TEXT: 2 PETER 1:3-4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
We MUST obtain knowledge of Christ through His Word! We can see very well in the “light” because His Word generates light to show us the way. Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Promises! Promises! Promises! Have you ever made any to anyone? Did you follow through on them or were they just words? Has anyone made promise to you and didn’t follow through? Those words flow easily!
Many “promises” are made today, but it seems too few are kept. Look at the divorce rate. There are many not keeping their “promise”! Quite an indictment, don’t you think?
That word “promise” has become “cheap” in many people’s vocabulary. There’s nothing more aggravating than a broken “promise”. It brings feelings of disappointment and betrayal when someone promises to do something, and then doesn’t do it. They promise to be somewhere or take you somewhere and don’t show up.
It’s one thing when people try their hardest to fulfill their promise, but situations beyond their control prevent them from doing so. It’s quite another when they blow you off, and act like they forgot without explanations or letting you know that they couldn’t or wouldn’t!
It’s hard to trust someone who repeatedly issues out broken “promises” or doesn’t fulfill their commitment!
On the other hand, there’s nothing more powerful or satisfying than calling on someone whom you can trust and someone you can count on. When they say, “Yes, I will do it”, you can cash that check because the money is already in the bank! If they say, “I’ll pick you up at six o’clock”, be ready because they’re going to show up!
I’ve met someone who will not forget you, blow you off, abandon you, or let you down! He’s trustworthy and fulfills every promise that He makes! He’s indescribably delicious! He wears many titles: Creator, Almighty God, the Great I AM, the First and the Last, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the self-Existent God! Some of you might know Him as the Lily of the Valley, the bright and morning star! He’s Christ, the Anointed One!!!
This Great God doesn’t make promises He can’t keep!
What is a “promise”? Webster defines it as a declaration (statement or an announcement) that one will do or not do a specific thing. The synonyms for promise: word of honor; oath; pledge; vow; assurance.
When God gives you a “promise”, He says, “I do”! A promise from Him is something we must believe! Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
We might be living in a world of “broken promises”, but we can count on God! He is a “promise- keeping” God! Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Does He promise and not fulfill? His promises are not yes, and then no! They’re not, “I don’t know” or “maybe so”! 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are yea (meaning certain/true in the Greek) and in Him Amen (Hebrew/Greek – so be it; firm; trustworthy; sure; true). It’s already done!!! It’s fully accomplished!!!
Many of us are not operating to our fullest potential that God wants us to. He’s not interested in your religion! He never said, “Let us make man in our religion”! He said in Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image and after our likeness”. Verse 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. “Image” comes from the root word which means “imagination”, which is represented in the line of the Apostles as Bartholomew/ Nathaniel. Some of the synonyms for “imagination” are: originality; invention; creativeness; inspiration; mind’s eye. Understand here, I’m not talking about “physical sight”. I’m speaking in reference to “creative power”! The process of forming a “mental picture” of something not present, but you see it by faith! Artists see in their mind every picture before they put it on a canvas. It’s through their “imagination” that the formless takes form!
God made man (male and female) in His image so man could walk like He walks, talk like He talks, think with the mind of God, and create like He created! God made man so that he (male and female) could be like Him!!! It’s no doubt that God has given us the potential to walk in the fullness of Him! It all hinges on a “promise”! 1 John 4:17 As he is, so are we in this world! We’ve got to believe it!
What a “promise” does is to move us into position to prosper and perform the works of God in the earth as it is in heaven. That’s why they are called exceeding great and precious promises! (2 Peter 1:4). The power is in the “promise”!
Everything that Adam lost (dominion, power, ruling, reigning), Jesus came to restore! Matthew 18:11 The Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
We need power and dominion when we speak, pray, and believe that it’s bound to happen.
When a lifeguard swims out to rescue someone, it doesn’t mean the person is saved. He’s not saved until he gets back to his starting point! Its power and dominion we need to take over the creation! Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on (over) the earth!!
God gave us something He never gave Adam. He never gave Adam a “promise”! He told him (male and female), “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” Genesis 1:28. But the man “awdawm” (that the LORD God put into the Garden of Eden) fell in Genesis chapter 3! Yet God brought His creation back unto Himself through Jesus the Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
God told Noah and his sons “to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth” (Genesis 9:1-17).
In Genesis 17:6, God said to Abram, “I will make thee exceeding fruitful. I will make nations of thee and kings shall come out of thee”.
When God gives a promise, he’s going to make it happen. All you have to do is trust and believe! That’s His aim - to bring us back to the place of dominion and power. Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”. What things? He will add things such as houses, cars, money, and etc. God want us to have the best! When God has a plan for your life, He guarantees His own word. Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it”.
