The Risk of Spiritual Negligence- Part 2

1 Corinthians 9:24-27.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 09, 2022.

Last week, we looked at the issue of spiritual negligence.  This is what we shouldn’t do.  The positive is to emphasize spiritual attentiveness and discipline.

There were three areas that we are told not to neglect.  First, we must not neglect our salvation, our faith in Christ and our love for Him.  We must maintain these at all costs.  Second, we must not neglect God’s Word.  We must become a student of the Word of the Creator.  Whose books in all of the Universe can compare to His?  Third, we must not neglect the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are in each of us.  You must pay attention and learn how the Spirit is gifting you to strengthen others.  You should exercise that gift by faith and by His direction.  You must also recognize God’s gifts in others that He is using to strengthen you.

In all of these, we risk eternal things.  To be negligent in these areas is to risk deception, weakness, knowledge, salvation, even our very souls.

Today, we will finish up this issue by looking at two metaphors that Paul gives to the Church in Corinth.

Let’s look at our passage.

Metaphors of spiritual things

Paul wrote several letters to the Corinthian Church.  He had a heavy burden for them because they were not thinking biblically about how they were living.  In short, they were clearly not using the mind of Christ.  They were using the mindset of the Greek culture within which they were immersed.

One of the big areas is being dealt with in this chapter of 1 Corinthians.  They are stuck making decisions based upon what they think their rights are, rather than out of love for one another.  Paul uses several examples of himself throughout the chapter to help them see how the mind of Christ thinks, and the kinds of choices it will make.

One area was material support of ministers.  Paul taught churches to care materially for those who care for them spiritually.  However, he would not receive that “right” from the Corinthian Church.  If he thought like them, then he would be demanding that they send him money or help in some manner.  However, Paul was purposefully sacrificing this right.  In fact, other churches were sometimes helping Paul so that he could minister to the Corinthians.  Paul also worked as a tent maker and mender.  He did this out of love for them.  Corinth was full of teachers who would come into town, put out a shingle, and make money by teaching some new philosophy to people.  Most of the time, this philosophy would be of precious little help to those receiving it, but the teacher made a good living off of it.  Paul was aware of these things and cared about the Gospel and the Corinthians too much to even let a hint of such be in his dealings with them.  Yes, he had the right, but love compelled him to choose the harder path for their sakes.

Paul also mentions that he had every right to get married and have a family like Peter and some of the other apostles.  However, Paul had chosen to remain unmarried so that he could focus all of his time on sharing the Gospel.  This is not to put down Peter.  Peter was already married when Christ called him.  Paul’s point is more about how he has chosen to sacrifice a right that he had out of love and for God’s purposes in the lives of others, like them.

To help them absorb this lesson in a way that came from their own Greek culture, Paul shares an analogy from the sports that Greeks loved to watch and to do.

The first Metaphor is also the main metaphor.  In verse 24 Paul speaks of a runner who runs a race.  All runners who enter a race hope to win the prize, but only one of them will.  In verse 26, Paul adds another metaphor in passing, that of boxing.  Boxers punch each other until one of them yields, passes out, or dies (as was the goal in some matches).

Now, it doesn’t take an Olympic coach to figure out the basics of becoming a good runner or a good boxer.  With these metaphors in mind, Paul points out areas of neglect in the Christian’s life that would be as foolish as if an athlete had done them, or neglected them.

Verse 25 shows that we must not neglect our training, which is self-discipline in essence.  Athletes live in very specific ways.  They eat and don’t eat certain foods.  The same with drink.  They will run or box everyday working on the fundamentals of their sport until it becomes locked into their muscle memory.  They will fastidiously adhere to quite rigid rules that they have set for themselves, or their coach, in order to obtain the goal, winning. 

If athletes are willing to train so diligently in order to obtain a temporal prize, shouldn’t Christians be even more diligent in our spiritual training in order to obtain an eternal prize?  How much more should we bring our bodies and lives under subjection (vs. 27) so that we can spiritually win?  The answer is rhetorical, but easy to dismiss as if it is not that important.

