The Recognized King
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
There is a story about an English king by the name of Alfred the Great. He would go on in history to be one of the great kings of that kingdom, and saved his country from Dutch rule. As great and well known as he was, there was an interesting time where he was forced to take shelter in a poor woman's hut. Needing to leave to go to the market, she (not knowing who her guest was) told the king to watch some things she had baking over the fire. Well, being preoccupied with other things, including rescuing the village they were in from impending doom, the king forgot about the baked goods and let them burn. When she got home, let’s just say that Alfred the great was spoken to as if he was Alfred the inferior. Now of course, at the time owning pictures and drawings and any other media was not common for anyone, especially a poor person. So, it makes sense that she wouldn’t recognize her king. However, we have no such excuse when it comes to Jesus and the deep and rich images we have all had drawn out for us from the words of the Bible and all that we have been told about Him. So then, since we have such a knowledge, let me ask you believer, do you recognize your king? Today’s text will take us to several that did.
Prayer/Scripture
Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. I ask these things for your glory and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”[a] 3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: 6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”[b]
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”[c]9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him.[d] Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.[e]
Context
Today's text takes us to just after Jesus’ birth in the city of Bethlehem. As you will remember, Mary and her betrothed husband Joseph went to Bethlehem, the city of David, to be part of a Roman Census. This census was most likely for tax purposes, so every person was to go to their families ancestral city to be counted and logged for the Empire’s benefit. Now, Bethlehem was not a big town by any means. Just a small town that at the time had one great boast, that the town had been the hometown of King David, the great king of the Israeli people nearly 1000 years before. So, this small town was not equipped with the infrastructure and lodging for the influx of people in the town.
Mary and Joseph, with Mary being great with child, would have a very slow go in their travels, what would have reasonably been a 3 or 4 day journey would have been a week or so for them. So, when they arrived, all of the lodging and accommodations were filled. When they arrived, they found no place for them to stay and for the baby to be born then a place where animals were kept. They found no bed or cradle available for their soon coming child, so they cleaned out a manger, a feeding trough, and laid Him in there. This is not the kind of condition you would expect the king of the world to come into, yet just as last week’s message showed us, we should not be surprised when God moves and works in unexpected ways.
Our text today takes us a little after those events, just how long it was many good theologians differ on, but we can see that it was some time, as now visitors from the east were coming. They had seen a great star that they understood to mean the birth of a king. They recognized that something great had happened, so they came to seek and meet this newborn king. They came to do something that we must all endeavor to do throughout our lives, to Recognize Jesus for the king and gift He is. Let’s see how the wise men did it and dive in From the text, I want you to see and do these actions you recognize the king of king and lord of lords in your life.
Message
The first action to see and do is to: Seek Him 1-6
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”[a] 3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: 6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”[b]
As we said, after Christ's birth, wise men from the east arrived in the Holy city of Jerusalem. They went there looking for the one who was born king of the Jews. They saw a star that signaled His birth, and they had come to pay worship to Him. When the city and King Herod had heard of this, they were troubled, the text said disturbed. This did not sit well. So, the king had the all smart and wise at his disposal come and search for where in prophecy the Messiah would be born to them. They discovered something, in the book of Micah, that in the town of Bethlehem a great one would be born. This person would shepherd all the people of Israel, which is something only the savior, the messiah could do. This was the one that in name all of the nation was seeking after, and here the wise men were in ernest.
Do you remember the first time you sought The Lord Jesus? Do you remember how your heart ached with the knowledge that you were a sinner and needed rescue? Do you remember how happy you were to learn that was rescue, but then also the moment of fear knowing that you had lay yourself, your wants, your wills, your desires, your sin aside? Did your knees knock and did you treble? Did you really understand? Even though it all seemed so clear, did it all seem too easy and too real to be true? Do you remember when you sought God and was given victory over sin?
So often, as much of Jerusalem was in that time, we either were not or are not seeking God. Instead, we seek something else. For them, and for us to, it may be an empty ritual. Maybe it’s just a “feel good” feeling like comfort or nostalgia. Maybe we are trying to impress others. Maybe we dress up our love of self to look like a love of Jesus on the outside. The adversary, Satan loves to deceive us in these ways; trying to disarm us as Jesus’ Disciples. Trying to make us seek less of Him and seek more of something else. Be warned believer, this is a common tactic of the enemy, and one that we can fall into and fall into often. But, instead of falling for it, we are to seek God. We are toRecognize Jesus for the king and gift He is. He is the gift for you and me that is greater than any other, He is the King with might, power, and wisdom to rule perfectly anywhere that we let Him in. So then, seek Him, seek His kingdom first before any and all other things.
