Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Special Services / Advent 1999

1999 Week 5

Intro: Have you ever made promises to God?  Then perhaps this will sound familiar.

 'I'll read my Bible everyday, Lord.'
 'I'll get more involved at church.'
 'I will never do .....again.'
 'Lord, I promise to be a better husband'
 'God if you get me out of this mess I will give you 5 ...no  8..ok 10% of my money'. after taxes!

      We all have made promises to God. Often, these promises come on the heals of some difficult situation or because of some great guilt. We promise to try harder, do better, do more...only to fall short again and again.

      The popularity of the Promise Keepers movement has brought attention to the value of promises made and promises kept. Many are wary of making promises for various reasons. One is the responsibility to keep the promises.

ILL: The story is told of a brother in Christ who was asked to attend an upcoming Promise Keepers conference. His reply was ' If I go, I will end up making some promises and I will have to keep them. And if I do keep them my wife will take advantage of me, so I better not go.'

  Others make promises they never intend to keep.

   'I'll call you.'
  'Let's do lunch'
  'Whatever you need, I'm the man.'
  'I'll send that check out tomorrow'
and my  personal favorite...
  'I'll see you in church this Sunday, pastor.'

EXP: Our text this morning will address the topic of promises made and kept.  Since we are called throughout Scripture to be like Christ, we must be men and women who keep their promises because our God is a promise keeping God.

Trans: Turn in your Bibles to 2 Cor. 1:18. Here we will see that

I. The Promises of Man are Unreliable. (2 Cor. 1:18-19)
Read: 2 Cor. 1:18-19

ILL: In the Jim Carry movie, Liar, Liar, Carry is a father who consistently makes empty promises to his 6 yr old son. Through the course of the movie, he comes to realize that making promises he never intends to keep is a pretty lousy way to be a dad.

      Forgetting a promise can sometimes be accidental, as our memory is not always reliable, especially the older we get. But more often than not there are times when our memory loss,  is intentional. We conveniently forget things that we have promised to do and use the excuse of forgetfulness to get out of what we never intended to do in the first place. And that's a pretty lousy way to be a Christian. Because to others, that makes our word unreliable.

      The people in Cornith were questioning Paul's character as it related to his promise keeping. It seems that most of the people the Corinthians knew would not faithfully keep their word......their promises.  The text says that their word was 'yes and no'. This means that it was not consistent, it was uncertain. It could be one thing at one time and something else later.

      Paul basically said that may be how the world acts, but everything I have said about Christ is Yes and I have not gone back on my word. Paul was concerned about his reputation.

APP: And so should we. What Paul did, should teach us that we must maintain our reputation in the church and the world. We should all be promise keepers, all let our yes be yes and no be no. As witnesses for Jesus Christ it is important that people around us know where we stand, so that we can be counted on to be honest and reliable.  So that what we say can be counted on to be true. Paul based his reputation on his ability to keep his word. Can you do the same?  Since God is faithful as Paul reminds us in verse 18, so we should be faithful... and reliable.

Trans: Where we may be unreliable at times, Paul goes on to say that

II. The Promises of God are YES! (2 Cor. 1:20a)
Read: 2 Cor. 1:20a

  Think of all the questions that the Believer may have that God answers yes!

1. Do you really love me?
2. Am I truly forgiven?
3. Am I secure in your love?
4. Is there purpose to my life?
5. Will you be there in the tough times?
6. Is there life beyond the grave?
7. Will I spend all eternity in heaven with you?

     The answer to all these questions is YES! Jesus lived the promises of God..He is the promise of God! There was  and is no inconsistency in His word. Every one of His promises will come to be.

  Lets see what Scripture has to say about God keeping His word.

Hebrews 10:23   Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Titus 1:2   in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago

Psalm 105:42  For He remembered His holy word With Abraham His servant

Joshua 23:14  Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

 Have you ever heard or read an ad about a product or service that seemed too good to be true? And when you purchased the product or service you found you were right? It was too good to be true!

ILL: D.L. Moody once said 'God never made a promise that was too good to be true.'

 Isn't that great? You will never be disappointed when God keeps His promises to you...never! None of God's promises have ever failed, every one has been or will be fulfilled. What a great God we serve!

Trans: God keeps His word and that means that
III. The Promises of God Give Us Hope. (2 Cor. 1:20b-22)
Read: 2 Cor. 1:20b-22

      Christian hope is given to us by the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is in His power that our lives, now and in the future, have meaning and value,  as we rest on the promises of God in Jesus Christ. This hope is part of our spiritual armor against the powers of  wickedness. In 1 Thess 5:8 we are told to put on as a helmet the hope of salvation. What is the hope of the believer that God's promises provide? The text uses 4 terms that I want to look at.

1. God promises to establish the believer.
  -To establish means to confirm, to make firm, steadfast and constant. God establishes, makes firm your faith, your life and your future.

  -He establishes, makes us steadfast in Christ, and confirms our close union with Him. This word is in the continual tense in the Greek...God keeps on establishing us in Christ.

Read: Phil. 1:6

2. God promises to anoint the believer.
  -To anoint means to set apart for the Lord service. As we yield to His Spirit He enables us to serve God and to live godly lives.

  -Anointing in the OT was done to prophets, priests and kings. As Believers, we are commissioned as a royal priesthood, prophets to the world and future kings in glory.

3. God promises to seal the believer.
  -To seal means to mark, or stamp. It assures to others that the property sealed belongs to the one doing the sealing. It assures that no one will tamper with the contents.

  -This sealing confirms the love of God in our hearts, the renewing and sanctification of our nature and the imprinting of the image of God on our souls.

  -It assures that no one can tamper with the package. Believers are a secure package headed for glory!

4. God promises the pledge of the Holy Spirit to the believer.
  -This pledge is a guarantee, a security deposit, a down payment. The first payment that guarantees  the rest would be paid.

  -God has given us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of eternal life. Since God can not go back on His promise, our salvation is assured and secured.

  Well, am I right? Do the promises of God bring hope to the Believer?

Conclusion

      How grateful we ought to be that God keeps His Word. Often it takes difficult times and suffering in our lives before we claim and trust the promises of God. We make plans but God overrules them. We make promises and do not always keep them. But in Christ, all the promises of God's Word find their fulfillment. And in Christ we have the privilege to claim these promises for ourselves.

      Think for a moment about one of your favorite promises of God? One that you have claimed time and time again and the Lord has not disappointed you? Take a moment to thank Him right now.

If you can't answer that question, then you don't know the joy you are missing by claiming the promises of God for your life and the life of others.

  What is the need of your heart this morning? Know that the Lord has promised to meet that need.

  Simply take Him at His word...because God keeps His Word.