We Can Take Comfort in God’s Promises!

Brethren, in the interest of the full disclosure, since we're putting all these on the Internet now, the following reference works were used in the preparation of the sermon. I used the Life Application Commentary Series, the Bible Knowledge Commentary, the Preachers Outline and Sermon Bible, and the Names of God by Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Before you know it, we are going to be in 2011. I'm sure that in 2011, many good things are going to happen to you. I'm also just as sure that you'll find some challenging times happening in 2011. You and I have no issue with the good times that have come our way.

We're going to enjoy those and rejoice in those. However, in regards to the more challenging times that come our way, we can always use some encouragement. Brethren, the Bible is full of encouragement. Just chock full of encouragement. This encouragement can be seen in the many promises that God offers to us, His children. Let's begin our journey through the message today by going over to 2 Peter, chapter 1.

Starting here in verse 1, 2 Peter 1, 1, Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been obtained, like precious faith with us, by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. And his divine power is given to us all things that pertain to life and Godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue.

Notice verse 4, By which we have been given 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. Brethren, as you and I go through life's challenging times, it is good for us to remember these exceedingly great and precious promises. During this time when we give thanks, it is good for us to remember these exceedingly great and precious promises.

As Lee Cadew brought out in the Sermonet, we don't want to do it just one day a year, we want to do it all the time, 365 days of the year. We want to have these things very much a part of our thinking. As I was preparing my thoughts for the message today, I was thinking about some of the outstanding promises that we see in God's Word.

Here in the introduction to the sermon, I just want to go through a few, just to kind of whet your appetite, then we're going to go into several in much more detail. But just to kind of whet your appetite, let's go to Genesis chapter 3. Here we are at the very beginning of the Bible, Genesis chapter 3, and we see a promise. Now, the word promise may not always be used, but we see a promise from God here. In the theological circles, in seminaries, this is called the proto-evangelon, or the first gospel.

Here you have in Genesis 3 the very first prophecy about Jesus Christ coming, Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head, you shall bruise his heel. Now, Jesus Christ very much is going to bruise Satan's head. He's going to lay sin on Satan's head.

Now, Satan's going to bruise his heel. Satan's going to work toward getting Christ, you know, murdered or crucified. But here we have the very first evidence of a promise from God. That mankind has a Savior that is coming, he's on the way. He's on the way. Over here in Genesis chapter 12, you know, we are, as we heard in the opening prayer, we're going to be sitting around a table next Thursday, or whenever it is your family will be celebrating Thanksgiving.

Maybe you might, because of people traveling, have to do it a little earlier, a little later. But we're going to be sitting around a table that is chock full of food. We're going to be talking about how we're eating too much. We take that for granted in this country. And yet, just a couple of sabbaths ago, I was making mention to 35,000 children a day die from lack of food. Enough to populate a small town. 35,000 a day. You know, you take a look at these beautiful little faces we've got in our audience today.

You think of 35,000 little ones like that dying for lack of food. God has so greatly blessed us. And it is incumbent upon us every day to remember that and to give God thanks. But let's take a look at what's... and I recently wrote an article for the corporate website, the weekly news commentary section about Thanksgiving. You know, why is it? You know, what is behind the title of the article I wrote was, what's Thanksgiving?

What's behind the turkey and stuffing? You know, what is... why is this nation blessed more than other nations?

Why is that? Is it because we're so smart? Because we've got such great business acumen where maybe the melting pot and we've got all these various people that helps make us such a great nation? Or is it what we see here in Genesis 12? Let's take a look at Genesis 12, verse 1. Now the Lord had said to Abram, Get out of your country from your family, and from your father's house to a land I will show you. I will make you a great nation, I will bless you, make your name great, you shall be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you and curse him who curses you. And notice then, in verse 3, And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. God made a promise to Abram, and you and I are enjoying the fruits of that promise today. At the very end of verse 3 it says, And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. That is true physically and spiritually, because of what God has done with the British people, what God has done with we the American people. This world has been truly physically blessed. We have been the keepers, the guardians, if you will, of democracy and freedom. We've been there for other countries in terms of foreign aid and giving a helping hand.

