God's Promises
When I was 9 years old growing up in Windsor, Ontario (across the river from Detroit) I was going to Catholic school. In those days, boys and girls my age went through a Catholic ritual called Confirmation. Confirmation was one of what the Catholics called the 7 sacraments. Sacrament (from the tin word, "sac-rare" which meant to consecrate). The 7 sacraments were Catholic rituals through which God blessed man with grace, according to Catholic thinking. As I said, there were 7:
- Baptism — As a baby
- Penance — Going to confession
- Holy Communion — Lord's supper
- Confirmation — Receive the Holy Spirit
- Marriage — Catholic Marriage
- Holy Orders — Becoming a priest
- Extreme Junction — Last rites
In Catholic thinking, grace was like a spiritual vitamin pill (made you stronger spiritually). When you received any of the sacraments, you received a dose of grace. Now as a young Catholic boy I had been baptized, went to confession, received communion and, at 9, was ready to be confirmed.
The ceremony, performed by the local bishop was the time where young people "confirmed" that they believed and accepted the faith given them by their parents and the church. Usually the bishop would place his hand on your face or head and it was taught that at this moment you received the Holy Spirit. (Baptized as a baby to remove stain of original sin based on faith of parents, confirmed at 9 as an expression of my faith to receive the Holy Spirit.)
Now one of the features of the ceremony were the promises that each child made to God; never to use alcohol, nicotine or be involved in impure sexual practices. This was at age nine! Of course, by the time I was 19, I had broken all of these promises. By the time I was 29, I had broken every promise I had ever made to every one about everything! It would have been helpful for me when I was nine if I had been taught what the New Testament says about vows and promises in Matthew 5:33-37:
33“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.
- Matthew 5:33-37
My life was proof that we shouldn't make promises to God foolishly because we don't have the power to guarantee that we can keep them. What I should have been taught were the promises that God makes to us and the sureness of these promises because He has the power to keep the promises He makes.
You can't turn back the hands of time, but you can make up for lost time and so in our study today, we'll look at the promises that God has made to you and me. Promises that will never be broken because God has made them.
The Promises of God
In the Bible, there are many promises that God makes to different people at different times, but there are those particular vows that God makes that affect everyone, no matter who they were or where they lived:
Promise #1 — A Promise to Sustain The Earth
20Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
22“While the earth remains,
- Genesis 8:20-22
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
This promise was spoken after the most cataclysmic natural catastrophe in the history of mankind, the flood, an event that destroyed every living creature except eight people. We know that there are alarming environmental trends happening today and we should be concerned so we can be better stewards of the creation. But nothing happening today can compare with what happened to the earth then:
- Every living creature killed
- Eco systems shattered
- Societies destroyed
- Without Noah it would have been the end of life
God brought this disaster onto sinful man, yet afterwards, He promised that as long as the earth remained there would be a renewal of the seasons and enough to provide for man's existence here. God promised that He would renew the earth even from this devastation.
We find out in II Peter 3:7-10, that the earth will one day be destroyed but it won't be by flood or by man, it will be by intense heat and at the command of God.
7But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
- II Peter 3:7-10
In the meantime, we are living here based on God's promise and this should be a source of comfort and encouragement to us when every day we are bombarded with news reports and movies telling us that the planet will be inhabitable in 50 years. God's promise indicates that our earth will continue despite environmental damage. For example,
- Several countries continue to report record breaking crops, greatest harvests of certain foods in recorded history.
- We are continually finding new ways to recycle our waste into useful products and fuel.
A good example of this is the recent trend to create building blocks out of recycled garbage.
In the past, we used to build cities on top old garbage dumps. Engineers tell us that in the future, we will be building cities out of the garbage in those dumps.
Through advancing technology and discoveries guided by God's providential care, the earth will be a viable place to live until Jesus returns. Good stewardship requires that we be concerned and involved in preserving our environment, but faith prohibits us from being afraid or worried. God promised an earth that could sustain life and He has and will keep that promise.
