Wednesday, June 29, 2022

The Love of God



This is the manuscript of the seventh sermon in the "Doctrine of God" series. It was delivered on Sunday June 26, 2022 at Christ Church, Los Angeles, CA.

During the last two months we've talked about "The Call of God", "The Image of God", "The Humility of God", "The Faithfulness of God", "The Gentleness of God", and "The Justice of God". Tomorrow's sermon is "The Love of God"

“I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3).
The better acquainted we are with God’s love, the more our hearts will be drawn out in love to him. However wonderful human love may be, it is but a poor reflection of the divine. In the sermon I will answer these three especially important questions about God’s love.
What are the characteristics of God’s love?
What are the results of God’s love?

What should be our response to God’s love?

Listen to an audio recording of the sermon by clicking on the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript.

You can watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/BXxyt-LxEfM


Scripture:

Jeremiah 31:1‭-‬9 ESV “At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.” Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit. For there shall be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim: ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’” For thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Introduction


During the last two months we've talked about "The Call of God", "The Image of God", "The Humility of God", "The Faithfulness of God", "The Gentleness of God", and "The Justice of God".  Tomorrow's sermon is "The Love of God''


Text: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3).


The better acquainted we are with God’s love, the more our hearts will be drawn out in love to him. However wonderful human love may be, it is but a poor reflection of the divine love of God. Let's consider these three questions about God’s love.

  1. What are the characteristics of God’s love?

  2. What are the results of God’s love?

  3. What should be our response to God’s love?


I. What are the characteristics of God’s love?


A. The love of God is unmerited. 

The love one human being has for another is because of something in them, but the love of God is free, unconditional, completely unmerited. 

Moses told Israel, “God loved them only because he wanted to, not because they deserved to be loved” 

Deuteronomy 7:7‭-‬8 ESV It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

God loved us before we had in us an ounce of love for him. 

Romans 5:8‭-‬10 ESV but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

What is there in me, what is there in you, to attract the love of God? Nothing! In fact there is a lot to repel His love, 

Psalm 14:1‭-‬3 ESV The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Romans 3:21‭-‬23 ESV But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

but he still loves us.  Let’s read the next few verses

Romans 3:24‭-‬26 ESV and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.


B. The love of God is eternal. 


God himself is eternal, and “God is love”. 


1 John 4:8‭, ‬16 ESV Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 


‬16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.


This means that God’s love has always been 


Revelation 22:12‭-‬13 ESV “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”


Since God always was and will always be so will His love. 


Psalm 103:15‭-‬18 ESV As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.


Love is more than a feeling. It is an act. God’s love is not only eternal, it is also historical.


Look at our text again;

I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3).


C. The love of God is universal.


He loves all people.


John 3:16 ESV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.


 “God so loved the world”; the good and the bad, the healthy and the sick, the rich and the poor, the saint and the sinner, the deranged, the dirty, the diseased, and the sinful everybody, everywhere. God loves all people as they are——and he sent his Son to save them all.


1 Timothy 2:1‭-‬6 ESV First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.


D. The love of God is infinite. 


Everything about God is infinite. His presence fills heaven and earth.


Jeremiah 23:23‭-‬24 GNT “I am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only. No one can hide where I cannot see them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven and on earth?


His wisdom is infinite; he knows all things. 


Psalm 139:1‭, ESV O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 


‬7‭-‬12  Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.


The love of God cannot be estimated because His love is without limit.


Ephesians 2:4‭-‬7 ESV But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.


We already read that God even loved us while we were His enemies.


Romans 5:10‭-‬11 ESV For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.


E. The love of God is immutable, which means His love doesn’t change.


James 1:17 ESV Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.


As with God himself, there “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, so his love never changes. 


During Jesus’ last night on earth, one disciple, Judas would betray him; another, Philip, would ask, “Lord, shew us the Father” (John 14:8); and another, Peter, would deny him three times.  When they came to arrest Him they all split.


Matthew 26:55‭-‬56 ESV At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.


Even with all this Jesus still loved them to the end.


John 13:1 ESV Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.


