Well, good morning again. It's it's a privilege to get to
preach this morning. I, I really wish you were here.
I want to say this. Don't don't get too comfortable
there at home. We want to see you again next
Sunday right here. But but I'm, I'm thankful to get
to proclaim the word today. And I'll start by just talking
about there. There's a small town in what's
called Upper Lusatia, I believe is how it would be pronounced in
eastern Germany. It's called Hernhut.
And this small town it was, it was the home of a small group of
Protestant refugees in the early 1700s.
They had a population of about 300 people and that that were
relocated there and in Hernhut and the town when they were
relocated there, even though it was only about 300 people, they
experienced some internal struggle, some fighting, some
different things happening. And so so the people of the town
of her and Hut decided that they would make a covenant together
and they they made a covenant together to be obedient and
committed to Jesus Christ and, and that was their best move.
Shortly after, in August of 1727, they were holding
communion service and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the
people of Hernhut and, and there was just a revival that happened
and that launched what's known as the Great Moravian Revival,
100 year prayer revival. Basically 24 men and 24 women
made a covenant together that they would pray every hour of
every day. And that prayer revival lasted
for a century, 100 years. Anyone feeling bad about missing
prayer for lunch or dinner yesterday?
Or or maybe you just haven't prayed enough lately. 100 years
straight of prayer launched out of this small town in Eastern
Germany, Hernhut. Over the next 25 years, that
small town would end up sending over 100 missionaries out to
different parts of the world that needed Jesus more than all
of of the church combined in the previous two centuries.
God was moving in some incredible ways in Hernhut and
through Hernhut. What an awesome thing.
God often does great things in small, unnoticed places.
That's true whether you look at Scripture, whether you look in
our world today. God often does his best work and
small, seemingly unimportant, unnoticed places.
Well, today we're going to continue our Promised One series
by looking at a prophecy, another prophecy of God.
And and this prophecy when we talk about the promised one,
this is that the promised one would come in a promised place.
And so we're going to be in Micah chapter 5 too.
You know, I'd have you stand if you were here.
I'd love for you to stand with me if you're at home.
You don't have to, but I'm going to read Micah chapter 5, verse
2, and we're going to see the promised place that the promised
one would come. It's it's a short scripture.
It says, but you Bethlehem Afratha, though you are small
among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who
will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old from
ancient times. And so we see this prophecy.
We've been talking about the the prophecies that Jesus was coming
and now the the prophecy in Micah chapter 5, verse 2 is that
Jesus would come to a place called Bethlehem.
Now Bethlehem is a small village outside of Jerusalem.
The scripture here says, though you are small among the clans of
Judah. It it was not a significant
world player. It was not a significant place.
It wasn't a central place that people went through.
It was a small village outside Jerusalem.
What seemed small, insignificant, maybe
unimportant. However, God shows to, to, to
you. God chose Bethlehem to be a
significant part of his work in the world and we see it all
throughout Scripture. In fact, Bethlehem has mentioned
41 different times in 12 different books over 1200 years
in the Old Testament. Bethlehem.
Even though the world's thought it was insignificant, Bethlehem
would be a significant part of what God was doing.
Just a few highlights Bethlehem the place where where Rachel
Jacob's wife died and was buried in the book of Genesis.
Bethlehem was a place in the book of Ruth where where Ruth
worked in the fields and met Boaz.
Bethlehem was maybe at the most significant thing outside of
Jesus birth in Bethlehem was that Bethlehem is where King
David was chosen the the the most famous king of the people
of God. The people of Israel happened in
Bethlehem in First Samuel 16, we see the scripture that that that
this is the the choosing of the the first king.
It says fill your horn with oil and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem.
I have chosen one of his sons to be king.
Fast forwarding down to verse 11.
It says that he went through each of his sons.
There were lots of sons and and over and over again they passed
over. This isn't the one, but in verse
11, there's still the youngest. Jesse answered He's tending the
sheep and Samuel said send for him and we will not sit down
until he arrives. So he sent for him and had him
brought in. He he was glowing with health
and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
What a nice thing for scripture to say about him.
So then the Lord said, rise and anoint him.
This is the one. So Samuel took the horn of oil
and anointed him in the presence of his brothers.
And from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon
David. And so David was chosen by God.
Probably the the least of the sons are probably thought to be
the least of the sons in the world's eyes.
