DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE
Seeing Christmas through a new perspective
Seeing ourselves and our troubles through a new/proper perspective
The Bible is God’s TRUE story, given to us to understand Himself, ourselves, and the world in which we exist
Stories communicate themes
We have told stories for as long as there is recorded human History
Themes help us understand the big picture
The Things that Matter
Your story may also have some themes
overcome some mistakes
Keep making similar mistakes
Getting hurt by people
Hurting people
The Bible has Themes running throughout
Redemption
Sacrifice
Justice
Sanctification
Righteousness
Etc
A MAJOR Theme is…
God as our King
Revelation 19:16
And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
If God is king, then he must be followed
You can’t say that someone is king and the ignore them
The theme we are going to look at today is…
KING OR KILL
What I mean by this is…
When someone claims to be king over you, you either have to be subject to their rule, or you revolt and try to tear down their authority
The Bible opens with God being a CREATOR KING
He creates the world for humanity
Made in HIS image
He gives his new IMAGE BEARERS one rule
DO NOT eat of the true of knowledge of Good and Evil
Because KINGS decide what is GOOD and EVIL for those they rule
We can start at the beginning of the Bible
Adam and Eve
Genesis 3
1Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when[a] you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
They decided to take the RESPONSIBILITY
They decide they want to be KINGS of their own (LIKE GOD)
The enemy isn’t trying to be our KING
He promises is that WE WILL BE KING
He knows how destructive we are
So what is killed?
Their access to God and His Garden
Their original purpose
Cain and Able
Genesis 4
7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Able justifies his action by taking his problem into his own hands (literally)
Killing his brother
Tearing apart his family
So we learn very early in Scripture that:
You either make God King, or you will try to kill His purposes for your life
There are many more examples
Saul trying to kill God’s man David
The spirit of God left Saul
David Killing to faithful Uriah
Though he wouldn’t be caught
This brings us to Herod
KING OF THE JEWS
He was set up under Ceasar to rule the area as a PROXY KING
Was truly crazy
Killed two of his sons
He DID NOT take threats to his throne lightly
He was very much KING in his own eyes
Story Summary:
Wise men came following the star
Sent to Bethlehem to find the “NEW KING”
They were warned in a dream not to return
This is where our THEME is seen again
You either make God King, or you will try to kill His purposes for your life
Matthew 2
16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.
What horrible things we are capable of when we try to hold onto our desire to be KING
To conclude this theme, we see it at Jesus’ arrest…
Brought before Pilot and the Jewish leaders
John 19
14bAnd Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!”
15 They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?”
“We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.
You either make God King, or you will try to kill His purposes for your life
What does BEING KING look like for us?
Determining YOUR version of GOOD and EVIL
Choosing your own identity
Following your heart
God is “PART” of your life and not LORD of it
Walking in unrepentant sin
Not Loving your neighbor as yourself
Generally putting yourself first
If you become KING in your own life, you will always kill whatever threatens that authority
It must be preserved at ALL costs
When we become king, we are always a tyrant king
Raving about ourselves and our desires
That is what the Bible is teaching us
But you and I were not made to be KING of our own heart
We are untrustworthy
We are selfish
We are destructive
When you decide to be king in your life, you kill…
God’s purpose
God’s Blessing
God’s Peace
God’s Joy
God’s Direction
You either make God King, or you will try to kill His purposes for your life
The Christmas story is God coming as a MOST DIFFERENT KING
Not to conquer us with power, but to save us through sacrifice
To pay the penalty and wages we owe but could not settle
To uphold the covenant he made with mankind, knowing our hearts and intent
What king will you choose to serve