Standing on the promises(2)

The Promises of God:

Hebrews 10:34

34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Pray:

When we first got saved. We depended on the promise of Christ.

The promises of God are a mine full of wealth. A man who understands the promises of God and how to obtain them is a wealthy man in the eyes of God. Such a man is blessed to be able to enter Gods weapon room and there find the armor of God for the defense and protection of he and his family. He understands how to put on the breastplate and to wield the sword of the Lord God.

The promises of God are an elixir of health to the sick and the marrow that gives strength to the bones of His chosen. Gods promises are a divine remedy for any and every disease that we could possibly face.

Blessed is the man or woman who has the skills of Gods pharmacy. Who prays with understanding and faith for those in need of the divine physician.

The promises of God are food to the hungry. As Christ instructed us in Matthew 4:4

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

That blessed nourishment of the Lord certainly includes the wonderful promises of God. Like the grainerys of food built by Joseph to save His people in Egypt. Or like the golden pots where the Israelites stored the manna that was given by God to feed His people. What a blessing it is to read about the 5 loaves feeding the 5 thousand. And to understand Gods promises for provision.

Happy is the man who understands the promises of God. Those men and women of God who understand that they are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. No, we are not waiting for heaven. We have the power through faith in Christ Jesus to enjoy Gods promises in our lives here and now.

If we were to take the time to study the covenants or promises of God throughout our brief history. We would suddenly understand how faithful our God to His word is. We sing of Gods eternal faithfulness to His promises.

This song by Thomas Chisholm tells us that brother Thomas knew something of Gods promises. If I may quote:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

o Refrain: Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see: All I have needed Thy hand hath provided— Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow— Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

There is a man who stood on the promises of God.

The promises of the covenants of God’s grace and the richness of His mercy are unsearchable, incalculable, and unknowable. We need to understand the urgency for us to understand how we can by faith obtain the promises of God.

The bible tells us that we are the heirs of promise. We are told that we have the promise of eternal life. The apostle Paul describes the covenants of God as the covenants or promise. Paul referred to the gospel itself as the promise of God in Romans 1:2. As the children of God we look for the promise of His coming. Peter called the second coming of Christ, the promise of His coming. And after that we look for the promise of a new heaven and a new earth.

As believers we have more wealth than we know what to do with, and yet we have no understanding of how to tap into that wealth by way of having faith in God.

2 Peter 1:1

1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Matthew Henry Writes:

Faith unites the weak believer to Christ, as really as it does the strong one, and purifies the heart of one as truly as of another; and every sincere believer is by his faith justified in the sight of God. Faith worketh godliness, and produces effects which no other grace in the soul can do. In Christ all fulness dwells, and pardon, peace, grace, and knowledge, and new principles, are thus given through the Holy Spirit. The promises to those who are partakers of a Divine nature, will cause us to inquire whether we are really renewed in the spirit of our minds; let us turn all these promises into prayers for the transforming and purifying grace of the Holy Spirit. The believer must add knowledge to his virtue, increasing acquaintance with the whole truth and will of God. We must add temperance to knowledge; moderation about worldly things; and add to temperance, patience, or cheerful submission to the will of God[1]

What Peter is telling us that because we have Jesus living within. We have everything. Just look at the world we live in. Everything within is working to perfection. The flowers grow and the bee’s fly up to them and pollinate them. Then the bees carry it to their hive and make honey. Then we eat the honey. The sun sits perfectly in the sky to give light to the flower. The flower takes the energy from the sun and turns it into food for the bees and the cows and on and on it goes. All these systems created perfectly by God to work together.

The cows eat the grass and convert it to milk. Or they become steak. When you look at the complexity of the world around you, you get just a glimpse of Gods richness and glory. And this same God has made us promises. This faithful, loving, kind God that provided us with the wealth of creation in his loving mercy made promises to you and I. This complicated system is made up of information and written codes. Codes do not write themselves.

