Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.
If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.
Thank you for joining us today.
You can see if you turn in your Bibles, if not, I have the scriptures online here that
we'll work with this morning.
The absolute certainty of God's promises.
I want to make sure I count all my lozenges so Betty didn't take any.
So we'll put those in my pocket for ready when my voice leaves.
OK, promises.
There have been promises that the Lord has given you more than likely for yourself,
your family, your loved ones, those that are friends of yours,
and you have more than likely labored and have prayed, have besieged,
have waited for the Lord to answer your promises.
So I want to encourage you this morning that his promises are certainties.
They're not maybe ifs and I hopes.
We know that he never comes late to the party.
He always brings his grace and he provides for us those things which we need.
So I want to major on those thoughts this morning.
So in Hebrews six, 13 through 20, it says this.
No one is greater than God.
So he made a promise in his own name when he said to Abraham.
Now let me stop.
In Christian terms, the promise refers to God's binding declaration
to act on behalf of all of you.
It also denotes an assurance that transforms the future into hope.
And the present confidence that we have is in the Lord.
And I know many of us get discouraged after years of praying,
years of believing.
And I'll give you an example.
When my wife, of course, most of you know, has MS and she's not able to walk.
And I prayed for her for about two or three years believing that the Lord would heal her.
Then I got so disappointed and kind of all right,
well, Lord, if you're going to do it, fine.
But, you know, I have picked up that mantle again in the last year and a half.
And I believe for healing for her.
So there are times in your life when you may be discouraged,
when things don't look so good for the circumstances that you know to be true,
that God is always at work and never stops.
And that's what we're going to talk about this morning.
So going on in the word Abraham, just by way of a little reference in Joshua 24,
two, it says long ago, your ancestors, meaning Abraham,
including Tara, the father of Abraham and Nahor,
lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other Gods.
And historians have legitimately put out the understanding that not only was
Abraham's father a worshipper of idols,
but he also had a location where he made idols, he sold idols.
And he was really into the idea of pagan worship.
So this is the grounds in which Abraham grew up in, in idolatry.
And one interesting fact that Abraham, when he was younger,
smashed the idols and blamed the incident on the other idols for doing it.
So his father couldn't do anything because he thought obviously that idols had power.
And then Abraham rejected his father's beliefs and left.
And it's also like us leaving our old circumstances and moving forward in the Lord.
So this is where we pick up Abraham.
And then in Hebrews 14, it says, I, the Lord, will bless you with many descendants.
And after Abraham had been very patient,
he was given what God had promised. Very patient.
How many can identify the fact that you need more patience?
Yes. Okay. All right. Some of you are honest.
Being patient implies enduring or waiting is a deliberate act of the will rather than just mere necessity.
In James 5, 7, it says, exhort us to be patient in the Lord's timing.
So with the anticipation of promise comes the combination of patience.
When everyone wants to settle, when anyone wants to settle an argument,
they make a vow by using the name of someone or something greater than their selves.
So when God wanted to prove for a certain that his promise to his people would not be broken,
he made a vow. God cannot tell lies.
And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed.
We have run to God for safety.
Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us.
The hope is like a firm and steady anchor of our souls.
In fact, hope reaches beyond the curtain and into the most holy place.
And in the last verse it says, Jesus has gone there ahead of us.
He is our high priest forever, just like Melchizedek.
And you'll notice I underlined or redlined some certain things that I want to major on this morning.
Obviously the word promise stands out in these scriptures.
So one, I want to talk about the promises of Abraham translated to Jesus, translated to us.
And I want to link that to our patience, proportionally.
To understand when God is working and sometimes we get blinded either within patience
or discouragement or long periods of time,
that through our patience then the Lord is still working.
So let's dissect Abraham's promise and also see how patience is applied first to Abraham.
Secondly, and continuing down through Christ.
And then third, how the promise affects us as individuals.
So in this spreadsheet, and I don't put it all out there at once because you'll get too confused
and you say, oh my gosh, John, what are you doing to me?
So I outlined certain things and we'll go through these.
So let's give perspective.
Abraham, he was the bearer of the promise.
And I needn't go through the idea how God met him and he promised him
and we'll talk about what he promised.
But there was an offer given to God.
God made a covenant with Abraham and he enjoyed a relationship with Abraham.
And he was the bearer of that promise.
That started way back in approximately 2000 BC
and that covenant was cut on behalf of the people
that were going to be like the sands of the sea.
And going forward now into Christ, Christ is the heir of that promise.
