GUARANTEES FROM THE LORD

     A very pleasant good morning to each listener. I hope that you
have had a good week and are ready to enter into a study of God's
eternal truths. I continue to remind each one that whatever we do in
word or deed should be done in the name of Jesus Christ, that is, by
His authority. Jesus, Himself, stated, "All authority in heaven and
earth has been given to Him." He is now King of kings, Lord of
Lords, the Savior, the Messiah.  He is worthy of our worship and
service. Now, to our study for the morning.
     The world in which we live is guarantee conscious. Everything
we obtain must have some kind of guarantee. Almost the first thing
asked when buying something is, "What kind of guarantee do you
offer?" "What does the guarantee include, how long will it last,"
and the many other questions concerning the intention of the company
to stand behind their product. When buying a new car, a new set of
tires, a new battery; "What is the guarantee?"
     Of course, a guarantee is only as good as the company making
the guarantee. Will the company stand behind their guarantee? Have
they the reputation of keeping their part of the promise? Or, will
you have to take them before the courts of the land to force them to
live up to their promises. And then, sometimes we overlook the small
print in the guarantee. We have it in writing, but they have
inserted something that nullifies their promise. How disappointing
it is to seek to have a company make a product good, only to find
out that they have some small print that protects them from doing
what you thought they promised to do. I have said all of that to
make this observation.
     There are some guarantees offered to man that we need not
worry about. Some guarantees that are sure, dependable, lasting.
These guarantees are promises made by our God. He guarantees the
important things in life; those things of true value. There is no
small print, there is no attempt to deceive; these guarantees are
easily understood. He will stand behind them; We can rest assured
that His word will stand the test of time. Listen to the inspired
writer, "Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the
heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed
with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is
impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who
have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: which we
have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and
entering into that which is within the veil" (Hebrews 6:17-19).  You
see, God cannot lie; thus what He has promised or guaranteed will
surely come to pass.
     I wish to examine some of the Lord's guarantees, or promises
which He has made unto mankind. But, first, let us notice that the
Lord has promised to keep every guarantee He has made. I now read
from 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing
that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." And
again, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver
not; for he is faithful that promised" (Hebrews 10:23).  We might
question, even doubt man's word; but the Word of the Lord should
never be doubted. His word is constant, unwavering, dependable. We
should never question what the Lord has said. I am persuaded that
some do not follow that advice. Some are heard to say, "Well, I
think this way is as good as the Lord's way." My friends, man's ways
have never been as good as the Lord's way. Jeremiah said a long time
ago, "It is not in man that walketh to direct his own paths"
(Jeremiah 10:23).
     In Proverbs 3:6, I read, "In all thy ways acknowledge Him and
He shall direct thy path." You will notice that the Lord will direct
our path. That is guaranteed, it is promised. But to whom? To the
one who acknowledges Him. What does it mean to acknowledge Him? It
means that we are obedient to Him and to His every word. So, the
direction of our path is dependent upon our obedience to His
commandments.
     Let us notice some of the guarantee or promises made by our
Lord. I believe that eternal salvation is guaranteed. To verity that
statement, I read from Mark 16:15-16, "And he said unto them, Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
disbelieveth shall be condemned." When man does God's will,
forgiveness, not partial, but complete forgiveness is the results.
Every past sin is removed from man's record. One is cleansed by the
blood of Christ Jesus. When does this happen? When one is baptized
for the remission of sins as commanded by the apostle Peter in Acts
2:38, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins."  It was these truths
that led the preacher Ananias to command Saul of Tarsus, "Now why
tarriest thou, arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins" (Acts
22:16). When faith leads one to be baptized for the remission of
sins, they are washed away, no if's, and's, but's, cleansed by the
blood of Christ. This is guaranteed by Heaven. Does baptism have
anything to do with the washing away of sins. Sorta sounds like it,
doesn't it? How else would you explain Ananias statement to Saul?
"Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins." What a guarantee!!
     But, there is another guarantee in Mark 16:16, "He that
believeth not shall be damned." That is just as much a guarantee or
promise as the first part, "He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved." If one does not believe in Christ Jesus as the Son of
God, as deity in the flesh, condemnation is the result. That is a
promise or a guarantee from the Lord. If the Lord will keep His word
about salvation, surely He will keep it about condemnation. That's a
guarantee from the Lord. Have you been baptized for the remission of
sins? If not, you should be if you wish God's guarantee.
