(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and 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Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and 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Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] We're going to welcome you to this Sunday morning service here at Verity Baptist Church. We're so glad that you are with us. Of course, we have a wonderful service lined up for you today. We'd like to, of course, begin the service with a word of prayer. So let's go ahead and bow our heads and pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you and we thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Lord, we pray that you would bless the service this morning. We pray that you would bless every aspect of the service, the singing, the preaching, the fellowship. Lord, I pray that you would be with us today. Lord, I pray that you would help us to hear from your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Turn to song 425. 4-2-5. ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] ["No Room in the End"] There is no hope of the last. No one to receive him. No one above him. No one to believe him. Most of us here. No seeking his treasure. No weeping or sin. No doing his pleasure. No weeping or sin. No doing his pleasure. No room, no room for Jesus. No kingdom of the King. No seal should hear at heaven's gate. There is no hope of the last. Amen. All right. Well, let's take our bulletins. We'll look at some announcements real quickly. If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers will get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for you. The verse this week, Psalm 72 11, Yea, all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him. And that's a good verse there. We like that. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service is Wednesday a.m. And we, of course, are glad that you are here on Sunday morning for church. And we do invite you to be back tonight at 6 p.m. for the evening service. The evening service is different than the morning service. Different songs that are sung, different sermon that's preached. Just one more opportunity to be in God's house with God's people under the preaching of the word of God. And then, of course, we invite you to be with us on Wednesday evening for the midweek service. We call it the most encouraging service of the week. And we'd love for you to join us, of course, on Wednesday nights. If you look at our soul winning times, our main soul winning times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And then we have additional soul winning times on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 2 p.m. For now, Thursdays and Fridays is postponed. But there is a time this afternoon for you if you'd like to go out. We'd love for you to join us. And, of course, we are a family integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the service. We do not separate children from their parents for any reason. We do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. All the rooms have comfortable seating. They have monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it. So if you have a child that's being distracted during the service or if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to please get up quickly and head to one of those mother baby rooms or daddy rooms. If you're not sure where they're at, you can look at the back of the bulletin and you'll see a layout of our church building. It'll show you where the mother baby rooms are, where the daddy room is. It'll show you where the restrooms are. If you need to be baptized, please let us know. We'd love to baptize you. And the baptistry is filled. The water is warm. You've got everything you need. All you need to do is on your communication card on the back of the card, you can check off that you'd like information about baptism and we'll follow up with you and talk to you about that. If we've already spoken to you, you've already spoken to somebody, then all you need to do is at the end of the service, after the preaching while we're singing the last song, if you step out that door, one of our staff guys will meet you there and we can get you situated for baptism. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course, we've got the workdays that are going to continue this weekend, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, December 21st, 22nd, 23rd. And there are multiple sign-up sheets in the foyer clipboards for all three days, three shifts for all three days. And we're just continuing. The work is continuing over there as far as mudding and texturing. So if you can help us with that, we would really appreciate your help if you've got that skill. And that's just kind of where we're at. So that's what we need. And make sure you go by there and sign up. And then, of course, we've got several Christmas things coming up that we want you to be aware of. Next Sunday is December 24th. And there's a lot of special things going on on the 24th. So we're going to have our normal 10 30 a.m. service like we normally do. And we're going to have special music from the Children's Choir. The Children's Choir is going to be singing on Sunday morning. So we want you to be aware of that. Make sure you're here on Sunday to support the kids. There will be no soul winning at 2 p.m. on Sunday. So just make a note of that. And then we're going to have our hot chocolate and Christmas cookies fellowship at 4 p.m. So you should have one of these cards in your bulletin. We want you to use this as a reminder for yourself, but also as an invitation to invite somebody to church with you. Lots of people are looking for a Christmas Eve service to attend. And we want to encourage you to invite someone to be with you. So like I said, we're going to have our hot chocolate and cookies fellowship at 4 p.m. in the fellowship hall. And then we're having our Christmas Eve service at 5 p.m. And why don't you just be aware of the fact that it is one hour earlier than our normal Sunday evening service. Normally our Sunday evening service is at 6 p.m. This will be at 5 p.m. We're going to be done and the service will be done at 6 p.m. I want you to just be aware of that and you'll have the rest of the evening. Of course it will be Christmas Eve to do whatever it is that you need to do. So make sure that you are aware of the schedule for next week. Also you should have one of these Christmas gifts for Jesus inserts in your bulletin. And many of you have been helping with this and we appreciate that. But as you're out and about this week, you're buying Christmas gifts. If you'd like to purchase something off this list to help the church these are all items that we use here on a regular basis. And we've got a Christmas gift for Jesus drop off that you can drop that gift off. And that of course is a help to us. And if you wouldn't like, maybe you don't want to purchase something off this list but you do want to help in some way, then of course you can always make a special Christmas gift for Jesus donation in the offering online. However you'd like to do that and we would appreciate all of that. You also have one of these nine chapters a day charts in the bulletin. And of course January is Bible month here at Verity Baptist Church and every January we challenge our church family to read the entire New Testament in the month of January. The average Christian has never read the Bible cover to cover ever. Now that's not the average Verity Baptist Church member but the average Christian all over the world. And many have never even read the New Testament. So what we're doing is we're challenging you to read the New Testament in the month of January. And the way it works is we're all reading the New Testament together, nine chapters every day. You'll notice that you have two grace period days. And if you accomplish the task, if you finish the challenge, then we'll put your name on a nice plaque in the foyer. You'll notice that we have several plaques, I don't know how many plaques, ten plaques, twelve plaques however many years we've been doing this now. And so this is a nice thing we do every year. I want to encourage you to start the New Year in the Word of God, reading the Bible. And you'll notice that there's two options for you. There's a straight through reading where you just read nine chapters every day and you finish just going in the order that they are in. And there's also a split up reading where you read nine chapters but it's split up and it's split up between larger chapters and smaller chapters. So the split up version gives you a more balanced approach the whole way through. The straight through version takes a little longer at first because the bigger books of the Bible are at the beginning. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts have bigger chapters. As you get towards the end, the smaller books have smaller chapters so even though you're reading nine chapters every day it gets a little easier. So you can do it however you'd like but we just want you to be in the Word of God. So please make plans to be reading nine chapters a day in the month of January. There is choir practice today at 5 p.m. for the adult choir and then children's choir at 5.15 p.m. in the playroom. Homeschool group, they've got P.E. class on Thursday, January 11th. So I want you to notice that there's a little bit of a Christmas break there so homeschool group won't start back up until the New Year, January 11th. And then there's other things there for you to look at. Please don't forget to turn your cell phones up or place them on silent during the service so that they're not a distraction to anybody. