Trusting the Promises of God

Well, today is, of course, the first Sabbath of 2014 for us. And I want to ask you here to begin with for the sermon, is what do you predict for the coming year? What are your predictions? What do you think is going to happen in 2014? You know, since man was placed upon the earth, I think sages, soothsayers, you know, people who do horoscopes, you name it, they have predicted what the future would be. You know, some can say they can tell you what the next week's going to be, what the next month is going to be, and they try to try to predict what, in fact, is going to happen in a given year or a decade or a century.

Some of man's predictions are laughable and overly optimistic. You know, we found that to be so, particularly in this modern age where, you know, we find that, in fact, technology is increasing, the method by which people live, the quality, I should say, by which they live. But sometimes, again, man's predictions are overly optimistic.

Many predicted, by now, we would be commuting in flying cars. So, Breland, where did you hang your car? You know, when you came in, I guess it's out there just sort of hanging, floating in the air, ready for you to hop back in that flying car and go back home afterwards. You know, that hasn't happened as yet. I don't know if you've ever seen some of the experiments of those who are trying to invent flying cars. Talk about the neighborhoods being loud. I mean, if you had these flying cars, I mean, they sound like, in fact, a freight train about ready to take off, you know, to fly off up into the sky.

And, of course, none of them so far have been very, very dependable in any way. Didn't want to mention, though, brethren, that there have been some who have been somewhat in the know or should be in the know about what the future is going to be. You know, in 1969, the United States landed a man on the moon. But two years before that, in a magazine called The Futurist that was published in 1967, it quotes Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Now, I know that name comes from antiquity. Maybe even some of our young people have never heard of Hubert Humphrey.

But he was a very enthusiastic individual, and he was the Vice President of the United States. I'm not sure he was then the Vice President or not. But he made predictions about what the future was going to be. And this is what he said. This is in 1967, by the way. He said that this was going to happen. The virtual elimination of bacterial and viral diseases hadn't happened yet, has it? If anything, I think these things have gotten worse in our time. Man has, of course, taken a lot of the antibiotics, and he's made these viral and bacterial things, in fact, more potent, so that his drugs that he thought were going to be able to resolve all of man's sicknesses and so forth, in fact, are not as potent enough, and they have to find other drugs to fight some of these things.

Another thing he said that would occur, the correction of hereditary defects through the modification of genetic chemistry. So he's saying here that we would be able to correct, you know, all these hereditary defects through the modification of genetic chemistry. I suppose you could say that it's possible for that to happen, but is it happening?

I guess that's the question I went, is it happening? I don't think it really is happening. At least, I haven't heard of it happening. I know that man would like to do this, but his desire to do this, but I don't think he's gotten up to that as yet. Here he says also, that predicts for the future, the stepping up of our food supply through large-scale ocean farming and fabrication of synthetic proteins. You know, so they're going to be able to fabricate synthetic proteins. You know, it's like the, I don't know, there was a company that developed a steak over in Europe, or a, you know, it was maybe a science experiment in a lab.

They did develop a, you know, fabricated a steak that tasted somewhat like a steak, but you know, I forget what the price tag on it was, but it was into the thousands upon thousands of dollars. I'm talking about tens and thousands of dollars for a steak, one steak.

I think I'll just stick with the cow, you know, but, you know, it's much more effective, isn't it?

Just raise a, you know, steer and you've got yourself a steak. But, but anyway, this is what he was saying back then, 1967. Also, he said that by, I guess by now, certainly, we would control the weather, at least on a regional scale. Well, if that's the case, brethren, then why do we have global warming? You know, why do we have these things? And can we control weather on a regional basis? I don't think we can. I don't think we have. I mean, if we have, then why don't we have snow up in the Sierras right now? Of course we don't, do we? Then he goes on to say, Hubert Humphrey goes on to say, in space, the landing that we would have advancements in space, and certainly that has happened, the landing of men on Mars, he said this was going to occur, in the establishment of a permanent, unmanned research station on the planet. Now, so he expected that was going to happen. I can't even see that happening by 2050, the way things are going, the way time is going on.

Then he says, the creation in the laboratory of primitive forms of artificial life, that this would occur as well. Now, personally, I don't know why we would want to have primitive forms of artificial life. What are we going to do? Create a mosquito? Are we going to create more amoeba? Is that the world doesn't have enough amoeba? You know, we don't have enough bacteria, we don't have enough viruses, we don't have these things, we've got to create them. And then he goes on, he concludes, Hubert Humphrey concludes, former Vice President, now deceased, this can indeed be an age of miracles, it will be your age, the age of miracles. You're living in the age of miracles right now, brethren, according to what not just, you know, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, you know, was saying back in 1967, but what many people have said in between, you know, now and now, and then back in those days. You know, one thing we learn in God's Word is that man has a lot of ideas, he has a lot of predictions about what the future is, but he doesn't really, for the most part, have the ability to make sure that they come to pass.

