First Posted August 2000​​​

THE PROMISES OF GOD

​There is one important fact that must always be remembered. "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"Numbers 23:191

Almighty God's promises to His people are true. The history of God with His people reflects God's love and greatness towards His own. God brought them out of Egypt and gave them the Ten Commandments. The Lord's statement before He gives Moses the first commandment is profound. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage (slavery)"​Exodus 20:22 God says, He is God! He is their God and it was He and HE ALONE who brought them out of the nations' (world's) bondage: out of everything that He did not want for them, out of everything that was not of Himself. God is declaring Who He is, His great love for His people and also His great power towards them. "No man can out do My love for you or out power Me." July 27, 2000Before God sent Moses to bring His people out of bondage, Moses asked God what to tell the people. "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'I am has sent me to you.'" Exodus 3:142The first commandment God gave His people is: "You shall have no other gods before (besides) Me" Exodus 20:3He is to be the Only thing that rules their lives and ours. 400 years of bondage and now they are to be God's people in a new and deeper way. In Exodus 19:4, 5, 6 God gives these words to Moses for Israel: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you shall speak to the children of Israel.'" What an honor. The children of God, if they obeyed Him, staying in His covenant, would be to Him a peculiar treasure above all other people. By their obedience unto Him, they would have a relationship with Almighty God that no other nation had and all the nations would come to know God. In Exodus 34:24 God promised Moses the following: "For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders; neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year."2 When Joshua lead the people into the promised land, there were many battles and victories. They followed the commandments of God and He blessed them and did all that He had told them He would do. Before Joshua died, God warned His people through Joshua: "Therefore be very courageous to keep and do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left. And lest you go (associate) among these nations, these who remain among you, You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them." Joshua 23:6, 72 This was a particular warning from God to His people not to get involved with the other nations that still remained in the land. God had created and called the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be completely His and His alone so that He could bless them and all of the other nations through their obedience. Every other "nation" upon the earth worshiped idols. The Hebrew people were at that time the only 'nation' who worshiped the One True God.

Even though God knew that His people would not follow Him as He desired, and because of their disobedience would go through horrible things, God has always loved His people. "I have betrothed you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy." Hosea 2:192 His Heart's desire has never changed!


Jeremiah 30:32 shows us His plan for the Restoration of Israel. "'For behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says the Lord. 'And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.'" God goes on to explain in verse 7 "Alas! For the day is great, so that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob's trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.'"

Since WW II, millions of Jews have returned home to Israel, and thank God they are still coming. There is a time coming that will bring great trouble on Israel, and indeed the whole earth. But in the end, the remnant of Israel shall be saved, brought to her Messiah Yeshua and Gentiles will also be saved.


"When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 'if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land...'" 2 Chronicles 7:13, 142 Oh, how I wish the chosen of God would understand that all they need do is stop looking to man for anything. Verses 21 and 22 tell us: "And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?' Then they will answer, 'Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.'" This is exactly what has and is happening. God's chosen people are still "choosing" to want the nations and their false gods over The One True God of Israel and all of His promises to them. They are still wanting to be "accepted" by the nations over the God of Israel. Instead of staying out of bondage and in God, God's People have become slaves to other nations and all of their dictates.

Obedience

Why are we not walking in the Promises of God? The answer is one of obedience. Take note! Obedience is not only for the People of the Book...it is for ALL those who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...the One and only True Living God.

Obedience to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is necessary in our personal relationship to, and walk in, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Obedience is such an honor. The God of the universe wants our obedience so that He can mold us into the vessels He has created us to become! Our obedience to Him is not for His benefit, but for ours! He cares for us that much! Obedience is a thing of the utmost intimacy. Not as the world views intimacy, but, rather, a much deeper freedom that comes when mankind gives himself totally, with nothing held back, to His Creator God. It is the characteristic core of the One to Whom we give ourselves. He is not an inanimate object. Our Lord is an Intimate Lord. He has elevated us to the highest position of such Love and Protection that every other relationship pales into oblivion!


Obedience is of such importance that it is mandatory. Scripture tells us, "And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation..." Hebrews 5:9 He cannot work with His children as He would like to if He does not have our obedience. As a result, His work in us will take longer than He would want because we are not willing to become the clay that He can mold. In our disobedience we pre-empt what God is doing.

Only our loving Father knows what lies ahead for His children. Why is obedience of such significance? In order for God to hold His rightful place of pre-eminence, we MUST choose to give our all to Him. We cannot be divided in our obedience or in our gods! Whatever we obey is our god. He wants to be our only God and wants us to obey Him and Him alone. God wills that we be obedient.

We would all prefer that life never cause us any pain or sadness. That, however, is not reality. Reality is what ever God is doing--not what we can see with our physical eyes. It is vital that we realize that God is the only absolute--the only reality in our entire existence.

Our trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is to be the strongest force in our lives. He should be consciously closer than the very breath that we breathe! God desires that we should be interested in His agenda and not our own. Only the One who created us can love us with the Love that transcends everything else known to mankind. Dare we allow this great Love of God toward us to become neglected and forgotten? Do we dare to be in disobedience and affect not only ourselves but all of those with whom we come into contact? Would we dare to say that our positive effectiveness is only born out of our obedience to the Sovereign Lord?

Our submission to obedience is a requirement for our spiritual growth and effectiveness in His Kingdom work. We cannot "pretend" obedience! The synonym for obedience is not appeasement! A personal synonym for me is "absolute". Almighty God is "Absolute" and my obedience is to be no less! When we are obedient to Him, our obedience becomes a birthing! We choose to birth the will of God in our lives. We make God's priority our priority! There is no magic formula for our obedience. We must declare obedience to our Father and allow Him to work in us and out of us to form this clay according to His perfect plan. We do it day by day, circumstance by circumstance. We must say "I want what You want no matter the cost."

The greatest cost is the deliberate sacrificing of our "self". When we give ourselves wholly to Him, we will experience such peace and joy. We will find that a great load has been taken off our shoulders....a burden we have placed there ourselves.

Is it possible that obedience is the sum of all our desires toward God being fulfilled? Is it even possible? The answer might be in the trying!

Bottom Line

Come and see Who He really is. Through His promises for Hebrew and Gentile alike. Come to the bar of true justice, beg forgiveness for your sins and receive...LIFE! Rejoice in Who He Is through out all time and eternity.

Through the Obedience of One, Life with our Creator Lord can be ours. '' ...through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.'' Romans 5:19b

Current Events

The Arabs, and the Palestinians are determined to possess God's city of Jerusalem. In time all the nations of the earth will come up against it. Zechariah 12:2, 32 shows us: "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness (reeling) to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. "And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it." Do not be deceived or dismayed. This is God's time just as sure as every day and second are in His hands. No one knows just exactly how each circumstance will be walked out, but in the end, after Jacob’s Trouble is over, God's chosen people will be saved and the Kingdom of God will be upon the earth. Do not be deceived by the "news" reports that you hear, read or see. There is a battle being waged in the heavenlies over GOD'S LAND and GOD'S PEOPLE! The desire of satan is destroy all that is or will be GOD'S. You see, if satan can destroy the People of God, then he will prove God to be a liar and unable to fulfill His Promises to His Chosen People. God told Abraham: "'And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'" "May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.'" Genesis 12:3, Genesis 27:29

From The Bridegroom

"No man can out do My Love for you or out power Me." July 27, 2000