In Matthew chapter number two, verse number one, the Bible says, now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born, king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. And when Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with them. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes and the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet. And now Bethlehem in the land of Judah art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And when he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child, and when he had found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. And when they had heard the king, they departed below the star, which they had saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were coming to the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph, in a dream saying, arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young child and destroy him. And when he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt. And there was until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and all the coast thereof, from two years older and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, and Rama was there, a voice heard lamentation and weeping. In great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children. It would not be comforted because they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. Let's pray to Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for this morning. Lord, for the song service. Lord, thank you for joy to the world. Lord, the only reason why we have joy this morning is because nothing but the blood, Lord, that was shed on the cross of Calvary. Thank you, Lord, for dying for our sins, being that sacrifice that we could not be for ourselves. We thank you, Lord, that yes, you can make changes. Yes, heaven is a real place. It is a place that we're longing for. It's a place that we're looking for. Lord, it's where I'm a citizen of this morning. God, this world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. And I pray, Lord, this morning that you just remind us, God, of the great hope of heaven. God, that promised land that we look forward to. Lord, I'm glad it's a land that is fairer than day. Lord, I'm glad it's a land that has no more problems, there's more pain, there's no sin, there's no suffering. or it's a land that is eternally joy and eternally great. And I ask you, Lord, this morning, that you just, Lord, work in our hearts this morning. Lord, would you make preaching, Lord, what you designed it to be this morning? Would you hide me behind the cross of Calvary? Lord, use me for your glory. God, get me out of myself and fill me with your spirit. And I pray, Lord, this morning, God, that you would work in the hearts and lives, Lord, of your children and God, all that are here this morning, God, there's somebody here that doesn't know you as their personal Lord and Savior. I pray, Lord, today that, Lord, you would work in their hearts and, Lord, show them how great their sin is, God, the great price and the great payment. Lord, that you paid on the cross of Calvary, but Lord, I pray, Lord, you'd work in their hearts, Lord, and show them, Lord, their sin's already been paid for. Lord, the price has already been paid. God, would you save them by your grace this morning. God, draw them unto yourself this morning. God, do that which I cannot do by myself this morning. Lord, give you the glory and the praise, God, for what you do. Lord, we love you and we thank you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen, and amen. Last week we continued our study on Christmas, the characters of Christmas, And we started originally, we looked at the prophecies in the Old Testament, the introduction to the coming of Christ. They knew in the Old Testament the Messiah was coming, that Jesus was gonna come, that this child was gonna be born, and the Savior was coming to planet Earth this morning. We looked at that, and then last week we looked at the shepherds, and we looked at the innkeeper, how the innkeeper didn't have any room, and how God used the shepherds to herald the great message that Christ had come, and Christ had been born in Bethlehem. And this morning, we're gonna look at some more extras this morning, then next Sunday morning, we'll look at the supporting roles of Mary and Joseph, and then Sunday night, next Sunday night, during our Christmas service, it's the one I've been itching to get to, we'll look at the main role, the lead role, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. It's amazing when you begin to study that and realize who was in the manger, and actually all that was encompassed within him was laying in the manger that night, and I'm not gonna get ahead of myself this morning. But this morning, we're looking at two more extras, and these men are extras this morning, and interestingly enough, one of them is, at this time, the greatest man in Israel, for he's the king of Israel. It's amazing to me that God takes the greatest man in the land and just makes him an extra. The other men that are mentioned this morning are the wise men this morning, and we see, and interestingly enough, the wise men somehow have become some of the most controversial men in independent fundamental Baptist churches. And you say, Preacher, what do you mean by that? If you want to be labeled a heretic, put them in your nativity scene. I've