God's Promises

Transcript

Rob McFarlane: 0:59

Today we're looking at God's promises. Let's read 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 4. And I'm reading from the New International Version of the Bible. It says, He has given us his very great and precious promises. Isn't that wonderful? The Creator of heaven and earth has given us promises, and they are described as very great and precious promises. Many people, when they read the promises that are revealed to us in the Bible, ask the question, How do I know these promises are for me? And there are many promises in the Bible. Well, 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 20, reading from the New International Version, says, For no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ. And so through him the amen is spoken by us to the glory of God. This verse tells us that God is glorified when we receive and walk in his promises. It also tells us, no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes for us, and we can say through him amen. They are yes because we are in Christ, and we can say amen to the glory of God. I want to ask you today, do you have any unspent promises from God? The UK Gift Card and Voucher Association revealed that over 300 million pounds worth of gift vouchers go unspent every year. What could you do with 300 million pounds? Well, in the same way, many Christians do not claim the promises of God as revealed to us in the Bible. If we are in Christ, His promises are yes for us, and we can say Amen, or so be it unto me. Today we're going to look at three promises from God. And number one is you are never alone. We live in a generation where we are more connected than ever before through technology, yet people experience greater loneliness than ever before. We need to have this assurance that we are never alone. Listen to two Bible verses. First of all, Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5. God has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. And Matthew 28, verse 20, Jesus said, And surely I am with you always to the end of the age. It doesn't matter what we go through in life, we know that He is with us. It says in Isaiah 43, verse 1 and 2, when we go through the floods, through the fire, through difficult seasons in life, that He is with us. In Psalm 23, he says, even when we go through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for he is with us. Jesus said, I will never leave you or forsake you. He says he will be with us always to the end of the age. My friend, whatever challenges you're facing today, whatever the week ahead holds for you, rest assured that you are not alone. God is with you. He said he will never leave you or forsake you. And I think that should give us great confidence. We can pray into things that we're going into, even difficult situations, trusting that He is with us and that He will lead us and He will guide us. Promise number two: you have a hope and a future in this life. In 2010, I was diagnosed with cancer. It wasn't part of my plan for my life. It was a huge challenge to get that diagnosis, and I went through all sorts as I went towards a process towards healing. I had surgery, I had radiotherapy, but I also stood on God's promises. And a particular promise that God gave me that got me through that difficult season is found in Psalm 27 verse 13. And I'd like to read it to you from the New King James Version of the Bible. It says, I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. God gave me this promise, and it caused me to have faith and hope for my life. It says, I would have lost heart unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord where? In the land of the living. Now you've got to ask, how did I get that promise? Well, I didn't just open my Bible and point, and there it was. What I did is I went and prayed and I said, Lord, please speak to me. Please show me something in your word that I can hold on to as a promise from you as I'm going through this whole process. And when I took a hold of uh that that opportunity to pray and to seek God, he showed me this verse as I read and as I meditate on it, and it it it kind of stood out to me that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Now I had no fear of dying or death. I knew that I had an inheritance in heaven, that if I because I believed in Jesus, that if I died, I would go to be with him. But in me a great desire arose to live, and to live for two reasons: to live for my family and to experience all the wonderful things that we do in families, and to fulfill God's plan and purpose or calling for my life. And often when landmarks come in my life, I'm able to say, Thank you, God, that I am seeing the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. For example, when I walked my daughter down the aisle, that to me was a fulfillment of a promise that God said, You will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. My wife Jill had a different response to me having cancer. For her, it was, well, what would happen if Rob passed away? And uh and God gave her a different verse. Again, she went for a long walk and she prayed and said, Lord, you really need to speak to me. And God spoke to her from Jeremiah 29, verse 11. Let me read it to you from the New International Version. It says, For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. And that verse gave her courage, gave her perspective, gave her faith, and gave her hope. Now, as I said earlier, all God's promises are yes for us in Christ. So these two promises written in Scripture are yes for you. You can claim them by saying, Lord, you say yes, this is for me, and I say, Amen. It is for me. God wants you to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. God wants you to know that He has plans for you, not to harm you, but to prosper you and give you a hope and a future in this life. And we need to live with that wonderful promise that God has a plan and a purpose for us. That we have a hope and a future in this life. Number three, the third promise I want to look at today is that you have an eternal home in heaven. Now, death for the Christian is not a full stop, it's only a comma. Death is not final. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And as believers in Jesus Christ, we know He paid the price for our sin so that we can be reconciled to God and so that we have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. We need to believe in him, and then he says he will give us the gift of eternal life. Let's look at 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 3 and 4. And I think this is a wonderful verse. It shows us God's promise for us. It says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So if we have received His mercy and we have been born again and given our lives to Jesus, we have this living hope. And he continues to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. Don't you think that's just a wonderful promise? God has an inheritance kept in heaven for you, and that inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Some versions say it cannot be spoiled and it does not fade away. What a wonderful inheritance we have. We have this assurance that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The moment that our eyes close and this life on earth comes to an end, we go into God's presence and we experience His peace and His joy. So, in summary today, we've looked at three promises from God. Number one, as a Christian, you're never alone. Number two, as a Christian, you have a hope and a future in this life. And number three, as a Christian, you have an eternal home in heaven because of what Jesus did for you. Perhaps today you are listening to me and you saying I don't have the assurance of my eternal home in heaven. Well, I want to encourage you, please download a free copy of my book, What is Salvation? It'll explain to you how you can have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. And you can have assurance that heaven is your eternal home. Let's pray. Father God, thank you. That you are a good God to us. Thank you for all your promises that are yes and amen in Christ. Thank you that we are never alone. That you are with us always. Even through difficult seasons, we have this assurance that you are with us. Thank you, Lord, that in this life we have a hope and a future because of you. That you want us to experience the goodness of God in the land of the living. Thank you that we have a hope and a future because of who you are and because of what you've done in our lives. And thank you that we have an eternal home in heaven because we have been born again, and because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. Thank you, Lord, for the work that you have started in us and that you will bring to completion. Lord, we thank you that with you the best is yet to come. In Jesus' name. Amen.