Thanks to each of you musicians that lead us so effectively and with such excellence, and humility, and love for Christ, we appreciate that very much. So, will you take your bibles and turn to Micah chapter five. We're going to look primarily at verse two, along with a number of other passages. Micah chapter five. For some of you, the pages in your Bible are still stuck together in that particular section. Amazing passage of scripture here that I would like to deal with under the heading "Bethlehem's King Prophesied."

Let me read the text. Micah five and verse two, "'But as for you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you, One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.'" Clearly, God's redemptive purposes were ordained in eternity past, even as we have just read, and what a comfort that is to the redeemed, especially as we witnessed the catastrophic consequences of the wrath of divine abandonment upon our country, and we experience all manner of wickedness all around us. And how thankful we can be that according to Second Timothy, one, beginning in verse nine, God "has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." And because of this magnificent reality, the Lord has given us a great commission. As you will recall, we read about this in Matthew 28, beginning in verse 19, we are to, "'Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'" And this Christmas Eve, this morning, actually, which is the eve of Christmas, I hope to help you get lost once again in the wonder and the praise of who Christ is as we reflect upon his incarnation.

The Christmas story is filled with marvelous mysteries and captivating drama that animate the heart of every twice born saint to new levels of adoration and praise. And I wish to remind you this morning of some essential truths pertaining to Christ, that sometimes we forget, and certainly in our culture truths that are utterly eclipsed by all of the materialism and debauchery and everything else that this particular season now embraces. Because the more we know about Christ, frankly, the more we will love him. And the more we will long for his presence.

Now by way of introduction, in Luke two, we learned that the angel of the Lord appeared to a group of shepherds one night, as they were caring for their sheep on the hill surrounding Jerusalem, which would have been a grazing area for animals that were to be used for temple sacrifices. And they had no idea that the final sacrifice, the Lamb of God, was about to be born. Nor were they aware that they were the divinely chosen recipients of the angelic announcement that's recorded in Luke two beginning in verse 10. They, "said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there appeared with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, 'Glory to God and the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.'" Wouldn't you have loved to have been there, to have seen that. Ah, we will see much greater things will we not?

Well, immediately they went straight to Bethlehem, the city of David, which was on the southern slope of Mount Zion just a few miles away. And then Luke tells us in verse 18, that "they made known the statement which had been told them about this child." And then in verse 19, and "Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart." Imagine what would have gone through that young girl's mind. To think, "I have given birth to my Creator." The one who is utterly unapproachable, and holy, and transcendent, has taken on human flesh. And I now hold him in my arms. The one I caress; the one I nurse is the ruler of heaven and earth, the Messiah of Israel. The little hand that holds my finger is the omnipotent hand that will hold the royal scepter. How can this be? And it's astounding is it not, that the Christ child would be lying there in a feeding trough. There's the royal monarch in a place where animals would normally eat. He's not in a house or even a palace but in a stable. And then suddenly, the shepherds come. Don't you know they were sprinting as fast as they could go. They're wild eyed and out of breath, and they're trying to describe what they saw and what they have heard; trembling, shaking as they speak. And certainly Mary and Joseph had to have been speechless.

It's also interesting, as I think about it, prior to giving birth, Mary's comprehension of what was about to happen and the magnitude of her praise, really, as recorded in Luke one is a testimony of the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit, and her profound grasp of the Old Testament scriptures as a teenager. So Mary would have understood that what the shepherds told her was clearly a fulfillment of prophecy. One prophecy, in particular; the same prophecy later spoken to the terrified Herod who inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. Inquired of the, of the Magi--I should say, the chief priests and the scribes--and then later on the Magi come as we've just read. And you will remember that they told him where he was going to be born, and it was in Bethlehem. And they quoted Micah five two. "Herod, we can tell you it's recorded in Micah chapter five and verse two." Of course, it wasn't designated as such in that day. But I'm sure they read it to him. "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago from the days of eternity." What an amazing prophecy, one that was given roughly 700 years before Christ was born. Prophecy that no doubt Mary pondered in her heart.

