If you want order in your life, counsel for your direction, and peace in the conflicts of your existence, this baby was born to rule. Dr. Tony Evans talks about the divine purpose of Christ's birth. He can be the one to bring things together in you and for you that you have not been able to fix on your own. But he's got to be the ruler.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. It's been said that good things come in small packages, and that's certainly true with the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, Dr. Evans unpacks the gift we were given on the day God became flesh.
Let's join him as he begins. In the movie. Concussion. Where Will Smith was dealing with the issue of Injuries to players. There's a riveting statement that's made.
And the statement was that Football had replaced A day that used to belong to the church. that it had become the dominant Focus. of Sunday. This ball. How could something this small?
matters so much. I mean It's responsible for $17 billion a year. of revenue to the NFL. 32 teams whose worth is over 75. billion dollars.
Worship centers called stadiums. are packed to the brim. Every week with home viewers. Watching it virtually, some 400 million people. Inside and outside of the United States, focus.
On this. How could something so small How could it? Matter So much. Men fight over it. Yeah.
They cry over it. They're willing to risk their health. Over it. They spend Decades developing the skill in handling it.
Okay. I mean, and it controls. Everything that happens. On the field. I mean.
A touchdown is where whether this crosses the plane. The first down is where you place this. A catch is do you hold on to this? Incomplete is you weren't able to hold on to it. Over and over again, we.
Find out that something so small It can matter.
So very, very much. It has affected contracts and livelihoods and. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all based on What happens with this?
Something so small. that matters so much. We're celebrating the birth. of a person not much bigger than this. And I ask you, how can something so small matter so much.
I mean, he never wrote a song, yet, more songs are sung about him than any other person who has ever lived. He never personally pinned the book, yet His book has been the bestseller. Yeah. since its inception. He never traveled more than 300 miles from the place of his birth, and yet.
There's hardly anywhere on earth you can go.
Well, they don't know his name. How can Something so small matters so much. Because just like this football The life of Jesus Christ is more Then the size. To understand This baby. You have to stand, we're talking about deity and diapers.
We're talking about, not talking about just a kid. I'm talking about a king. Let's see what Isaiah says. about this baby born to rule. He says in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 For a child will be born to us.
And a son will be given. And the government will rest. on his shoulders. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace.
On the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness. From then on and forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. He says A child will be born. And a son will be given. Don't read that too fast or you'll miss it.
The child was born, but the son was given. Because the son existed before the child was born. The son was handed. The child was birthed. The big word for that in Christian theology is the hypostatic union.
Two natures in one person unmixed forever. Deity being poured into humanity. The one of a kind son of God. And he says, and he's here to run a government. And to inaugurate a kingdom.
This baby was born to rule. It says that the government will be on his shoulders.
Now, of course, Christmas today has been secularized and sometimes demonized. Jesus has been smothered. He's been smothered by the secularization of the holiday. He's been smothered by agnog. He's been smothered by gifts.
He's been smothered by trees. He's been smothered by lights. And he's also been demonized as some segments of our society don't want the nativity scenes. They don't even want Christ in Christmas. They just want to get off of work for a holiday.
Ah, but Isaiah says that there would be. A son that would be handed over. And it would come through a child that would be born. We call that the virgin birth. God entering into the egg of a woman.
producing The God-man, Jesus Christ. And it says His government will be governed Because he will handle it on his shoulders. In other words, This ruler This baby who was sent to rule. will handle anything that's on his shoulders.
So, if you want your world ruled well, you better be on the shoulders that he's carrying. Because that's the kind of king he is. For three hours straight, you'll watch this game, and maybe the game after that, maybe the game after that, maybe the game after that. Because This ball will rule your day. Jesus wants to rule your life.
He does not just want to be a kid in a crib. He wants to be the government. The ruler. of your existence. What, you may ask, is the benefit?
of this child ruling. Because I'm sure your favorite team is beneficial sometimes. and sometimes not so beneficial. They may win sometimes, they may lose sometimes. Up and down.
This game better than that game.
So they may be beneficial sometimes and sometimes not. What about This one who was born to roll. When Jesus Christ governs Isaiah says, this is what you'll get. The first thing he says is that his name will be called Wonderful Counselor. Chief Advisor.
In other words, Okay. You don't have to live a confused life. Because he's not a counselor, he's the best at it. He's a wonderful counselor, means he makes no mistakes in his advice. You can bank on what he says to be true on anything he says because he cannot be.
Incorrect on any matter. As Colossians chapter 2, verse 3 says, all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge are located in Jesus Christ.
So if you allow him to be your ruler. Your government. and your king. and you rest on his governmental shoulders. then the confusion of your life can be now ordered.