Paul wrote that absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love.


Romans 8:35‭-‬39 ESV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.


F. The love of God is holy. 


It is not regulated by passion, or sentiment but by principle. God’s love is no mere weakness or softness. God will not wink at sin, even in his children.


Just as I said in my sermon on “The Justice of God”


Too often we have viewed love as soft and naive sentiment, and justice as a hard-nosed demand for punishment. This contradicts the spirit of the New Testament. Jesus was never more just than when he forgave the adulterous woman, never more loving than when he drove the money changers from the temple. With God love and justice are one.


God’s justice shines a bright light on his love, grace, and mercy in a way that nothing else could because not only is God just, but he is our justifier — meaning he alone has the power and ability to make us righteous before him. 


Romans 3:25‭-‬26 NIV God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.


II. What are the results of God’s love?

What does God do because of his love for us?

A. Because God loves us, he saves us. 


He prepared his plan of salvation before the foundation of the world. He alone is the author of our salvation. 

Ephesians 2:4‭-‬7 ESV But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Salvation is grounded in God’s boundless mercy and love. God’s love is that divine unconditional love that sees something infinitely precious in people in spite of their sin.


B. Because God loves us, he sent Christ to die on the cross.


John 3:16‭-‬17 ESV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.


Love has been defined, once and for all, by the act of Christ giving his life for us.


Paul wrote to the Galatians about Jesus.


Galatians 2:20 ESV I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.


To the Romans, Paul wrote;


Romans 5:8 ESV but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.


Love substituted itself, that the one loved, us, might be freed from the slavery of sin and death. The cross is the thing that reveals love.



D. Because God loves us, he helps us. 


John 14:16‭-‬17 ESV And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

I

John 15:26‭-‬27 ESV “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.


Because he lives within us by his Holy Spirit, his power is available to us.


1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.


The Holy Spirit helps us in that He will enable us to live the life that God wants us to live.


Ephesians 5:15‭-‬21 ESV Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.


To some, this may sound like taking the joy out of life. Quite to the contrary, it is love seeking the highest and best for us.


Galatians 5:18‭-‬24 ESV But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  

III. What should be our response to God’s love?


How should we respond to a love so great?


A. We should respond with conviction of sin.

 Realizing that a pure and holy God loved us enough to die in our place should break our hearts, striking conviction, deep and strong, into our souls.


B. We should respond with conversion from sin to Christ. 


Conviction is not enough; we must totally commit our lives to Christ for all time to come. 


1 Corinthians 2:14‭-‬16 ESVThe natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.



Romans 12:1‭-‬2 ESV I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.


C. We should respond with commitment to Christ’s way, the way of love 


When Paul wrote his first letter to the church in Corinth he didn’t write in chapter and verses so I want to read a part of that letter the way it would have been read to the church


1 Corinthians 12:31-13:3 ESV But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.


Christian commitment is to be for the things Christ is for and against the things he is against. Love hates war, racial discrimination, injustice, inhumanity, and dishonesty. Love will not stop until it does all it can do to to change conditions. If we love God, everything else will fall into place.


Conclusion


Love is not a luxury in our world. It is the most profound need of humankind. Psychologist Karl Menninger once said, “Half the diseases are due to hate, and half the accidents are due to hate.” He continued, “Love is the remedy.” Then he universalized it: “Love is the medicine for the sickness of the world.” Yes, it is—God’s love, that is. 


Here is what that love looks like.  It’s in Paul’s same letter to the church in Corinth.


1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬8 ESV Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Love is always accompanied by a

ction. Love is something we do.

So, when the Lord commands us to love our enemies He gives four actions that explain precisely what He had in mind.

Matthew 5:43‭-‬48 ESV “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

  1. We are to do good things to our enemies.

  2. We are to bless our enemies. That is, say good things to them.

  3. We are to pray for our enemies. Ask God to do His will in their lives.

  4. We are to give to our enemies.

These are the four most basic acts of love: Do good, bless, pray, and give. You do these things to your family and friends and a whole lot more, of course. But these four actions are what the Lord had in mind when He called on us to love our enemies.

