1 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:08,440 Well, good morning again. It's it's a privilege to get to 2 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:10,880 preach this morning. I, I really wish you were here. 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:12,840 I want to say this. Don't don't get too comfortable 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:15,880 there at home. We want to see you again next 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,440 Sunday right here. But but I'm, I'm thankful to get 6 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,720 to proclaim the word today. And I'll start by just talking 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,320 about there. There's a small town in what's 8 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,800 called Upper Lusatia, I believe is how it would be pronounced in 9 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,520 eastern Germany. It's called Hernhut. 10 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:38,080 And this small town it was, it was the home of a small group of 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,840 Protestant refugees in the early 1700s. 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:46,600 They had a population of about 300 people and that that were 13 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:51,840 relocated there and in Hernhut and the town when they were 14 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,080 relocated there, even though it was only about 300 people, they 15 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,080 experienced some internal struggle, some fighting, some 16 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,880 different things happening. And so so the people of the town 17 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,480 of her and Hut decided that they would make a covenant together 18 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,000 and they they made a covenant together to be obedient and 19 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,960 committed to Jesus Christ and, and that was their best move. 20 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,960 Shortly after, in August of 1727, they were holding 21 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,000 communion service and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 22 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,280 people of Hernhut and, and there was just a revival that happened 23 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,720 and that launched what's known as the Great Moravian Revival, 24 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:35,480 100 year prayer revival. Basically 24 men and 24 women 25 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:39,600 made a covenant together that they would pray every hour of 26 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,120 every day. And that prayer revival lasted 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:48,400 for a century, 100 years. Anyone feeling bad about missing 28 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,440 prayer for lunch or dinner yesterday? 29 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,040 Or or maybe you just haven't prayed enough lately. 100 years 30 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:58,640 straight of prayer launched out of this small town in Eastern 31 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,120 Germany, Hernhut. Over the next 25 years, that 32 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:07,320 small town would end up sending over 100 missionaries out to 33 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,240 different parts of the world that needed Jesus more than all 34 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,200 of of the church combined in the previous two centuries. 35 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:19,160 God was moving in some incredible ways in Hernhut and 36 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,520 through Hernhut. What an awesome thing. 37 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:27,360 God often does great things in small, unnoticed places. 38 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,120 That's true whether you look at Scripture, whether you look in 39 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,240 our world today. God often does his best work and 40 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,000 small, seemingly unimportant, unnoticed places. 41 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,480 Well, today we're going to continue our Promised One series 42 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,080 by looking at a prophecy, another prophecy of God. 43 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,720 And and this prophecy when we talk about the promised one, 44 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,040 this is that the promised one would come in a promised place. 45 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,600 And so we're going to be in Micah chapter 5 too. 46 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:56,280 You know, I'd have you stand if you were here. 47 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:58,240 I'd love for you to stand with me if you're at home. 48 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:02,040 You don't have to, but I'm going to read Micah chapter 5, verse 49 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,840 2, and we're going to see the promised place that the promised 50 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,680 one would come. It's it's a short scripture. 51 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:13,240 It says, but you Bethlehem Afratha, though you are small 52 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,320 among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who 53 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,760 will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old from 54 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,160 ancient times. And so we see this prophecy. 55 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,200 We've been talking about the the prophecies that Jesus was coming 56 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,440 and now the the prophecy in Micah chapter 5, verse 2 is that 57 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,160 Jesus would come to a place called Bethlehem. 58 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,480 Now Bethlehem is a small village outside of Jerusalem. 59 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,880 The scripture here says, though you are small among the clans of 60 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:43,960 Judah. It it was not a significant 61 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,000 world player. It was not a significant place. 62 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,120 It wasn't a central place that people went through. 63 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,160 It was a small village outside Jerusalem. 64 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,880 What seemed small, insignificant, maybe 65 00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:00,080 unimportant. However, God shows to, to, to 66 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,480 you. God chose Bethlehem to be a 67 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:06,560 significant part of his work in the world and we see it all 68 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,640 throughout Scripture. In fact, Bethlehem has mentioned 69 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:15,400 41 different times in 12 different books over 1200 years 70 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,279 in the Old Testament. Bethlehem. 71 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,320 Even though the world's thought it was insignificant, Bethlehem 72 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:24,920 would be a significant part of what God was doing. 73 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:29,040 Just a few highlights Bethlehem the place where where Rachel 74 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,480 Jacob's wife died and was buried in the book of Genesis. 