Promises

The Promises Of God

A few years ago I had to leave my home for a two-hour meeting.  As always, there was a major emotional meltdown with one of the boys I had just adopted. He begged to come with me, cried, pouted, threw a tantrum, screamed, and yelled. You name it …. he did it.  I did not give in, but I wondered: Why does he do this?

Again, I was only gone for a couple of hours, but you would have thought I was being led to a firing squad by the way he behaved. Finally, thirty minutes later, he was exhausted, apologized, hugged me, asked once more if he could go with me, and then asked me if I would promise him that I would come back. That was the issue. Whether I would come back for him.

My sons have on five occasions had their biological, step, or foster parents leave the house and never return. These boys have been fooled many times by officers from the Child Protective Services with the  promise that they would be taken back to their same home—-but never id. Being placed in five foster homes has broken their hearts and faith in the adult promises more than once, and they are hoping that I won’t break their hearts  again. It’s heartbreaking when you think about it.

When I returned home there was great happiness and excitement from the younger sons, but I would dare say that the youngest was waiting in great anticipation for my return. Such is his love, dependence, and need of me.  And he was seeing if I really do keep my promises since so many others in his life have not.

For the time being, my little sons look to me as the one that makes them feel safe, secure, protected, loved, and the one that will always love and look after them. Imagine their joy when they come to know the real source of security, purpose, promises-kept and love. I pray that they will come to Him soon —I am a poor surrogate.

But adults are also hesitant to trust others.  In my father’s time, it was just a hand-shake to consummate a contract.   When I first moved here I needed to borrow $100,000 from the local bank, and I walked into the bank, signed a note, and walked out with $100,000.  The banker trusted my promise to repay it. It was that easy.

But not today. We’ve learned to not trust people, especially folks that claim to be religious, with a promise. Can you imagine a politician making a campaign promise, and then guaranteeing you that he or she would resign from office, if they failed to keep their promise or promises?  I would vote for such a candidate!  But I’ve never a politician ever give us such a guarantee.

But the danger we face,  as a mere human, is to assume that our Creator is similar to us in our vices. I  mean, if I find reason, on occasions, to break a promise, what about God?  If anyone has justification to cancelling a promise, it would be God!  We don’t live right, we’re deceitful, we break our oaths to each other—-and even to God! So why  do expect Him to keep His promises? After all, we’re created “in His image”,  if we don’t keep promises, maybe that’s part of His divine image within us??  What if He does break His promise?  Who can stop Him?!  What consequence could possibly discourage God from changing His mind or reneging on a promise?

Here is what God Himself has said:“I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips” (Psalm 89:34). And in Numbers:, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind” (Num 23:19)“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations” (Deut 7:9) says “He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2nd Tim 2:13).

God is not like man—-praise God!!!  Man changes His mind, but God doesn’t break a promise—ever…only we do. The writer of Hebrews reflects on the certainty of God's promises, stating in Hebrews 6….”it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.”  Who would want to worship a God that changes His mind or lies? That would be no god at all.  A capricious, fickle, deceitful god is the one of Roman and Greek literature, as well as the god of the Muslim variety. But our God is holy and by definition incapable of sin!

My reason for all these comments about promises, is not to convict you about your broken vows or oaths, but to remind, that God is not like you and me. He WILL NOT, and CANNOT break His promises to us! That little, basic, divergence in how we see God, versus how we see even those we trust the most, will change your life.  Lovers break vows to each others—-parents break promises, to their shame and cowardice, to their children, and best friends lose friendship because one or the other breaks a promise. But God’s not like that!!!!

And this is all the backdrop for the message today—-the promises of God. He cannot break His promise. It would contract His nature and the very fabric of the universe would be undone! God cannot “sin”—-and He himself has pronounced breaking a promise as “sin”.  Did you get that?  There are some things can’t do!  He is all powerful, all knowing, etc. But He cannot contradict Himself or be other than is—-a holy, perfect, unchanging, promise-keeping, dependable being! In a word, He is ALL that is holy…..we are NOT.

So I find comfort, when the enemy tempts me to doubt, or give up, or fall headlong into depression about these promises from God.

First, when I wonder how I am going to make it, financially, with my family challenges, during a laborious and ever-changing business transition, of this promise: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”Philippians 4:19, NIV And He does if I surrender and choose to believe this!

Second: When you are walking obediently, the last thing Satan wants is for you to stay on the straight and narrow! Have you given up a bad habit?  Are you now filling your mind and body with things that pure and holy?  Are you rising early to seek Him? Are you now reading your Bible and listening more to praise and worship, and less to songs the have nothing to do with gold or noble themes?  Well, if you are doing those things, expect some immediate  attack, incredible temptations and longing to get back to your old habits and old life.  But here’s a promise to hold on to!  “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11 , NIV.Meditate upon this and believe it! His plans are for your GOOD!

Third: With all the crazy things happening in our nation this past week with Charlie Kirk, and being reminded of just how hated we are, as a nation, as we remember 9/11, and as you read about the disgust so many people, even in our nation’s capital, have for Christians and the traditional family, it’s easy to be afraid. Friends, we don’t belong here—-and it becomes more obvious each day that if you disagree, as Charlie Kirk did, some folks want you dead. But here this irrevocable promise of God: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10, NIV.  Charlie Kirk is basking in God’s glory right now, and I believe that Charlie’s death is going to unleash a spiritual lion in America—-and Europe as well.  God is going to uphold those that speak the truth of Jesus Christ!

Fourth:  As we live and walk in His promises, inexplicably, we still do the dumbest things! We know it’s wrong, but we will break promises, we will lose our tempers, we will harbor hateful thoughts, with certain folks, we will prefer to hold on to grudges, and so on. We are not the men—or women—we imagined we would be, and we wonder, perhaps, if we’re really born again!  We secretly fear that maybe He might not take us with Him to heaven because of something we forget to confess or a habit we keep returning to. So we live in fear!  But here’s a promise: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16, NIV.  We’re not saved because we become perfect, or we confess every sin we’ve ever committed.  No, it’s based upon the blood of Jesus and our humble acknowledgement of sin and His Lordship.”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”   1 John 1:9, NIV.   We are secure if we have confessed our broken nature—-that is we’re sinners—-and we choose, by faith, to believe that He is God’s Son, sent to die for us and resurrected to save us from death. Don’t let the deceiver try to suggest otherwise! Trust in God! Confess, believe, and let go!

Fifth, and finally, today: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV.   Today, more than ever, Christians need to heed these words!!  God has promised to forgive our nation, bless us, and heal us—but not by hatred, revenge, rage and anger—but by earnestly, sincerely, humbly admitting that He, and only He, can bring healing and restoration.  I knew very little about Charlie Kirk until he was killed, but from what I read, he believed the same as the author of these words from Chronicles. Only God can heal America….and Europe. And He will, if we humble ourselves before Him….pray….surrender to Him for deliverance….and turn our back on our  evil ways.   You can turn away from the sins of the wackos on the left, or the abominations of the godless communists, or the admonitions of those that are celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk!  But we can fall on our knees and believe that God will keep His promises—-if we merely humble ourselves and turn our back on the idiocy of what those opposed to God are saying and doing.

God is truth—Satan is the embodiment of a lie. Trust in God’s promises.

“God never made a promise that was too good to be true.”

– D.L. Moody