Baptist Church, we're gonna go ahead and get started this Christmas evening. If
you would, find a hymnal and turn, if you would, to hymn number 423. Joy to the
world, hymn number 423, singing out.
ready to fill us with your spirit at this time
and help us to be in remembrance of your Son's birth
for the rest of this week
and a prayer also that you fill brother Cameron
with your spirit as he freezes to us this evening.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Amen.
For our next hymn, if you would,
turn the page to hymn number 426.
I heard the bells on Christmas day.
Christmas to everybody. I want to have a moment if we could to just go through
our bulletin so if you need one raise your hand and brother Zach's got those
he's getting them out to y'all. Course first and foremost I've already said it
but Merry Christmas you made it you are here. The verse is on the front there
Hebrews 6 verse 20 if you open up of course on the left hand side we have
our service times and soul winning times and the nursing home ministry and the
Church stats on the bottom left. We did have a salvation out this evening, which is awesome that
Really low-hanging fruit this lady got to accept the best Christmas gift ever on Christmas and just super
Receptive super low-hanging, you know, which is a lot better than the guy that said hey y'all are interrupting us during our movie
So it's like okay, you know if meek souls will receive him still right of course on the top right of our bulletin
Just still be in prayer for our expecting ladies miss Reed and then upcoming events tonight
Directly after service and I'll have some more specific instruction
at the end of service this evening,
but this is gonna be our cookie bake-off.
So please stay around, participate.
You do not have to enter to participate.
There is no entry fee.
If anyone collected anything from you, let me know.
You're okay, unless it was a cookie or something.
But there's no entry, you know,
nothing's required of you to bring,
but please stay and participate.
Have some fun, have some fellowship.
And it's a bake-off, okay?
So if you wanna be a judge
And the best tasting, that's what we're going to look for tonight.
Of course, we'll have more specific instructions as we get there.
And maybe that's enough to tide you over through the sermon this evening, okay?
Just to think of cookies at the end, all right?
Of course, on the 31st, this is coming up next week.
We'll have our New Year's Eve party.
That'll start at 7 p.m.
There is men's preaching.
There's a sign-up sheet back there.
I think it's pretty dialed in.
I think everybody that wanted to sign up can.
But I think if you still want to sign up,
You know, I would reach out to Passure, but I think you're still more than welcome to sign up at this point
if you want to do some men's preaching on New Year's.
And then, of course, after that, there's going to be fellowship, hangout, play games.
Some were safe, right, when the world is kind of crazy on New Year's Eve.
And, of course, the giving QR code there at the bottom.
At this time, I do want to go through the prayer...
list I don't believe that there are any updates so same prayer list that we've
kind of been going through at this time well one thing I do actually want to
add you'll notice that I am not pastor Oz okay he's not feeling very well so
just keep him in your prayers that he didn't want to come and get everybody
contagious at the at the cookie bake off and you know he's just gonna miss out on
those great cookies I don't know what to tell him so but keep him in your prayers
keep his family in your prayers aside from that same prayer list that we've
I think for the last couple weeks. So if you would just join me as I bow my head and we'll pray for these folks on our list
Heavenly father, we just thank you again for an opportunity to come together to freely gather
especially on today of all days just
You know the the day where we're celebrating the birth of your son that we would really just make the main thing the main thing
this evening lord and just
Just be so appreciative of that free gift that you've given us
that you've really just just
gift that none of us deserve, a gift that we can all have forever, Lord, that we
should rejoice and be glad in that and that we should really cherish this and
celebrate this, not just one day but all throughout the year, all throughout our
lives. Lord, I pray that you would just continue to be with those that are on our
prayer list. I pray that you'd be with Miss Remy for her visa process, that
everything would go smoothly.
through there for a brother Moses who is now in the United States that that he
would just be delivered from his persecution and that he would find some
work. I pray that you'd be with brother James Perry in the back pain that he's
been having. I know he's been feeling better Lord but if you just continue to
be with him and strengthen him and heal him.
Lord, I pray that you'd be with my mother through her cancer that she just recently found out and that you'd also just soften her heart to the gospel.
I pray that you'd be with Brother Alex who's looking for work.
I pray that you'd be with Miss Sean's co-worker Terry and her cancer as well, just any sickness and whatever you can help her to get through that difficult time.
Lord, I also pray for Miss Remy as well as medical issues that everything that you would just strengthen and give the doctor's wisdom in that regard that they'd be able to help her and reach the best possible outcome with your blessing.
pray for Miss Reed not only for her expecting child coming up but also for her brother Cole
to have his heart softened to the gospel and brother Zach as well for his mother and brother
to soften their hearts for the gospel. Lord all these things we just bring to you that you know
best how to answered best how to fulfill I just pray that your will would be done in every one of
these circumstances and those that we don't know about these things we pray in Jesus name amen.
We'll go to our next song.
All right, for our next song, if you would,
take your hymnals and turn to hymn number 429.
Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
Hymn number 429.
429, we'll start there right on the first.
Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
You
Matthew chapter number two.
Matthew chapter number two, the Bible reads,
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews?
For we have seen his star in the east
and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they sent unto him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, and now Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah.
for out of thee shall come a governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently,
what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said,
Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him,
bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
And when he had heard the king
They departed and lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy and when they were coming to 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 unto him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh and being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod
They departed into their own country another way
and when they were departed behold the angel of the lord appeared to joseph in a dream saying
rise and take the young child and his mother and flee into egypt and be thou there until i bring
the word for herod will seek the young child to destroy him when he arose he took the young child
and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord
by the prophet saying out of Egypt have I called my son then Herod when he saw that he was mocked
of the wise men was exceeding Roth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem
and on all the coast thereof from two years old and under according to the time which he had
then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying in Rama there was
there a voice heard lamentation and weeping in great mourning Rachel weeping for her children
and would not be comforted because they are not but when Herod was dead behold the angel of the
Egypt saying arise and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel for they are dead
Which sought the young child's life
And he arose and took the young child and his mother and came into the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelius did reign in Judah in the room of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go thither.
Notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee.
and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophets he shall be called a Nazarene. That's by our heads for prayer. Father in heaven we thank
you for this day and thank you for your son and we thank you for our church and we just ask that
you fill the camera with your Holy Spirit and that you help us to which help us to be better
Christians as we hear the sermon and that you help us to have a great night after the sermon.
Alright, thank you, Brother Zach, for reading that chapter for us.
Well, it is Christmas, of course, and if you wanted a Christmas sermon, I am here to give
that to you.
Alright, so in Matthew chapter number two, one of the probably most well-known passages
of kind of the birth of Christ, we get the wise men coming unto Christ to give him gifts
in the future that Herod's wanting to put all the men, children to death.
There's one part in this chapter that I do want to focus on,
something I think that we all think about throughout the Christmas season.
We all probably mention it once a year, but if we ever really put a lot of thought into it,
and that's from verse 11, Matthew 2, verse number 11.
It says this,
and when they were coming to the house, talking about the wise men,
They saw the young child with Mary's mother and fell down and worshiped him.
And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts,
gold and frankincense and myrrh.
And the title of my sermon this evening is Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh.
Now, this is...
Probably in countless Christmas hymns, the gold, the frankincense, the myrrh, there are like, you can get these at Walmart.
I saw they have like incense sticks that you can buy to like burn if you have like a little incense burner of frankincense and myrrh, they don't have gold, okay?
But you can buy like a little gold coins, like even for little kids as a candy around Christmas time.
gift bags for the kid's choir, little gold coins,
and a lot of people are thinking about these items
around Christmas time,
but there's really more than just this surface level
carnal, hey, they brought him some gifts.
you know, the end type story that we see throughout the Bible.
There's a spiritual picture here that I really want to dig out.
Now, first of all, I think it's okay, or it's important, rather,
to have a good understanding of what gold, frankincense, and myrrh are.
Now, gold, I probably don't really have to explain to a lot of you or any of you, frankly,
it's a yellow precious metal, but gold is considered very valuable in our life.
in our time and not even in our time all throughout history it's been considered a very precious
a very highly sought after metal it's in it's probably one of the most if not the most used
in jewelry and decorations and just gildings I mean the word gild you know gold comes from that word
gilded
And another definition, if you just look up like gold and the importance of gold, is it says that it guarantees the value of currencies.
It's like, not in the U.S. it doesn't. Not anymore. Our money's not backed by gold. I don't know what definition that applies to, but at one point, it was, at one point we did have a currency backed by gold.
Why? Because it's of high value. It is something that is desirous. It's something that is precious to a lot of people in the sense of a metal.
Usually, I mean, I can probably not even say the word king without you thinking of a gold crown,
gold rings, a necklace, or some scepter, right?
That's just kind of a kingly garb.
You associate a king with gold, royalty, nobility.
But what about frankincense and myrrh?
And I think if we were to take a poll and ask everybody,
what are frankincense and myrrh,
a lot of people would know that they're an incense,
a sweet smelling something that you burn
or maybe you use it in an oil,
but beyond that, I don't know that,
oh, I don't know that I knew really beyond that.
I knew frankincense more than myrrh,
but we'll go just down the list.
So frankincense is a hardened,
yellowish gum-like material, or a resin, right,
that comes from the trunk of a Boswellia tree.
Now, if you have a real Christmas tree,
you're probably very familiar with sap and resin,
because even getting that thing into your house,
you're like sticky, it's all over your clothes
and everything, so kind of the more runny would be sap.
Like the runny offspring right of a tree, basically,
is sap, but when it gets kind of hardened
and you can like mash it around, like chewing gum,
when it's gummy, it's a resin, okay? Now think about rubber. I believe rubber in and of itself
is also a type of resin that you get from a specific tree, kind of mushy and hard. So that's
what frankincense is. It's this hardened resin that comes from a specific tree and it's used as a
fragrance in soaps.
lotions, perfumes. It also has anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties. So it's thought to
kill bacteria, fungus, certain types of yeast as well. So it's kind of like a natural antiseptic,
if you will. And frankincense has a specific smell profile.
It is a, it's described as a warm, woody, slightly sweet aroma with hints of citrus, often described as a combination of pine, lemon and resin with the balsamic quality.
So kind of like maybe a pine tree, but a little bit of wood behind it, little citrus as well.
That's kind of the thought behind frankincense, right?
So it smells good, it's a sweet smelling resin from a tree.
similar. Okay, myrrh is a fragrant sap-like resin. So we're kind of talking about the same
type of stuff here, but it's kind of red-brown. It looks like if you had a bunch of resin of myrrh,
it looks like a little bacon bits, actually, if that kind of helps you visualize it, whereas
frankincense is kind of yellowish, right? So myrrh is like this red-brown sap-like resin that comes
out of certain comifera trees, is what they're called. Now myrrh has a different kind of smell,
having an antiseptic or any kind of properties about anti-microbial or anti-bacterial.
But myrrh has a different smell profile altogether.
It says it smells like a warm, earthy and resinous aroma with a slightly bitter and
spicy undertone, which is interesting because in the song We Three Kings it says myrrh is
mine.
It's bitter perfume.