And as we look at this text, I believe there are at least four spiritual truths that emerge from the prophecy; each one pointing to the glory we have Christ. And I'd like for us to just examine them briefly here this morning, as an act of worship. We're going to see first of all, the birthplace of the king. Then secondly, the rule of the King. Thirdly, the sending of the king and finally, the eternality of the king. Now, it's always important that we understand the context of a passage that we are examining. So let me help you remember this. The context of Micah's prophecy pertained to what was going on in Israel. In that day, the northern kingdom of Israel, was about to fall to Assyria when Micah began his ministry, which by the way, focus primarily on the southern kingdom of Judah where he was from. And unlike his contemporary, Isaiah, who addressed the court of Jerusalem, Micah, preached to the common folks like us, the Calvary Bible Church folks. And sadly, the reign of Ahaz had brought spiritual lethargy to the people and decay, hypocrisy, idolatry, and morality. All of those kinds of things. In fact, they violated the most basic tenets of the Mosaic Covenant. In chapter six, verse eight, he reminds them of what the Lord required of them, quote, "To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God." But they weren't doing any of those things. It was all a show of religion. In that day, Judah was a very prosperous nation. Their culture was marked by affluence. They were militarily invincible, convinced that they were blessed by God, but their outward prosperity concealed their inward wickedness and rebellion against God. You may recall in Isaiah five there is a graphic picture of their corruption, which frankly, is a perfect portrayal of the United States of America. Judah was characterized by materialism and greed and drunkenness, and debauchery of all sorts. They redefined morality. They called evil good and good evil. They were haughty and defiant. Their leadership and their judicial system was corrupt. All of these things are in Isaiah five. And they fully embraced religious syncretism, where they would combine many different beliefs into one religion, like our modern ecumenism. And the Old Testament sacrificial system included the worship of some of the most vile forms of Canaanite fertility god-worship; worship of Baal and so forth. In fact, the land was filled with high places where those hideous practices would occur. So God commissioned his servant Isaiah, I mean Micah, to prophesy to them and Micah actually means "who is like the Lord." And his message was basically this folks-- Because God is infinitely holy and because of his covenantal relationship with Judah, he must judge you for your sin and your disobedience. But eventually, he will establish his kingdom and he will install his king who will reign in righteousness. And here we see a biblical theme that emerges all through Scripture, and that is salvation always comes through judgment.

And he gives a warning in chapter five and verse one, he says, "'Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; they have laid siege against us; with a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek.'" And although Assyria was the immediate threat, eventually, according to Second Kings, chapter 24, and 25, in 586 the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem. Burned it, plundered it, and they captured Zedekiah the King who did evil in the sight of the Lord, the text tells us and then in a hideous act of barbarism, they brought all of the sons of the King before Nebuchadnezzar and he then slaughtered all of Zedekiah sons before him and then put out the king's eyes, so that the massacre of his sons would be the last thing he ever saw. And then he shackled Zedekiah in bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon. So this was Micah's inspired prophecy of impending doom, because of their sin. But this horrific judgment was followed by a message of hope, a promise of salvation, a promise of future blessing. Because God is faithful to his covenant, because of God's unchanging covenant to their forefathers; and this hope is presented to us here in this text.

So first, I want you to notice what is said concerning number one, the birthplace of the king. And yes, Jesus is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. So when you see the baby in the manger, look beyond that and know who he really is. Again, verse two, "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you, One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel." Now let's look at this closely. "Ephrathah" means fruitfulness or abundance. And Bethlehem was known for its vineyards, its olive groves. But it is also the ancient name for "house of bread." Used to distinguish it from other towns that had the same name, like Bethlehem of Zebulon, and so forth. And Bethlehem here refers to where David was born, as we read in First Samuel 17, in verse 12. And already, we begin to see the initial sketchings of what would later become a divine masterpiece, painted on the canvas of redemptive history; you begin to see what God is doing here. And we live in such a remarkable age, because now we can look back, and we can see these things and see what they were pointing to, and see very clearly what God is saying. And for this little seemingly insignificant place, "Too little to be among the clans of Judah", one would be born, who cares for seemingly insignificant people, like you, and like me, that those who abide in him might be productive and bear much fruit.

