Introduction:
The ONLY Two Responses to Christ (Matthew 2:1-12)
- Reject Christ to worship Myself .
- Reject Myself to worship Christ .
John 3:19 - "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil."
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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01:07-01:11
I turn to Matthew chapter 2 verses 1 through 12.
01:11-01:15
Matthew chapter 2 verses 1 through 12.
01:16-01:21
You know, at Christmas we all hope and pray for a sense of family unity and togetherness, right?
01:23-01:26
All the moms and grandmas in the room are nodding their heads in agreement.
01:27-01:35
Well, please allow me to drive a wedge between all of us for a few minutes, but don't worry, we're all gonna come back together and have a bunch of Christmas hugs.
01:36-01:40
But until then, we're going to fight over a very controversial poll.
01:41-01:43
The AV team is going to put up pictures on the screen.
01:43-01:49
With each picture, you're going to have one of two responses-- thumbs up or thumbs down.
01:50-01:53
And to be clear on the rules, you can't have an undecided thumb.
01:53-01:54
There's no fence setting.
01:54-01:56
I'm not going to accept any of those responses.
01:56-01:57
All right?
01:57-01:59
I'll be clear on the rules.
01:59-02:02
All right, first picture-- snow on Christmas morning.
02:02-02:03
Thumbs up.
02:04-02:05
You wanna see a white Christmas?
02:06-02:08
Who's thumbs down on greenest brown Christmas?
02:09-02:10
Who wants that?
02:11-02:14
'Cause that's what we're getting tomorrow, so hopefully some of us want that.
02:14-02:15
Next one.
02:16-02:19
An artificial Christmas tree instead of a real Christmas tree.
02:19-02:20
Who gives that a thumbs up?
02:21-02:22
You are my people.
02:23-02:24
Who are the thumbs down on that?
02:25-02:33
You're the people who love the trudge in the cold for a sappy shedding Christmas tree that you're just gonna kick to the curb on January 1st.
02:34-02:35
Let's move beyond Christmas to the next one.
02:36-02:36
Crocs.
02:38-02:40
Who picks comfort over style?
02:40-02:41
Thumbs up.
02:41-02:41
Me.
02:42-02:43
Who's thumbs down on Crocs?
02:43-02:45
Kade gave two big thumbs up.
02:45-02:46
Me too.
02:46-02:47
Alright, thanks Luke.
02:48-02:48
Next one.
02:50-02:51
Pineapple on pizza.
02:51-02:52
Who gives that a big thumbs up?
02:52-02:53
Me.
02:54-02:54
Thumbs down?
02:55-02:59
Wow, there's a lot more pineapple on pizza fans than the last service.
02:59-03:00
Next one.
03:01-03:02
Last one.
03:02-03:05
Pastor Jeff's favorite condiment, mayonnaise.
03:06-03:06
Who's with me?
03:06-03:07
Thumbs up for mayonnaise.
03:08-03:10
Wait, who's a Pastor Jeff and gives a thumbs down?
03:11-03:13
It's not that many of you.
03:13-03:14
I don't know.
03:16-03:27
You know, these are all silly examples that don't really matter, but isn't it funny how strong of responses we have to even questions like this, to items like this?
03:29-03:41
I'm not gonna put up any pictures of presidential candidates thumbs up or thumbs down for the sake of Christmas cheer, but can we all agree there are very strong, passionate responses to that area of life?
03:43-03:54
You know, isn't it interesting that the same item, the same person can elicit such different and equally strong responses?
03:57-04:02
Well, let's move beyond Christmas opinions, politicians, and food preferences for a minute.
04:03-04:09
Do you know who elicits the strongest reactions from both sides of the spectrum?
04:10-04:15
Yes, without a contest or a close second, the answer is Jesus Christ.
04:16-04:24
There are thousands upon thousands of opinions about who Jesus is, what he taught, and what he stands for.
04:25-04:38
But if you boil all these opinions down, it's crystal clear that there are only two responses to Jesus Christ, and they are in sharp opposition to one another.
04:38-04:42
One response is wrong, and the other is right.
04:43-04:49
One response hates the truth, and the other embraces the truth.
04:50-04:56
One response leads to eternal damnation, and the other response leads to everlasting life.
04:58-05:08
These two responses are on full display in Matthew chapter two, verses one through 12, which we will study this evening as we conclude our latest series, Divine Intervention.
05:09-05:21
And I have been praying all week that the Lord would make the right response, appealing, evident, and inescapable for every single person in this room.
05:22-05:24
So let's stop to ask for God's help.
