Discovering Self-worth Through God’s Plan

TRANSCRIPT

 Now, to be honest, when I was, we were going through this playlist and, uh, that one came up next to my name, A Little Town of Bethlehem, I was like, ooh, I challenge, I can't, I don't, I didn't know it that well. It's not really one of the, probably the most well known Christmas carols when you look at it. So I don't think Mariah is going to be putting it on her new latest album.

A lot of people feel that while they are, it's a beautiful song when she hear it and get the words, but then it's not the first one that pops into your head. But, interestingly enough, that actually embodies what this song is, uh, what it represents. And so we're going to talk about that in just a little minute.

But first, I thought we might get a little bit of history and learn about the song. Okay, A Little Town of Bethlehem. It was written by a guy by the name of Phillips Brooks in 1868. That's a long time ago. My kids, they have a go at me and they say, Dad, I can't believe you were born in the 1900s. I'm like, what?

It's 1972, it's not that long ago. But they make it sound really old, 1900. 1868, that was a long time ago. Now, Brooks, he was an ex Civil War soldier in America. And obviously after the war, he just felt like he needed to get away, you would imagine. And so he jumped on a ship and he sailed to the Middle East and he toured the Holy Land.

And one place he particularly wanted to see was Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ. And you know, there was someone else who took a trip to that little town. I sound like a preschool teacher. Do you want to know who it is, boys and cats? If we read, if we read the book of Luke chapter two, famous, well known story that we read at this time, it says, so Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth to Galilee in Judea to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and the line of David.

He went there to register with Mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.

That story we hear of, we know that story well. You know, when Brooks came to Bethlehem, and when he was doing his tour, he walked those quiet streets of that little rural town, and he couldn't get over just how plain it was. Just plain and simple. It was a very sleepy, quiet little rural village almost.

It's not a city, it's a town. And it astounded him to think that one of the most documented events in human history actually took place in this little town. In his own words, he described it as, it seemed a little bit insignificant. A little bit insignificant. Like how could this big thing happen in this little place?

It didn't seem to make sense. Insignificance. And you know, I was thinking about that. I was reading about his story and his account and I was thinking, you know, that is one of the biggest struggles, I believe, A lot of us go through, we might go through at different times in our lives, you might be experiencing even now, but we have that feeling of insignificance.

Does what I do count? Does my life mean something? Is it worth doing this thing that I'm doing? Do I really matter? You know, I don't have much to offer. Maybe there's times that you've felt like that. You know, there's, there's that other person that always seems to be just that little bit better than you at the things that you do, and you're like, Ah, and it just grates on you.

Or you might get overlooked for that promotion at work, your idea never gets chosen. Or maybe you've come out of a relationship where the other person left you, and it hurts. It hurts. And you wonder if you're good enough. It's the feeling of insignificance. And when we look at the story of Bethlehem, it's And we read what Brooks wrote about, and what he experienced when he was there.

We look at that, this message, and we say, you know what? There is an answer. There is an answer. Because you know, we do have that feeling of insignificance. I've, I've felt insignificant in my life. Different times, different ways. I've felt physically insignificant. Once? I'm a Once. Just the once. Just the once.

One time that springs to mind, I should say. Alright. Probably, probably many, many times.

I'm a, I'm an electrician by trade. And I remember a few years ago I was working in Broadbeach with all the high, there's all the high rise, a lot of touristy place, tourists there. And I was working, just doing a job in a high rise. And there must've been like a basketball show or a basketball convention or a competition or something going on because I was in the elevator.

I got in the elevator with all my gear, and then, and then stopped at the floor, and these five basketball guys got into this elevator, like, they were monsters, they were like a hundred foot tall. They had to sort of bend to get into the door. And there was five of them, and they, I don't know if they delivered, but they stood right next to me.

And it was, if you look at the screens, it has a better perspective, right? Because I was a bit like Oh, hey, hey guys. I, actually I probably sounded a little bit like Pinocchio. Like, hey guys. Basketball, hey.

Now, I don't know if they deliberately did that to me, but I did. I felt very, very small and I felt insignificant, physically. I've also felt insignificantly, insignificant, intellectually as well. That's not really too hard for me. I know, I know, but it's true. You know? Once again, a few years ago, I was, uh, I was performing, uh, officiating at a wedding.

