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TEACHINGS TO VALLEY VIEW COMMUNITY CHURCH

Advent Conspiracy

12/27/2009 - Love All, Selected Scripture

Good morning and welcome to the belated Christmas celebration of Valley View Community Church. We're so glad that you're here this morning to rejoice and to celebrate the birthday of the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world, the Son of the Living God, King Jesus!

If you've been with us the past few weeks you know that we've been preparing ourselves for the birth of Christ with a series called the Advent Conspiracy. The word advent literally means "arrival" or "coming" and so we've been getting ourselves ready for the coming of the King whose arrival came on Friday, December 25.

And to prepare for his arrival we set aside these four Sundays of Advent to discuss how we can worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all because love is what it's all about. Love is what prompted God to give us his Son, the greatest Christmas gift of all.

And no single sentence sums up Christmas better than John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God loved. God gave. We believe. We live. That's the message of Christmas. That's what all the excitement is about or should be about. That's why we want to worship fully and spend less on ourselves and give more of ourselves to others and love all with the same ridiculous love that God has for us.

And because it's Jesus' birthday we want to give gifts to him. That makes sense, doesn't it? When we go to a birthday party for a family member or a friend we bring a gift. But what do we give to Jesus? What do we give the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who has everything?

Well in Matthew 25 Jesus tells us what's on his Christmas list. In Matthew 25:35-36, 40 Jesus said, I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me .... ⁴⁰Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

And so this morning and next Sunday too we'll be accepting gifts for Jesus in the big boxes under the Christmas tree in the back. That's part of the Advent Conspiracy. That's part of teaming up together to make Christmas a blessing to the whole world which it was always meant to be.

And those gifts under the tree will be going to three local non-profit organizations that we partner with who are reaching out to the people that Jesus described and most identified with.

They'll be going to CHOC the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center in Norristown under the direction of Genny O'Donnell who said, "Boy if we could get some blankets and towels and socks and hats and gloves and scarves to keep our people warm this winter that would be such a huge help. And if we could get new underwear in all sizes for men and women and some gift cards to buy shoes and other necessities at Wal-Mart or Target that would make a big difference in someone's life."

So some of the gifts will be going to CHOC. And some will be going to PACS, Phoenixville Area Community Services, under the direction of Carol Berger who was here two weeks ago. And Carol told us that the families they deal with need toiletries like bar soap and shampoo and deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste, toilet paper and tissues and paper towels and wipes and diapers of all sizes for babies.

PACS can also use financial gifts to pay their staff that works tirelessly to help their clients get back on their feet. And we have a box under the tree marked "PACS" to receive those gifts.

And some of your gifts will be going to the Schwenksville Food Pantry, under the direction of Loretta Stevers. Loretta told us that they can always use can goods and non-perishable foods, but they especially need sugar-free, salt-free, and low-fat items that are better suited for the diabetics that they serve.

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, Jesus said, you did for me.

Gift giving is a part of Christmas. It always has been and I'm sure it always will be. But it didn't start with Santa Claus or even with St. Nicholas the generous 4^th century Turkish bishop who served the poor with special gifts at Christmas.

The first gifts that were brought to Jesus came from the Magi, wise men from the east who followed the star to worship him. And that story's found in Matthew 2. If you have a Bible you can meet me at Matthew 2:1-12 or just listen as I read.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ²and 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."

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a small village six miles south of Jerusalem. The name Bethlehem means "House of Bread" in Hebrew. So Jesus the bread of life was born in the house of bread. He was also born in the town where the great King David was born.

And for centuries the Jewish people had the expectation that the Messiah, the King of the Jews, would be born there too because he would be a descendant of David. He would be the Son of David.

So the Magi come looking for Jesus. But they're not Jewish. They're Gentiles who live a long way away. Most likely they're from Persia, modern day Iran, over a thousand miles to the east of Jerusalem. And they're learned men, wise men, who were skilled in philosophy and medicine and science. They could read the stars and for a long time they'd been following a certain star that they believed would lead them to a king.

We don't know exactly what that star was. Some have speculated that it was a supernova or a comet. Others claim that it was an alignment of Jupiter and Saturn. Still others say that it wasn't a star at all, but a supernatural manifestation of God, kind of like the pillar of fire that directed the Israelites through the wilderness after their Exodus out of Egypt. We're not sure what it was.

And it may have only been visible to the Magi who saw it with the eyes of faith. So they come to Jerusalem expecting everyone to know where the new born king is. But they don't know where the king is? There's been no baby born in Herod's palace.

Look at verse 3, And when King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

King Herod is disturbed, terrified really, and so is the whole city of Jerusalem because they know what kind of mad man he is. He's not going to like this news that the king of the Jews has been born because he claimed to be the king of the Jews. Herod gave himself that title even though he wasn't a son of David. He was only half Jewish and had no legal right to the throne. If this baby was really the king of the Jews then Herod knew that his gig was up and he'd be exposed for the phony that he really was.

So we read in verse 4, When he 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: 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Verse six is a quote from the Hebrew prophet Micah who penned that prediction about seven hundred years before that first Christmas. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, right down the street from King Herod, way too close for comfort.

