Faith and Patience For Promises Fulfilled
Thank you for joining me today! I am so grateful for the love of the Lord, for His Son Jesus, Who saved us, and the Holy Spirit Who guides, and teaches us. Praying your relationship with the Lord will grow in intimacy this week. Eric
In 2 Peter, we see the revelation of why God’s promises are important. 2 Peter 1:3 and 4 (NLT), “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.”
‘Glory’, doxa in the Greek means majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity. "‘Excellence’, arete in the Greek means power. Thus, because of His perfection and power, we receive the great and precious promises of God.
‘Precious’ (timios) in verse 4 means: esteemed, especially dear, held as of great price. ‘Promises’, epangelia the Greek, means: a pledge, especially a divine assurance and self-committal of conferring some good.
Here is the astounding part - the second half of verse 4 reveals that the promises enable us to be partakers (a partner or sharer) of the divine nature (godlike, holiness distinctive of the divine nature) of God, and escape the corruption of the world caused by human desires! The promises He gives therefore will enable us to accomplish two of God’s charges for believers! Be holy and sin not.
Our focus today is on a Biblical principle regarding our having faith to believe that the promises which God has given us in His Word will be fulfilled.
Romans 10:17 reads, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” “The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to awaken a response of faith within us.” (New Spirit Filled Life Commentary).
In telling the parable of the sower in Mark 4, Jesus explained what happens to distract or draw people away from the faith, which is needful for the body of Christ for salvation and to be fruitful. A farmer sowed seed in his field. Some seed fell on rocky ground and had no stable roots. Other seed fell on a footpath and birds came and ate it. Other seed fell among thorns that choked out the young plants. Still other seed fell on fertile ground where the roots went deep and brought forth an abundance.
We find Jesus’ explanation of this parable in Mark 4:14-20 (ESV), “The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
The ‘good soil’ or ‘fertile ground’ is our heart which has been prepared by God’s Word. We find that it takes faith grounded in God’s Word to endure to the end, where faith becomes reality or substance that is seen. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 6:11 and 12 (RSV), “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” According to Helps Word Studies on Bible Hub, the Greek word for ‘faith’ in this verse is pistis meaning: to be persuaded, to trust and always comes from God, faith that comes from revelation buried deep in our hearts by the Holy Spirit from God’s Word. The key take away from these verses is that through ‘faith’ and ‘patience’ the promises are inherited. Both are required.
Faith is believing what God says even when we cannot see it yet. Patience is enduring steadfastly in spite of any negative circumstances even when we cannot physically see the end result.
Sometimes the fulfillment of a promise may take ‘more time’ and ‘living through more experiences’ than ‘we’ may have planned on. Many times we are impatient and want to see results or the promises fulfilled immediately. We do not like to wait! Keep in mind, after receiving the promise, Abraham waited 25 years for his promised son, Isaac to be born. (Genesis 12 and 17). Help us Lord!
Often times, we experience physical and emotional evidence which is contrary to what has been promised. If we allow it to, this can spark doubt and discouragement. What we must realize is that ‘faith’ or ‘believing’ must come from the heart, not the mind. Proverbs 4:20-23 (NLT), “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. 21 Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, 22 for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” What a beautiful scripture! Let the Word of God penetrate deep into your heart for it brings life and healing to your body!
Hebrews 11:1 (BSB) reads, “Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.” Faith will bring to us the certainty of what we do not see right now. Certainty means doubtlessness, confidence, and surety,
2 Corinthians 5:7 also reveals an important truth, “For we walk by faith and not by sight.” “Walk’ means to live, conduct one’s life. So we live by faith or conduct our life by our faith. We are not to allow what we “see” control us. Our eyes need to remain focused on the truth of God’s Word and promises!
Our faith is tested, purified, and made steadfast by the fire of trials. 1 Peter 1:7 (NLT) reveals, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
Our faith will be tested and as James 1:2-8 (NLT) plainly tells us, we cannot waiver. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” I have found that having this knowledge (that we will indeed be tested) in advance is invaluable to us. We know it is coming, will be able to recognize it for what it is, and be able to stand steadfast in the strength of the Lord through the trial.
We see that the church in Thessalonica was praised for the patience and faith they exhibited in the midst of all the persecutions and tribulations they endured. (2 Thessalonians 1:4).
Enduring patiently will allow us to receive all He has promised. Hebrews 10:36 (NLT), “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” The phrase ‘patient endurance’ is translated from the Greek word, hupomone. It means: ”patient endurance, patient waiting for, as God enables the believer to “remain” or endure under the challenges allotted in life.” (Helps - Bible Hub). In Strong’s exhaustive Concordance it adds: steadfastness, constancy and endurance, the characteristic of a man who is un-swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith by even the greatest trials and sufferings.
Kenneth Copeland told the story of an elderly Native American who approached him at the conclusion of one of his meetings. Kenneth had spoken a popular saying on that day, at that meeting. He said, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” However, the Native American gentleman corrected Kenneth when he said, “God said it, that settles it, whether I believe it or not.” That gentleman understood un-swerving faith!
Hallelujah! God works to help make our faith steadfast and immoveable. 1 Corinthians 15:57 and 58, But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.“
We cling onto God’s promises like a man hangs on to a life-jacket in the middle of the ocean. We need to be so convinced and sure of God’s Word that we cannot, or ever will, think of letting go.
God’s Word will never return void. It accomplishes what it was sent forth to accomplish. “Isaiah 55:11).
You are never alone, for even in the midst of the trials you face, He is with you. He never leaves not forsakes you! (Hebrews 13:5)
God cannot lie! (Titus 1:2)
His promises are “Yes” and “Amen” through Jesus! (2 Corinthians 1:20)
Encourage yourself through the Word of God!
Build up your faith!
Psalm 37:7a reads, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”
Trust Him as you wait patiently for Him.
Through faith and patience, you receive the promises! (Hebrews 6:12)
Those who endure to the end will be saved! (Matthew 24:13)
Keep on, keeping on.
Unless noted otherwise all scriptures are taken from the New King James Version.
NLT New Living Translation
BSB Berean Standard Bible
RSV Revised Standard Version
ESV English Standard Version