Bishop Eric K. Clark - "Wise Men Still Seek Him"

welcome to the body of christ assembly's online streaming service to all of our members and guests thank you for joining us today we are so happy you've chosen to watch baca's live stream church service where you will be inspired to reach out to others with the gospel of jesus christ join us on facebook and youtube for any of our live stream service times sunday at 10 a.m the bishop clark show monday through friday at 10 a.m and wednesday midweek service at 7 pm our desire is that the love of god greets you and the word of god keeps you we pray that you are strengthened and encouraged on your path to god's great destiny for your life so welcome again to body of christ live streaming service [Music] hey baca join us for prayer monday through friday 8 am john 15 and 7 says if you abide in me and my word abide in you ask what you will and it shall be done unto you the phone number to join is 712-775-8968 the pin code is 304-282 baca's christmas service will be held on tuesday december 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good morning good morning good morning the lord is so good he is so wonderful he is so kind this is the day here that the lord has made and we shall rejoice and be glad in it hallelujah we are so glad that you tuned in to worship with us today we praise god for you hallelujah this is our christmas weekend and we're blessing the lord for just his death burial and his resurrection for being born during this time hallelujah we glorify the name of jesus christ this morning i'm going to ask karema water to come and pray this morning and we're going to go forth in the name of jesus christ and as we're preparing ourselves to pray we're asking that you sanctify this time sanctify this time to worship the lord to hear the word and to make sure all the noise around you is settled so you can be ministered too thoroughly let's bow our heads and pray in the name of jesus christ father we thank you for another day that you have kept us we thank you for bringing us to your house god to give you honor glory and praise god we thank you for those that are watching at home by way of internet we pray in the name of jesus christ that your spirit will surround them god god we pray in the mighty name of jesus christ that your anointing will break yolks god god you are alpha you are omega you are the good shepherd god you are the mighty god god we thank you for being our lord and our savior we thank you for being born during this time god god we glorify your name you are holy and righteous and wonderful god god you are kind and we bless your name we thank you for the power of prayer god god we thank you hallelujah for just being in our lives god pulling us from the pit god and putting us on the right path god we glorify your name hallelujah thank you jesus glory to god hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah father we just thank you this morning thank you this morning lord for our king jesus we thank you lord that you sent a savior to save this world lord god we bless you father and we give you praise glory and all the honor this morning father god we ask that you will touch each and every person that's tuning in to this broadcast this morning fill their hearts with your love today god let your holy spirit come into place this morning lord god we need you o god and we bless you o god you are almighty god you are king of king and lord of lord i thank you this morning god for being our king this morning thank you god for sending your son to save us today god we bless you and we give you all the praise this morning god have your way in this service bless our man of god as he break bread with us this morning anoint him with your favor this morning lord god and save someone's soul today god oh hallelujah hallelujah to our king this morning hallelujah we bless you and we give your name all the praise all the glory and all the honor in jesus name amen lay down that spirit of heaviness and receive the joy of the lord our savior brought joy to this world come on and receive it now hallelujah [Music] for the joy of [Music] sickness [Music] i'm laying it down [Music] it's the greatest change [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] lord yes lord yes i will trust [Music] [Applause] [Music] one more time i'll say it yes [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] one more time break the music for me [Music] let it cry out come on [Music] this morning [Music] that happened [Music] one more time hallelujah hallelujah we have so much to rejoice about we have so much to sing about a savior wrapped himself in flesh so that he could save us so that he could redeem us hallelujah [Music] we love you in this place incline your ear to me lord hear my cry i know you as a savior and a deliverer so i'll haze it to the throne of grace [Music] [Music] god [Music] [Applause] [Music] i don't care what's happening in my life [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] anybody love him this morning [Music] my [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] is [Music] you know [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] hallelujah thank you lord that we can go boldly through the throne of grace to receive mercy in our time of need and here to take us further into our service our bishop eric kincaid clap your hands and receive them [Music] come on number two [Music] thank you lord thank you lord come on clap your hands for our lord and savior jesus christ now we praise him father we give you thanks we give you glory we worship your name we do declare that this is the day that you have made thank you for waking us up thank you for allowing us to be in our right minds to worship you to glorify you we lift our hands unto you we lift our eyes to the heels from which come our health all of our help comes from you we worship you we give you glory we give you honor and praise thank you father thank you father sanctify this moment speak to our hearts through your powerful word is our prayer purify our hearts