Welcome to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, local Atlanta pastor, best-selling author of more than 50 books, and international evangelist. During the Christmas season, we often see focus shift toward traditions, family, the spirit of giving. Well, on this episode of Leading the Way, Dr. Youssef points you toward the little town of Bethlehem. Often mentioned and even sung about this time of year, and he'll emphasize just how God used a small, seemingly insignificant town, barely noticeable on a map, to host one of the most monumental events in human history.
It's a reminder that God changes the world through anyone's surrender to Him, no matter how insignificant they may seem or feel. On this Christmas Eve, join me now in listening to a message Dr. Michael Youssef has called the little town of Bethlehem. The prophet Micah, for more than 700 years before the birth of Christ, before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in chapter 5 verse 2, he prophesied with meticulous details about where he will be born, but you Bethlehem Ephrathah. You see, there are two Bethlehems in Israel. There is Bethlehem in Judea, just around Jerusalem area, seven miles, really eight miles away from Jerusalem in the Judean hills, that's Bethlehem Ephrathah. But then there's another Bethlehem in the north, Bethlehem Zeblon, which is about seven miles from Nazareth.
God wanted to make sure that when Jesus arrives, the whole world knows that this is the Jesus that God inspired the prophet Micah to write about where he will be born exactly. Not just any Bethlehem, but Bethlehem in Judea, Bethlehem Ephrathah. But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you the small among the clans of Judea, but of you will come for me.
Don't miss that, for God, God speaking here, through you, though a small town, the smallest in the clan of Judea, will come for me, God the father, the one who is a ruler, or a king over all of Israel. Why Bethlehem? Why Bethlehem?
The tiniest of the tiniest of the tiniest of the tiniest of all the villages in the area. Why not Jerusalem? Because that is the religious capital of Israel. Why not Rome? After all, it's the capital of a mighty empire. Why not Athens, which is the center of philosophy in the ancient world?
Why not Alexandria, which was the ancient center of all of education at that time? Why would God use this humble little town of Bethlehem to bring his son to be born? He is sending a powerful message to the whole world. So what is that message that God is sending to the whole world? Simply this, the hope of the world is not on religion. The hope of the world is not on government. The hope of the world is not on philosophy.
The hope of the world is not on education. That is why God chose that little tiny town of Bethlehem, because the only hope of the world is found in Jesus the Savior. God the almighty, the all powerful, the all sovereign God over the universe is telling the world, is telling every one of us that he was not impressed with wealth, that God is not impressed with power, that God is not impressed with human philosophy and knowledge.
No, no, no, no. In a million of those, God comes to dwell in the hearts of anyone who humbled themselves before God, anyone who lowered themselves, repented their sins, and received Jesus as their only Savior and Lord. That's what God is impressed with, a humble heart, a humble heart. Now the word Bethlehem is made up two Hebrew words. Beth, which means house, L'chem, which means bread, house of bread.
That's the name of the town. Bethlehem, it's not surprising therefore, it becomes the birth of the one who later could say in John chapter 6 verse 35, I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will be fully satisfied and contented in this life and for all of eternity. Bethlehem also was famous for being a source of pure water, life-giving water. And that is why Jesus later could say in John chapter 4, whoever drinks of the water that I give, whoever drinks of the water that I give will never thirst. Of course, he's speaking spiritually, not literal water, but the water, the spiritual water, in terms of satisfaction of all of our longing, of all of our desires, our deepest desires. Our beloved friends, only Jesus can satisfy our longing for true peace, for real peace, for real joy, and for real contentment.
Only Jesus can do that. But in history, of course, the little town of Bethlehem played also an important part, historically speaking. In the book of Genesis, we read about how Rachel, some of you might remember the story from your Sunday school. Rachel was the favorite wife of Israel, or Jacob, before his name was changed to Israel. She was his favorite wife and gave him only two boys, Joseph and Benjamin. And when they came to Bethlehem, she gave birth to Benjamin.
In Hebrew, ben means son, yamin means right hand, son of my right hand. And she gave birth to Benjamin and she died at childbirth and was buried in Bethlehem. That's why so many Jewish people still go and visit the tomb of Rachel to this day.
But then there's also another historic part that Bethlehem has played. Bethlehem was the town from which Amivilech family left and emigrated during time of famine. And when they got to neighboring Jordan, that's what the little town next door is known for, Naomi lost her husband, lost her two sons, and she ended up with two daughters-in-law. Both were Gentiles. They were not Jewish.
They were Gentiles. And Naomi said to them, you go home. But Ruth, lovely Ruth, Gentile Ruth, the Moabite, she would not leave her mother-in-law. She said, your God is my God.
