God Is: What CHRISTmas Reveals About God

God Is Faithful

Texts: Micah 5:2-5; Matt. 2:1-6

INTRODUCTION

Christmas reveals many things—joy, celebration, generosity, beauty.

But Christmas reveals something even deeper: God Himself.

This month, in our evening services, we are beginning a special series called “God Is:What Christmas Reveals About God.” Christmas is not just a story about shepherds, angels, and a manger. It is a divine message, a revelation from heaven to earth about who God truly is.

Each week, we will discover a different truth:

Week 1 – God Is Faithful

Week 2 – God Is Near

Week 3 – God Is Merciful

Week 4 – God Is Victorious

These are not abstract doctrines; these are truths that were wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger and lived a sin free life.

Tonight, we begin where the Christmas story begins—with the faithfulness of God.

Long before Mary held Jesus in her arms, long before angels filled the sky with “Glory to God,” long before shepherds ran to Bethlehem—

God had made a promise.

A promise spoken through prophets, whispered through centuries, and carried through generations.

Christmas is the evidence—clearly, unmistakably—that God keeps His word. If you ever doubt whether God is faithful, all you need to do is look at the promises and then look into the manger.

Tonight we unwrap the first revelation: God Is Faithful.

I. He is FAITHFUL THROUGHOUT The GENERATIONS

Micah’s prophecy (Micah 5:2–5; Matt. 2:5-6)

A. The Promise of Bethlehem

Micah opens with a stunning declaration: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah… out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.”

On the surface, Bethlehem looked like nothing:

Small, quiet, unimportant

Tucked away in the Judean hills

Not a center of commerce

Not a military stronghold

Not politically influential

A forgettable dot on the map

And yet—God chose it.

He bypassed Jerusalem with its grandeur

He bypassed Rome with its power

He bypassed Athens with its wisdom

God delights in using what seems insignificant to accomplish what is eternal

Micah’s prophecy was given 700 years before Christ.

Seven centuries before Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and angels

God announced the exact location of the Messiah’s birth

Consider the weight of those centuries:

Nations rose and fell

Empires came and went

Kings lived and died

Generations passed and forgot the prophecy

But God did not forget.

Bethlehem was overlooked by people—but never overlooked by God.

God orchestrated every detail:

Mary and Joseph didn’t choose Bethlehem

emperor’s decree

the census

God aligned history with precision to fulfill His Word

Why Bethlehem?

To show God’s faithfulness does not depend on any human intervention:

Human strength

Human strategy

Human status

Like we saw this morning; God works through places and people we least expect

Bethlehem stands as a testimony:

If God makes a promise, nothing and no one can hinder its fulfillment

Even when you feel small, forgotten, or insignificant— God remembers His promises, and He remembers His people

A. The Promise of Bethlehem

B. God’s Timing Is Never Rushed or Delayed

The story of the Messiah includes centuries of waiting:

Generations passed

Empires rose and fell—Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome

Prophets came and went

Israel experienced exile, return, oppression, and 400 years of silence

To the people, it felt like:

Nothing was happening

The promise had grown distant

Hope was fading

But Scripture teaches:

God’s silence is not God’s absence

Waiting does not mean God is late (John 11:21 “Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” ) John 11:39 “Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.”

Mary and Martha thought God was late, but His timing is always perfect

God’s timing is perfect:

Never rushed

Never delayed

Not bound by our calendars

Not pressured by our impatience

His purposes unfold with precision, not panic

Peter reminds us: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promises…”

He is not slow—He is steady

He moves at the pace of perfection

Every moment of waiting was part of the plan:

Every year that came and went

Every kingdom that rose and fell

Every generation that lived and died

All lead up to “the fullness of time”

At the exact right moment:

Not early

Not late

Exactly on time

God sent forth His Son

Christmas teaches us:

The delay of God is not the denial of God

God may not move when we expect Him to—but He always moves when it is best

The waiting room of faith is often where God is working the most

A. The Promise of Bethlehem

B. God’s Timing Is Never Rushed or Delayed

C. Christmas Proves God Finishes What He Starts

Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was:

Not a coincidence

Not a last-minute adjustment

Not a backup plan

It was fulfillment—God completing His promise

In a humble stable, in a quiet town— God showed us that He finishes what He begins.

Micah’s prophecy did not stay ink on parchment:

It became flesh in a manger

The promise took on a heartbeat

The Word became a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes

Every prophetic detail—God completed it:

The lineage of David — Fulfilled

The virgin birth — Fulfilled

The place of birth (Bethlehem) — Fulfilled

The promise of a coming King — Fulfilled

Christmas declares:

God does not abandon His plans midway

He does not discard His purposes

What He starts, He sustains

What He designs, He brings to completion

From the first promise in Eden— “The seed of the woman shall crush the serpent’s head”— God has been moving all of history toward the birth of Christ

Christmas is heaven’s declaration:

Not one word of God ever falls to the ground

If God said it, He will do it

If God began it, He will finish it

If God promised it, He will bring it to pass—no matter how long it takes

The manger stands as visible proof of an invisible truth: God keeps His promises all the way to the end

Truth: If God kept His promise then, He will keep His promises now.

