November 29, First Sunday of Advent

Lesson: Jeremiah 33.14-16; Luke 21.25-36

Sermon Title: Promises, Promises

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Some promises arent worth the paper theyre printed on. What about Gods promises, are they any better?

Job Application[1]

My 17-year-old niece asked me if she could use my name as a reference on her resume', which she planned to submit to a local fast-food restaurant. I agreed.

A few days later she called and asked me to meet her at the restaurant later that afternoon. When I asked her why, she replied, "The manager wants me to come in for an interview, and she told me to bring my references."

INTRODUCTION:

I.               Where do you find a resume for God?

A.              How does God's resume measure up?

B.              God offers a promise.

1.               14The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

2.               ¹⁵In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David;

C.              The Introduction to Jeremiah 32 provides some background on the current and future conditions of Judah.

1.               Jeremiah, now confined for his faithful admonitions, foretells the fate of the king and city, vv. 1-5.

2.               According to the direction of God, he buys of his cousin Hanameel a field in Anathoth; the contract, or deed of sale, being subscribed, sealed, and witnessed, and delivered to Baruch, together with a duplicate not sealed, who is commanded to put them into an earthen vessel that they may remain there for many days, vv. 6-14.

3.               This transaction of the prophet, which is entered and subscribed in the public register,

4.               God constitutes a sign or pledge of the Jews return from the Babylonish captivity, and of their again possessing houses, fields, and vineyards, in their own land, and by their own right, according to their tribes and families, v. 15.

5.               Jeremiahs prayer, in which he recounts Gods marvelous acts towards the children of Israel, and deeply deplores the lamentable state of the country, and the numerous provocations which have led to it, vv. 16-25.

6.               After which God is introduced declaring his purpose of giving up his people into the hands of their enemies, vv. 26-35; promising, however, to restore them in due time to their ancient possessions, and to make with them an everlasting covenant, vv. 36-44.

a.                and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

b.               16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.

c.                And this is the name by which it will be called: The LORD is our righteousness, (Jeremiah 33:14-16, NRSVA)

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MAIN BODY:

I.               What is it that Go0d has promised?

A.              The poem What has God Promised is attributed to Annie Johnson Flint

WHAT HAS GOD PROMISED[2]

God has not promised skies always blue,
Flowerstrewn pathways, all our lives through.
God has not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

But God has promised strength for the day,
Rest for the laborer, light on the way;
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

B.              How good is God at keeping promises?

1.               You can go to www.lesandhelga.com and find a wealth of Bible promises and their benefits

2.               What do the witnesses, the biblical witnesses say

a.                being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. --Romans 4:21

b.               19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No; but in him it is always Yes. 20For in him every one of Gods promises is a Yes. For this reason it is through him that we say the Amen, to the glory of God, (2 Corinthians 1:19-20, NRSVA).

c.                Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God. --2 Corinthians 7:1

d.               ¹⁴Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. ¹⁶For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested (Hebrews 2:14-18, NRSVA)

e.                13When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, ¹⁴saying, I will surely bless you and multiply you. ¹⁵And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. ¹⁶Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute. ¹⁷In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, ¹⁸so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. ¹⁹We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, ²⁰where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:13 through Hebrews 6:20 (NRSVA)

f.                  Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. --2 Peter 1:4

g.                And this is what he has promised us, eternal life. --1 John 2:25

h.               The words of Solomon at the dedication of the temple.⁵⁶Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel according to all that he promised; not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke through his servant Moses, (1 Kings 8:56 NRSVA).

i.                  5Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, I will never leave you or forsake you, (Hebrews 13:5, NRSVA).

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II.            Do you want some more or is this enough?

A.              You see our God is not a God who fails; we fail.

1.               God speaks and we do not listen.

2.               God speaks and we do not comprehend.

3.               God speaks and we do not understand.

4.               God speaks and we do not trust.

5.               God speaks and we go our own way and wonder why life is so mean and filled with horror.

B.              1968 was quite a year.

1.               The end result is that this nations people are almost totally frustrated. The promises made in the name of The Great Society have turned into a virtual nightmare of racial tensions, dispirited youth, rising crime and a mushrooming federal bureaucracy.

--Jessie Unruh, Democratic Assembly leader, Speech in Santa Cruz, October 7, 1968

2.               When I left California it was in a state of confusion. The Tet Offensive began on the 31st of January 1968. I left about a month later. And everybody was sitting in their living rooms wondering why was this happening now?

--Frank McAdams, Vietnam Veteran, First Marine Division

C.              As social unrest rocked the nation, one pivotal year shifted the majority of public opinion against the war for the first time.

1.               In January 1968, a massive surprise attack by North Vietnamese troops convinced many Americans that the war was not going to end soon, and cast its outcome into question.

2.               All at once, large-scale opposition flared against the administration and its policies.

3.               Federal troops put down race riots across the country, while other bitter protests erupted on campuses, at both national political conventions, and at public events from beauty pageants to the Olympics.

4.               Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated.

5.               The growing discord, combined with the highest casualties to date in the war, unnerved the country.

6.               And in the midst of the chaos, President Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection.

D.             In 1968 Ed Ames released a song that contains all the pathos and angst with a huge question.

Who Will Answer? Who Will Answer? Ed Ames (1968)

Written by Davis / Aute

(Chanted, with increasing melody)
From the canyons of the mind,
We wander on and stumble blindly
Through the often-tangled maze
Of starless nights and sunless days,
While casting for some kind of clue
Or road to lead us to the truth,
But who will answer?

Side by side two people stand,
Together vowing, hand-in-hand
That love's imbedded in their hearts,
But soon an empty feeling starts
To overwhelm their hollow lives,
And when we seek the hows and whys,
Who will answer?

High upon a lonely ledge,
a figure teeters near the edge,
And jeering crowds collect below
To egg him on with, "Go, man, go!"
And who will ask what led him
To his private day of doom,
And who will answer?

On a strange and distant hill,
A young man's lying very still.
His arms will never hold his child,
Because a bullet running wild
Has cut him down. And now we cry,
"Dear God, Oh, why, oh, why?"
And who will answer?

If the soul is darkened by a fear it cannot name,
If the mind is baffled when the rules don't fit the ,game
Who will answer? Who will answer? Who will answer?

In the rooms of dark and shades,
The scent of sandalwood pervades.
The colored thoughts in muddled heads
Reclining in rumpled beds
Of unmade dreams that can't come true,
And when we ask what we should do,
Who? Who will answer?

'Neath the spreading mushroom tree,
The world revolves in apathy
As overhead, a row of specks
Roars on, drowned out by discotheques,
And if a secret button's pressed
Because one man has been outguessed,
Who will answer?

Is our hope in walnut shells
Worn 'round the neck with temple bells,
Or deep within some cloistered walls
Where hooded figures pray in halls?
Or crumbled books on dusty shelves,
Or in our stars, or in ourselves,
Who will answer?

If the soul is darkened
By a fear it cannot name,
If the mind is baffled
When the rules don't fit the game,
Who will answer? Who will answer? Who will answer?
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

E.              Who will answer?

1.               God answers with a promise found in Luke 21

2.               He tells us to be alert for a day is coming when all will be set right and true and perfect again.

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CONCLUSION

I.               Jesus ^{said 34}Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man, (Luke 21:25-36, NRSVA)

II.            Whoever has the son has life.

Our youngest daughter sent me this story. It is a legend that goes back many years, even before the Internet. It is a story that is well-worth repeating for its moral value.

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'

There was silence...Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.' But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting.' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.

They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'

A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?'

'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!'

A.              God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'

B.              Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

Amen!