Micah 5:1-5 -- The Promise of Joy

Introduction to Prophesy Candle
This week we are lighting the first candle which is the Prophesy Candle.
(to download your own "Advent Guide", please click here)
Prophesy is a reminder to us of promise –and that God keeps His promises. The Old Testament is full of promises of the coming of a Savior who would one day provide salvation to all people and who would reign as an eternal and redeeming king. These promises were made hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, and the Old Testament is full of them – starting in the book of Genesis and extending through the book of Malachi. Prophesy speaks of God knowing the future, but also of Him speaking to people in the present. There is the element of foretelling – future looking as well as forth telling – speaking forth the present word of God in the moment.

As you gather around the prophesy candle this week, be reminded that He fulfilled His promise by coming once, and he will fulfill his promise by coming again, and He speaks prophetically today within the hearts of those who have an ear to hear His voice.

Like most of you, Christmas for me is a mixed bag. There are certain things that I look forward to, and there are certain things that I somewhat dread.

What I dread about Christmas
1. Having to do cards
(Just once I thought it would be fun to write a realistic Christmas newsletter. They all make life seem so perfect. When is the last time you got a newsletter that said Johnny turned 12 this year and for the first time received a D on his report card? His baseball team went 1 and 14 and he led the team in strikeouts. I was layed off from my job and our marriage is on the rocks)

2. Having to decorate
Putting up the lights without an extension ladder. Men risk their lives every Christmas getting into this festive expression. What begins as a nice touch on the front of a home quickly morphs into a neighborhood competition.

3. Tree Stands/Messes
4. Having to shop for everyone
i.e.: In search of a Nintendo DS. Black Friday at Best Buy.
5. Long drives in bad weather
Yes, hydroplaning to Oregon and back while avoiding mudslides does improve my prayer life, but it takes a toll on me. Some of you journey across the pass. There is nothing like driving in traffic at 70 MPH while snow is falling on that icy road chalk full of semis.

What I love about Christmas
Reading Christmas cards
Looking at Christmas lights
Choosing and decorating a tree
Watching the kids open their gifts
Visiting relatives and having time off

Of course the list could go on – the sound of Christmas music (worship) in the stores. Coming to EFC services. What I remember from my childhood consisted of the time from bedtime until 10 a.m. on Christmas day. These were the magical hours for me. It was like witnessing a miracle. Waking up when it was still dark, hoping it was almost morning, and tip toeing out of my room to catch a glimpse of that tree.

It is easy to get distracted by the cultural cacophony of noise - but this Christmas, it is my hope and prayer, to be able to again witness a miracle. I invite you to do the same. To once again approach the manger with a sense of wonder and awe. You know what you’ll find there, but this Christmas will have meaning and power in our lives if we will approach this story with a desire to regain that sense of wonder and awe that comes only from encountering the son of God – born in the flesh and revealing to us – the God who desires to speak prophetically to your heart and bring true joy to the surface of our lives. .

Introduction to Micah 5:1-5a
Please open you Bibles to Micah 5. Micah lived over 700 years before Jesus was born. He lived in a small town on a trade route not far from Jerusalem. He lived in a very difficult time in Israel’s history where things were going from bad to worst. As a prophet he declared a message of bad news, but the bad news that he had for his people was always juxtaposed against even better good news. Bad news with even better good news. This is a pattern that is found in Micah, but it also is a pattern that can characterize all of our lives.
Let’s begin with the bad news
1 Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod.
Micah begins with this command for Jerusalem to get their troops ready for they were about to come under siege. Their doom was coming. Their leader would be disgraced and it would be the Assyrians that were going to bring about this destruction.

There was no escaping the trouble that the future held for them. It was enough to create fear. There was real danger. Real threats. Jerusalem was going to fall. So Micah lets them know that God could see it coming. It was inevitable and it was the result of choices that they had made. So this was really bad news for them.

For many people the Christmas/Holiday season is a difficult one. There are real problems that you face during this season and it is not enough for you to wish your way into a joyful season. The holidays are difficult when you are suffering from grief or the loss of a loved one. Or the breakup of your family. Or if you struggle with an addiction. Or if your memories of these times are not so pleasant. Christmas is difficult for those who experience it alone. Psychologists get busy during this season. And if this is a difficult season for you, take heart – an imperfect world is not a sign of abandonment. Just as God knew what was happening during Micah’s day – just as He knew what was coming – both the good and the bad, remember this fact – an imperfect world is not a sign of abandonment. In fact the Christmas story is a story of difficulty, conflict and hard times in which the greatest miracle took place.

