Kerry Shook - King In A Manger
It amazes me that Isaiah wrote this prophecy nearly 600 years before Christ was born. Did you get that? He wrote this prophecy 600 years before the first Christmas. Isaiah the Prophet had watched a series of failed monarchies try to rule Israel, and every single one of them had crashed and burned. One king after another had failed miserably. So, at this point, Isaiah is looking ahead, and he's been given a revelation from God to see through the centuries when the King of kings will reign and rule the world.
And look at how Isaiah 9:6 starts, "For to us a Child is born". This points to the King's humanity, Isaiah is saying the King of heaven will come to us, the King and Creator of the universe will come to us as a human being. Now this was a wild and radical idea, and it still is, but we just don't think about it too much. If you're a Christ follower, you've heard this passage, "For unto us a Child is born, For unto us a Son is given". You read it on Christmas cards, it's in Handel's "Messiah," you probably heard it many times. And so we don't see how radical and powerful this is, that God will come to us in human form so he can experience all that we go through and communicate his love for us in a way that we can understand it.
Because if God is out there in the cosmos somewhere, I know he's powerful, he created the universe, but I don't even know if he cares about me or if he gets involved in my life. Creation shows that God is powerful, but Christmas shows that God cares, that the King of creation humbled himself and came to this earth as a helpless baby. Now, then the second part of the verse says, "To us a Son is given". This points out the divinity of Jesus, that he is the Son of God. See, he was all man on this earth, and yet he was also all God, he was the King in a manger, God in a manger. Just think about it, the God of the universe in an animal feeding trough. And then the next part of the verse says, "And the government will be on His shoulders".
Now, the first two parts talks about Christ's first coming, the first two parts I just talked about talk about Christmas, but this one talks about his second coming. The prophecy looks even farther ahead to a time when Christ will rule and reign when he returns, really a political kingdom over the whole world that will overrule all governments and make them obsolete. One day the King in the manger will step into his rightful place as King of the world, and he will make all that is wrong all right, and there will finally be peace in the world as the Prince of Peace rules. But until that time, his kingdom is an internal kingdom, not an external kingdom.
When Christ came the first time, he would say, "The kingdom of God is near, the kingdom of God is right before you," and the disciples totally misunderstood what he was talking about. They thought he was gonna set up a political movement that would have a militia that would overthrow the evil Roman empire, and they thought, "Jesus will be the emperor here on this earth and we'll be ruling right alongside with them, it's gonna be amazing". But Jesus said, "You guys don't understand, my purpose for coming this first time is to do something even more important, to rule and to reign in your hearts. I came to be King of your heart, so my kingdom of peace and purpose and blessing can spring up in your life".
That's why Colossians 3:15 says to us, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts". Wherever Christ rules, there's peace. When Christ is ruling in my heart, then I have peace of mind in confusing and anxious times. When the King and the manger is King of my life, I have peace in the middle of problems. When the King in the manger is King in a marriage, there's peace in the marriage, not appeasement, not a false peace, where you don't wanna rock the boat, but a real peace that comes through conflict, and you work through the conflict with Christ's power, and you arrive at intimacy.
Because see, every marriage fights, every marriage has fights, the question is, how will you fight? Will you fight for connection and intimacy or will you fight to win? Which is devastating. And some marriages fight all the time, and that's devastating, and then there are other marriages that never fight, and that's even worse because it just means you're drifting apart, isolation. But the best marriage is those who fight sometimes, but their purpose is for connection, to be one, to come through that tunnel of conflict to the place of intimacy where you have real connection, real peace. Because, when Christ rules in a marriage, you have that potential, because it's all about unity and not about winning.
When Christ rules in your family, there is harmony. When the King of the manger one day rules the world, there will be peace, there will never be peace on this earth until the Prince of Peace rules and reigns on this earth. Now don't misunderstand. When Christ was born and placed in that animal feeding trough in a lowly stable in a no-name town, he was King of the universe right then. He has always been King of kings, he was the King of creation, he was the King in the manger, he was the King on the cross, he was the King who conquered death. He is the King of heaven, he is the king of earth, right now, today.
