The Endangered Manger - Bro Jesse Howell 12-21-2025

Amen. Thank the Lord this evening. Amen. Thank the Lord

for the spirit of God that we feel tonight. Amen.

It's a pleasure to be here, wonderful to be in

the presence of the Lord with you all. I believe

that God is talking to some people tonight, don't you

A man?

I enjoyed what Pastor has said. Amen.

The preaching and the exportation of our pastor. I appreciate

that so much. Been wonderful.

I appreciate what Brother Samuel preached on just now. Amen.

That's important Amen, that we have a place for God,

that we make place, make a place for him.

Amen.

I preached at the nursing home this afternoon on a

gift fit for a king.

Amen.

What do you get a king that has everything? What

do you get a get a king that made everything yourself?

Amen? All he wants, he don't want nothing else. He

wants your heart. Amen. He wants your love, he wants

your loyalty. Amen.

But right before choir practice this evening, I didn't know

that that I would be preaching. But I was talking

to Brother Beauifer and Brother Jonathan, and we were talking there,

and Uh, I had a thought that came to me,

and uh a little bit later, I had got a

text from Pastor Amen and said, uh, be ready to

preach for a few minutes this evening. So uh, I

feel like that's the direction that I want to go.

I have a little note on what I preached the

nursing home, but I just I just feel like that

was for them, Amen. And I feel like that God

has laid this on my heart for tonight.

Amen. So I want to look here.

I want to look here in the in the Book

of Matthew, chapter number two, and we're gonna do a

little bit of jumping here as we get started. I wanna,

I wanna, I want to capture this story without reading, uh,

the the entirety of it. So I want you to

to just follow along with me. We're first gonna read

the first the first verse of chapter number two. The

Bible says, now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of

Judea in the days of Herod the King, Behold, there

came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where

is he that is born King of the Jews? For

we have seen his star in the east and are

come to worship him.

Look down at verse number seven.

Then Herod when he had privately called the wise men

inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared verse

number eight. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said,

go and search diligently for the young child, and when

you have found him, bring me word again that I

may come and worship him.

Also verse number twelve.

Tonight, and being warned of God in a dream that

they should not return to Herod, they departed into their

own country another way verse number sixteen. Then Herod, when

he saw that he was mocked of the wise men,

was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the

children that were in Bethlehem and in the coast thereof

from two years old and under, according to the time

which he had diligently inquired of the wise man. Would

you lift your hand this evening ask the Lord to

help us.

God. We thank you so much for your goodness and

for your grace and your kindnesses. God, I thank you

for all that you've done for us. Preach us and

help us dece evening.

Lord, just for a short space of time, Lord, give

us grace.

I pray, God open to us to scripture.

Lord, let us God understand what the spirit would say

to the church tonight, we thank you for what you've

said thus far. God, we asked us you would help

us to keep that in the forefront of our mind. God,

as we come into the altars here in a little bit, God,

help us Lord to give our hearts to you.

God.

We love you, and we thank you for all that

you have done. In the wonderful name of Jesus.

We pray.

Amen and Amen, Amen, you may be seated if you

feel like it tonight. I do want to preface this

man this evening with a simple statement.

Here.

I truly believe that Herod could not have destroyed Jesus.

He would have never destroyed Jesus. It was impossible. If

the wise men would have went and told Herod about that,

God would have miraculously work somehow and Jesus would have

been preserved along with his mother and his earthly father.

Amen.

So there was no way that Jesus was in any

harm by the threatening of Herod.

Amen.

But the Lord gave me a little thought tonight, and

my thought is this the endangered manger, Amen, Pastor. I mean,

I'm excited to be he already preached some of it

this evening.

Amen. About the man, the manager at the manger. Amen.

And the Lord told me, talk to me.

I feel like about this here this evening, I was

I was intrigued to find doubt. And I've read, I've

read the Bible and this Christmas story, and I guess

I've never paid much attention to the fact that only

two of the four gospels record the birth of Jesus.

So Matthew records it, and Luke records it, but Mark

and John they don't.

They don't record the birth of Jesus.

So you can read these two gospels, and each one

of them they focused on a little different. They seen

it in a little different they explained it a little different.

