The Book of Micah, chapter number five. I'd like to read verse one through to verse number six. Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops. Siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore He shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth. Then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men. They shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances, and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border. Lord God, we come to you, thanking you that Jesus Christ, the Lord has risen, ascended into heaven. We ask, oh Lord Jesus, king and savior, that You would come to us by Your word and spirit now, that we might behold You, Christ the Lord, and worship You as they did of old. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. On Sunday we considered Micah chapter number five, verse number two, and we learned that the hope of God's people would come from an unlikely place called Bethlehem Ephrathah. And we learned that this was speaking to us of the mind and kingdom of God, that God blesses the humble and He blesses the lowly. And from places most unexpected amongst the children of men come great fulfillment of God's good promises and His grace. And this is true of God's gospel. And we see therefore that we ought to be a people that are humble, so that we might know God's grace in our lives and be used of God in blessing others with His truth. But I'd like to continue through this passage this morning and answer the question though, "What child is this?" We sing the song, and we'll sing later on, "What child is this who, laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping?" And you reply, perhaps immediately, in your own mind, "This is Jesus." We know that this is Jesus. Well, we want to ask the question, "Who is this Jesus?" You see, at Christmas time, many will give lip service to Jesus, but we must ask ourselves further questions about who this Jesus really is. The name of Jesus is born upon the lips of many this day. But who is this Jesus of the Scripture? Who is the Jesus prophesied of in this passage? Who is this one? What is His work? We've got to be careful when we use names unless we have definition and understanding of who we're referring to. You perhaps know many a Joshua, but I hope you are able to distinguish me from another because of some particular traits that I might have or because of some ways in which you might know me. And so it is with Jesus. Just using the name is not sufficient. We must ask, "Who is this Jesus? Who is the Jesus of the Bible? Who is the Jesus that I say that I have come to worship and to adore?" What child is this? Well, we can learn some distinguishing marks about this child Jesus as we look at this prophecy of Micah. In Micah chapter number five verse two, it says, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient of days." And Micah introduces us to this babe born in Bethlehem as one who is God's everlasting ruler, God's everlasting king. The words "from of old" or "from ancient of days" could be better translated like this: His goings forth are from long ago, from days, the days of eternity. So when we think of ancient of days, we're not just thinking of the fact that He's old. The idea is that He goes back from all eternity. This is God's everlasting ruler. Jesus Christ, the Lord, is indeed the infinite God who descended to become as finite man. He is the everlasting God. He was time-bound in this sense, that He was born of the Virgin Mary. He was born, He lived, He died, and He was raised to the Father's right hand. But this Jesus that Micah tells us of is a Jesus who is the Son of God, who is from of old and from everlasting. He is the Melchizedek that appeared to Abraham there many years ago. And that's why Jesus could say, "Before Abraham was, I am." He is that king of peace, that king of righteousness, the one whom Paul says in Colossians chapter one, that by Him all things were created, and He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. This is Jesus who is God before time. This Jesus of Bethlehem is the eternal Son of God, one with the Father, proceeding from the Father. Therefore, as the Nicene Creed so eloquently puts it, He is the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, the same essence as the Father. His origins are from old, from everlasting. Therefore, the name Immanuel is fitting for Him because His name will be called Immanuel, which means God with us. He is God's everlasting ruler. The everlasting one is to be in this passage ruler in Israel. Who is this child? What child is this who lays to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping? Well we sing, "This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring Him laud or praise, the babe, the son of Mary." This one who is from everlasting is Christ the King. He was born to be ruler in Israel. His going forth is from everlasting. He is begotten of the Father from all eternity, but He is coming forth into the world through the virgin's womb, and He is none other than King and Lord and God. Jesus is not just a babe in a manger. He's more than a babe in a manger. It's important for us to realize that the scenes that occupy the account of the birth of Jesus Christ are only a small proportion of the testimony of the life of Jesus Christ. Because forevermore, our minds are not to be thinking of Him merely as a babe born in Bethlehem. He is born as Christ the King. The babe in Bethlehem is to us an indication of the fact that He became a man and was made like unto us, to teach us of the greatness of His condescension, to teach us of the fact that He was like unto us so that He might save us. But we must always remember that He who was born in Bethlehem was born king. His would be a reign and dominion that would last forever and ever. He is Lord, He's master, He's Christ the King. The incarnation of God depicts the condescension of God, but do not be mistaken between the condescension of God and thinking that it's the dethroning of God. The condescension of God is not the dethroning of God. God manifest in the flesh did not mean God ceased to be king. In fact, the testimony of the wise men proves that they had a good dose of wisdom because they said these words, "Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?" "Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?" Born a king, as we