A Declaration of God's Faithfulness

Deuteronomy 7:9

Sunday, July 25, 2010

 

 

Introduction

Unfaithfulness is one of the most outstanding sins of this generation.

 

Many are not true to their duties, obligations, or promises. People frequently change without justifiable reason. There is no one on earth who is absolutely trustworthy. Proverbs 20:6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?

 

In the business world, a man's word is no longer his bond. Even with contracts and agreements are quickly broken. In the social world, marital unfaithfulness abounds. Many couples do not take seriously their vows to each other, "Till do us part." In the ecclesiastical realm, thousands who have solemnly stood before the congregation to fulfill their church covenant do not hesitate for a moment to go against it.

 

There is unfaithfulness all around us in every single sphere, and indeed if we are honest with ourselves we must say that we are not exempted from this sin. In how many times have we been unfaithful to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and to the knowledge and privilege which God has entrusted to us.

 

How refreshing, then, how unspeakably blessed, to lift our eyes above this scene of ruin, and behold One who is faithful, faithful in all things, faithful at all times.

 

Faithfulness is one of the glorious perfections of God's being.

·         Exodus 34:6 ESV  The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

·         Deuteronomy 7:9 ESV  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

·         Psalms 89:14 ESV Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

·         1 Corinthians 1:9  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

·         1 Thessalonians 5:24  He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

 

God's faithfulness is great (Lamentations 3:23  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.).

It is incomparable (Psalms 89:8  O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you?).

It is unfailing (Psalms 89:33  but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.).

It is infinite (Psalms 36:5   Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.).

It is everlasting. (Psalms 119:90  Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.)

 

Faithfulness is essential to God's being; without it He would not be God. For God to be unfaithful would be to act contrary to His nature.

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

·            Numbers 23:19  "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?"

 

Today, I want us to see the manifestations of God's faithfulness. I have prepared about ten of them and then close with some applications:

 

Thomas Manton said,

 

"The experience of God's faithfulness in former ages is of use to those that follow, to assure them of God's faithfulness; for God's wonderful and gracious works were never intended merely for the benefit of that age in which they were done, but for the benefit also of those that should hear of them. We should tell generations to come what we have found of God in our time, and more especially parents should tell their children; they are bound to pass on this knowledge to their children. It is a scorn and vile contempt put upon those wonderful works, which God made to be remembered , if they should be buried in forgetfulness; it is contrary to the Scriptures."

 

Psalms 40:10  I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

Psalms 89:1  I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

 

1. God's faithfulness appears in the performance of what He has said regarding the world in general.

 

·        The fixed order of day and night, and the heavenly bodies

-         Jeremiah 31:35-36 ESV  Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar-- the LORD of hosts is his name:  36  "If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever."

-         Jeremiah 33:20-21 ESV  "Thus says the LORD: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time,  21  then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers.

·        The rotation of the seasons of the year will not cease.

Genesis 8:22  While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."

 

1. God's faithfulness appears in the performance of what He has said in His covenants.

 

God is called "faithful" because he is faithful in keeping covenant and mercy with his people (Deuteronomy 7:9  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,).

·        God made an unconditional covenant with Noah and all the living creatures, promising that he would no more destroy the world by a flood; and he has faithfully kept it.

-         Genesis 9:8-17 ESV  Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,  9  "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,  10  and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.  11  I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."  12  And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:  13  I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  14  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,  15  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.  16  When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."  17  God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

·         He made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob promising to make them a multitude of nations and that He would give to their descendants the land of Canaan.

-         Deuteronomy 9:5 ESV  Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

·        He made a covenant with all the people of Israel at Sinai; and, according to his promise, to be their God and to bless them.

-         Joshua 23:14 ESV  "And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.

·        He made a covenant with David to establish and maintain the Davidic dynasty and to provide Israel with a godly king like David

-         Romans 15:8 ESV  For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

·        He made an unconditional promises with his people in what is called the New Covenant.

 

1. God's faithfulness appears in fulfilling His threats.

·         God threatened Adam, that in the day he eat of the forbidden fruit, he should surely die; and the sentence of death passed on him, and all his posterity in him, as soon as he had sinned, according to God's threat (Rom. 5:12).

·         God threatened the inhabitants of the ancient world with a flood to destroy them, for their ungodliness and wickedness; and though He showed long patience and forbearance, yet He was faithful to his word, and brought it upon the world.

·         Every stage of Israel's history exemplifies that solemn fact. God threatened the people of Israel with captivity, and other judgments, if they walked not in his ways (Lev. 26:1-46; Deut. 28:1-68) and all of which have been exactly fulfilled in that people, and remain to this day.

·         And as God has threatened men with the burning of the world, and the works of it, and the wicked in it; and damnation to all unbelieving and impenitent sinners, they may be assured of it, and expect it. Unless you have fled or do flee to Christ for refuge, the everlasting burning of the Lake of Fire will be your sure and certain portion. God is faithful.

