Knowing God Series #19
“Our Faithful God”
Review
I. The nature of God
II. The Attributes of God
A. God is infinitely GREAT in His ability / capacity
B. God is infinitely and perfectly PURE in His morality and judgments
C. God is infinitely GOOD in His relationships
1. God’s infinite LOVE
2. God’s infinite GRACE
3. God’s infinite MERCY
4. God’s LONGSUFFERING & FOREBEARANCE
5. God’s GENTLENESS
6. God’s FORGIVENESS
7. God’s FAITHFULNESS
a. What is faithfulness? Description
Faithfulness is a characteristic that can be best understood by enlisting a number of other synonyms. We would describes someone as faithful, dependable, reliable, trustworthy, steadfast, a person of their word, true, loyal, committed, consistent, unfailing, unwavering.
The core concept has to do with dependability and trust to carry out what is promised.
b. What causes unfaithfulness?
Weakness and selfishness is generally the cause of unfaithfulness. God is neither, so there He always acts in faithfulness.
c. What makes God faithful?
He must be faithful; He can be nothing else.
He is faithful in all things at all times. Psa 33:1-5
He says what He means and does what He says. Deut 7:7-11
His faithfulness is forever. Psa 100:4-5
His faithfulness is immeasurable. Psalm 36:5-9
His faithfulness is GREAT! Lam 3:19
He is clothed in faithfulness. Psalm 89:1-8
d. How do we know God is faithful?
Creation declares God’s faithfulness
The Bible records continual accounts of God’s faithfulness
People tell stories of God’s faithfulness
We personally experience God’s faithfulness
Scripture declares God’s faithfulness in spite of circumstances
God always operates in faithfulness and truth in spite of the fact that it does always seem that way or feel that way. Many Biblical followers of God felt the same way in times of severe testing yet learned to rise above the painful circumstances with a clear perspective on the character of God. Even the writer of the great hymn concerning God’s faithfulness rose above circumstances. Many of those listed in the catalogue of the faithful in Hebrews 11 endured because of an unwavering trust in the promise of God.
e. What is God faithful to do?
God’s faithfulness applies to every promise He has ever made. God demonstrated faithfulness all through the Scripture. Every prophecy made and so far fulfilled to the letter demonstrates His absolute faithfulness. Every promise made and carried out points to the completion of every promise made and yet to come about. Today I want to focus on a number of passages that specifically mention the word faithful. There are plenty of other passages that deal with the concept of reliability and trustworthiness. What is God faithful to do? What can I trust God to do on my behalf? What can I count on God to do?
1. Faithful to keep His Word
Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. Deuteronomy 7:9-10
O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; for You have worked wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness. Isaiah 25:1
In a world of broken contracts and agreements, we serve a God who will not break His promise.
2. Faithful to care for His creatures.
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep. O LORD, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Psalms 36:5-9
3. Faithful to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10
Is there something in your life you feel like God has not forgiven or can’t forgive? Will you trust your feelings or will you trust the unchangeable declaration of Scripture? God always forgives. God continually cleanses us from all of righteousness.
4. Faithful to finish the work He started
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
You think God is finished with you. He never stops working in our lives. What is He doing?
God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13
He is building a kingdom of citizens who will be like His Son Jesus. He is populating a community of people who will live in perfect community throughout eternity.
5. Faithful to provide an escape that enables us to a endure temptation.
Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1 Cor 10:12-13
Be clear what this verse does not say. It does not say that God will not allow you to be tempted.
It does not say that God will necessarily take the temptation away. What does the first promise?
What is God the faithful to do? God is faithful only to allow temptations that are common to everyone. There is not some unique temptation that no one has ever faced that will come into our lives. God is faithful not to allow temptations without a way of escape. God will not allow an impossible situation beyond our ability to endure. God will always provide some way of escape that enables us to overcome any temptation. Notice the promise does not have to do with removal of us or temptation but with endurance.
He promises to provide some way by which we can avoid yielding to the temptation. I know what you’re thinking. There have been hundreds of times when I have fallen into temptation and I didn’t see any escape. The Scripture says that God is always faithful to provide an escape.
Just because I did not see the escape or take the escape does not mean it wasn’t there. Perhaps I wasn’t looking for an escape. Perhaps I was looking for a way to avoid rather than endure but a difficult situation.
