Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. the founder and perfecter of our faith. They came out of nowhere. The skies were suddenly ablaze with light as thousands upon thousands of angels hovered over the tiny town of Bethlehem. Today, a further look at the king's birthplace in our series, A King is Born.
From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, I'm curious how many times you've visited that small town and how it feels to be in the very place that welcomed the King of Kings. You know, Dave, I really can't answer that question. I didn't keep track, but I would think that it would be four or five times.
But I have to tell you this: Bethlehem looks very different than it did during the time of Christ. I have to tell you. That what really excited me was when we were in the shepherd's fields, because almost certainly It is there where the angels came and spoke to the shepherds. But of course, you can't be in Bethlehem without your heart being warmed, even as you think about Jesus Christ and His birth. You know, we here at Running to Win have a desire to get the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible.
Let me ask you something. Would you help us more consistently? You say, well, what's that all about? I want to give you a website here. Go to rtwoffer.com.
When you're there, you click on the endurance partner button. Endurance partners. People who help us run to the finish line, so to speak. Once again, rtwoffer.com. Click on the endurance partner button.
And at the end of this message, I'll be giving you a testimony of this ministry. And I want you to understand it is your testimony as well. But for now, let's go to the pulpit of Moody Church.
Okay. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrata, 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 origin is from of old, even from ancient days. There are different ways to translate the Hebrew, but that's essentially what the Hebrew text says.
Now the question I want to answer very briefly is why Bethlehem? Of course, we don't know all the reasons that God has for doing what God does, but... There are good reasons why Bethlehem was chosen, and it's obvious. That it was a very appropriate place, and we'll go into some of those reasons right now. Number one, It's because of its history.
Because of its history. Bethlehem originally was called Ephrata. And that word means fruitful, and then later on it was called Bethlehem. And the word Bethlehem means house of bread. Beit in Hebrew means house, and then lechem, beit lechem, Bethlehem, the house of bread.
It's a place where there was a great deal of barley sown in the environs of Bethlehem. We learned that from the book of Ruth. And it is here that Bethlehem's history comes into focus. It's the house of bread. How appropriate that the one who is called the bread of life should be born in a town called the house of bread?
You remember, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, and they said, Moses gave us bread from heaven, and he said, It is God who gave you bread from heaven. And he said, I am the true bread, which came down out of heaven and give my life for the world. And then he says, He that eateth this bread shall live forever. You see, what bread is to the body, And it is a very good food, especially if you eat whole wheat bread, by the way. Don't buy that white stuff.
What bread is to the body, Jesus is to the soul. What a tragedy for people to be so interested in their bodies and not interested in their souls. George Mueller was a man who Spent a great deal of time building orphanages by faith in England. Remarkable story of miracles, how God provided. But he said, The first duty of every Christian, your first duty, is to find your soul satisfied with God.
So he never ate breakfast in the morning until he was reading God's word and found his soul satisfied with God. Jesus is the bread that comes down from heaven, the bread for your soul. There's another reason why perhaps Bethlehem was chosen, and that was it was a royal city. Do you remember what the angels said to the shepherds? Very clearly, they said, born unto you today in the city of David.
is a savior. David was born close to Bethlehem. That's why Bethlehem was known as a royal city. It's because David was there, and it was to David that God gave the promises and said that someday you're going to have a son who's going to rule over the house of Jacob forever. You're going to find that prophecy fulfilled.
And so, how appropriate it is that Jesus would be born in the town very close to where David was born. It's a remarkable story that David is actually an ancestor of Jesus. Jesus is a descendant of David, and yet Jesus created David. Because Jesus is Lord and Jesus is king.
So it only makes sense that Jesus would be born in a royal city where David was born. That's one reason, it's because of its history. There's another reason, and that is because of its size.
Now, you'll notice here in the text it says, you are too little to be among the clans of Judah. What's going on there? What that means is that if you read the Old Testament book of Joshua, where it lists all the land and all the cities that were conquered, Bethlehem isn't there. It was too small to be mentioned. Nobody talked about Bethlehem being the place.
