You Can Count on It 1/13/04
Romans 4:20-21
A promise is a promise. I’ve heard that all my life and yet it seems to be less and less convincing. Any more when someone tells you that they will do something, it’s not written in stone.
We will tell our kids something to pacify them for the moment then never follow up with our promise.
If I had a nickel for every time that someone told me that they would be at church that Sunday, only to never show up, I could buy us all diner.
I can remember the time that a man’s word and a firm handshake would secure a deal. Now days you need lawyers and to be written in blood and even then it’s not certain.
I think sometimes there is no malice intended. Sometimes people have the best intentions to do something. They say they will do it. They want to do it. But when it comes down to it. It never gets done.
How many times has someone ever asked you to pray for some thing and you said you would, but then you forget? I’ve had to learn to stop and pray right then or else I get busy and forget. That’s why we have slips of paper to fill out prayer request for people like me who are not only loosing their hair but their memory as well.
Some people have such a good heart that they say they will do something and then they never are able to because they promised everyone else the same thing. They’re simply not able to do everything they said they would.
This morning I’m not going to be preaching on keeping your word or about procrastination, so don’t turn me off yet. I’m sure we have all been guilty of that. What I want to talk to you about this morning is someone who always keeps His word. When He says something it is written in stone (some times literally). I’m talking about God.
And as our text says in verse 21, “what He promised He was also able to perform”.
Let’s look at a few of God’s promises knowing that our Almighty God is able to keep His word and do what He says.
Peace
John 14:27, Peace I leave you, My peace I give you;
God promised us peace. I think about a little baby nestled in their mother’s arms. The peace they feel. No worries about the world around them; No cares about someone hurting them because they are in the protection of their mother’s arms.
This is the same peace that we can have in our Heavenly Father. We can have peace that He is in control.
The rest of the verse says it all. “not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”.
You can rest in His arms and feel His sweet peace.
Promised us Power
2 Corinthians 12:9, And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.
We have access to His power. The Bible tells us that if we have the faith of a grain of mustard seed that we can move a mountain. We have the power but often we don’t turn on the switch.
This reminds me of a story I heard about a lady when electricity first started coming into houses in the early 1900’s. This lady was the first in her area to get electricity inside her home. When the installers came to check on the house they discovered very little usage. They knocked on the lady’s door and asked her how she liked her electricity. She said she loved it. They asked her if there were any reason why there was so little usage. She stated that she used it everyday. She would turn on the light and light her lanterns and then turn it off.
Like this lady, we to have the power, we just need to turn it on.
To never leave us nor forsake us
Hebrews 13:5, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
Have you ever felt like you’re alone? I’m not talking about the alone that you long for of just a few hours to yourself. I’m talking about the alone that you feel when you feel like you have no friends or anyone who cares about you.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that God is always there? He doesn’t leave you when things get tough. He doesn’t leave you when you betray Him or do Him wrong. He is the only one you can count on and the only one who is always there for you.
To supply our needs
Philippians 4:19, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Notice I said need not want. If you saw the movie “Bruce Almighty” you saw the problems with giving people all they want. But He has promised to supply all our needs.
A retirement home out of this world
John 14:2, In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
We have been promised a place in Heaven for those who believe. When I recently went to the Gator Bowl the Hotels and Motels were all full. I had to stay in Ga. Praise God He ever has a no vacancy sign up. With all the beauty we have here in this earth and it took Him only 6 days to do this; Can you imagine the beauty of heaven with Him having over 2000 years to prepare?
Now the list goes on and on. One could say the God’s word the Bible is His Book of Promises. But I left out three that I feel have a great importance. My top three you could say and we will dwell a little deeper on them.
God Promised a Savior
Isaiah 9:6a, For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given.
Long ago after the sin of Adam and Eve, there had to be made an atonement for our sins. He gave that atonement with His own life.
Romans 5:8-9, But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
No longer do we need to sacrifice animals. No longer do we have to go to someone else to go to Him.
Hebrews 4:14, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
You have a hot line and you can go to the top yourself. You don’t need me to go and you don’t have to pay any admission to get in. It was the grace of God who sent own Son to fulfill the promise of sending us a way of Salvation.
Those who accept the gift will receive eternal life. Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we do our jobs then we receive our wages. The wages of our sins, what we deserve, is death. Not only physical death, but also eternal separation from God.
Thank you God for sending us a Savior.
God Promised us a Helper with the Holy Spirit
John 14:25-26, These things have I spoken unto you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I have said to you.
You know the voice, the one in your head. The world says go for it. The Holy Spirit reminds you that it is wrong. He does not do it to hurt you. He is a Helper as we just read. He is warning us of the dangers of our decision is we disobey God. You can count that what you sow you will reap.
Jesus with all the great things He did while on this earth said the Holy Spirit would be better. We read His job description in John 16:5-15
The Holy Spirit is our access to our Heavenly Father. Ephesians 2:18, For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
The Holy Spirit is our built in Tudor to help us understand His word and His will.
1 Corinthians 2:12-13, Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God; that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Thank God for not only coming here to be with us and give His life for us, but thank God that when He left, He didn’t leave us alone. He left us a Helper in the Holy Spirit.
God Promised us a Judge
2 Corinthians 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Remember earlier when we talked about sow and reaping? You might do something and because you didn’t get caught you thought you got away with it. You may have fooled your friends and family but you can’t fool God.
We all will be judged.
If you are a Christian you will still have to give an account of how you lived your life here on earth. You want to hear the words, “Well done” and not have to be ashamed of the way you live. How do we do that?
Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
This dose not mean that we will not sin, but when we do we need to do as in 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrightiousness.
If you are here this morning and for some reason you have rejected the Jesus and have not accepted Christ, you will be judged also.
Revelation 20:15, And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Not a reward for what you have done but rather a punishment for what you haven’t done. There are those who say that God is a loving God and He would never send anyone to Hell.
John 12:47, And if anyone hears my words, and does not believe, I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Here comes the judge, and I’m not talking about Judge Judy. You can count on it. And the only way to be ready is with the proper relationship with Jesus Christ.
He kept His word by sending us His Salvation through His Son, and left us a Helper in the Holy Spirit, to be ready to meet our final Promise, the Judge. Are you ready?
