By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at Life BPC 8am & 10:45am Service, 2014-06-08

Text: Matthew 20:20-28

In our sermons for this quarter we have been focusing on the theme, “God’s Goodness in Salvation, Sanctification and Service.” Within the last two months, we have already considered the first two topics: Salvation and Sanctification. I am sure that most if not all of us are interested in these two topics and would love to learn more about them, since we benefit immensely from being saved and sanctified. God’s goodness is so easily seen both in Salvation and in Sanctification. 

But I wonder how many of us are just as interested in Service as in the first two topics. My guess is that few are genuinely enthusiastic to learn more about Service, and a typical response would be,“Why should I be a servant? What is so good about serving? I don’t have time for it, and it’s not really my cup of tea. Let those who enjoy serving and who have the time for it get involved in it.”Well, this response does not come from following Christ. It comes from following the world. 

We live in a world where people strive diligently for high positions of power and leadership, and for fame and recognition. We live in a world where few people want to be servants. And if there are people who do serve, they serve only because of the prospect of personal gain – in terms of money, honour, power or recognition. That is the way things are done in the world. It is considered demeaning to serve others, and it is considered foolish to serve for nothing. But Christ requires us to take a very different view of service, and this can be seen in Matthew 20:20-28. 

The passage begins with a personal request made by the mother of James and John, who were two of the twelve disciples of Jesus. She came to ask Jesus to let her sons have the best positions in His kingdom – second only to Jesus Himself: One son to be His ‘right hand man,’ and the other son to be His ‘left hand man.’ I think we can all understand why she made such a bold request from Jesus: Doesn’t every loving mother want only the best for her precious sons? However the parallel passage in Mark 10:35-37 reveals that it was her sons who had engineered this request! James and John were the ones vying to get the top positions for themselves. 

Perhaps what Jesus said to the disciples a little earlier had stirred up their ambitions –“Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28) Their minds were so captivated with this coming glory that they hardly paid any attention to what Jesus said in the two verses just before our passage: “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him….” 

All this talk about humiliation somehow did not register at all in their minds, as they were so preoccupied with the glory they wished for. So what James and John did was to get their mother to help them so that it might look more like her request than theirs. She gladly followed their script closely, bowing down to Jesus and saying, “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.” (v.21) I want you to note the important phrase, ‘in Thy kingdom’ at the end of this verse. Whose kingdom is this? Christ’s kingdom. These disciples mistakenly thought that the mark of greatness in Christ’s kingdom was to be in the highest positions of honour. If that were true, then Christ’s kingdom would be no different from the world’s kingdoms where prestige and power matter most. 

This provides the background for what Christ said in vv.25-27,  “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” Jesus shows the disciples how radically different it is to be great in His kingdom. It is to be a servant. This gives us the first reason why we ought to be servants: 

1. Being a Servant Is the Distinguishing Mark of Greatness in Christ’s Kingdom (vv.25-27) 

Since we who are saved are now in Christ’s kingdom, our thinking about greatness has to change radically. We are not to be conformed to the world in our thinking anymore, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). What the world esteems most like riches, fame and power are of no value to us. They do not make us great at all. What would make us great in Christ’s kingdom are the things that the world despises most, like humility, weakness, giving, submission and selfless service: These are the things that matter most of all in Christ’s kingdom. The world rewards those who put themselves at the top. But the kingdom of Christ rewards those who put themselves at the bottom. 

In the ancient world, kings and princes were at the top-most rung of society while slaveswere at the very bottom-most rung of society. Christ tells us where we should be in v.27,  “…whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” The word ‘servant’ that Christ used here is translated from the Greek word doulos which literally means ‘slave.’ Now, I don’t think anyone here would like to be called a slave, because of its negative connotations of forced servitude and loss of personal rights. But that is how Christ wants us to see ourselves – we are no better than others, because we are nothing more than lowly slaves! We have to get used to thinking of ourselves this way, and make it a point to begin each day reminding ourselves that we are not kings but slaves! 

Having this mind-set will change the way we relate to others. It will make us more approachable and accommodating. We will be more willing to see things from their point of view and not insist that everything must be done our way. We will want to serve rather than to be served. We will even go the extra mile to serve others. When we see ourselves as nothing more than servants or slaves it becomes a lot easier for us to submit to others willingly. 