But primarily what we see at the end of verse 3, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed, we have a spiritual blessing there, because that again refers to Jesus Christ.

We will be blessed because a Savior is going to come, and He will be able to wash away our sins, and God's grace will touch us, and we will be put on the path to eternal life. And that is truly a blessing. Truly a blessing. We go here to Genesis 17. We look at this same thought a little more deeply. Genesis 17, verse 1. When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am Almighty God. Now, those of you who have been in the church and you link the time realize that that phrase, Almighty God, that is one of God in the Hebrew. That's one of God's names.

I am El Shaddai. And my margin even shows that that. I am El Shaddai. And what does that name mean? God's names are what He is. El Shaddai means the All-Bountiful Blessed.

During this time of Thanksgiving, let's remember that we worship the All-Bountiful Blessed. I am El Shaddai, Almighty God. Walk before me and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you. I will multiply you exceedingly. Then Abram fell on his face, and God taught them, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be called Abraham. For I have made you a father of many nations. And I will make you exceedingly fruitful. I will make nations of you and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your descendants after you in their generations. Brethren, that's us. That's the British Empire and the United States of America growing great through the years. We are the descendants of Abraham, and we have the opportunity, the legacy of being able to enjoy these benefits.

Verse 8, Also I will give to you in your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger all the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. Yes, God has given us this tremendous land. You know, when you think about the United States of America, why is it that it was our peoples that were allowed to move here and migrate here? Why is it that we have those two large oceans on either side of us that has acted for so many for centuries as a buffer from the rest of the world? Why is it when you look at our farmland that we've got topsoil so thick it's the envy of the world?

Why is it when our country was being founded that people looked upon this country? You know, back in the day when this country was being founded, we had a wealth of timber. And back in those days, you know, the age of exploration, people needed timber for their shipbuilding. England was running out of timber, and yet they looked at our timber much like we would look at Middle Eastern oil today. And this nation has so much. It still has so much. And it's because of what God has done through Abraham. So those are, would you not say those are exceedingly great and precious promises? I would. And you and I are enjoying the benefit and the fruits of those. Let's take a look at some benefits or promises in the New Testament. Over here in Luke 24. Luke 24.

And in verse 49, Luke 24, 49, Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high.

I send the promise, the promise of God's Holy Spirit, the promise of being able to look at life through a different set of eyes, not just the eyes of a human being, but the eyes of God Himself. Not just with the perspective of mankind, but with the perspective of God, because we've actually got a little bit of God's heart and mind living in us. Is that not a blessing?

Is it not a blessing to live in a society to know that we're going to be living in a much better society as time moves on and Christ comes back and establishes the kingdom of God on Earth?

You know, this last week, you know, talking about our little ones, this last week I saw a clip of a little girl, her mother, they were going through the airport somewhere. And of course, one of the things that is coming under fire now is these pat-downs, you know, you either go through the full body scan or you have a pat-down. And they were showing this poor little girl, you know, two, maybe three years of age, and she was screaming and hollering and beside herself, she was being held by her mother. But, you know, the woman there was having to do her job, she was having to pat this little girl down. But think about it for a moment. Haven't all of us who've got kids told our kids, don't let a stranger touch you? And especially don't let a stranger touch you in certain places? And yet, that's exactly what was happening. And the poor little girl was wondering, here's my mother, my mother's hollering me, this person's touching me. And, you know, her mind was just, you could just see it by watching the little clip that the poor little thing was in such a terrible strait. I'm looking forward to a day when we don't have to worry about that. We don't have to worry about terrorism. And, of course, God promises just that. He promises just that. Now, those are part of those exceedingly great and precious promises. As a matter of fact, let's take a look at 2 Peter, chapter 3. 2 Peter, chapter 3.

And verse 12, just looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Not terrorism dwells. Not terrifying. Some poor little girl wonders, what in the world is going on? Mommy told me. But look what Mommy's doing. Mommy's holding me. When they're doing this to me. I guess I hadn't really thought of that. I don't fly that often. But seeing that just really was alarming to me. I would hate to think of my little girl when she was that age going through something like that. Brethren, today, let's focus on some of the promises that God holds out to each and every one of us. Let's focus on the promises that encourage us. Let's focus on the promises that inspire us. Let's focus on the promises that help us carry out the work of God. Let's focus on the promises that help us on our journey to God's kingdom. And through all of that, you and I have so very much to give thanks for. So very much.