And most of what he says doesn't come to pass. Ultimately, unless it's on a physical basis, some physical things he might be able to bring about, we have made great advancements, you know, in the physical realm of technology. No question about that. We have made great advancements with that, but we have been miserable at dealing with spiritual concepts. That's becoming worse and worse in our society. But let's go over here to Psalm 146. You know, a lot of people have a lot of, placed a lot of stock in the ability of man to resolve his own issues and his own problems.

But in Psalm 146 over here, let's read down in verse 3 here, very important and a wise man, a long time ago, make this statement, brethren, and it's written down for us to read on out into the future.

But in Psalm 146 and verse 3, it says, do not put your trust in princes.

You know, don't put your trust in the leaders of this world. Whether we're talking about political leaders, where you're talking about leaders of science, of industry, or whatever, it may be. You know, some people, of course, become disciples of physical human beings of this world and of this society. He says, nor in the Son of Man in whom there is no help. So don't put your trust in human beings. And it says, his spirit departs, he returns to the earth, just like you will. You and I will, brethren. We'll all die. In that very day, his plans perish. It's all these elaborate plans about what he's going to do, what he's going to accomplish, and those plans go by the wayside.

But notice it says, happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose help is in the Lord, his God. And so happy are those going to be that have their trust, in other words, in God. Again, sometimes man can be right about the future, but let me tell you this, brethren, God is always right about the future. Never wrong in what he says is going to happen, because what God says is going to happen, brethren, you can count on. And you know, the Bible gives us a message of hope. It tells us the promises that God has made to mankind. As we know, what God is doing with human beings is he's reproducing himself. And he has made two human beings, because he is trying to reproduce himself through human beings with the addition of his spirit and the building of character and so forth. In the human being, he is making promises to us, and he's done that from ancient times, brethren, for his people. And we need to, as we're looking at this year ahead of us, brethren, not worry about what man is predicting.

There are a lot of people that are out there that are predicting that the United Church of God won't survive. Of course, people have been predicting that the Church of God would not survive ever since there was a Church of God upon the earth. But, you know, there are a lot of people that make predictions about this or about that, brethren. But rather than looking at what men think, brethren, is going to happen, let's think about what God promises as we look to the year 2014 here and on beyond the promises that God has made to us. I know, personally, brethren, when I go through trials in my life, and it seems like that they come on pretty much a regular basis, whether you want them or not. If you ever notice that about life, trials come to you whether you want them or not on pretty much a regular basis. If you think everything is going hunky-dory and Pete your king, and, you know, life couldn't be better, look out because something is going to happen. And I'll tell you why, and the reason is, is not what God does, it's what Satan does.

And God, again, is reproducing Himself and He's helping us to build character. He allows things to happen. But, again, when we have these trials, brethren, we need to fall back always on the promises of God. That's what encourages me. That's what keeps me going, brethren. It keeps me geared up.

It keeps me to the point where I say, no, I'm not going to, like the Bible says, let every man be a liar and God only be true. That's my approach to life, brethren. Let every man be a liar. I don't care who he is. If he speaks contrary to the Word of God and what God promises me, I'm going to believe God. At least that's my desire, brethren. And God will fulfill His promises, brethren, no matter what. And if we trust in those promises, brethren, and we put our faith in what God has said, we will see many good things are going to happen in the new year. For us, always, that God is going to bring. You may have trials and difficulties, but the good news is going to be coming along as well throughout the year. If we trust in human beings for our help for the future, brethren, we're going to generally be disappointed. But not so when we trust in God's promises. You know, from ancient times, God made certain promises, and the Bible proves that God is faithful to what He has said every time. It always comes true. You know, over in Proverbs 3 and verse 5, you don't need to turn there. Just write it down. It says, lean not on your own understanding. You know, think about it, brethren, that's all human beings do. Lean on their own understanding. Man's been nibbling off that tree of the knowledge of good and evil ever since, you know, he was driven out of the Garden of Eden. He's been eaten off that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and leaning on his own understanding to figure out, you know, what to do and how to do it. But it says, lean not on your own understanding, but trust in God. Trust in God. And let me add to that, brethren, trust in God's promises. We're going to talk about what God promises us, you know, in the course of this sermon today. Well, let's go to an ancient promise that God made over here in Genesis chapter 12 over here. You know the story in the account of a man called Abram that told him to get out of his country where he apparently had grown up and brought up.