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of December today is Miss Kim Borrello's birthday, December 17th. Also, Checho Pompa has a birthday and Levi Taylor has a birthday today. And Brother Scott and Miss Lisa Sweeten have an anniversary today as well. And then later this week we have Samuel Vokochik's birthday, Chadwick Pompa's birthday, Samuel Vokochik December 19th, Chadwick Pompa December 21st. And then my parents Felix and Grenis Jimenez have an anniversary this week on December 23rd. We don't ask every couple how long they've been married for, but there are certain couples that we ask. So I'm going to ask my parents if they, I don't know where they're at. How many years have you been married? Forty-five years of marriage. Praise the Lord for that. And that's quite a feat. Praise the Lord for that and congratulations to them. There's other things there for you to look at and I think that's it for all of the announcements. We're going to go ahead and sing the chorus of the week and we're going to sing Angels We Have Heard on High and this is the kind of song you've got to sing on purpose, alright? So let's go ahead and sing it out. On the first angels we have heard on high, on the first angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains and the mountains in reply, echoing victorious strains o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o in excelsis pia o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o in excelsis pia o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o come to Bethlehem and see Christ, whose birth the angels saw come, adored on bended knee Christ, hallowed the new Lord o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o in excelsis pia o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o-o in excelsis pia but on the last angel reign in our choirs of angels reign Mary, Joseph, and Lorraine while our hearts in love remain o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o excelsis pia o-o-o-o-o-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o in excelsis pia o-o-o-o-o-o Amen, good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time and let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. We do love you. We thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Lord, we pray that you bless the offering. We ask that you continue to meet our financial needs, Lord, and we pray that you would bless the gift and the giver. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2. If you do not have a Bible, raise your hand and Anash will bring you one. Matthew chapter 2. We will read the entire chapter as our custom. Matthew chapter 2. Just keep your hands up and Anash will bring you a Bible. Matthew chapter 2 the Bible reads, 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 a star in the east and are come to worship him. 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, And Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou 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 privately called the wise men, 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 he have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 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 were come into the house, they saw the young child would marry 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 to 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 to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt. And was there 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 to the wise men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and on all the coasts thereof, from two years old 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, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appearth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Artelaeus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither. Notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. Let's pray. Lord God Almighty, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity to come together. Please bless Pastor and the message. Please let it bring glory and honor to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. Amen. All right, we're there in Matthew, chapter number two. And of course, on Sunday mornings during this Christmas season, we've been going through a Christmas sermon series entitled The Nativity. And we've been doing a study of the characters of the Christmas story. If you remember several weeks ago, we started on the first week with a sermon on the character of Joseph. And I entitled that term Joseph, the most overlooked character of the Christmas story. The second week, we talked about Mary, the most overemphasized character of the Christmas story. Last week, we talked about the shepherds. I called that the shepherds, the delegation of the poor. And this morning, we're going to talk about the wise men. And I entitled this sermon The Wise Men, The Delegation of the Rich. And what we find here in Matthew, chapter number two, is the story of the wise men. We just read it, but I'd like you to see it again there in 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 a star in the east, and are come to worship him. 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 the scribes of 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 thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not thou 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 privately called the wise men, 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 have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 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. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child would marry his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. The wise men are probably the most curious of the characters of the Christmas story. They may be the most controversial of the characters of the Christmas story. When it comes to the teaching of the word of God, and theology, there's a lot of different things that are taught about the wise men, a lot of beliefs about the wise men. And I'd like for us to look at these wise men today, and look at what the Bible says about them. And I want to kind of divide our study about the wise men under two headings. And if you're taking notes, and I always encourage you to take notes, then maybe you can follow along with these two headings. I'd like to begin by talking about the misconceptions about the wise men. Because there's a lot of misconceptions out there, and they're not necessarily a big deal. I don't think that they are a huge deal, but I think it's always good for us to know what the Bible actually says, and teach us, and for us to be aware of the things in the word of God. So we have the misconceptions about the wise men. But then I'd also like to look at the applications from the wise men. And I do believe that there are some things that God is trying to teach us through the wise men, and they are important things for us to understand. So let's begin with the misconceptions about the wise men. And a misconception, just to define it for you, is a view or opinion that is incorrect because it is based on faulty thinking or understanding. There's lots of misconceptions about the wise men, and please don't misunderstand what I'm about to say. I'm only bringing this up to you because of the fact that we're talking about the wise men, and I think we should be aware of what the Bible teaches. But I am in no way one of these individuals who likes to pick apart Christmas traditions and, you know, I'm not giving you these thoughts so that you can never sing a song about the wise men. In fact, we're going to sing a song about the wise men at the end of the service today. So I'm not against that. But I am for you having knowledge and for you to know and understand what it is that the Bible actually teaches. So let's look at some misconceptions about the wise men. I'm going to give you three of them. I'd like to give you three misconceptions and three applications. Three misconceptions, three applications. We'll do them as quickly as possible. Misconception number one is this, that there were three wise men. That's the first misconception that I want to bring up. And again, I'm not against the concept or the idea. We're going to sing We Three Kings just here in just a few minutes when the sermon is done. I'm not against that, but you should be aware of the fact that the Bible doesn't actually tell us that there were three wise men. Now there may have been three wise men. There may have not been three wise men. We don't know. But I want you to be educated biblically and understand that when we look at these Christmas characters and we look at these stories of the Bible, especially a story as important as the story of Christ, that we should be aware that the Bible teaches that there were wise