I will go where you go. And she goes with her to Bethlehem, where Naomi originally came from. And there in Bethlehem, these two widows are coming into the town brokenhearted, grieving the loss of their husbands, a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law. But there in Bethlehem, there was Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, who is a type of Christ.
And from their misery, God gave them joy. And it was the grandson of Boaz and Ruth. The Gentiles was the father of David. They had a boy named Obed. Obed had a boy named Jesse. And Jesse had a bunch of boys, the youngest, named David. King David, the physical and the human ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can understand Bethlehem, the smallest of the smallest of the smallest of little villages, and yet became the birthplace of the greatest king Israel known, King David. Beloved, listen to me, please. I believe with every ounce of my being that God wants to do great things in your life, regardless of how you feel about yourself, regardless of how helpless you feel.
Your feeling has nothing to do with it. It's God, and God wants to do great things in your life. Yes, you. What God is looking for, not intelligence or wealth. He's looking for a surrendered life, a total surrendered life. That is why Christ can be born in any heart, regardless of how low you have reached, regardless of how sinner you feel. He can come.
The one who was born in a manger can be born in your heart. Can I get an amen? That's what God is looking for, a total surrender. Listen to me, please.
No matter how many times you feel that you have failed God, no matter how many times you failed in the past, no matter how many times you feel that you have sinned too greatly for God to redeem you, no matter how much guilt you are carrying with you everywhere you go, God wants to redeem you. But here's even greater news. Can you imagine even greater news than this?
But there's greater news. You don't have to measure up to any standards. He's not looking for you to measure up. You don't have to try to impress God.
He's not easily impressed. All you simply need to do is open your heart wide and invite him in, and he will come and fill your life, not only with joy and peace, but he'll fill it with his presence, which will give you victory in the most difficult circumstances. There was a good reason why Jesus was not born in Caesar's mansion. There was a good reason why Jesus was not born in Herod's court. He was born in the humblest of towns, Bethlehem, and so he can spiritually be born in any life that is surrendered to him right now. Don't ever forget, don't ever forget, don't ever forget that the God of the universe was born and laid down in an unsanitized bed of straw. He was born in a shed surrounded by the sounds and the smells of animals. I always think of the contrast we've seen with our precious grandchildren and children in the hospital, the sanitization and the sterilization and the clean hospitals that our kids are born in now.
What a contrast. Dr. Luke, who was a physician, and like most physicians, he was concerned about the details, as he takes good care of the details, and he tells us about these angelic hosts. We don't know how many.
It could be tens of thousands of them. We don't know but a large number of these angelic hosts who came to lowly shepherds. And when these lowly shepherds were so privileged to experience this phenomena of this unbelievable number of angels announcing the birth of Christ, the birth of the Messiah, the birth of the one they waited for for thousands of years, they looked at each other and said, what are we waiting for? What are we waiting for? Let's go to Bethlehem and see what's happening.
My friend, let me ask you this. What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for to come to Christ and give him your life? What are you waiting for to surrender to him? He loves you. He died on that cross for you. And he's calling you. If I can make an appeal to everyone at the sound of my voice, it would be this.
Do not be deceived by appearances. When the world was bowing to Caesar, God showed up in the smallest of villages. When Caesar was in the height of power, God appeared in a helpless baby. When Caesar was the richest man in the world, the owner of the universe, the one who created the universe showed up in a stable.
When Caesar slept in a golden bed, the creator of the world slept in an animal feeding trough. And today, through faith in the child of Bethlehem, the humble will be exalted through faith in the child of Bethlehem. Everyone who surrenders to him will live forever with him in heaven and can be assured of that here and now. While Jesus was born 100% human baby, he had never ceased to be 100% God divine. And that is why now there is no greater name than the name of Jesus. Oh, I know the evil people abuse his name, cuss his name, but there is no greater name than the name of Jesus. There is no greater name than the name of Jesus. There is no greater glory than the glory of Jesus. And that is why now there is no greater story than the story of Jesus.
The whole world stops down, slows down, and stops to listen to the story of Jesus. I know experientially that some of you may be going through painful times, and you may be wondering in your own heart of hearts, where is God in my circumstances? Where is God in my job? Where is God in my marriage? Where is God in my struggles? Where is God in my struggles with my children? Where is God in my cancer? Where is God in my loss?
Beloved, let me tell you something. God is closer to you than your hand and your feet right now. Just ask him to open your eyes so you may see him. Where is he? He's here. He's speaking to you through his word, speaking to you. He's speaking to you individually. And I know you're hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit whispering in your ear. This word is for you. I brought you here for a purpose.
