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PROMISES, PROMISES
2 Peter 1:3-4 “According as his divine power
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through
the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are
given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in
the world through lust.”
I. Something
to hang on to.
A.
Resources for confusion.
1)
God's Word can give comfort and clarity in a confusing world.
2)
God's promises have always been important for Christians.
Christopher Pylant, age 4, had malignant tumor
in his brain.
Parents told Dr. Benjamin Carson they knew Lord was going to
use him to heal their son.
That morning Carson
read his Bible and prayed.
He
had grown up in Detroit's
inner city, went to church with
this mom who was very religious.
She was also strict.
She made Benjamin study and read, and he couldn't watch TV.
Ben was religious on the outside, because his mom made him,
but his
soul was something else.
He
had a very violent temper and once almost stabbed someone
to death.
A
verse from Proverbs popped into his mind -
"Like
a city whose walls are broken down is a man
who lacks self-control."
He
prayed for God to take away his temper.
The Lord did, and his life turned around after that.
The operation on Christopher showed the tumor had destroyed
the brain stem.
The surgical team had to close it up, and Carson sadly told
the parents there was no hope of recovery.
They didn't want to hear of it - they were standing on
God's promise.
The little boy improved slightly, so Carson operated again
and found a thin brain stem left, flattened
by the tumor.
This time the tumor came off in layers.
He
remembered words of his mother,
"If you ask the Lord for something believing He will do it,
then He will do it."
Christopher is now 12 and doing OK.
Dr. Carson is also doing all right, and received worldwide fame
as the primary surgeon in a dramatic 22 hour operation on
German Siamese twins.
Every morning and night he reads the book of Proverbs.
B. What
promises are.
1) A
promise is a word that goes forth into unfulfilled
time.
2) It
reaches ahead of its speaker and its recipient, to
mark an appointment between them in the
future.
3)
Many promises in Bible aren't listed as such, but state
what God can do for us if we trust Him.
II. What we do
with promises.
A.
Promises can be taken several ways:
1)
Rejection - We don't give it a second thought.
2)
Skepticism - Maybe, maybe not.
3) Acceptance - We accept it and it gives
us hope.
B. Our
response usually depends on 2 factors:
1)
Who is making the promise?
2)
Does our mind think it is "do-able"?
C. A
Bible promise is made by God himself.
1)
Many people testify that God can be trusted; he has
proven himself to them.
2)
But his promises are not universal - they are limited
to those who seek him and his divine
nature. 1:4
a) Promises exist within a relationship of obedience.
b) Are you committed to God through Jesus?
III. God's promises are for us.
A. Find
the promises.
1)
God's presence and strength.
2)
Forgiveness, mercy and pardon.
3)
Blessings in daily life.
4)
Comfort when times are hard..
a) Holy Spirit gives comfort, and is primary gift of
God.
5)
Deliverance.
a) From sin, danger, and (ultimately) heaven.
b) He'll never leave us or forsake
us.
B.
Embrace the promises.
1)
Don't just distantly acknowledge them.
2)
Challenge your faith each day.
a) Situations of temptation.
b) Fears of future.
3) As God comes through for you, keep
track of his faithfulness.
C. Search
the Bible on regular basis.
1)
(Not just in crisis situations.)
2)
Purpose of "50 Day" journals.
IV. Figure
them out carefully.
A. Keep
promise in context.
1)
Many Bible promises are not particular guarantees to us,
but are meant for certain people and
specific times.
2)
Other promises are only fulfilled completely in heaven.
B.
Discover any attached conditions.
1)
Example of James 4:7. Resist devil -
and submit to God.
2)
Example of John 3:16. Eternal life
is conditioned on
believing in Jesus.
C. Even
when we have doubts, continue trusting in him. Job 13:15
1) Some of best promises are
long-term.
2)
Joseph recognized God's plan in his past. Gen 50:20
a) Our circumstances may seem harmful, but God means
them for our good.
b) Joseph had so much confidence in God he arranged to
have his bones taken to Israel.
V. As God is
faithful, we need to be faithful.
A. God's
promises should bring out our own.
1)
God has a plan for us.
2)
His plan goes beyond us.
The
African sky was a deep, brilliant blue.
White
snow-capped peaks of Mount
Kilamanjaro
could be seen
from the window of the tiny Royal Dutch plane.
It was at
this moment that Hiram Clay Kiser peered out his
window
to see exactly the same situation he had made a
promise about 50 years ago in World War II.
It was in
the early fall of 1944 when H.C. Kiser first saw the
African village
of Imbengo
aboard the B-17 Flying Fortress.
As the
children waved from the village, the then-20-year-old
Kiser
made a little promise:
"Lord, if I ever get the opportunity to go back to Africa and
witness for you, please give me the opportunity to do
so."