So, for the next three weekends, we're going, in this series, to prepare our hearts for Christmas by letting Christ rule in our life so we can experience miraculous blessings and unexplainable peace this Christmas. My prayer is this will be the most meaningful and blessed Christmas you've ever had in your life. And there are four titles in this prophecy that the King is given that show us what he will do in our lives if we let him rule and reign. Let's look at it. The first one says, "And he will be called Wonderful Counselor". He's the King of wise counsel, the King who will give you direction in every decision, he's the Wonderful Counselor.
The word for wonderful here, in the Hebrew, means miraculous, that he wants to give, miraculously, guidance to you, he wants to miraculously guide you through life. And when I let him be King of my every decision, he gives me divine direction. And some of you, right now, are facing a really tough decision in your life and you know this is a really important decision, and you're really confused and you're not sure what to do, and you wanna get this right. You need God's direction, because our decisions determine our destiny, even the smallest decisions can have profound ramifications in our lives. And when you get paralyzed by indecision, a no decision or not making a decision is usually worse than a bad decision.
And so you need divine direction, and when we leave God out of our decision making and just do what we feel is best or what looks like a good decision, it usually ends up in a devastating place. So, before you make a decision, let him rule in your decisions. How do you do that? Just pray about it, pray about it and it's real simple, it's not real spiritual. You just say, "God, help me make this decision, God, help me to do what you want, because you know what's best for me. God, show me what to do, I'm confused". And just turning it over to God begins the process of divine direction, just admitting that you need his help in every decision, then, he starts to divinely direct you.
First, you obey what God's Word says. If God's Word says it, you don't have to pray about it, you just do it. You don't have to pray, "God, should I go to church today? God, should I go to church this week or should I stay home and sleep, what would you have me do"? No, you don't have to pray about it, God says worship, connect and worship, be here and worship. If you can't, worship online, wherever you are in the world, but worship once a week to recalibrate, it's commanded by God in Scripture. I mean, you don't have to pray, "God, should I tithe"? No, it's commanded. You don't have to pray, "God, should I spend time with you, 10 minutes in the morning"?
No, God tells us to do that. If it's in God's Word, don't pray about it, just do it, you have the wise counsel right then and there from God, you just do it. If God says, "Don't do it," you know, there are times in Scripture God says, "Don't do this," it's not to make you miserable, it's because he made you, he knows how you work best, and he doesn't want you to go down a devastating path. And even if you don't understand it, you just do what he says, and when he says, "Don't do it," don't do it, because he knows what's best for you.
Really, when we see something in Scripture, that God says, "You do this, I command you to do this," and we don't do it, we go, "Yeah, but a lot of people don't do that, that's not that big a deal," and we pick and choose what we wanna do in God's Word, really what that is is elevating yourself over God, it's getting out from under God's authority and making yourself God, saying, "I don't really understand this, so I'm not gonna do this". When you obey God and what he says in his Word even when you don't understand it, and you step out in faith and do it, that's when God blesses you, obedience brings blessing, because you're saying, "God, you're God, I'm not, even though I don't get this, I know you know best, so I'm gonna do this because you say so, because you're wiser than I am".
But what if it's not clearly in God's Word? Like maybe there's two doors before you. You make a decision, they're both good, but you don't know what God wants you to do and you know if you take the wrong door it could be bad. But it doesn't say, "Don't do this," or, "Do this," in God's Word, it's just like this job or that job, or this situation, that situation, and you gotta make a tough decision and it's not clearly in God's Word. Well, you read God's Word because he'll start guiding you with biblical principles, but when it's not clearly in God's Word, you pray about it and you say, "God, show me what to do". And you get to the place where you go, "God, I need you because I don't wanna make a mess of this, I need you".
And then God will begin impressing on your heart the direction to go, and you start going that direction, and then you go closer in that direction, you keep praying about it, and God will move you closer in that direction. But then, you get to the door and, before you walk through the door, you give God the last chance. You say, "God, I feel like you're telling me to go through this door, but if not, slam the door in my face, slam the door in my face". And God's done that to me a couple of times and it's no fun, but then you look back and go, "Thank you, God, you protected me," because you gave God the right to do that.
