Jim Cymbala emphasizes the significance of remembering God's promises, as articulated in Psalms 119:49, which states, 'Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.' He illustrates that God speaks before He acts, providing a foundation for faith and hope through His fulfilled promises throughout biblical history. Cymbala encourages believers to hold onto personal revelations and prophecies from God, reminding them that delays in fulfillment do not negate God's faithfulness. He urges the congregation to approach God boldly, asking Him to remember His promises, as they are a source of hope and encouragement in times of waiting. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a reaffirmation of faith in God's unwavering commitment to fulfill His word.

Psalm 119.49 says this, Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. Listen, remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. What we learn in the Bible is that God does almost nothing unless he speaks about it first. It is the nature of God that before he does almost anything, he speaks about it, promises it, has someone prophesy about it, so that when it happens, it doesn't come out of nowhere, it's the fulfillment of something God has already spoken about. That's true about almost anything that God has ever done. Before the flood came to punish the world of Noah's day, God spoke about it to Noah, told him to build an ark and save his family. Before Abraham ever saw his descendants possess the land of Israel, the land of Israel, God talked about it to him, told him to leave the place where he lived and to go, and that one day they would possess that land, which they happen to do still today. God does almost nothing until he speaks about it first. Before David became king, God spoke about it through the prophet Samuel. He anointed a young boy who was a shepherd boy and said, one day you'll be king of Israel. Before the Jews went into captivity for 70 years under the Babylonians, God spoke about it, listed the number of years, and promised that after 70 years, he would bring them back to the land. It happened exactly like God said, but you had to wait. Before Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a manger, the Messiah was promised in numerous places in the Old Testament. In fact, Micah actually called out the name of the town, Bethlehem. Out of you, O Bethlehem, will come as the deliverer. Before he was crucified on the cross, Isaiah spoke about it in detail, that his form would be so marred that you wouldn't be able to recognize him. They talked about plucking out his beard. They talk about he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Before Jesus ever rose from the dead, he had not only spoken about his crucifixion, but he spoke about his resurrection. So did the Old Testament, hundreds of years before. David spoke about not leaving the anointed one to suffer decay in a grave. Before the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts, the second chapter, hundreds of years before, God spoke about it through the prophet Joel. For thus saith the Lord, a day is coming when I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. My sons and daughters will prophesy, et cetera, et cetera. Before God does almost anything, he speaks about it. And there are more promises about Christ's second coming than there are of his first. It hasn't happened yet, but when God says something's gonna happen, how many know it is sure to come to pass? Just lift your hand if you agree with that. Why does God do that? Why does God talk about things before they happen? Well, for two reasons. Number one, he wants people to know it wasn't an accident or a happenstance or coincidence, but by speaking about it first, then when it comes to pass, people will give God glory and know, ooh, the Lord spoke and it came to pass. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. The faithfulness of God is totally based on that he keeps his promises and that he fulfills his word. So every one of these things I've just talked about shows that God is faithful. When he says something will happen, it's gonna happen, and he's encouraging people to not only give him glory, but number two, to have faith in him. All these things I just mentioned are God's reminders that we would trust God because God is saying to all of us, look at my track record. Everything I said came to pass. You can take it to the bank. I'm coming again. You're gonna live forever with me. What you're suffering and going through now is not even worthy to be compared with the glory that's waiting for you. All of these things are to encourage our faith in God. Every promise he made, every prophecy given in his word, he speaks, then later it comes to pass. The problem with us is the delay in the fulfillment. God says something, makes it real to us, but he doesn't fulfill it the next day or the next hour, and now the waiting comes, but the wait, ooh, the wait. Now, this verse is strange. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. Couple things about that verse. Who would have the chutzpah and the nerve to talk to God about remember your word like God could forget? Notice the boldness of it. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. Lord, help us all to listen now. