Uncommon Gift: Myrrh

Uncommon Gift: “Myrrh” 

Introduction:  Jesus is the most Uncommon Gift ever given that 2,000 years later we are still unwrapping!

Matt 2:1-12, 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory — this was during Herod’s kingship — a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. 2 They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.” 3 When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified — and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. 4 Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” 5 They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly: 6 It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land, no longer bringing up the rear.From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.” 7 Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. 8 Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”9 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. 10 They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time! 11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country. (MSG)

Introduction:  in our series thus far, I have covered the Gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Healing God…

  • Gold – value, treasure, worth…it’s not just the gift you bring, but my friend you have to recognize your value, your worth and that you are treasure to the Lord…
  • Frankincense – the praise, worship, warfare, sweetness and beauty of our life and attitude of Worship to Jesus
  • Hearing God – That the God of the Universe “Broke the Silence” through the cry of a baby…a child so we could be re-connected to Him and hear His voice again.

Transition:  On this Christmas Eve I want to share with you another Uncommon Gift we truly Bring to Jesus…can I help you and not simply share a whimsical message…will you forgive me if I get a bit real and raw today?

The wisemen or what some Scholars called them “King-makers” brought gifts of Gold, Frankincense and yes they also brought Myrrh…

They brought gifts as Acts of Worship….

  1. Myrrh
    1. Myrrh in scripture is usually the gift that is brought to a Prophet….
    2. Myrrh means “bitter” by definition…two ways you get Myrrh from a tree…you wound the tree by stabbing it repeatedly and it secretes a resin called Myrrh…or the best Myrrh is found in the sap that comes from the roots of the “torchwood” tree.
    3. Myrrh usually symbolizes Pain…can you trust God and give him your pain….
    4. Now I’m not talking about a boo boo or bo bo…I’m talking real pain…
      1. The Pain of Loss
      2. The Pain of Betrayal
  • The Pain of chronic sickness
  1. Continued disappointment
  2. Pain of a loss of a child
  3. Pain of Divorce
  • The Pain of Silence…
  1. Myrrh was used in the Embalming Process
    1. So, this is the kind of pain that should’ve killed ya!
    2. Pain meant to kill your destiny.
  • Pain intended to bury your future.
  1. Pain that attempted to put a stone in front of your gifts, calling, and ministry.
  2. Myrrh, pain, that dulls your senses and ability to feel. To Empathize with others…
    1. When Jesus was on the cross…and they filled a sponge with, scripture says “vinegar or sour wine” they’d mix wine with myrrh and it works like morphine…you just didn’t feel anymore.
  3. Myrrh was more costly than Frankincense
    1. Frankincense was around $500lb.
    2. Myrrh was $4,000lb.

Transition:  When you bring your pain as a gift of worship…only God and you know the cost and price of that kind of Worship…

Now this message would be good if I left you right here…but man I can’t do that…because God is a Gift Giver…and He desires to give you gifts….

  1. Experiencing God
    1. In John 3:16 we read God so loved, He gave the World His Son, but in Genesis God gave the World to His Son.
      1. WE SERVE A GIVING GOD…If you define God any other way, that diminished Him being a Giver…you devalue who He truly is.
      2. We often times experience God through what we have been given…
    2. The Magi Experienced God Through a Star
      1. You can experience God through anything…I mean through anything you have been given or anything that has walked into your life…
      2. A Donkey
  • A Worm
  1. Parting of the Red Sea
  2. Dry Bones in a Valley
  3. Fire on a Mountain

Transition:  God preached a message through a Star…Romans says, “God can be seen through all of His creation…” I guess it truly does matter what we look for…because we’ll find it…

  • Magi
    1. The Magi usually traveled in 12’s…not 3’s.
    2. The Region in which the Magi traveled from traded in Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh….
    3. So, I want you to see the envoy of Magi and their Gifts, as a Diplomatic Gift
      1. Isael was the doorway to the Mediterranean trade routes…leading specifically to Rome.
      2. So for these wisemen to participate in trade they’d have to come through Israel and the King of the Jews…. who controlled the doorways of Trade…
  • The King of Israel would be the Door to their Blessing.
  1. The Magi brought Gifts…but these Gifts were the Fruit of a Process that Produced these Gifts…
    1. The beating of rocks to get the Gold.
    2. The bruising of the tree to draw out the Frankincense.
  • The piercing and crushing of the roots to get Myrrh…
  1. They brought that which was beaten, bruised, and crushed…
    1. to the one who would be beaten, bruised, and crushed…
    2. They brought a Gift to a Giver
  • A treasure to a Treasure….
  1. They brought something of value to one who could not have a Value ascribed to Him because He is priceless…
  1. They brought a Kid a gift that was intended to be for a King…
    1. But that is just like God….
    2. God will anoint a boy to be king….
  • Joseph received a coat of many colors before he went to Egypt…

Transition:  God will give you a gift that doesn’t fit where you are, but it fits to where you are about to Go…. this is a message unto itself…

Story:  In 2014 right after we built this facility, I was asked to do a Pastor’s conference in the Nation of Wales…People were coming from all over Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Parts of England…

I often get invitation to speak and raise money because of what we’ve done here…

Anyway, I get me assignment, and I prepared my talk…it was really good to say the least…the night before the day I am to speak the Lord speaks to me and says…”don’t give that talk…” instead tell them about your Freeport days…Your struggle…Your Pain…I asked God “what part do you want me to share…”  He replied, “all of it.”  Including the first Easter where 35 people responded to salvation…and they all stayed and became the leaders of the Church….

I shared what God told me to share…the host who had invited me…stared at me in bewilderment…just knowing I’d share about our successes from here in Mont Belvieu…

Right after we had a lunch…and this young pastor came up and handed me a letter in an envelope…and here is what He said:  “This is my resignation letter to my superintendent…I had come to this conference feeling like a failure and was resolved to resign my church…but then you shared what God did for you…then God spoke to me and said…”you go give that man your letter not your superintendent.”  He looked at me with both of us in tears and said:  “thank you for being real enough to share your pain…it helped me not quit.” 

  1. Closing
    1. You have been looking at your rubble of rocks, your bruises, and places you’ve been crushed…and I came to tell you…
    2. In the rubble is Gold…
    3. In the bruises is the beauty of Worship
    4. In the crushing is the greatest gift of all…Myrrh. Myrrh is a costly perfume…fragrance!
  2. Candle Lighting Portion
    1. Myrrh and Frankincense have something in common…you don’t get the full purpose of their value until they are exposed to fire…but interestingly enough the more Gold is exposed to fire, the most precious it becomes…
    2. We are going to Light a Candle…yes acknowledging the Light of the World has come but the closer we get to the Light…our value and worth increases…Our purpose is released in its purest form.

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