Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it address the person
who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it
build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church
loved? Regular:2900 wordsCommunion: 2500 wordsVideo=75wpm
Humility has
been connected to Bethlehem since ancient days.
(Micah 5:2 NKJV) “But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah,Though you are little
among the thousands of Judah,Yet out of you shall come forth to MeThe One to be Ruler in Israel,Whose goings
forth are from of old,From everlasting.”
God didn’t pick
Bethlehem because it was a huge, major metropolis worthy of a major league
baseball team.
He picked Bethlehem
despite it being “little”.
How would you make
an entrance into the world if you were the Creator, the King of Kings, the Lord
of the Universe?
Perhaps it should be like the parade where Cleopatra brings her son to
Julius Caesar.
You might send
an invitation to Caesar Augustus, a man worshipped as a “god”.
You might consider
inviting Herod the Great – he was the ruling king over Israel, under Roman
direction at that time.
Even if Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem to fulfill the prophecy, somebody
could have easily sent an invitation to Herod.
Jerusalem was
only about 6 miles from Bethlehem.It
would be easy to send an invitation.Herod had a palace in Jerusalem.
And if Jerusalem was too far, Herod also had one of his palaces built closer
to Bethlehem, only a few miles away, and you can see Bethlehem from it.The palace was known as the Herodion.
Yet when Jesus was born, He wasn’t born in a palace, He was born in a
stable/cave in Bethlehem because there was no room anywhere else.
The only people
who showed up at his birth were lowly shepherds.
Have you ever
wondered if you could be good enough for God if He chose to visit your house?Would you feel a need to buy new furniture?
Don’t forget the manner in which He arrived on the planet.
He came in a
way that demonstrates that any of us can welcome to Him.
I will tell you that He is not impressed by the size of your bank account
or the location of your home.
What impresses
God is the condition of your heart.
The Bible says,
(1 Peter 5:5b NKJV) …“God resists
the proud,But gives
grace to the humble.”
The Christmas Carol we sing every year (“Angels We Have Heard On High”) has
a verse that reads:
Come to
Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come adore on bended
knee,
Christ, the Lord, the newborn King.
If you want to honor the King, it must be on “bended knee”, in humility.
Video:Christmas Hallelujah
The Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the oldest churches of the world.
It was built on the spot known through tradition as the birthplace of Christ.
The entrance of
the church was built in a unique way on purpose.It was built for very short people.
If you want to
enter the building, you need to either be a child, or you are going to need to humble yourself and bow
as you enter.
There is a God
who loves you so much, He gave His only begotten Son, to be born in a lowly
manger, who would
grow up to serve others, who would
die a horrible death on a cross, and all because He loves you.
He died to pay
for your sins.Our sins.
You may think that Christmas is about giving gifts, but don’t forget that
the greatest gift
at Christmas is the gift of forgiveness and eternal life that God now offers to
you – if you will humble
yourself and open
your heart.