Notes from this week's podcast: Do you have a promise from God?

As Christians, there are times and it may be current times that we are standing on a promise -- something know that God has promised us, a promise from the Word of God. Currently, you may be standing on a promise, waiting for God to fulfill that promise and you become hopeless in the midst of it. Or you become doubting in the midst of it and things begin to spin out of control. 

What is a promise? A promise is a declaration. It's something that's spoken to you. When God speaks a promise to you from the Word (His Spirit speaking to your spirit), it binds God to bring it about. Many times, there's a problem with the promise: and that's when we try to help God. We got the promise. We understand it, believe it, and we are on the mountaintop. We try to naturally bring about that promise. And when we start to help God, we mess it up, many times. 

Sometimes the problem in the midst of a promise is that we miss a lot of blessings while God is bringing about the promise. I want to recall a promise from God in the Scripture in the life of Abraham and Sarah. 

God promised Abram a son -- your very own son will be your heir. That word "will" was very profound. In other words, it's going to happen. You can count on it. 

Instantly (in the next chapter), Sarai arranges a child with her maidservant Hagar. God, then, right after that changes the name from Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah. Why? Because He's going to give this promise, the child.

 God declares Himself to Abraham: I am God Almighty. It means: Abraham, you must learn that I am who I say I am and that when I say something, you can take it to the bank because I am the Almighty God and there is nothing that I cannot do. I can make possible even the impossible. I'm going to give you a son that's going to be between you and Sarah.

The promise from God required absolutely a divine intervention of the Almighty God. It was going to require something that Abraham himself in all his strength could not do. And Sarah, in all her beauty and all her womanhood, could not do. Scripture tells us: In Sarah, the way of the woman had ceased -- she was passed child-bearing age.

God wanted Abraham to know Him as the Almighty God. He wanted him to know Him for who He is. God brought life from a "worn out" woman. Unequivocally, no doubt that it was a divine intervention of God. Ishmael was not the promise. Why? Because Ishmael was the result of what man tried to do to bring about what God Himself could only do. As if to say: Now we've got the promise -- God has spoken the promise. Now, God, we don't need you. We can handle this. We'll make this happen. When God spoke the promise -- the spoken word from God -- it's what activated the supernatural power of God to bring it about. All Abraham, Sarah had to do was to believe it.

How do I handle a promise? How do I receive a promise?

(1) I see a purpose in a promise. It's not about just bringing something about. God has a purpose in the promise. A promise is to activate one's faith. We can lean into God, know who He is because He is true to His promise.

(2) I see a potential problem with a promise. When we step into, to work it out for ourselves, it then shifts from a supernatural thing to a natural thing that we try to bring about.

What is our right response to a promise? Ask: God, how do I respond? One way is through faith in what He said -- not by our works or reasoning or faith in our own strength. Take God at His Word.

What did Abraham do? He got the point. Abraham believed God and He counted it to him as righteousness. He believed God will do what He said He would do.

(3) I see there's a preparation for a promise. While we are living by faith for God to bring this promise, we are to keep the faith. When you start to doubt, stop and repeat the promise. Keep bringing that promise back before God. 

(4) While we are waiting in this preparation, there is much learning. We are simply to live righteous. The righteous shall live by faith. 

Sometimes, we're not spiritually ready to enjoy it or to see God in it. 

What does God want in this preparation? He wants us to get to know Him as He is going to show us that He is the Almighty God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall

Listening every moment to the Spirit's call

Resting in my Savior as my all in all

Standing on the promises of God

Scripture for further study: Genesis 15, 16, 17; Habbakuk 2:4 (Romans 1:17)