What We Treasure Reveals Our Worship

What if the thing you “protect” most is silently telling the world what you worship? We explore how Advent pressure exposes our true priorities and why the Magi’s long, ordinary journey reframes generosity as a truthful act of worship—not a performance. Outsiders notice the star and move; insiders cling to familiarity; Herod hears the same news and tightens his grip. That split-screen reveals a deeper diagnosis: fear imitates worship without surrender, while trust begins with attention and moves us toward joyful obedience.

We walk through Matthew 2 and slow down at a crucial detail: the Magi bow before they give. Their gifts—gold for kingship, frankincense for divinity, myrrh for suffering—are not payments to earn favor but confessions of belief. We also correct the nostalgic timeline: no manger scene here, but a home and a toddler. The wonder has cooled, the dust has settled, and still they kneel. Real worship often lives there, in patient faithfulness that persists when the spotlight fades.

From there, we connect Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 to everyday choices: where your treasure is, your heart will follow. Earthly security feels solid because it is visible and controllable, yet that very control makes it fragile. Heavenly treasure requires trust, which is why it endures. If holding tight feels safer, generosity will always look like risk. If God is our security, open hands become wise. We offer a practical step to reorient your life: name one place where fear is steering your finances and practice quiet, intentional generosity there—receiving before responding, letting giving reshape your heart rather than prove your devotion.

If this conversation helps you notice, name, and reorder what you truly treasure, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What’s the one area you’ll open your hands this week?

Chapters

• 0:00 Everyone Worships Something
• 2:45 Advent Exposes What We Treasure
• 5:40 Meeting The Magi: True Outsiders
• 9:30 Attention Before Action
• 11:15 Herod’s Fear Versus Magi’s Joy
• 16:30 Bow Before You Give
• 19:20 What The Gifts Really Mean
• 23:30 Correcting The Nativity Timeline
• 26:40 Sustained, Ordinary Worship

