“CELEBRATE WITH THE PROPHETS” Micah 5:2
FBCF – 12/2/23
Jon Daniels
INTRO – A lot of people have a lot of reasons to celebrate these days:
- Just celebrated T’giving
- TCA Rebels won state football championship for 6th time.
- OM fans celebrating their Egg Bowl victory.
- Tate Reeves supporters celebrating his election to a 2nd term as our governor.
- As a church, we can celebrate that we are going to end the year having baptized nearly 100 people.
So, what does it mean to celebrate? It means to honor, praise, proclaim, bless, commend, rejoice, revere, revel, party, have a ball, live it up! And of all people in the world who have reason to do all those things, we Christians should celebrate the strongest, the loudest, the longest, the greatest! Kool & the Gang ain’t got nothing on us! We need to celebrate!
Begin series today: “Come Celebrate Jesus!”
- Today, we are going to “Celebrate w/ the Prophets”
- Next week, “Celebrate w/ Joseph & Mary”
- The next week, “Celebrate w/ the Shepherds & Angels”
- Christmas Eve: “Celebrate w/ the Church” (Lord’s Supper)
- Last Sunday of the year is the last day of the year,12/31. We began the year on Sunday, Jan.1 w/ Genesis 1:1. End the year, on Revelation 22:20-21 - “Come, Lord Jesus!”
PRAY
EXPLANATION
I love how the story of Jesus is woven throughout the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. This whole book is HIS story.
- The deliverance of God’s children out of captivity is a picture of the salvation that came through Him.
- The OT sacrifices all point toward the ultimate “once-for-all” sacrifice of Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
- Many of the Psalms foreshadow the coming of the Good Shepherd, the Lord & King, the Son of God, the Messiah who would come for all people.
- Isaiah 53 graphically describes Jesus as the Suffering Servant.
- Many of the prophets not only talk about His first advent into the world, but also foretell His Second Coming at the end of time. John MacArthur: “Of the forty-six Old Testament prophets, less than ten speak of His first coming. Thirty-six speak of His second coming.” (https://withallwisdom.org/2021/11/10/the-second-coming-of-christ/)
Look at these that point us toward the first coming of Jesus, our reason for celebrating Christmas:
- Genesis 3:15 – “I will put enmity between you & the woman, & between your offspring & her offspring; he shall bruise your head, & you shall bruise his heel.”
- Genesis 22:17-18 – “I will surely bless you, & I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven & as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, & in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
- Numbers 24:17 – “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, & a scepter shall rise out of Israel…”
- Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive & bear a son, & shall call his name Immanuel.”
- Isaiah 9:6-7 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
& the government shall be upon his shoulder, & his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government & of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David & over his kingdom, to establish it & to uphold it with justice & with righteousness from this time forth & forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
- Jeremiah 31:15 – “Thus says the Lord: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation & bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.’” (Herod killing baby boys under 2)
- Hosea 11:1 – “When Israel was a child, I loved him, & out of Egypt I called my son.”
And then there’s Micah’s prophecy, written 700-735 yrs before Christ came – Micah 5:2 – “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” (“…only a small village among all the people of Judah…” – NLT)
APPLICATION – The Savior from a small town wants to do big things in our lives.
So, what’s the big deal about such a little place? Micah’s prophecy tells us 3 things. His prophecy:
FORETOLD JESUS’ INSIGNIFICANT BEGINNINGS
If Bethlehem shows us anything, it shows us the true reality of humility of Jesus. He could have been born in a regal palace or a luxurious mansion in a major metropolis. Instead, He came into the world in an obscure town of less than 1000 people located about 5 ½ miles from Jerusalem.
- Matthew 2:1-6
- John 7:42 – “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
Paul’s words in Philippians 2 speak to the humble beginnings of the life of Jesus & the reason He was born in such an insignificant place:
- Philippians 2:5-7 – “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
- Jesus laid down His divine privileges & came down into the insignificant town of Bethlehem & became one of us. Rather than stay on His throne in heaven, He “made Himself nothing” (NIV) & came to earth.
- Doing this for us shows us how much He loves us, how much He identifies w/ us, & how much He cares about us, no matter who we are.
o President or prostitute
o Big time celebrity or beggar on the street
o Someone who’s considered successful or someone who stinks at life
o This Jesus loves you, identifies w/ you, & cares about you, wherever you find yourself right now.
DECLARED JESUS’ INCREDIBLE PURPOSE
Jesus didn’t come to earth just to give us a reason to decorate our homes or exchange gifts or sing Christmas carols. His birth was by divine design & for an eternal purpose.
- The angels said it best: “For unto you is born this day a Savior. Which is Christ the Lord.”
And even here in Micah’s prophecy, we get a sense of the purpose of Jesus’ advent into the world.
- “Bethlehem” – “house of bread” – How incredibly cool that this Jesus, our Savior, Christ the Lord, would be born in a place that literally means “house of bread.”
o About 30 yrs later, this baby who has matured into a grown man, would proclaim, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
o The Bread of Life came into the “House of Bread” to satisfy our spiritual hunger for a Savior.
- “Ephrathah” – “abundance” – And it’s not enough that He came to the House of Bread. The word “Ephrathah” means, “abundance.”
o He didn’t come to give us just the crust of the bread, or even just a slice. He came to give us all the spiritual bread we need so we would never be spiritually hungry again!
o He literally did that when He fed the 5000 men w/ just 5 small loaves of bread. There was enough bread to feed all of the people w/ 12 basketfuls left over!
o John 10:10 – “I have come that you might have life & have it more ABUNDANTLY!”
- “Ephrathah” also means “fruitfulness.” He not only came to satisfy your spiritual hunger, but to also equip you w/ everything you need to live a fruitful life for His glory!
How awesome & amazing that even His birthplace, as insignificant as it seemed gave us a beautiful picture of the very purpose of His life & ministry!
- He came so that you would never be spiritually hungry again!
- He came so that you could have abundant life!
- And He came so that you can live a fruitful life!
PROCLAIMED JESUS’ INTENTIONAL MISSION – “…to be ruler…”
Specifically, “ruler over Israel.” With Israel dominating the headlines these days, this is a very timely statement. He came as the Messiah for the Jews, but they rejected Him & crucified Him.
- John 1:11 – “He came to His own, & His own people did not receive Him.”
- The Wise Men – “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2)
And although the Jews have rejected Him & so many others have, too – even some here today – there will come a day SOON when He will return to rule over not just the Jews, but over the whole world.
- Revelation 19:11-16 – “Then I saw heaven opened, & behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful & True, & in righteousness he judges & makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, & on his head are many diadems, & he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, & the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white & pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, & he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe & on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
There will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jesus Christ is truly & eternally the Ruler of the world!
CONCLUSION – “Because of Bethlehem, I have a Savior in heaven. Christmas begins what Easter celebrates. The child in the cradle became the King on the cross. And because he did, there are no marks on my record. Just grace. His offer has no fine print. He didn’t tell me, “Clean up before you come in.” He offered, “Come in and I’ll clean you up.” It’s not my grip on him that matters but his grip on me. And his grip is sure.” (Max Lucado, Because of Bethlehem)
