WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:04.250 So if you want to turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter two, I'm going to go through this fairly quickly. 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:11.670 And just looking at this Christmas story together, and you're going to sell kids by this picture on the screen. 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:15.620 Can you tell some of our young people, do you know who we're going to talk about in this story today? 00:00:16.490 --> 00:00:17.790 Anybody know who this is? 00:00:18.040 --> 00:00:19.300 What does what does this story tell us? 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:21.260 Who who's this going to be about any young person. 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:22.060 You can shout this out. 00:00:22.060 --> 00:00:26.340 Who's this about the what wise men. 00:00:26.340 --> 00:00:26.660 Right. 00:00:26.720 --> 00:00:28.020 The wise men. 00:00:28.020 --> 00:00:29.840 We're going to be talking about the wise men today. 00:00:29.860 --> 00:00:30.920 But here's what's interesting. 00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:35.980 you look at this picture and you see three, three guys on the back of a camel. 00:00:36.020 --> 00:00:39.040 I think it's probably three guys on the back of a camel that we call them wise men. 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:40.040 So. 00:00:40.040 --> 00:00:42.080 But here's what's interesting about the wise men. 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:45.340 They probably weren't just three people in the back of a camel. 00:00:45.680 --> 00:00:50.590 When the wise men traveled to see Jesus, they most likely traveled in a in a caravan. 00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:57.510 And the reason we think that is because of what it says to us in the book of Matthew, starting at the very beginning of chapter two. 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:00.060 And we learn where the wise men came from. 00:01:00.100 --> 00:01:02.740 So if you grabbed sermon notes this morning, here's your first blank. 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:05.610 The question is, where did the wise men come from? 00:01:06.160 --> 00:01:09.090 And by the way, we're going to talk about why wise men celebrate Christmas. 00:01:09.440 --> 00:01:11.160 We're going to learn three lessons from them today. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:13.290 But where did the wise men come from? 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:17.360 Matthew chapter two, verse one tells us they came from what direction? 00:01:18.420 --> 00:01:19.240 The east. 00:01:19.240 --> 00:01:19.520 Right. 00:01:19.520 --> 00:01:20.320 They came from the East. 00:01:20.320 --> 00:01:22.620 Look at this Matthew chapter two, verse one. 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:30.220 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem. 00:01:30.300 --> 00:01:31.370 So there it is from the east. 00:01:31.380 --> 00:01:35.440 They came to Jerusalem and asked, where is the one who was born king of the Jews? 00:01:35.820 --> 00:01:40.360 We saw his star when it rose, and we have come to worship him. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:42.920 These wise men came from the east. 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:45.700 They came from so far east they don't even know where they came. 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:47.040 They're like, we don't, you guys. 00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:48.500 You set a place, a town. 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:50.980 We have no idea what that town is that's so far away. 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:51.400 That's right. 00:01:51.460 --> 00:01:53.360 So there's like they they're just from the east. 00:01:53.360 --> 00:01:56.380 That's how they describe it in this passage. 00:01:56.380 --> 00:01:59.700 But here's what we learn from him from the moment they saw the star. 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:03.950 This is when they decided to begin this journey to go see Jesus. 00:02:04.320 --> 00:02:04.620 Right? 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:05.800 They see his star. 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:09.660 Notice it says in this passage, it's not a star, but it's his star. 00:02:09.660 --> 00:02:17.060 It's like a Shekinah star, the glory of God that appears and that triggered them to God is doing something. 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:19.880 And we want a journey to go see what God is doing. 00:02:19.880 --> 00:02:27.080 And so they travel from the east, and most likely we know that they had to go from a very far distance because by 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:28.460 the time they got to Jesus. 00:02:28.540 --> 00:02:32.660 What you find in Matthew chapter two is Jesus is no longer a baby. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:36.690 The Jesus most likely at this point is somewhere around toddler age. 00:02:36.880 --> 00:02:44.000 And the reason we gather this from the information is because as you read a little further in the story, it says, once the wise men get to 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.950 King Herod, King Herod wants to know where this Jesus is. 00:02:47.380 --> 00:02:52.010 Not because King Herod cares about Jesus, but because King Herod sees Jesus as a threat. 00:02:52.420 --> 00:02:59.560 And so in verse seven it says, Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from the from them the exact time 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:01.140 the star had appeared. 