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Well, it is a good morning. I am happy to see you all here today. We are in this series to our online audience. I'm Stephen Fief, lead pastor of Madison Church. And as we come to our final week here, Advent as a church community, I want to begin by stating something both simple and true. It's something that applies to every single one of us, whether you consider yourself deeply religious or not sure what you believe. You're not sure where you're at today. But everyone worships something. Let that sink in for a second. I believe this is true that everyone worships something. The question isn't if we worship, but what we're worshiping and what is shaping our attention, our trust, and our lives. Worship, I would argue, is what we organize our lives around. And whatever we worship is what we are going to give our energy to. It's what we protect, it's what we prioritize, and it's what we instinctively move toward when things feel uncertain. That's why Advent is such a revealing season. You see, Advent slows us down just enough. Advent presses us hard enough to expose what actually matters to us. Perhaps January through November, we can fake it until we make it. But December, it all comes out because of all of the pressure around us. You see, pressure doesn't create our values, but rather it makes them clear and obvious to us. So consider this this morning. What does the way you live, the way you spend, what you protect, and what you pursue reveal about what you love the most? Not what we say we value, not what we hope is true, but what actually is your life pointing to today? Over the past few weeks, we've been talking about how generosity started with God, God's self-giving love, and how that takes shape in us as we move from having good intentions. If you're here last week and you heard Kyle's, what was a fantastic message? If you didn't hear it, go back and look it up on YouTube. But how we go from intention to intentional lives that make space for what truly matters. And today is the final week of this really brief Advent series. We arrive to the heart of it all. It is our response, where we're going to look at what we treasure, because what we treasure always shows up in what we worship. And as we'll see in the story of the Magi, generosity isn't about proving our devotion. Generosity isn't about proving something, but rather it's about expressing something within us, what we value. If we're going to understand what generosity and worship, and the two are linked together, inseparable, what if they actually look like biblically speaking, we have to begin with the people who show up most often in front lawn nativity scenes, or on Christmas card postcards you get in the mail the wise men. So I'd like to read from Matthew 2 this morning, where it says, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod. And about that time, some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him. I want to talk a little bit about these wise men or the magi as they're known as. They're not religious insiders, they're not Jewish, they are not part of Israel's covenant story the way that the priests and teachers of the law were. They were actually scholars from the East, way East. Pagan astrologers, observers of the natural world, interpreters of signs and wonders, something forbidden under the Old Testament law. In other words, they were complete outsiders. I mean, there were outsiders, and then there were these guys. They're the outsiders of the outside world. And yet they noticed something that everyone on the inside had missed. Matthew shows us, as often do the writers of the New Testament, Mark, Luke, and John, that people who are far from God are often the ones most aware of what God is doing and drawn to Him. At this point in the story, the Magi, they're not great examples or models of generosity of any sort. They haven't given anything to anyone, but they are attentive. That's the part I want to focus on. Is that they are attentive. Somewhere in their watching and wondering of the universe and the stars and the signs and the wonders, they're looking, they're seeking something out there, and they become convinced that yes, something significant is happening. A king has been born. History is bending in a new direction. And that changed everything for them. They leave their home, what was familiar, and they committed to a long and uncertain journey without any guarantees or any control. They did not leave because they were already generous people looking to spend money or whatever. They left because something caught their attention. Something was life shifting and changing for them. And that is where worship begins. Worship doesn't begin by giving, it begins with noticing when something becomes worthy of our trust, our movement, and our lives. Matthew continues the story with one short but telling line. He says, King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. So let's contrast the difference here in responses to the same exact news. A king is born. The Magi hear about it and they move toward worship. Herod hears about the birth of the king and he feels threatened. Same news, same news, different responses. And don't be mistaken, Herod's disturbance isn't about confusion. He's not confused, he's scared. It's fear. He is the king, and his power is granted to him by Rome, not secured by God. And as the king of this area, he's very familiar with scripture and prophecies, and that the Jewish people believed that their king, their messiah, was coming. Herod's position depends on control, on image, and force. And so the idea that another king is coming up within his area, it doesn't inspire curiosity or hope for him. It triggers anxiety. He's worried. And Matthew tells us it wasn't just Herod. When this news is going around, all of Jerusalem is disturbed with him. The city is unsettled, the city is on edge. Because when your security is built on the way things currently work, any disruption feels dangerous. And when you have a king like Herod who can issue a decree to have everyone under the age of two killed, you want that guy to stay happy and calm. Because him having a bad day can be life-changing for you. Herod calls together religious leaders, the priests, the teachers of the law, these are scribes and actually Sadducees. Okay, Sadducees and scribes, he gets them together and he says, You guys know the scriptures, you know the prophecies, you know exactly where the Messiah is supposed to be born. And they did. They absolutely knew, according to Micah, that he was going to be born in Bethlehem. And yet they miss