Go M.A.D.

Living Like Kings This Christmas

• Doug and Brad Hutchcraft • Season 4 • Episode 5

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What do nutcrackers, Mariah Carey, and the Magi have in common? They're all part of this episode of Go M.A.D.! After working through some Christmas song foibles, Doug and Brad take a fresh look at the story of the Wise Men. This story has a lot to offer us today, especially around the holidays. The bros offer simple lessons we see about how to live like kings / wise men, not just at Christmas but year-round. We hope you enjoy and we hope you have a M.A.D. Christmas!


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Speaker 1:

Welcome everyone to a new and very Christmassy episode. Oh, this is so good of Go Mad with Doug and Brad. We've got Jesse with us again and we don't have dad here this time. He forcibly extricated me from my seat last time. Are you sure that's a word. I don't think it's the right phrasing Extricated.

Speaker 2:

Sounds just like Ron. If you have not checked, there's a reason to check us out on YouTube if you haven't yet. But I need Jesse and Brad's help right now. Brad, are you actually wearing that jacket or am I hallucinating right now?

Speaker 1:

Oh no, I'm wearing it. It is Okay wearing that jacket, or am I hallucinating?

Speaker 2:

right now. Oh no, I'm wearing it. It's uh, it is uh. Okay, I love this jacket. Make it light. I I definitely something, that jacket well, here's the thing.

Speaker 1:

So you do need to go to youtube, because this does light up, but I've learned that I'm pretty sure if I turn on the switch I may electrocute myself at this point.

Speaker 2:

This is. This is about seven years old everybody.

Speaker 1:

And it's funny because the uh, the uh bulbs have shifted now, so they're not where the lights are.

Speaker 2:

So it's just like how many jackets do you have an et thing going on? How many jackets do you have at home where you can say the bulbs have shifted so?

Speaker 1:

so folks, real quick, just so you. We're going to be talking about living like kings this Christmas. Last year we talked about living like shepherds and being beyond Bethlehem a little bit. Don't shower for two months this is well, that was last year.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah yeah.

Speaker 1:

Short episode, different podcast we're going to be talking about living like kings and you want to make sure that you stick around, because it's just some simple ways we know the countdown to Christmas is on. Maybe you're listening to this after Christmas. Guess what? The tips we're going to share are life tips, not just oh, and I just have to do this at Christmas time. So we're going to be talking about that. Please share this with a friend. If you haven't liked us on the socials, follow us there. Leave a comment on YouTube, if it's nice. If not, well, keep it to yourself. But if you've got questions for us, we'd love to hear those. But anyway, we're going to dive on in, but before we do, I do have a question for you guys. Yeah, yeah, I start listening to Christmas music. I'm fine saying this in public. Oh no, you didn't start before December 1, 1st.

Speaker 1:

I started, basically like november 1st and uh, there it is. It washes away the the uh tricks or treats and everything, and I so. So I I started listening to it, but as I listen to my playlist and sometimes I just put it on, you know, spotify, random shuffle or whatever I have some issues with some songs. Oh, there are some weird ones.

Speaker 2:

Everyone has a Christmas record Jesse you too.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, oh, definitely no, it's a thing.

Speaker 1:

All right, so what are some that I won't start? I want to hear from you guys first.

Speaker 2:

I think that whole no crying, he makes thing in Away in a Manger it's like, oh the horror, we must not have the sin of an infant crying. If you're married, you're wondering what's wrong with the baby and especially when the little drummer boy shows up.

Speaker 1:

You're telling me that there's no crying, as there's just this beating on the drum Was it.

Speaker 2:

Drum solo at the manger. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3:

I can't think of a worse gift to give an infant than a drum solo.

Speaker 2:

You know we actually have a co-worker and a friend. Now he's crying.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we've got a co-worker and a friend who just had a child. I'm going to the hospital today and I'm just not just for her. I'm going to walk down the hallways.

Speaker 2:

With that strap Whaling on that snare drum, only one drum, one drum, with that strap, walking up and down the hospital halls.

Speaker 1:

Quickest way to get kicked out of a hospital.

Speaker 3:

But I'm playing my best for him.

Speaker 1:

So those are a couple for sure, that is for sure. I'm fine admitting yeah, we're going to get some mail on this Christmas confession. I do not keep it on when Mariah comes on.

Speaker 3:

I cannot switch it off fast enough.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to be honest Outright hostility. Look, I hear the and I'm just like okay.

