These four bible teachings below were written by Steve Fuller, and his blog is called Living By Faith Blog.
What Are the Promises of God?
The Bible is like that treasure chest. But instead of gold coins, it’s full of something infinitely better — the promises of God.
But sadly, many Christians don’t know God’s promises. It’s like God gives us a treasure chest full of gold coins, and we never open it to see what’s inside.
But God wants us to open this treasure chest and see all the riches we have in his promises. He wants us to see his promises, trust his promises, and be transformed by his promises.
But we can only do that if we know his promises. So – what are the promises of God?
Here are seven categories of promises I have discovered in God’s Word —
HEART-SATISFACTION – God promises to satisfy you fully and forever in Jesus Christ.
We all long for heart-satisfaction. We all crave joy, pleasure, and beauty. And we can find some joy, pleasure, and beauty in things of the world. But none of these gives us full joy. Or lasting joy.
But God has good news. God promises that full and lasting joy is found in himself; in knowing him as he is revealed in Jesus Christ. That’s what David says in Psalm 16:11 (he’s speaking to God) –
“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
We can also see this promise in verses like Psalm 36:7-9; Psalm 63:1-2; Psalm 73:25-26; John 6:35; Philippians 3:8; 1 Peter 1:8.
But there’s a problem. Our sin has cut us off from God’s presence, and we face his wrath forever. Which is why the next promise is so precious –
FORGIVENESS – God promises to forgive you through faith in Christ so you can experience his heart-satisfying presence now and forever.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
We have all sinned and faced God’s punishment. But on the Cross, Jesus was punished in our place. So when we turn from whatever else we’ve been trusting to satisfy us, and trust Jesus Christ to forgive us, change us, and satisfy us in himself — everything changes:
- God forgives all our sin — so we will never be punished by him (1John 1:9; Romans 8:1).
- God covers us with Jesus’ perfect righteousness, and welcomes us as if we were perfectly righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21).
- God gives us his Spirit by whom we experience his heart-satisfying presence (John 7:37-38).
This complete forgiveness, and all of God’s promises, are ours by faith alone in Christ alone, as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9.
But faith is not easy. Trials weaken our faith; temptations undermine our faith. So how can I be sure I will keep trusting Christ? That’s the next promise —
PERSEVERANCE – God promises to keep you strong in faith so you can experience his heart-satisfying presence forever.
How can you be sure you will not turn from faith in Christ and end up facing God’s judgment?
It’s because God promises that if you are truly trusting him now, then he will never let you fall away. You won’t be sinless. But he will keep you persevering in faith until you enter heaven.
That’s what Paul says in Philippians 1:6 –
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
But even though God promises to protect our faith, we are not passive in this process. We must fight the fight of faith, labor in prayer and the Word, seek to obey Christ, and love others.
So what will motivate us to do this? That’s the next promise –
REWARD – because of Christ, God mercifully promises to reward your undeserving faith with even more heart-satisfaction in him now and forever.
So the more I trust and obey Christ now, the more joy I will have in Christ now, and forever. Here’s how Jesus puts this promise in John 14:21 –
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
You can also see this promise in Matthew 5:8; Matthew 25:23; John 14:23; Romans 8:13; Hebrews 12:14; and Revelation 21:6-7.
But please don’t misunderstand this idea of reward. It’s not that we deserve rewards from God. It’s that – because of Jesus’ death on the Cross — God mercifully rewards our undeserving faith and obedience with more of himself.
But this does not mean that the more I trust Christ, the easier my life will be. That’s the topic of the next promise —
CIRCUMSTANCES — God promises to give you the perfect combination of blessings and trials so that as you trust him you will have the greatest heart-satisfaction in him.
Sometimes God brings us great blessings — family, friends, and health. His purpose in this is to show us even more of his glory, so we have even more heart-satisfaction in him. This is taught in verses like John 9:1-2; Job 42:10; and Acts 12:11.
But at other times, in perfect love and wisdom, God brings us great trials — persecution, sickness, tragedy. He does this so that as we cling even more closely to him, we will have even more joy in him than we would have had without the trial. This is illustrated in Job 1:21; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; 1 Peter 1:6-7; and 1 Peter 4:14.
But what about all the things we need in this life? That’s the next promise —
NEEDS – through prayer God promises to provide for every need in the perfect time and amount to give you the greatest joy in him now and forever.
God does not promise to give everything we want. But he does promise that, as we pray, he will give us everything we need in order to be fully satisfied in Him.