The problem with human counseling is that it is limited. By flawed people who give it. And even the best. and the most well-meaning. cannot dive into the inner circle of all of your being.
But I know somebody. Who if you allow his government to put you on his shoulders. Can erase the confusion of your life bring Clarity to your existence. He says his name will also be called. Mighty God.
Now, let's collect that with wonderful counselor. When you go to a good counselor who gives you good advice. They typically don't have the ability to pull off what they've advised you to do. But this mighty God can assist with the counsel he gives.
So he doesn't just give. Wonderful counseling. He's the mighty God that can enable the counseling to have the effect it's designed to have. That is, if you're situated on his shoulders. He wasn't just born so you could sing.
A Christmas Carol. Mm-hmm. It wasn't just born.
So you can say grace before a nice Christmas meal. Ah. Here's one rule. And he has earned that right because he is mighty God. He can pull off any advice that he offers.
If you're situated on his Shoulders. doctor Evans will continue that thought when he returns with more of to day's message in just a moment. Right now, though, he is here with a quick word about why we're so grateful for your support. Paul regularly thanked those who came alongside of him, who undergirded him with their generosity for the ministry God had called him to do. While we are doing the same, we praise our God for the friends that He's raised up.
Who not only are blessed and benefit from the ministry, but who help sustain it through their generous financial contributions?
So, we thank God for you. If you're not one of those who come alongside yet, would you consider? This being a great time to start, why? Because as we close out the year, we want to end the year in the black and start the new year strong, but it takes friends and generosity to do that. We want to thank God for you because you have been used of God to keep us going.
You are the wind beneath our wings. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your generous year and contributions. Our hearts are grateful. for your generosity.
Please visit us at tonyevans.org. Or give us a call at 1-800-800-3222. and let us know we can count on your help. When life gets crowded, The Christmas holidays often become something we rush through instead of something we savor. But Dr.
Evans' new devotional Messages from the Manger can help you slow down long enough to truly worship. to let God's promises, His timing, and His presence speak into your life in a fresh way. You'll walk step by step through the Christmas story with devotionals, scriptures, and prayers that ground your heart and lift your spirit. And to complement it, we've bundled the full nine-message audio collection when the King came to town. featuring some of Dr.
Evans' most impactful Christmas teachings. This Christmas may be over, but it's never too late to learn from the lessons of the Saviour's arrival. You can request this special limited-time holiday bundle when you make a contribution at tonyevans.org. It's our gift to you, and thanks for your year-end support. Again, that's Tony Evans.org.
You'll find the details of this special offer right on our homepage. or call our resource line any time of the day or night. where one of our friendly team members is ready to help with your request. The number is 1-800-83222. Again, that's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two.
I'll repeat that contact information for you after the second part of today's lesson. Here's Dr. Evans. In a football game. We've all seen.
The refs overrule. We've seen them. Take the complaints of the crowd or the players or a coach. that shows that they're dissatisfied with the call. And we've seen them overrule.
You know the wonderful thing about this mighty God? He can overrule what is overruling you. Satan has been overruling you. Circumstances have been overruling you. People have been overruling you.
Problems have been overruling you. But this is mighty God. And he can overrule the overrulers.
So the beautiful thing about having Jesus. who was born to rule, ruling you, is he can overrule the things that you don't want ruling you anymore. That addiction, that problem, that person, that circumstance, that need that is dictating your existence. How can something so small be this big? Ah, because he's mighty God.
But not only that. He goes on to say. His name will be called Eternal Father Which means He's the originator, sustainer, and will be the culminator of time. But not only that. He goes on to say.
He's the Prince of Peace. In other words, he knows how to bring order out of a chaotic situation. Today, we are living in chaos. We have personal chaos where people can't live with themselves. And if you can't live with you, anybody around you is in trouble.
We've got family chaos, don't we? Conflict, brutality, child abuse. Divorce. Abandonment. We've got ecclesiastical conflict.
Where even Christians are at each other's throats. or divided illegitimately over class or race. Then we have cultural conflict. Oh, and that's everywhere. political conflict, social conflict.
Group against group. Nation against nation, communities against communities. There's conflict. You know why there's conflict? Because we're not on his shoulders.
He's carrying it on his shoulders. And if you don't want to be on his shoulders, then you can expect to be living in conflict. Starting with conflict with you. Peace is not The fact that there are no conflicts, peace. Is God showing up in the midst of the conflict?
and calming the storms of your life. How can something this small be this big? Because he is the Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father. And he is the Prince of Peace. And if one day he's going to govern the whole world, don't you think he can govern your world?
