Who’s on the throne?
Matthew 2:1-20
Generally when we read this verse of scripture we talk of the Christmas story and we talk of a babe in a manger, three wise men etc…. Today I would like to look at this a little bit different I want to see the big picture of this scripture. What I saw in this was a city that is caught in the collision of two kings or kingdoms both contending for a throne.
1) King Herod a man of flesh who desires all power and prestige and will do what ever he will do to keep it.
2) King of Glory the babe in the manger, the one in which will set free his people from sin and bondage.
King Herod is currently on the throne and only recently has this babe of promise been born into his kingdom and has set the kingdom upside down, and now these wise men are enquiring of him were this Promised King should be as if he is just all excited about another king moving in to his kingdom. Can you imagine how he must have felt this king that has set on the throne year after year praised worshiped and catard to and now suddenly it is all interrupted by this Promised King.
Like most Kings he will not share his glory with another and certainly not his throne and so he sets a plan in action to find and eliminate this Promised King. He tells the wise men to find him and send word to him so that he might come and worship him as well, but after being warned previously by an angel the wise men departed another way so that the King Herod might not find this Promised King. Angry and feeling betrayed the King Herod that man of flesh commands that every child two and under in the kingdom be slain. Why? Because these children were possibilities and potential threats to his throne. I thought about these children how these precious little babies never had a chance, these little bundles of possibilities were murderd. Some of them might have been kings, princes, lawyers, fathers , mothers etc…. But they were murderd because of who was on the throne.
V18) weeping and mourning Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are not
If Christ would have been on the throne there would have been joy and laughter but that man of flesh set on the throne and there was in that city death and weeping and mourning because of murderd potential and murderd possibilities.
I wonder today can you see the big picture can you see the parallel of this Christmas story and our experience today.
You see our hearts are as that city or kingdom we were born into sin and bondage ruled so long by the Man of Flesh that one who plucks but never plants, takes but never gives, is served but never has served. Then a promise was born into the kingdom of our hearts to free us to give us life and life more abundant. But two can not set on the throne, there is a battle in the kingdom a fight taking place and in the middle are the possibilities and the potential possibilities of hope, peace, love, joy and potential miracles, potential preachers, teachers, songwriters and singers, healers, prophets etc… But it all hinges on who is on the throne. Will there be laughter and joy in your heart and soul or will there be weeping and mourning in your life because of lost opportunity and failure. Who is on the throne of your heart tonight? Who do you live for when you wake up? Do you wake up to pray or do you wake up to get a bowl of cheerio’s . Who is on your mind through the day and who is on your mind when you lay down at night. Is it self and what you can do for self or is it the King of Promise and what promise and potential may come alive today.
Product of flesh
Gal.5:19:21
Works of the flesh are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like.
What potential what life is there in these things. But this is the hope of the flesh of that Man of Flesh. No hope for your mariage no hope for your relationships , no potential for problem only more problems. But the world crys out do what feels good express yourself and be yourself, but there is no potential and no promise in that.
Fruit of the spirit
v) 22
Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,
Now there is potential and promise in love , there’s potential in joy and peace.
v) 17
Two cannot set on the throne. Bible says they are contrary one to another, they are opposite of one another. One must live and one must die.
Romans 8:7
Flesh is enmity against God cannot be subject or serve God.
v)6 To be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
There was no peace in that kingdom why? Because the spiritual man the life giver was put in the manger and the man of flesh was on the throne.
v)13 Mortify the deeds of the body. In other words you need to dethrone that man of flesh and there will be possibilities and potential.
Matthew 2:19
When the man of flesh died then Christ could go to the land of Israel that is were his ministry began and that is were he did his miracles. Today there are miracles and promised for you but first that man of flesh must die out to the King of Promise Jesus Christ.
Close:
Life seem like it is imbalanced? Is peace missing from your life? Get Jesus out of the manger and on the throne.
That’s what’s wrong with this world Jesus is in the manger and in the front yard, but he needs to be on the throne of your heart. People only come and visit him once a year and they bring him gifts of promised allegiance and promised sacrifices ( I will quit smoking etc…) but he never makes it to the throne room. Who is on the throne?
