God’s people. Is there a right
way? Is there a wrong way to worship? Does God care? As long as we’re
sincere, can we do whatever we please? Can we worship God in
our own way? Can we exercise creativity in
our worship? John Calvin didn’t think so. John Calvin said, worship is
the most important matter with which we have to deal. Worship
is important. Worship is perhaps the most important
thing that we ever do. There’s a tendency in our life
as believers to separate our thinking and even our behavior
into the sacred and the secular. We tend to pigeonhole our behavior
into one of those two general categories. The sacred are things
like church and coming to church and church activity. or personal
prayer, or Bible study. Worship is sacred. And then there’s the secular.
Work, mowing the lawn, trimming our nails, eating. The mundane
things of life, that’s the secular. Scripture doesn’t paint that
kind of a picture when it talks about worship. It talks about
all of life becoming an act of worship. And if we want to worship God
as he would be worshiped, then we need to know the God that
we worship. I have a frequent conversation
with young people that goes something like this. Are you a theologian? And usually they quickly decline
such a claim. But I say, don’t you read and
study your Bible? Don’t you learn about God? Yes. Then you are a theologian. Why should we study theology? Why should we make a study of
God himself? And young people will often ponder
that, and if they’re in my worldview class, they will tell me so that
I can get an A. We don’t study theology so that
we can get an A. We study theology so that we
can become better worshipers of Almighty God. A.W. Tozer years ago said that the
history of mankind will show that no people has ever risen
above its religion, its knowledge and perspective of God. Man’s
spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion
has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure
or base, as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.
In other words, he says, if you have just a mundane, everyday,
low view of God, as so much of our society does, then you’re
worshipped. Your worship will match, your
worship grows out of your idea of God. And he concludes with
this by saying that for this reason, the gravest question
before the church is always God himself. We need to become theologians.
If we’re not already theologians, if we’re not already pouring
ourselves into the scriptures and digging into the word to
find out more and more about God, discovering more and more who
we are in view of that God, if we are not learning more about
this God, then our worship quickly grows stagnant. If we don’t worship
God as He is, then really it quickly becomes Nothing like
godly worship. One Puritan spoke it this way. He said, God is clothed with
unspeakable majesty. And you get that picture of Isaiah
in the very throne room of God with the angels all hovering
about. God is clothed with unspeakable
majesty. The glory of his face shines
brighter than the lights of heaven in their beauty. Before him the
angels tremble, the heavens melt. We ought not, therefore, to come
before him with the sacrifice of fools. If you have a low view
of God, if you have an inaccurate view of God, if you have a fuzzy
view of God, then your worship is tainted. Your worship is not
what it should be. I loved, probably the first definition
I ever seized hold of on worship was from MacArthur’s book, Ultimate
Priority, years ago. The nature of worship is to offer
God from the depths of our inner beings praise, prayer, song,
giving, living, always based upon his revealed truth. the person who would worship
God must therefore have a faithful commitment to the Word of God if you have your finger in Matthew’s
gospel keep your pinky finger in there and turn if you would
to the book of Acts for just a moment to the book of Acts
and chapter 2 if there was a time in the New
Testament church where worship should have been at its apex. It should have been this season
and it was I believe. They had just witnessed the living
Christ ascend into heaven. They had just had that fantastic
experience recorded early in Acts chapter 2 and they literally
saw an explosion of new believers in the church. But if you’re
in the book of Acts, course down all the way to verse 41, where
we see the church in worship. And it wasn’t just, you know,
two songs and a scripture reading and a short message and a prayer. Watch how worship is described. Verse 41, so then those who had
received his word were baptized. That day there were added about
3,000 souls. Amazing things were happening
in the life of the church, and it’s noteworthy, especially given
our context, that the first order of business, the first sign of
obedience was believers’ baptism. Verse 42, and they were continually
devoting themselves. And I want you to pause there
for a moment. This wasn’t just casual. This wasn’t occasional. This wasn’t optional. They were absolutely devoted
to the things of God. What were they? They were continually
devoting themselves to the apostles’ teachings. They heard the word
read. They heard the word explained.
