Behold : The Star - Christmas

I've always loved stars. I've enjoyed drawing stars, and stars are just beautiful, aren't they? We like to go outside on clear nights and look at the stars. We like to follow movie stars, don't we? Sports stars. I was thinking we like to award stars to like different restaurants and resorts. That's five star, or that's three star. And in the military, you have the five star general. We love stars, and I've got to say America's team, the Dallas Cowboys, have a star as their logo. We even have a star on our flag. Stars are everywhere. It is funny how we like to follow stars and read about stars, and sometimes we try to emulate stars and we revere them, and a lot of young people say, my goal in life is to be a star. I get it. Stars stand out. Stars are significant. The star, though, that I want to talk to you about just in about 19 minutes is the Star of Bethlehem. And this star, I would have to say, is the star of the Christmas show for a minute. That's the one caveat. Yes, it's the star of the Christmas show, but just for a little while. Can't you imagine? I mean, just put yourself in the sandals of the wise men for a second. The wise men, the magi, they lived thousands of miles away from Jerusalem. They were familiar with Scripture, because if you know your history, you have the Jewish exile taking place in Babylon. So these wealthy astronomers, they knew the Bible, and they knew something was going to happen, and some kind of a star-type situation was going to take place, so they were ready for it. I find that so interesting, because these guys were Gentiles. In other words, they weren't Jews, and you can kind of feel the paradox in the Christmas story. I'm referencing the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2. The paradox being, those people that you would think should not be seeking are seeking, and those people you think that should be seeking weren't. The star was in play well before the magi started seeking the Christ child, because most of us know the star appeared, and they followed the star all the way to Jerusalem, and I'll kind of talk about that in just a second. Yet, we all understand the star was put there before the people started seeking the Lord, and that's very, very important. In other words, we seek because we've been sought. People sometimes say, well, Ed, you know, I'm seeking the Lord, or I'm seeking some... Well, in reality, if you think about it theologically, biblically, yes, we do have a free will. However, however, however, God has sought us first. He's given us the ability to seek. So again, don't get the math mixed up. The star was in the sky, and then they saw the star. They're like, okay. They packed their Louis Vuitton luggage, and they headed out just... I mean, all they had was a star. All they had was a star, and this star was bright. It was

beautiful, and no one knows for sure how many Magi there were. Some historians think three. Others think five. It could be ten. Let's just go with three because they gave three gifts. Remember, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. So let's just kind of go with that because I think that's biblically accurate. So these three guys, they... They see the star, they have followed the star, and they find themselves after this long journey on Camelback, they find themselves in J-Town, I call it Jerusalem. So here are these guys, foreigners, here are these guys, I mean, kind of clueless in a way, here are these seekers are seeking the star and they know that something magnificent is gonna take place and they end up in Jerusalem. Now, I want you again to just think about Jerusalem. They went to the palace and I'm sure they were probably going, all right, the king of the Jews, this guy is gonna be rolling, you know, he's gonna be a heavy hitter, he's gonna be powerful, he's gonna be this guy and he's gonna be born and he'll come into this royal family and it's gonna be unbelievable. So they walk into the palace and they ask this question, the Bible says they ask a question that was very dangerous. Have you ever asked a dangerous question before? Yeah, I have. They said, hey, where is he born king of the Jews? It seems kind of benign, no big deal, it's just a question. Where is he who was born king of the Jews? Well, when Jerusalem, J-Town I call it, when Jerusalem heard that question,

I mean, you could cut the pressure with a knife. As my friends say, pressure, bust a pipe. People began to freak out. Herod, who was a malignant narcissist, was on the throne and everything about him was power, power, power. How to get power, how to keep power, it was about power. He was on this power trip and he would do anything to stay on the throne. And this guy was an interesting person if you study him. On one hand, Herod was a magnificent developer and builder. On the other hand, he was diabolical. I mean, he had his mother-in-law killed. Now, don't judge him because we're gonna spend some time with our relatives over the holidays, so. But he had a lot of people, that was mean, he had a lot of people taken out, I mean, family members, close allies, if they just kinda hinted or angled toward the throne. And you know, I think all of us, don't we have a hint of Herod in our lives? We wanna run the show, we wanna call the shots, I know what's best for me. And that's that Herod mentality. So when Herod heard that the king of the Jews had been born, he went on tilt and when Herod ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. But here's what's so interesting about this star. The star from afar, you could say. The star was in play all the way to Jerusalem,

but then once these people hit Jerusalem, star was gone. So this is not just a normal star that we're talking about, friends. No, no, no, this is not just kind of a typical thing that nature did on its own. This is a supernatural act of God. Notice the star has four points. And I want you to remember this. What is a star? A star is a sign that announces redemption. That's what a star is. It's a sign that announces redemption. The Bible says in Luke chapter two, verse 12, this will be a sign unto you. That's what the angel told the shepherds, not the wise men, the shepherds. A sign that, and in Matthew chapter two, this Old Testament text is quoted, which was written hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus. Numbers 24, 17, a star will come out of Israel, Jacob. And that's one of the verses I'm sure that these cats understood and that they followed. A sign that announces Luke chapter two verses 10 and 11. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. So remember, God took the initiative. And the goal, of course, is redemption. What is redemption?

