Don't Count on Tomorrow, Today But Count on The Nine Promises of God
(Rest; Mercy; Holy Ghost; Christ Jesus, Heir of the World; Life; Eternal Life; Eternal Inheritance; Second Coming of Christ; Long Life)
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (9/17/2013)
“Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant” (I Kings 8:56, King James Version, KJV [REST: Solomon's blessing]).
“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his
rest, any of you should seem to come short of it” (Hebrews 4:1, KJV
[The Christians' rest].
“Is his mercy clean gone for ever? His promise fail for evermore” (Psalms 77:8, KJV [MERCY: God's great works]?
“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (St. Luke 24:49, KJV [Christ's ascension to heaven].
“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:
I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:”
(Isaiah 44:3, KJV[God comforteth the church].
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall
dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28, KJV
[God's Judgments]):
“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith he, ye have heard of me” (Acts 1:4, KJV [Christ's ascension]).
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God
shall call” (Acts 2:38-39, KJV [HOLY GHOST: Many are converted]).
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise ...That at that time ye were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without
God in the world: ...Honour thy father and mother; which is the first
commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou
mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 1:13, 2:12; 6:2-3,KJV
[LONG LIFE: By grace are ye saved]).
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“And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of
God unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly
serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake,
king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews” (Acts 26:6-7, KJV [His
defence before Agrippa]).
“For the promise, that he should be heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, … He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:13-16, 20; John 3:16, KJV [CHRIST JESUS, HEIR OF THE WORLD: Abraham justified by faith]);
“Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory,
and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God,
and the promises; … That is, They which are the children of the
flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the
promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise,
At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son” (Romans 9:
4, 8-9, KJV [Paul's sorrow for the Jews]).
“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise”
(Galatians 4:28, KJV [Christ freeth us from the law]).
“Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law” (Galatians 3:21, KJV [All believers are justified]).
“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable
unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of
that which is to come” (I Timothy 4:8, KJV [LIFE;
ETERNAL LIFE: Promise of life, not death in sin]).
“That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through
faith and patience inherit the promises … And for this cause
he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of
death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance ...These all died in faith,
not having received the promises, but having seen them afar
off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth”
(Hebrews 6:12; 9:15; 11:13, KJV, [ETERNAL INHERITANCE:
The priesthood of Christ].
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“By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a
strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and
Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise” (Hebrews
11:9, KJV [Faith in the fathers of old]):
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust … And saying, Where is the promise of his
coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue
as they were from the beginning of the creation … The Lord
is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”
(II Peter 1:4, 3:4,9; KJV [SECOND COMING OF CHRIST:
Partakers of the divine nature]).
Greetings in the Matchless Name of Christ Jesus,
Hopefully the roll call of scripture blessed, edified, and fed your spirit, with the word of God and the gospel of Christ Jesus. When I think of the young man, the college football player, in Florida, who ran to the sheriff, for relief, for his car broke down and he just tried to get any one in the capacity of neighbor to help him but they were afraid and the sheriff shot him dead, I call out to Christ Jesus, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!” We teach our children, from ages four to five, in prekindergarten and kindergarten that the sheriff, the policeman, was your community helper along with the fireman and others. However, in the community, our children, see the sheriffs, more often than any other community helper, so it was not strange or bizarre behavior for the son of a mother, to run to the sheriff as a small child would run to his parents, for relief.
Brothers and sisters, I am here to tell you, the spirit of Christ Jesus, is not in all of those serving as helpers to the community. We need to teach our children to run to God. Call on his name, inside of ourselves and intently listen to the instructions of Rome. Stand still and follow all instructions.
Perhaps, it was best for the children to become ill as they must be, in such a trying situation, they should show their illness and vomit or regurgitate to snap the sheriff back to a sense of compassion to defuse the stance of, shoot to kill. When confronted with instant death, maybe they should kneel down or lie down on the ground, in submission, to Rome, to give them an opportunity to live, to make it to another day, to try to make sense of the great mess they found themselves in, for which they needed a miracle to unravel all that bound them, if, given an opportunity, to live, then, they could wait for Christ Jesus to free them. “For who Christ Jesus frees, is free, indeed. Think it through.
Obviously, running to a sheriff as a child, was not the right strategy to get him to help, this young man. The sheriff was armed to kill. He needed him to help. You must think it through, when you find the sheriff available to help you, was ready to kill you.
Think, Jesus, call on his name, to yourself, in perfect quiet and peace, “Oh, Lord, have mercy. Christ Jesus, save me. Peace be still. Father, in heaven, bring peace to this confusion.”
