Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
and amen.
To those of you who are joiningus for the first time, I wanna
say again welcome to CommunityChurch.
Can we just give those who arehere for the first time a big,
huge round of applause Come on,community.
Come on community.
Come on community.
Come on community.
Come on community, come oncommunity, come on community.
Amen.
We thank God for each and everyone of you.
(00:21):
Wow, look at this crowd, and Iwas yeah, give yourselves a hand
.
Amen, and do me a favor.
There are still people yettrying to find seats, and so if
you see a seat next to you,toward the inside of the aisle,
could you just scoot toward theinside of the aisle of the row,
(00:45):
just scoot over toward theinside of the row.
That way it'd be easier forthem to help these folks who are
trying to find a seat find one.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate you.
You guys are amazing.
Amen, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Let's pray, father.
We love you and thank you forour time in your word and we
(01:07):
just thank you for who you are.
We pray that you would bless it.
Thank you, lord, for the seasonthat we celebrate.
Lord, will we celebrate yourdesire to be here with us, lord,
and we just can't describe howblessed we are because of it.
And so we thank you and we praynow that you would speak to our
(01:28):
hearts, send Jesus' name thatwe pray, amen.
Now listen, I don't know wherethis quiet church came from.
I don't know if it's becausey'all all dressed up and cute
because it's Christmas.
But amen, come on now.
Amen, there's my church.
Amen, amen, amen.
(01:50):
I wanna say in Matthew, chaptertwo, the Bible says in verse one
and two that after Jesus wasborn in Bethlehem, judea, during
the time of King Herod, magicame from the east.
Magi from the east came toJerusalem and asked where's the
one who has been born king ofthe Jews?
We saw his star when it roseand we have come to worship him.
(02:15):
It says when verse 10, when youskip down, it says when they
saw the star, they wereoverjoyed.
It says on coming to the house,they saw the child with his
mother Mary and they did what.
Come on now.
They did what, and they boweddown and worshiped him.
(02:38):
They opened their treasures andpresented him with gifts of
gold, frankincense and what'sthat third word?
Are you sure that's the way topronounce it?
You sure?
Yes, no, okay, you know, whenJesus was born of a version,
(03:05):
there were wise men of Magi, andthey were very wealthy, very
educated, actually Gentile men,who traveled a long way to come
and worship him.
Now, most of us grew up thinkingthere were how many Magi?
(03:25):
Three, right, but the truth isthat there were.
The Bible doesn't say how manythere were.
Well, pastor, where did we getthe idea that there were three
of them?
We got that idea not from theBible.
You got that idea from yourgrandma's nativity scene,
(03:51):
because the Bible never says howmany Magi there were.
As a matter of fact, when youstudy it, there were probably
more than just three Magi, butwe don't know how many there
were.
But what we do know, what theBible does say, is that they
traveled a long way to worshipJesus, and we also know that
(04:13):
when they got there, they gavehim some gifts, but as much as
the.
But the gifts that they gave himwere not ordinary gifts.
They gave him gold,frankincense and myrrh, and I
gotta tell you that, as much asthe gifts were not ordinary,
they were not giving these giftsto an ordinary baby.
(04:35):
One of the gifts they gave himwas a gift called frankincense.
Not ordinary.
Why?
Because frankincense symbolizeddeity.
It was symbolic of the factthat this baby was not just an
ordinary baby but in fact, thisbaby was a deity.
(04:56):
He was God in the flesh who hadnow come to earth.
The other gift they gave himwas myrrh, and myrrh was used
for embalming.
It was a gift that you gave aperson who was going to die.
You would agree with me thatthat's a very unusual gift to
(05:19):
bring to a baby.
I mean, try giving that gift ata baby shower, see how that
goes over.
Why would they give him myrrh,pastor?
Why would they give him a giftthat was symbolic, that was
given to people who were goingto die?
Because it was symbolic of thefact that this baby didn't come
(05:40):
to earth to live.
This baby came to earth to giveup his life.
It's a ransom for our sins.
The third gift, the magic Igave Jesus, was not ordinary,
yeah, but again, he was noordinary baby.
The third gift they gave himwas gold.
Now, gold is the most oftenmentioned metal valued metal in
(06:04):
Scripture and, just like it istoday, in the ancient world it
was a valued medium of exchange.
It was a scarce resource andits scarcity made it more
valuable, and its value is thereason why it was known as a
gift that was fit for a king.
But Jesus wasn't just a king.
He was a king like no other.
(06:26):
Not only was he not an ordinarybaby, but this was no ordinary
king.
You know, the fact that aMessiah was born was no surprise
to the people.
They were, in fact, expectingit.
They were expecting a king, butwhat they did not expect was
the kind of king that they got.
(06:46):
The Jewish people expectedtheir king to be born in a
palace.
They expected him to besurrounded by wealth.
They expected him to be drapedin comfort and adorned in luxury
.
