Embracing God's Promises: Strength for Every Season

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In my early 20s, one verse took on monumental proportions and nothing has dislodged it from its primary place to this very day in my fight against sin, encouragement in my heart, carrying through challenges in ministry, and that is Isaiah 41 verse 10: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." [00:01:22]

The effect of that phone call was to nail this promise into the scaffolding of my brain so firmly that it has become my go-to promise more than any other in those very anxious times in Germany where everything felt fragile and uncertain and unhome and threatening. I resorted to this promise hundreds of times. [00:02:56]

The reason it is so effective is because, unlike many promises, God Himself is speaking as an "I" to me personally. It doesn't say God will strengthen you, God will help you, God will uphold you. That would be wonderful, and many promises are spoken that way, and they're wonderful. But what it says is, "I will strengthen you, I will help you, and I will uphold you." [00:03:39]

Isaiah 41:10 is especially valuable also because those three verbs, "I will strengthen, I will help, I will uphold," correspond to every challenge that we can face: strength when we're weak and inadequate, help of whatever kind we need, upholding when we feel threatened and opposed and beat down or knocked down. These are awesome verbs that God addresses to our own soul. [00:04:58]

Romans 8:32 became very, very prominent in my spiritual warfare: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" Now, Romans 8:28 had always been large for me, but verse 32 does something more. [00:06:29]

It provides the foundation, the unshakable foundation of why he will, which is what gives this promise extraordinary power. I've called it the unshakable logic of heaven. Since God did not spare his own Son but did for us the absolutely unthinkable hardest of all things in not sparing his Son human torture and hellish condemnation, therefore nothing can stop God from giving us everything with him. [00:07:21]

Nothing can stop him. He will give us all things, everything we need in this life to do his will or glorify his name, and everything in the life to come that will enable us to know him fully and enjoy him perfectly and fully. So Romans 8:32, you might say, is the most prominent promise in my heart, which provides at the same time the deepest foundation for all the promises. [00:08:11]

The promise of Jesus, "I'll be with you always to the end of the age," Matthew 28:20, and the promise of Philippians 4:19, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ," and 2 Corinthians 9:8, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." [00:08:49]

I think it is good to memorize a handful of promises like these that are gloriously general enough to apply in every situation so that you can always call them to mind no matter what your situation for encouragement and protection and strength. But I think it is also good every morning to be reading through our Bibles looking for fresh expressions of God's faithfulness. [00:09:50]

Looking for fresh promises of God that we can take out of the text with us through that day as a particular appointed Word of God for that day. It has been amazing in my life to watch how those promises that were appointed for my reading in the morning and for my soul have become appointed in ministry for the people I meet during the day. [00:10:23]

Hold fast to your Isaiah 41:10 for every situation and be learning every day fresh expressions of that same faithfulness. And that's incredibly helpful and hope-giving to hear how those texts have influenced your life. Thank you, Pastor John. [00:10:55]

Romans 8:32 is one of the most incredible passages in the Bible. I would just encourage you to really get a hold of this solid logic of heaven and to do so, see John Piper's 2012 sermon, which you can find by googling the title "The Solid Logic of Heaven Holds." That's where the penny dropped for me when I heard that sermon. [00:11:11]

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