So even in the song we're kind of singing about that smell profile and some things that
used for it. It says here, some people might also associate it with a slightly smoky scent
or the smell of dried earth. So that's just kind of a general idea of, hey, what is gold? What is
frankincense? What is myrrh? Now, if you are interested in frankincense and myrrh, I alluded to
this earlier, you can go to Walmart and they sell incense sticks. I think they're like a dollar.
for a bunch of sticks. Now these, I would not necessarily, there's not the highest quality
incense that you're going to burn. They're probably full of horrible stuff. But if you want to know
what they kind of smell like, you can actually just go to Walmart and like pick it up and smell it.
And I know this because I have frankincense and myrrh. I did recently as different types of
incense in the house because they smell nice. It's something that you kind of do want to
scent your house with at times. And these were used in the Tabernacle, used in different oils.
air freshener, if it were.
Now, when it comes to though, in the Bible,
what they're picturing or what they're used for,
turn if you would to Song of Solomon, chapter number three.
Song of Solomon, chapter three.
I...
probably don't have to spend a lot of time, and quite frankly I'm not really
going to spend any time telling you what gold is from the Bible. But I do want to
look at myrrh and frankincense, proving what they are and proving how they're
used.
Song of Solomon 3, if you look at verse 6, it says this,
who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense with all powders of the merchants?
We see in Song of Solomon 3, it's a perfume.
These myrrh and frankincense are being used as a perfume or a cologne.
Song of Solomon, turn over if you would to chapter 4, verse 6.
Song of Solomon 4, verse 6.
It says, until the day break and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of
Myrrh and to the hill of Frankincense.
Jump down in Song of Solomon 4 to verse 14.
It says, Spikenard and Saffron, Calimus and Cinnamon, with all trees of Frankincense,
Myrrh and Allows, with all the chief spices.
So in the Bible we see these are Frankincense and Myrrh, highly-debuted, to be desired.
perfumes, right? Turn, if you would, to Song of Solomon, chapter number 5, verse 5.
Song of Solomon 5, 5.
Ladies, if you're looking for a scent, I mean, it sounds like myrrh, right, is the way to go.
Look at Solomon 5, Song of Solomon 5, 5.
It says,
I rose up to open to my beloved and my hands dropped with myrrh
and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock.
Jump down to verse 13.
It says,
His cheeks are as a bed of spices as sweet flowers.
His lips, excuse me, his lips like lilies.
dropping sweet smelling myrrh. So not just the ladies, okay? The guys too, right?
And song of Solomon chapter 1, if you flip back
to song of Solomon chapter number 1. Song of Solomon 1 verse 13 says,
A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me, he shall lie all night betwixt my breast.
So men, if you're thinking that could be me, you need to smell good, okay?
That's what the Bible's telling you here. If you want that kind of relationship with your life,
Take a shower, okay? PSA from the Bible, FYI.
What are we really getting at here?
They're like perfumes, oils, different things that would make you smell good,
different pleasant aromas for people to use in a lot of different contexts throughout the Bible.
Song of Solomon, obviously, is kind of like a love note, right?
A sweet love note, and frankincense and myrrh are just brought up over and over and over in here.
So these are highly to be desired gifts.
Now, what would be the significance then?
of this, of bringing gold and frankincense and myrrh to Jesus Christ when he's born.
Well, if you look from a carnal perspective, if you just kind of look at the surface level,
you can see that they're costly. Gold in and of itself is very costly.
Perfumes and oils in the Bible would have been something that
Not just your average everyday Joe was going out and buying every single day.
They didn't have the incense sticks at Wal-Mart in the Bible, okay?
These are things that would take a lot of work, effort, you're going to have to go harvest them from a tree
and then they're going to be highly sought after, highly desired.
So they're costly, they smell good, I mean gold is really pretty to look at and just...
to put on jewelry, women love gold jewelry.
There are guys, a lot of guys,
wedding rings are gold at times, right?
So it's really men and women both.
But I believe and look if you want to take that and say hey
This is why they brought the gifts because they're worth a lot because they're really great and to be desired
And this is the world bringing the chief things the chief fruits to Jesus Christ. Hey, I'm not mad at you for that
That's true
That's absolutely a true statement that they are to be desired and bring and laid at Jesus's feet
Even as a baby, but I believe that there is a spiritual significance to all three of the gifts that were brought
So, first, we'll start with gold. Turn if you would to Exodus chapter number 25.
Exodus chapter 25.
Now, I brought this up earlier. When you think of a king, right?
You think gold. You think the crown with all the jewels.
You think the scepter. You think the chain.
You think whatever, the rings.
Exodus chapter 25, verse number 1.
This is the Lord speaking to Moses.
We'll start there in verse 1, Exodus 25 verse 1.
It says,
And this is the offering which you shall take of them.
Gold and silver and brass, and it goes on.
But notice, the first thing that God lists of the offering to receive is gold.
Now, this is interesting because elsewhere in the Bible, when gold and things like silver or brass are mentioned,
it's very common to see silver and gold, brass, silver, and gold, or this, this, this, that, and gold, and gold.
And it kind of sometimes comes later. It's very common.
But God, when He's talking to Moses about the offering that the Lord's going to receive, He's like, hey, this is what you're going to receive.
Gold.
and this, and this, and when we're offering or things are being offered up under the Lord,
we don't want to start with like brass.
Like, alright, here's all my brass.
Alright, okay, and here's my silver.
Okay, and here's my gold.
We should just start with offering the best to the Lord,
putting our best foot forward,
and I think there's a significance to why this is the first thing that's gold.
we should be giving of our best unto the Lord.
Now, jump down in Exodus 25 to verse number 10.
