The Promises Of God

[Aaron] Hey, we’re Aaron and Jennifer Smith with Marriage After God.

[Jennifer] Helping you call today an extraordinary marriage.

[Aaron] And today we’re gonna talk about the promises of God.

[Aaron] Welcome to the Marriage After God podcast where we believe that marriage was meant for more than just happily ever after.

[Jennifer] I’m Jennifer, also known as unveiled wife.

[Aaron] And I’m Aaron also known as husband revolution.

[Jennifer] We have been married for over 13 years.

[Aaron] And so far we have five children under eight.

[Jennifer] We have been doing marriage ministry online for over nine years through blogging, social media and writing over 10 books.

[Aaron] With a desire to inspire couples to keep God at the center of their marriage, encouraging them to walk in faith every day.

[Jennifer] We believe that Christian marriage should be an extraordinary one full of life,

[Aaron] Love

[Jennifer] and power,

[Aaron] that can only be found by chasing after God

[Jennifer] Together.

[Aaron] Thank you for joining us in this journey as we chase boldly after God’s will for our life together.

[Jennifer] This is Marriage After God.

[Aaron] Hey everyone, thanks for joining us on another episode of the Marriage After God podcast. Yeah, today we’re gonna be digging into 2nd Peter and talking about the promises of God. But before we do that, I wanna invite you, if you have children well I guess if you’re planning on having children but if you have children to take our parenting prayer challenge. It’s a 31 day prayer challenge. It’s completely free. You sign up for it and we will send you an email every day for 31 days with a prompt and something to pray for, for your son or daughter or both. And you can sign up at http://www.parentingprayerchallenge.com that’s http://www.parentingprayerchallenge.com completely free. I think there’s over 1000 people that have joined it and I want you to be a part of that. So if you’ve got children, go dig in and take that challenge today.

[Jennifer] Okay, we’re gonna jump into today’s topic, which Aaron already mentioned is about the promises of God. And that is important for cultivating an extraordinary marriage.

[Aaron] Yeah well and just faith in general. As believers, it’s normal for us to feel weak at times,

[Jennifer] Or powerless

[Aaron] Or powerless.

[Jennifer] Or unsure.

[Aaron] Yeah. Paul did, Peter did, all of them did because they have flesh, right? The things of this world weigh on us. So the Bible calls us to walk a certain way. The Bible shows us how we can combat these feelings and so today, if you’re feeling powerless, if you’re feeling like you can’t walk in freedom from something, if you’re feeling like you’re discouraged or weak, I hope this, this word from the Lord will encourage you and strengthen you today. That’s our heart, that’s our prayer. And so we’re gonna dig into a few scriptures in Second Peter chapter one. And yeah, I pray that it totally touches your heart today, as it has mine.

[Jennifer] Alright, so well Aaron have there been times, we’ve been married 13 and a half years, have there been times that we felt weak or powerless?

[Aaron] Pretty much the first, five years–

[Jennifer] That was really hard.

[Aaron] And then periodically since then, I mean, we go through seasons. We’ve been in that season we kinda talked about trials a couple episodes ago, but we’ve been in a season of just really having to trust what God’s word says and believe it to be true even when everything else makes it not feel true. But that’s the power of God’s word is it it can actually sustain us.

[Jennifer] I was gonna say in those times that we felt weak, what has been our response?

[Aaron] To be honest, the two responses I gave is, I don’t know and this is what the Bible says, right?

[Jennifer] It’s true yeah.

[Aaron] That’s been my response every time I don’t know. But I do know what the Bible says this.

[Jennifer] Yeah, I think especially lately I feel like we’ve been, you’ve been really encouraging me. But we’ve been encouraging each other to stand steadfast and we mentioned that already in a previous episode but standing steadfast in what? In the Word of God.

[Aaron] Yeah, on the Word of God.

[Jennifer] So my personal hope for today’s episode is that for anyone wrestling in their faith, or in their marriage or just having a hard day, would be reminded to find the answer in God’s Word, to be encouraged by God’s Word to find comfort in reading His word, and not just listening to us today but I do hope that that encourages you. But I would hope that it would encourage you to open up His word and to dig in.

[Aaron] Chew on it. That’s the word meditate. It means it’s like a cow chewing cud. It constantly is regurgitating, swallowing it regurgitating and chewing and swallowing. It sounds gross.

[Jennifer] Okay I get that but yeah that’s gross.

