BETHLEHEM
Part 2
Micah 5:2
I. The Coming Forth is a Going Forth
“…out of thee shall He come forth…
whose goings forth have been from of old…”
A. Jesus’ Birth was an Active Decision on His Part
B. The Birth in Bethlehem was not the first “Going Forth”
1. The Angel of the Lord and Hagar Genesis 16:10
2. The Angel of the Lord and Jacob Genesis 32:28, 30
3. The Angel of the Lord and Samson’s Parents Judges 13:18, 22
II. In Bethlehem Eternity becomes a Permanent Part of History
“…whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
A. He Comes Forth to Impact History
1. He Changes History Forever
2. He Dominates History
1 I met a Traveler from an antique land,
2 Who said, “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
3 Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
4 Half sunk, a shattered visage lies…
9 And on the pedestal these words appear:
10 My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings.
11 Look on my works ye Mighty, and despair!”
12 No thing beside remains. Round the decay
13 Of that Colossal Wreck, boundless and bare,
14 The lone and level sands stretch far away.
--Percy Bysshe Shelley
(1792-1822)
3. He Himself is Not Changed by History
III. Implications and Applications
A. God Does Not Reside in the Sphere of Human Possibility
1. God is Triune
2. God the Second Person is Virgin Born
3. Jesus of Nazareth is One Person with Two Natures:
Human and Divine
B. Christ Exhibits in Perfect Combination
the Attributes of Humility and Deity
1. Jonathan Edwards’ Insight from Revelation 5:5-6
“the admirable conjunction of diverse excellences”
2. The Implications of Matthew 11:29
C. Christ Comes from the Outside of History
to the Inside of History
Christ Comes from the Outside of our Hearts
to the Inside of our Hearts
1. He Comes to Give a New Perspective on Eternity
Romans 8:28-30
2. He Comes to Be our King
“…out of thee shall He come forth unto Me
that is to be a Ruler…”