Have you ever wondered why the wise men were called “wise men?”  The Bible calls them Magi.  So why have we, people who follow God and love Him and believe in Him, called them wise men?  These men were adept in the magical arts, they were at best governors or kings from a pagan nation and on top of that they were probably astrologers as well as astronomers! They looked to the skies for omens and signs.  Wise?  Maybe in the ways of the world…

From what I have read in the Old Testament they should have been rejected by God!  Not invited into the presence of the Son of God!  So what is it that makes them acceptable?  Much less, wise?  We know they were wise in the ways of the world, but what makes them really wise?

They Were Seeking.

“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.””

One of the most evident marks of wisdom is they were seeking the King. Many scholars agree the magi showed up as much as 2 years later. Why?  Because their journey was a long one. They traveled great distances because they knew at the end of their journey they would find the one and only King. They wanted to see for themselves. They went through perilous country at great time and expense so they could see this one-of-a-kind King.

You wanna be wise?  Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  If you want to live wisely this year the first thing you need to do is seek God’s kingdom. When you truly seek God’s kingdom first, you will be free from worry because "everything else will be given as well.”

Some of you travel a great distance to get here on Sunday morning.  That is one way of seeking God – and seeking his kingdom.  What concerns me is when people won’t travel 4-5 minutes because it is too far.  Or because they feel a couple hours here is too long.  Or when people consider other things more important than coming to worship.  Or how about when the going gets tough in life?  Bad day at work?  At home?  Just feeling down?  Bothered with guilt?  Where do you go?  Whom do you seek for help?  For hope?  For wisdom?  For salvation?  Wise men seek Him!  Here’s another way the wise men were wise:

They Worshipped.

Not only did they come seeking, the purpose of their seeking was worship. They wanted to see the King because they wanted to worship the King. It is amazing to me that these pagan magicians recognized enough of God’s work that they knew they had to worship when they got there.  “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.”

The story is told of two goats that met each other on a narrow ledge just wide enough for one goat to pass. The two goats faced each other and wondered, "What shall we do?" They could not back up that would be too dangerous. They could not go around because the ledge was too narrow. Now, if the goats had no more sense than humans they would have began butting each other until one fell over the ledge.

However, goats have a lot of sense, more than some people. Here’s what they did: one goat lay down and let the other walk over him.  There must be a willingness to lay down for the other to walk over.  Humans would have been arguing who was to lie down!  How hard it is for us humans to humble ourselves for the good of others!

How many people believe in God?  The statistic is now as high as 95%. Wow, if that were the case we would have to have 10 services on Sunday alone to meet the demand!  Trouble is, do people really believe in God if they do not worship Him?  Do you show that you believe in Christ when you refuse to worship Him?

The magi were wise because they knew their need to worship the King once they found Him.  How many come here on Sunday to see friends and visit, clear a conscience, or come out of sheer habit?  We need to come on Sunday because we know God is God and He alone is worthy of worship!  We humble ourselves before Him.  That’s the second step to being wise in 2007.  Here’s the next way the wise men were wise…

They Sacrificed.

When the magi had bowed in worship, they opened the gifts for the King. They sacrificed a great deal for Him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.  The gifts that the magi brought were kingly gifts. They were very expensive, so much so, the normal person could not have purchased one, much less three. It is said that the money from their gifts supported the family for the years they had to flee for safety.

Most who come to worship think that coming to worship is a sacrifice. It isn’t. It is a privilege to come here and worship. Our sacrifice begins when we not only tithe but go beyond the tithe! That is, when we exceed expectations!  Sacrifice means that it costs you something of value.  If you have learned to sacrifice, you have taken a great step in learning wise living. And...

They Obeyed.

Finally, the magi listened to the voice of God and obeyed. They could have gone back to Herod and received a great reward for the information. They didn’t because they heeded God’s message. They knew that part of recognizing Him as King meant you follow His commands. “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”

When we obey God’s command we not only demonstrate our obedience to Him but our love for Him as well.  Jesus said "If you love me, you will obey my commands." What can you do to live wisely this year? Seek, worship, sacrifice, and obey the King Jesus. If you do these things you will be thanking God for the most amazing gift you could ever imagine!  The gift of his Son! Not only that, you will also be living a wonderful life of wisdom and blessing.  Isn’t that wise?

In a recent NCAA cross-country championship held in Riverside, California, 123 of the 128 runners missed a turn. One competitor, Mike Delcavo, stayed on the 10,000 meter course and began waving for fellow runners to follow him. Delcavo was able to convince only four other runners to go with him. Asked what his competitors thought of his mid-race decision not to follow the crowd, Delcavo responded, "They thought it was funny that I went the right way." Delcavo was one who ran correctly!

Can I convince you this morning to go the right way?  Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  The wise men chose the right way because they chose Jesus.  They gave Him their hearts.  Let’s choose to follow Jesus this year.  Let’s be wise.  Let’s give Him our hearts.

Some years ago a young woman named Karen became a missionary. She was a well-trained nurse, so she was sent to serve in a Mission Hospital in a remote corner of Africa. She loved her work. She knew God had called her to this special ministry, and she felt incredible fulfillment in bringing much needed love and medical care to the people in this impoverished region of the world.

But as Christmas approached, her thoughts turned toward home. Christmas had always been a wonderful time for her family. They would always go to church together on Christmas Eve, and then open presents together on Christmas morning. What could she send them? She wouldn’t be able to go home for Christmas that year, so she would send her presents by mail. But what to send?  She had very little money and no place to shop and mailing a bunch of large presents was out of the question.

Then Karen smiled. She knew just what to do. Some days later, a small box arrived at the front door of her parents’ home. When her mom found it and saw the postmark from Africa, she knew it contained the Christmas presents from Karen, her missionary daughter. On the outside of the box were written in bold print these words:

“Please Open on Christmas Morning with the whole family.” So on Christmas morning, after all the other presents had been exchanged, her mother opened Karen’s box. She found a number of envelopes. One for each member of the family. When they opened the envelopes, at first they were surprised. Each envelope held a small piece of poster paper. The pieces had been cut in funny shapes. Suddenly, they realized it was a home-made jigsaw puzzle and each family member had a piece of the puzzle. Quickly, they went to a table and put the pieces together... and when the last piece went into place, they realized that they had put together a heart. On the home-made poster paper heart were inscribed these words from Karen: “Silver and gold have I none, But such as I have, I give to you... I give you my heart.”

This is what God did for us on that first Christmas. He sent us His HEART! He sent His only Son into the world to save us, to redeem us and to turn our lives around. He sent us His Heart to show us how much He loves us and to show us how He wants us to love one another. The wise men worshiped Him for this by giving their hearts and lives.  Let’s be wise this year by giving Him our hearts!   Amen.