the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and he shall reign forevermore and evermore. Amen? If I were a wise man, I would travel for. If I were a shepherd, I would do my part, but poor as I am, I will give to him my heart.
Good evening and Merry Christmas to everyone. For those who may not know me, my name is Lord, being Jake Moore. I am part of this wonderful Northbrook Bible Chapel family for approximately four years. I am delighted to see each of you gathered here today as we come here to celebrate this special time of this year.
I am thankful to Northbrook Bible Chapel family for asking me to share that Christmas message this evening. I'm hopeful welcome to all our visitors. We are so glad you are here to celebrate with us. Christmas is a time of joy, hope and love, and it's wonderful to have you here to experience it with us.
Thank you all once again for being here. I'll let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son, Lord Jesus Christ. Open our hearts to receive your word with clarity and understanding.
Help us to grasp the true significance of Christmas beyond the festivities. Help us to focus on the message of love, peace, and redemption to resonate within us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. The title of my message is finding Jesus, the joy of seeking and embracing His presence.
Millions of people around the globe, they are celebrating Christmas. The stores are full of ads, and it feels like the main focus is on buying things. Excited offers, buy one, get one free, tax free, up to 60 percentage, up to 70 percentage, lot of exciting offers. For a lot of folks, Christmas is all about Santa Claus and getting gifts.
But amidst all the excitement, many people might miss what Christmas is really about. We exchange presents, decorate our homes, and have delicious meals, but we forget the true meaning of Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas, according to the Bible, is about the God's immense love for humanity. The true meaning of Christmas is about love, kindness, and hope.
It's a time to share our love to our friends, to our families and our neighbors, and to help those who need and to be thankful for what we have. The birth of Jesus Christ was prophesied the word has meant of the Bible centuries before it happened. These prophecies pointed out specific details about his birth, life, and purpose. Approximately between 700 to 750 BC, Michael prophesied the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.
He was a prophet in Judah. Micah chapter five verse two, it says, but you bet like him, Ephrata, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you all shall come forth to me, the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from a fold from everlasting. And we can see another prophecy in Isaiah. Isaiah chapter nine verse six, it says, for unto us the child is born, and to us the son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting for the prince of peace.
What is the central theme conveyed by the message of Christmas? Matthew chapter one verse 21 says, and she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from the sins. He took on a body of human flesh, so he could bear in that body the sins of the world. He died on the cross to bear the weight of humanity, seems to pay the price for our wrongdoing, and to free us from the burden of guilt, and the consequence of our inequities.
So Christmas is primarily a celebration of God's love, towards mankind, and Christmas is not a Christmas, without the message of death and resurrection of Christ. When I read Matthew and Luke's gospel, I thought that draws my attention towards the wise man, and shepherds. I would like to share some thoughts, and let us see God's help to understand the visits of the wise man and shepherds at this time of Savior's birth. I found something interesting, or the contrast or difference between the two groups, about their social status, about their response to birth, the means of guidance, and the location of finding Jesus, and the gifts presented.
I'm not going through in detail because of time. So the wise man, they were learned people, they were guided by star, they bowed down, and worshipped Jesus, and found Jesus in a house in Bethlehem. Shepherds, they were humble, working class, received an angelic message, visited Jesus, and spread the good news. And found Jesus in a lying manger.
Matthew chapter two, verses one to 12, we see wise man from the east. They were also called Magi, who are the Magi? Now you can see in verse one, now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise man from the east came to Jerusalem. Wise man from east came to Jerusalem.
Why east? Have you ever thought about it? Why east? In the Bible, the east carries simple, he can signify meaning in various contexts.
In the book of Genesis, the garden of Eden, it's said to have been situated in the east. Genesis chapter two was aid, and Adam and Eve sinned, they were expelled from the garden of Eden, and God-paced, jurubium, and flaming sword to guard the way of the tree of life from the east. Genesis chapter three was 24. So the eastward, both each need signifies the separation of humanity from God's presence and the paradise lost.
Therefore, I believe the wise man saw the star in the east. Wise man, they were gentiles, they were scholars, they were highly educated people, they know everything. Some historian says that they have good knowledge about science and mathematics, scholars, and they have a good understanding of astronomy, astrology, and possibly some of their issotoric teachings. That means that hidden teachings and all those things are very good at.
The specific homeland of Manjai or the wise man is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. Possibly they were from Persia or Babylon, the modern day Iraq. Historians tells us that whenever the wise man, they move from one place to one other, thousands of troops, they follow the wise man, because they are so valuable in their nation. They are highly respected people, they are advisors to the kings.
