The Promise Keeper

As we celebrate this season, we must remember what this season is about. Christmas is about the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. It is most definitely a time to celebrate. If Jesus had never come, we would truly have no hope, and there would be no peace available to anyone.

The Bible has four gospels at the beginning of the New Testament which tell about the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Two of those gospels actually share about the birth of Jesus: Matthew and Luke.

When you look at Matthew’s gospel — which is at the beginning of the New Testament — you find something interesting. Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus Christ through his earthly father, Joseph.

Why is this genealogy of Jesus important? That is one thing that I want to look at today. It is so much more than just a list of names. This genealogy is actually proof that God is one who always keeps His promises.

If you look at the genealogy in Matthew 1, you see that it goes from Jesus’ earthly father (Joseph) all the way back to Abraham. There are four important parts of this genealogy which are each separated by 14 generations:

• Joseph – Jesus’ earthly father
• The Babylonian Exile
• King David
• Abraham

It is almost like God had this all planned out from the beginning.

But why would this genealogy go back to Abraham? It is because Abraham would play an important role in God’s plan of redemption.

‌The Call of Abram

In Genesis 12:1-3, we see God calling a guy named Abram to leave everything he had ever known and follow this God who was calling him.

¹ The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Genesis 12:1–3 CSB

With this call, God promised that He would make Abram (who would later have his name changed to Abraham) great and would bless the entire world through him. That is a pretty big promise.

The Power of a Promise

Promises can be tricky things in our lives. I’m sure that we have all had someone make a promise to us. Some of those who have made promises to us have made good on them. Others have broken their promises, which leads to distrust and hurt that can last with us for some time.

In the movie, Hook, Robin Williams plays a grown-up Peter Pan who has forgotten who he was and becomes a workaholic. Peter had broken many promises to his son, Jack, in the movie. When Peter’s children are kidnapped by Captain Hook and taken to Neverland, Jack doesn’t have much of a problem at first with Captain Hook becoming his dad because his real dad had broken so many promises.

How do we know that God is One who will keep His promises when there are so many around us who fail to do so?

To answer that question, we must look back to the promise that God made to Abraham. In Genesis 12, God says that if Abraham will follow and trust God, then God will make his life a blessing to the entire world.

Through Abraham’s lifetime, God gave more information about how this promise would be fulfilled.

‌The Promised Son

In Genesis 18 and 21, God promises that Abraham and his wife, Sarah, will have a son. It would be this son, Isaac, that the promise would come through.

In this step of the process, we learn a little more about how the God of the Bible is the God of the impossible. In Genesis 21, Abraham is 100 years old, and Sarah is 90 years old. Talk about impossible!

‌The Promised Sacrifice

When we come to Genesis 22, we find a very strange passage. God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to the Lord on a mountain God would show him. I thought it was through Isaac that the promised deliverer would come. The Messiah cannot come if Isaac is no longer living.

What we see from Abraham is a true measure of faith.

⁹ When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

Genesis 22:9–10 CSB

This scene should make any person scratch their head. God is not one who is pleased with child sacrifice. Why would God be telling Abraham to do such a thing? Why in the world would Abraham go through with this?

We see a glimpse of Abraham’s faith in God in the New Testament letter of Hebrews.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son,¹⁸ the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac. ¹⁹ He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.

Hebrews 11:17–19 CSB

Abraham knew enough about God that this was out of the norm. Abraham knew that he would be walking off that mountain with Isaac alive. He wasn’t sure how it was going to happen, but Abraham knew it would happen.

This brings us to a point we need to pause and think about. Are we willing to take God at His word, or do we need to know all the details before we are obedient? Faith is seen when we trust in the Lord without all the answers. Abraham trusted in the Lord and we see God answering in a mighty way.

¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He replied, “Here I am.” ¹² Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” ¹³ Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said, “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”

Genesis 22:11–14 CSB

The Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and provided the needed sacrifice for the moment. It just so happened that in that exact moment and place, there was a ram caught in the thicket.

It is through this part of the story that God gives us an additional piece of the puzzle. God will provide the needed sacrifice at the right time.

This shows us that the promised Messiah would be one that would be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. This moment on the mountaintop with Abraham was pointing ahead to Calvary where Jesus would lay down His life as a sacrifice for you and me.

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 CSB

Conclusion

The genealogy of Jesus at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel is so much more than a list of names. It is a reminder that God keeps His word.

The promise made to Abraham to bless the entire world through him would come at the finished work of Jesus Christ. Abraham may not have seen it with his own eyes here on earth, but he trusted that the Lord would keep His word.

We celebrate this season because God kept His word then, and He continues to keep it today.

¹¹ For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, ¹² since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. ¹³ For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:11–13 CSB

Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? He has promised that any person who does so will not be put to shame but experience the salvation the Lord offers. That promise is the greatest gift that one could receive this season.