Now, why of all places would the incarnate king choose to be born in such an insignificant village just a few miles south of Jerusalem? I mean, if I was in charge, I'd want him being born in Rome, you know, or at least Jerusalem. But Bethlehem, really? Well, I think there's a couple of reasons. First of all, we must remember that Bethlehem was a royal city of ancient days. Since Jesus was born the King of Israel, it was only fitting that he be born in the city where Israel's Great King David would have been born. You see, over 1000 years before the Messiah was born, God made an unconditional covenant with David in Second Samuel seven, promising him that that he would raise up from his loins, a descendant, the coming Messiah, that would establish David's kingdom forever, an eternal kingdom, whereby the whole world would be blessed through the coming of seed of David. A promise that was so profound that David was left speechless, he was overwhelmed with awe.

But another reason why he would be born there in Bethlehem, is Bethlehem's history is a picture of its coming Messiah King. Let me explain this to you; Bethlehem has a double meaning. It can mean house or place of bread, and also house or place of fighting and war.

The Hebrew noun "lehem", we would spell it L E H E M, means food, bread or grain. But the verb "laham," L A H A M, means to eat or use as food. But what's interesting is the identical verb also means "to fight" or "to do battle." And this suggests that the ancient Hebrews linked the act of military conquest with that of eating. Because frankly, hunger was what drove most nations to fight against each other so they could survive. But bread in Scripture is the symbol of life. Like manna from heaven, God gave to his people in the wilderness.

And Jesus spoke of this, as you will recall, in John six beginning of verse 33. The "'bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.'" And then in verse 35, "'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'" Now, obviously, fighting and war produces death and sorrow; both of which characterized our Savior king; a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. In fact, conflict was his daily fare, along with all who follow Him. And when a man eats of the bread of life, he declares war on Satan, the god of this world, and we are at battle constantly. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 10, beginning in verse 34, "'Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter in law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be the members of his household.'" And I know a number of you experience that even more profoundly at Christmas. I often hear from people in the church saying, "Boy, I dread going to see my family. I love my family, but they hate Christ. And it's just a battle the whole time we're there." Well, to be sure, both life and death marked the past, as well as the future history of Bethlehem. You will recall in Genesis 35, God changed Jacob's name to Israel and said to him, "I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from you. The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.'" And what's interesting is on the heels of that covenant, Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel, died in childbirth. And she was buried in Bethlehem, where he sat up a pillar over her grave. And as Rachel was about to die, she named her son Ben-oni, meaning son of my sorrow. But Jacob named him, Benjamin, which means son of my right hand. And Benjamin was one of Jacob's 12 sons, and eventually from Jacob's son, Judah, came King David. Ultimately, the greater King, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ would come from him.

And what a marvelous picture of that greater Son that would be born to Mary in that same place. When you think of what happened with Rachel. Like Rachel, Mary could have called her son Ben-oni meaning "son of my sorrow." But God the Father would ascribe to him an even greater name of our honor, even greater than Benjamin, "son of my right hand." He would call him Jesus, which means "He saves" or "Yahweh is salvation." We know of this very clearly, do we not, in Acts four verse 12, where Peter says, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." So it was Bethlehem where Rachel agonized in the birth of Benjamin. And that was a place that became a symbol also of the painful waiting of the sons of Israel, for their Promised Messiah.

Furthermore, Rachel was the ancestress of the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, through Joseph, and Benjamin in the south. And when the Babylonians later came to carry them off into exile, the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet, and said in chapter 31, verse 15, "'A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.'" And what a sad harbinger of yet another atrocity that would take place in that same region, because it was Bethlehem, where the enraged Herod slaughtered all the male children as you read in Matthew two. And according to verse 17, "Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 'A voice was heard and Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.'"