I mean, after all, Bethlehem is five miles south of Jerusalem.
So Jerusalem's the place with the activity. Jerusalem's the place with the temple. Jerusalem is the one that gets all of the press, so to speak.
Something like being born into a family where you have a very famous brother that everybody talks about and Everybody immediately associates you and your relationship with the brother. The only thing important about Bethlehem is how far it was from Jerusalem. And so we see here that it was a very overlooked city. It's maybe like having a small church close to Willow Creek Church out in Barrington, where all of the activity is over there, and you're over here, and there ain't much going on. Nobody ever bragged that they were from Bethlehem.
No great thinkers there, no great miracles. Jericho we know, Jerusalem we know, Hebron we know, but. Where is Bethlehem and why would it be important? But God loves to do those kinds of things. God loves to take those who are unimportant and choose the most unlikely place to reveal himself.
What an awesome choice God made. And by the way, because the prophet said Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem, Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. No chance that Mary could have had that baby along the way. Because God said Bethlehem, and all of Rome had to agree. Augustus had to agree with Jesus, and Rome had to agree with Bethlehem.
And when Augustus gave that decree, that that couple eventually, because of the enrollment, it was necessary for them to go to Bethlehem, God's will and God's purpose was fulfilled. And God says, it's not going to be Jerusalem, it's not going to be Hebron, it's not going to be famous Jericho, it will be Bethlehem, the overlooked city. I think there's another reason. And that is that its location was close to shepherds. There were shepherds' fields in the area, and in those days, there was plenty of room.
Now if you go to Bethlehem today, you know that it is so spread out that you don't see this as clearly as it would have been seen centuries ago, that in the surrounding hills, and there are surrounding hills around Bethlehem, there was just a lot of grazing fields and the shepherds were there. Because I think that it was within the plan of God, certainly. That the first guests that Jesus Christ would have would be the shepherds. Shepherds were lowly, they were largely despised. They never took a bath for weeks.
You remember that old line about if you see it in Israel today, by the way, you can. Bedouins living in a tent, and sometimes you see goats in the tent, and somebody said to a Bedouin, you know, how do you put up with it? He said, No problem, the goats get used to it.
So you can understand that you could know that a shepherd was in the area if you were downwind by 500 yards. And Jesus said, these are the people that I want to be special guests.
So, the first ones really to see the Christ child are going to be the shepherds. God again confounds human wisdom, and He goes to the lowly. He goes to those who are not included within his program for the most part. And he says, they are the ones that I want to have come there. And so you have shepherds.
You also have... Sheep, needless to say. And isn't it appropriate that Jesus would be born in a place that was known for its shepherds and known for its sheep? And there's evidence that these were temple sheep. By temple sheep, we mean that they would be the ones that would be sacrificed in Jerusalem when many people.
Would bring their sacrifices. They would have to buy sheep.
Sometimes sheep were.
sold and sacrificed by the hundreds. And they had to grow somewhere. They had to have fields for them. And so the shepherds are shepherding sheep that most probably were scheduled to be put to death in Jerusalem as a sacrifice. what happened in Old Testament times.
is that a priest would put his hand on the sheep. and then the sheep would be killed as a sacrifice.
Now, those sheep never really did permanently take away sin. They were symbolic of the coming of Jesus who is going to take away sin. But think of the change that happens. Whereby in the Old Testament times the priest offered a sacrifice. When Jesus came, he came and he offered himself as a sacrifice.
Jesus becomes the sacrifice. Jesus gives himself for his sheep. And he says, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep, and I am known of mine. What a wonderful thing. And so, right there in the middle.
Of the area where Bethlehem is, there are sheep and there are shepherds, reminding us that the good shepherd is going to be born there and give his life for the sheep. As we think of the bottom line regarding all of this, I'd like to just bring out two lessons. First of all, we see here the unpredictability of God. The unpredictability of God, maybe I could say he's the God of surprises, the God of surprises. Who would have dreamed that it would be Bethlehem?
