As we celebrate the finished work of Christ for us, let me take you through a conversation recorded in the Bible between God, Abraham and Sarah. Hmm… (Genesis 18:12-15)
GOD: ‘…Abraham…why did Sarah Laugh, as though it is too hard for Me to give her a child’?
Abraham immediately asked one of his servants to call Sarah…
ABRAHAM: ‘…servant! Go inside and call my wife for me’!
The servants rushed into the house….
SERVANT: ‘…Ma, your husband is calling you outside the tent’!
Hmm….
ABRAHAM: ‘…Sarah my wife, …why did you LAUGH when you overheard my discussion with our Visitor… promising that you will bear a child next year even though you are about 90years old now’?
Now listen to what Saint Sarah said…
SARAH: ‘…Laugh!!! …me?! I did not Laugh at all o!!!
Wow! What was that? A big LIE!!! It was so serious that God had to interrupt her conversation!
GOD: ‘aba… Sarah, …you laughed’!!!
Hmm… (Genesis 18:12-15) Now here comes my question!
– Has God promised to give Sarah a child? The answer is YES!
– Did Sarah commit any sin while she received this promise? We just read that she LIED! (Not just to man o….but before GOD too!!!)Hmm…But…
– Did God REVERSE His promise because Sarah SINNED against Him? Hmm…
‘And the LORD visited Sarah …AS HE HAD SAID…and the LORD did unto Sarah…as HE HAD SPOKEN…for Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age,…at the SET TIME of which God HAD SPOKEN….’!!! (Genesis 21:1-2)
Wow! What a GRACIOUS GOD!!!
Now listen carefully: whenever God makes a PROMISE to you…never allow the devil deceive you that your past sin has DISQUALIFIED you from the fulfilment of that promise!!!
Hmm… That is a lie from the pit of hell! One of the promises God made to you the day you gave your life to Christ is found in the prophecy of Isaiah concerning all those who will believe in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour! I hope you will be able to digest this radical promise!!!
‘For this is as the waters of Noah to Me:…FOR AS I HAVE SWORN that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; …SO HAVE I SWORN…! (Isaiah 54:9)
Hmm… Wait!!! There are few places in the Bible where God ‘SWORE’!
Listen: God does not have to ‘SWEAR’ in order to convince you of whatever decision He is making!!!
But because we are humans….and we have the tendency to doubt his everlasting love towards us who believe in His Son… (especially when we make mistakes)… God had to SWEAR!!! What did He swear about? Hmm….
‘For this is as the waters of Noah to me:…FOR AS I HAVE SWORN that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; …SO HAVE I SWORN…that I would NOT be ANGRY with you, NOR REBUKE YOU’! (Isaiah 54:9)
Yeh!!! What a RADICAL promise…sealed up with God Himself SWEARING!!! Hmm….
Now listen carefully: Isaiah 54 which we read above is the aftermath promise of what Jesus did in Isaiah 53 (a previous chapter).
In Isaiah 53, Jesus bore ALL your sins (vs 5), grief (vs 4), chastisement (vs 5) and bruise (vs 5)!
In Isaiah 54, God began to make promises to ANYONE that will believe in the salvation His Son paid for in Isaiah 53!
I hope you get the picture now! There are several RADICAL promises God made in Isaiah 54! I only pointed one to you… God SWEARING …NEVER TO BE ANGRY NOR REBUKE a believer in Christ Jesus!!! Wow!
Do not allow the devil rob you of the fulfilment of God’s promise in your life! As a believer, you definitely don’t want to retain sin in your life because you know it is not your nature! Your Nature is ‘RIGHTEOUSNESS’! (2cor 5:21) While the Lord perfects your life in His righteousness… never forget that the finished work of Jesus on the Cross …has made the promises of God over your life…ETERNALLY sure!
That is why the Bible says:
‘There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus’! (Romans 8:1)
I know this Truth is difficult to swallow…but I’m not the one who made God ‘swear’!!! He chose to do it GRACIOUSLY!!! The same way He had to give Sarah a child because He has promised Abraham…..even though Sarah was not perfect….. That is the same way He can’t REVERSE your salvation because He promised Jesus…
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them….I will be MERCIFUL to their UNRIGHTEOUSNESS…and their SINS and INIQUITIES I will remember NO MORE’! (Heb 8:10-12)
It was God who made the promise!
Hear this: The Bible says the day you became born again….
‘…ye are become DEAD TO THE LAW by the body of Christ…’! (Romans 7:4)
Wow! Once again, I’m not the one who forced God to ‘swear’! He chose to do so GRACIOUSLY!
Amen.
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