Our God of Promise - Part 2

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, May 12th. When someone says, I promise, how do you know if you can trust them? On today's podcast, learn about God who has both the character and the ability to always do what He says. As you think about promises that you have made in your life, have you made promises sort of nonchalantly?

Well, you can count on me, I'll be there though, and so and so and so. And then you didn't do it. And you said, well, they'll understand.

Maybe they didn't understand. One of the wonderful things about God, listen, He's never broken a promise. He's never forgotten a promise. Not a single one. So, let's just look at God for a moment. And I want us to look at four attributes of God, that is four characteristics of God. I want us to look at, for the many others, for example, there's the holiness of God, the justice of God, the righteousness of God, and all of these, but just four of His attributes. And because I want you to see, when you understand who He is and what His character is, and what that character means, and His ability, you have no reason to doubt the Word of God.

So, let's look at them for just a moment. And the first attribute that I want us to look at is this simple fact. Number one, God is truthful. That's one of His attributes. That means, listen, He's truthful all the time. He is the essence of truth. He only tells the truth. And He knows the truth about every single solitary thing there is to know in life.

And there are many things we could say about that. The second of those qualities is faithful. God is faithful. And in First Corinthians chapter one when Paul is just beginning his epistle, here's what he said. He said, God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with the Son Jesus Christ our Lord. He's a faithful God, which means He's trustworthy that He will do what He says He will do. And at no point in your life or mine has God ever proven to be unfaithful.

And I think about Abraham and Sarah, for example. Listen, God made them a promise. Twenty-five years went by before that became a fulfilled promise. And of course, you know, finally she laughed and I don't know what he felt.

He felt all kind of crazy things, I'm sure. And yet God did exactly what He promised. Here's the problem. We don't trust Him. We don't trust Him. And one of the reasons we don't trust Him is this.

Because He doesn't do it on our schedule. And He doesn't do it in a way we think it ought to be done. And He doesn't do it through the person we think it ought to be done through with this particular situation. And so, we doubt Him. Listen, you can't live with joy, peace and happiness in your life and confidence and assurance about anything if you say, well, God keeps most of His promises. Well, which ones? Well, God keeps His promises for certain people.

Well, which certain people? Listen, He is who He says He is or He is not. And if He is not, we're all hopeless and helpless. In fact, you'd fall in the same category that Paul said if Jesus Christ didn't rise from the dead, then what do we have?

We don't have any assurance about anything. He promised that He would. And He did.

Undeniably, He did. And he says He's coming back and He is. How do I know He is? Because all the Scriptures from beginning to end, there's not a single time He failed to keep His promise under any circumstance. He's a God who is God of truth and He's a God who is a God of faithfulness.

But there's a third thing. He is a God who is immutable. That is, He doesn't change. And He says, for example, in Malachi chapter three, verse six, that He's a God who does not change, doesn't change His mind. Now, certain things happen that are conditional and unconditional. If God says, here's what I'm going to do if you don't do thus and so or if you do thus and so, and so what happens? You violate His will or His purpose in some area and so He doesn't do it.

See, see that? God didn't keep His promise, so yes He did. It was a conditional promise, conditional on something that you do or do not do.

Now, that's a very, very important point. Because if you don't get that, you'll say, well God, here's what you said and you didn't do it. God makes these promises based on conditions that are for our good. If He made promises and just let me sin and just be disobedient to Him, that's not for my good. So, the conditions He lays down for us is for our good, because it's an expression of His love for us. And so, when we say that He is immutable, He doesn't change.

Watch this. You and I or the whole world can't force God to change His mind about anything. Because He's the God of truth. He's faithful to Himself as well as to us. He's immutable.

He doesn't change. But He's also a God of love. And in First John chapter four there, He speaks about being, that God is love. Now, one of the reasons you and I should believe in Him as far as His character is concerned, you say, well, how do I know whether God loves me or not? The cross is all the proof I need that He loves me.

And if He is willing to do that for me, I don't have any reason to doubt that He'll do all those things less than that. The cross is His ultimate expression of love. He kept that promise. He said, I'm going to the cross and I'm going to die for your sins.

And you're going to be forgiven of sin as a result of me being on the cross. Did He do what He promised to do? Yes. Do I have a reason to doubt Him? No, I do not.

It's His awesome love. So, think about this. When God makes a promise, He makes a promise that He's committed to. And you've heard me say this before, we are where we are today. Every single one of us, we are where we are today because of the way we've been thinking all these years. Yeah, but you don't know my circumstance.