05:25-05:32
Please pray for me, that I'll faithfully communicate God's word, and I will pray for you, that you faithfully receive it.
05:38-05:41
Father, I pray against any distractions.
05:41-05:47
I pray against thinking about what's for dinner after this, thinking about what's gonna be the schedule tomorrow.
05:47-05:52
I pray that everyone in this room would dial in on what your word has to say.
05:53-05:56
would tune in to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
05:58-06:01
I pray that we would all have the right response to him.
06:02-06:06
I ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ, amen.
06:08-06:10
So I wanna read our entire passage this evening.
06:10-06:15
I wanna zoom out and get the big picture, and then we're gonna zoom in on the specific details.
06:16-06:18
Matthew chapter two, verses one through 12.
06:18-06:19
Matthew writes this.
06:20-06:31
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea "in the days of Herod the king, "behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, "saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews?
06:31-06:35
"For we saw his star when it rose "and have come to worship him.
06:36-06:38
"When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled.
06:38-06:39
"And all Jerusalem with him.
06:40-06:46
"And assembling all the chief priests "and scribes of the people, "he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
06:46-06:56
"They told him in Bethlehem of Judea, "For so it was written by the prophet, "and you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, "are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.
06:56-07:00
"For from you shall come a ruler "who will shepherd my people Israel.
07:01-07:06
"That Herod summoned the wise men secretly "and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
07:07-07:11
"And he sent them to Bethlehem saying, "Go and search diligently for the child.
07:11-07:17
"And when you have found him, "bring me word that I too may come and worship him.
07:18-07:20
After listening to the king, they were sent on their way.
07:20-07:28
And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
07:29-07:40
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy, and going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.
07:42-07:52
Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, and being warned in the dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
07:54-08:00
So before we continue on, let's be sure that we know who the key players in this story are.
08:00-08:02
First up is Herod.
08:02-08:06
Herod the Great was established as the King of Judea by the Roman government.
08:07-08:12
His main job was to keep the peace and crush any rebellions that popped up.
08:12-08:18
Basically, he was a glorified babysitter, But he wasn't the babysitter that kids know and love.
08:18-08:21
He was the babysitter that no one wanted.
08:22-08:25
Just listen to some of his murderous resume within his own family.
08:26-08:29
He killed his own brother-in-law, strike one.
08:30-08:35
He murdered his wife, her mother, and her grandfather, strike two.
08:35-08:40
And he even murdered three of his own sons, massive strike three.
08:40-08:45
And we'll talk even more about his murderous activities later on in the message.
08:46-08:48
Next up is the magi or the wise men.
08:49-08:55
You know, the funny thing is, most of what we think we know about the wise men is actually not true at all.
08:56-08:59
You know, what do people often think the wise men were named?
09:00-09:02
Like Balthazar, that's the only one I even remember.
09:02-09:03
I can't remember the other two.
09:03-09:04
Anyone know?
09:05-09:06
Jasper, you said Jasper?
09:07-09:08
Are you sure?
09:09-09:09
All right.
09:11-09:13
And how many wise men do we typically think that there were?
09:15-09:16
Did the text say that there were three?
09:17-09:21
No, we just think that because three gifts were given.
09:22-09:32
And in every nativity Christmas book you have to read to your children, the wise men always arrive in the nick of time to see Jesus in the manger, right?
09:33-09:34
But is that what happened?
09:35-09:42
No, they arrived much later, after Jesus was already born and with Mary and Joseph in their house.
09:44-09:54
You know, I could unpack all my research about the wise men and tell you about scholars, educated guesses about these guys, but I don't really want to because it doesn't really matter.
09:55-09:58
What matters is what the text clearly tells us.
09:59-10:02
The wise men were from somewhere east of Israel.
10:02-10:14
They were somehow aware of the Old Testament prophecies of a coming Messiah and King, and they left the comfort of their home when they saw a glorious star in the sky.
10:15-10:17
Are we clear on the key players?
10:18-10:21
Herod the not so great, and the mysterious number of wise men.
10:22-10:26
All right, let's talk about what these two opposing sides represent.
10:27-10:34
So the only two responses to Christ, first response, reject Christ to worship myself.
10:36-10:39
Reject Christ to worship myself.
10:41-10:48
And we're told in verses one through three that the wise men show up to Jerusalem, pumped up, excited to find this newborn king.
10:48-10:51
They grab everyone they could find, ask where is the king?
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We want to worship the king.
10:54-10:58
They think that everyone else is just as excited as they are.