You can see that in Matthew 7:7 —
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
And in Philippians 4:19 —
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
This includes his grace (2 Corinthians 9:8), the work of the Spirit (Galatians 3:5), finances (Matthew 6:33), strength (Philippians 4:13), relationships (Matthew 19:6; 1 Corinthians 12:18), wisdom (James 1:5), and whatever else we need. He will provide these in just the right amount, at just the right time, to give us the greatest joy in him now and forever (Romans 8:35-39; Philippians 4:11-12).
HEAVEN — God promises to raise you from the dead so that forever you can join all the redeemed in the heart-satisfying joy of beholding God’s glory in Christ.
Unless Christ returns first, we will all die. But because we trust Christ, the moment we die we go to be with Christ in paradise (Luke 23:43). And there we will join with all the redeemed as we wait for Christ’s final victory over sin and Satan, His return to planet earth, and the resurrection of our bodies.
Here’s how Jesus put it —
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
This is certain. Jesus rose from the dead. And because you are trusting him, he will raise you from the dead. You will live forever with the ever-increasing joy of beholding him.
God has promised.
What This Means for Us
Notice that the focus of every promise is the all-satisfying joy of beholding God’s glory in Christ now and forever.
When we see this, and when we trust all that God promises to be to us in Christ, we will be transformed.
Recently someone did something which made me angry.
It was something they should not have done, which I had asked them not to do, but which they did anyway.
And I was frustrated, bothered, and fuming. Angry.
So What Is Anger?
I've heard people say that anger is just a natural response to pain.
But if anger is natural, then it sounds like it’s OK to be angry. It sounds like there’s nothing wrong with being angry.
But is that true?
What Does The Bible Say About Anger?
Here’s what Jesus says about anger —
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. (Mat 5:22)
Whoa. Notice that word “everyone.” That includes me.
So my anger deserves God’s judgment. Which means it’s wrong.
And here’s what Paul says —
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (Eph 4:31)
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. (Col 3:8)
So when I am angry, Paul wants me to put it away — get rid of it — stop being angry.
Which must mean there’s something wrong with my anger.
But why is my anger wrong?
What helped me was to ask —
What Is Anger?
The reason we get angry is because someone has caused us some loss or pain.
Let’s say someone is in the fast lane of the freeway in front of you, putting along at 45. Why does this make you angry? It’s because they are taking from you the convenience, pleasure, and freedom of going faster.
Or let’s say someone lies to get promoted instead of you. Why would that make you angry? It’s because they are taking from you the income, recognition, and satisfaction of being promoted.
See how that works?
Every time we feel anger it’s because someone has caused us some loss. And when we experience loss, it hurts. And when we hurt, we want to comfort that hurt, make up for that hurt, satisfy that hurt.
So how can we do that? We think it’s by getting back at the person who hurt us.
We think that will make us feel better.
And so we —
- say something insulting like “the gas pedal’s on the right, idiot!”
- feel bitter towards them
- slander them to other people
- have imaginary conversations where we put them in their place
- give them the silent treatment at work
- pass them in the right lane, shaking our head
- sabotage their work
That helped me see why anger is sin.
Your Rich Uncle
Imagine you have a rich uncle, who said that if someone ever stole money from you, he would give you ten times the amount that was stolen. That’s right — ten times.
So then imagine that someone steals $10,000 dollars from you. That’s a loss. That hurts. And so you want to do something to comfort that loss, make up for that loss, and satisfy that loss.
So how can you best do that? By calling your rich uncle. Ten times $10,000 dollars is $100,000 dollars. And when you receive that $100,000 dollars, you would definitely feel comforted. You’d be at peace. You’d feel no anger.
You would still feel that what the person did was wrong. That’s called righteous indignation. And you could still press charges — not to satisfy your loss by getting back at them, but to uphold justice.
But you would not be angry.
Why Anger Is Sin
Take my anger. Someone had caused me loss. It hurt. Badly.
So I wanted to comfort my loss, make up for my loss, satisfy my loss.
And I have a rich uncle — God my Father. He has promised that the joy of knowing Him will more than make up for any earthly losses, now and forever (John 6:35; Rom 8:18; 2Cor 4:17).
But what did I do? I ignored God, and chose anger.
I tried to satisfy my loss by getting back at the person who hurt me —
- I thought about how wrong his actions were,
- I grumbled about him to my wife,
- I had imaginary conversations with him in my mind.
So when I’m angry, I’m turning my back on God as my all-satisfying Treasure.
And that’s sin.
How Can I Overcome My Anger?
I’m going to turn my heart back to God, and seek Him. I’m going to trust Him to comfort my loss with His glory, His majesty, His goodness in Christ.
Lord willing, I’ll let you know how it goes in my next post.