Exodus 25 verse 10 says,
And now shall overlay it with pure gold,
with and without,
shall thou overlay it,
and shall make upon it a crown of gold,
round about.
Verse 12,
I mean, are you getting the point here about what God wants the Ark and the Tabernacle to consist of?
Verse 13.
And now, shall I make staves of shittim wood and overlay them with gold?
Verse 17, if you jump down a little bit, says,
and now shall I make a mercy seat of pure gold?
Two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
And now shall I make two cherubims of...
Gold.
A beaten workshop will make them in the two ends of the mercy seat.
So when the ark is being built, when God is commissioning the ark and having everything
put together, it's just like, and that's gold, and that's gold, and that's gold, and
this part's gold, and hey, those two cherubims that are like facing it, gold, hey, the rings
that you're going to get, gold, and hey, you know those wood staffs?
Why don't you just overlay those with gold too?
Now, what's the point here?
What is being shown?
Well, the Ark was a picture of God being with the children of Israel and going with them in the Old Testament.
And what's interesting is it talks about being a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
If you remember that in Song of Solomon, it says,
right with frankincense and myrrh I think it's kind of an illusion to Jesus Christ
as well being anointed with frankincense and myrrh being that pillar of smoke
or that pillar of cloud but when the ark is with the children of israel when they're symbolizing
hey god is with us it's all gold and Jesus Christ remember is our Emmanuel which interpretation
So it makes absolute sense that God with us in the New Testament physically as a child,
just like the picture of God being with us as the Ark in the Old Testament, is just gold.
Hey, we're bringing him gold. Why? He's deserving of gold.
They didn't bring him a whole bunch of brass and silver, they are bringing gold.
Because the Lord Jesus Christ is precious.
He's of extremely high value, of just unknowable value to us.
He is beautiful, right?
The salvation that he bought for us is beautiful,
and it's worth them just bringing the best that they have, which would be the gold.
In Acts chapter 3, also, if you turn over to Acts chapter number 3,
there's another picture of Jesus Christ himself being gold
in Acts chapter number 3.
Give you a second to turn there. Acts chapter 3.
Verse number one, Acts 3 verse one says,
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple
at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb,
was carried whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple,
which is called beautiful,
to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.
Who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple,
asked at alms.
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said,
look on us.
And he gave heat out of them, expecting
to receive something of them.
So you have your bum standing out at the edge of I-44
or whatever, even in acts.
OK, he's like, hey, can I get some money?
Like standing outside, hey, you guys got money for me?
And Peter's like, hey, look here.
I'm going to end the guy's like, sweet,
they're going to give me some money.
But what does Peter say?
Looking for a six.
Then Peter said, silver and gold, have I none?
But such as I have give IV, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
rise up and walk.
And of course, he is then able to walk, this great miracle is performed.
But he's putting, what's Peter doing here? Don't miss this.
He's elevating Jesus Christ above silver and gold.
Why? Because he's very precious.
He's highly sought after, highly to be desired.
Even though he came to us in a humble estate,
Jesus Christ is more valuable than gold.
So it's of no consequence for us to offer our best,
which is pictured very frequently as gold
in the material realm as it were.
Now, moving on from gold to frankincense, so we understand gold, it's, you know, kingly, Jesus Christ is the king of kings, the Lord of lords, he's deserving of that, what about frankincense?
So what's the spiritual picture here?
Turn, if you would, to Leviticus chapter number 2.
Leviticus chapter number 2.
Okay, in Leviticus chapter number 2, we'll start at verse number 1.
Leviticus 2-1, the Bible says...
And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord,
his offering shall be a fine flower,
and he shall pour oil upon it
and put frankincense there on.
So we see a meat offering before the Lord
when they're about to burn this offering.
They're going to offer it with frankincense.
Look at verse number two.
And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests,
and he shall take there out his handful of the flower thereof,
and of the oil thereof,
with all the frankincense thereof,
and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar
to be an offering made by fire of a sweet savor
unto the Lord."
So frankincense, I believe the spiritual picture of frankincense
beyond it being a highly desired perfume,
and it smells really good,
is that it's a symbol, a perfume,
that symbolizes the sacrifice of the meat offering.
which was a burnt offering in the Old Testament.
Now, Jesus Christ in the New Testament was that burnt offering.
He was that sin offering for us, burnt in hell for us.
And this frankincense being brought to him as a child, I believe,
is symbolizing that he's going to be that sacrifice for us.
Turn, if you would, to Genesis chapter number 22.
Genesis chapter 22.
We'll start there in verse 7.
Genesis 22 verse 7, the Bible reads,
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father.
Of course Abraham is going up to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, right?
So it says,
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father,
And said,
My father.
And he said,
Here am I, my son.
And he said,
Behold, the fire and the wood.
But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burn offering.
So they went both of them together.
Now if you keep reading, what's really interesting is it says that as he's about to sacrifice
eyes, of course the angel of the Lord stops him, and then it says they see a ram.
the thicket. Now, I don't think this is a mistake where it's like Abraham's like,
oh, I meant to say he'll provide a ram for an offering. No, no, no. They were given
that ram as a substitute for Isaac, but God is going to provide himself a lamb.
for the offering. A spotless lamb had no sin.
He was going to be, and look, it says he was going to be a
burnt offering. Verse 8, and Abraham said,
my son, God will provide himself a lamb
for a burnt offering. Now,
I...
I get it. I get people that are like super anti the doctrine of Jesus Christ paying for sin and hell.
But I'm like, it alludes to the burnt offering of Jesus Christ literally in Genesis 22.
Like you don't have to read that far, folks.
It's all throughout the Bible that he's going to be that burnt offering for us.