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The Promise of Joy

This Christmas season, we have been looking at a series of messages at the church where I serve as pastor called “The Promises of Christmas.”  Throughout the Bible, one can see many different places where God made promises to people. As we close this series, we will look at one final promise that God made. The special thing about this promise is that it applies to us. It may have been first told to Joseph, but the implications of this promise fall to every human being.

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1:18-19‬

A Man Known as a Joseph

Joseph was a known to be a good, upstanding man who was hard-working and honest. He was also a man in love. He was betrothed to a young lady named Mary. He was ready to spend the rest of his life with this young lady, but there was one problem: she was pregnant and the child was not his. Joseph shows his character by not wanting to disgrace Mary, but he couldn’t stay with her.

Joseph’s Visitor 

“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1:20-23‬

An angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream with a message. The angel explained that the child inside Mary’s womb was from God… He was in fact the Son of God… the promised Messiah.

This is good news. This is the same good news that an angel would deliver to the shepherds in the Bethlehem pastures in Luke 2:10 – And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” 

How does Christmas bring joy? 

• Christmas reminds us that God keeps His promises.

In a day where so many people break their promises, it is good to know that God is not that way. He promised way back in the Garden of Eden that He would send a Savior.

• Christmas reminds us that God is very present. 

It would be easy for the holy God of the universe to turn away and run in the opposite direction from the creation that was tainted with sin. He would be no less holy if He did so. In spite of our impure state, the holy God of the universe chose to come near His prized creation in their time of most need. He did not send someone or something else to handle our situation. He chose to come Himself.

• Christmas brings us salvation.

I don’t know what you were wishing to be under the Christmas tree, but I do know what each of us needed (hope, forgiveness, power over sin and the grave). Jesus’ brought all of that when He came that first Christmas morning.

For while the picture of the baby in the manger warms our hearts, that baby would grow up and take our place on an old rugged cross. He would hang there suffering for our sins, and doing so because He loved us so much. If that weren’t enough, He would defeat the grave three days later. Talk about a Christmas present!

Conclusion

That first Christmas morning, God was not worried about bringing us new toys or the latest gadgets. He was concerned most in giving us what we needed: true joy.  Joy is a happiness that springs from the depths of our hearts. It is not found in any department store or online. It is only found in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

That joy is available to you today. If you have never trusted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you can do that today. That would be the best Christmas present you could ever receive.

If you have received that gift of grace, my prayer is that you are reminded of just how great that gift is. May it continue to bring you joy each and every day.

We have joy unspeakable given to us because Jesus conquered the grave, but He never would have if there was never a cross for Him to bear… and there would be no cross if there was not first a manger.

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The Promise of a Savior

There is nothing like the Christmas season. It comes rushing in like a hurricane and overtakes everything. Music. Movies. Even grocery stores. When Christmas comes in, you cannot miss it.

While you cannot miss the presence of the season, it is not that hard to miss what has been known as the “Reason for the Season.” It is not about white chocolate Oreos (even though they are oh so good and should be available all year long). It’s not about Christmas trees, ornaments, lawn decorations, or lights (although I like all of these). It is about the greatest gift in the world. It is the celebration of the birth if the Messiah: Jesus Christ.

Every year, I try to take the congregation that I lead through a series to remind us of the “Reason for the Season.” This year, I am preaching through a series that looks at the promises of Christmas. Over the weeks leading up to Christmas, I will be sharing here a written version of those messages. I welcome feedback and discussion, but mostly hope that they help you focus on Jesus this Christmas season.

The Promise of a Savior

Some of us get irritated when stores begin getting ready for Christmas. It seems like it is earlier and earlier. There are differing opinions as to when getting ready is too soon. When we look at the Bible, one could easily make an argument that God is in favor of an early preparation of Christmas. How can I say that? We see the first promise of Christmas mentioned in the Garden of Eden.

A Promise Broken (Genesis 3:1-7)

When Genesis 3 opens, we are introduced to a new character in the Bible: the serpent. This was a creature that was created as good by God but had been indwelt by Satan himself and used for his ungodly purposes. We see that this serpent has a conversation with Eve and causes her to break her promise to God.

Prior to this conversation that we see, Adam had been told by God to enjoy all of the creation that God had made except one tree – the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16-17). After God created Eve, it was Adam’s responsibility to share this with her.

We see that as Eve has this conversation with the serpent, she gives in to the temptation and breaks her promise to God. This is what the Bible calls sin – the breaking of God’s laws… disobeying what God has said.

We may be tempted to point a finger at Adam and Eve and say, “How could you do that? You had everything in all of creation, and you went after the one thing that you were told not to!” But how quickly do we see ourselves following Adam and Eve’s ways? How many times do we crave the very things that we are told that we are not to have?