00:03:01.580 --> 00:03:03.960 So he's like he realizes they've come from a far distance. 00:03:04.600 --> 00:03:07.080 And so it wasn't like they just got there from yesterday, right? 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.570 In order for them to travel that far, he wants to now go back and find out when the star appeared. 00:03:10.700 --> 00:03:15.180 So he knows about the age Jesus might be in order so he can go hunt Jesus. 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:22.340 In fact, in verse 16 it says, When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, he was furious and he gave orders to 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:29.500 kill all the babies, the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:33.230 with the time he had learned from the Magi or the wise men. 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:34.880 So here's what Herod says. 00:03:34.920 --> 00:03:36.390 Let's go back and look when this star came. 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:44.260 And what we learn based on what Herod discovers, is that these wise men would have traveled very far in order to get to where 00:03:44.260 --> 00:03:45.060 Jesus was. 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:52.660 And so that's why Herod all of a sudden has this threat of Jesus, and he decides, any kid that's over the age or two and under, 00:03:52.660 --> 00:03:54.920 Jesus most likely is probably around the age of one. 00:03:55.140 --> 00:04:02.380 So by the time the Magi saw the star and then started to make this journey, it would have taken months, most likely traveled 00:04:02.380 --> 00:04:09.500 several hundred miles, and they would have most likely done it in a larger caravan, because during Jesus's 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:16.980 day, just to travel with a couple of people would have been incredibly unsafe, especially when you're traveling with things like gold, 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:18.480 frankincense, and myrrh. 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:25.820 I mean, the minute someone finds out on that road that you've got a lot of wealth that you're going with and you're just going with a couple of people there, there's 00:04:25.820 --> 00:04:28.000 a there's a bounty on your head. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:29.390 People have been pursuing you. 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:33.050 And so these wise men most likely would have traveled in a large caravan. 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:34.960 So the story probably would have gone like this. 00:04:35.100 --> 00:04:42.260 They saw the star, and immediately they announced to people around them, if anyone wants to join us on this journey, and they made preparations 00:04:42.260 --> 00:04:44.370 and then they started the journey. 00:04:44.460 --> 00:04:50.780 And by the time they finally got to where they were going, Jesus would have been well over a year in age. 00:04:51.760 --> 00:04:54.760 And so Herod, he knows this. 00:04:54.760 --> 00:04:59.820 And he's now threatened by this, and he comes into to Bethlehem in order to. 00:04:59.820 --> 00:05:04.490 Find Jesus because his intentions against Jesus are ill intentioned. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:07.030 But here's what I want us to learn about these wise men. 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:14.290 And this is the very end of point number one for you, is that the wise men think Jesus is worth the cost. 00:05:15.080 --> 00:05:20.660 You think about how far the wise men had to go just to be near Jesus. 00:05:22.380 --> 00:05:28.560 It took them several months, if not more than a year, to get to Christ in order to meet him. 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:36.360 And for us today, I think it's a beautiful lesson to think about the extent that you're willing to go in order to worship Jesus. 00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:41.400 Now, I'm not a pastor yesterday, and I've I've heard every excuse under the sun. 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:42.650 It's too cold. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:43.630 It's too hot. 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:44.940 I'm too tired. 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:51.100 You know, there's all these different things that we can just put before our comforts, before just worshiping Christ. 00:05:51.200 --> 00:05:51.380 And. 00:05:51.520 --> 00:05:58.620 And here you have in this story, these wise men that were willing to travel, put everything on pause in their life just to go on this journey for the opportunity 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:00.320 to possibly meet Christ. 00:06:00.320 --> 00:06:07.400 I mean, they had no idea when they got there whether or not it could necessarily transpire, but they knew God was doing something and they wanted to be a part of it. 00:06:07.420 --> 00:06:12.320 And the extent that they were willing to go in order to worship Jesus, it would have been incredibly inconvenient. 00:06:14.320 --> 00:06:16.320 But for them, it was worth the cost. 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:18.410 They were willing to take the journey. 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:22.040 Point number two in your notes and ask this question where did they go? 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:28.040 We know ultimately they ended up with Jesus, but immediately that's not where they went. 00:06:28.080 --> 00:06:34.020 Well, we find in Matthew chapter two verse one, when they started to make this journey, they went to King Herod. 