Why is it so hard to just accept that that's true?
and that frankincense, which is being offered by the wise men that come unto him,
was also something that would be anointed on the meat offering, which was burnt as a sacrifice.
You would just have to, well, that's really coincidental.
Like, yeah, okay, maybe the Bible is full of dental plans for you, like accidental, coincidental, incidental.
But I don't think it's full of dental plans, folks.
I think it just means what it says.
And I think it's alluding to a bigger spiritual picture that's important and that that's really cool.
If you notice that and you see that and you deny that Jesus Christ was a burnt offering, then this is no power for you.
It's just like, okay, oh, yep, neat, whatever.
just take what the Bible says and believe what the Bible says,
then you can go like,
that's cool!
Hey, that's really neat!
The frankincense...
Hey, that reference is back to Leviticus.
Hey, isn't that like when Abraham said that God was going to provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering?
Like, oh, it's just...
I love how neat the Bible is when it connects everything together.
And man, you just missed that.
And as someone who did not grow up saved, right,
I got saved late into my 20s.
mid-twenties, I guess you could say,
and it thought like, yeah, the Bible's full of stories and stuff, cool, whatever,
but then it just gets saved, believe the Bible, and to read it and be in it,
and then just like, and not try to argue away from the Bible,
or try to find, like, why the Bible's wrong and you're right,
to just accept it,
And then the pray for knowledge, pray for wisdom from God that He would show you stuff.
And then to make these connections and see this or someone preaches it and you hear it.
That is so cool.
That is neat.
And then it makes when you're singing songs about Christmas and you're thinking about the frankincense and myrrh.
You know, especially with your family.
If you're like me, I'm like, hey, guess what, too?
Check this out about the frankincense and myrrh.
Hey, did you know this?
You know, and it's just, I don't know, it's just neat.
It's exciting.
You know? I just love it. It's so cool.
So, we have this picture of the frankincense.
We have it in Leviticus 2 that you're going to put it on the meat offering.
You have it in Genesis where Abraham is saying that the Lord is going to be that burnt offering,
proving that the frankincense, I think in Leviticus 2, is referential, is alluding to Jesus Christ in the New Testament,
which makes sense as to why the wise men are bringing frankincense when he's born.
Again, all these connections.
Now, Acts 2.
Turn, if you would, to Acts, chapter number 2.
And if...you may have already turned away from there,
but keep a little bookmark in Leviticus 2.
We are going to come back.
If you already left, that's okay.
But I am going to go back there here in just a second
to check out another connection that I think is really neat.
But Acts, chapter number 2, for now, if you would...
Acts, chapter number 2, verse 22,
This one's for all the people that just hate the fact that Jesus paid for our sins in hell.
They just hate the fact that that truth is true from the Bible.
What does Acts 2 say in verse 22?
Ye men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God ye have taken,
and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death.
Now the pains of death if Jesus died and was instantly first of all
He wasn't loosed from the pain of dying on the cross because he went through the suffering
So we clearly cannot be saying well
He was loosed from dying on the cross because he just miraculously got off of it and he's good
No, that didn't happen. He died on the cross having loosed the pains of death
Well, he died and he just instantly went to heaven and he never suffered and then he came back from heaven
And then he went back to heaven again. Okay. Well, how would that be painful to be in heaven?
That doesn't make sense. Okay, lose the pains of death. Wow, though
Let's keep reading that verse because it was not possible that he should be holding of it
Verse 31 if you jump down says he sing this before
Spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in
Hell well you have to understand that hell actually means Hades and it doesn't really mean you idiot. It's hell
It says that it's hell in the Bible.
I don't have to argue why the Bible is not really saying what it says.
It just says that he couldn't be holding.
It's not even possible for him to be holding.
He of it being what?
The pains of death that he was loosed by God.
How?
That his soul was not left in hell.
Neither his flesh did see corruption.
Verse 32, this Jesus, have God raised up.
witnesses. Turn back to Leviticus chapter number two. So, of course...
Jesus is that meat offering for us.
He is that burnt offering for us that was made.
But here's another really cool connection.
And here's another reason that you should read the Bible
and let the Bible define itself.
You're turning to Leviticus 2.
Meat.
When Leviticus 2 says a meat offering,
it is not talking about steak.
pork loin, prime rib, brisket.
And this is something that even I fall into
when I see meat in the Bible.
I think like meat, like a cow, like meat.
But it just means food offering.
The actual thing that they're burning in Leviticus 2 is bread.
Now, that's an even cooler connection, and let's get there.
Leviticus 2, verse 3, let's prove that the meat offering is bread.
Leviticus 2, verse 3,
and the remnant of the meat offering, so there's the context,
shall be errands and his sons.
It is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire,
and if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering,
bacon in the oven.
Well, maybe they just baked the meat in the oven.
Okay, it says,
takes of fine flour, mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
Verse 5,
And if thy oblation be a meat offering bacon in a pan, it's not a pan seared steak, okay?
It says it shall be a fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.
Now, you're like, okay, the meat offering is bread, dude.
Cool.
Well, here's why it's really cool.
Turn to John 6.
John chapter number six, the meat offering, the burnt meat offering is a burnt bread offering
that the remainder of which would be given to Aaron and his sons, who are the priests.
John, chapter 6, verse 32,
then Jesus said unto them,
verily, verily, I say unto you,
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven,
but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
You know who is the bread?
Jesus Christ.
So all throughout, we're seeing these references to Jesus.
Let's keep reading.
Verse 33,
For the bread of God is he
which cometh down from heaven
and giveth life unto the world.
Then said they unto him,
Lord, evermore give us his bread.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.
He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Jump to verse 48.
