The Promises of God, Part 4: How to Claim a Promise

Key passage: Hebrews 10:34-36

Introduction

The Lord’s promises are expressions of His love and how He care for us.

Through them, He accomplishes His plans for our lives as well as His purposes for the kingdom of God. The Lord’s promises should be a vital part of our lives.

Sermon Points

God’s promises are essential to our daily lives as Christians.

To understand how to personally claim them, we must answer some vital questions:

Are all the promises in the Bible meant for us today? No, sometimes they only apply to specific people, times, or situations.
Who has a right to claim a promise from God? The Lord’s promises belong only to believers, with one exception. Unbelievers are free to claim His promise of salvation when they trust Jesus as their personal Savior.
Why does God promise us anything? The Lord makes promises because He loves us unconditionally and because He can reveal Himself in ways that display His awesome wisdom, power, and grace.
How can we know God will keep His promises? His character is our guarantee. Since He’s perfect, unchanging, constantly truthful, and all-powerful, He will keep His word.

When can we claim a promise?

We can do so when:

It fits a personal need He wants to fulfill. We can rely on the Lord’s commitment to teach us the way we should go because this promise fits our specific situations.
The context of the Scripture allows it. No one should pluck a promise from the Bible and claim it without considering its context.
Its fulfillment honors Him. We shouldn’t expect the Lord to answer selfish requests that don’t glorify Him.
It is consistent with His immediate will for our lives. There are situations when His timing and methods don’t match our expectations.
Its fulfillment is encouraging to others. When people around us see the fulfillment, they discover how faithful and good He is.
We are walking in His will. Choosing to live obediently gives us the privilege to claim His promises. We must ask in faith, believing He will do what He’s promised.
The Spirit of God confirms it. One of the Holy Spirit’s responsibilities is to reveal truth.
He gives us a sense of peace. Finally, we’ll know we have a right to stand confidently on our requests to God when there’s peace in our hearts that comes from knowing our requests fit who we are as children of God and that they are aligned with His Word.

Summary

God knows exactly when to fulfill every promise because His judgment is perfect. We must be patient and wait for His timing. If we do, God will always provide His best.

Copy Sermon Outline

Hebrews 10:34-36

34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.

35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

1 Kings 8:54-56

54 When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven.

55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

56 Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant.

Psalms 23:1

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Psalms 32:8

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

Psalms 34:17-19

17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Psalms 37:4

4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Isaiah 59:1-2

1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.

2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

Matthew 7:7

7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Luke 11:9

9 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Romans 10:9

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Hebrews 13:5

5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

James 1:5-6

5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 5:14-15

14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

Aired On 11 Oct 2015

How to Claim a Promise

In this message, Dr. Stanley discusses the discomfort we feel in our spirits when we’re not in the will of the Lord. Our entire belief system is based on the promises of God, and we can trust Him to be faithful to keep them all. However, many people miss out because they neglect God and don’t take hold of the promises He has made to us.

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