it. The people who knew the scriptures, who knew the prophecies, who knew all of this, they miss Jesus. And yet, Herod calls the Magi back, and not because he wants to worship. Says, these guys are not giving me the information I need that I want. So get the Magi in here. Because they've traveled a long distance to get here. They got a little bit ways to go here. And he presents himself then, if you read the story line by line, as interested and humble. He says, I want to worship. So where is he at? But underneath all of that facade, it's that fear, it's that self-preservation. You see, Herod is being deceptive. His goal isn't devotion, it's control. And this is what fear often does in our own lives. It imitates worship without surrender. It imitates worship without surrender. Fear uses religious language without spiritual openness. Herod doesn't want to bow before the king. This is a story about what we fear losing. Herod fears losing power. Jerusalem fears disruption in their own private lives. The religious leaders fear the cost of change. What will it mean if God's Messiah is really here? And the Magi leave them all behind. The Magi continue on their journey. They walk away from power, they walk away from fear, they walk away from manipulation. And as they do, they are once again guided by the same light that brought them to this point. And as they continue on their journey, and this is a long journey to go from the east to get to Jerusalem. And now, as we head to Bethlehem, it's a long journey. And they're not led to a palace. They're not led to a place of influence, but to an ordinary home. And when they realize they've arrived, we read that they're filled with joy. Joy. Not relief. We weren't wrong. Think about that. And not validation. Yes, we were right. Send word back to those guys who didn't believe, who doubted. But rather, just joy. This wasn't about being right, it wasn't about being wrong. They found what they were looking for, and that was better than anything else in the world. And let's read what happens next. They entered the house and they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When they entered the house, the order of events is critical. Before they give anything, before they present anything, before they turn anything over, before they ever give, they bow down and they worship. And only then did they open their treasure. And I think that this is where we often misunderstand the magi in the story. Their gifts are not gestures meant to earn favor. It wasn't like, oh man, I hope God likes me. I hope I have favor with God. It wasn't an extravagant attempt to prove that we're devoted, we're all in, don't leave us behind. But their gifts were intentional, their gifts were aligned, and their gifts were truthful. Here's what those gifts meant. The gold acknowledged kingship. So when they present gold to this child, they're acknowledging you are royalty. You are king. The frankincense acknowledges divinity. You are divine. Set apart. And the myrrh acknowledges suffering. Each of their gifts named something that they believed about Jesus. Remember, they come from the east. They brought these things with them. So who did they expect to find at the end of the road, at the end of their journey? The divine king who would suffer. That's what they brought. That's who they expected to find, and that's exactly who they found. And that reveals the heart of Christian generosity. That generosity does not create worship, but rather generosity reveals what or who we worship. What we give does not establish what we believe, it expresses what we already hold near and dear to our hearts. It's also important here if we want to geek out on a little theology here. I want to kind of correct the nativity scene that you drive by every day, or maybe perhaps you have it in your front yard, but the scene does not happen the night Jesus is born. Okay, a couple facts here. It would have taken them years to get there, and we know that they were started to see the sign when Jesus was born. So now, depending how long it took, maybe a year or two, they finally get to a house, not a manger. They get to a house, and so this makes Jesus probably two years old, one, two years old at this point. So they come in, they see the toddler, they bow down and worship, and then they give this toddler a bunch of these gifts. Okay, it's wild, right? And so maybe just a little correction of theology here. They weren't there that night. Another important thing to note is that King Herod dies in the year four BC. 4 BC. So if King Herod is out looking for Jesus, that means Jesus was born before 4 BC. Okay? So if Jesus is one or two years old and Herod dies in the year four, but he issues a decree to kill everyone under the age of two, that likely means Jesus was born around 6 BC. And our calendars are just wrong today. And sorry if that bums you out, but I wanted to go into that real quick and just smooth all of that out for us, okay? But more importantly than smoothing out maybe some misunderstanding of the story, I want to point out that the wonder had faded. They didn't show up to the manger. And all of this is brand new and sparkly and cool and on the cusp of something new. They walk up to a toddler who's wearing a diaper. It's dirty, it's smelly, it's not impressive. The dust has settled, so to speak, and that's where the magi begin. That's where the magi arrive. That is who they worship. Not the glow of a manger, but ordinary faithfulness on a long journey. And Matthew is showing us that real worship isn't immediate. Real worship isn't always emotional. Real worship is often a sustained worship, a patient worship, a costly worship. Now, fast forward to where we are today. What does this mean for all of us? I'd make the argument a few things here. The first thing is that worship begins with attention before it ever becomes action. Where's our attention at? What are we focused on? The Magi do not start by giving, they begin by noticing. They respond faithfully to the light that they have been given. And their lives start to reorient around what they believe is worthy. The second thing I think we take from the story is that fear resists worship by clinging to control. Herod and Jerusalem hear the same news as the Magi, but instead of moving toward Jesus, they protect what they already have. Fear freezes the movement. Scarcity narrows the vision. And when security is threatened, worship gives way to self-preservation. The third thing is that generosity reveals allegiance. It doesn't create it. You can't buy allegiance, but what we give shows what we prioritize. The Magi's gift do not make