[Aaron] It sounds gross but that’s literally what meditation means. It doesn’t mean to empty yourself. It means to fill yourself, biblical meditation I should say. So I’m gonna just read some scripture real quick and then we’re gonna kinda get into this because there’s power in knowing the Word of God, there’s power in knowing the promises of God. And there’s a lot of them and they’re pretty awesome.

[Jennifer] Real quick, before you jump into to share this scripture, the scripture reminds me of “Marriage After God” because we share this scripture a lot in it. And we come back to it throughout the book and so, shameless little plug here, if you guys have not had a chance to read “Marriage After God” especially together as a couple, I just wanna encourage you to do that.

[Aaron] And it’s super cheap on http://www.Amazon.com. You should go check that out.

[Jennifer] Or go to Hobby Lobby.

[Aaron] Actually, they’re really cheap at hobby. You should go there. Okay, so this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It’s one of the verses that the Lord used to help me walk in freedom from certain sins in my life. When you believe what it’s saying, when it’s truth, ’cause it is truth but that doesn’t mean we have to believe it. Like we could not believe something, even though it’s truth and it would have no power in our life. But it’s once you believe it and walk in it, that that truth actually has power. So listen to this, Second Peter, chapter one, verse three and four, it says “His divine power has granted to us all things “that pertain to life and godliness.” Just right there. There’s a lot in that one verse. All things that pertain to what, Jennifer?

[Jennifer] Life and godliness.

[Aaron] Life and godliness. Not all things that pertain to godliness because a lot of people think like, oh, there’s just only morality, only like godly things in the Bible and then there’s normal life and doesn’t… My normal things in life, the Bible doesn’t help me with. And I’ve actually had people say like, Oh, so you think the Bible is gonna give an answer on like, what kind of job to get? And how to deal with an insurance claim and how to like these things that the world doesn’t talk about? Well, yeah ’cause right here, His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, verse four, “By which he has granted to us His precious “and very great promises, so that through them, “you may become partakers of the divine nature, “having escaped from the corruption that is in the world “because of sinful desire.” So, I believe and I’m not the only one. There’s many Christians around the world and out throughout the generations that believe that the Bible is sufficient for the knowledge and wisdom and guidance we need in this life. But it’s not just sufficient for those things. It’s actually our life and faith and it’s the thing that animates, who we are, how we live. It’s how we know Jesus, it’s how we know who God is, right? And so we have His word and His, in verse three it says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Not just how to look like a Christian but also how to live this life for Him, right? And then right away, we find out where everything we need comes from. So remember, we’re talking to people that might feel weak or powerless, or like they don’t have what it takes or what they need.

[Jennifer] That’s because we can’t draw it out of ourselves.

[Aaron] Right there’s nothing to draw out of ourselves but we find out right away where everything we need comes from, God’s divine power. His divine power has granted to us.

[Jennifer] So we have to rely on Him.

[Aaron] Yeah so first and foremost, knowing that there is nothing in me that pertains to life and godliness, right? There’s only in me godlessness and death in my flesh, right? If you just look at the way the gospel works like my state without God. But with God, His divine nature, His divine power, grants us all things right? So one of God’s attributes, I don’t know if everyone knows the attributes of God like omniscience, omnipotent, omnipresent. Those meaning things. He’s all knowing that’s omniscient. Omnipotent, is all powerful. Omnipresent is everywhere, right? He is not constrained, right? So, one of his attributes is he’s omnipotent, which means all powerful. And the first words in the Bible put the gravity of God’s power on full display. Genesis one one, it says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens in the earth.” Okay, no one else. It’s not like he said, and I asked this guy over here to help me. No God created everything right? So He is the Creator. All of this was from His mind created by His Words, okay. So that creator, that divine power we just talked about is the same divine power that grants to us all things. So the God that invented stars and DNA and how gravity works and how the planets rotate around the sun, that creator, that divine power, that power is what’s granted us all things right? That’s pretty incredible. So if you’re feeling powerless, and you have God on your side, you are all powerful, in God with his divine power. So here’s another part of the Bible that talks about God’s divine power. Job 38:1-13 it says, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,” well first of all, God’s talking from a whirlwind, which is amazing. “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge,” so he’s saying who are you Job? “Dress for action like a man, I will question you “and you make it known to me.” So God’s saying, I’m gonna question you Job and you tell me if you have the answers to these questions? “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? “Tell me if you have understanding, “who determined its measurements, surely you know, “or who stretched the line upon it. “On what were its basis sunk, or who laid its cornerstone? “When the morning star sang together “and all the sons of God shouted for joy, “or who shut in the sea with doors “when it bursts out from the womb. “When I made clouds it’s garment “and thick darkness at swaddling band “and prescribed limits for it and set bars “and doors and said “thus far so you come and no further “and here’s how your proud waves be stayed. “Have you commanded the morning since your days began? “And caused the dawn to know its place? “That it might take hold of the skirts of the earth “and the wicked be shaken out of it?”

