Sermon Tone Analysis

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By Pastor Glenn Pease
The mayor of a small city, who was up for reelection, was making his usual lavish promises to a group of voters.
Because of his poor record he planted members of his organization in the audience to applaud.
The effect was spoiled, however, by a shabby looking man in the front row who would burst into laughter after each applause.
Finally the mayor pointed to the heckler and said, will the gentleman who differs with me please get up and tell the audience what he has done for the good of the city."
As he rose, the mayor's henchmen booed.
"Come, come," persisted the mayor, "Speak up and tell these people just one way in which you have tried to help this city."
"Well, Mr. Mayor," he said in a loud voice, "I voted against you in the last election."
Promises, promises, promises!, is the three word exclamation that sums up the common man's definition of politics.
Someone said that the promises of a political are like a railway car platform-something to get in on, not to ride on.
Deception by promise is an ancient art.
Modern man cannot claim to have invented it, even if they have perfected it to a science.
Centuries ago Ovid said, "Be sure to promise.
What harm is there is promises?
In promises anyone can be rich."
The whole world, however, has experienced the harm of those who are rich in promises, and poor in performance.
In 1914 Germany was under promise to respect the neutrality of Belgium.
It was the most solemn of promises.
It was a written contract signed by Germany, Britain, and France.
Germany violated this promise and started a world war, and a whole chain of promise breaking.
Thirteen nations borrowed huge sums of money from the United States.
They solemnly promised to repay it, but all but one broke that promise.
Promises, agreements, and treaties are repudiated just as soon as national expediency says they are of no benefit.
Both the great powers of the U. S. and Russia have miserable records of broken promises, and of politicians everywhere it can be said what Shakespeare said of Henry VIII, "His promises were, as he was then, mighty.
But he performance, as he is now, nothing."
The judgement on men and nations alike is that they are, "Giants in their promises but pigmies in their performance."
But let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that all these pigmies are in the realm of politics.
They are everywhere, and you and I are also more willing to promise than to perform.
People are not committed to back up their promises.
The promise to be loyal to your mate until death is broken by multitudes with as little hesitation as a politician breaks his promise to stop spending your money.
It is not politics that is corrupt.
It is people, and people corrupt everything when their promises cannot be trusted.
Great men and women, and great statesmen were those who were conspicuous in their loyalty to their word.
When Lincoln was a member of congress, he was criticized by a friend for his seeming rudeness in declining to test the rare wines provided by their host.
The friend said to him, "There is certainly no danger of a man of your years and habits becoming addicted to the use of wine."
Lincoln answered, "I mean no disrespect, but I promised my precious mother only a few days before she died that I would never use anything intoxicating as a beverage, and I consider that promise as binding today as it was the day I gave it."
The friend sought to argue from the change of circumstances from his youth, but Lincoln said, "A promise is a promise forever."
Men might take an obligation of a promise lightly, but God does not.
In Psalm 15 the question is asked, "O Lord who shall sojourn in thy tent?
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?"
Among the list that is given is, "He who swears to his own hurt, and does not change."
In other words, one of the highest values in character is keeping a promise even when it hurts, and is to your disadvantage to keep it.
Lincoln not only kept his word, he expected others to do so as well.
He once compelled a man to obey God's ideal of keeping a promise that hurts.
It was of no credit to his character, however, because he was forced.
In order to get any of Lincoln's boys to come to him he offered the child his watch-charm.
The boy climbed into his lap and sat.
Finally, the gentleman rose to go, and Lincoln said, "Are you not going to keep your promise to my boy?"
The visitor asked, "What promise!" Lincoln responded, "You said you would give him that charm."
He replied, "Oh, I could not.
It is not only valuable, but I prize it."
"Give it to him," said Lincoln sternly.
"I should not want him to know that I entertained one who had no regard for his word."
Lincoln did not take promises lightly, even if made only to a child.
Nor did David Livingstone, the great missionary and explorer of Africa.
He once took a long and hazardous journey from the interior of Africa to the Western coast in hopes of opening up a highway for legitimate commerce, and to strike a blow at the illegitimate slave trade.
He persuaded an African chief to allow members of his tribe to go along as companions and servants.
The chief agreed on condition that he would promise to bring them back.
When they reached the coast they found a British ship, and Livingstone was offered passage home to England by the captain.
It was a great temptation.
He was ill and had not seen his wife and children for over 2 years.
Over against Africa with its swamps, fever, and obscurity, was Scotland with its security, loved ones, and fame.
But he had given his word, and so when the ship sailed it carried his valuable maps, charts, and observations, but Livingstone himself was struggling back through the jungle with 27 black men he had promised to lead back.
It hurt, but he was a man who kept his promises.
The value of examples like Livingstone and Lincoln is that they allow us to follow the logic of Christ into perfect trust in the promises of God.
Jesus would reason on this issue, as He did on so many others: If men, who are sinners, weak, and fallible, can be so loyal in the keeping of their promises, how much more can we trust almighty God to keep His promises?
God's record of promise keeping is as good as man's is bad.
There are 7,487 promises of God to man in the Bible, and no record of His breaking any of them.
Solomon praises God in the assembly of Israel saying in I Kings 8:56, "Blessed 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 uttered by Moses His servant."
Not one word failed.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God endures forever.
All that God has spoken shall be as promised.
The whole existence of Israel revolved around the promises of God.
The very nation was called the Promised Land.
The whole history of Israel is an account of their claiming the promises of God, or their forsaking them.
God is ever faithful in spite of man's constant wavering.
He keeps His promise to Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and to the nation as a whole.
The promised Messiah does come, and Gentiles enter in to the promise of God.
J. Ritchie Smith writes, "The Bible opens with the promise of the first coming of Christ, and ends with the promise of His second coming, and all the way between and strewn with promises, as the sky is studded with stars."
Peter has wisely grasped the important place of the promises of God in the Christian life.
In verse 3 he has said that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, and now he gets specific, and he says that among those all things the greatest of God's gifts to us for life and godliness are His great and precious promises.
In quantity they are great, and in quality they are precious.
They are ours Peter says through the knowledge of Him who called us to His glory and excellence.
This agrees fully with Paul who says in II Cor.
1:20, "For all the promises of God find their yes in Him." Jesus fulfilled the promises of God.
He sent the promised Holy Spirit, and is the present mediator of all the promises of God to us.
Promises are a key issue in Peter's mind.
In 2:19 he speaks of the worthless promises of the false prophets who promise freedom, but are themselves slaves of corruption.
In chapter 3 he deals with their criticism of the promises of Christ.
Where is the promise of His coming these skeptics are saying as they try to destroy faith in the word of Christ.
Peter calls attention to the history of God's promise keeping, and that He did judge the world as He promised in the day of Noah, and He will do so again at the coming of Christ.
In verse 9 he says that God is not slack concerning His promise, but is long suffering and not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The only reason the promise of a new heaven and new earth is not already fulfilled is because God longs for more people to come to Christ to enjoy that eternal kingdom.
Do not lose confidence in God's promise because of His love and long suffering to include more in that promise.
This is one of the problems the New Testament struggles with.
The promises of men are so fragile and easily broken that men tend to lose faith in promises, even those of God, and especially when they are delayed.
Hebrews deals with this problem in a large measure due to the danger of Christians wavering in their trust in the promises of God.
Heb.
10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
Great examples of faith are given to encourage them.
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