Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morses for Zion's Poor. During this season, the
little town of Bethlehem takes on a special significance to
many who otherwise have little or no consideration of it. It
is the place of myth and legend to many of those who revel in
all the worldly celebrations which supposedly center on the
birth of the Christ child. The history of this city is quite
interesting. It is first mentioned in the
scriptures as the burial place of Rachel, who was Jacob's wife. It is also one and the same with
Zion, a fortified position on the outskirts of Jerusalem in
which David established his habitation when he took Jerusalem from the
Jebusites. We read in 2 Samuel 5, 7 that
this stronghold was also called the City of David. This City
of David is also identified as Bethlehem. when the angels appeared
unto the shepherds, saying, For unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Micah
had prophesied this event seven hundred years before it occurred,
when he wrote, But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come
forth unto me, that is, to be ruler in Israel, whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting. The glory and
significance of what happened in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago
is not that a baby was born and laid in a manger, but rather
the fact that the one who was born there is the eternal God,
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting,
as Micah said. Many are enamored of this little
baby Jesus boy, which we see depicted in manger scenes around
the globe. A little baby is quite harmless,
and multitudes pay lip service to worshipping him, who otherwise
turn a deaf ear unto his teaching, and despise the place of his
utter and absolute rule as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Isaiah wrote, Thus saith the
Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a
tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. David also
wrote the word of God in the Psalms, saying, Yet have I set
my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Out of Zion, the perfection
of beauty, God hath shined. This stone which the father laid
in Zion is indeed that one which is the headstone of the corner,
which the earth's inhabitants, who are enamored with their own
religion, rejected. Men love their own celebrations,
and we are supposed to believe that multitudes join hand in
hand to worship the birth of Christ, who completely disregard
the only event of his life which he commanded his children to
remember, which is his death. The nature and essence of Zion
is a spiritual kingdom, which cannot be inherited by flesh
and blood. The only way for a man to be
included in this kingdom is to be born there, by that birth
which the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus about, when he said, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. 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. It goes
without saying that 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. Those who are born
again confess that their rebirth was as John described it, which
were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God. But true worship of the living
Christ can only occur as a man is given eyes to see the true
glory of Christ. 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 gives men life? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, Email us at 4to4 at windstream.net. That's
4to4 at W-I-N-D-S-T-R-E-A-N dot net.