Wise Men Who Worship
By Stovall Weems
In Matthew 2:9-12 we find the story of wise men who followed a star that led to the house where the child Jesus Christ was. When these wise men met Jesus for the first time, they bowed down and worshiped him. We can learn some things from these men who were kings of regions and leaders of people.
Wise leaders . . .
- Know their destiny is in none other than the person of Jesus Christ (v9)
- Humble themselves before Jesus and honor Him in what they do and how they live (v11)
- Bring their best treasures to Him; it was what supported Jesus in that day and what finances His cause today (v11)
- Take time to worship Him
- Hear from God and follow His voice – his direction for their lives (v12)
Matthew 2:9-12 (NLT)
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
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Thank you, Jesus for the indescribable gfits you give to the sons if men. I am thankful that all our springs of joy are in you, oh Lord and You Yourself are our Praise and our Song. To the glory of our Father in heaven, fill us with that same Spirit Who raised you from the dead, that Your glory would flow ever more freely through us, washing over all with whom You in Your matchless wisdom cause us to come upon ! Son of David – have mercy on us – LORD let us see not only You, Our Marvelous Wonder and Your Glory in Heaven – communing now with Father God and interceeding for all the saints everywhere, , but also Your angelic hosts, blissfully ministering your sovereign will and testament throughout this earth world ! For You have created us to be your workmanship in Christ Jesus, Father, co-creators with Him, to the praise of your glory, and I would that we not be ignorant of Your Spirit, neither of Your perfecting will, neither of those you surround us with that are speeding headlong into hellish desctruction ! Father use every bit our hearts, all of our souls, every cell and particle and thought of our minds, all of our strengths , giftings, talents and abilities- perfect your grace in and through us, that Jesus would be able to apprehend His just inhieritence of the souls of all men, women and children everywhere !! We ask the for the nations, Mighty God ! We thank you for thrusting us as laborers into Your harvests !!!
GO BUCKS!
Sorry I omitted this from my first post…
I feel this is the most important part of the whole story which was overlooked
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
Even though they were in God’s will (seeking Jesus), satan tried to use them to lead him to Jesus so he could destroy Him !
You see the enemy knows we are seeking Jesus and since he can’t stop us from our journey, he will try to use our journey to destroy God in our lives.
Truly, a word of caution to all who are so caught up in the journey that the enemy uses our good intentions (the desire He gave us to seek Him) to destroy our worship, humility and free will offerings.
Humble yourself, you can never hear that one enough. Thank you for the insight.
Contrary to popular myths and Christmas carols the Bible does not say that there were three wise men, only three types of gifts given.
The story goes much deeper in that Isaiah’s prophecy foretold that gold and frankincense would be brought from the Gentiles to honor the heavenly king. [Is 60:6]
Gold represents a gift fit for a king and is the purest of the metals in which there is no impurity found in the Refiner’s fire.
Frankincense was the purest incense. When burned it produced a white smoke which symbolized the prayers and praises of the faithful ascending to heaven. This gift symbolizes sacrifice, Christ’s divinity, His sweet savor, and His priestly role. It is also a symbol of the Divine name of God.
Myrrh, which was common in medicine and embalming, symbolized Jesus the Great Physician, our Healer and the Passion which He would suffer. It also purified the body in which it was used..
Wise men STILL seek Him.
Pastor,
Another post on point and right when I was looking for some nuggets to chew on this week.
Now to try to relate your points to my own life……….
point 1: my destiny is in none other than Jesus Christ…………I can look back now and see God’s hand in my life before I had a relationship with Jesus. There were so many times I should have been dead or in prison, lost my family and my home, but God had a purpose for me Psalm 57:2.
I am so grateful for that
Point 2: Humble themselves before Jesus, honor Him…………….The humble part is where the difficulty is for me, but I continue to pray for a humble heart. The honoring part is no problem, because it is about obedience, and obedience is what I am chasing after each day. When I do as I am told I hear from the Lord.
Point 3: Bring treasures to him…………..Obedience again, with tithes and offerings. I can also see it being our skills and gifts. This needs an exercise of our faith. You once said that faith was an action word, here is where we can put it into action.
Point 4: Time to worship him……………Service and worship are different, from what I gather, I can increase in this area. I give Him a lot of my time, but can I consider the ministries I am involved in as worship?
Point 5: Hear from God and follow his voice…………..This is where I get the most joy. You have taught us about how to get under an open heaven (obedience) to hear his voice. When I am used by God, the feeling of joy overwhelms me physically and mentally. All I want is for someone else to experience that. If we try to figure out the Rubix Cube of our life, everything gets all messed up, and none of the colors align. But if we pass the Rubix Cube to God, all the sides are the same colors, and everything makes sense.
Your instruction is well noted, and I appreciate it more than you know.
In Christ
Jason
I would also add that wise leaders don’t go on the adventure alone (there were ore than one in the story).