They heard admonition from the scriptures. They heard application
from the scriptures. They were devoting themselves
continually to the apostles teaching and to fellowship. Now you might
thought, you know, this is convenient on a day where we’re going to
have a church fellowship, eat food. Is it really talk? Absolutely,
that’s what it’s talking about. They enjoyed being together as
believers. They enjoyed coming together,
being together. It doesn’t matter what the food
was. I’ve never seen a fellowship. I’ve never seen a church that
doesn’t produce a sumptuous feast. But they were devoted to that.
It was part of their worship. They were continually devoting
themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship and to the
breaking of bread. And so now you have the Lord’s
table in view and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense
of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the
apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had
all things in common. Now, you know what’s fascinating
to me as I see the world, the church in the world, Scramble
for different ways to grow the church and I wonder what the
Lord might do if we just went back to the basics and Focused
on the Apostles teaching fellowship the breaking of bread and to
prayer Look at verse 46 Day by day continuing
with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to
house that means They were taking meals together. They were taking
their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising
God and having favor with all the people. The people were watching
this go on. They were seeing how the believers
were interacting one with another, and they were taken by their
very public worship. Because all of life was to them
an act of worship, not just something they did on Sunday for an hour.
That’s not worship. That’s not worship in its fullness.
And so a lot of times we need to step back and look at a passage
of scripture and rethink what is worship? What can I glean
from this passage about worship? And so now I would take you back
to Matthew chapter 2. And if you’re even remotely familiar
with Matthew chapter 2, you’re immediately seized with the recollection
here that I’m going to take you to heathens to teach us about
worship. Well, at least they’re heathens
as they start out. They’re foreigners. They’re not
Christian men. And yet, as they see Almighty
God, they’re drawn in. As they see God working in the
world, they can’t but worship. They have to worship. And I wanna
just consider this morning, what can we, Christians, learn about
worship from the wise men? If you would, Matthew chapter
two, beginning in verse one. 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 saw it, he
was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. and gathering together
all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire
of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to
him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the
prophet, in you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least
among the leaders of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a
ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod secretly called the
Magi and ascertained from them the time the star appeared. And
he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go, make careful search
for the child. And when you have found him,
report to me that I too may come and worship him. And having heard
the king, they went on their way. And lo, the star which they
had seen in the east went on before them until it came and
stood over where the child was. And when they saw the star, they
rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And they came into the house
and saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down
and worshiped him. And opening their treasures,
they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned by God
in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country
by another way. Now when they had departed, behold,
an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying,
arise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and
remain there until I tell you. For Herod is going to search
for the child to destroy him. And he arose and took the child
and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. It was there until
the death of Herod that what was spoken by the prophet, by
the Lord, through the prophet might be fulfilled saying out
of Egypt did I call my son. Then when Herod saw that he had
been tricked by the Magi he became very enraged and sent and slew
all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its environs
from two years old and under according to the time which he
had ascertained from the Magi. Then that which was spoken through
Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled Saying a voice was heard in rhema
weeping in great mourning rachel weeping for her children And
she refused to be comforted because they were no more But when herod
was dead Behold an angel of the lord appeared in a dream to joseph
in egypt saying Arise and take the child and his mother and
go into the land of israel For those who sought the child’s
life are dead He arose and took the child and his mother and
came to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus
was reigning over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he
was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a
dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee and came and resided
in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets
might be fulfilled. He should be called a Nazarene. In our world, even our spiritual,
ecclesiastical, church-going world, where worship has become
so muddled, so confused, so troubled by different thoughts and ideas
and approaches, it might seem absurd to look to a few, what
are called wise men, But as Scripture is such a provision for us, I believe
that we can look to these men and glean from them wisdom, wisdom
for worship. First of all, I see in this passage
three enduring examples of worship. First of all, we see these men’s
intention of worship. Their intention of worship. Look at verse 1. Now after Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
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 Bethlehem is known as the house
