Having Faith in the Promises of God

“Having Faith in the Promises of God”

By Pastor Todd Powers

November 14, 2021

So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.

Romans 4:16-22 (NLT)

Many people hear about God’s goodness and all the things that God is making available to them, but they struggle with the ability to access those things. Through the cross of Christ and the precious blood of Jesus, he has made available to us every promise in God’s word.

Faith is the key to accessing everything that God has promised us in his word. Whatever promise we are standing on, faith is the key to unlocking it. Abraham believed, even though God’s promises seemed utterly impossible. Because Abraham believed, he experienced the manifestation of God’s promises in his life. Sometimes when we examine the promises of God’s word for our own lives, it can look wholly impossible.

In scripture, we see the connection between promises and faith, and then between promise and belief. To define faith simply, it means to trust. Faith is when we trust God. If anyone is trustworthy, God is. He wants us to lean on him for our finances, family relationships, promotions, and whatever else significant is going on in our lives. God wants us to trust him and lean on his promises. We must believe that if he said he would do it, then he will do it.

Faith means simply believing God. It is believing that God will do whatever he said he would do concerning a particular area. The problem is that many people do not know what God said he would do. The more we study his Word, the more we discover thousands of promises that God has given us. As humans, sometimes we promise somebody something that we cannot give, but God is able and mighty to keep his word and fulfill his promises. Faith means trusting him to do what he said he would do.

Faith is the leaning of the whole human personality on God. It is not just our church side or spiritual side; it is the leaning of our entire selves on God in absolute trust. This is where God wants us to live, whether we are on the mountaintop or in the valley. It is a life where we completely lean on him. We should use Jesus as our foundation. We can rely on him for anything and everything. Faith is having confidence in God. We can have confidence in his wisdom and power. Faith is about working together with God and trusting him--leaning on him with confidence.

The best place that we can be is leaning on God. Hebrews 10:23 explains that we are blessed when we believe that the Lord will do what he says. God has prearranged beforehand all of the answers we will ever need. He has prearranged provision for every aspect of our lives, including who we are to marry. All that we will ever need already exists, and we can access what we need by having faith in God and his word. Faith is the key that unlocks and gives us access to God’s promises in our life.

We are not to live according to the world’s system; we are to live according to the Kingdom of God. We are to live by faith. Through Jesus Christ, God has made the full range of resources of his Kingdom available to us. He gave us the one thing necessary to access those resources, and that is faith. We cannot be followers of Jesus and have no faith. Jesus gave all of us a measure of faith.

The Gospel is a compilation of God’s covenant promises to us. God’s glory is the manifestation of God’s promises in our life. God defines his glory as his goodness. If we do not believe, we will not see God’s glory in our lives, but if we do believe, we will see the glory of God in every situation.

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

1. How have you seen God’s promises manifest in your life?

2. How have you operated in faith to access everything that God provided in his word?

3. How do you avoid living according to the world’s system?

4. Do you trust God to keep his promises when you operate in faith?