The Family Disciple Me Podcast // Discipleship Starts With a Conversation

ADVENTure | Convo #2: Do You See the King?

• Tosha Williams for FDM • Season 6 • Episode 20

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On a recent trip to the United Kingdom, host Tosha Williams encountered velvet ropes at the crown jewels, barricades in palaces, and secret service agents keeping the royalty removed from civilian reality. These real encounters with earthly monarchy frame a deeper truth: Jesus is the kind of King who draws seekers near. From the Tower of London to Windsor and an unexpected brush with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the contrast sets the stage for the Magi’s journey and a fresh look at what it means to seek and find. For the truth is, in Jesus, we discover a King who removes the distance. 

We unpack who the Magi were and why they took the star seriously, and we also consider how Jeremiah 29:13 becomes a lived promise for anyone willing to move from curiosity to commitment. Along the way, we highlight a striking detail from Matthew’s Gospel: Gentile outsiders become the first recorded worshipers of Jesus, signaling a kingdom where access isn’t gated by status. This is not a museum of faith where you watch from behind glass. It’s an open invitation from a King who welcomes the far-off first.

From there we get practical. We walk through a Seek Him Speak Him rhythm with simple questions that turn Scripture into conversation and courage into action. You’ll hear how to share what you’re seeing with your kids, a friend, or someone who feels far from God, and why telling your story matters more than polished words. We also share our “Wise Man Hunt,” a joyful tradition that turns your space into a map of pursuit and discovery - - - perfect for families, small groups, or anyone who wants a tactile reminder that the path to Jesus is open and the welcome is warm.

If you’re hungry for a faith that closes the gap between longing and presence, this conversation will help you take the next step. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review to help others find a King who says, “Come closer.”

The devotion-driven discipleship guide that goes along with this episode can be found HERE.

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The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media.

Family Disciple Me is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry, and all donations are tax deductible. More information, blogs, statement of faith and contact info can be found at familydiscipleme.org