If it was our day and age, theywould have expected him to be
laid out when they found him in400 thread count or silk sheets.
(07:12):
They would expect him to bewearing a little Gucci or Louis
Vuitton onesie.
They would expect him to haveon some baby Yeezys.
You know, dripping in the sauce, swag on tilt.
Whatever the young people say,it's what they expected of their
(07:36):
king.
They expected a king.
This was an ordinary king.
What they didn't expect is thattheir king would be born into
poverty.
They didn't expect their kingto be born in a cave.
They didn't expect that hewould be the son of a carpenter.
They never suspected that theirking would be the king of the
(07:59):
cosmos, the son of God.
They never expected that hewould be intentional about
befriending prostitutes, that hewould intentionally touch
lepers, that he would accept thevery people who the religious
institutions rejected.
They never imagined a king whowould choose the uneducated and
(08:22):
the rebellious as his innercourt of disciples.
They never expected that hewould forgive a woman who was
caught in the very act ofadultery.
They didn't expect their kingto confront the hypocrisy of the
Pharisees again and again andagain.
They never imagined that theirking would ride into Jerusalem
(08:42):
on a stinking donkey of allthings.
Nobody expected a king whowould stand trial for crimes
that he didn't commit.
No one ever imagined that aninnocent king would be beaten,
whipped, stripped naked and hungon an instrument of torture
known as a cross.
They didn't expect their kingto die the death of a criminal.
(09:03):
No one ever expected him to diea shameful death in front of a
bunch of people who were mockinghim.
They did not expect their kingto be the king that he was.
He was no ordinary king.
So when this king was born, hedidn't come, like they thought
he would come.
So the Jews dismissed him.
(09:26):
They dismissed him as king,they dismissed him.
They just kind of blew him off.
They knew the verses in the OldTestament said that a ruler
would come from Bethlehem.
As a matter of fact, when hewas born, they were only about
five miles away from him, butthey never showed up to worship
him.
Why they dismissed him?
(09:46):
Because no king of ours isgoing to be born in a manger and
come from the likes of acarpenter.
So they dismissed him.
Can I tell you, some of us arelike the Jews priests we dismiss
him, we ignore the fact thathe's here, we ignore the fact
(10:07):
that we have access to him, thathe's within close proximity to
us.
He wants to be with us, but youknow, he just can't engage us
because we dismiss him.
And then there was Herod.
Herod was not content todismiss him.
Herod actually opposed him.
Because Herod thought thatJesus would be a threat to his
(10:29):
kingship.
He was insecure, so he orderedthat every boy under the age of
two in Bethlehem be put to death.
You do remember Jesus standingbefore Herod and telling him
dude, my kingdom is not of thisworld.
Can I tell you that some of usare like Herod.
We oppose him.
How do we oppose him, pastor?
(10:50):
It's those of us who say I'mgoing to do my life my way.
I'm not going to let anybody bethe king of my life but me.
I'm not going to let someoutdated book tell me how to
live my life.
I'm the king of my life.
I do it my way.
I am opposed to Jesus as theking of my life.
And then there were the wisemen Wives.
(11:15):
Men did back then what wise menstill do now they bow down and
they worship the king.
I'm gonna say that again.
Wise men did back then whatwise men still do now they
worshiped Jesus as king.
And not only did they worship,but the Bible says that they
(11:36):
came from a long way away to doit.
Their attitude towards thisnewborn king was whatever it
takes to get to him.
With everything in us, we'regonna show reverence to the
newborn king.
We're gonna bow down to theking of heaven and earth, the
king of kings and the Lord oflords.
(11:57):
My question for you this morningis a very simple one what's
your response to the king?
You know, there was a time inmy life where I opposed him.
I didn't want anything to dowith Jesus and I surely didn't
want anything to do with hischurch.
I made up my mind that I wasgonna be king of my own life.
(12:18):
I'm gonna do it without him.
And then there was a time whenI didn't oppose him, but I
dismissed him.
I even told one of my familymembers who was a follower of
Jesus listen, if that's what youchoose to do with your life,
then go for it.
But it's not for me, not for mylife, not for now.
And I tried to build a lifewithout him.
(12:41):
But I couldn't get rid of myguilty conscience, no matter
what I tried to, life I wantedto live just wouldn't come
together like I wanted it to.
And the more I tried, the moreI failed.
But this unordinary king keptpursuing me, he kept drawing me
(13:01):
in, he kept beating on the doorof my heart.
That's why he's no ordinaryking and that's why he's my king
.
When we were in seminary, theytold us they said the CEO crowd
is gonna be the toughest crowdto preach to.
In case you're wondering what'sa CEO crowd, it's a Christmas
(13:25):
and Easter only crowd.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Y'all thought you had gottenpromoted, didn't you?
