His Faithfulness

We live in a day in which is marked by unfaithfulness. When you look at marriages today, a number of them are marked by unfaithfulness.

Husbands and wives are unfaithful. To their vows. Happens all the time. When you look at the family, you see children who are unfaithful to the commands that their parents laid before them.

You also see parents who are unfaithful in providing for their children. They neglect them at various times. When you look at our country, You'll notice that there are many people in leadership in our country that are extremely unfaithful to their word.

Even in churches today, there are people who lead and are unfaithful. Because they compromise their stand. There is one thing that's for sure, and that is our Lord God is a faithful God. And tonight we want to look at the Bible and see what it says about his faithfulness so that we might learn to trust him.

Even more. So, faithfulness is a part of who God is. It helps us understand the character of God. And when we understand the fact that God is faithful, it's going to do a world for us as we try to live the kind of life that our God wants us to live. Tonight we have three points, very simple. One is we want to look at his faithfulness and examine it scripturally.

Number two, see how it's exhibited personally in your life and in mine, and then how it's exclaimed. Loudly, how it should be exclaimed loudly. First of all, let's examine it scripturally.

Notice with me three things. Number one is the fact of God's faithfulness. It is a fact that our God. Is faithful. Over in Isaiah chapter 49, verse number 7, it says this: Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One. to the despised one, to the one abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes shall also bow down, because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel. Who has ch you? Our God is a faithful God. In Revelation chapter 19, verse number 11, at Christ's return to earth.

Christ will actually bear the title faithful and true. In fact, in Revelation:, in Revelation 21:5, it speaks of the fact that God is faithful. And true. And because God Himself is faithful, that means all His commands are faithful. The Bible is very clear on the fact of God's faithfulness. But the second thing I want you to notice is the fo of God's faithfulness.

No, that's not a misprint in your notes. The food of God's faithfulness. Turn with me to Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Verse number three says this.

We'll start with verse number one. Do not fret because of evild. Be not envious toward wrongdoers, for they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land. And cultivate faithfulness, or literally feed securely on faithfulness. The fact that God is faithful. Needs to be our daily food. That's important for us to understand. We are nourished each day by the fact that our God is a faithful God. And if we don't feed on that attribute, if we don't go each day for nourishment stemming from the faithfulness of God, then we're going to live a life of fear.

And is it not true that there are a lot of people who live in fear? I mean, they're afraid they're going to lose their job, right? So what do they do? They work longer hours. They work more days a week for fear they're going to lose their job, thinking somehow they have control over whether or not they can keep their job. They haven't learned the fact that they don't control anything, that God's in control of all things. But they spend less time with their family, they spend less time with the kids, with the wife, and they work longer hours because if they don't, they're going to lose their job.

They live in fear. And the Bible says: see first God's kingdom, His righteousness, Matthew 6:3, and all these things will be taken care of, will be added unto you.

What things? The whole thing's dealing with the necessities of life, the longevity of life. Everything you need to sustain your being, God will take care of. But how many people do we know forfeit time with God, forfeit time with their family? Because if they don't work long enough, if they don't work hard enough, they're going to lose their job. They live in fear. That ought not to happen. That denies the faithfulness of God, that God is going to be true to His Word and supply all of your needs.

Now, I believe in hard work. I believe you ought to work hard, and I believe you ought to work long. Okay, but not at the expense of your family. Not at the expense of missing church to work. I don't think that's right at all. See? But we do that, don't we? We feel we got to work longer hours. Well, God will understand. I got to go to work today. For fear, we might lose our job. We might lose our source of income. It denies the faithfulness of God. There are people who are afraid they're going to die.

They're afraid one of their kids are going to die. They're afraid their husband's going to die. What's going Happen if I lose them and they live in fear. Not knowing whether or not that spouse or that family member or that friend will be with them the next day. Maybe you know someone like that. Not understanding that God says in His Word that all of our days were numbered before there was yet one of them.

So, all you're worrying about life is not going to add another day to your life nor take away a day from your life because it's all mapped out, right? So we deny once again the faithfulness of God by living in fear that I might die or my friend might die and I might be left alone. And God says, trust me.

Everything's taken care of. But people live in fear. They are controlled by it. It zaps our spiritual energy. So when you get up in the morning, you eat your breakfast or you get your cup of coffee, you eat your lunch, you eat your dinner to sustain your life. God says, I want you to feed on my faithfulness.

I want my faithfulness to be the fact, the one thing in your life that will sustain you from day to day. Maybe you don't have struggles with your prayer life. Most Christians have a problem with prayer. They'll spend a long time praying or don't pray at all. You know why that is? We don't know God. If you knew God, you would want to communicate with God, right? You'd want to talk to God. And prayer is more than just. Just talking to God, it's listening to God, right? Because prayer is communication.

All prayer is, simply is communication with God. And to be an effective communicator, you've got to be a good speaker and a good. Listener, right? So, in order to be an effective prayer warrior, you've got to be able to listen to what God says in His Word so that you know who God is.

