The Great Commission
MINISTERING IN CHRIST
Part 9: How to Obtain the Promises
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith – www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS
6:00PM Evening Service at the church –
“Seminary Students will be preaching”
WHERE WE ARE AT
† Maturing in Christ
This Series: Ministering in Christ
Previously:
Committing your life to Christ
The Way to True Service
Light of the World ~ How to be an effective Witness
The Leading of the Lord
Waiting on God
Importance of Obedience
Tithing
Committing top the Lord
TODAY’S SERMON: The Great Commission
MINISTERING IN CHRIST
Part 9: How to Obtain the Promises
I. WHAT OBSTACLE IS IN YOUR WAY?
† Isaiah 59:1-2
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
Because of our sin, God can not hear our cries because His face is hidden from us.
Although God promises never to leave us or forsake us, it is not HIM that leaves us and forsakes us when we sin, but US who is leaving and forsaking HIM because we chose sin over His love.
In Deuteronomy 31 God spoke this promise to the people through Moses, and to Joshua through Moses as well…
Yet we see that later in the very same chapter God says the following;
Deuteronomy 31:16-18
16 And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?' 18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
You see, THEY broke the covenant, not God…
He is always faithful, and trustworthy.
But our relationship with Him is conditional.
We are not exempt from this rule.
Some may argue, “Yeah, but that was the Old Testament, they didn’t have Christ as we do!”
We must not forget….
When Christ was upon the cross and took upon Him sin, it caused separation between Him and the Father.
This is why Jesus proclaimed the rhetorical question “Father, why hast thou forsaken me?”
If Jesus Christ Himself is not exempt from the Laws of God the Father’s Holiness, how can we think that we somehow are?
If you think you can live in sin, and have God within you…you are mistaken.
Although God’s love for mankind is unconditional, and He paid the price for all…relationship and Salvation are conditional, and not everyone will obtain it.
And not everyone will obtain the promises within the Word either.
Because as we read God’s Word, we see that there are conditions to His promises as well.
II. WHAT DOES GOD ACTUALLY PROMISE US
† II Peter 1:4-8
4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing (continuing growth) measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The promise is, if we do our part, and continue to ADD to our faith, and grow, we will be effective and productive.
Remember, we want to hear on that day, “Well done GOOD and FAITHFUL servant”
Jesus in the parable commends the servant who was not just faithful, but productive.
And what are we to be productive in?
Spreading the truth, teaching others how to be saved, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and raising up disciples.
1. Missionary (spreading the truth)
2. Teaching them to obey what Christ commands
3. Baptizing them completely (Word, Spirit & relationship with the Father)
4. Raising up disciples
† Galatians 3:26-29
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
We are Abraham’s seed, and true Jews in God’s eyes…
† Romans 2:28-29
28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
III. WE MUST HAVE FAITH
† I John 5:14-15
14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
IV. GODS PROMISES ARE CONDITIONAL
† Hebrews 10:23, 35-37
23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
† Deuteronomy 11:22-23
22 If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him- 23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.
† Joshua 1:7
7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
† Hebrews 6:12
12We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
† James 1:5-8
5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