But notice in verse 1, it said, the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country from your family, from your father's house. What God was going to do with Abraham was completely different. He was not going to revamp what Abraham had with his family. He was going to do with Abraham something that was entirely new. And so he said, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. And I'll make you, notice he said, I will make you a great nation and I will bless you. And make your name great and you shall be a blessing.

And I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families the earth shall be blessed. And so this is what God told Abram. He was going to make him a great nation and that he was going to make his name great and he was going to again bless the families of the earth, the entire earth as a result of this man Abram. And God instructed him to do that and he trusted God and he left and he departed. And we're talking about Abraham, by the way, here today. Think about it, brethren. Has God fulfilled his promise?

Is Abraham a great man? I mean, what church on the face of the earth does not talk about Abraham today? There is not one. There is not a church of God or even a Christian church that doesn't talk about Abraham. You know, I think Abraham is certainly a great man in so many ways. And if God fulfilled that, brethren, he fulfilled the other things, too. Abraham has been a blessing to the entire world, even on the physical sense. He's been a blessing to the entire world.

That's another topic, though. So Abraham did what God said and he departed.

And over here in Genesis 13, just over from where you are there, he took him, we know, to the land of Canaan.

You know, in Genesis 13 and verse 14, notice it says, And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, Lift up your eyes, now look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward, and westward, for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. I give it all to you.

And by the way, that was land that went clear down in the Sinai, went all the way up to the Euphrechis River, far beyond the territory that currently the little nation of Israel has over there.

So it's a huge piece of land. And God said, I promise you that.

He gave to his descendants forever. Now, the thing that's interesting, when God was making these promises to Abram, Abraham didn't even have any children.

And Sarah's wife, you know, her womb was shut up, so she was unable to have children. So he had no children. And God made the promise that this land belonged to Abraham's seed, but he didn't say, you know, that he would not lose opportunity to be there throughout history. But he said, this land belongs to you throughout history. In fact, it belongs to you. And, brethren, God will see to it that that land remains in the hand of the descendants of Abraham. It will eventually, all of it, every piece of that land over there, clear down into the Sinai, all the way up to the Euphrechis, is going to be in the hands of the descendants of Abraham for the future. And God will, in fact, see that that happens.

But, like I said, Abraham did not have an heir that came from the fruit of his own body.

You know, the story in the account in chapter 15, where God comes and tells Abraham that he's going to give him a son. And, you know, Abraham, of course, you know, was at that particular time, he was 75 years of age. He didn't... And Sarah couldn't have children. And so, you know, Sarah came up with this idea of giving him Hagar. And, of course, Abraham went along with it, made the mistake of trying to work out what God had promised him, that he would have an heir himself. And so, you know, he went in to Hagar. And, as you know, the story about how Ishmael was born.

And, you know, after all, Sarah suggested it, by the way, to Abraham. And he went along with it.

But it was not for 25 more years, brethren, that God actually gave him, you know, an heir from the fruit of Sarah's womb and from the loins of Abraham. You know, it was 25 years later.

It's almost like God wanted to make sure that Abraham and Sarah thought, you know, there's no way I can have children. No way! Yeah, I mean, can you think of a 99-year-old man having a little bambino? You know, or a 90-year-old woman having children?

And, in fact, when God told him that within a year, you know, that the angel came and revealed within a year he would come back, that Abraham would have a child, Abraham laughed. Remember, also, Sarah laughed. You know, am I going to have pleasure here at my old age? You remember the story and the account of it. And you remember also that in that particular case, that God said, why did you laugh? Why did Sarah laugh? Of course, Sarah tried to deny it, that she has laughed. Sometimes, of course, she may have laughed inside. I don't know how it would have been, but, you know, can we hide anything from God, really? You can't, can you?

I don't care if you laugh inside or, you know, where you laugh, God knows.

And, you know, they were asked, why did you laugh? Well, Sarah, why did you laugh? Is anything too hard for God to do? You know, God who created human beings, he can't give you a child when I say I want to give you a child. I think that's the way human beings, we think, oh, it's too late now.

It's too late now. I think about, by the way, you know, how sometimes people think they get in their rocking chair and they're ready to retire sometimes and sort of throw in the towel.

I think of Mr. Armstrong when he was 90-something years of age, pounding on that desk, remember?

Kept going until the very end. You know, he did other things, obviously he may not have done things when he was younger than he did, but he did other things and he kept very, very busy.

And is anything too hard for God? You know, did God not say, brethren, even to us, that he will raise us up on the wings of eagle, even if we're old, and we'll run and not be weary?

That the Bible promises us that. So, brethren, I think sometimes we think that some things, well, you know, it's not going to happen now because of such and such. You know, brethren, let me tell you, God can heal anything at any time he chooses, no matter what it is.

Somebody can be, you know, on their deathbed, and if God wants to raise them from the dead on their deathbed. You know, I heard the story of a man. I didn't know the individual involved, but a man many years ago in the church that had been anointed, and he died.

