Gods Promises

John 10:27-30

New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

God Declares the End From the Beginning

Isaiah 46:10

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning,
   from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
   and I will do all that I please.’

Exodus 3:17-22

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

 ¹⁸ “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. ²⁰ So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

 ²¹ “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. ²² Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

     Everyone please go back and read that scripture once more. Pay attention to what God is telling Moses. He is telling him exactly what he plans to do for the Israelites. He first acknowledges that he has heard the cry of Israel and has looked upon their affliction. Second, he has promised to bring them out of their misery and lead them into a land flowing with milk and honey. Third, he chooses Moses to carry out hs plan.
    He tells Moses from the very beginning that he plans on saving the Israelites from Egypt. He also tells Moses in verse 19 that he knows the king of Egypt will not let them go at first. He then says in verse 21 that he will stretch out his hand and strike the Egyptians and he will finally let them go. Do you see what God is doing here? He is revealing to us his great nature. He is declaring the end from the beginning. He tells Moses everything that is going to take place before he ever speaks one word to pharaoh.

   God sent his son Jesus in order to give us the victory in all things. If you are a christian you have the right to live a life of victory. God tells us in deut 28:12 that he will open to us his good treasure and bless our land and everything we set out to do! What a promise! We have the advantage over our enemy, satan. We already have the game won before we ever show up to play it. All we have to bring to the game is the Word of God and our Faith in Jesus. The victory is ours. It's really that simple.

   Satan knows he is a defeated foe. Satans plan is to instill enough fear in us to keep us from receiving what we are hoping for. He uses fear and doubt to keep us from receiving the Blessings of God. I'll give you an example of how he works. Suppose God has been laying it on your heart to leave your job and go into ministry. He has even reassured you that he will prosper you even more when you do this.You love the Lord and want to work for him, but you keep hearing this voice saying, if you quit your job you are going to have no money to pay your bills, your wife will leave you, and you will lose everything you have. Folks, that's a classic attack of satan. What you are hearing is not Godly. It's full of fear and doubt. It's a ploy from satan to create worry in your mind, which will stop the miracle working power of God in your life. That's not how God operates. The voice of God is full of love and faith. he tells us to test the spirits. 

   Understand that God is never going to send us on a journey and leave us stranded. It took the israelites 40 years to go on a 3 day journey. why? because of there lack of faith. God never left them. But his miracle working power was stopped by their disobedience and lack of faith. God wants to prosper us in this life. he has told us that in his word. Just listen to his word in Jeremiah 29:11 "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." He is declaring the end from the beginning to us right here in scripture. It's up to us to put our faith into action and receive this promise. 

   So how do we receive this? well, first of all you have to claim it and believe God can perform what he is promising here. You claim it through prayer. Come boldly to the throne of Grace knowing that Jesus is standing right there with you. Thank God for sending Jesus to the cross for your sins. Let him know that you know because of your faith in Jesus you have the right to have any promise wriiten in the Word. Then declare the promise to God. Make it personal. You may say something like this, "God you have promised me in Jeremiah 29:11 that your plan is to prosper me and give me a future and a hope. Well God I fully believe you will fulfill this promise in my life." Then lay your problem out to God. If you are in a financial crisis you may Say, "Lord you see my struggles. I'm flat broke. I can barely provide for my family. It's causing a great strain on me, my wife, and my children. I know this isn't what your plan is for your children. You have promised me that you will bless me in all the work of my hands (deut 28:12). God you sent Jesus to fulfill your word in my life. I'm claiming this word today, and I fully expect it to be fulfilled in my life through your son Jesus. Amen." Folks, if you prayed this today then show God your faith and stand! I don't care how bad the situation looks. If you prayed this prayer show God your FAITH in the midst of the storm and I promise you will get your Blessing.

   That brings me to the second part of receiving from God. Understand that prayer doesn't change things. Prayer is communication with God. Your FAITH changes things. I will say that again. Prayer does not change things. FAITH changes things. This is where so many people fail in receiving Gods promises. Look back at the story of Moses. God had told Moses that Pharaoh was not at first going to let his people go. So Moses goes to speak to Pharaoh and tells him to let the Israellites go on a 3 day journey into the wilderness. Well, pharaoh not only said no, he also put alot of extra work on the Israelites because they had slowed down progress when they heard what Moses was asking. So what did Moses do after he heard this? Well lets look at the scripture. Exodus 5:22-23, "²² Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? ²³ Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” Wow! How quickly Moses forgot what God had said. God told him that at first Pharaoh will say no. So many people do the same thing. They stand on Gods word for a while then when disaster strikes, or things don't happen fast enough they start to doubt Gods word. They wonder why their circumstances never change for the better. they say things like it's just Gods will for me to live in poverty or be in bad health or whatever bad situation they are in. 

