PROMISES FROM GOD’S WORD
II Pet. 1:4
INTRO. God has made many promises and they are recorded in the pages of His Holy Word. Some of these promises are directed to you. They are yours for the claiming if you will take them. God’s promises become effective when we read about them, accept them as our own, and appropriate them for ourselves. Someone has said, "Tarry at the promise until God meets you there. He always returns by way of His promises."
I. SALVATION IS PROMISED.
A. John 3:16
B. Salvation is a promise of God to all who repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. (Rom. 10:13) -- "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
2. The Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31.
3. Cornelius: (Acts 10:2) -- "A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway." But Peter told him: (Acts 10:43) -- "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."
C. When we come to God, just as we are, in simple trusting faith, we are forgiven and accepted into his family. (Jer. 29:13) -- "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."
II. SERENITY IS A PROMISE OF GOD.
A. (Jn. 14:27) -- "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
B. People all over the world are seeking lasting peace. They try to buy it, negotiate for it, and even enforce it with police or military force and yet they fail to secure it.
1. The reason is because peace is not something you posses but something that posses you.
2. However, we all know that talking about inner peace and actually experiencing that peace are two completely different things. This is why the Holy Spirit saw fit to include a tried and true, well proven formula for implementing the free gift of peace.
3. Phil. 4:4-7
a. Rejoice in the Lord. (vs. 4)
b. Be of a gentle nature. (vs. 5)
c. Renounce anxiety. (vs. 6a)
d. Develop a healthy prayer life. (vs. 6b)
e. If you do these things you will come to know the real power of the promise of peace and serenity.
C. Real and lasting peace can only be found in Jesus Christ. (Phil. 4:7).
1. Nothing on this earth can overcome the child of God but what we let overcome us.
2. Justice William O. Douglas used to tell of the time his father was to have surgery which turned out to be fatal. Before the operation he told his wife: "If I live it will be grace and if I die it will be glory."
3. Once the peace of God grips our hearts then life will always be grace or glory.
4. The peace of God is not unlike salvation. Salvation is there for any sinner who will accept it and the peace of God is there for any Christian who will accept it.
5. And both come through faith.
III. STRENGTH IS PROMISED.
A. Isa. 40:31
B. There are times when we grow weary in the service of the Lord. It seems that everywhere we look, we see sin on the increase.
1. We pray, we study, we give, we worship and we witness. Still crime, drug abuse, abortion, immorality, wickedness and sin abounds.
2. We try to teach our little ones in Sunday School one hour a week while the public schools and T.V. has the rest of the week to undo what the church tries to do. It seems that everything is against us.
3. We want to say, "What’s the use? One is saved and a thousand are lost." And we ask, "What can I do? I am only one person."
4. My grandfather used to quote a little ditty that he liked.
"Now here’s to the chigger...
Which isn’t any bigger
than the head of a good sized pin.
But the whelt that it raises -
It itches like ‘blazes’
And that’s where the scratching comes in."
5. We might be surprised to know how far our teachings have reached and how many lives we have changed through our one hour of effort.
6. One teacher might change one little life that in turn changes hundreds. And who is willing to place the value of a human soul? We must not despair, weaken, or tire; for each soul is priceless.
7. A Sunday School teacher in Chicago reached one street urchin for Jesus and that little boy, D.L. Moody, won thousands to the Lord.
8. We need God-given strength, spiritual strength just to keep on keeping on.
C. We must learn to depend on God for strength. If it is strength to teach a class or study my Sunday School lesson or get dressed for Wednesday night Bible study or choir practice. (Psa. 27:1) -- "...the Lord is the strength of my life..."
IV. SECURITY IS PROMISED.
A. Isa. 41:10
B. People seek security in the silliest things; money, property, jewels, etc.
1. Remember David and Goliath? The Philistines placed all their faith, the very security of their nation, in the giant. But for all his great size he was still just a man and he was killed by a rock thrown from the sling of a shepherd boy.
2. The fool Jesus spoke of placed his very soul’s security in this barns full of produce.
C. But at the hour when you really need help, be it surgery, sickness, accident, or death;...wealth, notoriety, pride, jewels, or even the power over other men is scant comfort.
1. Isa. 41:13
2. The security that only God can give is yours, promised to you by God Himself. Will you take it?
CONCLU. There are many promises in the Bible that God has made to the human race but these four are the most important for this life. They are yours for the claiming.
