Advent 1999 

Joy Comes from finding "King" Jesus 

Matthew 2:1-12 

PSBC ~  11/28/99

In a nutshell: One of the central messages of Christmas that often gets buried in all the hub-bub of "the season" is that Jesus was born to be King, or Lord. What is our reaction to that fact? Are we like Herod and feel threatened? Are we like the religious leaders and blow it off? Or are we like the wise men, who accepted it with JOY?

I. Introduction

A. Stuart Briscoe Story

One of my favorite preachers in America is an Englishman. His name is Stuart Briscoe, and he pastors a church in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin suburb. He wrote this in one of his books...

Years ago when I was a young banker, we used big leather ledgers where all accounts were entered by hand. I remember daydreaming about those ledgers and God's ledgers in heaven. We are told those books will be opened. I imagined my name, David Stuart Briscoe, and God adding up the sum total of my indebtedness against him. I could never cancel the overwhelming indebtedness because of my sin.

But in my mind's eye, I saw God take his pen and transfer the sum total of my indebtedness to the account of the Lord Jesus Christ. On the account of the Lord Jesus, he wrote, "Transferred from the account of David Stuart Briscoe."

I thought God was finished. But then I saw him do something incredible. He added up the total righteousness of Christ and against it wrote these words, "Transferred to the account of David Stuart Briscoe." That's love. (Stuart Briscoe, "The Love That Compels," Preaching Today, Tape No. 126.)

How do you respond to this great love? Is it by expressing gratitude and thanksgiving. Many of you did this, this past Thursday around the Thanksgiving table. And friends, don't get me wrong... that's a very good thing to do. But as good as verbally expressing gratitude and thanksgiving are, they still fall short of what God wants from us.

You see, Jesus is not interested in merely our gratitude and gratefulness. In exchange for Him giving us His righteousness, and taking away our sinfulness, Jesus wants something more in return than just a verbal "thank you". He wants a relationship.

Very specifically, He wants a relationship that is characterized by you giving up control of how you think your life should run, and turning that control over to Him. You do that by making an uncompromising commitment to following what He says to do in His Word, then doing it.

In other words, when you make Jesus the Lord of your life, or crown Him the King of your life, it means making an individual decision to forsake your self as the focus of your life and make your relationship with Jesus Christ, and pleasing Him with your life, the ultimate focus of everything you do.

That's why Paul writes these words in the book of Romans to Christians...

Romans 6:12-14 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

C. Transition

Well, what does all this have to do with our first Advent message of 1999, which focuses on the Christmas word, "Joy"?

Well, I'll tell you. God in His unfathomable love, doesn't force this issue of Lordship or Kingship down any one's throat. Instead He gives human beings choices in how we can respond to His desire to be King in our lives. And three of the choices human beings usually make are wonderfully illustrated in the narrative account of the Wise men's visit to Jesus.

And of these three choices that we normally make, only one of them is the best and the only appropriate one. And I'll give you a clue... That choice is also the only one that involves JOY! So, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Matthew 2...(p.956)

II. Three Choices to King Jesus

When the wise men came from the east and arrived at Jerusalem, they had been traveling for somewhere around a year. They had been following a star that they believed would lead them to the one who was going to be the King of the Jews.

Matthew 2:1-2 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." A. Herod's Example

Then, in verse 3, we see the first of the choices a person usually makes regarding the Kingly rule of Jesus. Look at what King Herod did...

Matthew 2:3 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

The news of a different king, other than him, disturbed old Herod. He didn't like the sound of the phrase, "King of the Jews" being given to someone else. That posed a threat to his control and rule. After all, he was the king!

We also see that his fear spread to others. Not only was he troubled, but "all of Jerusalem with him." I can hear them asking all over Jerusalem... –What will this mean to our way of life? –How will this effect our economy? –What will this do to mortgage interest rates? You see, even though the Romans were ruling them, things were comfortable. No one wanted the economic boat rocked by introducing a new king.

