ADVENTure | Convo #2: Do You See the King?

On a recent trip to the United Kingdom, host Tosha Williams encountered velvet ropes at the crown jewels, barricades in palaces, and secret service agents keeping the royalty removed from civilian reality. These real encounters with earthly monarchy frame a deeper truth: Jesus is the kind of King who draws seekers near. From the Tower of London to Windsor and an unexpected brush with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the contrast sets the stage for the Magi’s journey and a fresh look at what it means to seek and find. For the truth is, in Jesus, we discover a King who removes the distance. 

We unpack who the Magi were and why they took the star seriously, and we also consider how Jeremiah 29:13 becomes a lived promise for anyone willing to move from curiosity to commitment. Along the way, we highlight a striking detail from Matthew’s Gospel: Gentile outsiders become the first recorded worshipers of Jesus, signaling a kingdom where access isn’t gated by status. This is not a museum of faith where you watch from behind glass. It’s an open invitation from a King who welcomes the far-off first.

From there we get practical. We walk through a Seek Him Speak Him rhythm with simple questions that turn Scripture into conversation and courage into action. You’ll hear how to share what you’re seeing with your kids, a friend, or someone who feels far from God, and why telling your story matters more than polished words. We also share our “Wise Man Hunt,” a joyful tradition that turns your space into a map of pursuit and discovery - - - perfect for families, small groups, or anyone who wants a tactile reminder that the path to Jesus is open and the welcome is warm.

If you’re hungry for a faith that closes the gap between longing and presence, this conversation will help you take the next step. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review to help others find a King who says, “Come closer.”

The devotion-driven discipleship guide that goes along with this episode can be found HERE.

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The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
Welcome back to this week's Adventure Collection of
Conversations.
In this episode, we're going tostep into the journey of the
wise men as they looked to seethe King of Kings.
And well, as I have beenthinking about their journey, I
was reminded of a journey thatmy husband and I got to take a

(00:28):
couple of years ago.
We were privileged to go to theUnited Kingdom, and it turned
out that that was a trip wherewe repeatedly brushed up against
the edges of earthly royalty.
We started at the Tower ofLondon where we stepped onto a
conveyor belt which took us pastthe crown jewels.

(00:50):
They were beautiful, they werebreathtaking, they were
dazzling, they were historic.
And yet there was a really thickglass through which we looked at
those, and the conveyor beltkept us moving.
The message was clear.
You can look, but keep adistance.
Well, from there, we wereprivileged to go to Windsor

(01:13):
Castle.
And that is one of the king'spalaces.
And well, we got to take a tourand wander through its its halls
and gaze at the portraits of themonarchs.
And then we got to go to St.
George's Chapel, where the queenherself had just recently been
laid to rest before we came tovisit.

(01:45):
It was very clear.
You can admire the royalty, butyou cannot approach the royalty.
Well, with all of that as thebeginning of our trip, there
came this moment up in Scotlandthat we never anticipated.
We had gone to Edinburgh,Scotland, and we had an

(02:06):
appointment at New College atthe University of Edinburgh.
Well, the night before, we werejust amazed to explore.
So we were wandering around NewCollege and we went into the
courtyard and it was peaceful.
It was quiet.
It was beautiful.
Nobody else was there.
It was just a sacred, holymoment for us.

(02:28):
Well, the next morning we got upand we were so excited and we
went back to that exact samespot, but now it was entirely
different.
There were barricades, therewere secret service-looking
individuals everywhere.
And as we tried to step into thecourtyard, we were stopped and
we were examined and they wantedour identification and they

(02:49):
wanted to know why we were thereand they wanted to know where we
were going.
Well, eventually, for whateverreason, they led us past that
watch point so that we could goto our appointment.
And when we sat down with thegentleman with whom we were
meeting, he said, Would you liketo see the royalty as they
passed through?
Well, of course, we said yes.
We didn't really know what hewas talking about, but we wanted

(03:11):
to see whatever he had to showus.
So about an hour later, he tookus back down to that courtyard.
And this time it was full ofpeople.
More police, more security, moreofficers, more people who looked
like Secret Service agents.
I didn't see anybody who lookedlike an American tourist like

(03:33):
us.
It was very obvious that we hadhappened upon something that was
really special and that was offlimits to the public.
Well, eventually, after wewaited for a while, here came
the Duke and the Duchess ofEdinburgh.
They passed within six feet ofus, and then they stood there

(03:54):
talking to their people, theirentourage.
It was an unbelievable moment.
There we were, snapping picturessurreptitiously, watching, but
even as close as we were, therewas still a line.
There was still a boundary.
It was still a very clearmessage.
You can come this far, but nofarther.

