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Northwest Church of Christ 3904 38th Street NW Canton, Ohio 44718 330-492-5523 Fax: 330-493-7119 |
“Discovering God: Trust His Promises” |
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I. Introduction.
A. Want to start this lesson with a very basic statement of
truth: God always keeps His word.1. If He has given us a specific promise, we can be
fully assured He will fulfill it.2. That doesn’t mean it will always be according to
our timetable, but it will always be according to
what is right for us.3. Here is where many people become disillusioned
with God. They accept the idea that God is leading,
they trust Him, they walk closely with Him in faith,
and they believe He will do what He has promised.
But, time moves on, and nothing changes. Maybe,
if anything, their circumstances seem to move in an
opposite direction. And that creates the need for a
choice: stay true to God in faith, or allow them-
selves to be persuaded by thoughts of doubt and
defeat.B. Many of those we read about in God’s word, if they could
be here with us, today, might well give an understanding
nod to the idea that God is faithful to all His promises, but
doubts do arise when things don’t happen as we think they
should, or at the time we think they should.1. Abraham could say he had to wait for the
fulfillment of God’s promise that, from him, a
multitude of people would come, including the
Savior of the world through whom “. . . all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.”
(Genesis 12:3).2. Moses might tell us about a wait of forty years
before he was sent to speak to Pharaoh about the
plight of his Hebrew kinsmen in Egypt.3. Jesus’ disciples could tell us of their doubt and
discouragement when the one Peter identified
as “. . . the Christ, the son of the living God”
(Matthew 16:16) was arrested and executed and
left them without a leader and fearful of their own
lives and futures.C. From his prison cell the prophet Jeremiah clung to a single
thread of hope, that one day, God’s people would again be
free and released from captivity. God had promised this to
His people, but, now, both the kingdoms of Israel and
Judah were dominated by their enemies.1. All that Jeremiah and his contemporaries had was a
promise. Someday they, or their descendants,
would be free people once more.2. Through His prophet, Jeremiah, God had given
these people an insight into His ways, and a glimpse
of their future. Deliverance would come, based
upon their condition of obedience. (Read
Jeremiah 33:1-8).3. God gave Judah promises concerning future
blessings. But, the people did not recognize the
significance of what God was saying, and, so,
could not understand why their circumstances did
not change. Jeremiah, and the remnant of the
people with him, had to wait and to endure severe
treatment by their enemies before God’s promise
began to be fulfilled. But, God is true to His
promises, and, in time, people did return to
rebuild Jerusalem, just as God had said they would.- D. The first point on the matter of trusting God’s promises is
that we may have to wait for the promises to be fulfilled,
but they will be at some time, in some way. Our focus is
upon the present and our immediate needs. We don’t care
to sorrow, or suffer, even if it is part of our spiritual
maturation process. We want an answer now. We want
the promise fulfilled, now.1. God’s ways are not based upon what makes us
happy all the time. They are based on His
righteousness, His faithfulness, and His boundless
love for us.2. Even in the sorrowful and suffering periods of our
lives, He hears our prayers, He answers our prayers,
and He never leaves us.II. God’s Promises.
A. God’s promises come through two types of declarations:
absolute and conditional.1. Absolute declarations are statements God makes
concerning what He will do. There are those things
God will do, totally removed from any action, or
inaction, on our part. When God says “I will,” it is
a fact, it is done. No circumstances are an issue.
This recognizes the sovereignty of God – His
control over all things, His knowledge of the future.2. Conditional declarations tell us what God will do if
we are obedience to Him. You find such statements
in both the Old and New Testaments. The absolute
will of God, and the need for our obedient response
is a connecting thread through the entire Bible.B. An example of an absolute declaration, and of a principle
that is found throughout the Bible, is in Galatians 6:7;
(read). We shall bear the consequences of our actions, or
inactions, and, so is true physically in the world, we will
always “reap” more than we “sow.” As Hosea 8:7 puts it:
“They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind.”C. In John 6:35-40, you find both absolute and conditional
promises (re-read verses).1. When we know God, we believe, wholly and
completely, that He will do what He says He
will do.2. When God says, “I will bless you if you obey
Me,” He will do this. One of God’s desires is
to provide for us what we need, and even
beyond what we need. As He challenged Israel,
so He challenges us to put this desire to the test
by our obedience (read Malachi 3:10).D. When God says “I will punish evil in everlasting
judgment,” He will do this as well. People may hear the
truth of God’s word proclaimed many times, in a setting
such as this and elsewhere. They may read the truth
directly from the Bible. But, in continued disobedience to
God, they are saying, “I don’t believe God will punish me.
He is the God of love, goodness, and mercy. He doesn’t
want to see us separated from Him, forever.” To think this
is to not know God and to not believe He will do what He
says He will do.E. God’s promises remain true and faithful, whether we
believe them or not. But, what do we do when we know
God’s promises, but no signs of their fulfillment is
apparent, even long after the promise was given? The
answer to this question is simply, “Don’t give up.” Don’t
let doubt and discouragement become defeat.1. Take the example of Noah, in Genesis 6 (read verses 13-18). Noah represents an extreme case of
trusting in God’s promises. The ark he was told to build was not completed in a week, or a month, or even in a year. It took much more time, and effort, to construct such a large vessel as God had commanded Noah to build.2. Every sawing of the ax, every step of the construction by fitting the planks of gopher wood together, was a matter of faith. Every scoop of pitch that was applied was done because God had told Noah to do so. Once the ark was completed, it had to be filled with animals, and adequate provisions for survival.
3. Regardless of what others said, or thought, about him and what he was doing, Noah followed the course given to him by God. No doubt, Satan used the prolonged building and provisioning process to target Noah to become discouraged and even to halt what he was doing. But, Noah never did. The Bible says, “. . . Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis 7:5).
4. Just as God promised, rain began to fall and fell for forty days and nights (Genesis 7:12). Even after this deluge, Noah and his family had to wait longer before God’s promise of His covenant was fulfilled. It took another year for the flood to recede and to make it possible for Noah and his family to leave the ark.
5. While waiting for the promises of God, don’t give up. Genesis 8:1 reads, “Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing . . .” God will not forget us, either, or the promises made to us.
F. Throughout all the years of waiting, Noah:
1. Did not go to God constantly for an explanation as
to why certain things God had promised had not yet
happened. He just continued to obey God, and to
trust in God’s promises as truth.2. He did not debate with God over whether or not he
should do the work he’d been given. Noah knew he
was hardly prepared to take on such a monumental
job. There was no one else ready to step in and
finish the job should he fail to do so. There were,
no doubt, plenty of skeptics, and critics, to give him
no encouragement as he worked. No one, as far as
we know, offered to help Noah, nor did Noah ask
for anyone’s help. He kept on working for all those
years because he knew what God had both
commanded, and promised, he would do, God
would do. He had faith in God’s word.3. He did not become discouraged, despite the length
of time it took to complete the ark. He knew God
well enough to recognize that the Almighty would
do exactly what He said He’d do.G. Noah, nor anyone else, can be perfect or sinless. But Noah
“. . . found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8).
Why? Because he was willing to trust God and His
promises. He risked everything in his obedience to God.III. Conclusion.
A. We, too, need to learn to trust God. His promises are
reliable.B. When we trust God, we don’t have to have all the answers.
It takes a great burden off of us. (Burden as opposed to
responsibility).C. When we trust God, we trust in His perfect love. There is
no situation we face in life that He cannot handle. Obey
God because He is the Almighty. Love God because He
loves you. Wait upon Him, and He will always keep His
promises.