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Then the title of my sermon this morning is gold and frankincense and myrrh. Gold and frankincense and myrrh. Look down at your Bible there in Matthew chapter 2 verse 11. And when they were coming to the house, they saw the young child, of course Jesus, 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. We're going to talk about these three gifts this morning and what their significance was. Now if you would flip over to Song of Solomon chapter number 3. Song of Solomon chapter number 3, of course we all know what gold is. And let me just briefly mention to you what frankincense and myrrh are, okay? Frankincense is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes that is obtained from certain trees. So the sap from a tree is that which is liquidy and then the resin is what is more gummy or solid that comes out of a tree. And so the resin from certain types of trees is called frankincense because it smells very good so it's used in incense and perfumes. And then myrrh is also a natural gum or resin that simply comes from a different type of tree that also smells good and is used in perfumes and so forth. So that's what frankincense and myrrh are. They are these sweet smelling resins from trees. Let me give you some scripture on this. In Song of Solomon chapter number 3, the Bible says in verse number 6, who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, watch this, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense with all powders of the merchant. Go to chapter 4 verse 6. Until the day break and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. Flip over to chapter 5. I rose up, verse 5 of chapter 5, I rose up to open to my beloved and my hands dropped with myrrh and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock. Look at verse 13. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers. His lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. And then in chapter 1 verse 13, it says a bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt my breast. Basically just saying that he smells good. So she's comparing him to myrrh. So over and over again in Song of Solomon, we have frankincense and myrrh being mentioned as perfumes that are sweet to the smell. They smell sweet. They smell good, etc. Now flip over to Leviticus chapter 2. While you're turning there, the Bible says in Psalm 45 verse 8, all thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces whereby they've made thee glad. In Proverbs 7 17, I've perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. So it's pretty easy to understand what frankincense and myrrh are, right? They're sweet smelling substances that are used in ointments, perfumes, incense, etc. They come from trees, okay? But what is the significance of these items? Why is it that the three wise men from the east brought gold and frankincense and myrrh? You could just obviously look at it superficially and say, well, they're just bringing expensive gifts. You know, gold is expensive. Frankincense and myrrh are expensive. So they're just bringing their best to Jesus. And obviously, that's a great application that you could take from that. They're not bringing him hand-me-downs or things they're trying to get rid of. They have very expensive gifts to give him honor because they said, where is he that is born king of the Jews? We've seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. So they're bringing him kingly gifts. But there's also, of course, a symbolic significance to these items. So let's look at frankincense in scripture. Now while you're turning to Leviticus chapter 2, let me just mention to you that in Exodus chapter 30, frankincense was one of the ingredients of a special perfume that was used to perfume the holy place right in front of where the Ark of the Covenant was located so that when you would approach the Ark of the Covenant, that's what you would smell, okay? Frankincense was one of those perfumes. What does the word frankincense mean? Well, literally the English word just means pure noble perfume, okay, or something that is just a very costly, fancy incense. That's all that means. Just frank is an old word from French that has to do with being noble, pure, or true, and then incense means incense, right? So there you go. But what does the Bible say in Leviticus chapter 2? Verse number 1, And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon. And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests, and he shall take thereof his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof. And the priests shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire of a sweet savour unto the Lord. And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons. It is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. So as you study frankincense throughout the Bible, you'll find that the most significant use of frankincense is that it was used in the meat offerings made by fire unto the Lord, and it's also used in the bread that Aaron and his sons would eat, okay? These are the most important uses of frankincense. That's the main thing where you just see it coming up over and over again in the Bible, the meat offering. Now, let me just explain quickly that the word meat in the Bible is often not referring to what we would think of as meat. When we hear the word meat, we're thinking only of animal flesh. But throughout the Bible, the word meat is used for any kind of food in general. Now obviously, sometimes it's referring to animal flesh, but it's often just referring to food, sort of like our word meal. If you take the T off of meat and replace it with an L, you end up with meal. And of course, a meal doesn't necessarily have meat in it. It could just be any kind of food. And we think of corn meal or rice meal and things like that. So the meat offering in the Bible was where they would take flour. It didn't actually have any meat in it as we would think of meat. They would take flour and mingle it with oil and then they would put frankincense there on and then they would burn it upon the altar unto God as a burnt offering made by fire unto the Lord. Look down at verse 14. And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears, and thou shalt put oil upon it and lay frankincense thereon, it is a meat offering. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof, it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Go to chapter 6. So we see, you know, various grains can be brought for the meat offering. The flour thereof is mixed with oil and frankincense. Look at Leviticus chapter 6 verse 13. The fire shall be ever burning upon the altar. It shall never go out. And this is the law of the meat offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord before the altar, and he shall take of it his handful, the flour of the meat offering and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor, even the memorial of it unto the Lord. And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat, with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. Now flip over to John chapter 6. John chapter 6, while you're turning there, I'll just mention to you that in Leviticus 24, the Bible talks about how they were to bake cakes of bread for Aaron and his sons to eat. The bread that was going to be in the tabernacle for the priest to eat, and that bread that they ate on a continual basis was also with frankincense put there on. It had frankincense in it as well. So what's the spiritual significance here of bringing frankincense when this is an item that's obviously so closely related to the meat offering, the