Topic: Promise of God and it’s value. Category: Know God> Truth>
Bible Scriptures: Genesis 12:2 Romans 4:17-22, Luke 1:30-35, Luke 1:46-55.
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What if someone who has a reputation of being unfaithful and untrue, gives you a promise? How much value would you give to that promise? Not much. What if someone who has a reputation of being faithful and true, gives you a promise? How much value would you give to that promise? Great value. The value of a promise depends upon the reputation or character of the one giving the promise.
Throughout all eternity, God the creator of heaven and earth and all things good, is the only one who is faithful and true. God is never unfaithful or untrue. He is perfect in every way.
God’s promise
In Genesis 12:2 God speaks to Abram and gives him a promise.
“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
God’s promise to Abram was not just 1, not just 2, not 3, 4, 5, 6…but 7 promises. God’s promise to Abram was so great it was for all eternity. In verse 2 of Genesis 12 we read 4 of the 7 promises to Abram.
- 1: God will make a great nation through Abram and his descendants.
- 2: God will give Abram a special blessing.
- 3: God will grow Abram’s reputation and name.
- 4: God will give Abram the power to be a blessing to others.
At the time God gave these eternal promises to Abram, both Abram and his wife could not have children. They were without a descendant, their bodies long past the years of being able to have children.
Yet Abram believed God, because Abram knew the value of a promise depends upon the reputation or character of the one giving the promise. Abram knew God is faithful and true, the creator of heaven and earth and all things good.
Abram knew the value of God’s promise, because Abram knew God.
people testify
Many, many years later, after God gave the promise to Abram, the Apostle Paul testifies of how God fulfilled His promise to Abram.
Romans 4:17-22 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
promises fulfilled
The Apostle Paul knew God is faithful and true, the creator of heaven and earth and all things good.
The Apostle Paul knew the value of God’s promise, because the Apostle Paul knew God.
Today we testify God fulfilled every promise to Abram.
- 1: God will make a great nation through Abram and his descendants. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham (which means father of many) and from the seed of Abraham came a great nation, a great King from the smallest of tribes. God said this King was a man after God’s own heart. His name was David. God fulfilled promise number 1.
- 2: God will give Abram a special blessing. God revealed to Abraham His eternal plan and Abraham’s special part in that plan. Through his seed the saviour of the world, God Himself would come. God honoured Abraham and gave him a special blessing of knowing God intimately, in a time before the saviour had come. Therefore God fulfilled promise number 2.
- 3: God will grow Abram’s reputation and name. God honoured Abraham. To this day we talk about Abraham, his great faith and trust in God, because he knew God and became the father of many nations. Indeed God fulfilled promise number 3.
- 4: God will give Abram the power to be a blessing to others from generation to generation. It is through Abraham’s descendants, the tribe of King David that God chose to bring His eternal blessing of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, the saviour of the world. God Himself became one with us. God fulfilled promise number 4.
value of God’s promise
Many, many years after God gave the promise to Abram, God in His great love, gave the promise to a young girl. Her name is Mary.
Let us read Luke 1:30-35 ‘Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
At the end of the promise, Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”
Mary knew God is faithful and true, the creator of heaven and earth and all things good.
Mary knew the value of God’s promise, because Mary knew God.
identity in the promise
Through knowing God, Mary knew her own identity was in God. Mary knew she was
a chosen servant of the Lord, receiving a special blessing from God. God gave Mary a special part in His eternal plan. Mary knew God’s promise to Abraham was being fulfilled in the child she was going to carry. She sings a joyful response in praise of God.
Luke 1:46-55 ‘And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
Mary testifies that God has seen her lowly state of her situation and that generations will call her blessed. God has remembered His promise to Abraham all those many years ago. All God’s promises to Abraham are fulfilled in Jesus.
today’s promise
Today we celebrate the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham, to his descendants, to Mary, to all people and to us.
God gives each one a special part in His rescue plan to reach a dying world.
Together to testify, the good news that God is faithful and true. The creator of heaven
and earth and all things good, who heals the broken hearted, proclaims liberty to the captives, opens the eyes of the blind and sets at liberty those who are oppressed.
In His faithfulness we can trust. Not in our own faithfulness.
We know the value of God’s promise because we know God. He is faithful and true.
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Sermon categories: son of man> love of God> hope and healing> know God> truth> power> end times> experience God> life> success in life> kingdom>
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