Yeah, the reason why they saidthat it would be the toughest
crowd to preach to is becausethey said that in the CEO crowd
you would only have you wouldhave mostly people who were just
(13:48):
passing through, people whowere passing through on the way
to Grandma's house, people whowere passing through while they
were visiting with relatives,and because their relatives had
gone to church, then they wouldgo to church also.
But they are not interested inthe king.
They either dismiss him or theyoppose him.
(14:08):
And listen, I'm not here tobeat you up if you fit into one
of those categories.
Like I said, I've been theremyself.
I just wish you knew my king.
First Timothy six and 15, paulsays of my king, for at just the
right time, christ will berevealed from heaven by the
(14:29):
blessed and only almighty God,the king of all kings and the
Lord of all lords.
I wish you knew my king,because he's no ordinary king.
I want you to understand thatwhen Paul said this in the Greek
language, he said it withemphasis.
He says it with power, he saysit with conviction.
(14:49):
The writing suggests that youcan't say it with any more
emphasis than Paul said it.
In other words, what Paul wassaying was that Jesus is not an
ordinary king.
This king has authority overall the other kings and this
kingdom is a kingdom like noother.
He's not ordinary.
He is the king of the cosmos.
(15:10):
He's the king of kings.
I wish you knew my king.
You won't find my king's bodyin the valley of kings.
My king borrowed a grave, butthe old preacher said that the
reason why he borrowed it wasbecause he knew he wasn't gonna
be there alone, because threedays after he died, when some
(15:33):
women went to check on the tomb,my king was gone.
He's no ordinary king.
I wish you knew him.
My king is the king of glory.
My king is the king ofrighteousness.
He's the king of the ages.
He's the king of all kings.
He's no ordinary kings.
Do you know my king?
(15:54):
At my king name, darknesstrembles In his presence, demons
flee.
The devil couldn't stop my king, death couldn't defeat him and
the grave couldn't hold him.
And we shall behold my king.
My king is no ordinary king.
He's a king who heals the sick.
(16:16):
He's a king who opens blindseyes.
My king heals deaf ears.
When dead people run into myking, they don't stay dead, they
come alive.
I wish you knew my king.
My king strengthens the weak.
He delivers the captive, herestores the broken.
(16:38):
He consoles the hurting.
I wish you knew my king.
If you knew my king, you wouldknow that he's a shelter in the
time of trouble.
You would know that he's lightwhen your world is dark.
He's the prince of peace, thelamb of God, the alpha and the
omega.
My king is the resurrection andthe life.
(17:02):
I wish you knew my king.
His goodness is indescribable.
His power is incomprehensible.
His grace is irresistible.
I wish you knew my king.
There's no greater thing thatyou could walk away from
Christmas Eve with and knowingmy king.
(17:25):
You know what I love about myking.
My king didn't come for thepeople who have it all together.
If you would say to me, pastor,you don't know me, I've messed
it up, and said I was going toget it together and messed it up
all over again, I would tellyou my king came for you.
(17:46):
Pastor, you don't know me.
I'm the person who's beenaddicted.
I would tell you my king camefor you.
Pastor, you don't know me.
I'm struggling with addictionright now.
I'm telling you my king has thepower to overcome addiction.
My king came for you, pastor,you don't understand.
(18:08):
I stay up all night with hurtand embarrassment and shame.
I didn't even want to come heretoday because I knew that
church people would judge me.
Let me tell you you came to theright church.
Now let me introduce you to theright king.
My king came for the hurt.
He came for the people whomessed up.
(18:30):
He came for the people whoselives are full of shame and
embarrassment and shame, peoplewho can't pick themselves up.
My king came for you.
I wish you knew my king.
He didn't come for the peoplewho thought they could get it
(18:52):
together all on their own.
He came for the people who knewthey couldn't.
So, while you're passing by,won't you get to know my king?
Well, I'll ever hear this vow,pastor, I want to know him.
(19:13):
I need to know him.
I'm one of those people youdescribed.
I've been dismissing him.
I've been opposed to himbecause I didn't understand him.
(19:41):
But I need a king who willaccept me me right where I am.
I'm like you, pastor.
Whatever I'm trying justdoesn't seem to work out.
If your King has the power tohelp me overcome, it has the
power to give me peace while I'min the middle of it.
(20:02):
I need to know your King,pastor.
How do I get to know it?
Romans 10 and 9 says that if youconfess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe inyour heart that God raised them
from the dead, you will be saved.
In other words, my King willcome into your heart, come into
your life.
It's the King of peace.
(20:24):
You give you the kind of peacethat nobody understands.
Pastor, that's me.
I was just passing by, but Ineed to know him.
Holy Spirit's tugging on myheart.
(20:46):
I need to know this King.
I want to invite him into mylife today.
I'm not going to call you down,not going to embarrass you, but
right where you are, if youwould say that's me, I need to
know it.
Just slip up your hand whileheads about and eyes are closed.
