JESUS IS COMING VERY SOON!

This is a story we all know very well. When Jesus Christ was born some wise men saw the star in the east and they knew a King was born, an extraordinary King, and they decided that they must see this King. So they prepared for a long journey and decided to follow the star to see the King. If you study this passage very well you will know that the journey took them two years. So if you see the picture of three wise men and a newborn baby, that is the imagination of men because when they arrived, the baby was two years old. They kept on following the star and the star kept on leading them.

When the wise men arrived in Jerusalem they went to the palace to look for a king. On arrival at the palace, they said. "We are here to see the One who was born, the King of all kings." The king was surprised because he did not know of any child being born.

When the wise men realised that Christ was not there, they came out of the palace and the star was still waiting for them and it led them to their destination.

Upon seeing the King, they fell down before Him and worshipped Him. Then they did what only wise men do; they gave gifts to Him.

I want to talk about running the race to heaven. When did the race start'?

It started for these wise men when they saw the star. For you and I it started the day we saw the Author and Finisher of our faith. We started the race the day we surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ. Many of us believe that when we are born again that is the whole story. No, it is just the beginning. When you give your life to Jesus Christ you start a long race.

It is interesting and important to note that this race is not a sprint, it is a long distance run; it is a marathon. Therefore it is going to take rugged determination to make it home. The wise men were determined when they left home that however long it took, they were going to get to their destination. Because this race might be longer than you think, you are going to need a lot of patience. In Hebrews 12:1 we read:

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

You have to make up your mind from the word go - it does not matter what is going to happen, I am going to make it to heaven. That determination must be from the beginning, it is not something you make from halfway through, because you might not make it.

When these wise men came into Jerusalem they entered into the palace. I need to warn you, those who are determined to make it home, there may be diversions on the way. Some of the diversions that you may come across could be:

1. Comfort

I pray that every one of you will prosper. Prosperity can bring comfort and comfort can divert your attention. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 4:10:

For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Comfort can take you away and divert your attention from the original goal. I remember when I called some people out to fast for thirty days, sixty days and one hundred days. The people from the poor sections said, Glory be to God. The people from the rich sections were groaning because everywhere you turned in their house was food. I pray that God will prosper you without letting the prosperity take you to hell.

2. Resting before you reach your goal

These wise men had been travelling for two years. A good night's rest in a palace was too appealing. They were not just looking for the Prince, they were looking for a good night's rest, but they had not reached their goal. It is a very dangerous thing to rest if you have not reached your goal. Let us look at David.

When David was running from one cave to the other, he did not commit adultery. But the Bible tells us in 2 Samuel 11:1:

And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

David woke up from his sleep in the afternoon and decided to go for a stroll, you know the rest of the story; he saw what he should not have seen. In the story of the young prophet in 1 Kings 13:11-32 God gave him an assignment to go and prophecy to the king and not to wait but to go straight back home. He was not to eat or drink there but return to his destination. The prophet came and prophesied and performed a couple of miracles and went back, but instead of going straight home he decided to rest under a juniper tree and that is where the enemy caught up with him.

3. Taking your eyes off the star

When the wise men entered the palace they could not see the star anymore. All they saw was the glittering glory of the palace. When you take your eyes off the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bright and Morning Star, and you begin to look at people you might be diverted. For many of us, when we were young Christians, there was always the tendency to look at the pastor or to look at some other human being. But the Bible says in Hebrews 12:2:

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Focus your attention on Jesus; He is the only One who will not let you down. I can assure you any human being, anyone that is born of a woman and living in this world can disappoint you. I have had several disappointments in my life and they have all come from people I looked up to, people I thought were better than me. Focus your eyes on Him because if you begin to look at other people and how they practice their own Christianity, what happened to Peter when he began to take his eyes off the Lord will happen to you.

4. Opening your mouth a little too wide

Revealing your secrets to sympathetic friends. Do not share your testimonies until they are complete.

If you are determined from the word go to make it to heaven, even though there might be diversions there will also be restoration. A very classical example of the restoration that comes only from God, without you even having to do anything about it, is Abraham. God told Abraham, "I will make you the father of many nations." But when Abraham waited and the promise was not fulfilled a little diversion came and his wife told him to take her maid.

