Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“God uses the wise guys”
January 12, 2014
Scripture
Matthew 2:1-23
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi
from the east came to Jerusalem 2 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." 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with
him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of
the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in
Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "'But you,
Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of
Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people
Israel.'" 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact
time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and
make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that
I too may go and worship him." 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their
way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped
over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were
overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and
presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been
warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by
another route. 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to
Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill
him." 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for
Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the
Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." 16 When
Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he
gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years
old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then
what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 "A voice is heard in
Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and
refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." 19 After Herod died, an
angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, "Get up,
take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were
trying to take the child's life are dead." 21 So he got up, took the child and his
mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was
reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having
been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went
and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the
prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
1
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“God uses the wise guys”
January 12, 2014
Core Idea, challenge, and summary
Core idea: God often provides us with what we need, at just the right time, in
order to do His loving will.
Challenge: To help people not to worry about provisions when God calls them
into ministry.
Summary: God often provides us with what we need, at just the right time, in
order to do His loving will. This is what God did for Mary and Joseph when the
Wise Men visited them. The Wise Men offered gifts of frankincense, Myrrh and
gold. Mary and Joseph were probably surprised at receiving such highly
expensive gifts. Little did they know that in a few days they would need money to
support them as they flee to Egypt to escape genocide. Mary and Joseph
probably used their gifts of frankincense, Myrrh and gold to get the needed
money.
God still provides for us today. If God is calling you to a certain ministry, you can
be sure He will provide you with what you need at the right time to ensure
success.
Sermon
I.
Introduction: The thrill of getting what you need right when it’s needed or just in
the nick of time
A. The Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles VS. Auburn University
Tigers – Jan 6, 2014

FSU came from behind

Last 13 seconds
 FSU was losing 28 to 31
 In last 13 seconds of the game, FSU scores the winning
touchdown and wins 34 to 31

FSU fans felt the exhilaration of getting what they needed just in
time.
B. Movies and t.v. shows build suspense by having the ‘Cavalry’ arrive just in
time
2
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“God uses the wise guys”
January 12, 2014

The typical bomb diffusing scene – which wire to cut? With one
second left, the hero cuts the right wire to diffuse the bomb

In “The Lord of the Rings” the Riders of Rohan arrive just in time to
save Minas Tirith from the evil army of Mordor.

In “Walker: Texas Ranger”: The hero, Cordell Walker, would always
arrive just in time to save the love of his life, District Attorney Alex
Cahill.
C. Sometimes God works this way.

God often provides us with what we need, at just the right time, in
order to do His loving will.

God doesn’t do this to make us worry. He doesn’t enjoy watching
us wring our hands and sweat.

God does this because He wants us to trust in Him. He wants us
to learn to trust Him in all situations. So, He gives us what we
need at the right time to teach us to trust Him.

II.
The story of the Wise Men illustrates this.
God uses the Wise Guys
A. The wise men (magi) realize the Messiah has been born

Many scholars believe the wise men were most likely Persian
scholars or astrologers from the Parthian Empire (Present day
Iran)

They had access to Jewish literature, which would include what
we call the Old Testament.

Through their study of the stars and reading of Jewish Scripture it
was revealed to them that the Messiah had been born.
 Many scholars postulate that they connected Balaam’s
prophecy (Numbers 24:17) with the appearing of a star they
didn’t recognize.
3
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“God uses the wise guys”
January 12, 2014
 The prophecy states, “A star will come out of Jacob; a
scepter will rise out of Israel.” The star is the scepter that
will rise out of Israel. The scepter refers to the Christ
(Jesus).
 When the wise men connected the prophecy with a newly
discovered star, they decided to travel to Israel to pay
homage to the new born king of the Jews.
B. The journey to Jerusalem

We don’t know the number of wise men. Scripture lets us know it
was more than one but doesn’t say how many.

It was probably a big entourage with many animals and servants.
Their expensive gifts (frankincense, myrrh & gold) indicate this may
have been so.