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I Was Angry
I mentioned in my last post that someone made me angry.
So I asked — How should Christians view anger? And I saw from Matt 5:22, Eph 4:31, and Col 3:8 that I should see my anger as wrong.
Then I asked — Why is it wrong? And I saw that anger means trying to satisfy my pain by getting back at the person who hurt me — by thinking bad thoughts about them, giving them the silent treatment, slandering them, and so forth.
But that’s wrong, because God tells me not to get back at people, and because only Jesus Christ can fully satisfy my heart-pain.
OK. But that leaves one more question —
How Can I Overcome My Anger?
This is something God calls Christians to do —
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (Eph 4:31)
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. (Col 3:8)
So God calls me to put away all my anger. But how?
Many of us try will-power or psychological techniques, like —
- Taking a deep breath.
- Counting our blessings.
- Letting go of what is troubling us.
- Focusing on positive thoughts.
These might bring temporary relief. But the relief won’t last, because none of these techniques deal with the root cause.
What Is The Root Cause?
In 1 Samuel 18 we read that Saul became very angry —
And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” And Saul was very angry. (1Sam 18:7-8)
Why was Saul angry? It’s because David’s victories, and the women’s song, had taken away Saul’s fame. This loss of fame caused Saul pain.
At this point Saul could have turned his heart to the Lord, confessed his desire for fame, and sought his heart-satisfaction not in fame but in knowing God, beholding God, and worshiping God.
If Saul would have done this, God would have met him. Saul would have been filled with fulness of joy in God’s presence (Psa 16:11), and his heart-pain would have been fully satisfied in God Himself.
But that’s not what Saul did.
Saul turned his back on God. Saul tried to satisfy his heart-pain by being angry at David — by getting back at David. So Saul nurtured bad feelings toward him, entertained evil thoughts about him, planned ways to hurt and even kill him.
So what’s the root cause of Saul’s anger? It’s that Saul had turned his back on God and was seeking to satisfy his heart-pain by getting back at David.
Is That What I Was Doing?
Yes. To my shame, it was. Someone had caused me pain. But I was not bringing that pain to God.
Instead, I was seeking to satisfy my pain by getting back at this person — by thinking of how wrong he was, grumbling about him to my wife, having imaginary conversations where I told him off.
That’s the root cause of our anger. Someone causes us loss, but we turn our backs on God, and seek to satisfy our heart-pain by getting back at those who caused it.
So What Can I Do?
When I saw the root cause I could see what I needed to do. I needed to stop trusting that getting-back-at-someone would satisfy my heart-pain, and I needed to turn to Jesus Christ and trust Him to satisfy my heart-pain.
That was not going to be easy. But Jesus has already put my anger to death on the Cross (Rom 6:6). Which means that now, by His Spirit, He can put it to death in my heart (Rom 8:13).
So I turned to Jesus Christ just as I was — angry, upset, and bitter. I confessed that I had turned my back on Him, and was looking elsewhere for heart-satisfaction. I asked Him to forgive me through the Cross. And He assured me of complete forgiveness (if you struggle with this, pray over 1 John 1:9, Isa 53:4-6, and Rom 4:7).
Then I prayed and asked for more of the Spirit’s work in my heart. I asked the Father to strengthen my faith so I could see and feel Jesus once again as my all-satisfying Treasure. I prayed verses like Luke 11:13, 2Cor 3:18, Jer 2:12-13.
Then I set my heart on God’s majesty, power, glory, and love — using verses like Gal 2:20, Rev 1:5, Psa 138:5-6, and John 20:30-31.
I prayed over these verses until I felt the Holy Spirit strengthen my faith, and change my heart. Slowly my hard, bitter heart softened. I started to see, and then feel, the glory of Jesus Christ.
And as I worshiped Jesus Christ my heart-pain was healed. I felt peace and even joy in Christ.
And my anger was gone.
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Fired By A Real Estate Client
At the beginning of our church plant I worked in real estate. One client used a lot of my time but then fired me to get a better deal with another agent. This ended up costing me time, money, and reputation among other real estate agents, and I was angry and bitter. No way was I going to forgive.
But when Peter asks how many times he should forgive, Jesus’ answer is “seventy times seven” — 490 times (Matt 18:22). Which means we should forgive and never stop forgiving.
But that sounded impossible. Because forgiveness would mean–
- letting go of the harm my ex-client caused me
- no longer desiring her harm
- only desiring her good
But my heart was miles from that. So how could I forgive?
Jesus Tells Us
In Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus describes a servant who is angry because he is owed 100 denarii, which is 100 days wages, according to D. A. Carson’s “Matthew” commentary. Imagine someone owing you $20,000 and not paying you back. That would hurt.
