Blessed Assurance
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Blessed Assurance
Blessed Assurance
Genesis 9:8-17
And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Introduction:
Sometime when you're in an airport, observe the difference between passengers who hold confirmed tickets and those who are on standby. The ones with confirmed tickets read newspapers, chat with their friends or sleep. The ones on standby hang around the ticket counter, pace and smoke, smoke and pace. The difference is caused by the confidence factor. If you knew that in fifteen minutes you would have to stand in judgment before the Holy God and learn your eternal destiny, what would your reaction be? Would you smoke and pace? Would you say to yourself, "I don't know what God's going to say--will it be 'Welcome home, child,' or will it be 'Depart from me; I never knew you'?
Bill Hybels, Too Busy Not To Pray, IVP, p. 113.
Fortunately, we can have assurance concerning our eternal destiny. If one has accepted Jesus as their savior they are eternally secure based upon the promise of God. The message today is dealing with God’s promises. They are sure and unchangeable. They can be trusted, relied upon and can help us remove anxiety from life. One such promise is the Covenant God established with Noah.
God’s Covenant with Noah is Unconditional
It is His Promise
Notice it says, “My Covenant.”
The contents of the covenant
God will not destroy the earth by a global flood again
This covenant is for man, animals, and the earth
It is His Doing
The emphasis on “I”
He establishes the covenant
“I establish,” vs. 9
“I will establish,” vs. 11 (Certainty)
God will do what He promised to do
It is Not Dependent upon Man
God knows man is sinful
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
This covenant cannot be broken because of man’s sinful behavior
God has Made Other Unconditional Promises
Abrahamic Covenant
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
The text above is concerning Abraham’s vision of God assuring him of God’s Covenant.
Davidic Covenant
The Promise that there will be the Messiah and eternal reign through his lineage
Salvation
God made a promise to all those who receive Jesus as their savior- eternal life
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
God Assures Us That His Promises Are Kept
God Gave a Token of Promise
A rainbow
A sign of the covenant between God and the earth
We see the “bow” in other scriptures concerning God
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
God Said It will be Everlasting
Terms of Proof
Perpetual, vs. 12
Everlasting, vs. 16
Illustrated by Isaiah
For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
We Can Have Confidence in His Promises
It speaks to the character of God
He is faithful
He is unchangeable
He does not lie
Words of Paul
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
The Word of God
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.
And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