Jesus says very plainly, I am that bread of life.
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead.
I love that verse because you have to, I just, I don't know how he said it.
But it's just kind of one of the most savage, dry things that Jesus could say to these people.
He's like, I am that bread of life. Your father is eight bread, eight man in the wilderness. They're dead.
Just like, how do you think he delivered that statement? You know what I mean?
He's just kind of like, hey, they're dead.
Verse 50, this is the bread which comes down from heaven
that a man may eat thereof and not die.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven.
If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever
and the bread that I will give is my flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world.
Now the Jews hated this because in verse 52,
says the Jews therefore strove among themselves
saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Then Jesus say unto them, Verily, Verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man,
And drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,
Hath eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed,
And my blood is drink indeed.
Jesus Christ is that bread offering,
Which is the same thing as him being a meat offering,
What happened to the remnant of the burnt offering in Leviticus 2?
So you have Leviticus 2, they burn the offering, what's left over goes to who?
Aaron and the priests, right?
They get to take it for themselves.
Okay, what's that a picture of?
Well, turn, if you would, to Luke chapter number 4.
Luke chapter number 4.
We're going to be in verse 4.
Luke chapter 4 verse 4, the Bible says in Jesus' hand that I'm saying it is written that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God.
Now, stay with me here, so man's not going to live by bread alone, but by every word.
So the remainder of the burnt offering, the meat offering, which is bread in Leviticus 2,
was for Aaron and the priests to take and consume.
And man is not going to live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Well, who's the word of God?
John chapter number one verse 14 you can turn there if you like John 1 14 says and the word was made
Flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory is of the only begotten of the Father
full of grace and truth
Another link to Jesus Christ being the word so what's the picture here then well?
Jesus Christ is our burn offering Jesus Christ the frankincense in gold frankincense and myrrh is an anointing
Perfume an anointing incense for a burn offering
Now that burnt offering in the New Testament is Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, it was the bread.
Jesus is that bread.
The remnant of that burnt offering in the Old Testament was for what?
Aaron and the priests.
Who are the priests in the New Testament?
In Revelation, it says,
I've made you kings and priests.
So we as believers are priests.
So the remnant of the bread offering is then to who?
Us.
Now, what are we supposed to do?
Consume that bread right eat that bread daily. Well, what does that look like?
Well, it's not by eating your sourdough loaf that everyone's making this time of year. What is it?
It's by consuming the Lord Jesus Christ
How so well one by believing because by consuming that you're never going to be hungry again
And the other is by living by Jesus Christ's word because Jesus Christ the bread of life is
The word of God and we should be every day consuming the words of God
How cool of a connection is that, y'all?
I mean, like, come on, I think that's cool, if you don't,
I don't know what's wrong with you, that's awesome.
And it's like, it's like,
three wise men brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
You know, great, Merry Christmas, here's your present.
But if you, like, slow down, though.
And you like read the Bible though. It's like yeah, but do you know what this means and how this links to this and that I
Love it. It's so cool. It's so cool
You don't have to turn here John 655 Jesus says for my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed
He just doubles down on this doctrine which the Jews hate why because the Jews hate Jesus
And they don't want to live by his words because they hate the Bible so and I'm talking about religious Jews
Okay, not someone born in a certain area
So we've looked at gold. I think I've explained to you how cool the frankincense picture is
So we'll move on from that to the last point this evening is murr. Now. What is murr?
Well, turn if you would to Exodus chapter number 30
Exodus chapter number 30
All right, Exodus 30, verse number 23 is where we'll start.
It says,
Take that also under the principal spices of pure myrrh,
500 shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even 250 shekels,
and of sweet calamus 250 shekels,
and of cassia 500 shekels after the shekel of the sanctuary,
and of oil, olive, and hen.
I always want to say olive oil, but it's backwards in that verse.
Verse 25.
And now I shall make it an oil of holy ointment.
So we have this
ointment that's being made here and like the main ingredient that by
by weight the biggest ingredient so far that we've put in is what?
Well it's 500 shekels worth of pure myrrh.
So, verse 25, and now shout, make it an oil of holy ointment,
an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary.
It shall be an holy, anointing oil.
Okay, well, what are we going to do with it?
Verse 26, and now shout, anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith,
and the ark of the testimony,
and the table and all his vessels,
and the candlestick in his vessels,
and the altar of incense,
and the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels,
and the labor...
and his foot, and now shall sanctify them that they may be most holy, whatsoever touches them shall be holy."
So we have this mirror, this anointing ointment of mirror, and what's being pictured here is that whatever is anointed with it is considered the most holy.
It is just the mo- it's sanctified, it's set apart for the service of the Lord.
These are all the parts of the Tabernacle that are going to be used in service,
they're going to be used in the sacrifice,
and it's to denote things that are just absolutely the most holy.
Now, who else are we gonna use this oil on? Like, who else gets to partake of this?
Look at verse 30.
It says,
Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured.
Neither shall you make any other like it, after the composition of it, it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever puteth any of it upon a stranger shall even be cut off from his people.
So, myrrh, this anointing perfume, now, myrrh is not the only ingredient in this oil.
It's not like it's just pure myrrh that they're anointing with.
There's a compound, there's the other ingredients there.
But I believe myrrh is picturing a sanctification and a consecration of what is considered the most holy,
the most set apart, even to the point where it's like, hey, it's not going to be poured on man's flesh.
This is for the altar, for the things used in the sacrifice, for the ark,
for the things that are the most holy, and then the priests get it to consecrate them.