Whenever we write formal letters, we use certain conventional endings before signing off, e.g. ‘yours sincerely,’ and ‘yours truly.’ But do you know that these endings actually originated from much longer ones? In letters that were written way back in the 1800s, the standard ending that was used was:  “I beg to remain your most humble and truly obedient servant.” Over time this has become shortened to: “yours truly.” And so the next time you write ‘yours truly,’ please remember how Christ wants you to regard yourself. 

One reason why nobody wants to be a slave is that slaves do not own anything. They and everything they have belong to their master. In the same way, the servant mind-set requires us to regard ourselves and everything we have as God’s property, which are to be used in His service. In Luke 12:48 God’s Word says,  “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” God has every right to expect much from us, because He has invested so much in our lives. What has God invested in us? He has invested Time, Talents, Treasures, and Opportunities in our lives. God has entrusted these to us to be used for His glory. 

In the parable of the Talents in Matt 25:14-30 the Lord spoke about three servants who were entrusted with their master’s assets. The first two servants doubled their talents by working hard, and so they were commended when the master returned. But the third servant received a stern condemnation because he merely buried his talent and returned it intact to the master. 

This parable teaches us to be good stewards of all that Christ has entrusted to us. One day we will have to give an account to Him of how we used them. Will you be like the servant who buried his talent in the ground? Do you spend a lot of your time and money in your own leisure and activities, and things that are unnecessary? How should you spend your time, talents and treasures now, if you know that you will have to give an account for them? Will you put them to good use so that Jesus will say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”? 

One passage that reveals what will happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ is 1 Corinthians 3:12-14 – “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.” 

Dearly beloved, do you look forward to receiving a blessed reward from the Lord Jesus Christ? You must. All your efforts in serving Him now will be amply compensated when you receive your reward from Christ. With this reward in view, let us be faithful in serving Him well. We have just seen that being a servant is the distinguishing mark of greatness in Christ’s kingdom. Let us return now to our passage to see another reason why we ought to be servants. This is found in verses 27,28 which says, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister…” Please take note of the words ‘even as.’ They tell us why we must be servants. And it is plainly this – Our Lord Jesus Himself was a servant. Thus, the second reason why we ought to be servants is: 

2. It Is the Disciples’ Means to Follow Christ’s Example (v.27-28a) 

Christ became a servant in His ministry on earth. Philippians 2:6,7 tells us that Jesus, “…being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” 

One passage that displays Christ as a servant is John 13:1-13. This happened when the disciples had the Last Supper with Christ the day before His crucifixion. In those days it was customary for the host to assign his lowest slave to wash the feet of his guests when they came into his house for a meal. After walking in sandals on the streets their feet would be caked with mud and manure and would need a good washing. But no one had done this. The basin, water and towel were all there, but none of the disciples was willing to get up and use them. 

Then something quite unexpected happened. Jesus rose up, laid aside His garments; took a towel and girded Himself and then proceeded to wash their feet. This must have taken them all by surprise. Perhaps they thought that Jesus would appoint one of them to do the work. But now they were stunned as they saw Him doing it! How can their Master be washing their filthy feet? They should be the ones washing His feet! But now with His outer garments laid aside, His body stooping down and His hands washing and wiping their feet, Jesus practically became their servant. 

Then He said to them in vv.14,15 –  “Ye call Me Master and Lord: and ye say well: for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” Since Christ has given us such an example, how can we follow Him without being a servant? Dearly beloved, being a servant is our means to follow Christ’s example. It makes us more like Him. 

Here is a story about two wash basins. One was a plain copper basin that Jesus used to wash His disciples’ feet, while the other was a beautiful gold basin that Pontius Pilate used to wash his own hands. Christ used one basin to carry out a responsibility that not His. Pilate used the other basin to deny a responsibility that was his. One basin shows us that Christ sought to serve, while the other basin revealed that Pilate ought to serve, but refused. Whose wash-basin will you choose? Christ’s or Pilate’s? If you want to follow Christ, then choose His wash basin and be a servant. This is a very compelling reason why we ought to be servants. But there is an even more compelling reason. It is found at the end of v.28 – “…and to give His life a ransom for many.” This teaches us that being a servant… 

3. It Is the Divine Mode for Edifying Christ’s People (v.28b) 

Christ gave His life on the cross as a ransom for many, and the many here refers to us, the people He has saved from sin and eternal death. But His ministry to us did not stop there. Christ is still giving Himself for us through His unceasing intercession in Heaven, and through the work of the Holy Spirit on earth. And the Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts on us so that we can build up the body of Christ by using them well. Our service to God’s people is the mode by which He accomplishes this work. Every one of us has a role to play in this work of building the Body of Christ. But how well have we been fulfilling our role? 

