Live by the promises in God's Word.
God gives us many wonderful promises in His Word, but we often don't live by them. This leads us to think that God won't answer our prayers, and we doubt His desire to work in our lives. We end up asking for things that are not in His will and have no foundation in Scripture. If we want answers to our prayers, we need to ask God for things that are rooted in His Word.
Dr. Stanley explains how God taught him to trust in His Word and shares the scriptural principles that will also allow us to do so. For example:
- God's promises are stated clearly.
- God's guidance comes with His promises.
- Times for personal meditation and worship strengthen our faith in God's promises.
- Changing course from God's pathway indicates we doubt God's promises.
- God will renew His promises to us if we follow His will.
- Listening to ungodly or unwise counsel can cause us to ignore the promises of God and get out of His will.
- The fulfillment of God's promise may seem impossible when we view it only from our eyes, and it may require an action on our part that seems to be in opposition to His promises.
- The fulfillment of God's promises may require us to sacrifice something dear to us.
The foundation for our requests ought to be found in the promises of God. When we trust in His promises, our prayers will have strength, and we'll find the answers we seek.
Sermon Outline
THE FULFILLMENT OF A PROMISE
KEY PASSAGE: Genesis 12:1-3
SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE: Genesis 12:6-11 | Genesis 12:17-19 | Genesis 15:1-7 | Genesis 16:4 | Genesis 17:16-19 | Genesis 22:1-8 | Genesis 26:2 | Joshua 1:6 | Joshua 1:9 | Psalm 32:8 | Proverbs 3:5-6 | Isaiah 54:17 | Acts 16:31 | Romans 10:9 | 1 John 5:14-15
SUMMARY
The Bible is an amazing record of God’s promises.
We can study it to discern the Lord’s will for every situation in our lives. However, it can sometimes feel like God isn’t answering our petitions. There are two possible reasons why. First, our requests may not be according to His will; and second, they might not have a true foundation. In other words, we can’t expect God to give us something if we’re asking for it according to our own desires instead of relying on His promises in Scripture. However, when we come to God with requests anchored in the Bible, we can be assured He will fulfill them. Instead of wishing and hoping, we can have complete assurance that God will grant our requests because they’re made in accordance with His will (1 John 5:14-15).