But this same servant owes his master ten thousand talents — over a billion dollars, according to Carson. So, because he can’t pay it back, he’s going to be sold into slavery along with his wife and children. But he pleads with his master to give him time to repay, and his master does the unthinkable and forgives the billion dollar debt.
Imagine. At one moment you owe a billion dollars, so you and your family will be sold into the horrors of slavery. But the next moment you owe nothing and you and your family are saved.
But then what does this slave do? He finds the slave who owes him 100 denarii and threatens to throw him in prison if he doesn’t pay up. When the king hears what this slave did, he throws him in prison until he pays back the billion dollars. And Jesus concludes: “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from the heart” (v.35).
How Can We Forgive?
The first slave was out $20,000. That’s a lot of money. And yet the first slave should have forgiven the second slave, because of the billion dollar gift the first slave received from the king.
This parable teaches how Jesus enables us to forgive. When I am angry with someone it’s because they have caused me loss. This sense of loss hurts, and makes me want to even the scales by harming them.
Since the anger is caused by my loss, the only way to get rid of the anger is to ease the pain of the loss with a huge gain.
Imagine that after my real estate client fired me, I won a billion dollars in the lottery. Would I still be angry with her? Not at all. Because my joy in the billion dollars would more than make up for the loss she caused me.
And Jesus says I have received a billion dollar gain — in Him. The forgiveness of my sins, being adopted as God’s son, and having God’s heart-satisfying presence forever – this is the billion dollar gain which more than makes up for the losses my ex-client cost me.
So what enables us to forgive is seeing that the billion dollar gain we have in Christ more than makes up for the losses others have cost me.
Why Am I Still Angry?
But if that’s true, then why am I still angry? It’s because at that moment I’m not seeing what I have in Christ as a billion-dollar gain. All I’m seeing is the loss of time, reputation, and money my ex-client cost me. My anger and pride has blinded me to what I have in Christ.
So the only way I can forgive is to have the Holy Spirit change my heart so I once again see the billion-dollar gain I have in Christ. That would so make up for my loss that I would be able to forgive.
So here are the steps which God used to change my heart –
I Turned to Trust Christ
I did not try to change my heart first. Instead I turned to Him just as I was — bitter and angry — saying “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13-14).
I Confessed My Sin
My unforgiveness was sin, because I had let my ex-client’s actions blind me to all I had in Christ.
So I confessed my blindness. I repented of how I was not seeing Christ as the billion-dollar treasure He is. I asked Him to forgive me. I thanked Him for His death which paid for my guilt, and His perfect life which covered all my sin.
I Prayed for the Spirit’s Heart-Changing Work
Apart from the Spirit’s supernatural work, my anger would keep blinding me to all I had in Christ. So I asked him to enlighten the eyes of my heart so I could see and feel all that I had in Christ (Eph 1:18).
I Set My Heart on God’s Word
So I set my heart on verses describing Jesus Christ, and asked God to help me to see and feel the massive gains of –
- knowing a God who is fulness of joy forever (Psa 16:11)
- forgiveness of all my sins past, present, and future (Rom 4:6-7)
- a Savior who satisfies every heart thirst in Himself (John 6:35)
- an eternity beholding God’s glory (Rev 21:21-22)
I Continued Until My Heart Changed
I kept praying over those verses until I slowly felt my heart change. My sense of Christ’s worth grew. My feelings of loss were comforted, and then overshadowed, by the gains I had in Christ.
My heart went from feeling empty, to feeling full, overflowingly full — in Christ.
And when my heart was full of Christ, I saw that my anger had gone. I no longer desired revenge. I actually felt compassion for her.
Jesus had enabled me to forgive.
What this taught me
When I am angry at someone, it’s because I am not seeing Christ as a billion-dollar gain. So forgiveness depends on fighting the fight of faith until the Holy Spirit changes my heart — and I once again feel the infinite gain I have in Christ — and let that gain swallow up whatever losses I have received.
I do not say that lightly.
Some of you reading this have experienced losses that make mine look tiny. But what Jesus teaches in Matthew 18 is true: the gain you have in Him is infinitely greater than anything anyone has taken from you.
You may not feel that now. But He can change your heart so you will.
So turn to Christ as you are, confess your unforgiveness, cry out for the work of the Spirit, and set your heart on the truth of who Christ is. He will change your heart so you once again see and feel the infinite gain you have in Him.
And you will be able to forgive.
*All four bible teachings above were written by Steve Fuller.
Link to Blog: http://livingbyfaithblog.com/
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