And once you know who God is, then you know how to pray. If we understand the faithfulness of God, we will feed on that faithfulness every single day. day. And God wants His faithfulness to be our food, our nourishment, our strength from day to day. Isn't that good? And that's what we should we should understand God's faithfulness, His character. And if people could understand God, they would spend more time praying with God and to God. But they don't know Him. They don't understand Him. And so we hope to give you a little insight into the character of God as we study his attributes.

We looked at the fact of God's faithfulness, the food of God's faithfulness. And thirdly, I want you to see the fortune of God's faithfulness.

The fortune. God's faithfulness. Psalm 84, verse number 11. I love this verse. This is my favorite Old Testament verse. I've quoted it many times to you, but I want to look at it with you this evening.

It says this. For the Lord God is a son and a shield. Now that speaks of God's provision and God's protection, right? As the sun provides for us heat. Provides a way to grow food that we need, and we also understand that God is our shield, He is our protector. Read on. The Lord gives grace and glory. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Folks, that is the fortune of God's faithfulness. To be able to trust God. And understand that there is not one good thing God will ever withhold from your life if you walk uprightly.

That's a great promise. God promises that. And God is faithful to His Word. He's reliable. He is dependable. If you understood the faithfulness of God. You would never l for anything to pray about because you'd believe him for everything. Which leads me to main point number two.

How the faithfulness of God is exhibited personally in our lives. Let's look at it together. Number one: because God is faithful, He assures our salvation.

Because God is faithful, He assures our salvation. Now, if you remember my comment earlier, we talked about this a little bit on Sunday morning last week, about a confident heart. To be able to trust in God, to have eternal security. Because God is faithful, He assures our salvation. The text is 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 7 to 9. So that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ?

God is faithful. Through whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Now, our place in heaven Is based on the fact that God is faithful. God is true to His Word. He is reliable. If you don't believe in eternal security, you deny the faithfulness of God. If you deny the faithfulness of God, you deny the character of God. And he who comes to God must believe that he is Hebrews 11:6, right? Because without faith, it's impossible to please him. And so, because he's faithful, he assures our salvation.

Number two, he affirms our glorification. He affirms our glorification. Turn me over to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 23 and 24. Says this: Now may the God of peace him sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit, and soul, and body be preserved complete. Without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful is he who calls you, and he also will bring it to pass. Now, Paul is concerned that. Those in Thessalonic understand that you can count on God to accomplish his work of glorification.

You see, those in whom he predestined He made sure that they would be conformed to his image. Those in whom he called, he justified, and those in whom he justified, he glorified. That is so clear and so good to understand. So, God, because He's faithful, not only assures our salvation, but He affirms once for all. Our glorification. You will be glorified. You will be just like me. I promise. Number three: He accepts our confession.

He accepts our confession. 1 John chapter 1, verse number 9. 1 John chapter 1, verse number 9 says this: if we confess our sins. He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Again, the Bible says if we confess our sins, if we say the same thing about our sin that God says about our sin.

Okay? If we say the same thing about it that God says about it, it's evil, it's wrong, it's defiance, it's rebellion, it's unbelief.

If we say the same thing about our sin that God says about it, Then we are assured of this: that God is faithful, God is righteous, and He will cleanse us from all Of our sins.

That is so good. Why? Because you see, when we are in our personal relationships, husband, wife, parents, children, employer, employee, you know, we sin. And so we go and we ask for forgiveness, right? And they say, okay, I forgive you. And then they don't talk to you for a month or two. Or they see you coming down the hallway, and they turn around and go the other way. And they see you at the water cooler and they decide not to visit that water cooler anymore or that coffee machine and go someplace else.

They don't want to associate with you anymore. Yet they said they forgive you, right? We think that's the way God is. We go to God and we ask Him for forgiveness, and then God kind of like gives us a cold shoulder and turns away from us, and we think, oh, gee, here we go again. That's not the way God is. He cleanses us from all sin. Why? He's faithful. When he forgives, he forgives. The st is clean. Let 's move on. Don 't live in the past. Forget about the past. It's over. Boy, we love to live in the past.

We like to bring up the past. God doesn't do that. He takes you from where you are today and moves you on because he is faithful. We serve a great God. And I trust that you'll understand more of his faithfulness. And if you want to be like God, you've got to be a forgiving individual. Forgive it. Move on. Don't live in the past. That is so negative. It's so un-Christ-like. Live in the present. And look to the future. You see, that's why you need to understand the attributes of God. He is a faithful God, He's cleansed you.

If he's not going to dig up your past, don't you think that you're better than God to go around digging up somebody else's past? See? Let's move on. So, because he's faithful, he assures our salvation, he affirms our glorification, he accepts our confession, and number four, he applies his protection. He applies his protection over in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 3. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse number. Three, it says this, but the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from The evil one.