our minds and let this time be devoted unto you in jesus name let god say lord is amen thank you you can be seated in the presence of lord just for a moment here good morning everyone amen i pray that god is amen been gracious to you all week long as he has been to me let me start off this morning by saying a big fat thank you i had a birthday last week uh december 17th i forget what day it was but all week long i got phone calls i got texts and the members of the body of christ assembly church were a very very special blessing to me it really touched my heart because now i'm in this mode i'm preaching to a camera i don't know who's watching i've got my four pastors in place and they're trying to keep up with the saints but i miss so much your faces and i was able to read each card and some people had a little note a little letter and it really really touched my heart it really blessed me to know that the ministry and the work that we're doing is touching you is strengthening you and i i must say it was like a full tank of gas after reading your cards and receiving the expressions of love and appreciation i i am so blessed i am so blessed i felt loved this week by god through his people and i want to say thank you for all of the birthday greetings the monies the cards the well wishes you were a special blessing to me and i'm so grateful for that all right i want to get into today's uh word today stand on your feet those that are here just a few leaders are here the book of matthew chapter 2. matthew chapter 2. there are a lot of things that we see around this time of the year it's christmas time it's christmas time and on this week one of these shows that we hosted had to do with the traditions of christmas uh i have many fond memories as a little boy growing up of christmas trees and decorations and peanuts and fruit i have a lot of memories of certainly uh wonderful gifts that were given to me playing with my brothers seeing my cousins traveling always a christmas meal at my grandmother's house fun memories going sled riding riding my new bike or getting on my new skates or whatever it was uh it was just a wonderful time and uh here we are uh 50 years later here we are 50 years later and christmas has morphined into a very commercialized business the holiday season is a time of shopping shopping shopping eating eating eating a lot of people that travel travel travel and some kind of way christ gets lost in all of the stuff but today we want to bring the focus back to christ amen and even exhort god's people enjoy your holiday the special traditions that you have with your family uh in this um augmented space uh during this pandemic enjoy your traditions and your family but please let's not lose christ in the celebration let's not allow this time to be a time when we simply go into debt find ourselves stressing out trying to please people with gifts and make people happy and the happiness really should come from within as the word of god says the joy of the lord is our strength it is nice to receive a gift and uh it it's more blessed to give than it is to receive at the same time this time is an observation about the birth of our lord and savior jesus christ and around this time there are these fabled stories rudolph the red nosed reindeer here comes santa claus and and um the three little pigs no i don't think the three pigs fit in that one but you got all these little fictitious stories frosty the snowman the grinch's stole christmas i mean it's a fun time and as a young child i enjoyed that and even with my children growing up hopefully i don't know how my grandkids are sort of interpreting all of that but it it was very clearly taught to me about the birth of our lord and savior jesus christ and that story of his birth was not put in the same category as the fictitious fables and the story and the fun things that people would do around the holidays there was something else that was always a part of the christmas time and season the special songs that were sung um the lightings of the christmas trees the decoration of the house and uh drinking eggnog and i guess the what was it the fruitcake didn't show up to christmas time a fruitcake i mean it was all these little things that would happen around the season but one of the other things that would happen was the nativity scene the scene of the three wise men uh that would be standing over um the manger the little babe in a manger with the star overhead and that was always something that was special but for those that have never read their bible um would not know that that is not a a accurate depiction of what took place at the birth of christ that by the time the wise men showed up christ was not a baby he was not in a manger but he was a young child i want to read that text for us on today matthew chapter 2 verse number 1 now when jesus was born in bethlehem of judea in the days of herat the king behold there came wise men from the east to jerusalem saying where is he that is born king of the jews for we have seen a star in the east and are come to worship him when herod the king had heard these things he was troubled in all jerusalem with him and when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together he demanded of them where christ should be born and they said unto him in bethlehem of judea for thus it is written by the prophet and thou bethlehem in the land of judah art are not the least among the princes of judah for out of these shall come a governor that shall rule my people israel then herod when he had privately called the wise men inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared and he sent them to bethlehem and said go and search diligently for the young child and when they have found him or when ye have found him bring me word again that i may come and worship him also when they had heard the king they departed and lo the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy and when they were coming to the house they saw the young child with mary's mother they fell down and worshiped him when they had opened their