Confidence in God's Promises

This Sunday, we will continue are series called Faith, Hope and Luck. The first week, we talked about the dangers of circumstantial faith and the importance of having our faith anchored to the resurrection of Jesus.  The reason for this is if God never does another thing in your life, never answers another prayer, never heals another illness, never performs another miracle, we can still maintain faith in our God.  Why?  Because our faith is not based on God showing up in our lives or in our circumstances, instead, our faith in God is based on the reality that 2,000 years ago He sent His only Son, Jesus, to walk on the earth, live a perfect life, die on a cross, predict his own resurrection, which he fulfills, and then appears to over 500 people.  Our faith is based on the simple truth that God loves us.

Then last week, I gave you this definition for faith…..
 
Faith is confidence that God is who he says he is and that he will do everything he has promised to do. 
 
This simply means that we can, with confidence, bring all of our requests, all of our hurts, our doubts, our fears to God, knowing with absolute certainty that he can overcome any obstacle we place in front of him, but having the type of faith that trusts God to do His will……not ours!

This Sunday, we will unpack the second half of our definition for faith…..that God will do everything he has promised to do. Our focus will be on answering the question, "What has God promised to do?"

Take some time over the next two days to read Romans 8:28-39.  As Paul wraps up chapter 8, he writes with full apostolic authority, "For I am sure (or convinced)".  The verb is a Greek perfect tense, indicating that something occurred in the past with ongoing results to the present time.  He was convinced that nothing in life, or even our archenemy, death, can keep the love of Christ from us.  His own death and resurrection reveal His power over anything and everything that threatens us in the natural realm.  Furthermore, nothing in the supernatural realm, including angels and spiritual forces, can harm us.  God created all things, including everything in the supernatural realm, and He continues to rule over His universe.

Because God rules over everything in time and space, nothing can subvert His will, which is to bring His people to Himself, cleanse us of sin inside and out, shape us into the image of Christ, restore us to life, and allow us to enjoy "peace with God" forever!  Can I get an "AMEN!"

 Don't forget that tomorrow, Saturday, June 2nd from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, is a time for you to drop by the Fireside room and ask questions regarding the selling of our rental properties and the future direction of our church.   Then on Sunday, you will have the opportunity to cast your ballot on whether or not to sell these properties.

See you Sunday.

Pastor Doug