Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. This city of David, or the stronghold
of Zion, is also called Bethlehem, which means house of bread, where
we read that David, when but a lad, fed his father's sheep.
Of course, the most notable event that occurred in Bethlehem is
found in Luke's Gospel. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Zion
is a symbol and type of the Kingdom of God, which has its manifestation
in the Church of God, and we find it prominently used in this
fashion throughout the Word of God. Yet have I set my king upon
my holy hill of Zion. Beautiful for situation, the
joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
the city of the great king. Out of Zion the perfection of
beauty God hath shined. For the Lord hath chosen Zion,
he hath desired it for his habitation. But ye are come unto Mount Zion,
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church
of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge
of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. While
the manifestation of Zion in the earth is the church which
Christ came to establish, the nature and essence of Zion is
a spiritual kingdom which cannot be inherited by flesh and blood.
The inhabitants of Zion are not in any wise able to see or understand
their inheritance apart from a birth into that kingdom, even
as a man cannot know the place of his natural nativity apart
from being physically and naturally born and raised there. Someone
has said that most men spend the first half of their life
trying to get away from the place they were born and raised and
the last half trying to get back to it. There are many cliches
which are thus appropriate. There's no place like home. Home
is where the heart is. Home, sweet home, just to name
a few. That men have a link to the place of their nativity goes
without saying. This is especially illustrated
for us as we consider that each of those who has an inheritance
in the kingdom of God must also have their birth there. It is
impossible for a man to claim natural citizenship in a land
in which he had no natural birth, and in the same fashion it is
impossible that a man should consider himself to be a part
of this spiritual kingdom who has not been born there. This
is exactly what the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus. Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. Apart from a spiritual birth,
which is from above, a man has no reason to hope in his inclusion
in this kingdom, which is not of this world, nor which can
be seen by the natural eye. A man cannot choose the place
or time of his natural birth. Neither can a man choose to be
born into this spiritual kingdom, nor does he have any power or
influence as to if or when it may occur. But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. Notice that their belief is a result of their birth, and
not vice versa. One of the gravest of errors
that is found in modern so-called gospel preaching is the declaration
that natural men can choose to become heirs of a heavenly kingdom
by a simple exercise of their free will. It would be easier
for a man to reenter his mother's womb and be reborn in a natural
birth than it would be for a profane and sinful man to become a spiritual
man by choosing to do so. The natural man despises the
truth of God and will not seek Him, nor can he in any wise receive
spiritual knowledge by his own effort, nor can mortal flesh
be made spiritual. The psalmist said, The Lord shall
count, when He righteth up the people, that this man was born
there. We might paraphrase that to read,
When the Lord appears to number His own and receive His purchased
possession, He will recognize those whose names He has written
in the Lamb's Book of Life as those who were born into that
kingdom by the power of His Spirit. They are not strangers to him,
since he has loved them from before the foundation of the
world, and they are inheritors of that which he has prepared
for them as those born out of due time. This is the same kingdom
which the Lord Jesus Christ was born into, though he was the
possessor of it from eternity. His children have a possession
in it because they have been hidden in him from the beginning,
and they share in his birthright as heirs and joint-heirs with
Christ. according to the riches of His grace. Upon what, dear
friend, does your hope rest? Is it upon the sinking sand of
your own free will, or upon the power of Him who raises dead
sinners to life? Jesus Christ is the hope of all
who are born again by His power. What is your hope? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.