burnt offering on the altar, and it's related to the bread that the priest ate on a continual basis. Well obviously this is pointing to Jesus Christ as an offering for our sin. He was the offering made by fire for our sins unto God, so it makes sense that he would be offered frankincense because that is something that was burned on the altar with the meat offering. But not only that, Jesus Christ is the bread of life. And so Jesus is that bread anointed with the frankincense. So when the three wise men brought frankincense, that's what's being symbolized there is Jesus Christ as the offering and Jesus Christ as the bread of life. Look down at John chapter 6 verse 31. The Bible says, Our fathers did eat manna in the desert. As it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. And Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God, watch this, is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world. So the bread back in the Old Testament tabernacle, it symbolized Jesus who was the bread of God, who's going to come down from heaven and give his life for us. The Bible says in verse 34, Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore, give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. So they're looking for a literal bread to eat and Jesus is saying, no, I'm the bread of life. It's not a literal physical bread that you eat. And somebody needs to explain this to the Roman Catholics who, you know, they eat a little physical piece of bread and they think that that's going to give them salvation. Later on in this very chapter he explains, it's the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I say unto you, they are spirit and they are life. You know, it's the bread of life that came down from heaven, Jesus Christ that gave his life for the world that saves us, but it's not a literal eating of Jesus or a literal eating of that bread. That is foolishness, but that's what the Roman Catholic Church teaches today, that's what the Lutherans teach today, that you're literally eating the body of Jesus or eating a literal bread. Well, here's the problem with that. He said if you eat this bread, you'll never be hungry again. So if the Catholics and Lutherans want to get so literal, then they must never be hungry. They must just never eat, right, because Jesus said if you eat this bread, you'll never hunger again. Well, they ate it, but then sure enough, they come back the next day and eat it again. And then they come back next Sunday and they eat it again. Why? Because they're still hungry? No, because it's not literal, is it? The hunger that the Bible's talking about here is not a hunger for food. When he says, hey, if you eat of this bread, you'll never hunger. If you drink of the water of life that I give you, you'll never thirst. He's not saying you're not going to be physically hungry and thirsty. You know what that hunger and thirst is? It has to do with salvation. You know, you eat the bread one time and you're saved. You don't get hungry, oh, I got to get saved again. I better partake of Christ's body one more time. I better drink the living water. No, you drink the living water one time and it springs up in you as a well of everlasting life. You drink the water one time and you never thirst. You're not, look, I don't know about you, but I'm not still seeking after salvation. I already have it. I'm not just starving and hungering and thirsting, saying, oh, God, what do I do? Give me that bread, Lord. I already ate of that bread a long time ago and I'm saved. I already drank the water of life a long time ago and I've got a well inside me springing up of everlasting life. So the fact that they keep going back over and over again and getting saved over and over again in their mind, of course, it can't save them, but they think they're getting saved all over and over again. They keep coming back, keep coming back and doing that mass, trying to get their sins forgiven. It's all in vain. If you actually eat the real bread of life, and of course, we're not talking literal here, if you drink the real water of life, you never hunger again. You don't need it again. You never thirst again. Why? Because you have eternal life and eternal means that it never ends. So that's why you only need it one time and this is what Jesus Christ is trying to get across to them. That's why he flat out says it in verse 47, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. That's what he's trying to get across. You know, I'm the bread that came down from heaven. I'm the bread of life. He's saying, look, I'm giving my life for the world. If you believe on me, you'll be saved. If you believe on me, you'll have everlasting life. Never hunger again, never thirst again spiritually because you have everlasting life. Okay, so that's what this passage is actually teaching. It's very clear to those that are saved but it's very unclear to those who are not saved. Okay. This is why the people at the time didn't understand it. They didn't get it. Catholics, Lutherans today, they don't understand it. They don't get it. Why? Because they're not saved. So they are stuck on a literal bread, a literal body. This is the same mistake Nicodemus made, born again. So I have to enter into my mother's womb the second time I'd be born. It's the same ridiculous, over-literal understanding of Christ's spiritual preaching to them in this passage. So he said in verse number 33, the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world. They said unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. Jesus said unto them, I'm the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you that you also have seen me and believe not. That's the issue. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Again another great verse on eternal security, eternal life. If you come to Jesus, he won't cast you out in any situation. Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me. So we see that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. But that Jesus Christ is distinct from God the Father. Now Jesus Christ in this passage said, I am the bread of life. This is one of seven great I am statements that Jesus made. He said, I am the true vine. I am the good shepherd of the sheep. I am the door. If any man enter in by me, he shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture. I am the bread of life. He made these I am statements, seven of them, because he's the great I am. What does God's name even mean? What does Jehovah even mean? It basically means that he is. He said to Moses, tell them I am that I am. And he said, tell them I am hath sent me unto you. So the very word Jehovah is derived from what he's saying there. I am. I am that I am. It basically means he is. Now when Jesus said, before Abraham was, I am, what's he basically saying there? He's identifying himself as the Lord. He's identifying himself as Jehovah God. He's identifying himself as the I am of the burning bush. And he makes all these I am statements. He said, well, it's just a coincidence that he said, I am the bread of life. I am the true vine seven times. Yeah, but is it a coincidence when he said, before Abraham was, I am? That's only grammatically correct if Jehovah's talking. Before Abraham was, I am, right? Because he exists outside of time as God. So there's no question about the deity of Christ. And we could show many other scriptures about Christ's deity. The fact that Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is Jehovah. Jesus Christ is the Lord. Whatever Old Testament name of God, you can pin any of those names on Jesus because Jesus is God in the flesh. But we get a more