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:36.480 And the next question notes, that's the answer is where did they go? 00:06:36.500 --> 00:06:37.510 They went to King Herod. 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:38.920 And we look at that story. 00:06:38.940 --> 00:06:41.270 We could ask the question, why in the world would you go to King Herod? 00:06:41.760 --> 00:06:43.160 King Herod hated Jesus. 00:06:43.180 --> 00:06:44.280 That makes no sense. 00:06:44.280 --> 00:06:51.260 Why would you want to go somewhere to an individual that hated Jesus, that was going to hunt Jesus and ultimately had ill intent towards Jesus? 00:06:51.280 --> 00:06:52.510 Why would they go to King Herod? 00:06:53.080 --> 00:06:54.210 And the answer is very simple. 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:02.920 The wise men knew that they were looking for royalty and seeing the star, it only made sense to go to the place 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:06.500 where royalty lived to ask the question, Where is Jesus? 00:07:07.840 --> 00:07:14.940 But what's incredible is that upon arrival to Herod's palace or castle, they discover that Jesus 00:07:14.940 --> 00:07:15.820 isn't there. 00:07:16.460 --> 00:07:18.980 Rather, Jesus is a different kind of king. 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:27.060 Rather than to be born in a palace with a king, Jesus chose to be born in a manger with animals rather 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:30.400 than to go before the religious leaders. 00:07:30.400 --> 00:07:36.460 Jesus was born to a young lady, rather than be born among the wealthy. 00:07:36.460 --> 00:07:39.020 Jesus was born in poverty. 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:45.750 Rather than announce his arrival to the elite, Jesus announced his arrival to the shepherds. 00:07:46.440 --> 00:07:54.130 In fact, in Luke chapter two, if you were to read the Christmas story in the Gospel of Luke, the angels tell the shepherds something very interesting. 00:07:54.360 --> 00:08:01.090 In Luke chapter two, they tell the angels announced to the shepherds, go look for Jesus in Bethlehem. 00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:03.660 You will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:06.430 And you know what's interesting about swaddling clothes? 00:08:07.780 --> 00:08:13.620 in Jesus's day, it was common when people would travel like Joseph and Mary, when they were traveling to Bethlehem for the census. 00:08:14.500 --> 00:08:21.580 During the time that the that Caesar wanted to count the people for tax purposes, they would have typically walked 00:08:21.580 --> 00:08:22.500 with what? 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:24.080 What's referenced as swaddling clothes? 00:08:24.080 --> 00:08:25.070 That would have been a strip of cloth. 00:08:25.340 --> 00:08:27.820 They would often wrap it around their waist like it was a belt. 00:08:27.820 --> 00:08:29.780 They would use it for all sorts of things when they traveled. 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:34.820 One could be if someone got an injury or if someone passed away, you could mummify a body. 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:36.919 You could wrap a body in this swaddling strip of cloth. 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:40.659 But for the shepherds, what was interesting was swaddling cloth. 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:41.260 For them. 00:08:41.640 --> 00:08:44.970 They would uh, a particular where Jesus was born. 00:08:45.280 --> 00:08:49.760 Most likely these shepherds would have been in charge of lambs that were used for temple sacrifice. 00:08:50.640 --> 00:08:56.240 It was their responsibility to keep those lambs pure, spotless, without blemish, no injury. 00:08:56.340 --> 00:09:01.740 And so when a lamb was born, in order to protect it, they would carry it around in a swaddling cloth. 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:05.690 They would wrap it up to preserve it, protect it, to keep it from blemish and injury. 00:09:05.800 --> 00:09:09.650 They didn't want it to fall and get hurt because it couldn't be used for temple sacrifice. 00:09:11.040 --> 00:09:18.180 And so for the shepherds to walk into a manger, to see Jesus wrapped in swaddling cloth would have been incredibly symbolic. 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:21.820 Here is the lamb coming to give its life. 00:09:22.420 --> 00:09:27.400 It would have been a very unique way to identify Jesus that would have connected to those shepherds. 00:09:27.620 --> 00:09:33.940 And an interesting concept as it as it would reflect the idea of a lamb being sacrificed for the temple. 00:09:34.180 --> 00:09:41.050 But rather than go to King Herod and discover Jesus, what they find is Jesus is a different kind of king. 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:48.680 That Jesus was one to get in the grip, the grit and the and the regular way of life. 00:09:48.760 --> 00:09:52.370 And so lesson number two for you is this Jesus is a humble king. 00:09:53.280 --> 00:09:54.600 Jesus relates to you and to me. 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:59.170 Could you imagine if he, if he was born in the with the elite, born with the wealthy, born with the among. 00:09:59.800 --> 00:10:05.520 The religious leaders, people would have seen that as a Jesus who was distant, a Jesus for them, not a Jesus for us. 00:10:06.280 --> 00:10:13.140 But the fact that Jesus was to come in the most humble of circumstances as a baby, in a manger, in poverty, just announced among shepherds. 