Tale of Two Kings

BIG IDEA: YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO BE THE ONE WHO KEEPS IT ALL TOGETHER.

INTRO:

Christmas decorations! Who has a grandma or mom whose house looks like Christmas VOMITTED all over it?

[Christmas at the Anderson’s… Nani’s decorations… My moms decorations… As soon as we get done with opening presents it all comes down…it feels like a huge MESS.]

Christmas can feel like a big mess.

- Relationally: Family, Friends, people at school…Theres a tension.

- Circumstantially: Something happening at home or school, maybe youre feeling stress this Christmas, not joy.

TENSION:

Christmas seems to bring the messes to the surface.

- Once you get out of your routines and have nothing to distract us from…loneliness starts to sink in.

- Life has been falling apart for some time…Home life has been broken or fractured and Christmas brings it all up front and center.

- It’s a reminder of someone who is gone, or someone who is struggling.

- Since we have so much unstructured time, old habits come crawling back to you.

We try to manage our mess by:

- Manage our image

o Make sure our life looks perfect when in reality its not. You want people to see the highlight reel not the reality.

- Manage expectations

o You try to make everyone happy. You feel responsible to make sure everyone gets along.

- Manage relationships

o You manipulate to get what you want done. You play victim, ignore people, yell at people, whatever it takes to manage people around us.

- Manage behavior

o You find control by doing everything perfectly. You do exactly what your parents expect from you. Or you may do the opposite. You act out to show the “authority figures” in your life they don’t control you.

We all have ways of controlling the messes. The good news is that what we’re going to talk about today is helpful in the areas where we try to manage the messes, and it has the potential to really change the game on how we view things this Christmas season.

TRUTH:

The account of Jesus’ birth is found in 2 of the 4 gospels. Luke, which we looked at last week, and Matthew which is where we will be here.

Matthew 2:1–8 ESV

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

So these wisemen came to King Herod, Herod the Great.

This is a man that no one wanted to go toe to toe with because he crushed opposition. He was very successful. BUT he was very paranoid and worried that he would lose his kingdom.

These wisemen we asking Herod where the Messiah was? The one who was going to free them from oppression from other rulers. Solve all their problems.

JESUS IS THE MESSIAH & HE CAME FOR ALL PEOPLE!

He came in the this earth, fully God & fully man.

Philippians 2:5–7 NIV

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Jesus dealt with everything we did.

He stubbed his toe, he dealt with all the growing up stuff!

Jesus came in humility to help us.

When the Wisemen came and asked Herod where the King was, you can see him start to unravel. Getting paranoid, “THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE KING!”

Herod didn’t want to lose control over the kingdom, his future, his wealth, his power… so he panicked.

How often do we do that?

We try to manage the mess, and when we feel like we’re losing control, we don’t like it!

can’t manage our image

Theres too much unknown so we feel anxious.

we can’t manipulate what people are doing, so we get angry.

We can’t make everyone happy so we feel overwhelmed!

We don’t like our sense of control to be messed with, and neither did Herod, so he started to slowly unravel.

Matthew 2:8 NIV

8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

Obvousily he was not interested in looking for Jesus to worship him. He wanted to elimate his competition.

Was his secret plan a success? NO! The wisemen ended up not going abck to him and so he did the most HORRIBLE thing.

Matthew 2:16 NIV

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

Was it successful? NO! Did it create lots of pain and chaos? yes.

I know this is an extreme case, but Herod represents what happens when we try to be lord of our own lives.

This is a story of two kings!

King Herod was more concerned about losing his throne. Maintain it & protect it.

KingJesus arrived in a manger to invite everyone to a new and better life.

King Herod created a temporary, fear-based solution.

King Jesus came to restore chaos for all of eternity.

King Herod made things messier

King Jesus came to bring peace

King Herod felt threatened by Jesus.

King Jesus felt no threat. He came to HELP Herod and all of humanity to get rid of those unhealthy things in his heart and become the fullest version of himself.

Following Jesus can feel threatening. “Its not me that is in control or lord of my life, but Jesus?!”

When we realize that Jesus came so that we could finally have real joy, peace, hope, and love, everything changes. Our mindset can change.

Herod never realized this. He tried to make it all happen on his own. He tried to manage the “mess” of his life, but he was focused on his kingdom, rather than the true King. And it never works out when I try to manage my life on my own.

Good news though:

YOU WEREN’T MEANT TO BE THE ONE THAT KEEPS IT ALL TOGETHER.

And thats what makes Christmas so powerful. Its not about us keeping things together in our own power. Its about focusing on the only One who can truly lead us to life the way its supposed to be.

the King who was placed in a manger; out of his love lived among us, died for us, and has the power over death by the resurrection! So we can have eternal life.

APPLICATION

What does this look like for us? Heres a couple of things I want us to try this season, and carry it on in life...

Loosen your grip

This is something that Herod failed to do…having a “grip” on things, can cause more anxiety.

Psalm 46:10 “10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!””

Let go and put it in the hands of God, we can feel more peace and rest.

Trust the king who humbled Himself.

Jesus is secure enough in who He is…His love for us brought him down to live a life like ours but was perfect & He performed miracles…His love for us was then displayed on a criminals cross, even though He was innocent…But he paid the price for our sins be cause He loves us.

We can let go and trust Him with anything and everything in our lives.

LANDING