During the time of the prophets Zechariah and Haggai the Israelites were spending too much time and effort building their own houses while the house of God was laid waste. Some problems had come up during the Temple building project and the work was stopped for 15 years. But people conveniently used this as an excuse to leave God’s work undone. So God sent His prophets to rebuke them, and also withheld many blessings from them. 

In our present time, the situation is still the same. Many Christians spend much time and effort pursuing their own ambitions, while God’s work is left undone, or is left in the hands of a few who are struggling to do it all alone. Out of a thousand in our church membership, there are only about 200-300 who are actively serving. Why is it that the rest of us are not serving in Life Church? Maybe it’s because we always think that Somebody Else will do it. Here is a poem that I found about this: 

“There’s a clever young fellow named Somebody Else. There is nothing this fellow can’t do. He’s busy from morning till very late, just substituting for you. You’re asked to do this, or asked to do that. And what is your ready reply? “Get Somebody Else. He’ll do it much better than I.” So much to do in this weary old world; so much and the workers are few. And Somebody Else is weary and worn just substituting for you. Next time you’re asked to do something worthwhile, just give this ready reply; If Somebody Else can give time and support, well then, so can I.” 

Perhaps too many of us have been content to let Somebody Else do the work. The problem with this is that there aren’t that many Somebody Elses out there. And those there are, have grown weary and tired, and may even suffer from burnout soon. Putting more money into the offering bags will not help. The way to resolve this is for every Lifer to assume his or her role of service and be used by Christ to edify His people. (I thank God for last week’s VBS – Many took time to serve on the 3 mornings, but there are many more areas of service besides this one.) 

In today’s church weekly there is an article entitled, “Where Can You Serve?” Read it and you will see that there are many great needs that can only be met if we are willing to give priority to serving the Lord and His people. The article provides a list of ministries in Life Church, their needs and the person to contact to find out more about them. Please ask the Lord to lead you to an area of service. 

If you feel any reluctance, please remember the 3 reasons why you should be a servant according to our passage of Scripture: Being a Servant (1) Is the distinguishing mark of greatness in Christ’s kingdom; (2) It is the disciples’ means to follow Christ’s example, and (3) It is the divine mode for edifying Christ’s people. 

And after you decide to start serving, there are some guidelines you need on how to serve:  Firstly, check your motives for serving. Our passage shows how easy it is to have the wrong motives. James and John were interested in glory, position and rank. They wanted to be higher than anyone else. And though their mother came to Jesus in worship, her real motive was to seek out the best places for her two sons. 

Love for Christ should always be our sole motivation for everything we do for Him. Some serve the Lord to win the praises of men. They like to be at the forefront where others can see how busy they are for the Lord. When asked to pray, they will pray the longest and most impressive prayers. Like Jehu in the Old Testament, they would say, “Come with me, and see my zeal for God.” (2 Kings 10:16) And they love to talk about what they have done for the Lord. But once they no longer feel appreciated, they may go elsewhere to have their egos uplifted again. Dearly beloved, let us be careful not to be like that. Every time we serve the Lord, we should ask ourselves, “Who am I doing this for? For the Lord or for myself?” 

There are many in Life church who work quietly behind-the-scenes. They are unsung heroes – serving the Lord faithfully and diligently in their own areas of service. I think of the ladies who prepare the elements for Lord’s Supper. I think of our PA crew who come very early every Sunday to set up the PA system. I think of our church pianists and organists who avail themselves not only for our worship services but even for prayer meeting, weddings, vigil and funeral services. 

You know, for the amount of time, effort, expertise and service that they put in, they would probably be paid quite well if they were doing it in the secular world. But here they do it for nothing, in fact oftentimes, they would put in their own funds for any expenses incurred in their service and would not make any claims from the church. I thank God for all the sacrifices they have made, and trust that they will be encouraged to continue to serve the Lord well. So let us serve because we want to please no one else but God. Let us serve because we love Him. 

The second guideline you need to observe about serving is to put others before self. Serving the Lord is always done together with others. The biblical pattern for service is teamwork. In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul describes believers as being parts of a body, and each of us has a different role to play. God has graciously bestowed specific gifts on each of us. But none of us can function without the rest, and we need one another’s gifts to serve the Lord together. 

But there are potential problems in working closely together with others, especially when self gets in the way. Some feel offended when their ideas are not used or when things are not done in their preferred way. In our passage we notice that when the other ten disciples of Jesus saw what James and John were trying to do, they reacted, as v.24 says, “…they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.” The spiritual attitude of these ten disciples was not any better than that of James and John. In order to preserve good working relationships we must always be humble, considerate, forbearing and forgiving towards our co-labourers. We will find much greater joy in our service to God if we learn to put others before self in our service. 