We see that the very first promise that man made to God was broken. The result of this broken promise was judgment. We see that in the rest of the chapter. God shows up and deals with sin.

A Promise Made

As God came and brought judgment upon creation because of the sin that was present, we see an interesting sight. When we hear the word ‘judgment’, we tend to think of negative things. It does not normally compute with our minds that something good might actually come out of a judgment where we are completely in the wrong. God blows everyone’s mind in Genesis 3:14-15.

As God pronounces a curse upon the serpent, He makes a promise in verse 15. This is the first proclamation of the Gospel in creation. God says that He will rise up One that will bruise (or crush) the head of the serpent while he will bruise this One’s heel. It is interesting that the same word is given in action of the One and the serpent. They will deliver equally damaging blows, but the difference is that the One will have the ability to come back from it because He is not a creation. In Genesis 3:15, we have God making a promise to provide a Deliverer from the sin that has brought about the judgments of God on us.

A Promise Kept

If we fast-forward to Matthew 1:20-21, we will see that God keeps His promise. In this verse, we see an angel of the Lord coming to Joseph and telling him not to hesitate in taking Mary to be his bride. The child that she is carrying is the promise that God had made in the Garden of Eden. This “seed” would be the One who would save people from their sins.

God is not in the business of breaking promises. If God has made a promise, you can take it to the bank that He will make good on it. The promise might not come in the timing that we would want, but it will always come right on time.

We can celebrate this Christmas season in knowing that God is a promise-keeping God. He sent His Son, Jesus, into this world to redeem us from the sin that we were guilty of. God did not weigh the scales and say, “I didn’t realize there was going to be THIS much sin.” God did not look at the types of sin and say, “I’m not sure about taking care of THAT sin.”

God showed His great love to us by saying to all who have sin – many or few, big or small – “I love you… this gift of salvation is for you.”

This Christmas season, my prayer for you is that you might experience the fullness of the gift that God gave to the world that first Christmas morning. If you have never received this gift of forgiveness and a new life through Christ, then you can today by surrendering your will and life to Christ.

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Found Faithful

As the Christmas season carries on, I'm reminded of the different stories of the Bible about this time: the angel's proclamation, the birth of the Messiah, the shepherds and angels worshiping, and the Magi.  One story that seems to get lost in the hustle and bustle of this season is what takes place about the time that Jesus Christ was a week old.  Luke 2:21-35 paints the picture for us.  In this passage of Scripture, one can see the greatness of being faithful to what God has commanded and called us to do.  Two stories are given that turn into one.

The first story: Mary and Joseph

Why were these two young people chosen to be the earthly parents of the Messiah?  Was it their good looks?  Their standing in society?  No, the reason that these two were chosen is because they were found faithful (Luke 1:28-38; Matthew 1:18-25).  They had been faithful to God in keeping His commands.  They followed after God the best way they knew how. Now when this young couple's world got turned upside down by the unexpected Child, their faithfulness did not fade a bit.  We see in the focal passage that Mary and Joseph continue to be faithful to the commands of God.  They had Jesus circumcised on the 8th day.  They took Him to the Temple to consecrate Him.  They offered the recommended sacrifice even when the funds were very low (remember the Magi wouldn't arrive for another 23 months or so).

This young couple could have easily taken a different path.  Here we have a young couple who just had an unplanned (by them) baby, living in a place that was not their home.  This young couple could have easily let their faithfulness fade in trying to provide for themselves.  They could have gotten prideful in thinking, "We have the Messiah right here.  Why do we need to go through all these rules or even go to Jerusalem?"  The fact is that this young couple did not take the easy road, but rather, they stayed on the course they had come to trust (faithfulness to God).

The second story: Simeon

Here is a man of great faithfulness.  He had been told by the Holy Spirit that his eyes would see the Messiah before he died.  We are not told how long Simeon had been waiting on this promised to be made good, but any wait on something like that has to be hard.  He goes into the temple courts not really knowing why, and sees that God is faithful.  He takes the little Jesus and praises God.  True peace has come to this man of God by seeing the face of Jesus.  Isn't that the way it usually comes?

The stories collide

One thing that has stuck in my mind about this passage was, "what if Mary and Joseph weren't faithful?"  What if they didn't see the need to go to Jerusalem and carry out all of these commandments of God?  They were facing many difficult obstacles at that time.  If Mary and Joseph weren't faithful, then how long would Simeon have to wait to see the promise of God come true?  Mary and Joseph's faithfulness to God became the fulfillment of God's promise to Simeon.

What if we were faithful to the little things that God has commanded us?  Could it be that we just might the answer and fulfillment of God's promise to another person?

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