   I'm here to tell you that's NOT true! The only reason you are still living in the mess you are in is because you are doubting Gods word! Faith changes things. God says clearly in his Word that his plan is not to harm us, but to PROSPER US AND GIVE US A FUTURE AND A HOPE. Show God some true faith. He has given us a way out of the mess we are living in. All we have to do is show him our faith and he will show us the Blessing!

   James 1:2-8, "² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.' 

   After reading the scripture above you have no excuse for doubting. Understand that in order to receive anything from God you must first go through a test. It's the test of FAITH and PATIENCE. If you will persevere to the end I promise Gods word will come to pass in your life. be patient and wait on the lord. I don't care how bad the situation looks. Understand the worse it looks the better because you can truly see Gods miracle working power when he brings you out of it.

   God has told us he wants us living in victory. He has given us all the tools to use to bring his promises to pass. Today, will you claim Gods promises and activate your faith to receive them? Put Gods Word to the test and show him you trust his son Jesus to bring it to pass. Stand in the face of the storm and I promise you will have the victory. God Bless you

The Supremacy of God

Colossians 1:15-16

New International Version (NIV)

The Supremacy of the Son of God

 ¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

A Promise a Day

Mark 11:20-26

New International Version (NIV)

 ²⁰ In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

   ²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly^[a] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” ^[26] 

Be still and Know that I Am God

Why Does God Allow Evil?

Brian La Croix  449 Brian La Croix Sermons

Topic: #2 of 565 for Sermons on Apologetics: General

Scripture: Romans 8:28-8:29

Denomination: Wesleyan

Date Added: February 2000

Audience: General Adults (31 - 49)

Keywords: none (Suggest a Keyword)

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Why Does God Allow Evil?
Various Scriptures


I. Introduction

Why does God allow evil?

If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? Why do we have war and murder, atrocity after atrocity, famine after famine?

Why do innocent children die at the hands of cruel men? Why do the ravages of war tear families apart in death and imprisonment?

Why this? Why that? Why do we suffer needlessly? Why, why, why?

Most, if not all of us have asked this question when faced with pain, suffering, or tragedy.

And while I don’t pretend to know everything there is to know about this, I do intend to at least attempt to give us some direction in our thinking about this very important issue.

And I hope that we will leave here today with a clearer perspective not only about the problem of evil and suffering, but more importantly, a clearer perspective of the sovereignty of God.

I need to acknowledge at this point that much of what I will be sharing is taken from material by Rick Rood, formerly of Probe Ministries.


II. Body

A. Why does God allow evil?

There is a line of questioning that goes like this:
 A good God would destroy evil.
 An all-powerful God could destroy evil.
 Evil is not destroyed.
 Therefore, there cannot possibly be such a good and powerful God.

And on the surface, to someone not grounded in Scripture who has experienced some form of tragedy, this would seem logical. After all, if God were good and all-powerful, wouldn’t it stand to reason that He would destroy the evil that plagues our world?

Then why doesn’t He? Could it be that He is not really a good God? Let me read Psalm 34:8:

-Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.-

Many other verses tell of the goodness of God. In fact, the whole Bible is an outline of God’s goodness in His dealings with man.

Could it be that He is not all-powerful? I don’t think so. Listen to Isaiah 40:25-26:

-“To whom will you compare Me? Or who is My equal?” says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.-

I would venture to say that the Creator of the Universe is plenty powerful, wouldn’t you?

BUT, did you know there are some things God CANNOT do?

Wait just a minute, Preacher! Didn’t you just get done saying God is all-powerful?

Yes, but hang on. Let me list a few things God cannot do, and you will see where we are going in a bit.

First, God cannot lie, according to Numbers 23:19. James tells us that God cannot be tempted, nor can he tempt people to sin.

In other words, God cannot do anything out of His character. The reason God cannot lie is because He is truth. He cannot sin or tempt to sin because He is pure.

He also can’t undo the past, create a square triangle, or make what is false, true.

So what do we make of all this? God is good and He is all-powerful to perform any and all things within His character, and yet we have evil. Why?

Listen closely to this next sentence, because it forms the basis of the answer, and I will explain it in more detail as we continue. This is going to be a little on the theological side of things, God could not eliminate evil without eliminating the possibility of accomplishing other goals that are important to Him.

God created humans in His own image, capable of having and sustaining a personal relationship with Him. But to really be in His image, they have to be capable of freely loving Him and following His will without being forced.