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:18.440 I think of if you're a king of the universe, King of the world, king of all of creation, the way. 00:10:18.460 --> 00:10:25.540 If you were in charge of announcing your arrival to this world, what you might have picked, and Jesus chooses the most 00:10:25.540 --> 00:10:28.000 humblest of entrances into this world. 00:10:29.760 --> 00:10:30.320 Point number three. 00:10:31.580 --> 00:10:32.900 What did they do when they found Jesus? 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.360 Well, Matthew chapter two, verse nine. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:36.680 We read this last night together. 00:10:36.680 --> 00:10:43.680 It says this after they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose 00:10:43.680 --> 00:10:47.700 went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:50.090 And when they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 00:10:51.300 --> 00:10:56.860 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed and worshiped him. 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:02.960 Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gold and frankincense and myrrh. 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:06.530 You know, when they arrived to Jesus. 00:11:07.340 --> 00:11:11.390 And the Bible very clearly says they worshiped, which is an incredible act. 00:11:12.160 --> 00:11:13.610 If you've ever met a toddler. 00:11:14.330 --> 00:11:19.030 What would it take for you to ever worship a toddler? 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:22.760 You know, they that is the most me centric. 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:25.580 You know that you can be in life. 00:11:25.700 --> 00:11:32.900 If you've ever seen a toddler fit, you're thinking, man, this kid I like, but here they are walking into this manger where 00:11:32.900 --> 00:11:37.900 Jesus was found, or who knows what kind of dwelling necessarily Jesus could be in at this point. 00:11:38.060 --> 00:11:40.980 But they worship a toddler. 00:11:42.040 --> 00:11:49.960 I mean, what that speaks about who Jesus is and the identity that they understand Christ represents. 00:11:51.040 --> 00:11:51.760 Emmanuel. 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.120 God with us. 00:11:56.020 --> 00:12:01.780 And so lesson three in your notes is this Jesus is worthy of our worship. 00:12:04.280 --> 00:12:07.020 Jesus is worthy of our worship. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:11.270 Wise men still seek him. 00:12:12.160 --> 00:12:19.040 And this is what you see in this story, these leaders, these would have been elite people from the location that they were from. 00:12:19.040 --> 00:12:22.480 They were certainly wealthy people traveling with gold, frankincense and myrrh. 00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:29.780 And here they are, leaders from the East, journeying all the way west in order to meet this toddler, to worship him, speaking volumes 00:12:29.780 --> 00:12:32.340 to the significance of who Christ is. 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:33.880 So why would God tell us this? 00:12:33.940 --> 00:12:37.920 Let me give you just a couple practical ways to relate this to our lives. 00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:45.860 One, when the wise men connected to the Lord, when they worship God, God 00:12:45.860 --> 00:12:47.400 directed their lives. 00:12:48.260 --> 00:12:50.380 In fact, the very next verse tells us this. 00:12:50.420 --> 00:12:57.260 And after being warned, the wise men being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 00:12:58.400 --> 00:12:59.110 Here's what it's saying. 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.850 When the wise men entered into worship of Christ. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:07.470 God started to direct their hearts and lives when they were willing to bow to Jesus. 00:13:07.640 --> 00:13:13.020 The Lord is leading them in where to go, even in moments of difficulty or danger. 00:13:13.020 --> 00:13:20.080 God is directing their lives, and so it's an encouragement for us and coming to the Lord and seeing the significance of who Jesus is this time of 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:20.440 year. 00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:25.000 When you surrender your life to the Lord, God wants to direct your life in him. 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:31.200 But point number two, not everyone at Christmas is connected to Christ. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:34.070 You saw this with Herod. 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:36.940 His intentions for Jesus were not pure. 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:40.170 Herod saw Jesus as a threat. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:47.480 And so rather than worship Jesus, he desired to kill Jesus, and he desired to push Jesus away 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:48.340 from his life. 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:50.390 And the same thing could be true with us. 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:55.760 And a holiday season like this go through all the acts of Christmas and ignore Christ. 00:13:55.760 --> 00:13:58.970 The very point of what Christmas should be about. 00:13:59.280 --> 00:14:01.890 And here's one of the things I love about our church. 00:14:03.060 --> 00:14:06.920 we put reverence in the word of God. 00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:07.260 Right. 00:14:07.260 --> 00:14:12.140 Like you come here next week, we're going to be in Genesis chapter 21, and you come here the week after that. 00:14:12.140 --> 00:14:15.860 We're going to be in Genesis chapter 22, because we want to learn the Word of God. 