Living in the Promises of God - Part 1 - Overcoming
A Christian Living Article from All-Creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

True Christian living requires us to live according to Kingdom standards which bring Heaven to earth.

FROM Frank L. Hoffman, all-creatures

Many people become depressed because of all the evil and cruel things that they see happening in the world around them.  Others become angry.  But the majority of people have learned to hide the natural sensitivities that God created in us, and they go along with the evils of this world.  None of these situations are examples of living in the promises of God.

Living in the promises of God is an act of pure faith.  It is having the ability to look beyond the evils of this world, to the glory to come, and then to do whatever can be done to help bring the kingdom glory to our present time.  None of us can eliminate all evil, corrupt, cruel, and insensitive things that are continually occurring in the world around us, but we can stop some of it, and be a witness against all such things.

There are many Bible verses that can point us in this direction.   The most obvious to me is Matthew 6:10, which is part of the Lord's Prayer:

Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
(NASV)

If we are praying for this, then shouldn't we also believe it is possible, and indeed can and should come to pass in both the here and now as well as in the future?  I'm convinced we should believe this is possible.  It's an act of simple faith.  But faith is an active word.  Faith requires us to live by our belief.  As an example, we can believe that water will quench our thirst, but if we don't act upon that belief by drinking some water, we will remain thirsty.  The same is true about kingdom living.

Let's look to the future as described in Revelation 21:1-8 and see how this helps us live in the promises of God.

1    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

2    I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3    And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

4    He will wipe every tear from their eyes.   There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

If there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain in the new heaven and the new earth, then by simple logic, it stands to reason that there will no longer be any of the evil and depressing things that exist in the world today.  We need to live in this promise and help it come to pass, now.

5    He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

6    He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

7    He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

This is another promise!  We are to overcome the evils of this present world.  We are not to participate in anything that is un-Godly or un-heavenly, and we are not to turn a blind eye to the evil around us.  We are to see and hear what is wrong, and speak out against it.  We are to speak of the way God intended all things to be.  For to not do this is cowardly.  Note what we are told about being cowardly.

8    But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (NIV)

This passage should be quite unsettling for many people, for it says that if we participate in evil, or turn a blind eye to it, then we are part of the second death and not a part of the eternal life in heaven.  This is not living in the promises of God.

But I believe that this goes even further.  If we knowingly participate in un-heavenly acts which cause death or mourning or crying or pain, or simply accept them as the way things are, we are not living in the promises of God, and we are actually lying in our repeating of the Lord's Prayer, for we are supporting un-heavenly things here on earth, which are counter to the will of God.

But we can and should live in the promises of God. 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8 - KJV)

Photos by Sue Holloway - Creatured Connection

Go on to: Living in the Promises of God - Part 2 - Knowing
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