Speaker 2:

All she wants for Christmas is us.

Speaker 1:

Doug, doug, it's not Wait. I thought she was talking about a sheep. All she wants for Christmas is you? Oh no.

Speaker 2:

EWE, she just wants a sheep for christmas. No, all right, this I actually. There's. I I have there's one song that somehow I completely love and detest at the same time. I love it because it's such a great song, the way the melodies and harmonies intertwined, and everything. The problem is, when I hear it I cannot get it out of my head.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you may have just clipped out like crazy for Jesse there, but he'll fix it in post.

Speaker 2:

This is where earworm comes. This is a huge festive earworm. Get out of my head.

Speaker 1:

Jesse, you got any others, I'll sing it in.

Speaker 3:

June. Well, earworms that you don't want in your ear.

Speaker 2:

Oh gross, Merry Christmas.

Speaker 3:

As I was saying, the Nutcracker Suite is the most terrifying song that has ever been composed.

Speaker 2:

I need to hear this.

Speaker 3:

It just starts with those high like chimey bells.

Speaker 1:

It does, it does.

Speaker 3:

And all I can can like. As soon as it comes on, I just kind of tense up and I'm like I gotta get out of here, I have to turn it off, and my kids love exploiting that fear of mine it's.

Speaker 1:

It's about the nutcracker, just so everyone knows. Yeah, I also have a fear of nutcrackers. Well, fear, I mean avoidance, avoidance, strong it's the ballerinas, isn't it?

Speaker 3:

it's the ballerinas, jesse, really that's.

Speaker 2:

Phobia and avoidance. It's the ballerinas, Jesse, really that's right. He told me years ago we were talking Christmas and that nutcrackers are a thing.

Speaker 3:

I have two fears in life it's nutcrackers and the nutcracker sweet.

Speaker 1:

That's the only two fears You're actually doing pretty well, that's pretty good.

Speaker 2:

Those walking weird no expression soldiers are yes, so I'm trying to teach this um christmas song to my sons, and this one is there are certain songs that were written so long ago where you have to. What in the world does that word mean?

Speaker 2:

so it's, you know, we three kings, yeah oh yeah, we're talking about the kings today you know three wise men, magi, they're called all sorts of different things. So, but what in the world? I've never had to look up more words in my life. Traverse More it's a car. Chevy Traverse Okay, what's more?

Speaker 1:

That's what they were traveling in.

Speaker 2:

What is a frankincense?

Speaker 1:

Doug.

Speaker 2:

Or is it not a frankincense? I?

Speaker 1:

don't think it's A. I don't think there's. What's mer? It's not like the Facebook A-frankincense. It's not. We don't add those words.

Speaker 2:

But what are they, Three wise men, kings, magi? Lots of confusion out there.

Speaker 1:

Well, there, is there actually. So we're going to talk about living like kings, some lessons we can learn from the wise men, from the magi. Uh, we do want to clarify a couple of things before you start writing the post. Don't write us, don't do it about this questions. Yes, but we know they weren't at the manger. We get that, okay. So I actually actually at a house. It's strange because I actually every christmas, knock on our neighbor's door and just ask can we put our wise men in your house? Because when we set up the nativity, because you know they were ways away, and so we so I'm like scale it's to scale, yeah, it's to scale

Speaker 1:

like how long would it take for them? So it's actually a few houses down the road.

Speaker 2:

Christmas must be historically accurate it must be.

Speaker 1:

So what's the point? So we get.

Speaker 2:

They're not at the main, and there were more than three, what I know, Showed up at Jesus' house actually when he was probably a child, not when he was a baby. Don't tell me. We don't know their names. Yeah, the whole Macchiar, Balthasar, whatever those are. I sort of remember them, as you can tell, but no, that's not in the Bible.

Speaker 2:

But you know that's not in the Bible. But you know what's in the Bible. This is actually really cool. This is one of the Jesus is coming, the incarnation prophecies from Isaiah 60. Do you know one of the prophecies about Jesus' birth? It says that Gentiles so non-Jews, anybody who is not a Jew remember it's been as far as God and people go. It's been God and Israelites up to this point, as far as God and people go. It's been God and Israelites up to this point. But now this prophecy and what a strange thing to be saying way back when that Gentiles, non-jews, would be coming to worship Jesus.

