Brother Gary Sunday Morning 12/8/13

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 12/8/13

Luk 2:1  And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

Luk 2:2  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

Luk 2:3  And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

Luk 2:4  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

Luk 2:5  To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Luk 2:6  And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

Luk 2:7  And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The topic of my message this morning is that all roads lead to Bethlehem.  This message has spoken to me and been real to me of Mary and Joseph.  They lived about 100 miles north of Bethlehem in Nazareth.  It was about a seven day journey.  I don’t know how long that it took Mary and Joseph to get there, but it was quite a journey and God was with them.

In Micah we hear of this:

Mic 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

This was written about 700 years before Christ.  It has been so real to me that God from eternity knew all of this.  He knew all of this before anything was ever started as far as the creation of the world or Micah being born. 

He was so wise to let things come through in the course of time until as Paul wrote, “In the fullness of times.”

God knew how to cause there to be roads leading to Bethlehem for Joseph and Mary to travel.  There was a huge, well-traveled almost freeway not too far from where they lived but it did not lead to Bethlehem. 

There are a lot of well-traveled roads that lead many directions.  Stand in the ways and ask for the old paths.  There are old paths that lead to the right way.

But God spoke from eternity to Micah and said, “This town, a little town, called Bethlehem, God chose from eternity for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem.” 

This Bethlehem was a small city that was called the city of David.  This small city lay about ten miles south east or south west of Jerusalem. 

You and I may not understand the sequence in our life as it is.  You may have been real sick this week.  For those that are well in this audience, they would also say, “tomorrow is unknown, because we don’t know what the road will bring that we are traveling.”

This was the place chosen of God for Him to be born.  As much as we appreciate the plan of salvation and as we know that the total plan had to come into existence for the complete work of salvation.  All roads lead to Bethlehem.  Before anyone can be saved, by the blood of Christ they must know that He was born of a virgin.  There is no salvation without taking the whole Word of God.

You cannot deny the Word of God and have God the Father and Jesus the Son; it is impossible.  This place, chosen of God, was small in the eyes of men.  That is a hang up for some.  They are too big in their own eyes and are looking for something where they could be big in the eyes of someone.  God did not plan for his son to be born in the “Hilton” of the day.  God already knew that the inns would be full when they left Nazareth.

As they traveled the roads that led to Bethlehem, God was watching all the time.  Wherever you are, the little boys that are in school, it is good that God is watching all the time.  You young people that are in school, it is good that God is watching all the time.  He knows the very road that you are traveling.  All roads lead to Bethlehem and to the birth of Christ.

The solemn question is, “Is there room in your heart for Him?”  We live in a world that will load your heart, your mind, your entirety.  If you let them do that then there will be no road leading to Bethlehem. 

It was designed for God that there would be no place in the inn, but there was a place for Jesus to be born.  He was laid in a manger.  God chose the place for Jesus to be born and sent the word to Micah, “He is going to be the savior, the king of the world.” 

From the beginning God ordained how Jesus would be.  This did not originate 2 or 3 hundred years ago.  When you meet Christ and confess and repent of your sin, you become identified with that which was ordained from eternity and has continued to progress to today: 2013.

Micah was probably one of the prophets from Jerusalem. 

Bethlehem was not a new place to God.  1 Sam 16, God sent Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint David to be king about 1,050 years before Jesus was born.  This picture that Brother Rick’s sister painted leads our minds to think of a field of sheep and David looking over Bethlehem.  God knew at that time that His only begotten son would be born in the City of Bethlehem, the city of David.

The journey to Bethlehem is vital because God chose for his son to be born in the city of David. 

Luk 2:1  And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

Joseph and Mary were going to have this child named Jesus and there were a lot of things that were not exactly as they had hoped they would be in their lives.  This decree came out from Caesar Augustus that all the world would be taxed.

Luk 2:2  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

Luk 2:3  And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

Luk 2:4  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

Luk 2:5  To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Naturally a parent is concerned about their children.  That is how God made us.  I think of the father as Mary and Joseph left Nazareth, perhaps Mary was on a donkey and Joseph was walking.  They left for a journey that would take an unspecified amount of time but they knew where they were headed.

It is vital that you are going where you know that God wants you to be going and doing what God wants you to do.  They traveled knowing a baby was coming.  Mary was great with child.  Think of this heavenly father sending His only begotten son into the world.  Mary and Joseph knew some, there was a lot unknown to them but it was known to the Father in Eternity.

Undoubtedly there would have been the question, “Was this virgin to give birth to the baby in that hill country of Judea?”  Whether they traveled 7 or 14 days, I wouldn’t tell you, it was a long journey for an expectant mother. 

