Bill Johnson - Wisdom Worships
They came to worship a child who could do nothing for them; the essence of abandonment in worship is that there are no strings attached. I give everything because of who you are, not because of how it benefits me. Thank you, please be seated. Thank you, thank you! You know, offerings just sound better in a South African accent. I just want to give more; I don’t know about you. We have so many accents around here!
Alright, I was robbed at a gas station in New Jersey last night. After my hands stopped trembling, I managed to call the police. They were quick to respond and calmed me down. My money is gone. The police asked me if I knew who did it, and I said, «Yeah, it was pumped up number nine!» I bought a little bag of air today; the company that made it was kind enough to put some potato chips in it as well. I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I finished a 14-day diet in three hours and 38 minutes!
I love this one: how strong do you like your coffee? Strong enough to show up on a drug test! The main function of your little toes is to make sure all the furniture in the house is in the right place. If you suck at playing the trumpet, that’s probably why! At this point, Jesus doesn’t need to take the wheel; he needs to pull over and spank some of you over this flip-flop.
Two more—sorry, I’m on a roll! I have so many rich, meaningful things to share with you. Mary, exhausted from having just gotten Jesus to sleep, is approached by a young man who thinks to himself, «What this girl needs right now is a drum solo!»
Last one: The husband asked his wife, «Where in the Bible does it say a man’s job is to wash dishes?» She responds, «Second Kings 21:13 says, 'And I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.'» So apparently, it’s been looking a bit messy.
Yeah, grab your Bibles if you would and open to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2. We’re going to spend a bit of time there this morning. One thing I find frustrating in my own life is that I tend to become overly familiar with some scriptures. I’m careful to never have the attitude of «been there, done that,» but sometimes I find myself with a familiarity that needs to be corrected or adjusted. Sometimes I’ll read a different translation, or sometimes I’ll pick up a different Bible just so it’s on the different side of the page; whatever it takes to shake up that sense of over-familiarity.
Probably one area where we Christians tend to become overly familiar is the Christmas story. It’s such a profound story that, regrettably, it gets limited to a particular season. We work hard not to do that, but still, we don’t talk about wise men year-round; it’s relegated to this season with the shepherds and the whole story. Yet there’s such a profound understanding of God, his heart, and his redemptive purpose and plan unveiled in these snippets, these stories.
God, from the beginning, created us to be co-laborers with Him, partners such that there would be a seamless connection between God and His creation, specifically those made in His image. He designed things for intimacy and closeness. None of the rest of creation was made in that way; it was all there for His pleasure and delight, but people were made with the opportunity to create a seamless, relational connection with Him. When Jesus became a man, it was to make that possible.
When I review the Old Testament—and I’ve shared this with you a number of times over the years—there are three primary functions, at least to my understanding, which is limited, obviously. First, it points to the severity of sin, the tragic reality of sin itself. Second, it makes clear that it’s hopeless for us to try to fix this; there is no self-help program that will resolve the issue of sin. You can affect certain disciplines in your life, but you can’t change your nature. Only the blood of Jesus and the Spirit of God can come in and take what is destined for destruction and turn it into something destined for life.
So when Jesus came and took on flesh, this story is the story of the ages. It redefines the purpose of planet Earth, the purpose of creation, and the purpose of your existence and mine. All of it was defined, enhanced, embraced, and set on course through this one act: Jesus taking on flesh.
Today, we will read from the Gospel of Matthew about the wise men. There are a lot of amazing descriptions of them in commentaries and various teachers, all fascinating. I’m amazed by any group—wealthy, the intelligentsia of the day—that would leave their place and travel, maybe as long as two years, even three, to come to worship a child who couldn’t do anything for them. They came with extraordinary resources; you would never present a gold coin to a king. They came emptying their bank accounts, if you will, to honor and exalt this one who was born a king.