But as I've mentioned, God enjoys taking that which is least and most unlikely and using it for his glory. I had a seminary professor who said long ago, after 30 or 40 years of teaching. He said, long ago he stopped predicting whom God might mightily use. You know, you have somebody in the classroom. He's very bright, he has so much potential, and years later.
You know? He's just off on the sidelines somewhere, and then you have somebody. where nobody really thought that they would amount to much. And in the midst of that, you see them perhaps having a great ministry or an impact in the lives of their families that you would have never really guessed. I say to you today who feel marginalized, you feel out as if.
You're always the one who is left behind. You are willing to do any part. And then when everybody else gets a part in the play, the teacher says, you're going to have a part. Really, what is it? You have been chosen to applaud.
That's your responsibility and privilege. Do you feel that way? Understand that God's grace God's grace overcomes barriers. God's grace extends to the lowly, to the broken. Yesterday here at the church, the women had a brunch, and it's been my privilege to attend with Rebecca all of the brunches that we've ever had since almost the beginning of time, right, Mary?
I mean, it's been so long. And um We had two marvelous testimonies of women really sold into sexual slavery. In many respects, terrible stories, but true stories, but redeeming stories. The fact that in the midst of their need, in the midst of brokenness and helplessness, God came to them and they became open to the grace of God. And God is saying there in Bethlehem, all deal with the lowly.
You remember it says in 1 Corinthians that God chooses the foolish and God chooses the weak to confound the wise and to confound the strong. When God wants to shake up Europe, and bring it out of traditions that had been entrenched in centuries. What does he do? He doesn't begin in Athens or the larger cities of Germany. He begins in a town called Wittenberg.
And he begins there. and a reformation begins that changes the map of Europe. and really changes the world and still affects us today. Always remember, God is the God of surprises. If you feel overlooked, Recognize that God is there with you.
And he can choose you just like he chose Bethlehem. And then, of course, and it's very obvious, I also see in all of this, in the larger picture, the grace of God, the grace of God. It's not possible for us to even visualize how far Jesus came to redeem us. In heaven, nobody had to ask who's Jesus. In heaven, the angels sang one song of praise after another.
Not just holy, holy, holy, but other songs of gratitude. In heaven, Jesus was recognized to be the king.
Now he comes to Bethlehem in the form of a baby. And there, in the midst of that situation, he grows up and he is spit upon and he is shouted at. Move it over there, Jew boy, get with it. Any He takes on the form of a servant. He's unrecognized.
He has to show his ID, so to speak. Nobody knows that they're dealing with the king of glory. For the most part, they don't catch on. And Jesus coming from that kind of adoration. To this world shows, if I might put it this way, in quotes, the great humility of God.
And yet, man remains proud. Man remains proud. Man is. determined to have his own way. And God says, I'm coming to you in grace.
I'm coming to you with forgiveness and hope. and transformation. And that's the way in which the Lord God comes to us. The word Christopher, the name Christopher means Christ-bearer. Christopher Hitchens was a very famous atheist and loved to debate people about his atheism.
In the process, he debated many Christians, and if you listen to those debates, I'm convinced that the Christians won. But nonetheless, Hitchens liked the publicity his books sold well, like God Is Not Great and others that he wrote. And before he died and he was diagnosed with cancer, And so, in many interviews, he feared lest people would say that he had a deathbed conversion or that he might actually. Before he died, Indicate that he was interested in conversion or belief in God.
So he already, ahead of time, gave us a narrative. He said, if you hear that I have converted, just understand it must be because of the chemotherapy and the drugs, consider me already dead. He asked Christians not to pray for him. He said, why would you bother praying to the deaf ears of a God? that doesn't exist.
There's something else that Christopher Hitchens said. He said that he didn't expect to meet anything on the other side, but. He did like surprises. That's a quote. Between you and me.