It is amazing how many hours we can spend on entertainments, or on books of some value, but not in comparison to God’s Word.  We can simply tell ourselves that it is far more fun watching a football game then studying God’s Word.  When I was in High School, I remember turning out for football.  It seemed that many of the best athletes were more interested in drinking beer than even coming out for the team.  Of course, others came out for the team, but were more focused on partying than training.  That directly affected what our football team was able to do.

How is your training?  Do you study God’s Word as if it was information from the Creator of all things that will help you win the prize that can be won in this life?  Or, do you spend more time on things that not only don’t help you, but become detrimental because you have “no time” for studying His Word.  “My people perish for lack of knowledge,” says our Lord!

God help us to stop wasting the time that we have outside of work and sleep on temporary things that won’t matter several years from now.  Don’t get me wrong.  We are supposed to do the temporary for eternal purposes, which redeems it.  Our very lives are the definition of temporary, but they can be lived for eternal glory!  The only way you can and will do that is if you are serious about your spiritual training in Christ, being a disciple.

But, reading and meditating on God’s Word is not enough.  We must put it into practice.  Training is all about getting ready for the race or for the boxing match.  However, in life we don’t have a schedule and don’t know when these things will occur.  In some way, we are tested every day.  Life is a series of pop-quizzes, or “pop-races.”  You are either ready or you aren’t, but at least at the end of the day you will know what you need to work on.  So, let’s look at those quizzes.

How is our running and our boxing?  Paul is telling us to run in such a way as to win the prize, called a crown in verse 25.  Am I doing well enough to win a crown?  The Bible speaks of believers winning crowns in several places of which this is one.

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.  2 Timothy 4:8 (NKJV)

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.  James 1:12 (NKJV)

and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 1 Peter 5:4 (NKJV)

Behold, I am coming quickly!  Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.  Revelation 3:11 (NKJV)

That last word is from our Lord Himself.  Notice that God has that crown for you; it is obtainable.  But, you are going to have to go after it both in training and executing that training in the trials and bouts of life.

I don’t think that these are actually different crowns that we can stack up on top of each other, but rather, they are different ways of describing God’s crowning of His people.  I think we will have some kind of literal symbol of our win, but righteousness, life and glory are just different facets of that singular prize, reigning with Jesus!

There are different things that Paul points out about our running or boxing.  First, we are to run with certainty.  We are to know how we are to run and in what direction we are to run.  Christians are to be examples of God’s righteousness and are to be focused on pleasing the Father, not ourselves, or the world.  Too many Christians appear to be running away from God’s Word and towards the world.  This kind of running will not win the prize.

Second, a boxer doesn’t close their eyes and wail away at the air.  We must fight with a clear picture of reality, both the reality that is going on inside of me and the reality of our opponent.  We need to face reality so that we can fight in truth, not a fantasy fight, and with wisdom.  This reality includes my recognition that the most dangerous opponent is my own flesh.  A Christian who understands the reality of the weakness of their own flesh will train that flesh so that it will serve an eternal purpose rather than a temporal one.

Of course, elsewhere, Paul reminds us that our battle is not with flesh and blood, the people we encounter and tangle with.  Rather, our battle is with the spiritual powers that work on my mind and the minds of people around me in order to pull us away from the Lord.  May God help us to give the Devil a black-eye by training and then boxing him as the Lord leads the way.  In our own flesh, we are unable to stand against the Devil, but “greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the world!”

Spiritual Negligence Part 2 audio

The Risk of Spiritual Negligence

We apologize that there is not an audio available for this sermon.

Hebrews 2:1-4; 1 Timothy 4:13-16.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 02, 2022.

Negligence is often defined as conduct that falls short of a reasonably prudent person.  Its antonym is attention.  A prudent person is one who is careful to think about things in order to choose as best a course as possible.

Notice that the bar is not set at the most prudent person, but at a reasonably prudent, or within reason.  Of course, this is a fairly abstract concept that begs a lot of questions.  Most people in a society may be unreasonably negligent due to a number of factors.  Thus, we are talking about more than what the average person would do.

God has gone out of His way to speak to us about the pitfalls of life and eternity.  The sooner that we learn to take that seriously, and give it the amount of thought and prudence it deserves, the better it will be for us and others around us.