of bread that’s what the word meant this city in the midst
of a fertile countryside where Jacob had buried Rachel where
Ruth had lived when she married Boaz was the home and city of
King David and it was from that line that God was going to send
the great deliverer of his people, the Lord Jesus. But at this moment,
Herod was there. He was called Herod the Great,
not because he was a great and accomplished man. He was great
because he was a vengeful, evil, harsh man. He was great in power,
but he wielded it like a tyrant. He was subject to the Roman Empire,
and as such, that frustrated him and made him even more evil
and harsh towards those about him. The Romans had made him
king, and he ruled with an iron fist
like an unscrupulous tyrant. He had recently put his own sons,
Alexander and Aristobulus, to death because he believed that
they were a danger to his throne, that one of them was gonna get
too powerful and want his throne. So bad was he that this made
Caesar Augustus remark on one occasion that it would be better
to be Herod’s pig than to be his son. Let me say a word for a moment just
about these magi. I’m just painting the picture
for you of the scene and the players. We know about Herod,
but what about these magi? They’re mysterious men, to say
the least. It was originally the name of
a Median tribe, and they had the power or possessed the believed
power of interpreting dreams and visions. And so they were
often seen as soothsayers and interpreters They were wise men. They provided
counsel to many rulers and leaders. They weren’t endowed with wisdom
as you and I would know of it, but they studied the stars, they
studied the seasons, they studied those things, and they interpreted
in light of those things. Unfortunately, over the years,
over the centuries, many strange, curious, even false ideas surround
these three so-called wise men, the Magi. First of all, one of
the myths or false ideas around them was that they were kings. Right, we sing this all the time.
We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. Oh. Well, there was at least a hint
towards that possibility. Tertullian, one of the early
church fathers, believed that that idea grew out of biblical
data, namely Psalm 68, because of your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring gifts to you. Tertullian interpreted that to
mean that these three wise men were those prophesied in the
Psalms that were going to visit Christ. Psalm 72, verse 10, let
the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents the
kings of Sheba offer gifts But there’s no basis at all for that
Tertullian was merely musing thinking out loud Wondering if
that could have been true. There’s no Information whatsoever
that points to these as being monarchs kings of any country
Another myth, you know this one, their number, three. We sing
it, you’re not wrong to sing it. I think we sing a song today
with three kings. It’s not wrong to sing it, as
long as you hold that truth very loosely. You might as well sing
100 kings, except I don’t think you could fit that in. It was
a common belief for centuries and centuries, thousands of years,
That there were three kings and that largely is because there
were three gifts mentioned Their origin There have been people
that wanted to name the exact spot the exact city from which
they came when all were told as they came from the east It
was a vague reference it was the direction in which the Sun
rises that’s about it Their significance As I suggested, some believe
that they were of a Median tribe that had this ability to interpret
dreams. They were known in some circles
as instructors, teachers, interpreters, wise men to the Persian kings,
and they were as such skilled in philosophy and medicine and
other sciences. But they also, those particular
wise men, so-called, believed in astrology. And we can see
where that kind of thinking is headed when we begin to speak
of a star. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that they
know their names. Largely from church history,
their names were identified as Melchior, Balthazar, and Caspar. strange additions, extra biblical
thoughts. There isn’t anything in the passage
that mentions anything about this. And then, finally, their
fantastic heritage, and when I say fantastic, I don’t mean
amazing, stupendous, isn’t that neat, but ridiculously unbelievable. And wouldn’t you know, the Roman
Catholic Church was part of this. Their bones were discovered by
the Roman Catholic Saint Helena. They were deposited in the church
of Saint Sophia at Constantinople, transferred to Milan, and then
finally brought to the great cathedral in Cologne. Well, there’s
nothing to suggest anything like that. We don’t even know who
these wise men were. Their names, their dwelling places,
What what they did how they were even referenced as wise we don’t
know but we do see as We begin to focus on the passage we see
Three things that I believe that we can glean from them as I indicated
the first one is this intention to worship They had one purpose
They were intent on one thing and that was finding this child
to worship him. They were intentional. Most of you were intentional
this morning. Those of you who weren’t woken
by someone else and dragged here by someone else, driven here
by someone else, These were intentional. They had one thing in mind. They
wanted to do one thing, and that was to worship this child. Look
at verse two. 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. They were intentional about their
worship. There was this king who had been
born This title was hereditary. He
had been born into a bloodline. He had been born to a throne. They had come for the purpose
of paying him homage. We saw his star. And of all the
ridiculous things that is said about this passage, the star
and the things that are said about it are among the most ridiculous. Some said it’s the planet Jupiter. Some said it was a conjunction
of Jupiter and Saturn. One person suggested that it
was a very erratic comet that somehow happened to stop for
a lengthy season and then move again. Another, a meteor, a supernova. And so some have even conjectured
that these men were astrologers reading the stars and this particular
star directed him to this particular place. As I said, just ridiculous. This wasn’t the result of astrology.