And so in verse 7, Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

What a joke! Herod doesn't want to worship the baby. He wants to kill the baby and he wants the Magi to find him so that he can do his evil deed. King Herod is the picture of paranoia. He has four hundred body guards, fortresses all over Israel. He's already killed his wife, his mother-in-law, three of his own sons, and had given the order that on the day he died he wanted thousands of the most prominent people of Jerusalem rounded up and slaughtered to guarantee that at least there would tears at his death, if not tears for his death. This guy had issues.

Verse 9, After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.

The star leads them right to the zip code, right to neighborhood, right to the block, right to the very house where Jesus lived. And they're overjoyed! In most manger scenes you see the shepherds and the wise men kneeling next to each other worshiping the baby Jesus. But that's probably not the case. We know the shepherds came the night that Jesus was born. They saw the baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger, most likely a stone feeding trough in a dung filled cave.

But the wise men probably showed up much later, even years later. Because when they got there Jesus was not in a cave, but living in a house. And later when King Herod gives orders to slaughter all the boy babies in Bethlehem he draws the line at two years old and under which may have been the length of time that the Magi had followed the star. It had taken a long time to get to Jesus but they were determined to find him and when they finally did they were overcome with joy. It had been a long journey and a costly one too.

Look at verse 11, Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and of myrrh.

We don't know how many wise men there were. We usually think of three but there could have been more. According to legend they were kings with names like Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. But those names aren't found in Scripture. We don't know that for sure. What we do know for sure is the gifts that they gave. These are the first gifts we're told that Jesus received and each one is significant.

They gave gold. Gold is the gift for a king. Seneca, the ancient philosopher, once wrote that no one should ever approach a king without a gift. And gold, the king of metals, is the one gift that's fit for a king.

Somehow the Magi recognized that this young child living in a humble house in a tiny village with peasants for parents was a king. Even though he wasn't born in a palace surrounded by servants and silver spoons, he was the king of the Jews and he was their king as well, even though they weren't Jewish.

Do you recognize that Jesus is your king today? He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and one day the Bible says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. But God doesn't want us to wait until that day. He wants us to bow down and worship Jesus on this day, confessing that he alone is our Lord and our Savior and our King who will one day bring his kingdom with all its glory to this earth. They gave gold.

They gave frankincense. Frankincense or incense is the gift for a priest. Every day in the Temple the priest would light the altar of incense that would perfume the air and serve as a reminder of the prayers of God's people that were rising up to heaven like a sweet smelling aroma.

The Latin word for priest is the word pontifex which literally means "bridge-builder." Jesus is our priest. Jesus is our bridge-builder. He's the one, the only one, who has built a bridge to connect us to God.

The baby Jesus will grow up to say in John 5:24, Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Jesus has provided the way for you and for me to cross over from death to life, to have a relationship with God, to be at peace with God, to enter into God's very presence, to live now and to live forever. And it's all based on faith in who Jesus is and what he came to do for us. Have you crossed the bridge to life that Jesus has provided? You cross it when you believe that he is the King who died for you.

They gave Jesus gold because he was a king. They gave Jesus incense because he was a priest. And they gave Jesus myrrh because he would be a dead man.

Myrrh was a strange gift for a baby, because it was used to embalm and anoint the bodies of the dead. Myrrh is found just two other times in the story of Jesus. The next time we see it is when Jesus is in agony on the cross and is offered wine mixed with myrrh to numb the pain, but he won't take it. He wants to confront the pain head on. Then after he's dead and is taken down from the cross, Nicodemus brings a mixture of myrrh and aloes to anoint the body of Jesus for burial.

Myrrh reminds us that Jesus was born to die so that we might live. He took your sin and my sin on himself and died on the cross in our place. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Have you believed in him? Do you know that he loved you enough to give his life for you?

So they worship him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And to this day we worship Jesus by giving gifts to him and to each other. That's all part of Christmas.

Look at verse 12, And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

They never did go back to Herod. They called his bluff. And it's a good thing they didn't because he was not out to worship Jesus he was out to kill him and most likely them too.

So what does all this have to do with loving all, the title of our teaching this morning ... everything. We love because he first loved us. The more we're aware of what Jesus did for us the more we respond to him in love.

1 John 4:9-10, 19 says, This is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins ... We love because he first loved us.

There are three responses to Jesus in this story. There's the response of Herod who was afraid that this little child was going to mess up his life and take his place and take away his power and his influence and so his first instinct was to destroy him. He didn't want anything to do with Jesus. And there are people like that today. They don't want anything to do with Jesus. They don't want Jesus messing up their lives.

Then there's the response of the chief priests and the teachers of the law who, if they weren't hostile to Jesus, they were at best indifferent. They were too busy, tied up with religion and the rituals of the Temple and their heated debates about the Jewish Law. And there are people like that today too who are just way too busy for Jesus and are chasing after things that in the end don't really matter.

Then there were the Magi who stayed on the journey and it was a long, hard journey for them and a costly one too, but it ended up with joy and with worship and with life. And so like them we stay on the journey with Jesus and we enter into the Christmas story when we understand the true greatness of the baby they found, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who is worthy of our love and of our sacrifice and of our worship. We love because he first loved us.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about Valley View Community Church, feel free to contact us at info@valleyviewseek.org or call 610.631.2707.