THE GOD WHO MAKES PROMISES (PART 2)

The God Who Keeps His Word2. GOD'S PROMISES FLOW FROM HIS CREATIVE POWERPaul gives us two breathtaking descriptions of God in verse 17:“17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17 NKJV).First, He is the God “who gives life to the dead.” He is not merely the God who sustains the living; He is the God who brings life where death has prevailed. This is the same resurrection power we see demonstrated when God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Our God does not wait for circumstances to improve; He speaks into situations that appear dead and demonstrates His power to bring life.Second, He is the God who "calls those things which do not exist as though they did." This is Genesis 1 language. God said, "Let there be light" – and there was light. He speaks to what is not, and by the power of His word, it becomes. God's promises are not predictions based on trends or historical statistics; they are acts of creation spoken in advance. When God promises, He is not guessing at the future – He is declaring it into existence.This is why Isaiah can say,"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please" (Isaiah 55:11).And it is why Balaam, hired to curse Israel, was forced to confess,"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 23:19).Hear this, church: you do not evaluate God's promises by your circumstances; you evaluate your circumstances by God's promises. Abraham's body was as good as dead. Sarah's womb was dead. The situation screamed impossibility. But the God who makes promises is the God who raises the dead – and dead things have never been a problem for Him.Jesus said the same of the Heavenly Father:Once, Jesus told Bro. Hagin.“13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14 NKJV).The word “ask” means “ask” and “demand”. Jesus wasn’t saying to demand from Him or the Heavenly Father. When God promised you something, you can demand that it be fulfilled. We are demanding that the forces of darkness not block the fulfilment of those promises.The word “do” means: ποιέω (poieō). vb. to make, do. Describes the act of making, producing, or creating. [Peach, M. E. (2014). Creation. In D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Lexham Press.]Jesus said to Bro. Hagin, “If you demand something that is not there, I will create it.”God, the Holy Spirit, with His creative power, will create what is not there, as He has promised.In these two verses, Jesus made a double emphasis on “ask” and “do”. It means that once it is promised:- Be persistent- Be determined- Demand it again- Do not question God’s promisesJesus is very adamant that we demand it, and He will do or create it.Solomon wrote:“21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV).In other words, the Holy Spirit's creative power is released from our spirit because He dwells in it. The destructive power of darkness does not flow from our born-again spirit, which is righteous and holy. It flows from our soul - our mind and will. We release His creative power, and His promises will become reality.Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

赐应许的神（二)

信守诺言的神2. 神的应许源自祂创造的大能保罗在17节为我们描绘了神的两个令人惊叹的属性： “17 亚伯拉罕所信的，是那叫死人复活、使无变为有的神，他在主面前作我们世人的父。如经上所记：‘我已经立你作多国的父。’”（罗马书4:17）第一，祂是那“叫死人复活”的神。祂不只是维持活人生命的神，更是在死亡掌权之处带来生命的神。这正是神使耶稣基督从死里复活时所彰显的大能。我们的神不必等候环境好转；祂向看似死寂的境况发声，施展大能带来生命。第二，祂是那“使无变为有”的神。这正是创世记第一章里的话语。神说“要有光”，就有了光。祂对着不存在的事物发声，祂话语的大能使之成就。神的应许不是依据趋势或历史数据作出的预测，而是预先宣告的创造。神发出应许时，不是在猜测未来，而是宣告事情将要成就。所以以赛亚才这样说：“我口所出的话也必如此，决不徒然返回，却要成就我所喜悦的，在我发它去成就的事上必然亨通。”（以赛亚书55:11）巴兰被雇来咒诅以色列，却不得不承认： “神非人，必不致说谎；也非人子，必不致后悔。祂说话岂不照着行呢？祂发言岂不要成就呢？”（民数记23:19）教会的弟兄姊妹，请听：你不要凭着环境来判断神的应许，反倒要凭着神的应许来判断环境。亚伯拉罕的身体如同已死，撒拉的子宫也已经绝了生育的可能，一切光景都在诉说这是不可能的事。但这位赐下应许的神，乃是叫死人复活的神；对祂而言，死寂的境况从来都不是难题。耶稣这样形容天父：有一次，耶稣对甘坚信弟兄说：“13你们若奉我的名求什么，我必成就，叫父因儿子得荣耀。14你们若奉我的名求什么，我必成就。”（约翰福音14:13-14）“求”的意思是“索取，提出要求”。耶稣不是让我们向祂或向天父提要求。当神应许你一件事，你就可以要求那件事成就。我们是要求黑暗的势力离开，不允许它们阻碍神的应许成就。“成就”这个词对应的希腊文是ποιέω（poieō），动词，意思是制造、作成。用来描述制造、产出或创造的行动。耶稣对甘坚信弟兄说：“如果你宣告那尚未存在的事物，我就会来创造它。”神，就是神的圣灵，必凭着祂创造的大能，照着祂的应许，造出那原本没有的事物。在这两节经文中，耶稣两次强调了“求”与“成就”。意思是，一旦有了应许：- 你要坚持- 你要下定决心 - 你要再三要求- 不要怀疑神的应许耶稣的语气毋庸置疑：我们宣告这件事，祂就必作成，将其创造出来。所罗门写道：“21 生死在舌头的权下，喜爱它的，必吃它所结的果子。”（箴言18:21）换句话说，圣灵创造的大能从我们的灵里释放出来，因为祂住在我们里面。黑暗的毁灭之力不会从我们重生的灵里发出 —— 我们重生的灵是公义、圣洁的；它是从我们的魂，也就是心思和意志发出。我们释放祂创造的大能，祂的应许就必成为现实。张耀光牧师 新加坡信心教会请访问我们的中文播客,faithchurch.sg/牧师手札/#牧师手札 ... See MoreSee Less