Let's focus not on the mess. Sometimes we focus on the mess. Let's focus on the masterpiece today. God is creating in you a masterpiece. Right now, you and I probably feel more like a mess. But God has wanted to create in us a masterpiece. And He's in a process of doing that. He's chipping away. I forget who it was. Wasn't it DaVinci or somebody who said, he's chopping away at this statue, and he said, well, how do you know what to take away? Because, well, I chop away everything that's not going to be what I'm looking for. And that's what God's doing. He's chopping things away from us that He doesn't want. It's not in our best interest to have.

In the preparation of this material, one of the commentators was saying that we are God's worksite. I thought that was an interesting way of putting that. You know, we drive past the work zones and work sites all the time with all the barrels and what have you. Well, we are God's worksite, a work zone. And we are His masterpiece in the making. He's making us over from a mess to a masterpiece. Let's reflect on that. So my point today is this. We can take great comfort in God's promises.

We can take great comfort in God's promises.

That's the theme. Point number one under that theme is this. We are comforted to learn that God is faithful. We sang several pieces today that talked about God's being faithful.

You and I can think about that. We can, in a glory sense, that God is faithful.

Brother, we live in the age of liars. Is that a news flash to anybody? That we live in an age of liars? Think about politics for a moment. Do I need to go further with that? I don't think so. Think about sports figures and how they cheat and the various substances they use.

Their life is a lie. And yet, you and I are comforted to know that God is faithful to you and I.

God is not a liar. God is not a cheater. God does everything on the square. God has everything on the up and up. And we can be comforted to realize we always, always can rely on Him and His faithfulness to us. We are His creation. He loves us. You think about the people in your life you love.

Don't you put a lot of thought into the love you have for your mate, or your kids, or your grandkids? You put an awful lot of... and you enjoy that. You enjoy thinking about the things that... like grandkids, things they say, the things they do, even when they kind of do some squirrely things. You know, all other kind of cute. I don't know if God always thinks we're cute when we're doing squirrely things. But God loves us. And because He is God, He can meditate on each of us individually and be faithful to each of us individually because of the love He has for us. Now, God's timetable and our timetable... you know, we were talking earlier about how we might have some challenges in the next coming year, and we will have challenges. God doesn't always look at life through the same timetable that we do, but God will be faithful to you and I. He was faithful to the children of Israel. He said He was going to get them out of slavery, and He got them out of slavery. Now, they were in slavery for a good long time. You and I might be finding ourselves in some trials for longer than we might like to have, but God will take care of us in those trials. Matter of fact, let's take a look at 1 Corinthians 10 for a moment. 1 Corinthians 10.

And in verse 13, 1 Corinthians 10.13, No temptation is overtaken you, except such as is common to man, but God... and notice what it says about God... but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.

Now, we read that verse, and we're thinking, wait a minute, I've had plenty of temptations I've not been able to handle. I've fallen flat on my face because I've not been able to handle various temptations that have come my way. So, let's read the rest of the verse. Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it? Brethren, incorporated into the thought of this verse is the idea that when you and I find ourselves in a very challenging situation, we are to be driven to God, and we are to face that challenge with God's full help. And if we are facing the challenge with all the help God will give us, then we will overcome. On the other hand, if we're facing a trial or a challenge on our own strength, yeah, we will fail miserably. So, the whole idea here is we have to look to God, and God gives us, again, so many exceedingly great and precious promises that He's going to be there for us. I mentioned that I used a reference work that talks about the names of God. I've not gone through that in some time here. As a little bit of a refresher, I want to look just at a few of God's names, because God's names—we've already seen one—El Shaddai, the all-bountiful blesser—but let's take a look at a couple more, two or three more, about God's names and what they tell us about His promises. Let's go to Genesis 22.

You talk about a trial. Abraham here is going to go through the trial of his life.

