" BETHLEHEM: Wisemen go there"
Matthew 2:1-8

Have you ever started looking for one thing, and wound up finding another?

The Wisemen did!

Have you ever started focusing on something political only to find something spiritual?

The Wisemen did?

These experiences are called serendipities. They are all around us. I expect the best known occurred in the NASA Space Exploration program of our Government.

In trying to put a man on the moon.

1. medicine was probably advanced 100 years
2. Computer became of age, and was made small, fast and able to handle great problems.
3. Plastics,
4. Even the fabrics of the clothing we wear

THE WISE MEN CAME LOOKING FOR A KING, AND FOUND THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD.

They came prepared to visit him in a palace, and wound up worshipping him in a stable.

I. Who were these men?

a. Some say they were ZOROASTRIAN PRIEST from Persia, which is now Iran.

When Zoroaster died he prophesied that he would come back in 1,000 years. That amount of time had elapsed at approximately the time of Jesus' birth.

b. Some say they were the Magi from Egypt. Out of mysterious Egypt came astrology, and also the basis for higher mathematics. Pythagoras , who has been called the father of higher math went to Egypt to study.  These people were also great astronomers.

If either of these two groups were the magi, it would have taken from 6 weeks to six months for them to get to Bethlehem.

THE POINT I WANT TO MAKE THIS MORNING IS THAT WISEMEN ...TOO...COME TO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST.  Many times they discover him by accident. Some even by trying to disprove Him.  For most of them the trip is a long arduous, laborous one.

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT I SPEAK WAS: Lloyd Douglas.

The purpose for writing the novel was to prove that Jesus was a fraud. However, as he researched his material he was engrossed in this man's life. Something happened to him. He found himself at the manger with the  simple folks ...with the shepherds, if you please. He believed!

This is often true. In the past three appointments I served I ministered to the academic communities of N.C.State University, and Duke University in Durham. It was amazing how many highly intellectual people had come to a simple faith in Jesus Christ. When I graduated from college in the 60's there was almost open warfare between the intellectual and the person of faith.

Bishop Kenneth Goodson tells a story about his trip to the Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Said he, I arrived at a little before lunch and had lunch with some of the people there. As I walked through the complex I discovered people gathered in small groups. As I drew near I discovered they were studying the Bible. Walter Von Braun explained to him what was happening.

We have discovered the further we go into space, and the more we learn about the universe the more we are driven to believe in God.

When God set out to build the church it was to men of great learning that he went.

The great apostle Paul was the only academically lettered man among the apostles. He had studied with the great scholar Gamaliel. He had the modern equivalent to a PHD degree.

So did ...Martin Luther and ...John Wesley. All of these were persons who had searched long and hard for the Christ and wound up finding him in simple faith.

If you are a person who doubts, or who struggle with your faith I encourage you not to give up. Ask your questions! The chances are you too will wind up with the shepherds at the stable of Bethlehem.