clear understanding in the New Testament of the fact that God is made up of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Now in the Old Testament, this is foreshadowed all the way back to Genesis 1, let us make man in our image. But it's clearly explained and expounded in the New Testament. That Jesus constantly explains in the book of John that he is the Son of God. And that there's God the Father and the Holy Ghost, which is another comforter. So the book of John is the best book in the Bible on the Trinity. Start to finish, there's so much about the Father, the Son, and then just chapter after chapter explaining the comforter. Explaining that the Father is going to send the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name and so forth. But notice what he says here in verse 38, I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. Now how in the world could anybody get a oneness doctrine? How could anyone deny the Trinity and say, oh Jesus is God the Father? No way because he said I didn't come to do my own will, I came to do the will of him that sent me. Clearly another person. There's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three persons, one God. And I'm not going to kick that dead horse, oh yeah, I just did. Just John 6 alone just demolishes the stupid oneness doctrine over and over again when he says, hey, you know, I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. Are you saying that God the Father and Jesus have two separate wills? You got it right. In fact, anyone with a brain in their head who reads that verse will know that there are two separate wills. There's my will, which I'm not doing, and then there's the will of him that sent me, which I am doing. Oh, I think those are the same will. Wow is all I can say to that, just wow. Verse 41, then the Jews murmured at him because he said, I'm the bread which came down from heaven. So they didn't like that doctrine. Look at verse 47, verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead, this is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Look at verse 57, as the living father hath sent me and I live by the father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead, he that eateth of this bread shall live forever. Again, not literal, spiritual, that believing on Christ is how we eat of that bread. He said we hear the words that he says unto us, he said the words that I say unto you, they are spirit and they are life, but there are some of you that believe not. So it's all about believing on the word of God. That's how we eat that bread of life. That's how we get eternal life. That's how we get everlasting life and live forever and never need to take another bite. Why? Because we will never hunger again. It's a one-time thing to be saved, friend. Born again, not born again and again and again. It's just born again. You get saved one time, you eat that bread, you drink that cup one time. Of course, Jesus famously in Luke 22, 19, he took bread and gave thanks and break it and gave unto them saying, this is my body which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me. So you can see that the symbolism of Jesus being the bread of life is strong throughout the Bible, isn't it? I mean, he is the bread that was broken, his body was broken for us, he's the bread that came down from heaven and gave of that bread, gave his life for us, right? And if we eat of that bread, we're saved. And how do we eat it? By believing on the word of God. By believing God's word and trusting Jesus as our savior. That's how we get that. Now this ties in also with the manna, okay? Because Jesus said, you know, there's the manna that your fathers ate in the wilderness, God's the one who gave you that bread and he's basically teaching them that that's symbolic of the fact that Christ would come one day from heaven and give his life and so forth. But not only that, if you think about the manna, the manna also represented a daily consumption of God's word, right? Because every single day the manna appeared and they went and gathered the manna and they went ahead and ate that and that was their daily bread, right? Well, if you think about this, there's a one time believing in Christ for salvation, right? We take the bread of life and we never hunger, we're saved, we're sealed, we're eternally secure, right? But then after we're saved, what should we do every single day? Read the Bible, right? To get growth. So that is another symbolism of bread, not as the burnt offering of the bread on the altar but remember how the priests also would eat some bread continually that had frankincense on it, just on a weekly basis, that was just their normal food as well. Well, it's the same thing with us, Jesus Christ also gives us sustenance on a daily basis through his word. God's word is like bread unto us that we eat every day that feeds us, okay? And remember, Jesus is the word, Jesus is the word made flesh. So you can see how the word of God represented by the bread, Jesus represented by the bread, these things are closely connected, okay? So we see that Jesus Christ, the bread of life, that's the significance of the frankincense. It's acknowledging him as the sacrifice for our sins and as the very bread of life, okay? Now let's talk about the myrrh, go back to Exodus chapter 30. You say, well, talk about the gold, well, the reason I'm not talking as much about the gold is because it's kind of a no-brainer. Everybody knows what gold is, okay? Let me tell you a little bit about gold, okay? Gold is that which is universally been used throughout history as a form of money because it's precious, it's of great value, it's rare, it has intrinsic usefulness and value. It's the most malleable metal that there is so it can be flattened out into great sheets better than any other metal. It is also a great conductor of electricity and although there are other conductors out there, one thing that's great about gold is that it is very resistant to corrosion. And so it's used in little tiny applications like microchips and things like that. Gold is used to conduct electricity on a very tiny level so your computers and technology have gold in them, believe it or not, in small quantities being used as a conductor. So it does have an intrinsic value but the main thing that's valuable about it is that it's rare, it's expensive and so therefore it's been used as a form of money until recent times when everybody's pretty much gone over to the fiat paper currencies and fictitious currencies. Before that, for thousands and thousands of years, gold symbolized wealth, riches and still does although it's not the primary money anymore. It was the primary money for a long time. So basically when the three wise men bring gold, they're bringing it to him representing his wealth, his riches, the riches of Christ Jesus the Bible talks about and also just the fact that he's the king is probably the strongest symbolism there. When we think of kings, we think of gold. We think of a golden crown, a golden throne, just giving out gold to their servants. That's what kings do, that's what they're known for. And then the frankincense, what's the main significance of the frankincense? It has to do with the sacrifice, the burnt offering on the altar. Jesus Christ, of course, his body was broken for us and then the Bible says that his soul was not left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption so he descended into the lower parts of the earth for three days and three nights was in hell, three days later rose again from the dead. So we can see that strong symbolism with the frankincense of the burnt offering