treasures they presented unto him gifts gold frankincense and myrrh and being warned of god in a dream that they should not return to herod they departed into their own country another way uh i want to focus on verse number verse number eight herod said go and search diligently for the young child and when ye have found him come tell me bring me word again that i may come and worship him also y'all seek him when you find him tell me and i'll come where he is and worship him for a subject matter wise men still seek him father let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight smile upon us and remove the thorny ground stony ground and waste that ground give us ears to hear what the spirit is saying to the church in jesus name amen you can be seated in the presence of the lord wise men still seek him as we started out on this morning the nativity scene depicts three kings amen standing over a little baby in a manger amen with the with the star somewhere and yet when we read the text we find out that it it was not uh the christ newborn child that was in a manger by the time the wise men got to christ amen he was a young child with his mother and yes they did worship but what i want to do is focus on amen these 12 verses and to pick some truth out of the text and show you how it relates to us today our subject matter once again wise men still seek him here matthew chapter 2 starts out um with the words in the days of king herod or hera the king it is worth noting that these were interesting days why because there was controversy that surrounded herod being king some would say that he and his father conquered one particular city on behalf of rome and was granted this kingship as his reward that he could be the ruler over this region and over this area there were others that would suggest that there was a religious war and uh it it it pans out that herod uh the great became king and and and there was such a unrest that he even married one of the uh key leaders in this religious reformation trying to bring peace in the region but we can uh whether we know it was it was be he was king because of this or king because of that we do know that he was a man that coveted power he was a man that was uh uh doing whatever he could he was hooking and crooking he was tricking he was rigging the election he was declaring that it's not real recount the vote he was doing every i don't have time to preach he was doing everything he could do to hold on to power this was a coveted position and there were those that were around that were still unsettled about the issue whether he was king or not so if anything presented itself that would challenge his authority or his position this would trouble him now out of nowhere the bible says wise men came from the east um the wise men were the magi these magi were uh uh a men that were spiritual men men that were like priests they could interpret special signs or they could read astrology you know these are gifts that uh the church uh many times pushes to the side and even uh begins to characterize as sorcery and something that is wicked or ungodly but you need to understand that we get the word magic or magicians from magi why because the magi uh had a grace to combine that which was scientific with that which was spiritual and there are a lot of times we like to separate science from spirituality literally if you uh yet if you give yourself to true study of science science will affirm that which is spiritual and not only that spiritual uh many times trumps that which is science a god uses the natural things amen to confound the wise but there are times that the lord will even use the natural phenomenons of amen in the spiritual journey of people's lives and we have a tendency to call them omens or things that are negative and literally they are signs from god it is these men that were persian men from the east that came up with their gifting and their a background in astrology and they could read the signs these were men that were given to reading prophet prophecy they were given to reading the scriptures and then on top of that they had a sign amen they began to follow the stars and the bible says that the stars brought them all the way down to bethlehem and they went right to the top i'm going right to the king who's in charge here and they came to herod and said hey uh uh which which street which borough which which which where is the child that was born king of the jews now uh herod's antennas went up when when the term king of the jew hey the star the star that didn't move here rod we come from the east people were coming from everywhere but when they said he's born king well i mean we already then went through months and months of of recounting votes we have went through hey man an unrest around here we we they're people that that are that are for me others against me i'm just trying to get my kingdom and my authority settled and now y'all going to introduce somebody else that is going to challenge the authenticity of the authentic leadership and real power that i have assumed you mean to tell me there's somebody that's born king so the bible said he began to call for the chief priests and the scribes he demanded if you read the text here there's a tone the tone is he demanded of them this was not cool calm and collective the bible said he was troubled and the whole city was troubled it was like they set the town on fire soon as there began to be a little peace and a little settlement here it is this fire is thrown in the mist hey uh uh uh uh uh uh a wrench in the engine uh just a a dead cat on the line to mess the whole thing up and so we called the religious leaders and said all right y'all gotta tell me i need y'all right now to tell me uh what's going on with the star what's going on with the child where is he supposed to be born and and what's what's what's interesting is there's so many masonic prophecies that were around the bible speaks of the death of christ being foretold his dominion being foretold the incarceration of god being foretold the kingdom uh