Another guideline that you need to observe is to be ready to serve whenever and wherever you can. If it is something that you have never done before, be willing to learn how to do it. If you are approached to serve in some area do not be so quick to say, ‘No thanks, but I can’t commit myself to it.’ If you count it a great honour to serve Christ, rearrange your other commitments to make way for it. Servants must be available whenever the master calls for them. Please make sure that you are available. Remember this: Availability is the greatest ability! A good servant is also alert to the needs of others. In Psalm 123:2, the psalmist said, “Behold as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that He have mercy upon us.” When the master moves his finger in command, the servant simply obeys. A good servant is one who has learned to subdue the defiant autonomy of self and to subject his will to the wishes of another. Whatever God says goes. When God says, “Jump,” we should say, “How high, Lord?” 

However, there is a vast difference between doing what God wants you to do, and doing all that you or others want you to do. Don’t try to do everything, or else you will end up being too busy, doing things that God never intended you to do. Sometimes you have to say ‘No,’ and encourage others who are doing nothing to help share the load. 

And now we come to the last guideline for service: Be willing to do whatever it takes to do what is needed. Serving the Lord will not always be easy. There will be times when you may have to endure hardship and suffering. Some of the tasks that need to be done are tasks that nobody wants to do at all because they are unpleasant, tedious or boring. You may have to direct traffic outside under the hot sun, or clean the toilets after VBS or camp, or spend hours typing lyrics and music scores for a new song book. 

Our Lord Jesus has set the example. He had to give His own life to be a ransom for many. He had to die a cruel death on the cross. Are you willing to do the same? Perhaps our Lord would ask you the same question that He asked James and John in v.22 – “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Well both of them did suffer for their service as Christ’s apostles. James became the first apostle to be martyred, and John had to endure the longest time of persecution because he lived until the time of the cruel Emperor Domitian. Only God knows what you will have to endure in your service to Him. Please make it a point therefore to seek God’s grace to endure any difficulties, so that you may be able to glorify Him through your service. 

May the Lord speak to all of us and help us to be faithful servants.

By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at / Published Life BPC, Combined Christmas Carol Service, 2004-12-24

Text: Matthew 2:1-11

Tonight we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. To those of us who love the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christmas is a very meaningful time. It is a time to remember how God the Son was willing to leave His heavenly glory in order to dwell on earth with us. And it is also a time for us to worship and thank the Lord for the marvelous gift of salvation that is now ours through this wonderful event!

So let us give Christ the kind of the worship that He deserves from us: the Royal worship that was given to Him by a group of wise men from the East. Whenever the Christmas story is retold today, the worship of these wise men is also remembered. In fact many false legends have become associated with them. In nativity scenes, they are often depicted as three kings, dressed in royal robes. Their names are supposed to be Caspar, Baltazar and Melchior. And they were the rulers of three different eastern nations. Where did the idea of three kings come from? Perhaps from the three gifts that were presented to Christ: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Actually, the Scriptures do not state how many wise men there were. It only says that they were a group of wise men from the east, not kings at all. Look at Matthew 2:1 'Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,'

And in nativity scenes you may also have noticed that the wise men are usually depicted as being at the manger scene on the very night when Christ was born. And they appear together with the shepherds who had heard the angels sing. But if you look at v.11 of the same chapter of Matthew, you will notice that it says, 'And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him.' By the time the wise men reached Bethlehem, Jesus and His parents were no longer staying in the stable, but had moved into a house. This means that some time had already passed since the birth of Jesus took place - perhaps even as long as 2 years. According to v.16, King Herod subsequently ordered the execution of all children in Bethlehem that were two years old and under.

And so the true account, given in the Scriptures is that a group of wise men from the east had seen a new star in the night sky and this caused them to travel to Jerusalem to come and worship Jesus, the newborn King of the Jews.

By the time they arrived, Jesus may have been about 2 years old. He was no longer staying in the stable where he was born, but in a house in Bethlehem. The wise men however, could not find Him. When they came to the court of King Herod they learnt about Micah's prophecy that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. They went there, and the star guided them to place where the young child Jesus was found. There they worshipped Him and presented their gifts to Him.

