God Always Keeps His Promises | Numbers 23:19

Hi Professor Jonathan, and thanks for downloading the FBC El Dorado Sermon Podcast.

We hope today's message will talent and help you take the next step that you follow.

Quick question for you this morning.

What's the last promise that you made?

Well, what's the last promise that you made?

Was it a promise that you made uh to yourself?

That promise that I'm gonna exercise daily and eat less fried food?

Or was it a promise that you made uh to your wife?

Uh of course, honey, I promise once dinner's over, I'll take out the trash.

Or was it a promise spoken to your husband?

Sure, babe, you can have the last Oreo that's in the pantry.

Or maybe it was a promise spoken to a friend.

Yeah, you've got that friend who um is planning on moving next weekend, and they came to you and requested some help.

Specifically, they asked for help moving their couch, and you say, sure, I promise, I'll do whatever I can to help.

Little did you know that couch is actually a sleeper sofa, and little did you know that you would be lugging that sleeper sofa first down three flights of stairs before you uh carried it back up three flights of stairs.

And if your friend had told you those details, maybe you wouldn't have made the promise in the first place.

Or maybe it was a promise that you made to mom and dad, a promise that some kids maybe would make in this room.

I promise, mom, I promise, dad, if you will get me a new puppy, I will walk that puppy every single day.

And mom or dad then makes this promise in return, okay, sweetheart, I promise we will get a new dog.

So can all of us admit that on a daily basis we all make one or more promises?

A promise is simply a commitment to do or not do something.

That means some promises are big while many others in life are very small.

We make promises when we are relaxing at home, working in the office, walking down the hallway at school, or even on the playground at recess.

Sometimes we call those playground promises pinky promises, don't we?

You've made a pinky promise, you've seen it done.

Two children come together and they interlock their uh pinkies, and one child says to the other child, uh, get under the goal, and I promise I'll pass you the ball.

Or a child looks at another child at the beginning of a game of tag and says, I promise I won't chase you.

So will you promise that you won't chase me?

We call these pinky promises because they're casual, they're childless, uh childish, and sometimes we even think they're a little meaningless.

In our mind, a pinky promise isn't meant to be taken seriously.

But the very first pinky promises, they were absolutely serious.

The phrase pinky promise, you may not know this, it originated in Japan, and it it's this word Yubikiri, we'll put it on the screen.

It's the word Yubikiri, and it literally means finger cut off.

So centuries ago in Japan, if two people made a pinky promise, this is how it worked.

If if two people made a pinky promise and they both kept their end of the promise, they both kept both of their pinkies.

But if two people came together and made a pinky promise and one of them broke their end of the pinky promise, the offender, the one who broke their promise, lost one of their pinkies.

I have to imagine there was a rash of nine-fingered and eight-fingered people in Japan during that age.

A pinky promise was serious and it would make an impression, it would leave a mark.

All because promises are meant to be binding, not broken.

Promises are meant to be binding, not broken.

God's word confirms this exact point.

Numbers chapter 30, verse 2.

Numbers 30:2

A man who makes a vow to the Lord, or makes a pledge under oath must never break it.

He must do exactly what he said he would do.

This verse and others like it in God's word, takes promise making very seriously.

Because God understands that when a promise is made and when a promise is kept, it nurtures relationships that are built upon trust.

That when a promise is made and a promise is kept, that friendships will flourish, families will grow, and communities will benefit.

Because God in his infinite wisdom knows this.

What promises are meant to be binding, not broken.

By contrast, consistently breaking even small promises erodes trust.

For example, in a home where a child consistently asks mom or dad, will you play catch with me in the front yard?

And mom or dad says, I promise, but first let me go to the store.

Or that child asks, mom or dad, will you sit down and play checkers with me?

Or mom and dad says, I promise, but first let me do the laundry.

And then after mom or dad goes to the store, or after mom or dad changes out the laundry, the child goes back and says, Let's go play catch.

Let's play checkers.

And mom or dad has an excuse to not sit down, to not go out, to not fulfill their promise.

That slowly erodes trust between parent and child.

Or in the instance of a friend who always says they want to spend time with you, but they always end up canceling that lunch appointment at the last minute.

Or even if they do make it to lunch or they make it to coffee, they cannot stop looking at their phone the entire time that you're at the table.

They tell you they want to spend time with you, but their actions communicate a completely different message.

When you don't keep a promise to someone, it communicates to that person that you don't value them.

That you've chosen to put something else ahead of that commitment.

And even if we only break small promises, people learn that they cannot count on us.

And tiny fissures develop in our relationships that eventually become huge cracks.

So those are times in life, though, when you know trust is just eroded through a broken promise.

But there are other times in life when trust is not just eroded, trust is obliterated.