known people who were telling me how great this, they had went and seen some lights and they were saying, Brother Tate, these things were pretty and they were amazing and you should have seen the nativity scene, it was awesome. But then they were there. The wise men were at the nativity scene and Brother Tate, I just couldn't enjoy it anymore. I understand this morning that the wise men were not in the stable. The wise men came at a later date. But what interests me, what intrigues me the most is the same people who are so staunch about the wise men being at the nativity scene have no problem with baby Jesus being blonde hair and blue eyed. If we're going to be sticklers, let's be sticklers. He made himself of no reputation. Here's the interesting thing. You know how easy it would be to find me in Albania? Very easy, because they don't look like me. I don't look like them. There's not too many blue-eyed people in that place of the country, or that place of the world, and we see it, but when they become controversial, and here's the thing, we gotta be careful, because if we're not careful, we'll over-spiritualize things that are just simply meant to be reminders for me and you this morning. They simply get us in the right direction, and our heart's headed to the right way. You said, preacher, what's the greatest thing we could do? What's the greatest approach? Do we have to have an authentic biblical scriptural nativity scene? I would just say to you, take the Linus approach. What do you mean by that, preacher? Do what Linus did in the peanut story when Charlie Brown said, good grief, what is Christmas all about? Oh, Linus stepped up to the stage with his blankie in one hand and said, for unto us is born this day in Bethlehem a Savior. He gave them the word of God. That's why I'm glad this morning you can take away my tree, you can take away the presents, you can take away all the decorations, you can take away the baked goods that are sitting on my desk this morning, for unto you is born this day in the city of Bethlehem, the city of David, a Savior. God says, well, as long as I've got a baby in a manger, I've got something to rejoice about this morning. But this morning, we're gonna look at these extras. We're gonna look at this man by the name of Herod. We're gonna look at these wise men, men of controversy. It's interesting. We don't even know how many of them there were. Oh, preacher, there was three. Where'd you get that from? Interesting enough, this morning, we're gonna look at these and every person can learn some great truths by noticing the following observations, made extras found in Matthew chapter number two this morning. Number one, we have King Herod. We have King Herod. typically of someone of Herod's renown and someone of Herod's excellency and Herod's stature. If he were to be in the play, I really can't tell you the last time I went to a Christmas play and seen Herod in one this morning. But you would think that if someone of his stature and someone of his nobility and his persuasion this morning, he would typically have a bunch of lines. They would have a bunch of stage time. You would see them because they're important in society. He's a great man. They'd be a fan favorite. But here God takes the most important man in the land. God takes the most well-known man in the land. God takes the man who has all the power and says, I'm going to put you in an extra. You're gonna be part of it, but this story isn't about you. This story isn't about how great you are, how great of a king you are. God takes the greatest man in that area and makes him an extra in the count of his son's birth. Herod might have been the king of Jerusalem, and he might have been the king of Israel, but Jesus is king of kings this morning. The story's not about Herod, it's about a king in a manger this morning. And here's what we can learn from Herod. Notice Herod had worldly success. Herod had worldly success. Look at verse number one of chapter number two. Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king. In the days of Herod the king. Herod, if you study this out, you'll find out, when the wise men come, they make a statement, and no doubt the Bible tells us it troubles Herod. And the statement is this, where is he that is born King of the Jews? See, Herod was the King of the Jews now, but Herod wasn't born King of the Jews. Herod wasn't that prophetic given in the Old Testament. It wasn't that prophecy given in the Old Testament. Herod actually wasn't even the Lion of Jacob. Herod was the Lion of Esau. You'll find out and you'll study it out that if you study it out this morning that Herod was what we call an Edomite. He was from the land of Edom. He was of the lineage of Edom who was the lineage of Esau. Now who was Esau? Esau was the brother of Jacob in the Old Testament. Esau was the one that had sold his birthright to his brother. He's the one that was tricked by his brother. He's the one that could step back and say to himself, I feel like everything has been stolen from me. I feel like everything has been taken away from me. I feel like everything that I deserve has been ripped right from me. We have to understand this morning, as they continue to grow, I understand Jacob and Esau, they made right and they got things together, but their people began to not like each other, not to agree with one another. So here's Herod, who's of that lineage of