Joy can be found in your reality – no matter how difficult things might be and we see this expressed by Micah the prophet as he continued.
2. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
But something good was on the horizon. God was at work and He makes a promise here. A promise that out of this small and insignificant city – the runt of the litter (as the Message puts it), would come an eternal one. A divine hope – one who is ancient and yet appearing in the future could only be God. Bethlehem was a small town with a great history. It was the place where David had come from (and the fulfillment of the Dividic Promise was coming – see 2 Samuel 7 One of the reasons Jesus was called the son of David).
From this small, insignificant and seemingly inconsequential place would come the source of great hope as this divine ruler would be born there.

Our greatest hope comes to us from small places. Our hope is undeniably the Lord. And He shows up when we make room for Him in small ways. Sometimes we hope to see him break through in Big ways by doing big things – help me win the lottery. Help me get that promotion. But instead we find ourselves experiencing epiphany when we reach out to the needy. When we break open this book and open our heart to Him. When we gather around a simple advent candle. When you sit with a cup of coffee and a journal and begin to worship Him. When we light a candle on Christmas Eve and sing “O Come All Ye Faithful.” It’s in the small and unlikely things that we have our own Bethlehem experience. It is in the small things that breakthroughs can happen. Prophetic voices are heard. Hope dawns even in the midst of difficulty and out of that hope comes a pure joy.

What do we learn about this one that was going to be born in Bethlehem?
Let’s read on…
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be their peace.

They were in a painful season – a season of suffering. A time that was compared to labor. How many women look forward to labor? None. Husbands don’t look forward to labor either. I remember telling Heidi immediately after our daughter was born - I reassured her that she didn’t have to go through that again if she didn’t want to. One child was enough! So nobody looks forward to labor, but they look forward to what follows labor.
Micah says the labor will end and there will be a celebration of birth. A regathering of family. A return of the exiles. Labor creates necessary suffering followed by an incomparable joy. He uses this analogy to describe the circumstances that their nation was facing at that time. But his words have Messianic implications as well.

The promise of the eternal one who would be born in Bethlehem is further described here.
He would usher in an age of

Adoption – No longer abandoned
Shepherd-care (John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”)
Strength
Majesty (splendor, dignity)
Security – you’ll have a good, safe home
Greatness – the whole earth will hold Him in respect
Peace – this one will be our peace. He will be our peace. This Christmas, He will be my peace

Christmas is a reminder to us that we live in the age of prophetic fulfillment and joyful promise.
The memories of Christmas go deep – I remember where the tree stood in my childhood homes. I remember what my stocking looked like. I remember the little glass Christmas tree the lit up on top of our piano. I remember the toys that came – Lincoln logs, etch-a-sketches, Milton Bradley board games, silly putty, stretch Armstrong, plastic models, and uncomfortable sweaters. I can smell the food, feel the warmth of our fire, hear the endless playing of Christmas carols. I remember the Christmas specials on TV. I can remember the one white Christmas we had. But without Christ these memories are elusive in their ability to bring joy. It is as if they slip through my fingers as I grasp them to find meaning or happiness.
Joy will not come through shopping or parties. It will not be obtained by viewing the Nutcracker. Searching for the Magic of Christmas will elude all of us until we go to the source – the humble beginnings that were prophetically fulfilled in the small village of Bethlehem.
Therefore – because He has come our times of struggle will only be temporary. And He desires to speak today into your circumstances --

He is now our source of (We live in the reality of the fulfillment of these things)
Adoption – He binds you into His eternal family – never to be abandoned. This is your family.
Shepherd-care (John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”). Will you let Him care for you this Christmas as a Good Shepherd? Someone needs to do this. This is a prophetic word for some of you.
Strength -- Are you weak? Are you beaten down? Are you tired already? The savior comes this Christmas to infuse you with His strength. The joy of the Lord shall be your strength this Christmas.
Majesty (splendor, dignity): The magic, and wonder of Christmas that captivated our hearts as a child can be restored. Not under a tree, but at the manger.
Security – The promise that you’ll have a good, safe home – “In this world you will have trouble, but I have overcome the world.”
Greatness – the whole earth will hold Him in respect. Here in Bothell, or Ballard or wherever you call home – God can do something profound, prophetic, and great. May His greatness break through. You can be a part of history.
Peace – Be at peace.
There is a calm joy and a ceasing of our frantic pace.
Micah had a message of bad news accompanied by even better good news.
The Good News was a promise of joy through the coming of a Savior.
This Christmas I invite you to approach the manger with renewed simplicity and openness. With childlike faith and focus.
Today, remember that the promise of joy is a promise He keeps as we come to Him as our source.