It's true, in our world today there are promise makers, promise claimers, promise breakers, and promise keepers.
How do you do with your promises? Trust is built in any relationship when we keep our word.. when we are careful about making promises.. when we keep our promises.
Recently in a survey done, 65% of the people surveyed said that they are promise keepers. Well good, but guess what.. God always keeps his promises. You can enjoy his forgiveness, His free salvation ..cuz of his Son and His promises.
It's been said that we always get an A when we grade our own paper so to speak. Do your friends say that you always keep your promises? Many politicians make promises. Some keep their promises and others just make more. You probably know who some of them are.
So about how many Bible promises are in the Bible, Kurt? One of my Bible School teachers told me there are a grand total of: 8,810 promises in the Bible. And about 85% of them are made by God to human beings cuz God loves us!
Isaiah has more than 1,000 promises in it says D. Jeremiah.
Which chapter has the most promises? Well, in Psalm 37 -- see how practically every verse is a promise. Here's a challenge for ya: Read through, and pray through the entire Bible with its good promises. Memorize some.
"Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed." Joshua 23:14
Some Bible promises were made to Israel. And many were made to Christians in Christ’s Church.
There are four promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Let's talk about em a bit.
1. God promises us his presence. Emanuel God with us -- we hear this name song in Christmas hymns. God came down to us here and became one of us. Sinless Jesus still has a physical human body and always will. God understands us and won't bail out on us. He sings over us believers, won't leave us -- His love never lets us go.
I love this name Hebron. it a peace from being face to face with God.
2. God promises us peace in the Prince of Peace. And on earth peace to men. Christ is still our peace. Jesus is my peace. He said, My peace I give to you.
We can be reconciled to God in Christ and enjoy His peace. I was at enmity with God, but Jesus came here to make peace with us.. to bring us into relationship with his Holy Father.
A Gallop survey on were people are at emotionally and mentally during this season in our Nation tells us this: The only group that didn't decline in emotion and mental health this year were the weekly churchgoers hearing God's word. Makes sense cuz of the promise of God -- we have peace in Jesus.
3. God promises us his power when we walk with Jesus -- his resurrection power and redeeming power. You have strength in Him. Promises thinking.
What is the number one Bible verse looked up in the in the YouVersion Bible app. It's this one. "Do not fear anything, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation.’" Isaiah 41:10 amp
God upholds you with His strong right hand.
4. God promises us his free forgiveness. Bible - "He shall save his people from their sins." Our greatest need is this Savior and his pardon.
in our world today there are all kinds of so-called Christians. nominal Christians -- they are not, but are merely religious. in 1st Corinthians the Apostle Paul talked about the natural man and this is who I'm talking about here. He also talked about the carnal man and the spiritual man. There are lukewarm, worldly, and carnal Christians who have one eye on the world to meet their needs and one eye on Christ to meet their needs. you and me want to be the spiritual man so to speak, be on fire growing Christian. To grow we need to obey and wisely apply the word of God. We need to desire the pure milk of the word -- that's how babies grow is on milk. I encourage you to pray everyday from the heart to read your Bible everyday and listen to the holy Spirit, to fellowship with other growing believers.. ideally in the context of a healthy Bible teaching local church. and from this healthy relationship to go out and share your faith with others who don't yet know Jesus in a personal way. the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit always keep their promises. It's good to know them and claim them by faith. It's good for us to keep all our promises too. Let's earn the right to be heard as we share the Good News.
In our world today there are those who are saved, and those who are unsaved, yes, the unregenerate (spiritually dead inside) and those who are born again spiritually in Christ. God's forgiveness is available to all of us sinners, if we will simply turn and trust his Son Jesus. I'm talking about repentance and saving Faith here.
Here's how not to fall away from the faith and not to hurt Christ in that way. With the holy fear of God, daily add to your faith virtue. The Bible says..
“Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ..” 2 Peter 1:4-8
Here’s 5 Steps How:
1. Fill your heart with the living word -- Jesus. Turn, trust, invite Christ in. Fall in love with Jesus, and be falling in love with Him over and over again. Pray earnestly.
2. Fill your minds with the Word of God. Be busy being filled up with the truth of Scriptures in your brain and heart.. Think of the Aramenes displacement rule. If you go in a full tub of water, the water will always rise up, flow out and make room.
3. Fill your routines with good Bible-based rules for you. Never be left alone with a woman other than his wife. Billy Graham made a rule. Not on an elevator alone with a woman. His hotel room was checked, There’s more temptation in our world than ever before. But people will think I’m radically old fashioned. Who cares?
A guy named Bob (not his real name) was really mad at God and said so, because he said he prayed he wouldn’t fall into adultery with a girl at work, but then he did.
Listen Bob, as I push this vase towards the edge of the table praying that God let it not fall off..CRASH..would it be weird to say. I’m mad at God.
Another businessman was tempted towards adultery at work but the lady wouldn’t go away. His pastor in California said, Go quit your job and find another job. He didn’t but fell. He hurts now and should have quit. I say fellowship upwards and outwards for accountability.
4. Fill your life with accountability.
I say, choose to love your faith-family and small group Bible study in an ongoing honest sort of way.
“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." Matt. 5:30 nkjv.
"And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Mat 5:29-30 nkjv
Sure, the Spirit’s first name is Holy! Now did Jesus mean the practical application should happen exactly like that? Probably not. Cut something important to you out.
5. Fill your fellowship with sinners open to turning and trusting Jesus. New baby believers revivalize, motivate, remind, sort of energize veteran believers. Gets you back to the basics of relationship and sowing.
David Jeremiah once said that in California, people go to church 2 out of 5 Sundays per month. I say go five out of five to a healthy church--that's much better for you. Go for fellowship and to worship. He'd say the same thing.
Let's be careful to study them in the Bible, and to keep our promises.
One man named Dr. Everek R. Storms of Ontario, in Canada spent a vast amount of time studying the promises of Scripture and he explained this to us:
2.) There are 991 instances of one person making a promise to another person.
4.) There are promises made by angels, most of them found in Luke.
5.) There are nine promises made by “that old liar, the devil.” (For example, his promise to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would fall down and worship him.)
6.) Two promises are made by an “evil spirit.”
7.) Two are made by God [to his] Son.
8.) Dr. Storms additionally found that one book of the Bible contains no promises at all—yep, that's Titus. Ephesians has only six promises. On the other hand, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel have over 1,000 promises each. What section of Scripture most impressed Dr. Storms?
And what’s the last promise found in the Bible (you know all of them of course are important)?
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” ~ Jesus, Revelation 22:7-21
He keeps His word. He does what He says He'll do! He's never missed even once (Blog).
“When our trials come, when we feel pain and suffering, when our tears flow again, it is our joy and comfort to lift our faces heavenward and to go on, standing on the promises of God.” ― W. A. Criswell