Esau, and now he's reigning over the people of Jacob. And so he's looking at himself and he says, I have come to a place. I'm a self-made man. I've got power. I've got prestige. I've got everything in the world. has to offer. And here come these wise men and they're saying there's one born of the Jews. There's one born who's to be king of the Jews. That troubles Herod because they're coming for Herod's spot. Whoever that person was is coming for Herod's spot. But Herod hadn't turned to the Lord for this promotion he had been. Here's the thing, Herod wasn't that. He wasn't the answer. Why? Because Herod was instilled by the Roman government. He was installed by the Roman government. He was put in place by the Roman government. They put him in place to rule over Israel. To rule over those that they had conquered and those that they were now reigning over. And so here's the thing, Herod can step back and say, oh yes, look at me, I'm the king of Israel. Truth of the matter is, he's nothing but a figurehead. He's nothing but a pawn in the game of the Roman Empire. Can I say to this morning, when me and you look at the world, they will let you think you have control. They will let you think that you are successful. They will let you think that you're the one in charge. The truth of the matter is, if me and you are living for the world, we're nothing more than a figurehead. We're nothing more of a pawn in the game of life, so to speak. That the world is going to use us, abuse us, and just leave us all alone. We see that's where here it is to the world that you think you're in charge till you look back and realize actually it's controlling you. It's control. Oh, we see it all the time in advertisement. We see it all the time in reaching the next generation, the young people. We're not warning them about alcohol and drugs because we don't want them to have a good time. We're not warning them about pornography because we don't want them to have a good time. We're warning them because we know those things can control you. We know those things can take and zap the life out of you. And here's Herod. He's thinking he's in control. But the reality is Rome calls the shots. Herod just does whatever Caesar tells him to do. And we see here the same is true in our life. We can go out and we say, oh, look at me. I'm having a good time. I'm drinking it up. I'm partying it up. I'm having a great time. Nothing's bad is happening. But they don't ever show you the flip side of that. We're talking about in Sunday school this morning about how you think, oh, I'm just having a good time. Before you know it, you've got to have a beer. You've got to have the drug. You've got to look at that. You've got to see that. You've got to do this. Because if you don't, you're going to lose your mind. That's not a good time. That's control. And here's Herod, he's the picture boy of worldly success. And the truth is, he's not in charge of anything. He thinks he is, but he's not. He has worldly success. But I want you to know this is about Herod as well. He relied on second-hand knowledge of the Scriptures. He relied on second-hand knowledge of the Scriptures. Chapter number two, verse number two. These wise men show up from the east and they show up in Jerusalem. Verse number two, they said, where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east and we've come to worship him. Verse number three, what's it say? When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled in all of Jerusalem with him. Herod said, I ain't seen no star. I ain't seen, I mean, babies are born here every day. What do you mean there's this king of the Jews? What do you mean this child that is born that will rule and reign over Israel? I don't know what you're talking about. What are you talking about? And so what does Herod do? Herod doesn't grab the law for himself. Herod doesn't grab the historical books for himself. What does Herod do? Verse number four, this morning, look what Herod does. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, He goes out and he finds those, the scribes who were in charge of copying the text and copying over and over, and the priests who are implementing the text and the law of God. He goes and finds them and tells them, hey, what does the word of God say about what they just said? Tell me. Here's the thing, me and you cannot live the Christian life on second-hand knowledge of the scriptures. Yeah, it's a very dangerous Christian life to live when your only doctrine in theology comes from what somebody else told you. Listen, this morning, I have no desire to lead you astray. I have no desire to lead you in the wrong way, but guess what I am? I'm a man. I don't have it all figured out this morning. I don't have all the answers to life, but thanks be to God, I do have a book that does. And you can come to me and say, preacher, what am I going to do about this? Preacher, how am I going to handle this? Preacher, what am I going to do? Sometimes I'm going to look at you and say, I don't know. I don't know the practical method to fix the solution, but I do know there's a promise of the word of God that he'll supply every need that you have. Can I say this morning, if all you're living off is what somebody else told you about the Bible, it's high time for you to get a personal relationship with it. Herod stepped back and said, I need you to tell me what the Bible says. I'm not going