Notes of Meeting 12th December 2021

Prayer Time

• Judy asked us to remember those people in USA affected by the recent tornado.
• Remember too those impacted by Covid 19 in UK and overseas
• Jan tells us that Faye is out of hospital, but still having daily treatment
• Pete thanks the Lord for some good results from recent tests
• Pete and Jan give thanks to the Lord for provision of a new car.
• Chris says that Dorothy Fleming’s sciatica has improved; also that Jackie is out and about as she awaits decisions on further treatment
• Playgroup – remember their Christmas event with parents on Tuesday morning
• Pat – for wisdom as she deals with staffing issues at Playgroup
• Jacqueline Brewell asks for prayer for a meeting on Tuesday to decide the long-term care for her Mother.

Ken’s Message

A Journey to Jesus                      Matthew 2.1-12

Recently I was trying to discover the differences between the first Christmas and the Christmas we celebrate today.   One man who has made an impact on our present day celebration of Christmas which he had no intention of doing was St. Nicholas - a very wealthy bishop in what is now modern day Turkey.  He was known for being kind and generous to the poor.  He died on December 6^th 343AD.  Following his death his life was remembered by the custom of giving gifts to the poor and children on the anniversary of his death each year.  Prior to his death in 336 AD Christmas had begun to be celebrated by Christians throughout the Roman Empire.  Martin Luther, founder of the Reformation, didn’t like the idea of venerating a bishop so he changed the date for giving gifts from December 6^th to the 24^th which coincided with Christmas. This led in due course over time to the addition of St. Nicholas (Father Christmas) giving presents at Christmas time.  It particularly became much more commercialised after the Second World War progressively changing till it became what we have now with Father Christmas being a major part of our standard Christmas celebration.                                                                                                                                                                Another differences I noticed between the First Christmas and the present day Christmas is the role of children.  The celebration of Christmas today is focussed on our children receiving presents from Father Christmas.  Apart from the baby Jesus there is no mention of children at all in the first Christmas.  The main characters of first Christmas apart from Jesus, are a young couple Mary and Joseph, shepherds probably in their thirties or forties, Simeon and Anna an elderly couple in their 80’s and wise men who would be close to senior citizens.  The idea that Christmas is mainly for the children is not supported by the Bible.  It is not wrong to give Christmas presents but we must be careful that our celebration of Christmas is from what the bible teaches and not traditions that have no biblical basis.  However, we must keep to the Bible’s teaching of the true meaning of Christmas otherwise we shall be deceived by the world’s standards, which can easily take over and lead us away from the true essence of the Christmas story.                                                                                                                                                    What is the goal and main purpose of the Christmas story?  What do the shepherds, Simeon and Anna and the wise men have in common?                                                                      

They all met Jesus and worshipped him and became  different people.  That should be our goal this Christmas.  None of them met Jesus by chance.  They were all on a journey seeking him.  The call to seek the Lord is a constant one throughout scripture.  “Seek the Lord while he may be found” (Isaiah 55.7) “Seek the Lord and live” (Amos 5.6).  We are all on a journey to meet Jesus.  We have the invitation and command from Jesus, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11.28) We all start this journey at the same place, no matter what nationality, culture, social standing, whether rich or poor, or whatever upbringing we have. Everyone’s spiritual standing is the same, for the Bible describes us all as “dead in our transgression and sins,” (Ephesians 2.1).  We are born in our sin separated from God in need of spiritual life without which we can’t know God or have a right relationship with him.  That is why we are told to “Seek the Lord and live.”  Our need is not education, reformation or religion, but it is new life, eternal life.                                                                           

 The wise men’s journey to Jesus                                                                                                                                In my preparation for this message, I did some research on the “wise men” and discovered a number of things that surprised me and changed my views about what I previously believed about them.  Sometimes we can get our view of Christmas from Christmas cards and songs which we have accepted without reservation.  This is particularly true of the story of the wise men.  Admittedly, there is little we know of these “wise men” from the Bible but with investigation we can get a far more accurate picture of them.    The Greek word used for “wise men” is the word Magi.  These were well educated learned men, scientists who studied the stars and were influential as advisers to kings.  They were not kings with crowns as depicted on Christmas cards nor as described in the song “We three kings of orient are.”  There is no mention of three men coming to Bethlehem in the bible but has been deduced from the fact that they brought three gifts.  However, that can’t conclusively prove that there were three men.  Most scholars believe they came in a large entourage for they were bringing very expensive gifts.  If only three men came they could be easily attacked and their valuable gifts could be stolen.   Also as they were important dignitaries, it is most likely they would be escorted by soldiers for their protection.  These men probably came from Babylon and were counsellors to Nebuchadnezzar. It is highly likely that Daniel became one of them, even becoming a leader amongst them whilst he was in exile in Babylon.  They were aware of his Jewish faith and its reality through his deliverance in the lion’s den.  Although they weren’t Jews they had come to believe in one God no doubt through Daniel’s faith and influence. He was also held in high regard by Nebuchadnezzar.  They had heard of his prophecies of a coming king who would rule over all and because of his reliable reputation would take them seriously.                                                                                                                             

