INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• November is the month of Thanksgiving. In a few weeks we will celebrate Thanksgiving with family, friends, and football!
• We are going to spend the month of November looking at some areas in which God touches our lives that should give us reason to celebrate!
• There are so many things we can celebrate for but many times we forget to celebrate things we take for granted.
• I want us to take some time today to look at the gift of God’s unfailing love.
• There are so many things we cannot count on in this ever-changing world, but one thing we can count on is God’s UNFAILING LOVE for us.
• As usual you will need your bible with you so you can follow along because we are going to cover a lot of verses today.
• Psalm 107 celebrates Israel’s return from exile in foreign lands.
• By way of introduction I want to share verse 1-3.
• SLIDE #2
• Psalm 107:1–3 (ESV) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
• The Psalm starts with a grateful acknowledgment of God’s unfailing steadfast love for His people.
• The world we live in is full of love but many times that love is conditional whereas God’s love is unconditional.
• Love in this world lasts for a season, God’s love endures forever! We see this spelled out for us in the New Testament also.
• SLIDE #3
• Romans 8:35 (ESV) 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
• The awesome thing about Psalm 107 that we will examine this morning is that it shows us four pictures that illustrate to us that God’s love is unfailing!
• They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let us take some time to look at the four beautiful pictures the Psalmist paints for us.
• The first of our four pictures is found in verses 4-9.
• SLIDE #4
• Psalm 107:4–9 (ESV) 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. 8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
• SLIDE #5
SERMON
God’s love is unfailing because…
I. God’s love does not fail to replenish us.
• This part of the Psalm paints the picture of people who are wandering in the desert; they are lost and looking for a home.
• In the quest, they were on the verge of perishing.
• An interesting point we all need to grasp as we look at this Psalm is that the Psalmist was speaking of specific events, but we can take those unknown to us events and apply the principles taught concerning them into our time and life. We can see a spiritual application as well as the time specific application from the Psalmist.
• Even though to my understanding we are not certain of the events the Psalmist is speaking of, we can see some wonderful applications for our life today.
• As the Israelites were wandering seeking a home, God replenished them, in other words He provided for their needs.
• God does this for us today. As we are wandering around looking for our real home, God does not let us just die in the desert.
• God looks after us, He cares for us, He provides for us.
• SLIDE #6
• Matthew 5:44–45 (ESV) 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 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.
• Why would God provide for those who not His? Who may NEVER decide to be His? There are a couple of reasons. One is He has an unconditional, unfailing love. The second reason is found in 1 Timothy 2:4
• SLIDE #7
• 1 Timothy 2:4 (ESV) 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
• This does not mean that ALL will, but rather that God DESIRES all to do so and He will give them every opportunity to make that decision!
• God provides for us so that we can get to the time in our life when we may be willing to make the choice.
• When the Israelites were released from Egypt, they were afraid that God freed them to be killed by the approaching Egyptian army, but that was not God’s plan.
• God provided a way of escape and then later while wandering in the desert, God provided for the needs of the Israelites even though they were at times stubborn and disobedient.
• God will provide!
• This is why we see the praise in verse 8, verse 8 is repeated word for word in verses 15, 21, and 31.
• When verse 8 says “FOR HIS WONDROUS WORKS TO THE CHILDREN OF MAN” this is meant to show these saving acts are representative of the many others which Gad can do!
• Let us look at verses 10-16.
• SLIDE #8
• Psalm 107:10–16 (ESV) 10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. 13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. 15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
• SLIDE #9
God’s love is unfailing because…
II. God’s love does not fail to release us.
• Not all captives were literally in prison, but captivity was compared to imprisonment in Isaiah 42:6-7 and Isaiah 49:8-9.
• Verses 1012 paint a bleak picture, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, the situation seems rather difficult.
• We see a picture painted of people who more or less did it to themselves. We are told they rebelled against the words of God and ignored His counsel.
• Because if the desire the people had to turn from God, He allowed it to happen, but the people paid the price, but ultimately when the people cried out to God in verse13 and God responds be releasing them or delivering them from their captivity.
• Notice that even though the people turned from God, noticed that they rejected His words and counsel, yet our great God did not write them off for lost.
• He could have said, “Sorry, you had your chance!”
• God does not operate that way. WE have a similar problem, when we decide we do not need God, He allows us to pay the price for that rejection, but His unfailing love will leave the door open wide for us to enter into His presence without being rejected.
• SLIDE #10
• Romans 5:8 (ESV) 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• God will release you from the bondage to sin whenever you are ready to be released. There will be no “I told you so”, but rather a set of open arms awaiting your arrival!
• Now with that said, the longer you are a slave to sin, the more blessings you miss out because we can spend way too much of our life enslaved to sin.
• When I started going to church the building did not collapse and when I decided to follow Jesus, heavens doors were not locking me out!
• Let us examine verses 17-22 to look at the next picture of God’s unfailing love!
• SLIDE #11
• Psalm 107:17–22 (ESV) 17 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. 21Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
• SLIDE #12
God’s love is unfailing because…
III. God’s love does not fail to restore us.
• Here is another picture that started out not looking too good. The Psalmist reveals that the people were bringing sickness into their lives because of their sinful ways.
• The Hebrew word translated "sick" means literally "fools".
• The following verses indicate that the psalmist refers to those who brought sickness upon themselves through their own foolish ways (cf. Ps. 38:3-10).
• These conditions were the result of their sinful ways!
• Once again God did not forsake them, He restored them to health.
• In verses 19-20 we see the people crying out to God and we see God restoring them, healing them of their sickness.
• When our soul is sick with sin God, we will restore and heal us from the effects of sin.
• SLIDE #13
• 1 John 1:7 (ESV) 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
• Let us conclude by looking at the final picture in the exhibit
• SLIDE #14
• Psalm 107:23–31 (ESV) 23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; 24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep. 25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. 26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; 27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. 31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
• SLIDE #15
God’s love is unfailing because…
IV. God’s love does not fail to rescue us.
• Here we see people in peril. As a matter of context, we see that God had a hand in the storms.
• When the sea farers were caught in the storm, God exhibited His unfailing love by rescuing them from the power of the storm.
• 29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
• God demonstrates His unfailing love for us be rescuing us from the storms of life.
• God is someone we can anchor to!
• SLIDE #16
• Hebrews 6:19 (ESV) 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
• When we are going through the storms of life, God will be there with us. Sometimes when we cause the storms, God will still be there, in the times that God has a hand in the storm in order to get our attention, God will be there.
• God will rescue us from the storm!
• When we are facing the storms of temptation, God will be there for us!
• SLIDE #17
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV) 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.
CONCLUSION
• In a world of uncertainty one thing is certain, God’s unfailing love for you!