How many times have we avoided the Scripture memorization and meditation escape, the prayer escape, the call a friend escape, the turn away and run escape, the draw near to God escape, the resist the devil escape, the make no provision for the flesh escape, the looking to Jesus escape, the entrust your soul escape? With every temptation God always provides a way of escape. Look for it. Take it.
6. Faithful to strengthen and protect us from the evil one.
Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3
Jesus prayed for Paul to survive a sever sifting by Satan.
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4
"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Luke 10:19
7. Faithful to train us through discipline.
God sometimes uses difficult situations to train us that we may share his Holiness. Hebrews 12 mentions the discipline or training of a father. God faithfully disciplines us.
Your hands made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. May those who fear You see me and be glad, because I wait for Your word. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, according to Your word to Your servant. May Your compassion come to me that I may live, for Your law is my delight. Psalms 119:73-77
8. God is faithful to bring ultimate justice through Jesus Christ.
"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law." Isaiah 42:1-4
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19:11-16
9. Faithful to renew His mercies every morning.
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
Great is his faithfulness!
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Psa 36:5
It is like groundhogs day. We get a new start. The divine resources never run out.
What should I do?
You might feel like God has forgotten you today. The heaviness of your circumstances may cause you to feel abandoned. I declare to you by the authority of the Word which God left for us to read and the witness of the Holy Spirit who God has sent to bear witness with our spirit that God is faithful. His faithful love compels Him to bear all things, believe all thing, hopes all thing, endure all things. (1 Cor 13:7)
He adamantly declares:
"I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," Hebrews 13:5
So how should I respond? I have four suggestions for today and all through this week.
Remember His faithfulness
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Psa 36:5
Remember what the Bible says about God’s faithfulness.
Remember that these truths are true in spite of what we see or feel in the present.
Remember examples of God’s faithfulness in the past.
Remember that the fact you are breathing is testimony to God’s faithfulness.
Remember that his mercies are new every morning because of his great faithfulness.
And when you stop breathing, you will finally understand just how faithful God is.
Continually entrust your soul to a faithful creator and father
Jesus endured the pain of bearing the world’s sin by entrusting His soul to His faithful father.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously…1 Peter 2:21-25
Let those who suffer according to the will of God should continually entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. 1 Peter 4:19
The word entrust is a present tense verb meaning to place beside or before, present, deposit.
In our suffering God instructs us to follow the example of Jesus and place our soul into the keeping of a FAITHFUL Creator who has given His word that He will care for us, forgive us, finish the saving work He started, provide a way of escape and endure, strengthen and protect us, train us renew His mercies to us every morning. (Infinite start over’s!)
Declare His faithfulness
Speak it! Sing it!
I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever; to all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. Psalm 89:1
Live Faithfully to God and each other
Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2
Just as God commits to us, we are to commit to Him and others. The Bible is full of examples and instruction regarding trustworthiness. Our love and our actions should demonstrate the faithfulness of God. Unlike God, we are not always faithful. Due to weakness and selfishness, we regularly fail to always be faithful.
We can be like unfaithful spouse.
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:1-3
The Bible employs the trauma of infidelity to how God feels about not pursuing deeper relationship with Him and finding our life in someone or something else. Israel continually abandoned God and sought life in the demon-driven religions of the nations surrounding them.
The whole book of Hosea deals with infidelity. God instructed the prophet to be a living illustration of His love for Israel when He told him to marry a prostitute who would constantly abandon him. God instructed Hosea to go after her and love her and win her heart in spite of her infidelity.
He used Hosea’s story to teach Israel how much He loved her.
I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.
I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'You are my God!' Hosea 2:10-20, 23
And they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant. But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; and often He restrained His anger And did not arouse all His wrath. Thus He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not return. Psalm 78:35-39
The Bible has much to say about our faithfulness to God and ministry and people.
Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the soul of his masters. Proverbs 25:13
A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. Proverbs 28:20
Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Proverbs 25:19
He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Luke 16:10-13
A key characteristic of a good servant is faithfulness.
For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. 1 Corinthians 4:17
But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. Philippians 2:19-22
But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. Ephesians 6:21
just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. Colossians 1:7-8
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:1-2
Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 2 Timothy 4:9-10
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
To abandon us would break a promise to never leave us. He would break His promise to finish the work He started.
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
Our longing is to hear those most coveted words from Jesus.
“Well done good and FAITHFUL servant.”
