Living From the Promises of God
| Theme: God desires for you to
experience the abundant way of living.
Introduction: In these Bible lessons, you will discover the answers to all these
questions. You will learn about the wonderful plans God has for your
life. You will study the wonderful promises He has given you through
Jesus Christ. In addition, you will learn how to trust Him to bring them
to pass in your life. When we face a problem in life, God responds always with a promise.
Do not allow the teachings of men, the experiences of others, your own
impossible situation, or your own reasoning to cause you to doubt God's
promises. I encourage you to become like God's people in Acts 17:11.
They searched the Scripture daily to make sure that what they were being
taught was true. Allow the Holy Spirit to be your teacher and guide and
He will lead you to the truth that will set you free. God wants you to live a life of victory. As you read the Word of God,
you will discover that the Bible is full of people just like you who
faced trials. Here is a list of just some of them: God has revealed His plan for us in His Word. John 10:10 says, "The
thief comes only in order that he may steal, and may kill, and may
destroy. I came that they might have and enjoy life, and have it in
abundance (to the full, till it overflows") (AMP) What does it mean to have life in abundance? The original
Greek word translated "abundance" in this scripture is perissos
which means: super abundantly (in quantity), exceeding abundantly above,
superior (in quality), beyond measure. Ephesians 3:20 is the only other verse of Scripture in which the
Greek word perissos is used. Here again it describes the abundant
life that Jesus came to give you and I. "Now
to Him who, by (inconsequence of) the (action of His) that is at work
within us, is able to (carry out His purpose and do) super abundantly,
far over and above all that we (dare) ask or think - infinitely beyond
our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams"
(AMP) What are your highest prayers, hopes and dreams? Take a moment and
write down the desires of your heart. Think about this. Whatever you
wrote down, God wants more for you than that. Jesus came so that you can have life that's super-abundant in
quantity, superior in quality and exceeding abundantly above and beyond
measure. Deut. 28: 1-3 clearly reveals that God wants His people to be
blessed in every area of their life. Eph. 3:20 tells us that God is able to carry out His purpose for you
far over and above your highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or
dreams. He wants you to live a victorious Christian life by experiencing
victory in every situation. John 10:10 contrasts what the devil wants to do for you and what God
wants to do for you. God's will for you includes:
The devils desire for you includes: 1 Peter 5:8) First John 33:8 teaches us that Jesus has destroyed all the works of
the devil. Jesus has redeemed us from each one of the characteristics of
the devil. Jeremiah 19:11 describes the plan God has for His people. "For
I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (NIV). James 1: 12-13, 16-17 states, "Blessed
is the man who perseveres under trial...when tempted no one should say,
God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt
anyone. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers, every good and perfect gift
is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who
does not change like shifting shadows" (NIV) What warning does God's Word give us in verse 16? Psalm 35:27 tells us what God desires for His people: Let
those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness
shout for joy and be glad, and say continually, let the Lord be
magnified, who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant" (AMP). The word prosper in Jeremiah 28:11 and the word prosperity
in Psalm 35:27 are derivatives of the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom
means: safe, well, happy, friendly, health, prosperity, peace. According
to this definition then, what does God mean when He says in Jeremiah
29:11 that His plan is to prosper you? Matthew 7:11 states, If you then, evil as
you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven (perfect as He is) give
good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him?" (AMP). Just think about all that you want for your own children. Matthew
7:11 clearly reveals that God wants that and more for His children. In 3 John 2 we are told again what God wants for His children. "Beloved
I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even
as thy soul prospers" (KJV). God has given us great and precious promises so we can experience the
abundant lifestyle He has planned for us. Read 2 Peter 1:3-4, "His divine power
has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our
knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through
these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that
through them you may participate in His divine nature and escape the
corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (NIV). God has given to you everything you need to live a victorious
Christian life through knowledge of Jesus who is the Word of God (John
1:1, 14). God's Word contains hundreds of promises. If you want to
receive all He has planned for you, don't neglect or reject any of them. When you experience trials and troubles, you can find the answers you
need in God's Word. God has given you many promises that offer hope in
every situation. Although His will for you is abundant life and His plan
is to prosper you, there will be times when you will go through trials
or experience trying circumstances. When you face these situations look
to God's Word for your answers to the problems. The following Scriptures tells us what attitudes and actions can keep
us from receiving answers to our prayers.
We must keep our heart pure before God to have confidence before Him in
prayer. 1 John 3:21 says that if your heart doesn't condemn you, you can
have confidence that God will answer your prayer.
The Bible says in James 5:16, The earnest
(heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power
available (dynamic in its working") (AMP). God's
promises of success in life and answered prayer belong to you as His
child. You can claim them to be true in your life.
According to 2 Corinthians 1:20 all of these promises find their
"yes" answer in Christ Jesus, therefore you can confidently
respond to God's promises by saying, "Amen, so be it in my
life."
|