10:59-11:03
But this troubles Herod, and it troubles the entire city of Jerusalem.
11:04-11:06
This isn't gonna make Herod look very good.
11:06-11:13
Remember, his job is to make Rome happy, and a newborn king vying for his throne isn't good for him.
11:13-11:18
And the rest of Jerusalem is troubled because if Herod isn't happy, we're all in danger.
11:19-11:23
If his own family isn't safe, we definitely are not safe.
11:24-11:32
And so Herod calls all the religious leaders together to ask them about this prophecy about the coming Messiah and king.
11:33-11:37
And the religious leaders reference Micah 5, too, which we studied a few months ago.
11:37-11:50
"And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, "are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, "for from you shall come a ruler." This clearly refers to Jesus Christ who was born in Bethlehem.
11:51-12:01
You know, isn't it so sad that the religious leaders who taught Herod about the Messiah would eventually reject the Messiah?
12:03-12:10
They know all the facts about this king, but they pass on him when they meet Jesus Christ face to face.
12:11-12:16
You know, this proves that head knowledge does not equal heart acceptance.
12:17-12:20
Information does not equal transformation.
12:21-12:28
After this quick Bible lesson, Herod calls the wise men to join him for a top secret meeting in verses seven through eight.
12:28-12:30
Let's read those again together.
12:31-12:37
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
12:37-12:41
And he sent them to Bethlehem saying, "Go and search diligently for the child.
12:41-12:51
"And when you have found him, bring me word "that I too may come and worship him." You know, on their own, these verses seem to tell us that Herod's a pretty good guy, right?
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He's a genuine seeker.
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And he's just as excited as the wise men.
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Is that true?
12:58-13:03
No, he's just a sociopathic actor who plays along to get what he really wants.
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This newborn King, dead and gone.
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And we know this because of verse 12 and beyond.
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In verse 12, after the wise men encounter Christ, they receive a dream that warns them to hide tailed out of Israel and beeline it back home, instead of going back, giving Herod the report that he wanted.
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This dream is given to protect the wise men and the lives of Jesus' family.
13:32-13:36
You know, Herod eventually realizes that he has been tricked by the wise men, he is not happy.
13:37-13:42
And he takes drastic measures in chapter two, verses 16 through 18, let's read that together.
13:43-13:58
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem, and all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that had been ascertained from the wise men.
13:59-14:01
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.
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A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping in loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children.
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She refused to be comforted because they are no more.
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What a sickening response to the greatest news the world has ever heard.
14:20-14:24
You know, what led Herod to this rejection of Christ?
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Why did he respond in this way?
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Because Herod viewed Christ as a threat and not as a treasure.
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Because Herod treated Christ as a competitor to challenge and not as a champion to crown.
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Because Herod wanted to worship himself instead of his maker.
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And everyone who reads this account of Herod is repulsed by him.
14:55-15:01
But his response is not much different anyone else who rejects Christ for any reason.
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Because regardless of the reason, rejecting Christ leads to the same exact result.
15:07-15:10
Jesus Christ on one side and you on the other.
15:12-15:18
Atheists and agnostics place themselves in the position of the God they claim to not believe in.
15:18-15:20
They are the source of authority.
15:20-15:23
They are the source of their own morality.
15:24-15:34
Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Mormons, reject the real person of Christ in favor of a God made in their own image.
15:36-15:48
And those who sit on the religious sidelines and refuse to make a choice about Jesus have actually made a choice about Jesus because indifference to Christ is hatred of Christ.
15:51-15:56
This rejecting response is fueled by love for sin and self.
15:57-16:00
Jesus talks about this in John 3:19.
16:01-16:17
"The light has come into the world, "and people love the darkness rather than the light "because their works were evil." Apart from Christ, we are like cockroaches that scurry the nearest shadow when the basement door is open and the light is turned on.
16:17-16:23
We are like pouty children who dig in our heels When we are told to do something we don't want to do.
16:24-16:32
In and of ourselves, we naturally worship our wants, our desires, our dreams, our opinions.
16:35-16:39
Some of you in this room are currently rejecting Jesus Christ.
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Either purposefully or without even realizing it.
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Maybe you were dragged here by a relative and you don't even want to be here tonight.
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Maybe you think you're a good person deep down and there's no way that God could possibly turn you away from heaven.
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Maybe you haven't really even given much thought to what you believe and why you believe it.
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That describes you, I'm so glad you're here tonight.
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And I hope that you will seriously consider how you have responded to Christ in the past how you will respond to him moving forward.
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This isn't a matter of opinion.