And I just want you to know, as your pastor, I've never been 100% sure about a decision that I've made that I've prayed about if it's not totally in God's Word, saying, "Do this," or, "Don't do this," but I've gotten to 98%. And that's what you wanna do, get to 95-98%, as God's moving you, but then you give him the last and you say, "Stop this if it's not of you, God. I believe it is, I believe I'm going the right direction". But if you're waiting to get to totally 100% then you won't make a decision, that's what faith is, and you keep stepping out. God has saved us so many times at Woodlands Church.
As we prayed, God shut a door. God's been leading us for the last three years to start a campus, Downtown Houston, and we've been looking and looking and praying and praying for God to open that up, and there have been many times it's gotten really close. And there was one time, three years ago, that there was this wonderful school right in the city of Houston, that we were gonna sign this lease, it would have been really expensive but it'd have been a great place to start the campus to reach the city, to make a difference. And we prayed, we felt like, "Ok, we're moving toward it, we're moving toward it, God's working it out, this seems to be of God. I'm not totally sure, but God, if it's not of you, close the door".
And the day that we were supposed to get the word that we were in, they called and said, "No, we've given it to another organization," and the door just slammed shot. We felt really frustrated, didn't make any sense. But then, two weeks later, the pandemic hit and everything was shut down, and we would have paid all that rent that year and not ever been able to start, and we're going, "Praise God". We spent two weeks of mourning, and then a great celebration, "Praise God, praise God," because when God shuts a door, it's for your protection. We always say rejection is protection. If someone just broke up with you, you just had a terrible breakup and you're hurting right now, that rejection is protection, God's got someone better for you.
Rejection is protection, God will shut that door, but then he opens up another one. I'm gonna tell you about that in just a minute. And so, you get wise counsel from the wisest counselor of all, God. But also, as you're praying, you wanna get wise counsel from someone who's more mature in Christ than you, that you trust, and ask them and get their advice, that's really important. Now, some of you go to people that are fun to go out to eat with, hang out with, but don't dare get counsel from them, but you ask them all about your life and what you should do, it's crazy.
You know, it's like, "I'm having a marriage struggle, what should I do"? And they say, "Well, here's what you should do. Even though I've been married five times, I wanna tell you exactly how to build a great marriage". And it's like, why in the world would you go to them for counseling? But some of you are doing that, some of you go to friends who will just tell you what you want. You tell them, "Well, I really think this is what I ought to do," and then they go, "That's great, whatever you think, I'm not even listening to you, just do what you feel like". You go, "Thank you for that wise counsel, I will". No, you go to wise, that's why it's so important to have some people around you in a life group, some godly people around you who are further along than you to help you, give you wise counsel.
Proverbs 3:6 says, "In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success". This is an amazing promise, it says, "God will direct you in every decision and crown your efforts with success". And the word success, I've said many times, in the Hebrew, literally means the ability to make wise decisions. Because, more important than financial success, business success, family success, relationship success, is the ability to make wise decisions, because everything else follows that. One of the most important things you need in this new year is divine direction. Like most promises, though, there is a premise.
God always says in Scripture, "Here's my promise, but here's the premise, I'm gonna do this for you, but you gotta do that". And in this promise of divine direction, which you need more than anything this year, the ability to make wise decisions, God says, "You'll have divine direction if you put me first". Put God first in your week by worshiping, and that's what you're doing, that's why you're giving God the first hour and a half of your week and saying, "God, bless my week, I'm putting you first". Give God the first part of your day, spend 10-15 minutes with him before you go out into your day and say, "God, I give you this day".
Put God first in your finances, tithe, so he can bless the rest. Pray and ask God before you make any decision, even small decisions. And God promises you, if you put him first in these most important areas of your life, he'll guide you and give you the ability to make wise decisions. But look at the second title, he's not only a Wonderful Counselor, it says, "And he will be called Mighty God". So he is a King who gives you victory in every battle, he fights for you. The words "Mighty God" in the Hebrew are the words El Gabor.
Now, the word "El" is the word for God, el is always God. Gabor means strong warrior and champion. So, it means God, my strong warrior and champion. And if you let the King in the manger be King in your heart, he promises he'll fight for you in every battle that you face. God cares about the battles you face today, and he's never lost a battle. And some of you are facing the most overwhelming battle of your life, it's the fight of your life or it's a fight for your life. Just know you have an Almighty God who fights for you. Even when you can't see him working and it feels like you're losing the battle, and you're staring into the face of defeat and you feel like you have no fight left in you, you give up to the King who fights for you, and he has never lost a battle and he never will.