And apparently, you know, as they do, they pull the blanket over the head and wield him into wherever they do. You know, and anyway, it was later the man set up and said he was hungry. And, you know, I know that there have been individuals like that in the church through the years have been healed miraculously of things. They may have died of them, but God intervened and healed. And so there are many things that can happen like that. Is anything too hard for God to do? Of course, nothing is too hard for God to do. But what if God allows somebody to die? Well, you know, death is a safety for some people. You know, God says he puts some people in the grave to protect them from the troubles that are going to come over in Isaiah, what is it, 57 over there? I think verse 1 or so down through there. That he puts them in the grave to protect them from things, from troubles that you and I are going to have to live through.

You know, some of the things that we think, though, that are too hard for God. You know, we know that what God promises that he will heal if he doesn't heal, rather now, he will heal in the resurrection. And quite frankly, if I died, brethren, I knew this next foot-second I would be in the kingdom of God, I wouldn't want to be healed now and be brought back in the physical realm among human beings. I'd rather go ahead and wait in the grave until the time of the resurrection.

I mean, if I'm going to go through the trouble of dying, you know, I want to make sure that I want to come up in the resurrection. Forget. I mean, if you've made it through that, that's going to be the hard part. Dying, if you make it through that, you don't want to be revived, and you want to come up in the resurrection. Make it permanent! You know, where you'll be in God's kingdom at that particular time. But, you know, God told the meces, is anything too hard for me? No. The answer is no.

Let's go over to Genesis chapter 26 over here. Genesis 26 in verse 3.

Notice over here where God, again, tells Abraham this. He says, you know, dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. For to you and your descendants, I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

So this land is forever, and God means, brethren, what he says. And God says, I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And, brethren, God had not fulfilled his promise to Abraham with regard to that. Neither did he do that during the lifetime of Isaac, the entire lifetime of Isaac, nor did he do that through the lifetime of Jacob.

And all of them are called the fathers of the faithful, by the way, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In fact, the promise was not fulfilled for 430 years. It was 430 years in coming.

You know, God told him that his descendants were sojourned in a strange land.

And so what God did is it was much later than when he brought them out of Egypt.

And what is amazing, brethren, is after 400-something years, God brought them out of Egypt.

He made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years. What was a week or two trip across from Egypt to the Promised Land? It took him 40 years to get there.

I don't think it was because Moses didn't ask for directions.

He wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. But God eventually brought them to what? What was the name of the place that they were brought to? Canaan? What was it also called? Promised Land!

The Promised Land that God had made a promise to them that he was going to bring and give them them, and he gave it to them. And do you remember the story about how Israel grew to greatness?

And Solomon's kingdom was the acme of the ancient Israel's power. It became a global power.

Much like, probably, the United States today is a global power. Very well equipped.

There used to be the world trembled, you know, at the power of the United States.

Now they laugh at our power, but Israel became a global power to the world during the golden age of Israel. And due to Solomon's sins, though, God promised Solomon, he said, I'm going to take part of the kingdom away from you, away from the house of David.

But, you know, God would not do it during the lifetime of Solomon. In fact, it was not until Solomon's son, Rehoboam, remember Rehoboam, after Solomon died, you know, was such an unrighteous ruler, he was going to be tougher than his dad. You know, his little finger was going to be tougher than his dad's, you know, right hand. In fact, he was a very big talker, I guess. And he listened to the wrong counsel, and true to what God had told, you know, Solomon, he lost 10 tribes, remember, to Jeroboam. And God raised Jeroboam up from nothing, basically, and gave him 10 tribes of Israel to the north in Israel. And so God promised to Solomon that I'm going to take the kingdom from you. He fulfilled. He did what he said.

And because Jeroboam deviated from following God, God promised to end his line.

Jeroboam didn't believe God would do that. And God, you know what God told Jeroboam because of his sin, because he had departed from, you know, God's ways. And not only that, he had led others into sin.

God said, I'm going to cut off Jeroboam and every male in Israel. And that, of course, Israel was the northern 10 tribes. I'm going to cut off every male of the house of Jeroboam.

You remember how the story took place with regards to 1 Kings 14? I'm not going to go over there, but in 1 Kings 14, verses 7 through 10, God said he was going to cut off from Jeroboam every male. And what God promised, by the way, God promised he's going to raise up a king that would destroy Jeroboam's descendants. Now, usually a king of Israel had a lot of descendants, and it was important to have a lot of male descendants. Remember, I believe Gideon had 70 sons. You know, talk about socks and shoes, I'll tell you. But Solomon's son, you know, Rehoboam, had disobeyed God, and God had taken the kingdom away as a result of the 10 tribes breaking off to the north. And Jeroboam was told that God was going to cut off every male. And when Jeroboam had ruled for 25 or 22 years, Nadab, you know, began to rule. He ruled for two years after Jeroboam's death, and he was assassinated. Then Beisha took the throne, and what did he do? True to what God had promised to Jeroboam. He destroyed every other descendant of Jeroboam just as God promised was going to happen. And Beisha, by the way, continued in Jeroboam's sin, and what did God tell him?

