(John 1:1-5)....(Matthew 2:1-12)--"WHAT GIFTS DO YOU BRING TO THE KING?"
I read the first passage as a reminder to you that God's GIFT to us on Christmas is his Incarnate WORD!  As I mentioned last Sunday....every sale at the shopping center, every GIFT given this Thursday morning is a reminder of HE WHO FIRST GAVE TO US HIS OWN SON!!!  This scripture in John tells us that this FIRST CHRISTMAS GIFT WAS GIVEN TO DO TWO THINGS:
A. It Brings Life Into Deadness – When Jesus came into this world, He entered a world filled with dead men. But, these dead men don’t know that they are dead. (STORY--A farmer years ago was trying to teach his son the ways of life on the farm. So, he took his son out to the hen house, grabbed a chicken and said, "Son, your Mama wants a chicken for dinner, so you know what we have to do." With that he cut the chicken's head off, and the chicken began to flop around on the ground. Well, the little boy's eyes got wide with amazement, and he said, "Daddy, look at that. That there chicken is dead and don’t even know it." That is exactly the way lost people are, Eph. 2:1-3.)
*Jesus came so that dead men could live! When a dead, lost man meets this little child in Bethlehem by faith, he passes from death unto life, John 5:24. When that dead man becomes alive in Jesus, everything in his life changes, 2 Cor. 5:17. *All men need to realize that:
1. Jesus is the Strength of Earthly Life – We are alive today only by His good grace, Ill. Job 1:21. He makes life possible!
2. Jesus is the Secret of Effective Life – It has been said that “three things make life worth living: a self fit to live with; a faith fit to live by; and a purpose fit to live for.” Only Jesus Christ can give you all three, John 10:10! He gives life and He gives it abundantly! The word “abundantly” means “superior, extraordinary, surpassing, uncommon”. That is the kind of life He came to give! He gives life purpose!
3. Jesus is the Source of Eternal Life – Those who know Jesus by faith will live eternally, John 11:25-26; John 3:16. He makes life permanent!   Real living is more than walking, talking, eating, breathing, loving, etc. Real life, abundant life, joyful life is found in knowing God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 John 5:12.)
B. It Brings Light Into Darkness – A person who does not know Jesus is more than just spiritually dead...he is also spiritually darkened! Jesus came to change all that! He said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,” -John 8:12. · “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” -Eph. 5:8.  “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” -Acts 26:18.  “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” -Col. 1:13   Jesus came into this world to bring light into our spiritual darkness! Just as He stood in the darkness of creation and said, “Let there be light”; there was a day when He stood in the cold darkness of my heart and brought light to my soul. Listen to how Paul said it in 2 Cor. 4:6, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
*What is sad is that the world stumbles blindly in the dark seeking light in all the wrong places!!!(STORY- I heard about a drunk that was down on all fours late one night under a street light. He was groping around the ground, feeling the cement, trying to find something. A friend walked up to him and said, "Sam, what are doing you there?" He said, "Well, I've lost my wallet.” So this friend gets down on his hands and knees and they both start looking for this man's wallet. Neither one can find it, and finally the friend says to his drunk buddy: "Are you sure you lost the wallet here?" "Well no. In fact, I dropped it a half a block back over there." "Well then why are we looking here?" "Because there's no street light over there.") 

That is just what the lost world does with the light. They reject it when it comes their way, John 3:19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” The word “comprehended” in verse 5 means “to lay hold on; to claim for oneself.” Every day we live, somebody out there is trying to extinguish the LIGHT!!!
Most folks are all messed up when it comes to what they think Christmas is all about. Their primary concern is in giving the perfect gift. You know, only God can do that! Only God could give the perfect gift. And, that is just what He did when He sent Jesus into this world. He gave us His Son Jesus, the greatest gift. He gave Jesus to be life for our dead souls and light to our darkened hearts. He gave His all when He gave us His Son!
These WISE MEN arrived almost two years after Christ was born in Bethlehem.  According to (v.7), Herod wanted to know how long they had been following that star; and, the fact that Herod demanded that his soldiers kill children 2 years of age and under, tells us that they must have planned their gift-giving for many months!  Each of these gifts MEANT SOMETHING of spiritual significance!  With that in mind, WHAT GIFT DO YOU OFFER THE KING???
(1)-Their gifts were CHOSEN FOR THE EMMANUEL *What do you GIVE God? (The Unlikely Star)
(2)-Their gifts were CARRIED FROM THE EAST (The Unique Selection)-Gold-Frankensence-Myrrh!
(3)-Their gifts were CONCEALED FROM THE ENEMY (The Unmistakable Secret)-They didn't tell!
(4)-Their gifts were CONTINUAL FOR ETERNITY (The Unsilenced Story!)-We still talk about it!)
This story leaves us with a question....what GIFT do we bring?  The word "offering" carries with it the same meaning as "to GIVE"; and it appears in 637 verses throughout the bible!  Give God your ATTENTION, HEART, ABILITIES, LOVE....show a genuine COMMITMENT to your CHURCH, FAMILY (in the things of the SPIRIT)....get your PRIORITIES STRAIGHT!  What will be most important to you 200 years from now?  Are you laying up treasures in HEAVEN???