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Obtain Your Promises

By Darryl Manning 

April 8, 2001

Promises! Promises! Promises! We have multiplied promises from God but many seem to go unfulfilled. We know that God is not a man and he doesn’t lie. We know that every promise of God “ are Yes, and in Him Amen.” (2Corinthians 1:20) Why then do we have such a difficult time receiving the promises of God?

Many years ago Rev. Bob Mumford was one of my favorite preachers. He taught a four-step process for receiving the promises of God. He called it the “four P’s.” First, we receive a promise from God. Second, we encounter a problem that causes us to doubt the promise we received. Many people never recover from the problem. They give up entirely on the promise. The third step is called the principle. There is a principle that must be discovered that helps defeat the doubts encountered in the problem. Faith then can rise up and the promise becomes a provision in our lives.

We would all like to see our promises become provisions. Today I am sharing one principle that many times is one key in obtaining our promises from God. This principle could be called perseverance. It could be called determination. It could be called making a demand on God to fulfill His promise.

In Mathew 15 we find a story of a gentile woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus at first turned a deaf ear to the woman. The woman would not give up. Jesus then told her His ministry was only to the Jewish people. The woman still did not give up. Finally, Jesus said what amounted to a racial slur. He said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

That would have ended the conversation for most people. They would have departed in a huff. But, the woman suddenly had a thought that caused her to say, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Let me ask you a question. Do you think Jesus really wanted to turn the woman away or did He want to heal her daughter? Knowing what we know of Jesus, the answer is obvious. He wanted to heal her daughter. Why then did Jesus give the woman such a hard time? The answer to that question is easy to see. It was a test to see if the woman had faith. The woman’s perseverance proved her faith and she received from the Lord.

In the Genesis 32, the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel illustrates this same point. After struggling all night, the angel said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he (Jacob) said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Now let me ask the question again. Did God want to bless Jacob? Wouldn’t you agree that the angel could have tossed Jacob aside and left if he really wanted to get away? Notice the new name, God gave to Jacob. One meaning of the name Israel is, “He struggles with God.” Again, God wanted to give a blessing but He was looking for an attitude of faith that required Him to give it. Jacob was like an old “bull dog.” He was determined not to let go without the blessing.

This is the attitude we must have if we are going to obtain our promises from God. When we get a promise we must continue to “demand” the promise until it is fulfilled. You might think the word demand is too strong but there are a couple of scriptures in the New Testament where the translators could have used the word “demand” to give the fullest intent of the passage.

Heb. 11: 6But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

diligently seek = ekzeôteoô ek-zay-teh'-o (= to seek out, search for - to seek out, i.e. investigate, scrutinize - to seek out for one’s self, beg, crave, to demand back, require

Continuing in Hebrews eleven we read of the great heroes of faith and all their great accomplishments. When we get down to verse 33 we read “…who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises…” Now did they make demands upon the Lord or not? It says they obtained promises.

God wants us to “demand back” the promises He makes to us. In fact, not to demand our promises indicate either one of two things. Either we did not really get a promise or we do not have faith that God wants to deliver the promise.

Another New Testament Scripture that could have used the word “demand” is found in Philippians 4. In this passage the Apostle Paul is giving thanks for gifts the Philippians keep sending to support his ministry. He gives them a promise in verse 19. “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Need = ÷ñåßá , chreia , khri'-ah = employment, occasion, demand, requirement or destitution: - business, lack, necessary (-ity), need (-ful), use, want.

Using the word demand or requirement gives this understanding: Because of the generous gifts given to God’s minister, the people are invited to exert a claim or demand upon God. This sounds like something that we should be afraid to do, but as we have seen, God is pleased when we press Him to give us His promises.

A couple of years ago Rev. Randy Clark was ministering in town and made a statement in a message that blew me away. He stated something like this, “Polite people seldom receive anything from God.” As we read the Bible we can find multiple illustrations of that statement. Blind Bartemaus hollered until he got his need met. The woman with the issue of blood elbowed her way through the crowd to touch Jesus and get healed. Zachaeus lost his dignity and climbed a tree to see Jesus. The list goes on and on. Don’t you think it is time we get loud and forceful claiming our promises?

In Matthew 11:12 we read a very interesting statement Jesus made.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (NKJ) 12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (NIV)

We must become bold like John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ. We must become more like Jacob and be willing to wrestle with God until we obtain the promises He has made us. God wants us to get violent and begin demanding the Kingdom. Jesus said to pray for it. (Matt. 6:10) He said it was God’s will to give us the Kingdom. (Luke 12:32) Let us demand the Kingdom and all it’s benefits. God is waiting for forceful men and women to rise again and prove their faith and receive all His promises.