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This isn't a matter of religious debate.
17:27-17:31
This is a matter of life or death, heaven or hell.
17:34-17:37
Please do not follow in Herod's footsteps any longer.
17:39-17:45
Choose the right response of the wise men, which we'll talk about for the rest of this message.
17:46-17:47
The only two responses to Christ.
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First response, reject Christ to worship myself.
17:53-17:57
Second response, reject myself to worship Christ.
17:58-18:00
Reject myself to worship Christ.
18:03-18:12
After the wise men leaves Herod's palace, the star reappears once again to show them the exact spot in Bethlehem where the Messiah is.
18:12-18:15
Listen again to their response in verse 10.
18:15-18:18
They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
18:19-18:22
They are beside themselves with excitement.
18:22-18:31
I imagine them high-fiving each other, hugging and rushing as fast as humanly possible to the house of Mary and Joseph.
18:32-18:37
The wise men can barely contain the joy they are experiencing.
18:39-18:42
And this highlights a really important point that most people completely miss.
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Jesus is exciting and not boring.
18:48-18:55
If you become a Christian, you're not resigning yourself to a life of frowning, crossing your arms and knocking ice cream cones out of children's hands.
18:57-19:01
The most joyful life of all should be the life of the Christian.
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What could be better than having a personal relationship with the God of the universe?
19:08-19:17
What could be more fulfilling than being set free from the power and penalty of sin to lead a life that makes the eternal impact.
19:19-19:24
If the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't move you, then it most likely hasn't saved you.
19:26-19:32
If knowing Jesus doesn't even give you an ounce of joy, then you probably don't even know Jesus.
19:35-19:51
The joy of the wise men keeps climbing higher and higher and it reaches its crescendo when they finally come to see this child king in verse 11, "And going into the house, "they saw the child with Mary his mother, "and they fell down and worshiped him.
19:52-20:05
"Then opening their treasures, "they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." You know, we have become so numb to this story 'cause we've heard it over and over again, year after year, Christmas after Christmas.
20:06-20:09
But if you look at it with fresh eyes, it is astounding.
20:10-20:11
Just think about it.
20:11-20:21
These rich and scholarly men from a foreign nation are bowing down before a child they just met and worshiping him as God.
20:24-20:28
One pastor from 200 years ago gave the wise men the ultimate gold star.
20:29-20:34
We read of no greater faith than this in the whole of the Bible.
20:36-20:41
These men denied their exalted positions to humble themselves.
20:42-20:49
They denied their worldly and religious upbringing to submit themselves to the true savior of the world.
20:51-20:57
They sacrificed of their own treasure to give gifts to the king of kings and lord of lords.
20:59-21:06
You know, the wise men don't cheap out and offer McDonald's coupons, a novelty coffee mug and a Hello Kitty key chain to Jesus.
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They go all out.
21:10-21:21
They give him gold, one of the most precious metals on the planet, frankincense, a costly incense, and myrrh, a spice, anointing oil that would be used in Jesus' burial.
21:23-21:28
You know, I read a lot of articles this past week that try to guesstimate the dollar amount of these gifts.
21:28-21:32
And I read some from several thousand to several million, so it was very inconclusive.
21:32-21:36
But it doesn't really matter what the dollar amount is.
21:37-21:47
What really matters is their pure desire to offer gifts to Christ that genuinely express the joy and awe that filled their hearts.
21:49-21:55
You know, I am by far the cheapest member of my family, which is a fact they constantly make fun of me for.
21:55-21:55
Right, Dad?
21:57-21:59
I have one suit and I'm wearing it right now.
22:01-22:07
I recently bought an expensive pair of Nikes because I bought it with a gift card and didn't spend a dime of my own money.
22:07-22:09
I still have an iPhone 8 with the home button.
22:10-22:11
Anybody else have this?
22:13-22:14
Okay, Rachel Gray, awesome.
22:15-22:17
One other person, two other people had in the last service.
22:18-22:19
Luke, do you have with the home button?
22:19-22:21
No, you have the newfangled model, Luke.
22:22-22:22
You have the better model.
22:23-22:27
But I don't need all that fancy new, no home button screens.
22:28-22:34
This one's paid off and it's doing me just fine, even though my wife doesn't really agree with that at all.
22:34-22:38
I don't like buying stuff, especially for myself.
22:40-22:53
But there's one item that I purchased several years ago that I bought with no hint of reservation or buyer's remorse, my wife's engagement ring.
22:55-23:00
I wasn't exactly a rich person back in seminary swimming in vaults of cash.
