We Have Come to Worship Him

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 4th of January, 2026, Epiphany Sunday.  Today's service included the installation of church officers and the observance of Holy Communion.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Since we have so much going on this morning, I’m going to keep the message short, at least by my standards.  But I do want to take a moment to acknowledge that today is the Sunday before Epiphany, when the Messiah was revealed to the Gentiles by the visit of the three kings, which is observed on January the 6th.  Jesus’ baptism is observed on the first Sunday after Epiphany, which will be next Sunday, the 11th.  And that’s just to refresh your church calendar knowledge.

Today I’d like to join those wise men from a foreign land as they travel to welcome the birth of a King.  They followed the light from a special star, a light that came to rest over the place where the Baby Jesus lay.

I promised I’d keep this brief, so I will be mostly letting the Apostle Matthew speak, with a few very pointed remarks from Jesus thrown in for good measure.  So please listen and follow along as Matthew tells this wonderful story he recorded in the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account in verses 1 through 12, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

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, 2 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.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘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.’”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

--Matthew 2:1-12 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, it was no coincidence that these three wise men were guided to the stable and the manger where the Baby Jesus lay sleeping.  This was how You chose to make the coming of Your Messiah known to the Gentile world.  Jesus’ entrance into the world was quite underwhelming.  Although a great multitude of Your angelic host sang and proclaimed our Lord’s birth, they appeared to only a few lowly shepherds who were in the fields with their sheep.  And those shepherds were the only people other than Mary and Joseph who knew of the Christ’s birth until the Magi appeared. Sometimes we forget just how humble our Lord’s birth truly was.  Thank You, Father, for using this to show us that we too should be humble in our life and dealings.  Please forgive us, Father, when we let pride get the better of us.  Help us be more like Your Son in our interactions with others.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand our message today.  This we humbly pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The three wise men were visiting the little baby Jesus.  As Melchior leans over to get a closer look at the infant he bumps his head on the roof of the manger and shouts, "Jesus Christ!".  Mary looks up and says, "What a nice name.  I was going to call him Irving."

“Irving Christ” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it.  Of course, the Apostle Luke, in his Gospel account, assures us that the angel Gabriel told Mary to name her baby Jesus, not Irving.  And while that does make for a cute little story, it still points out that three wise men came to visit the little Christ Child.

Now this would likely have been a rather arduous journey for them.  We’re not exactly sure where these men called home, but it was somewhere to the east and in Gentile lands.  And we believe that it took them 12 days to reach their destination – the stable where Jesus was born.  And that’s why we celebrate the 12 days of Christmas.

So why did they go to all this trouble?  Why did they come all this way?  To worship the King of the Jews.  They went through all this just so they could worship Jesus.

Jumping ahead about 30 years, Jesus was just baptized in the River Jordan by His kinsman John.  God’s Holy Spirit then led Him into the wilderness, there to fast and pray for 40 days and 40 nights.  Satan came and tried to tempt Jesus.

Matthew tells us of three of these temptations, in increasing order of the reward offered if accepted.  The third and final temptation went like this, as recorded in chapter 4 of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 8 through 11…

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

--Matthew 4:8-11 (NKJV)

Satan offered Jesus all the world just to worship him.  I guess maybe the devil forgot that Jesus created the world and everything in it.  But what is really important is Jesus’ reply.  “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”  We are to worship God and only God, serving only Him.  Not Satan, not other humans, not things – just God.

Unfortunately for mankind, there will come another day when Satan will pull the same kind of stunt.  This time, he’ll demand we worship him by worshiping his servant, the Antichrist.  The temptation will be simply to keep our life, our mortal life.

Many will give in to that threat and bow down to the Antichrist, accepting his sign on their foreheads and hands.  For them, all hope will be lost.  For today, though, we all still have a chance.  But it depends on how well we follow our bible’s instructions, and especially on how well we listen to and obey Jesus, following His example.

Who or what do we worship?  How do we worship?  We must worship the Lord our God.  We must worship the Creator, not anything or anyone He created.  We must worship Him out of our love for Him, loving Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.  Worship God and none other.  Serve God and Him alone.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who came humbly to teach us how to live.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for inspiring the men who followed Your Son to leave us records of His life.  By studying them, we can learn how we should live so that we can be more like Him, and more righteous in Your sight.  In this, You show Your love for us, and we thank You, Father.  We admit, though, that we don’t spend as much time reading the Gospel accounts and the letters of the disciples as we should.  We get so caught up in the busyness of life that we simply miss out on some of the lessons our Bible holds for us.  And too often we lose sight of what’s really important.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we fail to worship You as we should.  Please help us set aside anything that we might tend to worship or think more highly of than the things of heaven.  And please help us do a better job of sharing our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your word, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, at Your birth, You were worshiped by visitors, first by shepherds in the fields and then by wise men from afar.  They recognized that You were God’s Messiah.  And then You told us that all creation must worship God the Creator, and not any created thing, and certainly not Satan.  Thank You, Jesus for showing us how to be humble, and for teaching us what is truly important to God.  Please help us be more like You, more humble, more thankful.  Help be more obedient servants.  And help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.