The Gift (4)

“Gold - Jesus Our King”

welcome

fire everyone up = its joyful and fun so lets play a game

Matthew 2:10–11 ESV

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Recap

talk briefly about frankincense = High Priest

talk briefly on Myrrh = Lamb of God or S.S.

now we talk about Gold

if the last two weeks were pretty tough to hear in regards to Jesus’ suffering, today is more on a joyful happier tune because we are talking about Jesus our King!!

Matthew 2:10–11 ESV

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

these wisemen magi brought this baby boy Jesus gifts fit for a king

talk on King, you see there might be lion king, there might have been great kings like king David or King solomon

there was king saul and king herod

but today i am not talking about some “king” in a line of kings, im not even talking about a “great” king no today i am going to talk to you about a king like no other

1 Timothy 6:15 ESV

which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Now, when Paul said this in the Greek language, it was completely impossible for him to state this more powerfully. There's no way to say it with more emphasis.

Jesus is the supreme authority over all of the kingdoms of the world. The entire cosmos is in the hands of King Jesus. He is a King like no other.

talk on this……you might have heard it said a man amongst boys = Leader amongst leaders……talk on this…

so we are Talking about Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords

but here is some context for you……you see because for us hind sight is 20/20

we know this baby boy who was born was the savior of the world, we know he is the king of kings, but put your self in the jewish peoples shoes for a moment

they were expecting a king, remember it was prophesied hundreds of years before,

but they were expecting their king to be born in a palace

Surrounded Wealth—Luxury—Comfort! Crib Purple Lining—Gucci Onesie—Baby Yeezy’s—Fly! Dripin! Sauce = joke but dont expect a laugh……

you see no one expected their king to born into poverty, in a cave surrounded by farm animals

they didnt expect the savior, the messiah to be the son of a carpenter from nazareth in fact = Nathaniel asked the question, "Can anything good at all come from Nazareth?"

thats like saying you come from commerce city……hey hey I’m from there I can say that (joke again)

you see no one predicted that the son of God the King of Glory would Befriend prostitutes—Touch lepers— that he would Love those religion rejected!

you see no one ever imagined the King of kings to pick these uneducated fishermen, or despised tax collectors, or these rebellious trouble-makers to be his disciples.

No one ever imagined that a King would forgive a woman caught in the very act of adultery when the law said she should be stoned, and yet, he would confront the hypocrisy of the Pharisees again and again, he would overturn tables when people misused his temple as a place of personal profit.

They never imagined the King of the Jews would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, of all creatures. And those who would be cheering for his arrival would be the outcasts, the overlooked, and even the immoral ones.

No one expected a King to stand trial for crimes that he did not commit.

No one ever imagined that an innocent King would be beaten, whipped, scourged, stripped naked to hang on an instrument of torture known as a cross, dying a death that a criminal deserved to die.

No one would ever have imagined this King hanging on a cross as the creator in the flesh, as the creation, the people, mocked him, spit on him,

that this King, while he was suffering, would look up to heaven and pray for mercy for those who were torturing him when he said, "Father, please forgive them "because they don't even know what they're doing."

When they offered him a drink to dull the pain, he rejected it, facing the full agony of the sin of the world. And he declared, "It's finished, "I did what you sent me to do, Father. "Into your hands, I commit my spirit."

No one ever expected the King to die a shameful death in front of people mocking him. And when he breathed his last, there was no one predicting that the sky would go dark and the earth would shake and the world would lose hope as they buried a dead King in a borrowed grave.

No one expected, three days later, when some women went to check on the tomb that the stone would be rolled away, you see. The body was not there. This King was risen from the dead and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

I want to tell you about a King like no other,

and yes this has been an unusual series, but thats cause it was an incredibly unusual way for God to show his love to us all, a sinful and broken people……

further whats interesting to me is when we read this story there are three distinct responses to Jesus as king that 2,000 years later stand today, they are the same three responses that we give today

I want to talk about those real quick

you see the first response is this 1. Herod opposed Jesus as King.

at that time king Herod was afraid that his throne was in jeopardy he heard of this coming king and wanted to do everything in his power to stop it so he ordered that every boy 2 and under be killed

you see king herod opposed jesus as king……

and i dont know who has this response to jesus as king here this morning but there are definitly people who do

people who oppose him, who say “ahh i dont need jesus, i dont need church, i dont need someone telling me what to do, i got this, im fine, ill do it my way……

preach

then theres the second response

2. The jewish Priests Dismissed Jesus as king

you see the priests would quote scripture all the time they would quote Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

preach

they were roughly 5 miles away from where Jesus was born and yet they dismissed him, and instead of coming to worship the King, they focused on other things……