75 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,800 Bethlehem was a place in the book of Ruth where where Ruth 76 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:38,840 worked in the fields and met Boaz. 77 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,200 Bethlehem was maybe at the most significant thing outside of 78 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:46,560 Jesus birth in Bethlehem was that Bethlehem is where King 79 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,280 David was chosen the the the most famous king of the people 80 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:52,360 of God. The people of Israel happened in 81 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:57,040 Bethlehem in First Samuel 16, we see the scripture that that that 82 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:01,000 this is the the choosing of the the first king. 83 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,440 It says fill your horn with oil and be on your way. 84 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,880 I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. 85 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:09,600 I have chosen one of his sons to be king. 86 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:11,720 Fast forwarding down to verse 11. 87 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,800 It says that he went through each of his sons. 88 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,360 There were lots of sons and and over and over again they passed 89 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,040 over. This isn't the one, but in verse 90 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,160 11, there's still the youngest. Jesse answered He's tending the 91 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,840 sheep and Samuel said send for him and we will not sit down 92 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:30,920 until he arrives. So he sent for him and had him 93 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:32,960 brought in. He he was glowing with health 94 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,160 and had a fine appearance and handsome features. 95 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:37,360 What a nice thing for scripture to say about him. 96 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,360 So then the Lord said, rise and anoint him. 97 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,760 This is the one. So Samuel took the horn of oil 98 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,320 and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. 99 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:50,320 And from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon 100 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:54,040 David. And so David was chosen by God. 101 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,600 Probably the the least of the sons are probably thought to be 102 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,040 the least of the sons in the world's eyes. 103 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:07,200 But God chose him in Bethlehem, the small place to be Israel's 104 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,440 king. He would become their most 105 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,200 famous king. He would be called a man after 106 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,760 God's own heart. David was super important to the 107 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:21,760 story of God, and so much so that Bethlehem, the town where 108 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:25,720 Jesus would be born, took its identity from him and it became 109 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:30,640 known as the city of David. And so Israel's most famous king 110 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:35,320 was chosen in this small, seemingly insignificant place. 111 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:40,200 He was chosen to be king, but he was so much more than a king. 112 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:45,040 Similar to God's promise to Abraham long before God promised 113 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,080 that he would do great things through David. 114 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,960 We see this in Second Samuel Chapter 7, verse 8. 115 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,400 It says, Now then tell my servant David, this is what the 116 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,880 Lord Almighty says. I took you from the pasture, 117 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,760 from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my 118 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,400 people, Israel. When your days are over and you 119 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,920 rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to 120 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,000 succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish His 121 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,000 Kingdom. He is the one who will build a 122 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,080 house for my name, and I will establish the throne of His 123 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,680 Kingdom forever. On down to verse 16. 124 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:22,240 Your will endure forever before me. 125 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,480 Your throne will be established forever. 126 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:30,680 And so we see that that David is chosen in this small place, 127 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,000 Bethlehem. He, he was seemingly the least 128 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,840 of the brothers. But God works in small places. 129 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:42,160 God does great things. And so one of these Israel's 130 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:48,240 most famous kings was chosen in the fields of Bethlehem and, and 131 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,440 Fast forward generations and we see that just as God had chosen 132 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,280 to find his king in Bethlehem, God's plan of the incarnation of 133 00:07:55,360 --> 00:08:00,120 Jesus, God becoming flesh, Jesus the Messiah of the world would 134 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:04,320 once again a king would be born in Bethlehem. 135 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:09,080 Bethlehem was historically significant because God had 136 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,880 worked their time and time and time again. 137 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:17,840 And there was this perfect, that history that wove in and that 138 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:22,480 that God promised that that the Messiah, Jesus would come from 139 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,840 the line of David. And so in the City of David, 140 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:31,320 Jesus is born. Bethlehem was perfect for God's 141 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,799 purposes because it's where God chose to work. 142 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,960 It was historically set up. What we may think is 143 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,480 insignificant was the perfect place for Jesus to come. 144 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:47,320 The second thing I want to look at is the name it says you owe, 145 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,920 Bethlehem Afrasa. I want to talk about the name 146 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,720 because it wasn't just that Bethlehem was historically 147 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:57,480 perfect, it also was perfect in its name, in its character, 148 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,480 Bethlehem. I want to look at these two 149 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:04,120 words, Bethlehem Afrasa. The first word is Bethlehem. 150 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:08,240 Bethlehem means the House of bread. 151 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:14,720 Now if you recall in scripture bread is an important part of 152 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:20,200 Jesus ministry and who he was in John chapter 6 verse 32 to 35, 153 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,600 Jesus said to them, truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has 154 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,760 given you bread from heaven, but is my Father who gives you the 155 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,440 true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the 156 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,720 bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the 157 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,240 world. Sir, they said always give us 158 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:39,520 this bread and Jesus declared I, I am the bread of life. 159 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:41,920 Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. 