Maybe you have seen the sign out front of Central Presbyterian Church, it says “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” I think that is so true. The Lord puts a great value on wisdom and on seeking Him. In Proverbs 1:7 we read,

We can see here that those who are wise will fear or reverence God, which will bring you the knowledge and wisdom that God desires you to have. We cannot ignore the wisdom and instruction of the Lord and be a wise and knowledgeable person. Wise men still seek the Lord Jesus Christ, just like the Magi who came from the east to worship the Baby Jesus, born the King of the Jews. Remember what the prophet Jeremiah said in 29:13-14, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord…” God is looking for people who will seek Him with all of their heart. Right up front let me tell you that the major goal of this message is that those who do not know God personally through a relationship with Jesus Christ will come to know Him TODAY. Be wise and not foolish like the world and come and give your life to Jesus today! The Bible says Psalm 14:1,

Because God makes it clear that it is the fool who will not bow down to the Lord, all who do not know Him will have to face judgment from God eternal when they die.

My dear friend, don’t wait too long to make that most important decision of your life.
So today, all who are already a part of the family of God we need to be wise Christians and let’s seek Him with all our hearts this wonderful Christmas time.
Our message today is about “The Magi.” Who are these men? Were they “Wise Men?” Astrologers? Diviner-priest? Mediums? Magicians? “Magi” is defined in the Greek dictionary as an individual who was “an expert in astrology, interpretation of dreams and various other secret arts.” Those who were called Magi in the Scripture were men who had knowledge of the stars and their courses in the heavens. They could read them like a book which told them what was to be and what had happened. We know very little about these men. They came from the East; where, we don’t know but we can guess that they were Persians from the area of Babylon. We read that that King Nebuchadnezzar had wise me who advised him, they had different titles like: magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers. They were called on to reveal a dream and interpret it but none could. Daniel, with the help of the Lord God, was the only one who could do both for the king. Persia had “wise men” of sorts and I guess there were more in other parts of the East.
For me, the most interesting thing is that when the star was seen that they knew there was a child born and He was of the Jews. They were not of the people of God but maybe through having contact with the exiles over the years the story of “the Christ” was retold and they came to know of the prophecy of Christ, the King of the Jews. Of course, the Lord could have just revealed all of this to them even though they had no knowledge of the Jewish King. Whichever, they had followed this star believing that it declared the birth of a Child King and having followed it far, they finally came to the place where a king would have been born...the palace of Herod, the King of the Jews.
The Bible says that not only was Herod disturbed by the news of a Child King being born but the whole city of Jerusalem. It is understandable that King Herod was disturbed but why was the whole city? You have to remember that King Herod was a ruthless man and would murder even his own sons who might rival him for his crown. Maybe they, the residents of the city, felt that they were in for another killing and disruption in the city of Jerusalem. Well they were right, but the killing did not come to the capital city but in the small city of David.
Herod felt the need to get more information; so he called the people’s chief priests and the teachers of the law to ask them where this child of prophecy was to be born. It is no surprise that they knew the answer to Herod’s question for they were knowledgeable of all the prophecies. They told him that it was prophesied in Micah 5:2, (“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”) that “the Christ” would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Herod wanted to meet one more time with the Magi but it was just for information that he desired to meet. Verses 7-8 tell us that Herod wanted to know the “exact” time the star appeared and then sending them to Bethlehem he wanted them to report back where the child was. He gave a lame excuse for that information, “so he could worship Him as well.”

Verses 9-12 give to us the story of the Magi going to Bethlehem and the star stopping over the house where the child was. From the time frame the Magi gave to Herod, we can suspect that the Baby Jesus is no longer a baby but a Child of around two years old. Since it had been two years since the birth of Jesus, Joseph would have acquired a home of some kind for the family and Mary and Joseph would have gotten married. It is in these verses we see the vision: the desire of the “kings or wise men” to worship the prophesied King. They saw the Child King and his mother and they bowed before Him and worshiped and gave gifts. True worship is seen here in the actions of the Magi. They came as far as it was necessary to worship “The King” and they gave gifts of what was important to them. God Almighty is truly worthy of our worship and without giving Him our very best we have not completed our act of worship.
The three traditional gifts give us a peek about how many Magi there were and the gifts themselves speak of the royalty of the Child. Traditionally, the gift of gold is for the honor of the King; the incense (or frankincense) was a gift for deity; and the myrrh was a spice used for a person who was to die. (How would the king who gave myrrh know anything about the death of this Child?) Some speculate that the gifts given are those that provided money for the escape to Egypt by the royal family.
The story of the Magi ends here when an angel warns them in a dream not to return to the palace of Herod to tell him where the Child is. So they returned home by a different route.
It is wise to worship God! In fact you will not and cannot be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ without genuine, humble worship of the Son of God. Surrendering your all to Him and bowing your life to Him without reservation is the worship that is acceptable to God the father of the Lord Jesus.

Today are you ready to bow with everything you are without any reservations to a Holy God who has give you His Son, who died on a Cross and who was buried and then rose from the dead to give to each of those who believe in Him and follows Him, eternal life? If you are, you need to come NOW to declare your desire to give your life and heart to Him completely! We will pray for you and lead you to this loving God.
As a believer, are you seeking the Master who loves you with all your heart? Have you given your very best to the Master? Is your worship the kind that will please the Father who saved you from everlasting death? Maybe, there is a need to speak to God about known sin in your life and the desire to find forgiveness.
Our God is ready to cleanse the sin of the unbeliever and believer alike! It takes a willingness to give Him your sin and establish a new or renew that relationship that has gone cold. Or maybe, you have just been having trouble and need the Father to reassure you He is there and will never leave you nor forsake you. Whatever you need He is ready to do whatever it takes to meet your need in Christ Jesus.
This Christmas, may the Lord touch your life with His grace and peace.