That's when marriages collapse and someone says something like, How can I trust you ever again?

That's when family members no longer want to see one another.

They stop talking.

How could you?

I can't believe you.

They pass each other and give one another the cold shoulder, and they just want to shout, How dare you?

In those moments, trust is destroyed, but something else occurs in those moments.

Because for the one who's on the receiving end of the broken promise, it sure feels like part of you has been cut off.

Instead of the one who broke the promise having their pinky cutoff, it feels like you've lost a part of yourself.

You experience emotional pain, psychological distress, and even physical side effects.

In the moment when a promise is broken, listen, we should not be surprised that we are shook and that we suffer.

Because God's word tells us that promises are meant to be binding, not broken.

So for the sake of our children, for the benefit of our marriages, for our church, for the future of our community, and even this world, we need to be people whose word actually means something.

Honoring the command of Jesus.

We need to let our yes mean yes and our no mean no.

Since keeping promises has such a wide-ranging impact, I think there's a natural follow-up question.

How can I do better?

If we're all willing to admit that not only do we make promises, but sometimes or oftentimes we break our promises, the question is, how can I do better?

Experts suggest in response to that question something like, just write it down.

Yeah, some of us just have lousy memories.

All of us probably have lousy memories, and we forget the promises that we make.

Jot it down, write it down.

Some people also say you should not over-promise.

You should be realistic about what you can do.

Realistic with your time, with your energy, with your abilities.

That's why Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verse 5 says, it is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.

Ecclesiastes 5:5

Others suggest that you should just avoid excuses.

You know, sometimes in life we excuse promise breaking with statements like, well, that's just how business operates.

That's just how the world works.

We have to avoid those statements that allow us a backdoor out of our promises.

But listen, I think all of those experts, they miss the most important answer to the question, how can I do better?

Especially, it's the most important answer for followers of Jesus.

Here it is.

Follow the best example.

Follow the best example.

In a world where politicians break promises and products never live up to their promises, and friends find ways to back out of promises, we need a best, the better, the best example of what promise keeping is, what promise keeping entails, so that we can model our life after someone who keeps their word all the time.

I don't know how to do it, but someone else does, and I want to follow their example every single day.

Another verse from the book of Numbers, Numbers 23, verse 19 says, Has God ever promised and not carried it through?

Numbers 23:19

Do you believe that statement in God's word?

Do you believe that, as God's word says, that God has never made a promise that he hasn't kept?

All because God understands promises are meant to be binding and not broken.

And listen, friends, a huge reason, a big reason why, for 2,000 years, God's church has flourished and multiplied and grown and been taken care of is because God has always kept his promises to his church and to his children.

And because of God's promises that are always kept, God's children, God's church, we know that we can always trust our God.

That's why we flourish, that's why we can grow.

That's why we're cared for.

Now here's the great thing about God's promises.

His promises stand even when you disobey.

His promises stand even when you walk away.

His promises stand when you break your end of the deal, when you don't live up to it.

In that moment when you disobey, when you walk away, when you don't keep your end of the deal, in that moment, you may uh step out from underneath the protection of God's promise or the benefit of God's promise.

You may not reap the benefit, the reward of that moment, but listen, that doesn't negate God's promise.

God doesn't reconsider and withdraw his promise in that moment.

Oh, because promises are meant to be binding and not broken.

So that's how God keeps his promises to us.

But back to what we've been talking about this morning, the promises that we make to one another.

And here's my contention for us.

Here's my contention.

If we want to do better, we should remember this.

God has kept his promise to me, so I will keep my promise to you.

In life, if we would remember, God has in the past, in the present, in the future, has kept his promise to me, so now I can, I have the example to keep my promise to you, so that my word means something, just as God's word means something.

That God's promise keeping can motivate us, it can inspire us, and it can empower us to be people who make and keep promises, both great and small.

And listen, when we make and keep our promises, children will blossom and they will bloom.

Marriages will grow, churches will be strengthened, and communities will benefit.

So this morning, our inspiring, motivating, and empowering word about promise keeping is a single verse found in Philippians chapter four.

One commentator explains this single verse out of Philippians 4 this way.

He says this This is perhaps the greatest promise in the entire Bible.

And it is great because it includes all of the other promises in itself.

In other words, the verse we are about to read sums up all of God's promises.

Promises great and promises small.

Promises that are binding for a heavenly father to his children on earth.

Promises that God has never nor will ever break.

Philippians chapter 4, verse 19 says this.

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Through the Apostle Paul, that is God's promise to his children and to his church.

So a little background on the book of Philippians.

Paul, the apostle, is the author of this book, and he writes this verse and this entire letter called Philippians while he is living in Roman house arrest and he is awaiting a trial.

