This morning we’re talking about God’s promises and how we may be delaying the fulfillment of those promises in our life. Here’s a thought … maybe God has already said yes, he’s already made a way, it’s already completely possible, HE’S JUST WAITING ON YOU.

Remember the story of Abraham and Sarah? The old couple with no babies. God had promised them a baby. In fact he did more than that, he promised Abraham that he and his children would possess the earth. But how was that possible if Abraham and Sarah couldn’t have children? It almost seemed a cruel joke “hey Abraham, you can have ALL of this, oh but wait, you can’t have children.” Have you ever felt like that? Like God planted a dream and vision in your heart and then made it impossible to have it? You get your hopes up thinking things are going to happen and then they don’t? Oh come on somebody, are you willing to be raw and honest enough with me here to say yes, that’s exactly how I feel. Where you at God because this thing isn’t happening?

Romans chapter 4 is Paul’s account of this famous promise God had given to Abraham. I’ll be skipping throughout that chapter reading from the Message translation. It says “the promise was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God’s decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed.”

God had decided in advance to put everything together for Abraham. It wasn’t because of anything Abraham had done or would do. No, God had already put everything together, but Abraham didn’t step into it until he believed. He didn’t step into it until he believed. God has already put everything together for you, but you won’t step into it until you believe. This isn’t about what you did or what you will do … this is about your belief.

Picking up in verse 18 it says “the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does.”

Abraham didn’t like God’s way. God’s way seemed impossible. He was an impotent 100 year old man by this point and Sarah had suffered from decades of infertility. They had already tried everything and nothing worked. No baby. But all along it wasn’t about what Abraham could do, it was about what God could do. Abraham had to embrace God and his way.

You’ve been wanting something. You’ve been doing everything you know to do and yet it simply doesn’t seem to be working. What if … I’m just proposing, what if that’s because you’re still trying to do it on your own? And all along God has put everything together for you and he’s just waiting for you to trust HIS WAY?

God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Verse 18 says “he became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do; with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do, but on what God said he would do.”

Oh come on somebody, I know God is speaking to you right now. It will happen when you dare to trust God to do what only he can do. Even when you’re hopeless, you have to believe anyway. What has God promised you? You have a whole book of promises straight from YOUR GOD to you. When is the last time you read up on those promises? The way has already been made, God’s just waiting on you to believe.

Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when their baby Issac was born. They had tried everything they knew to try and made some mistakes along the way. They created some messes with their own attempts. But ultimately the only thing that brought about their miracle was BELIEVING in God’s promise.

Verse 20 and 21 of chapter 4 says “Abraham didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. (Oh, who’s been tiptoeing around with God asking like that … stop it!) He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said.” Oh yes, plunge into God’s promise. Dive in – head first – all in. This is exactly what you and I need to do today. Dive into God’s promise over our life and then we will come up strong and ready, knowing God will do exactly what he said he would do.

It was Abraham’s faith in the middle of the impossible that made him fit for everything to finally come together. It is YOUR faith in the middle of the impossible that will allow God’s promises to be fulfilled in your life.

God is always willing to bless with the fulfillment of his promises, but we must first believe. Have you been delaying the very thing you have been seeking? Have you tried everything and nothing seems to work? Could that be because this isn’t about your works – this isn’t about your fancy plans – this is only about your faith and trust in God. God wants your full surrender. He wants the kind of faith that stares down the impossible and doesn’t flinch. The kind of faith that plunges in and comes up strong and ready!