TITLE: LIMITED KNOWLEDGE BUT WITH LIMITLESS LOVE

TEXT MT. 2:1-23

MAIN TRUTH: The presence of Jesus reveals the contents of our hearts.
Question Bridge: What does the presence of Jesus reveal about your heart?

Introduction:
In any given situation, the presence of Jesus Christ triggers human responses. The
responses will also reveal the contents of the peoples hearts. For many
generations, we have been singing Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth
receive her king. Is it, in fact, true that Jesus is the king of the hearts of people?

For many generations, we sang: O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, o
come, ye o come, ye to Bethlehem. Come and adore Him, born the king of angels
Is it true that when Jesus looks into the hearts of Filipinos, in the hearts of fathers
and mothers here today, He will see that there in the heart, is a wonderfully
beautiful adoring attitude? Is he, in fact, adored or ignored.

The presence of Jesus reveals the hearts of men. There is no question that this
happens even today. When two or three gather in His name, He says, there He is in
their midst. What does His presence today reveal about the contents of our hearts?

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, His very presence, although only as an infant,
immediately caused the contents of the hearts of people to be revealed. Lets take a
look at what His presence reveals about the hearts of the wise men we now
remember inaccurately as the Three Kings. They are also remembered as MAGI,
from the word used to describe them in the Bible; MAGOI (plural of Magos).
To look into ourselves, we can compare our hearts with the hearts of those who
were there when Jesus was born and he was just a growing boy. We can look into the
hearts of the wise men as we will do right now and see whether we see ourselves in
their place. We can look into the heart of Herod and see whether we have in fact a
Herodian heart. We can also look into the hearts of the Chief priests and scribes, the
learned men during those days and compare our hearts with theirs. What does the
presence of Jesus reveal about the hearts of the Wise men or the Magoi or magi?

MTS: The presence of Jesus reveals the contents of our hearts.

MT Question Bridge: What does the presence of Jesus reveal about your heart?

I THEIR IDENTITY:

1. Their place of origin. FROM THE EAST. Either Persia (Iran) for Magi were known to
be a major social cast in Persia during those days or Babylonians (Iraq). Wise men
were known in these countries.
2. Their social standing. The word Magi was associated with a group of men who
were skilled in medicine, philosophy and science. They were skilled in medicine,
philosophy and science. They were the recognized professors or those days.
Because unusual skills were always attributed to the gods, the gifted Magi were
thought of to be special persons to God, they were considered holy and wise.
3. Their unusual skills. Aside from being experts in science and medicine, the wise
men were also known for their unusual ability to find meaning in the movement of
the heavenly bodies. While horoscope is wrong, it does not say that the movement
of the heavenly bodies is without meaning. The Psalmist declares of the created
heavens as The heavens declare Thy glory, the firmament thy power. We know
that directions can be gleaned by a careful study of the stars. These men were
unusually skilled in finding out the meaning of the movement of the heavenly
bodies.
CONCLUSION: THESE WERE NOT ORDINARY MEN. BY THEIR POSITION AND ACCESS
TO POWER, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT FOR THEM AND GENERALLY
PREFERABLE TO STAY IN THEIR PLACE OF ORIGIN BECAUSE OF THEIR UNUSUAL
POSITION IN THOSE PLACES. BUT, THE PRESENCE OF JESUS CREATES A CRAVING
THAT NO POWER, PRESTIGE OR POSSESSIONS CAN STOP. NOW WE COME TO THE
SECOND TRUTH ABOUT THE WISE MEN.

II THEIR INTENTIONS:
The wise men had three specific intentions:
1. Initial: To find out the place where the king of the Jews was born. Their knowledge
was limited but their love was limitless! The star they saw can only point to Israel
but a definite direction was needed.

2. Highest Intention: To worship Him.

3. Final Intention (before returning): To present their gifts to the new born King. Gold
always the preferable gift for the royalty. Gold was the king of metals and was the
most appropriate gift for a King. Incense (or Frankincense-pure incense) was used in
offering to God. Myrrh was part of the anointing oil, it was also a perfume, it was
used to anoint the dead.

