Message The Aftermath 01/15/2017

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1 Message The Aftermath 01/15/2017 Good Morning Church! I am Glad you are all here today. I pray that God is going to reveal something to all of us today as we enter His Word! AMEN! I have entitled my message today The Aftermath And we are going to explore the Scriptures found in Matthew 2 After Jesus was Born. For those of you who know me you know that I have spoken about this part of Scripture many times. This is where we realize that the Magi was indeed not at the manger the way we see most Nativity s That they came sometime after he was born. And I have told this before but the day that Angie and I read that Scripture while doing our morning devotionals we were astonished! It was like finding out that the Easter Bunny didn t exist! OPPS! Sorry Marilyn I thought you knew! See all our lives all we ever knew was the Nativity scene showing everyone gathered around Jesus in the Manger and to find out that they weren t all there the

2 night He was born well was like someone had been lying to us all along. And I am over that now Not Really but because I know now I want others to know as well. All in All, they were still part of the miracle of His Birth. And honestly you don t have to feel embarrassed by not knowing If you didn t know Because if that were the case I would be embarrassed every time I picked up the Bible! I mean I was 40 years old when I found out and God continues to show me new things everyday! And it really just goes to show you that when you are not engage in God s word (As I had not been for 40 years) and being led by the Holy Spirit that the Glory and who He is could not be truly revealed to me. Because see it wasn t until I offered my life to Him that changes started to happen. I started to see things I couldn t see before! Now as always the scriptures hold deeper meanings and some truths about how people have responded to the coming Jesus the Messiah since the beginning of time even today! So I pray God shows you something! So here we go with The Aftermath Our Scripture Verses are found in

3 Matthew 2 (NIV) The Magi Visit the Messiah 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. Now the first thing we read... is that The Magi (The wise men from the East) brought gifts to the infant Jesus? It is believed that the wise men were from Parthia the most powerful nation next to Rome) They were also Astrologers...studying the stars is what they did and likely Jewish descendents Biblical scholars as well of the Old Testament. and they brought Gifts of (gold, frankincense, and myrrh And the Lord Spoke to them thru the Stars! See when you are engaged in God and His word He can speak to you in many ways and Thru many ways as well! So the Old Testament Prophesies and the Stars told them that God s Child would be born and they came to Jerusalem LOOKING for the Messiah and they were asking where the King of the Jews was Referring to Jesus of Course? Then it says! 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he (King Herod) had called together all the people s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written:

4 6 But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. This Came from the Prophet Micah written 700 years before Christ! Now even though His own counselors told Herod He was not a believer And He felt threaten by this new Ruler of the People Because he was a self-righteous Dictator The King of that day! He was not very well liked and He was defiantly not liked by the Jews! And He was not happy about this news It says that 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, And He is not alone here! and all Jerusalem with him. So I can only imagine that there must have been a Murmuring and gossiping going on in the religious community about this Jesus Child! I can only imagine how upsetting this must have been for them they would have been nervous about what was being said and unsure about what was to happen. They would have known or felt that change was in the Air! Almost like having everyone change their seat at church! AMEN!

5 And it would seem that everyone was taken aback by the arrival of the Magi Reinforcing the events of Jesus Birth. By the way Did you know about the Manger that Jesus was born in? This came to me by way of Mervin Lee from the Church in Jamestown. He sent an article a couple years ago about some research regarding the stable that Jesus was born in. Now we always portray the stable as a Dirty environment and that it was for Animals But this stable was where Jesus was Born was for Special animals It was used for Lambs that were being taken Care of before they were sacrificed on the altar. It was a Special Stable in which people brought their Sacrificial lambs to be cared for while they were Visiting and often they were Wrap in swaddling cloth s to protect them from harm! So this is how the Sheppard s would have known where to go when the Angel told the that He would be Wrap in Swaddling Clothes because they did that to protect the Lambs? Ok That was Free! 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him. Well we know that King Herod did not have good intentions here No one was going to be King accept Him and Frankly I don t think he could see the Star I

6 think God Hid it from His Eyes otherwise why wouldn t he have just went and found him on his own or sent his men! 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. Now I don t read anywhere else where this Star was seen by anyone except the Magi even in the accounts of the Sheppard s there is no mention of the star. And it is because God only made this star visible to the eyes of these Believers! Because it says next! 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. They suddenly they knew what they had thought and known all along was coming together and they were overjoyed. Because when you meet Jesus you are overjoyed! And the star directed them to the house where Jesus was not the Stable. It says; 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. What would be your first reaction if you saw Jesus? Truly if you knew it was Him what would be your reaction? It Says;

7 Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They Brought Gifts You understand this would be the First Tithe to the Son of God Jesus! And they were not just any Gifts but gifts fit for a King! Gold Frankincense was Perfume. and Myrrh was an expensive anointing Oil or spice used to anoint a body for burial. These were the Gifts for a King of that Day. And I wonder do I bring Jesus a Tithe fit for a King from my worldly treasures? Do we honor Jesus with the Gifts we bring each week is our Gift/Tithe to Jesus Fit for the King or does it look more like some handout you would give to the Poor? I mean What do you give to someone who truly saved your life? What would you give someone if they had given their life for you? Then it says about the Magi. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. So then comes the Escape to Egypt 13 When they (Magi) had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.

8 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son. 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. [d] Again some 600 years before Jesus Birth! For me this is the aftermath of Christ Birth. So Herod Dies when Jesus is about 4 years old and they go back to Israel 19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child s life are dead. 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.