We should love God because he first loved us.

Look at our text again;

I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3).


Let’s Pray.

“Lord, if we don’t do anything else we want to get to know you better and we want to love you a little more.”

Father, Your love never fails. Even when we fail You, You love us all the same. Thank You for a love that never gives up on us. Thank You for the comfort of knowing that we are secure in the promise that nothing can ever separate us from Your love. Thank You for Your perfect love that seeks the best in our lives. We’re grateful for Your sacrificial love that did not withhold the Lord Jesus Christ from us. Thank You for sending Him to die on the cross so that we can truly realize that You love us greatly. You are good. Amen.


Sermon Audio




Sunday, June 19, 2022

The Faithfulness of God




This is the manuscript of the sixth sermon in the "Doctrine of God" series. It was delivered on Juneteenth and Father's Day, June 19, 2022.

Psalm 119:90 ESV Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. God’s laws never fail. In the physical realm, the sun, moon, stars, and seasons are dependable because God is faithful. Likewise, in the spiritual realm God’s laws never change. 1. The faithfulness of God is his protection in our temptations. 2. The faithfulness of God is his explanation of the orderliness of our physical universe. 3. The faithfulness of God is his pledge for the results of our faith. 4.The faithfulness of God is his assurance of our security. 5. The faithfulness of God is his guarantee of forgiveness.

Listen to an audio recording of the sermon by clicking on the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript.

You can watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel   https://youtu.be/jOmK_cRp9fI


Scripture Reading: 

Psalm 119:89‭-‬96 ESV Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts. The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies. I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.


Juneteenth 

In 1863, during the American Civil War, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states to be free. More than two years would pass, however, before the news reached African Americans living in Texas. It was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that the state’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished. The former slaves immediately began to celebrate with prayer, feasting, song, and dance.

The following year, on June 19, the first official Juneteenth celebrations took place in Texas.  Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas in 1980, and a number of other states subsequently followed suit. In 2021 Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

The original observances included prayer meetings and the singing of spirituals, and celebrants wore new clothes as a way of representing their newfound freedom. Within a few years, African Americans in other states were celebrating the day as well, making it an annual tradition. Celebrations have continued across the United States into  and typically include prayer and religious services, speeches, educational events, family gatherings and picnics, and festivals with music, food, and dancing.  The modern holiday places much emphasis upon teaching about African-American heritage to help instill a sense of heritage and pride in black youth.  


Introduction


Father's Day was inaugurated in the United States in the early 20th century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting.


In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972


I am always amazed at how we treat Father’s Day. On Mother’s Day we often hear sermons exalting the role of the mother in the family. Mothers are encouraged, praised and lifted up as the most important person in the home. And, we should thank the Lord for godly mothers.


Then there’s Father’s Day. Dad comes to church and hears a sermon on how he does not measure up as a father. He is told about some biblical father and the perfect life he lived, and dad leaves feeling like a failure who will never measure up as a dad. 


Well dad, you are a special person too! You are just as important as mom. Many experts now believe that fathers can be just as nurturing and sensitive with their babies as mothers. As their children grow, fathers take on added roles of guiding their children's intellectual and social development. Even when a father is 'just playing' with his children, he is nurturing their development.


The Bible is full of stories about fathers and father figures who God used in different ways. Dads like Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, who faithfully led and protected his family. Or Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, who gave wisdom and leadership advice to Moses. And Paul, who was a spiritual mentor to Timothy.


Just like the men in the Bible, the dads and those who took on the roles of dad,  grandfathers and uncles, brothers and cousins, teachers, pastors and coaches and the women of our families, in our lives, just like them they inspire us in different ways.


Maybe they’ve protected you like Joseph, shared timely guidance like Jethro, or encouraged you like Paul.


Today I want to talk about God Almighty our heavenly Father and His faithfulness and what that means to us His children   

Text: 

Psalm 119:90 ESV Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

Today I'm reading from the English Standard Version 

God’s laws never fail. In the physical realm, the sun, moon, stars, and seasons are dependable because God is faithful. Likewise, in the spiritual realm God’s laws never change. 