You know, God told him that, look, if you continue in this process, then I'm going to also end your line as well. I'll do the same with you. And it shows, brethren, the fate of those who sin or lead others to sin. And Jeroboam and Beisha, by the way, were not the only kingly lines God promised to shorten. Remember the story of Ahab? Ahab's descendants were cut off, and his wife, Jezebel, was to be eaten by dogs. So I guess, you know, the North Korean dictator over there has a president here. But Jezebel was going to be eaten by dogs. Yet God delayed the fulfillment of that promise when, remember, Ahab repented. Remember he wore the sackcloth and ashes, and God was impressed with his repentant attitude. He humbled himself before God. Now, what did happen, though, is even though Ahab showed he was humble before God, Jezebel did not. Jezebel was eaten by dogs, just as God promised he would be. And all of God's promises concerning Ahab came to pass, and his descendants were cut off. But, you know, God spared him, but not, again, his lying.

And, you know, God promised he would remove the Northern Kingdom. He kept warning them, look, I'm going to remove you from here, from this place. Remember, God had brought Israel into the land, and he had extracted the inhabitants because of how wicked they were.

And there's a couple of places in the Bible where it actually got, says, you're worse than the people that you replaced. They became worse. So God said, I'm going to remove the Northern Kingdom.

And people, of course, don't believe. You know, because the sentence is not executed speedily, as Solomon himself said, the sons of men are fully set to do evil. They think it's not going to happen. But it did happen 200 years later that God removed the Northern Kingdom.

And, you know, they're called the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel today.

For a reason, they lost their identity. They filtered through the nations. We know they filtered through Europe, on up into England, and, of course, God today has us inhabiting this land of the United States. We don't even know who we are as a people. And God has removed the Northern Kingdom. Now, in the future, God's going to restore Israel. We know that is the case.

It's going to happen. But the point is, brethren, is that God is always true to His words.

Don't put your trust in what the leaders of this world say, brethren. Do not put your trust in mankind, because He predicts, but He cannot bring it to pass. In fact, what He oftentimes predicts, you know, the peace and the transpility turns into war, turns into all kinds of conflicts and troubles and suffering of human beings. Again, the point is, God is true to His word, whether it is in the past, and we can go through the Bible, and we can show this time and time again.

God is always, brethren, true to His word and what He says. He's true in the past, He's true today, and He's going to be true in the future. Brethren, for what He tells us is going to happen in the future, you can bank on it. Now, why does God not fulfill His promises right away? Okay, let's go to 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3.

The Bible really tells us why He does not do that.

2 Peter 3 and verse 8. You know, there are prophecies, brethren, that talk about how modern Israel, a third of the people are going to die by famine and disease, a third by war, and a third are going to go into captivity. Last census I heard in the United States, we had 350 million people in this country, approximately, give or take. 350 million people. Two-thirds of our people, according to scriptures, are going to perish in the future. Why is God going to allow that?

I think for a very good reason. I'm going to ask you, is America listening to God right now? No? Not very well, are they? They're not listening to God right now. You know the safest place for most people for the future? We're the safest place for them to be in the grave.

Looking to the time of the second resurrection where they can come up, and hopefully they'll have a better chance of listening and hearing what God has to say. But, you know, God, I think, is going to allow some to be put in the grave for their own good, for their own benefit. And maybe the rest, if they're beaten down, they see what has happened. They'll be more receptive to what the truth is in the future. And, of course, none of us has seen that kind of thing happening.

I pray for the kingdom of God, but I don't want to, you know, see the other part of it that will precede it ushered in too quickly. But I know we've got to go through the one to get to the other.

But in 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 8 here, notice it says, it gives us the answer here, but beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. And then verse 9, the Lord is not slack concerning His promises.

You know, God's not slack, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

See, God's strategy is that, wanting all to come to repentance.

And then a warning that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away, with a great noise, and elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works that are in them will be burned up. So we know ultimately that's what's going to happen to this world that we see out here. All the physical elements of it, the kutriments that people get so used to in living with, feel like they can't live without, all of it's going to pass away. And so we see here, God is not slack concerning His promises. He's just patient with us.

And by that, I don't mean just you and me. He is patient with us, by the way, but He's patient with every human being upon the earth, whether they're in the church or outside the church.