We are now going to learn something important from these wise men. What we are going to learn are 4 important lessons on the kind of worship that Christ deserves from us: The first lesson is that

I. Christ Was Honoured by Those Who Did Not Belong To Him.

Jesus belonged to the nation of Israel. He was the Messiah of the Jews. But these wise men were not at all from the nation of Israel. They were Gentiles from the east. And yet they were the first to come and pay such great homage to him. Doesn't it seem strange that Jesus should be honoured first by people to whom He did not belong? Should not the Jews have been the first ones to come, to honour their very own Messiah and King? Now, perhaps the reason for this is that the Jews did not know that their King was born. If they did not know about His birth how could they go and look for Him and worship Him? But if you look carefully at our text you will find that this was not the case. 

In vv.4-6 we see that when the wise men came to the court of King Herod, the Jewish chief priests and scribes knew that the Messiah, would be born in Bethlehem of Judaea. They were even able to quote accurately the Old Testament Scripture that foretold this: Micah 5:2. And yet these chief priests and scribes did not seem to be interested at all in honouring Christ. They knew that these wise men had traveled many months from afar, claiming that Christ had been born, and making enquiries about Him throughout Jerusalem.

According to v.3, all who lived in Jerusalem knew about the great quest of these wise men. But that did not seem to arouse their interest or excitement at all. None of them went along with the wise men to Bethlehem to see if their Messiah had really arrived or not. Such indifference to Christ by those who were His own people is very puzzling. John 1:11 says that 'He came unto His own and His own received Him not.' 

Why were they so indifferent? Perhaps it was because they felt no great need for Christ. They were doing quite well without Him. And although there were some godly Jews like Simeon and Anna at the Temple who were looking forward to seeing Christ, most of the Jews were not excited about seeing His coming.

What about us? Are we excited about seeing the coming of Christ? You claim to belong to Christ. But how excited are you to hear news of His second coming? If you truly want to honour Christ like the wise men, you must have this earnest longing and excitement in your heart to see Him coming. There was a Christian lady who ran a business, and her business was doing well. Someone asked her if she looked forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. She said 'No, I hope He does not return so soon, because I still have many things I want to do first.' Is this the way you feel? If it is, then you would be like the Jews in Jerusalem who were not excited at all when the wise men brought news about Christ's first coming. Honouring Christ means that you should be excited about Him. He must be the One you desire most in this life!

You must be like the Wise Men who put aside all the other pursuits they had in order to find Him and worship Him. And that is not the only way they honoured Jesus. Let us go on now to look at another way that they did it.

II. Christ was Honoured by Their Response to The Word Of God.

According to Matthew 2:2 when the wise men saw the star they believed that this was the sign that the King of the Jews was born. What made them think that the star has something to do with the coming of the Messiah? I believe that they had access to the Old Testament Scriptures. Six hundred years earlier when the Jews were brought into captivity in the East, they brought their Scriptures with them. Through Jews like Daniel the predecessors of the wise men received copies of the Holy Scriptures. I believe that the wise men must have studied some Old Testament passages which foretold the coming of the Messiah. One such passage is Numbers 24:17. Let us turn our Bibles to this important verse 'I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.'

According to this prophecy, the appearance of a star will signal the appearance of a king in Israel, since a Scepter is a symbol of a king's rule. But this prophecy mentions nothing about the birth of a king. They probably had to link this verse to another prophecy to see this. Let us look at Isaiah 9:6 'For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.' The word 'government' in this verse clearly implies the rule of a king. And the wise men might have recognized, as they read this together with Number 24:17, that a king was going to be born and that the appearance of a new star would signal that birth. But how did they know that it had to be this particular new star that signaled his birth? After all, new stars do appear in the sky at various times in history. What made them think that this one was the one? Perhaps it was because of the time when the new star appeared.

The wise men might have known about Daniel's prophecy of the time when Christ was expected to arrive. This is found in Daniel 9:25 'Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.'

Through this verse they were perhaps able to calculate the time when the Messiah was expected to be born. And when they got the answer, they realised that they were living right at the time this event was expected to happen! Every night these wise men searched the sky, looking for this expected star to appear. And then, on one clear night they finally saw it. How excited they must have been to see it! And so they left their homes to find the newborn king. 

What greatly impresses us about these wise men then, is the way in which they regarded the Scriptures. They fully believed everything that is written in it. And besides that, they were willing to give everything they had for it. They packed up their belongings, bought all the provisions they would need, and obtained camels for the journey. And most importantly, they carefully prepared the precious gifts they wanted to give to Christ - their gold, frankincense and myrrh.

