Seven Promises of Jesus

Luke 2:10-11 (NIV)

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” 

There are countless reasons why Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  Here are seven promises that Jesus made during His time on earth that not only should enhance the joy of believers during the celebration of His birth, but also inspire unbelievers to reconsider choices that they have made so far.

Promise 1:  Providing an abundant life to you during your time on earth (John 10:10b).  The word Jesus used for “abundant” means “excessive” or “beyond measure”.  Jesus promises to make your life so good and joyful that you simply cannot describe how good it is because of His presence at the center of your life.

Promise 2:  Peace (John 14:27).  The word Jesus used for peace means “rest and quiet”.  Jesus puts a sense of peace of heart and mind into your life regardless of what is going on when you put your trust in Him.  Think of “footprints in the sand”.

Promise 3:  Rest (Matthew 11:28).  The word Jesus used for rest means “to refresh, to pause, to recreate”.  Jesus promises to refresh your soul (11:29) daily to enable you to face whatever happens in your life each day.

Promise 4:  Blessings from the service and giving you do (John 12:26 and Luke 6:33).  Jesus promises that you will receive honor from God Himself when you serve Him and many blessings in return when you give to others.  Unselfishness always brings honor and blessings.

Promise 5:  Overcoming problems in your life (John 16:33).  Jesus says that you will indeed have tribulation in your life and the original meaning of the word He used for tribulation means “pressure, anguish, burdens”.  However, He promises to enable you to overcome these troubles and you will experience courage and peace.

Promise 6:  Assurances (John 10:28).  Jesus promises eternal life to those who put their trust in Him and believe who He claims to be.  He also provides assurances of protection, guidance, and to provide whatever you need to help you overcome whatever challenges you are facing in your life.

Promise 7:  His presence always (Matthew 28:20).  Jesus promises that He is with His children---that includes you if you believe in Him—always.  You will never be alone, never have to face your life’s problems and fears alone. 

These are reasons, among others, why Christians rejoice during the celebration of the reality of Jesus Christ coming to earth.  Never, ever take Christmas for granted or forget the real reason for the season. 

Who ends up in the lake of fire?

Revelation 21:8 (NLT)

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Two years ago we all remember the shocking massacre of 20 children and 6 adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT.  Like all other people I was grief-stricken, sickened, and angry that someone would be so deranged and evil that he would murder so many innocent people, especially little children.  I’m reminded of what Jesus said about little children in Matthew 18:6---“……but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck and he be drowned in the depth of the sea.”  Jesus, with a child standing next to Him (Matthew 18:2), was telling people that they must become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Children represent Jesus Christ because of their innocence and humility.   He said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to children (Matthew 19:14).  The Lord condemns those who might do anything evil to little children.  Innocent murdered children as well as any child who dies, we have to trust in the mercy of God that they are with Him forever. 

Murderers are one of 8 descriptions of unsaved people in this verse.  These descriptions or labels of people refer to their basic characteristics while living on the earth, characteristics that were never confessed and forgiven.  Yes, sometimes saved people are guilty of committing some of these offenses, but made the sincere decision to give over their lives to Jesus Christ and through such faith, they availed themselves to the grace and forgiveness of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Believers cannot be labeled as one of these types of characters or else they are not real believers. 

Revelation 21:37 and 22:15 also list the characteristics of those who are judged as unclean and doomed to eternal damnation.  Being a murderer seems to be the worst offense, but according to God’s Word, being a coward, an unbeliever, corrupt, immoral, practicing witchcraft, being an idol worshipper, and a liar are as bad as being a murderer. 

Interestingly, the first characteristic listed is being a coward.  The Greek word used here is “delios” that means “fearful” or “timid”.  Why is being a coward as bad as being a murderer?  The only other part of Scripture that uses this word is found in Mark 4:40 (and Matthew 8:26, the same story) where Jesus rebukes His disciples for being so fearful (delios) because they have no faith.  Obviously, those who have no faith in Christ as Savior will not be found in the book of life and will be thrown into the lake of fire at the final judgment (Revelation 20:15).  You also can read in Revelation 20:14 that the lake of fire is called the second death (first death is physical death, second death is spiritual death—eternal separation from God) that is written again at the end of Revelation 21:8. 

