Today, we look at part 6 of our series on the Attributes of God: The Faithfulness of God. We cannot form a right conception of the LORD unless we consider Him as all faithful see that faithfulness in His operations. If you talk to many in the church world, you will become convinced that their view of God is not the God of the Bible but is a god of their own creation. The religious world is merging into the great apostasy and is being brought under a great delusion, which is preparing it for the acceptance of the Antichrist when he appears on the scene.
Introduction
The primary text for this message is found in Hebrews 11:11: "Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised." Here was Sarah, a child of the living God, who believed the promise that God had made to her that she would be bring forth a child, the child of promise. She had to face every doubt, every fear, every human opposition, every impossibility humanly speaking, and believe the promise of God and count Him faithful who had promised. In the face of every impossibility, she trusted the faithfulness of God to do what He said He would do, i.e., strengthen her womb that she could conceive a child in her old age, who would become the child of promise.
We face many challenges today including financial problems, rising inflation, an emerging sense of cultural confusion on gender, sexual identity, abortion and many others concerns. This message will teach about "The Faithfulness of God" and at its conclusion you should find yourself encouraged to trust in His Faithfulness even more than you have before. The Word of God speaks clearly to God's faithfulness. YES, GOD IS FAITHFUL.
Section 1: Scriptures on Faithfulness
Consider the following Scriptures:
1. In Deuteronomy 7: 9, we read "Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God."
2. In 2 Timothy 2: 13, we find these words, "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself."
3. Psalm 89: 8 we also read, "O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? Or to Thy faithfulness round about Thee."
4. It was prophesied of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in Isaiah 11: 5, "Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reigns (waist)."
So, we see from the Scriptures that faithfulness is essential to God's being. Without this great attribute He could not and would not be God. In other words, for God to be unfaithful would be for Him to act contrary to His nature, and that is impossible! GOD IS FAITHFUL!
Over the years I have encountered people in the church that don't trust the faithfulness of God. They take matters into their own hands and fix the problem. Listening friend, that is the attitude of the world today. Both religious and those that are not, do not trust the LORD. This has been a problem in the church that began using what is referred to the "seeker sensitive" approach to bringing people to the Lord. I have remarked that the moment tries to get people saved before they know. Of course, this is not possible. People don't trust the Lord to save His own children, so they take matters into their own hands to get people saved. It doesn't work. All it does is create a group of people who were never saved, thought they were, and they fall away and are labelled backsliders. No, they aren't backsliders, they unsaved religionists!
That is why we must preach the pure gospel. If the Holy Spirit is drawing someone to Him, that person would crawl through broken glass to get to the Lord Jesus Christ. We must preach truth and rely upon God's faithfulness.
GOD IS FAITHFUL.
Section 2: The Unfaithfulness of Man
Over against the faithfulness of God we see today the unfaithfulness of man. Someone once said, "Unfaithfulness is one of the most outstanding sins of these evil days." Believe or not, there was a time in our country that "a man's word was his bond." If you said something you would honor what you have promised. In the business world, a man's word is no longer his bond. I hope you have had the privilege of knowing some people that you could depend on their word. I remember when some of my children were younger. They might ask for something that I could not immediately provide for them. They would be listening for me to say, "I promise." If I uttered those words, they would scamper away to their siblings saying, "Daddy said I promise." They knew that I always fulfilled my promises. To them, it was as if they possessed what they desired. They knew it was coming. It is rare exception to find a man in business today whose word is his bond. It seems the motto of the business world today is: "Make money; make it honest if you can; if you can't, make money.
MAN IS UNFAITHFUL IN THE REALM OF HIS WORD.
Then, in the social world the sacred bonds of wedlock are being broken with as little regard as the discarding of an old shirt. Homes everywhere are broken, because men have no word of truth. It seems to be a virtue today to lie, to be untruthful and unfaithful. In other words, men and women live a lie. They pretend to be that which they are not. Very seldom do you see folks in the social world live what they are. Almost half of all marriages end in divorce. That is a staggering statistic. It should be noted that divorce statistics tell us the rate is falling. You what to know why? It is because more people are just living together without marriage.
MAN IS UNFAITHFUL IN THE SOCIAL WORLD.
Another area where man is unfaithful is in the realm of religion. When a man is ordained, he takes solemn oath to preach the truth of God's Word without compromise, but many times these "preachers" have no scruples in attacking or denying the truth of God's Word whether in the pulpit or in the seminary. Instead, they will preach a "feel good" gospel, that convicts no one, but promises prosperity, fun and fellowship.
