Whatever happened to a promise these days?

These days the world is full of broken promises. But there's one of many that has never been and never will be broken and that is Jesus. In fact, the theme of our youth weekend away this January was Promises. I have to admit, at the time it seemed of little relevance but God has resurfaced it for me. It has been in hibernation throughout this winter, and now it's spring it has come out of hibernation! Anyway, I will get on with this! If it's ok with you I will literally copy some of my notes, expand on them and add to them through whatever God leads me to say! Ok here goes...

Some examples of promises that are subtle are adverts. They are selling hope. There are 2 questions here for you: 1) Do you go looking for this hope? i.e. buy the product and hope it will have the desired effect. Chances are you can think of at least one thing you bought because you thought it looked good on the advert, right? Secondly, Did it like up to it's promise? Chances are even if it lived up to it a little, there was never exactly the same effect as the advert.

It is in our DNA to break promises. Right back at the beginning, Adam and Eve broke the one and only promise they had made to God - not to eat the fruit. But thing is, we don't NEED to make ANY promises to God! Have you ever prayed and asked God to do something for you if you do something first? Because I know I have. The only reason you would do this is to make yourself feel like you actually DESERVE anything in return from God. But you don't! You can never give more than God can! He doesn't ask you to give Him anything! He would rather you didn't make a promise in the first place, than make it and break it. The only thing making us promise things to God is our pride. Lay it down!

Did you know there are 436 promises about Jesus in the Old Testament?! Clever theologists or whatever around the world have worked out (although I have NO IDEA how!!!) that the probablility of a man fulfilling just 8 of these prophecies is 1:100000000000000000! To put this in proportion, this is the same as winning the lottery EVERY WEEK of your life! That's only EIGHT of the 436!!!!! And Jesus fulfilled all of these AND went on to fulfil promises he made of himself! It's amazing to believe that he defied the whole chances of it being practically impossible, and fulfilled ALL of these things! So when he promises to come back, I think that's pretty likely, don't you?!!!!

In John 17, it's Jesus' prayers before he is betrayed. He prays for EVERY ONE of us. Here it is, put your name in where Jesus says "they" or "them". It's long so you can read, skim-read or skip it and pick up afterwards!

"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
 
 
 
Jesus prayed for you before he died. He prayed for all of us. He didn't want to die (who would? especially such a painful death) but God knew that the only way to save you and me was for him to send Jesus to die. Jesus was praying to God, and thinking of you. He realised that he had to go on and die for you. That's where the Easter story comes in, but I will tell you about that soon!