The trial of his life. Again, this is nothing new here, but it is very helpful for us to take a look at what we have. Genesis 22, verse 1, It came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said to Abraham, and He said, Here I am. God's going to test you and I as well. And He said, Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go on to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I tell you. Can you imagine you having God come to you and tell you that? God who recognizes you love your son and says, You know, you're about to do something that may seem very heinous. You're going to kill him and burn his body. So Abraham rose early in the morning. This section of Scripture gives us so many things to think about. When you and I are given unpleasant news, what is typically some of the ways you and I respond? We drag our feet. We say, Hold on a minute. Surely I'm not understanding you. Our God doesn't take human beings for burnt offerings. So I must not be understanding something here. Abraham doesn't do any of that. Abraham rises early in the morning. It shows a willingness on his part to be obedient to God, even though he doesn't understand. I'm sure he's got a lot of conflicting emotions that are arising in him. So Abraham rose early in the morning. Verse 3, He had saddled his donkey, took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son, and he split the wood for the burnt offering. And he rose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place of far off. Abraham had time to back out. We've got lost today. When you make a major purchase, you're given three days to back out.

Abraham is on the third day. He's on this journey with his son. He's looking at his son. He's remembering all the good times he and his son have had.

And let's not think that Isaac here is some little kid of maybe two years of age.

Josephus thinks Isaac was as old as 25. Many rabbis think that Isaac at this point was 36.

There are those who think because of the typology here that Isaac was the same age as Christ when Christ was crucified in his early 30s. 33. What we have here is a man and his son who had spent many hours together at the campfire. A man and son who had spent much time bonding dad and son. They had gone hunting together. They enjoyed good stories together. They loved one another. And for three days Abraham was looking at that son. I'm thinking, God wants me to kill him and burn his body.

Verse 5. And Abraham said to the young men, Stay here with the donkey, and the lab man will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.

A man of faith saying, We will come back to you.

He knows God wants him to kill Isaac, but he's saying we.

Maybe Abraham has been meditating in his own mind. Surely God has some other plan here.

Verse 6. Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac's son.

Isaac wasn't getting special treatment. Boy, you've got a lot of muscles. You've got more muscles than me. You're younger. You carry the wood. He took the fire in his hand and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here I am, my son. And he said, Look, the fire in the wood, but where's the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering. So the two of them went together. Brethren, God is going to take Abraham and Isaac right to the, right literally to the knife's edge of this trial. God's going to push these two right to the brink. Abraham, as we've already seen, is thinking about, well, God in some ways is going to rescue the situation. And also remember, this is not just a trial for Abraham. This is a trial for Isaac. He's a young man. He's probably in his 30s. He also has faith, because I think he's now understanding what's going on. He's not stupid. Verse 9, Then it came to the place of which God had told him, and Abraham built an altar there, placed the wood on the altar, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Doesn't say that Isaac fought. Doesn't say that, you know, he put up one heck of a fight, because he didn't want to just lay down and get his throat slit and have his body burnt on the pyre there.

And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. I mean, for all we know, that knife was going through the air toward his son's throat. But the angel, verse 11, but the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, so he said, Here I am. And he said, Do not lay your hand on the land, or do anything to him, for I now know that you fear God, and you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. God looked at the situation and what he saw in Abraham was himself, because God realized there was going to come a day when God was going to sacrifice his own son. Only in God's case, Jesus would have to die. Isaac here is getting a pass.

But the two really understood each other, God and Abraham. Verse 13, Then Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of a son. And Abraham called the name of the place, the Lord will provide.

Jehovah-Jirah. That's one of God's names. The Lord will provide. G-R-I-R-E-H. That's one of God's names. When you're praying, you can pray to Jehovah-Jirah. And we don't want to get all funny about names or sacred names or what have you, but God has a number of names. And we can call him what he is, the Lord who provides.

The Lord who provides.

Brother, there's a number of points of significance to this story.

This story shows a commemoration of great deliverance. Do you need deliverance from something in your life? Do you think God is taking you right to the edge of something in your life right now? And God very much may be doing that in your life. Taking you right to the very brink, right to the edge. And yet, he is a God who provides. Abraham and Isaac didn't see that animal until they needed to see the animal. Until it was God's time for them to see the animal.