I see your hand.
Is there another?
Today?
I see your hand, your hand,your hand.
Come on, I see your hand, I seeit.
(21:10):
It's about eyes are closed,whether you raise your hand or
not.
If you feel that tugging, if youfeel that need to accept him as
Lord and Savior, to invite thisKing into your heart, right
where you are, just repeat thisprayer after me.
(21:32):
Just say dear Jesus, I believeyou're the Son of God.
I also believe that you rosefrom the grave after dying for
my sins, and I know that I am asinner, but I believe you're
(21:55):
willing to forgive me of my sins.
I'm asking you to come into myheart and be my Lord and Savior
and fill me with your spirit sothat I can be who you want me to
be.
Thank you for being my Kingtoday, for coming into my life.
(22:17):
It's in Jesus' name that I prayand all of God's will is in you
.
Man, come on celebrate, come onchurch.
Oh Listen, if you've justprayed that prayer and invited
Jesus into your heart, go aheadand text the word life to
(22:40):
985-260-8411.
Again, that word is life andyou're going to text it to
985-260-8411.
Yesterday I was trying to getready for my message.
Jerusalem kept calling me Crazystuff.
(23:06):
She was trying to get readybecause we had the grandkids
over last night and all of ourchildren.
We did our Christmas becausethey're all going spread out
everywhere over the next coupleof days.
So we did our Christmas as afamily last night.
So of course she was calling meto do this and calling me to do
(23:28):
that, and at one point she cameinto the room she had three
watches in her hand.
She said Nate, what do you dowith old watches?
And y'all know me, I'm mydaddy's child.
I saw an opportunity to get onher nerves and I took it, tim.
(23:53):
I told her I do the same thingI do with old women I get rid of
them, td.
I ain't going to tell you whatthe first lady said.
I ain't going to tell you.
And then she started goingthrough the list.
She said you remember this one.
You brought me that one whilewe were still dating.
(24:18):
And you remember this one youbrought me that one two years
after we got married.
And then this one you boughtfor our five-year anniversary.
She said now they're notworking and I don't know whether
to throw them away or to shinethem up and keep them when she
walked out of the room.
(24:38):
Before she walked out, I saidwell, just do whatever you want
to with them.
When she walked out of the room, I started thinking about it.
In June, she and I celebrate 20years of marriage.
(24:59):
At this point we've beentogether 22 years and I started
thinking about all of thewatches, the purses, the shoes,
the junk I bought that girl overthe last 22 years.
(25:19):
And for a minute I said tomyself now she's gonna throw
those watches away.
I've wasted a lot of money inthe last 22 years.
I said I best you don't evenknow where half the purses are.
And I was so in love with herbrother Larry, at one point I
(25:42):
said, well, the girl had me inthe mall shopping for dresses
for her.
I ain't listen, I'm a grown man, player, certified, bona fide,
heterosexual male, and I'm inthe dress department.
I said I wasted a lot of moneyon this girl.
(26:08):
And then I thought about a storyin Mark, chapter 14, where
there's this unnamed woman andshe takes this expensive
alabaster jar full of oil.
All that's worth a year's wages.
Jesus comes in and says howcould you waste such an
(26:31):
expensive jar of oil?
I just breaking it and pouringit over his head.
Jesus explained to him shedidn't waste it Because from now
on, jesus has been a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man, he's a man, he's aman.
(26:51):
Jesus moments.
I don't even call thatCongressatic新聞.
He's a man who always hadPortugal as a president.
He always had Portugal, whoused to have England, and so he
won't review it like thisanymore.
So that's where I call it inyesterday'sastic when I got it
(27:15):
in San Francisco.
This son is paid back for that.
I don't waste it, because fromnow on, fact that you loved her.
And then I thought about Jesusand how, 2,000 years ago, many
would say that he wasted hislife on a bunch of people who
would never, never fully thankhim for it, would never fully
(27:40):
appreciate him for it, on somepeople who would oppose him,
some who would dismiss him, somewho would accept him and then
ignore him.
But anything given in love isnever wasted.
Why, pastor?
Because in what you give, it'snever a matter of how expensive
(28:05):
it is.
It's always a matter of howmuch you value the recipient,
how much you value what you'regiving it to.
It's only expensive if youdon't value the recipient.
(28:26):
When I thought about that, Isaid you know what, if I could
go back 22 years, instead ofthree watches should be showing
me six instead of one dress.
I'll buy the girl too.
I'd buy her more purses.
I'd waste more money.
I'd spend more money.
Why?
Because whatever is given inlove is never wasted and the
(28:51):
amount of value that she'sbrought to my life.
No price tag could adequatelyexpress how much I love that
woman.
I got a question for yourcommunity how much do you love
Jesus?
But then I have a statementWhatever you give in love is
(29:14):
never wasted.
Give freely, my friends.
God bless you.
and amen.