And He wants all to have an opportunity for repentance. And the exact time when God fulfills a promise really is irrelevant if we trust in God. You know, we can always, again, count on the promises of God. And our lives right now are a part of a great plan of God, a great purpose that God is working out here below. For those called now, especially, brethren, is this true? God has called you for a purpose. He's enlightened you. Open your mind to see the truth for a purpose. Why do you see it? And others do not see it. Is it because you're more intelligent than other people? No. We're not more intelligent than anybody else. In fact, the Bible tells us emphatically we are the weak of the world. And by that, I don't mean to imply, brethren, we are to remain weak, weak-minded, and weak in vision, all of that. But we're to grow, you know, from what we have been to what we shall be. But God has called us for a great purpose, brethren, if we believe His promises are going to be fulfilled and live our lives as though His promises are going to be fulfilled in our lives, because they are going to be fulfilled. It's not as though they're going to be fulfilled. It is going to happen, brethren. It is going to occur.

I want to give you some promises, brethren. The Bible gives to us. If you want to write these down, you might find them very important to remember in a time of trial of difficulty. God has made a promise to bless those who are obedient to Him.

You know, when we see in the Bible, lean not on your own understanding, but trust in the Lord, trust in God, this is what we mean. Obedience to God. God has made a promise if we will obey God, God will bless us. Let's go to Deuteronomy 28 in verse 1. Just do turn to that particular scripture. Here God says to Israel, and thou shalt come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the eternally your God to observe carefully all His commandments, which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the eternally your God. And it goes on and enumerates the blessings that God was going to give ancient Israel. And brethren, those blessings apply to us individually, too, as God's people.

God has made a promise, and this is not the only place, by the way, in the Bible. That's just one place here. Well, I'm pointing this out to you. It's very clear. Deuteronomy 28 verses 1 and 2.

God has promised, brethren, to heal and not lay any of the diseases of Egypt on us if we diligently obey Him. That's in Exodus 15, verse 26. So a promise to heal. Again, not the only place in the Bible where we see this promise that God gives to us. Now, again, does God always heal the way we think He should heal?

No, He doesn't, does He? Sometimes God says, well, I'm just going to go ahead and wait to heal that person in the resurrection. Because of this reason or that reason. Maybe because, you know, frankly, I'm not sure they're that strong spiritually to survive until the next few years without giving up on the truth. And I want them dearly to be in my kingdom.

You ever thought about that, brethren? That God knows the hearts. Our hearts better than we know ourselves. So, you know, the grave can be a safe place. I think, generally, God has intervened for His people time and time again. When they called out for healing, God has intervened. I know I believe that with all my heart and soul and mind. I've been down that road a little bit.

I think I know what I'm talking about. We have a promise also that God has good plans for us. God has a good plan for you, brethren. You are sitting right there in that chair right now, writing down what you've got or you're reading the Bible. God has plans for you. Let's go over to Jeremiah 29, I should say. Jeremiah 29 over here. You know, the prophet Jeremiah says this, in fact. He was telling, in fact, Judah about this, and God felt the same way about Israel. But in chapter 29 and verse 11, notice here, it says, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you. Now put yourself, brethren, in this word right here. Instead of you, put your name there, you know, whoever you are.

I know the thoughts I think toward John Smith. You know, I know the thoughts I think toward Jim Tuck. Or I think, you know, toward one of you that is sitting there right now and reading what I'm reading to you right along. Says the Lord, thoughts of peace, have thoughts of peace and not of evil, not of calamity, thoughts of peace, to give you a future and a hope. To give you a future and a hope.

It says, Then you will call upon me and go and pray to God, and I will listen to you.

And you will seek me with all your heart. When you will seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, says the Lord. I will bring you back from your captivity. This is what God said to them. I'll bring you back. And, brethren, if we're going through trials and difficulties in our own personal lives, you know, God will bring us back, as it were, to bring us back up. If you're discouraged, if you're down, you know, sometimes I know I have to admit I get discouraged. You know, as a minister, I get really sometimes discouraged.

You know, I'm talking about knuckled dragon on the ground, discouragement.

You ever been there? And I've had to say, God, you know, I just feel this overwhelming discouragement. I've pushed this rock up this hill so many times. I, you know, I need your help. And I always pray, God, give me encouragement. And you know, He always has.

What is amazing to me when I ask for it, it comes to me and it happens and comes over me.

And I don't even know how to happen. I've always tried to figure out, how do you do that, God? And you know, He always catches me off guard in some way, and I'm not paying attention, I guess.