And then God revealed that, too. Same thing will be true in your life and mine on occasion. That in God's great deliverance for you, he may not allow you or I to see where that deliverance is going to come from, how it's going to be given to you until the very last moment. The second significance about this story is that it talks about having an expectation of things yet to come. Horrible trial, and yet Abraham in his mind knew that in some way, shape, or form God was going to take care of the situation. He had faith in that.

Let's look at yet another example of God and one of his names over here in Exodus 15.

Exodus 15.

Here you've got the children of Israel wandering through the wilderness, having some tough times. That's because of some of their earlier actions.

Exodus 15, verse 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and then they went out into the wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. The people complained against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made a statute, a statute in an ordinance for them, and there he tested them. He said, If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, to give ear to his commandments, and keep all of his statutes, I will put none of these diseases on you which I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. There is another name of God, Jehovah-Rophae, R-O-P-H-E, Jehovah-Rophae, the God who heals us. This word, rophae, is used about seventy times in the Old Testament. Every time this word is used, it means to restore, or to heal, or to cure. To restore, or to heal, or to cure. And it's not just always used in a physical sense. It can be used in a spiritual sense as well. Isn't it nice to know that one of God's names, the Lord healer, will not only heal us physically, but can heal us mentally, can heal us emotionally.

Can heal those sorts of things that, you know, an x-ray will never see, because they're of the mind, or they're the psyche. That's a wonderful thing for us to understand. That we can be healed, or cured, or restored, not just physically, but spiritually, and emotionally, and mentally.

Those are, you know, exceedingly great and precious promises. God Himself is a promise. His names.

The God who provides, the God who heals. And one other one. Let's go over here to Exodus 17. Here we've got, again, the children of Israel, they're heading for the promise land, and they run into a group of people known as the Amalekites. The Amalekites were people who, when they saw this caravan coming, literally millions of people, they said, you know, to them, they thought they had won the lottery. Because they are going to descend upon this group of people and plunder them. Now, they weren't going to take on the whole column of Israel, all three million of them. So what they did is they waited until they could find the weak spot. And the weak spot, typically in a group like that, would be the very end of the caravan, the very end of the group, where the, you know, the older people, the families of small kids who couldn't always stay up, they kind of would drop as time would go by toward the back of the column. And that's where the Amalekites would attack.

Okay, enter the story here, Exodus 17, verse 8.

Now Amalek came and fought with Israel and Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us, some men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses said to him and fought with Amalek. Moses, Aaron, and her went to the top of the hill. And so it was when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed, and when let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

Brethren, that rod of God was symbolic of God himself. When we keep God where we can see Him, when we keep our eyes on God, we will be victorious. When our eyes are off of God, we lose. A very simple symbolism here.

Verse 12, Moses' hands became heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him. He sat on it, and Aaron and her supported his hands, one on the one side and one on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Another significant point there in verse 12. We're human. We're weak. We need help. Not only the help from God, but we need help from our brothers and sisters. We are a brother's keeper, so they were there to help in this situation.

Verse 13, Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Then the Lord said to Moses, write this for memorial in the book, and recounted in the hearing of Joshua that I utterly blot out from her members, Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called its name, the Lord is my banner, Jehovah Nissai, N-I-S-S-I, Jehovah Nissai, a banner, a beacon, an ensign, something that we look at, something that's very symbolic. We keep God in front of us. We hold God up. And when we keep God in front of us, when we're keeping our eyes on Him, we're going to be victorious. We look away from God. And if we allow ourselves to be weak and don't allow anyone to help us, like an Aaron or a her, then again, we're going to fail. So this story tells some really interesting, gives us some interesting concepts. Our warfare is against Satan. It is Satan who attacks the vulnerable. And of course, we're all vulnerable. But it is God who prevails. And one of the things that we learn from this lesson as well, Jehovah Nissai, is that God's people are assured victory. We are assured victory as long as we keep our eyes on God. So no matter what you're facing, you're maybe down to your last little nubbin. You're holding onto that rope, and you're just, you know, by your fingernails. But you are assured victory if you keep your eyes, if I keep my eyes, on God the Father and Jesus Christ. Before we move on to our next point, let's go to Deuteronomy 7. Deuteronomy 7 and verse 9. Deuteronomy 7-9.