160 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:44,800 Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 161 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,600 And so Bethlehem is the House of bread. 162 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:53,560 Jesus is the bread of life. Pretty incredible stuff. 163 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:58,120 The second word, Afratha, it means fruitful, man. 164 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,720 If you've been around anytime in this church, then you've heard 165 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:05,520 us talk about being fruitful. John chapter 15 Jesus says I am 166 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,520 the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I and 167 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,640 you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do 168 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,480 nothing. Jesus called us to be fruitful 169 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,520 and he said the only way that we can be fruitful is to be 170 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:22,000 connected to him, the vine. And so Bethlehem, the House of 171 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,000 bread. We we, we have the bread of life 172 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,520 that comes from it. Enough of wrath of the the The 173 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:31,640 word means fruitful because Jesus is the source of all 174 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:37,480 fruitfulness. Even the name of Bethlehem is 175 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,720 perfect for the coming of Jesus. A little bonus point here. 176 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:44,440 Bethlehem was the home of shepherds. 177 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,360 It was a place of shepherding. David and his family were 178 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:49,200 shepherds. The town of Bethlehem was known 179 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,280 for shepherding. And once again, Jesus is known 180 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:57,360 as the spotless Lamb of God and he's known as the Great 181 00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:00,640 shepherd. Historically, Bethlehem was 182 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,880 perfect. The name was perfect. 183 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:09,840 The already begun his plan and his work of redemption and 184 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:11,880 restoration through the town of Bethlehem. 185 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,120 I mentioned earlier that the book of Ruth, which by the way, 186 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,160 we're going to be studying in, in February, the book of Ruth, 187 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,160 some of it happens there in Bethlehem, as Ruth goes into the 188 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:27,120 fields and Bethlehem and meets Boaz and Ruth and Naomi who are, 189 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,360 who are lost, who have lost their family and lost their 190 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:33,040 identity and need redemption, restoration. 191 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:34,600 They have no one to care for them. 192 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:39,480 Ruth meets Boaz in the fields of Bethlehem and he becomes her 193 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,960 kinsman Redeemer, which we'll study later. 194 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:43,600 You'll get to know it a little bit better. 195 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:47,360 But he becomes her kids kinsman Redeemer and redeems and 196 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,920 restores Ruth and Naomi. And so, So what we see is that 197 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:55,040 that's a foreshadowing of what Jesus would eventually do. 198 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,640 See, Bethlehem was not just historically perfect. 199 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,160 It wasn't just perfect in name and character, but God had 200 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:06,400 already kind of laid the plan. God had already been working his 201 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:10,280 plan of redemption and restoration through Bethlehem. 202 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:15,280 And so the story Bethlehem is perfect. 203 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,240 It's intertwined throughout, mentioned throughout Scripture. 204 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:24,960 And in fact that story of Ruth and Boaz, it continues into the 205 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,160 story of Jesus, Matthew chapter one. 206 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,920 In Matthew chapter 1, we see the genealogy of Jesus, his line. 207 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,040 He would come from the line of David. 208 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:37,320 Verse 5 says Salman, the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab 209 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,600 Boaz, the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. 210 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:44,920 Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King 211 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,760 David. There was this line, there was 212 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:53,240 this plan, and it was perfect. Jesus would come and the line of 213 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,320 David. So even in the story of Ruth, we 214 00:12:55,320 --> 00:13:00,360 see that Jesus is at work weaving his perfect plan. 215 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,400 I love this. Verse 17 says thus. 216 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:08,160 There were 14 generations in all from Abraham to David, 14 from 217 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:12,880 David to the exile of Babylon, and 14 from exile to the 218 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,400 Messiah. I don't know if you're getting 219 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:22,440 this picture or not, but God had a perfect plan and Bethlehem was 220 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,840 the promised place for the promised 1 and it was the 221 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:31,200 perfect place. Bethlehem probably would not 222 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,560 have been our pick. It probably wouldn't have been 223 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:38,600 the place that we chose. But it's a reminder that what 224 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,400 God chooses and what God does is perfect. 225 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:45,080 What does that mean for us today? 226 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,200 What does it mean that Bethlehem is perfect? 227 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,720 What does it mean? All of this stuff that I'm going 228 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:50,920 on and on about? What does it mean? 229 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:54,120 Well, well, three things. And then we'll sing a worship 230 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,200 song together. Number one, I think what it 231 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:02,480 means for us today is that this should inspire worship in US. 232 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,320 I don't know about you, but there's a lot in our world 233 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,440 that's wrong. But man, as I study Scripture 234 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,680 more and more, as I've studied this week, all of these things 235 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:16,960 that come together, I'm reminded how perfect our God is. 236 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:22,160 I'm reminded how perfect His plan is. 237 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,840 And today, the first thing we need to do is just worship Him 238 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,720 because He's good and His plan is perfect. 