RESTING IN THE PROMISE OF GOD (II)

Resting on His Promises (II)

1. God loves us and this is in fact why He makes promises in the first place -- Out of love.

2. God has integrity. When He says a thing, He is bound to keep it.

3. God has the capacity to fulfill every promise He makes. That thing is within the reach of God.

 I sought the Lord [on the authority of His word], and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. Psalms 34:4 AMP

When it feels like God has given you a word and it is not coming to pass, what do you do? The Psalmist said "I sought the Lord on the authority of His word." On the authority I know exists inside of His word. I sought the Lord because I know He has integrity enough to keep to His part. I sought the Lord knowing that He has the capacity to do this thing for me. It is not beyond Him. But how did I seek Him? I took His word back to Him. This is what you have said. And this is who you are. And guess what happened?

The Psalmist got an answer

Now I want to ask us a question

Question: How many of us have received a promise from God before?

Ayodele: Me

Tobi: Me

Question: What is a promise?

Omololu: Well popular saying that. Promise is a debt

Ayodele: A commitment to do fulfill something. It's like swearing an oath

Anointing: A description of what is already in store for a designated time

From the definitions we all gave; When God makes a promise, He is committing Himself to do that thing. When God makes a promise to Oluremi, He is saying “Oluremi, I now owe you a debt” and God doesn't owe men, so He will pay. When God makes a promise, He is assuring that He will do something for you in a designated future. When God makes a promise, He is not just saying I will do, He is saying this is what is in store for a time to come and I am just telling you ahead. God's promise to you is not just wishful thinking.

It is not "I will like to do xyz for you". God's promise is Him telling you what is already in store, what is already attainable. It is Him assuring you Himself that this is in store for you so now walk by faith now that you know what is in store. Imagine my dad telling me “Tomorrow, we will go to Afefeyeye.” This is a promise. If tomorrow comes and he doesn't have money. We will not go to Afefeyeye again. And that's why I shared those 3 things first . When God promises a thing, provision has been made for it already.

Look at the promise of the Messiah. Lamb He was, there even from the beginning. Rest in this knowledge: God is not just trying to put together details to accomplish His promise to you. In fact, the only reason He promised is that He already made a provision. God's promise is your own access code to what is already designated. And here is the thing about God. God never over promises, neither does He underdeliver and I need us to have a mind-shift concerning this. Go back to every promise God has made to you. Just go over them and remind yourself that this is God telling you what He has prepared already.

Not what He will prepare. What He has prepared and set for a time.

Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who plants seed in the ground. 27 The seed begins to grow. It grows night and day. It doesn’t matter whether the man is sleeping or awake, the seed still grows. He doesn’t know how it happens. 28 Without any help the ground produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. 29 When the grain is ready, the man cuts it. This is the harvest time.” Mark 4:26-29 ERV

Here, we see Jesus use a parable to explain how the word works. God's word/promise is more of a verb. It is always working to produce a harvest. Whether the man is sleeping or awake, the word works. Whether we understand how it is working or not, the word works. So for every time we are faced with unanswered promises, the problem is not the word. The problem is never God or His promise. As I said earlier, all things were already concluded as at the time of the promise. God tells me He will heal me? Everything needed for me to be healed is already available as at the time of this promise. He is not just scrambling around trying to fulfill this healing promise. It was done already.

There is something I believe we've been missing as believers. When we receive a promise/word, we do so with excitement but we tend to forget the devil. It's like a vampire and blood (How many of us watch vampire movies?) [Spill blood on the floor and you will draw a vampire lurking out. Every time the enemy sniffs God's promise/word, he runs after it. If he didn't have your time before, he will have your time because of the word. He did it with Christ, and he will do it with you. If anyone preaches to you that the enemy will not try, they lie. When the promise of the Messiah came, the enemy through Herod killed so many people just to ensure that the world will not have a Messiah. The devil always follows the word.

After the death of Christ, the enemy remembered clearly that Christ said he'd rise after 3 days 

They said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘I will rise from death in three days.’ So give the order for the tomb to be guarded well for three days. His followers might come and try to steal the body. Then they could tell everyone that he has risen from death. That lie will be even worse than what they said about him before.” Matthew 27:63-64 ERV

You know the funny part? Jesus shared this a lot with His disciples and even they themselves did not remember. They were not even expecting Him to rise but you see the enemy, he keeps a record of such things. He follows the word hoping that he can in one way or the other cut it short.

Persecution will come because of that promise whether you like it or not or you gladly accept it or not because the enemy trails promises and words. He will follow it. If you pause and think of everyone with so great a destiny, you can agree with me that they all faced a lot of troubles. No, it is not God trying to test them to see if they are good enough for what He is set to do.

All of that trouble is usually the enemy hell-bent on them getting anywhere.

So what do we do, now that we have a promise, an enemy that has sniffed this promise and is now after it not being fulfilled?

1. Know the Promise

If the person fighting against the promise knows what God has promised you, how much more you the promise holder. Look at Israel, from generation to generation, they knew what God promised their father Abraham.

You have chosen them from all the peoples of the earth to be your own special people. Lord GOD, you promised to do that for us. You used your servant Moses to make that promise when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.” 1 Kings 8:53 ERV

This was Solomon at a time of need. He went back to what was promised centuries before. How Because he knew these promises. Israel had a way of passing down God's promises from generation to generation. So my first question for us is What has God promised you? Like I share with us, when teachings like this come, they are accompanied by a certain Graces. So here's an action point for you (I gave it as an assignment last week). Go back to your notes and write out all the promises God has made to you. Write out the instructions you got alongside them. Please don't joke with this word of instruction. Do it tonight. There are heavy pregnancies of testimonies in the air, just waiting for you to move so they be birth.

