The Promises of God

Our first promise today 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.”

What a wonderful promise this is, and it says positively that what we ask for Shall be given to us. But let us take note, there is a condition attached: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,” If we abide in God and His words abide in us, we are not going to ask for wealth, fame, or anything this world has to offer. We will ask for only those things which we are certain God would wish for us to have, We want His will to be done no matter what our own wishes may be. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). If we are abiding in God we are going to seek first the king­dom of God, and so we need not be concerned about the necessary things, be­cause they will be given to us, Let us be sure that we are meeting the conditions aid down by Christ, and we will receive whatsoever we ask, not perhaps, but will, and if we seek God’s will we now that whatever He gives us will be or our best good (Romans 8:28).

Our second promise is: ” , . . Ask and e shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).

We have just considered the verse that tells us that we will receive what we ask for if we abide in Christ. Now we are told that when we receive our joy will be full. Have you ever been so joyful that you couldn’t be any happier no mat­ter what happened? We hardly think that any of us ever has as long as we were in the world, But if we are doing God’s will there are times when our joy really does flow over, and nothing could be ad­ded to make us any more joyful. So let us ask, abiding in Him, receive, and then be joyful, because we have received. This is God’s promise to us, and let us appro­priate it to ourselves.

Our third promise is found in John 16:27: “The Father Himself loveth you . . .”. If Almighty God loves us what more could we ask from this life? God’s love not like human love; it does not vanish if we have done something that we shouldn’t do, it does not fail us in time of trouble as a human being’s love often does. Even our best friend might turn against us. It doesn’t usually happen, but it could. But God will never turn against us, unless, of course, we deli­berately turn our backs on Him; then we are no longer His children. But as long as we are His children, no matter what we de, if we are sorry for our failures and ask forgiveness, it is forthcoming, and what is more, unlike an earthly friend, He is always with us no matter where we go. A human being can’t al­ways be with us, but God can. “He is closer than breathing, nearer than hands or feet.” Is there anything in this world that could take the place of this marvelous, enduring love? There isn’t. A friend may, and often does pass away before us, and we are left alone, but God and Christ are always there. Let us hold fast to this promise when our hearts are breaking, when we feel desolate and alone, when there seems to be no end to our troubles and sorrow, Bless His Name, He always loves and cares for us!

Our fourth 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 the called according to his purpose.” This text has been previously discussed, but there is so much in it, we can go over it again and again and profit by so doing. We must not stop at the end of the phrase, “to them that love God,” People may think that they love God, but do not actually do so. If you love your mother, your sis­ter or a friend dearly, you do not stop to quibble about something they may ask you to do, You know they would not ask it if they did not have a good reason for doing so. And you love them enough not to question what they have asked of you, you do it even if it means trouble and sacrifice for you. People who just think they love God will not always do what He wants them to do. They prefer to do what they want to do, So all things do not always work together for their good. Now let us consider the words, “who are the called according to His pur­pose”, Who are the called and what is God’s purpose? The called are those who have made a covenant with Him by sac­rifice (Romans 12:1) and God’s purpose is to eventually make them co-heirs with Jesus when He reigns on the earth, Those who are called according to His purpose will not want to do anything except what God wants them to do. They will obey Him as they would a good earthly father, And when they do this, then all things do work together for their good— All things, not just some things. It may some­times seem to us that certain things are not working together for our good, but eventually we will see that they did do so, and be thankful that God is wiser than we, and that we can learn from Him, and trust Him to do what is best for us.

Our fifth promise is found in Romans 8:31: ” . . If God be for us who can be against us?” Have you ever stopped to really think about the mighty power in this verse? If God is for us, who in­deed can be against us? He was for Da­vid and he killed the great giant Goliath-with a pebble when he had successfully defied all the armies of Israel. God was for Elisha when the Assyrian army came to take him, and when the servant’s eyes were opened he saw a great army of an gels about Elisha, watching over him What earthly power could stand against this host? Yes, we are human, and our hearts ache and long for human friend and sympathy, and it seems sometime that everything and everybody are against us, Then let us remember this verse an apply it to ourselves, If God is for u what can mere mortals do?

Not long ago the author read the true story of a young woman who was beset by seven mobsters as she was going home At first she was terrified, then she remembered this verse and repeated it over an over, fully believing that God was right there and was for her, The mobster scattered, without knowing why they did it, and she went safely home, God has been for her because she fully believe that He would be, And likewise He will be for us if we trust Him and ask Him to be.

Our first promise today is found in Psalms 9:18: “The needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.”

It is a sad, but nevertheless true fact that, ever since Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden, the poor and needy have been forgotten most of the time by the major­ity of people. True, there is organized charity for the poor, but there is a saying that “charity is as cold as the grave,” and anyone who has experienced it knows that, unfortunately, this is usually true. Of course there are always some people who prefer to live on the “dole,” and will do almost anything and accept any kind of treatment rather than work to earn their daily bread. But for ambitious and independent people, to be forced by circumstances to live on charity, whether organized or otherwise, is a very bitter ex­perience. A poor man often dies for lack of an expensive operation that only the well-to-do can afford. A needy man is often put in prison for a crime he did not commit, because he lacks the means to employ a high-priced attorney, while, all too often, the criminal goes free.

