Christmas Eve 2022 - Gifts of Christmas4. Gold: The Gift of a King Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Christmas Week 2022

All this December we have been thinking about the gifts of Christmas. It got me thinking about some of the best gifts Ive received over the years.- Walkie talkies- Skateboards- Body boards (Christmas is in summertime in Australia, and we lived near the beach!) In fact lots of surf wear, swimsuits, towels, snorkels, fins etc. Water babies!

My kids are 20 and 18 now, and of course Christmas gifts change as kids get older. The value of the gifts goes up, and usually were told what to buy (and what not to buy).

I love the idea of surprising the kids, or my wife, with an outrageous gift. Have you seen those holiday ads from car dealers, the ones where a couple will surprise one another with a brand new car, without ever telling the other person. Has anybody ever had that happen to them?

Perhaps my most valuable Christmas gift ever was finding out that my wife, Joanna, was pregnant with our first child. Such an exciting Christmas gift! Jo remembers the gift of morning sickness

As I said, all through December weve been thinking about the Gifts of Christmas, particularly the gift that the wise men brought to the baby Jesus.

Gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gifts that were of great value. But also gifts that had spiritual significance. They each point to a deeper truth about Jesus which would be revealed as he grew from Jesus the baby into Jesus the savior.

And today we come to our last gift the gift of Gold.

So why dont we ask God to speak to us and teach us as we open the Bible over the next few minutes.

Heavenly Father, as we open your Bible today/tonight, will you teach us about who Jesus is? Will you reveal him to us, as you revealed him to the wise men on that first Christmas? Will you show us Jesus the king, and will you help us to respond to him in worship? We pray this in Jesus mighty name. Amen

1. Revealing The King

As you may have guessed, I was not born in the US. I was born in Australia, and one of the stranger things about Australia is that we still belong to the British Commonwealth. So we still technically have the King of England as our head of state. (Feels strange to say The King after saying The Queen all my life!).

One of the big questions as the Queen got older and older was, who would become the next King of England?

Prince Charles was always the number 1 in line for the throne, but some people wondered if he would accept the role.

Next in line is Prince William, who for a long time was one of the most eligible bachelors on the planet. When I became a school teacher in 1998, Prince Wills (as he was known) was 18, and I remember the girls hoping they would meet him and fall in love and marry a prince (because thats the dream, right?). Its also a regular theme in Christmas Hallmark movies 

Why the lesson about the British royal family?

This year with the passing of the Queen, a new king was revealed King Charles III. And the coronation was this spectacle to behold uniforms and pageantry and ceremony and horses and chariots and crowds of people lining the streets, as the new King took the throne.

Because thats what we expect when the new king is revealed.

And thats why the story of Jesus birth is so unusual, so unexpected, so unceremonious.

Rather than a royal birth in a palace, surrounded by attendants and servants, instead Jesus is born in a stable, surrounded by animals. In fact it probably wasnt even a stable or a barn, but a cave where the animals sheltered. Jesus wasnt dressed in royal robes and laid in an ornate cradle instead he was wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a manger, a feeding trough for cattle and donkeys. There was nothing to say that this birth was special if anything it looks the opposite. A desperate young mother and her husband with no family support, maybe because theyd heard that the baby wasnt Josephs.

I suspect thats what the scene looked like to the innkeeper who let them stay in his barn.

But thats not how God saw the birth of Jesus. He sends a legion of angels who fill the skies, singing Glory To God in the Highest. He places a star in the sky over Bethlehem, a sign to those who recognize it, a neon light to say here is the king!

Its funny who recognized the star, and what it meant.

Gods people had been waiting for hundreds of years for their king to be born. The one we read about in Isaiahs prophecy from 700 years before:

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.Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)

(BTW did you know if you go to In N Out burger, and you look under the bottom of the soda cups, this verse reference is written there Isaiah 9:6!!)

