Surprise Guests At Christmas

Christmas Surprises has been the name of our series all month long, the month of December here at Twin Lakes Church. We've been talking about the Christmas story as told in the Gospel of Matthew, and we're going to continue that for a few minutes tonight. Hi everybody, my name's René, one of the pastors here at TLC. Who is glad to be in church on this Christmas Eve? Let me hear ya. Such a beautiful night. Thank you for joining us. Whether you're here in person, or whether you are out in the lobby, we got a ton of people out there, and a ton of people joining us online as well.

In fact, one of the things that I love about Christmas is that there are so many brand new people. I would love to get kind of a straw poll show of hands. How many of you are from out of town today? Can I see that show of hands? How many of you are out of town? How many of you are out of state? Can I see that show of hands? How many are out of the country? How many are out of your minds right now? Can I just see that? I love hearing little kids talk about Christmas like we heard at the beginning of the service. Some of my own grandsons were in that video, if I can be braggy about that.

But one little preschooler said this about the Magi. The maggots brought gifts. They brought gifts of gold, Frankenstein, and Smurfs. So that's one way to look at it, but today what I'd love to talk to you about is the maggots. I mean, the Magi. What I wanna do is tell you their story. It's a story of adventure and mystery and archeology and prophecies written on ancient scrolls. It's the story of the original seekers after Jesus, the Magi.

And if you would call yourself at any level a seeker after truth, after God, after Christ tonight, then these are the originals. And in their journey following that star, I see three signposts for all of us spiritual seekers. I know you are going to leave uplifted tonight. If you've been wondering where is God and does God love me and does God care about the world, you're really gonna leave, I think, inspired by their story. So I left you some notes to follow along with on page two of your programs if you wanna turn there.

But our story starts in the Gospel of Matthew chapter two. You heard our Advent readers tell you, it says in verse one, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. Okay, stop, stop. First mystery right there, Magi. Who were the Magi? Well, there's a couple of clues. The word Magi is where we get a couple of English words, magician and magistrate. And if you put magician and magistrate together, that kinda gives you an idea of what the Magi were thought to be.

They were seen as both kinda sorcerers and high priests of the divine and soothsayers, fortune tellers, but also king makers and counselors to the royal court. That's where the Magi served. And these particular Magi probably came from far, far east of Jerusalem in Persia where Iran is today. Now that's about a seven week caravan trip to Bethlehem. That is a trip of 1,000 miles. The point is they came from way, way, way outside the world of Jesus Christ.

They had a different language, different religion, different country, different ethnicity, different traditions. And yet they show up at the birth of the Jewish Messiah? Why? Well, that's point one of their story, which is that Jesus was born for everyone. Can we all just say that together? I'd love to hear you. Jesus was born for everyone. You know, maybe you kinda feel like an outsider. Even here at church tonight, you just came from out of town to visit your family. You had no idea they were gonna drag you to this well, these Magi were outsiders too, way, way outside.

In fact, I love that very early in Christian art, they're portrayed as multi-ethnic, black and brown and white. And if you look more closely, they're even often portrayed as men and women. Very diverse, and this captures the point of the story in the Bible, which is everyone in the whole world is loved by God. Jesus drew a circle that includes you. You, no matter what country you're from, no matter what race you're from, no matter what political party you're a part of, no matter your age, no matter your moral history, your criminal history, your family history, no matter who you are rooting for on Monday night football tomorrow, yes, even Ravens fans, even Jesus loves you.

It seems incredible. Maybe I pushed that a little bit too far, but it gets better. Number two, Jesus reaches out to everyone. Say that with me, Jesus reaches out to everyone. Watch this, the Magi show up, they ask where is he who's been born king of the Jews? Now how do they know about this? They're not Jews. Well, did you know they're not the only Magi in the Bible? Let me connect the dots for you. About 600 years before Jesus Christ was born, Daniel, the same Daniel as in the Daniel and the Lion's Den story, gets promoted to Rob Maj or head Magi in Persia, and he writes prophecies that one day a great king will be born in Israel.

In fact, he's going to be the king of all kings. And so the Magi have been sitting on these prophecies for centuries waiting for this, and in their culture they looked at the stars to kind of tell the future and to tell what was going on on the earth and they show up and they say, we saw it, we've been waiting for centuries. We saw his star when it rose. And so now after all these centuries of waiting, we're here, where is he?

Now stop right there because that's another mystery. What is the star? Well, nobody really knows for certain, but interesting new evidence, archeologists found scrolls about 12 years ago, I think it was from China and Korea, where their ancient astronomers about 2000 years ago carefully drew exactly what different comets and stars looked like to them. Can you see that? And they even charted how those lights appeared to move in the night sky. Well, one night they wrote about what they called a guest star, that's not a normal planet. It's in April of five BC that they noticed this, that's right around the time that scholars say Jesus was born, it was a comet or a nova.