And I don't know how He does it, but it's a miracle of God and God encourages. God has good thoughts toward you, brethren. You who are sitting in that chair right now, and has good plans for you, His hopes for you, are beyond anything you could even imagine, brethren. Beyond what God, in fact, had planned for Israel at that time. God has big plans for Israel in the future. Of course, we know that as well. Another thing, and I will not refer to the Scripture over here with this, but God promises to bless the tighter. The person who tithes, you know what He told Israel?

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, He told them. Prove me! Try me!

If I will not pour you out a blessing, then you won't have room to contain it. Prove me! Believe me!

And, brethren, when we are diligently obeying God, this is not a one-time thing.

It's an all-the-time thing that we do that. And God will come through and do for us unimaginable things and intervene for us. So, God promises to bless the tithe prayer.

You know, and it is tithe pain, brethren, and not tithe giving. Because when the Bible says, well, a man robbed God, brethren, if we don't tithe, we're stealing.

And a man might, you know, get off if he stole from another man, but will he be able to do that with God? I don't think so. I think God is going to say, you know, to that individual in some way or fashion, He's going to withhold the blessings from them. Another thing that we have a promise of, brethren, and it's a very comforting thing to know. Hebrews 13, verse 5, if we're promised that God will never leave us or forsake us, Jesus Christ will always be there for us, brethren. No matter how dark the road may get and stormy it may get, God will never leave us or forsake us. I was reminded that whenever I had my health issues, and I don't want to belabor my health issues because what I went through is not what other people do, and I know that people have gone through much, much worse. But when I thought the darkest time was, you know, one of the things that I wanted to do was sing songs, spiritual songs. And so if you'd have been at the hospital, you might have heard me singing or at home. But God promises, brethren, He will never leave us or forsake us, and He never will. Another thing, brethren, that we have a promise, brethren, that if we love God's laws, nothing can cause us to stumble. So if we're obedient to God's laws, I'm not going to go there, but Psalm 119 verse 165 says that nothing will cause you to stumble. And I don't want to stumble, brethren. I've swam too far across this ocean, and I don't want to stumble. I'm going to make it to the other side with God's help. I'm going to be in God's kingdom with His help. I know I can't do it because I've got a band of sharks chasing me, and I need God's help to fight the sharks off. But, you know, if I'm a faithful type payer, God says, I'll rebuke the devourers for your sake. Let's just hope they're not Christian sharks. You never heard the story about the bear, the Christian bear, who says a prayer before he eats you. But anyway, attempt it in humor here for you. I know it's not a good joke, but anyway. Also, we have the promises that are in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. Look at all the promises right in the Beatitudes, the first, you know, few verses of chapter 5 of Matthew. All the Beatitudes. You know, blessed are the humble, blessed are the meek of the earth, blessed are the meek. They're going to inherit the earth.

I mean, what else do you need? Beathard, inherit the whole earth? Promises of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. How about the promise, brethren, of answered prayer? 1 John 3 verse 22. We have what we ask for because we, you know, are living according to God's laws. If you keep my laws, my commandments, God says you will have what you ask for. Also, by the way, John 15 verse 7, if you remain in me, Christ said, you know, you'll have what you ask for, what you seek. And you know what, brethren? The Bible even tells us, makes the promise. It says it will give you the desire of your heart. You know, one thing you'll learn is you don't know what your heart is and what really would make you happy. And you know, God does, though, and he will feel, in fact, that hole that's in your heart and give you the desires of your heart. What you think you desire, you hope for, you dream for, and you really do want, by the way, that are really important to you.

So, God will give us answered prayer if we obey Him, the Bible shows. Also, brethren, we have a promise that God will work things together for those who are called, love God, or called according to His purpose. All things work to the good, as the Bible says. Romans 828.

Look, I mean, you couldn't have a greater promise than that. All things work to the good.

And then, brethren, we have a promise that God will complete what He has begun in you.

God started working with you. What year did He begin to work with you?

I was reflecting upon that a bit last night. How that when God started working with me, I remember I was about, I think it was a sophomore in high school, back in 1966, 1967. And I was 16 at the time, so I think it was 1966. God began to work with me.

And, you know, I was reflecting about when I learned about the Sabbath, and it was back then I learned about the Sabbath. And it took me a little while before I started keeping it.

And so I'm not going to stop keeping the Sabbath if you can pretty well know that's not going to happen. I'm going to continue to obey God. But God has said He will complete what He started in you. Philippians 1 verse 6 says, we can be confident of that fact that that which God has begun in us, He will finish. He will finish it. Will you let Him finish it, brethren? Complete you.

One day, brethren, we're going to appreciate that we had a lot more patience.

And hopefully, brethren, we will gear ourselves to have more patience in our lives.

Another thing that I think is very important for us to know, brethren, is that in most instances, God has certain standards He must see in us for Him to fulfill His promises within us.