The next action to see and do is to: Give Him your best 7-12
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”[c]9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him.[d] Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
After learning the fact about Bethlehem, king Herod had the wise men summoned to him. He asked them when the star appeared, and charged them to go and find the so-called “newborn king” and report back to him when and where he was. So, they left and found the child, following the star that they had been following before. It filled them with joy and followed it, which led them to the house that the family was staying in! They found Mary with the little king, fell on their knees in adoration and worship and offered these 3 strange gifts to a little child of a poor couple, but very appropriate for the God and King of Everything. First was gold, representing his royalty. Frankincense, a perfume used in worship, represented his divinity. And finally, the gift of myrrh, which was spice used for the dead, representing his coming sacrifice for mankind. They gave these best gifts to their God and king, and left. At first they left to report back to Herod what they had found, but in a dream the wise men were warned to not go, so they headed east back to their homeland.
Imagine this, imagine that you just made a delicious thanksgiving dinner for your friends and family. The delightful scents of rosemary fills the house from the turkey. The pleasing aroma of fresh baked bread tickles everyone’s nose. The candied yams with buttered pecans are pleasing. People can hear the whipped cream spray going onto the pie from the other room. You call everyone in to serve them. Wanting to get the best for you, you make yourself a plate first. And then, one by one, you hand to everyone something one of these…. A Banquet microwaved turkey meal. You kept the good stuff for yourself, and gave everyone this rubbery thing instead.
There is perhaps no more difficult thing in the growth of a relationship than each other giving each other their left overs and second best. We know this, but still for some reason, it’s so simple to give God the left overs of ourselves, when we should be giving Him our best. We try to sneak our devotional times in, when we should be reserving the best time and place for us in a day for that. We pray when it’s convenient or if we find a few spare moments. We may tithe what’s left over. We may serve in scarcity or begrudgingly. This is not the attitude of healthy disciple. A healthy disciple of Jesus is always looking to invest into their relationship with Him, they are looking to always offer Him their best in everything in their lives without worrying about the cost, because they know that God is going to honor it and provide for everything that He wants to do. So, then. Do you give Jesus your best? Do you Recognize Jesus for the king and gift He is. Through Him and by Him and for Him was everything (including yourself) was everything created, and yet still He came to earth as helpless and defenseless child so that He might die for you and provide the atoning sacrifice for your sin. Don’t give Jesus your left overs, give Him your best.
Another action to see and do is to: Fulfill your mission 13-15
13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.[e]
After the wisemen’s departure. An angel appeared to Joseph again in a dream and gave him a message with an urgent need. It was time to Go! Get up and go, take Mary and the child, flee to Egypt and go there until you are told to return. Herod, is searing for you the child to kill Him. Go! And that, is just. What. he. Did. He got up in the night, roused mother and child, and fled to Egypt. There they remained until after Herod’s death, this fulfilled what the prophet Hosea had written, Out of Egypt I called my Son. Joseph was given an urgent mission from God, to go quickly to the land of Egypt and not return home until told otherwise. Here was a man that fulfilled His mission from God dutifully and with distinction.
Make no mistake, as simple as it sounds to us in reading. This wasn’t an easy task to fulfill. Can you imagine, in the few hours of rest you may get in the night as a new parent, getting up and suddenly leaving everything behind to go and stay in a land you had never been before for an undefined amount of time? What could you take with you? Very little. Who could you warn? Very few. Yet, with a weary start, the three take off, little child, young mother, and startled father all together to a safety that would have had them trembling in fear.
So then, that was Joseph’s mission here. What is yours believer? You know it, and here it is, a mission and commission from Jesus Himself. You are to: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and the son, and of the Holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that He (Jesus) has commanded and taught us, knowing that He (Jesus, the King of King and Lord of Lords is always with us). That is your mission, that is our mission, that is LaFayette Baptist Church mission. As we say, our mission is to be and make disciples that Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples. So then, do you Recognize Jesus for the king and gift He is. If you truly do, then it goes to follow that in some way you are going and fulfilling your mission. Don’t let anything stop you, everyone has a part to play and something to offer. Don’t just wait for opportunities, ask for and look for them. Fulfill your mission to the best of your ability, this is a way that you recognize Jesus for the king and gift that He is.
Conclusion
Beloved, don’t miss this advent season. Seek Jesus, give Him your best, and fulfill your mission. Come and see the king for all that He is, a king and gift. A Ruler and a Treasure, all for you. So then, come all ye faithful, come in joy. Come in Triumph Come and behold Him, the king of Angels. The Lord of Life. Ador Him, worship Him above all other things and comforts in your life. Put nothing before Him.
With all of that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God, though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do is accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.
Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.