So Christ was born in four to six BC and he lived to 33 AD and then his death.
And now fast forward, that covenant includes us.
We are the beneficiary of that promise.
Think about this, 4,025 years of fulfillment
in that covenant that God originally cut with Abraham.
So let's explore what that means.
Abraham was chosen and entrusted to carry it forward in faith that he had toward God.
In Genesis 22, 17, to Abraham and his seed, it is said this,
to your offspring I will give this land.
So there was a promise of land to Abraham.
And going forward from Abraham to Christ,
Christ then is this promise fulfilled in Galatians 3, 17.
It says Paul hinges the entire promise that was talked about
on a single seed, identifying Christ as the primary and ultimate heir of Abraham's blessing.
And you may would have, maybe you would think that it stops there,
but it then goes on through us and we are included in this.
Remember, we are grafted in.
We are part of the covenant relationship of God.
So we are adopted into Christ in Galatians 3, 29.
It says, so you, meaning all of you and myself,
have been united with Jesus the Messiah and are now Abraham's child.
And we will inherit all the promises of the kingdom realm.
So those promises fast forward through all these generations unto us.
Now let's look at the scope of what this promise is.
First of all, in Abraham's situation, it covers the entire future of Abraham.
It was laid out before him.
He was going to be a great nation like the sands of the sea.
There was going to be a promised land.
And a blessing to all people was the third element of that promise.
At different times, it was defined different ways.
It talks about the possession of a country or the land of promise,
but still it was the promise that God had given.
And you bring that forward into Christ.
What was the scope of that promise when he was walking the earth?
It says in Romans 15 that Christ came as a servant to show God has kept all the promises
that he said from Abraham on turning the hope of a promise into a reality through Jesus Christ.
So there again, the promise is going forward.
Now what's that mean for us?
What's our scope?
The land promise now again expands into a heavenly inheritance in 1116 of Hebrews.
We being in Christ share in his inheritance,
receiving eternal life, obviously through the forgiveness of sins.
So that's the scope down through the ages.
Let's take a look at what has been realized in that covenant.
Through faith in God, in Genesis 15, six, Abraham believed the Lord and because of his faith,
the Lord accepted him as one who has done what is right.
So he believed the covenant was cut the promise given and Abraham believed some of us again,
like I had said, in our understanding have promises that have been given us from the Lord.
Hope that we have in our hearts for our loved ones,
our individuals that we have been praying for.
So in Christ's sake, he has told his disciples to have faith in God.
First of all, Mark 11 22, Jesus poured out, think about this.
He poured out his heart in tears and crying, trusting the father as he faced death.
So he again had faith to understand what God was all about as he ministered
and he was going to give up his life.
And then how is that realized in our life?
In Galatians 2 2 it says, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
In Corinthians it says, for we walk by faith, not by sight.
So the big element across the span of 4,025 years is the fact that there was a promise given.
There is faith on behalf of all that generation to us that the promise would be fulfilled.
And then what is now the manifestation of that promise?
God reaffirmed that through Abraham's offspring, all nations would be blessed.
That was the third element.
The promise of descendants, the promise of land, and the promise to all generations.
The manifestation in Christ was found in 1 John 2.
It says, the son, which is Jesus, is the promise of eternal life and through him
all nations will be blessed.
And then the last one in manifestation of the promise, the Holy Spirit,
when it comes down to us in Acts 2 33, Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit as promised
poured out, which we see in here, and that's the dunamos, the power in which to live
in faith, understanding the promises will be given us.
So I hope that declares something for you with regard to where we are at.
So let's look at the promises that are anchored in his unchanging nature.
We have read that Christ Jesus fulfilled all these promises and continues to do so
through all these generations, 4,025 years nonstop.
Interesting point.
This is the longest and the most far reaching covenant of any biblical,
social, or secular covenant ever created.
Isn't that wonderful about God, how he's just brought that forward.
Our spreadsheet then shows his promises are unconditional.
They are eternal.
And from Abraham to us, we have an assurance that these things are going to come about.
So as Christians, now we want to embrace the certainty of God's promise.
Oh, well, it was nice to read.
It's this John, I get it and so forth, but we want to move from intellectual understanding
to a faith based trust in that covenant relationship that we have.
So that's what we're going to talk about.
So let's see how we can carry the promise forward,
allowing God to reshape us by applying it to our lives, our families, and to our friends.
So that's what we're about.
So as we carry this forward, there's a declaration of his intent of his intention to bless.
That's what we end up with at the end and understand because all peoples of the earth
will be blessed.