They came into Bethlehem; it was a busy place and a place of taxation.  The inns, however many there were there, were all full.  There was no place, there was no known way for them, but the Father was looking down from heaven and was in control.  He knew when the baby would be born and knew that there would be shepherds on a certain hillside at a certain time and that angels would come and speak to them.  He knew that; he was looking from eternity.

I doubt we can grasp in our mind the pressures that Joseph felt, “I wonder if we will find a place to stay.”  We don’t have record that there was much time prior to the engagement and Joseph recognizing that something was going on. 

Joseph was a just man.  He had it in his heart to do what was right.  It seems from what I have learned that Mary as a girl was with child.  He could have had her put away.  There were laws that governed how those kinds of conditions were dealt with.  He was a just and righteous man.  God visited him. 

Brothers, December 2013, there is not a brother in this audience including this pastor that is not faced with challenges past what we are capable of handling in our self.  We have the marvelous opportunity to be just before God. 

By being just before God that same God that spoke to Joseph will speak to us.  He will probably not tell me what I want to hear.  I am human and have thoughts of my own but there is a God in heaven and in eternity that knew that you were going to be on the road that you are on this morning just as He knew that Mary and Joseph would be traveling to Bethlehem.

I wondered who taught me the first about Mary and Joseph as I looked on the flannel graph picture this morning.  Not everyone had the privilege of being raised and taught in Sunday school.  Yet I, like everyone, chose the broad road. 

As Mary was traveling the miles to Bethlehem, she was carrying someone and God was watching from eternity.  You mothers that have born children, God knew that these children would be born. 

God did not put more responsibility on the mother than He did the fathers.  Some choose not to be a mother and some choose not to be fathers. 

God is looking down from eternity and He has plans for every child that ever has been born.  You mothers and Fathers with children that are unsaved, remember that God will bring them to the road that crosses the one that leads to Bethlehem.

We have had the best of training that I know of.  We have had mothers and dads in Israel that trained their very best to be good mothers and to be good fathers, to love, to work, to care, and to be responsible. 

I think of Mary.  God planed that He would be born in a stable and this Jesus would be the savior of the whole world.  From Eternity, God planned that Jesus be born in Bethlehem.  From eternity, Jesus came as the son of God and Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn.

Out of eternity came the son of God.

I feel that the journey to Bethlehem for Joseph and Mary is indescribable as far as trying to describe this man with his espoused wife heavy with child.  From Eternity, God was with them.

May God help me and you to realize that no matter where your son or daughter is God knows right where they are and knows how to help them.

Jesus came out of eternity and was sent because of His Father’s love.  The reason that Mary and Joseph were on this road to Bethlehem was that the Father’s love had caused Mary to conceive as a virgin and to carry this precious child, Jesus, to Bethlehem.  The father gave the best gift.

Of all that we have received, I received a gift of 1/4^th the estate of my mother when she passed into eternity.  I appreciate the sacrifice that my mother and father made to have anything.  But there was something sent form eternity for all of us.  The greatest gift came to a stable because there was no room.

The babe from eternity was born in Bethlehem and is the messiah for all men.  God sent Jesus to live in the hearts and lives of all that would receive Him and be born again.  He was born in a stable but when an individual is born again, Jesus comes to live in that house.  The angels filled the hillsides and said, “Glory to God in the highest, peace and good will to men.”

Peace is a wonderful thing.  There is only peace in our hearts and lives when Jesus reigns there.  I spent years in the horrible pit and can testify that it is just as it is called, a horrible pit.  The sounds are groaning of agonies.  Jesus came to give a beautiful song.

The shepherds were affected from day one.  The days and years have passed swiftly since Jesus came.  Some have refused Him.  For those that go to Bethlehem and say, there is plenty of room in my heart for Jesus, Jesus leads to life and life more abundantly. 

The love of God has prepared my heart and I give my heart to be His home all the day of my life.  From eternity, he came that I could be with him in eternity.  I don’t believe that this is original, I have never read it before, “All roads lead to Bethlehem.”  People cross the road and some say, “Let me have my way just a little while.” 

One of the scariest things I have ever heard are those that say, “Let me sow a few wild oats for a little while.”  The song, “Turn back my child.”  Was written because someone had chosen to just cross the road that led to Bethlehem and went out and spent what they had and then realized that it was a waste.  They came back and wrote their experience, “If you have chosen any of the roads of the world, turn back my child.”

Jesus was born into a stable that you and I may receive him into our heart, life, and world and say, “There is plenty of room in my heart for you to live today and every day.”