But thou Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be the ruler in
Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting
to everlasting. We've been talking about the
trail of blood that runs all through the scriptures. We've
been looking at that for several weeks now. We've been going through
what we call here for our visitors, we call this the hymn book, spelled
H-I-M. And we've been following that
trail of blood. Since starting this tracking
of the wounded lamb, We have gotten so close that we thought
we could almost see him hanging in his own blood on the tree
of the cross. Last Sunday in the types of the
scapegoat, the Passover lamb, the two white turtle doves, the
offering of Isaac and the ram caught in the thicket, Through
eyes moist with tears of overwhelming gratitude, we saw him. We saw him through the types
and shadows. We saw him wounded and bleeding. And in our minds, we raced ahead to Golgotha and saw him with his five wounds
dying in our room and stead and place. Today from scripture, this one
that we are stalking is actually invading history in Bethlehem. Though he is from everlasting
to everlasting, He invaded history and came down to this earth. I was thinking last night in
my study, how awesome, how glorious. I had church last night. I'm
way ahead of you. I had worship and praise last
night. He was the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. You see, we can't just begin
in the book of Genesis with this trail of blood. We have to go
back. And I thought last night of the
passage in Proverbs 8 that says in verse 22, the Lord possessed
me in the beginning of His way before His works of old. I was
set up from everlasting from the beginning wherever the earth
was. When there was no depth, I was brought forth. When there
was no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were
settled, before the hills was I brought forth. While as yet
he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part
of the dust of the world, when he prepared the heavens, I was
there. When he set a compass upon the
face of the depth, when he established the clouds above, when he strengthened
the fountains of the deep, when he gave to the sea his decree
that the water should not pass his commandment, when he appointed
the foundations of the earth, then I was by him as one brought
up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always
in him, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth and my delights,
or with the sons of men. Say, what does that mean? I don't
know, but it's wonderful. It's beyond me. He is from everlasting
to everlasting. You see, that newborn child there
has worked wonders long before now. Long before the earth was
created, that infant was working wonders. You see that infant
slumbering in his mother's arms, the infant of today is the ancient
of days. He is the eternal one. You say,
well, how so, pastor? How do you come to know that
this Jesus was from everlasting to everlasting? Well, it's very
simple because the Bible tells me so. He was and went forth as our
covenant head in election. The Bible says that we were chosen
in Christ. When? Before the foundation of
the world. So there had to be a Christ before
the foundation of the world. I mean, that's pretty simple.
We were chosen in Him. He was our representative before
the throne, even before the world was begotten. It was from everlasting
that He signed the compact with His Father that He would pay
blood on the behalf of His people. You see, this is not a short-term
thing. As we track this blood trail, we find out we have to
go back way back before the foundation of the world. I heard a preacher
say several years ago, a nationally known preacher, that God had
to change his plan after Adam and Eve messed up in the garden.
My friend, that's just not so. God has not changed his plan.
This is an everlasting one. From everlasting, he has had
his affections set upon me. Do you ever think about that?
Let me tell you this. Just think about this child of
God. There has not ever been a time when he did not love you.
Are you grateful? Somebody said, well, I don't
like that doctrine. Well, I say, hallelujah. I say hallelujah
to that doctrine. He has been so long in saving
me, from everlasting saving me. You think he'll lose you now
because you mess up? That's impossible. I wrote here in my notes, oh,
I am over my head. That's what I put, I am over
my, only I did it like this, I'm over my head. And I said, some of them are
gonna say, he's not on the blood trail. I'm on the blood trail,
but it didn't begin with Genesis. You've got to go back before
God killed those innocent animals, before He said that the seed
of the woman will crush the serpent's head. You've got to go way back
before that, before He flung the Milky Way into heavens, before
the first dew fell to the desert. You've got to go back, way, way
back. Here's what he says to his children.
Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love and in tender
kindness have I drawn you to myself. It was no accident that
you were drawn to Christ. Oh, I'm preaching now. I'm preaching
now. I love it when I preach like
this. I just like it. I love to hear it over and over
and over. It's amazing grace. How sweet
the sound that saved a wretch like me. Yeah, I'm still on the
blood trail, but you have to go back. And I want to tell some
of you, some of you in our conversations, you're so confused about yourself. I want, I want to tell you something.
He's known all along about all your faults. In case some of you are thinking,
well, he'll get tired of me. He'll get weary of me. He's been,
you know, putting up with me. He doesn't put up with you. He
loves you and is saving you. He knew me long before I knew
myself. In fact, he loved me before I
was myself. I'm over my head again, you see.