And that's what it says in Genesis 12, three.
We are called to extend that blessing then to the outward concept of people, places,
and situations, and welcome every individual possible into the family of God.
That's our mission.
In Romans 8, 28, it says, for we know that God is always at work for good to everyone
that loves him.
He is always at work.
He's never left on vacation.
He doesn't close you down.
He is at work on your behalf.
So God hears and answers our requests, not because we deserve it.
Some of us in our pre-Christian life may have thought about God and some of these situations
that you get into where, well, I don't deserve this or I don't deserve that.
You know what?
You deserve it, but it's not by what you do.
It's by who you are.
No amount of human effort or performance or moral living can obligate God to do
what he wants to do for you.
So let's take a look at two samples here.
The performance-based requests of those that think they can persuade God
versus the faith-based requests that we see here.
First off, the rationale by performance-based people goes like this.
I believe my influence on God will change my circumstances.
I.
Their action plan is simply my human effort will gain his favor and is based on what I do.
And their thought process goes like this.
I deserve his favor because of how well I serve, how well I pray, and how well I obey.
An example of that is simply where everyone ticks off the check mark and measures their
score to make sure that they merit.
How many have ever heard people say, well, I hope I get to heaven.
I've been a good person.
That's the merit system of what we're talking about.
It's not by the grace of God.
And on the other hand, faith-based requirements say this.
The rationale for us is I pray for God's generosity toward me.
And that's what we should be praying for.
There is not a thing that the Lord doesn't want to give you and supply your needs.
Now, once and passions and desires for all the new house or the new car or the job,
that's secondary.
What he's looking for is in the changed life to understand whether the real needs
and the real desires are for.
The action plan for us then is I will trust in him and patiently wait for his answers.
Our thought process combined to that is by gratitude and trust in God,
I receive what God provides.
There's a lot saying that maybe God doesn't exactly give you the promise that you want it.
But when he gives it to you in another fashion or form,
guess what?
It's better for you than what you ever thought.
That's for sure.
And then the example is this.
God feels near to me as I humbly serve him out of thankfulness.
So we have compared those two mindsets.
Look at the contrast.
The contrast between one is obvious.
The eyes, the minds, the measuring, the doing, and all that stuff.
That's not where we're at.
We're on the other side of the ledger where it talks about him.
It talks about God.
And in part of doing that, we are relinquishing our time,
our schedule, our anticipated outcome, because God is working on our behalf.
And the thing that we must understand is that there is patience that has to be learned from that.
Okay.
But you say it is difficult to trust in God.
I get that.
The nature of trust simply means that we relinquish our future resources and hopes to God.
It's in his schedule, in his doing, not ours.
People often sense that trusting God completely, especially with life's needs,
seems so difficult and may experience deep resistance.
Some of these resistances you probably have heard of and maybe you experienced them yourself.
The fear of losing control.
Anybody want to identify with that?
Okay.
Got a couple here.
I have to be in control.
Stepping into uncertainty feels risky.
The quote that I use that I've often heard,
I'd rather manage my own life than surrender it to the hand of God.
Well, big deal.
Guess what?
We have all found in some form or fashion that it's better to give our life to the Lord
than it is to manage our own merits.
Past disappointments, and this is the generation into society
that people are very disappointed.
When prayers are unanswered, we often build walls around our hearts.
Well, it didn't work.
I'm not going to do it.
It was like me not praying for my wife for some period of years.
I just left it go.
It's not that I didn't believe he wouldn't do it, but he just left it.
But, you know, as God rekindled that and believing the Lord for that,
and then some people obviously have memories of pain
that cast doubt on God's goodness.
And I understand that, but I will tell you with that,
there is a promise of what you've been praying for,
a faith that you apply to that, and a patience that you wait for it.
And then unbelief is in the unseen.
That's hard.
I've got to feel it.
I've got to look at it.
Trusting God requires faith in what we cannot see.
How many have ever seen God?
No, not a hand.
Okay.
We've experienced his Holy Spirit, his feeling of who he is,
but we haven't seen him.
Some of the responses are my senses need proof,
and without visual evidence, my belief wavers.
And for new Christians, I do understand that.
That's why it's needful for us to encourage one another,
yet, well, the day is long to bring them along
to understand what God's economy of scale is.
And then last, the desire for autonomy.
Independence feels empowering.
And boy, don't we live in a day like today.
People are empowered to do the things that they want to do.
And then the response to that, by submitting my needs to God,
I feel like I'm giving up my freedom.
