Standing On His Promises

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King James Bible StudyAnd when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Sunday, January 17, 2021
Chapters: Genesis 16-18
Message: Standing On His Promises

Hello My Friend,

[Standing on the promises of Christ my King, Through eternal ages let his praises ring; Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, Standing on the promises of God.] Several things come to mind as I was reading these chapters about what God is telling us through them, trust, doubt, possibilities, patience, are to name a few. Then something stood out more than them all, it is something that Jesus said, [Mark 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.]

Believe it or not, God has a plan, a purpose, and a promise for you, and regardless of what it is, He will make it impossible for us to do on our own, and it will come to pass as long as long as we have no doubt in our heart. At the age of seventy-five, God promised Abram that He would make him a father of so many that it would be like trying to count the stars in the sky. Now, in his eighties, while he had the utmost faith in God, he could not help, but wonder where was this promise. Seeing his distress, and now in her seventies herself, Sarai came up with a plan, and that was for him to have a baby with another woman. She even chose the woman, it was not the wisest idea, but Abram went along with it, and it did not go well at all.

[Genesis 16:2-6 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.  3  And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.  4  And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.  5  And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.  6  But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.]

[I was despised in her eyes:] As soon as Hagar found out that she was pregnant, Hagar became arrogant about it, Sarai became envious, and that caused a great deal of strife between the two. Sarai became very harsh in dealing with Hagar, so harsh that she ran away, but for some reason God did not want her to leave, and sends her back to Sarai, [Genesis 16:9-12  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.  10  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.  11  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.  12  And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.]

[and shalt call his name Ishmael;] This is why our own will gets us into more trouble than we care to admit. Why did God even give her a son? Perhaps it was to show to Abram the importance of trusting His Word and not doubting it. Ishmael, as we know would become a nation, and we know them to be the Muslims. In fact, they too take pride in what happened here, as it being from God. What they fail to recognize is that God never said that He would bless and make a covenant with his lineage. In fact, God reconfirms that Sarai will have a baby, and gave them both new names to prove it. It would actually be another thirteen years that God would speak to Abram concerning this, he is now ninety-nine years old.

[Genesis 17:1-2,5,15-17  And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.  2  And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.  5  Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 15  And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.  16  And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.  17  Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?]

[Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed,] I even laughed when I read this at the expression that Abraham must have had when God told him that Sarah was going to have a son. We are guilty of this as well, we laugh when God tells us that He is going to use us to do something that is practically impossible to do on our own. We even question God about it, which is what Abraham did, [Genesis 17:18-21  And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!  19  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.  20  And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.  21  But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.]

[O that Ishmael might live before thee!] “What? Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? Are you sure it is not Ismael?” This is exactly what Abraham was saying to God when He told him that Sarah would have a son, but God reminds him once again that His covenant with Him is not with Ishmael, and that it will be with the son he has with Sarah, and even tells him what his name will be. God makes things happen, it may take days, weeks, months, or like Abraham, twenty-five years for Him to fulfill the promises He makes to us, but He never goes back on His promises. Quite often, the reason God makes us wait so long is that we get in the way of His plan and try to rush Him along by doing these ridiculous things. Why do you think God waits until it looks impossible? God wants us to live by faith in what He can do for us, not what we can do for ourselves. Now, God returns to discuss the matter one last time, this time He does not just talk to him, He appears to him.

[Genesis 18:1-3,8-10  And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;  2  And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,  3  And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 8  And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.  9  And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.  10  And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.]

[and they did eat.] God just does not want to be the one that we come to in our distress or to ask for Him to grant our requests, He wants to be with us to be inviting, to sit with Him, talk with Him, and enjoy a meal with Him. The more time we spend with God the stronger our faith becomes, and we will not laugh whenever God tells us that He is going to do something that is impossible. Sarah too, when she heard that she was going to have a baby, laughed at the thought, [Genesis 18:12-14  Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?  13  And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?  14  Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.]

[Is any thing too hard for the LORD?] How many times have we heard this throughout the Bible? Even Jesus quoted it. Sometimes we forget how big God is, what is absolutely impossible for us is always possible with God. We do not need to figure out why or how He does the things He does, we just need to trust Him, and have some patience in waiting for them, [Hebrews 10:35-36  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.]

Speaking of doing the will of God, hose men that were with the LORD, they were not just some companions of His, they were angels, and they were about to follow God’s command to send judgment upon Sodom. As they head out they converse with one another about where they were going, turning toward Sodom, Abraham knew that Lot was there, and what they were about to do. Abraham pleads with God if He would spare he city.

[Genesis 18:22-23,30-33  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.  23  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 30  And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.  31  And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.  32  And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.  33  And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.]

[And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.] This is exactly why God has not sent Jesus yet, He will not destroy the earth while the righteous are still here, and the righteous are those who are saved. One day, all the earth will be destroyed because of all the wicked sinners. We are going to star seeing cities, states, and even countries destroyed, and yes, if He destroyed Babylon, He will destroy every nation that is wicked. Nevertheless, God will give every soul the opportunity to come to Christ before He destroys one nation, [II Peter 3:9-10  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [Genesis 18:14  Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your promises, they are the hope of every soul who puts their faith and trust in Your Son, for truly we perish without them. Part of seeing those promises come to pass is waiting on You, You know exactly when we are ready to receive the things You promise as well as the things we are in need of. And as long as we keep standing on Your promises, and trust You, having no doubts in our heart, we will see them, and faster than we think. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your mercy, grace, and power to stay in Your will. Your patience to wait for Your timing and not try to rush You, Your discernment to keep from making foolish decisions that hinder You, and Your strength to stand firm on Your Word and not let anyone convince me to help You along by doing something against Your will. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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