239 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:33,800 The second thing is I think it should inspire not just worship, 240 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:37,160 but it should inspire faith and confidence. 241 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,960 I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm tempted to doubt 242 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,920 God's plan and God's work. But man, if God worked so 243 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,080 perfectly, if God worked all of these things, this little town 244 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:53,200 of Bethlehem, all of these stories, Rachel, Ruth, David, 245 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,880 Jesus, all of it together, God worked it all perfectly. 246 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,200 And, and, and what seemed insignificant and unnoticed in 247 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:05,440 in the world around God was at work the whole time. 248 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,600 And so I want to encourage you today that this that Bethlehem, 249 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:14,880 that this story should inspire faith and confidence in you. 250 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:20,960 You may not notice God working. You may not see God working in 251 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:25,840 your life, but God's perfect plan is at work. 252 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:31,600 Maybe in the small, maybe in the seemingly insignificant, God is 253 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,480 doing great things today. You can walk in confidence 254 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,080 because just as he worked perfectly then, he's working 255 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,400 perfectly now. Man, I wish we were all here. 256 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:47,480 I wish, you know, I wish a lot of things, but more than 257 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:52,040 anything, I trust that God's plan is perfect. 258 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,400 We can live in confidence in a world of brokenness that God is 259 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,640 at work and he's working perfectly. 260 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:05,120 The third thing is that we see that God chooses to work not in 261 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:09,000 the big, not in the showy, not in the worldly significant. 262 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,600 God chooses to work in the faithful in the small. 263 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:20,280 Scripture tells us in in First Corinthians, Let me find it here 264 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,880 and in First Corinthians chapter one, verse 27, God chose the 265 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,440 foolish things of the world to shame the wise. 266 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,960 God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 267 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:35,000 God works in the small and the seemingly insignificant because 268 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,840 he is great. And when he works, there can be 269 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,680 no doubt that he is good, that he is God. 270 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:45,200 So. So what should inspire? 271 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,760 Should inspire worship, faith and confidence. 272 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,880 And it should inspire us to live faithful, not just in the big 273 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:54,440 things. The world tells you that you 274 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:56,760 need to, you know, make yourself known. 275 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,280 The world tells you that you need to position yourself. 276 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,760 You need to gain power and influence and authority. 277 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,480 You need to put yourself in the best position possible. 278 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:09,839 What Scripture tells us is that you need to be faithful and you 279 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:13,200 need to trust God's plan. And this Christmas season, my 280 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,680 prayer is that you will be faithful not just in the big, 281 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:22,040 but in the small and the small parts of your life and the 282 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,680 seemingly insignificant things that nobody else sees. 283 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:30,240 God might be doing his greatest things right there. 284 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,160 So we worship him today. We live confident and faithful 285 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:39,200 that He is perfectly working, and we want to be faithful to 286 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,560 Him in every part of our life. Let me pray for us, and then 287 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,680 we'll sing one more song. Father, speak to us. 288 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,600 I thank you for your word, thank you, Lord, that even though we 289 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,520 might not have chosen to do it the way you did, even though we 290 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:56,880 might not always see it, Lord, your plan is better. 291 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,800 It's perfect. So today we give you everything 292 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,800 in the season of Advent, in the season of Christmas. 293 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:06,560 We celebrate the coming of Jesus. 294 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,120 We celebrate the beauty of Bethlehem. 295 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,560 More than anything, we celebrate your faithfulness. 296 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,280 Help us to worship you with everything we have today. 297 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,920 Help us to be faithful and confident to live for You, just 298 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:23,560 as the the Moravians did in 1727 when they were going through 299 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:25,840 difficulty. Help us to double down and 300 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:30,280 commit ourselves to be faithful and committed to you, because 301 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,280 your plan is perfect. And help us to be faithful in 302 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,160 all the small things. Help us to trust that you're 303 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,240 working not just in the big, but in everything. 304 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,240 Be with us today. Keep us warm, keep us safe. 305 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:44,920 More than anything, keep us in the center of your will. 306 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,640 I thank you. I thank you so much for your 307 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,840 love and your grace. I thank you for each person 308 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:54,680 that's watching, each person that's worshipping. 309 00:18:54,680 --> 00:19:00,320 Together we give you all the glory today in Jesus name, Amen.