God promised you mercy. Ask him as a child asked for the things his parents promised, “Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! Lord, you promised!”
What about the man, in Washington, D.C., a military reservist, the computer technician, who lost all sense of reason, upset over lost of job, and finally, decided to kill those near the naval base?
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How can you stop someone from killing you? One lady in her store started talking to the man about Christ Jesus until his anger subsided and he gave her back the things he took, apologized and left.
Another lady, fought back with such strength, until she impressed her killer and he let her go.
Yet another person in the jaws of death, lied down near those already dead and pretended to be dead, too. Christ must be with you to survive, even sinners, who do not reveal their connection to Christ but their hearts tell God, of their love, found themselves exposed and needed to let others know they were true believers, of the love in their hearts, for Christ Jesus. We also respected our soldiers and expected them to help us just like the sheriff, policeman, were supposed to help as our community helpers . When they deny us and intend to kill us, what do we do, to stay alive?
How do we get them to recognize the truth of our intent in a split second or nano-second. The fastest response to defuse the anger or hate was to call on the name of Jesus, for the saving of your soul, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” For example, One man said, when the sheriff approached him to arrest, he called on the name of Jesus and he was released, from any offense. Do call on the name of Jesus anyway, regardless, of, if, those in authority over you, seemed to want to help you, or not, then, with God, in charge of your life, you know, he worked on their hearts, in truth, to deliver you, from the throes of oppression that bound you, in the first place. He promised you mercy.
We look to the blessings of Solomon, for truly, the manifestation of God's promises, were present, in the reign and life, of Solomon. Of the nine promises, when you find yourself, trouble bound, you need the promise of Christ Jesus, for he is the great intercessor; you need eternal inheritance to stay the situation that bound you, in the faith of Christ Jesus, knowing Christ Jesus, saves you, for what he did for others, he will do for you; you need rest, for God to bring peace to confusion and rest all that bound you in mercy, for mercy sake and for righteousness sake; you need mercy, to defuse the emotional state of everyone in order to get them to clearly see you, for an individual with human rights and civil rights; you need life, for those, who have you bound to see you as the new creature that Christ made and not see you without hope, dead in sin; you need the Holy Ghost, to speak for you, to fight for you, when you do not know what to pray for or how to fight for yourself, the Holy Ghost, will deliver the words, you need to say; you need long life, to sustain the life you live, apply your circumstances to the circumstances of Hezekiah and petition Christ to talk to God, to at least grant you what he gave Hezekiah, to extend your life. This was why you must live in the word of God day and night, nourish yourself by feeding on the word of God, for the truth will set you free. Ask God, “Do for me what you did for Hezekiah. Father, I pray.” When God sustained you, by the works done, for Hezekiah, then, pray for long life and use the life of Methuselah as an example of the works of God to receive, as He promised (Isaiah 38:1-5, Genesis 5:27, KJV [Hezekiah's life is lengthened, Generations of Adam]). You must do what was required for long life, Honor your father and mother, to qualify to receive what you prayed for.
With Christ Jesus, eternal inheritance, rest, mercy, life, Holy Ghost, and long life, promised works of God, working for you in the trenches, on the battlefield, you need the other two promises to lift you up, in spirit, which are eternal life and the second coming of Christ Jesus. What opened you up to receive the promises of God? Was it not, confess your sins and repent (Daniel confessed his sins and the sins of Israel, Daniel 9:4-19)? What, if you feel you suffer a weak conscious and will transgress, again? You must never give up, keep confessing and keep repenting, maintain a close relationship with God, for strength, to weather all the storms of life and temptations that bind you, everyday.
What happened when you still failed, in spite of all your good intentions? You must face, truth that good intentions with evil intentions are evil intentions. That sums it up. For God will not pretend that you were in perfect holiness, with good intentions and evil intentions. You must maintain good intentions with good intentions; let all your intentions be good, to live a holy life, in the faith of our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus (Isaiah 57:15-21, KJV [Promises to the penitent]).
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God will build you up, while you are in a state of failure, doom and gloom and bring you back
to His marvelous light, just ask him and show him the love, in your heart and let him hear the good
thoughts, in your mind, so He will speak to you, of His will and purpose, for your life. God is able to take even the weakest of conscious, strengthen you, and make you a new creature or just forgive your sin(s) and encourage you to press toward your high calling, in the faith of Christ Jesus, as you run your
course.
May the Lord have mercy. May the Lord be with you. May the Spirit be with you. Amen.