his kingdom his meekness his priesthood his prophetic office was prophesied about amen his rejection his resurrection amen his righteous government his sufferings his triumph even his time and place of birth it was prophesied that he would be of the seed of abraham of the tribe of judah of the root and offspring of david that amen the government shall be upon his shoulders his name shall be called the wonderful counselor the mighty god the prince of peace the everlasting father that he will have the key of david an opening no man could close that he would be a restorer of the breach and a restorer of paths to dwell in that he would rise with healing in his wings that there would be a bomb in gilead that he would be the one that would give us a new heart a stony heart he would take away and give us a new heart that he would give us a new name i mean literally that he would be the emmanuel god with us that he would be amen the promised deliverer that he would bring peace that he would save god's people from their sins if you understand that the old testament was written in hebrew and the new testament was written in greek you understand that the hebrew language did not even have the letter j it was yeshua it was yahweh it was joshua amen that we translate today jesus christ so depending on who you're talking to uh you say you talk about jesus and if you're dealing with someone of a jewish a historical jewish background they have a problem with jesus uh because their alphabet didn't even have the letter j it was yeshua and yet amen through translation of the hebrew amen into the latin and the greek into the latin and now we had amen in the 1400s the king james language and now we've got all kinds of interpretations of the scriptures on uh different versions of you got the new international version you got all these versions yet all of these prophetic these messianic prophecies pointed to this one yeshua or joshua or jesus now you must understand that a jesus the name yeshua or joshua was as common john as the name john any old tom dick or harry in eo john or mary was a very common name so looking for joshua or yeshua was like finding a thousand needles in a very small haystack so yeshua was everywhere but what they were looking for was for a specific yahshua the name yeshua means amen uh one who saves god who saves uh from sin the bible tells us a man of his characteristics uh not so much his title but his characteristics there are a lot of people that are naming their kids all kinds of stuff you got to be careful what you name your kids sometimes they start acting like what you name them but the name jesus christ was a name that was significant amen it meant that god is going to save and so you know i if you're in trouble you don't call oprah you call jesus i'm trying to preach right now why because it is god who saves there is power in the name of jesus christ and so here it was there were many wise people in the bible days that were seeking out christ they were looking for him they were studying the prophecies they were studying the signs and god has a way of letting you know that when you seek me as the word of god teaches us amen jeremiah 29 amen verse number verse number 11. he says i know the thoughts that i think toward you say of the lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end but that passage goes on to say then shall ye call upon me and ye shall go and pray unto me and i will hearken unto you and ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall have searched for me with your whole heart or with all of your heart this is a wonderful wonderful passage and let me marry this passage to our original text on this morning in matthew chapter 2 here comes the magi the wise men they come from the east because they have been reading the prophecies they have been studying the word of god they're looking for christ when he would be born where he would be born and they were spiritual enough to discern the scientific signs there was a star that appeared and they began to follow this star from the east and it brought them all the way down to judea they go to herod and face off and said where is the king now you got to understand in those days they didn't have cnn they didn't have fox news they didn't have cnbc they didn't have twitter or or any kind of news media fees um what was happening in the day was was was was on the lips of the people it was as well as it were when christ was walking on the road to emmaus and the men were talking and jesus said what are y'all talking about they said you haven't heard you know like the biggest news is this guy jesus was killed so the way information was conveyed was by the lips it was what everybody was talking about now to the magi they came went right to the king said where he at herod said who they said the one that's born like y'all not y'all not on it you haven't heard the latest news you mean the whole city is not in a frenzy and an uproar about the one that is born king of the jews it was as if this was their whole life's mission they had traveled we don't know from how far it could have been a hundred miles it could have been 1200 miles they came from the east tradition amen uh in the nativity scene it's three of them but a traditional history would tell us it could have been as many as twelve why because it was not said how many of them it was we simply uh uh conclude that it was three because there were three different gifts there was the gold frankincense and the myrrh so many times we think it was just three of them but it might have been as many as 12. some would suggest it could have been six even more we don't know but we do know that it was their mission to seek out the lord they had been studying they had been praying they had been reading the signs they had been amen talking with everyone they had been trying to put their hand on any kind of literature on any news that they can get any clue they were double oh seven they were seeking out the truth they were going from one place to another place to another place and finally they