made by fire, specifically the meat offering of Jesus, the bread of life, the bread that came down from heaven just like the man that came down from heaven in the Old Testament. So the frankincense is Jesus as sacrifice. What about the myrrh? What does the myrrh represent? Well, if you go to Exodus chapter 30, the most significant thing about myrrh is that it was used in the holy anointing oil that all of the vessels of the sanctuary were anointed with and that Aaron and his sons were anointed with, the priests were anointed with. Look if you would at Exodus chapter number 30, beginning in verse number 22, Moreover the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Take thou also unto the principal spices of pure myrrh, five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels. So the lion's share of this spice is going to be myrrh. That's the main ingredient of the anointing oil. Verse 24, And of Cassia five hundred shekels after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil, olive, and hen. And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary, it shall be in holy anointing oil, and thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, and the table, and all his vessels, and the candlestick in his vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver, and his foot, and thou shalt sanctify them that they may be most holy, whosoever toucheth them shall be holy. Now don't misunderstand that. He's not saying, Hey, if you touch this, you're going to be holy. What he's saying is, nobody touches it unless they're holy. Anybody who touches it had better be holy first, so don't misread that reading there. I could see how you could read it the other way, but you get false doctrine, because if you study the Bible, it's saying that they have to be holy in order to touch it. Verse 30, And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, so they're getting anointed with this holy oil, and consecrate them that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, obviously other than anointing the priests and those specific people, neither shall you make any other like it after the composition of it. It is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people. Now turn over to Psalm 45, Psalm 45. So the myrrh is in this holy anointing oil, it's the main ingredient. Now what does the holy anointing oil represent? Well, who's anointed with it? The high priest is the one who's anointed with this holy anointing oil. Not only that, but you're turning to Psalm 45. In Hebrews 1, 8, it says, But unto the Son, he saith, unto the Son of God, unto Jesus, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. So again, we see that Jesus is God. Because unto the Son, he saith, thy throne, O God. And then he says, Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God, even thy God, who's that? God the Father, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. So the Bible says that Jesus Christ, because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity, was anointed by God the Father with the oil of gladness above his fellows. Look at Psalm 45, verse 6. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. Who is this talking to? Jesus. Jesus. Because unto the Son, he saith, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and hated wickedness, therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And then watch this next part. All thy garments smell of what? Myrrh. That was the primary ingredient of the holy anointing oil. Aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces whereby they've made thee glad. Of course, we know that those are other ingredients that went into the holy anointing oil. So we see here that Jesus Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness with the holy anointing oil above all others. Why is that? Because he is our high priest. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is our high priest, according to Hebrews chapter 4. So he's anointed with that oil. Not a literal oil. He didn't go down to the physical temple and say, all right, here I am, I'm the high priest. Come anoint me. They would have told him get lost because they didn't believe him. They didn't believe that he's the high priest. They've got their own Caiaphas and Annas, you know, they've got their own high priests. They've got their own guys that they'll smear their literal physical oil on. This oil is representative of the holy spirit, okay? The holy spirit represents the oil of anointing. For example, in the Old Testament, when a king would be anointed with oil, it was that they would be filled with the holy spirit. And when they would anoint the priest, they wanted the priest to be filled with the holy spirit. That's why when David was anointed by Samuel, it says the spirit of the Lord came upon him. And that's what that was symbolically representing. So we see that this is Jesus Christ as high priest. Now what else does the myrrh have to do with Jesus? Well, in John chapter 19, if you would flip over there, John chapter 19, we see that after Jesus dies on the cross, his body is anointed with myrrh. Of course, when he's on the cross, the Bible says in Mark 15, 23, they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh, but he received it not. John chapter 19 verse 38, and after this, Joseph of Arimathea being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus, and there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture, verse 39, of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight, then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices as the manner of the Jews is to bury. So you say, okay, Pastor Anderson, wrap this all up. It's kind of a little bit of a heavy teaching here going through all this, but what are the three gifts? Here's Jesus, a baby Jesus, born, and the three wise men have come, and they bring these three gifts. What do they represent? What do they mean? Are they just coincidental? Look, everything in the Bible has meaning. So when they bring these three gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, here is the meaning. Gold because he's the king. Frankincense because he's the sacrifice. That's foreshadowing the sacrifice. Frankincense went on the meat-burnt offering. The meat offering burned upon the altar. He's the sacrifice, and myrrh because he is the priest. So we have the gold because he's the king. We have the frankincense because he is the sacrifice itself. He is the meat offering. And then we have the myrrh because he's the priest, and remember the priest is anointed with the myrrh oil, the anointing oil that was predominantly myrrh. So think of it this way. This tells the story of the Gospel in a sense. The king of kings, the Lord of Lords himself from heaven, right, came down to this earth to be the burnt offering for our sins, to be the sacrifice for our sins. There's the frankincense. And now he's our high priest up in heaven and ever liveth to make intercession for us. There's the myrrh right there. So we have the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh. The king of kings, the Lord of Lords has all the wealth of heaven, comes down to this earth, sacrifices himself. That's the frankincense on the burnt offering. And then now he's the priest, the myrrh. