The Promises of God with Stanley – Part 1

Stanley:                       Two hundred twenty-one, two hundred twenty-two, two hundred twenty-three…

Mr. Mathisen:             Stanley?

Stanley:                       Two hundred twenty-four, two hundred twenty-five, two hundred twenty-six…

Mr. Mathisen:             Stanley?

Stanley:                       Two hundred twenty-seven….

Mr. Mathisen:             Stanley, what are you doing? What are you counting?

Stanley:                       Two hundred twenty eight….huh? Oh, I’m counting the promises that God has for us in the Bible.

Mr. Mathisen:             Stanley, do you want me to just tell you how many there are?

Stanley:                       Two hundred twenty eight….huh? Do mean that you already know?

Mr. Mathisen:             I know about how many there are. Would you like to know?

Stanley:                       Would I like to know? You bet! How many are there?

Mr. Mathisen:             I looked it up, and there are more than three thousand promises that God makes to His people in the Bible. Isn’t that fantastic?

Stanley:                       Wow! And I was only up to two hundred twenty-eight! Can you tell us about them? I’m sure that the girls and boys would like to know too.

Mr. Mathisen:             Sure, let’s start with two basic promises. The first one is found in the book of Isaiah chapter 41 verse 13.

For I hold you by your right hand—I, the LORD your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.  (Isa 41:13)

Stanley:                       Wow! Does that mean God is right here, right now, ready to help us?

Mr. Mathisen;             Yes, Stanley that’s exactly what it means. There is another verse that talks about what Jesus said. It’s in a book called Hebrews chapter 13 verse 6. It says:

So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper so that I will have no fear.”  (Heb 13:6a)

And in another verse Jesus says:

“I will never leave you or abandon you.”  (Heb 13:5b)

Stanley:                       Wow! That does mean God is right here, right now, ready to help us!

Mr. Mathisen;             You know, I know a couple of stories that talk about that. Would you like to hear them?

Stanley:                       You bet. I bet I know one too.

Mr. Mathisen:             Would you like to tell your story first?

Stanley:                       No, I want to hear yours first.

Mr. Mathisen:             Okay, remember the time when Gideon was asked by God to fight the Midianites, but God would only let him have 300 soldiers to fight 32,000  Midianites? They didn’t even have to fight. Gideon and his men startled the sleeping Midianites with horns and lamps and the Midianites beat themselves and then they ran away! How cool was that?