"...But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
The Bible is full of the promises of God to provide for and take care of His people. Some estimates have put the number of promises in the neighborhood of 3,000 or more. Regardless, God's promises are what bring Christians hope and stability in times of trouble. As one Christian author puts it, "From Genesis to Revelation we read of normal people that received the promises of God. These promises are sealed by the highest authority, God's word. In Hebrews 6:13 it says, "For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself."
When God makes a promise to his people, it will come to pass. What is a promise? A promise is a covenant or declaration that one will do exactly what they say or something will happen just as pledged." A promise is only as good as the one who makes it. Unfortunately, when we as humans make promises to each other there is always a risk associated with that promise because we are flawed human beings. There is not a person alive who hasn't had a promise broken or who hasn't broken a promise they have made to someone. How many times have you even made a promise knowing you were going to break it? You only made the promise to put off the consequences of telling somebody "No" when they asked you for something. These personal experiences have conditioned us to superimpose our experiences onto God and His promises. After all, what are some of the promises of God that we are most familiar with from the Bible? There is Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Then there is Malachi 3:10 that reads, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."" Lastly, we have 2 Chronicles 7:14 where God promises that "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." Now, we could go into whether or not these promises were made to Christians or if we can meet the conditions these promises hinged on in order for God to fulfill them. Regardless, they are promises God has made and many Christians claim to find hope and comfort in them. However, if we are honest, many of these same people do not experience the realization of these promises in their life. Despite holding on to these promises, their lives don't seem to resemble what God has promised. They are suffering and struggling through life and are not sure what to believe.
If this is your experience, there is hope for you. God has promised many things in the Bible. However, there are some promises that we often skip over or ignore completely because they are not the kind of promises that we want to cling to or trust God for in our lives. Promises like 1 Peter 4:12-13 that says, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." Then there is this reminder from Paul in Philippians 1:29. "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him." Lastly, there are the words of Jesus Christ who said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble (John 16:33)." The broken promises we experience often lead to our suffering. If they do not, suffering will find us soon enough from the world we live in. However, rather than look at our sufferings as evidence that God's promises are somehow not for us, let us look at them as proof that they are for us. God promised we would suffer whether because of our faith as a Christian or simply from living in a fallen, sinful world. What did Jesus say about these times? He said for us to have peace in the midst of them because He has overcome the world. "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:5)." It is because of your faith in Jesus Christ that you have overcome the world because He has overcome the world through His death and resurrection. Therefore, when you experience suffering do not get down on yourself as if it is a sign of your failure in the eyes of God and that His promises are not for you. Look at it as an opportunity to discover more about your God and who you are in Him because His promises have come true in your life. As was said earlier, a promise is only as good as the one making it. When we rest in the promises of God never lose sight of the God who made those promises. He is the ultimate promise we have had fulfilled through our faith. While it is great to experience the positive promises of God instead of the ones pertaining to suffering, the one constant is our God. He is the one that promised, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13)." It doesn't matter what promises of God you are experiencing, what matters is that the God who made those promises has given Himself to you through your faith in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Showing posts with label Promises of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Promises of God. Show all posts
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Saturday, February 23, 2019
A Yoke Unable To Bear
"Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?" Acts 15:10
Have you ever heard of the word sophistry? If you haven't, don't worry. It is a word that over the last couple of centuries has diminished in its use. There are many similar definitions of sophistry, but the one I like is, "reasoning that seems plausible on a superficial level but is actually unsound, or reasoning that is used to deceive." Basically, it is something that appeals to the emotions but doesn't deliver on its promise. One of the areas of life where sophistry shows up is the spiritual world of religion. Recently, a friend of mine shared a quote with me that could appeal to a person's emotions, but would not deliver what it promises. "Every promise in the Word of God is for us. In your prayers, present the pledged word of Jehovah, and by faith claim His promises. His word is the assurance that if you ask in faith, you will receive all spiritual blessings. Continue to ask, and you will receive exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think. Educate yourself to have unlimited confidence in God. Cast all your care upon Him. Wait patiently for Him, and He will bring it to pass." My friend sent this to me because a red flag went up in their mind after reading it. After they sent it to me, they followed up with the rhetorical question, "Every promise?" I noticed that too. Furthermore, what caught my attention is when it says, "if you ask in faith, you will receive all spiritual blessings." On the surface, this quote sounds great, but in reality, it is vague and, ultimately, unattainable. First of all, it misses the fact that we have already been given everything we need for life and godliness and received every spiritual blessing in Christ. In 2 Peter 1:3, Peter writes, "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)."If you already have everything you need for a godly life and have received every spiritual blessing through faith in Jesus Christ, what else do you need to ask for from God? Secondly, many of the promises of God are conditional on our perfect obedience. How many times do you read God say, "If" you fully obey, then I will bless you? In Exodus 19:5, God declares, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession." Here we are thousands of years later and the nation of Israel is still not fully obeying God and keeping His covenant. The lesson is clear, we aren't fully obedient and never will be. So, these promises will never be received. Third, and what often goes unmentioned, is that the promises God makes aren't always beneficial to us. One only need to read Deuteronomy 28. The list of "promises" for disobedience, starting in verse 15, is nearly three times as long as the blessings for obedience. God promises a literal hell on earth for disobedience, but, this is never mentioned by those appealing to our emotional desire to be blessed. For example, God says, "The Lord himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me (Deuteronomy 28:20)." Do you really want every promise of God, especially when the chances are likely you will only receive His promised curses?
