God Promised

by Paddick Van Zyl
(Jhb, ZA)

Sermon by Pr. Paddick Van Zyl (M.Th)
8 Dec 14

Title: God Promised

Theme: When God makes a promise He keeps it...

Intro:
A wise teacher sent a note home to all parents on the first day of school. It read:
"If you promise not to believe everything your child says happens at school, I'll promise not to believe everything your child says happens at home."•

Have you ever had someone promise you something only to be left disillusioned and upset because what they said never happened? Have you ever made a promise and did not keep it? Well, God is not like man. What He says He does and that is a Promise!

Text:
2 Peter 3:1-13 NKJV
Sermon:
How many promises are found in the Word of God? A staggering 3573**

Fact: when God makes a promise He keeps it. He has never broken a promise and never will - He simply can not. His nature and character does not allow it.
2 Corinthians 1:19-20, NKJV.
"For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us"

So what is a promise actually:
According to the Oxford dictionary:
Promise* : A declaration or assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will happen:
REPORTING VERB Assure someone that one will definitely do something or that something will happen
Origin: late Middle English: from Latin promissum 'something promised', neuter past participle of promittere 'put forth, promise', from pro- 'forward' + mittere 'send'.

We find the very first promise in the Bible, made by God Himself in Genesis 3:15:

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." This was fulfilled in-
•Galatians 4:4
•Luke 2:7
•Revelation 12.5

•God will not break a promise He has made:
Psalm 89:34, TLB.
"No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back one word of what I said."
•His promises never fail:
Joshua 23:14, NIV.
"You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed."
•Salvation as well as eternal life (life as God has it, in His presence) is promised to us and our children by God:
1 John 2:25, NKJV.
"And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
Isaiah 49:25, NKJV.
"For I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children."

What has God promised those, in His Word, who excepts His plan of salvation? Three amazing promises:
•A new heart
Ezekiel 36:26, NKJV.
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
•Forgiveness of sins
1 John 1:9, NKJV.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
•Removal of our transgressions
Psalm 103:12, NKJV.
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

God promises us that His Spirit will be given to those who ask, to dwell within them:
•Luke 11:13, NKJV
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

He also promises to Supply and take care of all our needs, not wants:
•Philippians 4:19, NKJV
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
•Romans 8:32, NKJV
"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

Wisdom and peace are promised in the Word of God
•James 1:5, NKJV
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
•Isaiah 26:3, NKJV
"You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."

God also promised help and victory over temptation for the believer:
•1 Corinthians 10:13, NKJV
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

What about protection and being afraid? God made provision and a promise for that as well:

•Psalm 91:4-6, NKJV
"He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday."

All these promises mentioned, are for the believer in Christ Jesus and the reason they have been given is that we may be partakers or sharers of a deep spiritual union with Christ, thereby enjoying the blessings and benefits of this relationship and the One who made them absolutely intends to keep His promises if we fulfill and keep to the Terms and Conditions for His promises:
•Psalm 84:11
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk up rightly."
•2 Peter 1:3-11
¤faith
¤virtue (moral excellence)
¤knowledge
¤self control
¤perseverance
¤godliness
¤brotherly kindness
¤love

Illustration:
  In the 16th and 17th century, there were corsairs and pirates. Both dedicated themselves to attacking ships at sea in order to kill and rob. The difference between a corsair and a pirate is that the latter acted for himself, while the corsair was sent to pilfer ships belonging to an enemy nation they were at war with. In other words, the pirate was a bandoleer on his own, he did not represent any nation and no one backed him up. The corsair was a bandoleer authorized by the government of his country, he served his nation whereby he obtained what is known as “Letters of Marque” which was a license to assault, kill and rob enemy ships.
When God makes a promise, he does not give us a “Letter of Marque” that allows us to do whatever we want, with the assurance that God is obligated to fulfill His word. *** (2 Chronicles 33:8)
 
Closing:
  Many believers think that once God promises something, they can behave in any way, because God is obliged to fulfill his promises in any event. What they don't realize is that although at times a verse of the Bible has a promise and not a condition required, much later in another verse they have not read or have not wanted to understand, is the condition God required for the fulfillment of that promise to take place. It would be good for those who believe that the promises of God are unconditional, to review all the verses where there are promises and look for the references to other verses so they can see that in order to obtain that promise, we must act in accordance with something on our part, even if that is only having faith. Let us see what the following verses say.***
When we do what God expects of us in His Word, by obeying His commands, His promises are available for us to appropriate. Jesus said:
“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:5, NKJV). Let us walk humbly in the fear of the Lord and enjoy all His promises for us....that is His desire for us

Amen

Credits:
• Kent Crockett's Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
*http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/promise
** http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/how-many-bible-promises-are-there
***http://www.bibleserralta.com/PromiseGodNotUnconditional.html