PROMISES OF GOD

Standing firm on the promises of God.

Have you been blown emotionally one way and then another?  It’s a sign that our faith is hanging onto a clothes line!  With certain winds, a sheet hanging on a clothes line may be blown from one end to the other and back again.  Our life placed in Christ should rather be like the flag on a pole.  It’s blown around but firmly anchored to the pole.

In emotional stormy times it will be God’s promises that can keep us strong and anchored.  God’s word is trustworthy and true.  It’s an excellent compass, guide and instruction book for all of life.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

As we live our lives and experience the ups and downs ; we must anchor ourselves to God’s word, pray and meditate over what it is saying.  God’s word should always be our first resource and confirmation for the decisions we make.  It may not come immediately but as we pray and seek His wisdom, the Holy Spirit may bring to mind specific promises.  Other times His leading will just seem right because of an understanding we have of His nature from our relationship with Him.  We therefore trust Him. All the while understanding that God will never contradict His Word to us.

God has made many promises in the Bible. (a)  Here are three questions to ask in order to discover if the promise applies to you:

1.  Is it made to a specific person; or is it for all believers?

For instance, 1 Kings 9:5 (NKJV) then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'  From the preceding and following verse it is clear that the promise is for King Solomon.

However the following promise is a guarantee to all believers that Jesus will be with them always.  Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV) Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

2.  Is it for meeting our need or a desire?

If we’re asking the Lord for work so that we can provide for our family; it’s a need.  But if we’re asking for different employment for personal reasons; it’s a desire.

3.  Does it require some condition on our part?

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

The promise is for those who “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”.

As the strong winds of life blow; God’s promises will keep us strong and keep us steady as we depend on His Word and wait for His deliverance. Follow the Lord and pursue His leading as you stand on the promises of God!

Read: 2Peter1:3-10

(a) For some Promise examples see: http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/gods-promises.aspx

OBEDIENCE

Obey God and let go!

Exodus 19:5 (NKJV) Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.

Obeying God is a choice.  Each of our lives are bombarded with constant choices that we have to make.  Some choices are very menial ( what to wear today) and other choices are very moral (should I speak with profanity). By obeying God’s commands:

1. It Pleases Him.

It proves to God where we stand in our relationship with Him. If we love Him; we will obey His commands.

2. It Protects Us from Evil.

Constant temptations abound all around us. God’s commands are given to us to set a wall of protection around us.  God has our well being at heart.  Obedience keeps us within the walls of His protection.

3. It Reveals Our Faith.

God uses the path of obedience to get us to the place where our faith is tested and developed. We may verbally agree as to what God can do but until we step forward in obedience we have no faith.  Once we take the first step; He then reveals to us the next.

4.  It Ripens our relationship with God.

As we obey Him; we will grow and mature into knowing Him, understanding His ways and His great love for us.

Disobedience has serious repercussions.  It allows the accuser to bring upon us feelings of guilt, shame and a sense of worthlessness. The larger issue for us however is that disobedience muddles up and alienates us in our relationship with Christ.  When our relationship with the our Saviour is weakened in this way; we in turn become weak.  Our spiritual life begins to drain from us and Satan is right there to take advantage of our weakened state!  At this point it becomes easy to continually spiral into the depths of sin and the power of it over our lives!  Don’t let Satan have a foothold or he will turn it into a stronghold!

The way of obedience is the Christian life!  We do this by:

* Trusting that God will lead you in all things concerning life.

There is no one who knows you better than God.  Placing your hope and trust in Him for all things is our best option.  He will not lead us astray!

* Waiting on God to give us the answers.

When in doubt; wait.  If you do not have a clear direction then ask God to confirm it from His Word. If you are still unclear then walk away.  God’s plans for you will always align with His Word.

* Studying God’s Word.

To know God’s commands and His perspectives are discovered by taking the time to study what He has already told us in the Scriptures.  God’s will and that which is right and wrong is for us to learn from His revealed Word.

* Enduring Conflict.

We should not be surprised by the conflicts that surround us.  God rarely takes it away but rather He uses it to teach us a continual dependence upon Him.

* Leaving the Outcome in God’s Hands.

This is about letting go!  Many of us want desperately to be able to control our lives and the outcome of the situations we face.  Let us be obedient to God’s ways  even in the face of obstacles and opposition.  We must take control out of our hands and leave the results with Him.

SURRENDER

To have intimacy with God; requires our surrender!

We were created for a relationship with God and others.  It’s how our need to be loved is fulfilled.  To fully experience God’s love we need to draw near to Him.  The closer we draw to God; the more we will experience His love and forgiveness.  However, it is only as we surrender to Him that we are able to draw close to Him.

Surrender is a term used in warfare and implies giving up our rights to the conqueror.  It is not what anyone naturally wants to do.  Surrendering to God however has its benefits.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.    Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

God’s plans for us are good!  As our conqueror He will bless us and give us true freedom.

There are three different levels of surrender:

1. There is the surrender for us to accept our need of salvation.

This is a work of the Holy Spirit to convict us and lead us to our need of salvation. Until you come to understand your failure in sin and inability to cover for it;  you cannot see your need of salvation.  It is the Holy Spirit’s work to bring us to the end of ourselves to see our need to be saved.

And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.   John 16:8 (NKJV)

2.  There is the surrender for us to accept the provision of salvation in Jesus Christ.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.  John 1:12 (NKJV)

This too is a work of the Holy Spirit; to bring us to the answer in Christ!  To believe in the name of Jesus means that we accept:

a) who He is - God of very God.

b) what He has done - died for our sins in our place as a perfect sacrifice.

c) what He accomplished - overcame the punishment of sin which is death and arose to                                                everlasting life.

d) what He offers us - forgiveness of our sin, a restored relationship with God and the                                              promise of everlasting life with Him.

3.  There is the surrender for us to accept our dependence on Jesus Christ daily.

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.   Mark 8:34 (NKJV)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.      Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

This is the goal in the life of every Christian. It is living life with a complete trust in Jesus Christ in all things and for all things.  It is letting go of self dependence and depending totally on Christ!

But why do we resist to surrendering?

Pride: we know better and we can handle life our self.

Fear: out of a concern of what God will or will not do to us or how He may change us.

Lie: we accept Satan’s lies and deceptions that if we surrender to God our life will be hard and/or miserable.  That God’s aim is only to punish us.  That no one knows us better than ourselves and we can only help ourselves.

Surrender is the door through which Christians must pass if intimacy with God is to be achieved.  It’s the passage door into a relationship with God and it’s the door into a mature and close relationship in which God will bless us.

True Christian surrender means:

* following God’s leading even without knowing the destination.

* waiting for God’s answer without knowing when it will come.

* expecting God’s miracle without knowing how it will be done.

* trusting God through life events even when you don’t understand

Complete surrender is depending on God to work things out without my manipulation of others or forcing my way or control.  Genuine surrender is changing the things that I can change and trusting God with everything else.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  James 4:8a (NKJV)