Standing on The Promise

Synopsis of Bible Study April 15, 2020

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III, D.Min.

2 Corinthians 1:20 KJV “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen,
to the glory of God through us.”

When you think about that, you wonder how many promises are found in God’s word. There are 3,573 promises found in the bile. The word promise itself is found over 50 times in god’s word.

1. WHAT DO THE PROMISES OF GOD REVEAL TO US ABOUT GOD?

A.      God’s Authority

Hebrews 6:13 NIV – “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself.”

1. When you go into court and you lay your hand on the bible, you are laying your hand on a greater authority.
2. We should never question God’s authority. God has the ultimate authority in the earth.
3. God’s Awareness
4. God knows everything we go through.

Hebrews 4:15 NIV – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”- Everything that you are going through, God has already experienced it.

Job 23:10-12 NIV – “10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. 11 My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. 12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”

C.      God’s Ability

1. God is able. God never makes a promise that he can’t back up.
   1. People will tell you things and never get around to it.

1 Samuel 9:16-18 NIV – “16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.” 17 When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.” 18 Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”- When God makes a promise, he has the authority to make things happen. He can navigate things to make what he wants happen.

1. BIBLICAL EXAMPLES – PEOPLE WHO RECEIVED A PROMISE

A.       Abraham

Genesis 15:1-7 NIV – “1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”- God made a promise to Abraham. Abraham did not realize that God had set things up on his behalf, because he was looking at his current circumstance.

B.     Noah

Genesis 9:8-15 NIV – “8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.”- God says to Noah, he didn’t save him for nothing.

1. God saved Noah for a purpose and he will save you for a purpose. The Covenant of Purpose is on your life is not just for you, it is for your children and your children’s children.
2. The covenant of survival is on your life and you will survive this season of uncertainty.

C.     David

2 Samuel 7:12-13 NIV – “12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever

1. A covenant is an agreement between two people. God says when he gives covenant, he doesn’t break covenants, therefore, He doesn’t make promises that he can’t back up, so when God makes a covenant, its binding.
2. Often the covenant isn’t broken by God, it is broken by us. If a promise doesn’t come to pass, you got to ask yourself, what have I done to hinder the promise, based on my lack of being faithful to the covenant.

• HOW THE ENEMY TRIES TO TURN A PROMISE INTO A LIE

A.    He Is The Father Of Lies

1. A snake is a snake. The enemy wants to distract us, but the devil is a liar.
2. You have to kill the lie. You have to refuse to believe that partying and hooking up is going to heal you from your pain. The devil likes to confuse you.

B.     Tries To Blind Your Mind

2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV – “The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”- The devil wants to blind your mind. There is nothing worse than having a mind that is blind, because this means that you are not receptive to the truth.

1. Once you expose your mind to Jesus Christ and his revelation, then you have a different perspective about your situation.

C.     Manipulates Scripture

Matthew 4:1-6 NIV – “1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”-  ­Satan is twisting scripture. This is one of the tactics of the enemy.

1. You have to be careful that you don’t allow people to twist Gods word. This will have you messed up.
2. You can’t use scripture to set up your own motive. This is demonic. There is nothing sound about walking out into the world and not taking precaution. People can twist the word in a manner that makes you think you can, but this is not sound.

D.     Attempts to Convince You That God Didn’t Mean What God Said

Genesis 3:1-7 NIV – “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”- Satan took God’s word and twisted it to make Eve believe that God didn’t mean it like He said it.

1. Satan wants to get you to a place where you start doubting the word of God.

1. WHAT DO THE PROMISES OF GOD PRODUCE IN OUR LIVES?
2. It produces Character. Doing the right thing even when wrong is done to you, speaks to your character. The struggle of character against sin and the reach for virtue.
3. Character emerges when we confront the enemy and our internal demons.
4. Character is those things that we do when no one is watching.
5. This is the true season that your true character shows up. Do you really believe what God told you or what you’ve telling people about? We don’t need spiritual supplements or drugs or alcohol. All we need is faith in God.
6. It produces Confidence. Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
7. The confidence I have is what God started in me and He will complete it. What God promised will happen in your lifetime. You will not die before it comes to pass.
8. It produces Consistency – God doesn’t waver. You can’t waver or be double minded. God is looking for consistency during these times. James 1:8 (NKJV) 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. – God can’t trust someone that is not consistent. You got to know stability and consistency is a biproduct of God.
9. It produces Clarity – Now you see clearer.
10. It helps us to Cope – When I stand on the promises of God, it helps me Cope with what I am dealing with. Psalm 37:6-10 (NKJV) ⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. ⁷ Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. ⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes ⁹ For evildoers shall be ^[a]cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. ¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. – The Psalmist is declaring that he can handle what others can’t.
11. Some people that don’t have the ability to cope, go to other sources in order to cope. We deal with whatever we are going through, because they can cope based on relationship with God.
12. In this season, our coping will be with our head lifted up.

1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO STAND ON THE PROMISES OF GOD?
2. When you don’t rely on self, you have spirit over mind.
   Proverbs 3:5 NIV – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;”- This means I can trust God when I can’t trace him.
3. Even your Pastor had to trust God. He or she has never pastored through a Pandemic. They don’t teach this in seminary. They have to just trust God.

Judges 7:7 NIV – “The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”– Gideon saw an enemy greater than him. Gideon had 1000 troops and God said he had too many. God made him downgrade to 300. Why is this? It is because, 1 + God is the majority.

1. Do you really trust God? God’s word doesn’t change even when your circumstances do.
2. God is the same yesterday today and forever.
3. When you look over all that has happened in history, how can you think God can’t get us through this?

Psalm 89:34 NIV – “I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.”- God says, I am not going to break my covenant. Every message that you have received, know that God will not break his covenant.

1 Peter 1:24-25 NIV – “24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.”- The grass withers and its flowers fade away, but not the word of God.

1. You trying to survive this season of uncertainty. God’s word will last forever. You’ve got to trust God’s word and promise like never before. His word will last forever ever. In this season learn to stand on his promise.