GOD’S PROMISE
Introduction:
Mankind:
Promises, promises. Promises are made to be broken.
Put no trust in the promises of the man who is running for office. He is forced to make a promise to every man who solicits it, and they soon grow beyond the limit of redemption. W. A. Taylor.
He who is most slow in making a promise is the most faithful in its performance.
J. J. Rousseau.
God :
Promises are sure for God cannot lie.
God has made promises to men of his own free will and good pleasure, from no motive but that love which lies within himself. C. H. Spurgeon
Titus 1:2 “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
Sooner walk in the dark and trust to a promise of God than trust in the light of the brightest day that ever dawned. C. H. Spurgeon
Before he pledged his word he was free to do as it pleased him; but after he has made a promise, his truth and honor bind him to do as he has said. C. H. Spurgeon
I. THE RAIN AND THE RAINBOW
A. The Problem
1. Genesis 6:5 “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
2. Genesis 6:6 “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and
it grieved him at his heart. 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
a. We often say we haven’t seen such bad times as these before.
b. We must understand that our time on Earth is short in comparison to the
history of the Earth.
c. We certainly live in a wicked time. However, the wickedness at the time of Noah obviously was extreme. It grieved God . . . to the point of action.
3. Genesis 6:17 “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to
destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and
every thing that is in the earth shall die.”
a. Not a local middle east flood.
b. A total (universal) flood.
B. The Promise --> Genesis 9:11 “And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 9:12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 9:15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.9:16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 9:17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”
Every time it should rain, fear would have overwhelmed the people after the flood as they repopulated the world.
This is a symbol of the beautiful and variegated [multicolored] care of God. It is a token of the truth and certainty of His Word. It is the evidence of His oath, which He will certainly perform. A Dictionary Of Bible Types
C. The Proof
Just look for the rainbow after the rain. And certainly, there has never been another
universal flood, neither shall there ever be.
II. THE CROSS AND THE CHRIST
A. The Problem
1. Failure to believe and follow by Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
I Timothy 2:14 “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
Satan’s plan was to draw our first parents to sin, and so to separate between them and their God. Thus the devil was from the beginning a murderer, and the great mischief maker. The person tempted was the woman: it was Satan’s policy to enter into talk with her when she was alone. There are many temptations to which being alone gives great advantage; but the communion of saints tends very much to their strength and safety. Satan took advantage by finding her near the forbidden tree. They that would not eat the forbidden fruit, must not come near the forbidden tree. Satan tempted Eve, that by her he might tempt Adam. It is his policy to send temptations by hands we do not suspect, and by those that have most influence upon us. Matthew Henry
Genesis 3:4 “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Satan promised they should be safe, but they cannot so much as think themselves so! Matthew Henry
2. Sin entered.
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
3. Sin brings death.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die,”
B. The Promise
1. The Battle
Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee [Satan] and the woman, and between thy seed [children of the Devil] and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his [Christ’s] heel.” 4000 B. C.
War between Jesus Christ and Satan prophesied 4000 years before the birth
of Christ. This war was intensely played out on Earth over a period
of 33 years. Christ would win the war at Calvary.
2. The Birth
Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” 742 B. C.
Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” 740 B. C.
Satan tried to stop the birth of Christ and failed. Satan then tried to kill
Christ as a child and failed again.
3. The Suffering and Death
Psalm 22:15 “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 22:17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my
vesture.”
Psalm 69:21 “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me
vinegar to drink.”
Zechariah 11:12 “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if
not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 11:13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” 487 B. C.
Satan thought he had destroyed Christ on Calvary and failed!!!!!!
C. The Proof
1. The Birth
Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”
Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:
for he shall save his people from their sins. 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
2. The Suffering and Death
Matthew 27:3 “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was
condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 27:6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. 27:7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 27:8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. 27:9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 27:10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.”
3. The Redemption
Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
III. THE DOVE AND THE COMFORTER
A. The Problem
1. Christ when on the Earth in the flesh could not be bodily in all places at all times.
2. Christ was leaving.
3. The followers of Christ (Christians) would need special guidance in difficult trials, special comfort in tribulations, special support in interpretation and presentation of the Word of God.
4. The New Testament Church was just being founded and would need special gifts
and guidance.
B. The Promise
John 16:7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
1. Christ did go away therefore the Comforter will come to the disciples who
were left to initiate the New Testament Church.
2. When He comes He will reprove (reprimand) sin.
John 16:8 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
Speaking under the unction of the Holy Ghost, sin will be often reproved.
3. When He comes He will teach.
John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Ministering in the Word of God when lead by the Holy Ghost will teach in
ways that cannot be achieved by any other method.
C. The Proof
Acts 2:1 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
CONCLUSION:
A pastor visited an old man suffering from painful rheumatism found him with his Bible open in front of him. The minister noticed that the word “proved” was written repeatedly in the margin. He turned over a few pages and found, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” “Proved.” And so it went on through the Book. Next to John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” he had written “Proved.” He had received Christ by believing and had indeed become a child of God. He had proved that promise of God’s Word. Millions of other born-again believers could write “proved” next to this verse. There isn’t a single one who has put this promise of God to the test and had been disappointed. Illustrations of Bible Truths Compiled by Spiros Zodhiates, pg 92
II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
All that God has promised has, is, or will come to pass. How many fulfilled promises will it take to get you to believe?
It appears that the tragedies of September 11th have not permanently changed the religious attitudes of Americans. What will it take? The prophecies of the book of Revelation lie just beyond the horizon. Don’t wait to late to believe the promises of God.
Acts 27:25 “Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”
