Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, September 12th. Do you ever wonder if there is anything that you can be absolutely sure of anymore? Well, today's podcast reassures us that God is trustworthy, reliable, and always keeps His Word. When the Bible speaks in terms of the ways of God, I want you to turn, if you will, to Psalm 103. And I want us to look at a few verses in this 103rd Psalm.
And let's think about something for a moment. And in this 103rd Psalm, listen to what he says, beginning in verse one. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits, who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, and who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion.
Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The Lord performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed. And then listen to this verse. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. It's important to distinguish between the two. What's the difference between the ways of God and the acts of God? The acts of God, for example, are those things that God does in your life and my life. The ways of God are the motivations for which He does it. It's His purpose, His plans, His thoughts, the way He operates in our life.
It's one thing to watch acts of God. It's something else to know why He does it. What is He thinking? How is He reasoning? Why does He allow this?
What's involved in this? What is He trying to say through this? What is the message He wants us to get? Many people do not walk in the ways of God for the simple reason they're ignorant of God's ways.
And it's my purpose in this message is to help us to begin understanding the ways of God. Why does He think the way He thinks? Why does He reason the way He reasons?
Why does He do the things that He does in our life that sometimes seem to have no real true meaning or purpose or plan? So, I want us to distinguish between two things here because God makes statements, that is, He makes declarations. And there are two kinds of declarations He makes. Number one are those declarations that are absolute declarations, statements that He makes of what He will do. If it's absolute, here's what it means. It means that God is going to do something absolutely and totally removed from any act on my part. If it's absolute and He says I will, that means He will. That is, God will do exactly what He says He will do. It's absolute.
Doesn't make any difference what the circumstances are. He will get it done. Then there are those conditional statements that He makes. When He says, for example, I will do thus and so if you do thus and so. There's some things I'm going to do no matter what.
I will. There are other things that He says I will do if. So, what I want you to see in this message is two or three things, but one thing primarily.
This is the message. God will do what He says He will do. God will keep His Word. When you take God seriously, here's what you're going to believe.
You're going to believe that He'll do what He says He'll do. Because when God says I will, with no exception, no conditions, you can bet your light that is exactly what's going to happen. When He says I will bless you if, and I will, listen, and I will bring judgment upon you if you disobey Me. The problem today is that we don't take God seriously.
My friend, listen carefully. When God makes a statement, you better take it seriously. God doesn't play games. He doesn't fool around. He doesn't say I suggest that you do so. No, will He ever say, well, I'm going to overlook that.
I'm going to forget that. God is a God of awesome love and blessing and joy and peace and contentment and everything our heart desires. But when He says thou shalt not, what does He mean?
When He says I will, what does He mean? That's exactly what He means. And so, there are a lot of people who sit in church week after week and listen to sermons and hear what God's Word says, walk right out and absolutely disobey God because what they're saying by their disobedience, I don't really believe that God will do that. God is a love. He's a God of love and goodness and mercy. And God just doesn't do things like that.
Yes, He does. Whatever He says He will do, He will do. If He says to you, this is the job I want you to take, trust me, it looks like you're not going to make as much money.
It looks like things are not going to go very well for you. When God says this is My will for your life, follow His will. Do what God says do because God will do what He says He will do. You can't wait till you understand it all. You can't wait till God gives you an explanation. If you'll think about this, there's not a single verse in the Scripture that says God will explain. He doesn't say that.
You know why? Because the truth is, listen, watch this. He wants us to trust Him, not just have to have proof. What I'm simply doing in these passages of Scripture is doing what?
I'm just giving you some proof that whatever God says He will do, He will do exactly what He says He will do, and He's not going to show up late somewhere. We read in the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy God's Word to the nation of Israel. He says, if you do the following things and keep My word, I will bless you in the following way. But if you do not, I will not bless you.
That's condition. When He spoke, for example, to Noah, that wasn't conditioned. He says, here's what I'm going to do. When He spoke to Moses, He didn't say, this is, it's conditioned upon this. He says, this is what I'm going to do. When He said to Abraham, not conditioned upon anything, this is what I'm going to do. To Joshua, it's not conditioned upon him, this is what I'm going to do.
