Posts Tagged ‘God’s Promises’

Better Promises

Posted: May 2, 2013 by Pam Larson in 2 Corinthians, Devotionals/Commentaries, May
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So look for statements about God’s promises as we read these verses [2 Cor 1:17-22]

Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?  As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No.  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes.  For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.  And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,  and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Pastor Coty Pinckney says,

Do I make my plans like so many people, saying “Oh, yes, I’ll do that for you!” but then changing my mind and saying “No, I won’t do that!” when I think that will be better for me? No! God is faithful – and before God we are faithful as His agents. For Jesus Christ does not change His mind regarding you, saying “Yes” and then “No.” Rather, just as we proclaimed and lived out Christ among you, in Him every promise of God is “Yes!” Think about the way He has fulfilled His promises: He has strengthened us together with you, He has anointed us, He has sealed us, He has given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. That is why through Christ we give our “Yes! Yes! All right! Oh, good!” to the glory of God.

Paul says, “Every promise of God is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. If you are in Christ – and I am confident that you are – you will be the recipient of every one of those promises. God will not say ‘No’ to anything that is not both for your good and for His glory.

This is another way of expressing what Paul says in Romans 8:28:

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

Verses 21 and 22 detail some of those promises, some of the things that are working toward their good. What does Paul describe here? Does he say, “See how God fulfills His promises! Look at that new fishing boat he gave you! Think of how you were healed of your disease! Think of the wonderful marriage you have!” No! These all may be good gifts from God – but they are not the fulfillment of His promises. God never promises His people an abundance of material possessions, healing from disease, or wonderful marriages.

But the promises He does make are much better – “everything we need for life and godliness” as we read in 2 Peter 1:3. What specific promises does he highlight in our passage?

First, “He has strengthened (or ‘established’) us.” We stand firm in Christ because of God’s power. And we will continue to stand firm to the end, protected by the power of God. As we sang earlier,

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand!
Till he returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!

Second, “He has anointed us.” This is an Old Testament image. Remember how the prophet Samuel anoints David for special service, for being the king. He pours oil on his head, as a picture of the Holy Spirit coming upon him. Just so, says Paul, God has anointed His people for special service. We understand through other passages such as 1 Corinthians 12 that one way God does this is through giving spiritual gifts to believers.

Third, He has sealed us as a mark of ownership and protection.

Fourth, He has given us His Spirit in our hearts as a down payment. Note that Paul holds that every Christian has the Spirit. For the Spirit Himself is the one who brings about the first three items on this list – strengthening us, anointing us, sealing us. So here the emphasis is not so much on Spirit’s actual presence but on what that presence guarantees: the “down payment” of our eventual life with Him. Paul says, “You know we have the Spirit now – and anyone who has the Spirit now has the promise of spending eternity in God’s presence, face to face with Him!”

These are the promises that are “Yes!” in Christ Jesus – and they are much better than new fishing boats, healing from physical disease, and good marriages!

Spurgeon: He who makes the promise will find out ways and means of keeping it.

Posted: December 7, 2012 by Pam Larson in December, Devotionals/Commentaries, Joel
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“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.”—Joel 2:32

C. H. Spurgeon:

WHY do I not call on His name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that, when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down, and devise schemes, and invent plans? Why not at once roll myself and my burden upon the Lord? Straight-forward is the best runner—why do I not run at once to the living God? In vain shall I look for deliverance anywhere else; but with God I shall find it; for here I have His royal shall to make it sure.

I need not ask whether I may call on Him or not, for that word “whosoever” is a very wide and comprehensive one.Whosoever means me, for it means anybody and everybody who calls upon God. I will therefore follow the leading of the text, and at once call upon the glorious Lord who has made so large a promise.

My case is urgent, and I do not see how I am to be delivered; but this is no business of mine. He who makes the promise will find out ways and means of keeping it. It is mine to obey His commands; it is not mine to direct His counsels. I am His servant, not His solicitor. I call upon Him, and He will deliver me.

