The Greatest Promise Series

Cell phones? Yep. Think about the last cell phone carrier commercial you saw or heard. The commercial stated their coverage was best. Good. The commercial also stated their data plans were better than all the others. Fine. The commercial put forth why their service is better than the competitors. Expected. What the commercial also offered was bonus money in the hundreds of dollars to do what… break the contract with the company you have now. Money to break a promise. Incentive to break a solid agreement. Cell phone companies are paying the fees associated with breaking contracts in order to get new customers. Cell phone companies are paying for people to break their contracts and we don’t think anything of it. Hey that’s business. Hey that’s me getting a better deal. Hey that is me breaking a promise and thinking nothing of it because I didn’t have to pay for it.

May I suggest to you that no matter what type of promise or contract we break, a part of us suffers. You may not agree with me, but I think it is true. Our integrity suffers. Our word suffers. Our willingness to persevere suffers. As we are in small things, so we are in large things.

II. OBSTACLES IN OUR WAY

As I read this passage, it is most certainly true that in verse 25 we have the greatest promise that God has given us. God promises eternal life. But what about all the other verses? What about the other 10 verses we read? What about those?

As I have reflected on these verses, I think surrounding the promise are obstacles that are in our way of receiving God’s greatest promise. Now they are not obstacles that God puts in our way, but obstacles because of human nature, our choices, and the consequences of sin in the world. As we read over these verses, we find three obstacles to the promise that the Apostle John warns us about.

First, desertion. In verses 18-19, it describes some people who were part of the church and part of the Christian faith, but left. John states, “they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” Faith in Jesus Christ is not a one-time thing. Faith in Jesus Christ is not a Christmas and Easter event. Faith in Jesus Christ is not a Sunday only way of living. Faith in Jesus Christ is a consistent lifestyle of reading God’s Word, worshipping together, encouraging each other in good deeds and genuine love, and sharing faith with those around us. Consistent. Daily. Inside. Outside. Personal. Active.

Desertion is something all of us must guard against if we want to receive eternal life. Not everyone remains faithful and receives eternal life. John tells us that. Jesus also tells us that we must remain with Him. John 15:4, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” Some fall away. Some are not faithful to God. Some are not faithful to Christ. Some just hit God up in prayer when life stinks. We must make our faith in Jesus Christ the priority of our lives. Serious business.