Summary: I once heard Bob Mumford ask a crowd of Christians: “Do you believe in divine healing?” Most hands went up. Then he asked: “When you pray for [healing], do you expect it?” Hmm, that’s a whole other question, and far fewer hands went up. Let’s examine this believe/expect issue and allow it to bring our faith to higher levels of receiving from God.
I was reading a devotional book. It was a good, faith-building message about receiving from the Lord. It reminded me of Bob Mumford’s “do you expect it” question mentioned above. What particularly caught my attention was the writer's statement, “I expect it because God promised it.” That is a divine truth and a major key to receiving from the Lord — whether it be physical healing, answered prayers, or any other area requiring faith.
The Bible is full of promises from God. I’ve heard estimates ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 of them. These are what the apostle Peter called God’s “very great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). Read God’s Word, the Bible, and see what extraordinary things He has promised to those who come to Him through repentance and faith for salvation from His Son Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
King Solomon was praying at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. Reflecting back upon God’s many promises and blessings leading to that great dedication day, the king stated a principle that applied then, and still applies today — that is, not a single word of God’s promises ever fails. This absolute reliability of God to perform what He promises is seen again and again in the Scriptures. Read them and watch your faith grow to expect blessings from God. For example:
If you find in the Scriptures one of God’s promises that is relevant to you and your situation, your need, your prayers, hold onto that promise as trustworthy, because “he who promised is faithful.” Since it is God’s promise, you can absolutely rely on it, as God declared through the prophet Isaiah: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11, KJV).
The greatest promise of all is found in 1 John 2:25 — “And this is what he has promised us — eternal life.” And the One who serves as the Guarantee of that promise is Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior. Not only this supreme promise of eternal life, but also “all the promises” of God find their “Amen,” their “Yes,” their certainty, in the Son of God, as the verse below states definitively.
God has made thousands of promises to us in His Word the Bible. Jesus, the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Savior, is the 100% certain Guarantee of them all. Read God’s Word … see His gracious promises to all who will believe ... have faith in God's promises … and expect God to fulfill them in your life, because Jesus is the “Yes and Amen” to each and every one of them.
For additional insights, I have written elsewhere on the trustworthiness of God’s promises (click the blue link).
----------------
Check out our 2 most-read articles on the power of the Word of God:
----------------
Shortcuts to Major Topics:
Christian Living
Doctrine & Theology
Evangelism
Faith
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Healing
Hearing from God
Holy Spirit | Pentecostal Topics
Jesus Christ
Ministry
Power of God
Prayer
Salvation
The Church
Various Topics Not Listed Elsewhere
Victory over the Devil
Word of God
Sharing is great!
If this message has blessed you,
please share it with your friends.
Email them the browser link. Or
you can post the link on your social
media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
Thank you for sharing God's Word!
©2019, James H. Feeney.
Copyright statement.
Pentecostal Sermons &
Bible Studies by
Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.