Exceeding Great & Precious Promises CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Through Jesus Christ we are given exceeding great and precious promises – we often sing the hymn, “Standing on the Promises” – and truly if we are standing on the promises of God then we are on solid ground – what are some of these promises?
The Promise of the Scriptures – Matt 23:35; 2 Pet 1:19 – what we have in our hands is, according to Peter and the testimony of the words of God, more sure than seeing Jesus transfigured with our own eyes or hearing the voice of God speaking from heaven with our own ears – everything you need to know that God wants you to know is in your Bible – thus the whole attempt of the devil is to cast doubt on the certainty of the words of God [Prov 22:21], whether he is speaking directly [Gen 3] or working through scholars who corrupt them [2 Cor 2:17], Pharisees who reject them [Jn 8:44] or preachers who deceive with them [2 Cor 11:13-15] – he wants to shake your faith – the devil knows that if you doubt the words of God then you won’t be able to stand on them – but, Brother, when you believe God’s words, they work effectually [1 Thes 2:13] and you can stand on them forever [Ps 119:160].
The Promise of Salvation – Rom 10:13 – the Lord whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved – that’s “whosoever” – and if you call upon the name of the Lord he will save you and he will keep you saved – according to 1 Pet 3:18, the Lord Jesus accepts full responsibility for getting you to heaven once you put your faith in him – I was taking to a fellow Monday night about salvation and he said, “I think I’m all right” – I asked him why he thought that – and he said, “Because I have been a good Christian; I’ve tried to treat my fellow man right; I’ve always tried to do the right thing” – I preached salvation to him and asked him if he wanted to trust Christ – he said, “I think I’m all right” – I said it sounds like you have a little doubt in there [pointing to his heart] – he said, “I do” – I asked , “So, do you want to trust Christ and remove that doubt” – he said, “I think I’m all right” – you know what he’s missing – he’s missing the promise of salvation! – when you get saved you quit trusting in what you’ve done and you put your trust in what Jesus has already done for you.
The Promise of the Lord’s Supply – Phil 4:19 – my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus – do you realize how much wealth the Lord has – he can supply ALL your need for joy, peace, love, assurance, grace, mercy, rest, comfort, direction, life, hope, provision, friendship, and so forth – you say, “Man, I sure could use a… or some…” – before you go looking in the world for something to supply that need, you better go to the Lord and see what he has in his storehouse that might meet that need – you look around there; you’ll find it!
The Promise of Security – Heb 13:5 – I will never leave thee nor forsake thee – the Lord is with you all the time and in every circumstance – as the world attempts to “paralyze” you with fear, remember that when the Lord is with you, you have no reason to fear [Heb 13:6] – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were fearless – Daniel was fearless – David before Goliath was fearless – these men knew that the Lord was with them – listen to what one missionary wrote in a recent prayer letter – For years I have been made to feel like a criminal or a “cult leader” here in __________ and I have a good idea of what’s coming to the United States. Christians are more and more maligned as criminals, hate-mongers, revolutionaries, etc. If you’re going to get out and do something for God you’d better do it now, because it’s not going to get any easier. Make a difference here and now while you can. (Jude 22) Maybe later Christians will have a better reason for being paralyzed with fear… but not now. Too many Christians are “paralyzed” due to laziness, indifference, ignorance, and unjustifiable fear right now. If the Lord tarries, we may see some real reasons to fear. Use your excuses then.
The Promise of the Second Coming – Jn 14:1-3 – I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you into myself; that where I am, there ye may be also – do you fully realize how great a promise this is – it is the cause for our continual hope and anticipation – it is the assurance that as things get worse around us, we are getting out of here – it is the constant reminder that this world is not our home, we’re just passing through.
Conclusion: With these promises you can stand and on these promises you must stand.