So you can once again, with the help of God, I would like you to turn with me to the chapter that we read together, the Gospel according to Luke, and chapter 2, and the text you'll find in verse 15.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherd said one to another, let us now go even unto Bethlehem. and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

doubt these words and this chapter are very familiar to all of us or many of us and it is the account of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and how the angels of God descend from heaven or the angel of God descends from heaven to give a message to the shepherds who were abiding in their fields looking after their sheep and as he delivers his message unto the shepherds.

After he concludes that message, the heavenly host, there was a multitude of angels praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, a goodwill toward men.

There is one town that is very often spoken about at this time of year and it is Bethlehem. Bethlehem before really an insignificant town and yet it has been immortalized in stone in the Word of God for all eternity as the birthplace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was fulfilled, it was spoken by the prophet that the Messiah, the Christ, should be born in Bethlehem. And so this is to where Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem. This is where the angels directed the shepherds.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. And the angels knew exactly where the city of David was. The city of David was also called Bethlehem.

Bethlehem means the house of bread. It was a prosperous town, a town or a village in a prosperous area of of much grass and a place where the crops grew well, and therefore there was a great farming community there.

And so as we have seen throughout the scripture, the names derive their meanings from the surrounding area. And so Bethlehem takes its name, the house of bread, as being a very fertile area.

in the prophet of Micah, 700 years before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the prophet is moved by the Holy Spirit to prophesy regarding this town. And there he says in Micah chapter 5, But thou Bethlehem Ephrata, Bethlehem meaning the house of bread and Ephrata meaning fruitfulness and so it's like saying Bethlehem this fruitful place this bread basket unto you is going to be the ruler of Israel, but thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me, that is, to be a ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting.

So the prophet moved by the Spirit of God is directed to prophesy regarding this village Although you are the least place, although you are the bread basket, although you are a fruitful place to live, yet you're not a city, you don't have a palace, you're no dwelling place for a king, yet out of you is going to come a ruler.

A ruler for my people, Israel, he wasn't going to be any normal ruler, but a ruler who had had his going forth from the beginning. That means that he existed before he came into being. He existed prior to his birth.

And just like the Lord Jesus Christ, all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made. He existed prior to his birth. When the fullness of time came, God sent his son into the world. And so it was prophesied 700 years before it even took place that Bethlehem was the chosen place of God for God's son to be born into the world. His goings forth have been from old. from everlasting therefore will he give unto them give them up until the time that which she has travailed has brought forth the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of israel until that time was going to come

Although he had to wait for those 700 years, yet Mary and Joseph had to find themselves in Bethlehem because that is where God had prophesied. God had told his people that the Messiah, that the Christ would be born. And so Bethlehem is of great significance throughout the scripture.

Remember in the book of Ruth, Ruth and Boaz and Naomi. Naomi and her husband were originally from Bethlehem. Bethlehem was experiencing a famine so they shift themselves to Moab and there in Moab she loses her husband, she loses her sons and she returns back to Bethlehem with Ruth, her daughter-in-law. it came to pass in Ruth chapter 1 verse 1, now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land and a certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

So they were from this house of bread, this Bethlehem. But there was a famine and drove them there. But God is in complete control of this situation. Although they make decisions to flee, yet God overrules their fears and he brings about his purposes and he brings this Moabitess woman, this idol worshipper woman and brings her. And where does she come? She comes to Bethlehem.

and she gleans in the fields that surround Bethlehem, those very fields that the shepherds were abiding in their flocks by night. Ruth, years before, had gleaned in those very fields. And who owned those fields? Boaz. Boaz owned the fields that Ruth gleaned. And as we follow that account of Ruth and Boaz, we see that Boaz purchases Ruth, he redeems her from her poverty, and he brings her to be his wife, and from that relationship comes King David.

At the end of Ruth, Ruth chapter 4 verse 21 and Salman begat Boaz and Boaz begat Obed and Obed begat Jesse and Jesse begat David. Where did David live? David the shepherd boy, where did he live? Samuel is told to go to Jesse the Bethlehemite because he lived in Bethlehem. And so David, from the time of Boaz and Ruth to the time of Jesse and David, they hadn't moved out of the area. They were still there.

David abiding in the fields, taking care of the flocks as we have just sung. how he took care of the flocks and how he, in those experiences that he had, he saw the Lord's providing hand and the Lord's protection. And he saw that the Lord was his shepherd. As David was the shepherd of the sheep, he saw that over him was a greater shepherd, the Lord himself.