9 Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. The Word of the Lord AMEN! You know When we look at this Part of Jesus Life we see the reactions of many people. We see longing by the Magi They Long to see the Messiah that had been foretold to them by God thru the scripture and the stars. But we also see the Greed and envy of people who didn t want their lives to be changed and so they were willing to do whatever it took to secure that even to the point of the death to innocent children. The Aftermath! And why couldn t the Pharisees and the teachers of the law see in the scriptures What the Magi saw! See this is also the Aftermath of the Birth of Jesus It is the point where each man and woman was going to accept or deny Jesus as Lord and Savior as Messiah of the world sent by God! Some will Accept Him and Be Glorified by God and Others will NOT accept Him and the Aftermath of Sin will devour them! See the Magi traveled a Long way to see Him and they longed in their hearts for the experience just to honor Him.

10 My guess is if they were here today they would be called Jesus Freaks! AMEN! And for some of us we don t understand that because we are so caught up in the world around us we simply have no time to even consider what that would be like or be like for us to Long so much for Jesus! And yet for others there is this longing for peace and comfort from the business of life and the constant pressures of Money, Fame, and fortune! So we go from one extreme to the other here don t we We go from the Magi wanting to find the Messiah. to King Herod who wants Him dead! Now many of you may not want Jesus Dead But is He alive in you Because the God that we serve is alive by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. Our acceptance of Him in our lives and in our soul is where Jesus rest...and when we get close to Him suddenly there is a longing to be closer. King Herod didn t want His throne to be interrupted by Jesus and for some of us I hate to say it but that is the way we feel about Jesus too! I don t want Him to interrupt my Kingdom! My Throne!

11 I have Plans and if I spend too much time on Jesus then I won t accomplish all I want? He will be in the road! But Jesus didn t come to Interrupt your life He came to make your life more abundant. Just the opposite He wants to be a Part of who you are? Some of us work so hard at keeping Jesus out of our lives that if we worked that hard to keep Jesus in our lives we would see blessing beyond our wildest understandings. (We don t do Morning devotions we hardly ever pray we don t make church a priority let alone reading our Bible) Who Does That beside the Pastor? But honestly church you re missing out on the true Glory of having Him in our lives by choosing not to engage in His Glory! Herod thought that if this Jesus came that he was going to miss out on something in his life That His throne would be taken from Him But what He didn t realize was that he was going to miss out by not accepting Jesus into His Kingdom and many of us do the same thing. The Magi saw what Herod couldn t see because God was not visible to Him. Is God Visible to you?

12 Do you see the Glory of the works of God in your life? God Protected Jesus because that was the Plan He was making sure that not only would His word be fulfilled but that the people who were willing would see the light of the world and have a more enriched and more abundant life because of accepting His Son Jesus into their Lives.! When you invite Christ into your life and you make Him a Priority You become sensitive to His Holy Spirit and the Spirit opens your eyes to His Glory. Joseph and Mary were ultra sensitive to the Spirit they didn t hesitate when God called them to move But for some of us we just have no desire to be sensitive to the Spirit We want our Christianity to be about our wants and our desires and successes and our accomplishments! We want a whole lot of the world w/a little bit of Jesus! We don t want to be told what is best because what we think is best is almost always in our plans to please ourselves and never to please God and Others! And we are so blinded by our selfishness we can t see what is truly best for us.

13 That is why many marriages fail because someone feels slighted by the other and then we become very selfish to have things our way! I don t know about you but I watch people turn away from things that are what is best for them all the time. They hold onto heritages and comfort without change to a fault. They put themselves in danger because they refuse to listen to wisdom out of their own selfishness and it isn t until something catastrophic happens that even consider a change. Are you going to wait until something catastrophic happens before you decide to change your life and come to know Jesus! And you may think in all of this that Jesus Hated Herod but Jesus didn t come to take Herod s earthly Kingdom but to be the King of Herod s heart just like He wants to be king of your heart. Jesus has no selfish intent and He calls us to follow His example for our own sake not His? That s why He suffered and died on the Cross so He could show us the value of what our lives meant to him!

14 And By Dying he paid the ultimate sacrifice He was the Spotless Lamb in the stable where they kept the Spotless Lambs for Sacrifice and He did this all for us. Rising from the Dead He destroyed the enemy s stronghold and showed us that there is life after death by way of Jesus! Let s face it most of us do not have treasures like the Magi had to give Jesus But Jesus never really wanted our gifts anyhow all He was looking for was to live in our hearts. Herod, certainly didn t desire to have Him live there and even most of the Jews of that day Rejected Him. But when we are willing to turn our lives over to Him, suddenly we will be able to see His Glory happening everyday! If you are not seeing the Glory of God working in your life than chances are you re not close enough to see it! Are you willing to consecrate your life to do those things which God has chosen for you con se crate means to make or declare sacred; dedicate formally to a religious or divine purpose: or will you continue on the Journey in fear and trembling of what is next in this world?

15 God waits for His children to give their lives over so He can reveal Himself in mighty ways! But don t take my advice about it Church Read your Bible and find out for yourself! And All God s Children Said; AMEN! As the Praise Team comes forward! Will you come to the Altar of Sacrifice today and Give your life over to Him. Will you give Him the Gift fit for a King? Is your life worth the sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross? Jesus Thought so! God Thought so? Let today be the Beginning of the rest of your life? And maybe you re here today and you have been saved, Born again Then show the Others Here how important His calling on your life has meant by coming and Praying for those who are not Saved! Christians we are to be the example to the unsaved let others know how much you appreciated His sacrifice for your life? Come to the altar in prayer for them? Church Come as we sing!

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