CRCF\u201d\u201d12\/6\/09<\/p>\n
Responding to God\u201d\u2122s Word
\nThis Christmas
\nMatthew 2:1-12<\/p>\n
ME:<\/p>\n
Yesterday, my family spent about 9 hours in a gym in Cartersville watching Jonas wrestle. It was the Super 16 Hurricane Duals\u201d\u201da big tournament where 16 teams compete as teams to determine who is number one. Jonas went 4-1 for the day\u201d\u201dand our Gilmer Bobcats took first place! \u00e2\u02dc\u00ba Early in the day, I spoke with a mother of a Darlington wrestler and she asked me if I had a son wrestling for \u201cthat team\u201d and I said yes. She asked where we were from and I told her Gilmer Co., to which she replied, \u201cThat\u201d\u2122s the best team I\u201d\u2122ve seen here\u201d\u201dbut they really don\u201d\u2122t look like it at first glance.\u201d You see, our boys are the finest physical specimens, nor or they all \u201cnaturals\u201d on the mat. What sets our boys apart is that they have the best coaches in the area and they listen to their coaches and do what they\u201d\u2122re told to do! Now I\u201d\u2122ve seen wrestlers that either have coaches that don\u201d\u2122t know any more than I do, or that just don\u201d\u2122t listen to their coaches, or that hear what their coach says but simply don\u201d\u2122t do it. A little later in the day, as we were whipping Cassville, one of their parents asked one of our parents, \u201cWho are these people? Where did they come from?\u201d \u00e2\u02dc\u00ba I\u201d\u2122m convinced that the key to our wrestling program\u201d\u2122s success is the quality of coaches we have\u201d\u201dmen that know wrestling and love kids and have gained the respect of the boys so that they will listen, trust and obey what they\u201d\u2122re told to do!<\/p>\n
WE:
\nDo you ever struggle when it comes to listening to God, really believing what He says\u201d\u201dbut most importantly, ACTING like God said it by simply DOING it?<\/p>\n
GOD:<\/p>\n
Christmas is a great time to be reminded that . . .<\/p>\n
Real faith is hearing what God says, believing it because God said it and then acting like God said it!<\/p>\n
The story of the wise men who came to worship the Baby King Jesus teaches us this.<\/p>\n
Matthew 2:1-12 (NLT)<\/p>\n
1\tJesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem,<\/p>\n
These guys had real faith that moved them to make a several-hundred-mile trip, not knowing exactly where they were going!<\/p>\n
If you don\u201d\u2122t find your schedule shaken up, your priorities challenged, your \u201ccomfort zone\u201d in relationships stretched, your spending habits altered and God\u201d\u2122s grace in Jesus becoming your passion, then it\u201d\u2122s probably not real faith!<\/p>\n
asking, 2 \u201cWhere is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose and we have come to worship him.\u201d<\/p>\n
These men from, probably the area of Babylon, had heard God\u201d\u2122s Word, believed it because God said it, and then acted like God said it\u201d\u201dthey took a major trip to find God\u201d\u2122s King! Where had they heard it? Remember the Babylonian Exile? God\u201d\u2122s Word went with His people and God was spreading the news of His grace and a Savior even while disciplining His stubborn people!<\/p>\n
Numbers 24:17<\/p>\n
I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is it that you need to hear God saying today? His primary message to every person is this:<\/p>\n
John 3:16-18 (NLT)<\/p>\n
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. 18 There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.<\/p>\n
3 Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
When you hear what God says, believe it because God said it, and then act like God said it\u201d\u201dand actually do what He says\u201d\u201dyou can expect folks to get riled up!<\/p>\n
First, folks who just simply hate God and have no use for Him won\u201d\u2122t want anything to do with you. But maybe more frequent and more intense in their opposition are religious people\u201d\u201dchurch-going people who look real good on the outside but are really full of self-righteous hypocrisy and don\u201d\u2122t really trust what God says because their lives aren\u201d\u2122t changed!<\/p>\n
4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. \u201cWhere did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?\u201d he asked them. 5 \u201cIn Bethlehem,\u201d they said, \u201cfor this is what the prophet wrote: 6 \u201d\u02dcO Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.\u201d\u2122\u201d<\/p>\n
These leaders knew the specifics of what God had said about Christ\u201d\u2122s first coming in a manger\u201d\u201dbut just knowing what God says isn\u201d\u2122t real faith!<\/p>\n
Real faith is hearing what God says, believing it because God said it and then acting like God said it!<\/p>\n
The priests and teachers of the law had religion but no real relationship with God!<\/p>\n
7 Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come and see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. 8 Then he told them, \u201cGo to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!\u201d<\/p>\n
Herod was lying\u201d\u201dhe simply wanted to know where Jesus was so he could kill off what he thought would be the competition for his throne (proof is seen verses 13-18).<\/p>\n
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.<\/p>\n
The gifts:
\n1) Gold\u201d\u201dsignifies royalty
\n2) Frankincense\u201d\u201dsignifies deity
\n3) Myrrh\u201d\u201da burial spice, foreshadowing Jesus\u201d\u2122 death as Savior of the world!<\/p>\n
12 But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.\u201d<\/p>\n
Real faith is hearing what God says, believing it because God said it and then acting like God said it!<\/p>\n
Psalm 72:10-11<\/p>\n
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.<\/p>\n
Isaiah 60:5-6<\/p>\n
Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.<\/p>\n
YOU:<\/p>\n
Real faith is hearing what God says, believing it because God said it and then acting like God said it!<\/p>\n
Isn\u201d\u2122t that what we\u201d\u2122ve been learning from the book of James?<\/p>\n
James 2:17<\/p>\n
So you see, it isn\u201d\u2122t enough to just have faith. Faith that doesn\u201d\u2122t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all\u201d\u201dit is dead and useless.<\/p>\n
WE:<\/p>\n
Real faith is hearing what God says, believing it because God said it and then acting like God said it!<\/p>\n
Do you know what will make or break Christmas for you this year?<\/p>\n
Whether or not you have real faith in the One who was born in manger.<\/p>\n
Whether or not you hear what God says about Jesus, believe it because God said it and then act like God said it by trusting Jesus as your only hope\/Savior and then, out of love\/gratitude, living in obedience to Him, loving others with His love!<\/p>\n
Celebration of the Lord\u201d\u2122s Supper<\/p>\n
Warning, Examination\/Prayer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CRCF\u201d\u201d12\/6\/09 Responding to God\u201d\u2122s Word This Christmas Matthew 2:1-12 ME: Yesterday, my family spent about 9 hours in a gym in Cartersville watching Jonas wrestle. It was the Super 16 Hurricane Duals\u201d\u201da big tournament where 16 teams compete as teams … Continue reading