It took time to travel from present day Iran to Jerusalem. By the
time they arrived, Jesus was 1 to 2 years old.
 After visiting King Herod and learning that Jesus was to be
born in Bethlehem, the wise men went to a house, not a
barn. Evidently there was time for Mary and Joseph to find
a more permanent residence.
 King Herod orders the execution of all children in
Bethlehem who were 2 years old or younger because
Jesus would have been 1 – 2 years old by this time.

The wise men entourage went to Jerusalem to meet with the
current ruler.
 As an important entourage from a neighboring empire, this
would be expected.
 Evidently, they had to find out where the new Messiah was
born.
C. Their visit with Mary, Joseph and the toddler Jesus
4
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“God uses the wise guys”
January 12, 2014

When they departed for Bethlehem from Jerusalem, they again saw
the star. The star led them to Mary & Joseph’s house.

M and it They offered Jesus frankincense, myrrh & gold.
 The three items were standard gifts to offer a king or diety in
the ancient world – Very expensive
 Frankincense: Yellowish gun of a tree known for its odor
when burned. Used in temple worship as incense.
 Myrrh: Aromatic gum resin used in incense, perfume,
anointing oil, embalming fluid and medicine – very expensive
 Gold: Precious then as it is now
 Symbolic significance of each gift:

Myyrh: Prefiguring Jesus’ death (Myyrh was used as
embalming fluid).


Frankincense: Symbol of Jesus’ priestly role

Gold: Symbol of Jesus’ kingship
After being warned in a dream not to report back to King Herod,
they venture home.
D. Mary, Joseph’s and Jesus’ flight to Egypt

Soon after the wise men leave, an angel tells Joseph to
immediately take his family to Egypt.
 When King Herod realized the wise men were not going to
return to him and tell him the exact location of Jesus, he
gave orders to kill all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two
years old & younger.
 How was Joseph able to pay for such an unexpected
journey?

With the frankincense, myrrh & gold the wise men
gave him.
5
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“God uses the wise guys”
January 12, 2014

Joseph and Mary had no idea they would need to
finance an unexpected and long journey – But God
knew.
III.
Applying the story of the wise men to our lives
A. Two lessons from the story of the wise men

One: God often gives us what we need to do His loving will before
we even know we need it.

Two: God also gives us what we need to do His loving will when we
need it. God’s is always right on time.
B. Real life examples:

Our Edward Jones account
 A few years ago First UMC received over approximately
$200,000.00 that was put into an endowment fund
 At the time we didn’t need it
 A few years later we ran into some financial difficulties and
we had to dip into it.
 God provided us with what we would need before we knew
we would need it so we could continue with the Lord’s
work.

Picnic Project
 The Picnic Project founder, Ryan Bozeman, attended
‘Grace & Grits’ and felt led to start a similar ministry on
Sunday afternoons.
 At first, they only handed out burritos to the homeless at
Centennial Park on Park Avenue.
 Then, an owner of a local catering service offered to
provide nice hot lunches.
 When people complained about Centennial Park being
used to feed the homeless and threatened to shut the
6
Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“God uses the wise guys”
January 12, 2014
ministry down, First UMC offered the use of its fellowship
hall.
 The Picnic Project now serves quality lunches to over 70
homeless and low income families every Sunday afternoon.
They also bring them the gospel with each meal.
 God provided the Picnic Project with what they needed
when they needed it so they could continue with the Lord’s
work.
C. Do you sense God calling you to perform a specific ministry but you’re
not sure you have the right skills or can acquire the necessary
resources?

If it’s God calling you, God will provide you with what you need.

Go ahead, attempt whatever it is you feel God calling you to do.
 If God doesn’t provide you with what you need, God wasn’t
calling you to do that task. You simply continue to pray and
ask God to reveal His loving will.
 If God does provide what you need, God was calling you to
do that task. In this case, continue in God’s will.
7