Diligence…Day by Day

Posted: September 6, 2012 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Hebrews, September
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John Piper, in a sermon on Hebrew 4:11, “Be Diligent to Enter God’s Rest”

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience.”

In other words, Israel fell from the promised joy of God because of the disobedience of unbelief. And the same thing can happen to any professing Christian. To keep it from happening—and to show that we are more than mere professing Christians—he says, “Be diligent to enter God’s rest”—God’s heaven. Be diligent! Pay close attention to what you’ve heard (2:1); don’t neglect your great salvation (2:3); consider Jesus (3:1); do not harden your hearts (3:8); take care against an unbelieving heart (3:12); exhort one another every day against the deceitfulness of sin (3:14); and FEAR the unbelief that will keep you from your promised rest (4:1).

Do you see the great lesson here? The Christian life is a life of day by day, hour by hour trust in the promises of God to help us and guide us and take care of us and forgive us and bring us into a future of holiness and joy that will satisfy our hearts infinitely more than if we forsake him and put our trust in ourselves or in the promises of this world. And that day by day, hour by hour trust in God’s promises is not automatic. It is the result of daily diligence and it’s the result of proper fear.

To read or listen to the rest of the sermon, click here:

Standing on the promises

Posted: June 5, 2012 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, June, Luke
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J.C.Ryle on Zechariah’s Song in Luke 1:67-80

We should notice, secondly, in this hymn of praise, how much emphasis Zachariah lays on God’s fulfillment of His promises.He declares that God has “visited and redeemed his people,” speaking of it in the manner of the prophets as a thing already accomplished, because sure to take place. He goes on to proclaim the instrument of this redemption–“a horn of salvation”–a strong Savior of the house of David. And then he adds that all this is done, “as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophet, to perform the mercy promised, to remember His holy covenant, and the oath which He swore to our father Abraham.”

It is clear that the souls of Old Testament believers fed much on God’s promises. They were obliged to walk by faith far more than we are. They knew nothing of the great facts which we know about Christ’s life, and death, and resurrection. They looked forward to redemption as a thing hoped for, but not yet seen–and their only warrant for their hope was God’s covenanted word. Their faith may well put us to shame. So far from disparaging Old Testament believers, as some are disposed to do, we ought to marvel that they were what they were.

Let us learn to rest on promises and embrace them as Zachariah did. Let us not doubt that every word of God about His people concerning things future, shall as surely be fulfilled as every word about them has been fulfilled concerning things past. Their safety is secured by promise. The world, the flesh, and the devil, shall never prevail against any believer. Their acquittal at the last day is secured by promise. They shall not come into condemnation, but shall be presented spotless before the Father’s throne. Their final glory is secured by promise. Their Savior shall come again the second time, as surely as He came the first–to gather His saints together and to give them a crown of righteousness. Let us be persuaded of these promises. Let us embrace them and not let them go. They will never fail us. God’s word is never broken. He is not a man that He should lie. We have a seal on every promise which Zachariah never saw. We have the seal of Christ’s blood to assure us, that what God has promised God will perform.

1 word summary of 1 Samuel 20

Posted: May 9, 2012 by Pam Larson in 1 Samuel, Devotionals/Commentaries, May
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Bob Deffinbaugh at Bible.org:

One word sums up what this chapter [1 Samuel 20] is all about, and that word is covenant.

David flees to Jonathan, at a very desperate moment in his life, because they have a covenant relationship which assures David of Jonathan’s love and support. This covenant of mutual love and good will is the reason Jonathan takes David so seriously that he is willing to carry out David’s test. It is also why Jonathan takes such elaborate security precautions (going out into the field, communicating to David through a kind of signal). This covenant is actually clarified and extended in our text. What was originally a covenant between two men has now become a covenant between two families. What was once a vague, general covenant made at a time when there was no animosity on Saul’s part toward David, now is clarified to deal with Saul’s hostility and his intent to do violence to David. The covenant between Jonathan and David is also a good part of Saul’s anger toward both David and Jonathan. The covenant that bound these two men and their families incited Saul’s wrath toward David and his son Jonathan. Saul could not oppose one without also opposing the other. .

