Wise Men Still Seek Jesus Today

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Clifford Carpenter
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Wise Men Still Seek Jesus Today Why does the Bible call these men from the East, "wise men"? There are a few things that we can learn from these wise men. They were called wise because; 1.

1 Wise Men Still Seek Jesus Today Why does the Bible call these men from the East, "wise men"? There are a few things that we can learn from these wise men. They were called wise because; 1. They sought after Jesus to worship Him. Matthew 2v1-2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him. They realised that there is only one star and His name is Jesus. He is the Bright and Morning Star. There is no other star but Jesus. He should always get the glory and always have the pre-eminence in our lives. I don t follow the stars. I follow the One who made the stars. Only He is worthy of our worship. The wise men sought to worship Him. So my question to you is What are you seeking and who and what are you worshipping? Does anything attract you more than Jesus does? Does anything stimulate you more than Jesus? Here are some interesting questions to ask yourself Are you worshipping your job? Are you worshipping education? Education is important but it s not your salvation Are you worshipping yourself? (Your image, your reputation) Are you seeking fulfilment through alcohol, drugs? Do you drown your sorrows through the bottle? Proverbs 23:29-35 NLT

2 29 Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30 It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. 31 Don t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. 32 For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. 33 You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. 34 You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. 35 And you will say, They hit me, but I didn t feel it. I didn t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink? Are you seeking love through different and wrong relationships? The woman at the well was trying to fill her love tank with different men. Only One man could satisfy, and His name was Jesus. Perhaps you going after fame, power, position, material things? It's okay to have these things but we don't seek them. We seek and worship Jesus and He adds these things to us. You can enjoy things but don t worship things. You can serve God with your money, but you can't serve God and money. Jesus should always be the center. Are you seeking these things in order to be accepted and approved by others? (Approval addiction) You can't please everybody. The key to failure is to try and please everyone. You have already been approved and accepted by God through Jesus. Or will you seek Jesus this Christmas and this coming year. Will you seek to worship Him and Him alone. There is an inborn urge in each person to worship. If we don t worship God we will find something else to worship, whether it be a job, a family, money, a sport, or even ourselves.

3 Christmas is all about God sending His Son Jesus to save us from our sins. God is now at peace with all mankind. He said, "Peace on earth and goodwill toward all men." But many people are not at peace with God which results in them not having peace with others and especially no peace with themselves. Before you can have the peace OF God, you first need to have peace WITH God. So we need to get our focus and our attention back on Jesus. Make room in your heart for Him. There was no room for Jesus in the inn. (All the hotels were fully booked). Jesus was not born in a manger because his father Joseph never had money to book a room in an hotel. He had the money. It says there was no room in the hotel. But he was loaded. He had gold, frankincense and myrrh. He was blessed. Jesus was born in a manger. A wooden box that was used to feed animals from. No beautiful incubator like the hospitals have. Jesus was born in the lowest of the low in order to identify with us. But He doesn't keep us low. He came to raise us back up again and put us back in the position that we were in before Adam sinned. From guttermost to uttermost From rags to riches From sin to righteousness From poverty to prosperity From sickness and disease to soundness and wholeness From a nobody to being a somebody. This Christmas and all year through, give room to Jesus in your heart. Wise men, wise women, wise children, still seek and worship Jesus today. 2. They were wise because they were not distracted from their mission. Matthew 2:7-9 NKJV Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for

4 the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also. When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. The wise men were invited by King Herod. Even though they were invited by king Herod, this did not distract them from their purpose. Herod was a great king and many would like to have been invited by him. But the wise men stayed focused on their mission. They sought Jesus to worship Him. Because He was and still is The King of all kings. Revelation 1:5-6 NKJV and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Don t be sidetracked from God s purposes for your life. Stay focused on your mission. Galatians 5:7 NKJV You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? Don t allow other people to distract you from your mission. Get your eyes off other people. Don t fight the giant of other people s opinions. Don t fight the giant of jealousy. Don t be hell bent on getting revenge. If you going to take revenge, then you better dig two graves. Don t allow yourself to be distracted by bitterness. Joseph stayed focused on his mission. Don't allow other things to distract you and draw your attention away from the plans and purposes that God has for your life. Stay focused. Your blessing is in the place where God has placed you. 3. They were wise because they did not follow ungodly counsel. Herod, who is a type of the enemy, wanted the wise men to return to him. He wanted them to bring him news of where Jesus was, so that he could go and kill him. But they were wise and did not heed his counsel. They followed and obeyed the counsel of God. Matthew 2:12 NKJV Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

5 Make sure that you don't just listen to and follow anybody's voice and counsel. We must follow the voice of our good Shepherd Jesus. You must be able to make decisions without being influenced by the negative voices of others. Listen to godly counsel. Psalm 1:1-3 NKJV Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. This Christmas and this coming new year mix and associate with people of like precious faith. People who build you up. People who encourage you towards your destiny. Spend time with people who celebrate you not with people who tolerate you. Spend time with people of faith not fear because fear tolerated is faith contaminated. 4. They were wise because they were givers. They presented their gifts to Jesus. Matthew 2:11 NKJV And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Notice how they worshipped Him. They worshipped Him by presenting gifts to Him. They saw their giving as an act of worship. They opened their treasures. Where your heart is there your treasure will be. Open your heart and present Jesus with your best gifts. It wasn t shabby giving. They gave God their best. Gold, frankincense and myrrh were the best gifts in their day. Don t give leftovers and don t tip God. Bring your best to Jesus. See your giving as act of worship. What was the result. They were divinely warned by God not to go back to Herod. Their giving brought about Divine deliverance for them. When you give your best to Jesus, Divine deliverance shows up in your life to deliver you from trouble. When you give your best to Jesus, He will always give His best to you. Wise people are givers. They don't withhold more than is right. They follow God's example because they have the same giving nature as God. Proverbs 11:24 NKJV There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than

6 is right, but it leads to poverty. One prayer that has enriched my life is this, Lord, make me a blessing wherever I go. (Kenneth.E. Hagin) When you release what's in your hand, God will release what's in His hand for you. You and I are distribution centers. Whatever comes in must also be able to go out. Some people are so stingy, so selfish. They just think about themselves all the time. The whole world just revolves around them. They won't pay for anything. They won t sow anything. They just want to receive. And there world keeps on getting smaller and smaller. Proverbs 11:24 MSG The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller is the year of Abundance. We've become addicted to receiving. Let's become addicted to giving. Don't allow fear to stop you from giving. Don't allow fear to stop you from sowing your best seed. And that is why the church exists. So we can go out and help others who are lost and in need. Wise people present and give their best to Jesus. They live blessing minded. If you want be wise and get a wise man's reward, then apply these truths that we spoke about today. 1. Seek Jesus and worship Him alone. 2. Do not be distracted from your purpose in life. Stay focused. 3. Listen and follow after godly counsel. 4. Always give your best to God. Wise men still seek Jesus today Pastor Lester Holland Christmas Message: 25 th December 2018

2017 Branson Victory Campaign. The Spirit of Increase

2017 Branson Victory Campaign. The Spirit of Increase 2017 Branson Victory Campaign The Spirit of Increase Pastor George Pearsons A. Psalm 115:12-16 The Day of Increase 1 Verses 12-16 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house