FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES --- PART 1

One of the most devastating lessons a young person learns is that people break their promises. Children naively assume that if someone says, [I promise,] they can count on it. But this assumption takes a vicious beating. A father vows to go camping with his son, but weekend after weekend finds dad too busy with other matters. A mother pledges to take her daughter to the zoo and then forgets all about it. A child shares a secret with a friend, only to discover that everyone in his or her class at school is in on it. No doubt you can give examples of promises made to you that were never kept. Jonathan Swift once said: [Promises and pie crusts were meant to be broken.] But YHVH is able to keep His Promises, no matter how unlikely their fulfilment may seem. Take the case of Abraham in the Old Testament book of Genesis. He was nearly 100 years old when Adonai renewed His pledge to give him a son. The patriarch's wife, Sarah, was 90. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: he staggered not at the promise of YHVH through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to YHVH; and being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform. -- Romans 4:18-21. Abraham was not the only person in the Old Testament who recognized YHVH's ability to keep His Promises. Joshua wrote: There failed not ought of any good thing which Adonai had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. -- Joshua 21:45. And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which Adonai your YHVH spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. -- Joshua 23:14. A few hundred years later King Solomon reminded his generation of the same thing when he said in 1 Kings 8:56: -- Blessed be Adonai, that hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised: there hath not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant. Yes, the Bible gives ample proof of YHVH's ability to keep His Promises, even when they seem incredible. Yet most of us have difficulty believing our Adonai can calm our emotions or silence the worries that nag at our hearts. Unlike Abraham, we do not feel completely assured that what YHVH has Promised He is also able to perform.

1 – What Are YHVH’s Promises?
The word [promise] in its noun and verb forms is mentioned not less than 65 times in the New Testament alone. Only 2 of these instances refer to human promises. All the rest are Vows that YHVH makes. Let me just point out a few of the prominent examples of divine Promises in Scripture. First -- YHVH Promises Ruach HaKodesh to people who have put their faith in Moshiach. Ephesians 1:13 states: 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 Ruach HaKodesh of Promise. If you are a believer, you possess YHVH's Ruach Kodesh in your heart. But the Fruit of HaRuach is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance: against such there is no law. -- Galatians 5:22-23. Because this is YHVH's Promise we can display those virtues in our lives if we have yielded to Ruach HaKodesh. A second biblical promise is an abundant life that will never end. 1 John 2:25 declares: -- And this is the Promise that He hath Promised us, even eternal life. Many verses teach that we believers possess eternal life right now. 1 John 5:11-12 says that: -- And this is the record that YHVH hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of YHVH hath not life. [Note the present tense] Hath the Son hath Life. This means we are secure in our salvation that is YHVH's Promise. Yeshua said: -- and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My Hand. -- John 10:28. What a Promise! Thirdly, our Heavenly Father Promises us spiritual rest. Hebrew 4:1 tells us that: -- 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. YHVH wants us to cease striving to earn our salvation and start resting in the finished work of Moshiach on the cross. He invites us to rest from worry by trusting in Him. He tells us to rest in the Power of His Ruach, who alone can produce holiness in us. Why then do not more believers experience this rest? The answer is simple: We have not put our trust in YHVH's Promise. We believe our way of achieving peace and fulfilment is better than YHVH's way. That always leads us to restlessness. As Augustine said centuries ago, [You have made us for Yourself, O YHVH and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.] The people of Israel under Moses failed to receive their rest in the Promised Land. They died in the wilderness because they did not believe Adonai could keep His Promise. With this in mind, Hebrews 3:19 says: -- So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. We too, can forfeit our spiritual rest, merely by refusing to trust YHVH for it. We could examine other specific promises. James 2:5 mentions: -- Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not YHVH chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which He hath Promised to them that love Him? 2 Peter 3:4 speaks of: -- 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. To sum it up, all of YHVH's Promises are included in His Son, Yeshua Moshiach. For all the promises of YHVH in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of YHVH by us. -- 2 Corinthians 1:20. Yeshua fulfils such Old Testament promises such as: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My Voice. -- Genesis 22:18. He will swallow up death in victory; and Adonai YHVH will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for Adonai hath spoken it. -- Isaiah 25:8. And there was given Him Dominion, and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. -- Daniel 7:14. Do you have Moshiach in your heart? Then you possess all of YHVH's Promises. Receive Yeshua and you receive everything.

2 – Why Are YHVH’s Promises True?

Scripture gives us two good answers to this question:

A -- YHVH is Truthful:
Titus 1:2 affirms that the divine promises are dependent on: in hope of eternal life, which YHVH, that cannot lie, Promised before the world began. A lie would contradict the Heavenly Father's nature. Romans 15:8 say that: -- Now I say that Yeshua Moshiach was a minister of the circumcision for the Truth of YHVH, to confirm the Promises made unto the fathers. Yeshua said: Yeshua saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. -- Romans 14:6. To harbour suspicions of YHVH's Word is to challenge His Character, for as Truth He cannot lie. We know that people often renege on their promises, so we expect the same from the Heavenly Father. We bow in prayer, claim a divine Promise, thank YHVH in advance for its fulfilment and then are sure we will never possess it. The Bible labels that kind of person: A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. -- James 1:8. When Adonai first promised Abraham a son, the patriarch doubted. He tried to help YHVH by taking his wife's servant girl, Hagar and having a son through her. Eventually he overcame his scepticism and grew strong in faith by trusting in YHVH's truthful nature. That is what our Heavenly Father wants us to do. The second answer to why are YHVH's promises true? is:

B -- YHVH is Trustworthy:
Speaking of Adonai, Hebrews 10:23 says: Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is Faithful that Promised. The New English Bible translates it, The Giver of the Promise may be trusted. The original word for [promise] was used in secular literature for the empty promises of politicians and of quacks who were selling supposed miracle potions in a bottle. People soon learned that these promises were unreliable. But YHVH is trustworthy. It is a part of His nature to keep His Promises. Some people consider themselves so worthless and corrupt they refuse to believe that divine grace will suffice for them. But the Promise of Salvation does not depend on us. If it did, no one would know Moshiach. Never doubt that YHVH can Love you, for His acceptance is based on His own Trustworthiness, not our unworthiness. We honour our Adonai by trusting in His Grace as much as Abraham honoured Him by trusting in His Power. YHVH called on Abraham to believe he could become a father, even though it was physically impossible. He asks us to believe we can be children of YHVH in spite of our unworthiness. Though we are faithless, YHVH is dependable; therefore, His Promises are true.