As they did this some people may have asked these wise men, 'Why are you going through all of this trouble?' And they might have replied, 'Because a great king has been born in Israel, the one who is the saviour of us all.' And if they were asked, 'What makes you think that such a king has been born?' they would have replied, 'Because it is foretold in the Scriptures.' And if someone asked, 'But what if the Scriptures are wrong? then all of your efforts would be for nothing.' They would have replied, 'We believe every Word of Scripture, because it is God's Word. We are prepared to act upon it and even to give our lives for it.'

And so we see that these wise men honoured the Lord by their willingness to act upon what they had learned from God's Word. And if we want to honour the Lord the way they did, we too must be willing to act upon the Word of God, even if it means giving all that we have for it. 

Dearly beloved, if you really want to honour Jesus Christ as the wise men did, then you must believe and act upon His Word. And you must also be prepared to honour Christ in another way demonstrated by the wise men. This is the third lesson that we can learn from them:

III. Christ Was Honoured Jesus Through Their Perseverance in The Journey

It was very difficult for the wise men to travel all the way to Israel to see Christ. Today we can travel with comfort in air-conditioned vehicles and may not fully understand how hard it was for the wise men to make their journey. In those days camels were the only means of transport for them in the desert - but they were quite slow. And it was extremely difficult and dangerous to travel in that area at that time - they could easily become victims of robbers, especially since they were carrying very costly gifts with them - their gold, frankincense and myrrh. They could easily have been attacked and killed along the way. 

And the journey they made was a very long one - about 2,000 km. They had to cross many rivers and hot desert areas. The least amount of time they would have taken to complete the whole journey was three months. But together with the time taken for all the preparations they made, and some prolonged stops along the way, it may have been as long as 2 years between the time that they first saw the star, and the time when they found Christ in Bethlehem.

Perhaps there were times during the long journey when the wise men felt very discouraged and wanted to turn back. Many things could have made them give up their journey, like the burning heat of the noon-day sun, the cold nights when they had no place to rest; and the moments when they ran out of food or water. The fear of being killed, or being captured and sold as slaves might have gripped some of them along the way. But despite all of these, they kept going on and on. They persevered onward until they finally reached their destination.

What gave them the strength to carry on? How were they able to endure all the hardships of their journey? It was the supreme worth that they ascribed to the One they were looking for. To them, Christ was worth their very best efforts. For Him they were willing to cross over hill and mountain, rivers and deserts. For Him they were willing to face every danger.

So let us especially learn this lesson about honouring Christ from the wise men. The Lord Jesus is worthy of the very best efforts you can put into your service for Him. If you truly consider Jesus to be your great Lord and master, then you must show it by the commitment and devotion that you put into your service for Him. And do not allow any difficulties and trials to stop you, but keep on pressing onward. 

Dearly beloved this present year is soon coming to an end. The New Year will be here very soon. Can we make the year 2005 a year of giving our Lord the service and Honour that He deserves from us? Yes, we can: If we all will commit ourselves wholeheartedly to serve Him with the very best of our efforts. Let us not consider any sacrifice too great to make for Him.

And let us also honour Christ in one final way demonstrated by the wise men. This is the fourth and final lesson we will learn tonight from the wise men:

IV. Christ Was Honoured by Their Costly Gifts

Now notice what the wise men presented to Jesus: They did not bring money, animals, or goods, but very precious commodities: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. These were presents fit for a king. 

These gifts were actually a very timely and useful provision for Joseph and Mary. They would need it for their journey and stay in Egypt in order to escape from King Herod�s evil plot against Christ. By selling the gold, frankincense and myrrh, the family would have sufficient funds for all their needs perhaps even until they returned back to Israel. God used what the wise men gave for the very important purpose of keeping them safe in Egypt.

And God will also use whatever you give to Him well, for the needful work of His Kingdom. In the coming year we trust the Lord to open doors and opportunities of service in Life Church. 

Are you willing to give to Him in order that there will be no lack of resources for using these opportunities? Are you willing to give of your gold, frankincense and myrrh to Him? Are you willing to give Him the things in your life that are most precious to you? Giving is the most basic requirement for honouring our Lord. And the most precious gift you can give to Him is your life. 

Dearly beloved, while we celebrate Christmas by giving gifts to one another, let us not forget to give our best gift to the One whose birth we are celebrating tonight: Our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to be our King! Please do not think that He is still that harmless little baby lying in a manger, as depicted in all the nativity scenes. He is no longer a baby, no longer a child, but the great almighty King of kings and Lord of lords, who deserves only the very best that you can give!