II. HE IS FAITHFUL FOREVER

Text: 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Big Idea: Every promise God has ever made finds its fulfillment and confirmation in Jesus Christ.

A. The Birth is the Confirmation

Refrence Isa. and Micah

Then work into Paul

Paul declares a foundational truth: “For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him amen.”

Jesus is the “Yes” to every promise God has ever spoken.

Every word God gave in the Old Testament

Every covenant with His people

Every prophecy given through the prophets

Every shadow, symbol, and sacrifice

All come together and find their fulfillment in Christ

Jesus is God’s signature on His own promises.

God didn’t send a message—He sent His Son

God didn’t offer a theory—He offered Himself

Jesus is the proof that God doesn’t just make promises—He keeps them

In Jesus, every spiritual promise is secured:

Promise of forgiveness → Yes

Promise of redemption → Yes

Promise of eternal life → Yes

Promise of mercy, grace, and hope → Yes and Amen

Christmas is God saying: “You can trust Me. Look at My Son.”

A. The Birth is the Confirmation

B. The Cross is the Fulfillment

The baby in the manger did not remain a baby. He came with a mission.

Christmas is the beginning of a journey that leads to Calvary.

The humility of the stable leads to the sacrifice of the cross

The swaddling cloths point forward to the grave clothes

The wooden manger foreshadows the wooden cross

God’s faithfulness at Christmas flows directly into His faithfulness at Calvary.

He promised a Savior → Jesus came

He promised redemption → Jesus died

He promised victory → Jesus rose

He promised His return → Jesus is coming again

Christmas is not just a celebration of birth; it is a revelation of purpose.

Jesus was born to save

Born to redeem

Born to restore

Born to fulfill every promise God ever made

When you see the manger, remember the cross— God finishes what He starts.

A. The Birth is the Confirmation

B. The Cross is the Fulfillment

C. The Resurrection is the Completion

God’s faithfulness does not come and go with the holidays.

Not a December-only truth

Not a “Christmas feeling”

Not a momentary act

If God was faithful then… He is faithful now.

The God who kept His promise at Bethlehem

The God who fulfilled His Word at Calvary

The God who raised Jesus from the dead

Is the same God watching over your life today

And we can be sure of this because He is risen.

The babe that was born to die is alive and well this evening.

He ever liveth to make intersession for us.

He is the Alpha and Omga, the beginning and the ending

He was faithful before the foundations of the world and He will be faithful when the world ceases to exsist.

God’s faithfulness stretches into eternity.

He was faithful in the past

He is faithful in the present

He will be faithful in the future

His faithfulness is as steady as His throne

Jesus is the living, eternal evidence of God’s faithfulness.

He is the proof that God never forgets His word

He is the guarantee that God keeps His promises

He is the assurance that God will finish what He began in us

Truth to hold onto: Jesus is the eternal “Amen” to every promise God has ever spoken.

Think of a sunrise after a long night. No matter how dark, how cold, or how endless the night felt— the sunrise is inevitable. You do not question if the sun will rise. You simply wait, knowing it will.

That is the faithfulness of God.

Christmas is the sunrise after the long night of humanity. A promise dawning in Bethlehem. Light breaking through darkness. God proving, once again, that He keeps His word.

Conclusion

As we look at the manger tonight, one truth rises above the rest:

Our God is faithful.

Faithful in prophecy. Faithful in purpose. Faithful in every promise He has ever made.

Bethlehem reminds us that God remembers His word. The cross reminds us that God completes His word. And Jesus Himself is the living “Yes and Amen” to every word God has spoken.

Christmas reveals who God is.

He is faithful… and because He is faithful, He draws near.

The God who kept His promise to send a Savior is the same God who keeps His promise to walk with His people.

The baby in the manger didn’t stay distant. He stepped into our world, into our darkness, into our need.

that is where our journey takes us next.

If Christmas reveals that God is Faithful, then next week we discover the beautiful truth that God Is Near.

The God who keeps His promises is also the God who steps into our lives.

So as we leave tonight, hold these truths in your heart: God is faithful. And because He is faithful He will Never forget you.

When prayers seem unanswered—trust His timing.

When promises feel delayed—God is not done.

When the night feels long—His sunrise is coming.

When you cannot trace His hand—trust His heart.

If God kept His promise through centuries, He will keep His promise to you.