Sermon 1-3-10

Heavenly Father, at this time the light of Your Word, the light of the presence of Christ will shine on us as we read from the Bible. Heavenly Father we ask, as we read these verses that Your Spirit would touch our lives and touch our hearts. Make clear to us what You have to say to us. Bless us this morning as we hear, meditate on, and study Your word. And we pray this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture Readings –

The background of the Wise Men seeing the Epiphany Star that we will read as from the Old Testament is very interesting. When God’s people were taken into slavery in Babylon one of the things they took with them were the Scriptures, which included the Book of Numbers. When they were in Babylon, the Wise Men studied the Scriptures and saw in Numbers Chapter 24 that there would be a King, a Savior, born. And because they studied, they knew to watch for a star that would lead them to that Messiah. The portion of Scripture that they read was Numbers 24, the very portion that we are reading here today.

Old Testament – Numbers 24:15 – 19 Then he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth. Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong. A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.

The second reading from the Book of Galatians gives some good practical advice about living and using Scripture in our lives.

Epistle - Galatians 3:21-24 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

This is a bonus day because today we have two Gospel Lessons. The first one is from Matthew Chapter 2, and tells about the fulfillment of the Numbers 24 passage, our Old Testament reading. And our second Gospel reading is from Luke Chapter 13 which we will talk about in our sermon today.

Matthew 2:1-2, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

Luke 13:1-5 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Sermon –

Take out your Hymn Book and turn to page 321, to the Ten Commandments that are printed in that front section. We read these Ten Commandments last Wednesday evening during our New Year’s Eve service. As you look at the Commandments, all these things that God requires us to do – and these are Commandments, not guidelines, or suggestions, or “read-them-and-if-you-like-them-do-them-and-if-you-don’t-forget-about-them” thoughts - they are God’s Commandments and He is absolutely serious that we obey all these commandments all the time.

As you look at the Ten Commandments, do you see it? Do you see the Epiphany Star right there in the Commandments? If you don’t, you will shortly. Just hang on and keep the book open.

Or look at this newspaper with all the headlines about the Government making bad decisions. As you look in the newspaper, do you see the Epiphany Star? Do you see that star leading you to Christ? If you say, “Not really”, that’s ok, you’ll see it shortly.

And when we continue looking in the newspaper, we see stories about accidents and tragedies, all that bad stuff that happens. As you look at those stories, do you see the Epiphany Star? Do you see it there, leading you to Christ? If you say, “Well, not exactly”, let’s try one more example.

Think about your life - maybe you’re in a situation, or perhaps something will come during 2010 where you say, “I can’t survive, I just can’t do it! I’ll never get through it” In a situation like that, do you see the Epiphany Star? If you’re saying, “No, I don’t see it”, that’s ok, let me explain where I’m coming from.

The Wise Men were simply looking at life, observing life, and all that was happening. They were interested in astronomy and they studied the stars and the moon and saw the Epiphany Star that led them to the Messiah, God Himself, coming to rescue His people, to save us from sin, to give us relationship with Him on this earth and forever. The important thing is, how did they know to look for the Epiphany Star that pointed them to Christ?

The answer is - they simply read the Scriptures! There it was in Numbers Chapter 24, our Old Testament reading! A star would arise that would point them to the King of Heaven and Earth, the Messiah. The Wise Men simply read the Bible and looked for what God said would point them to Jesus; that’s all they did. So often during Epiphany, at least when I was growing up, the emphasis was on the Wise Men and the gifts and the star and that’s important, but how did the Wise Men know to look for a star? They just simply read the Bible! If they hadn’t read the Bible, read Numbers Chapter 24, they wouldn’t have been pointed to the Epiphany prophecy that led them to Christ.

That’s a pretty simple example God has given us so let’s just follow that same reasoning for today. If we look in the Bible, there should be something in there that tells us what to look for today that will lead us to Christ.