[Jennifer] How small does everyone feel?

[Aaron] Yeah super small. This is the point that God’s making to Job. He spends three chapters questioning Job, to show Job, His divine power and authority.

[Jennifer] I don’t even think about things like when He says who determined its measurements, I would never think about, I know God created the earth but to think specifically about its measurements, I just wouldn’t have thought about that until reading this. I don’t know. It just makes me feel so small.

[Aaron] Well and that’s what’s amazing. Is we are so small but yet He in His divine power has granted, given, gifted, made available, all things that pertain to life regardless, okay. The one who made the stars who named the stars, that’s the God that’s granted to us. Everything necessary for living this life out for Him and with Him, comes from Him.

[Jennifer] So we can trust Him when we get into difficult circumstances or situations where we feel like we’re not lacking knowledge or we feel like we’re stuck in a hard place, or incapable or weak we can trust Him. Well, if we believe that He created all of this and has the power to do that, we can trust that He’s got the power to walk us through this circumstance.

[Aaron] Well and give us the thing that we need in it. That doesn’t necessarily mean He takes everything away. Right, but He has given us and then the next question we have is, how has He granted to us all things, that pertain to life and godliness right? Right so what’s the method the conduit by which we receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. And in verse three, the second half, it says “Through the knowledge of Him, “who called us to his own glory and excellence.” Okay, so it’s His divine power that He granted it to us but He’s granted it to us through knowledge. Through the knowledge of Him. We talked about the Word of God, staying steadfast in the Word of God. So it’s through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. So He’s called us to something very specific. His own glory and excellence, not our glory, not our excellence, His glory and excellence. And He gives us all these things that we need for life and godliness, by knowledge, okay. It is through the knowledge of Christ that we have been granted all things that pertain to life and godliness. The knowledge of Christ is the conduit by which we obtain everything that is necessary for us to grow and mature and are equipped.

[Jennifer] Okay, did conduit it’s not like a very often heard word, so just explain.

[Aaron] It’s the method. It’s the mode. It’s the thing by which we get it. So someone bringing a telegram, that person is the conduit. Is how we receive the message, right. So how we receive, how we are granted these things is through the knowledge of Christ. So without the knowledge of Christ or growing in the knowledge of Christ which Second Peter, one of the main themes of it is knowledge growing in our knowledge and maturity, understanding. So we can have a little bit of knowledge and this is kind of where I was at, at some point in my life is I had knowledge of God and I had a level of knowledge. But I still walked in bondage to certain things because I wasn’t growing in my knowledge. There was things that God said that I actually didn’t believe. When it says I’m set free, I didn’t believe it. Even though I was free, and I am free. And so we are granted all these things but it’s through the knowledge of Christ. So how do we get to walk in more power and more freedom? We grow in our knowledge right? Would you say that this has been true in your life, Jennifer? You’ve had confusion and we’ve been walking through stuff but how has you growing in the knowledge of Christ in this season, made you more steadfast?

[Jennifer] Well, I think that there’s this presence of peace when you are growing and you’re seeking and you’re truly seeking after God and you’re reading His word and you’re being encouraged by your spouse or someone else in your life too. Humble yourself before the Lord. There’s a presence of peace that comes and with that peace, stability and I feel like the Lord reveals what’s necessary in those moments to be able to move forward.