How many have ever felt that?
I used to feel that way, way back when.
You know, I just want to do this.
This is part of me.
But as I've come to understand in my older age,
now that it is blessings to be able to let him
choreograph the life that is before us.
So here we have a man that is afraid.
My gosh, he's looking.
The anxiety about handing things over to God.
What's this all about, John?
Okay.
Fear and anxiety, stopping us from surrender,
again, contradicts the invitation of Jesus.
It says in Matthew 11, come to me,
all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Rest.
And then remember, it talks about laboring into the rest
that God has for us.
Sometimes that is difficult to do,
but when you finally get there,
there is a rest and an assurance that comes in our life.
Philippians 4, it says the apostle Paul urges all believers
not to be anxious about anything,
but again, to present every concern to God.
Everything.
When Joni and I, now that we're retired and we live
and we've gone from the house to the apartment,
we have certain things that we need.
And it's just wonderfully sovereign
when you're not as busy in life
and you can see God just tick those things over
for preference.
I'll give an example.
My wife is into ceramics and she's made a lot of stuff
and my belief is that between her painting and the ceramics,
if we live long enough,
there won't be enough counter space or wall space
to put everything.
So I had these two great big plates,
beautiful plates that she made.
And I said,
Lord, you know, I'd like to hang these up.
And I looked online and it was expensive.
You had to buy a dozen plate hangers
and the whole bit and I thought,
well, we're not going to do that.
So all of a sudden,
about a week and a half or so ago,
I took her down to ceramics
and here this lady had a bunch of plate hangers
she just got from Amazon.
I said, boy, they're nice.
She said, oh, you want some?
Yeah, okay.
I took two.
I said, thank you, Lord, even for the small stuff.
And I didn't even pray for them.
It was just a blessing.
Anyway, here are five steps then
to help us surrender and trust in God.
First one, let's start to do something.
Well, I'm going to next week after the holiday.
You know, it's just like losing weight after Christmas.
Everybody goes to the gym.
I'm going to get, you know,
and the gym attendance starts to go along
and then it falls off about March,
April and now it goes down.
So nobody does that,
but we're going to start.
Practice small things.
Don't take on the big things.
Take small things, hand over minor anxieties
that you have and concerns that you have.
It could be parking spots.
It could be dinner plans, grocery shopping.
You give these things to the Lord
and let him work on your behalf.
As you see God's faithfulness then
in these small things,
you'll begin to grow bolder
to take on larger challenges that you face.
Please, start small.
Understand.
It's just like training a child.
No, okay.
And they'd still put their hand out.
No, or you're teaching them,
you know, how to speak
and then, you know,
they gobbly gook all over the place
and all of a sudden they say something
and, you know, it amazes you.
They get the message so that we start small.
All right.
Step two, practice habits
that root yourself in faith toward God.
These probably are not new to you.
But remember, in YHWH it says this,
begin the day,
thanking God for specific past answers
or his creation.
Where we live,
we have a wonderful sun room
that's vaulted
and we have a big window
and I look out there
and it's on the back of the preserve
and I say, oh, you know, Lord,
you're just, your nature is so wonderful.
Your colors and so forth.
And just thank him for those things
or his love towards you
and his attentiveness toward you.
And then prayer, again,
as part of this,
is opening your heart to him,
really begins to break the back
of self-centered desires
when you give it to him.
Read and reread scripture.
Again, I'm not so much
for getting through the Bible
in a year
as I am meditating
on what God gives you
because as you meditate
and you ruminate on those things,
God begins to reveal things to you
by the Holy Spirit.
Not that reading the Bible
in the year is bad.
Thank him for the answers
to your current request
before they even happen.
Thank you, Lord,
for what you're going to do
in this situation
in the name of Jesus.
Number three, ground yourself
in God's unchanging character
during the day now,
not in the beginning,
during the day.
How many sometimes forget
about the Lord
and they're busy things in life.
Ah, okay.
At least you're honest.
Thank you.
All right.
We got one honest guy here.
All right.
During the day
you meditate on the attributes
like faithfulness and trust
allowing or truth,
allowing them to speak
into your conscience
by the Holy Spirit.
As you fill your vessel
with the word
and with meditation,
the Holy Spirit works
and takes that
and applies it
to your conscience
and your conscience begins
to direct what you are doing
because your conscience
is all over the place.
That's part of you.
But what we're doing
through the Holy Spirit
is programming,
re-emphasizing,
reminding ourselves
and in doing so
you'll begin to see
the life change occur.