The same kind of thing happens all the time. Hey, do you wanna go to church with me and experience the presence of God, "Ah, nah." Would you like to read God's living word? You've got access to his powerful love letter that offers life, freedom, and hope. Would you like to read God's Word, "Nah." Hey, would you like to be a part of a mission sharing the love of God with the broken world, a spirit of generosity and grace, "Nah. "Gotta get to

Grandma's house, open up presents. "Popcorn tin, I've got a popcorn tin. "I've got a popcorn tin, selfie."

And the Jewish priest do what's so common today. They just dismiss Jesus as King.

3. The Wisemen Bowed to Jesus as King

the highest from of worship Highest form of worship— Bow low = Ultimate posture—Surrender—Submission—Reverence!

talk about Magi or wisemen were gentiles yet they showed Jesus the ultimate honor by bowing down to him……

so I have a question for you whats your response jesus here this evening??

do you oppose him as king, or do you just dismiss him for everything else the Christmas season has to offer? or do you bow down before him recognizing Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords??

talk about growing up in church

there were times I opposed him, mainly in my teenage years right, “Nah i got this i dont need Jesus, or religion im doing it my way……Im fine……

a lot of times i just dismissed him……”yeah this is good and all for someone else, just not me……

despite all this, despite me opposing and dismissing him i still felt this longing for something this aching in my soul, growing up hearing about Jesus i felt this guilt for the things id done……

id try on my behalf to fixing these feelings, i try and be a “good” person doing good things but the more i tried the more i would fall short the more id fail

so church just became a religion or set of rules i had no desire for, however, there was something drawing me back everytime

and it was not this little baby born in a manger that grew up to be this nice, timid, weak guy that played with kids in his lap and petted lambs.

No, no, no, let me tell you what it was. It was a King who stripped himself of the glory of heaven, born of a virgin in poverty in a cave, reaching out to the lowest of the low, to those who were despised.

In our context today, those who just can't get it right, those who are financially a mess, those whose first marriage didn't work out, and now, they're in a bad place again.

Those who use substances just to get up or to come down, try to find meaning in the wrong places, and going to bed longing for something more, and hurting and feeling empty.

He came for people like that, and that kind of people was me. And he loved me right where I was, and forgave me not because I was good but because he was incredibly good

and here tonight i just really want you to know him, the unfortunate truth though is this many of you wont……

A pastor once told me that Christmas is one of the hardest services to preach = pass through service

people in town coming with family etc. = passing through to the next christmas event……

I pray thats not you tonight, I pray your not just passing through but that someone here tonight feels the unusual love of God in a way that just commands, demands more from you.

Let me tell you about my King. He's not some distant, angry, uninvolved judge waiting for you to mess up. He's not the man upstairs. He's not the big guy in the sky. Jesus is not your homeboy. He's not your eight- pound, six-ounce newborn baby Jesus.

no no no, He is the righteous King of kings, he is the Lord of all lords.

conclude = stand with me today

Who is this King that gave his life for us?

My King, according to scripture, is the King of Glory. He is the King of Righteousness, he is the King of the Ages, he is the King of all kings.

Jesus, this King, heals the sick. He opens blind eyes, he heals deaf ears. He strengthens the weak, he delivers the captive, he restores those who are broken and hurting, he is the King.

He is a shelter in your time of trouble. He is a light when your world is dark. He is the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, the Alpha and the Omega.

He is the resurrection and life, he is our King.

His goodness is indescribable. His power is incomprehensible. His grace is irresistible. At his name, darkness trembles. In his presence, demons flee,

someone give God a shout of praise this evening!!

for the devil hated him. He could not stop Jesus. Death could not defeat him. Grave could not hold him.

Jesus is that King, and I want you to know him tonight.

if you opposed him, or have been dismissing him i want you to know that our God sent his son for you

that through his sacrifice your sins may be wiped clean when you give him your life

so here tonight (if new people offer prayer acknowledging its not just a prayer, but offer them the opportunity to bow down and surrender to the king) lets look at Jesus not as this baby boy but rather as our High Priest, the Lamb of God, our KING LIKE NO OTHER……

PRAY

HOLY SPIRIT TAKE OVER……