You say, well now, wait a minute. God's never spoke to me that way. Listen very carefully. God is willing to speak to any single one of us if we'll listen to Him. Now watch, if we learn to listen, you have to learn to listen to the simple things that don't seem to be all that difficult to understand. Once you and I begin to listen to Him and be sensitive to Him, you may be surprised what He would say. So, I give you two instances in my life without any details necessarily.
One of them had to do with coming to Atlanta, which I did not want to do whatsoever. God says, here's what I'm going to do. He didn't say, if, and, or but, or except to me. He said, here's what I'm going to do.
And what happened is exactly what He said. Because the reason He didn't say, if you'd like to come, He knew I didn't want to come. So, He doesn't ask me any questions. He just said, here's what I'm going to do. The second time, He said, this is what I'm going to do. He didn't ask me any questions.
And I can see in both of those situations and circumstances, somebody says, well, do you think you had any choice in that? Since He didn't say, if, and, or but, no, I did not. You say, well, did He work against your will?
No, He did not. He caused my will to be willing to do exactly what He said because I knew that He had spoken and He didn't say, this is my plan, this is my purpose, you pray about it. He didn't ask me to pray about it. He said, here's what I'm going to do. Now, I prayed about it, but you know what I had to pray? God get my attitude right so that I'll do what He says do. I knew I had to do it.
There was not even any feeling that I had any choice in it. Here's what I'm going to do. Will God do the same in your life? If it's something, listen to this, if it's something crucial in your life that's going to affect your future in some fashion, some way, will He do that for you?
Yes, He will. He, listen, He's not partial. If I, when I think about the fact that if I had said, no, I'm not going to do that, God, forget it.
I'd never meet you, you'd never meet me, and I would have lost one of those wonderful opportunities in the world. If I had said the second time, well, I don't believe that, it's impossible, but He didn't ask me. He said, this is what I'm going to do. Ask yourself the question, have you learned to listen to the voice of God? And have you learned to listen with faith, believing Him, trusting Him, not arguing with Him? Have you learned to listen?
Have you learned to believe that God loves you enough, that He has the right to choose you? I mean, you look around and think there's so many other people who are so much more capable. That's not even the question. In fact, Moses didn't even think he could speak. He didn't even think he could talk. So, he had to have some kind of a problem.
Emphasize that. Look who he chose. He'd been a shepherd for forty years on the backside of the desert. God chose him.
He says, here's what I'm going to do. And the last place he wanted to go was back to Egypt because you know why he left. He left because he'd killed one of the Egyptian soldiers.
He was on the run for forty years, so to speak. God chose him. Don't underestimate what God will do in your life, but you've got to learn to listen and start obeying Him in the simple things.
If you want Him to speak to you in the crucial things, you have to learn the simple things. And I think God must smile when He sees all that He has in store for you and He's just waiting for you to say yes. But I think humanly speaking, He must be sad in His face, if we can put it in that way, when He sees you here and God has all that over here and He's saying, oh, if you could just see what I've got in store, if you'll just trust me, just, you're not going to.
Sad, sad, sad. Well, look at people in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew. This is a very significant passage because it's the first time Jesus lays out to His disciples the fact of what He says.
From this time forth, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, Lord, forbid it, God, this shall never happen to you. Now, how's that for an obedient follower?
This shall never happen to you. And so, Jesus said to Peter in that twenty-third verse, He turned and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan, you're a stumbling block to Me. You're not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's. Now, what makes this passage so important?
Look at this, if you will. Verse thirteen, Now when Jesus came to the district of Caesarea of Philippi, He was asking His disciples, Who do the people say that I am? The Son of Man. And they said, Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said to them, But who do you say that I am?
Now watch this, very significant. Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Now, there though, and watch this, Jesus said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it or be able to withstand the onslaught of the church.
Think about this. God's building His church upon this truth that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And what He said He will do is what He's done. He says the gates of hell will not be able to withstand the onslaught of the church. The church is not to be on the defensive, defensive, defensive. He says the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it. Well listen, because the church is going to move.
Now think about this for a moment. When does the church multiply the fastest? When does it grow the widest and the deepest?
