'THE CERTAINTY OF GOD’S PROMISE’

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PODCAST LINK to CFRA broadcast - Sunday, July 22^nd, 2012:

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/7764/good_news_010_july22.mp3
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Rev. Brian Wilkie by Rev. Brian Wilkie       Pastor of St. Andrew's United Church, Rockland, Ontario  http://www.rocklandchurch.ca/

Broadcast Notes:

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‘The Certainty of God’s Promise’

Today our theme is “The Certainty of God’s Promise”

Our Reading from the word of God is taken from the second of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Let me just put this into context for a moment: Paul is apologizing to the Corinthians for a change in plans the kept him from visiting Corinth as they had expected. He is clearly concerned that some of his detractors will insinuate that Paul cannot be trusted to keep his word. In this passage he reveals that he has tried to be reliable in every way, as a servant of a faithful and trustworthy Lord.

Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.  For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Co 1:12–22 NIV).

God is dependable. The whole life of faith depends on his trustworthiness.

Jesus teaching is that our words should always be true: in fact Paul here echoes the teaching of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel where he insists:

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Mt 5:33–37).

With God a “yes” is yes, and a “no” is no. No oath adds to the certainty of his words, and no lack of oath takes away. God stands by what he speaks. And so should we, according to the teaching of our Lord. We ought to be careful what we speak, for Jesus himself says that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. Moreover, as Paul recognizes in his dealing with the Corinthians, a broken promise from the lips of Christ’s ambassador has great power to undermine the credibility of the Gospel.

Credibility is earned by keeping our word, not just by making promises. I often hear husbands admit that they laboured under the illusion that they could make a happy home by offering to do the unwelcome chores, and by promising to make special improvements for their spouse. Happy is the man who learns quickly that brownie points are earned, not by making promises, but by keeping them!

The apostle Paul did find himself in the awkward position of disappointing the expectation of the Corinthians, and he wanted to assure them that he makes every effort to come through on his plans. But in doing so he contrasts his one breach of expectation with the absolute dependability of the Lord. And it’s the absolute dependability of the Lord that we are going to explore today.

• Jesus Christ is always “Yes” – he confirms every promise of God.

o Salvation from the opening chapters of Genesis

o Promise to David, that his descendent would have an everlasting throne

o Promise to Abraham, to bless all the nations through him.

o Promises of the Messiah; that he would carry our sorrows, and bear our iniquities.

o Even The darker promises that Sin would be punished, and ultimately destroyed 

• His faithfulness in making us stand firm.

• Paul makes a point of showing the lengths God has gone to, in order that we might be assured of his faithfulness.

• At other times he speaks of the Cross, of the long history of salvation, of the continuing ministry of Christ, but here he speaks of what the gift of the Spirit signifies in the believers’ life.

o Anointed: chosen- like King David, or Jesus Christ himself (Christ means anointed.) chosen in love.

o Strengthened: the spirit makes us stand firm. How often our strength, even our faith wavers, but the Spirit carries us. Even when we falter the Spirit does not depart.

o Seals us: a seal on a Jar preserves the contents, and so it is with us: the spirit preserves us, keeps us in the grace of God. But Paul likely has in mind the seal that makes a contract binding, a king’s signet pressed into sealing wax to confirm that His authority has been given to fulfill this matter.  It is even a seal of ownership such as on a deed of property, declaring, “This is Mine!” It is like brand, an irreversible mark, revealing to which flock this creature belongs.

o The Spirit is a deposit, an earnest as the KJV reads.  An earnest is the old word for deposit: when ordering from a store a sum of money was put on deposit to demonstrate that the buyer was “earnest” about desiring the product.

§The Spirit as a deposit implies a greater fulfilment in the future!

o The spirit as a guarantee.

•  In so many ways the spirit of God is given to us to assure us that God has saved us, and will keep us to the end.

• The promise that he will complete the work begun in us. The promise to transform us!! There is no getting out of holiness, if God has put his spirit in you!

• That we have the spirit is certain, for the bible teaches that all who receive Christ have received the Spirit of Christ. Do you confess Jesus as Lord? Only the Spirit of God can put that serious confession on your lips! Do you believe that God raised his Son Jesus from the death, confirming that in his sacrifice on the cross the love of God set aside your guilt? Then you are saved! And the promises of God, and the multiple assurances of the spirit are yours.

• Now there are two applications of this truth.

o First is the application Paul is making right at this time: How reliable are you? Do you shrug off mistakes with a careless declaration that “I’m only human”? Paul does not wallow in his guilt, but he makes it clear that his credibility is of great importance. He failed to keep an appointment, and he is worried, not about how it will reflect on him, but on how it reflects on the preaching of the Gospel.  We too have to consider this. When we speak without knowledge, deviate from our promises, allow careless words to fall from our lips we reduce our credibility when we would speak of the things of first importance.  – cheating at games “it’s just a game” – but if someone will lie when nothing is at stake, what will they do when important matters are at hand? So promise little but deliver much. Speak carefully, and prove trustworthy in little things so that you will be trusted in greater matters. Like Paul we must own up when we have not kept our word, and demonstrate how seriously we are trying to be sincere. It’s a hard teaching but really quite important.

o The second application is one of assurance. I always like a message that reminds me of God’s faithfulness, and so I give this to you. If God is faithful we need never despair. We can persevere against all odds. In prayer, in service, in preaching and witness. In forgiving, and in seeking forgiveness from God. 

§  From Moody Bible Institute’s Pastors’ Conference,  Stuart Briscoe preaching: Christ’s victory parade- many great insights, but the oddest thing struck me as encouraging: in a Roman victory parade the captives followed the Lord’s chariot, roped together and fastened to the chariot. Stuart used the phrase “carried forward by the momentum of the Victor’s chariot.“ Now for a prisoner, that image may be degrading, but for one being led to freedom and eternal life in the Kingdom of God, what an encouraging thought! I cannot be left behind! Even if my strength fails completely, I will be carried forward by the momentum of his triumph!

§  Never Give up! Never give up! God is never going to give up on you!

Would you pray with me? 

Loving God, Thank you for your eternal faithfulness. Thank you for your endless grace. Lord, keep us; and as you keep us, keep us hopeful. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

May you know Jesus Christ personally and profoundly. May the Holy Spirit reside deep within your heart.  And may the heavenly Father surround you with his constant and abiding and accompanying love.

Rev. Brian Wilkie

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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/7764/good_news_010_july22.mp3