     Another guarantee made by the Lord is found in 1 Corinthians
10:13, where the apostle said, "There hath no temptation taken you
but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer
you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to
endure it." This guarantee is sometimes hard to accept, hard not
to doubt, but it is true. And the older we grow in Christ Jesus, the
easier it becomes.  But, it takes growth. And that comes by and
through a steady diet of God's Word. We must search out the way of
escape; it is there, but we must find it. You will notice, the Lord
does not promise that we shall not be tempted. Temptations shall
come, but we dare not give in to them. Through preparation and study
of God's word we can face the problems of life with the guarantee
that we indeed can overcome. God has promised that.
     Another guarantee of the Lord is found in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and
it shall be given you." That's a guarantee, a promise from the Lord.
But, does it follow that I can ask for any and everything that comes
into my mind. Obviously not. I find a qualifying passage in l John
5:14, "And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if
we ask anything according to is will, he heareth us." You will note
that this passage says, "according to his will." That is, I can ask
for anything within the limits of God's will for us. Prayer is a
very powerful instrument in the hands of God's children, but, we
have no right to ask in selfishness, to use it on our own desires.
We must ask in faith, believing, and in harmony with God's Word. A
child asks of his or her parents, with complete confidence that the
parent will seriously consider the request. So, with our Heavenly
Father. We should have complete confidence in Jehovah when we come
before Him in prayer. He has guaranteed to hear us. He may not
answer as we anticipate, but He will answer as it best serves us.
That is a guarantee from the Lord.
     Another guarantee is found inn Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first His
kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added
unto you." These things refer to the physical necessities of life.
God will provide them, that is His guarantee, his promise. It seems
that many have little faith in this promise. They are putting the
fleshly things first, the kingdom last. It isn't difficult to see
where a person's interest lies. Whatever takes their time, their
efforts, their interests. If mankind would be as diligent in the
work of the Lord as they are in fleshly endeavors, this world would
be turned upside down overnight.
     There is also the desire upon the part of so many to make a
bargain with the Lord. God, you do this, and I will do that. That
has the old proverbial horse before the cart. We need to do God's
will first, He will do His part. That's a guarantee from the Lord.
     Another guarantee is found in Romans 8:28, "All things work
together for good to them that love the Lord, even to them that are
called according to his purpose." Do you believe this? You will
notice that Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, placed a
qualification in this verse. He said, "to them that love the Lord."
What does it mean to "love the Lord." This has a very simple answer.
Reading from 1 John 5:3, I find, "For this is the love of God, that
we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous."
How does one determine if he or she loves the Lord? By whether or
not one keeps the commands of the Lord. How can one say, "I love you
Lord, but I am not keeping your commands." By what line of reasoning
would one then conclude, all things will work out for me. You
remember, things work out to those who love the Lord; those who keep
His commandments.
     Another guarantee is found in John 14:3, "I will come again and
receive you unto myself." Jesus has gone, but He promises to return
and take His people back to that place prepared for the faithful. Do
you have the desire to obtain Heaven?? It is within the grasp of
each one. He has promised to return and carry the faithful back with
Him into that prepared place. That's a guarantee, a promise from the
Lord. Where Christ is now, so might we go. Jesus has never promised
to set foot upon this earth again. That's man's expectation, man's
teaching. He has promised to take His brethren to that prepared
place. That is a guarantee.
     One last guarantee I notice in this lesson. The inspired writer
in Galatians 6:8, states, "He that soweth to the spirit shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting." If one would reap everlasting life,
one must sow to the spirit; that is we must sow the seed of the
Spirit, the Word of God. Jesus spoke of this sowing in Luke, chapter
8. That simple means that we must be working for the Lord, sowing
His precious seed, the word of truth.
     There is another guarantee in that passage from Galatians 6,
"He that soweth to the flesh shall reap corruption." That, too, is a
promise; a guarantee from the Lord. If one spends his or her time
sowing seed of fleshly desires and actions, eternal corruption will
be the end results. That's a guarantee from the Lord.
     I introduced the subject this morning by calling our attention
to guarantees made by men. Buying a car, appliance, or whatever. We
would not expect to buy merchandise from one company and then expect
another company to honor the guarantee. I would not expect Sears to
honor a guarantee made by Walmart.  Neither can one work in the
service of Satan and expect the Lord to reward that service. If I am
going to enjoy these guarantees of the Lord, I must become a
faithful servant of our King, Jesus Christ. I must accept His Word.
I must obey Him.

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