I believe that this was a real, legitimate, substantial star
that stood and was a phenomenon to all who could look up into
the night sky and see it. And we don’t even know, perhaps
it was God himself that laid upon their heart the significance
of this star and told them to follow it, and they did. For the purpose of worshiping. That, I would remind God’s people,
is the chief end of man. To glorify God and to enjoy him
forever. These wise men didn’t just happen
into worship, their whole intention was worship. For us, I think
it’s almost inverted at times. We happen to worship. We accidentally worship. We accidentally have a good day
in the Lord. We accidentally speak a kind
word to our co-worker and sense the smile of God in it. Worship is the chief end of man.
This is what we’re supposed to be intentionally about as believers. This is the same exact word the
devil used when he tempted Jesus. Hebrews chapter one paints for
us a picture of Christ that ought to resonate with every believer.
Can you keep your finger in, Matthew? We have a moment. Keep
your finger in, Matthew, and turn to Hebrews chapter one.
It’s one of my favorite, I know I say this a lot, but it is really
one of my favorite passages, especially a passage about Christ,
a passage about Christmas. And you’ll note one remarkable
feature of this passage He starts the sentence in verse one with
the very first word, but he doesn’t even finish the sentence, the
simple sentence, until verse two. God has spoken. But let’s take it as it’s written.
God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers, in the prophets,
in many portions, and in many ways, in these last days has
spoken to us in his son whom he appointed heir of all things
through whom also he made the world and he is the radiance
of his that is the father’s glory and the exact representation
of his that is the father’s nature and upholds all things by the
word of his power when he had made purification for sins he
sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high having become
as much better than the angels as he has inherited a more excellent
name than they. For to which of the angels did
he ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you. And
again, I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to
me. And when he again brings the
firstborn into the world and says, let all the angels of God
worship Him. All of worship, all of life is
to be an active worship focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. At the end of this great epistle
which words we just read several weeks ago Hebrews 12, therefore
since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us show
gratitude let us worship in everything that we do. by which we offer
to God an acceptable sacrifice with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire. Dr. Robert Godfrey, who I had
the privilege of spending a whole weekend with, he was at a conference,
he said this of that particular passage. God is a holy God. One who is jealous for His worship. He is a God who stands in judgment
of sin and calls for holy living among His people. These passages
show that the Lord takes His worship very seriously. They
show us specifically that our worship must reflect both God’s
great saving work in Christ and His zeal for the purity of worship. Only such worship. is acceptable
to him. It’s intentional worship focused
on Christ. It’s a moment by moment recollection
that we live in light of what Christ has accomplished on our
behalf. It’s not accidental. It’s not
occasional. It’s not optional. It’s our very
reason for existence. There’s a second lesson that
we learn from these wise men. Not only their intention to worship,
the fact that they were purposeful in their worship. But their determination. They were perseverant in their
worship. And you probably already see
where I’m going with this. I have been astounded over the
years. I am not a strict Sabbatarian.
what you do in the afternoons, whether you go to a restaurant
or enjoy a meal or go for a walk. I’m not a strict Sabbatarian,
but I will tell you this, I believe that corporate worship is the
bare minimum for the child of God, the bare minimum. I have
been astounded over the years at the reasons that people have
offered to me as if they need to explain to me and get a pass
on why they can skip church or why they did skip church. Golf
and family and friends. That one always gets me. We have
family in town. Oh, you want to be a testimony
to them? Don’t take them to brunch. Tell them you’re going to worship
Almighty God. Show your commitment that way.