The distance they travel could be significant in those days. If they want to travel, it takes a lot of time. They need a lot of preparation. Potentially hundreds of miles, they travel to see the king of the Jews.
Verse two, saying it's Waiarski, who has been born the king of Jews for we have seen his star in the east have come forth to what she peem. So the wise man came to worship whom? The king of the Jews. They followed the star as they journeyed to Jesus.
Here's something interesting we can see. They saw the star and they followed the star. But when they arrived to Jerusalem, they passed. Why?
They thought that the king of the Jews might have born in Jerusalem. Then what happens? They went to see the king Herod and seeking guidance from King Herod and asking King Herod, where is the one born, the king of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. Verse three says, when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.
When we begin our journey with Christ, we often start well. But sometimes we get sidetracked like the wise man did. They made a mistake by assuming a city held a new born king. Similarly in our spiritual journey, we might have take wrong turns or get distracted along the way.
Most of the times we get distracted very easily. If somebody's coming to the chapel right now, you all will turn that side. Probably I will also see who is coming here. So we all get distracted very quickly.
The only thing I have noticed that when my son plays video game, no distraction, very much focused, very focused. In simple terms, this story reminds us that distractions can lead us astray and seeking guidance from the wrong sources can be harmful. We know the story, what happened. It's crucial to stay focused in our spiritual journey and be cautious of influences that might lead us away from our faith in Christ.
And verse four, and when he heard, gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he incurred of them where the Christ was to be born. So he had not called all the scribes and the religious leaders and they said, he was born in Bethlehem. So verse nine to 11, he says, when they heard the king, they deported and behold the star, which they had seen in the east, when before him till it came and stood where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worship him. And when they had opened the treasures, they presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and my, in moments of strain of a journey with Christ, his guidance remains constant. The biblical story of the wise man following the guiding star highlights how God provides the way for us to find our path back to him. When they followed the star, it led them to their destination, reflecting God's promise to guide and lead us back to him when we seek his direction.
Then what happened? We all know that they fell down and worship him. They fell down and worship him. What it implies?
This implies that the wisdom of the world summits the supremacy of heavenly wisdom. It means that the worldly wisdom bows down in front of the heavenly wisdom. This morning, brother, he may spoke about why God informed shepherds. On the other hand, when we look at shepherds, they were very ordinary people.
They were outcast. They have no social status in their society. They always leave remote in their places. They don't have any connection with the people.
Sometimes even they could not able to follow the Pharisee's strict laws. They could not keep up the Sabbath. So it's totally outcast and despised people. They are not educated like wise men.
They are very low income people. If you look at Luke chapter two, verses eight to 10, it says, now they're in the same country, shepherds leaving out in the fields, keeping watch over the flock by night and behold an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, do not be afraid for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. Verse 11 and 12, it says, for that is born to you this day in the city of David of Savior who is Christ the Lord and this will be the sign to you.
You will find a baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth, lying in a manger. Have you ever thought about swaddling cloths? It's not cloth, cloths. A lot of young mothers here, if you ask them how much cloth you need to wrap a baby.
Probably a small towel that's enough, right? We no need cloths. If you want to get the answer white, mention as close, we need to go back to Isaiah 61. I would encourage you to read those chapters, God will speak to you through those verses.
Isaiah chapter 61 was three. We can see that three things, government of price. Second one, Isaiah chapter 61 was 10, it says government of salvation and the third one, the ropes of righteousness. That's why it said swaddling cloths.
He was wrapped with the government of price, was wrapped with the government of salvation. He was wrapped with the ropes of righteousness. Luke chapter two was 15. So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherd said to one another, let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord had made known to us.
And when they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby and the baby lying in a manger. When I wrote, when I read those verses, what struck my hearties? Shepherd believed what angels said to them. Even today, God speak to us through various people.
Sometimes God speak to us through the elders from the church. Or when we read Bible, God speak to us, when we pray, God speak to us. But most of the times what we do, we ignore it. Sometimes we say that not now, I won't believe right now, probably I can believe later on.
So we keep postponing it, but here we can see, shepherd believed what angels said to them. And verse 18, it says, they came with haste. It means haste means excessive speed. As soon as they heard, they did everything quickly.
They understand the urgency of movement or action. When we receive a word of God, we need to do something immediately. Most of the time in our life, we keep postponing our work. Sometimes we make resolutions in New Year, or important days, but we have crossed so many New Year's.
