1. The Lord gave
*to those who are not yet Christ-followers…John 3:16
*to those who are Christ-followers….Jeremiah 29:11
*The Bible says that God gives success, encouragement, rest, victory, wisdom, authority
2. The Lord gave “Israel”
*many of God’s promises are directed particularly to God’s people (His children)
*what it means to be “His”….plan of salvation
*to be a citizen of a nation there are certain things you must “do”…to be a citizen of heaven, everything has already been done
3. The Lord kept His promise(s)
*look at the entire Old Testament up to this point (and the lives / ministries of Moses and Joshua in particular) at God’s faithfulness and “promise-keeping”
*God promises in His Word to save, forgive, guide, meet needs, provide peace, and to keep / secure His own
4. God’s people “took possession” of God’s promises
*most people don’t even know what God has promised, there are a relative few that do know what God promises in His Word, and even fewer still who choose to live their lives “within” God’s promises
*when you’ve got a headache, it’s not enough to know that there’s tylenol in the house…you have to “put it in you”! Same with God’s promises!
5. God’s people “settled” in God’s promises
*are you remaining in God’s promises?
*Hebrews 12 talks about living sacrifices…..have a tendency to crawl off the altar!
*John 15…we need to abide / remain in God’s plan, His will, His promises
*the most miserable people on earth are not lost people, they are saved people who are out of fellowship with God…because they know how good it can be when it isn’t. Lost folks don’t have that point of reference
6. God gave His people rest
*Matthew 11:28-30
*rest / peace is NOT the absence of conflict…it’s the presence of Christ in the midst of inevitable conflict
7. The enemies of God’s people could not stand against them
*Exodus 23:20-22
*Paul reminds us that our enemies are not flesh and blood (people), but rather the evil behaviors that people exhibit (Galatians 5:19f)
*the Galatians passage also outlines our “allies” in spiritual warfare….fruit of the Spirit
8. God’s promises did not (do not) fail….ever!
*Psalm 145:13
*what is the only proper response of a people that belong to a God Who cannot fail? 2 Corinthians 7:1
9. All God’s promises are fulfilled
*God’s has made some promises that have been fulfilled with unbelievable detail….prophecies concerning Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, suffering, death, resurrection
*only a few that have yet to be fulfilled….but, given God’s track record, we believe that these yet unfulfilled promises will most certainly come to pass
*talking about His return and His certain, swift judgment
*John 14 - His promised return, Matthew 25, His certain judgment
*what if His return was today?