Write them out.

Read them to yourself 

This time around, in light of all that we have shared.

With the knowledge that the promise you received is an access code to what already exists for me.

Did He promise you a job? That promise is an access code to a job already provided for you in a designated time. Go over it all with this mindset.

2. Know the one who gives promises

This is exactly where we started from and it was important we did so. The promise giver is a promise keeper. 

Understand His person and nature. Remember the 3 things we shared:

- The promise giver promises out of love.

- The promise giver has integrity so He will keep His promises.

- The promise giver has the capacity to keep His promises.

Permit me to add one more; the promise giver has already kept His promise. You just need to access at the right time.

Start seeing God's promises as what has already happened.

Minister Dunsin says something; There are 2 days in the spirit. The day something happens and the day it manifests physically.

We celebrate the manifestation day physically but that's not when it happens. The promise is not just futuristic. It has already been attained, in Christ

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8 NKJV

When did Christ die? Was it from the beginning? But see what the bible says

The lamb was slain from the foundation of the world

Christ did not exactly die when we thought Christ died. The promise is a description of what is already!

Know the one who promised. Understand His person. It helps you navigate waiting times. When you know God, you will know that all things may pass but not His word. He can do what He has said He will do

So why will He not do it?

3. Put the promises in their right context

Some promises are conditional. There are promises that come with ifs. Know these promises and ensure that the ifs are done. See the ifs as the code. 

How many of us have seen my prayer/prophetic journal? It has a lock on it with a special code. If I promise to give you my journal, nothing inside of it can be accessed without my code so you will need the code. There are promises with such codes. Codes that we as humans will need to activate. Again, remember that God gives promises out of love. So He won't give you a promise with a code that you cannot access.

All that you need to access God's promise for you is already made available. Should there be an "if", know that the "if" is within your reach. Provision has been made for it too.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4 NKJV

Look at this scripture as an example. God will grant the desires of my heart but first I must delight myself in His word 

That is the prerequisite.

4. Don't be passive about the promise of God

You can't just sit back after receiving a promise. You can't be indifferent towards the promises you have received. Don't just live with the "if e happen, e happen" mindset. Some of us have not looked over God's promises for us in a while. We are just crying about things not happening. 

5. Promise in mouth, Faith in Heart

We see how much Faith you have in the way you talk about God's promise for you even when the devil is shouting to your face that it will not happen. And there is a plot twist I have found to this: The faith in your heart is also boosted by the promise not leaving your mouth.

but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. Hebrews 4:2b NKJV

The minute you exercise Faith to the word you receive, it becomes personal. Faith, even on days the enemy is showing you shege as regards that word

So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. Joshua 21:43 NKJV

The land was promised but access was by faith. They could only dwell in it after taking possession of it by faith.

that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. Hebrews 6:12-14 NKJV

Do not be sluggish. 

Don't allow the enemy to shortchange you. I like the verses that follow so much

There was nothing greater that God could drop as collateral than Himself

His name.

His word.

This is all the collateral you need. It is your certificate of ownership.

Not what is happening in your life. Not the situations opposing what has been promised. You have a certificate of ownership. God has sworn these things to you with the greatest oath binder.

God has sworn with himself! His word is enough. Why are you still wallowing in unbelief? Crying and living on the streets when you have a C of O. I feel like jolting someone from their sleep

Enough of that pity party jamboree. Stand up with your C of O in your hand

Are you not tired?

Stand up in Faith. Stand.

The enemy doesn't get to dictate to you the terms of this contract. Your faith is not dependent on the happenings of your life. It is on the word and word alone, even when it seems like it is all falling apart.

The word and the word alone.

The person that promised is Faithful. His word is the C of O you need

If Obama gives you C of O for land in the US and someone comes to tell you it is not yours, will you not fight them?

Will you not call them a liar? Will you not be willing to go to court with your C of O in hand?

Will you not fight back? So why are you allowing the enemy? Why are you letting him dictate terms for that which you already have a certificate of ownership? Why are you relinquishing your ownership? Because this is exactly what you are doing when you stop believing. 

You are saying this word is not mine anymore.

Why?

WHYYYY?

I say wake up.

Stand up. Stand in Faith!

6. War with the Word

Resting is not just inactivity.

It is trusting.

It is leaning.

It is a constant reminder of what you have received and who gave it and then it is going to war with it.

For the devil doesn't fight fair 

He plants weeds.

We take them out.

In Mark 4, Jesus spoke of 3 types of weeds the enemy plants:

Worrying

Desire for things not of God

The love of money

You see that worrying, I need you to see it as the enemy that it really is. It is an enemy the body of Christ has not clocked. The minute you start worrying over a word, weeds are being planted by the enemy. I am focusing on worries tonight cos God has pointed it out to me as a disguised enemy. Worrying and resting are 2 contrasting positions. If you find yourself worrying, it means only one thing, you are not resting inside of God's promises. God wants you to rest. Satan wants you to worry.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. John 14:1 NKJV

This is Jesus saying to someone here tonight. Let not your heart be troubled. Faith is a choice. Fear is also a choice. Fear pushes you to want to perform, to force God's hand concerning that word. God wants you to break free from that. Today, choose to rest! Tonight, I believe God is calling us all into Rest. Rest in His word and promises

And I see a strong, widespread activation of promises coming from here.