(04:17):
You can be this close, but don'ttake a step closer.
You see, earthly royalty alwayskeeps its distance.
You can admire, you can observe,you may even get to catch a rare
glimpse in a historic moment,but you cannot draw near.

(04:38):
And you know, that exact realityis what makes this week's
adventure theme so astonishingto me.
Because the king that the wisemen journeyed so far to find,
that king whose birth changedthe world, that king who's the

(05:00):
center of this season, well,that king, that king of kings is
nothing like the earthlymonarchy that we saw on that
trip.
That king, King Jesus, hedoesn't hold us at an arm's
distance.
He is a king who invites usclose.
And so this week we come to ouradventure question of the week.

(05:25):
And that is, do you see what Isee?
Do you see the king?
Oh, welcome to the FamilyDisciple Me Ministry.
My name is Tasha Williams, and Iam so glad that you're here with
me in this episode.
Adventure is our weeklyinvitation this Christmas season

(05:46):
to see Jesus more clearly, toseek him more intentionally, and
to speak him more boldly intothe lives of those precious
people that he's entrusted tous.
And each week on this journey,we are spending time considering

this theme (06:02):
Do you see what I see?
Or engaging simple, meaningful,deliberate discipleship
conversations.
And we're doing a weeklyadventure activity.
I'll explain this week's wiseman hunt to you at the end of
this episode.
But before we get there, let'sturn our attention to the

(06:23):
scripture and to the remarkablejourney of the wise men of the
magi.
First, let's anchor ourselves inGod's word because scripture is
the clearest way that He invitesus to seek Him.
I love Jeremiah chapter 29,verse 13, where it says, You

(06:43):
will seek me and find me whenyou seek me with all your heart.
That promise had been spoken byGod and written down centuries
prior to the birth of the Kingof Kings here on earth.
And while that promise, itechoes straight into the story
of the wise men in Matthewchapter two.

(07:05):
And their story makes even moresense when we understand who
they were and how they mighthave known that very promise
that we can receive from Godeven today.
You see, the wise men, alsoknown as the magi, they were a
priestly class amongst the Medesand the Persians.

(07:26):
And centuries prior, God raisedup a guy that we know as Daniel.
And Daniel had influence overthese wise men, these magi.
Go back to the book of Daniel,chapter two, and you can read
how he influenced them.
Well, these magi, they wereinterpreters of dreams.

(07:48):
They were students of the stars,they were readers of the sacred
writings.
And well, Daniel had theopportunity to share with them
the promises that God had givenin his sacred word to the people
of Israel, the promises that Godgave to all mankind.
So fast forward from that timewhen Israel was in captivity in

(08:12):
Babylon, the time of Daniel, andwe get to the moment when the
Christ child is born and when anew light appears in the
heavens.
I believe, and most scholarsbelieve, that those wise men
knew the ancient prophecies,including the ones that spoke
about the coming king of kings.

(08:34):
And that is what set them out ontheir journey.
So with that in mind, listen toMatthew's gospel as we see the
king through their eyes.
Matthew chapter 2, variousverses say this.
After Jesus was born inBethlehem in Judea, during the
time of King Herod, Magi fromthe east came to Jerusalem and

(08:58):
asked, Where is the one who'sbeen born king of the Jews?
We saw his star when it rose andhave come to worship him.
This is what's so amazing.
Those wise men, well, they wereGentiles.
They were not Jews.
They were Gentiles.
Any of us who are not Jews, weare Gentiles.

(09:19):
Well, those Gentile scholars,those wise men, those magi, they
are the first recordedworshipers in Matthew's gospel.
Before anyone else bowed in thebook of Matthew, they bowed.
Before anyone else worshippedKing Jesus, they worshiped.

(09:41):
Thing is, they saw the sign,they believed the scriptures,
they moved toward the king, andthey found exactly what they
were looking for.
Those wise men embodied thepromise of Jeremiah 29, verse
13, fulfilled, where God said,You will seek me and find me

(10:02):
when you seek me with all yourheart.
Turns out those who seek himfind him every time.
The wise men, they show us whatit looks like to seek Jesus.
They saw the sign, they trustedthe scriptures, they followed
the light that God gave them,and they didn't stop until they

(10:22):
reached the King of Kings.
And what did they find?
Not a distant monarch who wasbehind security and barriers and
checkpoints, not a monarch whoheld them at a distance and
said, This close, but no closer.
No, they found a king whowelcomed them.