So this story is an extraordinary story of abandonment in worship. However many wise men there were, we know there were three kinds of gifts, but we don’t know how many wise men there were. There’s a good chance there were a great many of them. There’s also a good chance that they had a large group of people with them, if only for safety, as they traveled with gold and treasures. You can easily picture an entourage of 50 to 100 people that left their land to travel for years to find a child who could do nothing for them. It’s one of the most extraordinary acts of worship in the Bible.
I liken it to the woman who breaks the alabaster vial—a year’s worth of income—to pour over Jesus. It was such a profound, selfless act that they were involved in, and they weren’t even raised in Hebrew culture. They weren’t raised with this natural expectation of a Messiah. God spoke a language they could understand; He is not restricted by Hebrew or English or Spanish or any culture or expression. He can touch anyone in any lifestyle through a language they understand, and He did so when He called the star to appear. They had this awareness that something significant was coming out of the Middle East.
I’ve read accounts that historians reported, saying that before Christ, all over the known world, there was a sense that something amazing was about to happen, and it was going to happen in the Middle East. People can have prophetic giftings and callings on their lives even before they know the Lord; it’s something they were born with. Picture the prophets of Egypt and Ethiopia and all these places around the world, sensing that something significant was about to happen in the Middle East. They wrote about it and announced it.
This story is that story that all of them became aware of in measure. Then Jesus came in flesh, and I want us to read through the story, just verse by verse. We have time, so we can read fast.
Chapter 2 of Matthew, verse 1: «Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.'» They came to worship a child who could do nothing for them. The purity of abandonment in worship is that there are no strings attached. I give everything because of who you are, not because of how it benefits me.
To worship for how it benefits me is a subtle form of manipulation; it’s the awareness of worth that drives all true worship. It’s His value—God Himself. The great gift to humanity is Jesus. «Where is He who was born King?» He didn’t work His way into it; the Eternal Son of God was born King of the Jews. «We’ve come to worship Him.» When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled; yes, he was. Can we say jealous? Can we say fearful? He was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Whoever gets the mic shapes the culture, and Herod’s fear spread to an entire city.
Verse 4: «When he gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.» They said to him, «In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet.»
Okay, stop right there. Here’s Herod gathering the religious leaders. Let me fast forward: who is the group most known for not recognizing Jesus when He came? The scribes and Pharisees. If he gathers religious leaders and asks them the question, they answer, «Where is the Christ to be born? In Bethlehem.» In other words, they had intellectual knowledge; they had academic knowledge, but that knowledge did not lead them to surrender.
All insight, all revelation, all encounters with truth are meant to lead us into abandonment to His grace. It’s the purpose, the invitation for ongoing encounters that transform us. It’s not just about being able to recite doctrinal truths; it’s about what you know that brings you to surrender. They failed that test, the very people most known for not knowing who He was when He showed up were those who counseled Herod, saying He’d be born in Bethlehem.
It’s crazy when you contrast that with the people who recognized who Jesus was. It even gets more bizarre. Zacchaeus, the mafia tax collector, knew who Jesus was. He knew He was blind Bartimaeus, the man at the back of the crowd yelling, «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy!» I mean, he knew who He was. The prostitute knew who He was; the thieves and degenerates of the hour recognized Jesus when they saw Him. Even the demons cried out, «We know who you are!»
So, all these people recognized Jesus. I’d like to suggest it is because they lived with an awareness of need. It doesn’t mean you have to be in deep sin; it means you have to be wrecked. You have to live aware of personal need to recognize what God has brought before you. Sometimes we become so safe and secure in our own breakthroughs and history of breakthroughs that we don’t recognize our ongoing areas of need. Because of that, we don’t recognize when Jesus shows up in a different way.
I know this can be misconstrued, so work with me. Jesus will sometimes be working in our lives in a way we aren’t accustomed to, and not being aware of our need can blind us to His presence. I don’t mean self-condemnation or depression; I mean the realization: it’s the reason we are to pray, «Lead us not into temptation.» It’s not that God would lead us; the scripture says He wouldn’t. But living with an awareness of my ability to fail helps me to succeed.
