What Were You Told?
Scripture: Eph. 4:22- 24; Prov. 18:21; Luke 1:11-38; Heb. 11:1
Introduction:
As we enter into a new year many of us have made resolutions about things we are going to do differently this year. Most of these resolutions are based on personal desires of things we would like to change about ourselves or to do differently in the New Year. Even though we make these resolutions, we often fail to commit to them and eventually return to doing things the way we have in the past. The statement “old habits are hard to break” is a very true statement. Our old habits are very hard to break. Paul statement in Ephesians 4:22-24 confirms this. In these verses he says “That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” These verses speak of us putting aside the old man (who we were prior to receiving Christ) and taking on our new nature (the nature we received after accepting Christ). In other words, break the habits of the old self and start establishing new habits. We have been tasked with making a resolution to permanently change and this is what I want to address in my message this morning.
The title of my message this morning is a question. It is “What were you told?” It is a two part question because first I want you to consider what you were told about yourself and what did you do with this information and second I want you to consider what you were told about your children (if you have them) or those children where you play a vital role in their development. When you consider what you were told about yourself or a child that you influence, I want you to focus on what God told you, not people. You might not have heard the voice of God speaking audibly to you, but it could have been a special feeling that there were things you were supposed to do with your life or something a child you influence would grow to become. The reason I want you to consider this is that we often confuse the Holy Spirit of God speaking to us with “feelings” or “intuitions” that we may have about something. As you think about your answer, I want you to also think about the answer to this second question: “What did you do with the information that was given to you?” Did you ignore it or did you act on it. Whether it pertained to yourself or to your child, what did you do with the information?
When we have children there will come a time when we will look into the baby’s eyes and consider their future, just like our parents did with us. We see them becoming a professional in whatever field they may choose to enter whether it is through entering college or developing another trade. Whatever they choose to do, we see them being successful at it. There are also times when we will “sense” that a child will do something special. We just sense that there is something special and/or unique about that child and we begin to watch them with a great expectation as to what the child will do. Our parents went through this same process for each of us and took on a responsibility to help us fulfill those dreams. The responsibility started with the parents and then shifted to us individually. As we became parents, the initial responsibility for developing our children to become what God said they were to be started with us and then as our children got older, shifted to them. Ultimately it is every person’s individual responsibility to become what God has called them to be – but it starts with the understanding of what it was that God has spoken. God has not given me the insight as to what He has for everyone present in this Church today, but I know that all of you have dreams and desires, some of which were placed within you by God. If those dreams and desires are still within you and have not been fulfilled and you know which ones are from God, what are you doing with them? It is not too late!
I. The Power Of The Tongue To Kill
We just celebrated the birth of Christ. During the holiday season we thought about Christ’s birth and how He came to enter into this world. But I want you to consider what Mary was told about His birth and life and think about what if her responses were different. Let me give you an example. I do not know of any parent who brings a child into this world and looks upon that baby and thinks “this beautiful baby is going to grow up and be a thug.” I personally do not know of any parent who sees their baby and makes the assumption that they would not do anything with their life and therefore they have no expectations for them. I am not saying that these parents do not exist; I am saying that I do not know one. But I do know parents who have children and as they get older these parents kill the dreams within their children. I do know people who have dreams but will never act on them because of things they have been told. Even if they know God has told them to do something they are locked in a closet of fear based on what people have said about them. This is the point that was made by Solomon in Proverbs 18:21 which say “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love will eat its fruit.”
Consider with me the following situation. A baby is born and the parents look upon this child and senses that this child will do great things. The parent visualizes sees the child accomplishing things in life and begins to instill this in the child at an early age. When the child fails a test in school or disobeys, the parents remind the child that they are better than their actions and that the short-term failures do not dictate the rest of their life. The child grows up with confidence that they can achieve something in their life and they focus on it. When the child reaches adulthood, the child becomes very successful. There were trials and tribulations along the way, but the child knew and had confidence in their ability to achieve. This example is a fulfillment of what Solomon says in Proverbs 18:21 – life being in the power of the tongue.
Now consider this same child with the same parents. The parent still sees their child doing great things but as the child begins to experience different things in life, the parents’ responses are different. When the child fails a test the parent ridicules them and tells them they’re a failure. When the child disobeys the parents tell the child that they will never amount to anything. These words carry the opposite effect of what the parents were thinking when this child was a baby. This child grows up into adulthood being unsure of what they can accomplish and judges their life by their mistakes versus their accomplishments. In some cases this child will not step out of their comfort zone to do anything great because of the words ringing in their ears from their parents. This is also a fulfillment of Proverbs 18:21.
I used these two examples to get you to think about what you have experienced personally and what you may be doing with children under your care. Regardless of what you have been told by others, what has God told you and what are you doing with that information? Now let me go back to Mary. Let’s examine what Mary was told about Jesus and what she did with this information. Remember, although Jesus was the Son of God, He was very much a man just like us and was influenced by what His parents instilled within Him.