[Aaron] Exactly and I’ll give a little example. Let’s say you’re in the midst of something very difficult relationally and you feel alone and you feel like you have no idea what to do and you feel like and you’re incapable or you’re just lost, right? You could just remain there or you could remember, meditate or maybe never knew that Jesus Himself said, I will never leave you or forsake you right. And so in the midst of those trials and those sufferings and the end the pain and that loneliness, guess who’s there with you? Jesus Himself, experiencing it with you. And so that alone, that one little thing can actually give someone confidence to continue on, hope to realize that they’re not alone. It can snap them out of the depression. It can snap them out of the sadness, it can shine a light in the darkness, just realizing oh my gosh, Jesus is experiencing this with me. Thank you, Lord right? That’s just one little example. So Ephesians 4:11 to 13 says this “And He gave the apostles the prophets, the evangelists, “the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints, “for the work of ministry, “for building up the body of Christ “until we all attain the unity of the faith “and have the knowledge of the Son of God, “to mature manhood to the measure of the stature “of the fullness of Christ.” So this is the road we’re on as believers. Is we are growing in the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood or womanhood in Christ, we’re growing up in the knowledge of God. So as humans as men uniquely created in God’s image, we’re capable of some amazing things with our minds. Animals didn’t create the Tower of Babel, man did. Trees did not make themselves into boats and tools.

[Jennifer] Man did.

[Aaron] Flowers do not turn themselves into paint for Van Gogh’s Iris or Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa right, man did. A gifted person who had a thought and a mind to create something from nature. And he made something that looked realistic and real and art. And it’s that same mind that when changed can actually transform a person which is amazing.

[Jennifer] Have you experienced that?

[Aaron] Yeah, not like that just I keep going back to the example I was once walking in perceived bondage that I thought I couldn’t walk in freedom from even though I was a believer. And then when I believed the truth that I was already free, that bondage evaporated, right? ‘Cause I once believed one way and now I believe another. It’s incredible the power that our minds have when we believe, which is why I believe that’s why God asks us to believe ’cause we believe that Jesus is Lord, that lordship, that belief transforms everything about us, if we truly believe it.

[Jennifer] Yeah and in a very simple example for me when I think about marriage and just how, I think a certain way and you think a certain way and then something happens and we see it from our different perspectives and sometimes it can cause tension in our marriage because we want the other person to see it like we saw it and when I’ve experienced that when I’ve humbled myself and brought it in prayer to the Lord and I usually will pray something like, God help me to see what you want me to see but also help Aaron see what you wanna see so that we can figure this thing out. But in what you’re saying is I’ve experienced this is God’s changed my mind when He has shown me, Jen, I want you to see this way, my way. And it does transform me and then it impacts our marriage and our relationship ’cause I usually come back to you with, hey, this is what God showed me or speaking to me or encouraging me with, or I’ve just completely changed my mind like this is I see it your way or whatever the situation is.

[Aaron] Another example in my life is I used to not be very athletic. And I was reading this book talking about habits. And in the process of reading this book about habits, I realized, Oh, I can actually change my habits. So where I never thought about it before, where I just thought it was just not a part of who I was exercise and it was not a thing. All of a sudden, I had a new way of thinking. I was like wait and I saw this quote once that said, “If you want what you never had, “then you gotta do what you’ve never done.” And in that moment, it was that with all this other information I was getting that triggered something in me I was like, oh, if I get up early to start going, I’ll be that person.

[Jennifer] Okay, this is really encouraging to hear. So a couple days ago, I saw you playing with the kids in the backyard and you guys were doing like this. You’re on all fours acting like a bear and you had to try and get to the… Trying to stop the person’s hand next to you or whatever.

[Aaron] It’s called bear tag or something,

[ Jennifer] Okay and it was just so funny but the way that you were holding yourself up, I could see the muscles in your legs and stuff and I was thinking wow, Aaron’s really fit.

[Aaron] Which I never was before.

[Jennifer] And I was just thinking like how years of you changing your habit in this one area does reflect in who you are now.

[Aaron] But it started not because I did something different it’s because I thought different. The change actually happened to my mind first. I believed I could be that person and I did. Now it’s really hard and getting up in the morning I’ve been talking about how tired I am. Especially after this COVID-19 thing getting back into our routine has been very difficult.

[Jennifer] I think for everyone getting back into the rhythm has been difficult.

[Aaron] But it’s the power of how a mind can be changed. But it’s also dangerous. Why don’t you read Romans 12:2 for us to see what the Bible says about being transformed.

[Jennifer] It says “Do not be conformed to this world “but be transformed by the renewal of your mind “that by testing you may discern what is the will of God “what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

[Aaron] And what’s cool about this verse is it gives two words it says conformed and transformed. And when it says do not be conformed to this world is because, our natural disposition, if we just were to sit and do nothing is to conform. Imagine putting Plato into a mold. It just slowly sits and makes the shape of the thing. That’s being conformed to something. It’s because our natural inclination is for the things that the world wants. Pleasures, drugs and success and all those things. But it says on the contrary, be transformed. So what it means is, rather than being that thing that slowly turns into the world, become a new thing by the renewing of our minds. Which is an amazing thing. We’re talking about the power of our minds right now. The Bible is saying, hey, the transformation happens when our minds are renewed right and how do we renew our minds? Going back to the thing we were just talking about? The knowledge of Christ, right? We have the word of God.