got a breakthrough they saw a star and they began to follow the star and they followed it all the way to judea the larger area amen that encompassed several cities and they go to here i say what city which borough is it what street in thinking in their mind this is the biggest news this is the greatest thing in my life how could you not be aware of it you know just like yesterday i walked in uh in somebody's presence and they said well you know huh the game is on i said what game they said ohio state man it's the championship game the ohio state well there's the conference championship game they're playing northwestern and they said you must not be a big fan i said yeah well you know i i track it i track a little bit but i i ain't on it like that it was almost as if they took offense you understand what i'm saying like that this is my whole world man it's what we do this is how we get down it was a whole set up like they did this game time he might as well been at the game you know what i'm saying and so i i wouldn't enjoy the game and and i'm glad to see oh stay win but uh it just doesn't dominate my life well that was the that was the that was the sense that the magi had these wise men came as to say this has been our life's journey this is what we do we seek god you don't know what we're talking about well again the term born king is what put his antennas up and so he calls for the chief priest and scribe said um do your reconnaissance read check it out find out what these guys talk about are they crazy or is there something to this the guys came back the wise uh the the chief priests they came back and said yeah yeah the prophecy says he's supposed to be born right right over there in the city in the city of bethlehem so so he rod comes out and says to the wise man tell y'all what y'all seek him continue to look turn over every stone knock on every door do everything you can do keep doing what you've been doing but when y'all find him come back tell me where he at and uh i'm i'm going to come and worship him too now now we know uh as we read the rest of the story his motives were in pure he was already uh trying to do everything he could do to hold on to his position as king uh in the region and now there was some little upstart coming in born king of the jews his his motive was to to snuff out his life to make sure that that he was not a threat to his throne and eventually he actually has all the little boys amen two years and younger put to death amen because he was threatened by the birth of the one that would be king of the jews so his motives were impure but out of the text i see something that's very powerful that's relative to our day i i believe that we're living in a time and these are amen are challenging times changing times transitional times but we're living in times where where uh the posture of many have been you seek him and when you find him i'll worship him it's this idea that says um we want god but we want him conveniently we wanted he we want to serve him easily we want to serve him without sacrifice without cost we want to worship without seeking him we just wanted to be a part of our day something that we casually do something that we make room for it's almost like the concept of the worship team we got people up here that will sing for us we don't have to sing ourself i know you have seen amen brunson people that they're watching you worship god and what you're challenged is to lead them in where i'm just the edge of the sword but you all have to worship too there's a mentality i don't know if you know that one of the common lines among believers is pray for me pray for me you know pray for those of you that know the words of prayer pray my strength in the lord there's this thing we always said you're praying for me pray for me pray for me and if we're not careful even this terminology will become sacrilege in implying that we don't pray for ourselves with somebody else pray you pray for me my mother prayed for me she had me on her mouth she took the time we we we want to put ourselves in a position where we don't seek god but we employ and affirm and even encourage others to seek god on our behalf and when you find him then i'll benefit from your seeking god and finding him today's message is designed amen to remind you that you are not released from your personal responsibility of seeking god oh i'm telling you saints i i give myself to prayer and fasting and i live my life in such a way that i can hear from god and i put in my real work of of preparing the message so i can preach to you and teach to you but but i i regret to tell you that god is not going to answer every question in my sermon god is not going to fix every one of your problems through my sermon god is not going to amen direct you in every way you need to be directed simply through this 20 used to be a 50 minute message let me tell the truth it used to be an hour and a half amen guess what i couldn't get it done in an hour and a half then it went down to an hour i couldn't i couldn't fix every problem in an hour and now then reduced it to 25 almost 30 minutes and guess what i will not be able to answer every question solve every problem give you direction for every situation in your life and there are a lot of people who live their faith life with the mentality of prayer my way they're hitchhiking on somebody else's prayer hitchhiking on somebody else's faith his hiking on somebody else's relationship with god and now chur church ministry and what we do in our religious worship has become so easy i know that i've taught you about new ministry protocols but they're still people that are on the other side of this camera laying in bed chillaxing relaxing having breakfast eating a donut eating a cookie driving shopping amen doing multitasking where even the religious presentation that we're trying to give to you i can fast and pray and put it all together and do the very best i can i can snap the whip wall with the worship team in the band and the camera and the sound and hire others that could just try to