Speaker 2:

But not just that that they'd be coming with gold and frankincense. This is hundreds and hundreds of years before this happens. That's these guys that they're talking about.

Speaker 1:

So there is some very cool stuff in god's word about the three wise men, slash kings, slash magi, and we're going to talk about that yeah, and so we're going to dive in, because there's a lot we don't know, but there are some things that are very clear, yeah, from this story. And this is how we can live like kings, live like wise men this season and beyond. And I think, if I can start, I think one of the keys that you see there is we are talking about bringing Jesus into our best offering. We're talking about bringing him our best.

Speaker 1:

You think of the song Little Drummer Boy and I played my best for him. That's why the line I love from a Christmas song, I played my best for him this is the three kings, the three wise men I said three, even though I know we just said it's not but the wise men that are bringing their best to Jesus. And we know there's a lot that can be said about the specific gifts. There's a lot of meaning to those gifts, as far as even Jesus, the prophecies about Jesus and the death on the cross and resurrection and the embalming and all these different things. There's so much that can be said, but the reality is they brought their best.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, man, they were passionate about finding Jesus and worshiping him and, just like we pray, we are about their willingness to sacrifice what they had. They brought their best. I mean true worship really, if you think about it, is always going to be accompanied by an offering, something sacrificial we worship. So how do we do that now? We worship by bringing our best offerings of time maybe the toughest offering to give the Lord our abilities, money. But this Christmas I'm trying to think about like so gold, frankincense and myrrh, like you mentioned, brad, very specific, very thoughtful gifts. These guys didn't just grab something off the shelf, they went okay, this suggests kingship and royalty, this is a burial spice, and so very thoughtful, very specific, meaningful gifts.

Speaker 2:

So what's that for me this season? I'm inquiring of the Lord really, what does Jesus want me to give sacrificially towards, and not just at Christmas, but all year? I mean, maybe this season, maybe it's visiting a nursing home, and if you go well, I don't know a lot of, I don't know anyone who works or goes to a nurse, it doesn't matter. You know you can actually call a nursing home and they will almost always say, hey, if you're willing to come and hang out, play the piano, tell stories, read a book, then that means a lot to the folks there and that's a sacrificial, specific, meaningful gift. Maybe it's using a percentage of your gift budget to give towards the Salvation Army, to give towards the Salvation Army and just what's something sacrificial, specific, meaningful that I can bring as an offering this season and year-round.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think we talked this year. All around Christmas, you hear people talking about finding the perfect gift and they stress about finding the perfect gift and they spend so much time. Well, what does this person want? What should I get? What do they have, what do they not have, and everything. And we should be not stressing about, but focusing our lives around, what are the gifts that Jesus wants us to bring. The great news is you don't have to look very far for a list of what God is looking for. It is throughout Scripture. You look at that, you look at the fruit of the Spirit. You look at throughout the Bible. You can't go through reading a chapter basically barely to say, well, man, this is something I can give to Jesus this very day.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So why not jump into Scripture and ask the Holy Spirit to light up for you? Show me what it is that you want. Don't give Just like when they were bringing the lambs to the altar. We're not bringing Jesus our blemished stuff. We're bringing him our best, true worship. That reminds me of along those lines, brad, of bringing Jesus my offering, and making Jesus my king goes right along with that. That's why they brought gold.

Speaker 2:

The way I'm trying to make Jesus my king, what I'm trying to do as I'm bringing gold this Christmas, is I'm doing that by asking God what King David did. I think a great way to help us figure out. Help me figure out. How do I really make him King over every part of my life? Remember, king David said Lord, look at my heart, search my heart, like, do a serious pat down, search, see if there's any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. What's that one thing I can't quite fully give to God? We were talking about a gift. We could bring them all. How about the one thing, the one addiction, the one person we can't forgive worrying about my health, maybe, maybe it's about money, maybe it's fear in sharing my faith. What's that one thing that I just am having the worst time in bringing to the Lord making him truly Lord, truly King. He gets everything, he says he wants everything. So how do I specifically make Jesus my king? I'm asking him that is a really good one.

Speaker 1:

So, if you're taking notes, it's bringing Jesus your best offering, it's making Jesus your king. And the one that really hit me when I was looking back at this story and hopefully this will all make sense. The first part is pretty straightforward Seeking God with passion. When you look at these wise men, we know and we'll get into this in a moment, but these weren't pastors in their church, far from it. Here they go and they're like we know there is something happening, we know there is something significant happening and we are going to seek this with all our heart. We're going to drop what we're doing. We're going to traverse afar, doug, we're going to traverse far and they're making this long trip. And why making this long trip? And why it is because of this first advent, the first time jesus came, and they sought him with passion.