[Jennifer] So going back to Second Peter ’cause that was the verse that we kinda kicked this off with, what are the things that He has granted to us.

[Aaron] Right that’s a good question ’cause we talked about how He’s granted it to us. He’s talked about who granted it to us. It’s His divine power, where it comes from, how He granted to us through the knowledge of Christ. But what is the thing he’s given to us that pertains to life and godliness. And so just real quick before I get into that, what’s the opposite of knowledge?

[Jennifer] Ignorance

[Aaron] Nailed it. Yeah it’s not knowing.

[Jennifer] Yeah, not knowing.

[Aaron] So knowledge of anything or ignorance of those things. Other words are like neglect or blindness not seeing which the bible talks a lot about blindness and being, having eyes open. Disregard, obliviousness, unconsciousness, which is an interesting thing, because how often do we go through life just unconscious? We’re not consciously thinking about anything. We’re floating we’re in our marriage. We’re just moving–

[Jennifer] Autopilot.

[Aaron] Yep, autopilot we did this at times and it’s not fruitful in any way. So if we walk in willful ignorance, or never taught what is true, it will not be possible for us to walk in the things that God has granted to us.

[Jennifer] Okay, so what do you mean by willful ignorance?

[Aaron] So, I know the word says that, but I just don’t think that’s for me. Yeah I know you’re telling me that I can walk in freedom but it doesn’t feel like that’s true. So I’m just gonna, hope for something else.

[Jennifer] Could it also be like, I generally know what the scripture says but I know if I open it up and read it for myself, then I’ll be accountable.

[Aaron] Yeah, that’s willful. I’m not gonna go seek the answer where I know it’s found. Or if you’re never taught it, right? So as an example for our children. If we don’t tell them, fires hot, they will learn that it’s hot by touching it or they’ll never know. Maybe eventually they will. But I mean that the simple things in life but, so if we’re not taught with the Word of God says, so if someone listening right now that loves the Lord and has never heard this verse before, that’s not a willful ignorance other than, maybe they need to be in the Word of God more just to be encouraged in that. But they hear this and they’re like, wait a minute, I’ve been granted what? So being taught it, being exposed to it, being revealed the mysteries of God, the truth of God, the knowledge of Christ, right? It’s without that knowledge, it’s actually impossible for us to walk in the things that God’s granted to us, right? Here’s an example. If you had $100 bill, I think a lot of us have had this experience before maybe not with $100 bill.

[Jennifer] Not with a $100 bill.

[Aaron] Not with a $100 bill but the $20 $5 right? Any amount of money it’s always awesome. But if you have $100 bill and it’s in a pants pocket, it’s in your pants pocket in a box, in your garage,

[Jennifer] Getting ready for that yard sale.

[Aaron] That you didn’t know was there, is that hundred dollars worth anything to you?

[Jennifer] Not if you don’t know about it.

[Aaron] Exactly, yeah it’s a $100 bill. It’s valuable but you don’t know it’s there. It’s literally worthless to you because you have no idea is there. That’s ignorance, right? That true for the knowledge of God. If we never open up His word, if we never pursue and study or tap into the treasures that God has for us in His Word, they can’t do anything for us, it can’t. If I never hear that I’m free, I’ll never know I’m free. It’s why when the Word of God is preached, that’s how faith comes. It says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

[Jennifer] This also shows the importance of why as a couple you guys need to always be bringing each other back to God’s word, back to Him and what He says, because there’s value in that. This is why it’s so important as a Christian, why we need to be sharing it with other brothers and sisters in the Lord, to encourage their faith. This is why people share the gospel with strangers or neighbors or whoever needs it. We have to share the things that God–

[Aaron] Opening the Word of God with our Kids, so that they’re exposed to it, hearing it, knowing it, learning it and then showing how it plays out in our life right? So what are the things that God has granted to us? ‘Cause I went through a whole thing to talk. You asked the question, and then I brought up all this knowledge and ignorance stuff. But what are the things that God’s granted to us?

[Jennifer] Let’s go back to read verse four. So 2nd Peter 1:4.