Today, we will look at things that Christians can neglect, and the risks they run when doing so.  Let’s get into our first passage.

Don’t neglect your salvation

The writer to of this letter to the Hebrews was concerned about the appeal of the visible Old Testament rituals, compared to those of Christianity, which were more spiritual.  It was possible for Hebrew Christians to let sentimentality about the temple, its services, and its rituals draw them away from Christ.  Some even did apostatize, i.e., falling away from believing in Christ, and went back into Judaism.  This clearly was more of a problem before the destruction of the temple in AD 70 (almost 40 years).

The writer spends most of the letter showing how Christ and the spiritual worship of Christians was far superior to the Law of Moses.  Yet, some were in jeopardy of neglecting their salvation to the point of falling away.

Verse 3 reminds them that the salvation that they had been given through Christ was “such a great salvation.”  Jesus is the Savior of that salvation.  He was the first to reveal God’s plan of saving Israel and the Gentiles.  His disciples then became those who spoke the Gospel to Hebrews and Gentiles.

In verse 4, the writer reminds them of the great signs and wonders that even the apostles did.  Also, he reminds them of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and His gifts that were spread among the people.

Now, what Israel received from Moses was a great salvation.  There is no doubt about it.  But when it is compared to what Jesus and the disciples had done, it falls short.  It is one thing to set someone free from physical slavery, but if they fall short of spiritual salvation, then their eternity is at stake.  Christ came to save us from our greatest enemy, which is sin and its resultant death.

If the Old Testament covenant had strict punishments for neglecting a temporary salvation, then how much more important is it for us not to neglect the New Covenant in Christ?  It is extremely important.  The risk is eternity.

In verse 1, they are told that they “must give the more earnest heed” to the Gospel that they had heard.  There are three parts to this.  “Must” speaks to necessity.  There is no option in this.  “The more earnest” speaks to a high level, and “heed” is a way of saying careful attention.  It literally means to bring something near for inspection and care.

So now, you and I have been told about God’s great salvation through Jesus Christ, and we have believed the message.  Yet, we must give a high level of care and inspection to that message and the result that it has given us.  So, let me ask this.  What has the greatest part of your attention in this life?  Do you give entertainments more attention than your own salvation?

The writer tells us what we risk at the end of verse 1.  We risk drifting away from our salvation, from the Savior.  Drifting has a sense that you lack aim and purpose.  You are just going wherever life and your flesh take you.  Even worse would be sailing away or driving away on purpose.  Whether drifting or purposefully leaving, it all starts at the same place: neglecting the truth and the greatness of what Christ has done for you.

Let’s look at another area of neglect in 1 Timothy 4.

Don’t neglect God’s Word

This passage actually lists a lot of things that we must not neglect, but they can be categorized in two areas.  First, we look at those things that have to do with God’s Word.

Verse 13 mentions reading.  We are to read the word individually, but we are to read it among our assemblies as well.  Literacy rates have not always been as high as they are in our country.  For many Christians, reading the word was impossible, but they could hear it and memorize it.  Make sure that you are not neglecting the reading and hearing of God’s Word on a daily basis, not just in Church. 

Next is exhortation.  This is not just a job for pastors, and it is more than telling others what to do.  It is related to the word for the Holy Spirit given in John, the Paraclete, the Helper.  It means to either come alongside someone, or to call them to your side, in order to speak a word of help into their lives.  It could be information, correction, direction, etc.  This sermon is an exhortation that is based upon God’s Word.

Next is teaching.  He is obviously talking about the teachings of Christ and his apostles.  We must pay attention and incorporate the teachings of Christ into our lives.

Lastly, in verse 15, he mentions meditation.  Christians do not meditate as the eastern mystics do.  We are not trying to empty our minds.  Rather, we fill our mind with God’s Word, and then mentally digest it through prayerful contemplation.  Don’t rush through this part.  It is commendable to read through the Bible in a year, which takes about 4 to 5 chapters a day.  However, it is also good to take a small “bite-size” piece and spend time before the Lord.  What did it mean to them, and what doe sit mean to me?  What are you saying, Lord?