And so Boaz was from Bethlehem. David was from Bethlehem and both of these men are types of the Lord Jesus Christ who would be born in Bethlehem. The bread that came down to heaven came to the house of bread. Boaz, the type of the Lord Jesus Christ, his love and compassion as he bestows this love and compassion upon Ruth, the poor widow lady. Originally outside of the covenant of Israel from a pagan land, yet he comes and he redeems her. He shows love and compassion and care towards her. We see his wealth. He was a wealthy man, filled with compassion and care, and he redeems Ruth and Naomi and all that was her husband's, and he raises up a seed for her family, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What about David? David also, a type of the Lord Jesus from Bethlehem. He is a shepherd. He comes from insignificance and he comes to be the king of Israel. God says to him, I took you from looking after sheep and I made you king of Israel. And look at the Lord Jesus Christ, born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem. yet to reign as king of kings and lord of lords over the whole world. All things are placed under the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so David, a man after God's own heart, a prophet, a king, a type, a shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so as we look at this little town of Bethlehem, we're able to trace its history back. We see that great types of Christ came from this village. A wealthy Boaz, filled with love and kindness. A shepherd boy, David, insignificant, yet raised up to be a king. And then the great Lord Jesus Christ born into this village.

Mary and Joseph directed by providential circumstances to the village. They were not from the village originally. But because Joseph was of the line of David, he was to go back to those ancestral roots to be taxed. And in this we see the providential working of God in the history of the human race. that God in his infinite wisdom is able to move a ruler in the palace to make a decision to bring about the moving of his people that they will be in the specific place at the specific time so that the birth of his son would fulfil prophecy.

You think of that when the The first prophecy came regarding Christ as the seed of the woman, probably 3,000 years before Jesus was even born. Then the prophet Micah prophesies that he's going to be born in Bethlehem. Then the prophet Isaiah, around the same time, 700 years before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, says a virgin is going to be with child. And that this child He's going to be born in Bethlehem and God, in his sovereign power, ruling over all things, orchestrates all of these events so that the prophecy will be fulfilled. That the ruler makes a decision and that the decision moves Mary and Joseph at the specific time of her to deliver her baby into Bethlehem.

You see, nothing can stop God's plan. Although we look at the world at this moment in time and we see chaos, wars and rumours of wars, the Lord can bring these things to an end in a moment. He only has to alter a man's mind, to make a decision, to terminate something, to terminate or to bring peace, and it will be done. There is nothing that is too hard for God. There is nothing that is spiralling out of control in this world. God sits upon the throne.

You imagine Mary and Joseph, they're sitting at home and the news comes, you've got to move to Bethlehem. You've got to take this journey. You'd say, well, I'm heavily pregnant. I'm expecting my child at any moment. I can't take this journey. But it's a must. It had to be done, which is made willing. to go and to be obedient unto the King and in doing so the Lord is overruling all of these events because Jesus must be born in Bethlehem because not a prophecy can fall to the ground, not a prophecy can fail regarding Christ.

And even ungodly people are used to assist the Lord's people. Even this ungodly king is used by God to bring about his own purposes. The hearts of the king are in the hands of Almighty God. It should be a great comfort to us as the people of God to know that the Lord is in complete control, that God is working out his own purposes in this world. And as we hear of threatenings from Putin and Donald Trump about nuclear war and Kim Jong-un and all of those things, we can be forgetful that God is still on the throne. Christ is at the right hand of the father. All the things are under his control. He is the sovereign ruler of the skies. The hymn we sing, a sovereign protector have I, unseen yet forever at hand. What a comfort that is to God's people to realise that we do have a sovereign, a protector, unseen yet forever at hand. Working out his purposes in our lives, even when things are difficult, even when things are perplexing, to look up and to see Christ at the right hand of the Father, knowing that everything is under control.

Everything was under control for Mary and Joseph, even though it was uncomfortable and difficult, yet the Lord was bringing about his purposes in their lives, that Christ would be born in Bethlehem.

So the shepherds received this message from the angels. The world was going to change. It was a message that would bring about a change in their own lives but also in the history of the world. but the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was an event that took place in history that has altered the history of the world forever. The world was never the same again after the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. You think of how Christianity has infiltrated into many, many cultures and how the word of God has brought salvation to innumerable amounts of people. even in your own life, that as Christ entered in, as the message of the gospel penetrated into your hard heart, you realise that you're a sinner and you look to the Lord Jesus Christ, your life, your history was altered, the course which you were on was changed. It was a life-changing event at the moment that you heard the message of the gospel, the moment you were born again of the Spirit of God.