Now, when we move forward in the history of Bethlehem, we discover some more reasons for its royal greatness and symbolism. About 900 years after the death of Rachel, a Moabitess journeyed to Bethlehem, and her name was Ruth. There she became a servant. And a wealthy man named Boaz found her and took her unto himself as his wife. And Boaz, we know, was a type of Christ, the One who became Ruth's kinsman redeemer. And Ruth was included in the physical lineage of the coming Messiah as we read in Matthew chapter one, and verse five. And then Boaz, I always want to say Bozo, because as a little boy, I said that and I got in a great deal of trouble. I thought it was really funny. But it's funny when I preach, I still want to say Bozo, but it's Boaz, okay. Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who lived in Bethlehem, who had a son named David. So it should be no surprise that the Son of David, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, would be born in that same royal place, as Micah prophesied. And it should be no surprise, that in the providence of God, Caesar Augustus would demand a census to be taken, and that everyone be required to register in the city of their birth.

And it should be no surprise, therefore, that Mary and Joseph would embark upon about a 70 mile journey through treacherous terrain, with her in an advanced stage of pregnancy, to make their way to Bethlehem, their tribal home in Judea. And the Scripture doesn't say this, but I would be surprised if Mary and Joseph did not, quote, Micah's prophecy, with the cadence of the hooves of the little donkey that bore the virgin mother and her child. And surely she pondered this when the shepherds told her their announcement, "Today in the city of David, there has been born for you, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." It's also fascinating, in Luke chapter two verses one through seven, the inspired author is very careful to precisely reveal the sequence of events that led Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Galilee, to Bethlehem of Judea. So this is very, very important.

Now, why not just register in Nazareth? Right? I mean, God could have allowed that to happen. But as I thought about this, the answer would be number one, to demonstrate the sovereignty of Almighty God, who alone can orchestrate the events of history through the miracle of divine providence, to accomplish his purposes, and that's what we see here.

Why would Caesar Augustus decide to have a census at that particular time? Why would he quarrel with Herod at this time? Why would he choose to tax Judea and make it a province instead of making it a separate kingdom. When you think of all these things, you can just see the providential hand of God working to accomplish his purposes. So I think about this kings and rulers, and presidents and congressmen and women and senators and all of that. They may think that they devise their own plans, but ultimately, it is God who directs their heart; even to act wickedly, to accomplish his purposes.

So why not register in Nazareth? Well, not only to demonstrate the sovereignty of God, and his ability to providentially work all things to accomplish his purposes, but also, I believe, to confirm the inspired truth of Scripture. I mean, think about this. As Alva J. McLean said, quote, "Upon the fulfillment of the jots and tittles rests the veracity of God." It is true, right down to the jot and the tittle.

And I think, thirdly, to underscore the supreme importance of interpreting scripture, including the rest of Micah's prophecy concerning the Messianic Kingdom, literally. But as we consider the picture that is painted here, by the village of Bethlehem notice also the prophet speaks of her as being, quote too little to be among the clans of Judah. I mean, folks, this place was not even large enough to be one province, I mean, it was a place of absolute insignificance. I mean, this was the little David amongst the Giants, shall we say? Yet, notice it says, "From you, One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel." Is this not a picture of Christ's great love for us? And for the character of his subjects? Did not the king say that we must enter his kingdom as little children, right? No agenda, no haughty spirit. Just simple, helpless, dependent, faith believing. Did he not say in Matthew five and verse three, "'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'" And in First Corinthians 1:26, the apostle Paul says, "Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise." And he went on to say, "and the weak things of the world ashamed the things which are strong." And finally, the reason is that "no man should boast before God." I'm so thankful that Christ came unto those who are too little, in the eyes of the world to even be noticed; people like you and me. And to know that our names were written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world. We were betrothed to the bridegroom, to be his bridal church before time began. Our names are written on the very heart of God, the One who created us, the one who saved us. Christ Jesus, you might say, is the savior of the little ones like us.

