Matthew 2:11

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

Not only does a journey of worship involve being intentional but a:

5. Journey of worship involves SACRIFICE. Vs 11

What if worship is not a matter of what we get out of worship, but what we give? Has out modern form of worship become more of a show than a sacrifice? How often do we say, “I liked the worship?” It’s easy to make worship about me, my likes and preferences but the real question is did God like it? When our worship becomes a performance created to make us feel good it’s not worship its worldliness. This is the goal of the world to elevate self. It is a system that is constantly performing for a feel good. In contrast we see that the Wise men were not only intentional when it came to seeking the Savior, but they came prepared to worship Him. They brought gifts worthy of who Jesus was. It has been said the Gold was given because it was fitting for a king. Gold has obvious worth. It is a gift fit for royalty and God deserves the very best that we can bring. But what if it wasn’t what we would call gold? The Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, and was so expensive it was referred to as liquid gold. But why would Wise men bring this. We know about the Frankincense and Myrrh and while physical gold seems fitting for a King what if it was really the Balm of Gilead? Interestingly the three ingrediency needed to anoint the coming Messiah were Frankincense, Myrrh and the Balm of Gilead. But regardless of whether this was real gold or the liquid gold of the Balm of Gilead these Wise men came prepared to give gifts fitting of the one they came to worship. Was there a price to be paid for the wise men’s worship? You bet. They had given themselves to a journey. Travel in those days was not very comfortable – in fact it could be downright dangerous. The wise men had sacrificed their own comfort to find the king and worship Him. Listen to what David said about sacrifice: “I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost [me] nothing.” 2 Samuel 24:24. What about us are we sacrificially worshiping or is our worship based more on us, what we get out of it and how we feel? Am I giving God my first fruits or my leftovers? Romans says it this way: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1. To truly worship requires sacrifice. The greatest gift – the greatest sacrifice – you can give to God is yourself. We often talk about giving God your treasure and while that is important giving Him your time is greater. You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time. I think what God wants most of all – above everything else is ME. What if we would give ourselves this Christmas what if we would give Him not just money but me? After all what greater cause could you invest your life in than the cause of Christ? The efforts you make to worship God is your sacrifice to Him. But here is a fact I want you all to remember today, God wants your heart – He wants your attention – 24/7 – the question to ask is: What am I willing to give Him? Am I willing to give Him my best? Am I willing to go on a spiritual journey to worship Him? Am I willing to give up my comfort zone to follow Christ? The wise men were – are you?

Matthew 2:2-11

and 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.” ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 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 shepherd my people Israel.” ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

Not only does a journey of worship involve faith but a:

2. Journey of worship always involves Seeking Jesus Vs 2

Worship always involves finding Jesus it’s not just a moment in time but a journey of seeking the King. What are you searching for this Christmas who are you seeking? We see in verses 4-6 that Herod knew who to seek to get the answer to find  Jesus the Priests, the priests knew where to seek the bible, but neither of them went to seek  Jesus. Herod pretended to be a worshiper of Jesus, but he was a worshipper of self! it’s not knowing about Jesus its Knowing Jesus and that comes as you seek Him. Matthew 7:7 tells us to seek and you will find!

3. Journey of worship always involves Determination and diligence in the search. Vs 7

We don’t know the distance of the journey, but we know it took time In Matthew 2:16 we are told that Herod decided to kill all boy children 2 years old and younger so apparently from the time the star first appeared it took them almost two years to locate where Christ was. There search was a long & diligent one. That just means they were determined to search until they found the answer. Did they ever grow tired? Were there times of sickness? Did they ever get discouraged? Did they ever feel like quitting? I suspect the answer to all these questions is “yes” – but they persevered. This wasn’t a religious fad. Nor was it a whim of the moment. They would see their search through to the end. Are you determined like that in your spiritual search? Even when their reference point was gone they kept searching. God can use anything to show you the way, He used an ungodly King and uncaring religious priests. Sometimes we get comfortable following our star and when we get in a rut, we forget others need to know about Jesus. When the star disappeared, it allowed for others to hear and decide if they would go to worship. Your journey of worship will be noticed by others some will hate it like Herod some will not care like the religious but keep living it anyway journey on!

4. Journey of worship is intentional  vs 11.

 A wise man’s journey is one of WORSHIP. When the wise men came on their journey it was for the purpose of worship. They brought with them gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They came prepared to worship, they were intentional. We want worship to just be spontaneous and emotional. Where I can show up when it’s convenient and there is an experience provided for me. But the question shuld be what am I bringing? These gifts have a lot of symbolism associated with them. Gold represents wealth. It is a gift fit for a king. (Jesus was the King of Kings) Frankincense is the sap of a tree that was dried and hardened and used as incense to worship God. Thus, we see a gift for his deity. (Jesus was the Son of God) Myrrh is a fragrant perfume that was used to anoint the dead – to embalm and preserve them. (Jesus was The Sacrificial Lamb). 

So let me ask you, who are you seeking this Christmas, are you determined and diligent in your search, how intentional is your worship?