improve the presentation and with all that we're doing the truth of the matter is you are not excused from seeking god's face yourself as a matter of fact i am glad that you have unique problems i'm glad sometimes i'm glad sometimes that you didn't get your answer through the sermon you didn't get your amen deliverance through the message i'm glad sometimes amen that the shout did not break that damn amen that spiritual damn that's in your life that sometimes you have got to literally seek god for yourself i believe that there are too many people that are like herod they're saying you seek the lord pastor you pray you read i don't have to know my bible i got a good teaching priest i got a good man of god that will teach me the word of god i don't have to give myself to prayer no i got folk praying for me i'm a part of a prayer community i'm glad i'm glad to know amen that god orchestrates the kind of circumstances in our lives that demand that we have a personal relationship with god and that what you're saying lashon is not no longer my mother's god but now i know him for myself you know a lot of times we we would dog doubting thomas but i got a little respect for thomas thomas said i want to see him for myself i want to put my hands in the hole and touch his side i i want to walk with him and talk with him and i thank god for the songs of zion but when you have an authentic relationship with god and an encounter with god you'll write your own song i i thank god for what others have experienced but boy when you walk with god you will know him for yourself in such a way amen you don't have to quote a scripture about it you don't have to sing somebody else's song about it but you can testify to the glory of god and tell them i know that i know that i know why i didn't worship him after you sought him i sought him with all of my heart and as the word of god says he inclined his ear to my prayer he touched my body he revealed himself to be god in my life can you say amen as i conclude this morning's presentation wise men still seek him those that are magi those that have a posture amen to god a hunger and a thirst for god as it says in matthew chapter 5 blessed are ye that do hunger and thirst for righteousness thank god for what we're doing we have amen changed the course of our service we're doing a one-hour presentation today and and the same thing in the middle of the week but please don't let don't let amen the our augmentation change your passion for god amen don't let amen out every day what throughout the week we've we've got about a seven minute prayer amen at eight o'clock in the morning and call into the prayer line get the prayer but but please don't don't let that eight minutes five minutes be all your time of prayer at the front of the year we're going to turn our place down and fast but ladies and gentlemen our brothers and sisters please don't let that be the last time that you seek the lord's face through fasting amen and through prayer and through sacrifice amen david said it like this in second samuel 24 and 24 he said i cannot offer the lord that which cost me nothing our presentation what we give to god has got to be meaningful it's got to be powerful it's got to come from amen the bible says deep calls unto the deep amen that which comes from the heart goes to the heart it is the picture of the ethiopian eunuch in acts chapter 8 who traveled a long way to worship because he had a passion for god it's the picture of the woman mary in matthew 26 who had the alabaster box a very costly ointment that gives her very best in trying to worship the lord and one passage says she kissed his feet washed his feet with her tears and then wiped them with the hair of her head that worship is something that is passionate worship is something that crescendos after you have sought him in my conclusion there is the gold there is the frankincense and the myrrh and certainly there is a real focus on the actual gold something that was very very valuable even the frankincense and myrrh the frankincense and myrrh were dried sap from certain trees and plants dried sap from trees and plants that was very valuable and had medicinal values that was used in healing also they would burn them in ceremonial sacrifices they were very costly they were precious and so the magi whether it was three or ten they came and they opened their treasures that's very key in the text that these men opened their treasures and yes they actually had things wrapped up and opened them up but let me give you insight that what actually opened what was valuable in them was their seeking god it is the process of seeking god that produces gold that's what purifies you that's what gets out the impure things and our motives in our hearts it's the whole process of of uh as it were in the bible days they they followed the star they drove they they drove their camel on their horses there was a caravan it was arduous it was long it was intense it was costly and that was the thing that honored god what honors god if you study it they climbed mountains to get in his presence that's where the honor is it's in the effort and we're doing everything we in our possible to take the effort out of worshiping god and i'm just concerned that with our worship leader and our one-hour presentations and and my long study and and going over the lesson again and again and keep on condensing it down um to a concentrate who actually takes the concentrate and dilutes it and opens it up who's like the nobles of berea who search the scriptures daily to see whether these things are true who has a walk with god that goes beyond their one hour on sunday morning because that's the thing that produces our gold our incense our perfumes our frankincense and myrrh or the fact that we are a healing bomb what opens us up is seeking the lord's face wise men still seek him there were wise men in the bible days but it is the wise men that still seek him and how does our story end this morning after they worshipped after seeking him all of their life after following the signs the