Amen.

So, so it's really neat to go back and forth

between the two and and your mind really just sees

a real big picture of the birth of Jesus and

this and this wonderful, wonderful miracle that took place.

Amen. So our text here was in the Book of Matthew.

But if you look in verse number seven of the

second chapter of Luke's Gospel, we read that Mary has

brought the Christ Child into the world and has placed

him in a manger in swaddling clothes. Amen, has our

Master so eloquently and anointedly preached this morning.

Amen.

Now in our text we read of Herod and his

deceitful heart telling these wise men which they came to worship.

They came with pure intentions. They brought gifts for the king,

and what they came to do was worship.

The There there there their true their.

True heart desire was to worship God and to worship

this man that they had no doubt heard about times

and times in the past, and that for years and

years and years they had had no doubt heard of

the many prophecies that had went forth about the Son

of God that would become, that would come down and

become king, and the Bible said his kingdom would be

no end. So these wise men, they had heard these stories,

and they had heard about this child that was to

be born. The Bible says they came from the east,

they followed the star. And as they get into Jerusalem,

or as they get into Bethlehem, rather they they the

word obviously spreads that, Hey, there's some important men that

have came to see this child.

There's some men that.

Have come, Amen, and they've bypassed Herod, and they've come

to worship this child. And they brought him gifts that

you would bring a king. They brought him the best

of the best. They brought him the best that they had.

Amen.

And Herod intercepts these guys, the Bible said, we read

in our text that he privately calls them.

Amen.

He says, hey, somebody, go get them and come tell

him to come here, and I'm gonna talk to him.

I got something that i want to tell him, and

I'm gonna I want to ask them something. Then the

Bible says that Herod told them that he sought the

same purpose. Herod tried to convince these wise men that

he was of the same mind as them. Herod tried

to deceive these wise men and said, I'm after the

same goal you're after.

I'm trying to do the same thing you're after. I'm

trying to.

Accomplish the same thing that you're trying to accomplish.

Amen.

In as far as I know, in the scriptures, until

the Angel of God appeared, unto.

Them, they believed this.

Until the Angel of God foiled the plan of the

wise men, I mean of Herod. It was believable. It

made sense because they understood their desire because they understood

what they wanted.

To do, and in their heart and in their minds.

They could never understand why anyone would want anything other.

Than that their heart was so pure to worship the king.

Herod said, I've.

Got the same goal. We're looking for the same thing.

We want to do the same thing here. And he

tells these wise men when you find him, come tell me.

When you find them. Huh, bring back word to me.

Herod had no genuine desire to worship Jesus. Amen, I

realize that in the church age that we live in,

there are many that lie in wait to deceive the

simple ones. Herod try his best to deceive these wise men,

and they thought that he was working for good. But really,

all along he wanted to get his hands on Jesus. Really,

all along, he wanted to get his hands on the

Christ Child. He wanted to get his hand on the King.

He sought to destroy him, either from jealousy or fear

of the kingdom that he could establish.

Amen, may be realiz.

Maybe he thought like Judas did and thought that he

was come to set up a kingdom because he had

heard the prophecies for years and years of.

His kingdom, there shall be no end. Amen. This king

is gonna be the king of the Jews. Amen.

If I'm not mistaken here, the Angel had even told

Mary that he would be the king.

That he would rule his people, that he would rule

the Jews and the Hebrews. Amen. Amen.

Herod hatched a plan, but in our text we read

we read there in verse number twelve, and being warned

of God in a dream that they should not returned

to Herod, they departed into their own country another way, Amen,

the angel there they were warned of God in a dream.

So God foiled the plan of Herod.

Amen, by visiting the wise men in a dream.

Amen. Amen.

When Herod saw that he was marked of the wise men,

was exceeding wroth and sent forth and slew all the

children that were in Bethlehem.

Amen. Herod disguised himself as a sheep.

If you will, Amen, you know the scripture there about

the woofs in sheep clothing.

Amen.

Herod tried to try to present himself as a worshiper

of God. And there are many many spirits in the world,

a man that would like to get a hold of

what God is doing for you in the infant stages.

