FBC Daily Devotional – Christmas Day, 2020

Faith Baptist Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

However, you are celebrating that and whatever that looks like in your house today.

00:07

Some of you may have a bunch of company coming and family, and I hope you enjoy that celebration together.

00:13

Others of you, you may be alone and maybe feeling a little blue, feeling a little lonely today.

00:20

Let me encourage you to try to take some time to meditate on the real reason for Christmas and maybe do some extra reading or whatever that focuses your attention in that direction.

00:33

I think a lot of our Christmas celebration, because of all the hubbub and hustle and hassle that is involved, that it often crowds out the opportunity to read, to reflect, to meditate, to pray, to praise, and really focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

00:56

We can lose sight of Jesus for the sake of all the trapping, because of all the trappings.

01:04

And that's what I want to focus on, to see Jesus. Remember the account of the Magi in Matthew chapter 2.

01:10

They came to Jerusalem with basically one request. We would see

01:15

Jesus. And I want that to challenge us today, that we have the same purpose in our

01:23

Christmas celebrations, to see Jesus. Whom did they wish to see, these

01:29

Magi? Well, let's look at the text and see. Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, says,

01:36

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men, or Magi, from the east, came to Jerusalem, saying,

01:45

Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east, or when it rose, and have come to worship him.

01:54

They would see a baby. Where is he that is born? But not just any baby, a king.

02:04

Where is he that is born king of the Jews? Now, that was a rather bold request to ask of the king where the king was.

02:14

That in itself created a potential for conflict and no little controversy, right?

02:21

Well, it did. It aroused quite a stir. But they came to see a baby who is a king, but he's also a heralded one.

02:31

Because they said, we have seen his star. We have seen his star. You could translate that in its rising, or in the east, when they were in the east, we have seen his star.

02:45

And there's some significance in the way they word that. They identified that star with him.

02:51

It's his star. Now, there's been a lot of talk about that this particular year because of the alignment of the planets.

03:00

And you're told if you go out last night at 6 .45 or 40 minutes,

03:06

I think it was, after sunset, you'd be able to see the Christmas star for the first time in so many years.

03:12

Well, you know, I really don't think that's the Christmas star. I don't think so for a lot of reasons, but not the least of which is this star was miraculous.

03:21

It communicated a message, and it also appeared and disappeared at very critical times.

03:29

So I believe this star was a miraculous thing. It was a one -off thing, not something that's going to appear periodically throughout astronomical history, if you will.

03:40

But anyway, that star heralded the birth of this baby who is a king.

03:46

But they're also coming to see one who is worthy. We have come to worship him.

03:52

So they recognize that this baby is not just merely a human prince.

03:59

There is something indeed special about him. Well, how is it that they got to see him then?

04:05

Well, in order to see him, they had to look beyond their world, just as we do. Now they were somewhere in the east, somewhere in Persia, and they had to leave their home in Persia, and they had to make quite an extensive journey to get to Jerusalem and then eventually to Bethlehem.

04:24

But they had to look beyond their world to see Jesus. You and I do too. As I mentioned a minute ago, you know, it's so easy to lose sight of Jesus with all the trappings of Christmas that have accumulated through the centuries of Christmas traditions and celebration.

04:43

No, we have to look beyond that to see Jesus. And we also have to look with the eyes of faith.

04:50

These magi had to believe that what the star revealed to them was actually true, that there was a king, the king of Israel, born in the land of Judah.

05:06

And so they had to exercise faith, they had to look with the eyes of faith, and they had to see more than a baby.

05:15

There are a lot of babies in Israel. This one, something special about him. Their eyes of faith allowed them to see this was more than a baby.

05:26

And they also had to look, in order to see him, they had to look to God's word.

05:32

Because in verses 5 and 6, you know, they come to Jerusalem and they say, where is he that is born king of the Jews? And verse 5, they had to look to the

05:41

Scriptures, they had to look to the word, and the Scriptures said that he is born in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet, and you

05:49

Bethlehem in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a ruler who shall shepherd his people

05:59

Israel. It was a prophetic Scripture that pointed them to Bethlehem.

06:06

So the star's revelation, whatever that star was and however it revealed to them, it was deliberately limited.

06:13

It took them only so far, and then left them to search the Scriptures. And in finding the

06:19

Scriptures, they got the answer to what they were looking for.

06:25

But then, they also had to look, in order to see Jesus, they had to look to God's leading.

06:33

So verse 9 tells us that after listening to the king, they headed toward Bethlehem, they headed on their way, and then it says, and behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

06:52

This is another reason why I cannot accept the idea that the Christmas star was an astronomical phenomenon.

07:01

I believe it was a miraculous, revelatory phenomenon, because it came and stood over the very house where Jesus was.

07:10

That doesn't happen with a star. No matter how phenomenal, out of the ordinary, a planetary conjunction is or anything like that, it's not going to lead a person to a very house, a specific house.

07:26

This star did. And they had to go. They had to follow that star if they were going to see

07:32

Jesus. Follow it? They did. And when they arrived, what did they do when they saw him?

07:40

First of all, they humbled themselves. Verse 11 tells us that when they went into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down before him.

07:53

They fell down before him. They humbled themselves. This is a proper response when we see ourselves in relationship to our

08:04

Lord, to the Christ child. We humble ourselves and then worship.

08:13

They bowed down and they worshipped. They worshipped.

08:19

And that fulfills their purpose in coming, right? Remember what they said when they went to Herod? Where is he that's born

08:25

King of the Jews? We've seen his star and when it rose and we've come to worship him. And here they have come.

08:30

They found him. They humbled themselves and they worship him. And then they give to him.

08:37

They opened their treasures and they presented to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

08:44

What else did they do when they saw him? They continued their obedience.

08:50

Verse 12 tells us that being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country, another way.

08:58

They obeyed the instructions that God had given to him. They really did understand who this child was.

09:07

This was the king worthy of our worship, worthy of our giving, worthy of our submission to God in all that he would direct us to do.

09:19

Now the scripture tells us that these men, after they saw Jesus, they returned to their own country and we never hear another thing about them again.

09:27

You ever wonder what happened to them? Scripture doesn't tell us. But one thing is sure, their lives would have been changed forever.

09:38

And one thing you can too be sure. If you will truly see this babe in the manger as the king of kings and the lord of lords, as the one who is worthy of all of your worship, to whom you should give your life, your life will likewise be changed forever.

09:59

Have you seen Jesus in this babe in the manger?

10:06

Oh, I trust on this Christmas day that you'll be able to see beyond all of the trappings of Christmas and see

10:15

Jesus, our Father and our God. Thank you for giving Jesus as the gift that we need for our soul's salvation.

10:25

May today we see him and may we know him. May we love him.

10:31

May we trust him. May we worship him. May we live for him. This we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

10:39

Alright, well whatever is left of your Christmas day, may it be a wonderful, God -blessed,