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:20.880 We don't want to be ignorant to the Word of God, the truth of God's Word, and what it means for us. 00:14:21.140 --> 00:14:22.780 But here comes the danger in this. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:28.380 We can mistake our spirituality with simply head knowledge. 00:14:30.340 --> 00:14:32.760 You can know all kinds of things about God's Word. 00:14:32.780 --> 00:14:36.600 You can be great at biblical trivia, but still be so far from God. 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:45.980 Our challenge isn't intellectual worship, although we certainly want you to know that God's Word can is 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:47.480 intended to use your mind. 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:51.290 The battle we face is much deeper than just in our heads. 00:14:52.020 --> 00:14:52.550 It's in our hearts. 00:14:54.040 --> 00:14:55.350 It's the will of our lives. 00:14:56.740 --> 00:15:00.680 And we teach you all the biblical truth that that's contained in Scripture. 00:15:00.680 --> 00:15:07.760 That's probably not possible, but we'll spend the rest of our lives learning biblical truth in Scripture, intellectually assenting to 00:15:07.760 --> 00:15:08.640 the Lord. 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.650 But we can still be in rebellion in our hearts. 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:19.960 And so as much as we want to Revere the Word of God and saturate our mind in the truthfulness of who 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:27.500 he is, we also want to make sure it takes that 18 inch journey from our mind to our heart, and that we engage 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:34.900 him in worship, that our lives would surrender to Christ with all 00:15:34.900 --> 00:15:35.660 that we are. 00:15:36.900 --> 00:15:44.320 You know this morning, if I were to present to you a basketball, I 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:46.820 could maybe impress you with a basketball for a couple of seconds. 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:50.260 I could spin it on my finger, I could dribble behind my back or something like that. 00:15:50.420 --> 00:15:55.860 But can I tell you a basketball in my hands is worth about as much as a basketball? 00:15:56.080 --> 00:16:03.100 If you bought it off the shelf at Walmart, put a basketball in Michael Jordan's hands and it's worth millions 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:04.210 of dollars. 00:16:05.500 --> 00:16:10.190 If you were to give me a paintbrush, a paintbrush in my hands, I'm no Bob Ross. 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:12.090 It's worth about as much as a paintbrush. 00:16:13.020 --> 00:16:20.400 But you put it in someone's hands, like Da Vinci or Michelangelo or Rembrandt, and it's worth millions of dollars. 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:24.060 And the same thing is true with your life and mine. 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:26.670 My life just given over to me. 00:16:27.780 --> 00:16:30.620 It endures as much as I have breath in my lungs. 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:33.780 And when I'm done, you kind of forget about me. 00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:35.660 But. 00:16:35.780 --> 00:16:41.080 But put it in God's hands and it lasts for eternity. 00:16:42.560 --> 00:16:45.380 Because what we do in Jesus endures forever. 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:54.420 And the beauty of this gospel story of in the book of Matthew is to remind us, here you have King Herod, and here you have 00:16:54.420 --> 00:16:55.200 the wise men. 00:16:55.200 --> 00:17:01.960 And the difference between them is the surrendering of their will, not just knowing where Jesus is. 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:03.000 King Herod knew where. 00:17:03.020 --> 00:17:03.580 Jesus was. 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:10.990 Bible tells us in Matthew chapter two, verse six that when Herod is told that King Jesus was born, he immediately goes to the Old Testament. 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:18.640 He calls on religious leaders and says, let's go to the Old Testament prophecy so we can learn when how this Jesus is going to arrive, when this Jesus is going to arrive, 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:21.329 like Herod went to the Old Testament to learn about Jesus. 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:24.550 But Herod still rejected Jesus. 00:17:25.630 --> 00:17:27.280 And the same is true for us. 00:17:27.300 --> 00:17:33.160 We could be here this morning learning all about the knowledge of God, but it still never traveled to our heart. 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:41.620 So let me encourage you this Christmas season, and I know if you take time out of your morning to worship the Lord during the Christmas holiday, 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:43.820 your heart is to honor Christ. 00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:48.820 But can I encourage you this year to keep honoring Christ? 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:56.840 To not just a holiday, but make it about something that you do every day, because God wants 00:17:56.840 --> 00:17:59.670 to do a work in you that endures forever. 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:04.620 This message has been brought to you by Alpine Bible Church in Lehi, Utah. 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:08.870 If you'd like more information, please visit us online at alpine Bible.com.