You don't understand that, do you? Well, in all of your confusion
in life, when you're depressed, when you're up, when you're down,
when you've got all kinds of questions about what's going
on, just remember this, there is a blood trail. He has loved
you with an everlasting love and in tender kindness before
he formed you in your mother's belly, he knew you. Before all those parts were put
together in your mother's belly, he loved you. Isn't that something? Long before my members were fashioned,
the scripture says, my name was written in his book. And you know, some of you probably
don't know this, but you know, he showed up in the Old Testament
on several occasions. He was the angel of the covenant.
He was at the burning bush in the Old Testament. He spoke to
Abraham and to Jacob and to Joshua. But one of my great stories that
I love so well is when they threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
in the fiery furnace. I love that story. I've loved
that since Sunday school. because they wouldn't bow and
they wouldn't bend. And of course they wouldn't burn.
And the king said, heat up that furnace, you know, seven times
hotter than it's ever been. And he threw those boys in there.
And then they opened the furnace door and behold, there was a
fourth man in the fiery furnace. Oh, he'll go in the fiery furnace
with you. Just remember this down through life. There's another
one with you. He's promised never to leave
you nor forsake you. He knows all about you. He gives
unto us eternal life. A blood trail that began way
back. This is what the scripture refers
to as so great salvation. You know, some people say they
got saved, but they get over it so fast. You haven't got over
it, have you? I mean, are you sitting there
today kind of thinking along these lines? Is what that preacher
said true? That he's always loved me. He
knew me in the crack house. He saw me when I was shooting
up. He saw me when I was living a life of lasciviousness. When
I was in the hood and hadn't got to the neighborhood yet,
he was on my trail. When I was down in Lodi Bar and
life sucked, And I felt like taking a gun to my head. He was
there with me all the way along. He had a plan for me and a purpose. All of you who are saved by the
grace of God need to get this deep down in your soul. All things
work together for good to them that love the Lord, to them who
are called according to his purpose. There is no reason for you not
to shout. There is no reason for you not
to raise your hand. There is no reason for you not
to say hallelujah, because he who hath begun a good work in
you will perform it. He's gonna take you all the way.
He's gonna take you all the way. Back on the blood trail. What a mystery. This mysterious
providence of God. I'm gonna let you go home with
something really simple that, you know, I just hadn't thought
about it, but it's so mysteriously wonderful, the providence of
God that brought Mary to Bethlehem. Bethlehem of all places. That's
why I said to you earlier today, you know, God might take this
bunch of us right here. I believe the rest of my ministry
is going to be packed, jammed full of seeing awakening and
people saved and revival in this church growing and people being
immersed and becoming disciples and people start to give back,
people helping people. And it just, it's just an awesome
thing. I believe that's going to happen.
Do you ever think about this? At
the time when Mary was to be delivered of child, they were
living in Nazareth. Why would they want to travel
at that time? Why would they travel at that
time? There's not a woman in this building
that would be getting on a donkey and riding from Nazareth to Bethlehem
if you were nine months pregnant. I'm going to take a little ride
to Bethlehem because I got to pay my taxes. This is what the
Lord showed me last night. That's insane. That is, I could see Mary on
the donkey with child about to give birth. You see, Caesar Augustus
had issued a decree that they were to be taxed. And I thought
to myself, why didn't he let them pay tax in Nazareth? But
you see, they had to go to Bethlehem. You know why? Because Micah says
that he's going to be born in Bethlehem. And whatever the Old
Testament says concerning him prophetically is going to come
to pass. When you get on the blood trail,
you find out that this whole thing was plotted and planned
and schemed before there was a world. And watch God's providence. Watch God. God, listen, this
Jesus Christ, let me just tell you that He's here today. He's an active Savior. Jesus
is waiting on you. If Jesus were waiting on you,
you'd still be in the crack house. You ain't coming out of there
unless he goes in and gets you. Amen. He came to seek and to
save that which was lost. He's an active savior. He's speaking
to someone here today. Someone here today. Why did he think of the tax at
this particular time? Why did Caesar Augustus think
of the tax at this particular time? Let's just say Christ was
born in December. I doubt it. I mean, this holiday has a lot
of mess to it. But anyway, let's just say Christ
was probably born in the spring. I don't know. What do you think,
Pastor? And he agrees. So where two or three agree,
that makes it so. He was probably born in the spring. But let's just say, let's say
it was December. You know, to do this tax, why
not do it in October? I mean, do you ever ask questions
when you read the Bible? Why did that happen like that? And why did it happen right there?
because it was the plan of God. Boy, it's such a comfort to me
when ISIL's gone crazy. We have crazy people in Washington
trying to, I don't know what they're trying to do up there.