To those of you who are joiningus for the first time, I wanna
say again welcome to CommunityChurch.
Can we just give those who arehere for the first time a big,
huge round of applause Come on,community.
Come on community.
Come on community.
Come on community.
Come on community, come oncommunity, come on community.
Amen.
We thank God for each and everyone of you.
(00:21):
Wow, look at this crowd, and Iwas yeah, give yourselves a hand
.
Amen, and do me a favor.
There are still people yettrying to find seats, and so if
you see a seat next to you,toward the inside of the aisle,
could you just scoot toward theinside of the aisle of the row,
(00:45):
just scoot over toward theinside of the row.
That way it'd be easier forthem to help these folks who are
trying to find a seat find one.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate you.
You guys are amazing.
Amen, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Let's pray, father.
We love you and thank you forour time in your word and we
(01:07):
just thank you for who you are.
We pray that you would bless it.
Thank you, lord, for the seasonthat we celebrate.
Lord, will we celebrate yourdesire to be here with us, lord,
and we just can't describe howblessed we are because of it.
And so we thank you and we praynow that you would speak to our
(01:28):
hearts, send Jesus' name thatwe pray, amen.
Now listen, I don't know wherethis quiet church came from.
I don't know if it's becausey'all all dressed up and cute
because it's Christmas.
But amen, come on now.
Amen, there's my church.
Amen, amen, amen.
(01:50):
I wanna say in Matthew, chaptertwo, the Bible says in verse one
and two that after Jesus wasborn in Bethlehem, judea, during
the time of King Herod, magicame from the east.
Magi from the east came toJerusalem and asked where's the
one who has been born king ofthe Jews?
We saw his star when it roseand we have come to worship him.
(02:15):
It says when verse 10, when youskip down, it says when they
saw the star, they wereoverjoyed.
It says on coming to the house,they saw the child with his
mother Mary and they did what.
Come on now.
They did what, and they boweddown and worshiped him.
(02:38):
They opened their treasures andpresented him with gifts of
gold, frankincense and what'sthat third word?
Are you sure that's the way topronounce it?
You sure?
Yes, no, okay, you know, whenJesus was born of a version,
(03:05):
there were wise men of Magi, andthey were very wealthy, very
educated, actually Gentile men,who traveled a long way to come
and worship him.
Now, most of us grew up thinkingthere were how many Magi?
(03:25):
Three, right, but the truth isthat there were.
The Bible doesn't say how manythere were.
Well, pastor, where did we getthe idea that there were three
of them?
We got that idea not from theBible.
You got that idea from yourgrandma's nativity scene,
(03:51):
because the Bible never says howmany Magi there were.
As a matter of fact, when youstudy it, there were probably
more than just three Magi, butwe don't know how many there
were.
But what we do know, what theBible does say, is that they
traveled a long way to worshipJesus, and we also know that
(04:13):
when they got there, they gavehim some gifts, but as much as
the.
But the gifts that they gave himwere not ordinary gifts.
They gave him gold,frankincense and myrrh, and I
gotta tell you that, as much asthe gifts were not ordinary,
they were not giving these giftsto an ordinary baby.
(04:35):
One of the gifts they gave himwas a gift called frankincense.
Not ordinary.
Why?
Because frankincense symbolizeddeity.
It was symbolic of the factthat this baby was not just an
ordinary baby but in fact, thisbaby was a deity.
(04:56):
He was God in the flesh who hadnow come to earth.
The other gift they gave himwas myrrh, and myrrh was used
for embalming.
It was a gift that you gave aperson who was going to die.
You would agree with me thatthat's a very unusual gift to
(05:19):
bring to a baby.
I mean, try giving that gift ata baby shower, see how that
goes over.
Why would they give him myrrh,pastor?
Why would they give him a giftthat was symbolic, that was
given to people who were goingto die?
Because it was symbolic of thefact that this baby didn't come
(05:40):
to earth to live.
This baby came to earth to giveup his life.
It's a ransom for our sins.
The third gift, the magic Igave Jesus, was not ordinary,
yeah, but again, he was noordinary baby.
The third gift they gave himwas gold.
Now, gold is the most oftenmentioned metal valued metal in
(06:04):
Scripture and, just like it istoday, in the ancient world it
was a valued medium of exchange.
It was a scarce resource andits scarcity made it more
valuable, and its value is thereason why it was known as a
gift that was fit for a king.
But Jesus wasn't just a king.
He was a king like no other.
(06:26):
Not only was he not an ordinarybaby, but this was no ordinary
king.
You know, the fact that aMessiah was born was no surprise
to the people.
They were, in fact, expectingit.
They were expecting a king, butwhat they did not expect was
the kind of king that they got.
(06:46):
The Jewish people expectedtheir king to be born in a
palace.
They expected him to besurrounded by wealth.
They expected him to be drapedin comfort and adorned in luxury
.