One of the hardest things in the world is to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ and true to the souls of men, and the hardest thing is to be true to the members of your own family and be true to those who love you. It truly is. My hearts all but sinks when I recall how unfaithful to Christ and to the great privileges and opportunities which God has entrusted to me. As I have grown older, and you know that there is more of your life behind you, than before you, I have become increasingly committed to speak truth regardless of the consequences. This may cause me to be attacked, but they did so and more to my Lord Jesus Christ. Let me be true to the gospel should be a motto of every born-again believer.
It is refreshing in these dark days to know that the Lord Jesus Christ is faithful and is the Faithful Witness. Psalm 36: 5 reads: "Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds", and every believer can exclaim, "His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3: 22, 23). God never forgets; God never fails; God never falters; God never forfeits His Word. Every promise in His Word, every prophetic utterance in His Word He will make good. Yes, in these dark days we can rely upon God's unbroken Word and upon His faithfulness. for our God cannot lie. (Titus 1: 2; Hebrews 6: 18) Friends, that is where I rest; that is where I live in the quietness of my heart and GOD IS FAITHFUL.
Section 3: Illustrations of God's Faithfulness
Consider the following Biblical illustrations of God's faithfulness:
1. In Genesis 8: 22, God said to Noah: "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." We see that every year which comes and goes furnishes us a fresh witness to God's fulfilment of this promise. There comes the spring, the planting and harvest, then the summer heat and the cold, wintery nights. The day comes, then the night shades fall fast. Every day you live you can see the truth of God's faithfulness. Have you ever thought the seasons and every day this way to give you a reason every day to trust the faithfulness of God?
2. If you look at Genesis 15, you will find that God said to Abraham, "Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs's and shall serve them" (v. 13). Then the LORD went on to say, "But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again" (v. 16). Time went on, and we see Jacob with seventy souls moving to Egypt during the severe famine. God blessed them, but ultimately, we see them under heavy loads, groaning amid making bricks without straw as slaves of a mighty foreign power. I'm sure that many thought about God's promises and they must have believed that God had forgotten them. However, God had not forgotten! In Exodus 12: 41, we read: "And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt." God never forgets a promise! The omnipotent (all-powerful) God is able to bring every promise to pass. Never has a promise in God's Word been broken and none ever will. Saint and sinner can rely upon His promises because OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!
3. In Isaiah 7: 14 we find these words: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Centuries rolled on, and time turned grey with old age. Men's hearts began to fail them. But the saints of God still looked to the future trusting in God's unbroken promises. So, according to Galatians 4: 4, "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman." The shepherds upon the hills heard the angels singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2: 14) The wise men from the east saw His star and made their way to the cradle of the Holy One.
Yes, the God of the Bible is a faithful God; His Word cannot be broken, His promise cannot be set aside. Every awakened sinner can rest upon the promise of God's Word, knowing that it cannot be broken (John 10:35) and that God will verify His promise under every circumstance.
4. The Lord Jesus came, and when He went back to heaven from Mount Olivet that morning, the two angels who stood there said to those men: "Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1: 11) This same Jesus will come again. That promise will be fulfilled. Yes, it will!
AWAKENED SINNER, SALVATION IS FOR YOU! Why should you despair with a faithful God on the throne? My awakened sinner, there are promises for you from the God of the Bible. If you come to Him, He will never turn you away!
5. Remember Hebrews 11: 11: "Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised." One day God spoke to Sarah, "I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life, and, lo, Sarah they wife shall have a son." (Genesis 18: 10) God spoke it and Sarah believed and she judged Him faithful who had promised. She could not be shaken from that Word; she could not be moved away from His Word. God is true; His Word of promise is sure. God is faithful to His people and to every awakened sinner. You may totally rely on Him. Let me say this with all emphasis of my soul: No individual--saint or sinner--has ever really trusted God in vain. My friend, the faithfulness of God is the basis of our confidence in Him.
Now hear this, it is one thing to accept the truth of the faithfulness of God, but on the other hand it is quite another thing to act upon it. Peter said: "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises" (II Peter 1:4). They are great--they are exceeding great; they are precious. But are we really counting on His fulfilment of them and counting on the faithfulness of God? Are we? Are you?
