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VISALIA FIRST CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
CHRISTMAS MORNING 2009
Christmas 2009-The Promises Fulfilled
Sermon: Rev. George G. Vink
Scripture: Exodus 6: 1-8, Isaiah 9:6 & Luke 2: 1-20
Sermon: THE PROMISES FULFILLED—JESUS!
Call: John 1:14
· “Angels from the Realms of Glory” PH 354: 1,2,4,5
· God’s Greeting and Mutual Greeting
· “Good Christian Friends Rejoice” PH 355: 1,2,3
Christ Candle Lighting- Matt. 5:17
Ministry of Music-“Sing Joy to the World” Choir
· “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” PH 345 1,2,3
Prayer of Praise & Thanksgiving
· “What Child is This” HFG 180
Prayer for Illumination & Scripture Reading
Dear Followers of Jesus Christ,
Promises are meant to be kept! They should not be made lightly. Just think about the promises you’ve made in your lifetime. How have you done in keeping them? I have one in mind that many of you’ve made here in this church or somewhere. It goes like this:
“Do you promise to do all you can, with a the help of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen your love and commitment to Christ by sharing faithfully in the life of the church, honoring and submitting to its authority; and do you promise to join with the people of God in doing the work of the Lord everywhere?”
Can you look back and say that your commitment, your love for Christ is greater now than when you promised it? Have you “shared faithfully in the life of the church?” Have you done the Lord’s work? Do you love Jesus and are you committed to your Lord?
Just over 42 years ago, I promised to love and cherish Shirley. From my perspective, I’ve done pretty well…but could have done better! I know that I love her more now than then, and cherish her more also. That’s the nature of marriage promises! It gets better, even if at times it’s three steps forward and two back. It’s not always smooth sailing as promises are kept, whether in the marriage relationship or in our relationship with Jesus. Promises are fulfilled, but sometimes in gradual steps.
Think of God’s Promise to an ejected and dejected pair being hustled out of The Garden. There’s a promise of redemption to come, but look what had to happen before the baby in Bethlehem, the Savior on a cross, and a risen Lord out of the grave. What’s happening as we await His promised return? It’s all about promises in our Advent’s “A Universe of Promise”
Exodus 6 records God’s promise of deliverance for Israel. God promised a bringing out from being under the yoke of Egypt, bringing them into Abraham’s land, and giving it as a possession. Promises! It took believing and following up—hard work. The promise of a special child as recorded in Isaiah 9 didn’t come right away. It still calls for waiting and working!
The Bible is full of hundreds of promises! From Genesis 3 on, there’s an expectancy! Someone special is coming. That air of expectancy doesn’t change even though Christ has come! Now it’s an expectation of His coming again, in glory. Again, a fulfillment of promises!
Herbert Lockyer’s book, All The Promises of The Bible, begins with advice from Dwight L. Moody.
“Take all the promises of God. Feed for a month on the promises of God and you will not talk about how poor you are….You would lift up your head and proclaim the riches of His Grace, because you couldn’t help doing it!”
The men walking with Jesus to Emmaus heard it directly from Jesus. “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Later, appearing to His disciples, Jesus taught, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”(Luke 24)
Our Advent Season has been a look at promises. We considered the promise of Justice and concluded that it begins now when we live out the power of love instead of the love of power. The promise of justice is seen when we’re willing to sacrifice something so that those with nothing can have their needs met. The promise of beauty as represented by the angels on our banner is ours as we relish God’s creative handiwork or that of an artist depicting the love of mother and child.
We saw how important the promise of relationships is as revealing the essence of who we are as persons. The joy of a deep friendship is huge. The happiness experienced in a good marriage is a harbinger of more to come. The tabernacle and its glory spoke of our desire for God’s presence, our spiritual nature yearning beyond ourselves. St. Augustine stated it, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
Jesus has come! He’s the fulfillment of God’s promises, those in the past and those for the future. It’s His coming that gives meaning to life! Jesus explained it meeting with Nicodemus. “I have come that they (you) may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
Let’s consider that life! Having this new life, this promised life, has its fulfillment only in Christ Jesus whom we follow. It’s a whole new world for us now! It’s not that He came to give us wonderful moral teachings. He did that too! It’s not that Jesus becomes an example for us to follow. He did that too! It’s certainly not a matter that we now have a ticket to heaven as if that’s all that matters. We have that too. Nor is it a matter of his providing all kinds of teachings about God and Who He is. He did do that….
We need to know more. The promises fulfilled mean much more! The birth we celebrate, Christ’s coming, opens a door to a whole new world of living as His followers. God dwells in us; we are His temple! We must experience God’s presence in every part of our lives. God is not distant, far from us. He lives, as we sing at Easter, “within my heart.”
Yes, we experience pain and sorrow. Yes, there’s a lot of ugliness in the world yet. The fulfillment is like seeing mountains from a distance. You see them, but you’ll see them even better closer up. You’ll have a whole new perspective when you climb one and look across at another.
One day we’ll hear God’s voice clearly. In the meantime, we hear echoes of his voice in healthy relationships or committed marriages. We see the promises fulfilled when speaking up for the oppressed and feeding the hungry.
One day our new life in Christ will be fully realized. In the meantime, we live in expectation and do “the work of the Lord everywhere,” as those wishing to be faithful, keeping our promises. We worship Jesus as a baby and obey Him as Lord. Loving hearts enthrone him now in the midst of a world that has other gods galore. Those who bend their knees to the baby in the manger must also bend their wills to Jesus on the throne, seated at the Father’s right hand.
Faithful love and commitment! Isn’t that what you promised?
Amen!
o “O Come All Ye Faithful” PH 340
Offering
· “Glory to God” or “Ere Zij God” PH 214
· God’s Parting Blessing
· “Hallelujah Chorus” –Choir +++
Postlude “Joy to the World” duet
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