II. What Mary Was Told
Let’s begin reading at verse thirty. “The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Mary was told that she would bear the Son of God. Gabriel told her that she would name the child Jesus and that He would great and called the Son of the Most High. She was told that He would reign over the house of David and that His kingdom would have no end. Mary took note of what the angel had said about her son and immediately came into agreement with God to fulfill her role in His life. To fulfill her role, she was subjected to ridicule by those who knew her and initially her engagement to Joseph was being terminated (until God intervened.) She was subjected to being called names for becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Joseph also suffered people talking about him for marrying someone who were pregnant by another man. Once the baby was born they had to flee to Egypt to save the baby’s life. These were things they did to protect His life so that HE could accomplish what God had ordained for Him to do. (Please consider for just one moment what would have happened if they had ignored God and forgotten what the angel had told them? Consider what would have happened if they had decided that their lifestyle was more important than caring for and protecting this child. What if they doubted that Jesus was truly the Son of God? It sounds farfetched that this could even be a consideration, but again, do we not ignore what God has told us about ourselves and our children? As Jesus grew, Mary was watchful over Him and took note of His mannerism and behavior. Remember the story in the second chapter of Luke (verses 39-52) when Jesus was twelve and went missing for three days? They found Him in the temple listening to and questioning the teachers. Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers while His parents stood by astonished. When Mary asked Him why He had treated them that way (going off and causing them to worry about where He was and if He was safe) He responded with this: “…Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” Some translations say “I must be about My Father’s business.” Although his parents did not understand His response, Mary kept this incident and others close in her heart (verse 51). Mary remembered everything that the angel Gabriel had told her and she was keeping record of how different Jesus was than other kids His age. He had a focus unlike anyone she knew. He was also advanced in knowledge and wisdom, all of which continued to confirm what she was told about Him. Throughout Jesus’ growth into adulthood Mary did not lose sight of Who He was or what He would accomplish in His life. She kept before her face what she knew about Him and what He would eventually become.
III. What Do You Remember?
When we were born, I would like to think that most of us were a blessing to our parents. Our parents saw something great within us and held high hopes that we would accomplish something with our lives. This is also one of the key reasons that a parent will place their child up for adoption – they want something better for their child than what they can provide. When we look at our children we have the same hope, desires and dreams for them. Sometimes we clearly understand what our child will become and we never lose sight of that, but this is not the case all the time. It’s sad to say that many times as the child grows the parents begin to lose sight of what they were told or sensed about the child shortly after they were born. We forget some of our personal dreams and desires that we held as children and this becomes part of our consideration as we raise our children. Some parent live their unfulfilled dreams through the lives of their children while other parents kill their children’s dreams (maybe unintentionally) because their dreams were never fulfilled. If you are this child or this parent, it is not too late to step beyond those past failures. You might not be able to fulfill everything you wanted to do, but it is never too late for you fulfill what God desires for you to do.
What did God tell you about yourself and what you were to do for Him and what have you done with that information? Have you acted on it? Have you even tried to fulfill what you know He has told you to do? It is not too late to line up with God’s will for your life. But even if you’re not willing to change your situation, what about the lives of your children or those children that you influence? Are you willing to ignore your responsibility to God for leading them towards His path for them? Consider the following: when the child starts school and does not perform as other kids do our mind shifts as we consider “alternatives” for our child to become successful. When our kids act up at home or begin to hang with the wrong crowd, we begin to think about what their current actions would lead them to versus what we know they are supposed to do. You see, in our present society, parents have lost their zeal for stepping on the “rights” of their children. Even though their frontal lobes are not fully developed until they are in their twenties, we want to give them the right to make their own decisions and live with the consequences. We want them to become responsible adults so we accept the rule that a child must learn from their mistakes. That sounds good but sometimes a child does not get a second chance to learn from their mistakes. A child who goes out partying for the first time and drinks too much alcohol and dies from alcohol poisoning does not get a second chance. A child who tries drugs for the first time and dies from an overdose does not get a second chance. A child driving a car too fast on slick roads might not get a second chance.
As parents we need to shift back to being parents versus being a friend if we want our children to fulfill dreams that we might not have fulfilled. We need to shift back to enforcing the right behavior versus allowing our children to have the “right” to do and say whatever they want. There is a TV commercial currently on about some laundry detergent. In the commercial the daughter is going off on her mother because her mother washed her jeans. The mother, understanding that the jeans were fine, allows the daughter to “express” her feelings and frustrations without correcting her daughter’s behavior. In the commercial she actually ignores her daughter’s behavior. This commercial is indicative of what happens in many of our homes. This behavior would not have been tolerated in my grandparents’ days. There were certain things that I would not say or do in my parents’ house because it was my parents’ home. We cannot help our children achieve what God has for them if we allow them to live any old way that they choose.
Conclusion
Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We must walk in faith with what God has told us about our own lives and we must walk in faith for our kids? If we refuse to change ourselves because we are too old to change, please do not place this on our children, even if they are not your birth children. Give them the chance to achieve what God has called them to do. As it relates to our children, we must have faith when we are expecting them to be a success in life and they are failing in school. We must walk in faith when our kids are raising their voice at us and we have to put them out so that they can return. We must have faith when they break our hearts and go their own way. We must have faith when it seems like they have forgotten everything that we tried to teach them as they were growing up. We must have faith when everyone around us says our child was a spawn of the devil and we’re trying not to agree with them. You see, in order for our child to accomplish what we saw in them as a child, we have to keep seeing it until it is a reality. Faith says “I see it even though right now I cannot touch it! I know it is there and I will walk like it, act like it and believe like it until I can touch it in my reality!” Are you still standing in faith for whatever you initially believed for your children? Are you standing in faith for what you believed for yourself? As we enter into a new year we will bring some of our troubles and unbeliefs from 2013 with us. We will bring with us unfulfilled dreams that we have yet to realize. We will bring old frustrations that have not been resolved. But we will also bring with us what God has said about us and what He has said about the children in our lives. As we examine what we are bringing into 2014, let us examine each and choose to stand on what God has said. Let us choose to remember and focus on what God has said about us individually and what he has told us about our children.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace. May you remember these words as you remember what God has told you about yourself and the children in your life. Impart these words to them at every opportunity.
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