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. He's like reminding God, but it's a prayer. He's speaking to God, not speaking to us. Remember your word to your servant, Lord, for you have given me hope. What he's saying is, Lord, you spoke a word, you gave a promise. Now, remember that promise, for you have, from saying whatever you said, you've given me hope. You built up expectation in me. Now, are you the type of God who would build up expectation and then frustrate me? Are you the type of God that would disappoint me? So that's the gist and the spirit of this prayer that we read in Psalm 119, 49. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. Now, what's unusual about this, as I bring this to a kind of conclusion and apply it to us, is that this word seems to be other than the usual word that we think of when we think of God's promises. So many times, when you're up against it and you're down financially and you're living for the Lord and you're walking in the light, you can find in the scripture verses. In fact, that's a good way to read the Bible, to read it and learn from it, and then when you find a promise of something God said he would do. How about this one? My God will supply all of your need according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. And when you're behind on the rent and you're having a struggle finding a job, you can go to God, you could do it right now today when I close, and you can say, God, remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. I can't go under. After you gave me your son to die for me, for my sins on the cross, aren't you gonna fulfill your word of supplying everything I need? How about this one? When you feel alone and depressed and a guy walks out on you or your wife or your family sticks a knife in your back and turns it once or twice, you can remember the word to the Lord, but I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you. When you go through the water, I'll be there. When you go through the fire, it will not harm you because I will be with you. That's a word of God that we can bring to him and say, remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. A lot of times people are living in depression and fear because they don't live off the promises of God. They hardly pick up this book. They're just hoping it'll work out. But faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God so that when we read God's promises and we claim them for ourselves where it's appropriate, then we're able to say to God in prayer, remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. You're not gonna frustrate me, I know that. And you love when I pray like this. You have a man in the Psalms praying just like this. So I wanna remind you, God, imagine reminding God, remember your word to your servant for you have given me hope. That's just like a child. You know, when you raise children, you learn this. If you tell them things that they need to do, chores and that, homework, they quickly forget. But if you ever make a promise, they'll remind you 10 years later. Remember your word. And that's what this psalmist is doing. He's coming to his father, saying, remember your word. But what seems strange about this one is this doesn't seem to be some general promise like my God will supply your needs. I will never leave you nor forsake you. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Those are general promises for all of us. This is a personal one. This is personal. Remember your word to your servant. What's he talking about? In the course of life, things happen where God, either through someone else or in your own spirit and heart, he speaks to you about things that will come to pass and that he wants you to trust him for. He speaks about one day what will happen to you, what you need to do in trusting him to bring about a certain circumstance. And it seems like it's one of these personal things. You say, Pastor, I don't get what you're talking about. Well, it's like when Samuel came to David and he anointed him with oil and he poured it over him and he said, thus sayeth the Lord, one day you're gonna be king of Israel. How could that be? How could that be? When he's a shepherd boy and King Saul later, the king is trying to kill him. See, the word that God gives us is often tested. Now, that wasn't a word to everyone. That was a word just to David. You will be king one day. You can't, I can't take that. That was for David. Or how about this? Joseph had dreams in the book of Genesis and he saw his brothers bowing down before him and he saw himself in a position of authority. That wasn't for all of us, but it was for Joseph. Joseph had to wait for that to happen. You know the story, right? He was sold down the river by his brothers, ended up in prison through a lie of a woman in Egypt and the Bible says that word tested him. Like, are you gonna hang on and believe it or are you gonna just throw in the towel and say, forget this stuff. This is not real, God's not real, nothing's real. The apostle Paul says to Timothy, another young minister, he said, now remember when you were ordained. Remember the prophecies that were made over you. What does that mean? It means that when he was ordained by the men over him called presbyters or bishops or pastors or elders, they all mean the same thing. When hands were laid upon Timothy, the Holy Spirit came on some of the people there, it seems, and they gave prophetic utterances about what God was gonna do in Timothy's life. And Paul now says to him, remember what was spoken over you because by them, you're gonna be able to fight the good fight of faith. Remember that what God said he will do. Don't give up, don't