No, I won't repeat it. It's because of the way we've been thinking all these years. Now, I'm not saying they're not influences that affect us. I understand that and God knows. We are where we are because the way we think.

In our relationship to God, we are where we are because the way we think. And if my thinking is, I trust Him. I believe He's who He says He is. I believe He'll do what He says He'll do. I believe He will do exactly what He says when He says, I will never leave you nor forsake you, period.

Watch this. For every single believer, you can bet your whole eternal future, I will never leave you nor forsake you, period. For an unbeliever, you don't have this promise. This is for believers only.

He said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Well, why's God letting me be in the mess I'm in? Well, because you chose to be there or you violated something or you're in the mess you're in because God has something fantastic in mind. And see, oftentimes we get in a difficult situation of pain and hurt and separation and sorrow and all the rest. And we think, well, God, where are you in the midst of all my pain and hurt? He's right where He says He'll be. Well, why don't you change this?

Watch this. Thank God He doesn't move at my beck and call. Because it may be that down here in this pain and suffering and hurt, something is going on inside of me that's so fantastic that I'm going to be so grateful to God in one of these days that He didn't let me out over there. So, we judge Him too quickly. He's a God who is absolutely faithful, absolutely truthful, never changing, and He's a God of absolute love. That has to do with His character. So, I can trust Him for His character.

You say, well, but can He? So, there are three other attributes of God I want us to look at and that's simply this. First of all, He is a God who is omniscient.

He knows every single solitary thing. And this passage in Hebrews, fourth chapter, listen to what He says, beginning in verse twelve, fourth chapter. For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are opened and laid bare, that means uncovered, to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Which means simply this, I can trust Him because I know He has this ability. Since He is omniscient and knows everything, He knows every single solitary thing involved in every single solitary decision you have. He knows what came before, what's going on now, and what's going to happen thereafter. Therefore, when you and I come to Him and He makes a promise, remember this, He's not making a promise by flipping a coin. He makes promises based on what? Based on His absolute, infinite, total, perfect knowledge of everything there is to know about you.

He can't make any mistakes. And I like to think of it this way, let's say you have a big parade and you're on the twelfth story of this building and you can see the parade from the beginning and the end. You see everything going on where everything is. That's the way God sees your life, beginning and end. And there's not any point in your life in which He does not have absolute, total, full, complete, comprehensive knowledge. So, there are no guesses. And so, God's not guessing. He's not trying to figure anything out. And He's not going to ever say, oops. He's not going to ever say, oh, I should have. Oh, I didn't think about that.

I forgot that. Perfect knowledge so that when you and I come to Him, we can trust Him. That whatever He tells us to do, remember this, that His command is based on absolute, perfect, complete knowledge. He's omniscient. Just think about this, when you come to Him about anything, He has complete knowledge.

No guessing work. And you know, when you come to the Heavenly Father, you're coming to the One who knows everything there is to know about you, things that nobody else will ever know. And He, listen, that means that He knows what's best for you in every single situation.

He knows exactly what's best. So, if I'm questioning Him, I'm questioning His knowledge. I'm questioning His understanding. I'm questioning if He has the power to correct whatever needs to be corrected or give me whatever I need.

That's the second thing. And that is that He's omnipresent. And what is His omnipresence? Well, you know the passage in the hundred and thirty-ninth Psalm.

Listen to what He says. He says, Oh Lord, You've searched me and known me. You know when I sit down, when I rise up. You understand my thoughts from afar. You scrutinize my path, my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways, even before there is a word on my tongue. Behold, O Lord, You know it all. Perfectly aware.

And listen to this. By omnipresence, I simply mean this. He's always there for you and me, no matter what. He's there in the fulfillment of every promise He's made.

He says what? The promise is, I will never forsake you. Never forsake you.

I will be with you to the end of this age. I mean, you name it, and Jesus is there. So, why should I trust Him? I can trust Him because of His character. I can trust Him because of His ability to fulfill everything He's promised. And then of course, there's this awesome reason for me to trust Him, and that is He's omnipotent. He has all power. It's not enough for Him to know what to do, but He has the power to make it true.

In that hundred and third Psalm, nineteenth verse, I quote it almost every Sunday. He has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. So, when it comes to God making promises, do I have to wonder about whether He can do it or not?

Absolutely not. In that seventeenth chapter of Genesis and the first verse, El Shaddai, that Hebrew name for God, means God Almighty. He has all power and all might. God's never faced anything that He'd have absolute control of. Do I always understand why He does what He does in certain situations? No, I don't. Is He in control?