Gods people were waiting for this Prince. But even those who studied the Scriptures faithfully didnt recognize what was happening in Bethlehem. Probably because it didnt look like what they thought it would look like. They wanted a royal birth, and a royal announcement, and a royal family, and instead Jesus was born to a carpenter and his virgin bride

But the Wise Men, they recognized what was happening. I said a few weeks ago that we dont know much about the wise men. They were from the east, probably Persia, certainly from a different religious background than Jesus we believe they were astrologers who worshiped the stars as well as studied them.

But from hundreds of miles away, from a different culture, from a different religion, they followed the star and came to understand that it revealed the birth of a king.

When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and said, Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. Matthew 2:1-2 (CEV

I love the wise men. Because they remind me that you dont have to grow up with a Christian background to be able to see the truth about Jesus. Somehow God made it clear to them that Jesus is very special. Dont be fooled by the manger. Dont be fooled by the humble circumstances. Jesus is quite extraordinary. He is a king like no other.

So what should you do when you meet the king?

2. Responding to the King

A few years ago back in Sydney, I took the family to the Broadway musical of The Lion King. Who has seen it?

Ill never forget the opening scene. Its sunrise on the African savannah and as the light slowly fills the room, animals appear on stage (well, actors dressed in animal costumes). There are bird puppets flying overhead inside the theater, and then giraffes walk down through the audience onto stage actors on stilts standing 15 feet tall. I actually got a bit emotional when we saw it, because it is so visually overwhelming

But then the focus switches to Pride Rock, where the baby lion Simba is revealed, the baby who will one day become king. And thats when the iconic scene happens - Rafiki the baboon holds Simba up, presenting him to all the animals. (Sing?) All the animals hoot and holler and then one by one, they bend their knees, and kneel down to honor their future king

Thats what the Wise Men did to Jesus. Did you see it there in Matthew 2:2?

They asked: Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him..

And this is where our third gift comes in. Gold. Gold is a gift fit for a king. And even though Jesus is born in a manger, the Wise Men recognize him for who he is. A King who deserves our worship. A King who deserves our best. A King who deserves our honor and our praise and our allegiance.

Look at what God says about Jesus. (Turn to the back page of your handout)

In Ephesians 2, it says this about Jesus:

21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything elsenot only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things

Ephesians 1:21-22 (NLT)

If you believe what the Bible says about Jesus, he is not some historical figure from 2000 years ago. One day Jesus will be revealed as the King over every other power and authority in the universe. Far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else. Not only in this world, bit the world to come. Because God has put all things under the authority of Christ.

Make no mistake. One day we will all see Jesus revealed like this. The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. In majesty and power and authority. Not a Christmas tradition, but the living and reigning ruler of all. The ruler of you, and me.

And on that day, something else will be revealed. Where you stand with the King. Or more to the point, whether you have bowed down before the King. Whether you have worshiped him. Whether you have given him your best

Philippians 2:9-10 says:

Then God gave Christ the highest placeand honored his name above all others.10 So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down,those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.

Philippians 2:9-10 (CEV)

I love Christmas, and I love the decorating and the gifts, and the family traditions. But dont let that get in the way of the real reason for celebrating this year. Jesus, the King has been born. Jesus, who brings forgiveness, and healing into our lives. Jesus who brings the end of hostility between us and God. Jesus who makes an end to suffering and death. Jesus who can bring us into eternal life and happiness. That is the gift in the manger. The gold of Christmas is Jesus the King.

And he deserves your worship. Your very best. Not just in the holiday season, but every day.

I know we already sung O Holy Night, but I just love that line: Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices.

This Christmas, will you fall on your knees for Jesus? Will you worship him and honor him with all that you are and all that you have?

Shall we pray?Watch at: https://youtu.be/IWroHgQpDJk File Downloads: https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2023/01/28/05/57/49/a998426f-e1b2-4083-93a1-4164293ebfa9/12.24.22%20Sunday%20Sermon%20Transcript.pdf