Verse 16, again uses a word that tells us to pay attention, but especially to ourselves that we are continuing in, or keeping our life centered upon the teaching of God’s Word.  It is not enough to know a lot about the Word of God, and yet, not put it into practice.  Faith that is alive will act on the teachings of Christ and his apostles.

If we do this then verse 16 says that we will save ourselves and those who we speak to.  In a sense, neglecting the Word of God, then leads to us neglecting our salvation, which leads to us drifting away from the Lord Jesus, our Savior.

Don’t neglect the giftings of God’s Spirit

The second category mentioned in this passage that we can neglect is the gifts of God’s Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us that the Spirit of God gives to each believer in Christ spiritual gifts as He wills.  The word for gift is literally, “the resultant of God’s grace.”  The question is what is that result?  They are clearly supernatural giftings with which the Spirit of God enables each believer.  These gifts are seen as a result of God pouring out His grace through the Spirit.  These are not the result of natural capabilities, but an enabling and instigating that comes from the Holy Spirit.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you should be both praying for the Holy Spirit to instigate gifts within you, and walking by faith in those giftings as you discover them.

The whole purpose of a spiritual gift is not about you.  It is always about helping the Body of Christ in some way.

None of us would have come to Christ without the gifts of the Spirit working in others.  It takes time to recognize and grow in our own spiritual gifts.  God will use mature believers around you to help you come to understand His giftings in your life.

Next week, we will continue looking at the things that that we must not neglect.  I pray that we will all avoid the risks of spiritual negligence, and instead, focus upon Christ and truly be his disciples.

Follow Me

Luke 9:23-26.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 26, 2021.

We are finishing the year of our Lord 2021 and headed into 2022.  As we do this, it is good for us to do some self-assessment that recognizes any personal challenges of this year that we need to work on, and then focus our living for Jesus in the new year.

The Twelve disciples were called to follow Jesus.  Of course, for them, it began by actually following Jesus.  However, they too had to learn to spiritually follow Jesus and not just follow him around physically.  The day came when Jesus left and wasn’t coming back at least not during their lifetimes.  This is our challenge today.  We cannot see Jesus and yet, we can still “look” like we are following Jesus.  May the Holy Spirit help us to follow Jesus in word, and in deed this coming year.

Let’s get into our passage.

Following Jesus is not as easy as it sounds

“Follow me,” is an important theme in the Gospels.  Each of the disciples were called to follow Jesus, and this is specifically recorded of some of them.  We see it with Peter and Andrew who were fishing on the Sea of Galilee in Matthew 4.  It says that Jesus also “called” James and John, so it is most likely that he said the same thing.  We see it with Matthew sitting at the tax collection booth in Matthew 9.  We also see it with Philip in John 1.

There are those who balked at this command.  At the end of this chapter in verses 51-62, several excuses are given as to why people did not follow through on following Jesus.  Jesus had no place to lay his head, i.e., place to stay that was his or guaranteed.  To follow Jesus was no luxury for the flesh.  One man wanted to follow Jesus, but asked to bury his father first, and another man wanted to say goodbye to his family and friends.

Probably the most well know is the rich young ruler in Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18.  The rich young ruler wasn’t confident that he had eternal life.  Jesus pointed him to the 10 commandments and the man said that he had done those since he was a youth.  Why didn’t he trust that this wasn’t enough?  The answer lies in the area of relationship.  If the young man had a living spiritual relationship with God, then he would have never doubted God’s salvation.  Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing. 

It is interesting that Jesus tells him that he is missing something, but then tells him to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor.  He was not only missing something, but his material possessions were in the way of him getting it.  This man needed to get rid of his wealth so that he could find a real relationship with God through Jesus.

It is interesting that people will read these passages and focus on how harsh Jesus sounds when people give excuses.  We are told that Jesus loved the rich young ruler and was sad to see him go.  Listen, the emphasis is that there will always be something, it doesn’t matter what it is, that will get in the way of you and I having a relationship with God.  There will always be an excuse, an obstacle.  Following Jesus is not as easy as it sounds.