Let me ask two categories of people a question:
1. Awakened sinner, are you counting upon God to save you; are you really relying upon Him to fulfil His Word? I know resting upon the promise isn't salvation but resting upon the promise brings salvation. Are you really expecting God to do for you all that He said He would do? Remember Hebrews 10: 23: "He is faithful that promised."
2. Let me ask every born-again believer, are you living by the promises of God? Or are you living by your fears and your doubts? Are you resting upon His unbroken Word? That is all I have to live by. The God of the Bible, whom I know and who knows me, has taught me, and "learned" me, and led me to trust first, for salvation (and God did not turn me down); second, He has led me slowly but surely to rest everything in His hands and to trust Him for every detail of life, for every need. His Word is true and cannot be broken; we can safely rely on every word written. We can face the storm clouds of life in confidence based upon His Word. No matter what you face today, every day you see evidence of God's faithfulness. In the good and in the bad, we can have confidence. Do you have this confidence? If not, you can! Come to Him, take His yoke and He will not fail you.
I try to live my life as one continual confession, one continual desire to walk in His will, to rest upon His Word as a little child, and to believe Him as a little child, because "He is faithful that promised. "The only two crutches I have are the crucified, buried, and risen Lord, and His unbroken Word. They are my resting places.
Section 4: Responding to God's Faithfulness
I know that there are times and seasons in our lives when it is not easy to believe that God is faithful. So many times, our ears are distracted with the noise of the world or harassed by the blasphemous whisperings of Satan, and God seems to have withdrawn the comforts of grace from us until we can no longer hear His still, small voice found in His Word. All our plans seem to have failed and friends on whom we thought we could depend on, even our best friends have failed us. Someone whom we thought was a brother or a sister in Christ has betrayed us. Under all this load of disappointment we are made to stagger, as the clouds become dark and hide His face from us. BUT GOD IS STILL FAITHFUL! Listen to Isaiah 50: 10: "Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and stay upon his God."
My friend, I will grant you there are times when you cannot harmonize God's mysterious dealings with His love and His faithfulness. I don't try to do it; it is our place to wait upon Him for more light. Our God is in His own good time will make it plain to you. Let me whisper this to your ear, God has never forsaken or deceived His child.
What should you do when you feel harassed by Satan and circumstances? Isaiah 30: 18 provides an answer: "Blessed are all they that wait for him." God can be more gracious and more real in hours like these and more wonderful than when you are on the mountaintop. Do you know it is in these difficult times that the faithfulness of God is proven.
How beautiful is the sunshine of the presence of the Lord when He comes walking to you upon the troubled seas of time and embraces you with His arms and whispers in your heart the sweetness of Calvary, of the empty tomb and the glory of His presence at the right hand of the Majesty on High. God is faithful in preserving His own people. In 1 Corinthians 1: 9, we read: "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord."
Do you know the confidence of every born-again believer in the absolute security of his salvation in Christ is based upon the veracity of the God who cannot lie? (Titus 1: 2) You know, God's Word says, "All the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6: 37) He says again, "Those that thou gavest Me, I have kept, and none of them is lost...." (John 17: 12) The Paul writes, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8: 35) Our Lord also said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10: 27, 28)
Section 5: Faithful in Discipline
God is faithful in disciplining His people. God is just as faithful in what He withholds from His people as He is in what He gives His people. God is just as faithful in sending sorrow as He is in giving joy. God knows what is best for us. When God smites us with the rod of correction, He is faithful. It is up to us to ask Him to conform us to His will. He said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me." (Matthew 11:29) Yes, we are accustomed to His yoke. His yoke is the sweetest thing in the world to walk in His will, whether in shadow or in sunshine, whether under the correcting rod of chastisement or on the mountain of blessings. OH, THAT YOU AND I COULD HEAR HIS VOICEABOVE THE RANGING BILLOWS OF THE SIN-TOISSED WORLD SAYING, "ALL IS WELL; ALL IS WELL!"
My friend, if you and I would turn our ears from all the other voices and let the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ ring in our ears through His written Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit, how gracious it would be! Let us keep our eyes on our blessed Lord, not straying to the right or the left. Let us run the race leaning on His faithfulness and trusting in His Word.
Conclusion
Friend, you have heard the truth today. You have a choice: will you trust, rely, and count on our Lord's faithfulness or will you listen to the world's voices and be defeated. Stand for the truth og God's Word and His faithfulness. His Word will see you through no matter what hurdles you face. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Disbelieve and be damned. My prayer is that you will come the Lord Jesus Christ, fall at His feet and be His disciple.
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