It’s in that place of honest humility that dependency on Him is born. We never grow out of our need for grace. The scripture teaches us that, in the ages to come, there will be ongoing revelation of grace. We will never exhaust our need for the grace of God.
So they said to Him in verse 5, «In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.'»
Take that last phrase: «Out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.» In recent days, I’ve seen a movement that wants to remove the concept of ruling in the church, and the reason is that it’s so abused. We see people using political power for self-interest, self-promotion, and self-gain; obviously, the Lord never promotes that.
But He is a ruler. In fact, the scripture says those who are to become elders must rule over their households well. The assignment of every believer is to rule and to serve. We always rule for the purpose of protection and serve for the purpose of empowering. It’s never about self-exaltation or self-promotion; it’s always for the benefit of those around us. If I live in the authority of Christ, then those under my influence will be better off. It’s not measured by my title, position, possessions, or whatever; it’s measured by the effect I have on those under my influence.
This says, «This ruler will shepherd.» What does a shepherd do? He feeds and protects. This ruler will shepherd the people of God, nourish, empower, protect, and create safety.
Verse 7: «Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go search carefully for the young child. When you have found him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship him also.'»
When they heard the king, they departed, and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. They rejoiced with great joy! This word for «exceeding great joy» literally means «violent.» In other words, it’s not a passive expression; it’s not just happy thoughts. It’s an actual volcanic expression of those who recognize who He is.
For those who are living with an awareness of who He is and who they are, it cannot be restrained. It has to be expressed, and sometimes it can be wild and crazy. These wise men, whom most of us might picture as more like Spock, subdued and calm, were absolutely going crazy—a star led them to the King!
They saw it in the East; that brought them to Herod. But now they see it again. Those who live on the edge need less to encourage them; those who are in the reclining chair require more motivation.
Verse 11 will be our last verse: «When they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary’s mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. When they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.»
Look at it again: «When they had come into the house, they saw the young child.» Now they’re in a house; it’s not the manger because this was probably two or three years later. It took them a while to find him.
So, they came to the house, saw Mary’s mother, and fell down and worshiped the child. When they opened their treasures, they presented gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
True worshipers—I don’t want to slight anyone; I’m not interested in mocking—real worship is, by nature, absolute abandonment. Anyone can sing a song; anyone can even take physical actions—raise hands, kneel, whatever. But the abandonment to the Lord, you’ll never find a true worshiper who has a problem with generosity.
The wise men understood that it is wise to worship. They came, and when they saw Him, they opened their treasures. This reminds me of a story in the early days of Israel in their dealings with Pharaoh. The Lord proclaimed to Moses that he was to go to Pharaoh and say, «Let my people go that they may come and worship me.»
Moses went to Pharaoh and said, «Let the people of God go for a three-day journey into the wilderness to worship the Lord.» Pharaoh said no. Then Moses returned to Israel after they experienced some problems, having endured a few plagues to influence Pharaoh’s thinking.
Pharaoh then said, «Alright, you can worship but don’t leave the land, stay where I have dominion.» The Lord said, «Nothing doing.» They had a few more incidents that persuaded Pharaoh until he said, «Okay, you can worship, but don’t go very far.»
In other words, «You can leave the boundary of where I rule, but just go a short distance; don’t be extreme.» Move over to chapter 10 because God wasn’t interested in that plan. After a few more plagues, Pharaoh finally said, «Alright, you can go now, but just the men—not the whole family.»
We see the enemy trying to maintain control when he says, «Just stay where I can control you; don’t go far.» The Lord said, «Nothing doing.» Pharaoh came back again, saying, «Alright, you can go serve the Lord, only let your flocks and herds be kept back. Remember when the wise men went to worship? They opened their treasures.
