Promises, Promises, And All Of Them True

Chapter One

PROMISES, PROMISES – AND ALL OF THEM TRUE!

Ex. 1:1-22

Intro:

1. Years ago I was minister of outreach at Calvary Hill Baptist Church. The Pastor was Bro. Ralph Gossett. He was a great man of prayer and every now and then, he would sing a special, it was always the same song, Promises.

“Promises, promises and all of them true,

He's done exactly what He said He would do;

He didn't tell me my heart would not be broken,

Oh, but He did say He'd mend it when I pray.”

Nothing more precious and needful then the promises of God for the problems we face in life.

2. Promises, Promises – and all of them true!

“A period of 400 years has passed between the close of Genesis (Gen. 50:26) and the beginning of Exodus (Ex. 1:7). Genesis closes with a family of 70 safely dwelling in Egypt, and Exodus opens with a nation of over 2 million ready to be delivered from their bondage. The family of 70 had come from Canaan to Egypt and now a nation is ready to leave Egypt and go back to Canaan.”

I. FIRST, THE PROMISES ARE GOOD IN SPITE OF IMPOSSIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES.

A. The Situation.

God promised Abraham and his barren wife, that his descendants would multiply into a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:5; 17:2; 46:3).

B. The Seventy. 1:1-5

1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

5 All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already) - Only 70 of them! How are they going to become a great nation? By God’s supernatural power! But by the time of the Exodus, there were more than 600,000 men who were twenty years and older (Ex. 12:37; 38:26); and when you add the women and children, the total could well be nearly 2 million people, all of whom descended from the original family of Jacob. God certainly kept His promise!

Trans: Israel became a great nation, is still is a great nation, and will always be a great nation because she is chosen by God. Israel is a visible reminder that God’s promises are true (Jer. 31:35-36). The Gulf Stream is a river that flows in the ocean. It is a remarkable thing. The Gulf Stream flows north. And, if you're out fishing and if it's a clear day, the water might be about the color of aqua. However, when you come to the Gulf Stream, suddenly there is a crisp line in the water, and the water is a deep blue, like blue ink. There is a river in the ocean. That is the way the Jewish nation is, you would think that with all their dispersions that they would have been absorbed, but they're not, they remain a distinct, God-chosen nation. Often God’s promises seem impossible, how is God going to rapture us out of here? How is God going to take care of us in this economy in the meantime? How can God save that contrary lost person? How can God restore that rebellious child?

I read about a mother who prayed for her son’s salvation since the day he was born. Year after year, he showed no interest in Christ. He left home and got mixed up in Eastern Religion, began living with a woman, had a child out of wedlock. It seemed the more she prayed the further he got from God – but she kept on praying. One day that boy got saved; his name was Augustine, who became one of the greatest theologians of the 4th century.

II. GOD’S PROMISES ARE GOOD REGARDLESS OF OUR IMPATIENCE.

It would take 400 years in Egypt before Israel would become a nation, revealing the need for Patience (Heb. 10:36). Adrian Rogers, “We've got a lot of Alka-Seltzer Christians—you dip them in water, they fizzle for a while, and disappear. The only difference is they give you headaches. They don't stick it out. They don't stay with it. They have not learned to wait upon the Lord.” The fact that we have to patiently wait on the Lord for something reveals that we are not yet ready to receive those promises. My grandson, Dylan, once said he wanted a knife, and I had one, and I would have loved to give it to him…but he is not ready for a sharp knife. He would hurt himself and others but the day will come when he will be ready. We grow impatient but our impatience has no effect upon God who will fulfill every promise He ever made to us, in His own good time.