And friends, things haven't changed much in 2000 years. It's human nature to get comfortable with things the way they are. Most people don't like change, if things are going well. We don't like to lose control of circumstances, as they are.

We know from history that King Herod was an evil man. He was an immoral, self-serving, egotistical, power hungry, womanizing, evil man. But as evil as he was, at least he was predictably evil. What would a new "King of the Jews" be like?

Understand friends, this reaction of being disturbed was based on both Herod and the people thinking they would lose control of their lives and livelihood. We call this PRIDE.

And it's because of pride, or the fear of losing control of our lives, that many are troubled when the baby of Christmas wants to become the King of their life.

In our western culture we have placed such a great emphasis on individuality and individualism that we have pushed God into a corner. And we only bring Him to the center when we need or want something. Many people, and my observation is that a lot of those are people who say they are Christians, are terrified of turning over the control of their lives to Jesus. Because they think they are much better at running their life than God could ever be.

Let me ask you... –Are you troubled at the thought of Jesus wanting to be your king? –Does your pride, or the fear of some unknown consequences from totally yielding your life to God scare you? --Do you think you are better at running your life than God is? –Do you think you can devise a better value system to guide your life; and help you make decisions that affect your family... than God is?

If you think so, take some advice from what Sam Rayburn told Harry Truman...

Illustration: You see, when Harry Truman was thrust into the presidency, by the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Sam Rayburn, the Speaker of the House, took him aside and said... "From here on out, you're going to have lots of people around you. They'll try to put up a wall around you and cut you off from any ideas but theirs. They'll tell you what a great man you are, Harry. But Harry, you and I both know you ain't."

If you think you're better at running your life than God, friend, let me tell you, "both you and I know, you ain't!"

But that's not the only choice human beings tend to make when it comes to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their life. There's a second choice many of us make...

B. Indifference

Look at verses 4 thru 6...

Matthew 2:4-6 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "`But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Illustration: About 2 years ago, it was announced that the pope was coming to St. Louis for a visit that took place this past January. Thee huge Catholic community that resides in the St. Louis area, went "bonkers". They made elaborate preparations; they rehearsed choral presentations; there was a special security force was enlisted; there was a lottery to get tickets to attend one of the four masses the pope would be leading. Excitement and enthusiasm for the anticipated arrival started out high, and continued to go higher for the faithful Catholic people who are looking forward to his St. Louis visit.

Now, do you see anything like this in the response of the religious leaders of the people whom Herod asked about where the Christ was to be born? If they had been looking forward to this event since the time of Abraham, since the very beginning of their national existence..., why wasn't there a lottery to draw names for the lucky ones who would go travel with the wise men and see the new King–the Christ–the Messiah?

But you see, the chief priests and teachers of the law were indifferent to the new King. Oh, they knew all the right answers. They knew exactly where the Scriptures said He was to be born. But they had no desire to see Him. These leaders had no desire to meet the king. In fact they were strangely indifferent to this King.

That's another way we can act. That's another choice people make when confronted with the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They choose to be indifferent. And I'm afraid there are many people who are choosing this option today.

Our culture today has found that one of the best ways to do this is to keep Christmas "secular".

In my opinion, no other phrase today, encapsules this better than the phrase, "THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS". I think it's one of those "stealth" phrases that are insidiously injected into the American culture by Satan, himself.

I think this undefined "Spirit of Christmas" is designed to lull people into feeling they're celebrating and doing something with significance at Christmas time, when they are actually doing nothing of significance. Listen to something else that Stuart Briscoe said:

...The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. --The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. --The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. --The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world. It's getting easier and easier to become indifferent to "King Jesus". Is this what you've chosen to do? Think about it.

However, in the story of the Wise men's Visit, we have a third choice that people can make regarding the Lordship or Kingship of Jesus. It's the example of the Wise men themselves.