Therefore, know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. Brother, my first point is that we are comforted to learn that our God is faithful. He is faithful for you. He is faithful to you and to me. And during the times of challenge, we can always remember that and let that encourage us. We have tremendously great and precious promises, exceedingly great and precious promises, that come our way as a result of our relationship with God. Point number two. Point number two. We are comforted to learn that God has a plan of salvation.

God has a plan of salvation. We go over here to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1 verse 2. Quoting from Isaiah chapter 40, As it is written, The prophets, behold, I send a messenger before your face.

Who will prepare your way before you? The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

People look forward to God fulfilling his word, God keeping his promise. And God did just that. Here's a prophecy about the coming of John the Baptist. John the Baptist came. John the Baptist, talking about there was going to be another one coming. And of course, Christ came in John's life. God has made many promises to us about Jesus the Christ. You and I can realize that we can take all of those to the bank. God has a plan for mankind. I'd like to take you to a prophecy, a fairly lengthy one over here in the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 3.

Here's a prophecy that some think was taken care of historically, but never was. And that's because the prophecy is for our day to day. Jeremiah chapter 3.

Take a look at this, because here we see the promise being fulfilled of God's intervention.

We want to get away from this world. We want a better world for our children, for our grandchildren. And God has promised us he will intervene. Much like with the children of Israel, you know, we have a different timetable than God. We've got to be patient. God has his way of looking at things. He wants mankind to learn lessons. Over here in Jeremiah chapter 3, let's start here in verse 12.

Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, return backsliding Israel, says the Lord. I will not cause my anger to fall on you, for I am merciful, says the Lord. I will not remain angry forever. Now, by this point, Israel, modern Israel, will have gone into national captivity. God says, okay, I was angry with you. But now that anger is going to be turned aside. Verse 13. Only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the Lord your God and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree. And you have not obeyed my voice, says the Lord. Now, God doesn't want us to come just as we are. God wants us to repent. Why? Because that's what's good for us. God wants us to go away from a lifestyle where we hurt ourselves and we hurt those around us. So God says, you know, yes, I will be there. I will be merciful to you. I will turn away my anger. But you've got to turn away from your bad habits, your bad way of living. Verse 14. Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord. For I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city, two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

Now, in some ways, people can say, well, this portion did happen back when.

But not like we're going to see in the future. Not like we're going to see in the future. The idea here is that God is going to show, and we see this in the book of Revelation, that as people begin to come out, they come out of the great tribulation, as they individually begin to repent, that God will be merciful to them as individuals. Verse 15. And I'll give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Now, brethren, we understand that has never happened. These shepherds, according to God's heart, would include Jesus Christ, would include the resurrected saints, would include righteous human leaders who have not been changed to spirit as of yet. These are shepherds according to God's heart who will feed them with proper knowledge and understanding. Verse 16. Then it shall come to pass when you are multiplied and increased in a land in those days, says the Lord. They'll say, no more, the ark of the covenant of the Lord. They shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall they be made any more. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord. It's not called that today. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. So once again, these are our prophecies dealing with the future. Now it is interesting here, and I offer a speculation on verses 16 and 17. If you've got our Bible reading program, you will notice a speculation is said there. And that is this, that some have speculated the fact that the ark being mentioned no more after the return of Christ may indicate, may indicate that the ark of the covenant will have a very prominent role to play just prior to Christ's Second Coming.

If indeed that ark is still around, maybe it has been destroyed. Again, we're speculating here. If the ark of the covenant is still someplace here on terra firma earth, and that is found by the nation of Israel, I think you can appreciate the tremendous religious fervor that would ensue in that nation as a result of finding the ark of the covenant.