In the words of one writer, Jesus received Gold because He was King. He received
incense because He was God. He received Myrrh because he was a man. Myrrh
would make his life more pleasant (as perfume), his pain less dreadful (as
anesthetic) and his burial less repulsive.

To find the King, to worship Him, to offer gifts, the wise men showed the contents of
their hearts. They had to contend with several Ds: Distance, Difficulties of travel,
Dangers along the way, and Discomforts of being in foreign land. Not one of these
stopped the wise men. Their wisdom and the purity of their hearts got revealed by
their willingness to go to all these sacrifices to find the Lord to worship Him and to
present their gifts and offerings.

THE WISE MEN WERE MODEL worshippers. When worship is the hearts desire, there
is no question of distance (Susan from Cebu), when worship is the desire of the
heart, there is no question of danger (the born again believers in the Arab nations).
When worship is the desire of the heart, discomforts are not the main things they
do not deter worship. When worship is the issue, difficulties do not get in the way
Lola Ancheta.

The wise men have given us models as to how to worship. Find out where you can
have a personal encounter with God (in the church, during worship service). Decide
to worship notwithstanding distance, dangers, discomforts and difficulties. Present
something to the King. Gold because He is King (most precious of metals then),
Frankincense because He is God and Myrrh because we want to give him pleasure.

III THEIR INSIGHT:

1. THEY DISOBEYED THE HUMAN KING. Obedience to human authority is always
conditional. We obey provided the command does not stand in conflict with the will
of God. Look, young people, you dont have to obey your fraternity officers simply

because they are officers. Measure their command according to the measurement
of Gods will. Better still, ask your parents whether you can join a particular student
organization or not. That must be a family decisions in the same way that your
going to school is a family decision.

2. THEY OBEYED GOD EVEN THOUGH THE INSTRUCTION WAS ONLY THROUGH A
DREAM.
The secret of life is that we learn where to find the will of God. In their case, it
probably was from the body of knowledge they have learned from exiled Jews (word
of God). They also discovered the will of God from the stars. They also discovered
the will of God from the dreams. Today, we can discover the will of God primarily
from the Word, then from the preaching of the Word, then from the sharing from the
Word and even from ordinary sharing among believers.

CONCLUSION: THE MAGOI WERE RICH AND INFLUENTIAL MEN. THEY HAD SO MUCH
KNOWLEDGE THEY KNEW THAT THE KING WAS BORN. THEY KNEW THE COUNTRY
ISRAEL. BUT THEY DID NOT KNOW THE NAME OF THE LOCAL VILLAGE BETHLEHEM.
THEY HAD, LIMITED KNOWLEDGE.

THEIR LIMITED KNOWLEDGE, ON THE OTHER HAND, WAS AMPLY COMPENSATED BY

THEIR LIMITLESS LOVE FOR THE SAVIOR AND KING. THEY DID NOT ALLOW
DISTANCE, DANGERS, DISCOMFORTS, DIFFICULTIES TO PREVENT THEM FROM
FINDING WHERE THE LORD, WORSHIP HIM AND TO OFFER TO HIM THEIR GIFTS.
SUCH A WORSHIPFUL HEART. SUCH A WISE HEART.

May be something is stopping you from worship. Tiredness, friends, schedules, a

relationship. But, a true worshipper finds a way. When there is a will to worship,
there is a way to worship. It is not to see is to believe but to believe is to see.

Limited Knowledge yes. But limitless love. A love that does not allow anything to
get in the way of worship.

In 1896 Judson Van de Venter wrote these words which became a popular Hymn:

ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER ALL TO HIM I FREE GIVE

I WILL EVER LOVE AND TRUST HIM IN HIS PRESENCE DAILY LIVE.
CHORUS: I SURRENDER ALL, I SURRENDER ALL. ALL TO THEE MY BLESSED SAVIOR, I
SURRENDER ALL.

Lord, let our wisdom be shown by the willingness to worship whatever the cost. Let
all of us say I WORSHIP YOU, O MIGHTY GOD, THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU. I WORSHIP
YOU, O PRINCE OF PEACE, THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO. I GIVE YOU PRAISE, FOR
YOU ARE MY RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Note: May be used or shared freely. no need to cite me as source but of course do
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