Little me, Big God!

Open your Bibles with me to Micah chapter 5. And as you find your place, let me share a story with you.

In 1857, there was a small, dying church in the middle of a run down neighborhood of New York City. The immigrant population around the church was exploding and people avoided this area of town. The church elders considered closing the doors and selling the building, but decided instead to hire a missionary to draw people back to the church. They settled on a man named Jeremiah Lanphier.

Lanphier was a middle-aged businessman. He had no formal training and had never even visited another person to share the Gospel. But, he felt like God was calling him to be a missionary. He applied for the position and left his well-paying position to become a visitation missionary at a salary of less than city average of 1000 dollars a year.

At first, Lanphier went door to door inviting people and visiting old members. The work was really slow, and Lanphier doubted himself as only a couple of families had come to visit the church. One day, Lanphier noted that most businesses closed for an hour at noon, and it occured to him that people might like to pray together. He convinced the church to print fliers and to put a sign up at the church. They gave him a small, upper room in the church to meet in.

When the day came, Lanphier sat alone in the room. The minutes felt like hours as he sat, getting more and more discouraged with each one that went by. He was about to give up at 12:30, when all of the sudden he heard feet on the stairs. One after another, 6 men piled into the room. Lanphier led the men in a few, quick minutes of prayer and they all left, agreeing to come back the next week.

The following week, Lanphier’s group grew from 6 to 20. In the third meeting there were 40 men. Lanphier met with church leaders, and they decided to change the meeting space to the church sanctuary, and to begin to meet daily instead of weekly. That week, a financial crisis struck our country, and the small noon meeting exploded. 40 grew to more than 3000 and in 6 months, 10,000. The movement caught the attention of the national newspapers as prayer meetings broke out all over New York City, and spread from there to cities around the nation.

People began turning from idolatry, confessing sin, and coming to faith in Christ. The movement even spread into Canada. One man who came to the first meeting site in New York showed up with one of Lanphier’s fliers he had been handed 6 months previously in Mississippi inviting him to the meetings.

Before T.V., before radio, before the internet, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was spreading in the United States like wildfire. It is estimated that somewhere between 1859 and 1860, at the revival’s height, more than 50,000 people a week were professing faith in Christ. By the end of the revival, more than 1 MILLION people had become followers of Jesus. The Methodist denomination, the larges Christian denomination at the time, grew by 12 percent and the Baptist denomination the second largest at the time, grew by 10 percent in one year!

Who here has ever heard of Jeremiah Lanphier before this morning?

And yet God used Him to bring about one of the greatest movements of faith our country has ever seen.

We tend to focus on the big and important, don’t we? We look to great leaders, wealthy people, and those in great power to make a difference in our world. But God does things differently.

As we turn towards our text this morning, I want you to remember as you read that God often uses what we think of as small and insignificant to bring about the massive movement of His will so that His Name is the one that is glorified.

We are in our second week of our series The One Who is Coming, as we study prophecies about the coming of Jesus.

And as we dive into this passage, there are some things you need to know.

Today’s prophecy comes from about the same time frame as last weeks’ prophecy.

Micah wrote about 700 years before the coming of Jesus.

He wrote over the course of three Kings of Judah

Jotham was a good king that did what was right, but he didn’t tear down the temples to false gods or lead the people to worship the One true God

Ahaz, Jotham’s son, worshipped everything BUT the one true God, as we talked about last week.

Hezekiah, Ahaz’s son, restored the worship of the One true God in Judah and actually delayed the eventual judgment of the nation because of His obedience to GOd.

Israel, the other kingdom, was in constant rebellion during this time and was influencing the rebellion of God’s people in both places.

Let me give you a really quick summary of what Micah has said up to this point

First, Israel has been in constant rebellion against God and now they have led Judah into rebellion as well.

God is going to judge both Israel and Judah for their rebellion because they have acted as enemies of God

The nations that God is going to use to do this are warned not to boast about their victory, because God will bring judgment against them as well, and will rescue Israel

God says that the people’s rebellion is so great that they would be unable to hear from Him, but that after His silence God’s reign would be established again and that God Himself would lead His people, coming to Jerusalem.

Let’s turn to God’s Word this morning in Micah chapter 5, starting in verse 1, and we do so I would invite you to stand with me in honor of the reading of God’s Word:

Micah 5:1–6 CSB

Now, daughter who is under attack, you slash yourself in grief; a siege is set against us! They are striking the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod. Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times. Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of the ruler’s brothers will return to the people of Israel. He will stand and shepherd them in the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord his God. They will live securely, for then his greatness will extend to the ends of the earth. He will be their peace. When Assyria invades our land, when it marches against our fortresses, we will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men. They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with a drawn blade. So he will rescue us from Assyria when it invades our land, when it marches against our territory.

Let’s pray together: (pray) Thanks, you may be seated

God is not like your childhood heroes. When I was a kid,

The Lone Ranger, Zorro, Superman, Batman

Those guys were as real as you and me

But as I grew up, these heroes slipped into the land of makebelieve

See, Those guys, those heroes, they are only as real to a person as their belief in them

And everyone of them is going to let you down the moment that you realize the truth

But God is the real King of the universe whether you believe in Him or not! His power and authority are real whether you believe in Him or not.

Our world today is very much like the nations surrounding Israel

They mock those that follow the living God

They worship false gods and lead God’s people to do the same

They look at the struggles of God’s people as a sign that there is no power in Him

And, even as Israel waited for the coming of the Messiah, we now wait for His return!