To pass the time, Paul writes this letter, but he also does something else to pass his time.

He keeps a promise.

In chapter one, Paul promises that he prays for the Philippian church every single day.

He says, When I think of you, I give thanks.

With joy in my heart, I pray.

I pray for you that God, who's begun a good work in you, would complete that work in you.

Living under Roman house arrest.

Paul's focus is not on himself, it's on keeping a promise that he has made to pray for the church at Philippi.

But Paul isn't the only one keeping a promise in that moment.

The church at Philippi, listen, the church at Philippi keeps their promise to Paul.

The church at Philippi at this moment has sent one of their own, a man named Aphroditus, to check on Paul, to encourage Paul, and to care for Paul.

That's why Apaphroditus, when he goes to visit Paul, he takes Paul a gift.

It's a significant gift, it's a sizable gift.

In the verse, immediately prior, uh verse 18 of Philippians 4, Paul says that because of this generous gift that you have given me, I have what I need, and I have even more than I need.

I'm taken care of because of your gift.

But that's not to say keeping a promise is easy.

Philippi was located in the region of Macedonia.

And in another one of Paul's letters, 2 Corinthians chapter 8, Paul talks about the churches in the region of Macedonia, and he says that this is the situation of these churches.

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor.

That's how Paul describes every church in that region.

They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor.

Think about that.

The church at Philippi kept their promise to the apostle Paul, even though, according to their eyes, they didn't have enough to take care of themselves.

They neglected their own needs because it was that important that they keep their promise to someone else.

Think about that.

Isn't it so true in our life?

That one of the reasons that we think it's okay to break a promise is because from my limited perspective, I don't believe my needs, if I meet this promise, I don't believe that my needs will be met.

Or I think about myself when I promise to my child, uh yes, we can uh do this activity, we can play this game, we can read this book, and then I make an excuse on the back end because I'm tired.

I need more rest, or I need some time by myself.

From our limited perspective, I don't think I have enough.

And so I'm gonna break my promise to someone else.

The church at Philippi, they overcame that hurdle.

And you can overcome that hurdle.

And we do it by following the best example.

Amen.

We follow the best example.

Paul and the church at Philippi, they kept their promises to one another because they never lost the sight of the fact that God had always kept his promises to them.

Paul says this.

God promises to meet all of your needs.

So what's included under that heading?

All your needs?

Well, Paul, he definitely has in mind material needs.

Not material greed, but material needs.

That God is a God who provides food and clothing and shelter, a God of daily bread.

That doesn't mean you will have the nicest or the newest or the most recently renovated.

But God will meet your material needs.

And sometimes in life, his provision is more than we can imagine.

I want to stop just for a moment on that material needs.

Because I think there's a way you can push back on that.

All you need to do is watch the news.

And you see our brothers and sisters in Christ in the country of Ukraine whose homes are being bombed, whose uh don't have food and water sources that are being taken away from them, they don't have adequate health care anymore because of an invading army, or you can walk around our community, and it sure seems like there are brothers and sisters in Christ who materially don't have enough.

There's not food on the table, there's not clothes to wear.

And I think it's a natural question to ask.

Has God broken his promise in that moment?

God hasn't broken his promise, okay?

I promise you that.

But because of the sin in our world, we can frustrate the promise of God.

Hear that again.

Because of the sin in our world, we can frustrate the promise of God.

In other words, God gives us freedom.

And in our freedom, we commit sin.

We have wicked hearts, and our sin in our wicked hearts, it clogs up the flow of God's promises into and throughout the world.

That's why it's our duty as followers of Jesus to name evil, to name injustice, to name inequality.

We name those things because we want to knock them down so that God's promises can fill the earth and flow freely to all who need them.

And we can see God's promises fulfilled around the world.

Those material needs being met.

Other needs that God meets are social needs.

The church at Philippi was facing opposition.

There was conflict.

The Apostle Paul promises to them that God will give them boldness, fruitfulness, and he will give them unity.

There's growth needs that this church has.

Paul talks about how this church at Philippi, people are filled with anxiety, they're filled with worry.

And God, that God of peace that they know, He promises to bring that peace into their very midst.

And back to the point I made earlier, if God doesn't seem to be meeting a social, a growth need, or a soul need, if he doesn't seem to be fulfilling that promise in your life, are you frustrating the promise of God in your life?

Are you because of disobedience, because of sin, removing yourself from the protection of God's promise, from the blessing of God's promise?

It doesn't revoke God's promise.

God still wants to share that promise with his children, but obedience is this key that unlocks the promises of God.

It brings us in line with the will of God.

And all of these promises, this is all your needs.

It's binding.

Not because God made a pinky promise, but God made a cross-shaped promise.

God fulfills his promise according to the riches and glory of Christ Jesus.

