“THE PRIORITY OF A PROMISE”
Hebrews 11:13-22
January 4, 2009
Warden Assembly of God
Pastor John L. Harper
1 Corinthians 11:23-31 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
SERVE COMMUNION:
• Distribute elements
• (Have Worship Team play during this time)
• Serve Deacons
• Have Deacon pray for the bread
• (Partake of bread)
• Have Deacon pray for the cup
• (Partake of the cup)
26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
Recognize Alan, Adrian and Philip as members
Introduction: This time of year we look to make promises that we hope will last through the end of the month! Promises need to have a priority in our lives, especially those promises which are from the Lord. If the Lord says something we know that we can count on it.
Illustration: PERPETUAL NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Share a funny story with someone whose sprits are dragging. A good laugh can be very good medicine. Vow not to make a promise you don’t think you can keep. Pay a debt. Give a soft answer. Free yourself of envy and malice. Encourage some youth to do his or her best. Share your experience, and offer support. Young people need role models. Make a genuine effort to stay in closer touch with family and good friends. Resolve to stop magnifying small problems and shooting from the lip. Words that you have to eat can be hard to digest. Find the time to be kind and thoughtful. All of us have the same allotment: 24 hours a day. Give a compliment. It might give someone a badly needed lift. Think things through. Forgive an injustice. Listen more. Be kind. Apologize when you realize you are wrong. An apology never diminishes a person. It elevates him. Don’t blow your own horn. If you’ve done something praiseworthy, someone will notice eventually. Try to understand a point of view that is different from your own. Few things are 100 percent one way or another. Examine the demands you make on others. Lighten up. When you feel like blowing your top, ask yourself, "Will it matter in a week from today?” Laugh the loudest when the joke is on you. The sure way to have a friend is to be one. We are all connected by our humanity, and we need each other. Avoid malcontents and pessimists. They drag you down and contribute nothing. Don’t discourage a beginner from trying something risky. Nothing ventured means nothing gained. Be optimistic. The can-do spirit is the fuel that makes things go. Read something uplifting. Deep-six the trash. You won’t eat garbage - why put it in your head? Don’t abandon your old-fashioned principles. They never go out of style. When courage is needed, ask yourself, "If not me, who? If not now, when?" Walk tall, and smile more. You’ll look 10 years younger. Don’t be afraid to say, "I love you". Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world. SOURCE: Ann Landers, as quoted on Pastors.com, http://www.cse.fau.edu/~mahesh/quotes/newyear.html.
Contributed by: SermonCentral PRO
Illustration: March 11, 1942. Corregidor, in the Philippines. I’m sure most of the WWII veterans in the congregation today can tell you what happened that day. The Japanese forces were invading the Philippines, and on a day that marked the beginning of a dark chapter for the American and Filipino forces, General Douglas MacArthur prepared to leave, uttering what was to become probably his most famous statement: “I shall return.” When he made the promise to return, many thought he was crazy. But his determination to free the Philippines from Japanese occupation would not be drowned by criticism and doubt. Roughly 2 ½ years later, Gen. MacArthur landed once again on Philippine soil with the words, “People of the Philippines, I have returned!” Contributed by: Brian La Croix
I. THE PURSUIT OF A PROMISE (vs. 13-16)
A. Died grasping the promise
1. They saw the promise with the eyes of faith
(Mat 13:16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
(Mat 13:17) For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
2. They were assured of the promise
Illustration: A pastor in a small church was greatly annoyed by one of his elderly members who fell asleep during his sermons every Sunday. After the service one day, the pastor said to the old man’s grandson who always sat with his grandfather, “If you can keep the old man awake, I’ll pay you a dollar a week.” This worked for two weeks; the aged man was very alert and listened to the sermons attentively. On the third Sunday, however, there he was, up to his old tricks again, sound asleep in the pew. After the service the pastor called the boy over and said, “I am disappointed in you. Didn’t I promise you a dollar a week to keep your grandfather awake?” “Yes,” replied the boy, “but Grandpa gives me five dollars not to disturb him.” Contributed by: Lynn Malone