If it was our day and age, theywould have expected him to be
laid out when they found him in400 thread count or silk sheets.
(07:12):
They would expect him to bewearing a little Gucci or Louis
Vuitton onesie.
They would expect him to haveon some baby Yeezys.
You know, dripping in the sauce, swag on tilt.
Whatever the young people say,it's what they expected of their
(07:36):
king.
They expected a king.
This was an ordinary king.
What they didn't expect is thattheir king would be born into
poverty.
They didn't expect their kingto be born in a cave.
They didn't expect that hewould be the son of a carpenter.
They never suspected that theirking would be the king of the
(07:59):
cosmos, the son of God.
They never expected that hewould be intentional about
befriending prostitutes, that hewould intentionally touch
lepers, that he would accept thevery people who the religious
institutions rejected.
They never imagined a king whowould choose the uneducated and
(08:22):
the rebellious as his innercourt of disciples.
They never expected that hewould forgive a woman who was
caught in the very act ofadultery.
They didn't expect their kingto confront the hypocrisy of the
Pharisees again and again andagain.
They never imagined that theirking would ride into Jerusalem
(08:42):
on a stinking donkey of allthings.
Nobody expected a king whowould stand trial for crimes
that he didn't commit.
No one ever imagined that aninnocent king would be beaten,
whipped, stripped naked and hungon an instrument of torture
known as a cross.
They didn't expect their kingto die the death of a criminal.
(09:03):
No one ever expected him to diea shameful death in front of a
bunch of people who were mockinghim.
They did not expect their kingto be the king that he was.
He was no ordinary king.
So when this king was born, hedidn't come, like they thought
he would come.
So the Jews dismissed him.
(09:26):
They dismissed him as king,they dismissed him.
They just kind of blew him off.
They knew the verses in the OldTestament said that a ruler
would come from Bethlehem.
As a matter of fact, when hewas born, they were only about
five miles away from him, butthey never showed up to worship
him.
Why they dismissed him?
(09:46):
Because no king of ours isgoing to be born in a manger and
come from the likes of acarpenter.
So they dismissed him.
Can I tell you, some of us arelike the Jews priests we dismiss
him, we ignore the fact thathe's here, we ignore the fact
(10:07):
that we have access to him, thathe's within close proximity to
us.
He wants to be with us, but youknow, he just can't engage us
because we dismiss him.
And then there was Herod.
Herod was not content todismiss him.
Herod actually opposed him.
Because Herod thought thatJesus would be a threat to his
(10:29):
kingship.
He was insecure, so he orderedthat every boy under the age of
two in Bethlehem be put to death.
You do remember Jesus standingbefore Herod and telling him
dude, my kingdom is not of thisworld.
Can I tell you that some of usare like Herod.
We oppose him.
How do we oppose him, pastor?
(10:50):
It's those of us who say I'mgoing to do my life my way.
I'm not going to let anybody bethe king of my life but me.
I'm not going to let someoutdated book tell me how to
live my life.
I'm the king of my life.
I do it my way.
I am opposed to Jesus as theking of my life.
And then there were the wisemen Wives.
(11:15):
Men did back then what wise menstill do now they bow down and
they worship the king.
I'm gonna say that again.
Wise men did back then whatwise men still do now they
worshiped Jesus as king.
And not only did they worship,but the Bible says that they
(11:36):
came from a long way away to doit.
Their attitude towards thisnewborn king was whatever it
takes to get to him.
With everything in us, we'regonna show reverence to the
newborn king.
We're gonna bow down to theking of heaven and earth, the
king of kings and the Lord oflords.
(11:57):
My question for you this morningis a very simple one what's
your response to the king?
You know, there was a time inmy life where I opposed him.
I didn't want anything to dowith Jesus and I surely didn't
want anything to do with hischurch.
I made up my mind that I wasgonna be king of my own life.
(12:18):
I'm gonna do it without him.
And then there was a time whenI didn't oppose him, but I
dismissed him.
I even told one of my familymembers who was a follower of
Jesus listen, if that's what youchoose to do with your life,
then go for it.
But it's not for me, not for mylife, not for now.
And I tried to build a lifewithout him.
(12:41):
But I couldn't get rid of myguilty conscience, no matter
what I tried to, life I wantedto live just wouldn't come
together like I wanted it to.
And the more I tried, the moreI failed.
But this unordinary king keptpursuing me, he kept drawing me
(13:01):
in, he kept beating on the doorof my heart.
That's why he's no ordinaryking and that's why he's my king
.
When we were in seminary, theytold us they said the CEO crowd
is gonna be the toughest crowdto preach to.
In case you're wondering what'sa CEO crowd, it's a Christmas
(13:25):
and Easter only crowd.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Y'all thought you had gottenpromoted, didn't you?
