Great &
Precious Promises
by: Matt Allen
FILING
INFORMATION
96020
3/24/96 -
Cyclone, Kentucky
I. Introduction
A. We are all familiar with promises. They are a part of our lives.
1. We make promises/contract with lender when we buy a home.
2. Make Promises/agreement with employers to be present for
work and fulfill responsibilities of our job.
3. We made a promise (for those who are married) to our spouse
to be faithful to each other until death.
B. Peter tells us that Jesus made us great & precious
promises, and to take advantage of them, we need to follow Him. (2 Peter 1:1-4)
C. The characteristic of God making promises with His people is
not new. This is a characteristic
He has had since the beginning of time.
1. In Genesis 6: 6, 12-13, 18, 22; God made a covenant with
Noah. If Noah followed God and did
the things God wanted him to, God would save them from the flood waters.
2. In Genesis 12:1-4 God makes a covenant with Abraham.
a. Made land, nation & seed promises to Abraham.
b. he delivered on those promises.
3. Made promises to Israelites in the book of Deuteronomy.
a. They had stipulations to follow Him.
b. If they followed Him, they would be blessed, but if they did
not follow Him, they would be cursed.
D. Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth and made a promise to
His apostles and to us:
1. John 14:1-4
2. These are the promises by Jesus that Peter alludes to in 2
Peter 1:3-4
3. The promises in this passage refer to the pardon of sin;
strength, comfort, and support during our trials upon earth; a glorious
resurrection, and a home in heaven.
E. In this lesson, we want to discuss what is involved in these
promises.
1. We are going to look at their origin, what they produce, and
how they are available to all.
2. By the end of this lesson, you should know in your own heart
if you are a partaker of these promises.
II. These are Great & Precious Promises
in:
A. Their origin.
1. Lets determine just exactly where these promises came from.
a. They came from God. Salvation has been His goal ever since Adam & Eve committed sin in
the Garden of Eden.
2. They are great because no one but the Lord can grant such
favors and they are precious because all the wealth of the universe could not
purchase them.
a. They are great because they come from the Lord.
1. Isa 55:8-9
b. Unlike man, The Lord has never broken any promise He has
made.. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18)
1. Refer to promises made by God in the introduction. He delivered on all of them. (1) delivered Noah (2) made of Abraham a great
nation (3) through Abraham’s seed, all the nations
of the Earth have been blessed (through Christ) (4) gave the Israelites a
promised land; blessed them when they followed Him and cursed them when they
did not follow Him.
2. Men break their promises
all the time Relevant examples of broken promises:
3. The Promises made by God have been revealed unto us through
His Spirit. Paul said in 1 Cor.
2:9-10....
4. We see that since these promises were made by the Lord, that
we have no need of worry that they will not be carried out.
B. What they Produce.
1. Heb. 8:12 - Mercy. He will remember our sins & lawless deeds no more.
2. 2 Peter 1:4 - We can be partakers of the divine nature. We are going to get to share in things
related to the nature of God.
a. Through these promises: We will escape the corruption that is in the world through
lust!
1. We can’t do this on our own.
2. It is through these promises alone that
we do so!
3. 1 Jn. 3:2 says we will be like Christ. We shall see Christ as He is!
4. We will put on Christ. We will be heirs to
the promise! The promise of
what? Heaven.
C. They are great in what they Sustain.
1. They sustain peace according to Rom 5:1
2. This is a peace, which according to Paul, will guard our
hearts & minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)
3. Paul felt peace. He has suffered many things for Christ! But the confidence in the Lord - (The Lord’s delivering
those promises) gave him peace. He
could feel good about what he was doing.
a. Do we have this peace in Christ and trust in the Lord?
b. Do we have the confidence of Paul? Think of his life!
1. Stoned and left for dead! (Acts 14:18-19)
2. In & out of prison. (Acts 16:20-25)
3. Chased all over the known world by a
band of people who were out to kill him!
c. Yet, he could still say the things he did about Christ, and
the trust he had in Him.
4. Many do not have the endurance of Paul!
a. We need to be striving to follow in Paul’s lead.
5. These promises sustain the hope of eternal life!
a. Titus 1:2
1. Paul lived His life in hope of eternal life.
b. These promises should be what motivates us to do good!
c. Many are not motivated because they are expecting
some reward NOW for their sacrifice.
1. This is why we see many lose confidence
and leave the Lord, for the world.
2. They do not realize what they are
putting off.
3. They are putting off their salvation.
D. They are great in their stability.
1. 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack in His promises.
a. He is longsuffering toward us.
b. Doesn’t want anyone to perish. Wishes we would all come to repentance.
2. He has promised us a home in Heaven. All we have to do is OBEY!
a. Mt. 7:21 - he who doeth the will of the Father...
b. Obedience has been a requirement of all His covenants.
1. Noah had to obey in order to receive deliverance from the
flood.
2. Abraham had to obey God to receive the
promises made unto him.
3. The Israelites had to obey God to be blessed!
4. Likewise, for us: we have to obey if we want to take advantage of the promise of heaven.
3. The Hebrew writer in Heb. 6:17-18 uses an anchor as a symbol
of stability.
a. What does an anchor do? Holds a boat or ship in place.
b. We can be sure of the hope that is before us.
c. Paul said all the promises of God shall surely be fulfilled;
no abandoning of His intentions. - 2 Cor. 1:20
d. Are we as Christians as stable in our promise we made to the
Lord to follow Him?
1. We battle the devil & sometimes give in. We can follow after the people of the
world if we are not careful.
e. We need to be stable, like an anchor, in our stand for the
Lord.
f. A good anchor holds fast in times of storm. Are we holding fast for Christ? We sing a song from time to time: Will
Your Anchor Hold. Will yours?
4. Read Heb. 10:23
E. They are Great & Precious in their
durability.
1. God’s word will accomplish what He pleases - Isa.
55:10-11 We can be assured of
that.
2. From 2 Peter 3:8 we learn that with God, time is
nothing.
a. Man measures time in very short ways.
b. Think if promise is not delivered in/by a certain time that
it has been broken.
3. With God, time
has no bearing on His promises.
F. They are great & precious in their availability.
1. In Mt. 11:28-30, Jesus asks everyone to come to Him. The invitation is for all.
a. The apostles were to make it known throughout the whole
world. - Mk. 16:15-16
b. We are to tell others of these great & precious promises
so they may have the opportunity to partake of them.
2. But what do we spend our time doing?
a. neglecting Bible study and Bible class and worship services.
b. We act as if we don’t really care about those who are out in
the world who are not saved.
3. Rev. 22:17 says:
a. The Spirit says, “Come!” Why should we put off following Christ to follow after the
temporal things of this world?
III. Conclusion.
A. Are you a partaker of these promises?
B. If not, then you are guaranteed NOT to
have a home in Heaven.
a. From this lesson we have seen the origin
of these promises, what they produce, what they sustain, how they are stable,
how they are durable, and how they are available to all.
b. What better promises are there to take
advantage of? None!
C. If you would like to take advantage of these promises, then
why not respond to this invitation. Come in belief in Christ, repenting our your sins, confess that Jesus is
the Christ, and be baptized for the remission of sins.
D. Maybe you are already a Christian, and have not been
faithful, then now is the time to get back on track!
E. do so while you still
have the chance!