Look at Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah, Lord God! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for You". So, what seemingly impossible situation are you faced with today? Whatever it is, God is more powerful than the problem, he's more powerful than the pain. Now, I know the pain is real, I'm not saying that faith is denying reality, I know the pain is real, the confusion and questions are real, the overwhelming problem is overwhelming to you, and you need to admit it. The problem is overwhelming and painful, but not to God, God is mightier than the mess, God is more powerful than your problem, and the promise says nothing is impossible with God. Maybe you're face to face with an impossible situation, you feel like you can't hold on any longer and that you're going under for the last time.
Did you know the Bible says that's a really good and powerful place to be? Now, it feels like an awful place to be and that's just reality, but it's at the end of yourself that you can experience God the most. It's only when I recognize my hopelessness and my helplessness and my weakness that I can turn to and experience the power of Almighty God. It's only when I come to the place where I'm too weak to fight that I turn to the God who's never lost a battle, the King who's just waiting to go to war for me. The King in the Manger is our Almighty God, our champion who is ready to fight for you when you let him rule and reign in your heart.
Now, let's look at the King's third title. It says that, "He will be called Everlasting Father". He's the King who cares, he's the loving, caring Father who is always consistent, always faithful. He's the King you can count on, he will never leave you or forsake you. That means, whatever you go through in life, he'll go through it with you. Everlasting Father means that he is eternal, that he sees the big picture, he sees that everything on this earth is just temporary, it's not going to last, except for his Word and the souls of men and women. He sees that all your trials are temporary, all the pain is temporary.
You have an eternal King who will never forget you, but, one day, you will forget all the pain, all the hurt, all the tears, all the sorrow, all the loss, because our eternal King has a place in perfect heaven prepared just for you. And that means there is purpose in every pain. If you let Christ rule in your heart, there's no pain without purpose in your life. That's why Scripture says, "God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose".
Now, it doesn't say that all things are good, because some things are really bad, and you know that, that's reality, some things are horrific, some things are awful, some things are evil. But somehow, our eternal Father, when it's all said and done, can take it all, the good, bad and the ugly, and weave it together to make something good and beautiful. He weaves it together for our good and his glory. You see, everything will all work out in the end, I know that, everything will all work out in the end. If it's not working out in your life right now, it's not the end. If it's not all working out in your life right now, and it may not be because it doesn't very often on this earth, if it's not all working out in your life right now, it just means it's not the end. We win in the end.
I have read the last word in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, and guess what? We win in the end. And we have an eternal Father, who sees the big picture that we cannot see, and we can go right to him and say, "God, I don't see it, I hate this, doesn't make any sense, but I know, even though I can't see it, that you see it all and it's gonna all work out in the end, and I trust you to rule and reign in my heart and life". But let's look at the King's fourth title. It says that, "He will be called Prince of Peace". That means, if you let him rule in your heart, you'll have peace in every problem.
Did you know, over the last 4,000 years of recorded history, there have only been 286 years of peace? Almost every year, it's just war, there's war going on somewhere in the world. We live in a crazy world where there's very little peace and a lot of conflict and anxiety and uncertainty, but the Bible says it's nothing to worry about if you're a Christ follower. Jesus said, in John 14:27, "I'm leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid". The Prince of Peace wants to give you the gift of peace. Regardless of the chaos that's all around us today, and the mess our world's in today, Christ wants to give you the gift of peace of mind. And wherever God's kingdom is, there is peace.
So, are you stressed out today, are you anxious, are you worried, are you uncertain about the future? Look to Christ, accept his gift of peace so you don't have to be troubled or anxious or afraid or worried. You see, if we just look to him, we'll get this peace that the world simply can't provide, that doesn't have a way to provide. You see, you just come to him and go, "God, I'm worried, so I surrender to you. I'm gonna stop looking at the news feeds for a couple of days and I'm gonna look to you". Just surrender to him, admit your worries, your fears about the future, "God, I give it to you," and he'll fill you with the gift of peace that can't be explained.