Psalm 89, 34.
God says,
I won't break my agreement
or go back on my word.
And when doubts arise,
remind yourself
that God's nature cannot lie.
His, again, your hope,
rests on his unchanging nature.
Numbers 23 says,
God is no more human
or no mere human.
He doesn't tell lies
or change his mind.
God always helps our promises,
keeps our promise,
his promises.
And again, number four
is another recall
to past faithfulness
and encouragements and proof.
List on your phone.
Everybody has a phone these days
or on your computer
how Jesus has guided you
through storms
and answered prayers.
Know what happens
if you try to remember it
in your mind,
you're going to forget it,
especially when you get older.
So put it on your phone.
Oh, there it is.
Okay, Christ's life.
Okay, you know,
or land still life
or whatever.
And yeah, okay.
I remember these things.
Abraham waited
patiently
and then received the promise.
Again, rehearse where
and when God came through for you.
These answers will help you
initiate greater trust
and faith in the Lord.
Share these answers
with a trusted friend
or in your cell group,
your life group.
Hearing one another's stories
reinforces our confidence.
It doesn't even
necessarily have to be your story.
It can be somebody else's story.
How many have ever sat
in a small group
and you didn't say a word
and after you hear everybody talk,
you went home blessed
because of what God has done
in the lives
of your brothers and sisters.
It's wonderful.
And then creating a prayer wall,
which we have,
we have that in WhatsApp
in our cell group
or a list on your phone
or computer postings,
posting the, again,
the reminders of prayer needs
and share with others.
So what I do,
so all my brothers and sisters
remember at the end of the week
when we're not waiting,
I take it, redo those,
and then post it again
and everybody gets a zing
on their phone.
Oh yeah, I have to pray for this.
So, you know, redoing repetition,
being the mother of learning,
it always helps
to keep these things going forward.
And then gauge
in corporate confession and celebration.
Maybe this isn't something
you don't do,
but it always helps.
When you're worshiping the Lord
as we've done this morning,
you can begin to proclaim
aloud during this corporate worship,
his past provision for your life.
Thank you, Lord, for doing this.
Thank you for that.
And again, that's part of praise
and worship.
And proclaim aloud his future for you
and what he's going to do
on your behalf.
Declarations,
exhortations,
those things that you are speaking
to yourself.
Let's take a look at Job.
He offers us insight
into our struggles of trust.
Now, remember,
Job has two parts to it.
The trust element is one
and we so often are focused
on what he's going through
as a horrendous experience.
And you can see this poor guy there
with boils all over his body.
So in Job, Job, he declared
that though he's slammy,
yet will I trust him?
In Job 13.15,
he affirmed on wavering hope
even if he faced death.
Think about that.
Lord, I will pray for these things
and believe for the promises
that you have given me
and the things that I declare
even into my deathbed.
And then he takes care of that
after you have gone to your reward.
Job accepted suffering
without demanding explanations,
trusting God's wisdom
despite not knowing
why he suffered.
And again, I'm not majoring
in the idea of suffering
this morning,
but he trusted God
and his wisdom,
not knowing why he suffered.
Job refused to curse God
or sin with his lips.
I mean, maybe we have got
the point of discouragement
to where, Lord, I give up.
Well, sometimes that is a confession
that we have to walk through.
But as sanity comes
and reason comes,
Lord, forgive me.
I just take that back.
I still believe in your promises.
I do believe what you have said
to me is going to be true.
So again, he refused to curse God
and he preserved
and his personality was there.
His integrity was there
and he demonstrated trust in God
under these intense circumstances.
So he endured through affliction.
He trusted, again,
the element of God's provision
and it refined him
and his character as gold.
He was refined.
And those, again, that our believers
understand that when we go
through trials and tribulations,
there is a refining process.
And even in while you wait
for your promises,
there is a refining
and maybe your understanding
of that promise has changed.
Maybe it's an articulation
of how you pray
for that particular promise
that God is working.
And Job example then teaches us
that faith means accepting
from God what he gives.
Well, Lord, you've got 98% there,
but not quite 100%.
I want you to do it again.
No, we accept what God gives us
for that answer,
not expecting only favorable outcomes.
And then remember what we already
read two times in scriptures,
but I'll repeat it again.
The combination after Abraham
had been patient,
he was given what God had promised.
Sometimes there is a lesson
to be learned about
if God would immediately
give you your answer,
you wouldn't have to exercise patience.
I run a caregivers group
in Meadowood
and we kind of go around the room,
we cry together,
we laugh together
and it's very endearing
now and a half.
