December 20-21, 1997

Mike Slaughter

Blessed is the one who believes...
Luke 1:41-45
41: And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
42: and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43: And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44: For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.
45: And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Christmas is about God keeping a promise! That’s where we’re going today. Will you open your Bibles to Luke 1: 41. Mary had just had a God encounter; the angel told her that she was going to give birth to God’s son. She headed to a town about five miles away to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Now as she is approaching we read in the 41st verse: "When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. The baby was Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. Elizabeth was six months pregnant when Mary came. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." This means that Mary recognized these as God’s words through Elizabeth. Here’s what God said: "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear." Now "blessed" means to be integrated, to be complete, to be wholly together.
A blessed person is a whole person, a together person. Now notice verse 45, what makes her blessed or an integrated, complete person? "Together is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." Complete, wholly together is the one who believes what the Lord has said will be accomplished.

I. Live In the Promise
What makes a complete person? A wholly together person? A complete person is a person who lives in the expectant promise of God. Regardless of the circumstance they find themselves in at the moment, they believe that what God says is going to happen.

What’s In a Promise?
Promises, promises. What’s in a promise? It depends on who makes the promise. A year ago last summer, I was going to drive my son down to Florida to play baseball. He was in the eighth grade and fourteen years old at the time (he’s going to be 16 tomorrow). He said to me, "Dad, we need to go a couple of days early." I said, ‘Why do we need to go a couple of days early?’ He said, "Well, Dad, as far back as I remember you always told me that we were going to go to Disney World. You told me, you told me, every year you told me, but we have never gone to Disney World so you haven’t kept your promise."
Have you ever heard that before? I remember one night when I had a meeting with my bishop in Columbus and Jonathan had a program at school. I said, ‘Jonathan, I promise you.’ "Now Dad, you’re going out of town, you’re going to miss my program, you’ve known about this program," said Jonathan. ‘No, I promise I’ll be back for your program.’ I was coming back from Columbus in plenty of time when all of a sudden traffic came to a complete halt on Interstate 70 on the other side of Springfield. I sat there for almost an hour and a half due to an accident - an overturned truck. "Dad, you didn’t keep your promise," is what Jonathan said to me.
Now when we say "promise," what do we mean? We mean, ‘I am going to do everything in my power, I’m going to try as hard as I can.’ But when we say "promise" as a human, we do not mean absolutely or definitely, right? Because some things may happen that make it definitely impossible, so we emphasize "trying."

God Is a God Of Promise
Now when God makes a promise it is absolute and definite. There is even a word for it in the Bible. The word is "covenant." Now we are familiar with the word "contract." Contract is a promise that is not absolute or definite. There are some loopholes. There are some ways out. A covenant is an unbreakable promise. Everything God promises always happens. God always comes through no matter what. God says it, it’s a done deal. Now that’s why we talk about the Word of God, right? The Word of God. This Word of God carries so much weight among the people of God because everything God says happens. It is absolute and definite. God said it; it is a done deal.
Do you know this is the only religious book where God said things before they happen. Every other religious book, whether the Koran or the Hindu scriptures, writes about events that happened in the past. This is the only book where God said something and it happened years later. For example, the book of Isaiah, written 800 years before Christ was born, said that when the Messiah comes, He’ll be born by a virgin. Eight hundred years before it happened. If God says it, it always happens. God promises it; it’s a done deal. Six hundred years before Jesus was born, the book of Micah said that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.

Luke 1:72
72: to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant,

Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, writes a song. Do you know what the theme of his song is? He uses that "c" word again in verse 72. What word do you see in verse 72? God has remembered his holy covenant. What does the word covenant mean? Unbreakable promise, right?! If God says it, it is a done deal. You see, the blessed are the people who regardless of the circumstance they find themselves in today, live in such a way that they believe God is going to do what God says. God says it, it is a done deal. There’s not a maybe or I’m going to do my best. God accomplishes 100% of what he promises. Blessed are those, blessed are those who believe that what God has said, God is going to accomplish.