men that showed up. The Bible does not tell us that there was three wise men. Now why is it that we, where do we get this misconception regarding the three wise men? A lot of it has to do with tradition and things that we've been taught and told, but I think biblically the reason that maybe people have drawn that conclusion is because of the fact that they brought three gifts. In Matthew chapter 2 and verse 11, I'd like you to notice the Bible says, And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him, notice, number one, gold, and number two, frankincense, and number three, myrrh. Nowhere in the story are we told that there was three? There may have been thirty. There may have been one. I mean, not one. There's no way there was one. There may have been two. There may have been three. There may have been ten. I mean, we don't really know. What we do know is that they brought Jesus three different gifts and I think because of the fact that they brought three different gifts, then we maybe make the assumption that there was three of them. But we don't know that for sure. There could have been a lot of them that brought these three gifts. One of them could have brought these three gifts. The Bible doesn't say. Over the years, people have assumed that because of the three gifts, then there were three wise men. And of course, whenever you're putting on a Christmas play or something, it just makes sense to have three kids play the wise men, and we understand that. But the Bible doesn't actually say that. So I just want you to be aware of the fact that that is a misconception regarding the wise men, that there was three. Maybe there was. Maybe there wasn't. The Bible doesn't say. We know there was three gifts and that's good to know. So misconception number one is that there was three wise men. We don't know that for sure. And the reason this is important is because of the fact that we should always, as Bible-believing Christians and as biblicists, we should always understand and always put importance onto what the Bible actually says. And even things like this. And again, I'm not opposed to thinking about three wise men or thinking of three wise men, but it's good for us to know that's what tradition says, there's one thing that tradition says, and then there's what the Bible actually says. And it's good for us to know those things. So misconception number one, there were three wise men, maybe not. Here's misconception number two, and it is this, that the wise men showed up to the manger. Oftentimes when you see maybe a nativity scene or when you see the Christmas story and it's depicted in a play or a movie or something like that, you'll have the manger scene of the birth of Christ and you'll have the shepherds there and you will also have the wise men. And there's a misconception that oftentimes people maybe just assume that the wise men showed up to the manger on the day of the birth of Christ. Now the shepherds were there, the Bible's clear about that. As far as the wise men, what the Bible tells us, and the Bible doesn't specifically tell us when it is that they got there, but based off what the Bible says, they probably showed up to the birth of Christ about two years late. They probably were not there until two years after the fact of the birth of Christ. And like I said, often you see the wise men depicted in the nativity scene or the nativity manger, but that is just not the case. Now let me show that to you from the Bible, Matthew chapter 2. Look at verse number 2. Now here's what happened at the birth of Christ, that the star showed up. The star showed up at the birth of Christ and the wise men began to follow that star. Matthew 2 and verse 2 saying, the Bible says, 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. I want you to notice that unlike the shepherds, the wise men traveled from the east. Now exactly where that is, we don't know. Some people assume it's the Orient or whatever, but the Bible doesn't really tell us. It just tells us it was the east. It was east of where Bethlehem was, but they traveled there. The shepherds came on the very same night. The wise men began their journey, began to travel, began to follow the star on the day that Christ was born. Now you may ask, well what makes you think that they showed up maybe closer to two years later? Well look at verse number 7 and we've already read the story of the wise men and I'm going to give you some applications, but we're kind of jumping around just to show you some things and highlight some things there. Matthew 2 and verse 7, the Bible says this, Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, remember the wise men show up to Jerusalem and they get an audience with King Herod and they show up and make this announcement. Where is he that is born king of the Jews? The Bible tells us when Herod had privately called the wise men, in verse number 7, then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired, the word inquired means he asked, he was getting information from men, inquired of them diligently, notice these words, what time the star appeared. They showed up and they said we are here to worship the king of the Jews. 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. We saw his star in the east and we have come to worship the king of the Jews. So Herod asked the question, when did you see the star? What time the star appeared was the question that Herod asked. Now of course we've read the story, Herod attempts to trick the wise men and he tells them, well you go find him and when you find him you come tell me that I can come worship him also. He tried to outsmart the wise men but they're called wise men for a reason. They outsmarted him and of course God revealed to them in a dream that they should not return to Herod because Herod wanted to kill Jesus and of course we know the story that though the wise men did not return to him, Herod still attempted to kill Jesus, look at verse 12, and being warned of God in a dream, this was the wise men, that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. So get the story, the wise men show up to Jerusalem, they said we're here to worship the king of the Jews, we've seen his star in the east, Herod who is the king wants to kill Jesus because obviously people showing up saying where's the king of the Jews, we know that he was recently born, he wants to kill Jesus so he says well when did the star appear and they answer the question for him then he tells them you go and find him and when you've found him come and tell me that I can come worship him also and the Lord warns them in a dream that they should not return to Herod but Herod already had some information. He'd already asked them the question what time the star appeared. They'd already told them well we've been on a journey for this long, look at verse 16, then Herod when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men was exceeding wrath and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and on all the coasts thereof notice this, from two years old and under now why'd he pick that, why did he start killing the children that were two years old and under, notice the words according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. So he'd asked the wise men what time the star appeared, they obviously told them we've been traveling for almost two years, about two years, it's been around two years and when Herod realized they're not coming back they're not coming to tell me where Jesus is, he says well I'm just going to kill all the children that were born within the time frame from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. So the Bible actually seems to indicate that the wise men did not show up on the day of the birth of Christ, did not show up at the manger scene but they probably showed up somewhere around two years later and if that's not enough proof for you, and if it's not enough proof for you it's fine, it doesn't matter I just think it's interesting and I'm preaching about the wise men so I thought I'd give you everything I can think of regarding the wise men. But let me just say this, the language of the passage also does not seem to indicate when the wise men show up the language of the passage does not seem to indicate that they found a babe lying in a manger. Let's just compare it there are two gospels that deal with the birth of Christ the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, we've been looking at both of them in this series keep your place there in Matthew chapter 2 and go with me to Luke chapter number 2 keep your place in Matthew chapter 2 and go to Luke chapter number 2, if you're there in Matthew you go past the book of Mark into the book of Luke, Luke chapter 2 and look at verse number 15 now when the shepherds show up, they did show up on the day of the birth of Christ I want you to notice the wording that we get in Luke chapter 2 about their experience Luke chapter 2 and verse 15 because they're right there, they're just keeping their sheep not too far away from Bethlehem so the Bible tells us in Luke chapter 2 that when the shepherds show up, they found the babe lying in a manger let's compare that to Matthew chapter 2 and verse 11 when the wise men show up in Luke 2 16, we see that the shepherds