3. They embraced the promise
B. Declared the pursuit of a home
1. They “forgot” where they came from
2. They did not use the opportunity to go back to that country
C. Desired a heavenly home
1. They wanted a better country
2. They wanted a heavenly country
Illustration: HEAVEN’S GATEWAY I recently made a trip to Ellis Island in New York. Ellis Island was once the biggest immigration processing center in the U.S. It processed thousands of immigrants a day. All of these immigrants left their homelands through much difficulty to come to “the land of promise.” They believed they could make themselves a new and better life here. At the time, a trip to America took at least a month by boat. When I went to Ellis Island, I saw dormitory rooms where people stayed while they were being processed. They weren’t much to look at from our 21st century American perspective, but I wonder what they looked like to the 19th century immigrants. Maybe to some of them, especially after months on a boat, they looked promising. Maybe it was the grandest room they had ever seen. And imagine with me that one person is so overwhelmed with the greatness of this room that he decides he will stay there forever. And so when they try to finish processing him, he stalls it. He hangs up his pictures above the bunk. He unpacks all his clothes and moves right in. You would want to grab this guy and tell him how foolish he was being. You would want to explain to him that this place was a dump, and that America has so much more to offer him. And yet, how often do we do the same thing. Surely, this earth is grand. But it is only the processing center. This life, especially our life in Christ, is much more grand than when we were dead in our sins. However, it’s still just the gateway. The next world holds beauty and grandeur that is incomprehensible to us. We can become convinced that things like wealth, and fame, power, and knowledge is the climax of our existence. We would be like the immigrant who thought the dormitory was his final destination. SOURCE: Stephan Brown. Edited by SermonCentral staff.
Contributed by: Stephan Brown
3. They wanted the place God has prepared for them
Application: Are you pursuing the promise of God for your life?
II. THE PROMISE PUT TO A TEST (vs. 17-19)
A. He offered up the promise son
1. Isaac was the son of his old age
2. He was the natural heir to carry on Abraham’s name
3. He was his flesh and blood
4. Abraham had put Isaac in the place the Lord should occupy
B. He was willing to trust God with his family (Abraham offered Isaac)
1. Abraham did not know how he would live without Isaac, but he trusted God.
2. He knew that God could give him a son again
YOU CAN TRUST GOD WITH YOUR FAMILY, YOUR BUSINESS, AND YOUR HEALTH. WHATEVER I T IS THAT GOD IS ASKING YOU TO DO YOU CAN TRUST HIM! GOD IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.
(RECITE THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST)
Alpha and Omega
Ancient of Days
Beginning and the End
Bread of Life
Bright and Morning Star
Chief Cornerstone
Counselor
Comforter
Deliverer
Defender
Exalted
Emmanuel
Everlasting Father
First and the Last
Friend that sticks closer than a brother
Fairest of 10,000 to my soul
God
Guide
Hope of Heaven
Hope of glory, Christ in me
I am
I was
I will be
Jesus
Jehovah Elohim (Creator)
Jehovah Jireh (provider)
Jehovah Makkedesh (sanctifier)
Jehovah Nissi (banner)
Jehovah Rohi (shepherd)
Jehovah Rophe (healer)
Jehovah Shammah (present)
Jehovah Tsidkenu (righteousness)
King of Kings
Kinsman Redeemer
Lion of Judah
Lamb of God
Light of the world
Master
Messiah
Mighty God
Nazarene
Omnipotent
Omnipresent
Omniscient
Prophet
Priest
Propitiation
Rabbi
Rock
Redeemer
Refuge
Savior
Sanctifier
Sword
Shield
The Way
The Truth
The Life
Victory
Wonderful
Word of God
C. He believed God would give him back Isaac
1. Abraham would obey God to the point of human sacrifice if that was necessary.
2. He knew that God could resurrect Isaac from the dead.
Is Your All on the Altar?
Elisha A. Hoffman, 1900
1. You have longed for sweet peace,
And for faith to increase,
And have earnestly, fervently prayed;
But you cannot have rest,
Or be perfectly blest,
Until all on the altar is laid.
o Refrain:
Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?
Your heart does the Spirit control?
You can only be blest,
And have peace and sweet rest,
As you yield Him your body and soul.
2. Would you walk with the Lord,
In the light of His word,
And have peace and contentment alway?
You must do His sweet will,
To be free from all ill,
On the altar your all you must lay.
