In Search of the Ultimate Gift

When you google the phrase “How to find the best gifts for Christmas” you get 16 pages of resources and articles on finding the best or ultimate gift.  Interestingly, how much time are people spending to find gifts, and missing the “Ultimate Gift,” JESUS!  The Bible even declares Jesus as a gift in 2 Corinthians 9:15 – Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

In the text, we see wise men searching for the ultimate gift, Jesus.  There are 4 keys we can learn from their search.

 

They Pursued (v2)

In trying to find the ultimate gift, these wise men went on a pursuit.  They had seen the star in the east, which was foretold, and immediately went to Him.  Their recognition of who Jesus is started them on a journey that could have taken up to 2 years.  We literally do not know how long it actually took.  We know this because when they arrived at the house, they saw the “child.”  In order for us to worship God, we must be willing to search for Him.  We think of God as “come to me” but we must be willing to go to Him. The proof of what you really think is valuable is what you put the energy into pursuing.

Isaiah 55:6 – Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. 

This verse shows there may be a time when the Lord may NOT be found.  Do it now!  No man knows the day or the hour!

“Pursuit is proof of desire.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

 

They Entered (v11)

And when they found the house, they entered through the threshold of the home and worshipped.  The inference is this:  We must leave our old life, and step over the threshold, out of sin, into the Light, and begin to worship. We can’t just approach life we must leave the old life and enter into the new life which He provides.

Psalms 100:2 – Serve Jehovah with gladness: Come before His presence with singing.

Worship is defined as, “To kiss the hand.”  We must be in His presence, close to Him, in order to worship properly.

They also had to bow themselves before Jesus.  They had to lay down who they were in order to worship Him.

“Before we bow our knee, we have to bow our heart.” – Dr. D’Ann Johnson

 

They Gave (v11)

Matthew 2:11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

You can praise someone who is not near, however, to worship you have to be close; requires intimacy.

When you are a long distance from someone you have to yell to get their attention, but when you get close your voice can go very low; requires intimacy.

Gold was a precious metal, typically presented to a king, although they stood before a child.  They knew He was the king.  Frankincense is incense that was used during prayer of the priests.  They knew He is our priest who prays.  Myrrh is a fragrant perfume used in embalming.  They recognized that He was the Lamb that would be slain. Their gifts to Him spoke to who He was.

Do our gifts to God recognize who he is or are we just giving leftovers?

“Our gifts are most meaningful to Him, when they are valuable to us.” – Dr. D’Ann Johnson

 

They Obeyed (v12)

Matthew 12:12 – And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

The scriptures never told us that the wise men discerned Herod’s wrong motives.  It simply says they were divinely warned to not go back to Herod.  Once we’ve been in the presence of God, we will hear things that we can’t necessarily see.  God can see further than we can.  It is our responsibility to accept and obey His instruction.

We don’t come to Him to get a “good feeling” but to get instruction.

Do not walk through family and friends and not know where they will spend eternity.  Do not let lost people enter your sphere lost and leave lost.