The Promises of God

I Peter 1:1-4

¹Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: ²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

I've heard(I've never taken the time to look it up myself), that there are over two thousand promises recorded in the Bible. Although I can't go into each one of them, I would like us to look at a few of them.

1. Salvation - Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." All religions promise some form of salvation. But non of them offer salvation as a free gift. They all require that something must be done to earn salvation. Christianity is the only religion(I don't like that word.)that teaches that salvation is a free gift. Romans 3:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2. Heaven - I Peter 1:4 - to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, also, John 14:2-4 - ²"In My Father''s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴"And where I go you know, and the way you know." I love the promise of Heaven. A place so different from this world. A place where there is no sin, no sorrow, no pain. A place of eternal happiness and bliss. Revelation 21:1-5 - ¹Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ²Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." ⁵Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." Also verses 22-27. ²²But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. ²⁴And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. ²⁵Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). ²⁶And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. ²⁷But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Heaven is such a wonderful promise, it makes living here bearable, even when everything around us is falling apart. I'm looking forward to going there. I enjoy life here, but I am so glad that it is only temporary. I am so glad that Heaven offers so much more than we have here. We can have money, possessions, and power while we're here and still be the most miserable people on earth. Love, peace and contentment are the things that truly satisfy and although we can enjoy them to some measure here on earth, they will be enjoyed to their fullest in Heaven. I can't wait to get there.

3. Forgiveness - I John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is such a wonderful feeling to be clean. I get dirty where I work and by the time I get home, I am so tired and miserable that I feel like I could sleep for a hundred years. But after I get home and take a shower and wash all the dirt and grime off me, I feel like a new person. I get a new energy that sometimes will keep me going past time for bed. It feels great to be clean and that is just what it feels like to receive forgiveness. I remember when I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins. I had never felt so clean in my life. All the old filthy sin was washed away. Psalm 51:1-10 - 1. Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight--That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. 5. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. When you ask God to forgive you of your sins, He will, and never remember them again. You will be clean, free from the bondage and penalty of sin.

4. New Life - II Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. The wonderful thing about this promise is that we can not only enjoy eternal life in Heaven, but we can also enjoy a new life here on earth. It won't be perfect like it will be in Heaven, but it will be the next best thing. We are born again, not in the literal sense, but in the Spiritual. We have new ideas, new feelings, a whole new way of looking at the world and this temporary life we lead here. Look at some of the evidences(fruit) of this new life. Galatians 5:22&23 - ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. When we have this new life, everything becomes like new to us, love instead of hate, joy instead of misery, longsuffering(patience) instead of rudeness, kindness instead of cruelty, goodness instead of treating people badly, faithfulness instead of untrustworthiness, gentleness instead of harshness, and self-control instead of reckless and dangerous. These are called fruit of the Spirit, which means if we are in the Spirit, these will be evident in our new life just as an apple is the evidence of an apple tree. If this fruit is not there, then it just might be possible that the new life is not there either.

5. Protection - Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Satan throws so many thing in our way to try to hurt us or destroy us. He would kill us if he were allowed. But most of the time he is only allowed to try to hurt us. But God protects us from the troubles that come our way. He is a shelter for us and gives us strength to endure whatever comes our way. Psalms 55:16-22 says, ¹⁶As for me, I will call upon God, And the Lord shall save me. ¹⁷Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. ¹⁸He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me. ¹⁹God will hear, and afflict them, Even He who abides from of old. Selah Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God. ²⁰He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has broken his covenant. ²¹The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords. ²²Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. He is always there for us. Always willing to help. We can come to Him anytime, with any problem. Look at Hebrews 4:15&16 - ¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

6. Deliverance - Psalm 37:39&40 - ³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. ⁴⁰ And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him. Deliverance is different from protection. Protection is being guarded from something harmful or through something harmful. Deliverance is being taken out of something harmful. Sometimes God chooses to protect us from the problems we face, and sometimes God chooses to deliver us from them. We are delivered from the debt of sin, which is death. Look at Romans 8:1-6 - ¹There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. ³For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Another of God's wonderful promises. Delivered, no longer under the penalty of sin.

These are wonderful promises aren't they? And they are only a few of the many promises that God has made in His Word. The great thing is that they are all for anyone that has trusted Christ as their Savior. God never lies. If He says something will happen, it will happen. The only requirement on our part is to accept His promises by faith.

There is one more verse I'd like us to look at today. It's found in II Corinthians 7:1 - Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Why should we cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh? So we can enjoy the promises of God to their fullest. Some people would have this verse the mean that we have to clean up our lives before we can come to God, but that isn't what this ver is teaching. It is saying that we should get rid of the filthiness of sin in our lives so that we will be empty, clean vessels for the Lord to be able to use as He wishes. Since God has done so much for us, let us worship Him through our obedience to Him and His Word. He is worthy of our praise. He is worthy of our worship.