We all know what it’s like to have someone break a promise. It can be heart-breaking but on the other side of the coin we also all know what it’s like to have promises fulfilled. That is what I want to talk to you about this morning.
Fulfilled promises.
God’s word is filled with promises and He is a promise keeper.
“God is not a man, that He should lie. He is not a son of man, that He should be sorry for what He has said. Has He said, and will He not do it? Has He spoken, and will He not keep His Word?” Numbers 23:19 NLV
When I was little I remember singing a chorus in Sunday School, “Every promise in the book is mine. Every chapter, every verse, every line. All are blessings of His love divine. Every promise in the book is mine.”
Some of you who have been christians for a while know what it’s like to believe God’s word and then to stand, maybe for years, waiting for God’s promise to come to pass. We are tempted at times to get weary and give up but we can’t because it’s God’s Word and he never lies and His word never fails.
When Jesus was born his parents had to take him to the temple and offer the sacrifices that were required since he was the first male child to be born to them. That was the custom, so when Jesus was 8 days old they went to the Temple.
In the Temple were two people who had looked each day to see the promised Messiah -one was Simeon and the other Anna. Both were very old but each day they waited and today was the day!
Luke 2:36-38 tells of Anna’s reaction when she saw the baby. “There was also present, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher, who was a prophetess. She was a very old woman, having had seven years’ married life and was now a widow of eighty-four. She spent her whole life in the Temple and worshipped God night and day with fastings and prayers. She came up at this very moment, praised God and spoke about Jesus to all those in Jerusalem who were expecting redemption.”
Another version says Anna gave thanks – she had waited all her life to see the Christ and Simeon made comment that now he could die because he has seen the promised Messiah. There was no complaining about why it had taken so long to see the promise but thankfulness that they had been able to see the wonderful blessing of the Messiah.
As parents, grandparents and adults in general it’s important that we don’t give up on God’s promises. Hold on to them, they will come to pass but it’s also important that we raise our children and grandchildren to know faithfulness and His commitment to never break a promise.
If you’ve been waiting – don’t complain but rejoice and thank God that He is faithful to His word and it will come to pass and share that testimony with those in the younger generation.