(10:44):
Jesus is the king who invites usto draw near.
Jesus is the king who draws usclose to himself.
Jesus is the king who sendsinvitations through his word,
through his spirit, through hiskindness, through his quiet
whispers, through his promises,through his faithfulness,

(11:07):
through so many ways that hedraws us and invites us to
himself.
He is not a king of distance.
He is a king of deliberateinvitation.
And so with that, I encourageyou to spend time with him this
week.
There is an accompanyingdevotion-driven discipleship

(11:28):
guide that goes along with thisconversation that highlights
some of the scriptures that Ifound that blessed my heart as I
sought to see the king throughthe wise men's eyes this week.
I challenge you to spend sometime in the seek him, speak him
journey of that devotion-drivendiscipleship guide.

(11:48):
Ask the questions, what are yousaying to me through your word,
God?
Why does this matter, God?
How do you want me to respond tothis truth, God?
As you seek him, that will leadyou to the speak him.
And as God opens your eyes tosee him in a new way, as God
stirs your heart, as he speaksto you directly through his

(12:11):
scripture, as he shows youwhatever signs he has for you,
like he had for the wise men, ashe reminds you of his presence.
Friend, from there, let thatlead you to the speak him.
Share what you've seen withsomeone else.
Tell your children where you'veseen the king at work.
Tell a friend about this kingwho wants them to draw near.

(12:36):
Tell a family member or a lovedone or whomever God sends into
your life, someone perhaps whofeels far from God.
Tell them the encouraging newsthat our King of Kings is a king
who invites us to draw near.
Because here's the thing wisemen sought him back then, but

(12:57):
wise people still seek himtoday.
And what's more, wise believersturn around and speak him into
the lives of those entrusted tothem.
And so that leads us to thisweek's adventure activity.
We call it the wise man hunt.
And well, our family has beendoing this tradition for I think

(13:19):
20 years as of this Christmas.
Here's how it works.
For each child or each couple,as our kids have gotten older,
we stretch a long piece of yarnthroughout the house.
This goes over the furniture andunder the tables and around
corners and under doors.
And sometimes it even goesoutside if the weather allows.

(13:40):
And that's part of the fun asthe strings overlap, as they get
tangled.
Well, the kids come together andwe give them the beginning piece
of their yarn and we talk tothem about the fact that wise
men still seek Jesus.
And then as they have theirbeginning of that, that long

(14:02):
piece of yarn, they get tofollow it almost like a hunt to
the very end.
And at the end of each string isa hidden gift.
In our home, usually it's themost meaningful or the bestest
gift of the season for eachperson.
You can shape this however itfits for your family.
I can tell you that thisadventure is one that we have

(14:25):
done with our children sincethey were little.
And when they were tiny, we didone person at a time, which
actually is a good way tostretch out the joy and the fun
of Christmas.
But then when the kids got olderand they still wanted to do this
tradition, well, we've done itas a relay race to see who could
find their gift first.

(14:45):
And that is crazy funny.
But the main thing about thisadventure is that we keep
reiterating throughout it, wisemen still seek him.
I don't know what thattradition, that activity will
look like for your family.
Maybe if you're a young adult,you do it with a young adults
group.

(15:05):
This can be done with anybody.
This isn't just a little kidactivity.
I have seen this explode withhappiness with young adults.
Such a fun tradition.
But whatever you do, however youincorporate any of the things
I've talked about or thisadventure activity, my challenge
to you this week is to open youreyes, open your heart, open your

(15:29):
Bible and seek the king whoinvites you close.
He is not like the earthlymonarchy who holds you at a
distance.
He is not like earthly royaltythat lets you peak but doesn't
let you know personally.
We have a king of kings whowants us to draw near to him.

(15:50):
So, friend, in your own personaldevotions this week, I challenge
you, meet with the king and thenturn around and make him known
so that someone else can see himin a new way as well.
Do you see the king this week?
Let's see him like never before.

(16:10):
I look forward to seeing younext week as we talk about do
you see the mystery?
But before we get there, be sureto see the king this week.
Go with Godfriend, go with theKing of Kings.
Be encouraged.