to look for myself. And here's the thing, when me and you develop that kind of lifestyle, it'll literally take the promises of God and turn them into burdens. You can't tell me how many people I've talked with and counseled with and just in conversation with, they'll say things that they heard a preacher say or they heard another Christian say. I'm thinking, that's not right. That's not what the word of God teaches and what is supposed to be a blessing has now become a burden. I'm thinking, that's not the Christian life. The Christian life is a life of liberty. It's a life of joy. It's a life of peace. This thing isn't a taskmaster to me and you. It is literally the keys to life this morning. But Herod said, no, you just tell me what it says. And whatever you say is what I'm willing to go with. Here's the thing, because he didn't know the scriptures, what was actually promised to Herod became a problem to him. He relied on second-hand knowledge of the scriptures. He had worldly success. Herod only cared about himself. Herod only cared about himself. Look at verse number seven. Then Herod, when he had previously called the wise men, inquired of them diligently, what time did the star appear? And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child. And when he had found him, bring me word again that I may come and kill him. I mean, worship him also. See, when Herod was talking to the wise men, I wrote down in my notes, I think Herod mispronounced the word kill. and said worship instead. Why? Because Herod only cared about himself this morning. Herod was willing to do whatever it takes to keep his position. Whatever it takes to keep him in power. Whatever it takes for him not to give up this position that he views as his life's goal and life's purpose. And so he only cared about himself. Here's the reality of worldly success. You have to be willing to do anything to keep it. You have to be willing to do anything and go to any extreme to stay on top, to be the head honcho, so to speak. We see this in Herod's life. Herod was willing. Here's the thing. Herod had to go low in order for him to stay high. Herod had to go and do things that nobody would be proud of, that everybody would be ashamed of, just so he could keep his position in life. How many know what it's like when you're living for the world? You did some things that you absolutely regret, but you did it so you thought you could stay on top. You did it so nobody else would take your position. You did it so nobody else could come to where you were and be what you had and experience what you have. You ain't no different from Herod. All of us have done some things when we just cared about ourselves that we're not proud of this morning. Notice what Herod was willing to do to keep his position. He was willing to be deceptive. He told them, hey, go tell me where he is. Go find him, and when you find him, bring word. When exactly did you see the star? Herod's acting intrigued. Herod's acting like he's interested. But verse number two, verse number three gave him away. He's troubled. He's scared. He's afraid. He's figuring, I've got to get rid of this threat. That's how Rome operates. Go read the history of Rome. We think just because somebody comes high up, somebody becomes a royalty, so to speak, they become a ruling class. All of a sudden, there's no more problems. People that are princes and kings are just as wicked as me and you are. We see that in Rome's history this morning. But here's Herod. He said, when do you see the star? He's trying to figure out how old this baby is. How old this child is. He's trying to figure out where this child is. Why? He's got to eliminate a threat. He's willing to be deceptive this morning. But notice this. Herod was destructive. Herod was destructive. We know the story. The wise men go and they fight the Lord and we'll get into the next point this morning. And the Bible tells them that the Lord comes to them and speaks to them in a dream and says, hey, don't go back to Herod. Herod gets word that the wise men have already left. They've gone back another way to their country. And the Bible says Herod is incensed, he's mad, he's wroth, he's angry. So what does Herod do? He becomes destructive. He said, I couldn't lie my way into solving this problem, so I'll do any means necessary to eliminate the threat. Here's the thing, everything Herod tried, God was already a step ahead of him. That's glad for me to know. Here's the thing, with no weapon formed against me shall prosper I. We know this one, if we're a child of the king, if we're saved by the grace of God, greater is he that is in me than he that's in the world this one. I'm glad this one, my savior, is not just one step ahead of Satan, he's many steps ahead of Satan. He's already won the battle this one. I'm glad this one that I'm on the winning side. But we see Herod sell out to the world. Herod's willing to do whatever he can to keep his position. to keep his place. And here's the thing, this morning, if me and you are living for the world, we will develop this mentality. I have to do whatever I can. When this place becomes political and no longer spiritual, we'll do whatever we can to keep our position. When this place becomes a place of just, what's the word? Not behaviors, just of identities and popularity and who's the best and who's the greatest. When this place becomes competition, not a place of