The Fulfillment Of A Promise

When we talk about the promises of God, the Bible is full of Promises. God has kept every promise, and He's made and He's never forgotten a single one. His promises come in two forms, they're either conditional, which means He makes a promise conditioned upon something that must happen or must not happen. And He makes an unconditional promise, which means He promises something is going to happen, and regardless of the circumstances, it will happen and cannot change. He's an awesome, loving God who desires to give us promises by which we are to live. And if you'll think about it for a moment, many people wonder why God doesn't answer their prayers.

One of the primary reasons is the fact they ask for things that are not the will of God; and secondly, they doubt. And one of the primary reasons people doubt God answering their petition is because they don't have any foundation for it. That is, they ask and it's a matter of feeling and hoping and wishing, but no foundation. If you're asking God to give you guidance in some area, or if it's something that you need in your life, you need to listen, to put a foundation that you can get anchored in that. You need to have a promise from God's Word.

I want to use one story, one event in the Old Testament, How does God answer prayer? How does He deal with His promises? We said sometimes He has unconditional promises. We can see principle after principle in this scenario with Abraham. Let's start with the very beginning and I want you to turn to the twelfth chapter of Genesis. We read this passage before, but I want us to read this very clear promise that God gave to Abraham in these first few verses.

"Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” - Genesis 12:1-3.

And notice what is not here. He didn't say if. He said, “I will show you; I will make you; I will bless you.” All the families of the earth will be blessed.'" Here is an eight-fold, unconditional promise by God to Abraham.

Now what I want you to see is what happens in this man's life; because, a long period of time takes place before God fulfills all these promises. And one of the reasons we miss some of God's best blessings in our life is because His time schedule doesn't meet ours. And of course we see, here's a perfect example in this passage of scripture that shows us, between chapter twelve and twenty-two, what happens when people are not willing to wait for God's promises, when they take things in their own hands and what happens as a result.

I. God’s Promises are Clear:

So let's look at this and the first thing that the promises of God are stated clearly. God's promises are crystal clear. There's not a single hazy, shady kind of uncertain promise in the Word of God. So therefore, He's going to make it very, very clear. And there are many promises in the scripture, and many of these promises apply to you and me just like they did to Abraham.

You say, Well, I haven't been a Christian very long. That's not got anything to do with it. God doesn't change His principles, watch this carefully, He loves every single one of us unconditionally. That is, He wants the best for every single one of us. His promises include every single aspect of our life, because He has a purpose for your life. And sometimes people have the idea, Well, who am I and God doesn't have any purpose for my life. Yes He does. You're not listening to Him. He has a purpose and a plan for your life. He wants to accomplish something through you.

The first thing He does is He makes His promise very clear. But the second thing I want you to notice is this. And that is, with God's, listen, with His promises comes clear guidance. For example, if you're seeking His mind and heart about something and God says, Here's what I want you to do. God is never going to leave you to sort of figure it out for yourself. "Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land". - Genesis 12:6. Now, why is He saying this? Because He wanted him to follow a certain path.