They don't know what they're trying to do up there. I'm glad they're
one that holds the range to this universe. And I was thinking
about this too last night. You know what? I'm really not
afraid. I thought, what's the worst thing
that could, you know, somebody could do to me? Well, you might
say, well, they could shoot you. Well, absent from the body, present
with the Lord. I mean, there's not much you can do to
me because I win. And it's because of this God
and how He plans and purposes. Say, oh pastor, you know, and
I know, I know some of you, some of you, you love me and you love
to come to church here. And I know you love, and I don't
mean this in a negative way, but I so believe in absolute
predestination. I just believe in absolute. You
can't tell me that Caesar did all that by accident. God predetermined
that to happen. And it happened right on time. Why are you looking at me that
way? It's not a nasty word. You ought to be, yes, yes. He's a predestinating, planning,
purposing God and brings to pass his plan. Think about where you'd
be. Say, well, you know, I, I just
have a problem with the, you know, get over yourself. This is glorious. We shouldn't be fighting over
this. You watch this blood trail. And I'll tell you this, till
the day I die, I'm gonna be somewhere where I can hear this message
about this God. You know, I was interviewed for,
I don't know, 45 minutes this week by Art Vann. And they're
going to send this video out to all of their employees across
the country. The theme was, have a little
faith. Now, I thought that was very
strange that Art Vann would, you know, do a film for their
employees. You won't see it on TV. It's
going to be for their staff, Have a Little Faith, but it's
gonna go to all of their stores. And they were intervening me
about Have a Little Faith, Have a Little Faith. They asked me,
when you think about faith, what's the first thing you think of?
And I said, faith in who? Faith in what? Faith in a Catholic church, Methodist
church, Presbyterian church. Faith in the power of positive
thinking. Faith in what? So I got to answer the question.
Faith in what? A mighty God. That's what I said
on tape. I said a God who has a purpose. That's the God I'm trusting.
A God who has a plan. I hope that ups the employees
at Art Van. I hope it gets them excited.
They said, what do you like to do, Pastor? What is it that you
like to do every day? Here's one thing I said, smile.
You know why I like to smile? Because it's well with my soul.
Because I'm in his hands. Because he controls my life.
And I'm glad he's a God who does that. He's promised never to
leave me nor forsake me. Bethlehem, that's the place. That's the place. That's where
the trail leads to. So when you're reading the Old
Testament, and I've been telling you this, when you read the Old
Testament, when you read your Bible, look for Him. Search the
scriptures, Jesus said to the Pharisees. In them you think
you have eternal life, but you don't, because you don't see
me in the scriptures. And he said this to those religious
Pharisees, Moses talked about me. When you read Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and so forth, look for him. He's
there. There's a blood trail that runs
all through there. And you're going to find out
too, just I'm repeating myself, I know, but you're going to find
out too, this plan was way back before he ever said, let there
be light. You glad you have that kind of God? You know, I was
really down about ISIL and, you know, what's going on in Washington
and, you know, what may happen. And then I thought, don't be
down. Maybe you've come to the kingdom for such an hour as this.
You know, we're always talking about what needs to be done,
what people need to do. And sometimes the Lord says,
well, why aren't you doing it? You can make a difference. And
that's kind of what I believe is going to happen here. I believe
we may be set up for this little church in this city, a bunch
of nobodies that God's going to turn it around. I was talking
to the congressman yesterday, and I said, I don't want you
to be down, and I want to encourage you. And he said to me, I thought
something that just really was so wonderful. He said, every
once in a while, I see a little light. He also told me Washington has
no morals. People that come before his committee
and other committees, they send people up there that don't know
the answers to the questions they ask because they won't wanna
tell the truth with regard to the answer. So there's a mess
going on up there. You better hope you have a big
God and I believe we do. And I believe that revival could
really come out of this. One thing we have done here for
sure is we're back to this blood trail. We're back to, we're preaching
Him. We're exalting Him. We're lifting
Him up. Listen, you talk about signs
and wonders, they're happening right here. I love to tell the stories that
happen here. And I had 20 of the congressman's
staff with me yesterday, followed Miranda and I through that building
and spent four or five hours with us where I got to tell of
the miracles of almighty God and of his wonder. Paul, thank
you so much, buddy. And you're my friend and I love
you. Thank you so much. Thank you, buddy. All right.