Speaker 1:

What I've been challenged with recently, and partly in reading some from tozer and in an advent devotional I'm going through from him, is about the second advent, that these were wise men who said we know, know, jesus is coming, we know something is happening here and the signs are all come that this king is coming. They didn't know who Jesus was at the time, maybe, and all that, but we know a king is being born. We know the king is coming again. Are we excited about that? Are we living in light of that? Are we passionately seeking him and pursuing Jesus the way that these wise men did? The signs are there. They saw a sign. They saw a star. It may not be a star right now, but the signs that Jesus is returning soon, whatever that means. I don't have a date, a time, anything like that, or even if it's in my lifetime, but he is coming again soon. Thank you, and too distracted as Christians in the lives we're living to be excited about it and passionately pursuing Jesus in light of the second advent.

Speaker 2:

Man, great time of year to be asking that question. Am I seeking God with passion? These guys went a long way to find Jesus and if you ever think you've had a road trip where it seems a little long, imagine taking that road trip on a camel. Okay, you could actually. I looked this up and it was on the internet, so it has to be true. You could actually get camel back syndrome, where you actually would grow a hump.

Speaker 1:

I'm pretty sure that might have been from Wikipedia. I'm not sure, okay, maybe not, and does traveling in like a 73 Nova, because I think we had one of those growing up, is that? About the same as riding a camel.

Speaker 2:

So there's this cool scripture and it says go after wisdom like you would go after gold. And that hit me when I read that recently because I mean, if you think about it, when you're digging for treasure, you are sweating, you're taking time, you're working at it. Instead of just this little brief I'm going through, I have to read my Bible. So I'm opening it, I'm reading a few verses Go after wisdom like you would after gold. I'm calling it stepping up my ABBA game. Let me tell you what I mean by that Abba, an Aramaic word. Jesus and Paul used to refer to our Heavenly Father, but this is Abba, like this is daddy. This is getting to the next level and our Heavenly Father actually loves this. This is a deeper level of personal intimacy that Jesus is talking about that Paul is talking about true relationship. So I'm not treating my Bible like it's a chore to be done, but I'm treating it like it's the key to serving Jesus with my life, deepening my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I got one, brad, making my life more about the lost.

Speaker 3:

You go well where are you?

Speaker 2:

Okay? So the kings, the, the kings, the magic. Well, let me tell you what I mean here. So it's, it's become pretty routine, right as we watch our christmas specials and read the christmas story from luke. Hey, neat, it's the kings again here. They come with their gifts. But this is it's actually a pretty shocking scene. Let me tell you what I mean. We should be actually very surprised, because the magi if we're really getting serious about this, magi is an ancient word referring to pagan astrologers, so these guys are probably dabbling in the dark arts.

Speaker 2:

This is eventually where we get our English word for magic, for Magi. I think this is why Matthew says, when he announces that the Magi are coming, he says behold, let me give you, I got a surprise for you everybody. The Magi, they're coming to worship Jesus. Look at this. Astrologers are coming to worship him. Pagan sorcerers are searching for Jesus. The wizards want to worship. This is shocking and spectacular, just like with the shepherds. God's calling the lowly, the sinner, to come meet Jesus and be changed by him. It's not the Pharisees he's calling. Up to this point, it'd been all about Israel, remember. But now God is awesomely calling the world to himself through Jesus, as he calls the Magi. He's after the nations, friends. He's after the nations with the passion. So we must be his people, mirror God's heart for the most lost, for the world to get to the cross.

Speaker 1:

You know where that hit me, doug, when you're talking about making our lives more about the lost. It also hit me that, especially this time of year, as families gather together but we have people that are listening that have a lost loved one, someone that they feel is walking in darkness. Maybe they are not just that they feel, maybe they are walking in darkness right now and maybe you feel, like man, there is no hope for them. I've tried everything. I've talked to them about Jesus. I've tried whatever I can and they still won't choose Jesus.