[Aaron] Yeah it says, “By which He Has granted to us,” okay, He’s about to tell us what He’s granted to us. His precious and very great promises. So it’s His precious and very great promises, right? Which we have to know what those are, the knowledge of them that give us everything we need to walk this life out for God with God. Okay, it’s His promises that He’s given us. It’s the knowledge of His promises are what transform us in His son’s likeness. So when we grow in our knowledge of God, we’ve grown our knowledge of His Son Jesus, in who he is, what He said, what He’s given to us, what He calls us, what we have waiting for us, all of those things, transform us, as we grow in them. And it’s not just head knowledge, it’s knowing, that is true, right?

[Jennifer] And becoming intimately familiar with them and then walking them out and in that knowledge, in our day to day life.

[Aaron] Well trusting them. If they’re true, they’re trustworthy. So the opposite of that ignorance of His promises, is gonna keep us in darkness and chains. Or I should say, perceived chains because if you are in Christ, you’re free. But if we’re walking in ignorance, if we’re not pursuing the knowledge of Christ then we aren’t going to walk in the things that pertain to life and godliness. We won’t know what they are.

[Jennifer] Well, so let’s get into some of these promises.

[Aaron] Yeah, this is like the best part of the episode actually.

[Jennifer] Everybody turn they volume up.

[Aaron] All that to say, I’m just gonna quickly go through them just kidding. So let’s talk about some of God’s promises, okay? ‘Cause this little bit of Scripture doesn’t necessarily go into God’s promises. But let’s talk about them right? You wanna share the first one

[Jennifer] Earthly needs.

[Aaron] Yeah, this is an important one right? Listen to this is in Matthew 6:25 through 33. Why don’t you read it since you brought up the promise? Okay, “Therefore I tell you “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat “or what you will drink nor about your body. “What you will put on. “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air “they neither sow nor reap nor get gather into barns “and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. “Are you not have more value than that?” Which by the way, that’s another cool thing to know. You’re more valuable than animals. “And which of you by being anxious “can add a single hour to a span of life? “And why are you anxious about clothing “consider the lilies of the field. “How they grow they neither toil nor spin yet I tell you “even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed “like one of these. “But if so clothed the grass of the field, “which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, “will He not much more close to you? “Oh, you have little faith, “therefore do not be anxious saying what shall we eat? “Or What shall we drink or What shall we wear? “For the Gentiles seek after all these things “and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. “But seek first the kingdom of God “and His righteousness and all these things “will be added to you.”

[Jennifer] I love this scripture. I love so much that it says that the heavenly Father knows that you need them all. He knows every detail of your life. He knows every detail of your circumstance. He knows your every need.

[Aaron] Right, so notice he doesn’t say I’ll give you a house and a car and a big bank account.

[Jennifer] He doesn’t say what brand of clothes He’ll give you.

[Aaron] He says He will take care of your needs. But it comes with a way of being. He says, “But seek first the kingdom of God “and His righteousness “and all these things will be added to you.” So the promise is when we seek God and His righteousness, what is he gonna do?

[Jennifer] Take care of us.

[Aaron] Take care us.

[Jennifer] He’s gonna meet all of our needs.

[Aaron] Meet our needs, not all of our wants. So that can help us when we feel like we’re not getting what we want we can come to this and be like, okay, but Lord, thank you so much that I have clothes and I’ve eaten today. We can thank the Lord. So what’s that next promise that He has for us?

[Jennifer] So He’s promised us His Spirit. And 1st John 4:13 It says, “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us “because He has given us of His spirit.”

[Aaron] Yeah He has. It says when we believe, He gives us His Spirit. When we believe. In 1st Corinthians 12:7 it says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit “for the common good.” Okay, so what’s awesome about this is first of all, you’re sealed by the Spirit of God. Jesus calls the Spirit of God the helper, that he’ll help us that he convicts us–

[Jennifer] He brings to remembrance in God’s word.

[Aaron] This is the ministry of the Spirit in our life. So again, we’re not alone we have the Spirit of God, it’s a person of the Godhead. He’s with us okay? And then the other thing, which again we talked about in our book, “Marriage After God,” if you’re ever feeling like you have no part in the body, or you’re worthless to God,

[Jennifer] Think again.

[Aaron] Okay, this is a powerless. This is a weakness. This is a feeling that we might have. What does the Bible say? To each, not to some, not to the best not to the smartest, to each has been given a manifestation of the Spirit.