Though the birth of Christ was still 600 years ahead Daniel’s teaching and prophecies would still be valued and remembered.  They were looking for this coming king.                                                                                                                                           One evening they saw this unusual star in the sky and they believed it to be a message relating to this coming King. They began to see God’s existence and his presence in his creation.  They didn’t see the universe around them as a chance occurrence, but made by God revealing his glory.  They came to understand the words in Psalm 19.1 “The heavens declare the glory of God.”  Recently I was aware of this when a friend shared a photo she had taken.  Some would say “What a great photo.”  But I added “What a great God we have.”  God’s wonderful creation marks for many the beginning of their search for God.  These wise men weren’t just impressed with the star but saw it as a sign of God calling to them.  They moved to act on what God was trying to teach them.  Part of our journey to Jesus is often begins with an event.  It could be a sickness, a narrow escape, a sudden transformation in a person’s life.  For John Newton the slave trader, it was a fierce storm at sea when he cried out to God for deliverance after which he became a believer.  In Japan we have seen men who rejected Christ for many years but when faced with death realised that only Christ could save them and so they repented and believed.                                                                                                                                                                             So the wise men began their 800 mile journey to Jerusalem in earnest.  It could take over two months to get there.  They certainly fulfilled the condition of Jeremiah 29.13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  We face again another error that is mistakenly given by the Christmas cards.  We see the shepherds and the wise men both by the manger worshiping together.  This contradicts what we read in Matthew 2.1, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem……Magi came from the east to Jerusalem.”  We don’t know exactly how long after Jesus was born that the wise men visited.  It could have been several months.  The wise men didn’t visit the baby Jesus at the manger as the shepherds did but they met “the child in the house.”)  The baby Jesus was now a child and they are living in a house.  So it seems clear that it is sometime after the shepherds had been that the wise men turn up.  The gifts they brought of gold, frankincense and myrrh could be sold to help Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt soon after the wise men left.   How did they find Jesus?  Well it seems they asked Herod first.  That didn’t appear to be the best person to ask.  You can imagine the anger and concern Herod would have when he saw these dignified men with their large escort looking for the king of the Jews.  He was the king of the Jews although he wasn’t the true king being appointed by the Romans.  He didn’t know the answer but he knew who did, so he sent them to the chief priests and teachers of the law.                                                                                                                                                       They told them of the prophecy in Micah which said Bethlehem was the place where the king would be born, then they returned to Herod to tell him.  He devised a plan where they would go and search for Jesus and after finding him they would return to Herod to tell him where Jesus was so he could worship him too.  But his plan was to kill Jesus so he would remain king.  He thought it was a clever trick to get his hands on Jesus.  But he didn’t reckon he was opposed by God who was in charge of the whole proceedings from start to finish.  God was in control all the time and was using Herod to fulfil His Plan.  God can use his enemies to do His will.  It’s interesting that the chief priests and teachers who knew where Jesus could be found and told the wise men the answer, weren’t concerned about finding Jesus at all.  They had the answer but no desire to search for Jesus themselves.  It just shows that knowledge alone doesn’t bring a person to Christ but faith in what you know.  I was invited to church by a friend who wasn’t a Christian.  At the end of the service I stayed behind and became a Christian but he didn’t, and as far as I know he never became a Christian.  He was instrumental in leading me to Christ but he himself never came to Christ.  God sometimes works in strange ways.  The wise men knew the town where Jesus was born but it was a place with 25,000 people so how were they to find the house where Jesus was now?  They acted on the knowledge they had so started out for Bethlehem.  As they made their way to Bethlehem the star reappeared and guided them to the exact house.  This illustrates how God often guides us which is a step at a time.  He doesn’t reveal all the way ahead at the beginning, but just the next step I should take.  In Psalm 119.105 it says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  Guidance is given to my feet first for the next step then later for the pathway ahead.  As we go forward trusting God for each step then the way ahead will be shown in due course.  We read that “when they saw the star they were overjoyed”.  They knew they were on the right track. There is real joy when you know you are being guided by God and you are walking in His way and not your own way.  What happened when they came to the house?  They saw the child with his mother but “they bowed down and worshipped the child.”  They didn’t worship the child and the mother as some sadly do.  Mary was a wonderful woman chosen by God to give birth to Jesus but she was a sinner like us and should not be worshipped.  Was it right to worship the child?  We must only worship God.  That child was God as well as a child so is worthy of our worship.  The shepherds even worshipped him as baby.  As soon as God became flesh he was still God.  He was God in flesh appearing.  Worship is always accompanied by giving and they “opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and of myrrh.”  Nothing was hidden or held back but they gave the best of what they had. Mary of Bethany worshipped as she offered ointment worth a year’s wages.  However, the principal Jesus lays down in that situation is “she did what she could.”                                                                                              

 Jesus isn’t asking for something we don’t have.  Paul points out that we all have a body and that is what we all can give. “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy, and pleasing to God ----this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12.1)   Their worship didn’t stop at the house.  We read “they returned to their country by another route.”  They went home in a different way they came.  Their worship had an ongoing impact throughout their lives.  What about my worship?  Does it finish when I leave the church?  Or does it go on throughout the week?  Would you consider yourself a wise person?  Would you like to become a wise person?  You don’t need to go to university and start studying again.  You can become wise where you are. We couldn’t do better than follow the example of these wise men.  They were folk seeking Jesus in order to worship him.  That’s a wise person!

Closing Song – As with gladness men of old

Notices

1. Coffee morning – 10.30am Wednesday
2. Church cleaning – Saturday at 10am.
3. Next Sunday – Carol Service at 10.15am
4. Christmas Day – service at 10.15am
5. Dec 26^th – NO SERVICE