Numbers 23:19 ESV God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Psalm 119:89 ESV Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

God’s laws are steadfast because God is faithful.

God’s faithfulness is a rock under our feet, a strong arm around our shoulders, a sure guide, and His word is always encouraging  when we are discouraged.

Our text emphasizes God’s character, including his sovereignty, his integrity, and his dependability. 

Psalm 119:90 ESV Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

There is an important biblical theme in our text and that theme is God’s faithfulness. 

The book of Psalms is in the Old Testament but let’s look at five places where this theme surfaces in the New Testament.

  1.  The faithfulness of God is his protection in our temptations.

  2. The faithfulness of God is his explanation of the orderliness of our physical universe.

  3. The faithfulness of God is his pledge for the results of our faith.

  4. The faithfulness of God is his assurance of our security.

  5. The faithfulness of God is his guarantee of forgiveness.

I. The faithfulness of God is His protection in our temptations.


1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

For the Christian there is an enemy or opponent, there is fight, and there is a victory. We are certain about the enemy and the fight but we sometimes doubt the victory.

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “God is on the side of the biggest battalions.” He was right, but not in the sense he meant it. God is on the side of the biggest battalions, because his battalions are the biggest. 

Here's an example 

2 Kings 6:15‭-‬17 ESV When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

“If this is true,” that "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability," then why do we get so discouraged when we are tempted?  It’s because when we are tempted we generally become insecure.  We know that Christians are not guaranteed immunity to temptation, tribulation or tragedy, but we are promised victory over them. God’s pledge is not that suffering will never afflict us, but that it will never separate us from his love. His love will never fail, will never let go, and will never allow us to be trampled.

Jesus said:

John 16:33 ESV I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Here’s the reason we know that we have victory


Romans 8:37‭-‬39 ESV  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.


God will be faithful to us to the very end of time. We are not victorious  because of our will to succeed. We are not victorious because of our strength. We are not even victorious because we have faith. We are victorious because of God’s love for us.


What we have to remember is that God is our supreme commander. We must fight the battle the way he directs. If we go wandering off, if we fight in our own strength, if we use the weapons of the flesh and not of the Spirit, the enemy will pick us off one by one.

2 Corinthians 10:3‭-‬5 ESV For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

We are secure in God’s peace and strength. As Paul told the Philippians,

Philippians 4:4‭-‬7 ESV Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God will guard those who are his own and keep them safe.  He is faithful.

Philippians 1:6 ESV And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

II. The faithfulness of God is his explanation of the orderliness of our physical universe.


Romans 1:19‭-‬20 ESV For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.


Psalm 19:1‭-‬6 ESV The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.


The apostle Peter also talks about a faithful Creator.

1 Peter 4:19 ESV Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

The more that we consider the words faithful Creator the more excited we should get.  

God is faithful in that there is spring, summer, fall, and winter every year.  The order of the universe is evident in the way that the earth and other planets maintain their orbits around the sun, the way that the moon maintains its orbit around the earth and the way this is repeated throughout our solar system and the innumerable number of solar systems in the universe that God created.  

Here are some of the lyrics from the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.


Plus God is faithful to provide for every living creature he has made.


Matthew 6:25‭-‬34 ESV “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

God is the faithful Creator. It is logical, therefore, that his faithfulness should be a theme of the Bible.  

Peter, when he spoke of a faithful Creator, was writing to persecuted Gentile Christians, reminding them that they are chosen by God and have a future hope in Jesus, and he was emphasizing God’s faithfulness as Creator.  God is faithful. His physical creation, therefore, is orderly and dependable. Well you may ask, if that’s the case then why is this world so messed up? Why are there floods , hurricanes, cyclones, and other natural disasters?” 

Think back several thousand years.  Humans, by their sin, have upset God’s perfect environment, his balance of nature. 

Genesis 3:17‭-‬19 ESV And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

What has happened to our physical environment is a part of God’s judgment, a part of mankind’s penalty. What is wrong with our physical environment? Nothing, except people themselves, and their thoughtlessness and sin in upsetting the balance of nature. Still God is faithful.  