[Jennifer] We all have a purpose.

[Aaron] Every single one and so if you’re sitting with someone and they feel like hey, I’m just not being used by God. Encourage them with these words. No brother or sister, you have been given a manifestation of the Spirit of God, you are a necessary permanent part of the body of Christ. That is the truth. That’s a promise. The next One God promises is eternal life.

[Jennifer] Most important, yeah.

[Aaron] Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death. “But the free gift of God is eternal life “in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So if you’re in Christ, you have eternal life. How awesome is that? And that eternal life takes away the sting of death.

[Jennifer] It changes everything.

[Aaron] No longer have fear of death. Now, this time that we have fears but we remember the promises, which then gives us everything that pertains to life and godliness. See how this works. So when you remember like, oh, man, I have eternal life. So what can they do to me? They can harm my body only. They can’t take my spirit.

[Jennifer] Titus 1:1 through two says, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect “and their knowledge of the truth, “which accords with godliness in hope of eternal life, “which God who never lies promised before the ages began.”

[Aaron] So what it got promise before the ages began? Eternal life, this is the gift of God, it’s free. For all those who believe eternal life, okay? Next promise, direct access to the Father. Okay, how often man, there’s been so many times that I feel so far from God and it’s a lie. All I have to do is turn around, right? God doesn’t go anywhere. If you look at the story of the prodigal son, it was the son that left. The father always remained, right? So we turn and he’s there.

[Jennifer] Ephesians 2:18 says “For through Him we both have access in one spirit to the Father.”

[Aaron] Right, and in Ephesians both right there that word it’s talking about Jew and Gentile because there’s a new creation made. It’s no longer Jew or Gentile but the christian right? So we have access to, in one spirit remember we talked about the spirit? To the Father, we have access, we can go boldly. Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence “draw near to the throne of grace “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help “in time of need.”

[Jennifer] That’s a good one read it one more time.

[Aaron] Yeah, it says, “Let us then with confidence.” How often do we feel so not confident? That’s something we’ve been struggling with lately. “Confident, draw near to the throne of grace, “that we may receive mercy and find grace, “to help in time of need.” So what can we do in time of need?

[Jennifer] Draw near to Him.

[Aaron] We can run to the Father

[Jennifer] In confidence.

[Aaron] We don’t need a priest to talk to God for us. We can go directly to God. We don’t need someone else that, it’s so good that people pray for us. We should always ask people to pray for us but we can go to the Father because of what Jesus has done for us. We have direct access. Next promise and this is awesome. I think some people will really resonate with this adoption, adoption, right? We are adopted. Ephesians 1:5, “He has predestined us for adoption “to himself as sons through Jesus Christ “according to the purpose of His will.”

[Jennifer] Belonging that’s what I think.

[Aaron] Yeah, I was listening to someone talking about this idea of predestined he is predestined, he has his destination from the foundations of the world for anyone who believe in his son is adoption. So when we put our faith in Christ, when we believe in Jesus, we are adopted. That’s our position with God. We are no longer slaves. We are no longer servants. We are no longer distant and far off we are children of God.

[Jennifer] Another promise is that we’re made new.

[Aaron] Yeah, new creation right?

[Jennifer] 2nd Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. “The old has passed away behold, the new has come.”

[Aaron] Right so if you’re doubting ever, who am I in God, I just feel like this thing over here, nothing’s ever different. I’m not changed. It’s ’cause you don’t know this promise.

[Jennifer] Well what about for the person who is chasing after God and pursuing God’s will in their life and they have this purpose set before them and they’re doing everything that they can and then all of a sudden they get right to that almost finish line and then the enemy tries to divert their eyes, their hearts, their attention and uses condemnation.

[Aaron] Or they give into temptation.

[Jennifer] Okay, but I’m thinking condemnation, okay, the he reminds you of your past. He reminds you of who you were without Christ, He reminds you of the things that you’ve done. He reminds you of the sin. All those overwhelming feelings of I can’t because I’m not good enough or I didn’t do this right, or whatever it is.