This was a private wedding, and it was, uh, some very, it was a wealthy couple. They were entrepreneurs, alright, and they, it was at their home. Beautiful palatial home, sprawling gardens and, and all their guests arrive. And they're all entrepreneur Richies as well. And they're driving up in their fancy cars and, and I've got my suit on, I got my suit and my Bible under my arm.

I'm looking very official, you know, walking around and after the, after the ceremony, we had nibblies and drinks afterwards. And so I was walking around, you know, just sort of trying to introduce myself and talk to people. But I felt very, very, very, very out of my league with these conversations, you know, groups, and they're talking about, you know, the NASDAQ and the, and the MLC and the, and the ASX.

And I'm just like, Oh, great, great, great. So I walk over to this group, poke my head in and, and there was silence. I thought, Oh, this is my chance. I'd be like, Oh, how about those knees decks and the, uh, the KFCs? Oh, I hope they're doing all right. Yeah. And they look at me like, Oh, you're an alien. So walk away.

And I felt that I didn't stay very long afterwards. I got out of there. I was like, man, I couldn't, couldn't connect and couldn't relate. The conversations were out of my, uh, over my head. I felt insignificance. I felt small, but the truth is at times, if we were honest with ourselves, a lot of us will feel that way at times, different things at work, even at home, in a relationship, you can feel like you're not quite matching up, but there is good news, right?

It's not just a. pounding session this morning. It's good news. We're going to have, there is a light at the end. I'm going to take the next few moments to talk about how God uses, God uses the seemingly insignificant things in life to accomplish the amazing. And when we talk about the little town of Bethlehem.

And we see what's come and what came out of there. We can't deny it. The Christmas story is filled with small, humble, and even overlooked moments that God transformed into history altering events. So often we find ourselves focused, you know, on the, on the grand, don't we? We focus on the powerful and the important, but God's kingdom operates very, very differently.

And I guess that's the message that I want us to take home today is that God's ways are very, very different to our ways and very different to the world's ways. He chooses to work through the unnoticed, the overlooked and the humble. Remember that word that's going to come back, the humble. And the story of Bethlehem, a small town, a humble birth, it teaches us that God's greatest works often come from the smallest beginnings.

So what's the significance of Bethlehem? Significance, in Luke 2, as we read, where Joseph and Mary went, we read about the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, the King of the universe, and he's in Bethlehem. On the surface it might seem like something very ordinary. A scene for a young couple traveling to a small town.

A child being born. There's no room in the inn because there's lots of people there. It's busy. So yet, in God's plan, it is with, it's got deep significance. There's a little deep significance in these small details. You see Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born, is described in the Old Testament as an insignificant place.

I think Meg's touched on it last week. But it was, it was, it was small. It was a small rural village in Judea and it was shadowed by the larger, well known cities like Jerusalem. Ah, yeah, Jerusalem. We've all heard of Jerusalem. But yeah, I mean, it's a bit like when the IOC announced that the 2032 Olympics was going to be in Brisbane.

Brisbane. You know, the 24 hours following that announcement. One of the most Googled questions was, Where is Brisbane? It's true. One person wrote, What is a Brisbane? But they're, they're way off.

But in the Old Testament, the prophet Micah, Meg shared this last week. He even highlights it. He says but you Bethlehem though you are small among the clans of Judah. Says it straight up. You're small You're not really well known He says out of you will come one of the most one one who will be the ruler of Israel Yeah, God can could have chosen any great city could have chosen any place for his, for his son to be born for the king of the universe.

He could have chosen the splendor of Jerusalem, the power, the religious influence, but instead he chose Bethlehem, a small humble town. Why? Because like I mentioned before, God's ways are not our ways. We must remember that. God's ways are not our ways. We have a certain way that we think. Things should be done.

And God's like, nah, I'm gonna flip that. It's completely different to what you imagine. He can do amazing things with what the world often overlooks. I mean, think about it. If God can bring the Savior of the world, the Savior of the world, into a place like Bethlehem, He can certainly use the small and seemingly insignificant details of your life.

to do something amazing. There might be an idea that you're hanging onto. There might be a challenge that you, that you're not wanting to step into.

God can bring the savior of the world to Bethlehem. He can do something with that, that thing that you've got.