 III. The faithfulness of God is his pledge for the result of our faith.

Because God is faithful, we can trust him. Here's what Paul told Timothy,

2 Timothy 2:11‭-‬13 ESV The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

The value of any faith is in its object. We are faithless again and again, we disappoint God, we betray others, but let’s look at 2 Timothy 2:13 again

2 Timothy 2:13 ESV if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

We can put our confidence in God because he is faithful.

IV. The faithfulness of God is his assurance of our security.


A. Because God is faithful, we know that he will never desert us. 


As God told Joshua; 


Joshua 1:9 ESV Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”


And as the writer of Hebrews wrote


Hebrews 13:5‭-‬6 ESV Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”


Why will God never desert us? Because he is faithful. 


2 Thessalonians 3:3 ESV But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.


Because God is faithful, the security of his children is absolutely assured.

Ephesians 1:13‭-‬14 ESV In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Philippians 1:6 ESV And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

B. Our salvation through Christ has three features.


1. It is personal, the rescue and redemption of a person by a person—and that person is Jesus Christ.


Acts 4:12 ESV And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”


2. It is planned. God’s plan of salvation was no afterthought. It is the plan of the ages.


1 Peter 1:20‭-‬21 ESV He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

3. Our salvation through Christ is personal, it’s planned and it is permanent. A Christian life begins at salvation; it continues on and on; and one day it will consummate in glory. 

1 Peter 1:3‭-‬7 ESV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Our Lord is faithful; therefore we his children are secure.  

Romans 8:28‭-‬30 ESV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

V. The faithfulness of God is his guarantee of forgiveness.


1 John 1:8‭-‬9 ESV If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession of sins is God’s condition of forgiveness; his faithfulness is his guarantee. By confessing our sins to God, we admit their reality, their enormity. Confession to God drags the sin into the light and shows it to us in all its ugliness.

The attributes of God that lead to the punishment of those who will not repent lead to the forgiveness and cleansing of those who do. God meets free confession… with free forgiveness.

 Conclusion

The faithfulness of God—how wonderful is this truth! Let us thank God for it! Let us exult in it! 

God's faithfulness endures to all generations; He established the earth, and it stands fast.


Prayer 

Thank You Father that You are the faithful, good and righteous God. You are the Lord who always keeps Your promises. You are the God who is gracious and merciful in salvation, even as You are just and wrathful in Your judgments.

Of all the words that come to my lips when I try to describe You, ‘faithful’ is one that means so much. It’s easy to look back and see time after time, when You have shown Yourself to be exactly, that, so wonderfully faithful.

You are worthy of all trust and faith.   You are the One constant in our lives. No matter what happens, no matter what we go through, or whatever may change, You are still there, and You stay the same. You are constant, dependable, and always reliable. I’m thankful that You are these things and so much more, Lord. We are completely dependent on You – even for our next breath. You are exactly who You say You are – Faithful and True. Thank You, Lord.

Amen.

To those of you who have never confessed your sinfulness to God and acknowledged His Son Jesus’, who never sinned, sacrifice taking the penalty for your sinfulness remember what I just said.  The attributes of God that lead to the punishment of those who will not repent lead to the forgiveness and cleansing of those who do. God meets free confession with free forgiveness.

You don’t have to be controlled by your past. And you don’t have to be crippled by it, either. You can put it behind you. You can become a new person in Jesus Christ.

This is your moment to come into a relationship with the God who loves you. He loves you so much that He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to come to this earth, die on the cross for your sin, and rise from the dead. Now He stands at the door of your life and knocks. 

Are you worn out and exhausted? Are you filled with sadness and depression? There is hope. But this hope is not in religion or in rules and regulations. It is hope in Jesus Christ coming to live inside of you.

Let me encourage you to confess your sins today so that you can receive the forgiveness of God which will result in eternal life.  A life filled with power and protection because God is faithful to His promise to you.  Admit that you are a sinner and ask for forgiveness then do what it says in Romans 10:9&10

Romans 10:9‭-‬10 ESV because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.


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