God's Faithful Promise

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>God's Faithful Promise</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id491.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Mercy for our Great Need"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id493.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From One Miraculous Birth to Another ..."><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"God's Faithful Promise"</B></div> <div> <B> Berean Bible Church, December 11-12, 2004 </B></div> <bR> <div>      Our worlds are filled with reasons for fear, but notice in the Christmas stories, there are several commands to "fear not."</div> <div> 1. The "fear not" of [the announcement of] salvation [to the shepherds]: "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings...which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10,11).</div> <div> 2. The "fear not" of the humanly impossible: "Fear not, Mary, … the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: …For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:30, 35, 37).</div> <div> 3. The "fear not" of unanswered prayer: "Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John" (Luke 1:13).</div> <div> 4. The "fear not" of immediate obedience: "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. … Then Joseph … did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him" (Matthew 1:20,24 NPS) (Source unknown; bible.org).</div> <bR> <div>      There is a lesson about fear in Genesis 20, a lesson that Abraham himself had to learn - again. We should be comforted to know that a man of faith like Abraham had the same kind of struggles we often have.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1. Again, Abraham had to replace fear with confidence in the promise of God (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+20:1-18" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Genesis 20:1-18</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div>      Abraham and Sarah traveled, and he again said that she was his sister, and she was taken into the harem of the king, until God intervened. Sarah didn't need to be sleeping with someone else on the eve of the birth of the promised child. The direct fulfillment of the promise (bearing the child) would not contain even a hint of sexual immorality (there should be no questions about who the father is - Abraham). </div> <div>      Abraham was motivated by fear. But God was not going to let anything happen to him - the story of his life was still being written - the child of promise was still to come. So there was no need to be afraid. God was going to bless him and make of him a great nation. In spite of Abraham's fear and foolish actions, God protected both their lives and Sarah's purity, and the promise itself, because she was to be the mother of the promised child, Isaac. So began the line of descendants leading to Jesus.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2. Through many such obstacles over the years, God finally sent his Son Jesus, the Savior into the world, in fulfillment of the covenant promises to Abraham.</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Luke+1:46-55" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Luke 1:46-55</U></A> - Mary's song (note especially vs. 55).</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Luke+1:67-79" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Luke 1: 67-79</U></A> - Zechariah's prophecy (note especially vs. 73).</div> <div>      In his book, <I>Science Speaks</I>, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. He says, "The chance that any man might have ...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000." (one hundred quadrillion). / Stoner suggests that "we take one hundred quadrillion silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly... Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [that one marked silver dollar.] What chance would he have of getting the right one?" / Stoner concludes, "Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man,...providing they wrote them in their own wisdom." (Bible.org).</div> <div>      As amazing as it was, when Jesus came, they correctly recognized him as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises, beginning with God's promises to Abraham. Jesus was the one through whom salvation and blessing would be made available to all. God kept his Word; he was faithful to display his loyal love, his mercy.</div> <div>      Of course that wasn't the end of obstacles and opposition. In <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Matt+2:13-23" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Matthew 2:13-23</U></A>, we read the story of Jesus as a baby being taken to Egypt, to escape the murderous actions of King Herod. As you may recall, both Abraham and the nation Israel spent time in on sojourn in Egypt. God delivered Jesus from the opposition of the evil one who worked through King Herod. </div> <bR> <div>      Since the beginning of the promises, God was overseeing and making sure that his plan for salvation and blessing would come about. While Satan would throw forth all opposition, God would protect his plan of salvation, and he would bring it pass.</div> <div>      We must have confidence in God's faithful promise, and we must respond to him with worship and obedience. Our confidence, our faith is not based on present circumstances, but on God's promises. And because we believe in him, we must worship him and obey him (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Luke+1:74-75" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Luke 1:74-75</U></A>). In fact, <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Rom+8:28-29" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Romans 8:28-29</U></A> tells us that God will bring your transformation and ultimate salvation about. It will not be denied; even the trials help to serve this ultimate purpose. We serve and obey and worship a God we can believe in.</div> <bR> <div> "Praise God"</div> <div> Praise God for Christmas. Praise Him for the incarnation, for the word made flesh.</div> <div> I will not sing of shepherds watching flocks on frosty nights, or angel choristers.</div> <div> I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem, or lowing oxen,</div> <div> wise men trailing star with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.</div> <bR> <div> Tonight I will sing praise to the Father who stood on heaven's threshold</div> <div> and said farewell to his Son as he stepped across the stars to Bethlehem and Jerusalem </div> <div> And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son, who became most finite, a baby</div> <div> who would one day be executed for my crime.</div> <bR> <div> Praise him in the heavens,</div> <div> Praise him in the stable,</div> <div> Praise him in my heart.</div> <bR> <div>  (Joseph Bayly; bible.org).</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2004, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>