KEEP THAT PROMISE

#1 · April 28, 2009, 1:45 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on April 28, 2009, 1:45 pm
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
KEEP THAT PROMISE

April 19, 2009

TEXT: Joshua 24:1-27

As I sat and pondered a little bit on the title I selected for this mornings message, I had to chuckle at it. Keep That Promise. It struck me as funny because it could be the title of a TV game or reality show. I could just hear someone announcing, And now, this seasons hottest reality show, Keep That Promise! The series could open with people making promises to others, and then the cameras follow them around to see if they actually keep their promises. Anyone have any marketing strategies to turn this idea into reality?

The sad truth is that this is a reality show that is played out every day. People do make promises to one another and then not keep them. Now Im not talking about promises or commitments that are unavoidably broken. If I promise to be at a function, for example, and have appendicitis, then that is an unforeseen and unavoidable event that forces plans to change. That can happen.

What I am talking about are the promises that we make and then willfully and purposefully go about breaking them. It may not be all at once. We can gradually make choices that we know will not help us keep our promise and then finally, overwhelmed by the consequences of those choices, break the promise itself. One of the most graphic illustrations of this is marriage. I have yet to officiate or attend a wedding where the couple says something like, I cant promise that Ill love and cherish you forever. I might remain faithful to you, unless someone better comes along. I have never heard that as part of the vows. What I hear, instead, is something like, I promise to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part. Now thats quite a promise when you think about.

Unfortunately, as we all know, not all marriage promises are fulfilled. Not all promises are kept. Somehow, somewhere, a breakdown occurs and promises are not kept and a divorce occurs. And theres our reality show again. Can he Keep That Promise? Can she Keep That Promise?

As important as wedding vows are, there is an even more important relationship that is built on promises. That relationship is, of course, our personal relationship with God. The Bible typically calls the promises made between God and man and between man and God covenants. In general, a covenant is an agreement a compact, a contract, a commitment that binds one to its stipulations. A promise. Mans entire relationship with God has always been based upon a covenant. The covenant is initiated by God, but it must also be completed by mans willing consent to be in a covenant relationship with God.

I read a rather long passage of Scripture this morning. There are only a few verses I want to highlight, but those passages do not make as much sense outside of the context that Joshua spoke them. So, I decided to read the entire section from verse 1 through 27. Joshua, the Hebrew leader who took the Israelites into the Promised Land beginning at Jericho, now faced the end of his days as leader and the end of his life. Even after crossing the Jordan, the Israelites faced some big challenges from some big enemies. They experienced setbacks along the way, but God was with them and prepared the way. In fact, they still had some huge challenges to face as it would turn out, but God always promised to be with His people.

In the midst of all this, Joshua gathers the Israelites to give them this charge: Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14) Now we would think that after going through all they had gone through and witnessing the miraculous redemption that God provided them, that it would have been unnecessary for Joshua to make this charge to them. How could anyone there not fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully? Even though it seems impossible that any among them would reject the Lord, Joshua was compelled to offer them this choice: But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the god your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. (Joshua 24:15)

Joshua is making it as clear as he can that he is not seeking a promise that will not be kept. He is not seeking acknowledgement from the Hebrews just so that they could offer an empty promise, which is not a promise at all. In fact, he even goes to great lengths to try to make the people understand that they are not to merely respond on the emotional high of the moment. After hearing is peoples initial response - Far be it from us to forsake the Lord and to serve other gods! (Joshua 24:16) Joshua starkly proclaims, You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you after he has been good to you. (Joshua 24:19-20) This seems like a strange, and even harsh, rebuttal to make after the Israelites indicate their commitment to God, but Joshua is trying to impress upon them the completely serious task being laid before them. It is never good to reject the Lord, but Joshua is indicating that it is better to openly reject God rather than make a promise to serve Him and then not keep it. If you are going to make that promise, then you had better be standing ready to keep that promise. Making a false promise only brings disaster.

Speaking to the chief priests and the elders, members of the community that made many promises to God, Jesus told this parable: What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, Son, go and work today in the vineyard. I will not, he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, I will, sir, but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? The first, they answered. Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. (Matthew 21: 28-32) Jesus was well aware of the cost of making false promises. He was telling those he loved to keep that promise.

We had the wonderful privilege this morning to witness the baptism of Sarah. As we were reminded earlier, one of the meaningful symbols of baptism is that it is an outward expression of the inward relationship with God. The act of baptism illustrates, we are buried and raised with Christ. It is not the baptism itself that saves us; it is the relationship we begin with God beforehand through belief that Jesus died for our sins and was raised again to life in victory over those sins and over death. If we recognize that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and became the atoning sacrifice for sin, then we are faced with the choice accepting or rejecting him. Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. (Joshua 24:14) When we accept Gods love, then we accept His promises and, in turn, promise to serve Him with all faithfulness. Can we Keep That Promise?

Even with this responsibility that we take on, it is God who makes it possible for us to keep that promise. We are blessed with the new covenant, which we remembered and celebrated last week. That same Jesus who gives us life tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Jesus makes it possible for us to keep that promise as long as we take his yoke and learn from him. Wait no longer, for God welcomes the sinner home where rest is found for the weary soul.

Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14-15)

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

www.bhfirstbaptist.com
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

KEEP THAT PROMISE

April 19, 2009

TEXT: Joshua 24:1-27

As I sat and pondered a little bit on the title I selected for this mornings message, I had to chuckle at it. Keep That Promise. It struck me as funny because it could be the title of a TV game or reality show. I could just hear someone announcing, And now, this seasons hottest reality show, Keep That Promise! The series could open with people making promises to others, and then the cameras follow them around to see if they actually keep their promises. Anyone have any marketing strategies to turn this idea into reality?

The sad truth is that this is a reality show that is played out every day. People do make promises to one another and then not keep them. Now Im not talking about promises or commitments that are unavoidably broken. If I promise to be at a function, for example, and have appendicitis, then that is an unforeseen and unavoidable event that forces plans to change. That can happen.

What I am talking about are the promises that we make and then willfully and purposefully go about breaking them. It may not be all at once. We can gradually make choices that we know will not help us keep our promise and then finally, overwhelmed by the consequences of those choices, break the promise itself. One of the most graphic illustrations of this is marriage. I have yet to officiate or attend a wedding where the couple says something like, I cant promise that Ill love and cherish you forever. I might remain faithful to you, unless someone better comes along. I have never heard that as part of the vows. What I hear, instead, is something like, I promise to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part. Now thats quite a promise when you think about.

Unfortunately, as we all know, not all marriage promises are fulfilled. Not all promises are kept. Somehow, somewhere, a breakdown occurs and promises are not kept and a divorce occurs. And theres our reality show again. Can he Keep That Promise? Can she Keep That Promise?

As important as wedding vows are, there is an even more important relationship that is built on promises. That relationship is, of course, our personal relationship with God. The Bible typically calls the promises made between God and man and between man and God covenants. In general, a covenant is an agreement a compact, a contract, a commitment that binds one to its stipulations. A promise. Mans entire relationship with God has always been based upon a covenant. The covenant is initiated by God, but it must also be completed by mans willing consent to be in a covenant relationship with God.

I read a rather long passage of Scripture this morning. There are only a few verses I want to highlight, but those passages do not make as much sense outside of the context that Joshua spoke them. So, I decided to read the entire section from verse 1 through 27. Joshua, the Hebrew leader who took the Israelites into the Promised Land beginning at Jericho, now faced the end of his days as leader and the end of his life. Even after crossing the Jordan, the Israelites faced some big challenges from some big enemies. They experienced setbacks along the way, but God was with them and prepared the way. In fact, they still had some huge challenges to face as it would turn out, but God always promised to be with His people.

In the midst of all this, Joshua gathers the Israelites to give them this charge: Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14) Now we would think that after going through all they had gone through and witnessing the miraculous redemption that God provided them, that it would have been unnecessary for Joshua to make this charge to them. How could anyone there not fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully? Even though it seems impossible that any among them would reject the Lord, Joshua was compelled to offer them this choice: But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the god your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. (Joshua 24:15)

Joshua is making it as clear as he can that he is not seeking a promise that will not be kept. He is not seeking acknowledgement from the Hebrews just so that they could offer an empty promise, which is not a promise at all. In fact, he even goes to great lengths to try to make the people understand that they are not to merely respond on the emotional high of the moment. After hearing is peoples initial response - Far be it from us to forsake the Lord and to serve other gods! (Joshua 24:16) Joshua starkly proclaims, You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you after he has been good to you. (Joshua 24:19-20) This seems like a strange, and even harsh, rebuttal to make after the Israelites indicate their commitment to God, but Joshua is trying to impress upon them the completely serious task being laid before them. It is never good to reject the Lord, but Joshua is indicating that it is better to openly reject God rather than make a promise to serve Him and then not keep it. If you are going to make that promise, then you had better be standing ready to keep that promise. Making a false promise only brings disaster.

Speaking to the chief priests and the elders, members of the community that made many promises to God, Jesus told this parable: What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, Son, go and work today in the vineyard. I will not, he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, I will, sir, but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? The first, they answered. Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. (Matthew 21: 28-32) Jesus was well aware of the cost of making false promises. He was telling those he loved to keep that promise.

We had the wonderful privilege this morning to witness the baptism of Sarah. As we were reminded earlier, one of the meaningful symbols of baptism is that it is an outward expression of the inward relationship with God. The act of baptism illustrates, we are buried and raised with Christ. It is not the baptism itself that saves us; it is the relationship we begin with God beforehand through belief that Jesus died for our sins and was raised again to life in victory over those sins and over death. If we recognize that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and became the atoning sacrifice for sin, then we are faced with the choice accepting or rejecting him. Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. (Joshua 24:14) When we accept Gods love, then we accept His promises and, in turn, promise to serve Him with all faithfulness. Can we Keep That Promise?

Even with this responsibility that we take on, it is God who makes it possible for us to keep that promise. We are blessed with the new covenant, which we remembered and celebrated last week. That same Jesus who gives us life tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Jesus makes it possible for us to keep that promise as long as we take his yoke and learn from him. Wait no longer, for God welcomes the sinner home where rest is found for the weary soul.

Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14-15)

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

http://www.bhfirstbaptist.com

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org