A man Herod tried to get a hold of Jesus

in his infant stages, while he was a precious little baby,

while it was new, and while it was a new

beginning for what God was doing. While it was Jesus

fresh from his birth. Herod tried to infilterate the plan,

and he tried to find the manger.

And if we're not careful, the devil will see things.

In our lives in the very infants stages of God's

plan for our life. And he was trying to infilterateate

and he was trying to foil the plan of God.

What the devil wants to do is see that precious

little thing that God is in birthing in your life.

And he liked to get his hands on it before

it ever comes to wish. You remember later on in scripture,

and I didn't have time to look this up, but

there were times whenever the Pharisees, as Jesus got older,

they would look for Jesus, and the Bible said he

would disappear, he would move away in the crowd. So

when Jesus got older, then there was nothing that they

could do to catch him until.

It was his time. Amen. But Heron felt like.

If he could get it at the very beginning, if

he felt like he could get it while it was

just a little seed, that he could accomplish what he.

Needed to do. What you need to do is protect

the manger. What you need to do.

Is protect what God's given you at the very infan stages.

Your master is endangered, saying sign that gets you before

it ever happens. God told these wise men that came

with pure motives.

Don't go back to that king.

Don't go back to that king, because I'm protecting what's

in the manger, because I'm protecting what God's doing. There's

biblical doctrines in the church world that are being targeted.

Amen.

And I've heard Pastor talk recently about some of the

things that are targeting the church world.

That we live in. Amen.

One of the main ones being Calvinism trying to come in.

Amen, the deity of Christ coming in. Amen. I mean

not the deity of Christ, but neglecting the deity of Christ. Amen.

These are things that Hero is trying to get his

hands on. These are things that we need to protect.

These are things that we need the power of God

to move in our lives so that they can be protected.

There are people that have a target on the people

of God. There are people in this world that they

feel like it is their duty to prohibit what God

is trying to do for people, and they will try

to get in on the ground level. They will try

to get in at the very first stop.

And they will try to find Jesus, if you will,

while he's in the manger, when he's helpless, and when

there's nothing he can really do about it.

Amen. And I don't forget what I said at the

beginning of.

This message, but it didn't stop Herod, and we ain't Jesus.

Herod couldn't find Jesus. But if we're not careful, he'll

find us if we don't guard what we've got the

if we don't guard what God's given us.

What I want to do.

Is make sure that I understand what God is doing

in my life, that I understand the precious little thing

that God has birthed, and refuse to let somebody stop

the plan of God before it ever grows up. He

wanted to stop Jesus before he ever became the miracle worker.

He wanted to stop Jesus before the Jews seen the

power that he had.

He wanted to stop Jesus before he was unstoppable, because

he knew that if this baby grows up, the prophecies

that are following this little baby, I'll never be able

to stop it. What all them prophets is saying in

old times, I remember what they said, and if.

I can't get him now, I'll never be able to

get him. Will you say out here I said you'll

fail here. I don't care who God's gotta talk to.

I don't care if it's a wise man, but God

will stop it.

There's some little mangers in this search that are worth protecting.

There's something that's God's doing in this world that are

worth protecting.

There are some.

Promises God given got are worth protecting. Standing with me

this evening, God's made some promises to these people, to

some people in this building. God's made some promises to

some people in this building. Some of my promises are

my boys. There's four little promises that I've got that

are in there yet fits stages.

Michael just got saved.

Mike can protect what God is putting that little major

of yours.

There's some things and we must understand. We must protect.

I want to do my part.

Pstor Hall talked about that message that he that he

hopes to preach, and I hope he does. About the

manager at the major, You're kidding yourself if you don't

think Joseph was making sure this little baby was safe.

You're kidding yourself. At the men of the house.

Wasn't standing there trying his best to make sure nothing happened.

Mama's and daddy's, these majors are in.

Dangered, These little babies that God's getting us. The Devil's

gotta target on their backs, Sir ma'am, those promises that

God's gidning.

You have a target on your back? What are you

doing to protect it? We can't afford to let Herod

find this. We can't afford, we can't afford to let

the world get his hands on these things that God

has giving us