Yeah, the reason why they saidthat it would be the toughest
crowd to preach to is becausethey said that in the CEO crowd
you would only have you wouldhave mostly people who were just
(13:48):
passing through, people whowere passing through on the way
to Grandma's house, people whowere passing through while they
were visiting with relatives,and because their relatives had
gone to church, then they wouldgo to church also.
But they are not interested inthe king.
They either dismiss him or theyoppose him.
(14:08):
And listen, I'm not here tobeat you up if you fit into one
of those categories.
Like I said, I've been theremyself.
I just wish you knew my king.
First Timothy six and 15, paulsays of my king, for at just the
right time, christ will berevealed from heaven by the
(14:29):
blessed and only almighty God,the king of all kings and the
Lord of all lords.
I wish you knew my king,because he's no ordinary king.
I want you to understand thatwhen Paul said this in the Greek
language, he said it withemphasis.
He says it with power, he saysit with conviction.
(14:49):
The writing suggests that youcan't say it with any more
emphasis than Paul said it.
In other words, what Paul wassaying was that Jesus is not an
ordinary king.
This king has authority overall the other kings and this
kingdom is a kingdom like noother.
He's not ordinary.
He is the king of the cosmos.
(15:10):
He's the king of kings.
I wish you knew my king.
You won't find my king's bodyin the valley of kings.
My king borrowed a grave, butthe old preacher said that the
reason why he borrowed it wasbecause he knew he wasn't gonna
be there alone, because threedays after he died, when some
(15:33):
women went to check on the tomb,my king was gone.
He's no ordinary king.
I wish you knew him.
My king is the king of glory.
My king is the king ofrighteousness.
He's the king of the ages.
He's the king of all kings.
He's no ordinary kings.
Do you know my king?
(15:54):
At my king name, darknesstrembles In his presence, demons
flee.
The devil couldn't stop my king, death couldn't defeat him and
the grave couldn't hold him.
And we shall behold my king.
My king is no ordinary king.
He's a king who heals the sick.
(16:16):
He's a king who opens blindseyes.
My king heals deaf ears.
When dead people run into myking, they don't stay dead, they
come alive.
I wish you knew my king.
My king strengthens the weak.
He delivers the captive, herestores the broken.
(16:38):
He consoles the hurting.
I wish you knew my king.
If you knew my king, you wouldknow that he's a shelter in the
time of trouble.
You would know that he's lightwhen your world is dark.
He's the prince of peace, thelamb of God, the alpha and the
omega.
My king is the resurrection andthe life.
(17:02):
I wish you knew my king.
His goodness is indescribable.
His power is incomprehensible.
His grace is irresistible.
I wish you knew my king.
There's no greater thing thatyou could walk away from
Christmas Eve with and knowingmy king.
(17:25):
You know what I love about myking.
My king didn't come for thepeople who have it all together.
If you would say to me, pastor,you don't know me, I've messed
it up, and said I was going toget it together and messed it up
all over again, I would tellyou my king came for you.
(17:46):
Pastor, you don't know me.
I'm the person who's beenaddicted.
I would tell you my king camefor you.
Pastor, you don't know me.
I'm struggling with addictionright now.
I'm telling you my king has thepower to overcome addiction.
My king came for you, pastor,you don't understand.
(18:08):
I stay up all night with hurtand embarrassment and shame.
I didn't even want to come heretoday because I knew that
church people would judge me.
Let me tell you you came to theright church.
Now let me introduce you to theright king.
My king came for the hurt.
He came for the people whomessed up.
(18:30):
He came for the people whoselives are full of shame and
embarrassment and shame, peoplewho can't pick themselves up.
My king came for you.
I wish you knew my king.
He didn't come for the peoplewho thought they could get it
(18:52):
together all on their own.
He came for the people who knewthey couldn't.
So, while you're passing by,won't you get to know my king?
Well, I'll ever hear this vow,pastor, I want to know him.
(19:13):
I need to know him.
I'm one of those people youdescribed.
I've been dismissing him.
I've been opposed to himbecause I didn't understand him.
(19:41):
But I need a king who willaccept me me right where I am.
I'm like you, pastor.
Whatever I'm trying justdoesn't seem to work out.
If your King has the power tohelp me overcome, it has the
power to give me peace while I'min the middle of it.
(20:02):
I need to know your King,pastor.
How do I get to know it?
Romans 10 and 9 says that if youconfess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe inyour heart that God raised them
from the dead, you will be saved.
In other words, my King willcome into your heart, come into
your life.
It's the King of peace.
(20:24):
You give you the kind of peacethat nobody understands.
Pastor, that's me.
I was just passing by, but Ineed to know him.
Holy Spirit's tugging on myheart.
(20:46):
I need to know this King.
I want to invite him into mylife today.
I'm not going to call you down,not going to embarrass you, but
right where you are, if youwould say that's me, I need to
know it.
Just slip up your hand whileheads about and eyes are closed.