And these shepherds, they had a life-changing event. It caused them to leave those things which were important to them. Those sheep that they were watching through the night, they left them and they went to Bethlehem to see this thing which was come to pass. It was first made known to these shepherds.

Interesting. David was a shepherd. God is described as the great shepherd of Israel. Jesus Christ is described as the good shepherd. And the angels of God descended from heaven to bring a message to these shepherds.

Angels. played a very important part in the incarnation or revealing the incarnation or the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And not only did they play an important part in the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Often we shun the ministry of angels. We are scared of becoming fanciful. We are scared of being accused of worshipping created beings. Yet angels have a very prominent part in the ministry of the people of God.

angels had a very prominent part in the very difficult times in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ when he is born it was the when sorry when john the baptist is born it was the angel gabriel who sorry when the messenger came to zacharias it was the angel gabriel who met with him and told him that his he was to call his son's name john it was the angel gabriel who came to Mary and told her that she would conceive a child of the Holy Spirit. And the scripture tells us that these angels, they are created beings, they're ministering spirits by God.

And in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is the angels who were first sent to deliver the message that Christ was born in Bethlehem. Whether it was Gabriel, this first angel who came, and lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid. But it was an angel. After he had delivered his message, then there is a multitude of heavenly hosts seen praising God and the glory of the Lord was shining round about them.

Jesus says, that the angels of God stand in the presence of God. The angels are holy beings created by God to stand in his presence, to minister to his people, and they ministered to the Lord Jesus. After the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. After he was tempted those 40 days, who came? the angels. The angel came and ministered to him. How did they minister? Well, we are not told. Maybe words of comfort, words of encouragement.

When the Lord Jesus Christ is in the garden of Gethsemane, after he fell on his face and is sweating great drops of blood, being in an agony, who came to him? His friends abandoned him. but angels came and ministered unto him. Angels were dispatched from the heavenly father to minister to the needs of the son in his great agony. When the resurrection of Christ took place, he was there. Before the women, there was an angel. The angel of the Lord descended and there was a great earthquake. When he ascended up into heaven, who was there? Was the angel. This same Jesus, whom you have seen go up, will come again in the same manner. Was the angels. Who is going to come again with the Lord Jesus Christ? When he comes, he will come with his angels. The angels of God.

minister to the Lord Jesus Christ in his most deepest and difficult trials. We can't see angels. The Bible tells us, be not forgetful to entertain strangers for some have entertained angels unawares. When the angels came to Abraham, he was unable to determine whether they were angels or people. One of them was the son of God. Two of them were angels appearing as a man, in the form of a man. So the Bible tells us, we don't know who we may be ministering to. but they may be angels and we don't need to shun the ministry of angels or the doctrine of angels just because we don't understand it, just because we don't want to be seen as being fanatical or Catholic.

It is written here in scripture that angels minister to the Lord's people and they ministered to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 1, verses quite a bit there about angels, but the last part, are they all not ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Ministering spirits. It was the angel Gabriel who came to Daniel. As you have begun, as soon as you began to pray, the word came forth and I was sent There are times in our lives, in our darkest moments, or even in difficult circumstances, that the Lord may have dispatched His angels to grant you wisdom and understanding, to guide you and direct you in your lives.

But there's something far greater than angels. Simeon was a devout man and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel as the Holy Ghost was upon him. You see the Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity, he is God. He is higher than the angels and although the angels are ministering spirits sent forth, they come forth from God, yet each believer is given the Holy Spirit of God. And so that's the work that we need. That is the first work that we need. We need the work of the Holy Spirit of God to bring us into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, to reveal Jesus Christ to us.

And Simeon, he says something amazing. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. this is what the Spirit of God had revealed to him and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel he was waiting for the Messiah to come and it was the Spirit of God who revealed this to him and he believed it and he was led by the Spirit into the temple

And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, now let us now thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people alike to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. This is what he was waiting for. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ and what did he say? He said, now I can die. Now I can die in peace because my eyes have seen thy salvation.

Every single believer, once they come to view Jesus Christ, they can say that. Now let me die in peace. My eyes have seen the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that my sin has been dealt with. I know that my sin is forgiven. Now let me depart in peace. For my eyes have seen thy salvation.