Again, that's a speculation. We don't know. We do know there's going to be tremendous national fervor, religious fervor in Israel just prior to Christ's return. Maybe this will be part of that story. Verse 18, In those days the house of Judah shall walk the house of Israel, they shall come together out of the land of the north, north of the Holy Land. What's north of the Holy Land? Actually north and to the west. Well, you've got Europe. Come together the land of the north and the land of the...give them as an inheritance to your fathers. Again, this has never happened. This didn't happen back in the day of the Assyrian captivity. This didn't happen back in the day of the Babylonian captivity. So here we've got a promise that God is going to intervene. A tremendous promise from God. God's got a plan, and He's going to work with His people even on a national basis. Over here in Isaiah chapter 1, let's go back more to God working with people individually. Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 18, It says, Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Here we've got a promise of forgiveness. And brethren, don't poo-poo that. There are people who spend a lot of good money talking to those who will try to help them through life's difficulties. They've got issues. They've got conscience issues. They've got all sorts of issues, and they go to professionals because they can't forgive themselves for things they've done or things that have been done to them. They can't forgive others. They can't eat them up.

Yet we see here that God freely offers real forgiveness. Now, once again, verse 19, If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat of the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword. So again, this whole concept is God is going to bless us as we repent, as we get in line with a way of life that is good for us. But here we have a promise of forgiveness. A promise of forgiveness. God, in His grace, is going to cleanse us, make us spiritually white. There's a poetic way of looking at this over in Isaiah chapter 38, and I quote this a good bit over the years. Isaiah chapter 38 and verse 17. Isaiah 38 and verse 17. Indeed, it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness.

We can pause there for a moment. You sometimes and I sometimes, we go through very bitter challenges in life, very bitter tests, trials in life. What do those bitter trials do for us? Well, if we handle them properly, if we handle them like the Christians were supposed to be, those bitter trials will be for our own good and help us to become at one and at peace with God.

Because we'll see in those trials, well, I was doing something that wasn't in my best interest, and now I can get rid of those things, or I can move away from those things. So as it says here at beginning verse 17, indeed it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness. But you have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, and for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

What does it mean when your sins are cast behind your back?

God says, I'm casting your sins behind my back.

It means you can't see them anymore. And if you're not going to see them, you're not going to remember them. That's what God is saying here. He's not going to see or remember our sins anymore. He doesn't want us to. He doesn't want us dragging through life with this huge ball of discouragement and guilt. Guilt is a positive thing. We have guilt, so it shows us, it's a teacher, it shows us, okay, we did something bad. But once we come to see the error of our way, God says, okay, that's fine. Get rid of the guilt now. Jettison that. It's done its work. Don't go through life with all this horrible guilt. Get rid of that.

So we have the promise of God's forgiveness.

One other scripture here along these lines is over here in 1 John chapter 2.

1 John chapter 2 verses 24 and 25. 1 John chapter 2 verses 24 and 25.

Verse 24. Therefore, let that abide in you, which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise. This is the promise that He has promised us eternal life. An exceedingly great and precious promise. Eternal life.

We are to be delivered from death and separation from God and from Jesus Christ.

And all the pain that comes with that. You're probably not aware, but downstairs, when we were beginning services, a special luncheon was taking place. I happened to go down there. And I got to talking to one of the gentlemen. I said, oh, you've got a little group meeting down here. It's kind of unusual. So what's happening? He says, we are all survivors of people who have committed suicide. And so they're having a meeting down there. And they're having a little luncheon. People, relatives who are still here. And some of their loved ones have hurt themselves and they've committed suicide. Brethren, we have promises from God. There's coming a time when we won't think along those lines, when we will have a body that doesn't decay, a body that doesn't corrupt, a body that doesn't decline, a body that doesn't deteriorate. We're looking forward to that. We're looking forward to eternal life with God, where we are beings of love and of joy and of peace, where we will continue to serve God. And whatever God's future plan is, you know, we go through the end of Revelation. What does God have for us after that? Well, we don't know. I'm sure it will be exciting. I'm sure it will be stimulating. I'm sure God will have something to stretch us as spirit beings. And we have that promise of eternal life. So point number two is that we are comforted to learn that God has a plan. He's working out that plan. Lastly, point number three, we are comforted in our walk with God.

We are comforted in our walk with God.