Yet we delay the things that is most important in our life. Thirdly, they immediately left the frogs and went to see the new born baby in Bethlehem. Sometimes when we want to see Christ, we need to leave what we are holding. We need to leave.
Sometimes we hold some of our commitments. We hold our possessions, some distractions that can take precedence over our spiritual journey with Christ. It is important for us to ask ourselves what we have done to Christ. Verse 17, it says, now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying, which was told them concerning this child.
And all of those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. And finally, the shepherds shared the message they had received about him without this. Just like the shepherds, we need to spread kindness, hope, and the message of love and salvation to those around us, bringing joy and inspiration to those who hear it. These are the lessons we can learn from the shepherds.
Finally, what lessons we can glean from the experience of the wise man and the shepherds in their encounters with the birth of Jesus. He came to this world for rich, poor, educated, upper class, middle class, lower class, you name it. He came to this world for everyone. Jesus arrival was to offer forgiveness and redemption from our sins.
He paid the price of humanity since through his death on the cross, providing a path for people to be reconciled with God. We are all getting ready for Christmas. It is a time for jubilation. I'm sure we all invited our friends, our relatives, maybe neighbors, colleagues for our Christmas party.
And I'm sure you might have invited Christ as well to your home. But not, I request you to invite Christ to your home, to your heart. I would like to tell your story, and I would like to finish. Not too long ago, a shoemaker who lived in a city with his wife, they had two children, and his name is Martin.
Children's all grown up. They got married, left their homes, went far away from their parents. One fine morning, Martin's wife died due to some health issues. It was Christmas Eve like this.
As usual, Martin went to pray. And he said to Lord, I am alone for this Christmas. I would like to invite you to come to my home tomorrow. Would you please come?
And then he slept. And God appeared in his dream on the same night. And said, Dear son, don't worry. I will come to your home tomorrow.
And Martin was so happy. He got up very early in the morning, and he cleaned his house. And he prepared some food. And he sat close to his window and looking for the God's arrival.
He was just waiting for God. After some time, when he was waiting, someone was knocking at the door. And Martin rushed and opened the door, and he saw a beggar. He don't have any proper clothes.
It was very cold outside. He was shivering. His hands, his legs were frozen. Martin felt very sorry and invited that beggar into his home.
And he provided a pair of good shoes. And he provided some food to Martin. And the beggar was so thankful to him. And he left his home.
And then he started again waiting for the Lord to come to his home. Time passed by. It's now its afternoon. Then again, he heard someone knocking his door.
He rushed and opened the door. At this time, he found a hungry woman with a little child. They don't have proper clothes. The child was not wrapped properly.
Again, he felt very sorry. And he said, please come on in. And he provided some clothes and provided some food. And he told, he went to his room and picked up a jacket and give to her.
And he said, you take it, my wife will be very happy. And after some time, the hungry woman left his home. It was now evening time. He was waiting.
And he was little disappointed. What's happening? Why God is not coming to my home. And by the time, in the evening, someone again knocked his door.
And he rushed and opened the door. And he found a young little boy, a lost boy on the street. And he told him, I was playing outside. I could not be able to find my home.
Can you please help me too? Take to my parents. And immediately, Martin said, don't worry, my son. I will take you.
It took so much time for him to find the address. And finally, he took him. And he found the place. And he handed over him to the parents.
And then he was very disappointed. It's now nighttime. He came back to his home. And as usual, he started praying.
He closed his door. And he cried with loud voice. And he said, Lord, I invited you. And you told me you will come to my home.
What happened? Why you didn't come to my home? I was waiting for you all day. You didn't come to my home.
Are you not happy with me? And God appeared in front of him. And I said, my dear son, as I promised to you, I came to your home three times. First, I came to your home as a beggar.
You provided me a pair of good shoes. And second time I came to your home with a hungry human, with a little child. And you provided me a jacket and a foot. And everything what they need.
And the third time I came to your home as a little boy. At that time, you took your time and found the parents. And you handed it over him. So three times I came to your home.
I'm so pleased the way you have treated and the way you have done everything. And God, then Martin, and Martin reminded. God said, you can read Matthew chapter 25 verses 35 to 40. For I was hungry and you gave me food.
I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick.
You visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you as stranger and take you in? Or naked and clothed you? Or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And the king will answer and say to them, I surely I say to you, he inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it for me.
Let us be kind and show our love to everyone. May the message of Christmas fill your life with love, joy, and peace. And may God's grace be with you during this special season. Amen.