“Heavenly Promises for Help on Earth” (Part 2)

Text:  2 Peter 1:1-4 (NIV) “… He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

Main Idea:  “God has given us heavenly promises for help on earth.”

As in a good suspense movie, God has written into our story a way of escape from the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  Not just escaping from something but escaping to the freedom, the fullness and vibrancy of the abundant life Jesus promised.  And the escape route is His promises.

Important context for understanding Promises.  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

• His ways are not just higher, they are infinitely better, and what a difference it would make in our daily lives if we could believe it.

Don’t be afraid to believe God for big things.  Just don’t believe it means He has to do things our way.

• Examples: Moses, Abraham,  Joseph, and others.  God did what He promised but not the way they expected.

We are wise to approach God’s promises with reverence for who He is.  God is faithful.  God is kind.  God is gracious.  God is generous.

Though He has often given us these things, God has not promised us…

• The job we want. The car we want. The health we want. The mate we want. The marriage we want. The children we want. The lifestyle we want. The number of years on this earth we want. The timetable we want.

Why does God want us to believe Him for things He may not give us?  Because He wants us to trust in Him – not in our requests.  The same way a parent wants a child to accept a “yes” or a “no.”  We don’t want our kids to equate our love for them with always saying “yes” to them.  Neither does God.

Four Categories of God’s Promises: position promises, provision promises, protection, promises and process promises.

1. Position Promises

These are promises that affirm our position in Christ.  They help us replace the evil one’s accusations with God’s affirmations.

Romans 8:1-4 (NIV) ¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…

• Your behavior can be defective. But in Christ you can never again be defective.

“How unutterably sweet is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows us completely.  No tale-barer can inform on us, no enemy can make an accusation stick; no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some hidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our characters can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us.”  A.W. Tozer

So when the evil tries to erode your confidence before God, say “Thank you Lord, that in You there is no condemnation: my position with you is eternally secure.” 

“Resist the devil and He will flee from you”  (James 4:7).

2. Provision Promises

These are promises regarding God supplying our needs.  When ends are not only not meeting they don’t even see each other.  Let this truth wash over you:

• “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25-34)
• “My God shall supply all your needs….” (Philippians 4:19)

When you’re feeling the chill of scarcity, thank God in prayer for these promises.

3. Protection Promises

Promises for when we just feel vulnerable.  Or the evil one just seems to be winning.

• “The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this day forth and forever” (Psalm 121:8).
• “He who began a good work in you will perfect until the day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Thank you Lord for you will protect me from the evil one and guard my going out and coming in.

4. Process Promises

Promises for when our lives feel like unattended chaos or when God feels distant or absent.  When we feel alone.

“Hear my prayer, O LORD, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping” (Psalm 39:12).

“When we spend time with the Lord, it does not always end in jubilation or even cheerfulness. Sometimes, no matter how mature we are, no matter what we say or what we pray, no matter what we meditate upon we remain in a fog. That is part of the faith journey – for all of us.

However, when we realize the Lord is with us in the fog and we trust Him to lead us out at His perfect time, it gives us hope. Furthermore, when it comes to growing closer to the Lord, the time with Him in the fog is as constructive and necessary as our times with Him in the sunshine. When we dare to believe He is using every spiritual condition to enrich and deepen our relationship with Himself, it gives us hope and sometimes hope can elevate to joy – even in the fog.” (From “Just a Moment with Pastor Dan Baty”)

“I will lead the blind by the way they do not know…” Isaiah 42:16.  Sometimes the Lord opens our eyes and sometimes He just leads us.

God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose”  (Romans 8:28).  That’s me and you – and it includes the fog.

The core of the message of Christianity is what Paul stated, 2 Timothy 1:12 “I know WHOM I have believed.”  Not, “I’ve got this all figured out.”   It’s often the messy process, the uncertainty, the wrestling that puts us in touch with the WHOM!

Conclusion:  Position – Provision – Protection – Process.  God has given us promises for each area.  When we claim them in faith and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit we experience heavenly support for our lives here on earth.