But God chose him in Bethlehem, the small place to be Israel's
king. He would become their most
famous king. He would be called a man after
God's own heart. David was super important to the
story of God, and so much so that Bethlehem, the town where
Jesus would be born, took its identity from him and it became
known as the city of David. And so Israel's most famous king
was chosen in this small, seemingly insignificant place.
He was chosen to be king, but he was so much more than a king.
Similar to God's promise to Abraham long before God promised
that he would do great things through David.
We see this in Second Samuel Chapter 7, verse 8.
It says, Now then tell my servant David, this is what the
Lord Almighty says. I took you from the pasture,
from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my
people, Israel. When your days are over and you
rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to
succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish His
Kingdom. He is the one who will build a
house for my name, and I will establish the throne of His
Kingdom forever. On down to verse 16.
Your will endure forever before me.
Your throne will be established forever.
And so we see that that David is chosen in this small place,
Bethlehem. He, he was seemingly the least
of the brothers. But God works in small places.
God does great things. And so one of these Israel's
most famous kings was chosen in the fields of Bethlehem and, and
Fast forward generations and we see that just as God had chosen
to find his king in Bethlehem, God's plan of the incarnation of
Jesus, God becoming flesh, Jesus the Messiah of the world would
once again a king would be born in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem was historically significant because God had
worked their time and time and time again.
And there was this perfect, that history that wove in and that
that God promised that that the Messiah, Jesus would come from
the line of David. And so in the City of David,
Jesus is born. Bethlehem was perfect for God's
purposes because it's where God chose to work.
It was historically set up. What we may think is
insignificant was the perfect place for Jesus to come.
The second thing I want to look at is the name it says you owe,
Bethlehem Afrasa. I want to talk about the name
because it wasn't just that Bethlehem was historically
perfect, it also was perfect in its name, in its character,
Bethlehem. I want to look at these two
words, Bethlehem Afrasa. The first word is Bethlehem.
Bethlehem means the House of bread.
Now if you recall in scripture bread is an important part of
Jesus ministry and who he was in John chapter 6 verse 32 to 35,
Jesus said to them, truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has
given you bread from heaven, but is my Father who gives you the
true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the
bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world. Sir, they said always give us
this bread and Jesus declared I, I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.
Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
And so Bethlehem is the House of bread.
Jesus is the bread of life. Pretty incredible stuff.
The second word, Afratha, it means fruitful, man.
If you've been around anytime in this church, then you've heard
us talk about being fruitful. John chapter 15 Jesus says I am
the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I and
you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do
nothing. Jesus called us to be fruitful
and he said the only way that we can be fruitful is to be
connected to him, the vine. And so Bethlehem, the House of
bread. We we, we have the bread of life
that comes from it. Enough of wrath of the the The
word means fruitful because Jesus is the source of all
fruitfulness. Even the name of Bethlehem is
perfect for the coming of Jesus. A little bonus point here.
Bethlehem was the home of shepherds.
It was a place of shepherding. David and his family were
shepherds. The town of Bethlehem was known
for shepherding. And once again, Jesus is known
as the spotless Lamb of God and he's known as the Great
shepherd. Historically, Bethlehem was
perfect. The name was perfect.
The already begun his plan and his work of redemption and
restoration through the town of Bethlehem.
I mentioned earlier that the book of Ruth, which by the way,
we're going to be studying in, in February, the book of Ruth,
some of it happens there in Bethlehem, as Ruth goes into the
fields and Bethlehem and meets Boaz and Ruth and Naomi who are,
who are lost, who have lost their family and lost their
identity and need redemption, restoration.
They have no one to care for them.
Ruth meets Boaz in the fields of Bethlehem and he becomes her
kinsman Redeemer, which we'll study later.
You'll get to know it a little bit better.
But he becomes her kids kinsman Redeemer and redeems and
restores Ruth and Naomi. And so, So what we see is that
that's a foreshadowing of what Jesus would eventually do.
See, Bethlehem was not just historically perfect.
It wasn't just perfect in name and character, but God had
already kind of laid the plan. God had already been working his
plan of redemption and restoration through Bethlehem.
And so the story Bethlehem is perfect.
It's intertwined throughout, mentioned throughout Scripture.
And in fact that story of Ruth and Boaz, it continues into the
story of Jesus, Matthew chapter one.