You know, Jesus humble birth in a manger. It really highlights God's use of the insignificant. That word again is humble. Mary and Joseph, though they were of royal lineage, they actually came from the house of David, the King David that we read about. They weren't wealthy or they weren't powerful. They didn't even have somewhere to stay when they got to Bethlehem.

They had to go, go bunk up in a shed with animals. And that just shows the humility, the humble situation. Yeah, because the world would expect the King to be born in a palace, right? In a big fanfare and the trumpets and the whole bit and servants. But instead he came humbly. He came with humility because it's not what people expected.

God's ways are not our ways.

Yeah. There's something profound. The same way that Jesus birth was humble. So too are the ways in which God often works in our lives. He doesn't need our wealth or our fame, our status, doesn't need our influence, please, no more influence. We've had enough, the world's got enough influence. He uses the small, the broken, the humble, and the insignificant to bring glory to His name and to get His plan done.

God has got a plan, He's got a purpose.

And it all begins with small beginnings, and there is power in small beginnings. There is power. Show of hands, if I can see you around, show of hands, who here has a, uh, an Apple device of some sort? An iPhone, an iPad, a MacBook, most of us, right? Most of us. Do you know the billion dollar Apple corporation?

It started with two guys in a garage, in Los Altos in California. And look at it now, worldwide. Yeah, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem wasn't just a small event, but it had small beginnings. And it was the beginning of the greatest story ever told. Like Phillips Brooks had on his list of travel spots, he said, I must go to Bethlehem.

I must see the birthplace of Jesus Christ. There's power in small beginnings. You know, we might be tempted to measure things by outward appearance, which we do. We do. If we're honest with ourselves, we do. We try to, we measure things by, by success, by strength. But it's usually the small overlooked things that God wants to put his, his finger on and say, that's what I want to use.

I think about us talking to Tom this morning about Jesus and his disciples. Why do you think Jesus chose a ragtag bunch of disciples? It wasn't just he wanted a three year boys trip.

He chose the ones that got overlooked by society. He chose the ones, the ragtag, the, the ones that had a few rough edges and look what, look what he achieved with that and look we're here today because of it. We can't overlook that. God uses the small and the hidden and the unnoticed to accomplish his purpose, just like Jesus birth in Bethlehem.

O little town of Bethlehem, you do mean something. The key is that we need to trust God. And that's, that's where the, that's where it can get sticky sometimes. We need to trust God, because so often we can be self accomplished, can't we? We're smart. We can, we can earn money. We can do things. We can build things.

And sometimes we, we think we're, we're fine. We can get along quite easily on our own, but we need to trust God because no matter how accomplished or strong that you can be, there will be those things in your life that just that thing, that idea or that thought, or that option that you might have and you step into that, that small beginning.

And you trust that God is going to do something with it.

He can use Bethlehem. He can use us. God is working in ways that we cannot see. One of my favourite accounts in the Bible, it's in the Old Testament, the Old Covenant. And it's the story about the Valley of Dry Bones. A lot of us may have heard it. There may be some here that have never heard this before.

And we find it in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 37. But first, a back story, there's a back story, just like Australian Idol, there's a back story, okay. You got, always the winners, I don't know. So you got a bunch of Israelites, okay, the Israelites, God's chosen people, okay, and they were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, and they're taken to Babylon.

So we're thinking about Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, the three young guys that got thrown into the fiery furnace and they lived, okay, it's that, it's that group, it's those people. Now they had a priest, Ezekiel was one of their priests, their high priest, he was like their religious overseer or even like he was like a, he was a leader, he was a leader in their community.

It's a bit like, he's probably not going to like what I'm saying, it's a bit like Pastor Kev, alright? So just imagine someone comes here and kidnaps us all and takes us to another country. This, this, all of us, ah, we get marched out here, taking over the country. Of course we're gonna go, Kev, what's going on?

Kev would be like our go he'd be like our spokesperson, if you like. And so that's what Ezekiel was in this case. He was like their spoke people came to him saying, what's going on? They're held captive, they're slaves, morale is very, very low. They're thinking, this is it, this is the rest of our generation and our life is gonna be done.

And so they talk to Ezekiel and they say, Ezekiel, what's going on? Where is God in all this? Is God going to help us? What's happening? And so then of course, Ezekiel, he goes to God. He's like, well, I'll go find out. So he goes to God. That's how they did it back in those days in the, in the old covenant.