Boy, that's so good. Now, that's in the context of sharing your faith. That's in the context of speaking forth the truth of God. So, because God's faithful, He assures our salvation, He affirms our glorification, He accepts our confession, He applies His protection, and number five, He assists us in temptation. He assists us in temptation. This is good. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. You know the verse? 1 Corinthians 10, verse number 13. What does it say? These words. No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is coming to man, but God is faithful.

Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation, will provide the way of escape also that you may be able to Endure it. God is faithful. Listen, the parasm, the temptation, the trial, whatever it is that comes your way. God always provides an escape route. Why? Because God's faithful. You can never say, number one, the devil made me do it.

You can never say that it's so great that I just. I just buckled under the pressure. I couldn't get out of it. That's a false statement. God always assists us in temptation because our God is a faithful God. Sixth. This is my favorite. Turn me to Psalm 119. Because God is faithful, He allows our affliction. Did you get that? Because God is faithful, He allows our affliction. Psalm 119, verse number 75, says what? I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are righteous and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me.

Isn't that good? If you're afflicted tonight, you might not think that's so good. But I'm going to tell you something: that's good. Because you see, God is so faithful, is so good. That, whatever he allows to happen to you is for your benefit. You say, how can that be? How can this be for my benefit? How can all the bad things happen to me be for my benefit? Because God, in his faithfulness, has afflicted you. Over in Psalm 119, verse number 67, what does it say? Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep thy word.

And lastly, number seven, because God is faithful, He answers our petition. He answers our petition because God is faithful. Psalm 143. Psalm 143, verse number 1 says this: Hear my prayer, O Lord. Give ear to my supplications. Answer me in thy faithfulness. In th right, God has promised to hear our prayers and answer Therefore, we should pray with confidence. If you understand the faithfulness of God, then you will be one. Who prays? Because God always answers your supplication. God never speaks of unanswered prayer.

God always answers prayer. That's the way God is. That's the way we see God. Point number three: because God is faithful.

It should be exclaimed loudly. Psalm 89, verse number 1, says this: I will sing of the loving kind of the Lord forever. To all generations, I will make known thy faithfulness with my mouth. For I have said, loving kind will be built up forever. In the heavens thou wilt establish thy faithfulness. It is obvious that God is faithful. It is obvious that God wants us to sing aloud of his loving kind and of his Faithfulness. Every gener can count on it. So, we, as His people, need to exclaim two things about the faithfulness of God.

Number one, it's great, it's greatness. You know the verse. Lamentation chapter 3. You're wondering probably when I was going to get to it. Lamentation chapter 3. Verse number 22. The Lord's loving kind indeed never cease, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. God is great, and great is thy faithfulness. We've all sung the hymn written by Thomas Chisholm. Great is thy faithfulness. He wrote, morning by morning, new mercies I see.

Only one problem: Jeremiah didn't see new mercies every morning. Did you know that? Every morning he woke up, it brought horror, p, and dread, not new mercies. What did Jeremiah say? Jeremiah was not saying, I trust you because I understand everything going on in my life. Jeremiah said, I trust you because you are God and you cannot fail. See, the context of Lamentations chapter 3 is the Babylonian captivity. And the nation of Israel had been unfaithful to God. They've not been true to their word, but God had been true to His.

God is always true to His. And so they were captured, but they were not consumed. See that? And so you sing of God's faithfulness because He protects us. He's true to his word. His compassions never fail. His loving kind never ceases. They are new every morning. If you can't praise God for anything, you need to praise Him for His faithfulness. Because He is faithful, you are not consumed, you live another day. And we should exclaim loudly his greatness. And number two, the fact that God's faithfulness is limitless.

It is limit. Psalm 36, verse number 5 says this. Thy loving kind, O Lord, extends to the heavens. Thy faithfulness reaches to The skies and then Psalm 119, verse number 8 and 90. Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness continues throughout all gener. God 's faithfulness is limitless. God wasn't faithful to Abraham and unfaithful to us. God wasn't faithful to Rah and unfaithful to you and me today. God was not faithful to forgive one person Sin and unfaithful To not forgive another person's sin.

God is not faithful to protect one person and leave another unprotected. God is not faithful to one. To allow him to go through difficulty and affliction, to mold him into his image, and yet let another one slide by without affliction. God is faithful to everyone. It's limitless. It goes from generation to generation, as high as the stars are in the sky. So God is faithful. It was John Flab, that Puritan preacher in the 17th century, who said these words: God's providence is like a Hebrew word. You have to read it backwards.

It's only after you come through the imponder that you can look back and say, He has been faithful. He. Has been faithful to me. When you look back at your life, can you see the faithfulness of God? Can you see how he has been true to his word? I can. I look back and see how faithful God has been to me, how dependable he has been. He is so reliable, I can count on him. So that when I go to Him in prayer today, I can pray believing, knowing for certain that God is true to His Word and will never let me down.

I expect Him to answer because He promises to answer. And so I hold him to his faithfulness. How about you? When you look back at your life and look at all the events that at one time seemed imponder, nothing you can understand.

But God has brought you through. He is a faithful, wonderful God. And may God give us the grace to understand more of what it means to worship His faithfulness.