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Okay, now with that in mind, let's look at Matthew chapter 2. Let's understand this story. Matthew chapter 2, now that we understand the three gifts and what they mean, what they represent. It says in verse 1, 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. Now this is, of course, the subject of a famous song, We Three Kings, right? The wise men came from the east to worship Jesus. So let's examine that song in light of scripture, okay? Take your hymnal and let's compare it with scripture and see if this song is scriptural because a lot of people, they criticize this song and say that it's inaccurate, it's fictitious, it's unscriptural. And I'll say this, most of the song is pretty accurate. There are some things in the song that are a little bit embellished, a little bit different than what we read in the Bible. But I don't think it's a bad song. I think in general it's still a good song that gives you the gist of the story. But you know, we never want to make a song out of the hymnal our final authority on doctrine, amen? So obviously we need to go search the scriptures to get our primary source of doctrine. But I still think that this song can be a good edifying song even though it's not 100% accurate as we study scripture. First of all, it starts out, we three kings of orient are. The biggest problem people point to here is that it says that they're kings when the Bible actually says that they are wise men, okay? So this is an embellishment or you know, kind of giving them an upgrade, giving them a raise as it were. They got promoted to being kings in this song. Now of course all of us who believe on Jesus Christ are technically kings and priests. So you know, you could technically kind of apologize and say, well, you know, they are kings though because they believe in Christ, you know, they're kings in that sense. But obviously it's more accurate to say that they were wise men. Now what does it mean when it says they're wise men? Well, go back to the book of Daniel and you'll see that the wise men often are associated with people who are looking at the stars, astrology and the wise men. So these guys are basically what we would consider scholars from the east. Wise men, they're scholars, they're studying astronomy, they're studying other things, religion, they're studying science, philosophy, everything that the wise men and Daniel were studying, okay? And Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in that group. So not everybody in that group was a pagan or worshipping the devil because Daniel and his friends are in that group. So it makes sense if Daniel and his friends are in that group and they were greatly respected by these wise men that a few hundred years later there could still be some remnants of people who remember Daniel and they remember what he taught them and they remember the Lord. And so that's who these guys are. They're coming from the east. So we three kings of orient are, yeah, they are from the orient. Orient simply means they're coming from the east. And the Bible says they came from the east to Jerusalem, right? Bearing gifts, we traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. That's all correct. Woe star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light. Basically that's a reference to Jesus as the light, you know, bring us to the real light of the world. Jesus said, I'm the light of the world, right? Second verse, born a king on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring to crown him again, king forever ceasing never over us all to reign. That's all doctrinally correct, right? Incense to offer have I, incense owns a deity nigh, prayer and praising all men raising, worship him God on high. And this is basically just alluding to the fact that incense is used in the worship of the Lord. It's used in worshiping God in the Old Testament. And if you remember, I barely touched on this because I spent most of the time talking about frankincense being put upon the meat offering. But also I did mention at the beginning that that perfume that was used around the Holy of Holies was also frankincense and obviously it's incense is in the name. Okay, the fourth verse says, myrrh is mine, it's bitter perfume, breathes the life of gathering gloom, sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone cold tomb. Now this I do not believe is accurate, okay, because of the fact that I don't believe that myrrh is a bitter perfume. What did the Bible say about myrrh? It's sweet smelling. What's the opposite of sweet? Bitter. Now the reason why it says this is because of the word myrrh itself, okay, it's very closely related with the word for bitter, okay. Flip over to Ruth if you would. Go to Ruth chapter number one, the book of Ruth, Joshua, Judges, Ruth. If you go to Ruth, you'll get a little inkling of this even just reading an English King James Bible. In the book of Ruth, it says in verse number 20 of chapter 1, and she said unto them, call me not Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty had dealt very bitterly with me, okay. So you can see that she's basically saying, call me bitter, don't you love women like that? No, I'm just kidding. She's saying, you know, call me Mara, call me bitter woman, all right. Saying call me bitter. So because of the fact that the Hebrew word myrrh and the Hebrew word for bitter are very similar, a lot of people could erroneously come to a conclusion of like, oh, well myrrh must be a bitter perfume because that's why it must be called myrrh. But what you have to understand is that where words originally come from doesn't always give you their current meaning, okay. So a lot of people, they get the wrong idea about what words mean because they think, oh, these words sound similar, then they must be the same thing or that must be what that means. Sort of like the word firmament. You know, people get hung up on that firm part. So they think, you know, the firmament is this glass dome or something. When in reality, the word firmament simply means the sky. It's the atmosphere. It's the expanse of the heavens. And you say, well, prove that from the Bible. Okay. Foul fly in the open firmament of heaven. How can birds fly in a solid object? Birds fly in the air. So then, you know, I preach that. I say, you know, birds fly in the air. They can't fly in a solid object. They're in the firmament. You know, he put the birds in the firmament. So then somebody said to me, no, no, no, that just means in the firmament, like inside the firmament. Like within the dome. Yeah. You know, it's a closed dome and they're inside it. Okay. Then why does it say let them fly in the open firmament? The open firmament of heaven. Okay. It's not closed. It's open. All right. So anyway, it's just foolishness. It's just, what it is, is atheists trying to debunk the Bible, trying to say, oh, the Bible teaches that the earth's flat and that there's a glass dome and where, look, you don't have to get very far. Genesis chapter 1 to figure out what the firmament is, it's an open air of heaven where birds are flying in it. Okay. So it's pretty clear to understand that. So, but, yeah, but firmament, look, words evolve over time. Words change. Words are often derived from some source and then they come to mean something completely different down the road. So you can't always just take apart a word and say, oh, you know, mer, mar, mer, mer, you know. Must be bitter. Well, you know, it might have been that there were some bitter perfumes or bitter ointments or whatever where they got that word, but in the end, if we read our Bible, we find that the thing known as mer in the Bible is a sweet-smelling perfume. So you can see where the author of the song made the mistake. It's an innocent mistake, but we want to make sure that we don't make the same mistake of assuming that we know what words mean just based on their component parts. And that's what a lot of people do even though words can often change in meaning and come to mean something different. I was trying to think of a better example than the firmament. I guess that's a pretty good example, though, but you could think of other examples. I don't know. I'll think of a better example later when I don't need it, but anyway. But obviously, you know, the rest of the verse makes sense. Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying. We know that Jesus was a man of sorrows and well-acquainted with grief. Sealed in the stone-cold tomb, obviously, we know he was buried. Verse 5, glorious now, behold him arise, King and God and sacrifice, Alleluia, Alleluia peals through the earth and skies. So you know, I give this song like a B-plus on being doctrinally correct. It's not a bad song. Even though, you know, they got the smell of mer a little wrong, okay? And even though they've embellished the wise men to kings, you know, to sit there, oh, this is a horrible song. I mean, I don't, I think people are being a little hard on the song, okay? I like it, all right? I still like it. At least it made me familiar with the three gifts growing up and made me familiar with these things. So I think it's an edifying song. Anyway, let's get off that. That was kind of a commercial break. Let's get back to the chapter here, Matthew chapter 2, verse 1. 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 here's what I want to focus on, verse 3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled. And watch this phrase, and all Jerusalem with him. Now stop and think about this. This is a really interesting chapter because it's a foreshadowing about the life of Jesus. Just as the three gifts foreshadow Christ's life, right? He's going to be the king. He's going to be riding in on the donkey. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. It's the son of David. But then he's going to be the sacrifice who dies on the cross. He's going to be the offering for sin. Then he's going to be anointed as the high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. So that says the three gifts are a foreshadowing of the life of Christ. This chapter foreshadows Christ's life because the wise men who actually are seeking Jesus, loving Jesus Christ, rejoicing in Jesus Christ, I mean when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Loving Christ, rejoicing in Christ, recognizing Christ, understanding Christ, serving Christ, they didn't come from Israel. They came from somewhere else. This is a foreshadowing of Christ that he's going to be embraced and worshiped and loved and adored and served by non-Jews. Because meanwhile in Jerusalem, hey, we're here to worship the king of the Jews. We've seen a star in the east and come to worship him. Herod the king's like, great. No, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. So who's Jerusalem with? Is Jerusalem with the wise men? All right, let's go. Let's go worship him. No, Jerusalem's with Herod. Oh, man. And if you wonder what it means when it says that Herod is troubled, well, what does Herod do a little later in the chapter? What does Herod do? Murder. He says, I've got to kill Jesus. And he sets out to murder the baby Jesus. He diligently inquires of the wise men what time the star appeared. So you know what he's doing? He's feigning interest. He's pretending that he loves Jesus. He's pretending that he wants to worship Jesus. He's pretending that he takes an interest in the things of God. So when exactly did that star appear? Oh, yeah. Well, go to Bethlehem and find him. And when you find him, come bring me word so that I can come worship him, too. Is that really what he had in mind? No. He hated Jesus. And once he saw that he was mocked to the wise men, the wise men did not show him where Jesus was because they were warned of God in a dream not to return to Herod. Then Herod just says, well, you know what, I'm by hook or by crook. I'm going to kill this baby Jesus. And so what does he do? He kills all of the children from two years old and under in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof. So just in that Bethlehem and surrounding area, this little town of Bethlehem and the surrounding area, he's going to wipe out the children in that area. He's going to murder the children. So when you read Herod was troubled, that's what it means when he was troubled. Does that mean that he's excited, he's happy, he's rejoicing? He wants to worship Christ? No way. So when it says he's troubled in all Jerusalem with him, you know what, that shows a wicked spiritual condition of Jerusalem that is foreshadowing the fact that the city of Jerusalem is going to do what to Jesus when he becomes 33 years old? They're going to do what? They're going to murder Jesus. They're going to succeed in doing what Herod failed to do because Jesus' time had not yet come. Herod wanted to murder Jesus. He was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And then fast forward 30 some years and Jesus is killed right there at Jerusalem, that city where also our Lord was crucified. That city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, now that killest the prophets. So this is a foreshadowing of the life of Christ that it's going to be non-Jews who embrace, love, accept, worship the Lord Jesus Christ and that Jerusalem itself, he came unto his own and his own received him not. Now of course there were individuals who got saved of the Jews as many as received him. To them gave he power to become the sons of God. And of course we see that there were Jews. The apostle said, I also am a Jew. Jesus' disciples they got saved. They were Jews. Multitudes got saved both of men and women of the Jews. But as a nation predominantly they murdered the Lord Jesus. They rejected the Lord Jesus. And we see that foreshadowed in this passage, don't we? Here's what's interesting. So the Bible says in verse 3, when Herod the king had heard these things he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, in Bethlehem of Judea. Now is that the right answer? Great answer. These people know their Bible, don't they? You know Herod doesn't know the Bible. He's like, where's the Messiah supposed to be born? Where's the Christ supposed to be born? Oh, Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem and the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah. For out of these shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Man, these people know their minor prophets, don't they? They know Micah chapter 5 verse 2. They've got, oh yeah, we're Bible scholars. We have studied the scripture and we know the Bible. But it's funny, I don't see them going to Bethlehem seeking Christ. I don't see them jumping on the bandwagon with the wise men from the east. Boy, they know the Bible. And boy, Herod sure looks pretty interested in the Bible too, doesn't he? It doesn't prevent him from being a murderous lunatic and hating Christ in his heart. Then Herod, verse 7, when he had privately called the wise men and inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child. And when you found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. He really wants to murder him. When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they had come into 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. So what do you have in this story? Two different sets of scholars because the wise men are scholars. I mean, these are very intelligent, learned, intellectual men. I mean, look, most of us, if a star appeared, we wouldn't even notice. We go outside and look at a bunch of stars, we wouldn't notice a new star. The reason that these guys noticed a new star is because they're looking at the sky every