You're not here by accident. I want you to imagine the crisis that Mary and Joseph were facing at that moment. They were merely teenagers. They were teenagers. They were young.
They were poor. They didn't live in Bethlehem. They lived up in the north, in Nazareth. All their ancestors came from Bethlehem. David, King David, and all their ancestors are from Bethlehem.
And God used the most unlikely instrument, the most unlikely instrument to fulfill the prophecy of Micah. He moved on the heart of mighty Caesar Augustus to issue a decree that all who live in the Roman Empire have to go back to their origin in order to be counted and taxed. I know. Can anything good come out of that taxation?
Probably not. And yet, that decree forced this engaged couple. Engaged couple, not married, engaged couple. Miraculously, Mary has a baby in her womb, supernaturally, miraculously. Jesus could not have an earthly father, otherwise he would be imperfect like all of us. But he has to be perfect in order to redeem imperfect people.
And here they are making the seven-day journey all the way down to Bethlehem when she was close to delivering her baby so that the Word of God can be fulfilled. At this very moment, he is using circumstances in your life, circumstances of puzzling, circumstances that are not making sense to you, circumstances that appears to be not very good. But he's using these circumstances in your life to fulfill his loving plan for your life. Can I get an amen? If only you can see it.
And you can. When you allow him to come into your life, open your spiritual eyes to be able to see it. One other question before I come to the end. What does this child of Bethlehem mean to you? Jesus came from heaven to earth on a mission. And he explains that mission in Luke 19, 10. He said, the Son of Man came to save, to seek, and to save that which is lost. And that is why his mission that began in Bethlehem took him all the way to a wooden cross. Will you invite him to take residence in your heart today? Why is that so important?
Listen to me. This is the most important decision of your life. While very few people become aware of his first arrival, let me assure you that in his second coming, the whole world will know that Jesus is back. The whole world will bow to him. The whole world will know that he's the only Savior and Lord. The Bible said that every knee shall bow. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Let me tell you something. Those of us who know him and love him. Those of us who humbled ourselves before him and received him as the only Savior and Lord. We will confess that name with joy and with gladness and with great delight. But everybody will confess. Because there are others who are going to be confessing. But regretting their teeth. They're full of regret. Sorrow. Grief that they have not believed in him and confessed to him while they had a chance during their lifetime. Where will you be on that day?
There appears to be closer than we even think. Will you be among those who joyfully confess him or painfully regretfully confess him? Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 says, it is appointed to everyone to die once.
Right after that is the judgment. Please, please, please, I plead with you. I plead with you.
Wherever you are, I plead with you. Do not fall for the lie that has become so prevalent today. Even popular preachers are preaching it that says the lie that says all religions are going to lead to the same place.
Though they will not, they will not. No one has ever rose from the dead. And the one who rose from the dead is the only one who can forgive you, redeem you, and set you free. Because if that's the case, why would God have left the splendor of heaven, come to earth, die on a cross?
Why? If all religions are going to lead to the same place, he's the one who said there are only two ways. There is a wide road with all of your junk you can go through. All the religions and all the false teaching and all false religions and that's going to lead to eternal damnation. But there is a narrow, a narrow way, a narrow road.
You know why it's narrow? Because this one person, Jesus, that's who the narrow road is. And you can come to God the Father through him and through him alone. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading the Way Audio. Hear more teaching from Dr. Youssef on the radio and television through your favorite podcast platform with the Leading the Way app.
And by streaming on your computer at ltw.org. Now as we close out today's episode, let's listen together to the worshipful sounds of the praise and worship team at Dr. Youssef's home congregation, the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, as they share life-giving music helping you welcome the Christ of Christmas. Baby Jesus, born of stable, humble Savior's birth, you left your throne in heaven above to live here on the earth. Baby Jesus, lying on a manger, crying for the world, the angels told the shepherds of the good news for us all. Hallelujah, the King is here, given for all men, for today the holy Son of God is born in Bethlehem. Hallelujah, the King is here, given for all men, for today the holy Son of God is born in Bethlehem. Hallelujah, the King is here, given for all men, for today the holy Son of God is born in Bethlehem. Hallelujah, the King is here, given for all men, for today the holy Son of God is born in Bethlehem. Hallelujah, the King is here, given for all men, for today the holy Son of God is born in Bethlehem. Well, it's time for me to say goodbye, but the invitation is always open for you to join Dr. Michael Yusef right here next time for more Leading the Way. Church, let's hear it for this amazing orchestra. Baby Jesus, do you know you'll die for all our sins? Don't be afraid for in three days you will rise again.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-12-23 03:00:02 / 2024-12-23 03:07:59 / 8