When does it grow the widest and the deepest? In times of persecution. Well, that doesn't fit a loving God. I mean, you would think the church would grow when all the Christians are happy.
I will live in big homes, drive big cars, have big salaries, everybody loves everybody. That's when the church grows. No, the church grows the mightiest and the most powerful, becomes the most penetrating and impacting when there is persecution, hardship, death, and all the rest. Because you see, God doesn't do things the way we see them.
He knows exactly what He's doing. Somebody says, look what all these people lose. What happens when a person dies because of their faith?
They have this awesome reward because, listen, they're not a victim, but they are a victor in the time of persecution. Laying down their life for their faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not some other man. And so, when you look at Jesus Christ's life, what did He say? He says, yes, what's going to happen to me? He says, it's, I must go to Jerusalem, and He did. Suffer many things, and He did, from elders and chief priests. Be killed, He was crucified.
Raised on the third day, yes. And then here's what He said. So, all of that we see is true. Then He says, not only that, He said to His disciples, He said, I don't want you to be, feel like orphans. I'm going to send you a help of the Holy Spirit. When He comes, He'll be in you, with you, and upon you. He said also to them in Acts, that first chapter, He says, when the Spirit of truth comes, He says, the power of God will be upon you, to do what?
To share My name throughout the world. Did the Holy Spirit come? Yes, He did. Everything Jesus said will happen, did happen. Now, when God says, I will, He will. When He says, it's conditioned upon these things, it's conditioned upon these things. God wants us to learn to listen and obey and watch Him work in our life. All right, so how does that apply to me today? So, all those things happen in the past.
Well, for example, here's how it affects your life and my life. Jesus said through the Apostle Paul, if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That means if you're willing to acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ, that He is God. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord. Believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, that He's Lord. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. You will be alive, seated at the Father's right hand, listening to your prayer. You will be saved, conditioned upon our faith. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him, with several exceptions, if you will, is faithful and just, dependable. You can count on it. That's what that means in First John one, nine.
He says, for example, in His Word, over and over and over again. These are the things that are going to happen. I want you to turn to Revelation chapter twenty-two, because this is one that most people would say, there's no way that this is going to happen to me.
Look, if you will, in Revelation twenty-two. Now, it's all coming to a close. God's bringing it all to a close. Listen to this absolute, final, awesome assurance for all of us who believe this.
Listen to what He says. Talking about heaven now. Verse three, there will no longer be any curse, the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His bondservants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be in their foreheads. And there will be no longer, and at night they'll not have any need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them, and they will reign forever and ever. And as we sing it, hallelujah, hallelujah.
Amen? He says, you and I are going to reign with you. You say, well, now wait a minute. I never have done anything worth it. That's not the issue.
Well, what do I have to, there are no issues. When you and I get to heaven, we will reign with the Son of God. Now, somebody said, well, reign over whom? Mm-mm, reign with Him. For example, you and I don't have any idea how many more worlds there may be out there.
Galaxies and stars that we can't even, man can't even fathom what's out there in space. He says that you and I are going to reign with Him. You think about this, that He loves you and me so much that He's going to give us a position in heaven, whatever that may be.
The only thing I know about that is what the Bible says. Depends on how I've lived down here, how faithful I've been. Didn't say I'm going to reign whether I have or not. We will reign forever and ever with Him.
The position's not the important thing. The important thing is this. What He says He will do, He will do. What He promises to do, and the promise is unconditional, He will fulfill. Maybe you've never trusted Jesus as your Savior. And you can give me a lot of very convincing reasons why you don't really think He'll save you.
Listen, Jesus said, He that comes to me, I will in no wise cast him out. You see, what you don't understand is the awesome love of God. When He sent His only begotten Son to the cross, to be nailed there, stripped almost naked, and to die hanging upon the cross and two thieves, jeered, mocked, you name it.
That's the price. He loves you enough to pay that price that no matter how deep in sin you are, if you ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and ask Him to forgive you on the basis that His Son paid your sin debt in full, He will forgive you, clean up your life, make you a righteous person. One day you will reign with Him in heaven for all eternity.
Amen. Thank you for listening to part two of He Keeps His Word. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