on the day of the birth of Christ they found the babe lying in a manger, Matthew chapter 2 and verse 11 says this, and when they were come, referring to the wise men into, notice the words, the house not a stable, not a manger, we're now in a house, and when they were come into the house they saw, notice the wording, the young child not the babe, not a baby, but a young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him, and when they had opened their treasure, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, so I want you to notice that the wording, not only does the context of the story itself tells us, that the fact that Herod decided to kill the children two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men, tells us that the wise men had been traveling for probably close to two years in order to get to Jesus, the wording of the passage itself seems to indicate that they did not find a babe lying in a manger, but instead they found a young child living in a house, so we see that there's a misconception that the wise men showed up to the manger, and again I'm not trying to ruin your Christmas or destroy your nativity scene, but the wise men being there at the birth of Christ is just not an accurate thing you can go to Daniel chapter number two if you would, keep your place there in Matthew, Daniel chapter two if you open up your Bible just right in the center, in the Old Testament you'll probably land in the book of Psalms after Psalms you have Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, then you have these big books Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel Isaiah, excuse me, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel Daniel chapter two, I'd like you to find Daniel chapter two in verse number ten, so I'm giving you these misconceptions about the wise men, and again this is maybe not the most important thing, when we get to the application that's really where you need to pay attention, but I think these are interesting things and I'm just giving these maybe by way of introduction, so we saw that there were three wise men misconception number one is that there were three wise men, and the Bible doesn't really tell us that, maybe there were maybe there weren't, we know there were three gifts, another misconception is that the wise men showed up to the manger, and we know the Bible definitely doesn't tell us that it tells us that they showed up to a house, it tells us that they found a young child there were birds who found the babe lying in a manger, and we know that Herod decided to kill, when he could not identify the child Jesus, he decided to kill all the children that were two years old and under, according to the time when he had diligently inquired the wise men here's misconception number three, misconception number three is this that the wise men were astrologers, sorcerers, or magicians, that the wise men were astrologers, sorcerers, and magicians today if you go to a non-King James church, you'll often find people refer to the wise men as the magi, and they talk about the wise men as being these sorcerers, or these magicians and here's what I want you to understand, that the term wise men, and let me just be very honest with you, the term wise men is used in our King James Bible at times to refer to astrologers, sorcerers, and magicians and here, the term wise men is actually used quite a bit in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament, you'll find that kings often had this group of people referred to as wise men, and some wise men definitely were astrologers, sorcerers, and magicians let me prove that to you, Daniel chapter 2, look at verse 10 we could look at a lot of passages on this, I'm not going to take the time to do it because it's obviously not that important but I want you to be the most educated church in town Daniel chapter 2, look at verse 10 now we're jumping right in the middle of a story, so let me just catch you up on the context Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, he knows that this dream is important and he needs it to be interpreted, the problem is he can't remember it so he's gathered the wise men of his realm and he's asked them to do two things, he's asked them to interpret the dream, and of course the response to that is no problem, tell us the dream and we'll interpret it but then he says, no that's too easy, and how do I know you're not lying to me and he says, the thing is gone from me, verse 5 he says, I want you to make known unto me the dream with the interpretation he said, I want you to remind me what the dream was, if you can tell me what the dream was then I'll know that you're wise enough to tell me the interpretation this is what the wise men that are also referred to as Chaldeans are referring to here in verse 10 there is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter therefore there is no king, lord nor ruler that asketh such things notice the last part of verse 10 any magician or astrologer or Chaldean, don't you notice that the wise men that are assembled there are defined as magicians astrologers and Chaldeans and it is true that there are some wise men in the Bible that were astrologers that were sorcerers, that were magicians, but I want to make this point, not all wise men in the Bible were astrologers, sorcerers and magicians, some wise men were simply scientists, they were men of knowledge they were men of wisdom, they were theologians, they were philosophers some wise men were godly men who feared the lord, you say we'll prove that we'll look at the passage, look at Daniel chapter 2 verse 11 Nebuchadnezzar wants the wise men to remind him what his dream was that he's forgotten and to give him the interpretation verse 11, and it is a rare thing the king requireth and there is none other that can show it before the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh, of course these are unsafe people speaking that's why you see that lower case G plural gods, verse 12 for this cause the king was angry and furious and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon so the wise men of Babylon tell king Nebuchadnezzar, we can't tell you what your dream was, and if you tell us the dream we'll give you the interpretation, but you want us to also know what your dream was you don't even remember your dream, and Nebuchadnezzar gets so upset, he says, you're going to tell me my dream, and you're going to tell me the interpretation, and if not, I'm going to destroy all the wise men of Babylon, I'm going to have all the wise men rounded up and destroyed, verse 13, and the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain and they sought Daniel and his fellows, now Daniel of course is the main character of the book of Daniel, his fellows of course is referring to the next co-stars of the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and the Bible says that the wise men should be slain and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain, what does that tell us? That tells us that Daniel and Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego were considered wise men now were they magicians? No, were they sorcerers? No, were they astrologers? No, but what they were was scientists, they were men of knowledge, they were men of wisdom, they were men who feared God, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego were considered wise men and some people even believe that the wise men that we read about in the account of the birth of Christ were men that were influenced and impacted by Daniel and Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego while they were in Babylon, maybe, maybe not, the Bible doesn't tell us that so we need to be careful with that, but the point is this that the wise men are not necessarily astrologers, sorcerers or magicians because Daniel and his three friends were also wise men and they were none of those things, magicians by the way are something that God would put to death in the Old Testament, witchcraft and sorcery Daniel was definitely not into those types of things but yet he was still a wise man. You have a similar story towards the beginning of the Bible when Pharaoh had a dream and he needed it to be interpreted and none of his wise men in Egypt were able to interpret it but Joseph was able to interpret the dream. Of course if we kept reading here, I'm not going to do that, you can go back to Matthew chapter 2, we find that Daniel ends up in telling Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was and interprets the dream and he saves the life of himself and his three friends and the rest of the wise men. So I want you to notice that it is a misconception to say that the wise men were astrologers or sorcerers or magi and I understand that the Greek word that is used for wise men here in the King James Bible is used for magicians and sorcerers and other places. It is the word that we get our English word magic from or whatever but not every wise man in the Bible was a magician and I just don't believe that God would use some sorcerer or magician in the Christmas story when God had put the death penalty upon that. So misconception number three the wise men were astrologers, sorcerers and magicians is not in my opinion a biblical interpretation. You