He’s Not Given Up On Us Yet

He’s Not Given Up On Us Yet

Philippians 1:1-6

There are times that Christians may become discouraged and feel like giving up because things aren’t going well. Some may feel that either they have messed up in life and cannot be used by God or that God for whatever reason has just given up on them.

The loving patience of God is so amazing. The Bible tells us that when we come to Jesus Christ we are a new creation of God who begins to work in our lives to bring us into perfect conformity with Christ and that He doesn’t give up on us even when we give up on ourselves. As someone has said, “It ain’t over until God says it’s over.”

I. God doesn’t give up on us when we fall into sin

A. 1 John 2:1 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

B. Christ told the story of a shepherd who had 100 sheep. Ninety-nine of those sheep stayed with the shepherd and never wandered away from the safety of the fold. But one sheep wandered off on its own away from the shepherd and away from the fold. The shepherd left the 99 and sought out the one wandering errant sheep. He never gave up on the sheep.

C. Romans 5:8 “But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

D. God loves even the vilest sinner. But we need to understand that God absolutely does not approve of anyone's sins nor a wicked lifestyle. In the Bible there are more than one hundred references to God's love; however, there are a staggering seven hundred references in the Word of God to God's holiness. God's holiness demands that sin be dealt with and put away. – copied He therefore in His patient mercy calls for us to confess and to repent of our sins.

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

F. Confess = In secular documents from New Testament times the verb “homologeo” translated in 1 john 1:9 as “confess” was commonly used to denote agreements between two parties and thus is very common in our sources in the sense “contract,” “agreement.” Literally it means to say the same thing”

G. Confessing our sin is more than just simply saying “Okay God I agree. I have sinned.” It is having the same estimate towards that sin that God has of it. - copied

H. God hates our sin but even as we are sinning He still loves us with that perfect unconditional, unending, unfathomable love.

II. God doesn’t give up on us when we falter in our faith

A. To falter is to be unsteady in purpose or action, as from loss of courage or confidence; to waver, to act hesitantly.

B. The trials and testing that we go through as we journey through our Christian lives are meant to strengthen our faith and build us up as we follow our Savior. But often we are like the children of Israel, who had become discouraged because the path of the Exodus was not a primrose path but difficult and arduous. Instead of placing their faith in the One who had delivered them from bondage in Egypt they faltered and began to murmur and complain.

C. Numbers 21:4 “And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.”

D. God’s anger was kindled by their lack of faith and failure to keep their eyes fixed on Him. In His judgment He sent a plague of fiery venomous serpents. But demonstrating His patient unending love and mercy we find God having Moses lift up a brazen serpent that whoever by faith look at it lived. (Numbers 21:8)

E. Isaiah 40:30-31 “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

F. 2 Timothy 2:13 “If we believe not, [yet] he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

G. Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

III. God doesn’t give up on us when we fight against and flee from His will

A. Isaiah 65:2 “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walk in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts”