God’s Magnificent Promises
—Precious, universal, trustworthy, conditional.
Long ago, God told Joshua to believe God's promises, and act upon them (Joshua 1:1-9) . Likewise, God has made promises to us as well, which we should understand act upon. Let us discover, in the following sermon material, four great marks of God's promises, the foundations of our HOPE:
1 Precious promises
"Very great and precious" (2Peter 1:4)
1. Forgiveness and victory over sin (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 10:14-17 John 6:37, Romans 8:1, James 4:7-8)
2. Answers to prayer (1John 5:14, Acts 10:1-4)
3. Gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39, John 4:14, John 7:39)
4. Security of our souls (John 10:27-29, Matthew 28:18-20)
5. Resurrection from death (John 5:28-29)
6. Safety through the Judgment (Romans 14:10-12, 2Timothy 4:2, 1John 3:21)
7. Eternal life in heaven (John 3:16, John 14:1-3)
—God's promises are "very great and precious", so we should appreciate how magnificent they are.
2 Promises for everyone
"As many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38-39)
1. All humanity --the whole world (John 3:16, 1Timothy 2:4, 1John 2:1-2)
2. Jew and Gentile alike (Galatians 3:14,26-29)
—God's promises are for everyone, so we should make sure we answer the invitation to believe and receive them.
3 Trustworthy promises
History and human experience confirm them
1. "Not one word has failed of all the Lord's good promises" (1Kings 8:56)
2. "Great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1, see chapter 11)
Our hearts affirm them
3. We can respond to God's promises with "full assurance of hope" (Hebrews 6:9-20)
4. All Gods promises are "Yes" and "Amen" [Note those are affirmations] (2Corinthians 1:20-22)
God will not change or withdraw them
5. "No shadow of turning" with God (James 1:17)
6. God's counsel is "immutable" [Note immutable means unchangeable] (Hebrews 6:17-20)
—God's promises are trustworthy, so we should assure our hearts with them.
4 Conditional promises
1. Joshua and his people had to observe conditions (Joshua 1:7)
2. Likewise promises given us have conditions [Note significance of the word "if"] (Colossians 1:23, John 15:14)
3. Since we have these promises, we cleanse ourselves of sin "perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2Corinthians 7:1)
4. This in no way devalues the promises (2Peter 1:2-12)
—God's promises are conditional, so we should let God help us to apply ourselves to fulfilling them.