"Our God of Promise part 2"

Our God Of Promise – Part 2

Our entire Christian life is built on promises, including those for eternal life and resurrection. These promises are either unconditional or conditional. God will fulfill certain promises regardless of the circumstances. Other times, He will do something only if we meet certain conditions. The only reasons a conditional promise might not be fulfilled is because our requests aren’t in the will of God or sin has gotten in the way. For these promises, God only requires two things from us: obedience and faith. If we follow the Lord and trust Him to keep His word, we will experience the great blessings of His fulfilled promises.

Hebrews 10:19-23 (NLT)

  And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  20  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  21  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,  22  let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure
water. 23  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

A promise is only as reliable as the one who makes it. Because of circumstances beyond our control, we can’t always keep our promises, but the sovereign Lord of the universe has never failed to fulfill His word.

Two Types of Promises

A promise is a spoken or written commitment to perform a certain act or to refrain from doing something.

Therefore, a divine promise is God’s assurance that He will do what He says. In the Bible, the Lord makes two types of promises:

Unconditional. This is a commitment made without exceptions.

Conditional. This type of promise is subject to certain mandates.

Although God makes both kinds in Scripture, we can only make conditional ones because we can’t control every circumstance.

 We say “this is what I will do; you can count on me”

 God makes unconditional and conditional promises

 We can only make conditional promises

 Only God can make promises that nothing can alter

Our Misunderstandings

Sometimes we become disappointed in God because we think He’s failed to keep His word to us. But the problem is our understanding, not His faithfulness. There are several reasons why we don’t always receive what we expect.

God’s Trustworthiness

The validity of a promise is dependent on the character and ability of the one who makes it. People can always fall short, but thankfully, the Lord has both the willingness and the power to do everything He says. We must fully understand His character and the attributes that prove He is trustworthy. No reason to doubt God’s word 

Truthful – Since truth is the very essence of His nature, it’s impossible for Him to lie. Therefore, we can believe in His promises because He will always tell the truth.

Faithful – If the Lord ever breaks a promise, our Christian theology falls apart because He would cease to be who He says He is. But since God has never failed to keep His word in the past, we can trust Him for the future.

Immutable – This means He never changes. Therefore, we don’t have to worry that He will alter a promise. If conditions are attached, it may seem like He’s had a change of heart, but the truth is we just haven’t met the requirements set before us.

Love – His promises are always based on our best interests. The cross is the ultimate proof of His love for us. Jesus said He would die for our sins, and He did. If He loved us enough to keep that promise, we have no reason to doubt Him.

God’s Ability

We must also understand just how capable and powerful He is. God is always able to fulfill His promises because He is:

Omniscient – God knows every detail of a situation. From His perspective, He can see all of our lives from beginning to end. God knows everything about every decision we need to make. He knows what came before and what comes after. Every promise He makes is based on His infinite, perfect, and complete knowledge, which means He never makes a mistake.

Hebrews 4:13 (NLT)

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Omnipresent – God is always with us no matter what’s going on in our lives.  No matter what we’re going through, He will never leave nor forsake us. His continual presence guarantees the fulfillment of every promise.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT)

So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Omnipotent – El Shaddai is the Hebrew name for God that means “God Almighty.” He is always in control whether we understand what He is doing or not. Because the Lord is completely sovereign over heaven and earth, nothing is out of His control. He has absolute power and authority, and nothing is too difficult for Him.

Psalm 103:19 (NLT)

The LORD has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything.

Jeremiah 32:17 (NLT)

“O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!

Our Responsibility

Because the Lord is absolutely adequate and faithful, we have perfect assurance that He will keep His promises. However, we must position ourselves to receive what He wants to provide. We must:

Obey God—Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord issued covenants conditioned upon acts of obedience. If we’ve asked God for something and He hasn’t yet provided it, we need to search our hearts to see if we’ve failed to obey Him in some area.

Believe the Lord—Faith is an indispensable requirement. Always ask yourself if you sincerely trust Him to fulfill His word. Many people are close to receiving God’s best, but they can’t get over the obstacle of unbelief.

Claim the Promise—When we believe the Lord will do what He says, we can confidently claim the promise for ourselves. He’ll never change His mind and will be faithful to complete every promise. But if we have doubts, we’ll feel concerned and worried even after praying about it, and His will is hindered.