say what were they? I believe they were men like Daniel. I'm not saying that they were influenced by Daniel, they might have been but I believe that they were men like Daniel, like Shadrach, like Meshach, like Abednego they were men of knowledge, they feared God, they were wise men, they were smart men. Remember Nebuchadnezzar said about Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel chapter one that they were ten times better than all of the other Chaldeans that he had in his realm. They were men of knowledge, they were men of wisdom and men of science. They weren't probably into astrology but they might have been into astronomy, they might have been those who studied the stars and those things. Go back to Matthew chapter number two. So we've talked about the misconception remember I told you we're going to look at this in two different headings. The misconceptions about the wise men, the applications about the wise men. The misconceptions are these, that there was three maybe there was, maybe there wasn't, we don't know. That they showed up at the manger the Bible definitely does not seem to indicate that at all and that the wise men were astrologers or sorcerers or magicians or magi is probably not the case. They were probably just men who feared God and who knew knowledge who had knowledge, who knew science and they were wise men. So those are the misconceptions. Let's move on to the applications. Applications from the wise men. We look at the misconceptions about the wise men, let's shift gears and look at the applications of the wise men. The first application is this I gave you three misconceptions, I'd like to give you three applications this morning and I'll give these to you as quickly as we can and we'll finish up. Application number one, what can we learn from the story of the wise men and what we can learn is this, that the gospel is for everyone. The gospel is for everyone. Look at Matthew chapter two and verse one. Notice what the Bible says. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king behold there came wise men, notice these words, from the east to Jerusalem. We don't know exactly where these wise men were from. We know that they were from the east of Jerusalem. There's a lot of locations on the east of the nation of Israel but we know this, that they were not from the nation of Israel. We know that they were not Jews. You say, how do you know that? Well, the Bible tells us that they came from the east. The Bible tells us it took them two years to get there. They're coming from a pretty long ways and the Bible says that when they showed up, verse two, they said this saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? If they were Jews, they probably would not be saying it that way. They wouldn't show up saying, where is the king of the Jews? They'd be saying, where's the king if they were Jews? The fact that they came from the east, they traveled two years to get there and they show up saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east and I come to worship him, tells us that these men were probably Gentiles. They were not Jews. They were not like the shepherds who were just local people from the location there. They were men that came from afar. Not only, and it's interesting because when you have the story of Christmas, when you have the Christmas story and when you study the characters of the Christmas story, of course we've looked at Mary, we've looked at Joseph. Next week we'll look at the angels and we'll look at, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. But when you look at the delegations, you have two very distinct delegations that show up. One is a group of probably young, and I say probably because we don't know, we know this, that when you look at the shepherds in the Bible, it seems like they always chose the youngest child to be a shepherd, the youngest kid. So probably young Jewish local poor kids are invited to the birth of Christ. And then two years later, we have a group of probably old, Gentile, wise, and rich individuals who show up to see the king of the Jews, which was born in Jerusalem, born in Bethlehem. Look at verse 11, Matthew 2 and verse 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. And notice these are expensive gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. What we know about the wise men, or what we can gather from these scriptures, is that they were probably not Jews. They were probably Gentiles. They were definitely men of means. They had some sort of wealth and position because they don't come empty handed. They bring gold and frankincense and myrrh. And what we learn, the first application we see from the wise men is this, that the gospel is for everyone. Rich and poor, uneducated and wise, Jew and Gentile, all are invited to come worship the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel is for everyone. Jesus is for everyone. He's for the poor shepherd and for the rich, wise men. Keep your place there in Matthew chapter 2. Go with me if you would to the book of Acts, Acts chapter number 10. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Acts chapter 10. And then do me a favor, when you get to Acts, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. We're going to be coming back to Acts for the remainder of the sermon so I'd like you to be able to find it quickly and specifically Acts chapter number 10. So applications from the wise men, application number 1 is this, the gospel is for everyone. Rich and poor, uneducated and wise, Jew and Gentile. You know what I mean? This is what Jesus, this is what the crowd that comes to Jesus should look like. This is what the crowd that comes to Jesus should be like. Jesus said that my house shall be a house of prayer to all nations. It's just interesting to me that at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ God made sure that there was a delegation of the Jews and there was a delegation of the Gentiles. There was a delegation of the poor and there was a delegation of the rich. There was a delegation of the young and there was a delegation of the old. And the idea is this that Jesus is for everyone. Acts 10 verse 34 Acts 10 34, then Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. Look at verse 35, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word accepted means they're not rejected. Jesus said anyone that comes to me he said I will and by no means cast them out. So the idea is this that the gospel is for everyone. And one thing I like about Verity Baptist Church is that this is a diverse church. And I realize that usually when people use the word diversity today they really mean perversity and that's not what I'm that's not the context in which I'm using it. But I love the fact that this church is really just an assembly of all sorts of believers. Red, yellow, black and white. They are precious in his sight. Rich, poor, educated, not educated. Living in a nice neighborhood, living in not a nice neighborhood. Hey we can all come to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christmas story exemplifies for us the fact that the gospel is for everyone. Rich, poor, uneducated, educated Jews, Gentiles, red and yellow, black and white. They're precious in his sight. Keep your place there in Acts chapter 10. Go back to Matthew chapter 2. Let me give you the third, the second application, excuse me. The first application from the Wiseman is this, that the gospel is for everyone. Here's the second application that I'd like to show you. And it is this. That there are, there always has been and there is even today, there are people searching for the truth and God will help them. There are people all over this world who are searching for the truth. I want you to notice that these Wisemen were searching, they were seeking, they were looking for something and what the Christmas story tells us just right at the beginning, right at the beginning of what we would call the New Testament, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is that there are those who are searching for God and that God will help them. Look at verse 1 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. They were searching. They came from the east to Jerusalem. How did they get there? Verse 2, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For, notice this, we have seen his star in the east. I want you to notice that these men got a little help. They got help from God. God sent a star that alerted them to the fact that something was going on and they were alerted to the fact, the Bible says they saw a star in the east and are come to worship him. Again, I don't believe that they were worshiping the stars. I don't think that they were sorcerers, but they might have been studying the stars and I think that these wise men who, in my opinion, and this is just my opinion, were probably scientists of some degree. They were into astronomy. They studied the stars and studying the stars, especially in the ancient world, was not an unheard of thing. In fact, in the ancient world this is how people traveled. Today we have GPS and we have maps and all sorts of things, but in those days they would find the North Star, they would orient themselves with the constellations and the movement of the stars or the movement of the earth as we move across the stars, and they would use this to travel. And I think these wise men must have noticed, hey, there's a new star up there. There's something that wasn't there yesterday. Something is happening. And they began to maybe ask questions and inquire and study and learn, and they show up two years later. They say, where is he that was born king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east and are come to worship him, but I wanted to tell you something. That star appeared because God put it there. Because God knew that there were wise men in the east and yeah, maybe they weren't Jews, maybe they weren't Hebrews, maybe they weren't of the heritage of the people of God. Maybe they didn't know all the prophecies and all the things, but they were searching and they were seeking, and there's people that are searching all over this world, and God will help those who are seeking the truth. Say, what will he do? He'll send a star. Look at verse 7. Then Herod, 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, notice these words, search diligently. They were searching, they were seeking, they knew there was something that they needed to, that they needed. Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him, bring him word again, that I may come and worship him also. And we know that Herod was lying. But God sent them a star. I want you to understand this. There are people searching for the truth. And for those that are searching for the truth, God will help them. For the wise men, it was a star. For you, it might have been a YouTube video. Do you understand what I'm saying? For you, it might have been an invitation someone left on your door that prompted you to come to church, and then you came to church and somebody gave the gospel to you, and they presented Jesus to you, and you got saved. There's hundreds and thousands of people that have been affected by the new IFB, and everywhere I go and everywhere I travel, people come up to me and I'm thankful for it, and they're telling me, I got saved watching your Bible's Way to Heaven video on this, or I got saved watching the Spanish Bible's Way to Heaven video you made, or I got saved watching another pastor's Bible's Way to Heaven and praise the Lord for it. But when I ask them questions, you know what I find is that it's not that they went on YouTube and they searched, Bible's Way to Heaven, and Pastor Jimenez shows up and I gave them the gospel and they got saved. Usually they were searching for something else. They were looking for something else. They were watching some video that led them to some video that led them to some video that led them to some documentary that they watched and then they watched the end and then they got saved. And the story of people's salvation is usually this. Someone invited you to church. Some co-worker gave you the gospel. Some family member told you, come and see. Somebody left an invitation on your door. A YouTube video popped up a documentary somehow ended up on your feet. Whatever it is, here's what I'm telling you. There were many of you who were searching as well and you know what a loving, merciful, providential God did for you? He sent a star. He sent a star to help you, to guide you, and to lead you to the Lord Jesus Christ. What's interesting to me, and I don't want to delve too much into this, go back to Acts if you would, what's interesting to me is this, that in the Bible a star is often used to represent angels. If you remember in the book of Revelation when Satan takes the third part of the angels with him in his rebellion, the Bible says that his tail brought the third part of the stars. Now I don't believe that this star was an angel. I think this star was literally physically a star like the stars we see up in the sky. But I just want to make this connection that angels are often represented in the Bible as stars and the word angel simply means messenger. For example, in the book of Revelation, in chapters 1 and 2 and 3, you have the Lord Jesus Christ who's standing in the midst of the seven lamps and the Bible says that he holdeth seven stars in his right hand. And the Bible tells us that the stars are the angels of the churches. But those angels are not angelic beings like what you and I usually think of, they're the pastors of the churches. Because the word angel simply means messenger and what God sends is a star which is often represented by an angel and the word angel simply means messenger. Sometimes it's an angelic being, sometimes it's a pastor, sometimes it's a soul winner, but here's all I'm saying is this, that there are people out there who are searching and seeking for the truth and when they are, God tries to help them. He sends them a star. Look at Acts chapter 10. In Acts chapter 10 we have a famous story of a man named Cornelius. He's a wise man. Look at what it says, Acts 10 verse 1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the, notice these words, Italian band. He's not a Jew, he's a Gentile. A devout man and one that feared God with all his house which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always and he saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming to him and saying unto him, Cornelius. And look, I want you to understand something, Cornelius was a Gentile man but please get this, he was not saved. In fact, he gets saved, the whole chapter 10 is all about Cornelius and his house getting saved. But you know what he was? He was a Gentile who feared God, gave much alms and prayed to God. But he wasn't saved. He was seeking. He was searching. So what did God do? He sent him a star, an angel of God coming into him and saying unto him, Cornelius. Now here's what I want you to understand. In the Bible, God does not make exceptions regarding salvation. Let me give you a verse. Go to Acts, you're there in Acts 10, go to Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4, while you turn there I'll just read these famous words to you from the Lord Jesus Christ. John 14, 6, Jesus says unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Jesus said, no man cometh to the Father but by me. Acts 4, 12, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. The Bible teaches that salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ, period, end of story. That's what the Bible says. If we're biblicists and we're Bible-believing Christians, we just say, that's what the Bible says, that's it. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. But what often happens is that heretics and also well-meaning, compassionate Bible-believing Christians will often feel the need to make an excuse for God. Because it's hard in our human finite mind to be able to reconcile, how do you reconcile this idea that God is a compassionate, merciful God, that he's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and then this idea that there's a possibility that there are people out there who are seeking and searching for the truth but they don't know who Jesus is. They've never heard a clear presentation of the gospel. How do you reconcile these two? And what has happened is that heretics have came up with doctrines that are not biblical and then oftentimes good, godly, saved, compassionate people will think, well, I'll just go with that because that makes the most sense and it makes me feel good about God. You say, what are you talking about? Let me read to you an example. I don't have it in my notes. I asked one of the staff guys to text this to me. Here's a quote by Billy Graham. Billy Graham's one of the most famous preachers who ever lived. And here's what he said, and I quote, these are words out of the mouth of Billy Graham, and that's what God is doing today. He's calling the world for his name. Whether they come from the Muslim world or the Buddhist world or the Christian world or the non-believing world, they are members of the body of Christ because they have been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don't have and they turn to the only light that they have and I believe that they are saved and that they are going to be with us in heaven. That's what Billy Graham said. So I don't think you should speak against Billy Graham. Wait a minute. Billy Graham said they might not even know the name of Jesus, but I think they're going to go to heaven. That goes against the Bible, Acts 4-12, when it says, neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. I'm not going to be loyal to a man over the word of God. The Bible says that salvation comes only through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. But then we have this problem and we think, well, then what happens to those people that have never heard the gospel or never had a clear presentation of the gospel? Somebody is seeking the truth. Do we really believe that God is just going to send them to hell? And please understand something, God is a loving God. God loves souls more than you do. God loves souls more than I do. