Sermon Breakdown

1. The sermon focuses on Luke 1:54-55 which says "He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever."

2. Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes that verse 55 should be corrected to say "as he spake to our fathers" instead of "as he speak to our fathers." This correction is important to understand that God's speaking to the fathers refers to his promise to Abraham.

3. The sermon examines Mary's praise of God in Luke 1 and how it summarizes the Christian gospel. Last week, the sermon looked at how Mary praises God's character and this week looks at God's faithfulness to his promises.

4. The incarnation of Jesus is the supreme example of God fulfilling his promises. God made a covenant with Abraham to bless all nations through his offspring.

5. Mary says "He hath holpen his servant Israel" which means God has helped or lifted up Israel. This refers to God providing salvation and forgiveness of sins which was promised to Abraham.

6. The Old Testament sacrifices were a temporary covering of sins until the coming of Jesus, the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise of mercy to Abraham.

7. God's promise to Abraham included blessing all nations, not just Israel. The Jews did not understand this but Mary did. Jesus is the savior of the world who draws all people to himself.

8. The sermon outlines three principles: 1) The incarnation shows God fulfills his promises. 2) The incarnation shows God's method of fulfilling promises. 3) The incarnation guarantees the fulfillment of all God's promises.

9. God's method involves seeming to forget his promises for a long time but then suddenly fulfilling them. 2000 years passed between God's promise to Abraham and the birth of Jesus. God also allowed 400 years of silence before Jesus. We should not judge God by human timescales.

10. God allows apparent defeats to happen to his people. He allowed Israel to go through captivity in Egypt and Babylon. But he also gives periodic encouragements by repeating his promises. We should be encouraged by any sign of God working.

11. God has his own chosen time for fulfilling promises. We can never predict when God will act. The incarnation happened in the "fullness of time" according to God's wisdom.

12. The incarnation proves God will fulfill all his promises like sanctifying and glorifying believers. We can be confident God will complete the work he has started.

13. The incarnation also shows God will fulfill promises about the future like Christ's second coming, the final judgment, and the establishment of the new heavens and new earth. Despite the current state of the world, God will triumph over evil.

14. We should not worry about threats to the church because God will fulfill his purposes in his own time. Christ will come again to receive his people and judge the world. The incarnation proves God will accomplish all he has promised.