Ezekiel was the dude that talked to God. So Ezekiel went to God and he said, God, where are you? What's, what's going on? What, what's happening here? We're all captive. is something going to change. And then God gave him a vision. This is very cool. In the Old Testament, you see, God spoke in visions and gave direction through visions and dreams.

And this is one of the coolest ones. I like this one. And we pick it up in, in chapter 37 of Ezekiel starting verse one says the hand of the Lord was on me and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley.

He led me back and forth among them and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley. Bones that were very dry. And he asked me, son of man, can these bones live? I said, Sovereign Lord, you alone know the answer to that one. So then he said to me, prophesy. Prophesy to these bones and say to them, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones. I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you, and make flesh come upon you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded.

And as I was prophesying, as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together bone to bone. And I looked and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man, and say to it, This is what the sovereign Lord says.

Come, breathe from the four winds, and breathe into these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them, and they came to life, and they stood on their feet, a vast army.

Ezekiel asked God, God, are you going to help us? Can you do something? And God gave him a Hollywood movie scene. Man, oh man, could you imagine just experiencing that, just seeing that happen before you? Can these bones live? Can these bones live? Can God use you? Can God change that thing in your life? Can he change the circumstance that you're in?

Can he fix what's going on? Can he strengthen you? Can he help you get through? Can these bones live? Church, the answer is yes. Yes, they can. But you know, it's easy to be discouraged, isn't it? When you're in it, when you're in the mix, when those guys were held captive, morale was low, what's going on? They're discouraged.

It's easy to get discouraged when you focus just on the moment. When you focus on what's going on right here, and you forget to sort of look up and look beyond. What's over there? Ah, look at that. Look what God's going to do.

Our current circumstances, we look at them, we look at our current circumstances and they seem too small to matter, they seem insignificant. But God sees what we cannot, because His ways are not our ways. If we come humbly before God, humble ourselves and say, you know what, I can't do this on my own, I need your help.

Take small steps, small beginnings, and then trust that God will do it. You know, I think of David. King David we know him, the guy with the slingshot and the giant. He was just a shepherd boy when God called him to be the king. His beginnings were very small, even his own dad didn't think he was the guy.

His old, his own dad didn't believe. But God used his smallness to bring about a grand plan. When you think about the five, the little boy with his five loaves and two fish, his little lunch that he had. that fed 5, 000 people. But what did he do? He put it in God's hands first. And that's what happened. It changed.

God uses the insignificant to do the miraculous.

Yeah, as we approach Christmas, we're in Christmas, first of December, this is it. Christmas tree's up today, people.

I encourage us all, let's look at the insignificance that changed the world. Let's think about those words that Len sang that song, O little town of Bethlehem. God used a little rural town for the birthplace of his son. Let's remember the story of Jesus, the saviour of the world, the king of the universe.

So wherever you are or whatever your circumstances, I encourage you to trust God. Humble yourself, lift your hand off it. And say, you know what, I can't do this myself. I can't fix this myself. I need help. Take small steps. Make little changes as God instructs. And then trust that God's going to do something.

Trust that God will make a change. Can these bones live? Yes, they can. Can your circumstance change? Yes, it can. Can you be strong enough to get through what you're going through? Yes, you can.

Just as God used Bethlehem, O little town, God can do amazing things with you and with your circumstance. Those insignificant things that you might think God can change. But we need to trust. Let's just pray together. Father God we thank you. We thank you Lord that Lord you look beyond the world. You look beyond what we have right now.

You look beyond where we are right now, Lord, and you see the big picture. And Lord, I pray that you'll help us, help us to see just a glimpse of the big picture. Lord, when we get discouraged, when we feel low, when morale is down, Lord, I pray that you will help us to see your hand moving. I pray especially, Lord, for those of us that might be feeling low.

insignificant at this point, might be feeling like we've, we've got nothing to offer. We're just not cutting it. Lord, I just pray into, into those people right now, pray into their hearts and into their minds. Lord, and I pray that they'll see that you have a plan, Lord, that your hand is upon them. Lord, that they are great and perfect in your eyes.

And Lord, I just thank you for that. Lord we thank you for your love and for your mercy. Lord we thank you for this time, Christmas, what it means. But Lord as we've heard about people that are struggling at this time of year, Lord we pray into their lives and Lord we pray that they will realize the significance of their life and who you are for them.

And Lord I just pray that.