God fulfills his promise according to the riches and glory of Christ Jesus.

God can fulfill these everyday promises because out of eternity he authored a plan that included his one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

And all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding yes.

All his promises are fulfilled in Christ.

The promise to Eve that one from her womb would crush the serpent's head is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The promise spoken to Abraham that through him the nations of the world would be blessed is fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

The promise spoken to David that one from his line would sit on an eternal throne is fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

The promise given to Isaiah the prophet that one would come who would be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, and by him we would be healed.

That too is fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

According to the riches of his glory, according to Jesus Christ, our heavenly Father has met all of our needs.

And our greatest need.

The need of a Savior.

Listen, the life, the death, the resurrection, and the second coming of Jesus only further confirms that God is a promise-keeping God.

That our God knows promises are binding and never meant to be broken.

Hear it again.

Through Christ, God has kept his promise to us.

Never lose sight of that fact.

Through Christ, God has kept his promise to us.

So now I can keep my promise to you.

I want to follow the example set for me by my heavenly Father, the one who always keeps his promises.

So, husbands and wives, for the sake of your marriage, keep your promise to one another.

Both great and small.

Follow the example set by your heavenly father who has kept his promise to you.

Parents, for the sake of your children, keep promises both great and small, because your heavenly father has kept his promise to you.

Children and students, for the sake of your friendships, keep your promises to one another.

Promises great and promises small.

Because if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, then God, listen, he has kept his promise to you through Christ, according to the glory of his riches.

And families in this room.

Let's keep promises to those who live under the same roof as us.

Let's follow that best example.

Because through Christ, God has kept his promise to you.

Hear it one more time.

Promises are not willy-nilly.

They shouldn't be taken lightly.

Promises are binding.

They're not meant to be broken.

And here's the fruit that comes about in our life.

As we learn to keep our promises to one another, to those God who's placed in our lives, friends and family and spouses and neighbors and colleagues at work, as our word means something to one another, and we show when we make a commitment, we will keep that commitment.

Then God, He opens the door for us to share and tell someone about the promise-keeping God.

What was the point?

We have to be a people, right?

The impetus for this, we have to be a people whose word means something.

How will people ever trust the gospel you share?

If the promises you speak, you never keep.

But if you show yourself to be someone who is trusted, when you share the most important message that person will ever hear, there is the distinct possibility through the power of the Holy Spirit, they will trust that message too.

I promise the message, the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.

And I think you can trust me because I've proven throughout my life, when I make a promise, whether it's great or small, I'm a man of my word, I'm a woman of my word, I'm a child of my word, a student of my word.

And so when I up the ante, I up the game, and I share with you the hope, the truth, the promise of Jesus Christ, you are a messenger, a person who can be trusted.

You see, we keep our promises, not just to like be better people.

But ultimately, because we've been given a mission in the world, a vocation in the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ, and we must be people, as we share that message, we must be people who can be trusted.

Let's stand together and pray.

Have you kept it?

Do you plan on keeping it?

Ask God for the strength to keep that promise you spoke within your home?

At work, at school.

Thanks for this morning.

Do so right now.

Almighty God, everlasting Father.

Every promise you have spoken is fulfilled in and through Jesus Christ, and we say thank you.

We know that because you keep your promises, we can always trust you.

That is so humbling, God.

We can't revoke your promises.

We can't make you withdraw your promises.

Oh God, we receive them.

The promise of your love and your grace and your mercies that are new every morning.

The promise of salvation and hope through Jesus Christ, the promise of the Spirit who will guide us and comfort us.

The promise of daily bread.

The promises of growth and that our soul would be nurtured and cared for by your Holy Spirit.

And as we receive your promises this morning, God, we ask that you would give us the strength to do better with the promises that we make by following your example.

For the sake of our families, for the sake of our children, for the sake of our church.

And ultimately, God, for the sake of the gospel in this world.

That we would be people who can be trusted with what we say.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

And now we are during our time of response.

We're gonna sing a song like we do every week at this moment in our service.

And I believe God is calling all of us to respond at this moment.

And one of the ways he may be calling you to respond is by recalling to your mind a recent promise that you've made.

In a small thing or in a great thing.

Another way you may respond this morning because you want to learn more about Jesus the one through his riches and his glory.

God fulfills his promises.

You want to begin a relationship with him so that you can live under the promises and the protection of God your entire life.

Or you may be responding in this moment and you just want to join this church family.

You're ready to call first Baptist home.

To take that next step of faith and to grow in your faith with God's people, God's people who are guided by his promises in this place and follow after our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Wherever you are on this journey, and however God is speaking to you in this moment, through song and prayer, let us respond to God.

Hear his voice and say yes to him.

Let's sing together.