Uncommon Gift: Frankincense

Uncommon Gift Part 2 Frankincense

 Introduction:  We are in this series entitled Uncommon Gift…so let’s be honest one of the things that is so uncommon about the Christmas season is all the variety of smells in the air…the evergreen trees, the candles, the baked goods and fine cooking that fills the house…even Starbucks does specialty coffees during this time of year and they have a different smell…Toasted White Chocolate Mocha…fires that burn in fireplaces…the Cologne and Perfume sections of the mall…

There is just a different fragrance in the air during Christmas…

Transition:  In the bible account of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel you will read about the Uncommon Gifts the Wise Men brought…one of those gifts was frankincense.

(Matthew 2:11)

Wise Men – just so you know were Scientist of the Day, they were also the Scholars of the Day, Part of the Elite and ruling Class of their country…wealthy.  They carry clout, power, influence and prestige.

Ex 30:34-38,34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather fragrant spices—resin droplets, mollusk shell, and galbanum—and mix these fragrant spices with pure frankincense, weighed out in equal amounts. 35 Using the usual techniques of the incense maker, blend the spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense. 36 Grind some of the mixture into a very fine powder and put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant, where I will meet with you in the Tabernacle. You must treat this incense as most holy. 37 Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the Lord, and you must treat it as holy. 38 Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.” (NLT)

1. Frankincense
   1. Like last week the gifts that the Magi, the wisemen brought carried prophetic meaning…
   2. You bring Gold to a King…but you bring Frankincense to a Priest…
   3. Frankincense was often a staple used in preparation for the Anointing of the Tabernacle, but also the Anointing of the Priests…
   4. In this passage found in Exodus we read of these instructions of the type of fragrance that would be burned before the Presence of God…right outside of the Holy of Holies…filling the room with smoke but also fragrance.

Transition:  Frankincense in scripture is connected to three things:  Worship, Healing and Warfare…

1. Worship
   1. This could be a series in and of itself…
   2. Heb 4:14-16, 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testing’s we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (NLT)

Rom 8:34, 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. ESV

1. See Frankincense speaks to us of Jesus’ continual Heavenly Ministry…
   1. Jesus is still serving as our high-priest, as our mediator, our intercessor…
   2. The word Intercession in the Greek means to: Hit the mark, as one throwing a javelin or shooting an arrow.

• Jesus has been tempted in every way we have been…
  1. Boils down to just a few things…lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life…
  2. Every temptation can be boiled down to these root causes…
  3. Yet Jesus beat back temptation every time and won…so He knows exactly what to do…and can help us overcome…
  4. So when we are tempted, He hits a bull’s eye with exact grace that we need to overcome…
  5. Hebrews 4:14-16 TPT

So then, we must cling in faith to all we know to be true. For we have a magnificent King-Priest, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who rose into the heavenly realm for us, and now sympathizes with us in our frailty. He understands humanity, for as a man, our magnificent King-Priest was tempted in every way just as we are, and conquered sin. So now we draw near freely and boldly to where grace is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.

1. So we have to understand when Jesus sees out battle – He starts interceding for us – throwing and javelin called grace directly at the area where we need supernatural strength…
   1. So Paul would express like this: “where with every temptation, He (Jesus) has already made a way of escape.”
2. In the Old Testament every offering that was presented to the Lord the aroma of Frankincense filled the Air…
   1. For Frankincense to put forth the most fragrance…it had to be converted to smoke…so smoke is what you see on the outside, but fire is on the Inside
      1. Do you have fire on the inside…
      2. May smell a little like Worship…but without Fire…it’s just a hint of Worship and not the full potential or purpose of Worship.
   2. My question is can you and I still find the Worship to give to the Lord no matter what we may go through.

• Relationship lost – but I praise him anyway this Christmas season

1. Fighting Cancer – but I’ll praise him in this season
2. New Relationships formed – so I’ll praise him
3. Bigger debt but also a bigger breakthrough – pardon me…I think I’ll praise Him….

1. Part of the usage of Frankincense in the area of Worship was Anointing that I shared earlier…
   1. Jesus was Anointed three times in His life…just like David was
      1. Side Note: When he was baptized, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river…the mud of the Jordon river was used to mold vessels and pots that would have Gold poured into them…so they could be used in the Temple for Worship Purposes…
      2. Jesus was Molded for Temple Purposes….
   2. Scripture says “a sinner woman anointed Jesus”
      1. Brought that which was precious and cost her something…

• Mark’s gospel says another time…Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus anointed Jesus in the town of Bethany.
  1. Bethany means: house of song or house of affliction…

1. Does Your Worship Cost You Anything
   1. Can you sing a Song out of your affliction…?
2. John’s Gospel says…”Jesus speaking, leave her alone she has anointed his body for burial…”
   1. A grain offering in Hebrew is called Matzoth – unleavened bread – used at Passover.
   2. True Matzah has holes in it and has stripes on it…representing Christ…Isaiah 53…”wounded for our transgressions…bruised…by his stripes we are healed.”
3. Jesus said, “I am the bread of Life…”
   1. He took the piercings, the stripes, the bruises…so we could be healed, forgiven and restored.

Translation:  Check this out…Frankincense in the day the Magi brought it to Jesus cost $500 per pound…and they needed pack animals to carry their offering to the Lord…

Don’t play with me…my Worship cost me too much for me to waste it anyplace other than at the feet of Jesus…

• Warfare
  1. Let me take this a bit deeper and I’ll get out of your hair…
     1. Matt 2:1-12, 2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” 3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.'” 7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” 9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. (NLT)

1. Who is this guy named Herod…we skip over him in the story and we never look into his History…because he isn’t the purpose or the theme of the story…Jesus is…but let’s look at him as I close…
   1. The title Herod carried which the Roman Senate had bestowed on him was “king of the Jews…”
   2. Herod gained power through FORCE…
      1. He had one of his wives killed and two brothers for suspicion of treason…
      2. He was married 9 times…each time to gain position, land or more titles…void of love…

• Here is the most intriguing thing to me about Herod…He wasn’t full blooded Jew…
  1. He actually was an Idumaean…
  2. A descendant of Esau…yes the same Esau who sold his birthright for a bowl of beans…to Jacob…
  3. This is a picture of spiritual vs.

Carnal…Godly verses Worldly.

1. The Magi was seeking the King.
   1. Herod was an imposter of a King and opposed the true King….
   2. The Priests of the Day knew the scriptures and could tell the Magi where to find Jesus, but they wouldn’t go and worship him for themselves…They were 5 miles away from the Son of God…and wouldn’t make the journey.
      1. How far are you from the son of God…but won’t go the distance.

Transition:  Christmas isn’t a cute holiday…it is an announcement of War…

1. Old Testament Tabernacle and the Censor of Exodus 30
   1. Several years ago when I was in Israel we took a ride out to a replica of the Old Testament Tabernacle of Moses…they have reconstructed out in the Desert…
   2. Walking through it all I asked the curator of the exhibit. With all the blood sacrifices…how do you keep the flies away…and what she told me blew my mind…she said, the recreated the Fragrance I spoke of in Exodus…and when the lit it up…and it began to smoke…all of a sudden…their wasn’t a fly, Nat or insect in the area…it worked like a repellent to the pestilence.

• Oh if you only knew what your worship produced in the spirit…you’d be like David and become even more undignified than you have been…

1. Closing