This covenant between David and Jonathan is the basis and guiding principle of the relationship between these two men. It gives both a sense of security and expresses both men’s submission and servanthood to each other. This is such an important matter that we should to pause to reflect on it. We should first discuss this covenant as it bears upon our relationships with others. We will then conclude by exploring the way in which a “covenant” governs our relationship with God…..

……It all comes down to this. God has always dealt with men in terms of a covenant. In every case, men have failed to keep God’s covenant, even though God has faithfully kept His covenant commitments and promises. In order to save men from their sins and give them entrance into His kingdom, God has set aside the old covenant(s) for a new and better one. This covenant is not dependent upon our performance, but on God’s. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a sinless life, to perfectly fulfill the old, Mosaic Covenant. And then, when He died on the cross of Calvary, He bore the penalty for man’s sins. When He rose from the dead, He demonstrated God’s satisfaction, and His (Christ’s) righteousness. By Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, God provided men with a new covenant, whereby man could be assured of the forgiveness of sins and eternal. In order to be saved, we need only embrace this covenant as our only hope and provision for salvation. This covenant has been secured, once for all. It cannot be set aside or nullified. It needs only to be embraced as one’s own. By acknowledging our inability to please God by our own efforts, and by trusting in the work Christ has done on our behalf, we enter into this new covenant and all of its benefits. Have you entered into this covenant? I urge you to do so today. What a great God we have, who has offered us this covenant relationship with Him.

Better promises than “prosperity gospel”

Posted: May 3, 2012 by Pam Larson in 2 Corinthians, Devotionals/Commentaries, May
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So look for statements about God’s promises as we read these verses [2 Cor 1:17-22]

Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?  As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No.  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes.  For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.  And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,  and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Pastor Coty Pinckney says,

Paul says, “Every promise of God is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. If you are in Christ – and I am confident that you are – you will be the recipient of every one of those promises. God will not say ‘No’ to anything that is not both for your good and for His glory.

This is another way of expressing what Paul says in Romans 8:28:

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

Verses 21 and 22 detail some of those promises, some of the things that are working toward their good. What does Paul describe here? Does he say, “See how God fulfills His promises! Look at that new fishing boat he gave you! Think of how you were healed of your disease! Think of the wonderful marriage you have!” No! These all may be good gifts from God – but they are not the fulfillment of His promises. God never promises His people an abundance of material possessions, healing from disease, or wonderful marriages.

But the promises He does make are much better – “everything we need for life and godliness” as we read in 2 Peter 1:3. What specific promises does he highlight in our passage?

First, “He has strengthened (or ‘established’) us.” We stand firm in Christ because of God’s power. And we will continue to stand firm to the end, protected by the power of God. As we sang earlier,

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand!
Till he returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!

Second, “He has anointed us.” This is an Old Testament image. Remember how the prophet Samuel anoints David for special service, for being the king. [Which we will read in tomorrow's passage in 1 Samuel.] He pours oil on his head, as a picture of the Holy Spirit coming upon him. Just so, says Paul, God has anointed His people for special service. We understand through other passages such as 1 Corinthians 12 that one way God does this is through giving spiritual gifts to believers.

Third, He has sealed us as a mark of ownership and protection.

Fourth, He has given us His Spirit in our hearts as a down payment. Note that Paul holds that every Christian has the Spirit. For the Spirit Himself is the one who brings about the first three items on this list – strengthening us, anointing us, sealing us. So here the emphasis is not so much on Spirit’s actual presence but on what that presence guarantees: the “down payment” of our eventual life with Him. Paul says, “You know we have the Spirit now – and anyone who has the Spirit now has the promise of spending eternity in God’s presence, face to face with Him!”

These are the promises that are “Yes!” in Christ Jesus – and they are much better than new fishing boats, healing from physical disease, and good marriages!

God always keeps His promises.