You know, we've seen how God has given us these great and precious promises. We've seen that God is faithful. We've seen that God has a plan for us. And we also see now that God will be with us every step of the way. We're not on our own. He's there with us. There's a very good example of this over here. Here's a story we don't read very often. Genesis chapter 28.

Let's go over there. Genesis chapter 28.

You know the story. We just don't tend to turn here very frequently. Genesis chapter 28 verse 10.

Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because of the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head. And he lay down in that place to sleep. Verse 12. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on your earth, as top reached to heaven. And there were angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac, the Lamb in which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants. Also, your descendants shall be as dust of the earth. You shall spread abroad to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south, and in you and all your seed. All the families of the earth shall be blessed. So verse 14 is not only talking about tremendous physical blessings. Once again, verse 14 talks about all the families of the earth being blessed through Jesus Christ. Now, verse 15, behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I've done what I have spoken to you. Now, verse 15 is so key. That's something we should keep in our spiritual repertoire of encouraging verses, because that shows that God is going to be with Jacob every step of the way. As long as you are with him, as long as Jacob wants God to be in his life, God will be there for him every step of the way until what God promised will be fulfilled. That's the kingdom of God.

Let's see a parallel thought over here in Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 6. Philippians 1.6, where Paul, writing to the church there in Philippi, says, being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it.

He who has begun a good work will complete it. The verb tense here indicates Paul had been confident, was confident. He was assured from the very first, and he continues to be assured to that very day that God will continue to work through him to bring his life where his life needs to go. We are God's work site, and he is doing a tremendous work for us. It began when Christ died for us on the cross. It began in your life specifically when he began to call you, and you began to believe, and you accepted Christ as your Savior, and you were baptized. You had your sins forgiven. You received God's Holy Spirit, and now you're walking down the path, and God says, I will be with you every step of the way, just like he was with Jacob. He'll be there for you.

Over here in Romans chapter 8, just a few more scriptures and we'll be done for the day. Romans chapter 8. As God is working to fulfill his role for you, and he does have a role for you, God is no respecter of persons. Just as God had something he wanted to do in Abraham's life, and Jacob's life, and Isaac's life, there's something that God is specifically working out in your life. He's working it out in your life. We're all a little different in that way.

Verse 28, Romans 8, verse 28. And we know that all things work together for good, not to all mankind, no, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are the called according to God's purpose. Now, we drop down to verse 31. What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? God is saying, through Paul, it says, look, I am fully committed to you. I am so committed that Jesus, God in the flesh, came and died for you, died for me. You don't get any more committed than that.

God didn't spare anything for the betterment of his family. Verse 33, who shall lay a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies, who is he who condemns, and is Christ who died, and furthermore has also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us. You know, those verses are talking about how Satan wants to get into the fray. Satan wants to accuse and slander and so forth. We talked about that a few weeks ago.

Well, we've got God the Father and Jesus Christ working on our behalf.

They are going to complete. They're going to finish what's in that worksite.

Verse 35, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? What is the idea there?

The idea there is nothing in this life will stop God from doing in your life what he wants to do.

As long as you and I want God in our life, and we're working with God hand in hand, nothing, there's no power in the universe that will stop God from fulfilling his plan for you in your life. That is a promise from God. That is something that we can be very much encouraged by. Be comforted in.

Brethren, we do not know what's going to happen to us in 2011. But we know that God will walk with us through every challenge, through every blessing. We want to keep these things we've looked at today very much in our hearts and minds. We want to take great comfort in God's promises. Just a couple of scriptures in closing. Let's look at Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2.

Verse 6. Talking about God who will render to each one according to his deeds. Eternal life to those who by patient continuance and doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality. Here's a promise to the faithful believer. God keeps his promises. He's promising you eternal life in the God family and all the beauty that lies in the Lord's promise. We go over here to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. The resurrection chapter. Last scripture for the day. 1 Corinthians 15.

1 Corinthians 15 and verse 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Your labor is not in vain.

Brethren, God has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises. This thanksgiving season, let us reflect on those. Let us be encouraged by those. And let those allow us, let those promises motivate us to be the people God has called us to be.