[Aaron] What’s awesome, is we can use the word of God. I read this post the other day and I said, we battle the enemy with the Word of God. That’s what Jesus did. So we can battle this out and be like, wait a minute, I am a new creation. And we can actually agree and say no, the old me isn’t capable. And I and I’m currently still not capable in my flesh. But guess who’s in me Christ. Paul says it this way, he says, “Greater it is within us than He was in the world.” It’s not me, right? And then even John the baptist said “I must decrease, “so He must increase.” He’s talking about Christ. So if anyone’s in Christ, raise your hand, if you’re in Christ, if you listen to this and you’re in Christ, raise your hand. Oh, you’re raising your hand? You’re a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come. Let’s walk in the newness of life. Let’s believe that it’s true. The next one freedom. This was a big one for me. Freedom, Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free “in Christ Jesus, from the law of sin and death.” So, if we think we’re in bondage to sin, we’re believing a lie. The believers if you’re a believer and you love God, you’re believing a lie if you believe you’re in bondage to sin, because right here, for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus, from what? The law of sin and death, we’re no longer under the law of sin and death. That condemnation that holds us there, we are no longer bound to those things. Does that mean we can’t choose to sin? No, we have a free will. We can choose things. But to say that I’m in bondage to it, is to not believe this promise? No, I am set free. And there’s another promise that says, God with every temptation, He will give us a way of escape. So is that true or not? So if it’s true, then when I give into temptation, it’s not because I couldn’t walk away from it. It’s not because I couldn’t escape. It’s because I chose it for the believer, because there is a way of escape. So believing these truths transforms us. So it’s this last one. Which by the way, this isn’t the definitive list of God’s promises. These are just some I wanted to pull out to show what God’s promises.

[Jennifer] We can only fit so much in our podcast. The last one is able. So Ephesians 6:13 says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, “that you may be able to withstand in the evil of day “and having done all to stand firm.” So going back to steadfastness. Right here we’re supposed to stand firm.

[Aaron] Yeah but how do we stand firm?

[Jennifer] Where we take up the whole armor of God.

[Aaron] Yeah, whose armor?

[Jennifer] His.

[Aaron] It is, the only thing that makes us able is again, Him, right? The theme here is Christ, God, their abilities. His divine power. That’s the theme here. It’s not our divine power, His.

[Jennifer] Guys, there are so many more promises in God’s word and we just wanted to make a challenge for you to go with your spouse and search them out and meditate on them. Meditate on the ones that we’ve given you and maybe go back through all the verses.

[Aaron] Make your own list.

[Jennifer] Make your own list yeah.

[Aaron] 2nd Corinthians 1:20 says this, “For all the promises of God find their yes in Him.” So who’s the Him, Jesus? So all the promises of God that we were incapable to receive without Christ, they’re all yes with Christ. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory. So the only way we can utter Amen to God for His glory is because of what Christ has done. We should share that verse with the kids because I think Elliot was asking recently why we say Amen, at the end of our prayers, Elliot or Olive.

[Aaron] Because all of His promises are yes, in Christ. So when we’re in Christ, guess what we get access to? Guess what we get granted?

[Jennifer] His promises.

[Aaron] All His very gracious promises. So let’s finish up here in verse four b, the second half to it says, “So that through them,” so again, so through the promises, “You may become partakers of the divine nature, “having escaped from the corruption that is in the world “because of sinful desires.” So we get an opportunity through His promises, to partake of something that we would never have the opportunity to partake of, God’s divine nature. Which is incredible, okay. So I hope this inspires your mind, remember when we’re going back to that power of our mind, I want us as believers to be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we would have our minds filled with God’s promises. Because they sustain us. They give us everything that pertains to life and godliness. They remind remind us of who we are in Christ. God’s promises are very great and very precious. And just I hope that you guys would hold on to them firmly and seek them out. Because they’re the only thing that can keep us and make us able and bring us along and take us through this life.

[Jennifer] Okay, well, with that we just wanna encourage you guys to join us in prayer. Dear Lord, thank you for your precious promises. Thank you for your word which equips us and encourages us. We pray we would be couples who stand steadfast in faith believing your word, cling to your promises and walking in righteousness. We pray, we would remind each other of your great promises, especially in times of hardship or difficulty. May your Holy Spirit bring your word to remembrance and help us navigate things of this life. May Your will be done in us and through us. In Jesus name, Amen.

[Aaron] Amen as always, thanks for joining us on this week’s episode, we pray it blessed you. Share it with a friend that might need to be encouraged and go seek out those promises of God. We love you see you next week. Did you enjoy today’s show? If you did, it would mean the world to us if you could leave us a review on iTunes. Also, if you’re interested, you can find many more encouraging stories and resources at http://www.marriageafterGod.com and let us help you cultivate an extraordinary marriage.