Yes, He is. Watch this. If He's not in control, and I do this to people every once in a while, somebody will say, well, I don't know about so-and-so. And I say, let me ask, if God's not in control, who is? Are you in control of life? Oh, no. Is the devil in control of life? No. Well, if the devil's not and you're not, then who is?

Oh, I don't know. See, they can't admit the fact that God's in control because God isn't working things out in their life the way they think they ought to work. He is in absolute control of everything. He has your best interest in mind and heart because He's a God of love. He knows all things. He's a God of truth. He is faithful. He does not change. He knows it all.

He's with us and He has all power. Jeremiah chapter thirty-two, listen to this verse. Our Lord God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power, by your atstretched arm.

Nothing is too difficult for you. Now watch this. This is what we've just said. Every single promise God has made, you can absolutely rest with perfect assurance and no question He's going to fulfill His promise. Why? Because He only tells the truth. Because He's a faithful God. He's reliable and dependable.

And because He never changes His mind. He's a God of infinite love for us. He is absolutely omniscient, knows everything about us. He is with us every single moment.

Every split second He's there. And He has all power to execute any and every situation, circumstance that He chooses to do so because there is nothing that can limit the omnipotence of Almighty God. Do you realize how blessed you are? That this is our God. I think about all the other religions in the world. What kind of assurance do they have?

What real hope do they have? Our God is absolutely not only adequate and faithful, but always available for whatever you and I need to see us through it. That's who He is. Now, but there's one other thing I want to mention here and that is I do have responsibility and you have responsibility. And there are three requirements. First of all, I must be willing to be obedient to Him. Whatever He requires of me, I must be obedient to Him. And I just want to give you one passage because the Old Testament is full of these. And Exodus fifteen, he says in this twenty-sixth verse, if you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight and give ear to His commandments and keep all of His statutes, I will put none of these diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians, for I the Lord am your God.

Now, here's what you'll find. All through the Old Testament, here's what he says, if you will do thus and so, here's what I'll do. If you will do thus and so, here's what I'll do. If I'm expecting God to work out His will in my life and provide whatever need it may be, I must be obedient to Him. Over and over and over again, He says if, for example, the twenty-eighth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy has more promises from God than any other chapter in the Bible because it's just one promise after the other. But they are conditioned upon obedience. You remember He told them what they would find in the Promised Land? If you'll do what I'll tell you, here's what'll happen.

When they finally got in, they didn't do what He required of them and so they suffered and finally found themselves in deep trouble. So, we wonder why God doesn't fulfill His promise. He fulfills His promise, but if the promise is based on a condition, I have a part to play in that. So, ask yourself the question. If you've asked God about something and God hasn't provided it and you believe that the Word of God says He'll provide all your needs and you have a need, then ask yourself the question, is the issue with God that His character is such that He's not telling you the truth? No. Is it that He can't give you what you, no. Then there must be something within yourself that you need to deal with. One thing is obedience and second is faith.

Are you really and truly trusting Him for it? And the third thing is to do what? To claim it.

Now watch this. If I bring something to God and I really and truly don't, I just have some doubt about it, then I'm not going to claim it. And here's how I know I'm not claiming it. I ask Him to answer a particular petition and so, I'm driving the expressway and I'm concerned about it. Oh, I'm at home and I'm worried about it. And I'm thinking about it. I'm saying, God, here's what You promised. Then you know what? I've read it.

I've heard it. I know what He says, but I haven't claimed it for myself. When you claim the promise of God for yourself, you're not going to be a word and friend.

Why? Because, you know, He tells you the truth. He's not going to change. He's an awesome God of love. He's a God of faithfulness. He's omnipresent. He's omniscient. He's omnipotent.

Tell me why I should be complaining about it. It's a matter of do I believe Him? Do I believe that the God of the Bible is who He says He is, which means that He keeps every single promise.

He never fails to keep one. That's this God you and I have. On the basis of that, we should have a sense of peace and joy and contentment and fulfillment. Our lives ought to be fruitful and abundant in the work of the Lord.

Why? Because we serve this awesome God, listen, who has committed Himself to do what's best for us in every single circumstance of life, every single one. Thank you for listening to part two of Our God of Promise. We would also like to invite you to join us in celebrating 45 years of God's faithfulness. Stop by InTouch.org slash 45 years to learn more. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.