God's Conditional Promises

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Pastor James May

God’s Conditional Promises

1 Kings 9:1-9

A promise from God is a statement we can depend on with absolute confidence. The promises of God in the Bible are numerous and yet each has a condition attached that must be fulfilled if we are to reap the harvest of blessing that the promises offer.

Here are a few examples:

God’s presence -- "…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Hebrews 13:5, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

God’s power -- "…I will strengthen thee…I will help thee…"

Isaiah 41:10, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

God’s rest -- Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"

God’s wise plan for our good -- 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."

As you can see, each of these great promises carries with it a responsibility to be obedient and faithful. With every promise of great blessing, there comes also a responsibility and requirement for us.

In our scripture portion for this evening, we see that King Solomon has finally accomplished the task of completing the Temple in the City of Jerusalem just as God had directed that it should be built. Solomon had inherited this task from David and God was very pleased that the work had been completed.

1 Kings 9:1-3, "And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually."

1 Kings 9:4-5, "And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel."

In the life of every believer God has given instruction for us to yield our will to His will and to give our lives and our bodies as living sacrifices unto His service. In turn for our obedience, God moves into our heart and dwells there, making each of us the Temple of God.

God hears your cry and comes to your aid so that the Word of God is revealed to your mind and the Holy Spirit helps you to understand what course of action is needed in order to be obedient and faithful to what is revealed to your heart and mind.

As you grow in grace and become a faithful servant, God is pleased with your life and begins to move within you and to bring blessings upon your life.

Just as in the case of Solomon, if we maintain our attitude of faithfulness, then we can trust that God’s blessings will be established upon us. The blessing that God pours out on us is not just for us alone but God is so gracious that those blessings overflow from us onto our family and those around us. God equips us for the ministry that He would have us to do.