King Forever
Notes
Transcript
HERE COMES THE KINGS!!!! or should I say “HERE COMES THE KING!”
We spent the last couple of weeks looking at the baby in a MANGER - the bread of life, wrapped in swaddling cloths, the Passover Lamb...
Both of these pictures come out of Luke’s account to show Christ as the Son of Man - God became man to be our second Adam.
Equally important is the account of Matthew, and Matthew presents JESUS to us as KING!!!
This morning I want us to see the Christ Child, not just under the STAR - but the STAR!
17 I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.
Way back when Balaam was being called upon to bring a curse upon Israel a prophecy came forth about a coming KINGDOM.
The STAR of Bethlehem was not just the one in the sky, but the KING that would rise up to rule over not just Israel but the UNIVERSE! The King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
This STAR would not be a temporary King over a geographical realm and people, but would reign in hearts, have dominion over death and would rule eternally!
This baby born, this child - would be KING FOREVER!
1. Born a King
1. Born a King
The star of the Wise Men is a highlight of the Christmas picture! We have a star on the front porch of the church, I have one on the tree in my office and my tree at home.
It has become a focal point to this season. It is the symbol that reminds us Jesus was born a king!
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,
2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.
8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!
11 They entered the house and 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.
12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
This year unlike any other year the world is excited to see a phenomenon in the skies - just a few days before our celebration of Christmas, tomorrow night, two planets will align in closer form than they have in 800 years to present like the Bethlehem Star in the skies.
Interestingly enough, we need to realize that Christ was not born on December 25th, and the star most likely was not above where he lay in the manger!
In fact the star most likely appeared in the heavenlies at the time of His conception! Which may have been in this season.
Remember, the Wise Men saw the sign in the east - it was most likely an alignment like we will experience tomorrow, but many have attributed it to Jupiter (the kingly planet, Venus (planet of motherhood) and Regulus (the Kingly star) aligning.
The conception would have been the time of appearance over the birth, and we know the Wise Men (not kings - but astrologers and advisors to eastern kings - advisors - were aware of the prophecy such as Numbers 24:17 from when the Israelites were in captivity.
It seems as if Israel took little note in the star, and it was not in the sky at the Wise Men’s arrival but after they met with Herod (who was clueless of even the prophecy as he had to have the recorded histories searched - sent them to Bethlehem before he started a tirade to kill the young children as he understood the implication)
Then as they drew near the star appeared again over home of the Christ child probably close to 2 years old at this time.
Many astronomers have sought to recreate the skies in time and say that there was a secondary occurence of super nova or planet alignment during the expected years, although there is not clarity as to the exact years in which Jesus was born.
Something unique we can discern from the star tomorrow is that the close proximity of these planets occurs once every 20 years and not to the close proximity that only occurs every 800 years, so any sign in the heavens was still a miraculous occurence to appear a second time in under a three year span.
Interestingly enough, the planets that mostly aligned also occurred in the constellation of Leo (LION) which was the constellation for Israel - we also have heard to Christ as being referred to as the Lion of Judah.
This star, came to announce - A KING HAD BEEN BORN - and the Wise Men sought the child born the King of the Jews! Bearing gifts that would honor his Kingship (gold) Deity (Frankincense) and Death (myrrh) .
Jesus was not born just to die, but to reign!
2. Born to Reign
2. Born to Reign
Isaiah prophesied about this child who would be born...
6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!
Jesus would be a King of two dimensions - Spiritual and Physical — His reign begins in the hearts of man, but will expand into the Physical rule over all creation at His Second Coming...
Meanwhile, Isaiah gives us a glimpse into what Kind of King He will be!!!!
We will talk about the Government resting on his shoulders in a few minutes, but first..
He will be called indicates the character of His reign.
WONDERFUL COUNSELOR -
Remember the Wise Men? They were counselors, advisors to Kings. Throughout all of history Kings have advisors in battle, spiritual advisors to give them the analytics and discernment of their deities, including Israel’s Kings. Daniel was a counselor to Nebuchadnezzar and multiple Kings in the following Kingdoms.
But Christ as counselor will be WONDER FULL!! His counsel will be perfect and without error, he shall not need advisors for He is the advisor full of the knowledge and wisdom of the ages. Interestingly enough, we have his Counsel available to us spiritually today if we would submit to His Kingship in our lives!!!!
MIGHTY GOD
Speaks of the HEROISM of His reign defeated ALL HIS ENEMIES. Kings of old days reigned because they conquered their enemies. Most Kings were PRESENT in the battles for their thrones and in maintaining their thrones.
The greatest enemy Jesus has defeated is death and the grave and sin’s dominion over us! He will also defeat all other governments and their wickedness and deceptions in ruling over man - He will deliver us not only from spiritual, but physical oppression!
These days that is some real hope!
EVERLASTING FATHER
This is not denoting His oneness with God the Father, but describing the beneficent role He will rule over His people. A Father watches over his children with care and provision - and Jesus will reign over His people with the same concern as one who cares and tends His children!
PRINCE OF PEACE
He will sustain all tranquility. Right now in a world full of turmoil, Christ provides an inner peace to those who belong to Him and have made Him ruler over their hearts, but there is coming a day that all battle, war, deception and conflict will cease in this world when His government is established and there will be absolute PEACE that will reign on the earth!
We are growing weary of the struggles in the world, the conflicts, and the battles - Jesus is going to CONQUER all of this and usher in PEACE during His reign.
THAT REIGN WILL BE ETERNAL!!!! It will not cease!!!
He shall reign forevermore - King of Kings and Lord of Lords - ETERNALLY SOVEREIGN!
3. Born to be Above All Kingdoms
3. Born to be Above All Kingdoms
Daniel himself a WISE MEN in Babylon reveals the final Kingdom of this world...
27 Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret.
28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.
29 “While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen.
30 And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.
31 “In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight.
32 The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,
33 its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay.
34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.
35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
36 “That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means.
37 Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.
38 He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold.
39 “But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world.
40 Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes.
41 The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron.
42 But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay.
43 This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.
44 “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.
45 That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
17 I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.
Jesus was born to Israel, but His eternal reign comes at His second coming. HE first came to set up the Kingdom of God in the hearts of mankind through His death and resurrection, but will be eternal on this earth and in heaven!
16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Interestingly enough, Jesus made another proclamation about himself in Revelation when referring to HIs being King...
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”
This morning, let the STAR OF CHRISTMAS remind you that very soon our King is RETURNING!!!!
WHo knows, the star tomorrow night could be a sign that it is VERY SOON!!! AFter all God said there would be signs in the heavens of His coming...
The greatest question is are you ready? Is your heart prepared?
Is He king of your life now?
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.