comfort and help from the Holy Ghost, We'll develop a mentality like Herod. We'll do whatever we can to hurt whoever we have to to get them out of the way. And I say this morning, I'm glad that mentality does not apply to the Christian life. Matter of fact, Jesus taught the opposite. Jesus said, hey, that guy that punched you in the face, be willing to turn your cheek the other way. Hey, you see somebody that needs a coat, give it to him. Be compassionate, don't lose your compassion. But here's Herod. Herod is willing to do whatever it takes. He's not only deceptive, he's lied, and he's been sneaking his motives around, but now he's been destructive. He realizes that more than likely that any child that has been born within the last two years is probably going to be the Messiah. Here's the thing, he gets so destructive, he kills not just innocent boys, but innocent girls. See, if Herod would have read the Bible for himself, if Herod would have read the Old Testament for himself, the prophetical books of Jeremiah and Isaiah, he would have known that the Messiah would have been a male. But look at verse number 16 this morning. And then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceedingly wroth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise. Herod became so mad, he shouldn't have killed the first baby. But he was willing not just to kill the boys, but the girls. Here's an interesting study. Find me somewhere in the scripture where the killing of an innocent child is ever condoned by God. See, right now, it's forefront of our society right now. In the past few weeks, it's been before the Supreme Court twice, hasn't it? Abortion. Abortion. Matter of fact, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, just came out and said, listen, if they outlaw it, the Supreme Court says Roe v. Wade can be overturned, and therefore, all that stuff that comes with it, you can come to California, and you can have your abortions here. Listen, can I say this morning, it's high time as Americans, as Christians, that we stand for the innocency and the right of life. I'm glad this morning that my parents were willing to give me a chance at life. Hear it, hear it. He's so distant. See, that's how the world's set. We'll go to any low to keep ourselves up high. It's interesting this morning. I'm going to stay down. I'm not going to get all into it this morning. But why is abortion such a big thing in America? It's not because they care about health care. It's not because they care about the mother. It's because they get something in their pocket and in their checkbook. It's because they get money in their bank account this morning. If you were to take that away from it, they wouldn't be for it anymore. It gives them a sense of power. They feel that they can be God. I get to choose if this child has life or not. And I say this morning, Herod was destructive. He wiped out every child under the age of two just so he could stay king in his mind. Here's the thing this morning, with all that he did, he still lost his throne. Matter of fact, he dies. You say, no, no, no, no, no, he's the one that beheaded John the Baptist. No, it was either his son or his grandson that did. How do you know if you go and read the rest of the chapter, when Joseph takes Mary and Jesus into Egypt, the Bible says this, that Herod dies. All that Herod did, and he still lost his kingdom. That's what we have of you from the world. Everything you work for, everything you strive for, everything, all those things you did to keep your place and to keep your position, to keep your popularity and your money, all of that, as soon as you die, it no longer matters. It's gone. Herod didn't want to lose his power, but in the end that he did, he asked this one, how far are you willing to go to keep your worldly position? How far are you willing to go to keep your worldly power? How far are you willing to go to keep your worldly means coming in? Who are you going to use and who are you willing to destroy so you can keep living for the world? Notice number one, we have King Herod, the greatest man in Israel. He's nothing but an extra in God's eyes. Then notice number two this morning. We have the wise men. We have the wise men. Look at verse number one again. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Here's what we don't know about these wise men. Don't know their names. Don't know if they were Bob, Frank, Carl, or one of those long Bible names. We don't know that about them. We don't know exactly how many there were. Oh preacher, there was three. I seen it in the nativity scene. There was three gifts. There had to be three of them. It's not outlined. All we know there was at least two because we use the pronoun, the Bible uses the pronoun they. And this was before 2021 where they or there could mean one person. So we know there's at least two there this morning. Preacher, you wound up this morning. I probably drank too much coffee. We don't even know where they came from. All we know is they came from the east to Jerusalem. We don't even know how they know about the star. Or the Savior that was promised. They don't quote the text. They don't give the scripture. I read behind one man, he said this. He said, probably, now this is just a supposition. This is just good thinking. He said, it could have very well been Daniel. The days of Babylon. given those prophecies in the book of Daniel that