From the moment that Abraham became diverted to the bondwoman. God became silent for thirteen years. That is a long time for God to be silent, particularly to someone who had been hearing from God. Which means if God has not been talking to you in recent days, particularly if He has been talking regularly to you before, it may be that there has been or there is a diversion in your life. But after 13 years, the ever-merciful God decided to restore Abraham and He spoke to him in Genesis 17:1 and said,

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

From that moment onwards, God and Abraham walked together in harmony. There is something that Abraham did that showed he was a wise man, because when God wanted to start the restoration process, when God spoke to him again after thirteen years, the Bible says in Genesis 17:3, that Abraham fell on his face before God.

And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying.

The point of this story is: why was it that only three wise men saw the star and decided to do something about it out of the whole world? What is it that we see about these three men who finally reached their goal? It is very important for us if we are going to end up as wise men and women.
The first thing we will notice is that:

1. These wise men were worshippers

When they came to the Almighty God, the first thing they did was to fall down and worship Him. Anyone who knows how to worship God correctly can get anything they want from God. If you are a true worshipper I can guarantee you, you will make it to heaven. The Bible says in John 4:23-24:

But the hour comet, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

If you are a true worshipper you will make it. When we talk about real worship there are various postures that you can take. Raising your hands means that you surrender. When you kneel you are saying that God is superior. When you dance you are acknowledging God as your owner, but when you really want to acknowledge the Almighty God you will fall flat on your face which means I am completely down and You are completely up.

2. These wise men were givers

You may not see anything significant in the fact that they gave, after all the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. God does not need gold nor does He need food, but the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7:

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give: not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.

One other thing about those who give is that they have the same characteristic as God. The Bible says in John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God gave His all. Whenever God finds a cheerful giver. He finds somebody like Himself. He finds someone who shares the same value about things as himself. When you find someone who is an addicted giver, you can be sure somehow he or she is going to make it to heaven.

In 2 Chronicles 1:6-12, when Solomon decided to offer to God one thousand burnt offerings, the Bible said that night the Almighty God decided to visit him. When God decides to visit you on earth, you can be sure that you will be welcome in His palace on the last day.

3. These wise men were diligent people

The Bible says in Proverbs 22:29:

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

Hebrews 11:6 says:

And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.

There are many of us who handle our Christian race sloppily; we need to handle it diligently. Whatever you do for God, do it with all diligence. When you sing, sing diligently, when you pray, pray diligently when you study the Word, study the Word diligently.

4. These wise men did not ask for anything

They merely came to give, but they did not leave empty handedly. I will share with you a few things that they got:

1. They got joy
   When they saw the star standing over that house, they realised that they had reached the end of their race. The Bible says they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

   I do not know if you have ever discovered this. You say, "Today Lord I am not going to ask for anything, I just want to worship you." And you worship God so much that suddenly tears of joy begin to flow. And if anybody asks you why you so are so full of joy, you cannot even tell, but there is something deep within you that tells you have made contact with the only One that matters.

   Those men rejoiced with exceeding joy. For many of us it is a long time since we last knew what joy is. Once in a while we experience happiness for material blessings, but for how long? But deep-rooted joy that makes you sing when you are in the kitchen, bathroom, in your car or on your job at all times only comes from the Lord.

2. These men achieved their life purpose

   There are many of us who do not even know why we are here. For twenty-seven years I studied mathematics. I thought my purpose in life was to become the youngest Chancellor in Africa. I have discovered that if I had achieved that one, it would not have been fulfilling because if I had become a Vice-Chancellor, I would rejoice for a day or two, but then I would later realise that there is nothing more to come. These men ran a race to win and they won.

3. These men reached home
   They came from the east, saw the King of kings and achieved a purpose of their life. I am sure that many of you know that we came from heaven and until we get back there, we have not made it.
4. They saw the King of kings Himself
   When they brought the Lord Jesus Christ into the temple and the old prophet Simeon came, he knew he could now go because his eyes had seen the King of glory.

Then He appeared in all His glory to John the beloved on the Isle of Patmos; remember when He was here in the flesh John could relax on His bosom. But when he turned and saw the King of glory, the Bible says the glory slew him and he fainted. My prayer for you is that even before you see Him in heaven, you will see Him on earth. The wise men saw the King of glory and I am sure there lives were never the same again.

5. God helped them
God kept on assisting them on the way. Diversion came, they went into the palace, but God brought them out. The star that was leading them waited for them, as soon as they came back. The star was leading them all the way. The same God that was leading them told them not to go back to Herod but to go back another way.

I am sure that those of us, who will finally make it home, will make it home only because God will help us.