II. Lean On the Promise
Not only are blessed people whole people, complete people, people who live in the expected promise of God, they lean on the promise of God. You know, Christmas can be a time of pain for a whole lot of people. For a lot of people it’s a reminder of unfulfilled dreams and broken promises. On Thanksgiving afternoon every year my family watches Christmas Vacation - you know, the movie with Chevy Chase. I’m not recommending this as a movie for young children. So don’t go rent this for your whole family just because I’m going to use it as an illustration. It is definitely not for younger children! But we watch this movie and there is a clip that really helps all of us get in touch with Christmas sometimes being a painful experience.

Watch this:

You see whole people don’t have to lean on Jack Daniels. Because they’re not paralyzed or immobilized by present pressure and past pain. Blessed people, integrated people, wholly together people are people who focus on God’s promise.

Focus
Jeremiah 29:11
11: For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Now here is the core of God’s promise. He tells us this in Jeremiah, the 29th chapter. Listen to God’s promise to you: "I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans to prosper you, not harm you. They are plans for a hope and a future."
Now that’s God’s promise for every person that has been created. God has created no one for destruction. "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans to prosper you, not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future."
You know, raising children is hard. It is a lot easier having children than raising children. You don’t get a degree in this thing. And I tend to be a worrier. I need to shift most of my energy from worry to promise.
I received a letter from a single parent this week. This single parent is trying to raise three children on their own.On Thanksgiving Day the oldest child ran away. Now here’s what this letter says: "So this time of Advent has been a different time of waiting for me. Well meaning people say, ‘One bad kid out of three is pretty good these days.’ Doesn’t God teach us that one lost is one too many? All of my children are gifts from God." Right! Yes! I mean focus on God’s promise. God is not willing that any should perish but all come to life.

Luke 2:21
21: And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Are there any of you out there who worry about your children? There is an important image that we have in the Christmas story. We read it in Luke 2: 21. Eight days after Jesus is born, Mary and Joseph take Him and they mark Him for God’s purpose. Go there, if you have your Bible. Now you’ll notice in this passage they do three things. The first thing was to circumcise Him, which was the law for eight day old Jewish males. The second thing Mary and Joseph did was to give Him a name, also on the eighth day. This was a name that they heard from God. I think names are very important because names mark us.

Marked
Your name says everything about God’s promise in your life. I remember the day my sister and I were sitting in a drug store parking lot waiting for my father to come out. My mom was in the front seat and I was in the back seat beating up on my sister. My Mom turned around and said, "Live up to your name!" Michael means ‘like God.’ And I went, ‘WOW!’ Like I knew, I just felt that there was something bigger on me and around me. Names are important. They circumcised Him; they named Him; then dedicated Him to the Lord. They took him to the temple and they dedicated Him to the Lord.
We’re going to do this with over 50 babies today. Baptism or dedication. For the law said, if you’re following in that passage, that every first born male must be consecrated to God. Now circumcision was the sign or promise, so for every eight day old Jewish male that was brought to the priest to be circumcised, they were saying to that baby boy, God’s promise is for you. You are included in the promise of God. All of the promises that God ever made are intended for you. Wow! That’s what circumcision was saying. Circumcision was the sign of the promise. Do you know what the sign of the promise is today?
What is it? Water! You see, today, you don’t have to be a male. It is all-inclusive, males and females. So when we bring out children for baptism or dedication, or when you as an adult came to Christ by faith, God was saying to you: all of the promises, all of the promises of God are intended for you. Can you believe that? It is the sign of the promise. All of the promises of God are intended for you. You are included in all of the promises of God. You are marked with God’s mark. You’re intended for his purpose.
Now when my children are struggling as all of our children struggle, I tell them it’s a vampire kind of thing. You know how the vampire thing works. When a person is tainted by the bad blood of a vampire, they are always a vampire. And once you’re a vampire, you can no longer live in the light of the day for light will destroy you. Well, as I tell my children, you have been tainted with the life-long eternal blood of Jesus Christ, and once you have been marked with the mark of God, it’s like a counter-vampire thing. You can’t live in darkness. You can try, but it will begin to sap the life out of you. You have been marked with God’s mark, my brothers and sisters, you can run but you cannot hide. You’ll be miserable unless you give yourself to the promise of God. Isn’t that amazing. You are marked with God’s mark.
Times of doubt. Lean on the promise. Don’t focus on the struggle your children are having. What is God’s promise? "I know the plans I have for you, said the Lord." They’re plans to do what? -- prosper you. To give you a future and a hope, even in times of doubt.

