Promises, Pledges, and Paradise

Extracted Verses and Quotes from the Sermon

Biblical Verses

Ephesians 2:4-9

But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

John 14:1-3

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

John 13:36-38

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”

1 Corinthians 15:51-57

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 21:1-4

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Philippians 3:20

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 1:12-13

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 5:28-29

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Matthew 22:1-14

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again, he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

1 Peter 3:22

Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Matthew 8:29

And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

Revelation 12:12

Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.

Revelation 20:7-10

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

1 Corinthians 15:24

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

Romans 8:38-39

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 15:12

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Matthew 6:9-13 (The Lord’s Prayer)

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Ephesians 2:14-18

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility… that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

Ezekiel 47:12

And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.

Isaiah 11:6-9

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 35:10

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Daniel 7:13-14

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

2 Peter 1:3-11

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire… Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Memorable Quotes

Youth Rush is an Outreach Ministry where young people go door to door, selling books, and I cannot stress how important it is for us young people to be out there getting real experience doing what we need to do.

When you knock on someone’s door and you have a prayer for them, and they break down crying saying you’ve ministered to them, then you start to see God in a real tangible way when you’re doing mission work.

I had my house robbed on Christmas Day, totaling $38,000 in damage. Do I care? No, because I know that Jesus Christ is my rock and my salvation.

Elections have consequences because sometimes the president gets to pick the Supreme Court, and those picks will influence America for the next 30 or 40 years.

When you’re electing a president, you’re not just electing somebody for 4 years, but somebody who may influence your life and your children’s lives for decades.

Both candidates in the last American election asked us to trust them, but as Christians, we celebrate not the coming president but the coming King.

Jesus spoke the promise of his coming to disciples who fail every single day — those who deny him, who flee from him, who stumble — not to perfect disciples, but to real human disciples.

The coming King of Kings is promising to eliminate not just high gas prices, but the true cost of living that we all experience — death, disease, sorrow, broken relationships, war, and pain.

The cost of living is a universal experience; no earthly president can deal with it, but the coming King promises to take it away forever.

Nobody needs to be an illegal alien in God’s kingdom; citizenship belongs to heaven, and all are invited to become sons and daughters of God by faith.

Those who refuse Christ’s robe of righteousness are like illegal aliens and will be rejected from his everlasting kingdom.

The swamp represents spiritual forces of evil, Satan, his demons, and oppressive earthly powers; Jesus promises to drain the swamp by destroying these forces once and for all.

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Satan knows his time is short, and the demons tremble and know their impending judgment.

Nothing, including death, life, angels, principalities, powers, height, depth, or any other creature, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

When we experience practical love from others, it changes our relationship with them forever.

By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.

Peacemaking is not about winning or being innocent, but about sacrificing oneself so that others might find peace and reconciliation.

When Jesus comes again, every tear will be wiped away, and there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain.

Imagine a society where there is no threat of violence, no sexual assault, and no fear — that is the promise of the coming King.

Choose Jesus Christ; vote for Him in your life. Let the world know you are a supporter of Jesus Christ by the purity of your speech, the nobility of your character, and your love for others.

There is a King of Kings and Lord of Lords who has already walked the walk and talked the talk, who demonstrated His love by laying down His life for us.

When you live with the promise that one day all tears will be wiped away, it transforms how you live your life today.

Our election is for Jesus Christ, the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords, whose term of office is forever.

Faith in Jesus does not require as much faith as faith in politicians, because Jesus has already shown what He is capable of.

When Jesus comes again, there will be no regrets, only joy as we walk the streets of gold.

Other Quotations

Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 77

When the love of Christ is enshrined in the heart like sweet fragrance, it cannot be hidden; its holy influence will be felt by all with whom we come into contact. The Spirit of Christ in the heart is like a spring in the desert, flowing to refresh and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the Water of Life. Love to Jesus will be manifest in a desire to work as he worked for the blessing and uplifting of humanity. It will lead to love, tenderness, and sympathy toward all the creatures of our heavenly Father’s care.

Ellen G. White, God’s Amazing Grace, p. 237

In the heart renewed by divine grace, love is the principle, the loving ruling principle of action. It modifies the character, governs the impulses, controls the passions, and ennobles the affections. This love, cherished in the soul, sweetens the life and sheds a refining influence on all around.