Kiser had
grown up in Baptist church in Virginia.
He had
godly parents and believed in God, but his faith had
never been really tested.
It was
the first prayer of many he would utter as a soldier --
and then as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany.
His
fierce trials began Oct. 12, 1944, aboard the B-17 bomber
en route to bomb General Rommel's army in North Africa.
It was a
mission not even scheduled for his crew, but assigned
because of an ailing pilot of another crew.
Kiser
said the Lord prepared his heart before going to bed on
the eve of Oct. 11.
In his
Bible, he read the words of 1 Peter 4:12:
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials
which try you,
as though some strange thing happened to you.
But
rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's
sufferings."
Years
later Kiser said, "Little did I know when I read that on
Oct.
11, the next day I would become a prisoner of war."
On Oct.
12, at 29,000 feet over Bologna, Italy, his B-17 Flying
Fortress took a direct hit from an anti-aircraft shell.
The
concussion of the huge shell sent the plane upward,
pinning the airmen with tremendous centrifugal force.
The crew
opened escape hatches, harnessed parachutes and
one by one bailed out of the spiraling bomber.
All
jumped, except for Kiser.
During
the hit, Kiser's parachute had opened and spilled out in
the plane.
"I
got down on my knees and was crawling down through the
waist
compartment to get my torn parachute back so I could
get out the door," Kiser said.
"I
just wadded up all of the shroud lines and compressed the
big
canopy of the parachute to make it small enough to get
through the door."
I said a
little prayer.
I said,
'Lord, should I jump out knowing my parachute is
inoperable or should I ride this plane down?'
It seemed
like the Lord just said to me, 'H.C., I'm a God of
miracles, and if you will just, by faith, leap out of this
burning bomber, I'll show you that I am a God of
miracles.'
So, with
that in mind, I jumped."
Kiser's
parachute did not open.
Falling
rapidly, Kiser prayed for his chute to open, promising
to witness for the Lord.
Nothing
happened.
Again and
again, Kiser prayed, "Lord, I'm probably 10,000 miles
away
from home and my godly parents, grandparents and my
pastor.
It's just
you and I here.
I want
to live so badly.
It looks
like this is the time for me to die.
Lord,
apparently, you can't open this chute."
"When
I told him he couldn't, he told me he could.
The
parachute opened with a terrific jerk.
"I
bit my tongue, my boots about flew off, and I said, 'Lord, I
thank
you for opening my parachute, but you've just about
broken my neck in the process.'"
Kiser
landed safely in a marsh just inside the enemy lines of
Bologna, Italy.
He was
greeted by two Nazi soldiers pressing a bayonet in one
of his rib cages and the nose of a machine gun in the
other.
For seven
months he was a prisoner of war.
At night,
during bombing raids, he would use a pewter spoon to
dig a
hole large enough to bury his head so he could endure
the tremendous concussion of the exploding bombs.
He was six-foot-two yet after those
seven months he withered
away to 80-pounds.
He was
spit upon and cursed by German soldiers.
They were
forced to march cross country for miles in the dead
of winter, bedding down in barns and under trees.
They had
to leave behind fellow soldiers who had frozen to
death
during the bitter night, forbidden to even shake the
ice off them in the hope they were still alive.
From the
dark interrogation cell with only the smell of human
waste
and a thin shaft of cold light, the Lord spoke to
Kiser in a way he will never forget.
Reflecting on the dark, cold wall were two verses of Scripture
from Hebrews scribbled by previous soldiers.
"I
read these words," said Kiser.
'Jesus
will never forsake you,' was written on the wall.
And, then
on down, it said, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday
and today, yes and forever.'"
It was this promise which held Kiser
up and spurred him to
continue when he felt there was no hope.
Alone in
the dark, damp and cold cell, Kiser worshiped his
Lord.
"I
got up, raised my hands and told the Lord I wanted to praise
him, though it was difficult fearing execution.
I began
singing, 'Praise God from Whom all blessings flow,' the
Doxology.
It was
the only thing I could think of."
On April 29, 1945, at
prison camp Stalag VIIA in Moosburg,
Germany,
Kiser watched as two American soldiers pulled
down the German swastika, throwing it to the side.
"Then, this big, beautiful American flag went up," said
Kiser,
recounting the liberation of his camp.
"We just stood there and bawled.
I
said, 'Lord, how could we ever have doubted you?'"
Fifty
years later he kept his own promise to God, and returned
to Africa with men from
his church to build a mission.
B.
Contentment in circumstances. Phil 4:11
1)
Circumstances shouldn't limit us.
2)
God is never caught by surprise.
VI. Do you
receive strength from God?
A. No
risk, no disappointment.
B. But
also no advancement or growth.
C. Step
out in faith in God's promises.
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