So they're like sharing in this consecration of the ark and the tabernacle,
but it's not going to be used on some other guy or some stranger, and if you make something like it,
If you try to come up with your own
myrrh sanctification,
you're cut off.
And if you're putting this on strangers
who aren't part of that priesthood,
hey, you're cut off
because this is something to be holy.
Okay, so then what's the connection here?
Well, remember,
what did the ark symbolize
for the children of Israel with the gold?
God with us.
So, these things for the ark,
And the sacrifices and the temple are to be anointed with the most holy, anointing, consecrated oil.
Which would be what?
Saying, hey, Jesus Christ, that God with us, is to be anointed and set apart.
He's consecrated and He's the most holy.
Now he also is to be used for because what are the three things that you see here things used for the service of God
The sacrifice and the priesthood. Those are what's anointed with Murr. Okay. Well, what about the service of?
Turn of you into Matthew chapter number 20
Matthew chapter number 20 because I'm submitting to you that this is referencing
The Ark referencing Jesus here and being anointed that the Ark was anointed with Murr
that Jesus is the most holy being used in service of God.
But it's like, well, hold on, is Jesus really serving us?
Well, Matthew 20, verse 27 says this,
and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.
Verse 28, even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
So the myrrh in the Old Testament was used to anoint the ark, things being used in the service.
of the Lord. In the New Testament, this ultimate servant is Jesus Christ who came to lay down
his life for us and one of the gifts that he's brought as he's born is myrrh, which
is the anointing oil in the Old Testament. This one's just as cool as frankincense, folks.
I'm not going to get any less excited. All right. Now, what else was it in the Old Testament?
Sacrifice.
It was the things about the altar of sacrifice, the altar of the burnt offering.
Well, did I not already prove that Jesus Christ was that burnt offering?
Let's look at another verse on that.
Hebrews chapter number 10.
Turn, if you would, to Hebrews chapter number 10.
Hebrews chapter 10, we'll start in verse 12.
Hebrews chapter 10, verse 12.
But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering
he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified." So again, Jesus Christ is also
what was used in the sacrifice, in the
New Testament, in the Old Testament, the altar of burnt sacrifice, or the burnt
sacrifice altar parts that were used, were also consecrated
But who else? The priesthood.
Now, I already brought up earlier that in the New Testament, we are kings and priests.
And in the Old Testament, I mean, was Aaron really just like this perfect guy?
It seems to me that he had a little bit of some problems with gold himself, okay, when
Moses comes back down, it's like, bro, what did they do to you?
And he's like, the people made me make this gold calf or whatever.
So it's not saying like, Aaron, you're just so perfect that we're going to also make you
the most holy.
the tabernacle and the sacrifices of the Lord through the anointing oil.
The anointing oil in the Old Testament referred to as the Holy Spirit many times.
In the New Testament, when someone believes on Christ, they're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
So it's the anointing that we as priests are getting to share in the consecration and the most holy,
not because we're most holy, but because that of service and sacrifice is most holy.
perfect redemption. His sinless coat of skins that's referred to in Genesis is put on us
that we could cover ourselves and be perfect and spotless and have his righteousness not
our own. Which makes sense because what did the Bible say about the oil? Hey, don't make
another one like it.
If you try to go make your own little anointing oil,
you're gonna be cut up.
What happens if I go out and try to make my own Jesus,
my own righteousness, my own sanctification,
my own set apart?
I'm gonna be cut off.
You can't get to heaven that way.
You have to be anointed with this myrrh,
which is only for the priests,
and the only way you're a priest in the New Testament
is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's a picture of salvation.
And then it says, you're not gonna put it on a stranger.
Meaning what? Those weirdos that, like, don't believe there are super freaks or whatever and just the unsaved in general,
they're not able to just be anointed with this because they're not part of the priesthood which was referenced in the Old Testament
and is an allusion to Christ. Allusion A-L-L, not I-L-L, just for that.
So, myrrh is this consecrating holy set-apart, but all this...
In one, and I say this word flippantly,
one throwaway verse in Matthew 2.
Gold and frankincense and myrrh.
But you gotta slow down.
You gotta read your Bible because you're gonna miss this.
And it's so cool. This stuff is so neat.
Now, the priesthood, I do wanna look at one verse on the priesthood to prove this.
I referenced the verse in Revelation a couple of times.
Turn a few of it to Hebrews 6.
I think you're pretty close in Hebrews 10.
Hebrew six plus you're memorizing Hebrew six right don't answer that but you should be
Hebrew six
verse 19, Hebrews 6 verse 19,
our verse, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and steadfast,
and which entereth into that within the veil,
verse 20,
whether the forerunner is entered,
for us is entered,
even Jesus made an high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.
So it's not just us that are the priests,
but our high priest is who Jesus Christ,
which would make sense that he's going to be anointed for that oil,
because Jesus is
God and King and sacrifice, just like the hymn says.
So in conclusion, turn a few of it to Hebrews chapter number nine.
There is a way though that we can actually apply this today
because quite frankly, what we've looked at
is we've looked at the Old Testament application
of Gold, Frankincense and Mer, what those were back then,
how that was a picture.
We look at the delivering of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus Christ how that makes sense in reference to him at his birth, why those things were brought to him, why that's important, what that means for us as Christians.
But we actually today have the ability to go out and give out all three of these gold and frankincense and myrrh.
But we're doing it spiritually.
Now one of the references to this we read earlier where Peter said, hey silver and gold have I none, but that which I have give I be.
in the name of Jesus Christ and he performed the miracle to make someone stand up and walk.
Look at Hebrews 9 verse 1 though.
What does the Bible say in Hebrews 9?
It says,
Then verily the first covenant, so the Old Testament stuff we were talking about,
had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary.
