Reading With the People of God #10 Kingdomنموونە

Focus of the month: (Kingdom)

7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, 10 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. 11 When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’ ”.

- 1 Chronicles 17:7-14

Romans 11 - Can God be trusted to keep His promises?

YES! The Bible confirms that God is faithful to keep His promises to Israel and these promises are unconditional. God can be trusted, and He will keep His Word. He will keep His promises no matter what people do. These promises include salvation, land, blessings, peace, and a kingdom with a King. God does not lie, and so what He speaks will come to pass. What God faithfully promises He will fulfill. In Psalm 31:5, He is called the God of truth.

Israel’s existence as a nation is tied to the promises of God. God chose them as His own nation, and He promised to bless them. This blessing came to them through the Abrahamic covenant and was not conditional upon them. God was determined to bless them no matter what they did because of His promises to Abraham. God would bring about the right circumstances to fulfill His promises. God made these promises which He must keep. If He did not keep His promises then how would the Gospel be true? How would we be able to share the Gospel with others and get them to trust in God and have faith in His Son Jesus? If God could not be trusted, then we wouldn’t have this Gospel of truth.

The Bible also says that those who are outside of the nation of Israel will also be blessed. God will bless Israel and, through them, the entire world. And He has fulfilled this promise because, through Israel, God brought the Messiah, the promised King, the Savior of the world, Jesus the Christ our LORD. ALL of God’s promises must be fulfilled!

So the question is, Do we trust God? Do we trust that He will fulfill His promises and do what He says He’ll do? Has God canceled His promises to Israel because they rejected the Messiah? In this chapter of Romans, Paul says, “No!” “God forbid!” And the chapter ends with a glorious praise, a benediction. This is so encouraging!

Even as I wrote out this message, it helped me trust God even more! I’ve seen what He can do, and I know He’ll do it again. He has answered so many prayers in my life and has gotten me through so many trials. He has tested my faith for sure, and I’ve had to learn to trust Him with my whole heart, mind, body, and soul. I wouldn't be here now writing this with my Cornerstone family if this wasn’t true. When we remain in Christ, He remains in us, and therefore, we are entitled to the inheritance of our King Jesus. We are adopted into the family as God’s sons and daughters. It is because of the fullness of Christ that we get the privilege to ask for whatever we wish, and it will be given. What is in Christ will be given to us. It is not about who we are or what we have done; it is because of Who He is and what He has done. It is by faith that we are given the free gift of salvation. There is no amount of work we can do to earn this. It takes faith, trust, and believing that what He says He’ll do, He’ll do it. That what He says He has done, has been done.

Thank You Jesus! We love You LORD our strength.

*Primer contributed by Amanda Moon, Member of Cornerstone Community Church