you could go back and read. They were passed down from generation to generation. Somehow these wise men got a hold of it. And they read that and looked up in the sky and they seen a star. They said it must be him. It must be him. Can I say this morning, I encourage you to stick with the stuff. I encourage you to stick with the Gospel. Stick with the Bible. You may not see what you think are good results now, but there's no telling if the Lord carries this coming 10, 20, 30 years from now when you are dead and gone, when we have left this scene and God raises up another generation and another generation, it may very well be your great, great, great grandson who will stand behind the pulpit and preach the Word of God. It very well may be your great, great, great granddaughter who invests in her family and raises up another generation for God. Don't give up this morning because you don't know who we're affecting this morning. We see the wise men. We don't know a lot about them, but we do know they're wise. Why? The Bible calls them that. And two, because they were looking for Jesus. That's a pretty wise person. You're willing to look for Jesus. I want you to notice their focus was centered this morning. Verse number two saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east and we've come to worship him. They had come for one desire. They didn't come to see the sites of Jerusalem. They didn't come to see even King Herod. They didn't come to see if they could make any money, make any profit in Jerusalem or in Israel. They came to see the promised Savior. They came to see the one that the star was leading them to. They came to see the one that they had read about in the prophecies. They came to see the one who had come to save the world from their sin. had come to see the Lord. Preacher, how did they know to find him? We know the story, there was a star in the sky. And as I was reading this, I was reminded of Psalms 19, one says to the chief musician, Psalm of David, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. I said, Preacher, what is his glory? John 1, 14 says this, and the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. in the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. See the stars, we could look out at nature and say, wow, goodness, what a God. I mean, you see a pretty sunset, you see a pretty sunrise, you see a pretty mountain range. You go look at the Grand Canyon, yes, it's a big hole in the ground, but there's something majestic about it. You go and you look at the mountains, and yes, they look like every other mountain you could read about in a dictionary this morning, or whatever those things are called. Nobody used it on Wikipedia this morning. You could go see all those, and you say, it's just like everything else, but there's something amazing about it. Wow, it's the handiwork of God. And then they looked at the stars and they said, my goodness, what a God. But it was that star that led them to the glory of Christ this morning. The star, see the star might have gave them the direction, but Jesus was the destination. That's who they were there to see. They weren't there just to see the star. Notice their focus was centered. They were faithful in their journey. Verse seven through 10. They tell Herod why they're there, and Herod tells them to go find the Lord, or go find this child that's been born. The Bible says they go and they find him, verse number nine, when they heard the king, they departed and lo, the star, which they had saw in the east, went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. They went nowhere else besides where the star had led them. They went nowhere else. They didn't turn to the left. They didn't turn to the right. They were faithful in their journey. They were given a couple chances to spell out. So they could have sold out for recognition. I mean, they're talking to the king of Israel. They're talking to the greatest man in the land right now. Outside of Caesar, this man has got all the power in Israel. And they're talking to him, and they don't sell out. You got to think about it practically this morning. Who would remember them coming? A baby or a king? I love talking to Miss Shiloh. She has no idea what I'm talking about half the time. I was asking her something the other day. I said, we were eating something. I said, hey, do you want some pizza? Do you want some pizza? I'm thinking, she has no idea what pizza is. She's never seen it. She don't know what it looks like. I remember when she was first born, TR said, could y'all please teach me how to talk to Shiloh? I said, y'all just talk to her. He said, I don't know how to do it. All I know how to say hello, baby. Well, just keep it up, that's good enough. Keep going with it. But you have to realize it's just like on Christmas. I say we didn't go to Poisoned Rest, but they don't even exist anymore. We didn't go and buy 19,000 things for her. Why? She's not gonna remember it. She's not gonna remember it. We could give her a onesie and it don't matter to her. It'd be the greatest Christmas ever in her eyes. And I understand this more than that, the Lord, that when baby, he was already God. He didn't become God when he grew up. He was already God. But you gotta think about it from man's eyes, man's mentality. Look at the baby, that baby ain't gonna remember me coming. The king of Israel sure would. I need to play to him. I need to