Remember, in the case of Abraham, I'm not going to go to Genesis 22, but you might read the story of Abraham. Remember, after Abraham had waited all those years for a son, and God knew that Abraham loved Isaac more than anything.

And in fact, when God told Abraham, He said, Abraham, I want you to take, you know, your only son. It's almost like God was rubbing it in. Your only son, and I want you to sacrifice him.

Talk about hard to do. And remember, the story in the county went out, what was probably Mount Moriah area, had the wood, and He told a couple of the fellas that had gone with him, you stay here, and we're going to go yonder, you know. And on the way, Isaac said, well, Dad, you know, I see the wood and all that, but where's the, where's the offering? Remember the story in the account? Now, by the way, Isaac was probably about 17 years of age at that time. So Isaac was quite an individual himself. What a young man he must have been. Looked at God, obeyed God, but, but, but anyway, you know the story that Abraham brought up the knife. He was about ready to slay his own son. Put him on the altar to bound him up and all that, raised, and you know, God says, don't lay your hand on the lad. And God said, now I know. The question is, brethren, for you and me, does he know that about us? Now he said, I know you will obey what I command you to do. Does God know that about us, brethren?

When God knew that about Abraham, what he promised to him was unconditional, unconditional.

And, you know, after that he knew God would, that Abraham would do all that God commanded him to do.

Must have been an incredible, incredible trial for Abraham, but he learned something there. And I'm sure Isaac learned something, a great deal himself. But God learned the heart of Abraham. Does he know your heart and my heart? Can he say, now I know that you are a man. Can he say, now I know I'm going to be able to bring to pass everything that I've thought about you. I can do it. You're going to go to the gamut. Remember, you go back then to the New Testament, and one of the things that God says about Abraham is this. Paul says it in Romans 4 and verses 20-21.

Because Abraham believed God, what does it say over there, brethren? Because he believed God, he was counted for righteousness for him. And we know he was a friend of God as well.

He believed God. He had faith in God. He trusted in God. And all God had promised to him.

And, brethren, faith is being fully convinced that God has the power to do whatever he's promised. Nothing's too hard for God. The question is, brethren, will we obey God regardless of what we face in life? Does God know that about us, what we'll do in the face of a trial that's too much?

You know, even Paul says that there's nothing, you know, that you're going to face that you can't handle. Was it 1 Corinthians 10, 13? God will always make a way of escape, the Bible says.

You know, will you cease keeping the Sabbath because of losing a job? Will you cease to obey God's commandments because of one trial or another? Well, brethren, I hope not. I hope not. I hope you'll continue to go forward, to move forward with faith and conviction. I hope that you'll continue, brethren, to believe the many promises that God has made to you. And I made a cursory list of 10. I was telling my wife yesterday, I said, when I was working on this, I said, I just sat here for about five minutes. I wrote down 10 promises in the Bible. 10! With Scriptures? I didn't even have to tax my brain to find them. That shows you how little slow I am, but, you know, or how easy it is to see the promises in the book. And these are just, this is a thumbnail, brethren, of promises, the multitude of promises that there are. Let me tell you, brethren, because Abraham had the faith, he believed God. He did everything he did based on belief in what God said. And you know what? Abraham's waiting in his grave, and he went to his grave with no doubts about what God was going to do ultimately.

Hopefully, brethren, we believe God to that degree, as he did, as Isaac did, as Jacob did, and every servant of God, true servant of God, since that time, is believed, who are going to come up in that glorious first resurrection, brethren, and it will be the beginning, the seminal beginning of the wonderful world of moral and the great kingdom of God. You know, Christ himself, remember, gave us the account, the parable of the importunian widow, that kept coming to the judge, and finally he breaks down and said, well, you know, this lady's going to drive me crazy. I'm going to give her what she wants.

And then Jesus said, you know, there, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith?

Will he find those who believe God, no matter what? Will we believe God to the believing, the saving of the soul, our eternal life, brethren?

You know, will we continue to pray in our lives? Will we continue to obey God in many other areas of our lives and not faint, and not give up, and not be weary? Remember again the promises of God. Jesus Christ said he will never leave us or forsake us.

And then he said at the end of one of the Gospels, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. So here, brethren, we're in the first Sabbath of another year.

If you want to be spot on in predictions, all you have to do is give the promises of God, and you'll be exactly right, because all we have to do, brethren, is have faith in God's promises. Let's not put our trust in human beings of this world, because we'll be pretty much disappointed every time. But however, we need to have faith in the promises that God has made, no matter what we face in life, trials or whatever. And God will absolutely, brethren, fulfill all of his promises regarding the world, you know, today, what he says is going to happen, and the future as well.

Your future, brethren. He makes the promise to you. Be faithful to those promises, and, you know, your future is going to be very promising. And I can promise you that.