Invite them. It was the only flight available.
Oh, really? I’ve been astounded at the reasons
that people give. They can be turned aside from
worship. I thought I might have the sniffles
coming on, and I didn’t want to infect anybody. Well, we have
a balcony. You can sit up there in the corner
if you have to. Look at verse 3. Determination. They were absolutely
dedicated, devoted, locked on to worshiping. Look at verse
3. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled. and all
Jerusalem with him. This guy was a tyrant. He was
a maniac with a crown. And when it says that he was
troubled, when the people saw that he was troubled, they too
were troubled because they knew that that meant that he was going
to be irrational and do something drastic. Gathering together all
the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of
them where the Messiah was to be born. We know he wasn’t interested. He wasn’t interested in the Christ
as Christ. But notice, I want you to notice,
this is astounding. He asks the Jews where this so-called
Savior is going to be born. And they knew immediately, on
the spot, they were able to answer. They knew exactly where the Christ
child, the Messiah, was going to be born. Look at verse five.
In Bethlehem of Judea, this is what has been written by the
prophet, you Bethlehem land of Judea by no means. I mean, they
were quoting it from rote. They knew it. And so he summons this meeting
and they know exactly where he’s to be born. they knew exactly
the birthplace of the Messiah when we went through the gospel
of John there was a similar exchange that took place some of the people
therefore John chapter 7 when they heard these words were saying
this is certainly the prophet others were saying this is the
Christ others surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee
they knew it has not the scripture said that Christ comes from the
descendants of David and from Bethlehem the village where David
was they knew they knew that Christ was supposed to be from
Bethlehem and so it’s stunning to me as you look at this passage
to see who didn’t go to Bethlehem who didn’t follow the star to
that scene in Bethlehem Herod didn’t go to Bethlehem the only person who really takes
any trouble who any interest in this is Herod. He wants to
know where, but he doesn’t do anything about it. He sets up
an emissary. He wants to use these guys as
spies. Tell me where he is when you
find him. You know who else didn’t go to Bethlehem? The chief priests and scribes
didn’t go to Bethlehem. They didn’t follow the star.
They didn’t go to worship Christ. They didn’t go to find him, even
though they knew where he was going to be born. Herod didn’t go. The chief priests
and scribes didn’t go. You know what? Jerusalem didn’t
go. Bethlehem didn’t go. Some of the people from Bethlehem
came out to see the Christ child, but the vast majority, the vast
majority took no interest in this scene. So we have these
magi. Look at verse 7. Herod determines
this time. He secretly called the Magi and
determined from them the exact time the star appeared. We’re not told exactly how. We’re not told whether they had
charts, whether they had verses, Bibles. But Herod’s plainly trying
to find out for his own evil purposes. We’re just told that
as the Magi broke from him, they went out. He told them to go
make careful search and they went on their way and the star
went before them. The star moved supernaturally
and came and stood over the place where the Christ child was. And
when they saw that star they rejoiced because it fulfilled
their very purpose. It was an affirmation of the
very direction that God was providing them. That by God’s sovereign
providence, He was leading them right to
this Christ child. When they saw the star, they
rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. You get a picture of this. This is exuberant worship. They rejoiced exceedingly with
great joy. Still, I would suggest to you
that that is not yet worship. They are moving towards worship.
They are purposing to worship. They are determined to get there
even if it costs them their life. Because now to cross Herod would
be seen as treasonous. But it does indicate that their
whole intent, their desire, their intention was not going to be
dissuaded. They were going to see this thing
through. They were going to worship this
child. They’re absolutely purposeful. As I was reviewing, I came across
a statement on worship in our confession. The title of it is simple, The
Duty of Worship Revealed by Nature, Regulated by Scripture. But listen
to this simple sentence. The light of nature shows that
there is a God. That’s Romans 1, right? The light
of nature shows that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty
over all, is just and good and does good to all, and is therefore
to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and
served with all the heart and all the soul and with all the
might. That’s Romans 1. God has given
a witness to every person ever born on the face of the earth.