Now here's the interesting thing. They said, remember they charted out the moves, they said it first rose in the east, appeared to move throughout the sky, and finally ended almost directly south before it disappeared, just like the Magi said that they observed in the Bible. So that's pretty cool, could that have been the star? Maybe, but whatever it was, the point is that God reached them in ways they understood. They were into the stars, so God sent them a star.

And God always gives you a star to lead you from where you're at to where God would like for you to be. The Bible says God has not left himself without witness. Now for you, a star might be a friend. It might be a TV show you saw, it might be a book, a dream, a song, a child, somebody at work that you meet. Some of you have had a really tough year. Have you considered that that stress could be used by God as the star that draws you closer to him? A star could be anything, but you need to follow it.

Now how do you do that? How do you follow a star if you sense that God is urging you on to greater spiritual growth? Well this may be obvious for a pastor to say, but try church. For example, you heard Adrian say that in two weeks we're starting our January series, Ready for the Ride. I call it this because when I look ahead to 2024 it's like I see a set of very challenging waves that are stressful and potentially divisive, but you don't have to go into the ocean and let the waves just roll you.

You can learn to ride them with skill and with focus and you can learn to get ready to stay focused and handle anxiety and stay calm. All the details, page three of your notes, but why not commit to one month, just January? Follow that star, see where it takes you. Jesus said, "Seek and you will find." That's a promise. And that's what the Magi did. But there is a villain in this story as there is in every good story. It says when King Herod heard this, he was disturbed.

Now let me tell you about King Herod. Herod was already a king, he had killed people to get there and he was willing to kill to stay there. He did not want to hear about another king. Here's all you need to know about Herod. Herod had a nickname. You know what it was? Herod the Great. Anybody want to guess who gave him that nickname? Yeah, he did. Who does that? But that tells you all you need to know. He was an egotistical sociopath, a bad guy like bad on the scale of the emperor in Star Wars bad.

But he is canny, he knows how to play people. And he builds the influential religious leaders a spectacular new temple in Jerusalem. So they love the temple. They're hesitant to cross their benefactor. It's like he may be a murderous sociopath, but he's our murderous sociopath. And so they do his bidding like he calls them all together. You know, I did this for you. You gotta give me some free advice here. Where's the Messiah gonna be born? Now these are the top Bible scholars in the country. And they fall all over themselves to show how easy this is. That's easy in Bethlehem, in Judea. This is what the prophets have written. It's obvious.

And Herod's like, thanks guys, thanks. Magi, over here. Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, tell me about it. So I too may go and worship him. Right. He wants to know where this baby is so he can kill him. So off the Magi go. Now do those Bible scholars who know all the answers tag along just to see if it's true? No. And let me show you how bizarre this is. Here's Israel, here's Jerusalem, here's Bethlehem. That's a distance of six miles. That's Capitola to Santa Cruz. The Magi had gone a thousand miles and those Bible scholars couldn't go six. So close. But because they wouldn't seek, they miss this.

When the Magi saw the star, they were overjoyed. And the Greek translated overjoyed there literally is they rejoiced with great joy exceedingly. Don't you love that definition? What is that kind of joy? Well if you're lucky you might just see that kind of joy on Christmas morning, right? Being a seeker of God can lead to this kind of joy as it did for the Magi. Says on coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, they bowed down. And they what? They worshiped him.

After a long journey, they finally worship. I think the Holy Spirit in that moment let them see Jesus for who he really is. Of course they didn't understand all the theological nuances that came to be Christianity, but they knew this, Jesus was born for everyone. And Jesus reaches out to everyone as he did to them. And Jesus is king of everyone, including their king. Say Jesus is king of everyone. Jesus is king of everyone. Now when we say that, what do we mean? It's kind of like this little object lesson we do once in a while here at the church.

Take your index finger like this, go ahead and hold it up. And point it up to the sky like this and say God, God. Now point it to yourself and say not, not. Let's try it again. God, not. One more time. God, not. Point to your neighbor and say not. Not, not them either. Repeat as necessary, right? Because that's the key to serenity. I am not the general manager of the universe. I'm not Lord. Jesus is Lord. So they bow and worship him. But watch this, watch this. What they couldn't know was that Jesus would be a totally different kind of king. A servant king.