I see your hand.
Is there another?
Today?
I see your hand, your hand,your hand.
Come on, I see your hand, I seeit.
(21:10):
It's about eyes are closed,whether you raise your hand or
not.
If you feel that tugging, if youfeel that need to accept him as
Lord and Savior, to invite thisKing into your heart, right
where you are, just repeat thisprayer after me.
(21:32):
Just say dear Jesus, I believeyou're the Son of God.
I also believe that you rosefrom the grave after dying for
my sins, and I know that I am asinner, but I believe you're
(21:55):
willing to forgive me of my sins.
I'm asking you to come into myheart and be my Lord and Savior
and fill me with your spirit sothat I can be who you want me to
be.
Thank you for being my Kingtoday, for coming into my life.
(22:17):
It's in Jesus' name that I prayand all of God's will is in you
.
Man, come on celebrate, come onchurch.
Oh Listen, if you've justprayed that prayer and invited
Jesus into your heart, go aheadand text the word life to
(22:40):
985-260-8411.
Again, that word is life andyou're going to text it to
985-260-8411.
Yesterday I was trying to getready for my message.
Jerusalem kept calling me Crazystuff.
(23:06):
She was trying to get readybecause we had the grandkids
over last night and all of ourchildren.
We did our Christmas becausethey're all going spread out
everywhere over the next coupleof days.
So we did our Christmas as afamily last night.
So of course she was calling meto do this and calling me to do
(23:28):
that, and at one point she cameinto the room she had three
watches in her hand.
She said Nate, what do you dowith old watches?
And y'all know me, I'm mydaddy's child.
I saw an opportunity to get onher nerves and I took it, tim.
(23:53):
I told her I do the same thingI do with old women I get rid of
them, td.
I ain't going to tell you whatthe first lady said.
I ain't going to tell you.
And then she started goingthrough the list.
She said you remember this one.
You brought me that one whilewe were still dating.
(24:18):
And you remember this one youbrought me that one two years
after we got married.
And then this one you boughtfor our five-year anniversary.
She said now they're notworking and I don't know whether
to throw them away or to shinethem up and keep them when she
walked out of the room.
(24:38):
Before she walked out, I saidwell, just do whatever you want
to with them.
When she walked out of the room, I started thinking about it.
In June, she and I celebrate 20years of marriage.
(24:59):
At this point we've beentogether 22 years and I started
thinking about all of thewatches, the purses, the shoes,
the junk I bought that girl overthe last 22 years.
(25:19):
And for a minute I said tomyself now she's gonna throw
those watches away.
I've wasted a lot of money inthe last 22 years.
I said I best you don't evenknow where half the purses are.
And I was so in love with herbrother Larry, at one point I
(25:42):
said, well, the girl had me inthe mall shopping for dresses
for her.
I ain't listen, I'm a grown man, player, certified, bona fide,
heterosexual male, and I'm inthe dress department.
I said I wasted a lot of moneyon this girl.
(26:08):
And then I thought about a storyin Mark, chapter 14, where
there's this unnamed woman andshe takes this expensive
alabaster jar full of oil.
All that's worth a year's wages.
Jesus comes in and says howcould you waste such an
(26:31):
expensive jar of oil?
I just breaking it and pouringit over his head.
Jesus explained to him shedidn't waste it Because from now
on, jesus has been a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man.
He's a man, he's a man, he's aman.
(26:51):
Jesus moments.
I don't even call thatCongressatic新聞.
He's a man who always hadPortugal as a president.
He always had Portugal, whoused to have England, and so he
won't review it like thisanymore.
So that's where I call it inyesterday'sastic when I got it
(27:15):
in San Francisco.
This son is paid back for that.
I don't waste it, because fromnow on, fact that you loved her.
And then I thought about Jesusand how, 2,000 years ago, many
would say that he wasted hislife on a bunch of people who
would never, never fully thankhim for it, would never fully
(27:40):
appreciate him for it, on somepeople who would oppose him,
some who would dismiss him, somewho would accept him and then
ignore him.
But anything given in love isnever wasted.
Why, pastor?
Because in what you give, it'snever a matter of how expensive
(28:05):
it is.
It's always a matter of howmuch you value the recipient,
how much you value what you'regiving it to.
It's only expensive if youdon't value the recipient.
(28:26):
When I thought about that, Isaid you know what, if I could
go back 22 years, instead ofthree watches should be showing
me six instead of one dress.
I'll buy the girl too.
I'd buy her more purses.
I'd waste more money.
I'd spend more money.
Why?
Because whatever is given inlove is never wasted and the
(28:51):
amount of value that she'sbrought to my life.
No price tag could adequatelyexpress how much I love that
woman.
I got a question for yourcommunity how much do you love
Jesus?
But then I have a statementWhatever you give in love is
(29:14):
never wasted.
Give freely, my friends.
God bless you.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.