We read a lot about that tonight.
Verse 2, for there was a tabernacle made.
The first wherein was the candlestick and the table and the showbread,
which is called the sanctuary.
And after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all,
which had the golden censor and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about with gold.
I mean, did we not talk about that this evening?
Wherein was the golden pot that had manna and Aaron's rod that butted and the tables of the Covenant.
And over it, the cherubimms of glory shadowing the mercy seed of which we cannot now speak particularly.
So look, these are just things that we've all been reading about tonight already.
The tabernacle, the gold, I get it Cameron, we've done this, we've gone over this.
Look at verse 6.
Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
But into the second went the high priest alone once every year,
not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the heirs of the people.
The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest.
So it's just telling us plainly, hey, back then they didn't get it.
They're not really fully understanding what this means.
They have the picture and they're believing it, but it's not fully revealed like it is to us now.
So, it was not yet made manifest, the latter portion of verse 8 says,
while as the first tabernacle was yet standing,
which was a figure for the time then present,
in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect,
as pertaining to the conscience,
which stood only in meats and drinks and diverse washings,
so these are just carnal things, right?
It says in carnal ordinances,
imposed on them until the time of Reformation,
but Christ.
Now, we're changing the context here.
It's like, hey, you have this Old Testament stuff that we've drilled tonight.
We get, they have these sacrifices and temples and altars and candlesticks and blah, blah, blah, we get it.
And that was for a time, but now we're changing what we're talking about.
But Christ, in verse 11, being come in high priest of good things to come,
by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us.
You say that's great, all you did was just read
a bunch of verses from Hebrews 9.
What does this mean for us?
Well, we saw the picture of what Goldfrancans and St. Myrrh
was alluding to in the Old Testament.
We saw the delivery of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh to the baby Jesus in the New Testament and then we see Jesus Christ offering those gifts that He was given really to us.
The gold of that precious eternal life that's really His.
Right that were the inheritors of the earth of all the precious things the
frankincense the sacrifice of that burnt offering that he's sharing in glory with us or sharing with us in glory
Right that he's giving us his perfect redemption his sinless
Perfection in a spiritual sense and the mirror that was used for the winning of the high priest at the time in that
We're sharing in the priesthood
So we get that when we believe we're getting all these gifts and then the gold and
frankincense and myrrh today is the gospel of Jesus Christ and
Here's the closing application that I want to make is that we can actually all of us go give
Gold frankincense and myrrh every single week of our life by preaching the gospel
So how? Well, the gold is by preaching Jesus Christ, the King, the most precious of insurmountable value, the top of the top, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the precious, priceless gift of the world, the frankincense for his sacrifice, that once someone believes in that sacrifice that he made, that he was that burnt offering that by partaking in that bread of life.
They can become saved. They can be partakers of that sacrifice that was symbolized by the frankincense, by eating that bread and you'll never hunger.
You have eternal redemption and the myrrh for his anointing, he is the high priest forever.
The Bible says is a constant intercessor, the mediator between man and God, Christ Jesus, who for us is entered in.
constantly telling God, do not destroy Cameron.
I know that he just did the stupidest sin ever,
but I got him, like he's, we're working on this, okay?
Like he's, and for all of us, right?
Every time we do something stupid,
and God's like, I'm about to hit the button.
Jesus is like, oh, hold on, I paid for that.
We're good, you know, and obviously I'm making a crude joke.
Obviously God knows when he looks at us,
he sees the sweet savor of the death of Christ
and the savor being the smell,
the smell relating to the sweet incense,
the incense being the frankincense of the,
I mean, like, come on, y'all.
Now, what about the wise men?
You know, we have the gold with the king,
the frankincense of the sacrifice,
the myrrh of Jesus Christ as the high priest
and we're the priesthood.
Where do the wise men come in?
Turn if you would to Proverbs 11, the last verse, and we'll close.
The cookies are nigh, okay?
Proverbs chapter 11.
Proverbs 11 verse 30 says this,
Proverbs 11 verse 30,
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and he that wineth souls is wise.
You're the wise man. If you're soul-winning, you're bringing gold, frankincense, and myrrh to a dying world in the same way that a dying world
2,000 years ago brought gold and frankincense and myrrh to Jesus Christ.
And if that's not the coolest picture, if that's not the neatest thing to know, maybe
you knew all this before and you're like, hey, you didn't show me anything new.
That's great.
This is new to me.
This is something that I've really been studying and looking into and I think it's awesome.
I hope you think it's awesome.
I hope you think it's a cool picture.
I hope now every time you read through and you read gold
and frankincense and myrrh, you're like,
man, I know what that picture is.
And I know why that's important.
And I know how we can give that out too.
And just give people the best Christmas gift ever,
which is Jesus Christ, who's worth more than gold,
more than all these sweet frankincense
and more than the myrrh.
Let's end with a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, I just thank you for...
your gift to us.
I thank you on this day that we could just
search out the really the unsearchable riches of your word
as the Bible says and just keep digging deep
and there's something always new for us to learn
and see and all the connections
and just your perfect awesome preserved word
that you've given to us Lord.
I pray that you would have us all have a happy holiday season
that Merry Christmas and that you would keep us all safe
as we go our separate ways and see our family
and that we would just be a light shining
in this world for you.
These things we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
All right, with that, we'll go ahead and sing one last song
to conclude the service.
If you would, take your hymnals
and turn to hymn number 427.
We Three Kings of Oriental.
Very fitting song to conclude the service here.
Hymn number 427, we'll go ahead
and start there right on the first.
We Three Kings of Oriental.
Bearing gifts, we traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star, oh, star of wonder star.
See
Storm