Okay, you know what? There's a perfect example of
why Grace Centers is here and Grace Gospels here. That right
there. You know what? Most of you know there's a situation
there. I love that guy and he loves me. A little bit of a problem
and we'll handle that. You know what? Thank God there's
people who love people. We're okay. We're going to worship
God and thank God and praise God. Now, I want to say this
to you. I want to say this to you and
then we will go. Dear lost sinner, dear person
here without Christ, dear drug addict, dear religious person, Jesus will come to your little
Bethlehem where you are. Maybe you're thinking, you know,
I'm so insignificant. So was Bethlehem. The Savior
was born there. You know, the Lord saves the
most unlikely people. And maybe some of you are here
going like this, was I predestinated? I'll guarantee if you're asking
that question, you were. If you're asking that kind of
question, Was I, was it for me that he died? Was it for me?
I mean, it couldn't be for me. Oh, I'm sure it was for you because
you wouldn't even be saying that. You know, the people that Christ
came to save were lost people. If you're lost, he came to say,
you qualify. If you're a sinner, you qualify. I can say this, that he will
save every lost person. Problem is, many people are doing
fine. I'm better than most people.
You know, I, pastor, I've never used heroin in my life. Oh, I've
got drunk a few times. You know what I mean? Christ
came to save sinners. And I guarantee you, if you're
here thinking, maybe you're sitting way back there in the back, and
you're some hairy-chested guy who has used and messed up your
life, and now you have been humbled by heroin or crack or life has
kicked you around. Maybe you're here and you're
just totally depressed and, you know, are at a point where you
don't wanna live. Maybe you're having suicidal
thoughts. But you know you are a sinner and wretched. Only God
could reveal that to you. The Spirit and the bride say,
come, let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will. Do you have a will to come to
Christ? Do you have a desire to come to Christ? Let me tell
you, if you do, you got that will from Him. Because Jesus
said, you will not come to me that you might have life. So
if you have the will to come, you have the desire to come,
and you know you are a sinner, it was for you, he came to Bethlehem. This blood trail is for you. You know, I've been, God revealed
Christ to me at eight years old. Today, last night, in my study,
by myself, as I get on this blood trail, I'm like a, it's almost
like being saved again. You can only get saved once.
I mean, born again once by the Spirit of God. When He quickens
you, you're quickened. You know what I'm talking about. You know, honestly, This morning,
I know you're looking at me a little different and wondering what
I've drank or what I've, maybe what I've taken this morning.
I've taken the gospel again and it's fresh and new and freshing. And I'm excited about a God who
has come to earth and that it's foretold in the scripture and
it gets plainer and clearer to me every single day. and that I'm loved and I'm heaven
bound. We're gonna find out as we stay on this blood trail,
there's lots of things that are gonna happen. We're gonna find
out in the Old Testament, it tells about parting his clothes
and gambling for his clothes like the soldiers did. We're
going to find all kinds of things happen. We're going to end up
at Calvary here soon as we keep going on Sunday mornings on this
blood trail. We're going to go to the place
where they buried him. And then we're going to find
out he is not here. He is risen. We're going to go
there. And then before we get through,
we're going to go to heaven and find out we got a lawyer because
we all need one, because we're so messed up every day. We need
a lawyer, we have a Satan who accuses us, not just simply accuses,
he's got the goods on us. A lot of times what he tells
God, we did, we did. We thought. Say amen a little
louder. Okay. Right, he's got the goods
on us. But the blood of Christ takes
care of that. We've got a mediator. And here's
the best part. Here's the best part. He's coming
back again. He's coming back again. It's
going to be a great day over there. It's gonna be a great,
great day. What an awesome day that will
be when my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon his face, the
one who saved me by his grace. What a day, what a glorious day
that will be. No more troubles, no more trials,
no more sickness, no more death, no more pain, no more tears. What an awesome thing it is to
be a Christian. What an awesome thing it is to
have a Bible and to be able to read it and see the love of God. What an awesome thing John 3.16
is. You know, John 3.16 gets sweeter.
I used to think as a young preacher, I had outgrown that. For God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Unto us
a child is born. Unto us a son is given. That's awesome. That's glorious. That's wonderful.
Let's stand and sing. I want to invite you to come
to Christ just as you are without one plea, but that His blood
was shed for you. Come, trust Him, believe on Him.