Speaker 1:

When you look at the wise men, all of a sudden you talk about the lost. All of a sudden you have these men who are finding the king, that loved one in your life. They can still find the king If the wise men underscore one thing that we say around here all the time as long as there's breath, there is hope. You don't know when that is going to happen. Don't give up, because even if they are walking in darkness, as the word of God said, a light can dawn. They can see this great light still. So I love that you mentioned the lost, because someone may have that person in their homes, around the Christmas tree, at the dinner table past Christmas. Whatever it is, remember that it's not too late for them to find Jesus, no matter the darkness they've been in.

Speaker 2:

Man. Thank you for bringing that up, brad. This is a great time of year to remember that great parable about the judge and the widow, and how the widow just keeps coming after the judge. This is what I want, this is what I want, this is what I want. He just leave me alone, I don't care. Finally, after asking many, many times, he says fine, I'll give you what you're asking for.

Speaker 2:

And Jesus says if that's what a judge who could care less about somebody is doing when you something about bringing this person's name time after time and after time and not giving up brings glory to God. So remember that great parable this Christmas. Remember, pray and do not give up, and then you'll see great stuff happen. That's me paraphrasing a scripture. But even in my wife's life she has had family members that everyone gave up on except for her, and she just kept saying Lord, give me the opportunity, open a door, open their heart and open my mouth. And she found even the ones people were like there's absolutely no way, they're too far away from God. And she had the opportunity and she led them to Jesus. So thank you, brad.

Speaker 2:

If there's one thing people leave this conversation with, I hope it's that there is something about Christmas this season that opens people's hearts. People are talking about Jesus for no other time of year. Because there is hope, because there is hope, there's hope no other time of year. Because there is hope, because there is hope, there's hope, there's hope no other time of year. But we're singing about Jesus. His name is in all our songs and it's in the TV specials and all that, and so please don't give up. Jesse said something really awesome when we were talking about this.

Speaker 2:

The other day and we asked him if he would kind of wrap us up this Living Like Kings this Christmas Something from Matthew, if I remember correctly, Jesse man.

Speaker 3:

What was that? Oh yeah, and this thought's definitely not original to me, but it seems that Matthew's presenting two kinds of responses to the newborn king, one of King Herod and one of the Magi. King Herod doubles down on his control. He's paranoid that he's going to lose his throne and the Magi are all too willing to bring their gifts to him to lay down what they have, to lay down their authority, their control. And it seems like Matthew's giving us these two different responses to Jesus and then kind of looking at us and going what are you going to do? What's your response going to be this year to the newborn king? Are you going to hold on to the control of your life? Are you going to demand that you sit on the throne, or are you going to relinquish control to the rightful king that's been born?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the Bible says that they fell on their face and worshiped him. So if we're living like wise men this year, we're bringing Jesus our offering. We're making Jesus our king. We're seeking him, seeking God with passion. We're making our lives more about the lost. We so appreciate you listening.

Speaker 1:

We really do. Thank you for tuning in. We're going to see you in the new year. Yes, so we'll say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, but we'll get to see a few days into the new year. But thank you for your support, thanks for your encouragement. Share this with friends.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to pray real quick for those who are listening as we wrap up. Heavenly Father, we just lift up those who are listening right now. One of these things has stuck out to them, lord, of how they can be living more like kings this Christmas, how they can be like the wise men, lord, as far as seeking you, as far as bringing you their best, as far as making the loss of priority, whatever it may be. Or maybe it's just that they know that there is hope in hopeless situations that they feel like they've been facing. Lord, we pray that you would just help them to reflect the love of Jesus in these weeks ahead.

Speaker 1:

Lord, we pray that they wouldn't stress about all the perfect words or whatever else, but they would just show the love and joy and hope of Jesus to those in their lives, for anyone that needs a special touch from you and an encouragement that's going through a hard time. Would they know, lord, that they can turn to you, would they have a friend, that they can turn to someone at church, a family member, just to encourage them at this time as well, lord, we thank you for what you did when you came in the form of a baby, lord, for we know now where that led and that led to your death, your resurrection, your defeating death, and that we each can have a relationship with you because of that, lord. We just pray for anyone that has not chosen you yet, lord, that they would just cry out and say Jesus, I'm yours. Please come into my heart, be king of my heart, forgive me for what I've done, lord, and help me live for you. Lord, we just ask all this and pray this in the matchless name of Jesus. Amen.

Speaker 2:

All right, guys. So let's try this together. You ready, here we go.

Speaker 1:

Merry Christmas, happy New.

Speaker 2:

Year.

Speaker 1:

And go Mets.