Our passage is addressed to those who desire to follow Jesus, to respond to his call.  He tells us exactly what a person needs, or must do, in order to follow him.  The first thing is internal, inside of us.  I must deny myself.  Following involves giving up the direction and the way of travel.  I will not always like, or agree with, where Jesus is taking me.  In fact, right before this passage, Jesus had told them that he was going to suffer many things, be rejected, and killed by the religious leaders of Jerusalem.  This is not what they wanted to hear, but it is exactly where Jesus was going.

Jesus is a man of peace, but he is also a man of Truth (he is Truth).  It is precisely this aspect about him, that will get you killed in this world.  Jesus knew that they would hate him, and kill him.  He knew that his disciples would be tempted to stop it, or stop following him.  They would be tempted not to stand with Jesus, and in so doing they would be choosing to stand with themselves, their thoughts, fears, and decisions.  If they wanted to follow him, they would need to fight this temptation to stand away from Jesus, and deny themselves.  In the crunch, Peter denied Jesus instead of denying himself.  Later, he would be restored and learn the lesson.  Your flesh will not, cannot, follow Jesus.  It will always balk when following Jesus becomes painful and difficult.  Jesus or me?  That is our question.  To follow Jesus is to say of yourself, “I swear that I don’t know that man!”

The second thing a person needs in order to follow Jesus is a cross.  Denying yourself represents an internal battle that must be fought and won, but picking up our cross is when that internal victory walks it out in life.  The cross can be literal.  The disciples all faced a world that eventually put most of them to death.  However, it is more than being willing to die for Jesus, to be a martyr.  You can see this by asking this question.  How can a person actually lay their life down for someone else?  The answer is that they have to have conquered the internal battle first, and then they readied themselves to do what they had to, even die.  The cross represents the very thing that my flesh is afraid of and is running from, or seeking to save.  It represents all the different ways that I am going to have to die to myself in order to keep following Jesus.  Regardless of whether I will be an actual martyr or not, I must learn to put myself to death daily, my purposes and desires, and then get up and do what it is Jesus is calling me to do (or not to do as is the case).

Once you have denied yourself, and readied yourself for daily dying, now you are ready to follow Jesus, and not a second sooner.

Many people have started following Jesus over the years.  However, not all have been willing to fight this battle, and take seriously that following entails giving up where you are going and how you will travel.

Only a person who has crucified themselves repeatedly, and is ready to do it again, can follow Jesus, because, in truth, he crucified himself out of love for the purposes of God the Father.  I know it sounds strange to hear it said that way, but that is what he said.  “No one takes it [his life] from me, but I lay it down of myself.”   Jesus simultaneously paid the price for my sins and showed me the path to salvation.  “Follow Me!”  Only Jesus can lead us to the Father and eternal life.  All other paths are dead ends, boxed canyons of self-destruction.

I am my own worst enemy

My worst enemy is not the Russians or the Chinese.  It is not the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.  It is not progressives or conservatives.  It is not even the devil himself, though he is a powerful enemy.  No, the worst enemy is myself.  I am my own worst enemy.

Jesus highlights this in verses 24-26.  The first thing we see is the problem of self-preservation.  “Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

This preservation can be physical in that none of us wants to die.  It is also metaphorical.  I worry about preserving a way of life, or particular things that I like such as: an economic station, social standing, positions of influence, fame, and the list goes on.  It is the fear that we have of losing something because we are following Jesus.  Jesus is both warning and encouraging us here.  You will tell yourself that you are saving your life by not following Jesus.  The irony is that our sinful self can’t save itself because the path of true salvation requires the sacrifice of self, the very thing that your flesh doesn’t want to do.  This is about holding onto things versus letting them go, and trusting God.  If you don’t trust God, then you will be lost eternally, but if you simply let it go…, then and only then will you find eternal life.  No one makes me selfish.  It is what I am by nature.  If I choose not to be selfish, it is because I have disciplined my nature and chosen something better.

In verse 25, we see that the fear of losing something is enhanced by our selfish-ambitions.  “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?”  There are things that I desire for myself: things that I want to see, things that I want to experience, and things that I want to accomplish.  We see this in the disciples before the cross.  They often argued about which of them was the greatest disciple.  Jesus rebuked them for this and showed them the path of serving others.