I think he got his wish. But it's not the kind of surprise. that any of us would like to have. But here's what I want to say. When Christopher Hitchens was on his deathbed, if he had called out to God and said, God, I believe in your existence, that would not have changed his destiny.
You don't have a different destiny just because you believe in God. Tons of people who believe in God. are going to find themselves on the wrong side of the barrier when they die. If Christopher Hitchens Were to have been in heaven, evidently he isn't, though God is his final judge, it would be because of Jesus. Because of the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth in a huge redemption project, a huge rescue mission to rescue us from our sins and from ourselves.
And as you've heard me say so many times from this pulpit, there is nobody else out there who can do what Jesus can do. Nobody else, no prophet, no guru. He's the only one who is able to take away sin. Have you trusted him today? Do you know him as your Savior?
Phillips Brooks was absolutely right. What a beautiful song he wrote. O holy child of Bethlehem. Descend to us, we pray, cast out our sin, and enter in. Be born.
in us Today Jesus came to Bethlehem.
so that Jesus might be able to come to us. And when we receive him as Savior, he does come in. He forgives us, makes us a child of God, and he does come in, and he casts out our sin. That doesn't mean that we become sinless, but By the blessed Holy Spirit of God, Jesus dwells within you. He said regarding the Holy Spirit, He is with you and shall be in you, and after I leave, I will come to you.
Phillips Brooks was absolutely right. He casts out our sin. and he enters in and he desires to be born in us. Today, that's the message of Bethlehem. That's the message of Christmas.
The fact that Jesus came, died, was raised again.
So that you and I might be redeemed. Oh, little town of Bethlehem. May we love the town. Not just abstractly as a town, but love with sentimentality. The fact that Jesus was born there.
To become our savior. And because He came to Bethlehem. He can come to you and to me. Have you trusted him? If you have, trust him, do you worship him?
Let's bow together in prayer. Father, we want to thank you so much for this prediction. And we thank you that the one who was born there, his goings forth have been from of old and from everlasting. We thank you for the eternality of Christ. We pray today, Father, that you might.
Cast out our sin. Come to us individually. Come to us as a church and enter in. For those who have never trusted Christ as Savior, be born in them today. Help them to reach out even now as they're listening to this prayer.
and say, Jesus, today I receive you as mine. Come. into my messy world. and save me. In Jesus' name we ask.
Amen. Yeah. Of course, needless to say, Bethlehem wasn't the end of the story. Jesus Christ came, later on was crucified. was buried, rose again, and went to heaven.
And that's why he is indeed qualified to be a Savior. even of great sinners. What wonderful news we have to proclaim. Let me ask you a question. Are you blessed as a result of this ministry?
If so, it's because other people have invested and have helped us get the gospel around the world. I'm holding in my hands a letter from someone who listens in East Africa. This person says, thank you for the great teaching. I felt God himself speaking to me as I listened. Person goes on to say, my heart is bubbling with joy, for my soul is being nourished.
My friends Let me emphasize again. We are so thankful for our partners. Would you consider becoming an endurance partner? That's someone who helps us consistently. Of course, the amount that you give is entirely your decision.
If you have a pen or pencil, and I hope that you do, I want to give you some contact info. At least investigate what an endurance partner is and ask the Lord whether or not he would have you join us. Here's what you do. You go to rtwoffer.com. Of course, rtwoffer is all one word.
RTWoffer.com. When you're there, you click on the Endurance Partner button, or you can call us at 1-888-218-128. 9337. I'm going to give you that contact info again, and I want to thank you in advance. even as you pray for us and you help us.
Go to rtwoffer.com, click on the Endurance Partner button, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running2Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. When a new member of the royal family is born, TV covers it wall to wall. Even Americans want to catch a glimpse of a future king or queen of England. But when the King of Kings was born, no video crews were waiting with bated breath.
but there were those who did pay homage to the long-awaited baby.
Next time, we meet the King's Worshippers. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