People are deceived into believing they can obtain the promised blessings of God if they are just obedient enough. And the Law of God is rarely the measuring stick, it is usually the "law" of some religious organization or church that a person is measured against. Regardless, that won't be perfectly obeyed either. The result is you are struggling for promises you will never receive, believing God is disgusted with you for your continued failure, and missing out on the promises you already have received through faith in Jesus Christ and the rest God has for you. There is also a difference in the promises you strive to achieve in the energy of your own flesh and those you have been given as a blessing of your faith in Jesus Christ. What does God promise for your obedience to His commands? He promises things like, ""Your towns and your fields will be blessed. Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed (Deuteronomy 28:3-6)."" These are wonderful blessings, but they are all blessings of the flesh that God will never have to deliver on. In contrast, what does it mean to have everything you need for a godly life and to have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ? 2 Peter 1:4 says, "Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." Did you notice that God has given us His "great and precious promises." He gave them to us as a gift of our faith in Jesus Christ, not as a reward for our fleshly obedience to His impossible commands. However, these promises we have been given aren't the blessings of the flesh as promised under the Old Covenant. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, " Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ." The promises God has given us in Christ are His love, holiness, forgiveness, and best of all, Himself. When we try to be obedient to the commands of God in order to receive the blessings of the flesh, it is because deep down we hope that in receiving them, we will meet the deep, spiritual desires of our heart for love, forgiveness, holiness and a relationship with our Heavenly Father. But, God didn't design us to receive those things through our obedience. He designed us so that through the pursuit of those things we would fail and realize that only through His grace and mercy would those things be received. That is why we so easily fall prey to those who offer us the promises of God as if they are something still to be obtained if only we obey Him. It is a yoke of slavery that the Jews couldn't overcome and neither can we. Yes, claim the promises of God. But, claim those spiritual promises He has freely given to you through faith and not the promises of the flesh you will never be obedient enough to claim and don't measure up to what you truly need from God. It is not an act of faith to ask God for what He has already given to you.
Have you ever heard of the word sophistry? If you haven't, don't worry. It is a word that over the last couple of centuries has diminished in its use. There are many similar definitions of sophistry, but the one I like is, "reasoning that seems plausible on a superficial level but is actually unsound, or reasoning that is used to deceive." Basically, it is something that appeals to the emotions but doesn't deliver on its promise. One of the areas of life where sophistry shows up is the spiritual world of religion. Recently, a friend of mine shared a quote with me that could appeal to a person's emotions, but would not deliver what it promises. "Every promise in the Word of God is for us. In your prayers, present the pledged word of Jehovah, and by faith claim His promises. His word is the assurance that if you ask in faith, you will receive all spiritual blessings. Continue to ask, and you will receive exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think. Educate yourself to have unlimited confidence in God. Cast all your care upon Him. Wait patiently for Him, and He will bring it to pass." My friend sent this to me because a red flag went up in their mind after reading it. After they sent it to me, they followed up with the rhetorical question, "Every promise?" I noticed that too. Furthermore, what caught my attention is when it says, "if you ask in faith, you will receive all spiritual blessings." On the surface, this quote sounds great, but in reality, it is vague and, ultimately, unattainable. First of all, it misses the fact that we have already been given everything we need for life and godliness and received every spiritual blessing in Christ. In 2 Peter 1:3, Peter writes, "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)."If you already have everything you need for a godly life and have received every spiritual blessing through faith in Jesus Christ, what else do you need to ask for from God? Secondly, many of the promises of God are conditional on our perfect obedience. How many times do you read God say, "If" you fully obey, then I will bless you? In Exodus 19:5, God declares, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession." Here we are thousands of years later and the nation of Israel is still not fully obeying God and keeping His covenant. The lesson is clear, we aren't fully obedient and never will be. So, these promises will never be received. Third, and what often goes unmentioned, is that the promises God makes aren't always beneficial to us. One only need to read Deuteronomy 28. The list of "promises" for disobedience, starting in verse 15, is nearly three times as long as the blessings for obedience. God promises a literal hell on earth for disobedience, but, this is never mentioned by those appealing to our emotional desire to be blessed. For example, God says, "The Lord himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me (Deuteronomy 28:20)." Do you really want every promise of God, especially when the chances are likely you will only receive His promised curses?
