Focus Pt 8 Great Promises

Today we are in the 8th part of our series Focus! The longer we walk with Jesus, the more we have to remain focused on God and what He is doing. We can never become lackadaisical, never loose our enthusiasm for following God. Nowadays, the trend of many is to take up causes and are very passionate about these causes. We must continue to be passionate about the cause of Christ. We must continually focus on the “mandate” God gave us to Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.

So today we are focusing on the promises of God and how great those promises are.

Luke 4:14–21 NIV

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

1. The greatest promise of all is Jesus!

Jesus came for one reason only and that was to fulfill the promise God had made when Adam sinned in the garden. He came to pay the price of sin, and in doing so set us free from the bondages that come along with sin and the law.

Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor, in spirit. to set the captives free, to help the blind see, get people out of oppressed situations. Basically the promise that Jesus talked about that day is the promise of being free. Who Jesus sets free is definitely free indeed!

Galatians 3:24–29 NLT

24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. 26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

2. We also have the promise given to Abraham!

What was that promise to Abraham? It’s found in

Genesis 12:1–3 AMP

1 NOW [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. 3 And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves].

Wow these a great promises. A great nation, God’s blessing to us making us a blessing to others. And God will take care of those who bless us and take care of him who comes against us.

These are the promises we need to focus on in the day we live.

Romans 4:16–17 The Living Bible

16 So God’s blessings are given to us by faith, as a free gift; we are certain to get them whether or not we follow Jewish customs if we have faith like Abraham’s, for Abraham is the father of us all when it comes to these matters of faith. 17 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say that God made Abraham the father of many nations. God will accept all people in every nation who trust God as Abraham did. And this promise is from God himself, who makes the dead live again and speaks of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past.

3. God’s promises are not contingent on us!

We are so used to “earning” our way that it creates a “we can handle” attitude. If we don’t check ourselves, we can think that it’s our works that put us in line for the promises of God. It’s really not our works that matter, it’s our faith in God that gets us the promises of God.

Here’s what’s really cool about God’s promises, they can make dead dreams alive again and also there is no such thing as time to God. He’s the future as if it has already happened.

Romans 8:31–39 The Message

31 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? 32 If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? 33 And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? 34 Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. 35 Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: 36 They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. 37 None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. 38 I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, 39 high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

4. Nothing can separate us from God!

This is the one we can hang our hat on. There is nothing that can ever drive a wedge between us and God. Wow that is the main thing. We will never get out of God’s presence. That’s a fantastic promise from God. He will never ever leave us no matter what!!