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. And God is on a hair trigger to try to save. But God is not going to make exceptions and go against his own word. Well then, how do you reconcile these two thoughts? Here's how you reconcile them. You realize that a providential loving God who wants people to be saved, who loves people, that he understands that if there's some wise man in Singapore, in Iran, in China, in Hong Kong, if there's some wise man in Australia or England or somewhere in this world or in the United States of America who's not saved and never heard the gospel and doesn't understand that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone but they are seeking and they are searching. They're like Cornelius. They're praying and they know that there's something out there. God's not just going to make some exception and say, well, I know I said that it was just through Jesus. I know Jesus said no again. No one comes to the Father by me. I'm just going to let him in. God's not going to disobey and go against his own word. But you know what God will do? He'll send a star. He'll make sure that they come across something, that they come across someone, that they find some way. They find some star. Look, did the star bring salvation to the wise man? I believe we're going to see the wise man in heaven. I believe the wise man got saved. But did the star save them? No. But the star led them to the Lord Jesus Christ where they could experience salvation. God doesn't make exceptions but don't let that. Don't judge God foolishly. Don't charge God foolishly and think, well, then God must be unjust. No, no, no. God doesn't make exceptions but God is not willing that any should perish. And I believe that if there's somebody out there seeking and searching for the truth, that God will help them. And by the way, didn't God help you? We like to think, well, I'm an American and I was seeking for God. Really? Because the Bible says that he came to seek and to save that which was lost. The Bible says there's none that doeth good. The Bible says there's none that seeketh after God. You say, well, I was seeking for the truth. And oftentimes within the new IP people say, yeah, I came to Christ through the truth or movement and I was seeking for truth. And here's the thing. You think you were seeking for the truth. But you don't realize that God was seeking for you. Well, I got into politics and I was seeking the truth. God put a star in your path and said, come this way. I don't really care about politics and I don't really care about the, you know, freedom movement and I don't really care about being an independent and I don't care about all that stuff. But if that's going to get you to watch this and watch that and watch this and eventually you're going to get saved, then I'll lead that star. You think you were searching for something? God was searching for you! And maybe what we need to do is humble ourselves and realize that God is more compassionate than we are. God is more powerful than we are. God is more loving than we are. And if a providential God knows, there's some guy in India. I realize that here at Radio Baptist Church, we literally, every week, get emails from people all over the world. I mean, places that we couldn't, we don't go, India, Hong Kong, I mean, the Muslim world, we get emails from people saying, I stumbled across this and I stumbled across that and I found your channel, I found this video, somebody handed me this documentary and I got saved! And I think, way before YouTube, God was sending links for the wise men. See, we today, people are watching YouTube and He's like, well, let me put a star in your way that will lead you the right way. These men were looking up at the stars and God said, let me put a star in your way that will lead you to Jesus. So we see this application, that the Gospel is for everyone. We see this application, that there are people searching for the truth and I believe that anyone who's searching for the truth, God is going to help them. But God is not going to make exceptions for them. Let's look at our other wise men here, Cornelius. He was searching for the truth. Isn't that true? Acts 10 verse 2, one that feared God, gave much alms and prayed to God. Verse 3, an angel of God coming into him and saying unto him, Cornelius, now if you stop reading there, you might make the assumption, well, God sent him an angel and I didn't get an angel. But wait a minute. What did the angel do? Did the angel preach the Gospel to him? Did the star preach the Gospel to him? Look at verse 4. And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? And he said unto him, thy prayers and thine arms are come up for a memorial before God. Verse 5, and now, notice what the angel says, and now send men to Joppa and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. He lodges with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside. He shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. Notice the angel did not preach the Gospel to him. Because God will not disobey his own law. But you know what the angel said? He said, go find Peter. He'll tell you what to do. Jesus himself appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus. He did not preach the Gospel to him. But he sent someone to preach the Gospel to him. God will not make exceptions against his own word. But when God knows that there's somebody seeking and searching and ready to be saved and receptive, he'll go out of his way to help them. Go back to Matthew chapter 2. Here's what's interesting, is that in the story of the wise men, we find that there were people there who had the knowledge. They had the truth. Look at verse number 8. Well, look at verse 7, just to get the context. Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently that what time the star appeared. 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 might come and worship him. And 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. Notice the star directed them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 12. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed, verse 12 excuse me, into their own country another way. Verse 13. And when they were departed, behold, the angel Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream saying, arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be there until I bring thee word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Look at verse number 5. Well look at verse 4. 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, for thus it is written by the prophet and now Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Why don't you notice that Herod, he asked the chief priests and the scribes, where is Christ supposed to be born? And they without hesitation, they said, in Bethlehem of Judea. They knew. But did they go? They knew! But did they get a star? The wise men didn't know that they were receptive. Look, this is why I tell soul winners, I get it. Look, I get it. We go out there, you go for an hour, you go for an hour and a half, you go for two hours and you end up in some nice North Natomas neighborhood and you're knocking and people aren't receptive and they're being nice but they don't want to hear it and they're no soliciting and shutting the door and all these things. And you can get discouraged but please understand something, that there are people out there who are seeking and searching. And that takes us to application number 3. I said application number 1 was this. The gospel is for everyone. Application number 2 is this. There are people searching for the truth and God will help them. Here's application number 3. We need to be willing to be a star. We need to be willing to be that star that will lead someone to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 9 again, and 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. 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 and marry his mother and fell down and worshipped them and when they had opened their treasures they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Go back to our other wise man, Acts chapter 10. Remember Cornelius? The angel shows up and says you need to find Peter. He'll tell you what to do. Acts chapter 10 verse 21. Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius and said behold I am he whom ye seek. What is the cause whereof ye are come? I won't take the time to read all of it but Peter begins to talk to them and minister to them verse 44. While Peter yet spake these words he's preaching the gospel to them. The Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. That's Cornelius in his house. And they of the circumcision, the Jews that were with Peter which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because that on the Gentiles, on Cornelius and his family also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. In the story of Cornelius we find a man who was seeking, searching and knew there was something out there. He didn't know who Jesus was. He didn't know the gospel. And the Bible tells us that God just made an exception and led him into heaven. No. But you know what the Bible tells us? That God made sure that a soul winner came across his path. God made sure that a star brought him to the Lord Jesus Christ. The moral of the story is this, you and I need to be willing to be that star. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. If you're there in Acts you go pass the book of Romans into 1 Corinthians. Many of you know I was born in Venezuela. It's a country in South America. We moved to the United States when I was four years old. I'm an American. I'm legal, all right. I served in the United States Air Force, blah blah blah. Whatever. Whatever you need to know. Stinking Republicans. I was born in a Christian home. I was born in a Baptist home. As a teenager I was a soul winner and years and years after we've been here already for a while, my aunt who comes to this church, my aunt Omayda and her two sons, one of which comes to our church as well, Nahum, my cousin, they came to stay with us. They came several times. I don't remember which time this was but I just remember I was a young teenager. He was a little older teenager and we were soul winning. We were doing soul winning together. I was born in Venezuela. I'd been here practically my whole life. He had literally just been here for like two weeks. We knocked on a door and this lady opens the door and we invited her to church and we started going through the questions. For sure you died today if you're on your way to heaven. She said no. We said if we could show you from the Bible how you could know for sure would you be interested in. She said sure and she began to hear. She was polite. About halfway through the gospel presentation the whole gospel clicked. The fact that salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ alone minus nothing plus nothing. It's a gift. You just accept it by faith. You call upon Christ and that's how you get saved. It clicked which usually is a good sign but with this lady she immediately got flustered and upset and she said I just can't believe that. I just can't believe that. I said I can't believe that salvation can only be through Jesus Christ and that there's no other way. Then she looked at me who was presenting the gospel to her and my cousin was standing next to me. She said I just I cannot believe I mean what if there was just some guy in Venezuela literally what she said who's just never heard of Jesus. I can't believe that God would just send him to hell. I looked at her and I said I was born in Venezuela and this guy just got here from Venezuela and we're both here knocking on your door trying to get you saved. You know what the moral story is this. Instead of making all these excuses about how God would let people die and go to hell we should just be willing to be the star that would shine the light on the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 5 who then is Paul and who is Apollos but ministers by whom ye believed. Notice these words even as the Lord gave to every man. You know that God has ordained. God has ordained that every person in this world get the gospel. God has ordained that there is a minister who would give the gospel to every man. Who has God ordained for you to give the gospel to? Because there are people you know in your life that I'll never know. I'll never come across. Now if you won't do it God will find another star. You know what we should do instead of charging God foolishly and making excuses for God we should just be willing to be the star. We should understand that God is a loving God and he is giving opportunities and he's not going to make exceptions. He's not going to sin against his own word but if there's people out there that are seeking and searching he will do everything in his power to get their attention, to send a star, to send something, to get them to go down the journey, to go down the road where they would finally end at the Lord Jesus Christ and to make that easier for people. You and I should just be willing to be that star. To say here my Lord send me. Go back to Matthew chapter 2 and verse 9. We're learning about the wise men. We saw the misconceptions. Misconception number one there were three wise men. Maybe, maybe not. Misconception number two the wise men showed up in the manger. The Bible does not seem to indicate that. Misconception number three the wise men were astrologers, sorcerers, and magicians. I doubt it. I think they were probably men like Daniel. Wise men. Scientific men. Men who were studying the stars. Who were seeking and searching. Who noticed something that caught their attention. They began to go down that road that brought them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we saw the applications. The gospel is for everyone. Rich and poor. Wise and foolish. Rich and old. Jew and Gentile. God is no respecter of persons. We see that the gospel is for everyone. We see that there are people everywhere searching for the truth. God will help them. God will send them a star to lead them down the path of salvation. That they're seeking for the truth. There were people in Judea who knew exactly where Christ was. They died and went to hell. The last application is this. That you and I need to be willing to be that star. To be the vessel that God can use to bring people to Christ. Matthew chapter 2. Let's finish up with reading verse number 9. And 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. 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 would marry his mother. And fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. These were wise men. And wise men today would still seek for Jesus. Let's bow our heads in our world of prayer. Heavenly Father. We thank you for these stories, these applications. Lord, we thank you that you are a loving God, a providential God. As much as we love souls, you love them more. As much as we're willing to go and seek out the laws, you were willing to send your son to seek and to save that which was lost. And you still, even today, will send a star. You won't leave a Cornelius down. If they're out there looking and searching, you won't make an exception. Billy Graham's not right about that. There is not another name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. But you'll send a star that will lead them to Jesus. Lord, I pray you'd help us to be willing to be that star. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. Before we go today, first of all, I want to remind you to be back tonight at 6 p.m. for the evening service. We call the Sunday night service the most exciting service of the week. We'll be singing favorites. We'll let the congregation pick their favorite songs. We'll sing the favorites. And then I want to encourage you, we're going to be in our second part on the red heifer. We're going to look at all the symbolisms from Numbers chapter 20 about the sacrifice of the red heifer, and we're going to see how it symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ. It's going to be a great study, and I want to encourage you to be here. If you're a member of the red heifer, I think you'll find it extremely interesting and helpful to your Christian life. And I want to remind you that we've got some sign-up sheets in the foyer. Of course, we've got the sign-up sheet for the workday. If you're a man that knows how to mud or texture, we could really use your help over on the new property. So please go by and sign up for the workdays. And then we also have the sign-up sheet for the Christmas Cookies Fellowship. That's coming Sunday, and if you could bring cookies for the fellowship, bring enough for yourself and for others to share. We would really appreciate your help with that. We have a sign-up sheet, so please go by there. And then I want to encourage you to bring someone with you next week. Invite somebody to church next Sunday. Next Sunday is the 24th, Christmas Eve. We'll have a special Sunday morning service, 10.30 a.m. We're going to be preaching about the angels. We're going to look at the delegation. We saw the delegation of the poor. We saw the delegation of the rich. Now we'll see the delegation of the heavenly. And we'll see the angels and there were some lessons from the angels in the Christmas story. And then on Sunday evening at 4 p.m., we'll have our Christmas Cookies Fellowship. And then on the Christmas Eve service at 5 p.m., we'll be looking at the greatest character of the Christmas story and the greatest character of human history, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we'll see what we can learn about the Lord Jesus Christ from the Christmas story. I want to encourage you to be with us and I want to encourage you to bring someone with you. Invite someone to church. I know there's a lot of sickness going around. We've got several families that are out as a result of not feeling well. And I want to encourage you to be here. If you're able to, invite somebody to church, bring someone with you Sunday morning, Sunday night, children's choir in the morning, adult choir in the evening, special music, lots of fun things going on all day long. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. Why don't we have Matt come up and lead us in a final song. Turn to song 427. 4-2-7 We three kings, 427 on the first. We three kings, 229 on the first. We three kings, 229 on the first. We three kings, 229 on the first. We three kings, 229 on the first. We three kings, 229 on the first. We three kings, 229 on the first. We three kings, 229 on the first. We three kings, 269 on the first. We three kings, intruder on the last. We three kings,Islamic citizens coming into the room Rajyankar one with the best O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?