The Promises of God

Our first promise today is found in 1st Thess. 5:24: “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

We are aware, of course, that God is always faithful, and we hope that He not only has called us, hut that He has chosen us (many are called, but few are chosen—Matthew 20:16). Since only a few are chosen, we may despair of ever becoming one of that number, and think it is useless for us to try. But what does this Scripture tell us? That He also will DO it. What does He mean by this statement? He seems to mean that He will do all that He has promised to do, exceedingly more abundantly than we

could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). It is God’s good pleasure to make all things work together for our good, and to ulti­mately bring us into the kingdom. Of course there is something that we must do. We must be completely consecrated, and live this consecration day by day in every little detail of our lives (Romans 12:1,2). “Oh,” we are apt to lament, “that is too difficult to accomplish, the standard is too high, I can never live up to it.” But, again, what does this Scrip­ture tell us? That He who calls us is faithful and will DO it. He knows that we are but dust, He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. What He does expect is that we strive for this perfection. ‘We are to put Him first in our lives. That means that we are to subordinate every thought ‘Ind wish to His will, and allow Him to lead and guide us in the way that He wishes us to go. Do we sacrifice as much as we should sacrifice? Let us see if we do.

Do we do without something we would like to have, and give what we have saved to some good cause? Or do we first pro­vide ourselves with beautiful homes, an expensive television set, lovely clothes, trips here and there, and whatever else our hearts may desire, and give God what we think we can afford of what is left? Do we sacrifice our time? Do we call upon the sick and afflicted, in hospitals, rest homes, prisons, and other places when there are other places we would prefer to go, and other things we would like to do? Are we consecrated to His will? Let us think this over very, very carefully, and if we are NOT putting God first in our lives, then we may be among those who are called, but not chosen. God will do His part, but we must do ours.

Our second promise is found in He­brews 6:19: “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.”

Hope is an anchor to which we can cling at all times. It will not fail us as earthly anchors do. If we are a spiritually minded New Creature, we can by faith look forward into the Most Holy, catch­ing glimpses of the glory and immortality beyond the flesh. We do sometimes have faint glimpses of this glory when at a gathering of devoted, sacrificing brethren and sisters. As we sing the beautiful an­thems, and listen to the prayers and ex­hortations of our brothers, we are exalted and uplifted and do by faith see some of the wonderful things that are prepared for us (2nd Corinthians 3:18). When we feel that we are falling, or about to fall, let us grasp this anchor of the soul, hold fast, and we will eventually reach our goal.

Our first promise today is found in 1st Corinthians 10:13: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

This verse has been considered before, but in the light of present day events, it has much more significance than at any previous time. It seems that every day there are more things to tempt and test us, and evil abounds on every side. Most of us are not persecuted physically as were the saints of old, but the tempta­tions of today are so subtle that if we are not very watchful we will not recog­nize them for what they are, and they may cause us to “miss the mark.”

The majority of worldly people think we are foolish if we speak of the Bible and the promises of God; atheists and many scientists pronounce the Bible “just another book”. The conditions in the world today cause many to doubt God’s omnipotence and love, and they seek the solace of alcohol, drugs and immorality. We must not let this happen to us or to anyone with whom we come in contact if we can help it. When we speak of Christ’s second coming, some of the “great minds” so called, tell us that the earth is just going through a certain phase caused by the moon or some other unlikely thing, and that everything will straighten out in due time. They think mankind is quite capable of straightening out conditions without the intervention of God.

Spirituality is at a low ebb, even among some of God’s children. One scarcely knows where to turn to find the dedication the apostles possessed, and the sin of the Laodicean church, lukewarm­ness and formality, is likely to overtake us unless we keep very close to God. Temptations are everywhere today, and some individuals are frustrated, irritated and tempted by one trial after another until it almost seems to be unbearable; and yet God has promised that there will be a way of escape from Every temp­tation, no matter how severe it may be. But we must recognize the way that is provided when it comes. We will know it is the right way if we pray, believe that it will be revealed to us, and then watch for it. Sometimes it will be nothing but an encouraging letter, a visit from a friend, or an invitation for a trip, but whatever it is it will be just what was needed at that time.

Our second promise is found in 2nd Corinthians 4:17: “For our light afflic­tion„ which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

Paul speaks of his trials as LIGHT afflictions. When we consider the terrible ordeals that this faithful apostle was called upon to endure, we might well reflect that if he could speak of THEM as light afflictions, we certainly should be able to think of ours as light, since our trials are nothing compared to his. In what way did Paul consider his afflictions light? In the sense that they were “but for a moment”, a moment only in com­parison to the “eternal weight of glory” which he knew would be his when his work was finished. When we think of eternity, can we not speak of our diffi­culties of seventy or so years as lasting “but a moment”? While the “eternal weight of glory” is promised to ALL the faithful saints, Paul seems to point out that if we are especially zealous in God’s work now we will come closer to Him in the future in the great work that will be given to us to do. Let us be patient; our “light afflictions” will not be for long; time is running out, and Christ will soon come.