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to this week's Adventure Collection of Conversations. In this episode, we're going to step into the journey of the wise men as they looked to see the King of Kings. And well, as I have been thinking about their journey, I was reminded of a journey that my husband and I got to take a couple of years ago. We were privileged to go to the United Kingdom, and it turned out that that was a trip where we repeatedly brushed up against the edges of earthly royalty. We started at the Tower of London where we stepped onto a conveyor belt which took us past the crown jewels. They were beautiful, they were breathtaking, they were dazzling, they were historic. And yet there was a really thick glass through which we looked at those, and the conveyor belt kept us moving. The message was clear. You can look, but keep a distance. Well, from there, we were privileged to go to Windsor Castle. And that is one of the king's palaces. And well, we got to take a tour and wander through its its halls and gaze at the portraits of the monarchs. And then we got to go to St. George's Chapel, where the queen herself had just recently been laid to rest before we came to visit. It was very clear. You can admire the royalty, but you cannot approach the royalty. Well, with all of that as the beginning of our trip, there came this moment up in Scotland that we never anticipated. We had gone to Edinburgh, Scotland, and we had an appointment at New College at the University of Edinburgh. Well, the night before, we were just amazed to explore. So we were wandering around New College and we went into the courtyard and it was peaceful. It was quiet. It was beautiful. Nobody else was there. It was just a sacred, holy moment for us. Well, the next morning we got up and we were so excited and we went back to that exact same spot, but now it was entirely different. There were barricades, there were secret service-looking individuals everywhere. And as we tried to step into the courtyard, we were stopped and we were examined and they wanted our identification and they wanted to know why we were there and they wanted to know where we were going. Well, eventually, for whatever reason, they led us past that watch point so that we could go to our appointment. And when we sat down with the gentleman with whom we were meeting, he said, Would you like to see the royalty as they passed through? Well, of course, we said yes. We didn't really know what he was talking about, but we wanted to see whatever he had to show us. So about an hour later, he took us back down to that courtyard. And this time it was full of people. More police, more security, more officers, more people who looked like Secret Service agents. I didn't see anybody who looked like an American tourist like us. It was very obvious that we had happened upon something that was really special and that was off limits to the public. Well, eventually, after we waited for a while, here came the Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh. They passed within six feet of us, and then they stood there talking to their people, their entourage. It was an unbelievable moment. There we were, snapping pictures surreptitiously, watching, but even as close as we were, there was still a line. There was still a boundary. It was still a very clear message. You can come this far, but no farther. You can be this close, but don't take a step closer. You see, earthly royalty always keeps its distance. You can admire, you can observe, you may even get to catch a rare glimpse in a historic moment, but you cannot draw near. And you know, that exact reality is what makes this week's adventure theme so astonishing to me. Because the king that the wise men journeyed so far to find, that king whose birth changed the world, that king who's the center of this season, well, that king, that king of kings is nothing like the earthly monarchy that we saw on that trip. That king, King Jesus, he doesn't hold us at an arm's distance. He is a king who invites us close. And so this week we come to our adventure question of the week. And that is, do you see what I see? Do you see the king? Oh, welcome to the Family Disciple Me Ministry. My name is Tasha Williams, and I am so glad that you're here with me in this episode. Adventure is our weekly invitation this Christmas season to see Jesus more clearly, to seek him more intentionally, and to speak him more boldly into the lives of those precious people that he's entrusted to us. And each week on this journey, we are spending time considering this theme: Do you see what I see? Or engaging simple, meaningful, deliberate discipleship conversations. And we're doing a weekly adventure activity. I'll explain this week's wise man hunt to you at the end of this episode. But before we get there, let's turn our attention to the scripture and to the remarkable journey of the wise men of the magi. First, let's anchor ourselves in God's word because scripture is the clearest way that He invites us to seek Him. I love Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 13, where it says, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. That promise had been spoken by God and written down centuries prior to the birth of the King of Kings here on earth. And while that promise, it echoes straight into the story of the wise men in Matthew chapter two. And their story makes even more sense when we understand who they were and how they might have known that very promise that we can receive from God even today. You see, the wise men, also known as the magi, they were a priestly class amongst the Medes and the Persians. And centuries prior, God raised up a guy that we know as Daniel. And Daniel had influence over these wise men, these magi. Go back to the book of Daniel, chapter two, and you can read how he influenced them. Well, these magi, they were interpreters of dreams. They were students of the stars, they were readers of the sacred writings. And well, Daniel had the opportunity to share with them the promises that God had given in his sacred word to the people of Israel, the promises that God gave to all mankind. So fast forward from that time when Israel was in captivity in Babylon, the time of Daniel, and we get to the moment when the Christ child is born and when a new light appears in the heavens. I believe, and most scholars believe, that those wise men knew the ancient prophecies, including the ones that spoke about the coming king of kings. And that is what set them out on their journey. So with that in mind, listen to Matthew's gospel as we see the king through their eyes. Matthew chapter 2, various verses say this. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who's been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. This is what's so amazing. Those wise men, well, they were Gentiles. They were not Jews. They were Gentiles. Any of us who are not Jews, we are Gentiles. Well, those Gentile scholars, those wise men, those magi, they are the first recorded worshipers in Matthew's gospel. Before anyone else bowed in the book of Matthew, they bowed. Before anyone else worshipped King Jesus, they worshiped. Thing is, they saw the sign, they believed the scriptures, they moved toward the king, and they found exactly what they were looking for. Those wise men embodied the promise of Jeremiah 29, verse 13, fulfilled, where God said, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Turns out those who seek him find him every time. The wise men, they show us what it looks like to seek Jesus. They saw the sign, they trusted the scriptures, they followed the light that God gave them, and they didn't stop until they reached the King of Kings. And what did they find? Not a distant monarch who was behind security and barriers and checkpoints, not a monarch who held them at a distance and said, This close, but no closer. No, they found a king who welcomed them. Jesus is the king who invites us to draw near. Jesus is the king who draws us close to himself. Jesus is the king who sends invitations through his word, through his spirit, through his kindness, through his quiet whispers, through his promises, through his faithfulness, through so many ways that he draws us and invites us to himself. He is not a king of distance. He is a king of deliberate invitation. And so with that, I encourage you to spend time with him this week. There is an accompanying devotion-driven discipleship guide that goes along with this conversation that highlights some of the scriptures that I found that blessed my heart as I sought to see the king through the wise men's eyes this week. I challenge you to spend some time in the seek him, speak him journey of that devotion-driven discipleship guide. Ask the questions, what are you saying to me through your word, God? Why does this matter, God? How do you want me to respond to this truth, God? As you seek him, that will lead you to the speak him. And as God opens your eyes to see him in a new way, as God stirs your heart, as he speaks to you directly through his scripture, as he shows you whatever signs he has for you, like he had for the wise men, as he reminds you of his presence. Friend, from there, let that lead you to the speak him. Share what you've seen with someone else. Tell your children where you've seen the king at work. Tell a friend about this king who wants them to draw near. Tell a family member or a loved one or whomever God sends into your life, someone perhaps who feels far from God. Tell them the encouraging news that our King of Kings is a king who invites us to draw near. Because here's the thing wise men sought him back then, but wise people still seek him today. And what's more, wise believers turn around and speak him into the lives of those entrusted to them. And so that leads us to this week's adventure activity. We call it the wise man hunt. And well, our family has been doing this tradition for I think 20 years as of this Christmas. Here's how it works. For each child or each couple, as our kids have gotten older, we stretch a long piece of yarn throughout the house. This goes over the furniture and under the tables and around corners and under doors. And sometimes it even goes outside if the weather allows. And that's part of the fun as the strings overlap, as they get tangled. Well, the kids come together and we give them the beginning piece of their yarn and we talk to them about the fact that wise men still seek Jesus. And then as they have their beginning of that, that long piece of yarn, they get to follow it almost like a hunt to the very end. And at the end of each string is a hidden gift. In our home, usually it's the most meaningful or the bestest gift of the season for each person. You can shape this however it fits for your family. I can tell you that this adventure is one that we have done with our children since they were little. And when they were tiny, we did one person at a time, which actually is a good way to stretch out the joy and the fun of Christmas. But then when the kids got older and they still wanted to do this tradition, well, we've done it as a relay race to see who could find their gift first. And that is crazy funny. But the main thing about this adventure is that we keep reiterating throughout it, wise men still seek him. I don't know what that tradition, that activity will look like for your family. Maybe if you're a young adult, you do it with a young adults group. This can be done with anybody. This isn't just a little kid activity. I have seen this explode with happiness with young adults. Such a fun tradition. But whatever you do, however you incorporate any of the things I've talked about or this adventure activity, my challenge to you this week is to open your eyes, open your heart, open your Bible and seek the king who invites you close. He is not like the earthly monarchy who holds you at a distance. He is not like earthly royalty that lets you peak but doesn't let you know personally. We have a king of kings who wants us to draw near to him. So, friend, in your own personal devotions this week, I challenge you, meet with the king and then turn around and make him known so that someone else can see him in a new way as well. Do you see the king this week? Let's see him like never before. I look forward to seeing you next week as we talk about do you see the mystery? But before we get there, be sure to see the king this week. Go with Godfriend, go with the King of Kings. Be encouraged.