C. Receive the King with Joy

After Herod sends the wise men on their way with the ruse that they must return to him and let him know where the baby is so he can worship him, the star again appears in the night sky. Look at verses 9-10...

Matthew 2:9-12 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

They found their king. They worshiped Him as the King. And their emotional state was one of JOY!

Why? Why were they overjoyed when they knelt before Jesus? Why weren't they indifferent like the Jewish leaders? Why didn't they feel threatened like Herod? Friends, it's really very simple...They found what they were looking for.

What are you looking for today? If you're like most people I know, your looking for something that gives you... –a genuine, deep down meaning to your existence; –a satisfaction with life; –a purpose and significance for doing what you do; –and a guiding principle that helps you make sense out of all of your life.

Dr. Erwin Lutzer, the pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago has said (front of bulletin)...

When we seek first the kingdom of God (the reign of King Jesus)..., ...fulfillment comes as a by-product of our following Him. And that satisfaction is better than anything we ever imagined. God can make the pieces of this world's puzzle fit together; He helps us view the world from a new perspective.

Illustration: Have you ever heard the story called The Luck of Roaring Camp.

Roaring Camp was supposed to be, the meanest, toughest mining town in all of the old West. More murders, and more thefts took place there than in any place known to man at the time--it was a terrible place inhabited entirely by men, and one woman, who tried to serve them all. Her name was Cherokee Sal. She died while giving birth to a baby.

This is how the story goes... The men took the baby, and they put her in a box with some old rags under her. When they looked at her, they decided that didn't look right, so they sent one of the men eighty miles to buy a rosewood cradle. He brought it back, and they put the rags and the baby in the rosewood cradle. And the rags didn't look right there. So they sent another of their number to Sacramento, and he came back with some beautiful silk and lace blankets. And they put the baby, wrapped around with those blankets, in the rosewood cradle.

It looked fine until someone happened to notice that the floor was filthy. So these hardened, tough men got down on their hands and knees, and with their hardened and mangled hands they scrubbed that floor until it was very clean. Of course, what that did was to make the walls and the ceiling and the dirty windows without curtains look absolutely terrible. So they washed down the walls and the ceiling, and they put curtains at the windows. And now things were beginning to look as they thought they should look. But of course, they had to give up a lot of their fighting, because the baby slept a lot, and babies can't sleep during a brawl.

So the whole temperature of Roaring Camp seemed to go down. They used to take the baby out and set her by the entrance to the mine in her rosewood cradle so they could see her when they came up. Then somebody noticed what a dirty place the entrance to the mine was, so they planted flowers, and they made a very nice garden there. It looked quite beautiful. And they would bring her, oh, shiny little stones and things that they would find in the mine. But when they would put their hands down next to hers, their hands looked so dirty. Pretty soon the general store was all sold out of soap and shaving gear and perfume ... the baby had changed everything.

And friends that's why we can receive JOY, when we make Jesus, the King of our lives. It's because He changes everything...

I'm not going to lie to you. Making Jesus the Lord of your life doesn't magically take away all your problems or make life all rosy and make you care free.

The old southern Baptist devotional writer, Vance Havner once said, "Too many times we miss so much because we live on the low level of the natural, the ordinary, the explainable. We leave no room for God to do the exceeding abundant thing above all that we can ask or think."

Making Jesus Lord of your life makes the room for God to do the abundant things in your life that are the only things that will raise your life above the ordinary, and give you Joy beyond compare.

III. Conclusion

How are you reacting to King Jesus this Christmas? –Are you pushing Him away because of pride, or fear of what He might ask you to do? –Are you being indifferent to Him and treating Him like some decoration or nice character in a story, but nothing more? –Or are you receiving Him as your King, everyday, with joy?

You see, only one of those choices makes the pieces of your life fit together and give you a life that's above the ordinary! That's the best description of Joy I've every heard! So, are you going to settle, or are you going to rise above the ordinary?

Invitation to re-commit or to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Amen.