So how do we benefit from the promises of God:

First, we must KNOW what they are. And how to tell the difference between promises that are conditional and ones that are non-conditional. We must also establish whether or not this promise was made to us or someone else. For example: David was promised that Christ would sit on his throne. Those Old Testament biblical covenants are an example of Gods promises. This is why we divide the bible into two sections. The Old Promises and the New Promises, or covenants. In the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost. Peter says in Acts 2 that the resurrection of Christ was the fulfillment of Gods promise to David. So, we know that we have no need to expect that promise and that it is not for us.

One of my favorite promises can be found in Psalm 1:1. It is a great example of a promise of God that comes with conditions.

Psalm 1:1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Discuss

Another great promise of God can be found in Isaiah 41:10 which says.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Now do you see any conditions here?

We have a promise for peace in Isaiah 26:3

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Do you see the condition for this promise? Whose mind is stayed on thee, right?

Deuteronomy 31:8 says:

And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

What an amazing promise this is. God will always be by your side!! No conditions. God loves and accepts us just the way we are, as who we are and will not fail or leave us. Amazing promise.

But not all promises are fun. John 16:33 for example:

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

And why should we have peace and not live in fear? Listen to Psalm 32:8

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

So, God will teach us and guide us. And today we have the promise of the Holy Spirit to do just that!! Look at John 14:26:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

But what if we get tired and weary in our service to Christ? Well don’t worry because Matthew 11:28:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

The promise of rest. Take our troubles to the Lord in prayer. So, you are tired and weak from your struggles? Well don’t be concerned because we have yet another promise in 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

There is no place or position that you find yourself in that a promise of God cannot remedy.

Here is a conditional promise for those who are made weak in their struggles in Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

What about deadly diseases. Do we have any kind of promise there? Maybe a promise of protection? I think so. Psalm 91:3 says:

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

In a pickle? Concerned that things aren’t going to work out for you? How about this well-known promise: Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Now here’s a fun promise. And I brought something with me this morning to help demonstrate this promise for you. Mark 16:18

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Folks just kidding this promise was made to the disciples. Snake handling and turning the house of God into a carnival act is unholy and ungodly. Jesus didn’t perform miracles as an act of entertainment. He performed miracles as acts of love and kindness. And any church that turns the promises of God into a circus act is an abomination in the eyes of God. Lining people up and pushing peoples forwards back and proclaiming you’re healed. Is an act of self-worship and ego. It is a man declaring that he himself is performing miracles rather than God and the Lord is not in it. These carnival acts have done a great deal to hurt the true people of God and the local church. I have heard of people getting bit by snakes and dying. And I always think. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Gods promise here is one of protection while in His service. It is not for some so-called preacher to glorify himself as a divine healer.

But we do have many other promises of protection while earnestly serving God. Isaiah 54:17

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

But what if you aren’t a wise person? And you need wisdom in your life? Don’t worry. James 1:5

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Now this next promise I have had firsthand experience with. In fact, this last Tuesday I experience what I can only call a full-blown demonic attack. What do you do when the devil is attacking you? James 4:7

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

What if as a Christian you have fallen into sin? Maybe you have begun to backslide a little? Don’t worry there is a promise for that too. 1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Another promise of God’s blessing can be found in Malachi 3:10. This one has a condition on it:

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Speaking of meeting our needs. Philippians 4:19

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Psalm 34:17 declares:

The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Psalm 37:4

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

How about this promise in Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

And how about the best promise in the entire bible? Romans 9: 9-10 says:

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

As a church and as a family we earnestly need to stand on the promises of God. There are many other promises in the word of God that we need to search out for ourselves. We do that by being obedient to God and studying the scripture ourselves. 2 Timothy 2:15 says:

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Are you missing out on Gods blessings in your life because you don’t understand or even know the promises of God? I want to encourage you all to be a student of the word of God. To know his promises. To study His promises and to LIVE His promises. Try God. See if God will not do exactly what He says that He will do. And when you do you will begin to see that God’s word is real. Your faith will grow. And your joy will be full.

As we are told in John 15:11

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

[1]Matthew Henry and Thomas Scott, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), 2 Pe 1:1.