“Claim Your Promise”

The New International Version Chapter 3

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

Text: Eccl. 3:1-13

Introduction: The secret to peace with God is to discover, accept, and appreciate God’s perfect timing. The ability to rejoice and enjoy life is one of God’s most excellent gifts to humanity. So as we prepare to embrace a new year, how do we claim our promise?

What is the Promise?

John one of the beloved disciples writes: “The thief cometh not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) They in this verse refers to those who will accept Jesus as Lord and savior. He promises to give us the abundant life. However the abundant life is exempt from various seasons. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall bring about change. Life is that way too. Nothing stays the same. Adjustments will have to be made. Trial will come, there will be gains and losses. God’s promise is the only constant that we have. Everything happens as it is supposed to happen, when it happens.

Why is the Promise Sure? (Eccl. 3:11)

We are called to live fully, to live aware, to live alive. Jesus says in John that he has come that we might have life and have it abundantly. The invitation is to live every moment. We are to live the good moments in celebration and joy; the difficult ones, in prayer and in confidence that we are not alone, but alive in suffering as well as in prosperity. This also lets us know that we should never be completely satisfied with earthly pleasures and pursuits. Because we are created in God’s image:

(1) We have a spiritual thirst

(2) We have eternal value

(3) Nothing but the Eternal God can truly satisfy us.

You are not going to be able to map out the year according to your desire. You cannot see into the future, Only God can. So a reliance upon His promises are crucial to our stability because He knows what is best for us.

How can I receive the Promise?

(1) Remember the promise:

“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

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— MATT. 28:20

God promises He will never leave nor forsake us on our journey. Only believers can claim this promise. There is an exception, an unbeliever can claim the promise of salvation. He or she has to do this before he or she can claim the various promises that God grants to the obedient, and trusting believer. Here is the promise for the unbeliever: If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved.” Then you can claim the other promises from God.

(2) We must understand that we can claim only the promise that fit the times in which we live. (ex. you cannot claim the promise God made to Abraham, Joshua, or any other patriarch.) Those promise were made to them for that time and those circumstances. What you and I can do is, read about them and be encouraged, knowing that God can act in a similar fashion in our lives but that promise is not for you. Sarah was 90, a 90 year old would be foolish to stake a claim on that promise because God acted then for that time, and He is not going to rewrite the book to create a nations of believers from your seed when He has already set that plan in motion.

(3) Obey—When a believer is living in disobedience you forfeit your right to claim God’s promises because God under no condition will contribute to your disobedience.

(4) Trust—Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart. (Ps. 37:4) When a commitment to trusting the only source that can produce true happiness, then the promises are validated and we can ask and receive them.

Closure: So as you enter into the upcoming year, I have told you what the promise is, told why the promise is sure, and told you how to receive it. So if you are willing to make the needed adjustments, you can claim your promise. It was signed, sealed, and delivered and it is yours. If you are willing to obey and trust Him you can experience the abundant life. There will be some struggles but keep your eyes focused towards the hill from whence comes all of our help, knowing that all of your help comes from the Lord. He promised never to leave you nor forsake you and He secured it when He died out on yonders cross……….