Worship The King

St. Matthew 2:1-2,10-11 "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him...

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

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 gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

The Bible scriptures above have something to do with the 'Boxing Day' which is usually celebrated the day after Christmas. These three men came to visit Jesus as at the time he was born. When they came, they brought with them gifts to be given to Jesus. It was a deliberately planned journey by them, we will not make mistake if we say that the gifts had great significance. They did not make a mistake by undertaking the long journey and taking many branching network of routes, all along carrying the gifts with them just to present it to Jesus.

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,.."

The knowledge of the birth of Jesus came to them by some divine means. They left the east to Jerusalem for the purpose of being witness to what God was doing.

"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..."

They had one purpose in mind when they left home "... to worship him...". Worship was their main purpose of leaving the east. It is important to note that this was a dangerous and a deadly venture in the desert just for the purpose of worship. This gives depth to the meaning of worship to them. They will go any length or depth or height for the purpose of worship. It cost them their time, leaving family and businesses just for worship. They carried along with them their bags which contains their necessary goods together with the gifts they planned to give as a token of their worship. God led them all along to the place of worship, to the object of worship, Jesus. The distraction of Herod, the weight of their baggages, the harshness of the whether, all to worship. They sought direction by enquiries and the confirmation of the star that led them.

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."

They rejoiced on siting the star. This was the confirmation to them that all is well and that they are on the right journey. They were very much guided. All this is to worship. They saw the deeper meaning of the person they brought the gifts to. Only God deserve our worship. For them to travel the long distance to worship, this person they came for, was not an ordinary person. Everything was orchestrated by the invincible hand of the mighty God.

"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 gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

The climax of worship is offloading and finding peace. "They saw the young child ...and fell down, and worshipped him...". What they had traveled the long journey to do has reached it's climax. Look at the sequence of events.

"(1)...they were come into the house, (2) they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and (3) fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had (4) opened their treasures, they (5) presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

If we like, we can have more than five key points but focusing on the five will wet our appetite for worship of God and as a result, appreciate the person of Jesus Christ.

They Were Come Into The House

Worshipping God from afar will not bring out the juiciest part of our relationship with Him. That the wise men traveled all this long distance, overcoming hurdles and finally, there before their eyes was the manger. They did not sent for the parents of Jesus from afar but "... they were come into the house..." They came for Jesus and not his parents. They must see Jesus, this completes the mission. Staying outside was not in their plan. They went inside, they did not mind whether it stank or not. They must do what they came for. What lesson are you learning from these men? Will you draw closer to Jesus? Will you keep all other things away until you meet Jesus? Your focus must be primarily Jesus.

They Saw The Young Child

The journey must not come to an end until they see Jesus. They saw him and they fixed their eyes on him. What will it look like had they travel the long distance and they find themselves busy with something else and not gazing at Jesus. How we worship God in our days is unfortunate. We are ready to do anything for Jesus but not gaze at him. In some cases, we prefer to spend for him but not gaze at him. They saw Jesus and his mother. In essence, Jesus was not alone. We will always find ourselves together with others who will help us fix our eyes on Jesus. We will not be alone. While there may be moments where we will be alone with Jesus, there will be other moments where we will have something to do it with others. Jesus is the focus but we do it together with others and at other moments, we are guided by others. In some other moments, we guide others to gaze at Jesus the right way.

Fell Down, and Worshipped Him

Falling down and worshipping him signifies, dropping all that we submit to, letting go of all we hold dare and bringing ourselves down in humility to acknowledge that he is above and we are looking up to him. They saw Jesus, they fell down and worshipped him. It is possible to see Jesus but not fall down and worship him. That would have been incomplete worship. May God bring you to that point where you become completely under Jesus in humble adoration. Worship is not complete without seeing Jesus and going down before him. It is important to go down in humility and let Jesus take pre-eminence. At this point, you are ready to take instructions, ready to submit completely.

Opened Their Treasures

When a man have not gone down. He cannot open his treasure for Jesus. Some people will hold tight to their treasures. Their treasure is kept for themselves. No body must come near their treasure, not even God. The person with this attitude will not understand true worship. Open your treasure to Jesus. Have peace knowing that Jesus is not so much concern about your treasure than about you. They came to worship Jesus, they will not leave any stone unturn, they will not do half hearted worship. This is something for you to learn and do the same.

They Presented unto Him Gifts; Gold, and Frankincense, and Myrrh

They came from a long journey and all along, the had their gifts for Jesus. Had they seen Jesus, had they fallen down and worship and not give him the gifts, the worship would have not been completed. Someone else might take back the gifts home. The wise knew the secret of dropping all at the feet of Jesus. Our focus here is not about what gifts they brought, the focus is that the gifts they brought was given to Jesus. They did not take it back home.

If our worship must be complete and carry blessing, we must learn from the wise men. Half hearted worship is not what God is looking for. Worship that does not cost us anything will make us live shallow lives without tangible presence of God.

It is time for true worshippers to worship God in spirit and in truth. God demands that you worship Him.

Pray:

My God, help me to learn from the wise men that it pays to do all that is necessary to worship You without reservation. My heart is fully committed to the course of worship. Teach me how to do it the right and I will not hold back. This I pray in Jesus name. Amen!