So we've seen the birthplace of the king. Secondly, the sending of the King, Micah goes on to say, "One will go forth for Me." This is an amazing statement that the Father would send forth his Son. John five, in verse 36, Jesus said, "'The works which the Father has given Me to accomplish--the very works that I do--testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.'"And in John seven, verse 28, and nine, "Jesus cried out of the temple, teaching and saying...'I have not come up Myself, but He who sent me is true, whom you do not know. I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent Me.'"

It's always an amazing thing that when we consider the triune Godhead in salvation, though the Father sent the Son, we know that the Son voluntarily did the will of the Father. He set aside his glory that he might purchase our redemption. And all of this was empowered and accomplished by the person and the work of the Holy Spirit. It was the Father's love, that would cause him to send his only begotten Son to be our Savior. But it was the sons love that he would suffer and die in our stead. But also it was the Spirit's love to cause the virgin to conceive of the Incarnate Son, that the Word might become flesh and dwell among us, that we might behold his glory.

It was the Spirit's work, to empower the Son of Man, and to sustain him, even in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross of Calvary. And then to inspire the written word that we might know saving truth. And it's also the Spirit's work even to this day, to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, and cause us to be born again. And then to seal us unto the day of redemption. So don't ever forget, though the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one in essence, they are three distinct persons, each equally deserving honor and praise. But often we tend to ascribe most of the honor to the Son, rather than also the Father and the Spirit. But as we can see, each member of the Triune Godhead has played, and will continue to play, a significant role in our redemption. So the Father sends forth his son, is conceived by the Holy Spirit; and yet, it's the Son that descended to earth and takes on human flesh.

And this leads us now to the rule of the King; number three. Notice what the Prophet says, "From you, One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel." Now some will be quick to say, well, that rule was quite a failure. I mean, after all, he came into his own, his own didn't want anything to do with him. Right? They crucified their king. Jesus came preaching the kingdom to the Jew, first, to the lost sheep of Israel, as the text tell us; to the chosen people of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. And they said, "We will not have this man to reign over us," right? The people asked, "Is this the son of David?" Matthew 12:23. But the Pharisees insisted that his miraculous works were not a testimony of the Holy Spirit working, but attributed those works to the power of Satan; unimaginable. Self-imposed blindness; blasphemy, which sealed their fate. Only judgment remained. Indeed, Israel rejected their king, they crucified the Son of Man, but this was precisely according to God's plan.

You remember what Peter said, and Acts two, "Men of Israel," beginning of verse 22, "Listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men, and put Him to death." You see, what escapes the notice of the critic is that the promised King was also the promised Lamb, the final and the perfect sacrifice that came to make atonement for sin that we might be saved. And from the beginning of His earthly ministry, the Savior King preached, as we read in Matthew 4:17, "'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" And did not Pilate say to him, in John 18 and verse 37, so "'Are you a king?'" Jesus answered, "'You say correctly that I am a king. For this, I have been born. For this, I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.'" But also did not John the Baptist say in John 1:29, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

And we know in the book of Revelation, that it is the Lamb that is worthy to open the seals of judgment that are recorded there in Revelation. We know that the wicked will make war on the Lamb and he will overcome. We know that the glorious light of the Lamb will illumine the New Jerusalem. So the long awaited Messiah that came to earth must wait a future fulfillment, when the king will return in all of his glory. And during the interregnum, this interval between the King's first and second coming, the kingdom has taken on a form that's called the "mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" as we read in Matthew 13:11, referring to the truths not disclosed in the Old Testament related to the gospel and to the church. But make no mistake dear friends, the King is coming again and he will be King over Israel as he has promised. Paul spoke of this in Romans 11, beginning of verse 26. The Christ will be king of Israel when quote, "all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, 'THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB. THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.' From the standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the ; the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