People are deceived into believing they can obtain the promised blessings of God if they are just obedient enough. And the Law of God is rarely the measuring stick, it is usually the "law" of some religious organization or church that a person is measured against. Regardless, that won't be perfectly obeyed either. The result is you are struggling for promises you will never receive, believing God is disgusted with you for your continued failure, and missing out on the promises you already have received through faith in Jesus Christ and the rest God has for you. There is also a difference in the promises you strive to achieve in the energy of your own flesh and those you have been given as a blessing of your faith in Jesus Christ. What does God promise for your obedience to His commands? He promises things like, ""Your towns and your fields will be blessed. Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed (Deuteronomy 28:3-6)."" These are wonderful blessings, but they are all blessings of the flesh that God will never have to deliver on. In contrast, what does it mean to have everything you need for a godly life and to have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ? 2 Peter 1:4 says, "Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." Did you notice that God has given us His "great and precious promises." He gave them to us as a gift of our faith in Jesus Christ, not as a reward for our fleshly obedience to His impossible commands. However, these promises we have been given aren't the blessings of the flesh as promised under the Old Covenant. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, " Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ." The promises God has given us in Christ are His love, holiness, forgiveness, and best of all, Himself. When we try to be obedient to the commands of God in order to receive the blessings of the flesh, it is because deep down we hope that in receiving them, we will meet the deep, spiritual desires of our heart for love, forgiveness, holiness and a relationship with our Heavenly Father. But, God didn't design us to receive those things through our obedience. He designed us so that through the pursuit of those things we would fail and realize that only through His grace and mercy would those things be received. That is why we so easily fall prey to those who offer us the promises of God as if they are something still to be obtained if only we obey Him. It is a yoke of slavery that the Jews couldn't overcome and neither can we. Yes, claim the promises of God. But, claim those spiritual promises He has freely given to you through faith and not the promises of the flesh you will never be obedient enough to claim and don't measure up to what you truly need from God. It is not an act of faith to ask God for what He has already given to you.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Often Unnoticed
"God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" Numbers 23:19
According to a popular Christian website, "There are many, many promises of God in Scripture. In each promise, God pledges that something will (or will not) be done or given or come to pass. These are not flippant, casual promises such as we often make; these promises of God are rock-solid, unequivocal commitments made by God Himself. Because God is faithful, the recipients of the divine promises can have full assurance that what God has pledged will indeed be realized." The article continues to list the promises of God in the Old Testament, New Testament and in the Gospels. Some of the promises listed are that "God promised blessing for all who will delight themselves in His Word (Psalm 1:1–3). Simple faith has its rewards." "God promised that all things will work out for good for His children (Romans 8:28). This is the broader picture that keeps us from being dismayed by present circumstances." "Jesus promised abundant life to those who follow Him (John 10:10). Following Jesus brings us more spiritual fulfillment than we could have anticipated. We leave boring behind." These promises are encouraging and comforting to those of us who take pride in what God has said. To be reminded that the promises of our God are "not flippant" and "rock-solid," should embolden Christians to continue to live their lives and share the Gospel with confidence. The writer of the article is convinced by these promises to the point that they say things like, "Simple faith has its rewards" and "Following Jesus brings us more spiritual fulfillment than we could have anticipated." There were many more promises that were listed in the article and each one of them was of a positive nature written with the purpose of making the reader feel good. If you do a simple search on the internet for the promises of God you will see results like, "Over 50 Encouraging Bible Verses and Scriptures" and "God's Word contains literally thousands of Bible promises waiting to be claimed in faith." Again, all of these are geared towards focusing on promises that are encouraging and uplifting. While there is nothing wrong about this, there are other promises of God that often go unnoticed, but are just as "rock-solid" and which are "not flippant." However, these promises, on the surface, may not be so comforting to the reader.
