THE PROMISES

     Thank you and once again we extend to each listener a most
pleasant good morning. How good it is to have you in our audience; to
look into the unsearchable riches of the eternal Word of God. It is
upon the truths of God's Word that we appeal for all things which we
believe and practice. Are you content with the authority of Christ
Jesus and His revealed message. I offer you nothing that cannot be
found within the pages of the book we call the Bible. Anything more
than that is too much and anything less than that is to little. My aim
thus, is to "speak where the Bible speaks, and remain silent where the
Bible is silent."
     For a beginning place today I turn to Hebrews 6:9, "But, beloved,
we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany
salvation, though we thus speak: for God is not unrighteous to forget
your work and the love which ye showed toward his name, in that ye
ministered unto the saints, and still do minister. And we desire that
diligence unto the fulness of hope even to the end; that ye be not
sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit
the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could
swear by none greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I
will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And thus,
having patiently endured, he obtained the promise..."
     In these verses, you will notice the references to promises and
promise. I wish to think with you this morning on the subject of the
PROMISES OF GOD.  I feel that sometimes we lose sight of that which we
shall receive some day. Eternity is so far out there in the future; it
is out of reach by the flesh; thus, we often forget that God has made
some great promises to his creation. By definition, the word promise
means that which is one's pledge to another to do or not to do
something specified. A declaration which give to the person to whom it
is made a right to expect or to claim the performance of forbearance
or a specified act. It is the ground for hope, expectation or
assurance.
     On the other side of the ledger would be threats. And the Bible
is full of promises and of threats. Notice Paul's language in Romans
11:22, "Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that
fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in
his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." Thus Jehovah has
offered man some great promises; but, He has also warned mankind of
some great dangers.
     There are some things which God has not promised unto mankind.
God has never promised to save one person that is not a member of the
church. Note Ephesians 5:23, "For the husband is the head of the wife,
as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of
the body." In Ephesians 1:22, we learn, "and he put all things in
subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to
the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
all." Did you notice that Paul said the church was the body of Christ
and that only those in the body would be saved? Thus, one must be in
the church in order to be saved. In Acts 20:28, we read, "Take heed
unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath
made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased
with his own blood." So, again I state, God has never promised to save
one who is not in His church, His body.
     God has not promised to give us another day to live. James states
in 4:14, whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your
life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away." No, we have not been promised tomorrow. It may
arrive, it may not. Thus we must live each day prepared to meet our
Maker. The brevity of life can be seen each morning when we pick up
our daily newspaper and read of the passing of so many. We need not
stick our heads into the sand and conclude that we have many days to
live. That may well be so, but on the other hand our days may be very
short. We have no promise of tomorrow, so let us live each day as if
it were our last; for you know, it may well be.
     God has not promised us another chance after death. Hebrews 9:27,
"And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this
cometh judgement." In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus teaches us that our eternal
destiny is determined when we leave the walks of this life in the
flesh. He told the rich man that there is a great gulf between those
in Paradise and those in Torment, and none can pass from one place to
the other. If you have not made preparation to meet your Maker while
in this life, you will not have opportunity to please God there. No,
my friend, there will not be a second chance to serve God. If we do
not use our opportunities now in this life and obey our Lord and
Master, we shall be cast from His presence.
     God has not promised us a life free of hardships and sacrifices.
In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul states, "All that would live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution." I realize that the Lord has promised
to be with His children and to not allow them to be tempted above what
they are able to bear; but, He has never promised us to be free from
difficulties and trials.
     God has never promised to accept man's excuses. Not a single one.
Adam and Eve were not able to excuse themselves from their
disobedience. Jehovah gave them a simple command, "Do not eat of the
fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." They ate, then
sought to excuse themselves, but to no avail. God held them
responsible for their disobedience. People want to do what they want
to do rather that what God wants them to do, then they seek to excuse
themselves; but God has never, nor will he now, allow man's excuses
for disobedience. You will not be able to stand in judgment and expect
the Lord to accept your excuses for not having done His will. In Luke
14, beginning with verse 16, Jesus tells about three men who offered
excuses for not going to His supper, and in each case their excuses
availed them nothing, for they were forbidden to partake of His
supper.
