Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Today we continue our series titled The Doctrine of God.
Today we are talking about The Faithfulness of God.
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
Psalm 119:90 AMP
90 Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation;
You have established the earth, and it stands [securely].
Scripture Reading
Psalm 119:89-96 AMP
89 Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable].
90 Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation;
You have established the earth, and it stands [securely].
91 They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all things [all parts of the universe] are Your servants.
92 If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my time of trouble.
93 I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me and given me life.
94 I am Yours, save me [as Your own];
For I have [diligently] sought Your precepts and required them [as my greatest need].
95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me,
But I will consider Your testimonies.
96 I have seen that all [human] perfection has its limits [no matter how grand and perfect and noble];
Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity].
Introduction
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.
Ezekiel wrote in the Old Testament, “The soul that sins, it shall die.”
And Paul wrote in the New Testament, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap.”
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 light upon our way, and an apt word in our discouragement.
This passage from Psalm 119 emphasises God’s character, including His sovereignty, His integrity, and His dependability.
Verse 90 states an important biblical theme, “Thy faithfulness is unto all generations.”
Let’s look at five places where this theme surfaces in the New Testament.
- The faithfulness of God is His protection in our temptations.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says,
13 No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].
How could this be true?
Because God is faithful!
For the Christian there is foe, there is fight, there is a victory.
With the first two affirmations we have no problem, but we sometimes doubt the third.
God is on the side of the biggest battalions, for His battalions are the biggest.
2 Kings 6:16,
16 Elisha answered, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
“If this is true,” you may ask, “why do temptation and sin so often lay me low?”
God is our supreme commander.
We must fight the battle the way He directs.
If we go wandering off like stray sheep, if we fight in our own strength, if we use weapons of the flesh and not of the Spirit, the enemy will pick us off one by one.
Unless we do go wandering off on our own, we are secure within God’s fold, within the citadel of His peace and strength.
Paul told the Philippians in verse 4:7, And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
God will guard those who are His own and keep them safe.
2. The faithfulness of God is His explanation of the orderliness of our physical universe.
In his first epistle, Peter said, in verse 4:19, Therefore, those who are ill-treated and suffer in accordance with the will of God must [continue to] do right and commit their souls [for safe-keeping] to the faithful Creator.
We need to take note of the phrase “to the faithful Creator.”
The more we ponder these words, the more wonderful they appear!
God is faithful in the return of the seasons and the orbit of the stars, and He is faithful provide sustenance forever living creature He has made.
God is the faithful creator.
It is logical, therefore, that His faithfulness should be the theme of the Bible.
But why does Peter, when ministering to these suffering saints, lay emphasis on God’s faithfulness as Creator?
Isn’t this the reason?
We are right to concentrate our thoughts on the birth, the cross, the burial, the resurrection, and the intercession of our Lord and to forget that behind all these, deep in the nature of God, the almighty creator, there are ever flowing fountains of faithfulness and love.
God is faithful.
His physical creation, therefore, is orderly and dependable.
What then, is wrong with this world in which we live?
Why the weeds and thorns that infest the ground, why the floods, cyclones and bushfires and others disasters?
Humans, by their sin, have upset God’s perfect environment, His balance of nature.
This is part of God’s judgement, a part of humankind’s penalty, have a read of Genesis 3:17-19.
What is wrong with our physical environment?
Nothing, except people themselves, and their thoughtlessness and sin in upsetting the balance of nature.
But for all that, God is faithful.
If our scientists and doctors turned to Him, He would assist in the protection of every living thing.
3. The faithfulness of God is His pledge of the efficacy of our faith.
Because God is faithful, we can trust Him.
Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:11-13,
11 This is a faithful and trustworthy saying:
If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He will also deny us;
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful [true to His word and His righteous character], 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, we can put our weight on God because He is faithful.
4. The faithfulness of God is His assurance of our security.
Because God is faithful, we know that He will never desert us.
Why will God strengthen and guard His own?
Because He is faithful.
Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 3:3, But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one.
Because God is faithful, the security of His own is absolutely assured.
Our salvation through Christ has three features.
First, it is personal, the rescue and redemption of a person by a person, and that person is Jesus Christ.
Second, it is planned.
God’s plan of salvation was no afterthought.
It is the plan of the ages.
And third, it is permanent.
A Christian life begins, it continues on and on, and one day it will consummate in glory.
Peter said that those despised and persecuted saints “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” in 1 Peter 1:5.
Our Lord is faithful, therefore His own are secure.
5. The faithfulness of God is His guarantee of forgiveness.
1 John 1:9 says, If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].
Confession of sin is God’s condition of forgiveness, His faithfulness is His guarantee.
By confessing our sins to God, we admit their reality, their enormity.
Silence conceals the sin it refuses to acknowledge.
Confession to God drags the sin into the light and shows it to ourselves in all its foulness.
John promised, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”
This anticipates by nearly two thousand years the modern psychiatric principle where patients who unburden themselves of their guilty memories experience purging and cleansing.
But will it work?
Thousands of people through all the centuries could testify that it will.
The attributes of God that lead to the punishment of those who will not repent lead to the forgiveness and cleansing of those ho do.
He 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!
Indeed, His faithfulness is unto all generations.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
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Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
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