SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Two General Truths to Remember About God's Promises:
• (1a). God is in no hurry:
• (1b). God never forgets or retracts his word.
(2). Three Guide-lines Concerning God's Promises:
• (2a). Is the promise universal in scope?
• (2b). Is the promise personal in nature?
• (2c). Is the promise conditional?
(3). Abraham & Sarah: Faith & Promise (vs 1-8):
• (3a). God Fulfils His Promise (vs 1-3).
• (3b). God’s Timing is Perfect (vs 2).
• (3c). God’s Power is Unlimited (vs 5-7):
• (3d). God Has a Plan and a Purpose (vs 1-8).
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Where there's a will (There's an Insight into the Deceased)
• Here are a few actual examples from peoples Last Wills & Testament.
• William Shakespeare Died: 1616:
• He decreed that his wife Anne Hathaway receive his “second best bed”.
• (Not sure who got the best one!)
• Herr Tausch, of Langen, in the province of Hesse,
• Wrote the shortest will ever conceived: "Vse zene."
• The Czech words meant "All to wife."
• In 2004 the famously Leona Helmsley, the original Queen of Mean;
• Left instructions for much of her $4.5bn fortune to be spent caring for dogs,
• Which included $12 million. Yes, $12 million. to her dog Trouble.
• Robert Louis Stevenson, in 1891 that Annie Ide,
• The 12 year old daughter of Henry Clay Ide, the US Commissioner to Samoa,
• Where RLS he was living at the time,
• Was unhappy that her birthday fell on Christmas Day,
• So he bequeathed his birthday (13th November) to her.
• She was the allowed to assume that date as her own birthday,
• On the occasion that he no longer had use for it.
• The comedian Jack Benny was a proper romantic (take note Shakespeare),
• He bequeathed and left provision to Mary Livingstone his wife of 47 years,
• He left provision for a local florist to deliver one long stemmed rose to Mary,
• Every day until she died.
• Being that she lasted another decade that’s a whole lot of roses.
• TRANSITION: A last will and testament is the legal document,
• By which you promise to benefit others on your death.
• I would say they are legally binding promises.
• Now the God of the Bible makes promises and he keeps his promises!
• What he says he will do, he will do!
There are four words that every Christian should never forget:
• 'God keeps his word'.
• He will not tell us one thing and do another!
• He will never use the expression that we often use;
• "Oh well, promises are meant to be broken".
• God traffics in truth!
• God keeps his word, always!!!
(1). Two truths to remember about God's promises:
(1A). God is in no hurry:
• Remember that God doesn't operate on our time tables:
• He isn't ruled by wristwatches or by a filofax diary, his promises are timeless.
ill:
• Twice a year we change time.... well our watches anyway.
• We put them forward or backward by one hour.
• A reminder that the whole of our lives revolve around time.
• But God doesn't operate in the realm of the clock:
• He is not restricted to a calendar or a diary - God is in no hurry!
• In fact the Bible teaches that the promises of God:
• Are fulfilled more by our obedience,
• Than by our calendars.
(1B). God never forgets or retracts his word.
• Someone did the math and figured there are 7,474 promises in the Bible.
• If you don't believe me, have a read and check them out!
ill:
• There is an old gospel chores that says:
• "Every promise in the book is mine"
• It may be a nice chorus, but it is very bad theology!
If God makes a promise it will be done:
• But note a caution:
• Not all of the Bible's promises are applicable to all people.
• This is an inspired book, not a magical book.
• So you need to handle it correctly.
(2). Three guide-lines concerning God's promises:
(2a). Is the promise universal in scope?
• A promise is universal when words like;
• 'Whoever' or 'Anyone' are used in the scripture passage.
ill:
• Romans chapter 10 verse 13:
• "WHOEVER will call on the name of the Lord will be saved".
• Such promises are held out to anyone, anytime, anywhere;
• Who is willing to follow this advice.
(2b). Is the promise personal in nature?
• Many Bible promises are given to someone else,
• They are not necessarily meant for you.
ill:
• Remember the incident in Joshua chapter 6.
• 6 days God told Joshua and his army to walk around the city of Jericho.
• Then on the 7th day they were to march around it 7 times,
• And when the trumpets were sounded, the people shouted, the city walls collapsed.
• God proved faithful, true to his promise.
• But I have some bad news for anyone;
• Who thinks they can get rid of an annoying neighbour like that today;
• That was a personal promise to Joshua.
• It was never meant for folks like you and me.
