This sermon encourages embracing God's promises in Scripture as a source of strength and hope, especially during times of weakness and hardship.
Good morning, beloved friends. I stand before you today with a heart full of joy and a message brimming with hope. Today, we are going to wrap ourselves in the warm, comforting blanket of God's promises, as revealed in His Word. We are going to bask in the glow of His assurances, as they are portrayed in Scripture, personalized in our practice, and provide the strength we need to persevere.
In the realm of Christian thought, there is a quote that has struck me deeply, one that comes from the pen of the great preacher Charles Spurgeon. He once said, 'God's promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; He intended that they should be used.' And used they shall be, dear friends. Today, we will not only read God's promises but we will embrace them, internalize them, and allow them to shape our lives and guide our steps.
Let us turn to the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 9 and 10. The apostle Paul writes: 'But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.'
What a profound testament of faith! Here we see Paul, not just acknowledging, but delighting in his weaknesses, his hardships, his difficulties. Why? Because he knows that it is in these moments of weakness that God's power is made perfect. It is in these moments of hardship that God's promises become our lifeline, our beacon of hope.
When we open the pages of the Bible, we encounter a treasure trove of divine promises. These are the very breath of God, breathed out and preserved for us. They are the assurances of the Almighty, the guarantees of the God who cannot lie.
The first promise we encounter in Scripture is found in the book of Genesis. After the fall of man, God promises that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. This is a promise of redemption, a promise of victory over sin and death. This promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who, through His death and resurrection, has crushed the power of sin and death. This promise of redemption is echoed throughout Scripture.
In the book of Exodus, God promises to deliver His people from bondage in Egypt. This promise is fulfilled when God, through Moses, leads the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. This deliverance from physical bondage is a picture of the spiritual deliverance we have in Christ, who delivers us from the bondage of sin.
In the book of Isaiah, God promises to send a Servant who would suffer for our sins and bring us peace. This promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who, through His suffering and death on the cross, has brought us peace with God. It is not a promise of an absence of trouble, but a promise of the presence of God in the midst of trouble.
In the New Testament, we find the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promises that He will send another Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will guide us into all truth. This promise is fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on the disciples.
Each of these promises, and countless others found in Scripture, are not just historical facts or theological truths. They are personal assurances from a personal God. They are promises that speak to our deepest needs, our greatest fears, our most profound hopes.
When we read these promises in Scripture, remember that we are hearing the voice of God speaking to us. He is assuring us of His love, His grace, His mercy, His faithfulness. We are hearing the voice of God calling us to trust in Him, to rely on Him, to rest in Him.
We now find ourselves drawn to the personal aspect of God's promises ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO
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