If one day he's going to rule the whole world, don't you think he can rule you? The Bible says when he physically returns the earth from coast to coast, kiver to kiver. Pillar to pillar, post to post, he is going to run the whole show, and there will be no choices. He's offering that to you and me and us.
Now. He is the unifier, the emulsifier. Emulsification is that process of bringing things together that typically can't get along like oil and water. Whenever I eat my sandwiches, they will always be with mayonnaise. I'm not a mustard guy.
I'm a mayonnaise guy. But mayonnaise is made of Substance that really doesn't get along. There's a lot of oil and water mayonnaise. And no matter how much you try to force them to be harmonized, they're just not gonna get along. They're gonna go back to their own corners.
That is until you introduce egg. Because once you introduce egg, egg grabs water, egg grabs oil, and pulls the two together so I can get my mayonnaise. Jesus Christ is the emulsifier for the conflicts in our world, in our families, and in your life. And if you let him rule, he can be the one to bring things together in you and for you that you have not been able to fix on your own. But he's got to be.
The ruler. He's not just the person you show up to. He's the person. Who wants the set? The agenda.
So the question on the floor is. What are you going to do with Jesus Christ? Christmas. The child was born. That's history.
The son was given, because that came from eternity. And through the virgin birth, God became a man. Because he's God, he can meet you as God. Because he's a man, he knows exactly how you feel and what you're going through. God became a man so that he could know the pain.
A struggle. The stress. The attacks. Without sin, yes. But not without circumstances.
And he became a man so that he can experience it, but as God, he can join you in it. But he wants to rule.
So where do we start? We start with a personal relationship. He can't rule you if he doesn't have you. You must enter the kingdom before you can be ruled by the king. And that comes by placing personal faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and the free gift of eternal life.
A gift he offers to anyone who comes to him and believes in him for it. You can't earn it, you can't buy it. but he is giving salvation away. The Bible declares all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Everybody hadn't sinned to the same degree, but everybody is a sinner.
You know, this ball. You can be one inch from the first down marker. or 10 yards from the first down marker. But if you didn't hit the marker, you fell short. And if it's fourth down, you have to turn the ball over.
You may not be as bad as your neighbor, but you fall short. Because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have not met God's standard, and that's why God demands all men everywhere to come to Christ. Not come to church. You could be born in the church.
Your mother and father could raise you in the church. They could bring your meals and feed you in the church. They could bring a cot. You can go to sleep in the church. They can bring you your desk.
You'll work out of the church. But if you've never given your life to Jesus Christ, you'll die in the church and not wake up in heaven. This comes to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, not religion, a personal relationship. It is where you say to God, I recognize I'm a sinner. I know I need a savior.
I believe you died on the cross for me in my place as my substitute. And I am now trusting you with my eternal destiny as my personal sin-bearer. When you go in faith, believing God Christ to be your savior, he forgives your sins and begins the journey of a new life where then he can begin to rule.
So first of all, you have to enter the kingdom so he can be the king. Once you enter the kingdom, you must surrender to the king. You must say, What is your desire? What is your goal? What is your way?
What is your guidance, governance, guidelines? I want to follow you. That's called discipleship. That's where You leave the stands and get on the field. Because one of the problems today is we've got folks who come into the stadium.
Oh, they belong to God, but they don't want to be ruled by him. They want to be fans, not followers. But if you want order in your life, counsel for your direction, a mighty God to Empower and assist you, and peace in the conflicts of your existence. This baby was born to rule, to save you for heaven, and to rule you on earth. Christmas should not be just a holiday.
It should be. where you're being reminded Jesus came to rule your life and to be the government of your existence. First by saving you and then by getting you. to follow him. If you're ready to surrender your life to the Lord and let Jesus do for you what He was born to do, Please visit Tonyevans.org.
and follow the link at the very top of the home page that says Jesus. Turn this Christmas into more than just another holiday. Don't wait. Be sure to visit tonyevans.org today. And while you're there, don't miss your chance to take advantage of that special holiday resource package I mentioned earlier.
Tony's new devotional and prayer guide, Messages from the Manger. will help you rediscover the wonder of Christ's birth through scripture, reflection, and guided prayer. And we paired it with the collection of nine Christmas messages from Dr. Evans called When the King Came to Town. We'd love to send both of these resources to you as our gift.
when you make a year-end donation to help support this ministry. Visit tonyevans.org today to take advantage of this offer. or call 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night. That number again, 1-800-800-3222. or online at tonyevans.org.
You know, it's possible to follow every Christmas tradition. and still overlook the truth those traditions point to. The lights, the gifts, the gatherings are All of it can distract us from the one thing God never wanted us to miss. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans explains how embracing the real message of Christmas changes everything.
Be sure to join us for that.