A price has been paid. What is redemption? Something that no one here merits or deserves. What is redemption? Jesus loved you and me so much. He was born in a crib, but don't keep him in the crib. The crib pointed to a cross. So the star pointed to the crib, the crib pointed to the cross, and the cross points to a crown. We, friends, have the opportunity to make him the king of our lives. Redemption. The Bible says in Romans chapter three, verse 24, all are justified, I like that, freely by his grace, all of us, through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. That brings up a very important point. Christ's redemptive work was sufficient for everyone. But it is only applied by those who believe. That's so, so important. It's sufficient, it has the sauce, the juice, whatever you wanna say, to take care of all of our sin. Jesus died for it all. He dropped the cosmic mic. He said it is finished. But that's where we have the opportunity to either make him Lord of our lives, to say, Jesus, you sit on the throne of my life, or not. Herod was hydroplaning over all of this. Herod was on a power trip,

and Herod was so freaky about this, the Bible tells us that he ordered all male children, two years of age and under, to be taken out. Because he knew the king of the Jews was born. So let's go back to the palace. The wise men are meeting with Herod. I'm sure that was a fun meeting. And after probably several espressos, and after Herod called in, and don't you know these guys are going, oh no. Herod called in all of the religious leaders from Jerusalem, and he said, where, where is this king gonna be born? Where, where, he said. And the religious leaders, the scribes, they pulled out the scriptures, and they said, oh, King Herod, in B-town, Bethlehem, a 5K right down the street. I find that very significant, because through natural revelation, you got the star. Just stay with me now. So naturally, they saw the star, God placed the star there, they began to seek. Yet, the natural revelation segwayed into special revelation, because the disappearance of the star in Jerusalem caused the wise men to go back to the scripture, and the scripture led them where? To Bethlehem. Because they emerged from the palace,

looked around, and guess who was back in play? The star. And the star was over the Christ child, and the Bible says, the wise men found Him, I love this, bowed down to Him, worshiped Him, and as I said earlier, gave Jesus three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Say it with me, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold was a gift fit for a king, it was a kingly gift. Frankincense was about deity, you would give that to a deity, and then myrrh was given to someone if you knew they were going to die. So the symbolism is so, so rich. And you know, if I'm these guys, these heavy hitters, I'm expecting Jesus to be in a palace, not in a pigsty. I mean, that's just me, I don't know about you, king of the Jews, I mean, I'm thinking a star, yeah, he's gonna be high rolling. Yet, how many times, when it comes to the things of God, do we meet Him? in a stable, in a manger, in a place that's kind of out of the way, unusual, as opposed to places we think, you know, are gonna do it for us. And maybe right now, you're like, you know, Ed, I'm in the palace, but something is missing in my life. My prayer for you is to do exactly what these magi did. My prayer for you is that you will bow down and that you will humble yourself

and that you will give your heart and your life to the King of kings and Lord of lords. That you'll say, Jesus, you are equipped. You made me to run my life. I've not done a lot of chalk work before, but it's fun to do it. Now, I can't imagine the thrill of these people when they saw the star and followed the star. I can't imagine what was going on in the lives of Mary and Joseph. I can't imagine the awe and the worship that took place in that little house. The light shining in a darkened world. Jesus said, I am, didn't he, the light of the world. And I've got to ask you on this, during this Christmas time, do you know the light? Of the world. Do you know Jesus? They didn't have much to go on, these guys, did they? I mean, we have so much, so much more, but I want you to go back in your mind's eye to the star that I drew earlier. I want you to think about that for a second. Because the star, can represent something powerful in all of our lives. I want to talk to those here who are Christians. If you're a Christian, who was that star that led you to the person of Jesus Christ? Just take a moment and assign a name

to that star. It could be a mom, a dad, it could be a teacher, it could be someone you met at school. It could be someone random, I don't know. God always puts an earthbound travel guide in sincere seekers' lives, always. Always. My first job, I hate to confess this, well, really my first job was in a tuxedo shop, but my second job, I should say, I worked at a travel agency. I was a horrible employee. They had me working in accounting, and I could barely even count. But I learned something about a travel agency, they pretty much take people from one destination to the other. Who's that star in your life? And better yet, if you're a believer, if you're a follower of Christ, you're a star. I mean, that's heavy, isn't it? You are a star. So, who are you influencing? Who is watching you? Well, it even goes deeper. Some of us here are seekers. And you're a sincere seeker. And one of the things I love about this story, is that this star was obvious enough for sincere seekers to follow,

yet subtle enough for phony seekers to reject it. Like Herod and the religious leaders, you know? Some people tell me, yeah, I'm really seeking. And that's great. I think, okay, you're seeking because you've been sought. But some of us seek and we're not really seeking. We just seek to seek. It's like the proverbial, I'm gonna circle the airport, but one day I've got to land the plane. So my word to you would be to land the plane. But I've yet to meet a person who said, you know what, Ed? I've given the throne of my life to Christ and my life is fouled up, it's miserable. I haven't met that person yet. If you meet him, please tell me after the service because it'll be the first one I've ever met in 35 years of ministry. So what are you going to do with the star? But really, what are you gonna do with Jesus? What are you going to do with him? As I said earlier, the wise men, the Bible tells us, worshiped Jesus, they bowed down, they gave him valuable gifts, and then I love this last line, the Bible tells us, and they returned by a different route. That, my friend, changed everything. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for your word. Thank you for your truth.

Thank you for your star. Thank you for just your openness and your vulnerability, God, to write a book like the Bible. Thank you for the offensiveness of the cross, that yes, it's about the crib, but the cross is where it's at. And then, Jesus, you rose again, and you offer us this prize that's already been paid. So if you're here and you've never, ever received Jesus Christ into your life, you've never said, okay, Jesus, run the show, take control of my life, you can say that right now by simply saying, Lord, I give everything to you. I turn from my sin, my wrongdoings, and I believe that you took all of that on the cross just for me, and right now, I receive that, and I open the door of my life and ask you to take control. Others here, maybe for the first time, you realize, wow, I am a star, I am an influencer, and may we take that and own that and live that out as we point others to the person of Jesus. We thank you again, Lord, for this time, and we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen. Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.