Posted: February 19, 2012 by Pam Larson in Acts, Devotionals/Commentaries, February
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Bob Deffinbaugh comments on Acts 25 at Bible.org:

At the time of Paul’s conversion, God revealed that he would bear testimony of the gospel “before the Gentiles and kings” (Romans 9:15). Paul has already stood before Claudius Lysias, and Felix, and now Festus, and in the next chapter of Acts (26) he will stand before “king” Agrippa and Bernice. Before very long, he will stand before Caesar. God always keeps His promises.

But notice how the promise of God pertaining to Paul’s mission and ministry is being fulfilled. It is not through one event alone, or through one person. It is by means of God’s orchestration of a host of people and events. God has used Paul’s love for his people and his desire to bring a gift from the Gentile churches to get Paul to Jerusalem, even when he knew that his arrival would result in “bonds and afflictions.” He also used the counsel of the Jerusalem church leaders, who loved Paul and who shared his faith, along with the opposition of the Jerusalem Jewish leaders, who hated Paul and the gospel. He has used Claudius Lysias, and his meticulous care in protecting Paul’s rights as a Roman citizen, as well as the self-seeking efforts of Felix, who sought to use Paul to further his own interests. And now, He has used the inexperience and indecision of Festus. By means of all of these elements, God has given Paul a platform, an occasion to speak, without opposition from the Jews, and before the leading men of Rome who are in Caesarea, including Festus, King Agrippa, and Bernice. How marvelous are His ways!

The experience of Paul has a great deal to say to each of us. God has given us His precious promises, too. Some are promises which include all the saints, while others may be only for certain saints. But we can be assured that just as God fulfilled all of His purposes and promises pertaining to Paul, so He will do and in through us. And, just as He accomplished these in ways we would never have predicted, so He will do through us.

From a human standpoint, one could look at the events of Paul’s arrest and numerous trials as a “comedy of errors.” These things have taken place out of sheer ignorance or prejudice (the accusation that Paul sought to desecrate the temple), out of desire to do one’s job well (Claudius Lysias), out of sinful self-interest (Felix, and also the Jewish leaders), and out of ignorance (Festus). But as our chapter unfolds, Paul is given the opportunity to proclaim his faith, apart from the constraints of a courtroom, where one’s testimony is always limited to what the court desires, and where the opposition of the Jews is absent. And while Paul’s audience begins with only Festus, it continues to grow throughout the chapter (by what seems to be a coincidental dropping in of Agrippa and Bernice) until an auditorium of celebrities is gathered to hear the gospel.

The point I am trying to make is simply this: THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY OFTEN COME DRESSED IN THE FORM OF FAILURE OR OF FRUSTRATING CIRCUMSTANCES, WHERE WE SEEM TO BE LIMITED. It is not until the end of chapter 26 that we begin to see how the hand of God has been behind all of the frustrating events of Paul’s life over the past two years, in order to give him the opportunity of a lifetime, to proclaim the gospel to people who he would never have encountered in the normal course of events, or even as a result of his finest efforts. Paul did not plan these events, nor was his the prime mover in bringing them to pass. Neither was any other person. God was a work here, causing all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28), for the proclamation and advancement of the gospel.

Spurgeon: Here I have His royal shall to make it sure.

Posted: December 7, 2011 by Pam Larson in December, Devotionals/Commentaries, Joel
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“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.”—Joel 2:32

C. H. Spurgeon:

WHY do I not call on His name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that, when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down, and devise schemes, and invent plans? Why not at once roll myself and my burden upon the Lord? Straight-forward is the best runner—why do I not run at once to the living God? In vain shall I look for deliverance anywhere else; but with God I shall find it; for here I have His royal shall to make it sure.

I need not ask whether I may call on Him or not, for that word “whosoever” is a very wide and comprehensive one.Whosoever means me, for it means anybody and everybody who calls upon God. I will therefore follow the leading of the text, and at once call upon the glorious Lord who has made so large a promise.

My case is urgent, and I do not see how I am to be delivered; but this is no business of mine. He who makes the promise will find out ways and means of keeping it. It is mine to obey His commands; it is not mine to direct His counsels. I am His servant, not His solicitor. I call upon Him, and He will deliver me.

Hard promises…CHECK!