So the inspired Prophet reveals not only the birthplace and the sending and the rule of the King, but finally the eternality of the king. He says, "'His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.'" This phrase reveals the existence of the Messiah from eternity past to eternity future; from before time began through the coming millennial kingdom on earth and throughout the eternal state. "His goings forth" he says, "are from long ago." And certainly Scripture gives testimony to this truth. The incarnate Christ appeared in the Old Testament as the angel of the Lord on several different occasions. You will recall that in Genesis 16, he appeared to Hagar near a spring in the desert and commanded her to return to Sarah. In Genesis 18, he appeared to Abraham, where he promised his elderly wife, Sarah, a son, and that out of Abraham, a great and powerful nation would arise, and all the nations on earth would be blessed through him. We also read in Genesis 31, he came to Jacob in a dream, and in chapter 32, 97 year old Jacob wrestled with him all night, after which the Lord blessed him and changed his name to Israel. And in Exodus three he appeared to Moses in the burning bush; in Joshua five he appeared to Joshua near Jericho, with a sword drawn in his hand and he appeared to Gideon, in Judges six, when he said, quote, "'The Lord is with you mighty warrior go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand, am I not sending you?'" We know as well in Daniel three he appeared in the furnace of fire with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And dear friends, he will appear yet again when he returns in the blazing glory of his holiness and the fiery wrath of his indignation when he comes to judge the nations of the world and establish himself as King of kings and Lord of lords. We read a verse in Revelation 19, verse 15, "And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it, He may smite the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wind press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh, he has a name written, 'KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'"

Now all of that, to say that, as the prophet describes so clearly, yes, indeed, "His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." It is absolutely incomprehensible to think that the Savior King has not only existed as the second member of the Triune Godhead from all eternity, but again that he set his love upon us. That is the wonder of it all. Second, Timothy one verse nine that I mentioned earlier, we read that, "His own purpose and grace was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus." And Paul said in Titus chapter one, verses one and two that we were, quote, "chosen of God." He goes on to say that we have, quote, "the hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie, promised, long ages ago." "Pro cronon" in Greek; before time; before time began, can you imagine that? I can't. What was it like before there was time, right? There was no time. There was no space. We read in Scripture that God created both time and space. And so we were chosen before time began. This is the eternality of the king. God set his love upon us, Scripture tells us before the foundations of the earth and under his sovereign control he orchestrated all of the events in my life and in your life, if you know Christ, to bring you to a place where you finally saw who you really were, and you were convicted of your sin, and you set aside all of the arrogance and all of the excuses and all of the ridiculous self-righteous stuff that you came up with to somehow justify yourself before a holy God. And he broke your heart over your sin, and you cried out to him as the only hope of salvation and he saved you by his grace. And all of that was set into motion and ordained before time began. Isn't it interesting that he has ordained the length of our life? We read that in Psalm 139, "In thy book, they were all written the days which were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them." In fact, Psalm 139 tells us that he was sovereignly in control, certainly, when we were conceived in our mother's womb. He superintended our development and our birth. The psalmist says "Thou just form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance." Absolutely astounding. To know that before you were even born, he knew the color of your eyes, the color of your hair, the color of your skin. He knew the shape of your nails, your heights, the shape of your face, what your smile would look lik, the sound of your voice, the sound of your laughter. You know, not only knew all those things, he created all those things. He even knew that you would rebel against him and violate his law, that you would reject him and ignore him; that you would actually be his enemy, unable to save yourself from his justice, and his wrath. And yet, knowing all of this, he continues on with his plan of redemption, that cannot be thwarted; that was set into motion and ordained in eternity past.

And through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the god baby comes into the manger. And as Paul says, in Romans five, eight, "God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." And this is precisely what Micah goes on to prophesy in verse four. "And He will arise and shepherd His flock and the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain, because at that time, He will be great to the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace."

Well, dear friends on this Christmas Eve, I pray that you will ponder these things even as Mary did, as Joseph did, and as the redeemed have done throughout redemptive history, that you will make it a priority to ponder these truths in your heart. And that you will also proclaim these truths in every opportunity that you have, especially through all of the social media, stuff that we have available to us today. Unleash the gospel and watch what God can do. And then finally, won't you pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Let's pray together, Father, that is the cry of our heart. Thank you for the magnificent truths pertaining to our Savior and our King. For it's in his name that I pray. Amen.