This king wouldn't hurt like Herod. This king would heal. This king wouldn't live on a throne. This king would live with us. This king wouldn't issue curses. This king reverses the curse by taking it into himself on the cross. And one day this king will make all things new. This king deserves our worship. This king changes everything. So are your eyes open for the star? God sends the stars to everybody. Clues to him. But there's three possible reactions to the stars. Those clues. There's apathy like those Jerusalem scholars. Yeah, we know it all already. Veteran Christians can fall into this one. There's hostility like Herod. Or there's curiosity like the Magi.

When God sends you the cues, will you be curious and follow the star? I'll close by telling you about one person's star. And I'll ask one final show of hands. How many of you have seen and enjoyed the old movie It's a Wonderful Life? How many of you love that one? I love it. Well, the little girl who plays the very youngest girl, Zuzu. Do you remember Zuzu's Petals in the movie is a woman named Carolyn Grimes. And here she is at a beautiful 83 years old now. She is the only surviving member of the entire cast.

And she was so young when she was in the movie she forgot that she was ever in it. Four years old, right? What do you remember from four? Well then when she was still just a kid, her mother died of early onset Alzheimer's. And then her dad died in a car crash. As an orphan she went to live with a super strict religious aunt and uncle who thought it was unchristian to even see movies. And she totally forgot about It's a Wonderful Life. Decades later as an adult, her first husband dies in a car accident. Her second husband dies of cancer. She's widowed twice with seven kids. Then one son takes his own life.

And she found herself in despair, desperately whispering a prayer to God, Father, help me. And she says it was then December 1979 that she saw a black and white movie playing on a TV. And she glanced at it and said, hey, that's me. And she said she was then riveted when George Bailey cries to God, Father, help me. And she found herself weeping, thinking that's my exact prayer. And she was able to reject the religious legalism of her aunt and uncle while clinging to the beauty of Jesus. And she is a committed follower of Jesus Christ today.

And she says for her, the star that God used to guide her home was her own movie that she forgot she was in. And here's what she says to you and me. I would say based on my own life, no matter how dark life seems to be, God is there. But you have to make the effort to look. You have to make the effort to look. This year will you make that effort and follow the star? We're lighting candles tonight to celebrate Christmas. Can I suggest that you make this moment very personal?

Three people I'd like to address. Maybe you're not sure what you think of all this, but you're willing to be a seeker. When your candle is lit, might I suggest praying, God, if you are there, please light my path. I will seek the truth about Jesus this year. Maybe you're ready and willing to commit your life to Jesus tonight. This could be a very sacred moment for you. When your candle is lit, say, Lord Jesus, I now receive your light into my life. And I worship you as my savior and my king.

Maybe you made that commitment years and years ago, but you've stumbled. God's word to you is welcome home. But third, maybe you've been a believer for many years. Will you pray, Lord, having received your light, help me now to be a light to others, to be willing to leave the enclave in Jerusalem, unlike those Bible scholars, and travel to where you want me to shine my light. There has never been a more important time than for us followers of Jesus to make that commitment.

Lord, thank you so much that you came to earth as the light of the world. And we can't think of Bethlehem without praying for those impacted by the war there right now. Many in Israel and Gaza are our brothers and sisters in Christ, everybody there is made in your image and loved by you. And so Lord, strengthen them. Make peace come to that war-torn land. And our prayer really is that in our world of so much darkness, we could be your light. Thank you, God, for this indescribable gift. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

And now if the ushers would please come forward, here is the moment. As we sing now, the candles will be lit from this single flame that Adrian is holding up front. That's important because it symbolizes how the one light of Jesus comes into our lives personally when we receive it, and then it spreads as we spread that light. Of course, please be cautious, parents watch your kids especially, but now let's worship Jesus.

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, Round yon Virgin Mother and Child, Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night, holy night, shepherds quake at the sight, Glories stream from heaven afar, heavenly hosts sing hallelujah. Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born.

Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love's pure light, Radiant beams from thy holy face, with a dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus, Lord, if I burn, Jesus, Lord, if I burn. Let's have the house lights dimmed completely so that just about the only light that's left in here is the light of these candles as we raise our candles up. And I'd love for you to just look around at this.

Please remember this the rest of the year when the darkness seems so overwhelming. The light of Christ in you as we share it and express it in community. That makes a difference. That overcomes the darkness. Listen to the word of God from John 1. In Jesus was life, and that life was the light of all people. This light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it, and it never will.

Let's sing one more song, one more verse of "Silent Night" together. Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, round yon virgin mother and son. Holy infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace. And now will you carefully blow out your candle and then stand with me for a Christmas benediction. It has been such a blessing to be with you today. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

And now here is our Christmas prayer for you. May the light and the grace of the Christ of Christmas be upon you today, tomorrow, and forevermore. Amen. Merry Christmas and thank you for coming everybody.