pander his knees. And they said, no, no, no, we came to see him. We came to see the one that's been promised to us. The one that we found in the scriptures that could have easily sold out to King Herod. See, here's the thing. Remember, selling out always comes with a high price tag. Because they'd have sold out to Herod. They'd have sold out to the work that he did in verse 16. They'd have been behind what he did to all those children. Here's the thing, they could have sold out for recognition. They could have sold out for enjoyment. They could have sold out for enjoyment. What do you mean by that, preacher? Those gifts they were carrying, they weren't cheap. Frankincense, gold, and myrrh. They weren't cheap this morning. But they could have walked around Israel. Could you imagine walking around Israel with a case full of gold, a pouch full of gold? You could have done anything that you wanted to. You could have bought anything that you wanted to, done anything that you wanted to, and you would have had the means and even the mer and the frankincense on top of that. You could have lived however you want. You could have lived comfortably in Israel. But they didn't spend any of it on themselves. They didn't spend any of it on enjoyment. See, oftentimes we think the only time that me or somebody will ever waste money is if they spend it on drugs, alcohol, or something like that. And I say this for a lot of us if we were to look at our bank account. in the things that we've spent on this week. They're not necessarily sinful things. But have we spent things with a mind towards the gospel? Have we spent things with a mind of Christ? Have I given what I've spent? I'm not talking about you giving more in your tithe this month. I'm talking about instead of spending money investing in this thing, sort of entertainment for your children, learn to invest it in things that will prompt them and push them towards the gospel. That will prompt them to serve the Lord with their life. See, oftentimes, these men, their focus was centered this morning. They were faithful in their journey. They didn't give anything to self-enjoyment. They gave it all to the Lord. Sometimes I have to step back and say to myself, am I just throwing stuff away? I could be giving to the Lord. Give and allow Him to use for His glory. Oh, they were faithful in their journey this morning, but notice verse number 11. They worshipped correctly. They worshipped correctly. Verse number 11. And when they were coming to the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. He said, Preacher, what do you mean by they worshiped correctly? First of all, there was a closeness. See, they could have easily stepped on the outside and said, oh, there he is. There's the star. There's the house. He must be in there. Good to go. They said, oh, no, we're not settling for looking through the window. We're going to get to him and get as close as we can. to this new baby, this new child, that we might worship Him. So there was a closeness. Can I say this one? A real worship is not lived far away from God. It's when me and you are in that intimate relationship with Him. We're close to Him. We're walking with Him. We're fellowshiping with Him. There was a closeness. But notice there was a certain position. I would say they fell down. These were wise men. These were learned men. These were educated men. Men of means, men of wealth, men of renown. We find them bowing down at the feet of a child. Worshipping him not as a child, but as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I say this morning, me and you will never worship when we're sitting high on pride. It takes me and you getting low, getting humble, getting us before God. It's me and you sitting back and reminding ourselves where God found us, who we were before the grace of God changed our life. If we ever get in a place where we think we deserve something, we've earned something, we are privy to something, we need to step back and realize outside the grace of God, I would be of most men miserable this morning. Or that'll bend your heart towards worship. There was a closeness, there was a certain position. But notice this, there was a chosen action. Look at verse number 11, right there in the middle of it. And it said, when they had opened their treasures. Can I say something? I think we've been doing Christmas all wrong. Notice what they did. They didn't give the box or the pouch of gold to the Lord and say, all right, you open it now. See what I got you. Isn't that how we do Christmas? I mean, I don't know about you, but I grew up, whoever invented wrapping paper, it's cheap, it's inexpensive, but everybody buys it. We give our gifts wrapped, we give our gifts enclosed in a bag, and we say, hey, you open it and see what I got for you. No, the wise man said, here, I'm going to open it for you. And so I know how much it's worth, and I know what I invested in, and how I'm willing to give it over to you. TR, he's coming to terms with being a middle child. Not necessarily been the most easy experience. And I sit back and my heart goes out to them, because I remember those days. I remember being eight years old, had been in the baby of the family for eight years. And all of a sudden, my parents sat us down in the living room with joy on their face. They said, you're going to have a baby sister. And I was excited at the time. And then all of a sudden, I