In Matthew chapter 1, we see the genealogy of Jesus, his line.
He would come from the line of David.
Verse 5 says Salman, the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab
Boaz, the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.
Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King
David. There was this line, there was
this plan, and it was perfect. Jesus would come and the line of
David. So even in the story of Ruth, we
see that Jesus is at work weaving his perfect plan.
I love this. Verse 17 says thus.
There were 14 generations in all from Abraham to David, 14 from
David to the exile of Babylon, and 14 from exile to the
Messiah. I don't know if you're getting
this picture or not, but God had a perfect plan and Bethlehem was
the promised place for the promised 1 and it was the
perfect place. Bethlehem probably would not
have been our pick. It probably wouldn't have been
the place that we chose. But it's a reminder that what
God chooses and what God does is perfect.
What does that mean for us today?
What does it mean that Bethlehem is perfect?
What does it mean? All of this stuff that I'm going
on and on about? What does it mean?
Well, well, three things. And then we'll sing a worship
song together. Number one, I think what it
means for us today is that this should inspire worship in US.
I don't know about you, but there's a lot in our world
that's wrong. But man, as I study Scripture
more and more, as I've studied this week, all of these things
that come together, I'm reminded how perfect our God is.
I'm reminded how perfect His plan is.
And today, the first thing we need to do is just worship Him
because He's good and His plan is perfect.
The second thing is I think it should inspire not just worship,
but it should inspire faith and confidence.
I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm tempted to doubt
God's plan and God's work. But man, if God worked so
perfectly, if God worked all of these things, this little town
of Bethlehem, all of these stories, Rachel, Ruth, David,
Jesus, all of it together, God worked it all perfectly.
And, and, and what seemed insignificant and unnoticed in
in the world around God was at work the whole time.
And so I want to encourage you today that this that Bethlehem,
that this story should inspire faith and confidence in you.
You may not notice God working. You may not see God working in
your life, but God's perfect plan is at work.
Maybe in the small, maybe in the seemingly insignificant, God is
doing great things today. You can walk in confidence
because just as he worked perfectly then, he's working
perfectly now. Man, I wish we were all here.
I wish, you know, I wish a lot of things, but more than
anything, I trust that God's plan is perfect.
We can live in confidence in a world of brokenness that God is
at work and he's working perfectly.
The third thing is that we see that God chooses to work not in
the big, not in the showy, not in the worldly significant.
God chooses to work in the faithful in the small.
Scripture tells us in in First Corinthians, Let me find it here
and in First Corinthians chapter one, verse 27, God chose the
foolish things of the world to shame the wise.
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
God works in the small and the seemingly insignificant because
he is great. And when he works, there can be
no doubt that he is good, that he is God.
So. So what should inspire?
Should inspire worship, faith and confidence.
And it should inspire us to live faithful, not just in the big
things. The world tells you that you
need to, you know, make yourself known.
The world tells you that you need to position yourself.
You need to gain power and influence and authority.
You need to put yourself in the best position possible.
What Scripture tells us is that you need to be faithful and you
need to trust God's plan. And this Christmas season, my
prayer is that you will be faithful not just in the big,
but in the small and the small parts of your life and the
seemingly insignificant things that nobody else sees.
God might be doing his greatest things right there.
So we worship him today. We live confident and faithful
that He is perfectly working, and we want to be faithful to
Him in every part of our life. Let me pray for us, and then
we'll sing one more song. Father, speak to us.
I thank you for your word, thank you, Lord, that even though we
might not have chosen to do it the way you did, even though we
might not always see it, Lord, your plan is better.
It's perfect. So today we give you everything
in the season of Advent, in the season of Christmas.
We celebrate the coming of Jesus.
We celebrate the beauty of Bethlehem.
More than anything, we celebrate your faithfulness.
Help us to worship you with everything we have today.
Help us to be faithful and confident to live for You, just
as the the Moravians did in 1727 when they were going through
difficulty. Help us to double down and
commit ourselves to be faithful and committed to you, because
your plan is perfect. And help us to be faithful in
all the small things. Help us to trust that you're
working not just in the big, but in everything.
Be with us today. Keep us warm, keep us safe.
More than anything, keep us in the center of your will.
I thank you. I thank you so much for your
love and your grace. I thank you for each person
that's watching, each person that's worshipping.
Together we give you all the glory today in Jesus name, Amen.