The Hebrew boys Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had knowledge of their God. When facing the fiery furnace in (Daniel 3:14-16); (vs 17-18) they told the king, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. They proclaimed it. How did they know? They had a “promise”! They knew God was with them! If you know God and His character, you know that no matter what the devil throws at you, you’re coming out!! Isaiah 43:2 When thou passes through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee! Daniel 3:27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them!!!
When you get into trouble, or things just aren’t going right, you are delivered according to your “knowledge”! It’s what you know that will deliver you! Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge.
When you are going through a situation and you know God is coming through for you, you can walk through hell with a gasoline jacket on and won’t be burned!!
What can the devil do with a child that is full of God’s “promises? That’s why God’s promises are called “exceeding great and precious” promises! When you get through by the power of God whipping that devil, it won’t even look like you’ve been in a fight!!! Somebody might walk up and ask, “Hey, are you still going through that”? Yell back and say, “God delivered me through that and I’m facing a new devil now, and he’s defeated as well”!!!!
Through these “God’s promises”, you will take on the very nature of God Himself!!!
Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all!
Our God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23:5).
How many have folks who don’t like you without a cause? You haven’t done anything to them and if you ask them why they don’t like you, they’ll say, “I don’t know, but it’s something”. That “something” that they don’t like is the Holy Ghost present within you! They see it but don’t recognize it! They call it “something”!
Mary got pregnant by a “promise” and not a man!! Her reaction was described in Luke 1:38 Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
We need to get pregnant with a “promise”! You will produce! You will give birth to a whole new world or new life according to God’s word! Isaiah 66:9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD. Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? Saith thy God.
God’s promises are powerful! All God’s promises in Him are “yea” and “Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20). This means that they shall be done; it’s going to happen; it is coming to pass! But you have got to do something! John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. (Vs 7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. How many of you have a need? Abide in Him! Get pregnant with a promise!
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
When adversities of life come your way, your life is intertwined with God! He will help you walk through it without sinking into a debilitating low! Why? Because of His promise! How many know this?
David was faced with a big problem (1 Samuel 17) - one that was bigger than he was! How many of you have faced some Goliath’s at some point in your life, and asked the question, “How am I going to get out of this”?
When we go through situations, God tests us on what we know, or what we think we know. You’re going to be tested! Don’t think you’re exempt! When you start getting God’s Word in you, you are going to be tested! James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations. (Vs 3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith, worketh patience.
You really don’t know the depth of your character until you see how you react under pressure. You’re good when all is going well, but can you still grin and bear it when the road gets rocky, when that giant stands up in front of you?
God desires to make us mature and perfect! Struggles come as opportunities for growth. Remember, God’s promise is, He will never leave us, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
David was a young teenager, a shepherd boy, sent to the battle line by his father to bring back news of his brothers. While there, he heard Goliath shouting daily defiance against Israel (1 Samuel 17), and great fear stirred within the men of Israel. (Vs 26) David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, “What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God”?
David volunteered to fight Goliath. As David approached the giant, the giant began to curse, hurl threats and insults at him. Can you understand that is what the devil does? He causes friction, puts pressure on you, causes fear, etc? That is what he will do until you let him know that he is trespassing! David had knowledge based on a “promise”! Psalm 23:4 Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Goliath was over 9 feet tall. His shadow was hitting the ground, and David was walking in Goliath’s shadow. The only visible weapon he had was a little sling shot. David knew that the power was not in the sling shot; he knew that power was in the “promise” of God! He knew that God had given him dominion! His mind and his mouth determined his destiny! David sought to take the head of the giant off of him!!
Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours. As David’s feet tread upon the valley he was saying, “This is my valley; God is walking with me. In me there is no fear. I don’t fear evil. I am the seed of Abraham”! He was reciting what he knew! He had read, retained, and recited the Word of God! He defeated Goliath and beheaded him with his own sword!! That’s what God wants from us - to become “head takers”!
How do we do it? By unleashing the power in God’s promises that He has given to us!!! He’s given us everything and equipped us with what we need to utilize His promises! 2 Peter 1:4 in relation to God’s promises “exceeding great” means exceedingly outstanding; and “precious” means that they are priced of such great value that a suitable price is hard to estimate. In other words, they are priceless!!
People of God know with a surety that whatever God had promised you, you can trust Him, and it shall surely come to pass!!
Hebrews 6:13 When God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying, I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise! GOD SAID IT AND THAT SETTLES IT!!!
Evangelist Brenda Hansley
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