3. Oh, we never can know
What the Lord will bestow
Of the blessings for which we have prayed,
Till our body and soul
He doth fully control,
And our all on the altar is laid.
4. Who can tell all the love
He will send from above,
And how happy our hearts will be made;
Of the fellowship sweet
We shall share at His feet,
When our all on the altar is laid.
Source:
• Faith Publishing House, Evening Light Songs, 1949, edited 1987 (481)
Larnelle Harris - When Praise Demands A Sacrifice
The call to go to mount Moriah came to Abraham
But the offering placed before the Lord was not a lamb
He bound His only son and when the knife was raised
A sacrifice became the price of praise
Chorus
When praise demands a sacrifice, I’ll worship even then
Surrendering the dearest things in life
And if devotion costs me all
He’ll find me faithful to His call
When praise demands a sacrifice
The call to go to Calvary came to God’s own Son
An altar waited for the lamb He would become
His hands reached up to heaven as the cross was raised
And with His life He paid the price of praise
Repeat chorus
God hears the words of praise we lift
Yet I have found
He’s honored more by what I’m willing to lay down
Repeat chorus
Application: Will you trust the Lord today by laying your “Isaac” on the altar
III. THE PROMISE PASSED ON (vs. 20-22)
A. Blessings for the future
1. He blessed both of his sons
2. Both of his sons had a destiny
3. Only one of his sons followed God’s plan
B. Blessings with a lesson
1. Jacob remembered his life and he worshiped the Lord
Illustration: Jacob was dying. He knew he was dying. Two things are important in this moment as eternity slips closer. One is God and worshiping Him. The other is the family.
Jacob had not always lived with these priorities. At times his life had been guided by his own agenda...his own desires....his own welfare... his own comfort and gain. Self-indulgence had been his god.
At times he had stumbled in his faith. At times he tried to bargain with God. At times fear instead of faith made his choices.
In all this God continued to work on Jacob. In love God rebuked and corrected. In love God caused Jacob to wrestle with who Jacob was and what kind of a man he had become. And in love God blessed him and changed him.
It didn’t happen overnight and it didn’t happen accidentally or without a struggle. But it happened by faith choices and Jacob became a man who sought for God’s blessing on his life and who sought to be a blessing to his family.
I want to say to every father and mother present that God wants you to be a blessing to your family...and it is not too late to start today!
God wants you to bless your family by what you teach them and by the life you live before them.
Some practical ways to humble ourselves and pass on the kind of Godly values and Godly lives that bless our families:
1. Bless your family by supporting them with your attention, time, love, discipline, the teaching of values, and with finances. For many parents this will mean less TV time and more real family time. I fear that often what we call a family night is just another night in front of the TV set instead of time spent praying together, talking, family activities, playing games, working together, singing, reading stories, bible, etc.
2. Bless your family by refusing to use and abuse tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, or other drugs while telling your children, "Don’t do as I do."
3. Bless your family by not teaching them to rely on guns in order to feel safe and powerful. (I did not say, "Don’t own guns". Our security and peace of mind is not found in a gun!) If you own guns, respect them and use them wisely but don’t trust your life to a gun. Trust your life and future only to God and teach your children to do the same!
4. Bless your family by having more concern about character development then about what kind of clothes they wear or car they drive.
5. Bless your family by making it your God-given responsibility to teach them respect, good manners, good work and health habits, honesty, love, and serving others for Christ’s sake.
6. Bless your family by taking...not sending them to church, Sunday school, etc.
7. Bless your family by showing them through your life that faith in God and living by the Bible is not a Sunday activity...but a way of life Sunday through Saturday. Don’t make them have to wade through your hypocrisy in order to stay out of hell.
8. Bless your family by being a watchman over what influences them through the ear gate and eye gate: what they watch & read, what they listen to. And by what you watch and listen to also!
9. Bless your family by teaching them the godly use of money. So many lives, potential, futures, homes, are robbed of peace because of unwise and unbiblical use of money and credit. Bless your family by teaching them generosity by your patterns of faithfulness as a steward accountable to God. Bless them so that they will know the rewards of tithing and learn to see God as their Provider.
10. Bless your family by walking the walk, not just talking the talk when it comes to prayer, reading God’s Word, loving your neighbor, loving other races, voting, community involvement, witnessing, etc.
