First the promise: READ Is. 52:13. He will be raised up. He will be resurrected. He will be exalted. This is the Easter message! A promise is a vision of an amazing future. I love the quote in the bulletin: “If you're a Christian you're just a shadow of your future self.” (N.T. Wright). God has given a promise of a glorious future.
Promises are the substance of hope, expectation. God’s promise is resurrection ~ the best is yet to come. The power of a promise changes lives because of optimistic expectations. The greatest promise of all is resurrection: new life, new hope.
God is the ultimate promise keeper, which is why there are so many stories of his character, his sovereignty, his power, his love, his consistency… He makes promises that he binds himself to keep and bring to fulfillment/completion. Without promises we have no expectation…. I live today in great hope because of the transformational promises of God and the Resurrection life that is ours through Jesus Christ. First comes the promise.