Our third promise is found in 2nd Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul, as we know, was afflicted with a mysterious disease which several times he besought God to heal. But God, in His wisdom, did not heal Paul, but told him that His grace was sufficient, that His strength is made perfect in weakness.

God knew that even the most dedicated human beings are frail, and that if He granted Paul’s request he might glory in his own strength instead of in the strength that He would give him.

On the other hand, some of us might be inclined to feel that our seemingly many unavoidable mistakes and weak­nesses prove that we are not really God’s children. But God knows that we are but dust, and forgives those unintentional mistakes, causing us to realize that our strength comes from Him and is not our own. So, when we feel the weakest, let us turn to God and know that He will give us the desired strength and grace. Jesus told His disciples that they would even be given the words to speak in times of stress and temptation. Isn’t it wonder­ful that His grace is sufficient for us and that all we need to do is ask Him for it?

Our fourth promise is found in Philip­pians 1:16: “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Are we sometimes fearful that we will not be able to stand until the coming of Christ, or until our own days are ful­filled? Paul says that God who began a good work in us will perform it until the end, and we must believe that this is true. Of course we must be willing to let Christ work through us, and stay near Him always. If we do this, we need not worry about whether we will be good enough to be considered worthy to in­herit the kingdom. In our own strength we will never be good enough, but God puts Christ’s mantle of righteousness about us, and we will then be Accounted worthy in His sight. Let us be very certain that we are doing the best we possibly can do, and then have no fear about the outcome, for God has told us that He will perform the good work until the day of Jesus Christ.

Our fifth promise is found in Philip­pians 4:7: “And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

If ever there was a time in the history of the world when we needed peace, it is now. With almost the entire world in a state of war or upheavals of one kind or another, peace seems to be a thing that cannot be achieved. Riots, crime, drug addiction, murder, assault, rape, im­morality, every conceivable dreadful thing is taking its toll of mankind. We never know when the atom bomb is going to fall on us; when somebody is going to be assassinated, raped or robbed, even sometimes in broad daylight. We might ask, how can there be peace under such conditions? There can never be real peace on earth until Christ comes. What men call peace is merely a lull until the next terrible thing breaks out. But the saints possess a peace that “passes all under­standing.” How do they attain this peace? First, by the knowledge imparted to them from the Scriptures, so they know the meaning and purpose of all the trouble that is besetting the world. Second, by staying near to God and fol­lowing in the footsteps of our Lord. Third, by constant prayer, and turning their eyes away from the turbulence and violence in the earth to the Giver of all good and knowing that when this short period of trouble is over, we will have eternal peace. Just knowing and under­standing these things, and experiencing the love of God and His care for us will give us a peace that nobody else can understand. Do we have this peace? If not, then let us pray for it, refuse to be embroiled in the world’s turmoil, and, as citizens of the world to come, give our strength toward enlightening and helping others to understand the meaning of the world as it is today.

Our sixth promise is found in Philip­pians 4:13: “I can do all things through Thirst which strengtheneth me.”

This means strengthening physically, mentally and spiritually. Have we ever been so tired physically that we thought we could go on no longer? Then is the time we should remember that we can do all things through Christ, and in His strength perform the duties for that parti­cular day. Only one day at a time, re­member. He does not promise to give us strength for a week or a month, just one day, today. And it is always today, is it not? Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow hasn’t yet arrived. So Today, let us pray for strength and we will receive it. This means strength enough to resist Every temptation, strength to help our fellow-men, strength to carry on the work of the Lord until He comes or it is time for us to sleep. Do we have a very im­portant and seemingly impossible task to perform? Is it something we know the Lord would have us do? If it is, then we know that we can do it with the strength that God will give us. We can even be­come as “strong as a lion” in the face of any task or danger, and with confi­dence will be able to say, “I will not fear what man can do unto me.” From weak­ness to strength may be our experience if God gives it to us as He says He will.

The seventh promise is found in Phil­ippians 4:19: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

All our need! It is our Father who gives us this promise, and we can depend upon it, even if every dollar we have in the bank or elsewhere is taken from us. No matter what happens, we will have the necessities of life. He doesn’t say that He will supply everything that we may Want. We might want a number of things that would not be good for us, and that God, in His omnipotence, knows would harm rather than help us. We must remember that we brought nothing into this world and that we can take nothing out. We stand or fall before the Lord, not on the strength of the things we have or what we have accomplished in our own strength for our own pleasure, but on the strength of what we have done in the Lord’s work—the material and spiritual aid we have given to some of the suffering, unhappy people of the world who finally received the Truth be­cause we had lived it before them, and told them of the great things that God has prepared for those who love Him.

“Will there be any stars in our crown” asks the beautiful old song we have all heard. Well, will there be? That is a serious thing to think about. The above verse speaks of God’s riches in glory. What kind of riches should we have? The riches of a saint-like character; riches in what we have done for others; riches in the preaching of the Word of God—in other words Riches in Christ. Let us pray that we will have these riches always.