sing, on Bethlehem's plain. Born a king. "We three kings of Orient are; Born a king on Bethlehem's plain. Gold I bring to crown Him again, King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign." You see, the prophets prophesied of one who would be born a king. And so when we think of this babe in Bethlehem, we are thinking of Christ the King. But what will His reign be like? In verse number four of this passage tells us a little bit of what this of His reign will be like. So this is who He is, God's everlasting ruler. But what shall He do? How shall He rule? Says in verse number four, "And He shall stand as shepherd and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God, and they shall dwell secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth, and He shall be their peace." What will the reign of Christ the King be like? It's described in terms of a shepherd's work. The cross-reference of this passage to Matthew chapter 2 verse number 6 says, "And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel." This king will rule in such a way that could be described as a shepherding rule. He is Christ the King who will rule as a shepherd over His people. And what does a shepherd do in the way that it governs the flock? Well, there are two things in this passage that reveal to us the kind of reign Christ has over His people. And that is that the shepherd gathers and the shepherd provides. In this verse of on this passage of scripture we've been looking at in Micah, Jesus Christ, the Lord, gathers His sheep. Look at what it says in verse number four, "And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, and in the name of the Lord, and they shall dwell secure, for He shall be great to the ends of the earth, and He shall be their peace." Now if you look at verse number three, the end part of that, it says this, "The rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel." Israel will give birth to a Messiah through much tribulation and through much suffering. Set apart for the judgment of God due to their rebellion, yet, God's promise of a savior that would come from Israel, from Bethlehem, would be fulfilled in that day in which Mary brought forth a child. And that child was none other than that everlasting King who is Christ the Lord, the shepherd. And it says in verse number three that when He is given when she has given birth, the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. You see what's happening here? The birth of Jesus Christ will result in a gathering up of the people of God. It will result in a return of God's people. And here what we have is the remnant believing Israel who were gathered by this shepherd king. And you see this beautifully in the gospels, don't you? This babe born in Bethlehem calls out 12 Jewish disciples for Himself. He lives and rules and reigns, and as a shepherd, He gathers the believing remnant of the children of Israel to Himself. The 12 become 120 in the upper room. The 120 in the upper room become the 3,000 on the day of Pentecost. The 3,000 on the day of Pentecost become 5,000 plus in the following chapters. And you see the fact that He, this shepherd ruler, is gathering His brothers together. But the most glorious thing about this reality and about this blessed truth is that the expansion of His brethren goes towards the ends of the earth. You see, He shall be great, as the passage says, to all the ends of the earth. And as you read in the book of Hebrews chapter number two, he says that He is not ashamed to call us brothers. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers, all that He has sanctified, all that He has gathered together and and and redeemed and saved by His precious blood. This Jesus gathers us together as a great shepherd, and we as His brothers are one with Him who has redeemed us through His blood. The blessedness of this great return, the idea of return has this idea of conversion, this turning back. Those that are part of this gathering work are those that are converted, those that are brought back to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this great shepherd, Jesus, stands and He gathers His brethren together from the remnant of Israel and gathers together the Gentiles to be His brethren also as the people of God. And this great rule of this savior goes to the ends of the earth. The great expansion of his kingdom and reigning work through the proclamation of the gospel and the salvation of sinners, so that brought into His fold are both Jew and Gentile alike. Do you see the parallels in John chapter 10 verse 15 and 16? Jesus says these words, "Just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep have I which are not of this fold." The Gentiles. "Them I must bring also, and they will listen to my voice, so that there will be one flock and there will be one shepherd." Christ the King, the shepherd ruler of Israel, will gather together His people of Israel and the fold which includes us, the Gentiles, and we shall be one people of God under this great shepherd. In John chapter 11 verse 52, it says Jesus would die for the nation, but not for the nation only, but also to gather, that's the shepherding work, into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. What blessed truth, the death of Jesus Christ opens up the gates and says, "Come in, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And all who come to Him shall find rest, all who believe on Him and and follow the call of His gospel and hear His voice, they shall be gathered together and have Christ as their shepherd ruler. And not only does this shepherd gather the rest of his brothers that return to the people of God, but beyond this, this shepherd provides. Verse number four and five says this, "And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God, and they shall dwell secure. For now, He shall be great to the ends of the earth, and He shall be their peace." What an amazing provision of safety and security and peace that this shepherd provides for the people that he gathers together in his fold. We are safe in the arms of Jesus. And they shall dwell secure. No more shall the people of God be threatened by their enemies. Their shepherd is one who is ruler, who triumphs over their enemies, and not just for time like the the kings of Israel of old, but for all eternity because He is God's everlasting ruler. So His shepherding work