STANDING ON THE PROMISES?

          As a boy I remember a hymn often sung entitled “Standing on the Promises.”[1]  It was one of those frequently selected hymns and it could stir a man to his very core if he just listened to the message the words conveyed.  It says:

Standing on the promises of Christ my King, through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God.

~Refrain

Standing, standing, Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.

 Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God.

~Refrain

 Standing on the promises I now can see, perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free, standing on the promises of God.

~Refrain

 Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword, standing on the promises of God.

~Refrain

 Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God.

~Refrain

           Unfortunately in today’s world men are standing on anything and everything but the promises of God.  As a result, we have become a nation that has turned away from God and taken our eyes off of Jesus.  While there are many scriptures that define God’s promises, I want to share several passages that I hope will re-energize God’s men and encourage them to stand on the only promises that will never fail and will remain true throughout all eternity.

 1 Peter 1:4 “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”[2]

 Jeremiah 29:11 “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.”

 Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

 Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:37-39 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

James 4:10“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” 

Hebrews 4:2 “For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.”

Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,”

Hebrews 10:23-24 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,”

Hebrews 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

2 Corinthians 1:18-22 “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it has always been ‘Yes.’   For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.  Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

I love all of these passages of scripture; the passage from 2 Corinthians 1 is particularly appealing because it is so firm and solid when it states “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.”

           God has not broken any of His promises and throughout scripture we see that He has always fulfilled the promises He made.  If He has always fulfilled His promises that can only mean one thing … and that is He will fulfill the future promises He has made.  God’s men must stand on His promises and live their lives believing that God will bring to pass the promises He has made.  In order for God’s men to successfully stand on the promises of God they must start with a proper foundation and that foundation is Jesus Christ.  Another old time hymn that creates a word picture of a proper foundation is entitled “The Solid Rock”[3] and the lyrics say:

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

~Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.

~Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

~Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.

~Refrain

          My wife has often lovingly reminded our children that whatever our situation may be, “it’s going to be o.k.”  This is her way of reminding them God never has abandoned us and never will.  He ALWAYS keeps His promises.  While the world around us in trusting in sinking sand, God’s men must stand on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ and proudly claim and proclaim all of the promises we have been given by our Heavenly Father.  We cannot allow ourselves to be drawn from the solid foundation but we must remain fixed with our eyes on Jesus.   This is the only place and position that will give God’s men the influence needed to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world! 

          So where are you standing right now?  In order for you to stand on the promises of God it starts with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; do you have that personal relationship?  Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior then THE ROCK is your foundation which keeps you securely grounded while you watch God fulfill the promises He has made.  In fact, men of God standing on the Rock can be used as instruments or vessels for carrying out God’s promises.  TODAY IS THE DAY to get firmly planted on Christ the solid Rock and make yourself available to help others know the power of the promises of our Heavenly Father.