Promise #2 — A Promise to Supply Our Needs
24“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
25“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
- Matthew 6:24-34
In this passage, Jesus is explaining God's promise to individuals about meeting their personal needs. We all need things and God knows this. He has created us in such a way that we are not self-sufficient. Even sinless Adam had to eat, needed a companion, required meaningful work. He was a dependent being.
What Jesus says here is that:
- God knows that we have needs.
- God even knows what your needs (not just wants) are.
- God will provide everything that we need if we make doing His will our #1 priority.
Such an easy concept, so hard to do. What usually happens is that we make the fulfillment of our needs/wants our #1 priority and then try to do God's will as much as possible without interfering with those activities directly related to fulfilling our needs/wants. In other words, we neglect our spiritual lives in order to invest more time and effort into getting our needs met.
When we do this, what we don't realize is that we may or may not succeed in getting what we want, but we risk losing out on the kingdom, the thing we need most of all.
On the other hand, when we don't compromise the kingdom, when we put the Lord's will first despite the inconvenience to our (careers/agenda/finances/families) God will find a way to supply our needs somehow, and we will continue to grow in the Kingdom. God promises that the earth will continue until the end of time, and that if we make the doing of His will our #1 priority, He will provide everything we need to live on this earth.
He will do this either by multiplying the results of our efforts or supplying us from sources we had never considered. I.E.: Story of offering money not withheld and food coming from coupons when at Kickingbird Apartments in Oklahoma City.
Promise #3 — A Promise Never To Leave Us Alone
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Matthew 28:20
Now Jesus originally made this statement to His Apostles, but the promise is for all of His disciples for all time. The word for "age" in this passage is "eon" which meant not just to the end of their lifetime, but to the end of time itself.
In this violent, temporary, transient world, it is a great comfort to know that someone will always be there for us to listen, to comfort, to strengthen, to guide. Of course, this was not a new idea. God's servants have always known the sweet experience of fellowship with the Lord. David speaks of this in Psalms 139:
1O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.7Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.13For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
- Psalms 139:1-18
How vast is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
Now this wonderful promise of His constant presence in our lives gives us three very important things:
- Motivation — Motivation to pray and pray constantly because He is always there to bear
- Courage — Courage to confess and abandon our sins no matter how bad because His sacrifice is always available to us, to cleanse us, heal us and restore us to fellowship again with God.
- Comfort — Comfort in the darkest moments because when there is no one else to turn to, when all hope seems gone, Jesus continues to be there ministering to our needs.
Those who belong to Christ are never alone; even in death if everyone we know and love are gone, Jesus will be there to see us through, that a promise!
Summary
In this world of broken promises, isn't it comforting to know that someone can make and keep all of His promises? The earth is still here, we are witnesses for all of our lives that seasons have followed each other and harvests have continued. And, have we not all eaten today? Are we not clothed? Despite all of the difficulties, is any one of us destitute? Has God not provided for our needs? And hasn't the Lord been there for you personally? Have you not found Him when you searched for Him in prayer? Which one of us can say, "I called upon the Lord and He did not answer? I needed forgiveness and reassurance and He refused to give it to me." God has surely kept His promises and will continue to do so concerning the earth, our needs and the promise to never leave us alone. We have His word on this. When we all head for home, let's make sure we take these promises with us.
If someone asks you today, "What did you get out of the Bible lesson?" answer them, "Today I received the promises of God." Lay them carefully in the safest places in your heart and review them constantly. Let them be your secret treasure that gives you confidence to start each new day with joy and thanksgiving and patience to overcome every trial. And when you count your wealth and are ready to distribute it to your children and your children's children, don't forget to pass on to them the marvelous promises that God has given to you today in this place.
One promise continually offered every time the gospel is preached is the promise of forgiveness. If you suffer from the guilt of sin and the fear of death and condemnation, God promises to forgive all of your sins and give you a peace of mind that nothing can destroy.
I invite you to believe this promise and come forward to claim it now in repentance and baptism or restorative prayer. Which ever you need, come now.