Posted: May 25, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Mark, May
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Mark 16:6-7 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 

“Just as He said….”  Jesus always keeps His promises!  Coty Pinckney explains,

milliondollarsSuppose I promise to give you a million dollars Monday at noon, and then a thousand dollars Tuesday at noon. You might have reason to doubt my promise – particularly if you could see my bank balance! But suppose I manage to fulfill the promise on Monday – you get the million dollars! What do you expect to happen on Tuesday?

thousand dollarsIf I fulfilled the promise to give you a million dollars on Monday, surely I’ll give you the thousand dollars on Tuesday! You will have no doubt! I’ve kept the hard promise – surely I’ll keep the easier one.

Think, now: Isn’t the promise to rise from the dead the hardest promise to keep anyone has ever made? Jesus kept the hard promise. He lived up to His word. Shouldn’t we then believe the rest of His words, and trust Him to be speaking truthfully? He’s fulfilled the million-dollar promise – surely He’ll fulfill all the thousand dollar promises He made. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

I’m reminded of a promise given to us in Romans 8:32….“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all (a HARD thing), how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (EASY for God)?”   The argument here is similar.  The greater to the lesser.  If God can do a hard thing, he can do an easy thing!

The connection between KNOWING God and giving cheerfully…

Posted: May 10, 2011 by Pam Larson in 2 Corinthians, Devotionals/Commentaries, May
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2 Corinthians 9:6-8   The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully [4] will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency [5] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. cheerful_giver

Pastor Coty Pinckney, in a sermon, “The Joy of Giving:”

  • Is Paul saying “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that you can drive a Cadillac”?
  • Is he saying, “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that you can live a life of ease”?
  • Is he saying, “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that you can give 10% of your money away and spend the other 90% on whatever suits your fancy”?
  • Is he saying, “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that you will climb the career ladder and end up with the most prestigious job in your profession”?

No! God gives us grace so that we can be content in whatever our circumstances might be. And knowing that we are content, knowing that we will be content at all future times, knowing that God will supply our every true need, knowing that He will guide us and direct our paths and bring us safely to His heavenly kingdom, we are free to give and love and take risks.

Paul was content in the Philippian jail not because he knew God would send an earthquake and free him – but because He knew that God was in control. He believed God’s promises. And being content he could give of himself, of his time – and not worry about the consequences. As Scott Hafemann says, “Giving to others is simply what trusting in God’s promises looks like in a different dress.”

You too can be content in every circumstance – at all times, in all things. – by the grace of God. We thus can abound in every good work – no matter what it costs us in time, in position, or in money.

Conclusion

Why does God love a cheerful giver? Because the cheerful giver trusts Him, loves Him, believes in Him. The grudging giver does none of those things. The cheerful giver gives out of His joy in God.

Listen to George Mueller, the 19th century pastor in Britain who is best known for raising the equivalent of $150 million in today’s money for good causes – mainly for orphanages – by prayer, without ever asking directly for money.

According to my judgement the most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the Lord’s work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself! Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. This has been my firm and settled condition for the last five and thirty years. . .  the secret of all true effectual service is joy in God . . .

“I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.”

Do you want to be a cheerful giver? Get to know the Lord of the universe! Read His Word! Meditate on it! Then read how He has worked in the lives of great Christians! Turn off your TV, turn off the radio, turn off the music, close the newspaper, and focus on the truths of Who God is and what He has done.

Then ask yourself: What step of faith do I need to take in giving of myself?

Believe in God’s future grace to you – and then step out!

I warn you: you won’t feel complete confidence. Satan will tempt you to worry about the consequences. But “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all contentment in all things at all times you may abound in every good work.”

So hold on to that promise! Trust him! And even if your faith is as the size of a mustard seed, take that step of faith – asking God to increase your faith through it.

God loves a cheerful giver –

  • a giver of blessings who is confident of blessings in return;
  • a giver who is content even under severe danger, persecution, and difficulty;
  • a giver who receives God’s grace today and is confident of all God’s grace in the future.

Will you be a cheerful giver?

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