 

1. God's faithfulness appears in the fulfillment of what He has said concerning Christ.

 

·         That he should be born of a woman, be of the seed of Abraham, spring from the tribe of Judah, arise out of the family of David, be born of a virgin at Bethlehem (Gen. 3:15, 22:18, 49:10; 2 Sam. 7:12, 13; Mic. 5:2; Isa. 7:14 9:1, 2); that God would be with him in the great work of redemption, (Isa. 50:7) and that when he had done his work, being delivered to death for the sins of his people, and raised again for their justification, he would be glorified at God's right hand (Ps. 110:1; John 17:4, 5; Phil. 2:9, 10) and that he should have a numerous offspring, which should continue to the end of the world, (Isa. 53:10; Ps. 89:4, 29, 36).

 

1. God's faithfulness appears in providing for the temporal needs of His people.

 

Their heavenly Father has said, "that they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing", (Psalms 34:10  The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.).

 

See a testimony from David's experience of the faithfulness of God, with respect to temporal things (Psalms 37:25  I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.).

 

Hebrews 13:5-6 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."  6  So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

 

Note: The poverty and afflictions of some of God's people do not negate God's faithfulness since in His infinite wisdom, He has promised that they shall work for their good.

Ø       Romans 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Ø       See what happened to Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 50:20  As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.),

Ø       or what will happen to believers spiritually (James 1:2-4  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  3  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  4  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.).

 

1. God's faithfulness is manifested in the unfailing defense and deliverance of His servants in times of trial, testing and conflict.

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

·         John 17:11-12  And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.  12  While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

·         1 Corinthians 11:30-32 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.  31  But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.  32  But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

 

1. God's faithfulness is manifested in His standing by His people and saving them even when they are unfaithful to Him.

·         Luke 22:31-32  "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,  32  but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

·         Romans 3:3-4 ESV  What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?  4  By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."

·         2 Samuel 7:14-15 ESV  I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,  15  but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

 

1. God's faithfulness is manifested in not letting Satan tempt His children beyond their ability to resist, and providing an escape.

·         1 Corinthians 10:13  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.

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

 

9.          God's faithfulness is manifested in disciplining His children.

·         Psalms 119:75  I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

·         Hebrews 12:5-11 ESV  And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  6  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."  7  It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  8  If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  9  Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?  10  For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  11  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

 

10.    God is faithful in preserving His people.

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

·         1 Corinthians 1:8-9  who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

·         1 Thessalonians 5:23-24  Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  24  He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

·         Romans 8:35-39  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  36  As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."  37  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  38  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  39  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.

 

This confidence of God's children in regard to their future is not in their faithfulness, but in His. Paul was resting on the faithfulness of God when he said in 2 Timothy 1:12  ... But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. The Apostle's confidence in the absolute security of believers was founded not on the strength of their resolutions or ability to persevere, but on the truthfulness of God who cannot lie.

 

Application:

 

A.   For believers

 

1.    Be thankful.

·         Psalms 138:2 ESV  I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

·         Psalms 92:1-2 ESV  A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;  2  to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,

 

Are you not at this hour a monument of God's faithfulness? Where would you have been, had not the magnet of His grace kept you, and drawn your fugitive affections towards Himself? From how many temptations has He rescued you- laying hold of you on the precipice, when about to plunge headlong down; employing, sometimes constraining grace, at other times, restraining grace- making this your brief history- "Kept by the power of God," and overruling all- ALL for His own glory, and your own good?

 

2.    Live holy and godly lives.

2Pe 3:10-13   But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,  12  waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!  13  But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.).

 

3.    Come to Him quickly for reconciliation

·            1 John 2:1-2 ESV  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  2  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

·            1 John 1:9 ESV  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

4.    Always meditate on God's faithfulness.

 

What are the benefits?

 

a.    Reflecting on the faithfulness of God will preserve us from worry.

To be delivered from anxiety today and tomorrow, we must reflect upon the faithfulness of God. He who has cared for His child through all the years, will not forsake him in old age. He who has heard your prayers in the past, will not refuse to supply your need in the present emergency.

·            Psalms 37:25 ESV  I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

·            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."  6  So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

 

b.    Reflecting on the faithfulness of God will check our murmurings. The Lord knows what is best for each of us, and one effect of resting on this truth will be the silencing of our complainings. God is greatly honored when, under trial and chastening, we have good thoughts of Him, vindicate His wisdom and justice, and recognize His love.

·            1 Peter 4:12-19 ESV  Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  13  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.  14  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.  16  Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.  17  For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?  18  And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"  19  Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

 

c.     Reflecting on the faithfulness of God will give us hope that we can be changed.

·            Jeremiah 31:33-34 ESV  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  34  And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (quoted in Hebrews 8:10-12)

·            Jeremiah 32:38-40 ESV  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.  39  I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.  40  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

·            Ezekiel 36:25-27 ESV  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  26  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  27  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

 

d.    Reflecting on the faithfulness of God will beget increasing confidence in God. When we trustfully resign ourselves, and all our affairs into God's hands, fully persuaded of His love and faithfulness, the sooner shall we be satisfied with his providence and realize that "He does all things well."

B.   For unbelievers:

Because God is unchanging and faithful in keeping His promises, He is the firm and secure object of our trust. Put your trust in Him.

·         John 3:36  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

 

Since everything that God has said concerning the world was fulfilled, we can be sure that everything that he said that is yet to occur will most certainly happen.

·         Acts 17:31  because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

·         2 Peter 3:7-9  But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.  8  But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  9  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.