In the Old Testament, God said, "if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you (Deuteronomy 28:15)." Simple disobedience has its rewards. In the New Testament, we read, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12)." Following Jesus brings us more persecution than we could have imagined. And in the Gospels, Jesus Christ said, "He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45)." This is the broader picture that keeps us grounded when present circumstances are not working out in our favor. These are just a few of the many promises of God that the recipients can have full assurance that what God has pledged will indeed be realized. There are not many Christians in a hurry to "claim" these promises, but for most of us, whether we have "claimed" them or not, they seem to have manifested themselves in our lives to one degree or another. They also seem to be more abundant in our lives than the positive promises seem to be. However, we should have no problem listing these promises right alongside the more positive ones. Why? Because they go hand in hand with each other. The one thing that should make us rejoice when it comes to the promises of God, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, is that they are true. Our failed attempts at being obedient to God prove that what He said is true. Christians are the most persecuted group in the world. While disheartening, it confirms God's promise of what would happen to us for having faith in Jesus Christ. Good and bad things happen to everybody all the time regardless of their faith in Christ or lack thereof. Again, this is just one more confirmation that what God has said is true. But, the best part of all is that the promises compliment each other. Knowing that His promises are true is a blessing that should make us delight in His word. If both the good and bad promises are coming to pass, it should give us hope that the promises regarding our eternity with Jesus Christ will soon come to pass as well. This is proof that all things will work out for the good of God's children. Ultimately, the promises of God remind us that the blessings and cursings we reap in the flesh pale in comparison to the abundant life we have been given through the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. A life that will remain with us forever! Knowing that the promises of God and His word are true should comfort us and encourage us regardless of whether our lives are boring or not.
According to a popular Christian website, "There are many, many promises of God in Scripture. In each promise, God pledges that something will (or will not) be done or given or come to pass. These are not flippant, casual promises such as we often make; these promises of God are rock-solid, unequivocal commitments made by God Himself. Because God is faithful, the recipients of the divine promises can have full assurance that what God has pledged will indeed be realized." The article continues to list the promises of God in the Old Testament, New Testament and in the Gospels. Some of the promises listed are that "God promised blessing for all who will delight themselves in His Word (Psalm 1:1–3). Simple faith has its rewards." "God promised that all things will work out for good for His children (Romans 8:28). This is the broader picture that keeps us from being dismayed by present circumstances." "Jesus promised abundant life to those who follow Him (John 10:10). Following Jesus brings us more spiritual fulfillment than we could have anticipated. We leave boring behind." These promises are encouraging and comforting to those of us who take pride in what God has said. To be reminded that the promises of our God are "not flippant" and "rock-solid," should embolden Christians to continue to live their lives and share the Gospel with confidence. The writer of the article is convinced by these promises to the point that they say things like, "Simple faith has its rewards" and "Following Jesus brings us more spiritual fulfillment than we could have anticipated." There were many more promises that were listed in the article and each one of them was of a positive nature written with the purpose of making the reader feel good. If you do a simple search on the internet for the promises of God you will see results like, "Over 50 Encouraging Bible Verses and Scriptures" and "God's Word contains literally thousands of Bible promises waiting to be claimed in faith." Again, all of these are geared towards focusing on promises that are encouraging and uplifting. While there is nothing wrong about this, there are other promises of God that often go unnoticed, but are just as "rock-solid" and which are "not flippant." However, these promises, on the surface, may not be so comforting to the reader.
In the Old Testament, God said, "if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you (Deuteronomy 28:15)." Simple disobedience has its rewards. In the New Testament, we read, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12)." Following Jesus brings us more persecution than we could have imagined. And in the Gospels, Jesus Christ said, "He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45)." This is the broader picture that keeps us grounded when present circumstances are not working out in our favor. These are just a few of the many promises of God that the recipients can have full assurance that what God has pledged will indeed be realized. There are not many Christians in a hurry to "claim" these promises, but for most of us, whether we have "claimed" them or not, they seem to have manifested themselves in our lives to one degree or another. They also seem to be more abundant in our lives than the positive promises seem to be. However, we should have no problem listing these promises right alongside the more positive ones. Why? Because they go hand in hand with each other. The one thing that should make us rejoice when it comes to the promises of God, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, is that they are true. Our failed attempts at being obedient to God prove that what He said is true. Christians are the most persecuted group in the world. While disheartening, it confirms God's promise of what would happen to us for having faith in Jesus Christ. Good and bad things happen to everybody all the time regardless of their faith in Christ or lack thereof. Again, this is just one more confirmation that what God has said is true. But, the best part of all is that the promises compliment each other. Knowing that His promises are true is a blessing that should make us delight in His word. If both the good and bad promises are coming to pass, it should give us hope that the promises regarding our eternity with Jesus Christ will soon come to pass as well. This is proof that all things will work out for the good of God's children. Ultimately, the promises of God remind us that the blessings and cursings we reap in the flesh pale in comparison to the abundant life we have been given through the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. A life that will remain with us forever! Knowing that the promises of God and His word are true should comfort us and encourage us regardless of whether our lives are boring or not.
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