There are many who feel like right now, one of two things is true for the Church

1. That we are under God’s judgment for our idolatry and complacency

OR

2. That God has abandoned us because of our rebellion against Him.

Now, God promised that He would not leave nor forsake His people, even though we might feel abandoned. Just like we talked about last week, God’s faithfulness does not depend on ours.

And while I can’t say whether or not we are under His judgment right now, I can tell you that, either way, this passage is full of hope for us as followers of Jesus because it tells us some pretty amazing things about who Jesus is, and reminds us that our trust in Him is not misplaced.

If you have your listening guide, let me invite you to get it out as I point you to the first of these amazing truths about Jesus that are promised to us here. First,

The humble beginnings of Jesus’ humanity magnify the glory of His eternal Kingship

Look at verse 1 with me:

Micah 5:1–2 NASB95

“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. “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.”

It’s funny, but as God’s people fought against their enemies, the focus was on Jerusalem; but they were looking at the wrong place.

Both Bethlehem and Jerusalem were called the “City of David.”

Jerusalem because King David made it his capital city.

It was a fortified city on a literal mountain.

But humble Bethlehem is called the city of David because David was born in Bethlehem

Bethlehem was a tiny little town 6.5 miles outside of Jerusalem’s walls (I run farther every morning)

It was nothing special and nobody would expect anything from it

Bethlehem was so small, it doesn’t even make the registry of towns listed in Jeremiah 15 and Nehemiah 11

In these verses, God contrasts the two cities:

Jerusalem is the focus of Israel’s attention and the nations around it

God points to the tiny, insignificant birthplace of Kings and says, “Don’t worry Jerusalem! Don’t worry Israel! Your Savior, Your King is coming from Bethlehem.

If Jesus had been born in Jerusalem, it could be argued his Kingship was of man.

His origin in this humble, small town birth as predicted 700 years before shows us something only God could do. Jesus isn’t the proud king that we make, He is the Humble King that we need.

This humble town only mirrored the humility that God took on Himself when He entered into His creation.

Philippians 2:5–8 NASB95

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

This Christmas season, take on the humility of Christ so that His glory may resound in you!

2 Corinthians 4:7 NASB95

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

If you follow Jesus, He lives inside of you!

You and I are nothing so special on our own, But Jesus is the treasure of heaven

Be like Bethlehem: When people look at you, let it be that all they see is Jesus!

We have hope in the humility of Jesus humanity and the glory of His eternal Kingship, and secondly, we have hope because

Jesus is God, the King of Kings

Look at verse 2 with me again

Micah 5:2 NASB95

“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.”

The first king that came from Bethlehem established and earthly kinship doomed to fail by our sinfulness.

But this coming King, this baby born of a virgin as we talked about last week, was going to the be God with us!

His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.

We see God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, from the very Beginning of Scripture

Genesis 1:1–3 NASB95

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

All three are present in the very beginning; But where is the Son, you ask? In verse three, where it says “God said”

John 1:1 NASB95

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

and John 1:14 tells us

John 1:14 NASB95

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father, through whom all things were made.

Here He is, the eternal God the Son, the Word of God, made flesh.

God’s Word came forth from the Father, as verse 2 promises, to be the King we need

How quick we are to receive Jesus, the Savior! But He came not just to save your heart, but to rule it!

This Christmas season, let Jesus be your God and King!

Let Jesus be the one that calls the shots in your life

Let Him decide how you spend your money

Let Him decide how you spend your time

Let Him rule in your life because Jesus is the promised King, God with us and you will have the hope that can only be found in Him.

In Christ, he have hope in his humble humanity, His eternal glory, and His perfect Kingship as God and King. Thirdly, we have hope because

Jesus is the Shepherd King that cares for His people

Look at verse 3

Micah 5:3–4 NASB95

Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock In 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.

The imagery of the people of God as His sheep is one that echoes throughout all of the pages of Scripture, and so it shouldn’t surprise us that

Israel was also named Jacob and he was a shepherd

David was chosen as King over Israel and he was a shepherd

and Jesus, The One who was promised is also a shepherd, a shepherd of God’s people

Verse 3 leaves us this picture of the silent period, where God’s people didn’t hear from Him

God was still present, still acting, but there were no prophets, and no word from God

This is the break we see in our Bible between the time of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament

Israel became like sheep without a shepherd, even as Isaiah 53 says

Isaiah 53:6 NASB95

All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

Jesus is a shepherd who

Leads His people,

Cares for our wounds

loves us with all that He is

calls us by name

rescues us from danger

is our shelter and protector

lays down His life for His Sheep!

This Christmas Season, won’t you follow Jesus as your Shepherd and proclaim His glory wherever He leads you

What better hope could we have than the Shepherd King who laid down His life for you?

There is no greater promise

There is no greater leader

There is no greater King

And if all of these things weren’t enough reasons to follow Him, remember that we can have hope in Jesus because

Jesus Brings our Rescue and Peace

Micah 5:5–6 NASB95

This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men. They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory.

Though the nations rage against us,

though sin and death seek to destroy,

Jesus our strong protector, delivers us to peaceful shores

How will YOU respond to Jesus today? There are only two options: Jerusalem or Bethlehem

Will you look to the strength of men and nations, hoping that they will be enough for the problems of the moment

Or will you turn your eyes to the Humble, Shepherd King of eternity, who will lead His people home?

The worship team is going to come and lead us in a song of reflection. And as they come, I invite you to sing or to spend time in prayer. And if God is calling you to make Him your shepherd this morning, I want you to

Come see me at the welcome table

or scan the qr code & click “have coffee with Pastor Matthew”

PRAY