Sometimes relatives, and often acquain­tances (not real friends) are inclined to “look down” upon the poor and needy, and this happens occasionally even among the people of God. Those with little of this world’s goods are at times made to feel that there isn’t much to live for, and life becomes a frustrating and monoto­nous round. But those who know God’s Truth need never feel desolate and alone. We do have something to live for, indeed we have much to live for, for we are (or should be) making ourselves ready for the glorious time when Christ shall come to take us to Himself. While we are waiting for this consummation of all our hopes, we can forget our own troubles, which often are nothing in comparison to those of others, and assist the poor, the needy and the sick, and say to them as did the Apos­tle Peter: “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee . . . ” (Acts 3:6). Yes, we can give them the most pre­cious thing in the world, the water of life that Jesus offered to the woman at the well (John 4:6-15), so that they need never thirst again. And even the most unevent­ful and uninteresting of our days may be transformed by living each moment as if the Lord were present with us, as indeed He is if we are living close to Him. Our own bodies may be tortured with pain that is hard to bear, but we can still serve Him, if we “cast all our care upon Him” (1st Peter 5:7), as He has told us to do. And perhaps our work in the Truth will be even more pleasing to Him, as our infirmities will keep us from becoming exalted and will make us kinder and more sympathetic than we otherwise would be.

We know that this is the time of op­pression, but Psalm 72 tells us that when Christ comes the poor and needy will no longer be oppressed. “He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor (verses 2, 4). He will “come down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth” (verse 6). How lovely the parched earth becomes after the refreshing showers, and thus will the entire world be when the Kingdom of God is set up and a righte­ous government once more established. “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing . . . ” (Isaiah 35: 1, 2). So let us look up to where the dawn is rising over Zion’s hills, and re­joice, for the end of these evil times is almost here.

Our second promise is found in Psalms 116:15: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

No-one, unless he is mentally ill, or suffering agonizing pain looks forward with joy to the time of death, for it is natural that mankind, even the incurably ill, should cling to life. The so-called Christians who speak rapturously of the “kingdom beyond the skies” to which they expect to go immediately after they die seem to forget the longed-for glory when the cold, uninviting grave yawns before them. They frantically call for the doctor to heal them and for the minister to pray for them that they may be spared to live for at least a few more years in this “vale of tears.” Even we, who know from the Scriptures that a terrible time of trouble is coming upon the earth, and that we could escape much of this by be­ing hidden away in death (to us just a temporary, peaceful sleep) seem to fear it, and hold tenaciously to what is left of life. But when the consoling fact sinks deep into our consciousness that the death of His saints is precious in the eyes of God, we should lose all fear of the “grim reaper,” as God has promised to be with us so that we will “fear no evil, as His rod and staff will comfort us” (Psalm 23: 4). How comforting indeed it is to know that God will be holding our hand and leading us gently through the dark valley, letting go only when we quietly fall asleep. Even then, He will not forget us, for we will be held in His heart and memory, and our names will be written in the Book of Life. So, if the death of the saints is precious in God’s sight, and He is with us every step of the way, let us have no further fear of it, but lean upon His everlasting arms.

Our third promise is found in Isaiah 58:11: “And the Lord shall guide thee continually.”

Here we are told that God will guide us, not part of the time, but all the time if we look to Him for guidance. How often we grope uncertainly in dense dark­ness, not knowing which way to turn. We have a decision to make, and a great deal depends upon this decision. Why go through a period of agonizing worry, when all we need do is ask God to guide us as He has promised to do? He has given us the assurance that He will guide us All the way.

The fourth promise is found in Mat­thew 18:20: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

This is a wonderful truth that we have not appreciated as we should. We do not need to be in a congregation of God’s people for Him to be there with us. James 5:14, 15 tells us that if we are sick to call for the elders of the church to pray for us, but in this text we have the con­solation of knowing that two or three elders or other saints gathered in His name will be just as powerful in prayer to bring about the desired results as a greater number would be. They need only pray, fervently, and with unshakable faith, and the Lord will hear them.

The fifth promise is found in John 8: 32: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

This is a promise, the fulfillment of which only the saints can know. We have, no doubt, groped through the confusing and conflicting mazes of Philosophy, The­osophy, Christian Science and Theology so called, endeavoring to find out about the truth of life, why we are here, where we came from, and where we are going. These subjects have puzzled the wise and mighty, and their various solutions, to use a much used phrase, “leave us cold.” But when we learn the truth about life and death, what a joy it is to us! No more wondering and puzzling about these things, we Know, and there are not very many who do. Let us be thankful every day of our lives that the Truth has made us free. It is a gift beyond all price.

The sixth promise is found in Proverbs 4:18: “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

Do we need to stumble along in the night as does the world? No, indeed we do not. The light from God’s Word is shining for us, revealing its precious truths, that we may walk thereby, and re­ceive help and comfort in these terrible times. And it shines more and more unto the perfect day when the Lord shall take over the world to reign. If we reverently seek the light, we shall find it, and the more we study and pray, the more shall be revealed. There are probably some Scriptures that we will never quite under­stand. But the great saving truths of the Bible have been revealed in such a way that we can thoroughly understand them, and the rest we can safely leave in God’s hands.

The seventh promise is found in Mat­thew 13-12: “Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.”

At first reading this may sound as if the men and women who somehow man­age to obtain the best things in life, regardless of the methods they use, will be given even more. That doesn’t seem fair at all, does it? But upon closer ex­amination we find that this does not refer to material things. It does refer to spiri­tual things. We may know but little about the Truth, but if we make use of this limited knowledge we shall “have,” and more abundance will be given to us, as this text has promised. The Truth is one thing that the more we give away, the more we will seem to possess. So let us give unstintingly of our time, our knowl­edge and our love to help others in this unhappy world, and in so doing, our own lives will be doubly blessed.