bible said they came out and the star appeared right right over where the child was it's interesting that they could see what others could not it was a sign right in front of everybody but everyone couldn't see it you know why because you will find what you're seeking and there are some people there at church they don't get nothing because they don't want nothing they don't get delivered because they're not seeking the lord they could be watching today and not getting anything but blessed are they that do hunger if you're hungry oh god will feed you if you desire him as he said in jeremiah 29 when you search for me with your whole heart then you will find me and there are times that it would seem like god is playing hide what's the rest of that that it's the seeking that brings us into an encounter with god you can't take that element out of the pot that we must seek him as it was in the days of jacob and esau esau sought the lord carefully with tears he sought repentance and found it not because we have to seek the lord while he may be found and you call upon him while he is near wise men still seek him at the end of the text it says that the lord spoke to the wise men and said don't go back the way of herod go back another way god redirected their lives gave them the right path that they should take many times we're confused about the path that we should take you won't be confused if you would give yourself to seeking god bow your heads right where you are your word teaches us today father that wise men still seek you today we pray for wisdom not simply wisdom with finances or wisdom with relationships but give us the wisdom to seek you we are in trying times we are in challenging times [Music] things have been made very simple for us but just as we know that the best meal is the meal that's been planned and prepared worked on where there is a marinating [Music] there's a waiting that you don't get the best meal going through the drive through something quick and fast let us be reminded that we cannot take seeking your face out of our time of worship that our greatest worship comes from our entire life of seeking you let me be a seeker let me be a seeker of that which is holy that which is righteous by reading by praying by devoting my life and myself to the things we call holy give me the wisdom to seek your face come on just another 15 seconds right where you are can you pray that prayer give me the wisdom to seek your face wisdom wisdom wisdom [Music] my god thank you lord we thank you for your word burn it in our hearts in jesus name let all god's people say amen clap your hands right where you are and god thanks for his good word today hey [Music] now hastened to his throne yes can we just sing one course of it al hastened [Music] [Music] oh yes lord thank you lord wise men still seek him praise the lord thank you so much you can be seated in the prince of the lord giving your life to jesus christ is the greatest thing that you can do repenting of your sins and by faith accepting him as your lord and your savior it's what it's all about at this time let's worship the lord through our giving through our giving if you're watching amen navigate on the screen sweetheart bring me a special envelope for our christmas celebration everyone at this time let's get the lord the tithe open up your gold your frankincense your myrrh be a seeker of the lord i am grateful that you know the times have changed i'm grateful that we're no longer in church for four hours i'm grateful for that but i i don't don't don't take my heart for seeking god don't don't take that don't take that i i still want to seek him i don't want to be like herod who said y'all seek him and you all find him make it easy for me i'll come where he is once you all find him but no no i want to seek the lord's face myself i want to seek him while he may be found call upon him while he is near near during this christmas holiday let us not forget our lord and savior jesus christ today that's honor the lord with the tithe the tenth is holy unto the lord i pray that god's people would be faithful steadfast i'm telling you uh it is challenging during these times for our church as i am preaching to for the most part an empty house we just have a few of our leaders that are here our singers amen amen that are here and so for the most part i am i have to be prayerful because i'm overly concerned for the people that i cannot see i'm concerned that you're still walking with god i'm concerned that you're hearing the word of the lord that you're still growing and maturing in the things of god i'm concerned that you're going into all the world that the church is out of the building so i hope that you're still being the church the light of the world [Music] and also my desire is to see god's people be consistent in their support for the house of god that the christmas season and holiday does not change your mind about honoring the lord that you know that the tenth is still holy unto the lord there are some people who are struggling during this time their finances have changed we're sensitive to that and we're prayerful for you but believe it or not there are some people who are increasing during this time [Music] allow the kingdom of god to be impacted by your increase as the lord has given you the power to get wealth then you honor the lord there are some people under the sound you're watching you're watching and you're in a financial position you can give 500 to the church and nothing changes around you you're not stressed you're not strained you're able to bless the work of god there's a reason that god has you in that position why does god elevate you and add to you so that you can be a blessing and that the strong could bear the infirmities of the weak we have many of our members who are no longer giving who are not giving but for those who are connected for those who are partnered with us would you be faithful and then in faith give give as god has prospered you allow the holy spirit to speak to your heart to give a significant seed it's a thousand