I was speaking to my great auntie before she died. And she said to me, when you know, when I fell over, I was struggling to breathe. And I, I just said, Oh, Lord, Lord, please take me. Please take me. How could she say that? She could say that because of this. Oh, the precious blood of Jesus. That's what she said. Oh, the precious blood of Jesus taken away my sin. Oh, now let thy servant depart in peace for my eyes have seen thy salvation.

That's better than seeing any angels. It's to see Christ first and to rest in his salvation and then to walk with that comfort of knowing that he has set his angels over you to protect you and to care for you. Oh, to have a true revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ like this man. and to come with that testimony that Christ is enough now to depart, to be with Christ, which is far better.

And so these shepherds, they had the message delivered to them, which was, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. They were afraid, but the angel had not come to cause them to fear, but to give them a message of great joy, a message of great comfort.

How many times over this past year have you been filled with fear? How many times has something taken place in your life and you've thought, oh no, my whole life is going to come crashing down, filled with fear, paralyzed by fear. But now you look back and you realize that you had no reason to fear. You might have been afraid for a small moment, but then the Lord rushes in. and brings you great tidings, good tidings of great joy. He reveals to you the Lord Jesus Christ, that Christ Jesus is in the highest. And he came to bring peace and goodwill or kindness toward men. You see, they had this message. And they responded to that message. It had taken 3,000 years to come to completion, yet it suddenly happened. And that's like a lot of things in our lives. It was Mary, you know, expecting for nine months. And then suddenly it happens. The prophecy regarding Christ at Bethlehem, 700 years. The prophecy regarding the Virgin, 700 years. And then suddenly it all comes to completion in the Lord's time.

And sometimes we can have to wait for many, many years for something. The Lord has promised us something. And it seems like that he's delaying, but what he is doing is he's working out his purposes. He's moving all the things around until everything is in its right place. And then suddenly, suddenly it will happen in an instant. Because God's plans, they cannot fail, although he delays. yet the timing will be perfect.

And they then responded in an instant, let us now go even to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us. Where were they going to go? To Bethlehem. Why? Because Jesus was there. That's where they wanted to be. Is that where you want to be today? Do you want to be where Jesus is? then respond to the message that has been ringing and sounding in your ears.

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a saviour, which is Christ the Lord. But we don't go to Bethlehem, do we? We go to the cross. We don't go to the cross with our sin. And we take our sin to a crucified saviour. And our sin is dealt with there at the cross. But he is not there. He rose again. Where is he? He's in heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for His people. That's where you need to go. How do you get to heaven? Well, through prayer. You can commune with God who is in heaven through prayer and talk with Him. Confess your sin. Tell Him that you need a Saviour. the only Saviour, that is Christ the Lord.

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. Just like a sinner coming to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord has made known unto them where the Lord Jesus Christ is. they are drawn to him by the spirit just as simeon is drawn to the lord jesus christ by the spirit of god so the sinner is drawn to the lord jesus christ to have their sin which is so much washed away in the cleansing fountain then what do they do they glorify god they sing praises unto god and they declare they told what was made known unto them by the angels.

May the Lord add his blessing. Amen.

Let's sing together our final hymn this morning from Hymns for Worship 144.

144. Teach me thy way, O Lord, teach me thy way, thy gracious aid afford, teach me thy way, help me to walk aright, more by faith, less by sight, lead me with heavenly light, teach me thy way.

Hymns for Worship 144. Teach me thy way, O love, teach me thy way.

? Thy grace shall save the world ?
? Teach me thy way ?
? Help me to walk the right ?
? Oh, by faith bless thy sight ?
? Lead me where there be light ?
? Teach me thy word ?

When storms and fears arise, teach me thy way. When storms and fears arise, teach me thy way.

? Shine through the cloud and wind ?
? Through storm and torrent and wind ?
? Make fair my pathway plain ?
? Teach me thy way ?
? Oh, where's my light? ?
Teach me thy way.

Where my heart beguiles, teach me thy way. Until the race is won, until the job is done, until the crown is won, teach me a lesson.

Almighty God, again we do give Thee thanks for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that He was born under the law, that He lived perfectly and uprightly, and we thank Thee that He died upon the cross, that He was the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. We thank Thee, Lord, that the grave could not hold him, that he rose again on the third day and now ever lives to intercede for his people. We pray then, Lord, that thou grant us that measure of faith to lay hold of that sacrifice that our sin, which is so much, may be washed away. Do dismiss us, we pray, with thy blessing and do meet with us this evening according to thy will. And now by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, to be with us each now and for evermore. Amen.