Our first promise today is found in Luke 6 35, But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
This promise of being called the children of the Highest is a most wonderful one, but there ts a condition attached — we must love our enemies Now it is easy enough to love our friends, but to love our enemies is a difficult stipulation We cannot love them in the same way that we love our friends, and this is not what Christ means But we are to love them in the sense that we would do them no harm, but would do them good if the occasion should arise And we are not to expect anything in return from them, nor be disappointed or unhappy if they do not respond to our efforts to assist them, for this text tells us that God is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil To follow in the steps of Christ, we must also be forgiving and kind If we do this, and love them in the way that God loves them, then we shall indeed receive this great reward of being called the children of the Highest.
Our second promise is found in John 14 27, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you not as the world giveth, give I unto you Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
We note here that Jesus said that He would leave His peace with His disciples It was not to be the troubled peace that the world is supposed to give, but His special calm and quiet peace The nations do not know the meaning of real peace Atom bombs, submarines, planes and death dealing weapons of all types have, for a time, prevented a world war which would involve all nations But fear abounds everywhere, for people are dismayed by present day events, and fear that eventually something will happen to bring about this dreaded holocaust, which of course we know is sure to hap pen.
As for individual peace, do you know of anyone outside of God s faithful people who possess it? The people of the world may have beautiful homes, money, may travel to far places, possess the latest cars, and have all that this world can give them But do they have peace? They do not They know that at any time they may lose any or all of these things, that they may meet with accidents, or be stricken with Incurable disease When this happens, the world in which they trusted cannot save them Pomp, position, fame, are all uncertain, they may be en joyed today, and gone tomorrow But the peace that the Lord gives His people will remain with them as long as they are His They may, and most likely will have trouble, distress, illness, and even live in what the world today calls object poverty But in the midst of all this they can and do possess the peace that passeth all understanding (Philippians 4 7) They realize that all things are fleeting, and that if they are faithful, in the end God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, that there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, crying nor pain, for the former things are passed Away (Revelation 21 4) If we think on these things, our hearts need never be troubled, and we need never be afraid.
The third promise is found in John 15 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and It shall be done unto you.
This verse informs us that we can ask what we will and it will be done un to us But let us note, this will be only if we abide in him and his words abide in us If we abide in Him, as we have said so often before, we ire not going to ask for anything that is not in harmony with His will Vast worldly possessions, except in a few in stances, are not His will for us We should always pray for the indwelling of Christ s spirit, and that He will keep us close to Him, and give us meekness, humility and love for God and the brethren These things we will be certain to receive if we ardently desire them, and Jesus tells in Luke 12:31 and in other places that if we seek the kingdom of God first, all Necessary things will be added. Let us be content with whatever He sees best to give us, and use our one talent, or our many talents as the case may be, to His honor and glory.
The fourth promise is found in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Here again Jesus speaks of peace. We can have peace by understanding God’s Word and letting Him have His way with us. True, we may have tribulation, but listen to what our Lord says: “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” If He has overcome the world, then in Him we may overcome it, too. And in the overcoming, we will know the real meaning of peace.
The fifth promise is found in Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”
Here is a very comforting promise for us to call to mind in the midst of our trials and afflictions. All things, not just some things, Work together for good to them that love God, I and are called according to his purpose. His purpose, as we know, is to call out and prepare a body of saints, who, with Christ, will be kings and priests, and the future rulers of the world. For these sons of God, All Things work together for good. So, when we feel that we have reached the end of our endurance, let us remember that God is working out His purpose in us; that we Must go through tribulation and be polished as the rough diamond is polished before we can shine forth in our future glory. “For our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding weight of glory” 2nd Corinthians 4:17). This little span of life is but a drop in the ocean of the Great Eternal, and its few years pass like a dream. We look forward eagerly to a trip or something else we have desired, and before we know it, it has come, gone, and is now in the past. Let us hold fast to the one thing that is future and worth striving for, the Truth of God which is Not transitory, but everlasting, and in God’s due time we shall receive our reward of immortal life.
The sixth promise is found in Romans 8:31: “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
This promise is closely related to the fifth. Let us consider particularly the last part of this verse: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” We call to mind the stories in the Old Testament where God was FOR the Israelites and led them to victory as long as they obeyed and served Him. He was Against them when they sinned and disobeyed Him, and their enemies conquered them. Sometimes we voluntarily cut ourselves off from this promise by sin or by lack of faith and unbelief. The main thing is to be sure that God is FOR us. He is only for those who love Him, who seek Him in prayer, and obey implicitly the commandments that are given in the Holy Scriptures. If we fulfill these requirements, then we can fearlessly face our foes as did David when he defeated the giant Goliath whom the strongest of the Israelites had not dared defy. He discarded the armor the king had given him, and went forth in God’s name and strength to meet the enemy with nothing but five stones and a sling. Because David trusted God, God was For him, and in like manner if He is for us, who or what can be against us?
The seventh promise is found in Romans 8:38, 39: “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
These amazing verses cover every situation that might arise. Death cannot separate us from the love of God, because He goes with us even there (Psalms 23:4). Life, with all its sorrows and perplexities, need not alienate us, for He has invited us to cast our burdens upon Him (Psalms 55:22). Angels will never come between us, for they are commissioned to watch over and deliver us in time of trial (Psalms 34:7). Principalities and powers, regardless of how corrupt and mighty they may be, can never estrange us from God’s love, for the most they can do is kill the body (Luke 12:4). It is impossible for things present, regardless of their frustration and discouragement to keep us from God if we ask Him to be with us. We know that things to come will unite us, for His followers will some day be ever present with Him. Neither height nor depth can keep us from Him. We may be miles in the air in the most powerful jet plane, or deep in the sea in a mighty submarine, but Jesus will take control, for He is “closer than hands or feet.” The words “Any other creature” in this text are comprehensive, and cover everything that has not been mentioned. So we can know with certainty that nothing except a complete repudiation of God can separate us from His love.
Let us take comfort in these precious promises, and soon all our trials will be over and we will stand among the redeemed when Christ comes to claim His own.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One