Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Pastor), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.
E-Mail: Mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you merely telling me where in the world you are based- I do not need any other information. This is merely so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God that all over the globe the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God. Thank you. Herman Abrahams, Cape Town, South Africa.
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KEEP YOUR PROMISE - TO SERVE THE LORD
INTRO
„X Do you make New Year¡¦s resolutions?
„X Do you keep them?
„X What does the Bible say on this subject?
„X In O.T. times some Israelites made vows to God.
„X Definition: Vows are commitments to God to perform some duty or abstain from some activity.
ILLUSTRATION - Promised to Give a million Dollars
As the wealthy oil tycoon lay on his deathbed, his pastor talked of God¡¦s healing power. ¡§Pastor,¡¨ he gasped, ¡§if God heals me, I¡¦ll give the church a million dollars.¡¨ Miraculously, the man revived and within a few short weeks was out of the hospital.
One day, several months later, he and the pastor chatted on the sidewalk in front of a hardware store. ¡§You know,¡¨ the pastor said, ¡§when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give the church a million dollars if you got well. We haven¡¦t got it yet.¡¨
¡§Did I say that?¡¨ the tycoon asked. ¡§I guess that goes to show how sick I really was!¡¨
(Today in the Word, July, 1990, p. 34)
PROMISE MADE IN THE PRAYER OF SALVATION.
Dear Lord Jesus, I believe that you have died on the cross for my sins.
I ask you now to come into my heart and to make me a new creation.
Forgive me of all my sin.
Wash me. Cleanse me.
I promise to follow you for as long as I live.
I thank you Lord jesus for coming into my life.
„X You made a promise to be faithful to Jesus.
„X You made a promise to serve Him and Him alone.
„X This was your resolution.
„X It was a resolution that has eternal consequences.
„X The best New Year¡¦s resolution one can therefore make is to remain loyal to Jesus and
to excel in our service to Him ¡V to obey His Word !!
„X Obedience brings joy ¡V the joy of the Lord is our strength.
„X The way of obedience is the way of blessing.
„X Many New Year¡¦s resolutions deal with physical issues like losing weight, increasing
exercise, getting more sleep, or eating healthier foods.
„X Some people pledge to learn a new skill or to take up a new hobby.
„X There may be a commitment to be more devoted to your studies.
These are all good things to accomplish but let your number one motivation be continued faithfulness to the Lord; obedience to His Word.
„X When making a New Year¡¦s resolution or promise, make sure it includes Jesus.
„X Evaluate your resolution it in the light of eternity.
„X How will this pledge help you to be more like Christ or move closer to the heart of God?
1. ONCE A VOW WAS SPOKEN IT BECAME A IRREVERSIBLE CONTRACT WITH GOD.
Num 30:2
¡§When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.¡¨
Numbers 30 goes on to explain that parents guarded their children¡¦s vows; husbands judged vows made by their wives.
2. IT IS A SIN TO MAKE A VOW AND NOT TO KEEP IT.
Deut 23:21-23
21 ¡¥If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.¡¦
„X Vs 23 shows that vows or resolutions were made voluntarily, but was binding once made.
„X Failure to fulfill a vow was called sin (vs 21) and would result in God¡¦s punishment.
3. IT IS BETTER NOT TO MAKE A VOW THAN TO MAKE ONE AND NOT KEEP IT.
Eccl. 5:5-7
5 ¡¥It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, ¡§My vow was a mistake.¡¨ Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God..¡¦
„X Watch your mouth (vs 6).
„X Stand in awe of God (vs 7) ¡V
„X He is not mocked (Gal 6:7) ¡V
„X You will reap the consequences of your actions.
4. THE CONSEQUENCES OF BREAKING A VOW WERE SERIOUS.
Leviticus 26:14-20
14 ¡¨¡¥But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant (YOUR PROMISE) 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. 17 I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.
18 ¡§¡¥If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. 19 I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. 20 Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.¡¦
The consequences for breaking your promise to serve the lord will have devastating results on your life.
5. AS IN THE O.T., GOD IN N.T. TIMES DID NOT TAKE BREAKING A PROMISE LIGHTLY.
Acts 5:1-11
¡¥Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife¡¦s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles¡¦ feet.
3 Then Peter said, ¡§Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn¡¦t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn¡¦t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.¡¨
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, ¡§Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?¡¨
¡§Yes,¡¨ she said, ¡§that is the price.¡¨
9 Peter said to her, ¡§How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.¡¨
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.¡¦
„X Annanias and Sapphira had made a promise not only to the Apostles but to God.
„X Breaking their vow became a capital offense (See Acts 4:34-37)
„X We dare not take lightly our religious acts or promises; God does not take us lightly. (Disciple¡¦s Study Bible)
„X In verse 9 Peter asks the question: ¡§How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord¡¨? It was important to set the course properly at the outset in order to leave no doubt that God will not tolerate such hypocrisy and deceit. (Reflecting God Study Bible)
„X Annanias and Sapphira coveted personal attention, praise and prestige thru unethical means ¡V they pretended to have given all the proceeds from the sale of their land.
6. WHAT ABOUT TODAY?
Oaths
Matt 5:33-37
33 ¡¥¡§Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ¡¥Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.¡¦ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God¡¦s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ¡¥Yes¡¦ be ¡¥Yes,¡¦ and your ¡¥No,¡¦ ¡¥No¡¦; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.¡¦
„X Jesus said it is not necessary to swear by the Lord or by heaven or by earth.
„X One need only say he will do something or he will not - One¡¦s statement is just as binding as words with an oath added.
ILLUSTRATION - Unkept Promises
We live in an era of unkept promises. Nations sign important treaties and then break them at will. And many couples show little regard for their wedding vows. In this kind of society, we who are God¡¦s people should be known for keeping our promises.
The brilliant Christian scholar and writer C. S. Lewis took that truth seriously. He was determined to pay what he had vowed. His biography tells of the suffering he endured because he kept a promise he had made to a buddy during World War I. This friend was worried about the care of his wife and small daughter if he should be killed in battle, so Lewis assured him that if that were to happen he would look after them. As the war dragged on, the man was killed. True to his word, Lewis took care of his friend¡¦s family. Yet no matter how helpful he tried to be, the woman was ungrateful, rude, arrogant, and domineering. Through it all, Lewis kept forgiving her. He refused to let her actions become an excuse to renege on his promise. -H.V.L.
(Source Unknown)
„X God knows the heart ¡V He hears vows and takes them seriously without embellishments.
„X Your vow to serve the Lord is a covenant, a contract you made with God ¡V keep your vow. He keeps his promises and expects us to keep ours ¡V it is a serious matter.
7. PUT SERIOUS THOUGHT INTO THE PROMISES THAT YOU MAKE TO THE LORD.
Choose a pledge that will have a significant impact on your life, but that will not be impossible to keep.
The danger of making a rash pledge:
Judges 11:30-40
30 ¡¥And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: ¡§If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD¡¦s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.¡¨
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, ¡§Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.¡¨
36 ¡§My father,¡¨ she replied, ¡§you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,¡¨ she said. ¡§Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.¡¨
38 ¡§You may go,¡¨ he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite custom 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.¡¦
8. DANGER & CONSEQUENCES OF BREAKING YOUR ORIGINAL PROMISE (BACKSLIDING)
A) Joshua 23:1-13 After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well advanced in years, 2 summoned all Israel¡Xtheir elders, leaders, judges and officials¡Xand said to them: ¡§I am old and well advanced in years. 3 You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you. 4 Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain¡Xthe nations I conquered¡Xbetween the Jordan and the Great Sea in the west. 5 The LORD your God himself will drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.
6 ¡§Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.
9 ¡§The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God.
12 ¡§But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you.
B) Proverbs 26:11 ¡§As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly¡¨.
As a dog eats its vomit (quoted in 2 Peter 2:22), so a fool cannot learn from experience. He returns to his habits even though they are disgusting.
C) 2 Peter 2:20 ¡¥If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: ¡§A dog returns to its vomit,¡¨ and, ¡§A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.¡¨¡¦
CLOSING
Make your number one New Year resolution ¡V Continued faithfulness to Jesus; complete obedience to His Word.
„X God will honour your efforts if you honour Him.
„X Remain faithful
„X Stay on course.
„X You may be blessed in a way you never dreamed possible.
„X God blesses those who keep their promise and he will bless you.
Let¡¦s not be like Peter, but rather let¡¦s resolve to keep our promise and to never fall away (see Matt 26:33) ***