Galatians 3:24 says, “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” The Ten Commandments are just like the Epiphany Star, God is using them to lead us to Christ. Reading the Ten Commandments and the explanations in your Hymn Book makes you tremble with fear. God is not messing around here, He wants us to do these things perfectly all the time and if you mess up just once, you are separated from God eternally – and that means spending eternity in hell! Over Christmas, someone gave me a book with different signs you would find in a church. In school a safety lesson kids are taught is that if their clothes catch on fire they should stop, drop, and roll? One of the Church Signs in the book said, “Stop, drop, and roll will not work in hell!” That’s a very important point; the only thing that puts out the fire of hell is a Savior. The Law leads us to Christ so that we can confess, “Lord, I haven’t done these things. Thank You, Lord, that you sent me a Savior who has done them for me perfectly and who paid with His life on the Cross because I didn’t do them. Thank You, Lord, for the forgiveness You have given to me.” And then God looks at you as if you have always obeyed all these Commandments all the time. That’s what Christ did for you; the Law was put in effect as the Epiphany Star leading us to Christ.

A lot of people complain about the government, but I think we need know that Scripture says that the government is there to lead us to Christ. Luke Chapter 13, our Gospel lesson says, “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” The Romans were the government during those times and their leader was Pilate. Pilate did something at a religious festival and some people were killed. It’s unclear what actually happened and it’s not important; what is important is what Jesus said. He said, “Do you think they were worse than everyone else, like they were being punished? They weren’t.” Those tragedies happen, in fact, they will always happen because we live in a sinful world where people are not going to obey the Ten Commandments; consequently tragedies will happen. But those tragedies are there to get people to turn toward Christ, that’s what “repent” means, turning toward Christ and accepting God’s invitation to follow Him. We should not complain about the government and the mistakes it makes, but pray for it and know that that which the government does at times that we disagree with and have problems with are an Epiphany Star leading us to Christ. When we realize that, we can stop and say, “How great it is that our King, Jesus Christ, rules heaven and earth. How great it is that He can use the Government, with all their failures, to lead people to Him.”

And all the accidents and all the tragedies that we read about in the newspaper are Epiphany Stars leading us to Christ. Again, from Luke Chapter 13, Jesus makes this absolutely clear when He says, “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." We are all going to die someday; those eighteen just died a little sooner than was expected. Those accidents and unexpected deaths are a reminder that we need to repent, we need to be pointed to Jesus Christ, we need to confess our sins, and we need to believe in Him so that we have eternal life.

For those times when we say, “I just can’t do it. I just can’t go on” Philippians 4:13 points us to Christ - “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”. When you’re in situation like those during the coming year, look at that situation as an Epiphany Star designed to point you to Christ. Read His Word and let His strength carry you through.

We have four examples, four Epiphany Stars from the Bible all pointing us to Christ. And again, it’s important to see that this is in the Bible because God is always the One who decides on the sign.

The Law points us to Christ so that we don’t create unnecessary problems in our life by our bad behavior, and points us to Christ where we have forgiveness of all our sins. Seeing that Epiphany Star of the Law pointing us to Christ, you know it’s going to be a pretty good year.

And with all the decisions the government makes that make people unhappy, just remember to look at those decisions as an Epiphany Star pointing us to Christ who is the real ruler of heaven and earth. With that in mind, it’s going to be a really good year.

And those accidents and tragedies that happen are there as an Epiphany Star pointing people to Christ as their solution. Seeing that Epiphany Star pointing us to Christ, you know it’s going to be a pretty great year.

And finally, in those situations where you say, “I just can’t do it, I just can’t handle it”, look at them as Epiphany Stars pointing you to Christ who gives you the strength to do whatever God requires. And being pointed to Christ, you know that it’s going to be a great year.

And that’s why I say again, “Happy New Year!”

Prayer -

Heavenly Father, thank You for those verses Scripture that You gave the Wise Men to point them to Christ. And thank You for those areas of Scripture where we see, in the figurative sense, the Epiphany Star pointing us to Christ today. Help us to remember these things in the coming year and see that they are all paths to direct us to our Savior. Thank You, Lord, for being such a Great God and for working through the events of everyday life. And we pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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