And lots of times
most of these people
don't know the Lord.
Their big thing is
they run out of patience
with their spouse.
They get mad at their spouse,
they get frustrated
with their spouse,
you know, and they talk harshly
and all these things,
again, given the caregiver 24 seven,
I understand somewhat,
but the big thing is
they don't have patience
and that's what the world is.
They weren't patient.
Our whole society is what,
geared on them now.
I tell you what,
you talk about an Amazon delivery
in our neighborhood.
There's about 400 people.
There are three Amazon trucks
all around the place.
Everybody wants stuff quickly.
And you know what?
It is gratifying
to sit home,
to punch your computer in order
and it comes to your door
the next day.
Oh my gosh,
what a society
that doesn't help us
in our patience
toward what we're talking
about this morning.
Okay.
Worship team,
would you please come forward?
And in doing so,
I'd like to share with you
an experience
of trust
and of learning patience
for a promise
that was difficult in coming.
Now, maybe you want to
close your eyes
and think about this
and I want you to think about
the promises
that God has given you.
The hopes and dreams
that you have
for your family,
for yourself,
for your friends.
And as I share this experience,
you'll see why.
And I want you to apply it
as you hear my story
with regard to your own situation
and life
that you're interceding
and praying for people.
This is a personal testimony
of turnaround in my life
because my parents claimed promises.
At 18,
I rejected the Lord
and left home.
I enlisted in the Air Force
and in those days
when you ran away
from home,
you didn't travel over Europe
at your parents expense.
You usually went into the service
or off to some other place.
I was stationed in Bermuda.
Lovely, lovely place.
You get into trouble
very quickly there
and I did.
My mother and father realized
how deep in sin
I really was
and started a prayer vigil
with others for me.
My mother had assurances
from God
that someday I would return to him
and they prayed into this promise.
After four long years
I was discharged
headed for Florida
only one day layover
to say hello
and goodbye to my mom
and my dad
and in my life
and in my thought
it was probably forever.
I walked into uncomfortable feelings
toward my parents.
They asked me to go to church
with them the next day.
But I refused
as I had a job
and a girlfriend waiting for me.
I needed to leave early Sunday morning
but that evening for some reason
I consented to go with them
and you know who that is.
That's the Holy Spirit.
God ordained the entire service
on my behalf
and I returned Jesus
and never did go to Florida.
Amen.
I didn't.
Yes.
So here's the thing.
So in one 24-hour period
for those of you
that are still believing
for the unthinkable
my parents' prayers were answered.
I returned to Christ.
God's plan for my life
was resumed
and prophecies over me
would be then fulfilled.
So what does this teach us
about trusting patiently
while God works
on your prodigals
on your loved ones?
It does these things.
Their faith
meaning yours in your case
in spite of setbacks
discouragements
and whatever
allowed them to keep trusting
for an impossible situation.
And I won't go into
how impossible that was.
The endurance
in spite of hopeless circumstances
they believe God
even when I was living
a horrible life of sin
ulcerate its stomach
from drinking acts of theft
and immorality
and so much more.
I don't even want to mention it.
They were patient
in act of faith and prayer
not passively waiting
wringing their hands in despair
or worrying.
God's timing is always perfect
even when it felt
there was delay.
As patience prevailed
the promise was fulfilled
and I stand before you here today
thanking the Lord
for my parents' prayers
on my behalf.
Because I wasn't going
down this road.
I was going down another road
an alien road.
I for all intent purposes
I probably would have been dead
by now the rate that I was going.
So God does the impossible
and when you have patience
to see him work
he will perform that miracle
that answer for you
in his timing.
So now let's pray.
Lord help us to have faith
for you in all of our circumstances
no matter what they are
they are many
they are varied
they are different
they are big
they're small
they're personal
they're at large
they're friends
they're family
they're loved ones
they're prodigals
Lord whatever
it doesn't make much difference
to you because you love us all.
And give us strength
to be patient
for your answers
for us
and our families.
Sometimes Lord
we have to take our hands off
and leave them
to your activities
and influences in their life.
And Father we thank you for that
and Lord we will celebrate
and worship you
with all our heart
in advance of these answers.
So we thank you so much.
We thank you for all your miracles
and your wonders
and fair decisions
on our behalf.
We thank you in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Thanks for joining us
at Lansdale Life Church
as we praise God
and discuss his word.
Don't forget to join us
for Worship Live Sunday mornings
at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.
Be blessed
and have a great day!