A Promise for the New Year
Notes
Transcript
Intro/Background
A couple of weeks ago we had our annual youth group Christmas Party
And as we’ve done for many years now, one of the major events of the night was a white elephant gift exchange
The students brought in some good stuff
A literal rock/paper/scissors box, a bag of batteries with a note that said, “Congrats on your brand new RC Lamborghini car! Toy not included....”, and a pair of giant bare feet that you can wear (super creepy actually - show them if they’re still in youth room)
But the hot item of the night was a mini waffle maker and Christmas waffle mix
Alliances were made, friendships were betrayed, and sibling rivalries were on full display for this thing
The way we play, the student that draws #1 gets to go again at the end and steal whatever they want
His brother desperately wanted the waffle maker, so much so that he was willing to trade his gift (cash - an amazing gift at a youth group white elephant exchange) for that waffle maker.
He then promised to make his brother a batch of waffles the next morning if he got it
His brother, probably rightfully so, told him no way because he would just betray him (sounds like siblings)
The brother then pulls out the pinkie promise to let him know that he was serious
Well that student ended up picking the waffle maker, and I texted him asking if he ever got his waffles the next morning
He did not get any waffles.....
This morning, we are going to be talking about the promises of God
And one promise in particular that is a very important reminder for us headed into a new year
God’s promises are much different than the promises that we make
God doesn’t make pinkie promises
One study I ready from a few years ago said that only 65% of participants gave themselves an “A” grade for keeping promises - meaning 1 out of every 3 people would admit they are not good at keeping promises
Another one from Rasmussen found that only 4% of likely voters think that most politicians keep the promises they make on the campaign trail
A different study from fivethirtyeight refuted that 4% number, saying that most presidents make a “good faith” effort to keep ~2/3 of their campaign promises
But it had a caveat that the number depended on how the researchers defined what counted as a campaign promise, and what it means to keep it.....
So basically we are kinda reliable to keep our promises just over half of the time, but it depends on how you classify a promise and what it means to keep that promise
We’re not very good at it!
But God does keep His promises
One commentary I read said that, “The promises of God reveal his particular and eternal purposes to which he is unchangeably committed and upon which believers can totally depend.”
It’s not a 50% of the time and that depends on what it means to keep a promise. God’s promises are things that we can take to the bank, they are sure, a guarantee
Numbers 23:19
19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Hebrews 10:23
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
God’s promises are not based on the imperfect/fallible words of a person, they’re based on the infallible/faithful words and actions of the Father
Now, some of God’s promises are conditional on our faith and obedience like Hebrews 6:12 says
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
But again, the surety of the promise is not based on us. If we obey what God tells us to do, the promise will happen, there’s not question of it. We can miss out on the promise because of our unfaithfulness, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t count on God to fulfill His promise
How do you spot those promises in the Bible?
Sometimes it’s really easy, the word promise is right there in the text
1 John 2:25
25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
Eternal life for the person who has confessed their sin before God and made Him the Lord and Savior of their life is a promise, we don’t have to worry about whether it’s really going to happen or not
Super clear right there in black and white in that verse
Other ones are a bit harder to determine, but many times you’ll see a “will” or “shall” attached to it
Deut 31:8
8 And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
Sometimes you don’t see the “will” or “shall”, but if it’s a statement and the condition is based on God’s character, we can count on it
1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So let’s read one promise in particular that I think God has us to hear for this upcoming year
Lesson - John 16:33
Verse 33
The night that Jesus would be betrayed and arrested, the disciples were with Him in the Upper Room having the last supper
As the night goes on, they become confused and fearful because Jesus started talking about one of them betraying Him and how He’d be leaving them and giving the group what felt like these last minute instructions
Chapters 13-16 in the gospel of John, nearly 20% of the entire book, are about the discourse Jesus has with them in the upper room
Chapter 16 in particular is a lot about how He was leaving them and that He would send a helper (Holy Spirit) in His place, and how they would be sorrowful for a time
You have to remember that these disciples were just a few days earlier walking behind Him as He rode a donkey into Jerusalem with the crowds chanting, “Hosanna!” or “Save now!” - ready to crown Him king and kick the Romans out of power
They were ready for Jesus to set up the earthly kingdom and they thought they were going to be a big part of it, and here He is talking about leaving them
They were hurting and confused
It’s almost humorous that Jesus’ last words before they head to the Garden of Gethsemane are, “I tell you all this so that you can have peace.”
Peace?!? What do you mean peace Jesus?
But looking back at it, some of the most amazing verses and promises in the Bible are in these chapters - words that do bring us peace
John 13:34
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 14:1-3
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 15:5
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:13
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
The thing that’s really going to give us peace in our lives is to find it in Jesus
The words that He give us in His word have been such a comfort to me and to many of you through all the ups and downs and decisions and difficulties in life
Psalm 119:103
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Eph 2:14
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
Then Jesus gives them one last promise - Verse 33
What’s the promise? Look for the “will”
You will have tribulation
Wait, that’s not the promise I wanted to hear!!!
But it is a promise - you and I will have/experience & go through tribulation (affliction, distress, oppression, trouble)
Unfortunately, I think we can get it in our minds that if I’m a Christian, nothing bad is supposed to happen to me
Life should be perfect because God is on my side
We think if something bad does happen, maybe it’s one of those conditional promises that I messed up and wasn’t good or faithful enough and so God punished me
That’s not the case, I can’t find anything in scripture to support that view
What I can find is the promise that we’re going to go through junk in life
Maybe that’s a relief for you to hear this morning that we’re supposed to go through stuff and that the world isn’t going to get better and better until Jesus comes back. You’re not failing God, you’re just standing on the promises of God (some relief....)