Unbelievers are the same as cowards, spiritually, so perhaps this is a purposeful redundancy.  The word corrupt can also be translated as abominable or polluted.  People filled with sin and deliberately practice sinful things their whole lives fit these descriptions.  Murderers, Jesus said, have total disregard for human life (Matthew 5:22).  The immoral (Greek: “pornos”) are those who indulge in sexual immoralities with “pornos” literally meaning “those who prostitute one’s body to another’s lust for hire”.  Those who practice witchcraft refers to sorcery, the Greek term being “pharmakeus”; referring to people who use drugs and indulge in pagan practices.  Idol worshipers are cultists who put other gods before the one true God, condemned in the first two of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-5).  Liars (Greek: “pseudos”) are the deceitful, hypocritical and false witnesses who lead others against God.

These evil practices will be rampant during the Tribulation described in Revelation chapters 4 through 19.  The world is so very evil today, and it will only get worse (II Timothy 3:1-4) until Jesus returns to rule the earth.  All evil will someday be done away with by God (Revelation 20:14) as well as all evil people (Revelation 20:14, 21:8).  Only those who are saved by a sincere believing faith in Jesus Christ will experience eternal life in heaven (John 3:16-18) because their names are listed in the book of life.  All others will be forever banished to the lake of fire and be eternally dead, separated from God.  You can only control your own eternity.  If you have not already, make that decision today to repent of your sins and ask Jesus Christ to take control of your life and lead you to eternal life.

Here is a poem by an unknown author honoring the memories of the lost and murdered children of the earth http://simplyspecialandmore.com/verses.html: 

We thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new.  We thought about you yesterday, and days before that too.  We think of you in silence, we often speak your name.  All we have are memories, and your picture in a frame.  Your memory is our keepsake, with which we will never part.  God has you in His keeping, we have you in our hearts.  A million times we've wanted you.  A million times we cried.  If love could only have saved you, you never would have died.  It broke our hearts to lose you. But you didn't go alone.  For a part of us went with you...the day God called you Home. 

Jesus came to serve others, not to be served

Mark 10:42-45 (NLT)

So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Our human nature demands selfishness.  You see this when an infant becomes a toddler and starts demanding that his/her needs get met immediately.  If not, the toddler throws a tantrum.  Yes, good parenting can minimize this selfish behavior, but the point is that it is natural for little children to act this way.  Unfortunately, some people never learn to be unselfish or, at least, never become truly selfless.  Therefore, as people become adults, they act in ways that show “me-first” attitudes and actions.  William Makepeace Thackery wrote that “next to the very young, the very old are the most selfish”.  Selfishness simply is a major characteristic of human nature.  Human nature is the result of original sin in the Garden of Eden where an act of selfishness separated human beings from God and His nature.   William Gladstone wrote that “selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race”.  Julio Cortazor wrote that “human history is the sad result of each one looking out for himself”.   

When I read these words of Jesus, I am reminded of Isaiah 55:8 where God said that His ways and thoughts were not the same as man’s.  Jesus said here that while human leaders lord it over people and flaunt their authority, godly leaders will be different.  Selfishness and self-centeredness are not characteristics of godly leaders.  Godly leaders are servants first.  This is absolutely smack-dab opposite of what the world calls leadership.  Worldly leadership puts self before others.  Godly leadership puts others before self.

Many companies insist that management knows everything that their employees are doing……. everything.  This means micro-managing.  This means that employees are not empowered to make their own decisions, everything must come through management—several layers of management-- for approval.  This is not servant leadership, this is bullying leadership.  This is an example of leaders flaunting their authority over those under them.  Companies might be financially successful, but employee morale and is low and potential for even greater success is stifled.

Jesus’ model of leadership is servant leadership.   He made it clear in this passage and proved it with His actions that if you wish to be a leader in the Kingdom of God, you must serve others.  Jesus came to serve others and proved His service by not only His words and actions during His three-year ministry but also His willingness to humble Himself and suffer and die for the sins of others.  There is no greater example of leadership in world history.  Yet, blessed is the leader in any situation today, be it the church, the business world, the community, wherever, who demonstrates servant leadership by putting the needs of those he leaders above his own needs.  I love the quote from John C. Maxwell, “True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich the leader”. 

You may or may not be in some kind of leadership position.  If you are, you need to heed these teachings of Jesus and work on applying them in your leadership role.  If you are not, you can still help those who lead you by not only the servant’s attitude of your own heart, but also your courage and willingness to help leaders understand the example of Christ.          

"Servant-leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win. In that situation, they don't work for you, you work for them."    -- Ken Blanchard in Servant Leadership, The Management Forum volume 4 number 3.