It is very tempting to claim some of those 7,474 lovely promises:
• Some of the hymns and choruses that we sing,
• Give the impression that they are ours already.
• But dealing in promises that were never meant for you,
• Will only result disappointment.
(2c). Is the promise conditional?
• Some promises are dependent on personal action:
• They are not automatic, they require you do something,
• You must read small print or the context it was given in.
• That will tell you what you must do, your part in the equation.
• Before God will fulfil his part.
ill:
John chapter 15:
• Verse 7b: is the promise,
• "......Ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you".
• Verse 7a: is the condition,
• "...Remain in me and my words remain in you".
• Again later in the chapter: Verse 16b: is the promise,
• "The father will give you whatever you ask in my name".
• Verse 17: is the condition.
• "This is my command; love each other".
• These conditions prevent us:
• From being self-seeking, mercenary and self-centred in our praying,
• They require us to be self-denying, generous and un-selfish.
God is faithful and always keeps his word, his promises:
• But we need to make sure that we know,
• What type of promise God has made, before we claim it.
• Now with that as a backdrop,
• We are ready for these verses in Genesis chapter 21 verses 1-8.
(3). Abraham & Sarah: faith and promise (vs 1-7):
• If you haven’t been with us over the past few weeks;
• The context for these verses are that;
• Sarah the wife of Abraham and has been childlessness for many years,
• This was a very heavy burden in the culture and time in which she lived.
• What made the heartache greater was her husbands name ‘Abraham’:
• Which meant "Father of a multitude."
ill:
• We may give somebody very small the nickname ‘lofty’.
• Or somebody very large the nickname ‘slim’
• TRANSITION: Every time Abraham heard his name mentioned;
• It was a reminder that as yet God had not kept his promise!
• He was the father of one son ‘Ishmael’.
• Hardly a multitude;
• And this was by his maidservant ‘Hagar’ and not by his wife ‘Sarah’.
• But Abraham would discover;’
• “God is never too early, he’s never too late, he is always just on time!”
(1). God Fulfils His Promise (vs 1-3).
“Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.
2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.
3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.”
• Note that verse 1 is the most important verse in the whole of this chapter.
• Here how it reads in the Living Bible:
“Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said.”
• Question: Did you notice where God is in that verse?
• Answer: He’s at the beginning at he’s at the end:
• “Then God did as he had promised” … “at the time God had said.”
• His verse makes it very clear;
• That it is because of God that Sarah got pregnant;
• It is because of God that Abraham is now changing nappies at the age of 100!
• It is because of God Sarah’s has at last lost her shame and reproach.
• She gave birth to a son called ‘Isaac’.
• But the birth of Isaac involved much more than parental joy,
• For his birth meant the fulfilment of God's promise.
ill:
• When God had originally called Abraham to leave his home land,
• He promised to make of him a great nation that would bless the whole world.
• (Genesis chapter 12).
• Then He repeatedly promised;
• That he would give the land of Canaan to Abraham's descendants (chapter 17)
• Again God appeared to Abraham;
• And reiterated his promise to multiply his descendents (chapter 13 & 15).
• And God had made it clear to Abraham that Sarah (not Hagar);
• Would be the mother of his promised child (chapter 17).
• The birth of Isaac in this chapter,
• Is a reminder us that God keeps His promises,
Note:
• Three times in these two verses there is a reference to God’s Word:
• Verse 1:
“Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah AS HE HAD SAID, and the LORD did for Sarah what HE HAD PROMISED”
• It may have taken 25 years for this promise to come to pass;
• But the Lord did for Sarah exactly what He had said he would do.
Ill:
• Have you ever seen a “belt-and-braces” man?
• A “belt-and-braces” man;
• Is someone who wears both a belt and a pair of braces to hold his trousers up.
• I guess his thinking is that way even if his belt breaks,
• He is still saved by his braces.
• He lives by the strategy that he has dealt with every possible problem before it occurs.
• TRANSITION: While this may seem to make logical sense in the natural realm,
• God wants us to live out a supernatural existence.
• He wants us to trust him;
• Instead of always trying to cover all of our bases.
Ill:
• In The Chronicles of Narnia,
• The wonderful children’s stories about the magical land of Narnia.
• In the second book, Prince Caspian,
• Lucy enters Narnia again and sees Aslan, the great lion.
• She has not seen him in a long, long time, and so they have a wonderful reunion.
• Lucy says to Aslan, “Aslan, you’re bigger now.”