The last couple of years have been tough. I was talking to my uncle the other week, the Sr. Pastor at the church I grew up at, and he was saying how nothing is normal anymore. With COVID starting to rage again due to Omicron and who knows where that is going to go, drought and weird weather in our country (it’s so dry in our state and there are big F4/F5 tornados in December in Kentucky, weird...), the complete division in our political system, all of the economic issues and hyper inflation that hasn’t been seen in 30 years, the collapse of our morality where pretty much anything goes if it feels good or seems right to you and there is no right or wrong anymore, not to mention overseas the tragedy of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia is on the doorsteps of invading Ukraine (a former Soviet territory), and Israel is prepping for war with Iran over their pursuit of nuclear weapons
And then all the personal struggles so many either in this room or listening have gone through, from health issues to divorce to loss to family struggles and fights.
And yet as each new year comes we try to look for the optimism - “this year is going to be better”
I remember that was the big thing last year at this time, “2020 is over, good riddance, hooray for 2021!” and 6 days later the capital of the United States got stormed and from then on you could pretty much kiss the rest of the year goodbye for being better
Jesus doesn’t promise us that things will get better, He promises that we will have tribulation
Thanks a lot Pastor Matt, so glad I chose to come to church today. I should have stayed home and played with the new toys I got yesterday, where’s the hope!?!?
There is hope, it’s found at the end of this verse - Verse 33
Jesus tells us yes, this world is crazy, yes, things will get darker and darker, yes, you will experience tribulation, but we can be of good cheer, because Jesus
It reminds me so much of what we have been celebrating for Christmas - the birth of our Savior
If you were here for Christmas Eve service, remember Pastor Eric talked about the significance of Immanuel - God with us
One of the biggest things we can experience from God being with us is joy. One of the parts of the Christmas story we’re so familiar with is when the angels announce the birth of Christ to the shepherds. Remember what they tell them?
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
This baby, Immanuel, God with us, would calm fears and bring great joy to the whole world - that’s why we can be of good cheer
And not only did He come, He overcame the world
Jesus mission, the whole reason He came to this world, was to overcome and defeat sin and death.
I was reading a year-end newsletter from a mission organization we support that came in the mail the other day.
This group works with deaf kids that live in poverty in Africa, Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The head of this organization who wrote the letter said he was sitting in church the other day and the pastor said that the biggest challenge in the world is sin
This guy was kinda taken back for a while. What about poverty/hunger/disabilities? What about all the work they are doing to help these kids, isn’t that a huge challenge?
But the more he thought about it, the more he realized the pastor was right, sin is the biggest challenge we all will ever face
It doesn’t matter if we fix world hunger or bring every kid in the world out of poverty, b/c of sin we face a eternity apart from God - death will still win
But by Jesus coming, living a perfect life, and then sacrificing that life for us on the cross, He defeated sin and conquered death and overcame the world.
And so the message for us who have put our faith in Jesus as our Savior, is that in the face of trial/tribulation, we can be of good cheer because in the end we win, we have a place that has been prepared for us that we get to spend eternity in with our Savior
That is a promise
Something else that’s interesting about this promise, the original Greek word for the phrase “good cheer” is θαρσέω tharsĕō, (thar-seh´-o); which could also be translated, “to have courage, be courageous”
In fact, many translations including the NIV, NLT, ESV, CSB, and NASB all translate this phrase as “take heart” or “take courage”
Not only is Jesus telling us that in spite of all the craziness this world is and will continue to throw at us that we can have peace, our job is to be courageous in the face of it
The first place my mind goes with this is back to Joshua
You know his story. Joshua was Moses’ right hand man when the children of Israel were wandering the desert.
After their 40 years of wandering the desert was over and God was getting them ready to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land, Moses passes away
He had sinned in leading the people, and the consequence that God gave him was not being able to lead the people into the Promised Land
So Joshua takes over. 40 years after he and Caleb and 10 other dudes went and spied out the land and the other 10 came back scared of the inhabitants of the land and convinced the people not to go in, leading to that 40 year punishment, Joshua and the people were at the doorstep of this promise again. But instead of Moses being in charge, he was
This was a nation of 2 to 2 1/2 million people, preparing for war, and preparing to settle into a new homeland that God had promised them
And these people were not easy to lead! Joshua had seen how they complained and tried to stab Moses in the back, and he had seen all the trouble they had gotten into
And as he’s facing all of this, his major tribulation in life, God shows up and tells him to have courage
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua could have courage in the face of trouble and tribulation because God was with him
It wasn’t a reliance on his own strength or his own abilities, it was relying on the Lord to fight those battles, and to give him guidance and wisdom
For us, as we face our troubles and tribulation, as we read the news and get concerned for ourselves or our families based on where this world is headed, we can have courage b/c we have God on our side
Again, that we’ll face junk in this life is a fact, its a promise
But we can respond from such a different place than the world b/c Immanuel, God is with us
One last passage I want to close on this morning - 1 John 5:4-5
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Just as Jesus told us that He overcame the world, we have the same promise that we can overcome the world if we have put our faith in Jesus
Again, this isn’t a promise that is dependent on us - we can overcome the world not because of what we do, but b/c we are born of God
David Guzik said of this passage, “Because Jesus has overcome the world, as we abide in Him, we are overcomers in Jesus.”
Who knows what 2022 is going to look like?
Things could turn around, or, more than likely, things will continue to fall apart around the world until Jesus comes back.
Maybe 2022 goes better for you personally than 2021 did, or maybe it will be harder. Maybe you’ll face adversity and tribulation this year.
No matter what, we can be of good cheer, and take courage, b/c we have a God who has overcome the world, and we are overcomers in Jesus
Pray & Close