“When all you have is a Promise.”
Hebrews 10:35-36
King James Version
[Heb 10:35-36 KJV] 35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
New International Version
[Heb 10:35-36 NIV] 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
This morning I would like to preach a message that I believe the Lord has place on my heart.
The title of the message is “When all you have is a Promise.”
What do you do when you have a promise from God, but the situation is still the same?
What do you do when God has given you a promise, but it has been a while and it hasn’t happened yet?
What do you do when God has given you a promise, but people are telling you different?
I think it is in those times that you and I need to know a 2 things.
1. That whatever God has promised He is Able.
Tell your neighbor God is Able. Now tell them God is Magtig.
The Bible says in Jeremiah 32:17
[Jer 32:17 KJV] 17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, [and] there is nothing too hard for thee:
Jeremiah 32:27
[Jer 32:27 KJV] 27 Behold, I [am] the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
How many know that God can fulfill all His Promises?
God can do what He said He would do.
Can I hear an amen?
Now check this out, not only is God Able to fulfill His Promises.
2. He is Faithful to His Promises.
The Bible says in Number 23:19
[Num 23:19 KJV] 19 God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Tell your neighbor God is Faithful.
See It is good to have a promise and it is good to know the one who promised is able, but it is also good to know that one who promised is faithful.
Not only does God promise, not only is He able to fulfill that promise, but He is faithful to the promise.
That word faithful is important in this sentence and let me explain to you why.
See I can make you a promise and I can be able to fulfill that promise, but the challenge is will I follow through on that promise?
Will I be faithful to the promise?
Here is a quote: People with good intentions make promises. But people with good character keep them.”
Being faithful is important because the person who is promising not only needs to be able, but they also need to be faithful, in other words they need to follow through.
Let me give you an Example:
Lets say I make you a promise that I am going to pick you up for church.
I can have the ability to follow through on that promise such as having a car and petrol,
but the question is am I going to follow through on that promise and pick you up?
I can be able, but I also need to be faithful.
Being able and being faithful are two different things.
If I am able, I have the ability, but If I am faithful, I follow through.
How many times have you and I made promises, or we gave our word that we will do something, and we were able to do it, but we just did not follow through?
It is not that we didn’t have the ability to do it, we just didn’t do it.
Help us Lord.
That’s why it is good to know not only is God Able, but God is faithful.
Somebody say able.
Somebody say faithful.
It is hard to count on someone who is not faithful.
We can make the promise, we can be able to do the promise, but the most important part is do we follow through on the promise.
After a while you and I may stop depending on that person because you are not sure if they will do it, but God will always come through.
Weeelllllll.
God is not only Able to fulfill His Promises, but He is Faithful to fulfill His Promises.
Dankie Here…
If He said it, then He will do it.
We see the 3 factors in a promise coming to pass:
1 – Making the promise.
2 – Having the ability to fulfill the promise?
3 – Being faithful and following through on the promise?
God does all 3.
See not only does God promise, not only is He able to fulfill that promise but He will follow through on His Promises.
He is Faithful.
The Bible says in Hebrews 10:23
[Heb 10:23 KJV] 23 Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;)
Ok now that we know when God promises something that He is able, and He is faithful what shall we do when the promise hasn’t happened yet?
Maybe it is the promise of:
- Salvation for loved a one.
- Healing in our body
- Breakthrough in an area
- Financial Miracle
- Calling of God upon your life
- Dream to do something great for God.
What do we do when it has not happened yet?
Well, I have two examples for us this morning.
1. The walls of Jericho.
[Jos 6:1-4, 6 NIV]
1 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.
3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days.
4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ...
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it."
[Jos 6:7, 20 NIV] 7 And he ordered the army, "Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD." ...
20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.
All Joshua had was a promise from God.
He was told to march around the city and on the seventh day the walls would come down.
Now imagine how that must have felt.
You call an army together and you say ok this is how we are going to take the city.
Our battle plan is going to be to march around the city and not say anything, then on the seventh day we are going to shout.
Then when we shout the walls are going to come down.
Now I don’t read about any other battle being won this way.
So the people could have been like come on Joshua. We are going to march around the city and then the walls are going to come down.
Yea right, but Joshua knew that God was able and faithful.
Even though it hadn’t happened before, God was able and faithful.
I am not sure who is believing God for a promise that He has given you and maybe it hasn’t ever happened in your family before, but you know that God is able and faithful.
You have a dream and desire to start a business, but no one has done that in your family before, just keep on marching. God is able and God is faithful.
You have a dream and desire to be a teacher, and no one has ever done that in your family before, just keep on marching because God is able and faithful.
You have a dream and a desire to get a degree at that college or university, but no one in your family has done that before. Just keep marching because God is able and faithful.
God has given you a promise that you will be a pastor, a missionary, a pastor’s wife or an evangelist, but no one in your family has even been a pastor, pastors wife, missionary or an evangelist. Just keep on marching because God is Able, and God is Faithful.
The challenge is to keep on going forward, believing God and taking Him at His Word because He will come through.
Hebrews 10:35 – 36
Heb 10:35-36 NIV] 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
2. Noahs Ark.
[Gen 6:14-18 NIV]
14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.
God told Noah to build an ark because he wanted to save Noah’s family.
Noah had a word from God.
Noah took God at His Word and started working on the ark.
Now the rain didn’t come right away and Noah had to keep building for a while, but God’s Word came to pass.
3. Jesus told the disciples lets go to the other side:
[Mar 4:35-40 NIV]
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side."
36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
[Mar 5:1 NIV] 1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.
So to answer our question that we had at the beginning of the sermon.
What do you do when you have a promise from God, but the situation is still the same?
What do you do when God has given you a promise, but it has been a while and it hasn’t happened yet?
What do you do when God has given you a promise, and the situation is telling you different?
The challenge is to keep on walking, working and taking God at His Word and God will bring His Promise to pass.
- Keep on pushing you will get that degree.
- Keep on praying your son or daughter or family member will get saved.
- Keep on believing God you will own that business.
- Keep on working you will write that book, write that song, write that movie, produce that cd, or build that music studio.
- You will become that pastor.
- You will become that missionary.
- You will be all that God has called you to be.
Keep walking and working even if you don’t see a change yet. God is faithful to His promises.