     There are some promises which Jehovah God has made which are
universal and unconditional in their nature. God has spoken and man
cannot change nor alter these promises. One of these is that this
earth shall not be destroyed by a flood again. It happened once, as
described in Genesis chapters 6 through 9. The Lord placed the rainbow
in the sky, promising that the earth will not be destroyed by water
again. The Lord has promised the seed time and the harvest time, and
man has nothing to do with these promises. Whether one is good or
evil, the sun rises and the seasons come and go. The wicked man can
harvest as good a crop as the righteous man.
     As stated earlier in this lesson, man has no choice about death.
We must all die, as stated in Hebrews 9:27.  Another promise if the
Lord that is unconditional is that this earth shall be destroyed.
Jehovah has stated, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the
works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing that these things
are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy living and godliness" (2 Peter 3:10, 11).
     Another promise that the Lord has made is that there will be a
resurrection from the grave and a judgment that all must attend. Here
Jesus in John 5:29, 29, "Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in
which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment."  You
shall be there, I shall be there, all shall be there to be judged as
to how we did no did not obey the commandments of Jehovah. We have no
choice about that; it is an unconditional promise made by Jehovah.
     There are many limited or conditional promises that God has made.
In fact, most promises in the New Testament are conditional. By that,
I simply mean, that you and I have something to say about whether or
not we receive the promises made by the Lord. To illustrate: the Lord
has promised His children to have sufficient food, clothing, and the
necessities of life. But, I cannot sit down upon the stool of do
nothing and expect the Lord to provide for my needs. Although the Lord
gives me the right to pray for my daily bread, I must plant the seed
and harvest the crop to receive my daily bread. Or perhaps by some
other means of \ I do my part to obtain the necessities of life.
     The spiritual promises offered by Christ likewise demand that I
respond to His commandments in order to obtain the promises He offers.
The Lord has offered unto each one the remission of sins. Hear the
apostle Peter as he responds to the question, "What shall we do?"
"Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus
Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). And what is the gift of the Holy
Spirit? It is that which the Holy Spirit gives; eternal life, The gift
of Mr Thompson is not Mr. Thompson; it is something that Mr. Thompson
gives. The gift of the Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit; it is that
which the Holy Spirit gives. When one obeys the instructions of the
Holy Spirit, he or she receives what the Holy Spirit gives as the
result of that obedience -- the promise and the hope of eternal life.
You will note the words of our Savior in Mark 16:15-16, when He said,
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole
creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he
that believeth not shall be damned." Here Christ offers salvation to
all those who believe and are baptized.  Thus, salvation is promised
to mankind; but their salvation is conditional. The Lord will save,
but the Lord will not save those who rebel against His commands. In 1
John 2:25, we read, "And this is the promise which he promised us,
even the life eternal."  But, shall all receive life eternal? NO!!
The Lord said that the broad and wide way that leads to destruction
would be filled with many (Matthew 7:13). Why? Because the many refuse
to listen to and obey the words of our Lord. Yes, salvation is
conditional. It is offered to all mankind, but not all accept and obey
the demands of the Gospel. In fact, Jesus said that the narrow gate
that leadeth unto life would have but a few therein (Matthew 7:14).
That is not my prediction, but is the statement of the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. And whether or not mankind believes
it, it remains true and constant.
     The Lord has promised to hear the prayers of His children. "For
the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears unto their
supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil" (1
Peter 3:12).  You will notice that this passage states that God will
hear those who are righteous. That is, those who are walking in the
light of His word and keeping His commandments.
     The promises of Jehovah are great and precious, so states the
apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:4. They are beyond our wildest dreams. And
yet, they are conditioned upon our hearing and obeying His Word. I
cannot flagrantly transgress God's commands and expect Him to welcome
me in with open arms. And neither can you my friend. We must meet the
conditions of forgiveness if we expect the Lord to forgive us. He will
do His part in my salvation. I must do my part. Peter cried out, "Save
yourselves from this crooked generation" (Acts 2:40).
     Thank you for being in our audience. If you would like a copy of
this manuscript or a cassette of this program, please let us know.
White Park Church of Christ, Route 1, Box 502, Anahuac, Texas 77514.
And until next Lord's Day, I bid you a very good morning.

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