be afraid. Timothy seemed to be younger and have a fearful personality. He said, no, come on, you be bold. Remember what God said? God's gonna do it. Now don't be afraid. Tell him, remember your word to your servant for you have given me hope. See, that was a personal thing. David, personal. Personal to Joseph. And that's what God does. He says, remember, he speaks to us, and he said, now hold on to this. And I wonder how God has spoken to some of you about things concerning your family, concerning your own life. And maybe you've walked away from it or you've given up on it. Or it might have happened when you were a young Christian or a young person, and now Satan's gonna write it off in your mind like, oh, that's when you were all emotional and hyper and simplistic. But now you're older and mature. He's a liar. When God says something, he wants us to hold on to it. I was telling some people in Orlando how my wife, who was very, very, very, very, very shy, when I met her, she wouldn't say two words in public here, never in public, but even with around my family or relatives, very shy, hands with sweat. I remember trying to hold them when we were dating. I would just slip right off those little babies. It's the truth. Shy to painfulness. First choir practice she did in a church in New Jersey we were in, five women were gonna come and sing around a piano. She threw up before they came, and after they left, she threw up. That's right, that lady that you see. But when she was young and helping her mom do the bed one day, she threw the sheet out alone in a bedroom as a young teen, 13, 14, 12. And suddenly the Lord showed her a picture of herself, but she couldn't see herself. She could only see the back of herself. And she was standing in front of hundreds of people who were singing different races, different colors, different complexions. And she was leading them, and they were singing for the glory of God. How could that be? She couldn't even say boo to anyone. When I learned of that, I've reminded her many times when she wanted to quit or give up. Carol, remember the word that was spoken to you? Because God has brought it to pass. Imagine her choir, she's untrained, can't read or write music. And at President Obama's second inauguration, they sang in front of a televised audience of one billion people. That lady who was that girl who couldn't even look at people and make eye contact, remember your word to your servant. One day I was in the boat. Carol and I were in this Brooklyn tabernacle, less than 30 people at the time, in a rundown building that none of you would have wanted to come to, all due respect. People visit now from around the world. Nobody was visiting back then. I didn't wanna visit and I was in charge. I was the pastor. Good grief, the problems we had. Offerings of $85, just a mess. So I got sick, came down with a bronchial problem, real serious, coughed violently, made 3,800 the first year in the ministry, 5,500 second year, 7,000 I think the third year, took second jobs, had no doctor, had no insurance, opted out of Social Security for a while. It's hard. I gotta cough so bad that I couldn't lay in the bed with my wife because the coughing was so violent I would keep her up. I didn't know what to do. My in-laws were alive then down in Florida. They invited me to come down. I went down just to be in the sun, let the sun beat it out of me. Second day I was there, I found out they had fishing boats nearby. Someone dropped me off and I went out on a fishing boat for six, seven hours. Not deep, deep sea, but you know, a couple hours away from the shore. It was a weekday, no one was on the boat hardly. I went on the side where no one was, casted out down, bottom fishing. Just wanted to be alone. Was so overwhelmed, so discouraged, couldn't preach. Didn't know how to preach. Didn't know how to do anything. Couldn't raise money. Didn't know how we pay the bills. My wife was sewing all the clothes for my first child. Then we had a second one. She's just, they still haven't forgiven her for some of the outfits that my wife put them in. They still remind her. But it is what it is. What do you do? Well, you can't run. So while I was on the boat, I started to pray and say, God, what do I do? I'm in the ministry a year and a half, two years. Maybe we had 50 people. We started with 15, 18. God, what do we do? All these church growth methods, what other churches do, I can't do any of that. They say buy buses and bus your congregation in. I said, how would I buy a bus? If they wanna take a bus, let them take the 41 bus. It stops right there, there. God, what do I do? So listen, I say this as God Almighty is listening to me. If I exaggerate or say one thing, other, let him judge me for it. So as I'm just sitting there and praying, I start to cry. I wanted to serve God. So did my wife. We both wanna serve God, but what to do? Downtown Brooklyn was a mess. Heroin, prostitution all around near the church. As I'm praying, out of nowhere, the Lord just comes to me and he speaks three things as real as this pulpit is. And he says, if you and your wife will lead the people to pray, just lead them to call on me. Just lead them to reach out to me. Yeah, teach, sing, have music, all that, but lead them to call on me. I will give you every sermon you ever need, which I was very self-conscious about because I was preaching some bad sermons. I will give you every sermon you need and I will supply all the money that you and your church