• Aslan says, “Lucy, that’s because you are older.
• You see, Lucy, every year that you grow, you will find me bigger.”
• TRANSITION: God wants us to grow in our faith;
• As we do we will see him in a far deeper and bigger way as well!
(2). God’s Timing is Perfect (vs 2).
“Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him”.
• Isaac's birth is the rewarding of patience.
• It has been a long twenty-five years that have passed,
• Since God first spoke to Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees.
• During that time Abraham had many adventures and many spiritual ups and downs.
• Sometimes he fervently believed God, but often he doubted.
• Time and again God appeared to him to remind him of his promise.
• But I’m sure he often wondered why God was taking so long to keep his Word.
Ill:
• The great New England preacher Phillips Brooks;
• (He wrote the carol: ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’)
• Was noted for his poise and quiet manner.
• Yet, one day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion.
• “What’s the trouble, Mr. Brooks?” he asked.
• “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”
Ill:
• Just as Olympic athletes develop their skills as they practice hard;
• Long before the big event actually takes place.
• So God's children grow in godliness and faith;
• As they wait for the fulfilment of God's promises.
• Trusting God's promises not only gives you a blessing at the end;
• But it gives you a blessing while you are waiting.
God wants to build up our character:
• And at times for him to do that we must be patient,
• We might have to face difficulties;
• But this waiting and those difficult situations and circumstances of life;
• Create in us, qualities that we could not get any other way.
• Quote: R.T. Kendall:
• “God’s timing is never too early, it’s never too late, it is always right on time!”
(3). God’s Power is Unlimited (vs 5-7):
“Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 Sarah said, God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.
7 And she added, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
• The birth of Isaac revealed to Abraham the power of God.
• It would take a miracle for Isaac to be born!
• That was one reason why God waited so long:
• He wanted Abraham and Sarah. to be "as good as dead",
• (Hebrews chapter 11 verse 12)
ill:
• Many years ago the English traveller Wilkinson.
• Discovered an Egyptian mummy pit.
• In the pit was a sealed vase, which he sent it to the British Museum.
• But the librarian at the museum managed to drop the vase and break it.
• From the ruins the librarian gathered a few peas.
• They were old, wrinkled and as hard as stones.
• On the 4th June 1844, the peas were planted carefully under a glass.
• Thirty days they had sprouted and were growing well.
• They had been buried as dead, for about 3,000 years,
• Yet were brought to life by the librarian.
• TRANSITION: God waited until Abraham and Sarah. to be "as good as dead",
• So that their son's birth would be a miracle of God and not a marvel of human nature.
• Anyone who met them
• would have to give God and God alone the credit.
• Whenever Abraham held little Isaac in his arms,
• He had a physical reminder that nothing was too hard for the Lord.
(4). God Has a Plan and a Purpose (vs 1-8).
• The birth of Isaac was a step forward in the accomplishing of God's purpose.
• The future redemption of a lost world rested with a little baby boy!
• Isaac would beget Jacob,
• And Jacob would give the world the twelve tribes of Israel;
• And from Israel;
• The promised Messiah would be born.
• Down through the centuries, some of the "living links" in the chain of promise;
• May have seemed insignificant and weak; but they helped to fulfil the purposes of God.
Application:
• Christian be encouraged this evening:
• You may wonder if what you do is really important to God and His work in this world;
• But it is, if you are faithful to trust His Word and do His will.
• You are a vital link in the chain.
Ill:
• Someone once described life as Christians;
• Who are like ants crawling across a painting by Rembrandt.
• We crawl across the dark brown and think all of life is dark brown.
• Then we hit green and think, ‘”Oh, this is better. Now all is green.”
• But soon comes the dark blue and then a splash of yellow,
• A streak of red, and then another patch of brown.
• On we journey, from one colour to another,
• TRANSITION:
• So often we never realise that God is actually painting a masterpiece in our lives;
• Using all the colours of the palette.
• One day we will learn that every colour had its place, had a reason,
• Nothing was wasted or out of place.
• Just as there is; “a time and a season for everything”,
• There is also a colour for every stage of life’s journey.
• When the painting is finished,
• We will discover that we were part of his masterpiece from the very beginning.
• Time is the canvas on which God does his painting,
• And eternity is the perspective from which we will see the beauty of his handiwork.
• So like Abraham and Sarah;
• Let’s keep trusting through the tough times as well as the easy times!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=x79uUJxzZsguO1pJEi4DLhAKQPE17Djn