BUT, creatures who are free to love God must also be free to hate or ignore Him. And when people act in ways outside the will of God, great evil and suffering is the ultimate result.

God is capable of destroying evil – but not without destroying human freedom.

Professor Norman Geisler has an interesting take on this, that I like. He says that the free choice of humans is the source of evil. He used the analogy of rust. Rust does not exist on its own – it is part of the metal. The same is true with evil. It does not exist on its own – it is part of our makeup as a result of the fall.

So, the reason God doesn’t destroy evil is because He would have to destroy US as well.


B. Our Response.

Well, that’s all fine and dandy. So God doesn’t want to destroy us by destroying evil. I think I can track with that.

But why is there so MUCH evil? Why do we live in a world in which we can’t even let our kids listen to the evening news because of the horrible events taking place around the world?

Here’s my answer. And I want you to pay close attention, because this is going to get a bit technical and I don’t want to lose anybody. Ready?

I don’t know.

How’s that?

I don’t know.

But while I may not be able to pin-point reasons for the why there is so much evil, that doesn’t mean reasons don’t exist.

Please allow me to read Isaiah 55:9:

-“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”-

My kids don’t always understand the reasons behind what I allow or don’t allow them to do. It would be unrealistic for us to expect to understand all of God’s reasons for allowing all that HE does.

So how do we respond to what we see all around us? I think of several.

First, we can reflect on what we just discussed. God has His reasons for allowing what goes on.

Second, we can allow ourselves to experience the emotional pain involved and express it.

The book of Psalms records numerous instances where the writer is crying out to God about his suffering, and the injustices he sees. In fact, there are almost as many psalms of laments as there are psalms of praise and thanksgiving. And it is interesting to note that sometimes sadness and praise are mixed into the same psalm.

We are encouraged to pour out our hearts to God. And we can be sure that He hears and He understands. Remember, He knows what it is like to experience grief and suffering, including the loss of a loved one.

A third response is to focus on one of the greatest truths in Scripture: that even in severe trials God is working.

We have looked at Rom. 8:28 recently, but it bears looking at again:

-And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who Him, who have been called according to His purpose.-

This does not mean that evil is somehow good, but that even in suffering, God is at work to bring about His good purposes in our lives.

What are some of these purposes you may ask? Great question!

For one, suffering can provide an opportunity for God to display His glory-to make evident His mercy, faithfulness, power and love in the midst of painful circumstances.

Suffering can also allow us to give proof of the genuineness of our faith, and even serve to purify our faith.

Severe trials also provide an opportunity for believers to demonstrate their love for each other as members of the Body of Christ who “bear one another’s burdens” as mentioned in 1 Cor. 12:26. 

These are just some purposes in suffering, but there are others.

A fourth response could be to look at all instances of pain and suffering as some sort of cosmic conspiracy against you. This is not a healthy response.

Another unhealthy response is to react with cynicism and bitterness toward God, rejecting Him and His sovereignty in the affairs of men.


C. God’s Ultimate Triumph

We’ve seen that God has not destroyed evil because He would have to destroy us. We have looked at some responses to evil and suffering.

But there is another aspect to all this. There is another response. And that response is to LOOK AHEAD.

You see, even though God won’t DESTROY evil, He will ultimately DEFEAT evil. And what a glorious day that will be, amen?

I’ve read the end of the book! Satan and his deceptions will be done away with forever, and we will no longer be at the mercy of a world gone mad, because we will be in the presence of God forever!

Go ahead and check it out!


III. Conclusion

The problem of evil is, indeed, a problem, and not one to be taken lightly. But it doesn’t have to leave us in defeat and bitterness.

We can take it with the understanding that our good and all—powerful God is also all-loving.

He has our best interests at heart. And He sees the bigger picture.

There’s the story of the man flying his plane above a mountain road. He looked down to see a car trying to pass a semi truck. However, the man in the car could not see around the truck to pass due to the dips and curves in the road.

The pilot could see that there were no other vehicles in the area, and that the car would be in no danger in passing the truck.

All he could do was sit up there and reflect on the fact that from his vantage point he could see what the man in the car could not see. Because he had a bigger picture.

It is the same with God. He sees the BIG picture.

Trust Him in the present and look forward to the future.
http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/why-does-god-allow-evil-brian-la-croix-sermon-on-apologetics-general-42001.asp?page=3 

A Promise a Day

Deuteronomy 28:11-14

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. ¹² The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. ¹³ The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. ¹⁴ Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

A great video of by Kenneth Copeland