In a way, this is a type of loss as well.  I am afraid of losing the potential of having the things that I desire.  It is not that we can’t follow Christ and have things.  It is not about the things.  It is about something inside of you, an ill-attachment to those things.  We can have things and do have things.  The problem is precisely when following Christ threatens something that we have, or hope to have.  I’m reminded of Baronelle Stutzman, the florist in the Tri-Cities of Washington State who refused to do the wedding of a homosexual couple.  She did not plan on having the Attorney General of Washington taking her to court and even seeking to take her personal assets.  She could have balked and said, “Fine, I’ll do it!”  Instead, she stuck to Jesus.  What is your ambition in life?  Be careful that it is not more important to you than following Jesus.

Finally, we see in verse 26 the issue of shame, which is a symptom of pride.  “For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory…”  There will always come a time when my pride will be threatened by following Jesus.  Today, it is things like these.  “You follow ancient teachings over modern enlightenment?”  “You don’t believe that this activity I am doing is moral?”  “You associate with the Church that is responsible for so much evil throughout history?”  Leaders and lay people of the Church have made plenty of errors, not to mention some who were flat out apostates.  They were not following Jesus.  However, that is precisely the issue.  Are we following Jesus, or are we following an institution, erudite scholars, and charismatic leaders?

For some odd reason, Jesus was not too proud to be associated with the Church.  Don’t get me wrong.  He will correct, and judge, those in his Church who abuse the station he has given them.  Still, he is working within and through his Church.  He is standing with us, but will we stand with him?  Let’s make the determination to stand with Jesus moving forward, by getting ourselves internally and externally prepared to lose some things because we are dead set on following Jesus.

Follow Me audio

The Savior of Humble Beginnings

Luke 2:10-12; Micah 5:2. December 19, 2021.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner. 

Here are some great quotes on humility.  Sir J.M. Barrie, “Life is a long lesson in humility.”  C.S. Lewis, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”  It has been also said somewhere that “Pride is about my glory; humility is about God’s glory.”

Today, we are going to take a deeper dive into the idea that God requires humility from us, not in order to keep us down (i.e., that is beneath Him), but rather so that He can lift us up.  In short, God is not proud; He never has been, period.  Therefore, Jesus the Son of God did not begin to be humble at the incarnation.  Don’t get me wrong.  It is an incredibly humble act, and yet, he chose it.  Only a humble person chooses a truly humble action.  Jesus has been eternally humble just as the Father.

This may sound like a small point at first.  However, it is huge.  It is the context of our hearts, minds, and the hearts and minds of the world around us that gets us all mixed up on pride.  It just doesn’t sink to us that the only being in the universe that “deserves” to be proud isn’t.

This world needs a Savior and the good news is that God has already sent us one.  The reality is that the world is still looking around for someone to save us, or some group.  “Yeah, we’ve heard of Jesus, but he just doesn’t cut it for us,” is the attitude that this world has, and many Christians as well.

Let’s look at the birth of Jesus and focus on the humble nature of it all.

O little town of Bethlehem

Everything in the natural about the birth of Jesus smacks of humility.  God did not pick the great Roman Empire, nor even the greatest city in Israel.  This would be the equivalent of God ignoring the united States of America today.  We might even say that He had to use Israel because they had been given the prophecies.  Yes, but that is exactly the point.  God overlooked all the great countries that existed and created a new country out of one man, Abraham.  God spoke to this small people in ways He didn’t with far greater empires.  Why would God do this?  Of course, He has a purpose, but it also goes to the heart of God’s own nature.  He is the kind of Being that is neither drawn towards our great prideful works, nor willing to draw near to those things. 

Jesus is born in Bethlehem.  Bethlehem was a small town that was 6 miles south of Jerusalem.  We don’t have population figures from that time, but scholars believe it to be from 500 to 1,000 at the most.  Even its name is quite humble.  It means “House of Bread.” 

If there is any distinction for Bethlehem, it is that it was the hometown of King David.  Of course, the only town that cares about things like that is the hometown, especially a small one.  People from small towns who go on to do great things, almost always do those great things somewhere else, often in the great cities of the world.

