Seventh-day Adventist® Church

Hope in a Promise

"I will come again..." John 14:3

Life is full of uncertainty. It is fleeting. There is an old saying, ‘Here today, gone tomorrow’.  These days it seems more accurate to say, ‘Here now, gone the next minute’. The word of God tells us, ¹“My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass”; ²“As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.”

Yet amidst the uncertainty and the brevity of life, the Bible also gives us hope of a life with permanence and certainty.  God’s word is filled with precious promises that we can cling to in these troublesome times.  Yes, my friends, God’s promises are true, and we can trust Him to keep those promises to us.

From a child, my favourite promise has been John 14:1-3. Part of verse 3 says, “I will come again”. These four words, sitting by themselves may not mean much.  However, when they are read in connection with the two preceding verses, they take on a whole new meaning.  For me, this promise of God radiates HOPE, and I pray it does for you too.

Hope of the Happiest of Times, where heaven will be Home, Sweet Home.
Hope of Ongoing Jubilation, daily saying “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.”
Hope of Plenty Fruit to be enjoyed from the Tree of Life.
Hope of Eternal Life with Jesus, the Saviour of the world.

Be of good cheer friends.  God has a plan to take us away from this uncertain, temporary life.  Open your heart to Jesus and claim His promises. Will you trust His promises to you today?

I encourage you to read God’s promises daily.  Watch and pray as you wait for His return and keep this song in your heart:

³Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Thru eternal ages let His praises ring;
Glory in the highest I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

 

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¹ Psalm 102:11
² Psalm 103:15, 16
³ Words and music by R. Kelso Carter (1886), Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, No. 518 & Adventist Youth Sing, No. 169

I am sure that sometimes you wonder why you and other Christians experience such hardship. I am sure you wonder why some families in the church are broken and filled with so many issues. I am sure you wonder why those people who dedicate themselves to serving the Lord seem to be troubled on every side and in distress. Shouldn’t the life of the Christian be one where things go smooth? Shouldn’t the life of those who walk away from the things of the world be one of goodness and prosperity? Afterall, the God that we serve is one that owns the cattle upon a thousand hills. So, why do God’s people seem to get a hard time on this earth in every area of their lives?

When we look at what is happening around us, sometimes we cannot help but ask God, why do you allow these negative things to happen to your people? Shouldn’t they be the head and not the tail? How do you expect the those who are in the world to be encouraged to give their lives to you if your people seem to be suffering? The Bible reminds us that God’s ways are not our ways, and that sometimes God does things or allow things to occur that we will just not understand. But the text for this morning should put what we see around us into perspective. In Romans 8:28 the Bible says the following using the New Living Translation.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Here the Apostle Paul makes the point that for those of us Christians who love the Lord, no matter what is happening in our lives, positive or negative, God will work it for our good. Even though we are in pain because of the things that others have done to us, God said that He will work it for our good. Even though we are worried because of the illness of a loved one, God said that He would work it for our good.

Today God is reminding us to focus our attention on loving Him. Focus our attention on ensuring that the love of God is shed abroad in our heart, and then we can rest assured that God will work all the things in our lives for our good.

Today God is reminding you to TRUST HIM. God wants you to believe in Him and what He is telling you this morning. Even though the tunnel ahead looks dark, this morning God is telling you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel even if you cannot see it.

It is my prayer that as you take some time to reflect on what is happening in your life at this moment, that you will ask the Holy Spirit to help you continue to trust in God will all your heart and believe in the message that He gave to you today through the Apostle Paul. It is such a good thing to know that we can trust that God will always take care of us and work all things for our good. Let us continue to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind.”

 

Still I Will Trust You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofDFAaCkUK0

Which person in the world do you want to please the MOST? Have you ever given thought to this question? I am sure if you should give thought to this question, the following people would come to mind.

• Wife
• Husband
• Mother
• Father
• Girlfriend
• Boyfriend
• Significant other
• Best Friend

And the list could go on and on…

I am sure that for some of us we may have “God” in that list, but based on the way the question was asked, one could assume that I was referring to which human being in the world, since the question said “persons”. Could it be that although we ask questions, we see God as God and not as a person? Could it be that even within the confines of the church, we are encouraged to revere and worship God but not to focus on pleasing Him? Could it be that we have been socialized to see obeying the commandments of God as being different from pleasing him?

This morning as you take some time to think about the above questions in terms of an answer that you would provide for each, at the same time, look at what the Apostle Paul said in Hebrews 11:6. Here Paul makes the point that you MUST have FAITH in order the please God. We already know that the word FAITH means:

conviction of the truth of anything, belief;

in the New Testament: - of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it".

So, Paul is saying that in order for us to please God we must be convicted of the truth that God is a rewarder of them seek Him. We must believe in God and what He said in His words before we will be able to please Him. So, what does it mean to please God? The Larry Pierce’s Outline of Biblical Usage provides the following information on how the Greek word “euaresteō” for “please” can be used in this passage of scripture: "to be well pleased with a thing".

So, in order for God to determine that our words, thoughts and actions are “well pleasing” to Him, we MUST have FAITH in Him. Here Paul shows that there is a direct relationship with the measure of faith or belief that God gives to us and everything that we do and say are well pleasing to Him. This text is making the point that we need to ask God to help us to exercise the gift of faith that He has given to us in such a way that it transforms our heart and allows us to have words, thoughts and actions that are pleasing to Him.

Pleasing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1c3m8mRb8g

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