Jesus king. They didn't give him gold, therefore, you are a king. Rather, it revealed with who they already believed Jesus was. Their giving was not transactional, it was not strategic, it is truthful. Their resources follow their worship. In Matthew 6, 19 through 21, reading from Eugene Peterson's paraphrase, the message, Jesus says, don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust, or worse, stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it is safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. Now this isn't a threat, and it's not manipulation, but it is a diagnosis. Jesus is revealing something about the human heart, and that is our heart will follow whatever we trust the most. Which leads us to the central challenge of this passage. Do I believe I'm safer holding on or safer opening my hands to God? As we read this passage from Jesus in Matthew 6, he's not condemning possessions or finances. He's not condemning those things in and of themselves, but he's exposing where we place our sense of security. That's what this is about. This is a passage about the heart. An earthly treasure, earthly possessions, they feel safe because they're visible, they're measurable, and they're controllable. But all three of those things make them fragile. It can be lost, it can be stolen, it can be inflated, it can be rendered useless. Heavenly treasures by contrast. Well, those require trust. Oftentimes they're unseen. They can't be controlled, they're only received. And that's why Jesus presses the question of the heart. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. What we believe about security inevitably shapes how we live, how we spend, and yes, how we give. If we believe We are safer holding on to what we have, then generosity will always feel like an unnecessary risk. But if we believe that God is our true security, then opening our hands becomes an act of wisdom, not fear, a response of worship. And so as a result of this series, the three weeks leading into today, as we as we come to the close, I would ask that you identify one place where fear has been driving your financial decisions and intentionally practice generosity there. Not impulsively, not publicly, but prayerfully, deliberately, and as an act of worship. Paul tells us that God loves a cheerful giver, and he's not saying to do so out of this emotional enthusiasm. Yes, I caught the generosity bug and I'm so happy to do it. But rather, he says God loves a cheerful giver because a cheerful giver is someone who reflects trust in God rather than fear over losing something. And this isn't about reacting to pressure. It isn't about proving your faith, but it is about choosing one specific place to live as though God is truly your security. Generosity becomes formative when it is intentional. When we open our hands, not because it's easy, but because we believe God will be faithful. And in that moment, giving stops being what's leaving my account and becomes what's reshaping my heart. Again, not to earn favor, not to prove I'm devoted, but because, like the Magi, you have found something worthy of your worship. And so as we come to the end, I want to remind you of how we started. Some of the first words I said a few weeks ago. This series isn't about getting something from you. The series has always been for you, doing something for you, because biblical generosity is about spiritual formation. Spiritual formation. From the beginning, we've been tracing a demanding but straightforward truth that generosity is not a side practice to the Christian. It is one of the primary ways that God shapes our hearts, loosens our grip on fear, and teaches us to trust in Him. We began the same way Scripture begins with God. Before anything is ever asked of us, God gives Himself. Love gave, and everything flows from that gift. And we moved from intention, well, yeah, I would like to, to intentionality. Yes, I will. Recognizing that generosity doesn't happen by accident, but rather space has to be made. Priorities must be reordered, and trust has to be practiced. And today we've seen where all leads us, not to pressure, but to clarity. I love this quote by Eugene Peterson. He said, spiritual maturity isn't measured by how much we know, but how quickly we respond in obedience. And I felt like it was the best quote to answer into this talk as we get to compare religious Sadducees and scribes and political leaders like King Herod and outsiders like the Magi. And on paper, we would say, well, yeah, those Sadducees, they got the degrees, they go to church all the time. Like, of course they're the ones closest to God. But this quote, this idea, which I believe is firmly biblical, tells us no, is actually the magi. The magi were spiritually mature. Even though they were outsiders, they were spiritually mature in the sense that they were following Jesus in whatever way, shape, or form he appeared to them. And they were there. And so as we move into communion now, I want you to reflect on yourself. That your spiritual maturity, that your faith, it isn't strong or great because of what you know, and it's not weak because of what you don't know. But rather, spiritual maturity is how quickly will you respond to what God is saying to you? How quickly will you respond to where you feel God is leading you next? And that's why we do impart communion every single week. Because before we rush off to the next thing, and it's the Sunday before Christmas, I know there's gifts that need to be bought still, and dinner plans that need to be made. But before we rush off to the next thing, we take a moment and enter into communion, which reminds us that before we ever give anything, we receive. We come with open hands, not to prove devotion, not to earn favor with God, but to remember the gift that started it all. Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem, to Mary. The bread and cup, they tell the same story we've been tracing this advent. Love gave. Not just today, not just this last week, but this season. Where is he inviting you to trust him more deeply? Where is he challenging you to loosen your grip? Where do you feel called to reorder what you truly treasure? Communion doesn't rush us into an action, but it does invite us into a quiet honesty, a worshipful commitment to live differently because of the grace we have been given. So may we, this Madison Church community, be a people who receive before they respond, who trust before we control, and who opens our hands, not out of fear, but out of worship. Love gave, and because of that, we are free to provide, not earn God's love because we are already living in it.