They know there’s a God. The light of nature shows that
there’s a God. And it calls us to worship him. And people don’t get caught up
in the lie that they’re not worshiping. Everybody’s worshiping. They’re
just worshiping different things. Worshiping their own things,
worshiping their own schedule, worshiping their own idol, worshiping
their own perspective of God. These wise men, they were responding
to the information they had, to the revelation that was available
to them. The light of nature told them
that there was a God, and they were intentional about their
worship, and they would not be dissuaded, even if it cost them
their lives. There’s a third thing that we
learn. Wise worship. The third enduring principle
from these really heathen scholars that are in the process. All
they’re doing is responding to the revelation that has been
given to them thus far. For all intents and purposes,
a star. That’s it. But the third in addition to
the intention to worship and the determination to worship,
the consummation of worship. They were thorough in their worship. And some people start strong,
maybe some people have a good Lord’s Day. Maybe we sit and
we listen, we even took notes, we even had a good, this isn’t
worship, not in its fullness. Worship is when we walk out and
we live it out. when we fulfill our intention
of worship. Look at verse 11. After coming
into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and
they fell to the ground and worshiped him. Then opening their treasures,
they presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
A lot of people have this whole, they set aside the whole worship
element, the adoration, the reverence, And they want to immediately
think that these guys burst in and immediately cast their gifts
before the Christ child. They didn’t start there. And I’ve seen sermons that focus
almost entirely on the significance of the three gifts, gold and
frankincense and myrrh and on and on and on it goes. But in
reality, the whole point of their visit wasn’t to bring a gift. I’ve used in concert with that
the idea that, well, what did the shepherds bring? And there’s
all kinds of thought that goes into what the shepherds might
have brought. Maybe they brought cheese. Maybe they brought wool
blankets. Because the mindset is that we
gotta bring something. After all, the wise men brought
gold and frankincense in Myrrh. They brought something far more
important than that. They brought their worship. They brought their
hearts. Worship, said one pastor, is
all that we are reacting rightly to all that He is. Have you worshipped God this
week? Are you worshiping God now? Is
it everything in your life? Is your whole intention and purpose? Are you just absolutely committed
to not be turned aside from worshiping Him? Are you going to see it
through? Or something or someone or some
issue, some thought, some concern, Some activity, is it going to
steer you off course of Christ? Is it going to take your eyes
off of Christ and off of worshiping Him? Our whole life is designed, intended
by God to be an act of worship. not just an hour, hour and a
half, morning at church on a Sunday. It’s supposed to be the way that
we live, the way that we conduct ourselves with others. All of
life becomes an act of worship to the believer, doesn’t it?
Let’s go before Him and ask for His help. O merciful God, we humble ourselves
and never would we have thought to look to heathen to three foreign
kings to teach us about worship. But
Lord God, that’s what your word does. It focuses upon these three
mysterious men whose names and even whose number we can’t be
certain of. But Lord, we do see their actions.
that they had a desire, a heart desire. They were responding
to revelation. They knew enough to sit up, wake
up, and follow. And even though the most notorious
evil king of the day stood in their path, they would not be
dissuaded. They would not leave off. They
saw it through. And Lord, we think of that day. We think of all that you’ve done.
We think of our lives before we knew Christ. And we think
of our sin and the penalty of it and how wretched we were.
What a dreadful condition we were in. We cannot wait to see Christ. But until then, all of our life.
Becomes a precious opportunity to worship him. Father God, we
humble ourselves before you. And we plead that you would grant
us the grace. To be the worshipers you’ve called
us to be in this world. To do and say and be and think. As worshipers of the Lord Jesus
Christ and all that we do. Lord God, use us for your glory.
Lord, if there are any. who think that they can just
look over the hill at some event taking place in a far off land
and remain disinterested, unaffiliated, unconcerned. Lord, one day the
entire world, every person ever born will know without a doubt
that Jesus is Lord. One day every knee will bow. Why not today? Bring sinners
to repentance. Have your way with every heart.
It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.