needs. And there'll never be a building that you go into that's large enough to contain all the people I send to you at one time. If you would've heard that the way I heard it, it was the most ridiculous thought in the whole universe. We were just trying to not drown, just stay above water. Every single one of those things has come to pass, including one time needing, wait, $6 million and God giving me, the church, me representing you, $5 million and $1 million gift within 10 minutes of the very moment that we needed that money from two people that I didn't know. Remember your word to your servant. So I wanna leave this, have any of you given up on what God has shown you maybe? Maybe some of you are called to ministry or to mission trips or to serve and work with children or to be powerhouses in prayer. And God promised that he would do great things through you. But what happened? We get distracted, we get discouraged, we go through a church split, wherever church we might be in. We get cynical, we get professional, we lose a childlike faith. And for some of you, imagine maybe some of the things God has spoken to you about. I'm not doing hyped up melodrama here. I'm saying that things that God has made real to you. Maybe some of you have a wayward son or a wayward daughter and in prayer, or maybe when you dedicated that baby, or two years ago when you were praying, God gave you a word of faith. A word of faith was planted in you like God is bringing my son and my daughter back or whatever it might be, or God's gonna make a way where there is no way, or God's gonna do something, and he made it real to you. I'm not judging it, it's between you and God, but you know it's not some pipe dream. It's something God made real to you. I want to encourage you, pray with the psalmist today. Remember your word to your servant. Hasn't happened yet. Notice what he's praying, it hasn't happened yet. Otherwise he wouldn't say hope. Hope always speaks of future. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. In other words, you've made me look forward and anticipating you answering, but it hasn't happened yet. So I'm reminding you, God, with all due respect, remember your word to your servant. Remember what you spoke about with me, for you have given me hope, and I'm not gonna let you go, because I know you are not a man that you should lie. Heaven and earth will pass away, but your word will never pass away. Anybody here just wanna say, pastor, that was for me? Whatever made you change what you preached earlier today, that was for me. The enemy's trying to take away my hope, trying to take away my faith, trying to steal things God has shown to me, made real to me, but I wanna stand today, and I wanna let God know, and I want Satan to know, and I want the world to know I will trust God. God is faithful. God will do what he said. He will come through. He will come through. If you're here today, and you want me to just stand and pray with you here at the close, get up out of your seat and just walk forward quickly, and say, I want you to pray over me, because I wanna stand on what God has promised me. I'm standing on that promise. Don't see it yet? Don't see the answer? Don't even feel like I know how it could come to pass, but I know that God is faithful, and with him, nothing is impossible. Father, we come to you in the name of your son, Jesus, and we quote your own word to you. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given us hope. My brothers and sisters, Lord, have marched forward here because they're hanging on to your promise. Some have tears, others broken hearts. You know everything, but we're standing on your word. We're not gonna go to the left or to the right. We're gonna keep our eyes on Jesus, because great is your faithfulness, Lord. So whether it's a wayward son or wayward daughter, whatever personal nature it might be, spiritual, mental, emotional, heal some broken heart that's up here today, God. Heal every broken heart. We look to you, God. You're here with us. We can sense your presence. Remember your word to every one of them, for you have given us hope. We're gonna walk out of this building trusting you. Our expectation is gonna come from you. Our eyes are gonna be bright with anticipation of the great thing you're gonna do. We're not gonna live depressed and sad and negative. We're gonna be rejoicing in you, Lord, because you are a faithful God. And we thank you for every whisper that you've ever given us, starting with me, Lord. Thank you for meeting me on that boat that day. And how many times your words have come to comfort me when I didn't know how we would make it. You are a faithful God. Everybody say that with me. You are a faithful God. Say it again. You are a faithful God. Lift your hands right now wherever you are and just praise God out loud for what he's gonna do. Go ahead. Up in the balcony, downstairs, do it. Don't wait till you see it happen. That's not faith praising. We're gonna faith praise you today, Lord. We honor you. We bless you. We bless you, Lord. We praise you, Lord. Remember your word that you have spoken to us, for you have given us hope. We look forward to the great things you're gonna do. In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. Everybody stand together. Can we give God a hand clap of praise here? Come on. Before he shows us anything. Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope, Lord. Turn and give someone a hug, a handshake. Come on. Thank you.