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Precious Promises from the Word

Union Hill Baptist Church Sunday Morning 7/28/2024

2 Peter 1:4 - Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Look with me in the Word of God at just a few of the promises that God gives us that will certainly encourage our hearts.

God says.

  1. I will never leave you. Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 

Hebrews1 3:5 - Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

What a precious promise we have in that we can always be sure that God is with us, good times, bad times, times of sorrow, times of joy, He is there.

Jesus tells us in John 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;”

This is a unique fact of this age in which we are living. The Holy Spirit was here on earth before Pentecost, but on the Day of Pentecost He came to indwell believers. That was the thing which was new.

 

  1. I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3 - The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

What a tremendous truth, an everlasting love. Also He tells  us in Ephesians 2:4,  “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his greatlove wherewith he loved us,” 

This is God talking to you and I from His Word, telling us His love is everlasting, great, and sacrificial in Romans 5:8 - But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

  1. I sympathize with your weaknesses. Hebrews 4:15 - For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 

We have a Great High Priest who is always available, and He does understand. He does not understand us theoretically, but down here He was tested, and He was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” He knew what it was to hunger. He knew what it was to be touched with sorrow—Jesus wept! He was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities … yet without sin.”

  1. I forgive you. 1 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. 

What does it mean to confess our sins?

You are to say the same thing that God says. When God in His Word says that the thing you did is sin, you are to get over on God's side and look at it. And you are to say, “You are right, Lord, I say the same thing that You say. It is sin.” That is what it means to confess your sins. That, my friend, is one of the greatest needs in the church. This is God's way for a Christian to deal with sin in his own life.

  1. I give you power to forgive others. Colossians 3:13 - Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 

Quarrel actually is “complaint.” Paul is including situations where there is blame involved and the complaint is justified.

What are we to do in such circumstances? “Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” This does not mean that you become a doormat. But it does mean that when we have a complaint, we're to go to the individual and try to work out the matter.

There are always going to be some people with whom you cannot work out things—we must realize that. When our Lord denounced the Pharisees, there was no mention of forgiveness—He just denounced them. They did not seek His forgiveness, of course.

Paul's thought here is that Christ has forgiven us so much that it won't hurt us to forgive somebody who has stepped on our toes. We are to forgive others in the same way that Christ has forgiven us.

  1. I have chosen you. John 15:19 - If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 

Notice what will happen if you are a child of God. The world will hate you. I believe that a Christian's popularity can be an indication of how he is representing Christ to the world. I do not believe a Christian can be popular in the world. No Christian has any right to be more popular than Jesus was. Beware of a compromising position in order to be popular. The world will not love a real child of God. The world will love you if you are of the world. You don't have to act oddly or be superpious. The world will hate you if you are a child of God. This is difficult, especially for young people who want so much to be popular. Let's tell our young people what the Lord says. They are not going to be popular with the world if they are the children of God.

  1. I delight in you. Zephaniah 3:17 - The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. 



Peter calls them “exceeding great and precious promises.

Let’s briefly look at a few more.

” For example: “… him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37); and 

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28)—the rest of redemption. 

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29)—that's the rest of commitment of your heart and life to Christ. And another promise:

 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). 

Another wonderful promise is that of eternal life: “He that hath the Son hath life …” (1 John 5:12). 

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23). 

 

All these wonderful promises come through a knowledge of Jesus Christ and by faith in Him.