Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Who Controls Your Kid's Life? | Christmas | Luke 1:57-66

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10 minute Bible talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. And I'm Patrick Miller. We're in the middle of our Christmas series right now. We're exploring the stories around Jesus's birth and the prophecies pointing forward to it. Christine and I have several friends who've recently had a child or a grandchild. And when we sent them texts with best wishes asking if they needed any help, they all responded the exact same way.

Starting point is 00:00:32 They sent a picture of the baby and told us the baby's name. A baby's name is a really big deal. You already know that, right? It's why parents spend so much time thinking about what they're going to name their child before the child ever arrives. Having a baby has always been a joyous occasion. So it's no surprise that we read in Luke chapter 1 that Zechariah and Elizabeth are happy when they have their baby boy.

Starting point is 00:00:58 They name him John and it turns out that name is a really big deal. We'll get to the significance of the name in just a moment, but for now, know, that this baby grows up to be John the Baptist. Baptist wasn't his last name. It's not like this was Zechariah and Elizabeth Baptist and their son John. Nor was John the first Baptist. Baptist is not referring to his denomination. Obviously, there weren't any denominations around at this time. You can think of Baptist as kind of like his nickname. It distinguishes him from the, the other Johns. He's the John that baptized people. He's John the Baptist. Well, we pick up the story of his birth in Luke chapter 1, verse 57. When it came time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great

Starting point is 00:01:50 mercy and they shared her joy. Well, this sounds really normal, doesn't it? Everyone was happy that the mother and baby were healthy. Verse 59. On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the they were going to name him after his father Zechariah. But his mother spoke up and said, No, he's to be called John. They said to her, there's no one among your relatives who has that name. A Jewish boy was named on the eighth day of his life, the same day as the circumcision would take place. The custom was for the boy to be named after his father or another relative. This custom is so ingrained that the community was going to name the boy after his father, except his mother interrupted and said, no. That's how big a deal it was that a child would be named after

Starting point is 00:02:40 someone in the family. It was a way of showing that this child belonged to a particular family. We still see this practice in our day when some sons are named after their fathers. But today, that's a preference. In ancient Israel, it was an expectation. There really wasn't a category for anything other than giving a child a family name. Verse 62. Then they made signs to his father to find out what he would like to name the child. So when Elizabeth said, his name isn't going to be Zechariah, but rather John, the crowd thinks she's lost her mind. And so they're like, let's just ask dad, surely he's not going to agree with his wife. You might remember that Zechariah hadn't been able to speak since he doubted the angel Gabriel's message that he and Elizabeth were going to have a child in their old age.

Starting point is 00:03:30 It was in that interaction with Gabriel that Zechariah was told the significance of his son, namely that he was going to prepare the way for the Messiah, and he was told that the name of his child should be John. Oh, by the way, John is a name with Hebrew origins. It means God is gracious. Okay, pick back up in Luke 1, verse 63. He, now this is referring to Zechariah, he asked for a writing tablet. Remember, he's asking for a writing tablet because he can't speak.

Starting point is 00:04:02 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment, he wrote, His name is John. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea, people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, What then is this child going to be? For the Lord's hand was with him.

Starting point is 00:04:29 The reason it was a big deal for Zechari and Elizabeth to name their boy John is because they were acknowledging he wasn't their child. This was God's child that he'd given to them. Remember that John means God is gracious in Hebrew. God was gracious to give them a gift of a child in their old age. Now, let's just stop and think for a moment before moving on with the rest of the story. God wanted Zechariah and Elizabeth to know that John belonged to him. He wouldn't have the family name. He had the name God gave him. Now, it's true of every child that they belong to God, not just John.

Starting point is 00:05:09 As the dad of four kids, I know that I'm supposed to say that my kids aren't really my kids. They're God's kids. But that's easier said than believed. What would be different if I believed my kids were God's kids before there were my kids? I think you could say the same thing about grandkids. If I believed that my kids were God's kids first, I think I'd prioritize their relationship with God. God is the one who gave them life. God is the one they're ultimately accountable to.

Starting point is 00:05:42 He is their heavenly father who knows them and loves them. So their primary relationship should be with God. Second, if I believed that my kids were God's kids before they were my kids, I don't think I try to control them and their future. Any parent who has any self-awareness at all recognizes that we have a plan for our kid's life. We have a plan for our kid's life that we often prioritize over God's plan for their life. Now, you know that's you. You know that you have a plan for your kid's life that you're really committed to when you get disappointed with your kid's choices.

Starting point is 00:06:22 Are you disappointed because your kid isn't following God's plan or because they aren't following your plan? Our plan is really clear to us and we're confident it's best for them. God's plan, well, it's not near as clear. And because we can't see how it's all going to play out, we aren't sure that we trust it. If I believed that my kids were God's kids, before there were my kids, it would be easier for me to trust God with their future. I wouldn't worry so much about what lay ahead of them because I know that they belong to God and he's in control of all things. He's in control of all things in the universe, but he's also in control of all things in their personal life. It's he that created them. It's he that loves them. It's

Starting point is 00:07:12 he that died for them. It's he that has a plan for them. Their future is in his hands, not mine. so I don't need to try to control their future. Instead, I can trust God with their future. Well, from the very beginning, from the announcement of the birth of John all the way up to the day that he is born, we can see that God is in control. The first way he demonstrated his control is by having his angel Gabriel tell John that his wife would bear him a son. And then we read right after that that Elizabeth conceives. So God makes this promise. us through the angel, and then the promise is fulfilled. The only thing that can make that kind of prediction possible is the sovereignty of God. He can say what's going to happen because he controls what's going to happen. God sends his angel to predict this pregnancy rather than sending him

Starting point is 00:08:07 afterwards to explain it, because he wants to demonstrate unmistakably that he is in charge. This is God's work. This child, like every child, was ordained and ordered by God's sovereign will. The second way God shows that he's in control is that this birth is not just predicted. It's humanly impossible. We know that John and Elizabeth didn't have children because they were infertile and now they were way past childbearing years. Biologically, it was impossible for them to have a child. But after John was conceived, the angel said to Mary, nothing is impossible with God. God's purpose in bringing John and then later Jesus into the world through humanly impossible births is to demonstrate vividly that nothing is too hard for him. He is in

Starting point is 00:08:57 control in this story and something unexpected and stupendous is beginning to happen in the world. God is in control of your life. He's in control of your kids. He's in control of the entire world. There's no reason to fear. Christmas tells us. us to put our hope in God. With him, all things are possible. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily.

Starting point is 00:09:28 Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Who Controls Your Kid's Life? | Christmas | Luke 1:57-66

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