will last as long as He lives, and He lives forevermore. And so this great king, Christ the Lord, shepherd, gathers us all together in one flock under His rule and He triumphs over his our enemies so that we might know peace and have peace. His flock is secure in Him. And as Romans chapter 8 verse 31 says, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" If God be for us, who can be against us? And then Paul goes on to list all the things that threaten us: tribulation and distress and persecution and famine and peril and nakedness and sword, and and and for for His sake we are like sheep to the slaughter, killed all the day long. A sense of insecurity, a sense of a lack of safety. But no, no. The promise is secure. If God be for us, who can be against us? And he goes on to say, "Who can separate us from the love of God, from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, no, distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No. But in all these things, we are more than conquerors." But it doesn't end there. We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Our enemies are triumphed over because of Him who loved us. Because we have a shepherd who protects the flock, who stands and shepherds in the strength of the Lord, and by his death He has destroyed death. And by His life, He has broken the chains of sin. And by the power of His ascension, He intercedes forever for us and keeps us secure before God, our holy God. We shall dwell secure because we have a great shepherd. And Jesus said, "I am the door. By me, if any man enters in, he shall be saved." And not only shall he be saved, but it says in this passage also, that he will go in and out and find pasture. That's what it looks like for a sheep to dwell secure. They're feeding on the blessed grassland provided for them by their shepherd. And so this is the promise of the shepherd. He says, "The thief only comes to steal, to kill, and destroy." That's the enemy of the sheep. But Jesus triumphs over the enemy of the sheep. He says, "But I have come that they might have life and they might have it more abundantly." A life that the enemy cannot overcome, eternal life, everlasting life. They may kill the body, but they cannot destroy the soul. Our shepherd provides for our peace and for our protection. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand." What security that is. "My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." There's that everlasting ruler who keeps His sheep safe in His hand so that we might dwell secure in the face of our enemies. Not only does he provide for their protection, but he provides peace for them. And so it goes on to say in Micah chapter number 5 verse 4 and 5, "He shall be their peace." Now let us not misunderstand this. It is not merely that He shall give us peace, but we must comprehend the blessedness of what this word say, He shall be our peace. They will have peace because they are one with their shepherd. They will have peace because of their relationship to that shepherd. They will have peace because that shepherd rules over them and reigns over them and is the shepherd of their peace. There is no peace apart from the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ the Lord. And the passage of scripture teaches us that He shall be our peace. Therefore, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because we've been justified by faith. How is a man justified by faith? Because of the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us. Because our shepherd bore our sins in His own body, and He laid down His life for the sheep. That is why you and I can stand redeemed and justified and declared righteous before the sight of God this morning, because we have a shepherd that stands and shepherds his flock. One who is our peace. But one also who gives us peace. Jesus said, "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." He says, "These things I have said to you that in me you might have peace." In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 14, it says, "For He Himself is our peace." This is the blessedness of the truth that He has broken down the middle wall of dividing partition between Jew and Gentile, made one body in Himself, and He has become our peace. And so we have this shepherd who is the peace of His people and provides for our peace. Why do we need a ruler like this? Well, we need a ruler like this. We need firstly an everlasting ruler, one who is a God-man ruler, one who can sympathize with us but yet not sin. One who is perfect, sinless, spotless to stand on our behalf. If He is fully man in the sense that He is not God, then He'll be born in sin. But because He's born of a virgin, He is declared to be the Son of God, coming from God. Therefore, He is the God-man, one who is perfect, one with the Father, yet also can reach down to us to redeem us and represent us before the Father. We need God's everlasting ruler, for no other ruler will do. No one can bridge the gap, no one can stand holy before God and before sinful man and be our peace. One with God and one who will never die so that His shepherding work will bring us home all the way to glory. We need a ruler like this who is an eternal one and made like unto us. But also, we need a ruler who's a shepherd king. We don't just need to be told as it were what to do. That never really works for us, does it? Us rebels. The legislation comes in, we all buck against legislation, don't we? But the promise is that Jesus is a shepherd ruler king. And it's because we don't just need to be told what to do, we need to be led, chastised, comforted, loved, and persisted with. We don't just need as it were legislative rule, but a rule that's marked by care. And this is the promise of the fact that Jesus Christ is a shepherd ruler. He doesn't just say, "Do this." He comes alongside us and assists us in this. He doesn't say, "Just do this," and when you fail, "Here comes my sword to destroy you." He comes to a broken sheep and tends to the sheep's wounds and fixes the sheep up so the sheep can go on in the strength of the Lord. We have, dear brothers and sisters, a shepherd ruler king, one that tends to us, that feeds us, that provides for us, not one that just stands there and says things to us, but one who comes to us in mercy. And yes, we follow Him, and yes, we hear His voice, but we hear the voice of a shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. And you can read Psalm 23 and John chapter 10 and Ezekiel chapter 34 and see more of what Jesus does as this great shepherd in dealing with us. But we also need one who will be our peace and one who will bring us peace because the problem in this world and the problem with us is that we are a people of war. We are first and foremost at war with God due to our sin. We are not subject to the law of God. We love to have it our own way. And therefore we are at war with God. We're at enmity against God. Because we will not submit to His law, because we love our sin and we love to go in our own way, then we have this war in our own hearts, a fist raised at God results in a troubled soul at heart. And so this war against God, we also have a war in our own consciences because we know that we don't live up to what we should live up to. We make resolutions, we desire to do good things, we we want to make things good and and and be a better person, but we find ourselves to be continually falling into sin and into trouble and finding ourselves to be as it were at odds, not only with God, but with our own conscience. Troubled in our relationship to God, troubled in our relationship with ourself. And what does this bring? But only trouble with fellow man. And so we fight and war against God. We have an internal fight against ourselves, but more than this, we are therefore at war with one another because we prioritize our satisfaction over loving our neighbor as ourselves. And our enemies triumph over us. And we are like the wicked like a tossing sea that cannot be quiet. And its waters toss up the mire and the dirt. But God says there is no peace for the wicked. And as long as it is that we are against God and His law, we will have trouble with Him, we will have trouble within, and we will have trouble without. But Jesus Christ is our peace. You see, to believe on Him is to have peace with God. To believe on Him is to have peace within. To believe on Him is to have peace with man. The glad tidings as there will be peace on earth. Why? Because there'll be peace within and peace with God because Jesus Christ the Savior comes to reconcile us to God and to one another because He is our peace. And how often we seek peace in the wrong places. We seek peace in unhealthy relationships that do not honor God. We think that if I just have this person in my life, they will bring me peace. If I could just be married, I will have true peace. If I could just find that spouse or that boyfriend or that girlfriend that will satisfy me, I will know true peace. If I could just have that money, that house, that car, I will have real peace. Oh, if I just had more and more of the things that I want, I'll have peace. And man looks for peace in all the wrong places. Some go to substance abuse to get away from the trouble that's in their mind, and they drink and drink on the bottle. And this day will be that day for many people today, quite sadly, where they will drown their sorrows and look for peace in a bottle, but they will not have peace. This will be a day for many where they will look for peace in friendships and family, but this may be the day that they have a very fight with their friends and family and will not find peace. Oh, how people look for peace in all the wrong places and are like the tossed sea that have no peace. But the peace that we need comes not from financial security, not from substance abuse, not from relationships that we may or may not have, but our peace and acceptance comes not from man, but from God. The insecurities of man's heart can only be quenched by the identity that they find in Jesus Christ, the Lord. To have a shepherd who lays down their life for him, for us, for those who believe on Christ. Can you see it? The woman at the well drawing water from that well, and Jesus says to her, "Hang on a minute, stop. Everyone who drinks from this water will thirst again. But if you drink from the water that I give you, you will never thirst." "Oh, tell me of this water. Where can I get some of this water from?" says this lady. Jesus says, "I am the water of life. Drink from me, the water I give you will burst up in you and be a wellspring of life. You will never thirst again if you just taste and drink from Christ the Lord." Why? Because He's a shepherd that supplies our need. He is a shepherd that provides for us, that protects us, and therefore we are having green pastures, we are having wellsprings of waters as we sit under His shepherding ministry and receive from Him all the blessedness of His love and kindness to us. "My shepherd will supply my need, Jehovah is His name. In pastures fresh He makes me feed beside the living stream." Maybe this Christmas is a lonely one for you. Separation from your spouse and family, death or divorce, or just merely distance because your family doesn't live near you. I do not say this in any cliché way. I say this according to the authority of Scripture. There is a shepherd that is near you if you believe on Jesus Christ, the Lord. Your shepherd, who will supply your need. And the truth is, for those of us that know Him, we could sit alone in a house today and have no family around us, but have the nearness of a loving savior beside us, whispering peace, peace, peace to our troubled souls. This is Jesus Christ the Lord. We have nothing to fear, Christians. Our shepherd supplies our need, but He protects us. And therefore, we must trust in Him, for He will keep us in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. Let me ask you this morning, do you know this shepherd? Who is it? What is it that provides for your peace and safety today? Is it Jesus Christ the Lord or is it something else? And if it's something else, you will not know true peace, long-lasting peace, and safety. "Why lies He in such mean estate where ox and lamb are feeding? Good Christian, fear, for sinners here the silent Word is pleading. Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for you. Hail, hail the Word made flesh, the babe, the Son of Mary. So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh, come peasant, king to own Him. The King of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone Him." Let us enthrone Christ the King this morning by heeding to the voice of our good Shepherd. Will you come and trust in Him? Let us pray.