realized a year later, they don't even know my name anymore. Mom, Dad, do you see me? But TR's coming to grips with being the middle child. And every time I either cook garlic bread, or we have garlic bread for dinner, or we have some kind of bread, I always, I don't necessarily complain, but I always make the observation that I really need a bread knife. I really need a bread knife. I need a bread knife so I can cut this bread. Because you know, if you don't use a bread knife, if you use a regular knife, you just squish the bread. And I always, I need a bread knife. And here's the problem. I only remember about it when I'm either cooking bread or cutting bread. It's been about probably two years now. I need to get a bread knife. I need to get a bread knife. T.R. don't know it, but I know what he got me for Christmas. He got me a bread knife. Now listen, we were at the house last night cooking spaghetti and noodles and pasta sauce and garlic bread. I told my wife, I said, now when I pull this bread out, I knew what T.R. got me. So when I pull this bread out, I'm going to vocally express how bad I need a bread knife. So I pulled the bread out of the oven, and I grabbed the regular knife, cutting the first bit. I said, I sure could use a bread knife. I'm telling you, I'm squishing the bread over here. I need a bread knife. And TR perked up. He said, Dad, you want your Christmas present now? And I played off like I couldn't hear him. Here's the thing, he was willing to make known what he had. Because he knew that I wanted it. Hey, let me ask you this morning, what's the one thing God wants from us? Worship. We have it this morning. We have it! And here we are, we're trying to wrap it up and surprise Him with it. Instead we just open up the treasure and say, Lord, here's what I've got Here's what I'm giving to you. And just like T.R., pop up and say, he wants what I got him. He wants what I have this morning. Boy, I gave him everything I didn't want, didn't I? I gave him my sin, my shame, my problems. All of that stuff. And now he's saying, hey, I just want what you have. And that's worship. These wise men had what the Lord wanted. It wasn't gold. It wasn't frankincense. It wasn't myrrh. It was their worship. and they gave what they had to the Lord. They worshiped correctly. Notice number 12, not notice number 12 this morning, that's verse number 12. Preacher, you skipped like 10 points in there. I'm not complaining, preacher, I'm just letting you know. Oh, notice this and what I'm just about done this morning. They were guided by the word, not just a sign. Look at verse number 12 this morning. and being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed their own country another way. What are you trying to say, Brother Tate? What got them to Bethlehem? It was a sign. In the word of God they had heard. But they followed the sign. They followed the star. Now there's the Lord. And they worship Him. Here's the thing. What got them back to where they were going? It was the word of God. Verse number 12, what did it just say? In being warned of God in a dream, God spoke to them. See, so many of us are looking for a sign when we've already got the Word. Preacher, I'm praying about witnessing to people, and I'm just praying the Lord would put the right people in my path. Preacher, would you pray that God would give me the right people? He has every creature. Preach the Gospel to every creature. Preacher, would you pray? I want to pray more and I need to know what to pray for and I'm praying that God would show me and give me a sign of what to pray for. You got a word, pray one for another. Preacher, I want to read my Bible more and I want to study more and I'm waiting for God to give me a sign on where to start and how to do it. Meditate on my law day and night. And I say this morning, the Christian life isn't lived by signs. As a matter of fact, Jesus looked at the Pharisees and said, you're wicked and perverse generation. You can tell about the sun and the skies and the stars and the storms. But you won't listen to my word. So many times in our Christian life, we sit back and say, I need to know about this. Lord, send me a sign. No, the answer ought to be, Lord, show me in the scriptures. Because this isn't going to change. This isn't going to change. Here's the thing. The devil can send you a sign. But God will send you a scripture. Because that's how he speaks to you. You don't need a sign. Here's the thing, they didn't need a star anymore because God told them where to go. Hey, go this way, back home. You don't need to follow the story. You know the way home, just go that way. And so they followed the word and not just a sign. Let me ask you this morning, are you looking for a sign or are you listening for the scriptures? Are you willing to forego the recognition and become a wise man like these men were this morning? They worshiped correctly. They found themselves at the feet of Christ, and they were willing to listen to his word and not just settle for a sign this morning. We see Herod, he did whatever he could to keep his position and lost it. We see the wise men who had great means and gave it all to Christ, and God used them in a mighty way. Let me ask you this morning, I ask you last, are you gonna be an innkeeper or a shepherd this morning? Are you gonna be Herod or a wise man or a woman this morning? Let's all stand this morning, every head bowed,