single night. They're charting the stars. They're charting the constellations, the heavens. They're watching the movement of the stars and planets, and they look up and say, what is this? Something new. They notice this. These are very intellectual, learned, that's why they're called wise men, okay? These men are full time in their learning and education, right? Because guys like Darius and Cyrus, you know, they had guys like this around. Wise men, counselors, people who studied that could basically give them understanding and knowledge. And then Herod, he's got his wise men too, right? Because who does he gather together? He gathers together all the chief priests and scribes of the people. What are scribes? I mean, these are guys that are spending their time copying texts. You know, they don't have a copy machine or a printing press, so the scribes are just copying text. They're copying the Bible. They're copying text. They're making books. These men are scholars. These men are intellectual. These men are intelligent. Let me explain something to you. Being intelligent, being an intellectual, being a scholar does not mean that you actually have wisdom or that you actually love the Lord. Look, there are a lot of Bible scholars out there, there are a lot of theologians out there who don't love the Lord. They're with Herod. They're troubled with Herod. And then you have other intellectuals and scholars who do love the Lord and they're willing to drop everything, leave everything behind, take a dangerous, long journey over More and Mountain, amen, and go through all this and bring these super expensive gifts and search and spend literally years searching. Why? Because Herod killed the children from two years old and under. That means, and remember that was based on when the star appeared. So the star has appeared what? Two years ago. So basically, or somewhere thereabouts because obviously it's rounded to the year. So therefore, when they come to Jesus, they find the young child with Mary his mother, not the babe. The shepherds come and find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger. But the wise men, they come and find the young child because a few years have come. These men spent years of their life taking basically the trip of their lives, a trip that very few people made in those days from very far away. And what did Jesus say? Many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom of Israel shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and ashing of teeth. So you have two types of scholarship here. You have a scholarship that loves the Lord. You have the intelligent study that loves the Lord, worships the Lord, and is willing to sacrifice everything to serve the Lord, and then you have the scholarship of the haters of the Lord. Well, but they study the Bible too. Yeah, you know why he inquired of them about scripture? You know why he wanted to know the Bible? He wanted to know the Bible so he could destroy Jesus. Think about that. Why did Herod want to know what the Bible says? So he could figure out how to kill Jesus, how to destroy Jesus, how to fight against the Lord. There are people out there who spend time studying the Bible only to be enemies of God, only to fight against the Gospel, only to destroy Jesus. And then there are people who sincerely study scripture and learn so that they might worship the Lord and serve the Lord. So that's what we see here. We see the wise men and we see the scribes. But then we see Jerusalem because it wasn't just a story about Herod and the chief priests and the scribes. The Bible says when Herod the king had earned these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. That's not just an elite group of scholars. That's all Jerusalem, right? All Jerusalem with him. Who was it that screamed, crucify him? Was it just the chief priests? No, it was Jerusalem. It was a whole crowd of Jerusalem screaming out, crucify him, crucify him. So we see that there's Jerusalem. Now stop and think about this. When Jesus was first born, there were shepherds out in the field watching their flocks by night. These are simple people. These are country people. These are in the hill country. You know, they loved the Lord and so the angels came and brought them as witnesses of Christ's birth to see the baby Jesus. So it's not that all Jews hated Jesus, but Jerusalem here is not right with God, the city folk here in Jerusalem itself. They are not right with God. They're troubled when they hear this. Now what is it that they heard? Look at verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east of Jerusalem saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we've seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. These people show up and say the king of the Jews is born. The Messiah is here. Look up in the sky. That star, that's what brought us here. That's what we're following. We're following that star and of course we know that shortly thereafter that star is going to come and rest above and pinpoint the location of Christ in Bethlehem. But you know what Jerusalem represents are the people who apparently don't care. They don't care because you don't see them, they don't go to Bethlehem. Everybody tells the wise men, yeah, go to Bethlehem. Go check that out. We're busy. Right? I mean they've got, they've apparently got other things going on. They don't care. They're not interested. They're troubled. You know, sorry to trouble you there. Sorry to trouble you with the birth of Jesus Christ. Sorry to trouble you with the event that's the most significant event in the history of mankind to the point where when we say we're in the year 2018, what do we even mean by that? 2018 years since the birth of Christ. Oh, sorry to trouble you. Sorry to bother you. Oh, sorry to trouble you to come to church on Sunday, December the 23rd. I mean, I know that Christmas is coming up and everything, so you're probably really busy with other non-spiritual things that have nothing to do with Jesus or God or the Bible. You know, thank you for being troubled to show up today at God's house to talk about the birth of Jesus Christ. Look, there's a, look, today people, they see serving the Lord as a weariness. They see it as troubling. They see it as too much trouble. Oh, it's just too much trouble for me to go to church. Too much trouble to read the Bible. Hey, then there's the mentality of the wise men that says drop everything. Forsake everything. Sacrifice everything. This is all that matters. Getting there. We've just, we've got to be there. I mean, look, you can, what about the wise men who didn't come? What are their names? We don't know. We don't care. Who are they? You know, these wise men are in scripture. I mean, how would you like to have a chapter in the Bible about you? And you're called a wise man and you're the guy who dropped everything and traveled across the world to come see the birth of Christ from the ends of the earth. Okay. This is what we see in the story. And so my message to you this morning as we study these three gifts, the gold, the frankincense and the myrrh is that what we need to do is be like these wise men. How do we be like these wise men? First of all, we don't consider it too much trouble to worship the Lord. We drop everything and worship the Lord because that's the most important thing. We study to show ourselves approved. We understand what the Bible says. And just as the wise men, they knew the right gifts to bring. They brought the right gifts. They recognized Jesus as the sacrifice, the savior of the world, the high priest, the son of God. They understood these things. And so we need to be wise men today and we need to understand that Christ, Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. And you say, well, I don't think he's the reason for the season. Okay. Then don't even celebrate Christmas then. If you're not going to make it about Jesus, then it becomes a stupid holiday. You know, I knocked on a door this week out soul winning and they said, oh, we're all atheists here. Christmas tree here, wreath here, just, just tons of Christmas decor. More Christmas decor than I have at my house. Oh, we're all atheists. What are you celebrating? The big bang, you know, like I, yep, yep. December 25th, 4 billion BC, you know, December 25th, 4 billion BC, we had the big bang. But here's what's stupid. Even if they say 4 billion BC, they're still acknowledging Christ because it's 4 billion years before Christ. And it's so stupid today how the scientists say, oh, it's BCE. Who knows what I'm talking about? The stupid BCE before the common era, what is the common era? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. The common era. So what was it that started the common era? So they say BCE and CE. So they can be religiously neutral. Hey, buddy, if you want to be religiously neutral, you can't say 2018. You'd have to say year 4 billion and year 4 billion, 6,245, right? You're saying 2018, every atheist, every time an atheist writes a check to Planned Parenthood or whatever they give their money to, you know, they're basically acknowledging, yep, in the year of our Lord, 2018. That's what Anno Domini AD is Latin, Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord, 2018. In the year of our Lord, 2018. And then when they talk about BC, they're saying, oh, that was before Christ. Before Christ. But look, without Christ, Christmas becomes a dumb holiday. Who is this Santa Claus? Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, Frosty the snowman. Get real. You live in Phoenix, Arizona. Quit thinking about Frosty the snowman. More like Frosty the dust devil or something. There's no snowman here. What about people who live in the southern hemisphere? They don't have Frosty the snowman. It's the height of summer right now for them, right? So that only works in the northern hemisphere. But Christmas means nothing without Christ. You know, if Christmas isn't about the birth of Christ, then I don't even care about it. I don't even want to celebrate it. But if it's about celebrating the birth of Jesus, if that's what we're going to make it about, if we're going to say, okay, we're going to stop and think about the birth of Jesus Christ, then it becomes a beautiful holiday. It becomes a wonderful holiday. It becomes a holy day, holiday set apart to worship Christ and to think about Christ's birth. So don't call yourself a Christian and then go around celebrating a secular version of Christmas. Now, I understand there are some people who they don't want to celebrate Christmas and they think it's pagan and they want nothing to do with it. Fine. If they don't want to celebrate it, that's fine. Nobody's going to make them celebrate it. They can abstain. But what I think is stupid is if you are a Christian and you're going to claim the name of Christ and you're going to celebrate Christmas, shouldn't you make it about Christ? Shouldn't you make it about Jesus? If you are going to celebrate it, then why not read the Christmas story on December 25th? Why not read Luke chapter 2? Why not spend some time in prayer? Why not spend some time talking about the gospel and Jesus? Why not spend some time meditating on the three wise men's gifts of, okay, there could have been more than three of them, but they brought the three gifts. Why not actually spend time being troubled to care about the birth of Christ and think about spiritual things? So either make it a spiritual holiday or why are you even celebrating it? Everything we do should be done to the glory of God, whether we eat or drink. And look, I'm for you having a good time on Christmas. I'm for the dinners. I'm for the eating and drinking. I'm for, if it's non-alcoholic, obviously. I'm for the fellowship. I'm for the exchanging of gifts. Those are all wonderful things to do. I'm for it. But we need to make sure that we emphasize Jesus Christ in what we do and not just get caught up in the winter wonderland, rocking around the Christmas tree, baby, it's cold outside, or whatever, garbage. And by the way, there are too many Christians defending that song. Let me just go on the record. I hate all Christmas songs that aren't about Jesus. I love Christmas music that's about Jesus. I hate Christmas songs that aren't about Jesus. I don't need grandma got run over by a reindeer, you know, give me Silent Night, Holy Night, and hark the herald angels sing, joy to the world, but baby, it's cold outside. Yeah, a song about drinking, smoking, and fornication. Yeah, these bunch of snowflakes are offended by it. Well, I'm offended by it, too. I guess I'm a snowflake. I guess being offended by sin now makes you a snowflake. Oh, he's offended by sin, he's a snowflake. Really? No, I thought snowflakes are offended by stupid things. Being offended by beer, that's a good thing to be offended by, man. Being offended by smoking and drinking and fornicating and whatever, yeah, that is something to be offended by. Yeah, but rap music's worse. Oh, okay, well, as long as rap music's worse, let's just listen to every ungodly song from the 50s. If we go back to the 50s and 60s, hey, that was a wholesome time. All music is wonderful from back then, right? Even stuff by, you know, the most wicked people or people that are singing about things they're against. Because we don't grade on a curve when it comes to music, right? Oh, yeah, well, you know, I could find a much worse song. But, you know, the Fox News Christianity, right? Just whatever we're told to get fired up about. Let's defend that song to the death. Could I trouble you to actually defend Christ? You know, let's think about spiritual things. Let's be spiritual people this holiday, right? This week, don't get so caught up in Christmas this and Christmas that that you don't get caught up in the Christ of Christmas. Make it about the birth of Jesus Christ and be like the wise men who give everything for Christ, not like Jerusalem that's just troubled by it and can't be bothered. I mean, look, how hard was it really to find Jesus? I don't think Bethlehem's that big of a town. Otherwise we've got a really inaccurate song in the hymnal if Bethlehem's a big town. Oh, little town of Bethlehem. And you know, I've been there and it wasn't that big of a place, okay? So how hard is it to find baby Jesus in Bethlehem? You know, isn't it interesting how Herod can kill all the babies just to make sure he gets Jesus? Well, why didn't they go knocking on every door saying, hey, where's baby Jesus? We got to find him. We got to find him. Let's find the Savior. Hey, funny how the wise men found him. They got there. Father, we thank you so much for your unspeakable gift. Thank you so much for Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, our King, our sacrifice, our high priest, Lord. Help us to meditate upon these three gifts, the gold and frankincense and myrrh, and understand that the birth of Jesus Christ truly is the greatest story that has ever been told. And Lord, help us to show our love to you this week and worship you, Lord, this week. And just help us to understand in our hearts the greatness of the birth of Jesus Christ and to meditate upon these things and to give ourselves wholly unto them, Lord. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.