Bethlehem was also a place of humble occupation, which David had learned as well, shepherding.  Just as David come from humble origins, so too would the Savior of Israel, and the Savior of the world.  Being so close to Jerusalem, Bethlehem was a place that supplied sheep for the temple sacrifices.  This is an honorable thing, and yet, I am sure that no one in Jerusalem were thinking that this made Bethlehem something great.  Bethlehem was a humble place with humble people.  However, it had a calling upon it; a calling that was from God. 

Let us always remember that our greatness does not come in the scope of the things that we do.  It comes from the God who calls us to live according to His purposes.  Anything done in response to the calling of God is great because He is great.  We must never forget this.

So, what about Bethlehem’s calling?  The prophet Micah prophesied in Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

It is unclear whether Ephrathah is an older name of this town to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Israel, or if it is the name of the area that Bethlehem was in.  Regardless, God showed Micah that the Messiah would come out of Bethlehem.  This verse is the main reason that the priests and teachers of the law pointed to Bethlehem when the Magi asked about the birthplace of the King of Israel.  Though Bethlehem was small, a great ruler for Israel would come from it.

The phrase “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting,” has a double meaning.  First, the prophecies about this anointed king went back even before Israel.  From the very beginning in Genesis 3:15, we see the promise that one from the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.  However, knowing what we know about Jesus now, these words also point to his pre-existence.  These prophecies did not point ahead to someone who would exist in the future, but looked ahead to the intersection of The One who was with the Father in the beginning and a particular time when God would help Israel, and all the nations.  God loves to call the small and humble to big things!

Enough about the city in which Jesus chose to enter the world.  Let’s look at Jesus the child.

O little child of Bethlehem

The shepherds are told that they would find a baby in swaddling clothes.  This is not an intimidating picture for a Messiah to save Israel.  The Magi coming out of the desert with soldiers and their entourage would have been impressive.  These were not actually kings, but rather king makers.  They came from the Parthian Empire, which Rome was unable to subdue.  Yes, Jesus coming out of the desert as a mature man with angelic armies, that would be intimidating.  Or perhaps, Jesus could have descended on a cloud with the angelic armies during one of Israel’s feasts and touched down in the temple compound.  Yet, God did not choose such for his entry.  If He didn’t, then can we not see that it is because He is humble and not proud?  Those are the kind of things that we gravitate towards and desire.  Our politicians have signs the size of a school bus with their name and the music blasts as they come on the stage.  This was not the way of our Lord.  He is not proud and neither will he play to our pride.

This baby would also be lying in a manger.  This was not normal even for those days.  God knew there would be no room in the inn.  Why didn’t He fix that?  Maybe He did “fix it.”  Perhaps, we wouldn’t know a fix if it slapped us in the face.  In fact, that is part of our problem.  Our need for pride is like a junkie needing a fix.  Our cries for God to fix things are often just the cries of junkies wanting another “fix” from the Lord, wanting something that we think will get us right, but God know is just slavery.  He has a better vision for us than eternal junkies begging Him for another fix.  It was more fitting that Bethlehem would have no room for its most famous child to be born because that is our problem.  We just don’t have room in our proud lives for the humility of God.

There are many things that God doesn’t “fix” because our definitions are selfish.  Maybe God has fixed you life; maybe the things you want rid of are the very things that are necessary to bring you to see the truth.  Can you trust Him?

Something that we often overlook is that the multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men,” happened somewhere else in the fields, not at the manger.  It is not like the angels wouldn’t have done that if commanded to do so, but that was not the command.  This was a journey that Jesus had to take without them.  They reveal the news to shepherd and then send them to attend the baby Jesus.  Yes, shepherds are what every new mother wants right after they have given birth.  Jesus didn’t need the fanfare and sycophantic mob crying out his praises.  He is a humble savior who is looking for some humble repentant people, who will wait for the proper time of exaltation.

Think about it.  God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.  He puts down the proud and lifts up the humble.  How much clearer must He be?  Let us join the Lord in this time of humility (I mean that in the sense of being humble).  If we suffer with Him than we will doubtless be glorified with Him and be exalted in the proper time.

Humble Beginnings audio