All of Israel wanted to present themselves and everything to the Lord, and Pharaoh said, „Alright, not the men.“ „Okay, the men can go, but not the kids.“ „Okay, the kids can go, but just don’t take your resources.“
Pharaoh wanted to separate their worship from their resources, but the Lord said nothing doing! In Exodus 12:31, Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, saying, „Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel, and go serve the Lord as you have said.“
The nature of worship has already been defined; it has already been established in scripture. It is the recognition of worth. Malachi says, „You wouldn’t take a lame lamb and offer it to the mayor of your city. Why would you come before me with blemished offerings?“
He’s dealing with worship and not money, but the crazy thing is Jesus taught, „Where your heart is, there your treasure will be.“ For some, the treasures are family; for some, it’s the flocks; for some, it’s the land they live on, the sense of hope, and promise for the future.
And yet they were commanded to go with everything, not because they were religiously required to abandon, but because they were invited into a relationship to recognize worth. They were invited into a place to see the worth of this Almighty God who, in New Testament times, puts on flesh.
And that’s what the wise men saw: they came in abandonment to worship an infant who could do nothing for them. I feel like there are so many things that we see the Lord stirring up in our lives together—our online family as well. We’re so thankful and appreciate you guys; you amaze me!
The breakthroughs that so many of you are receiving just by watching us come together truly make you part of this tribe. But what the Lord seems to be doing in this hour is reaching a kind of climax. The prayer focus is becoming much more intense, and worship is less about offerings or possessions. It’s from the heart of hearts—I see who He is, and He deserves the best of me and all of me.
That expression of worship holds nothing back. I believe we’re coming into times in our corporate gatherings—though it’s hard to do on a Sunday with so many services—where there will be no end to a meeting. It will continue in an ongoing way, a 24/7 abandonment to who He is.
I believe this will affect our homes, our jobs; it will affect everything we are, everything we are about. This adoration that we carry deep within our souls goes with us Christmas shopping. It’s not a religious thing, not the holy face we put on; it’s the delight of the One who has changed everything and redefined our purpose on this planet.
I think the joy of the church, the joy of the house, is the great message, the great validator of a relationship with God. Guests will know us by our love. But joy can also manifest in acts of service, not just royal obedience. Joy—the joy of the Lord—is our strength. Joy evidences a relationship with the Almighty God, and we see that with the wise men and with everyone in this room today who is wise.
Wise men still worship. Why don’t you stand? Thank you, thank you, Lord! Alright, Merry Christmas! The only time I ever had an experience of smelling heaven was when Benny and I were driving from Weaverville to Redding. We were singing in the Spirit when a fragrance filled the car, and I didn’t want to talk about it. I found out later she didn’t either, for fear we might jinx it.
But there was actually an aroma, a fragrance that filled the car during our worship. It was like granules of sugar on my tongue. I could take a smell and taste; we would sing more; I would smell again. You are the fragrance of Christ, and those who give themselves to His worth carry that fragrance into this world.
It’s sweetness to the taste. We are the invitation: „Taste and see that the Lord is good.“ Adjust your perception—God is good! Father, I pray for that reality to permeate every part of our lives, that we would be the fragrance of Christ in our city. Teach us what it is to worship like the wise men: abandonment, recognition, delight.
Thank you. I want to give anyone in the room a chance—if you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus and you’d say, „Before I leave this building, I want to know what it is to be forgiven of sin and to be born again,“ please raise your hand quickly. I want to bless and pray for you. If you can, put your hand up high so I can see you. I just want to bless anyone in that position.
Alright, I see somebody here! I didn’t see you over there, wonderful! Anyone else, real quick?
Alright, we have a banner over here, trusted friends. I’m going to ask you to come down; please come talk to us. We just want to pray for you and ensure that you leave with the encounter that God has designed for you. Ministry team, come to the front! Tom, why don’t you help us wrap this up? If you can hold your places for a moment, that will help. Ministry team, come quickly to the front!