23:00-23:02
So I was even cheaper than I am now.
23:04-23:06
But I didn't cheap out on my wife's engagement ring.
23:07-23:12
I picked the best one, the perfect one for her, even though it was pricey.
23:13-23:24
I was a full-time seminary student making ends meet at a call center, but I would set aside money every single paycheck and send checks to the jewelry store to pay off that ring in monthly installments.
23:26-23:36
And I can honestly say I wrote every single one with those checks, with the biggest smile on my face, because Kate was and is more than worth it.
23:38-23:44
The only right response to being a woman like Kate was giving her the very best that I had to offer.
23:46-23:52
And as great as my wife is, and she's pretty great, Jesus Christ is infinitely greater.
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The only right response to encountering Jesus is to give him your very best every single second every single day.
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The one who has given us everything deserves nothing less.
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Just think about what Jesus has given.
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He stepped way down out of heaven to become like one of us.
24:15-24:20
He endured all the pain, annoyances, and frustrations that come along with being human.
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He lived the perfect life we couldn't live and then died the death that we deserve to die on the cross.
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and He rose again to give us new and everlasting life.
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Why wouldn't you give all of your life to the one who has given you all of eternity?
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Why would you waste even one more second focusing on yourself when someone infinitely greater is before you?
24:48-24:52
Your praise does not belong to a football team, a cause or a political party.
24:52-24:54
It belongs to Jesus.
24:55-25:00
Your devotion does not belong to your passion project or your hobby, it belongs to Jesus.
25:01-25:05
Your net worth does not belong to you, it belongs to Jesus.
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Your affection does not belong to this world, it belongs to Jesus.
25:12-25:19
Every single thought that you think, every single word that you say, and every single decision that you make is an act of worship.
25:21-25:25
The only question is this, who are you worshiping?
25:27-25:30
We know Herod's response to Christ's rejection.
25:31-25:35
We know the wise men's response to Jesus, worship.
25:37-25:41
Those responses are fixed and unchanging.
25:41-25:44
They are things of the past, they cannot be changed.
25:45-25:53
My major concern tonight is how you personally respond Jesus Christ because there is still time for you to change.
25:54-26:04
If you have not yet turned from your sin and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, please do not neglect to open the greatest gift ever given this Christmas.
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The free gift of forgiveness in Jesus Christ is offered to you right now, but you must accept it by faith in order to receive it.
26:18-26:19
What will you do?
26:21-26:24
Will you choose the wrong response and reject it yet again?
26:26-26:30
Or will you choose the right response of worshiping Jesus Christ?
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I wish I could make that choice for you, but I can't.
26:36-26:39
It is your choice and yours alone.
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If you wanna learn more about Jesus and talk about what next steps with him look like, please do not leave this evening without talking to me, Pastor Jeff, Pastor Rich, we would love nothing more than to tell you more about Jesus and serve you in any way that we can.
26:59-27:06
Don't be distracted by trying to get back home to make dinner, there's nothing more important than making the most important decision of your life.
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And for the rest of you who have chosen the right response of worshiping Christ, please do not lift your foot off the gas pedal and just coast the rest of your life.
27:18-27:22
Daily deny yourself and exalt Christ.
27:23-27:28
Choose to take the spotlight off of yourself and put it onto him.
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This is such a me-centered and consumeristic time of year.
27:36-27:39
Don't make it about you, make it about him.
27:41-27:50
Stop concerning yourself with what you want to start worrying about what he expects and what he has commanded.
27:51-28:04
This Christmas, will you choose to model to your family and friends what it looks like to truly worship Christ, or will you opt out to just focus on yourself, your wants, your preferences?
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Again, the choice is yours and yours alone.
28:09-28:10
Let's pray.
28:13-28:25
Father, as Pastor Jeff prayed earlier, it's so easy on Christmas Eve and Christmas just to have this atmosphere of nostalgia and sentimentality and not even really consider what this holiday is about.
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It's about your son and what he has sacrificed for us.
28:32-28:46
Or for anyone in this room who doesn't know you, Lord, I pray that you would give them restlessness until they find rest in you, that they couldn't sleep until they make this important choice of responding to Christ in faith and worship.
28:47-28:55
For the rest of us, Lord, help us to daily respond in the right way of worshiping you and not ourselves.
28:57-29:01
We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read Matthew 2:1-12
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Why do most people respond so poorly and negatively to Christ?
What does it look like to reject yourself to worship Christ? How can you mature in your desire and ability to worship the Lord?
Breakout
Pray for one another.
