Title Like the Magi from the East
Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent.
When the Lord first came to this earth, He came secretly.
That is why many people did not know that the Messiah had come.
Moreover, the rabbis of the Jews had long heard the prophets' Messianic prophecies.
He knew him well, but he did not know that he was Jesus, who had come to the manger and was piled up in cloths. Among the high-ranking people of that time, the nobles of that time, and the wealthy chaebols, they had no idea that the Messiah predicted by the Old Testament prophets would be born in such a low stable.
But even among them there were special people.
They were wise men from the East.
The three wise men came from a long way to meet Jesus.
In that sense, today we are waiting for the coming of the Lord to give the faith of the Magi
I'll have to take a look.
So who were the wise men of the East? is to do
1. The wise men of the East lived in anticipation of the appearance of a new king.
Last week, waiting for the appearing of the Messiah, he did not leave the temple solely for 84 years.
Like Anna, the female prophetess who served with fasting and prayer, the wise men of the East watched the stars in the sky and waited eagerly for the appearance of a new king who would lead the new world. They watch the night sky, waiting for a new king to appear.
I did. Here we are thinking of a valuable spiritual lesson.
At the time of the coming of the Lord, the world was unified under the rule of Rome.
Roman spears conquered the world with force, but could not conquer the human heart.
As the saying goes, 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely', Rome soared high in the sky.
The power of now began to corrupt inward.
The princes who made the mark in war enjoyed a life of luxury and debauchery, and moral corruption corrupted their spiritual world.
Therefore, the fall of Rome did not happen overnight, but eventually fell through the accumulation of corrupt life.
At this very time, God sent the Messiah and Savior to this earth.
Historians say that the Roman gates did not open from the outside, but from the inside.
Among them, there is a record that Rome led to the destruction of the bath culture.
Everywhere I went there was a luxurious bathroom.
Even now, if you go to the Holy Land, you will see that the mosaics in the bathroom you enjoyed at that time remain.
It was. At that time, King Herod took his brother's wife and lived in the extreme of moral corruption.
Thus Rome was in the depths of a night of extreme moral corruption.
At such a time, looking up at the night sky and waiting for a new king to appear,
were bought. They looked up at the night sky and found a strange big star. And the star knew that a new king had been born and followed it.
Today we too, like the wise men of the East, should live with faith and patience and hope so that we can look up to the night sky, even when corruption and corruption are covered like a deep night.
We Christians should not be easily discouraged in any way.
Because we are the people of the kingdom of heaven who look to Almighty God
Door. No matter how dark the powers of the present world are, we must live with the conviction that when the night is deep, the dawn will come.
With such faith, the early church members were buried in the catacombs during the 300 years of Roman rule.
Even though I was standing, I lived without giving in.
We too should become people who live while looking at the stars in the night sky.
2. The wise men of the East set out in search of the stars as they led them.
What we can learn from the Magi is faith in action.
A strange large star began to move. I wasn't just looking at it
I did. As the stars lead, I set out to find them. Finally they reached Jerusalem, the land of Judea. They followed only as the stars moved.
I followed only in the direction the stars were going. Crossing the mountain, crossing the water, only looking at the stars
I came to Salem.
Then the star suddenly disappeared.
So I asked King Herod of Judah.
We have seen the star that heralds the birth of a new king, so where is the new king?
asked. When Herod heard this, he was greatly astonished.
According to the text, the whole city was shaken.
What a surprise to hear that a new king has been born besides him!
So he inquired in detail about the appearance of the star to the magi, and asked him to let him know when he found out that he was going to worship this new king.
But this was a lie.
So God made the wise men go a different way.
What are the spiritual lessons we need to understand here?
When society becomes corrupt and evil reaches its peak, God will turn a new direction in history.
that it is worn. That is the judgment of history.
It is God's Historical Event that transcends human thought
that they are
It is God's special event to make the stars appear, and it is also an event of God's special means of historical rule to make the wise men who followed the star worship them.
We should follow the path of obedience like the wise men.
is. As we passed through rivers, mountains, and the wilderness, seeing only the stars and following them, we must follow what the Word of truth teaches and dictates.
Stars are bound to appear in any dark time.
This is the lesson of history and the providence of God.
Therefore, we should see the stars in the night sky in hope and follow them.
This was also true of Abraham, the father of faith.
He also saw the stars in the night sky and believed in God's promise and followed him.
Even today, no matter how dark my reality is, I must see the stars and follow the directions the stars lead.
Because God's grace eventually leads us to the path of life.
There are many who see the Word, but those who act as the Word leads
We live in a small age. Like the wise men in the East, we must follow along.
3. The wise men from the east worshiped Jesus and offered gifts at the place where the star stayed.
The star that was leading before came to a place and stayed there.
I was able to meet Jesus who was born there.
The place where the star stayed was not a fancy palace, nor was it a square where many people came and went.
It was a shabby stable.
It was a lonely place where no one cared.
According to the Roman governor's order to register the family, those who go down to their hometowns have already
Because the room was occupied, Joseph and Mary were forced to spend the night in the stable. Others spent the night in a room, but our Lord had nowhere to hide, so he wrapped him in cloth and laid him on a manger. Here is a spiritual lesson for us to consider.
This is the place where the stars stayed today.
It's not even a department store with jingle bells.
It's not even an expensive fancy party venue.
It's not a place to drink, chat and dance.
I will stay in a remote place, a place that everyone has left uninterested in.
Like the wise men in the East, we too must go out to find the place where the stars reside.
And we must become those who worship the Lord who is lying there.
I think this is the proper preparation for Christmas to welcome the Lord.
But, what about today's Christians?
Like the wise men of the East, could they come and worship the baby Jesus with their position, status, and possessions?
I'll have to ask myself.
Even today, high-ranking people, those who revel in their splendid lives, and those who are on the road to their own success and career, will they be able to kneel down to the baby Jesus? I can't help but question it.
The wise men of the East laid aside all their honor and professional authority and humbly knelt down and worshiped the Child Jesus.
How many people are unable to come to Jesus because of their position in the small world, because of the honor of the small world, or because of the riches of the small world?
But the wise men from the East left everything behind and came to Jesus.
They also offered expensive gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Even today, those who are able to receive the Lord will look back on
it will be people
The American modern poet Carl Schenberg has devoted his whole heart for 22 years to the history of American history.
He wrote the most respected biography of Abraham Lincoln. The book became a bestseller and brought Lincoln to life in the hearts of people all over the world. After the publication of the Abraham Lincoln biography, a friend asked him what he was going to do from now on.
Then 'Carlsenberg' replied as follows.
?쏹ntil now I have been looking for what Abraham Lincoln was, but from now on
I'm trying to find out who {Karlsenberg} is in myself."...
We all need to think deeply about this once in a while.
Do we not know if we have lived through years of running without knowing who we are?
All. It may be that everyone has been working hard just for the sake of external people.
Now each of us examines ourselves and truly listens to the child Jesus as the wise men
We have to be people who can give something.
A poet named 'Arnold' compared the life of a true human to 'underground water flowing through the invisible layers of the earth'. We too, like the groundwater, saturate our souls with our true selves.
We must find it within us.
Today we care too much and focus too much on things other than ourselves.
maybe there is. Who am I once again?
What is my spiritual life? It's time to take a serious look at what you're doing
I hope So, I earnestly hope that all the saints will receive the Lord and live with the Lord in my heart. ??