Find Joy In The Journey Through The Promises Of God - Sermon 13 Series

Movie illustration: The Greatest Promise: John 3:16

Series: Find Joy in the Journey in 2019

Thesis of series: Joy needs to be experienced in the journey of life! But Joy, like any other attitude, can come and go. It is not guaranteed simply because we are born again believers. We must put ourselves in the places where experiencing joy is a possibility. We need to go after and find joy in our journey of life. What are you doing to cultivate joy? Remember joy is a choice!

Introduction:

Many get all caught up in our, so called, destinations but in the process, we never enjoy the moments in the journey of life to that destination. But God is more concerned with the journey, than the destination so we need to focus less on the destination and enjoy the journey today – we need to find the joy in the here and now.

Scripture: Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Sermon 13: Find Joy in the Journey through God’s Promises

Scripture Text:

2 Peter 1: 3-4: (NIV)

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

2 Peter 1:3-4 (The CEV - The Promise)

3 We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. 4 God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.

2 Peter 1:3-4 (The Message)

3 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! 4 We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

Thesis: God has given us promises in the Bible, there are between 5,467-8,810 depending on scholars, which when embraced and put into action help us to participate in the divine nature of God. As we act on His promises in our journey of life we will find joy, because, His promises enable us to escape the corruption of this world.

Introduction:

Question: "What are the promises of God?"

Answer: There are many, many promises of God in Scripture. In each promise, God pledges that something will (or will not) be done or given or come to pass. These are not flippant, casual promises such as we often make; these promises of God are rock-solid, unequivocal commitments made by God Himself. Because God is faithful, the recipients of the divine promises can have full assurance that what God has pledged will indeed be realized (experienced) see (Numbers 23:19). The above quote is from https://www.gotquestions.org/promises-of-God.html

Quote: “There are approximately 8,810 promises in the entire Bible. In the Old Testament there are 7,706 and in the New Testament there are 1,104 wonderful promises. Deuteronomy 28 has 133 promises, which is more than any other chapter in the Bible. “We’re sitting on the premises when we ought to be standing on the promises!” observes Vance Havner. (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #4612).

Problem today: “We today focus on the problems of life rather than the promises from God for the life of the believer!”

William Carey said, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” (Lou Nicholes - Missionary/Author).

I agree with Carey! You a life filled with joy – focus on the promises not the problems!

Sadly today: We live in a world filled with broken promises!

I had someone say to me the other day when I promised to do something for another church and actually did it – that she never expected me to keep my promise, this is a sad perspective on our society today really it is a lack of honor or even integrity in my view!

Words and promises, vows and pledges are broken over and over today - I think over 50% of the time (my made up statistic) – it happens every day – I think it is more common to break promises than keep them:

• Think of marriages?

• Think of places of work which promise a raise that never comes, or a bonus which never materializes, or a promotion that never comes.