12.20.08
Come Before the
King
Recognizing the King
If you
were a common villager in
Reason
being—He didn’t look any different than any other baby, and if you were like
most folks, you didn’t realize that there was any big deal about a baby being
born in your town, at this time.
Most of
the people didn’t study the prophecies very much. They left that to the teachers of the
law. What they had heard about the
Messiah had been passed down to them through hundreds of years of stories.
But when
you looked up and saw a large, unusually bright star directly above the stable
where this Baby lay, it probably got your attention.
And when
you then saw three very distinguished looking men in royal robes come before
this Baby in the stable, bearing gifts, well, you just knew that there was
something different about this Baby.
The three
kings from the East had studied the Hebrew Scriptures. They read Micah 5:2:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the
thousands of
Yet out of you shall come forth to
Me
The One to be Ruler in
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.” Micah 5:2
And they
had read in the book of Daniel chapter 9, about there being 70 weeks of
probationary time given to
These
Eastern kings realized that the beginning of the 490-year prophecy started with
the decree to rebuild
So they understood
that if Messiah would be killed on or around 31 A.D., then He must be coming
into the world a little before then.
Then the
enormously bright star appeared in the sky, and these Persian kings just knew
that something significant was happening.
So they
were able to recognize the Savior. He
wasn’t just a homeless baby to them. He
was a King among kings! They recognized
Him as the King of the universe, who came down to this earth to live among
people, and to die for their sins.
We too
need to recognize the King. We need to
see Jesus Christ for who He is. He is
rightful Heir to the throne of God, and the only-begotten Son of the
Father. He is the Originator, the
Creator, the Source of everything else.
If we can
see the majesty in the manger, sense the power in the presence, and feel the
intimacy in the infancy, we too can recognize Baby Jesus, and welcome Him into
our world; into our lives.
Approaching the King
We then
approach the King in humility and with honor, giving to Him our simple but
profound gifts of thanksgiving, service, gratitude, love.
When the
three kings approached Baby Jesus, they did so with expensive gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. We probably do
not have access to such things, but we can still approach Jesus with reverential
awe and with a sense of wonder.
There is
a real blessing and a reward for those who approach Jesus with a spirit of
humility and honor. He promises to never
leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
He promises to give us rest if we come to Him (Matthew 11:28).
Jesus
Christ is both a Friend and a King. We
come to Him naturally, openly, trustingly, and yet we approach with respect,
honor, consideration for His greatness and lordship.
That is
how we approach the divine.
Adoring the King
Then,
having approached the Lord Jesus, we bow before Him an adore Him. We join the shepherds, the angels, the wise
men, the village folk, the livestock—we worship and adore the most precious
Gift ever given to the human race—the Son.
He is our
Peace (Ephesians 2:14), our Life (John 14:6), our Salvation (Isaiah 56:1), our
Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6).
He is
worthy to be praised! And when others
see us praising, worshipping, giving honor to Jesus, they are drawn into the
adoration themselves. Because it is
natural and basic to human nature to worship our Creator—to worship something,
someone BIGGER than ourselves—to be a part of a larger scheme of things that
sets us free from the tyranny of self, and points us to something beyond.
We all
long for that . . .
Adoration
is attractive. Adoration is contagious.
Adoration
points a person to the Object of adoration, Jesus Christ.
Serving the King
We then
rise to our feet, ready to serve the King—the King who lived, died, and who
lives forevermore for us—interceding for us in the heavenly realms.
We serve
a risen Savior.
“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We
have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle
which the Lord erected, and not man.”
Hebrews 8:1, 2
“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come,
with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not
of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own
blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal
redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer,
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much
more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first
covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal
inheritance.”
Hebrews
9:11-15
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the
blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through
the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of
God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who
promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir
up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is
the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as
you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews
10:19-25
With a
risen, conquering Savior like this, how can we go wrong? Baby Jesus grew, became a Man of Sorrows,
gave us a godly example of how to rely on the Holy Spirit for daily living,
offered His life as a sacrifice for our sins, rose again the third day,
ascended in glory to heaven, where He serves as Mediator of a new covenant.
Jesus—the
High Priest—represents us before the Father.
He pleads His righteousness and His perfection in our behalf. Even our prayers—even our praises are mingled
with His goodness, before they come to the Father.
Serving
the King means doing the same things that He would do. Visiting the sick, praying for the forsaken,
clothing those who are shivering in the cold, feeding the hungry, doing our
best to relieve the suffering that is all around us.
This is
true service.
This is
honoring the King.
Looking
for ways to be a blessing to people.
Stepping out of ourselves, and into world of another.
Having
boldness that comes from our connection with Jesus Christ. Confidence that He is with us; that He abides
with us and gives us His presence and power.
Proclaiming the King
Our lives
are to be a proclamation of Jesus Christ.
How do we proclaim Jesus to our world?
The
better question is, how do we keep
from proclaiming Jesus. If you have a
saving relationship with the Lord, and you talk with Him on a regular basis,
and you read His Word, and you believe that He died for you, the most natural
thing in the world is to share Jesus with others.
So, when
you are feeding that hungry person—tell her that Jesus is the Bread of Life,
and that He wants to walk with her the rest of her life.
When you
are clothing that cold, shivering person—tell him that Jesus has plenty of
coats, and that the covering He wants to cover us with is His very own robe of
righteousness, that He offers free to us.
When you
are encouraging that discouraged person—tell her that the best Counselor, the
best Listener you ever had is Jesus, and that only Jesus can give true, lasting
peace.
When we
do this, we are proclaiming Jesus Christ as King! We are sharing our faith in a tangible way,
that people won’t soon forget.
Some of
the encounters we have with people are very short. We may only have time for a kind word, a
smile, and handshake, a hug, or opening a door for someone.
But the
kindness won’t be lost; it won’t be forgotten.
God will use the simplest acts of kindness to His glory in that person’s
life.
And if
you do that kind of thing day in and day out, the people who are around you
most will come to view you as just that kind of person—the kind of person who
cares. You become more approachable to
people—more trusted—you become a friend in a lonely world.
And
people need a true friend that they can talk with when they are going through
something. Jesus will let you know when
to make the transition into the spiritual.
You will know what to say, because He has promised to help us know what
to say and when:
“…do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be
given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak,
but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”
Matthew
10:19, 20
The main
thing is: just be available to proclaim the King whenever you can. This sharing of Jesus is to be a way of life
for us. It’s not an event.
I think
what the ladies are preparing to do—feeding a Christmas meal to the public on
Christmas Day—is right in the spirit of what Christmas is all about. It’s exactly what Jesus would be about. It’s real, it’s practical, and those people
who partake will be blessed.
But it’s
more of a blessing to give than to receive, so I imagine that the ones who are
serving will receive the larger blessing on Christmas.
There are
so many ways to share the reality of Jesus Christ and His love with
people. It is my hope that this new year
that is before us will find us proclaiming the King as a way of life, looking
for ways to truly care for people, meet their needs, and lead them to Jesus.
Perhaps
this Christmas season can warm our hearts with the love and tenderness of
Jesus. Perhaps this Christmas season can
draw us into a close relationship of peace with our Savior, closer than we’ve
even been.
Perhaps
this Christmas season can bring us closer to the heart of the King, and cause
us to share his love with others in new and exciting ways.
May God
bless you richly this Christmas!