God wants you to bless your family by what you teach them, by how you love them, by the life you live before them, and by the future for which you prepare them. John A. Holt, Senior Pastor Bethel Assembly of Pittsburgh
2. Jacob leaned upon his staff
It was customary in those days to have a walking staff that would detail the journey through carvings of one’s life
a. Jacob was leaning upon his staff because He wrestled with the angel of the Lord.
b. Jacob was leaning upon the staff which represented the Lord who had sustained him throughout his life.
EVERY ONE OF US HERE TODAY IS EITHER MAKING CARVINGS ON OUR “STAFF’” OR WE ARE SHARING OUR JOURNEY WITH OUR KIDS OR GRANDKIDS. WHAT DOES YOUR STAFF SAY ABOUT HOW THE LORD HAS LED YOU THROUGH YOUR LIFE? IS YOUR STAFF A REMINDER OF WHAT NOT TO DO, OR IS IT A REMINDER OF GOD’S GUIDANCE?
C. Blessings with a warning, Joseph warned the children of Israel about the time to come
1. Israel stayed too long
2. Israel got comfortable
3. Israel was enslaved
Application: What promise are you passing down to your children? What lesson is your life showing to others? What warning is being given when others look at your life? Do others sense that you are embracing the promises of the Lord?
CONCLUSION: There are going to be things happen to you in this life that will make you cling to that eternal hope because there is no other. Wally and Barbara Rendel know that’s true. Wally is the minister at the Southern Acres Christian Church in Lexington and has been for over 20 years. But five years ago they got the phone call that every parent dreads. Late one night an Ohio State Trooper told them that their 21 year old daughter Jill was killed when the van that she was riding in with the rest of the girl’s basketball team from her college had overturned. Jill was vivacious, she was on the dean’s list, she was popular, even been selected by her student body as Homecoming Queen just several days before she was killed. She was a Daddy’s girl. I understand that a week before she died that she was home in Lexington and sat on her Dad’s lap for an hour just joking around. When Wally and Barbara received the tragic news that Jill had been killed they were devastated. But within minutes, because of his faith, this Dad through tears said, "The Queen has gone home to be with the King." Say what you will, there is something markedly different about the way mature Christians face death. Paul said, "We grieve, but not as those who have no hope." The funeral for Jill Rendel was packed. Over a thousand people came. I understand that it was a funeral that was a little different for some. It was not a dirge of sadness but a celebration of Jill’s ultimate victory in Christ and our promise of life eternal. Toward the end of the service a young man sang a most moving song. It’s entitled, "I fell on my knees and cried Holy." The song says, "I dreamed of a city called glory, so bright and so fair. When I entered the gates I cried holy, the angels all met with me there. They carried me from mansion to mansion. Oh, the sights that I saw. Then I said, "I want to see Jesus, for He’s the one who died for all." The second time that he sang, "I want to see Jesus...” Wally and Barbara, who sat within reach of their daughter’s casket stood and raised their hands to heaven and at once all 1000 people who were there spontaneously stood with them, praising God. And then Wayne Smith a long time friend of Wally’s came to the front and closed the service with these words: "Life is too short and death too sure to spend them on trifle’s.” And then he read this poem which he said were Jill’s words to all of us... ’Grieve not for me. Nor let one small tear fall. What you dream of, I can see and I’m telling you, it’s worth it all!" And immediately the entire congregation burst into applause. That’s possible for one reason and one reason only... because we can believe the Risen Christ who said, "I am the resurrection and the Life. Because I live, you will live also." Contributed by: Timothy Smith
George Sweeting, in his book The No-Guilt Guide for Witnessing, tells of a man by the name of John Currier who in 1949 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee. In 1968, Currier’s sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it. Life on that farm was hard and without promise for the future. Yet John kept doing what he was told even after the farmer for whom he worked had died. Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier’s plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man. Sweeting concluded that story by asking, “Would it matter to you if someone sent you an important message—the most important in your life—and year after year the urgent message was never delivered?” We who have heard the good news and experienced freedom through Christ are responsible to proclaim it to others still enslaved by sin. Are we doing all we can to make sure that people get the message? Our Daily Bread, November 6, 1994. Contributed by: Donnie Martin