III. Live Out the Promise
I want to talk to my pre-Christian brothers and sisters and I appreciate that you’re here. It is such a statement that you’re here. I dialogue with some of you every week and some of you are saying to me, Mike, something happens to me when I come to listen. You know what that is? That’s God! That’s God wooing you! Some of you say to me, "Well, I don’t know if I can believe in God." I’ve got good news. Even though you don’t believe in God, God believes in you. Isn’t that amazing? The very fact that you’re here now and you don’t think you can believe - that’s faith that got you up and brought you here. Take that little bit of faith you have. Don’t focus on your doubt, focus on Jesus, for Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you. Nothing can separate you from my love." Isn’t that incredible? Nothing can separate you from my love!

Genesis 17:17
17: Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

You know people of the promise don’t limit themselves to the possible. Sometimes we spend all of our time sitting there looking at the negative situation we’re in. People of promise don’t focus on the problem, they live above the possible. God came to Abraham and Sarah when Abraham was a hundred years old. God said, "you’re going to have a baby." Do you know what Abraham and Sarah did? They fell down on their face laughing. I’ve learned to do that with God all the time. Oh, no! That’s impossible, but it’s a God thing so go ahead, God, this is going to be good!
You see, you cannot grasp what all God is going to do. How can our pea-brains grasp what God is going to do? We want it to make sense. It is above sense, my brothers and sisters. Don’t focus on the problem. Don’t focus on doubt, don’t focus on depression, focus on God’s promise! "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you. Not to harm you, but to give you hope and a future."
Well, blessed, integrated, together, wholly complete, are people who live their life believing that God will do what God has said. Not only do blessed people live in this expectant promise of God and lean on the promise of God, they live out the promise of God. Believing in God is not the same thing as believing God. Did you hear what I just said? Believing in God is not the same thing as believing God.

Learn From the Magi
See, if I believe God, then I will do what I hear God say. In every area of my life - in my relationships, in my giving, in my service. Believing in God is not the same thing as believing God. Traditionally we call the magi the Three Wise Men. Here we have three university types. They were scholars, scientists. They shouldn’t do anything outside the scientific method, but they were willing to go on a two year journey, to leave their jobs, to follow a star, to not even know where they were going to end up. Why? Because they believed God. God said it; it is a done deal. Everything God says happens.
Well, my brothers and sisters, Christmas is about God keeping his promise. Are you struggling with your kids? God’s not willing that they should perish, but all come to life. I tell my kids it’s a vampire thing. You can run, but you can’t hide. You can’t live in darkness because it will suck the life right out of you. You are marked by God, and nothing can stop his promise working in your life.
Are you struggling in your marriage? Hear this. When we get married, the preacher looks at you, (I know because I am one!)and says, Do you take these vows before who - God? Do you know God is present at that important time of commitment? Do you know when you make those promises before God? God makes a promise back to you? Every promise God makes always happens. Don’t focus on the problems. Focus on the promise.
You think that there’s not a significant relationship in your life and you’ll never be fulfilled without a significant relationship. Trust the love of Jesus Christ, because Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."
Well, my brothers and sisters, Christmas is about God keeping his promise. If God said it, it is a done deal. Go, live in the expectant promise, lean on the promise, and live out the promise. Go in Jesus name! You are dismissed.

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