This word of encouragement and testimony was emailed to me during the week by Ken Carpenter. It certainly encouraged me, I hope it encourages you also.

Hope of the Promise

Have you ever been in a hopeless trial and cry out to God over and over, because of your failures and sins, to deliver you? How you strive to be holy, but the things are still going on in your body that won’t die, the old man keeps coming alive in anger, lust, hurt, etc.

Jesus has planted a seed in you (in your heart) and He is the good gardener, it will grow up! If you will lean on HIM and TRUST HIM to bring the seed to maturity, unless you uproot it, you can and will make it there! Entering in the veil with Him, He is well able to complete that work in you.

You can save yourself, but you won’t be a son. He who has found his life shall lose it and he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 10:38-39

Years ago as a baby Christian I would tell the Lord, “You do to me what it takes to get me where you want me.” I had so many trials and troubles going on, not realizing they were for my God to perfect me, to strengthen me and settle (unmovable faith) 1Peter 5:10. I then asked the Lord to take me out of the fire and for eight months I did not even stump my toes, but on the inside I was drying up in the spirit and God was at a distance. I repented and said, please finish that work in me!

Then in my darkest hour I would walk the back fence and cry out to God, “I need encouragement Lord”. One day when I walked back into the house a rain bow sprayed across my den, its brilliant colors reminded me of His promises, upon close examination the sun light went through a grandfather clock and produced the rainbow. I lived in that house for twelve years and never saw it again. I would tell this testimony and say the light went through the beveled glass on the clock, but not long ago I looked at the clock and it has regular glass, GOD IS FAITHFUL!

I have said for years, “I would not take a million dollars for what I went through, and would not pay a nickel for any more of it.”

What God is saying if you will keep walking with ME and cling to ME and with ALL your heart and hold on to ALL MY PROMISES I have made, I will always be by your side holding your hand and helping you along the way.

Read this personal testimony: We rented this house for nine years. The landlord passed away, but his daughters decided to continue to rent to us. We knew it was a matter of time before they sold this house because they were selling all other properties their father owned. After four years we received a letter stating they were going to put the house up for sale and we had six months to find a place. Six months had passed and we still had not found another place. We were behind on our rent so every place we found would not rent to us because we could not pay our bills on time. We have a family of five and only my husband worked. He also has many injuries from a fall he took many years back that affects his work at times, factor in the weather and the company not having jobs, and you can only do what you can do. We kept praying, we knew God had something out there for us. We also had a peace about what God was going to do. This was a “mountain” standing in our midst, but we know God can move mountains, so we just kept praying.

All this time, God is teaching us about faith, belief and trusting Him. God revealed MANY things in OUR hearts that we had to deal with. The more we dealt with the more peace we had. Then I received a phone call from a person who had come into a large sum of money and wanted to bless us with the amount we owed on the back rent. Things were looking up, now we can move, finally, we are already two months passed the move out deadline. Whoooaaa, what a blessing! The very next day they called back to say “sorry” they had made a purchase that took all the money and they would no longer be able to assist us. Totally devastated and hurt, how could someone do that, they never should have called In the first place. How could they be so selfish and spend ALL the money on themselves? These were some of my thoughts. That night I spoke to one of our Elders at our church and was discussing the matter. He said, this is another layer to your onion and you have something against this person, God is only revealing that, and that is why this has been taken away from you. I said, no, I have already dealt with this person, and have nothing in my heart against this person. Then I realized “my words”, and said, oh, I am judging. I had no idea that was even there, until God revealed it to me. See this person had good intentions just bit off more than they could chew, so I repented and forgave them.

The next day they called to say that they had a check in the EXACT AMOUNT we owed on our back rent and I received it three days later. I have no idea how they worked it out, I just know God IS FAITHFUL. Not only did God provide that blessing He also provided another rental home for us and there was no deposit requested, only the first month rent to move in. WOW! A job for me that will assist in our rent in the future, in a private school that my son can attend. WOW! An option to rent to own after the first year at a very LOW price. WOW! God had to work some “junk” out of our hearts, so he could complete HIS work. If you have a mountain before you hold onto the promises in the Bible, God is always faithful. The work HE is doing in your heart is worth more than any “material” thing you could EVER have. Seek the kingdom of God FIRST, and everything else will just work out IN GOD’S TIME, not ours! You MUST be OBEDIENT to HIS word, the “condition” to the promises.

Those who are chosen according to the fore knowledge of God, the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:1-13)

And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteous. (Romans 4:3)

And being fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform. (Romans 4:21)

But for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Romans (4:24)

Abraham believed God was able to perform in him, in his dead body to bring forth an heir and it was reckoned as righteousness what are we to believe? In Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” In this the old man (you) that was dead in trespasses and sins that God will bring a new man out of your dead body by the sanctifying work of His spirit!

To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:4-5)

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons, for what son is there whom his father does not discipline.  (Hebrews 12:7)

All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.  (Hebrews 12:11)

In this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. (1 Peter 1:6)

That mountain before you was, is, and always; unbelief and that hinders the fullness of Gods’ revelation and blessing and like Peter walking on the water, we may move boldly in faith for years, then the storm of all crisis comes and causes us to fix our eyes on our conditions, as the things grow worse a sense of panic overtakes us and the enemy tells us you are going to sink! The Lord is saying, “why do you doubt me”?

These trials or troubles come to expose everything that does not look like the nature and character of Jesus. This sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit comes to crucify the flesh (the old man) with its passions and desires. These various trials are also test to see if you will keep his commandments that the proof if your faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire (trouble) may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.(1 Peter 1:7-9)

Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust (old man) which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One, who called you, be holy yourselves as in all your behavior; because it is written “you shall be Holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16)

This is a promise. If you are chosen and born again to a living hope God has planted a Holy seed in you and it will grow up and you shall be Holy. Submit to the Master and REPENT and die to everything that is not like HIM. You will look back in a year or two and see that you are not even kin folks to that old man and like Father Abraham, know that God is able to bring forth that new man, that new creation, out of death, and we like Lazarus are still stinking in our grave cloths, HE WILL BRING FORTH NEW LIFE!

Yet He has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach, if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard. (Colossians 1:22-23) to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)

Do you know what the revelation of Jesus Christ is? It is Christ in you, the hope of glory! You being like father Abraham as you submit to the fire and knife of the Father’s Holy Spirit that is putting to death the old man and a new man is being formed in you in Christ’s image. So much that your family and those around you will say, “What happened to him?”

May I ask you three questions? IS CHRIST IN YOU BEING FORMED INTO HIS LIKENESS? ARE YOU DYING TO THE OLD MAN? DO PEOPLE SEE JESUS IN YOU?

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed and overflowing, with gratitude. (Colossians 2:6-7)

For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal (old man) of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him (death to self) in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:9-12)

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed

Have you been serving God with a bountiful, cheerful spirit with many thanksgivings? Take your eyes off your trial. The hope of the promise has abundant resources, strength, rest, power, ability, joy and surrender. LORD, YOUR WILL BE DONE, I rest in your promises to me.