dollars it's five hundred dollars it's two hundred dollars significant might be fifty dollars for you but would you allow the holy spirit to lead you in your giving today it was the magi that brought the gold the frankincense the myrrh i challenge you to give in jesus name as you're giving we want you to prepare yourself that this tuesday we will offer the lord a very special gift of 100 years gone by we would ask for 100 200 or 300 you know what i'm gonna put that out there because there are some that can give on the gold level the frankincense level or the myrrh level it's your perfume it's the way you smell before god and that has everything to do with your sacrifice don't let your worship be easy i can flip out ten dollars here's 20. no big deal well when it's no big deal leaving you it's no big deal coming back sometimes you you can't feel the lord's blessing and increase that's because it needs to leave your heart and then it will come to your heart this week i got some some birthday cards some dollars some gifts and and and i know some people actually they squeezed what they had to be a blessing to me and it really touched me it really touched me and i'm super grateful i understand what it means to do something to go above and beyond you know it's a gift-giving season the best gifts are those not all the time that are the most expensive it's those uh clothing i heard you talk about the book they put thought into it is from the heart that kind of stuff is is meaningful in your time of giving and worshiping god let your gift come today with thoughtfulness with passion meaning and even sacrifice in jesus name give at this time and let god multiply it back to you in jesus name come on sweetheart give us our last observations and we're going home wise men still seek him amen [Music] good morning good morning hey i do want to thank you all for staying back and obeying the bishop with the words of bishop bless you thank you continue to stay back and be safe during this time amen we're praying for all those that are sick and lost loved ones we're praying for all of them thank you again for bishop's celebration i do want to thank you myself for his celebration thank you for being obedient with that and then also we're having an ugly sweater contest we want you to uh look at the text that you got and put it online we'll have fun with that on tuesday and then this this tuesday at seven o'clock p.m is our christmas service we want you to tune in online for that and also our new year's eve service it is uh the 31st at 7 00 p.m and 11 p.m amen and we want you all to tune in that to that and uh prepare for our fast which will take place january 6th through the 10th amen god bless you okay stay on your feet everyone come here karen and erica and claudine look like erica you already won the ugly sweater a contest i got you i got you come on and greet your people this morning would you come very quickly karen would you come claudine come erica come and say prison good morning good morning good morning hey team solomon if you're out there watching good good good to have you online with us love you all love you all make sure you stay plugged in make sure you stay locked in need to see you guys tuesday tuesday make sure you log in for our christmas service make sure you're keeping up and if you have a holiday sweater do look at the text that pastor lenore sent out get in the ugly sweater contest let's have some fun praise god god bless you amen good morning good morning good morning i guess you all do not have to enter the ugly sweater contest because i've won no grace and peace to you all remember to just praise god and to worship him and to seek him team david in the house let me see your blue hearts yeah everybody just continue to stay connected to the church stay connected by watching online putting your hearts whether they're blue red orange or green all of them just just stay connected and god bless you good morning good morning team elijah praise god continue to stay safe team elijah connected and stay back be obedient to the word amen team judah oh we love you we love you we love you stay connected stay connected and we miss you guys so much um i love you and now you know i'm praying for you amen hey y'all i forgot to tell you if you are coming to get your toys today you may want to line up come on leave your house now line up and we have the deacons prepared to distribute the toys okay god bless you holy spirit smile upon us and give us favor we will leave this place but never your presence let us be reminded that wise men still seek you in jesus name peace to the family god bless everyone bring your gifts your dismissed as you give bring the lord's tithe bring your offering lay it before the lord you're watching give and it shall be given unto you good measure press down shaken together and running over shall men give unto your bosom share share share like like like share share share do your part and share send this message to somebody let them be blessed lisa god bless you [Music] amen [Music] praise the lord what a powerful message what a great lesson from the word of god my prayer today is that you have been informed so that you will be closer to god also inspired to maximize your potential and finally if necessary the course correction that's needed can be taken so that you can fulfill your purpose in god with that in mind i want you to engage with us through your giving navigate on your screen as there are many ways to sow we want you to give and support the work of the lord so that we can continue giving you an excellent presentation of the word of god i'm bishop eric ken k clark until next time peace to the family i guess it's time to make that [Music] so just change up your heart you

Channel: Body Of Christ Assembly

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Keywords: Bishop Eric K. Clark, Bishop Eric K. Clark Live, Bishop Clark, BOCA, BOCA1

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Length: 82min 30sec (4950 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 20 2020